Wheels

The weather is warming in the South. Hopefully I get out a lot more consistently this year than last. It makes me think about how much time I spent on a bike while I was in school. Ironic that the source of so much stress back then was getting from one place to the other without sweating through my clothes or getting in an accident.

The car/dog conflicts still chase me but I feel so much more stress during the winter months that I don't ride regularly. When I can spend even an hour on the bike, it changes my whole day. When I ride two or three days out of the week, I notice the change in my energy level. Here's to health and man-powered transportation.



As for the pic, I live and work in an Atlanta suburb and still manage to find even more country-esque places to ride. When it comes to the country, the S and I enjoy every bit about getting to and fro.

Tornado, shanado

Interpreting rain warnings for nothing more than just rain, I rode a short cycling event in mid-Georgia on Saturday. It was overcast, but without the wet stuff falling from the sky. Apparently Atlanta was reeling from a downtown tornado the night before and an additional row of tornado warnings were passing over my house. I did make it back to the house in time to witness the sirens, hail, and visibility-eliminating-torrential-rain. Fun, fun, fun.



I came across this wall in the middle of the ride and couldn't resist the temptation to photograph yet another historic Coke wall ad. Realize that this is out in the middle of nowhere. And then some. I rode a good 5-10 miles before and after this spot without seeing another 2-story building. Yup, this is the downtown center of a southern Georgia city.

Travel and stay warm

The culmination of 9 days spent away from home was a very tired drive home from Atlanta's airport in the S. It was probably the most cathartic hour of the week. I wish I could drive backroads and wander for a living.

For a few days, we basked in ocean air and frolicked on the beach in southern ja-ja. Mock the accent all you want, February doesn't look like this in the Rockies (or in Manhattan, for that matter). It goes without saying that my boy won the race. I told him it was lucky because I'm trying to develop in him a good 'lucky' feeling.*



Without a break of any kind, and the result of packing a suitcase as quickly as it could be emptied, I was off to Phoenix to present the book heretofore mentioned and talk about membership databases. Trading my shorts and sandals for Prada shirts and a sport coat, I schmoozed, pontificated, and generally threw charisma around the room. Actually, I hope I didn't offend anyone. I take that back. There were a few people at the conference that needed to be offended; not every idea is a good one.



I should note that these pics were both snapped with the iPhone; the battery on the PowerShot timed its demise perfectly with this last-day outing. Those with sharp eyes will also recognize Camelback Mountain as seen from my hotel.

*Tip o' the hat to Mr. Handey.

Maturity

The MINI turned over 32K miles this week. Never mind that it's only a year-and-a-half old, my S has ample stories to justify the miles. It has a few scars, too, but I think it has held up rather well.

In an obsessive yet never-ending search for the next greatest vehicle, I haven't come up against anything that is as perfect as the red go-kart sitting in my driveway. I've found the MINI has an incredible amount of soul; not just technology inspiring, the MINI is a cult-like lifestyle with fellow drivers that wave, parking spaces that open up, and twisty roads that straighten just for me. Short bursts of speed in superfast cars aside, I have never had so much fun in a car. Consistency without the boredom.



Kyle's MINI received new wheels and a new moniker. While in Utah, we discussed the tendency for MINI owners to photograph their cars. I was so inspired by the picture of MINIzilla in the snow that I snapped an homage. I didn't have any snow handy, so 65-degree air (mid-Feb, mind you) will have to suffice.

Snow and Warm

This morning I awoke to even more snow falling along the Wasatch front (that's in Utah, for the uninitiated). It wasn't terrible, but enough to make the drive to the airport extend from 55 minutes to well over two hours. And it was cold. I made my flight, mostly due to the plane itself not making it to the airport on time; delays all around.

It goes without saying that arriving home in Atlanta was nice, and particularly warming. It was 65-degrees according to the MINI's computer. But that's not really my point. The really great thing about arriving home is the contrast of driving to the airport vs. driving from the airport. The former takes place in a crummy rental, this week's flavor was a smoked-and-body-odor-smelling PT Cruiser. It proved not only gutless, but also poorly matched for snow driving. The ergonomics were terrible; I honestly have no idea how it passed through Chryler's we-should-scrap-this-bad-idea division. I've rented a large range of cars and, even including the Liberty, the PT ranks near the top of ones I won't do again. I truly felt sorry for all the other PT drivers I saw this past week because at least mine gets returned after 6 days.



I recognize that not everyone has the desire to spend time in a sport-tuned car. And that's okay; I don't resent people, just the car choices they make. Driving that PT made the ride home in the MINI so more satisfying. I kept grinning - and gunning the throttle - as I made my way through downtown ATL. Then I took the above picture. Happy Motoring indeed.

A different look on life

For the past year I've been part of a small group working on a project for the Down syndrome community to more accurately portray the capabilities of children and adults living with Down syndrome. By and large, the medical community views Down syndrome as a 'negative outcome' that can be avoided and, for the most part, one that is. Estimates put the U.S. abortion rate around 90%. Birth avoidance by some affects society's outlook on those who do live. For my son Andy's sake, a more accurate depiction than 'negative' needs to be shown.

I have observed in general, photographs of people with Down syndrome go one of two ways: either they are amateur shots of smiling kids' faces or they are professional shots of kids' faces. We set out to show more accurate images: kids and adults in their own element, and thriving.

We created some games for the kids so we could get them in a group every so often, but none of the pictures shown are fabricated or overtly staged. We had the kids and adults doing what they naturally do, with their own group of friends; we arranged our schedule around theirs and went to their locations. To this end, all environments, bikes, books, hills, and so forth are real. The peers are their regular peers that attend church, school, ballet, and so forth every week. Interactions between peers are genuine. Here is a sample of what we captured.

Best-In-Snow

3. Range Rover Sport. After a massive snow flurry that left a good dusting on the streets of Atlanta's northern suburbs, the counties promptly canceled school for the day and proclaimed a snow day. Unfortunate for all the little children who eagerly bundled up to make morning snowmen, the temperature never dropped below freezing, the snow turned to rain, and the snow was gone by morning. It was more of a 'snow evening' than a 'snow day.'

All this excitement did remind me of one of my favorite vehicles that is impractical enough to be on the wish list as a 'probably won't ever happen unless I move somewhere that actually snows.' The Range Rover Sport makes the list on account of my brief but very impressive encounter of New York roads impassable by anything else but the truly capable. Like a sports car that shows its true capability when outmaneuvering normal cars, the Range Rover really impresses when everything else gets stuck. It is expensive, has questionable reliability, gets terrible gas mileage, and is the antithesis of my MINI. But it makes this list because it is just gorgeous, really great in rough weather, and nicely imposing in fair weather.