I believe that our beloved Semper is watching the World Series with my hubby and the Professor. :-)

One of them is happy with how the Series is going to date.

3DChick

From the moans and groans of the Cubs fans it's hard to tell they aren't Astros fans.

Hiya Sandy/all,

What's up? Vacation, you say??? Don't I wish!

Baseball has been only one of the latest distractions. I've discovered a new hobby that has kept me REALLY preoccupied: mountain biking. Cool/fun sport. Normal people would pick up a hobby and GRADUALLLY get into it. Well, as I have proven MANY times in the past, I ain't normal and here I am already trying to walk before having fully learned how to crawl. I've been busy studying a GRAND mountain bike trip for (hopefully) next year. The plan was to try to cycle the Appalachian trail from Georgia to Maine but then I just found out that bikes are off-limits on this trail. I also considered going cycling on the Blue Ridge Parkway but most of it has little or no shoulder room, and the last thing I need is a motorist busy looking at the scenary running me off the road. So the quest continues.

So did I miss anything good????? :-)

Hi Semper,
Mountian Bikes are a lot of fun if you have a place to ride them. When I lived in Germany I bought a mountain bike for my main form of transportation. Gas there in 1996 was almost $5.00 a gallon and only the wealthy had cars, we poor folk had bikes. I traveled quite a bit and took my bike on the train. A lot of trains are set up for a special car devoted to bikes, Jason and my bike both paid "child's fare" to ride, and both were my traveling companions. Biking in Europe is MUCH more safe that in the USA. In Germany bikes have the right of way over pedestrians, having their own bike lanes on the sidewalks. If a driver got into an accident with a biker and it was his fault he'd loose his license permanantly. It was an everyday sight to see 80 year old women out shopping on their bikes with baskets, sometimes the baskets holding their little dogs, too, regardless of the weather. (Jason wouldn't fit in the basket..lol) Jason learned to ride at my side on leash and was in fantastic shape with all the exercise we got. When I came home I brought the bike with me. Used to go for rides with Jay and he always was good except when he saw squirrels :) I found riding here to be very stressful, drivers don't have the respect for bikes or motorcycles. My beautiful Italian mountain bike is in the garage, used so rarely that I should sell it, but it holds so many fond memories that it would really be hard to part with it. With the riding I did then for a year I'd breeze thru a trip such as you're in search of. Now I'd be hard pressed to do a 10K! Enjoy, my friend, it's a wonderful thing!

PLEASE be careful! I have no idea if it is a U.S. thing or not, but I have 3 friends that have been seriously injured bike riding. A 70 year old very fit guy mountaining biking with his sons went off the trail - Jack was hospitalized for 10 days from the head trauma (his helmet saved his life) and 1 1/2 years later still has memory problems. My sister at 43 years of age tumbled from her bike after hitting the shoulder of the road - broke her wrist - surgery/pins/months of PT still has a stiff wrist 4 years later. UMM Chancelor in his 60's, mountain biking, run off the road by an inattentive driver - dilocated shoulder, etc.
I'm thinking bikes are best left to those under 16 years of age :)
Please don't take offense, I realize MANY people enjoy the sport, but be careful!

Mostly the problem (IMO)here is bike riders don't follow the rules! They ride on sidewalks, in the wrong direction and across crosswalks. We have a law there that says they must follow the rules of the road AND it's illegal to ride on the sidwalk. And then they wonder why they get hit... crossing the road against traffic..blowing red lights and stop signs... eek!

I wish I could manage a bike of any sort. Mountain Biking is very enjoyable if you are in good shape and some places make it easier and a lot safer by building bike friendly roads and writing and enforcing laws that recognise non motorized traffic exists. We don't have the kind of acceptance Bonz mentions about Europe but not every place has the problems sheepco and hnladue are talking about. I get crazy here because there are no bike lanes and car drivers don't think the bikes belong on the streets. Enjoy, Sandy

The kind of adventure Semper is looking for is better enjoyed off road, the safest from drivers. There are not a lot of areas that allow this as officials feel anything but walking can harm the environment, snowmobiles, ATVs and mountian bikes being the most banned culprit in many national parks.
As far as bikers following the rules of the road, that's true, some do stupid things but drivers outnumber bikers (both motorized and pedal), and the number of drivers breaking the law endangering MANY people far exceeds the few bikers that do. Unfortunately accidents with bikers are usually fatal.

Bikers are entitled to any lane in the road here, and the WHOLE lane is thiers. I give them such when I'm driving by too!

Semper, have you ever given thought to a vacation on a Flying Chinese Junk?
Could be an exciting time and you never know who you may meet!

flyingjunkrentals@goosi.com.

