Pine Lily (Lilium catesbaei)

As usual, I am back on my bike! Today was another road ride on the Gainesville/Hawthorne Trail & surrounding areas (80 miles). I started early, but so did the storms. So when the thunderstorm moved in on the trail, I took my favorite detour down towards Cross Creek & Micanopy. Along 325 I saw some beautiful wildflowers, including pine lilies, fringe orchids, meadow beauties & St. John’s wort. I was in a really blissful mood when I crossed the River Styx & not fully prepared for what lay ahead on the other side. Not too far past the bridge, I noticed a pack of black vultures. I looked to the side as I passed & noticed a strange site of a deer carcass hanging from a barbed wire fence. Basically one leg & half the abdomen was left. I quickly realized that the deer had gotten its leg caught in the fence when jumping over & likely experienced a long slow agonizing death by the side of the road.

I realized a similarity between the beautiful wildflowers & the deer’s suffering. Both were caused by human alterations associated with the road I was using for my ride. The wildflowers were in the cleared swale along the road (I’m sure they were also in the adjacent pinelands, but I did not take the time to find them there) & the deer was caught up in the fence necessitated by the road (to keep the farm animals from being run over). Reality set in & I began reflecting on human impacts. I thought of my need for roads to enjoy my biking (whether it be driving to mountain bike or having pavement available to ride from home). Roads cause much death of both humans & critters. In thinking of human impacts I realize that even this blog I write comes at the expensive of energy used to create my computer, camera & power the servers, not to mention the human suffering created by the mining of precious metals in this Macbook & my camera.

So these are not new thoughts to me & I am still enjoying my ride. However, I am reminded that I live in a world that is out of balance & I am very much a part of that world, even when on a weekend bike ride. I think of my Social Work career and the good people I get to work with who get labelled as mentally ill. But in a world so out of balance with what it means to be human, who is mentally ill? While I believe that we all need to find happiness & relief from suffering, perhaps those of us who can tolerate a society that chooses to find all our happiness in external pleasures are the truly insane? Who are we to judge others? I certainly have not known the suffering caused by race or gender discrimination. I did not suffer an abusive childhood. The only real suffering I know is the knowledge that we live in a world where we do not love each other. I am reminded of what Pat Korb would always say “everyone has perfectly good reasons for being exactly the way they are”. I find whenever I take the time to listen rather than judge, this always turns out to be true.

So yes, a pleasant bike ride combined with endorphins does lead me into deep thought (I often wish I could write while I ride). Before getting home, I had one more reminder of reality. I stopped in the southeast neighborhood I cut through to get to the trail, in order to put away my Ipod Shuffle (usually I do this at the end of the trail, but I wanted to hear the end of a Neil Young song I like). While stopped, a young black teenager on a bike carrying a 6 foot piece of rebar approached & said “Get out My Hood!” then he turned around. I said something stupid like “I’m just passing through, Brother” I was fully expecting to hear “You aren’t my Brother” but he just repeated “Get out My Hood” as he road off. So again, I am reminded of how out of balance our world is. I appreciate him for reminding me that I can’t blissfully bike through life without also acknowledging the suffering caused by our current reality.

It is difficult sometimes to live in this world with awareness! It seems so obvious to me that if we can just let go of our endless capitalist pursuits of external happiness & get back to the reality of being human & finding our happiness within, then the world would be such a nicer place! All we really need to do is be authentic to ourselves! Yes, I am far from perfect. I have been trying to make a difference, to let go of much of what I have learned & to find true meaning in life. I know there is never going to be a perfect world, nor should there be. I also know that I can do my best to authentically be myself & that will make a difference.

As I finish my ride I realize that I am thankful for all of us who are trying to find meaning and authenticity in a world that seems to have lost the courage to be real!

New Lumix FH20 & Pelican Case

So a new treat for my massive blog reading audience is that I bought a new camera (Lumix FH20)! It is much more compact than my Canon, but still has nice Macro features & 8x optical zoom. I bought a small Pelican case, so I can carry it in my Camel Back, without worries of rain or other damage! So now I can share more of my outdoor biking adventures!

I started Saturday’s road bike ride with a fairly early start (for me) around 8:30 am. After several broken spokes, I recently bought new wheels for my road bike! My plan was for a 76 mile ride, that included going to Hawthorne twice & taking the loop down by Cross Creek and Micanopy. I started off strong, made it to Hawthorne, turned south to Cross Creek, then right to Micanopy.

