Sportsmanship in a Pandemic

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Fires are still burning out west, though rain in Washington has dampened things somewhat. Mostly, it's muggier than usual, however and we'll need more rain to put the flames out entirely and clear the air.

In OTHER news, Coronavirus continues. Looking through the archives, I'm reminded that the Coronavirus is, in many ways, simply a rerun of the Spanish Flu pandemic. In a past post, here, I recounted how the Seattle Metropolitans were the first American team to win the Stanley Cup away from the Canadians. In that post, I mentioned that Seattle was going to play Montreal again in 1919, but the Spanish Flu caused the contest to be cancelled. Today, my loyal reader will hear more about that later story. It seems particularly relevant in these days of Coronavirus and the attempts that professional sports teams are making to cope with it. I encourage reading of the newspaper clipping at left, from the April 2, 1919 edition of the Vancouver BC newspaper, "The Province."

As you can see, the series was tied and Montreal gamely wanted to continue against the favored Seattle Metropolitans, but the Montreal team was simply too crippled by the pandemic to continue. Rather than accept the Stanley Cup by default or by beating a Montreal team with players added at the last moment, Seattle supported the result that the series was declared a tie. Somehow, that level of sportsmanship by both teams seems to be in short supply nowadays.

Lest we get too focused on current events, we should remember that the previous epidemic lasted for two years and claimed over 500,000 lives in America alone. History suggests we may be dealing with the Coronavirus for quite some time to come.

Annual Ritual

Last year, on Boxing Day, my post, here, outlined some sadly abandoned blogs. I checked, just to make sure none of them have been resurrected. The only action was that "Let's Go Ride a Bike" is now a domain for sale and Hugh did make a single post back in May about a kid's department store bike.

This year, I'm going to be a little more rigorous. Gone this year are
The Invisible Visible Man - signed out with grace last July. He'll be missed
One Speed Go - John Romeo Alpha seems to have moved on. His sad little monkeys were always amusing and usually useful
Suburban Assault - I think Dick David might be off raising funds somewhere, but we may or may not find out how he did

There's also a problem of a different sort. Anniebikes is still active with her excellent blog, but there's some sort of a problem with "latest post" links. I sent her a comment to that effect, but we're not all blog html experts, so I'm moving the link to her blog to my Other Sites to Visit page. On that page, I deleted Ian Walker's Blog and Two Feet off the Asphalt since neither posted at all in 2017.

America Beats the Canadians for the First Time

From Seattle's MyNorthwest, Proof Seattle Beat the Canadians for the Stanley Cup

If we were talking nowadays, it'd be "America Beats the Canadiens."

It was the year 1917. In Europe, the British Empire was part of the Entente battling the Central Powers. Still, we're talking hockey here, not a ware to end all wars. The NHA, predecessor of the NHL took on challengers each year in defense of the Stanley Cup. No American team had ever beaten the Canadians.

Our Brave Seattle Boys, from Wikipedia

Metropolitan Logo

However, 1917 turned out to be different. You see, the Seattle Metropolitans were the challengers that year. Their team was strong, with five future hall of famers. To make a story even shorter, they beat the Montreal Canadians (now Canadiens) in the Stanley Cup final.

Following the loss to the Americans, the NHA disbanded to become today's NHL. Two years later, when Seattle was to play Montreal for the cup, the Spanish Flu led to its cancellation. It would not be until 1928 that another American team, the New York Rangers, would win the Stanley Cup. To this very day, Seattle has never gotten an NHL team, so our 1917 victory over Montreal is likely to be our last for the forseeable future. Who knows if the NHL is still punishing Seattle for beating Montreal?

