Moving On

The original purpose behind The Fourteen Percent Ride has long since been fulfilled. So, I've decided that Mighty Proud will be the last posting. It just seems right.

But, don't worry. Or maybe you should. In any event, I plan to continue. I'll keep riding. And writing. Click here to come along in my new blog ~ The Long White Line. <-- check it out!

Thanks

As I've ridden for the last two years, I've picked up on the fact that Shirley, my darling wife, has been more worried about my safety than impressed with my "accomplishments." How do I know this? Well, when I'd come back and tell her, for example, that I'd hit 53.6 mph going down FO, she'd reply, "I don't want to hear it." Being the sensitive sort I figured out, after many such comments, that just maybe we were not on the same page here. But last week, she told me that she would "greatly reduce her focus on the 'fear for my safety' issue." We talked about the tour, looked at some maps, researched nutrition suggestions on the internet, and so on, just enjoying the idea of the ride. How nice is that? Thank you, Shirley!

Thursday, May 31, 2007

Mystery

When I was young, my family visited a Mystery Spot in St. Augustine, Florida. Does this ring a bell with any of you? Anyway, the Mystery Spot is a “gravitational anomaly,” a place where water runs uphill and you can sit on the wall; cool stuff like that. I was impressed with the visit to the Florida site and wondered, “How is all this possible?” A little research showed that there are some very logical explanations. Consider this, taken from the web site of the Santa Cruz, California Mystery Spot:

“Some speculate that cones of metal were secretly brought by aliens and buried here to serve as guidance systems for their spacecraft. Some think that it is, in fact, the spacecraft itself buried deep within the ground.”

That was pretty much what I’d been thinking myself. Further exploration into the phenomena revealed that there are a whopping 31 Mystery Spots in the United States. California and Texas are tied for the most “spots” at 3 each. Texas because it is so large, although there are none reported yet in Alaska, and California because, well, it’s California. There is one cited in Wisconsin – called the Wonder Spot in Lake Delton – but it reportedly closed in 2006. I guess the aliens came and took their stuff.

I’m sure by now you are wondering what all of this has to do with biking, right? Well I am here to tell you that I think Wisconsin can rightly claim at least a tie with California and Texas for the most mystery spots, because I personally have discovered three during rides right here in the Coulee Region. Gliding down a nice descent on County Y, near the earthen dam mentioned in the May 28 post, the steep down-grade looked to ease up just a bit. As I coasted along, I noticed I was slowing down at a rapid rate, so I began to pedal. And I really had to push to keep the bike going, pedaling and going slower. But I looked at the road and it was still going downhill. I’m sure of it. A mystery. There are spots like this in the lower part of the descent down County K going towards the Mississippi and just before beginning the climb on County M. Downhill grades according to the eyes, but requiring some vigorous pedaling to keep from actually going backwards. Real mystery spots. Keep a weather eye out; I think the aliens will be coming in force any day now.

Needing to devote considerable time and mental energy to this research, I did not ride today.

Total ~ 1674.0 miles

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