I decided to take some pictures of the River Styx crossing & was delighted to see 2 airboats starting up right as I went to the bridge. Quite a disturbance to serenity (I took a movie of there departure that I may post later). When I got back to my bike, I found the front tire was flat. This is kind of middle of nowhere. It is 3-4 miles to Micanopy & 19 miles from home. Perhaps no cell phone reception. But I thought, no problem, just patch or replace with a new tube I carry. However, when I got the old tube out & went to pump it up to see if I could find the leak, my pump was not working properly, air seemed to leak out the handle. I mean it started pumping, but then hissed out the handle. So now, I am messing with the pump, wondering if I can walk my bike to Micanopy before the storms set in, thinking who can come rescue me if I do get cell phone reception. However, in messing with the pump, I find it may work, so I go ahead and install my new tube (after feeling inside tire for thorns, glass, etc.). Luckily I am able to get 40-50 lbs. of pressure then head off.

I next decided to go up 441 in case I got another flat as this is slightly quicker & more likely to have cell reception or someone who I can thumb a ride from. It was nice & I stopped to take some photos of Paynes Prairie & a lovely road kill moccasin (I saw 4 during this ride). So I went through a little shower, then made it home after only 49 miles. I went up to 8th Ave Bike Shop & picked up a couple more tubes (also got a nice complementary Peppermint Green Tea!). So you’d think I’d be satisfied, it is getting towards 2pm & I have a party at Bub & Robin’s in Ocala to go to, but my biking obsession takes over & I do another home to Hawthorne ride bringing my total up to 83 miles for the day! That puts me at over 210 miles this week, with only 4 days riding so far!

On Sunday, I got a late afternoon start (4:30 pm after waiting out a few storms) to my mountain bike ride at San Felasco. Did a fairly short 22 mile ride including most the standard hills. Quite humid & sweaty, but not extreme heat due to sporadic clouds. The highlight however was a major chanterelles find (see photos).

So you may not be reading all this anyway, so here are the photos:

The Mountain Cabin with its new metal roof

I am back in hot, hot Gainesville after a 2+ week break in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina! As usually I stayed at the old family cabin just outside of Asheville. I had a wonderful time & a chance to visit with all my parents, sisters, brother’s in laws & every niece & nephew except Maggie (we missed you this year!). My doggies (Hezzie & Heidi) & Mary’s newer family dog, Scout also were there! I had a chance to visit with friends & biked or hiked 13 of the 15 days I was there. As always my loving parents were there providing much support for our whole family in our gatherings and adventures! We shared many meals. I was able to take my sisters, all 4 nephews, niece Liza & the dogs on some of my favorite hikes! I was happy to eat/collect tasty berries & harvested many edible mushrooms.

I went on some really good bike rides (including an Epic 37 mile ride at bent creek, about 6000-8000 foot total elevation climb). I got to go to Camp High Rocks to pick up Joe & Everett after their 4 week stay. My friend Val who was living in Asheville for the last 3 years, moved out of her apartment while I was there & stayed at the cabin for a week prior to moving home to Cocoa Beach. It was really nice to share time with her & reconnect! Also got to visit with P. Wallace, Shaka Paul & Mez. We had a touching ceremony for Cathy’s family dog Eli (aka Endo) who died suddenly this spring. He adapted our family by finding us at the cabin 9 summers ago & we returned his ashes to the mountain.

I am so lucky to have such a wonderful loving family & feel so grateful for the time we can share together! I could go on talking about the meaningful times we shared, but will conclude for now by sharing some photos:

Saved by these water bottles found on Tung Nut Loop!

I did complete my longest ride to date at San Felasco on Saturday (40 miles). I rode in the 12-5p time period. It was hot (94 degrees), but humidity was not too bad. I managed to hit all the hardest trails, several multiple times (including the defibrillator!). I figure I am about ready for the 53-mile Tour De Felasco in January if I can do 40 miles in this heat without stocked rest stops! I was also inspired by new equipment including a 3 liter Camelbak Hawg. I had cold water most of the ride & even had one back up bottle. I did find the insulated water bottle around mile 32 which I used to cool off by pouring over my head! The bottle on the right really saved me as I found it on mile 28 of a 35 mile ride 2 weeks ago when I was out of water, overheated & determined to get my last 7 miles in. I really like the new Camelbak & it has room to carry things on a day hike too. I may use it to try and do an assault I’ve been thinking about on Mt. Mitchell in the next couple weeks when I’m up in Asheville (potentially up to 30 miles & 5000 foot elevation climb, stay tuned!). I also bought lock-on handle grips that worked quite well as between the rain & my sweating, my grips have been continually slipping lately.