Saying "Goodbye" to Old Friends

Today is "Boxing Day." I used to think it was the day after Christmas since you'd put everything back into boxes. Seems, however, that the day has more to do with British class structure than putting stuff away. If you go over to my "other sites to visit" page, you'll notice that there are quite a few "Bike Blogs in Hibernation" links. Well, I'm going to some of these away unless my loyal reader demands otherwise. My criteria for deletion is very simple: No posts in the last full year. Using this criteria, the sites that will be gone include:


Big Oak Bikes - no posts in the last three years
Biking in Dallas - no posts in nearly three years, but you can check on Facebook if you're into Facebook
Carbon Trace - Andy seems to have quietly given up blogging about anything having to do with bikes
CycleDog - Ed's last post was more than three years ago. I miss his posts.
Cycling in Heels - I'm going to add a link to her shop's blog at "Bicycle Belle."
Cycling Unbound - last post was over two years ago. Perhaps Fred found out that sidewalk riding is a losing proposition?
Doohickie - Doohickie, to his credit, said he was leaving the blog more than three years ago. You can find him on Facebook
Hugh's Bicycle Blog - After more than two years, I don't think Hugh's coming back.
Let's Go Ride a Bike - It's been nearly two years since their last post. So long, Dottie and Mr Dottie
Plano Cyclist - I had hope that Justin might resume his posts, but that was over a year ago.
Rat Trap Press - Myles started up again, but he's not posted in over a year, That's more than simple hibernation.

Any thoughts on what I should ADD to the "other sites to visit" page? Or, should I even HAVE an "other sites" page? Inquiring minds want to know!

In any event, those sites will live on via THIS post - until they disappear entirely, as have many other blogs. One that's still fondly remembered was Pedal Talk. Nowadays, there's stuff there, but it isn't in any language I recognize. One might wonder if blogs are simply yet another technology whose day has come - and gone...

Two Fairs

No Big Tex Fire this Year

This year, I was fortunate enough to go to two different state fairs. First, we went to the “Washington State Fair.” In past years, this fair was officially known as the “Western Washington State Fair,” but most often people called it the Puyallup Fair. I’m not sure why they felt it necessary to change the name, but they did. More recently I went to the much larger “State Fair of Texas.” Both fairs are big shindigs, but they differ in many ways as well. Notable for the Texas fair is the presence of “Big Tex.” Despite the clothing logos on his outfit, Big Tex is somewhat a relic of a less commercial and elaborate past of the fair. I think that is part of his appeal. The fair itself seems to largely revolve around the large number of fried food vendors, commercial outlets, and major sponsors. As it turns out, Chevrolet is the official car of this year’s fair and Bud Light is the official beer. This is combined with elaborate show halls that date back to the depression era. Art deco is all around you.



Beer Sponsor at a Family Park in Dallas?

Typical Vendors in a Big Hall

Statue Watches from the Dallas Animal Hall

Still, there ARE other things that harken back to an earlier era. There were cultural dances, such as the Irish dancing my daughter participated in. In addition, if you looked long and hard enough, there were arts and crafts and animal exhibits. I never got the feeling that these were a major fair focus anymore, but they’re there.

Irish Dancers Outside the "Hall of State" at State Fair of Texas

 

Proof there are Arts and Crafts at the Texas State Fair

Texas Farm Humor at State Fair of Texas

The Washington fair, while it’s also gotten FAR more commercial over the years, has a lot more exhibits and displays that are clearly homegrown. I don’t think you’d find a hand-painted poster at the Texas fair warning about danger to your dog’s feet from hot asphalt. Nor would you find the Puyallup Mineral Club talking to passersby about their hobby.

 

Of Course, 87F Would be a Good Mid Morning Temperature around DFW, but THIS Sign was in Puyallup

These Guys Loved Answering Questions and Even Smiled for the Camera

While I think I prefer the smaller Washington Fair over its slicker and far larger Texas cousin. It may well be that we’ll get to go to the Gray’s Harbor County Fair and get to see the organic produce display that was grown by the “Hoquiam High School Grizzlies.”

Cow Milking at the Puyallup Fair (NOT a Competitive Sport!)

