Full moon, fully appreciated.

October moon, 6 AM. 

Lights required for the commuter bike. 

Popeye rode his bike either to or from work all last week.  Some days both. 

Thursday, he rode to work, rode to the ride after work, rode the ride, hitched a ride, and rode back to work in the morning.  All completely in darkness.

Overachiever.

If last night's full moon ride were a hash, he would have done some down-downs for that. 

But it wasn't a hash.  It was just another awesome night ride.

Under a full moon.

A full moon at apogee.  The farthest point from earth this year.  Appearing 12% smaller than the "super moon" last March.

Crossing NASA Blvd.

Left to right: 

full moon,

reflective 35mph sign,

Semi photographing moon and reflective 35 mph sign. 

But don't let the apogee part fool you.  It was the brightest moon we've seen in a while.  Because finally, it appears to have cleared up and stopped all the incessent raining.

I was sure the woods, especially the airport trails, would be under water.  But they were dry, fast, and fantastic.  If a bit spidery.

We get hung up a few times, swiping the larger webs out of the way. 

Wolf spiders are reported to be able to move 2 feet per second.  That must be an average.  Semi, our fearless leader, runs into a real track star.  When the flash goes off, this one rises twenty feet straight up, almost before we can blink.  Leaving behind his five foot web for us to sever out of the way.  

He has plenty of relatives on trail.  It becomes a stop and go situation, since no one wants to wear a web or take a 2 inch spider for a helmet ride.  

Popeye and Semi finally break a couple branches to hold out from the handlebars as frontal defense and the ride pace picks back up.

Of course the regular stuff can hang you up too.

Dirty going through ahead of me.

As soon as I follow, I get strung up by my ponytail.

By the time I get untangled, the guys are waiting by the road.

Nope, not Simon Says.

Holding a hand over the light that blinds.

The full moon ride is my all time favorite.  But the coming weekend has promise.  To go with a break in the weather, we've got a list of possibilities to choose from.

We won't even need lights.  Not for the bikes anyway.  

But with a clear sky, and a 5AM wake up for the Tour de KSC on Saturday, there's sure to be one more chance to admire the moon.  

  

Molasses Bread with Apples, Walnuts, and Home Grown Bananas.

Night ride tomorrow.  Time to charge the lights.

Well, what have we here?

Oops, almost forgot about the bananas Popeye cut down before the weekend storm could blow them away. 

Winds at 30-45,  for 2 days straight.  

12 inches of rain.

On Friday he put the bananas out on the work bench, wrapped in a thick towel to speed the ripening process, with the intention of peeling them all for the freezer on Sunday. 

But I guess we got distracted.

Could have been dinner at The Professor and Merry Ann's... 

...with impromptu Octoberfest beer tasting. 

Or, it could have been Merry Ann's Plum Tart.
 

Or maybe the weather was the main distraction...

...and chasing down the loose boards that floated away when the water came up over the dock.

  
When I go out to the work bench today to plug the bike lights into the chargers, I find the bananas.  And surprise!  They are absolutely perfect.

I'm not a big fan of bananas, and these little Ice Cream Bananas are super sweet.  I eat one, but that is about all I am good for until they have been blasted in the blender with some OJ,  protein powder, and a few of the summer's frozen mangoes.   

I set aside a couple bunches for Popeye to eat and commence peeling and bagging the 60 or so that are left.

About half way through the chore, my mind rebels a bit, insisting that there must be something else that bananas are good for besides smoothies. 

Pancakes?  Too gross to think about.  

Bananas Foster?  Better, but still yucky.

Ahh, but something about the idea of Bananas Foster, the colors maybe, attracts me.  

Something about deep, rich browns and the pale glow of bananas and whipped cream....

Deep rich browns...  

Guiness could do it for sure, but we don't have any.  Molasses, maybe.  And cinnamon.

And what about the Honeycrisp apple I had set out to cut up for a snack but forgot all about after finding the bananas? 

     
Sounds like a recipe coming together to me.

Molasses Bread

with Apples, Walnuts, and Home Grown Bananas

1 c. light (no taste) olive oil

3 eggs

1 c. granulated sugar

1/2 c. molasses

1/2 c. brown sugar, packed

1 and 1/2 c. diced apples

1 and 1/2 c. firm bananas, cut into chunks

3 c. all purpose flour

(or substitute spelt flour for one third of the white flour if you like)

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1 c. walnuts

Butter two loaf pans.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees - if you are the patient type. 

(I am not.  I set mine on 350.)

Mix the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet ingredients with the sugar in another.  Then combine them until you have a dense batter.

Gently mix in the apples and bananas and throw in a couple handfuls of walnuts.  (Or measure out a cup, if you must.)