My Mickey Mouse tan!

I finished my week with my third 36 mile ride to Hawthorne & back. Just short road rides this week, as my epic days were at San Felasco this week. Still, I managed to keep up my Mickey Mouse tan that has developed from wearing biking gloves most of the time I am in the sun these days (combine that with my farmers tan & it looks more like I have tan sleeves on!). I had planned to ride further, but a storm was approaching, I was run down from yesterday & I had a presentation for work I needed to get to. I did get to see a very beautiful Diamondback Rattle Snake on the trail. It was about 3 feet long in the middle of the trail around mile marker 13. As always, a long stick was handy, so I scooted it off the trail so neither it or anyone else would get hurt. It was pretty calm for a Diamondback & didn’t seem to mind getting moved. I’ve seen about 5 Water Moccasins this season, but this was my first Rattler! I need to get a camera to take on the trails with me!

Grandpa Ward at his 95th Birhtday Party (February 6, 1999)

Ten years ago yesterday my Grandpa died. (click here to see webpage tribute I did at the time) He was my last living Grandparent. As a child I was blessed to be able to share a great amount of time with him. This was back in the day when most children shared time with elders rather than simply being shuffled from one programmed activity to the next.

During my childhood I was fortunate to have 4 elders who shared great wisdom & good times with me. I now realize how much the 4 of them are influential in who I am & almost everything I love about myself! They all showed me unconditional love & accepted me for exactly who I was. My Grandma Lewis was my refuge. She lived around the corner & I would often escape to her home when I needed to. We played cards & she told stories. She encouraged my science education by regularly taking me to the local planetarium & science center and giving me books about science and nature. She was always happy & upbeat. My Grandma Ward was also an amazing story teller. I always looked forward staying over at their house & hearing the bedtime stories she would tell about her childhood growing up in Oakland on Lake Apopka. It is amazing to have that very personal connection to a time when life was so different in Florida (she was born in the 1890s). She was loving, hard working, organized, a great cook, encouraging of achievement, and dedicated to family above all else.

Annie Smith was also a powerful influence in my life. She was a housekeeper for my family from the time I was 11 months old until I was in my mid 30s. She was a Black Woman who grew up working on a farm in Georgia. She had minimal formal education, but had wisdom far beyond any PhD I have ever met. She was there everyday when I came home from school & often cared for us when my parents were on vacation. She loved us like we were her own grands. Later when I moved back home after graduated college with little plan in life I really got to know her as an adult. I was going through all my radical thoughts about how to change the world & felt no idea was worth anything if it did not make sense to Annie. She patiently listened to all my ideas from reading leftist political thought & really helped me filter through to what made sense. I would often come in her house to visit with her family when I gave her a ride home from work. She lived very simply in a rented house in the poor side of Winter Park, FL (sadly now completely gentrified). On her limited income she helped support her children & grands. She was also a woman of strong faith & never allowed any hardship (she experienced quite a bit in her life) shake her faith, good spirit or love. I am so grateful for having the gift of wisdom from and such a personal relationship with someone from such different social and economic circumstances. I credit her with my passion for and empathy skills as a social worker. By her life & actions she showed me how much love & power there was beyond the material world I was being indoctrinated into.

Grandpa Ward was perhaps the most influential male figure in my childhood. My dad was there too and working hard to support our family. To do this, he had to sacrifice much of his time, coming home late from work every day, going to meetings at night & engaging in all the different social events that were necessary for success in his career, so he could provide for his family. I think this is the way roles have often traditionally been in families. Parents busy working hard & grandparents doing much of the child rearing. I think this is a good model as grandparents have so much wisdom to share. Since Grandpa was semi-retired the time I did get to spend with him he was very available to me. He was such a great guy for a boy to share time with. He was an electrical engineer & had a whole workshop full of old tube electronics (loved to play with the oscilloscope!). But he always loved the latest technology too. I remember the solid state Heathkit TVs & Stereos I got to help him build. When computers came out in the late 70s he was an early adapter. As treasurer at church, he quickly transferred finances to the computer long before most business even thought about such things. He also was outside all the time, taking care of his yard & in his work looking after the orange groves owned by the Lake Charm Fruit Company. Horseshoes was also a favorite outside activity at their Winter Park home.