Lighthouse Collection on Display in Puyallup. I Saw NO Lighthouses in Dallas

New Mexico Quickly

Looking at Texas From New Mexico. Glenrio's Seen Better Days

Recently, we made a little road trip and spent time in New Mexico on the route. We mostly avoided freeways, except for a stretch where I-40 provides good access to remnants of Historic Route 66. Always a sneaky one, I suggested that we pass through Los Alamos, site of the legendary blog “LosAlamos Bikes.” Unfortunately, thunderstorms were passing through the area and so my wife vetoed the detour.

Back Before the Interstate, You Might Have Stopped Here Before Crossing into New Mexico

Going from Texas, the tour begins with the border town of Glenrio. One might have stopped at a café or purchased gas on the Texas side of the border. The motel closest to the border was seen as the “Last Motel in Texas” if you were looking from the Texas side or as the “First Motel in Texas” if you were standing on the New Mexico side of the border. Apparently, all the gas stations were on the Texas side of the border because Texas gas taxes were lower. On the other hand, all the liquor was on the New Mexico side because it was a “dry” county on the Texas side. I was also somewhat surprised to hear about the “Glenrio Historic District” from the NPS website. One wonders how you have a historic district in an unincorporated town that has two inhabited houses and a dog.

 

San Jon Gas Station's been Long Closed Based on the Size of the Tree

Anyway, in New Mexico as you head west is the little town of San Jon. As you can see, some of these places have been declining for many years. The tree at the gas station was growing out of where they used to have a gas pump mounted. San Jon has held on better than Glenrio, with 300 souls remaining after the freeway bypassed it.

 

Tucumcari's Got Lots of "Still Open" Route 66 Architecture

Further west is “Greater Tucumcari.” Tucumcari was and still is one of the larger towns in eastern New Mexico. It was a rail stop, still is a county seat, and there are lots of “Route 66” sights. Still, the city has visibly declined in the last decade. When we moved to Texas, we stayed at the “Payless Inn.” It was not too wonderful a place, but “Tripadvisor” and “Yelp” and various other sites were not available on the road in those days before smart phones. As you can see, the motel never fulfilled its promise to reinvent itself as the Taaj, and it recently burned to the ground. What’s more, we saw two other buildings in Tucumcari that also burned down.

 

Motel We Stayed at on the Outskirts of Tucumari - It was Bad Then, but Worse Now

We also stopped in Las Vegas. Nope, we weren’t hoping to visit some “History Channel” reality show, but Las Vegas is an underrated place that has a much nicer central plaza than “Sundance Square” in Fort Worth. It has real history, as a(probably of several) place where Kearney proclaimed that New Mexico would henceforth be part of the USA. There used to be a water tower in the plaza where three outlaws were hanged/shot by vigilantes, but I didn't see it, so it is probably gone. It is a mostly well preserved and enjoyable piece of the “old west.” Las Vegas is fairly poor, based on the number of pawn shops and a continuing slow decline in population. For those that aren't really excited about seeing where outlaws got hanged, Las Vegas is also the locale where the motorcyclists met Jack Nicholson in Easy Rider, and it was INVADED in the original Red Dawn movie (I guess New Mexico looks more like Colorado than Colorado)!

 

Plaza Hotel in Las Vegas - Across the Street from the Plaza

Well Maintained Las Vegas Main Drag - with Someone Going Through a Trash Can - Probably NOT a Former Dodge City Gang Member

The “Star” of New Mexico for tourism (at least in summer when there's no skiing at Taos) is Santa Fe. Santa Fe is the capitol of New Mexico and has about twice the population of Olympia in Washington State. For those that are not familiar with its history, it was well established when the Dutch first stepped foot on Manhattan Island and when the Pilgrims came to New England. I found the St Francis railroad crossings to be VERY interesting and worse than Khal portrayed them on his blog. The first time I encountered the distance between the “place to stop” and the actual intersection, we were confused and had a discussion about whether we were properly stopped or if there might be another place to stop that we hadn’t been informed about. Railroad crossings at shallow angles are rare enough that I can’t say I’m totally surprised that people on bikes get whacked or trapped. I imagine motorist collisions are not rare either.