Bonz: "Jason wouldn't fit in the basket..."

LOL! Thanks for the visual of stuffing a 100 +/- LBS dobbie in a bike basket! This reminds me of a funny story that only you might appreciate.... all of our pups have their own X-large baskets that they sleep in. Our late/great Byron was particularly fond of his basket and often times, especially when it was cold and/or rainy, you could find him tucked away in his corner of the bedroom. We had gone to visit a friend one weekend and taken the dobbies with us. They had a smallish medium size lab mix. After a while, I noticed that Byron had disappeared and went looking for him. I found him in Rover's bed which was actually a hand-me-down from when Byron was a puppy. It was a funny site to see this 110 LBS doberman inside this TINY basket. Looked like he was poured into it and it sure as heck didn't look comfortable even though he was fast asleep. I wish I had a picture of that!

BTW, just so I can drool... what make is your Italian bike? Bianchi? Carraro? Ferrari?
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sheepco: "I'm thinking bikes are best left to those under 16 years of age :) "

That's cool because I'm 37 going on 13!!! :-)

i am having a hard time believing 110 lbs of dobie! wow. are you sure he isn't part cat? that was a very cat-like thing he did.

LOL FTM, I was thinking the same thing! But to me, the Dobie visual is 10 times funnier! :D

Brenda

"i am having a hard time believing 110 lbs of dobie!"

FTM, Byron maxed out at 115 LBS and he was SOLID muscle! At one point BOTH of our dobies weighed over 100 LBS. That's until my best friend who happens to be a vet started getting on to me to put them on a diet. Troy weighs less than 80 LBS now... but of course he kinda cheated because he has one leg missing. As Bonz/Laurazone5/LEFD05 would testify, they can be {{gwi:173274}}!

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BTW, as a former road cyclist, I am WELL aware of the dangers of mixing bikes and cars. I've had 2 friends who were hurt when a motorist wasn't paying enough attention. But as Ms. Bonz noted, this is a mountain bike and hopefully it won't see much pavement action.
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"Semper, have you ever given thought to a vacation on a Flying Chinese Junk? "

Hmmmmm.... sounds interesting Herr Horton. I've heared of this Chinese Junk. I am certain I can pick some up at Wal-Mart! LOL! :-)

Personally I think ya shudda bought a Harley!
Less work to ride in yer old age...LOL

KIDDING about the age thang!!!!!!!!size>

hmmmm, was there supposed to be a pic? i was looking forward to one. btw, my fave sunshade was one of 3 dobes snarling...said "make my day" on it or something. pic was better. b/t are pretty , but for some reason i like the reds, maybe it is the eyes?

enjoy your trip!

I read something in the paper today that reminded me of you Semper Fi. It said, "donÂt be afraid to die, be afraid of not living."
Nancy

With highly sophisticated software and secretive government technology, I will locate the Semper Guy and his mountain bike and melt the spokes off the wheels. :o)

Yes, Semper, I did read your reply on a certain post that I said that I would never post on again. It was very funny concidering that if you recorded a Pondaholic Anonymous meeting, all you would have gotten was either crickets or the sound of me eating. The last two meetings have just been my wife and I.

G'day,
Scott

LOL! Scott, I was hoping to lure you back in there. Earlier in this thread, I asked: "Did I miss anything good?". After reading THAT thread you speak of, I think I answered my own question!!!

BTW Scott, I've been thinking (be afraid, be VERY afraid) until your local club takes off and hopefully prospers, have you considered extending it into the cyber realm? Here's what I'm talking about... You could have LIVE meetings with folks from all over the internet. I THINK all you would need is one of the many free messenger software programs which would enable you and other members to communicate with each other instantly. There are a plethora of pond addicts right here on this very same forum and I'm willing to bet some of them would enjoy this monthly LIVE interaction with fellow ponders they might already know from GW. Just a thought.

Semper,
My bike is a Portosa, Shimano equipped, custom deep purple paint job. As for the Ferrari....
The guy I worked for had a Ford diesl stationwagon which 90 miles an hour was top speed. Once I learned the Autobahn and felt confortable with it I told him before I leave I want to drive a FAST car. We had very rich clients so I figured it wouldn't be hard to find a good car. He talked with a man he knew well who agreed to grant my wish. One morning I was whisked outside and there was THE most gorgeous car I ever saw. A red Ferrari Testarosa. Being the car buff I am (I had a '62 Vette, a '64 GTO along with a few others of quality!) I was drooling. I expected him to ride along and keep an eye on his car but he handed me the keys as said have a good time and have it home by dinner. I spent 10 minutes just sitting in it, when I finally drove I was terrified. I was so sure something horrible would happen to it and I'd be paying for it the rest of my life and then some. Eventually I relaxed and went with the flow. Boy, what a flow. It was one of the most awesome experience of my stay in Europe. I literally drove it all over Germany and finally experienced my need for speed on the Autobahn. Let's just say over 150 miles an hour with a car like this is a dream come true. When I brought it back he took me out to dinner to celebrate my induction into the 150 mph club. It was really hard to hand the keys back.