Ward Family Cabin, Swannanoa Mountans, NC

Perhaps I will always most associate him with the mountain cabin and the times I got to stay there with them. While he continued to work with the Lake Charm Fruit Company into his 70s, he was able to get away for the summer, as this was not the active season in the fruit business. So he and Grandma would go up to the family cabin (built by his dad in the 1920s) in May and stay through September every year when I was a child. He would plant a vegetable garden every year and being an old cabin, there was constantly work to be done repairing things & he did it all (I got to help). He did all the plumbing (a mountain spring for water source!). He rewired the entire house (before my time up there). I remember one year the cabin was vandalize & we had to repair many screens and broken glass. Back then there were real hardware stores & I remember going down to what I think was the Biltmore Hardware store & getting all the moldings, having new glass custom cut, buying screen and getting all the other necessary parts & caulking to repair it all. The Grandpa & the old black man who worked there were like best buds as they worked out what we needed (perhaps my best shopping experience ever). Those vandals actually provided for a really meaningful learning experience for me & we promptly had the cabin back in shape. We also spent a lot of time working in the vegetable garden & keeping up the yard (mowing was often one of my main duties). All the while Grandma would be hard at work cooking & keeping the house clean. This was no easy chore as no modern conveniences were at the cabin other than hot water. She kept the place organized immaculate (hard to believe if you see the dusty, mousey current condition). I still find little notes she wrote indicating a missing puzzle piece or missing card in a deck of cards (clearly she was from a time when things were not wasted). She also was often working with vegetables or fruit from the land (she made amazing apple sauce & prepared enough to last well into the winter back in Florida).

Grandpa on the top of Mount Mitchell

Grandpa loved to take me hiking on the mountain property (120 acres). It followed Jim’s Branch on one border & went up to a ridge line. We pretty much blazed trails every time we went up. Sometimes following abandoned logging roads, but often just going through the woods. Always on the lookout for rattlesnakes (though they were mostly around the cabin). We also went on picnics & hikes in the Pisgah Forest. He was quite the hiker & I think he was in his 80s last time we did the 3.5 mile, 2000 foot elevation climb to the top of Looking Glass Rock. I owe my love of nature and inspiration to get my MS in Biology (Wetland Ecology) to him.

He was a kind and patient man. I never remember him saying anything bad about anyone. He loved his family & did everything he could for us. He was the oldest sibling and patriarch of the Ward family. He worked hard his whole life and got much meaning from this. He was self disciplined and never drank alcohol (a couple times in his 80s & 90s he would have a glass of wine at a celebration). I never remembering him telling me what to do and he did not have to, he showed me! All of those experiences are a deep part of me. I was so fortunate to be able to be so close to my Grandpa.

My sister Cathy’s eulogy best describes who my Grandpa was to us (click for link).

When I got news of his death 10 years ago, I was already going through a really hard time. I was actually up at the cabin with some friends trying to get past the fact that my wife was separating from me and was currently moving her stuff out of our house. Already being in loss mode, it took a while to fully take in the fact that he was not physically in my life any more. I knew his health had been declining and was fortunate to get chances to visit with him often before his death. But it was still a shock, as he was always so strong. I miss him and I know he is a part of me!

I now realize just how much wisdom I gained from these experiences with my elders (I have also been fortunate to have many other caring mentors in my life). They came from a time when life was lived fully. A time when people were more authentic and suffering was part of life. Elders were actively part of family, not retired to some distant golf course community. In my social work I get to work with a lot of families that society would label as having limited resources. However, I am constantly amazed at the multi-generational family support. While it is criminal that society often does not provide basic health care for these hard working people, the family support many have offers their greatest resource. I too have been blessed with a loving and supportive family. Even in this disconnected world, I know I can always pick up the phone & call a sister, parent or aunt for support. They were all there for me when I went through divorce! They helped me turn this time of loss into a time of growth. They nurtured my soul and helped support me in following my heart (at the time led to me leaving my wetland biologist job to get a Masters in Social Work). My family continues to support me & provide unconditional love as I continue my path of growth & continual re-creation. They have helped me learn to enjoy the growth process and let go of the focus on goals. I can now be present to my life and be my authentic self.  That is the Meaning of Life! (Monty Python’s fish come to attention:-)

dirty bike from rain spray (the floor could use a cleaning too!)

