It’s a rare day at MCSA when something amazing doesn’t happen.
For me, however, today will be more memorable than most days. Ray Verbraak of Verbraak Welding in Bettendorf arrived to install the four custom-made bike racks he built for MCSA. The wracks were purchased with a generous donation from the Melon City Bike Club and other private donations. But as is sometimes the case, once Verbraak started to hang them up on the Fourth Street side of the MCSA building, we discovered the fourth one wouldn’t fit where we had planned to put all of them. After a couple of quick huddles and conversations with Pam Collins, the director at Musser Public Library, we agreed to put the fourth rack there.
Ray Verbraak
A number of residents in the MCSA Men’s Dorms use bikes in nice weather as their primary mode of transportation. Because of that, we anticipate they will use most of the nine hooks now installed on the MCSA building. But all four of the racks are meant to be used by anyone who bikes downtown and needs a place to park. Combined, the four racks have spaces for 12 bikes. The bikes can be securely locked on to each rack. For what it’s worth, I would expect Greg Harper of Harper’s Cycling & Fitness to sometimes ride to church on Sunday and park his bike on one of these racks. And I won’t be surprised if the rack installed at the library is used more than the other three combined.
For this afternoon, I parked one of my bikes at the library so people could see how the new racks are used. Getting them today is exciting news, if you ask me.
For several years, several of my biking friends and I have been making an annual trip each fall on the Great River Trail from Rock Island, Ill., to Savanna. On these trips, we usually stop at It’s On The River in Port Byron, Ill., which is where we first saw and used Verbraak’s bike racks. It’s exciting to finally have something like them in Muscatine. And just in time for biking season.
When asked why he rides a bicycle, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen G. Breyer is reported to have said: The advantages? Exercise, no parking problems, gas prices, it’s fun. An automobile is expensive. You have to find a place to park and it’s not fun. So why not ride a bicycle? I recommend it.
Stephen Breyer
Breyer, 74, was appointed in 1994 by President Bill Clinton and is generally regarded as one of the High Court’s liberals. So maybe that’s why he is an advocate for bicycling.
But I’m not into politics today. I only point out Breyer’s position on bicycling to raise awareness for 30 Days of Biking. Now in its fourth year, the organizers say the only rule for 30 Days of Biking is to bike somewhere every day for 30 days — around the block, 20 miles to work, whatever suits you — and then share your adventures online.
To be honest, I wimped out and didn’t ride Monday night because it was kinda cold. And I don’t know if I’ll make it today. But I am planning to ride Wednesday.
This phone booth in New Boston, Ill., came in handy Sunday at the end of a 20-mile windy ride from Muscatine. Of course the picture was taken with an iPhone, which has helped make phone booths obsolete.
After awhile, these blog posts tend to take on the feel of public journal entries. And I’m OK with that, because a lot happens in my life that I don’t write about here.
Such has been the case in the past few days. Friends and others have said things — sometimes just simple offhanded comments — that have really made me think. In fact, I’m not sure I’ve processed it all yet, but it ought to make for some interesting blogging if — and when — I figure it all out.
In the meantime, Dear Diary, it’s time to catch up on the simpler stuff.
A week or so ago, I wrote about some ongoing efforts at self-improvement that included scheduling visits with my doctor and dentist. Well, I’m supposed to meet with Nate Olson, my new dentist, on May 28, unless he can get me in sooner.
But I met Friday with Dr. Mike Maharry, who, for the purposes of full disclosure, is a Facebook friend and reader of this blog. Over the past few years, I’ve come to think of Mike as a friend — Facebook or otherwise. It made for an interesting and, I thought, pretty honest visit. (For what it’s worth, it gives me confidence for the dental appointment because Nate is someone else I’ve come to regard as a friend.)
But let me get to the point: I was worried mainly about my blood pressure and other issues I thought might be related. On Friday anyway, my BP was 134/90, which, maybe isn’t the greatest, but it could have been worse, too. According to the doctor, it wasn’t bad enough to put me on BP medication. At least not for now.
Instead he:
Told me to regard sodium as my enemy and said I should — for starters — try to lose 5 percent of my body weight.
As I mentioned, he sometimes reads this blog, so he said: “I know you’re a reader. You might benefit from reading this.”
It’s too soon to tell, but so far I think the book teaches a valuable lesson — one I’d have to agree with May is astonishingly simple, but definitely isn’t easy.
I’ll keep you posted, Dear Diary.
More follow-ups: Nearly two months ago, I blogged about my goal to start lifting heavier weights at the Muscatine Community Y. Then, I farted around for the better part of a month before I got serious. But in the past month, I’ve been a regular. And Saturday, I did the same workout I did on March 12, when I really started hitting the weights at the Y.
Even I have to admit I’ve made some progress — enough to keep me coming back to the weight room.
This particular workout consists of three sets of five repetitions of the bench press, squats and dead lifts. The total amounts I lifted for each were:
Lift March 30 March 12 % increase
Squats 735 lbs 575 lbs 27.8
Bench press 635 lbs 525 lbs 20.9
Dead lift 675 lbs 450 lbs 50
And that brings me to this …
Saturday, I thought it was pretty cool to lift heavier-for-me weights. I was especially pleased with my efforts in the Muscatine Community Y’s Kevin Garrison Squat Rack and at the dead lifts.
But then came Sunday and my first real outdoor bike ride of the year — a 20-miler to New Boston, Ill., in some challenging 20-25 mph crosswinds. It gives me just a little apprehension to realize RAGBRAI is only 111 days away.
Yikes. Someone, please pass the Icy Hot and the ibuprofen. I’ve got to get ready to ride again and soon.
A sure sign that summer is finally just around the corner. This was taken Friday at The Brew in Muscatine. I didn’t get to ride with them, but I did show up in time to take the photo.
The Greater Muscatine Chamber of Commerce & Industry held its annual meeting Tuesday night.
And I have two observations:
Jon Stetson
Jon Stetson was the best after-dinner speaker I’ve ever seen at this particular banquet. I don’t know how he did the things he did, but I’m very glad he did not call on me to reveal the dark secrets kept hidden inside my bald head.
A table mate teased me about excessive blogging, saying she only reads some of this nonsense because she doesn’t have enough time to read all of it.
For what it’s worth, I didn’t think I had been posting that much stuff here. But my dinner companion is in luck because it may take at least a few days to recover from the disappointment I feel today. And that may mean no more blogging for a while.
Why am I so blue?
Well, I’m a little behind in my reading so I didn’t realize until today that the local newspaper on Tuesday published the photo of Muscatine Mayor DeWayne Hopkins shown here at the upper right. He was pictured with Eugene Newton and Jeanne Pankow.
I thought for sure this picture of, from the right, Pankow, Hopins and some big, dumb guy would be the one to get published.
For me, however, today will be more memorable than most days. Ray Verbraak of Verbraak Welding in Bettendorf arrived to install the four custom-made bike racks he built for MCSA. The wracks were purchased with a generous donation from the Melon City Bike Club and other private donations. But as is sometimes the case, once Verbraak started to hang them up on the Fourth Street side of the MCSA building, we discovered the fourth one wouldn’t fit where we had planned to put all of them. After a couple of quick huddles and conversations with Pam Collins, the director at Musser Public Library, we agreed to put the fourth rack there.