(As a foot note, Mercedes in Germany is no big deal, taxis and delivery vans are Mercedes!)

Semper, I'm not sure of how familiar you are with Yahoo Groups but I've got one set up for the club. They are message board (not quite like GW) and each one has it's own chat room. The third Friday night of the month is set up for a Chat Night from 8:00-10:00pm ET. The only thing is, anyone who wants to chat has to be a member to get into the chat room. If anyone is interested the link is at the bottom. If you are a member of FreeCycle or any other Yahoo Group, it's easy to join. Just be sure that if you're not in this area, that you enter your location so you won't receive invitations to local events. If anyone has a question or problem with the site, just email me at Pondman_Inc@cox.net.

G'day,
Scott

Here is a link that might be useful: Pondaholics Anonymous

In Connecticut, I loved mountain biking, although nothing beats my road bike. I loved the split second decisions while bombing down the Salmon River trail....Dh, a former triathlete and crit racer (he started at age 14 and quit when my dd was 5 and having an active dd and a house made training a bit too much) never quite took to it...it may have been when his mb broke a seat bolt and he had to ride the rest of the trail and home standing up....we tried to hold the seat on with all sorts of jerry rigged stuff held together with surgical tape from our first aid kit....

Now, I'm trying to get my dd who rides only on the road to try out a lovely road bike in the shop down the way....great bike, Shimano, Campi set up, light light weight...wonderful entry level bike....but noooooooo she wants another mountain bike... If only I could get her to try the blue beauty on the road.... ;)

"...although nothing beats my road bike."

That USED to be my school of thought MANY years ago. The last couple of weeks have made me wonder what took me so long to make the switch. When I go on a trail with a mountain bike around here, I can often find inspirations {{gwi:173275}} for the next pond/stream.

If I ever did get back on a road bike again around here, {{gwi:173276}} I would see.

Yep, I foresee a LOT more dust collecting on the ole' road bike! :-)))

Speaking of Semper Fi, I heard a really interesting bit of trivia on TV early this morning. :)

Do you know who was the first actor to be chosen as an honorable Marine by the Corps?

Brenda

no, but i vote for george c. scott no matter what branch!

Amen to that, FTM! I wasn't able to find a website with listings of movie actors who have been made honorable members of the Marines, but I know the first one was Lon Chaney for his role in Tell It to the Marines in 1926! Can you believe that?

I wouldn't be surprised if Mr. Scott was on that list, though. :)

Brenda

hmmm, i dont know that name...*cowering*

LOL Lon Chaney was that guy who did all of the scary movies in the early days of film, FTM - Phantom of the Opera, Quasimodo (The Hunchback of Notre Dame), etc. He was GREAT with makeup, and even took his own cosmetic kit to movie sets. As his role in the Phantom, his face was so scary that censors wouldn't show clips of him for fear of scaring the wits out of children (as well as adults).

It was rumored that he couldn't act without being all dolled up for the camera, so he proved everybody wrong by starring in Tell It to the Marines, and doing a fine job of it, too. :)

Brenda

Here is a link that might be useful: Lon Chaney at IMDB

i pictured his face exactly when you said phantom of hte opera! rates up there with the bela lugosi stare. didn't know he was in any war movies.

Great Inspirational pix Semper Fi!
And as far as those puppy pictures go, :) Dobes are one of my favorite breeds, intelligent, loving, regal... I'd love to have one someday. I've shown 2 of my golden retrievers in obedience, but have always thought a dobie would make a wonderful addition to my family and maybe I'd get back to the obedience ring just for fun.
Beautiful.
Glad you're enjoying the bike! (Still hope you're being careful).S

Sarah, I think you will REALLY enjoy the Doberman breed. All the adjectives you mentioned are absolutely TRUE... not that I'm biased or anything! LOL!

Good dobbie breeders can be hard to find. Adopting one from a shelter or a Doberman Rescue organization can be both rewarding and challenging. Don't ask me how I know this! :-) You might also be able to find one through your line of work.

As far as the bike goes, CAREFUL is now my middle name. When I was in the market for a mountain bike, I noticed that most of the sales people (mostly young adults) would talk about wiping out or going over the handle bars like it was a fun/frequent event or a given. Fortunately though, I have not bonded with any boulders or trees.... YET!