Somehow I managed to ride 100 miles today! First time I rode that far since the Horrible Hundred back in November ’93 (I think that was the year). I’ve been contemplating a 100 mile ride for a couple weeks, as I have been up to 68 miles on 95 degree days without feeling too bad. Today it was quite nice, mostly cloudy (and some rain) with mid 80s for highs! But I was not thinking I would ride so far since I rode 3 hours off-road at San Felasco yesterday afternoon & only slept a little over 5 hours last night. My ride started with the discovery of a gas tank in the middle of the paved Gainesville-Hawthorne trail. It was right by a sink & had a trail of gasoline flowing across the pavement towards a sink in Paynes Prairie State Park (connected to the aquifer!). I quickly surmised it had fallen off the back of a maintenance vehicle & called Bubba (Rick) who works as a Parks Biologist with his office a quarter mile from this sink. He got right on it! A little further down the trail I ran into the Park maintenance people and told them what I saw. It appears it had slid out of the bed of the guy who blows the trail clear of leaves. The spill could have been prevented if he only took the time to close his tailgate! One of my pet peeves has been the litter that come falling out of the back of pickups, by fools that treat it as a trash can only to have it blow out in the wind when driving (I see this all the time & I imagine you have too). Seeing this disregard for the environment by Florida DEP (stands for Don’t Expect Protection) staff reminded me of the time I got a ticket by FDEP cops for running the stop sign on this trail. That really burned me up. These guys are totally useless at enforcing rules to protect the environment, but yet they give me a $134 ticket for blowing a stop sign, when I clearly looked both ways. Coincidentally I ran into a FDEP cop at a stop sign at mile 32 today and came to a complete stop!

So enough venting at authority. I continued my ride. Hit Hawthorne at mile 18, back to road into park at mile 32 (saw cop). The gas tank was removed (I later found Bubba removed it). I got back to Hawthorne at mile 46 & arrived back  home at mile 64. I did see the guy who spilled the gas spreading sand over it on the way back. So it was looking like rain, but I still had energy (it was actually forecast to rain earlier). I took a little break at home, grabbed some lunch, recharged my ipod shuffle & waited out a storm. The reason I did 64 miles was because I wanted to see how that would go, knowing one more trip to Hawthorne would give me an even 100 miles. I thought I should wait, but the weather did seem to be clearing & it was quite nice weather temperature wise. So I decided to go for it! I was riding surprisingly strong & noticed I felt stronger on the last two thirds of the ride than the first third. Around mile 80 the rain caught up to me. Not too hard, but did make me take off the ipod shuffle I clip to my helmet (music keeps me gong!). I got to Hawthorne the 3rd time at mile 82 & rode the 18 miles back in a bit of a drizzle. The whole ride took a little over 6 hours riding time and I maintained a 16.3 mile per hour average

yesterday's mushroom find (Chanterelles)

speed. I’d like to be faster, but that is OK, especially considering it includes the hills 6 times & 4 times through the 2 mile city stretch with some hills & many stop signs.

So after showering off & giving my sweet doggies some love. I treated myself to dinner made from the mushrooms I collected while biking yesterday. Not the biggest score ever, but adequate for dinner! Usually I go the olive oil & garlic route, but decided to go more Asian tonight. I first sauteed some  sweet Vidalia onions in some sesame oil. I next added some

DINNER!

broccoli, a little organic soy sauce & some rice vinegar. Finally I added the Chanterelles & a splash of Agave Nectar! I know I was hungry, but this had to be one of the best mushroom concoctions ever!

So now Bubba has invited me to join him for another 3 hour ride at San Felasco early tomorrow morning?