Divide the batter between the loaf pans, sprinkle with a little sugar, and bake.

If using a 300 degree oven - bake about 1 hour, 20 minutes.

If using 350 - bake about 55 minutes.

Test for doneness by inserting a sharp knife to see if it comes out clean.  Just to be sure, do it in a couple spots.  If you get a massive hunk of banana on the first try, the knife will come back sticky, and you might think the bread isn't done.  Also, don't be afraid if it gets really dark around the edges.  That's a molasses thing.  It's not burned - it's just dark.  And delicious.

As soon as it's cool, I'll slice the loaves, wrap them up, and put them in the freezer out of sight.  Save them for a for a bike trip or some time when we actually need lots of calories.  

So, bananas all peeled, banana bread made... 

Now, where was I?

Oh yeah. 

Go plug in the lights!



Procrastination Mode

It doesn't take a genius to recognize procrastination mode. 

Boxing up the contents of a house is daunting.  21 years worth of daunting, in this case.  My packing commences with little bursts of humming.  Dory's song, in Finding Nemo.  "Just keep swimming, just keep swimming."  And it works.  For the most part.  

But when I do stray into a bout of packing avoidance, it's a dead heat tie between enticements. 

The computer vs. refrigerator gazing. 

Resisting the call of the refrigerator is tricky but I've done it before.  A few months ago during a bad bout of writing avoidance, I made myself do 10 pushups every time I opened the refrigerator door.  Let's just say, it made me a stronger person.

Today required something quicker and easier than dropping to the unswept floor.  How about downing a full glass of water every time that fridge door opens? 

By afternoon, the sloshing is audible, but the work is on track.  In spite of a few extra trips down the hallway.

In a momentary slip-up involving an email check, I read a note from Just Plain Mike, volunteering moving day labor in exchange for beer.  Awesome.  Thank you!

Back to work.  Just keep swimming. 

In the dining room, I pop open the door to the buffet, and a sudden memory hops out.  So this is where I stashed the excess liquor after the party last Christmas.  

 
I send Mike a quick email.  "Would you consider working for hooch instead?"

The liquor was easily dispatched.  Hey.  Into boxes - what were you thinking?  

But what was that?  There at the bottom of the liquor shelf. 

Something that didn't belong.  

Oh no.   Not that.

I am not ready to face that part of the packing yet. 

Worse than the call of facebook.  More irresistible than checking email.  Even more alluring than leftover Pad Thai...

Oh noooo.  A photo album.

And just like that, the competition for my distraction is blown away.  

Check this out.

The Chick as Annie Oakley.

Maila as...  a pilgrim with a paint palette?  Oh no, Judith Leyster.

(Yes, I had to ask.)

Erin Callan as Sacajawea.

(Montessori, can you tell?)

Sea, Breeze, and the Chick

Whatdayaknow? 

Clean feet.

It's not often you get a black belt on your birthday.

And an assistant.

The Chick, Keeta's backside, and Sea

Way too young for Faye.

Must have been Floyd?

I confess. 

I once used HapKiDo belt test money for a rock climbing trip instead.

When climbing, there are only two kinds of pictures.

From the top...

And from the bottom...

How's that for a surprise end? 

Back to the boxes now.

Just keep swimming.  Just keep swimming.  Just keep... 

  

Tour de Fiasco, Tour de Melbourne, Hash de Merrit Island

"Congratulations! 

You are now entered for the Tour de Felasco 2012."

Thanks to a little help from our friends. 

Hey, at least the site didn't crash this year.  But for a few hours it did refuse to admit that there was such an event available.  Interestingly, a few hours was the same amount of time it took to fill up.  Emails flew.  Facebook lit up.  Suddenly everyone was in the loop.  The old secret password trick.  Ha.  Foiled by the same internet employed to confound us.


The opening salvo of the Tour de Fiasco happens at 6AM every first of October.  Thank goodness following their trail markers is easier than following their online instructions.   

Busy weekend here.  Too busy to justify driving all the way to Hailes Trails.

We signed a contract with the builder. 

Silly me.  I thought we'd have 30-45 days to pack up and move out of here.  Uh-uh.  2 weeks!  Yikes!  Find a place to rent for less than a year (as if), that takes pets (good luck), arrange storage, and get packing. 

But just because we boxed a bunch of stuff doesn't mean we bagged all the fun.

Being up early on Saturday morning for the Registration de Fiasco was not a total waste.  Popeye had time to get to Palm Bay, while  I got an early start on my ride around the block. 

The Melbourne block, that is. 

Which is the most dirt I can pack into a local ride, without violating my no-riding-alone-in-the-bum-trails-rule.  Highlights along the way were stops to chat with other Fiasco victims out early, and a few places-no-faces photo stops.

