Lining up the sag wagon...

Saturday, May 4, 2013
I started my Saturday in the usual fashion by heading to Mimi’s to do some chores.  I’d told her I would be willing to cut a portion of her lawn with the John Deere tractor in an effort to save a little on landscaping bills.  It was a good plan until it wasn’t.

I don’t know exactly what happened, but the belt that drives the blades broke and something snapped off the deck causing the front end to drop.  I still had about half an acre to cut and there was no way I was leaving it unfinished.  I drove home and grabbed my hand mower and returned to finish the job.  It was warm and I had a nice rolling sweat going, especially when I added pruning limbs from the trees that were whacking me in the head when I’d tried to drive under them with the tractor. 

After seven hours of this kind of labor, I returned home and quickly changed for a ride.  I was tired and knew that if I sat around and thought about it for a few minutes; I might nod off and miss the opportunity.  I pushed harder from the start, determined that it would be a challenging workout and managed to ride the course I’d ridden two days earlier a full ten minutes faster.  I was quickly rounding into cycling shape and liked knowing it.

When I returned home, I met with my next-door neighbor.  Pat allows me to cleanse myself all summer in his pool…he’d have trouble stopping me since I dive in as soon as I return from a ride…and is a very good friend.  He’s a retired school teacher from Cuyahoga Heights where he headed up the IT program and continues to work with the football program; filming the games and producing videos for the team members.  He also likes to camp.

“Pat…have I got an opportunity for you,” I said as we sat in my backyard with our feet propped on the stones to my fire pit.  “You know how I’m doing that Tour Ohio ride and I’ve been thinking what a pain it would be to drag panniers to carry our camping gear.  We sure could use someone to drive the course with us and carry camping gear to the different places we’ll be riding and camp out with us.  Of course…we’d pass through small towns and there’d by micro-breweries and places to eat and such,” I added.

Pat loves his beer…more than camping…and this hooked him.  “I’ll have to check my very busy schedule, but that could work,” he said.

Since meeting with Nancy from the Cleveland Metroparks, I’ve decided that videoing the trip would make so much sense to the marketing of the trail afterwards.  Pat is definitely my man.  It turned out to be one very good day.

Yard work duration:  7 hours.  Bike duration:  1 hour and 35 minutes.

Training Heart Rate: 120 bpm on the bike.
Calories burned during workout:  1500 for yard work and 1325 on the bike.