The Maxson Homepage on the WWW
Here is a flyer for something I decided to do last night. I hope you will decide to support me in this. I hope to have an online domation option up soon. I'll also add 1/2 size flyers you can download and use as buletin inserts.
If you have any questions, e-mail me at mjncj (at) maxsons.org.
If you want to download a PDF Brochure for the 2006 Mission Century, follow the link.
Yes! This is the first time I know that I have done over 100 miles in a calendar week. 125.3 to be exact. It's even more if you look at the past 7 days (that would be 167!).
If you are looking for a way to get in shape and enjoy the outdoors, bike riding is it! You may start off slow, or not feel like riding at the start, but keep going. After 4 or 5 miles you will really be into it!
Oh, Sorry for the lack of tour updates….I've been busy and haven't had much time to write about it (I haven't even got to watch that much the last part of this week). I'll try to post some updates today possibly.
For those of you who spend any time at Maxsons.org, you are familiar with our enthusiasm for the "Tour"…
OLN (Outdoor Life Network) airs it and Matt pointed out this AM that an ad across the bottom of the screen, which I thought was for a new fall show, was actually pointing out the network's future name! In September, OLN will become VS. (Versus), ostensibly to better reflect the bold, competitive spirit of their programming. Maybe it's the pregnancy hormones, but VS. sounds like a pretty silly new name and I was peeved enough about it that I actually emailed OLN this morning to inform them of my disappointment. I'd include the content of that message, but it seems to have gotten lost in cyberspace:) Suffice it to say, I know my opinion will be disregarded, but I wanted them to know that at least one viewer appreciates OLN more for content than for some gimmicky new name. And OLN certainly rolls off the tongue more fluidly. Hopefully, this "out with the old" trend will limit itself to the name and not extend to major programming changes. I'd hate to see a once-fine network wallowing in 24/7 Survivor reruns or add American Gladiator-style nonsense in an ill-thought and unnecessary attempt to spice things up! I may not be a huge fan of hunting, fishing, sailing, bull-riding, billiards, lumberjacking, etc…but I'd rather see honest competition ANY DAY over manipulative, brain cell-killing junk like Dog Eat Dog and the like!!
By the way, today was a little rough sickness-wise, but I'm hanging in there!!
For those of you not living with a cycling enthusiast, Bob Roll is an American commentator for OLN's Tour de France (or as Bob says "tour day france") coverage. He raced in the tour several years ago and we first saw him when we started watching the tour 2 or 3 years ago. He's always funny and is part of what makes watching the tour such a great experience! Before today's coverage of Stage 3, the commentators were discussing the Hinault-LeMond controversy of 1986. Hinault was a French rider who had won 5 times and LeMond (an American) was a teammate who had raced with him for years and was ready to go for the win. After his 5th win, Hinault apparently promised LeMond that he would help him go for it the next year, but when he came into the '86 Tour in great shape, he changed his tune. So LeMond was ticked and looking for sympathy among his fellow American riders. When asked if he remembered the controversy, Bob related that LeMond would fall back in the Peleton hoping to commiserate…but he'd have to fall way back 'cause they were all at the back barely hanging on. Bob had his hands up and his tongue hanging out and said they were all like animals grunting and groaning in the back and LeMond would find them wanting to discuss the situation and they couldn't even talk!!
You'd have to see Bob to really appreciate the moment, but it's so worth finding OLN and checking him out if you get a chance:)
Well…it's another HOT and HUMID day here in Richmond. All I can say is that I am sooo thankful the baby isn't due til winter! I cannot imagine being 3rd trimester during summer in the south!! As for 1st trimester, I'm hanging in there. Last week was good sickness-wise and I was continuing to feel well until yesterday, when I felt pretty terrible most of the day. This morning was rough too, but after taking it easy for a while, this afternoon has been okay. Matt and I got to enjoy a late lunch at an awesome chinese buffet in town and I just stuck with basic stuff like chicken/shrimp with broccoli. My big splurge was crab rangoon…which is my absolute favorite! So far I still feel good, and I'm hopeful that will continue to be the case throughout the evening :^)
I've been pretty tired lately, but part of that is the result of working 6-day weeks with little kids for the last 2 weeks. I'm looking forward to next week, when I'll start a few weeks of down-time. I love what I do, but I'm ready to catch up on my rest and do some "baby" reading.
As for the rest of our 4th… we had a nice time exploring the bookstore and walking around the mall. I even ducked into Motherhood Maternity to check things out. It looks like they may have good sale racks, so I'm sure I'll have to investigate further in coming months. It was good to get out, but it's nice to be home where we can spend the rest of the evening relaxing with the Tour de France! Matt sure will be disappointed if "Little One" doesn't like cycling!!
I just got done watching OLNs live coverage of the 2006 Tour de France. There were two wrecks (I saw one and missed the other) where guys broke collar bones. The second appeared to be caused when one or more riders in the peleton twitched and was hit by others.
Here are some news stories about Stage 3 of the 2006 TDF:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/other_sports/cycling/5146492.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/other_sports/cycling/5144480.stm
At the end of today's stage Matthias Kessler sprinted out and ended up and won the stage. I was rooting for him the whole way to the line. For those who don't know, in yesterday's tour, Kessler got out in front, put in a good effort, but got caught by the peleton. I was bummed….he put out a good effort and didn't get the stage win. OLN mentioned that Kessler later said he felt robbed. I would to.
Those of you out there who like paper models may find this interesting:
I had today off work (it's the 4th of July) so I decided to start off with a ride. I had an idea of where I wanted to go, so I surfed to maps.google.com to map a route. I then went over to google pedometer and planned this route.
One thing I noticed was the lack of a road on the google pedometer. Interesting….they use the same data….
Notice the road on the google maps map and the lack of the road from google pedometer:
I decided that the google maps map must be right so I went on my ride. When I got there, sure enough….there was road. I went ahead and took it. However, it turned out that Capital One has a gate across the road shortly after you cross 288. ARG! Now, I didn't know where to go. I didn't have a map and only knew where I wanted to end up.
I turned around and rode out the other end of West Gate and out rt 6 for a while till I got to River Road. Here is a link to the real route I rode on 4 July 2006. It was still over 30 miles, soI was happy.
BTW, if you ever want a fairly nice ride in the Richmond area, River Rd is it. There wasn't much traffic and the route was fairly nice. On top of that, there were some nice church looking church buildings out that way.
If you want to see the details of my ride, look at my July 2006 Bike Stats.
I'm watching OLN's coverage of the 2006 Tour de France this evening. I'm sure everyone has heard the outcome already. I found a link with results, etc… on it. Fairly good read:
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.bicycles.racing/browse_thread/thread/be981dccd25568f2
Today at work, I tried to follow the Tour live (at www.letour.fr). It went ok, but I didn't check it very often so I missed some things. If you can check it ever 10-15 min, it makes a fairly unique way to stay up with the race. They have a neat graphic that shows you the current position of the riders, what is left, and what left.
Tomorrow, I plan to get up and go out on a bike ride. I should be back before the 11am finish of the race. I should have some more to post.
Oh, if you haven't seen it yet, make sure you watch the last 5-10 min of the race. There was a big wreck inside the 3 km mark.