Nice and Lord-OTF were out early and stopped to commiserate.   

Then there was the informative conversation with the poison ivy spray man in Mel Village, who was kind enough to show me a native potato plant.  Right before he sprayed it. 

Semi, the original Fiasco pusher, was coaching soccer in Wickham. 

Gadget Guru and Motorcycle Mama were just starting out on their slick tires, a late take off for their Cocoa Village ride. 

As for me...  Melbourne Causeway to Melboune Village to the Airport Trails to Wickham Park to Eau Gallie Causeway, and reluctantly, home. 

Miles: 36
Tires: fat  
Time:  Uh... home in time for lunch.

I think I took a wrong turn in Melbourne Village.

Don't put a foot down.

(Unless you are off the bike to take a picture, of course.)

Airport Trail

No, I couldn't get the phone out of its ziploc fast enough

to get a picture of the deer as it ran across trail.

You can probably do a century ride in Melbourne

on canal banks alone.

Just a single swoop through Wickham.

Running can resume once the move is accomplished.

So.  Early Fiasco.  

Saturday morning ride. 

Followed by Saturday afternoon condo viewing. 

And Saturday evening Roller Derby.

Roller Derby - Palm Bay Rec Center - BYOB

One bout left this year.  Nov 5.

Check Molly Roger Roller Girls on facebook.

Sunday morning.  Back to work.  I packed up a few boxes while Popeye put in some overtime in Malabar....

Then out to play again.

Hash ride!

(It's good to be vertically challenged.) 

There's only 2-3 miles left undisturbed at Ulimay. 

If anything, it has grown in even more since this was taken Nov 2010.

Who can resist the allure of the amazingly eco-, and economically, diverse Merritt Island?  Thank you to the hares who, of course, did down downs for their trail.  Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Miles:  19.27

Tires:  fat

Time:  great!

Good bye, weekend. 

Hello, alarm clock.     

It's Monday. 

And we're gonna need a lot more boxes. 


 

Back Behind Bars.. The List of Possibilities for fall.

Finally.  Back behind bars. 

Four weeks have gone by since the surgery, and release is official.  The exercise ban is lifted.  Hooray!  Even though it's been a month of no-to-low-mileage recovery, it's hard to think in terms of easing back into riding.  There are just so many events available in the fall.  All I want to do is to jump in on both pedals. 

Boy, I hate to see summer end.  Getting up in the dark. Sunsets earlier and earlier.  And eventually, shoes.  With socks.   

Took the lights along for the ride last night - and used them.

Oh, fall has advantages.  Crispy clear days.  Open windows. Turning off the Sunday alarm.  Ride any time of day.  Or at least you could if there weren't such a full schedule of events.  Like century rides.  And mountain bike racing.  And trail runs.  

Keep that alarm clock within reach after all. 

There's not much that's new on The List of Possibilities from last year.  It's always longer than would be possible, even if you could be in two places at once.  Or some days, three.  Some weekends could be as much about juggling as riding.  

Any choice is possible.  Except for sleeping in.



The List of Possibilities - Fall 2011

Sept. 4     8 Hours of Labor  (Stupid surgery!)

Sept 24    6 Gap Century - Dahlonega, Ga.  (Not me.  It's possible for Popeye, though, and Ft. Clinch is on the way home...)

Sept 25    3 Gap - fifty miles

Sept 25    Ft Clinch - mtn bike race.  Goneriding FSC#2


Oct 1     Set the alarm!  6 AM  Register Tour de Felasco 

And since you're up early, throw the mtn bike in the car and get to Gainesville.

Oct 1     Hailes Trails open to public for 1 day

Oct 2     Hailes Trails - mtn bike race.  Goneriding FSC#3

Or ride Hailes one day and Withlacoochee Trail the next.

Oct 2     Rails to Trails Ride - Withlacoochee

Oct 8     John Holmes 50k and 16m run - Croom

Oct 8     Rocky Raccoon Revenge  - 8 hours of Raccoon Mt - Chattanooga.  Goneriding.  (Wouldn't this be an even nicer finish to the 6 gap than Ft. Clinch?  The 6 gap, a few days camping at Tsali or Occoee, and then the Rocky Raccoon?)  

Because it's not likely any of that will happen... more choices closer to home.

Oct 9     Ride 4 ABreast - Melbourne

Oct 9     Tour de Vero

Oct 15  Tour of KSC - Be nice to your space center friends.  This one is invitation only.

Riding the runway at KSC, 2010.

Oct 15    Mt Dora Century and Metric Century

Oct 16    Stay over for the Mt Dora Assault on Sugarloaf, or pack both bikes again, and head to the west coast instead.

