mr140

what should have been the mr340 was shortened for us by orthopaedic complications - mine. not every goal we set is achievable, not every dream we have comes true, not every problem has to be insurmountable, not everything is understandable. my son, TA, had a t-shirt while swimming that read, "failure - when your best just isn't good enough." i guess i did my best for 18 hours and 140 miles but that was well short of the requisite 340 miles. we finished at 0230 at glasgow, mo. stripbuilder gave us every advantage with a beautiful tandem boat, experience and energy but intense training just wasn't enough for my half of our combined 125 years age. fog, headwinds and rain made for an interesting trip and seeing the many different types of craft and paddlers was exciting. a SUP paddler actually made the distance and was only a few hours behind us into our last checkpoint. although the disappointment was evident, getting into the best shape possible was a definite success. now back to more dreams...

even someone's partner, wilson, made it farther than me...

beauty revisited

everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it. -- confucius
revisiting this trip from davenport south allowed me to see familar landmarks from a past journey. sometimes the trip is easier when we recognize where we are in relationship to the final destination.

river miles

"nature without an effort surpasses art." -- latin proverb
paddling from davenport to muscatine on the mississippi yesterday i met a man paddling a canoe who came from rockford, illinois on the rock river. he was making about 30 miles/day in a plastic rec boat with a "bicycle bugger" tucked in behind him to carry his gear. he had a sign on board that invoked the words peace and God and he told me he was out of money until his disability check arrived on wednesday. he declined my assistance and said he was losing weight on ramen noodles and oatmeal so much lighter than his original 285#. i figure that by louisiana he should be down to playing weight. he doesn't like "gators" or snakes so doubt if he'll get much past arkansas. i felt like huck finn as i paddled down "the mighty" on a beautiful day.

appointed rounds

"we are mothers and fathers. and sons and daughters. who every day go about our lives with duty, honor and pride. and neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night, nor the winds of change, nor a nation challenged, will stay us from the swift completion of our appointed rounds. ever." -- mailman's creed yesterday paddling in the waves of 25 mph winds and stronger gusts on red rock i kept repeating a paraphrased creed for paddlers, " ... the paddler from his/her appointed rounds.

age of gold

"time will run back, and fetch the age of gold." -- john milton, hymn

stripbuilder leaves tomorrow for the NC challenge's 100 mile race. i hope that his 20 yr. younger partner doesn't spoil him for our tandem race as "team geritol". i prefer to refer to our team as "lewis & clark kent". my g'g'grandmother was a clark related to wm. clark so this race has more meaning. now if i could have even a fraction of his fortitude.

a swinging time

revisiting times past with bro took us to the eighth tee at pine knolls.. now if i could just find that slice somewhere in the rough. i've been out of the fairway most of my life i'm afraid. always looking for a challenge.

dark beginnings hopefully end in the light but today's run in the tandem from cordova to the dam and back terminated with wind and chilly dark weather. the two hour trip was a shakedown cruise for stripbuilder's NC challenge friday. 100 miles in less than 24 hours? the kiosk overlooking elk rock is well placed to see what is possible on red rock.

to arrive

i love to travel, but hate to arrive... -- Albert Einstein