 

Some Crossings Aren't Good for ANY Road (or Trail Users) - Images from Google Maps

 

 

Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi in Santa Fe - it is NOT near St Francis Drive!

We Stayed in a Very Nice Old Motel that Starred in a 1989 Documentary that Still Draws German Tourists

Motoring along further we went through the “four corners” area, saw the majesty of Shiprock (and the little town named same, and enjoyed the beauty of southeastern Utah and southwestern Colorado.

Shiprock in Northwestern New Mexico

 

Out of New Mexico and into Utah

 

Shameless Plug



The Family's Youngest, in a Tree Well at Stevens Pass, Washington. "The Pouty Skiier"

Mostly I write about cycling topics on this blog, but today I digress for a shameless plug. You see, a major family milestone was reached last week. Our baby graduated from Colleyville Heritage High School. I saw tears in my wife's eyes. Me too. Kudos to one we called "The Pouty Skier."


Three Sisters. The Youngest Just Graduated

YOU GO, GIRL!

The High Schooler Learns How to Pass Cyclists - "Make FULL Lane Change When It's SAFE!"
I Believe That Lesson Sunk Home and Will be With Her FOREVER

CHHS Drum Major

Graduates File In

TCS ATP and More

John Romeo recently made a post about what he called "Total Cycling Support" versus "As Traffic Permits." IMO, it was a thought-provoking and important post. Go read it if you haven't already. Clearly, based on THIS post, it provoked some thought at this locale. After consideration, I'll toss out the notion that, in reality, it isn't really one versus another. For TCS, simply look here. We might debate the relative importance of various elements under various circumstances. But I think we really pretty much agree. JRA noted the Netherlands as an example. I think the Dutch would mostly agree with the LAB link. Indeed, I just saw an interesting post about the role of education in Dutch cycling, here. TCS consists of many elements.

As for ATP, my own position was, perhaps, cited here or here. However, when you are out on your bike, on a road that you might prefer not to be on, what ARE you going to do? On such a day, the "IF" choice may be irrelevant as you look at that busy highway you HAVE to cross in order to get home. It matters little whether you prefer something else. Starkly, you either ride as safely and well as you can, or you find some way to slink home. Perhaps, if you are not unusually determined, you never ride again and, instead, commiserate with your fellow motorists about how dangerous things are. Yeah, I wouldn't mind if things were better for cyclists. But they're not. At least not today. Not in the good ol' USA. While I think cycling is fun and safe, I also don't think my knowledge is likely to become anything more than a "fringe" opinion. Certainly not in the near future.

And THAT is the fundamental difference between our blogs. JRA, in his blog, makes excursions into the world that never was and says; "why not." I, in my blog, more often stick to the world that is, and ask; "how." IMO, we need both. Perhaps the "how is less inspired than the exposition of how things SHOULD be and MIGHT become. Perhaps the focus on "how" is the curse of the engineer. On the other hand, where would the crew of Apollo 13 be without the engineers who solved the problem of surviving an explosion in deep space?

In the world, we need both dreams AND pragmatism.

For the first, I'll refer you to a speech, made on my birthday, by John Kennedy at Rice University. He epitomized the dream. Without the dream, we would never have made the attempt.

John Kennedy Expresses a Dream

For the second, I'll refer you to a desperate attempt to save the lives of men sent to the moon in fulfillment of that dream. Without that engineering, those brave men would have died.

Engineers Brought the Astronauts Back from the Brink of Death

In reality, the human race needs both elements. TCS is a vision of what we might wish and work for. ATP gives us a way to get back home - today. The choice, in my opinion, is not whether to favor one or the other. The choice is to use the other while achieving the dream.

Deja Vu Sorta

New Gas Station Along the Old Route
Cheap Coffee and Hot Dogs for Cyclists

They say you can't go home again. In some ways you can't go to work again. Well, at least if you go to where you USED to work, it just isn't the same. Not exactly, anyway.

Since mid November, as reported in this post, I haven't commuted to Fort Worth Alliance Airport any more - until today. It was Deja Vu All Over Again, and then it wasn't.