Oct 16    Alafia - mtn bike race - Goneriding FSC#4

Oct 22    Santa Fe Century - Gainesville

Uh oh.  Way too many choices for a Santa Fe follow-up.  Felasco, du, or Horsefarm, I'm taking the Superfly.  (A second century should be cushy.)

Oct 23    Horsefarm Hundred  

Horsefarm Hundred 2010

More than just horses.

Oct 23    Felasco - mtn bike race - Goneriding FSC#5  

Oct 23    Dirthead (off road) Tri and Du - Croom.  Much as I love the water, if the gators are anywhere near the size they are at the Econ...  Just sayin'.   Tri or du, it's up to you.  I know what I'd du.

Oct 30    Intracoastal Waterway Century - Cocoa


Nov 6     XTerra Wildhorse Trail Run - 1/2 marathon, 10m, 10k, 4m

Nov 20   Horrible Hundred - Clermont  (West Orange Trail is a 60 mile alternative if you don't feel like riding with the roadies.)

Nov 20   XC marathon, 30k, half marathon, 5k - Alafia


Dec 1     Santos - mtn bike race - Goneriding FSC#5 

Dec 9-11  Highland Bike Fest

Jan 14  Tour de Felasco

Feb (date tbd)  Croom Fifty


It's good to be back behind bars.  My body's got some work to do to catch up with my head, though.   So many choices!

Right this minute the possibilities are nearly as endless.  

Dishes.  Laundry.  Bridge repeats. 

Nap?  



  

Confessions of a Mermaid's Mom

Seaside (The Shadow Over Earth) (Kindle Edition)

By Lindsay and Trevor If

5 STARS to Lindsay and Trevor If for creating a truly original alternate universe. A universe where a decision as mundane as what to wear to school can mean life or death. Where unearthly magic and a history of human sacrifice are as close as the church on the corner. Where the ultimate drug is as near as the beach.  But all is not darkness and strife. Making friends at a new school, figuring out your best color, and asking a boy to the homecoming dance, are all perfectly blended into a slow reveal of magic and a hidden underwater world.  Ashley Dunlop, high school sophomore, must find and reveal her own true colors, not just in her wardrobe choices, but in her quest to make an imperfect world into a better place.  The ending leaves one teetering on the shoreline of a secret alternate universe wondering, what's next?  I can't possibly imagine, but I bet the Ifs can, and I am ready to plunge into the next book of this series the instant it comes out.
 

Wow, what a review!  Five stars!  A review so glowing it's like something your mother might write.
 
But hey, you can read it too, and write a glowing review of your own.  Which can be really fun, especially if you know the author (or the author's mom).

To read the book, no need to own a Kindle.  The Kindle app for iPhone, Android, or your PC, is free. 

 http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/ref=kcp_pc_mkt_lnd?docId=1000426311  

"Seaside" has gone up from .99 to $2.99 though, so get it now before it takes off for double digits.  As it is surely bound to, with such glowing (and absolutely right-on) reviews.  
 
I confess that I am un-savvy to the wily ways of computer linkage and ebooks.  Anytime I access Amazon, it knows it's me.  It looks from here, that if I put up a link for you from my computer, you will be "me".   I really do love this book, and hope you do too.  But I would prefer you to buy your own copy, you know?  Besides, hey, $2.99!  5 stars!  You really can not go wrong here.  

Besides, admit it, you are dying to voice your own opinion by writing your own review.

So.  Got to amazon.com and search for "Seaside Lindsay If" and it will take you to the gorgeously illustrated turquoise-with-mermaid cover and all the (glowing) reviews.  Download to your Kindle or your phone or PC.  

You will love this novel.  Trust me.  I'm someone's mother.
 
 
  

Irene - Over Easy.

7 days without riding makes one weak.  

30 days could make one outright crazy.

So I compromised.

Saturday morning.  Day 11.  Easy does it.  I probably wouldn't have tried it but for the super cushy Superfly. 

First stop - the beach.

OK, I admit I am starting to appreciate what all the early birds see in the dawn's early light.

Satellite Beach

7:30 (AM!!!)

8/27/11

Except for the obvious power and the occasional boom, the surf seemed almost subdued.  And mesmerizing. 

That five mile ride on Saturday wore me out, but it felt good.  So of course, I was compelled to do it again on Sunday.  Just a bit further. 

Whoops.  Too much.  Ache deep in the gut for the rest of the day.  

Note to self:  Stay vigilent.  Pay attention.   It's not even September yet.  Listen to the forecasters, but go with your gut. 

My gut is saying it's back to walking for a couple of days. 

And keeping an eye on the weather.