Finally Got The Bicycle Out
I ran 5.5 miles a couple nights ago, and yesterday was still feeling pretty sore (probably a little to do with the PT test a day before that) so I decided to take a day off. Then I got to thinking about the fact that I had not yet even been out on my bicycle yet this year.
My mom had borrowed our silver Dodge Neon for a few days because she had hit a deer, so her vehicle was in the shop getting repaired. Then my sister let her borrow her blue Dodge Neon, which is a bit of a nicer Neon than ours. So rather than have my mom drive the silver Neon back up to our house from the farm, I decided I'd ride the 20 miles or so down to the farm on my bicycle, load up the bike into the Neon, and drive the Neon back up here.
Thankfully there was a pretty decent tailwind coming out of the north to help push me along as I headed south towards the farm. The first 12 miles or so I was able to hold about a 25 mph pace, which is a bit ridiculous (normally I run 14 to 18 mph average on my longer rides). The highway I was riding on has very nice long rolling hills, nothing too incredibly steep and long sections of straight level road too.
But, then I turned east for the last 10 miles, and I was getting hit pretty hard by that north crosswind, and the hills on that particular highway are a lot steeper and more difficult. The next 10 miles or so dropped my overall speed back down to a more normal 18.4 mph. I turned onto the gravel road for the last mile, and WTF the county had put down a bunch of crushed white rock instead of gravel... well, needless to say my bike with its skinny tires didn't last long, as 105 psi blew out of my back tire after about a half mile of travel up the road.
Not even 30 seconds later, my mother drives by in the blue Neon, I wave, she waves and honks and keeps going, despite my waving frantically to stop her. I pulled my phone out and called her, asking why she didn't stop??? "Oh, I never even saw you" she said. Uhm, okay, but you honked and waved? I sure hope my mom isn't getting Alzheimer's disease or something haha.
All in all a decent ride, and I do have 2 spare tubes here at the house. I generally just use new tubes, they are about 5 bucks a piece and I don't have to deal with the bullshit of repairing tubes and having it only work about half the time. My overall results from today's ride?
Distance: 22.3 miles
Time: 1:12:26
Average Speed: 18.4 mph
Max Speed: 37.5 mph
Temperature: 83 degrees
Wind: 10 mph (gusting to 15) from the North/Northeast
Listen Here You Dog Faced Pony Soldiers!
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Best Uniform Option = Marine's Pattern?
It is widely acknowledged within the Army, perhaps more so on an informal scale, that the ACU uniform with its digital pattern is a failure. The current deployment uniform, the multicam, is not meant to be an actual long term solution to the problem. So what exactly is the solution? I tend to agree with this opinion piece:
Marine Corpse Has Obligation To Share Pattern
Once again, the Army is shopping for the best possible camouflage pattern for combat soldiers to replace the Universal Camouflage Pattern adopted in 2004.
For more than a year, soldiers in Afghanistan have been wearing MultiCam. But officials say that’s not a long-term solution, which is why they plan to field-test a number of options with the goal of choosing three: one for woodland, one for desert and one for transitional environments.
Among the best options is the uniform worn by Marines, known as MARPAT. Through a series of tests, both scientific and anecdotal, it has stood out for not standing out.
Trouble is, the Marines don’t want to share it.
The Corps has already fought off advances by the Air Force and Navy to adopt MARPAT look-alike patterns. Navy SEALs have a MARPAT-like uniform, but other sailors aren’t allowed to use it, either. This is madness.
I've felt this was the best uniform since my wife wore it during her stint in the Marines. The uniform has no freaking velcro either, but I wouldn't be surprised if the Army is ignorant enough to continue to use velcro in some capacity, despite how poorly the crap performs in the field.
It is widely acknowledged within the Army, perhaps more so on an informal scale, that the ACU uniform with its digital pattern is a failure. The current deployment uniform, the multicam, is not meant to be an actual long term solution to the problem. So what exactly is the solution? I tend to agree with this opinion piece:
Marine Corpse Has Obligation To Share Pattern
Once again, the Army is shopping for the best possible camouflage pattern for combat soldiers to replace the Universal Camouflage Pattern adopted in 2004.
For more than a year, soldiers in Afghanistan have been wearing MultiCam. But officials say that’s not a long-term solution, which is why they plan to field-test a number of options with the goal of choosing three: one for woodland, one for desert and one for transitional environments.
Among the best options is the uniform worn by Marines, known as MARPAT. Through a series of tests, both scientific and anecdotal, it has stood out for not standing out.
Trouble is, the Marines don’t want to share it.
The Corps has already fought off advances by the Air Force and Navy to adopt MARPAT look-alike patterns. Navy SEALs have a MARPAT-like uniform, but other sailors aren’t allowed to use it, either. This is madness.
I've felt this was the best uniform since my wife wore it during her stint in the Marines. The uniform has no freaking velcro either, but I wouldn't be surprised if the Army is ignorant enough to continue to use velcro in some capacity, despite how poorly the crap performs in the field.
Missed It By THAT Much!!!
PT Test completed.
Goals:
80 pushups
90 situps
12:30 2-mile
Outcome?
72 pushups
80 situps
12:25 2-mile
Missed the pushups by ONE... freaking muscle failure as time ran out.
Not overly disappointed, I was so damn tired, well, fatigued for some odd reason, and the humidity during the run was utterly oppressive, the temperature wasn't too bad, but it was hard to breathe that air.
Would still love to do 100 pushups, 100 situps, and a sub 11 two-mile, at some time, but the older I get, as I pointed out in an earlier post, the more unlikely it is that it will happen.
PT Test completed.
Goals:
80 pushups
90 situps
12:30 2-mile
Outcome?
72 pushups
80 situps
12:25 2-mile
Missed the pushups by ONE... freaking muscle failure as time ran out.
Not overly disappointed, I was so damn tired, well, fatigued for some odd reason, and the humidity during the run was utterly oppressive, the temperature wasn't too bad, but it was hard to breathe that air.
Would still love to do 100 pushups, 100 situps, and a sub 11 two-mile, at some time, but the older I get, as I pointed out in an earlier post, the more unlikely it is that it will happen.
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