For those who don't know the particulars, I regularly made the 40-mile roundtrip commute from home to Alliance Airport from April 2009 through Remembrance Day of 2010. During that time, I put the better part of 6000 miles on Buddy, more miles on other bikes, and I and learned a lot about how a transportational cyclist can successfully operate in a vehicular manner over all types of roads in all weather and lighting. Every day. My v3 commute, by comparison, is about 7 miles each way. The difference is a lot more than just the mileage, as I was reminded today. I did the old commute again because I needed to take care of some administrative stuff with my engineers at Alliance, and I expected it would take pretty much the whole day. I looked forward to deja vu on the old commute with a little trepedation mixed in. It'd be fun, but sometimes reliving old experiences reminds us of what we didn't enjoy rather than our memories that grow fonder with the passing of time.

It all started out real familiar. I rolled out of bed about 45 minutes earlier than my new commute, and was ready to depart in plenty of time. Other than having to remember not to make an early LEFT turn, it all seemed familiar. In fact, it was SO familiar that the main difference I noticed was that the mighty P7 light eliminated any past questions about whether the video traffic signals would recognize the forward progress needs of the commute cyclist. I must say I highly recommend a bright, steady headlight to trigger those video-triggered traffic lights. In fact, I triggered them easier than my motorists along the route. About the only other differences on the way to work in were my thoughts - about 1/3 of the way to work, the thought hit me that if I were making my new commute, I'd be at work. About 2/3 of the way to work, the thought hit me that if I were making my new commute in the worst weather in recent memory, I'd be at work. Still, the ride itself seemed just like it used to be in the predawn darkness. When the sun peeked over the horizon, I was nearly at work and simply noticed a few more new houses in the developments close to the Alliance Gateway Freeway. It was as sweet as ever to head up the last stretch, and then finally move into the left turn lane to turn into the parking lot.

Then, I brought the bike inside and started to notice not everything had remained unchanged. I experienced Obamacare first-hand when I encountered our former shower that was now locked, thanks to the "nursing mother" provision. Then I found that the cafeteria doesn't have chorizo for omelets any more and they'd changed cooks. What's more, there was no green salsa. Well, none of those were strictly commute related, and there is another shower in the building. It was fun to see people who KNEW I was there because "Steve's bike is here" in the office I was borrowing. Still, Alliance seemed a little less legendary. The larger differences became apparent on the way home. Homeward bound is the real test anyway more often than not.

The first big difference was that, in contrast to early November, the trees looked dead. My daughter, Abbey A, really was the first of our family to observe that it looks really DEAD in Texas in winter.The grass looked dead too. It's Texas winter. No more color for these cowboys and cowgirls until the weather warms up seriously. Somehow, I didn't notice that change nearly so much on my new commute, but seeing dead-looking trees again that were full of leaves the last time I'd seen them made an impact that hadn't been apparent in the morning darkness.

Color or B&W, the Scenes Look Pretty Much the Same. Even the Grass is Beige

Gratuitous Bike Shot to Provide a Little Color

Then, as I rode along, I noticed that pockets of snow remain from last week's ice and snow event. We may not be in the snow belt, but even Texas still has some, and more is expected tomorrow. Maybe quite a bit more. We shall see. More things one didn't notice in the predawn ride in to work. There certainly was none of this stuff around last November.

Snow on a Roof in Keller, Texas

Snow Remnants in a Yard in Keller, Texas

On a more serious note, there were still remants of the gravel and sand used to provide traction near the intersections. In the predawn darkness, a cyclist could easily go down if he weren't in the habit of riding in "the line of sweetness." As it was, the sand made a lot bigger impression on me when I could actually contemplate it at the leisure of a red light. This CAN'T be good for the drivetrain!