Rochelle Historical Marker by BlackDoll Photography (click for link)

I completed what was perhaps the biggest cycling week of my life on Saturday with a 68 mile road ride I call the Triple Rochelle (as I went through there 3 times)! I started about 10am at my home in Gainesville & hopped on the Hawthorne Trail at Waldo Road. I took that 18 miles to Hawthorne (passing Rochelle the first time). From there I turned back and caught SR 325 & 346 to Micanopy, then back up to Rochelle on SR 234 (23 more miles down). From this point a sensible person would head home, happy with a 51 mile ride, especially given that I already rode for the last 6 days straight (72 miles on the road & 100 on off-road trails). However, I did have my first Granola bar recently & was not out of water yet (I could refill in Hawthorne), so I felt I could make it, despite the 94 degree heat. So I headed back towards Hawthorne again. A little over 9 miles later, I am in Hawthorne, questioning my sanity (18 miles from home). Luckily, I am delirious by this point & my Ipod Shuffle is still working. I refill my camel back & practically swim through the humidity & dripping sweat to get back home (passing through Rochelle for the third time). I actually even had some power left to go up the hills at the end!

I made it home, grabbed a shower & went to visit my parents in Winter Park for Fathers Day (that was nice). You’d think I’d be ready for a day off, but I actually made it back to Gainesville in time to go on another 20 mile ride at San Felasco late Sunday afternoon (my butt is soar!). I am finally taking a day off today (Monday) & cooking up a soup made with the Chicken of the Woods mushroom I found while biking yesterday.

I was surprised to be able to ride 8 days in a row & even was going to go today, except the rain, work & other chores got in the way. In the previous 8 days, I had a total of 5 off-road and 3 road rides, for 260 miles (140 road & 120 off-road). Judging by the speed I ride, the off road rides are over twice as hard (I try to focus on the steepest trails at San Felasco), so I’m figuring for me the 8 days of riding was the equivalent of at least 380 road miles! Every ride was at least 2 hours long (most were 3+). The craziest thing was I felt I was getting stronger by the day, whereas previously I thought I needed a day off to recover every 3 days. So obviously I am developing a biking problem! It is helping me lose weight & provides great relaxation for work stress! I hope to go on some century rides in the Fall & maybe even get a spot to ride the Tour De Felasco in January!

(click to enlarge)

There is always a certain amount of reward & punishment to my summer mountain bike rides at San Felasco! The heat & physical exertion are rewarded by the good feeling and outdoor experience. Today there were more dimensions to this juxtaposition. The heat was not too bad as the humidity is down & I did not get going until 5pm. I did still manage to get 21 miles in & focused on toughest trails out there (defibrillator loop & tung nut hills). My first reward was the tasty ripe blackberries about 10 miles into the ride. I discovered the punishment when rinsing off was a infestation of about 30 seed ticks on my left ankle! The second reward was this pair of polarized Arnette sunglasses that somebody lost on the trail. I often find lost treasure along the trail and try to get them back to the owner, often with success. I did find myself wanting to keep this pair, hoping not to find the owner doubling back looking for them. I even questioned if I would give them back if I did run into him/her. I do like polarized sunglasses & these looked nice, though I did not know the brand (but figured might be a little pricey as they are made in Italy!) So I put them in my bag and headed on, but I was experiencing the sin of coveting my neighbor’s sunglasses!

At this point I’m feeling great! So I let it loose going down a long (for Florida), windy, single track. Next thing you know my back wheel slides out left, bike lunges right and boom! I punch a tree (about 4″ dbh) with my fist on the handle bar (braking) and hit it with my shoulder & I’m on the ground. Interesting how much happens in that split second of a wreck. I was probably going around 15 mph, but luckily I was able to brake a little, so my fist took the major blow & the shoulder impact was nothing. Not sure how I ended out on my ass, but no harm on the fall & bike was fine too! Even the scrapes on my knuckles probably could have been avoided if I had new gloves that were not already falling apart at the knuckles. But then again, I might have ripped the new gloves? Anyway, this did seem to be warning against my sins & I resolved to ask anyone I saw if they lost their glasses. As it turned out, I did not find the owner, so I add this to my collection of road/trail finds (I do lose things too)! I can certainly use a decent pair of sunglasses as I am too cheap to buy a nice pair of glasses that I know I will lose (the $10 Walgreens polarized glasses work, but are nothing to write about!) I also know that tomorrow about 30 little bumps will pop up on my ankle to itch for the next week, but those blackberries were worth it too!