Note all the Sand at the Intersection Approach. I Can't Remember WHY I Appear to be in the Right Wheel Track. I Usually Approach this Light
From the Right Side of the Left Wheel Track. It May Have Been the Other Photos I Took That Led Me Astray
You Don't Notice This Stuff So Much in the Morning Darkness when the Mighty P7 Makes all the Lights Change



One thing that also was different was seeing a coyote on the way home, only about four blocks from Colleyville City Hall. I've often seen coyotes on the way to Fort Worth Alliance Airport, but usually fleetingly and in the dark or dawn. This was the first time I've EVER seen one in the late afternoon in a fairly mature neighborhood. Remember y'all, keep your cats indoors! Those coyotes are more hungry than usual this time of year.

Colleyville Coyote. This is the First One I've Actually Gotten in Pixels. He Doesn't Look too Fat to Me
A Coyote in an Urban Setting at 5:30PM Suggests These Guys are Extra Hungry



There were also differences in ME. For one thing, influenced by my new commute, I wore work pants for the commute. They worked well in the 30F morning ride, as well as for the 50F evening return. High vis cuffs finished off the look and kept wind from blowing up my leg as they kept my pants away from the chain. Simple and effective - and they keep the "High Vis Police" at bay. Sorta.

Work Pants Work Well for a 20-Mile Winter Commute

What's in a Man's Purse?

Buddy was pretty much the same. About the only change from the "good old days" was the addition of the MIGHTY P7. I was very careful since it's only got three hours on the high setting and I like to charge it on the weekends. Still, there WAS time to stop for coffee on the way home. Asked where I'd been recently, I noted I'd been transferred to Hurst, but I got to to to Alliance for the day. Those baristas have memories like elephants!

Buddy and the Mighty P7, Reclining at a Store of a Major Coffee Chain I Have Neglected Recently

The final change was on the very last leg home. How THOUGHTFUL of Colleyville to add a "cyclist potty stop" at the locale where construction might cause some cyclist delay. I really hadn't noticed the added cycling facility on the way in to work.

However, in all seriousness, I think the new v3 commute has softened  me a bit. I certainly encounter a lot less motorists on narrow, two-lane roads than formerly, and there aren't any high-speed, divided roads on my new commute that compare to the Alliance Gateway Freeway. The combination of the longer distance and the tough (in spots) roads, sharpened my skills and my awareness of developing traffic situations in a way no other method could have done. I deeply appreciate those lessons, but, in some ways, you really can't go to work again - unless it's more than just for a day. I'm also thankful that I didn't complete LCI training when this was my regular route. Even as it was, there were a few moments when I felt like I represented the bike-ed version of the "Provisional Wing of the Irish Republican Army." A little softening isn't necessarily bad...

I Don't Think the "Turn Around Don't Drown" Sign Refers to the Portapotty...

Missing Halloween

Someone was Actually ON the "Safe Routes to School" Pathway Today

CycleDog got me thinking about the demise of Halloween. When I was growing up, legions of us went all over the neighborhood, trick or treating, and there was none of this nonsense about demonic influences, or the inclination of local churches to divert us with so-called "Harvest Festival" shenanigans. Times have changed. Some municipalities have actually made it illegal for anyone over 12 to go trick or treating.

Why do Churches Insist on a "Harvest Festival" on Halloween? This Field Hasn't Had a Harvest in Years

Now, the local large church has a "Harvest Festival," complete with amusement rides. I guess they figure the kids won't go to the devil if they're busy riding the "Cobra." Somehow, I think the devil is not so easily diverted.

The Romanian Orthodox Church takes a sensible approach. They just have a big party, complete with a tent and Romanian flags. I could go for that if I were inclined towards the Orthodox creed.

The Romanian Orthodox Church Simply Has a Feat!

 Anyway, after bemoaning the loss of Halloween, I took a gratuitous bike shot. It was really nice out.

Gratuitous Photo of Frankenbike. Kermit Looks Pleased.

 Coming home, there are some faint echoes of Halloween, with lawn displays. They just seem to lack some of the old scariness, however.

Echoes of Halloween Past at this House. I had to Take this Photo Before the HOA Came Down on Them!

 In closing, I have no idea who owns this bike. It looks better in the photo than it does close up.

And There was Even a Bike at Rest