S7s: Dec 3- Ode to Pompey

1) Happy New Year! 2015 was indeed a great year for me. Lots of highlights and some trying times. Blessed with a great career, friends, church and community. I got to share in some really cool moments. Had a neat moments of reflection. I worked too hard sometimes and not hard enough during others. I'll post my photo review later, but in the meantime I am stoked at what 2016 has to offer this soul of mine.

2) I bit the bullet and did something that will surprise and shock a lot of people: I bought a new car. My old car, affectionately named Pompey, has been a rock for 15 years and over 230,000 miles. She still runs strong, but has some issues that older cars get. I was looking for a replacement and found a good deal on a 2012 Mazda 3. It leather heated seats, moonroof and gets 40 MPG on the highway. I will miss the stick shift (still on original clutch) and all the great adventures Pomp and I had. She drove to Alaska! She's been to Colorado twice, RAGBRAI and Nova Scotia. There have been countless trips to Atlanta and we've hauled bikes to almost all those places. 15 years is a long time together and I bought her new, so there is a lot of sentimental value. I'm hoping this new car is half the car that Pompey was.

3) There are "militia" members who took over a National Wildlife Refuge in Harney County, Oregon. I biked through Harney County in 2015 and spent a night in Burns. A few gripes:

• The same people who call these guys heroes and militia would also call similar people standing up to "oppression" thugs, terrorists or traitors. Double standard 1.
• The same people who claim patriotism are the first to cry foul, tyranny and offense when they don't get there way. The ones say they stand behind the Constitution don't bother to follow the methods set by the Constitution to change laws, amend policy and effect change.
• These people are like Westboro Baptist: attention hungry, disillusioned and narrow minded. They don't want to understand or try to be part of a nation that is diverse and made of many people, needs, interests and beliefs. 
• Double standard 2: if others are offended or feel put off, they are told to suck it up and not be so damn easily offended. If they are offended or feel put off, it is acceptable to throw a tantrum and issue threats with lots of firearms.
• I do feel, in my limited knowledge, that maybe the jail time for the Hammonds might be excessive, we do have a legal process for appeals. You know, the Constitution. No where in the law of the land does it advocate taking matters into your own hands.

4) Instagram Top Nine: babies, bikes, outside! 

5) Quote of the Week: "Not the glittering weapon fights the fight, but rather the hero's heart."

6) Wrestling competed in the Holy Angels Tournament on Friday and Saturday. The tournament featured 66 teams and North finished 11th. We only entered 7 wrestlers. Josh Blatt beat the #1 4A wrestler in the state in overtime in the finals. Paul Searcy had three tough matches in a row to win at 145 lbs. We had three other placers in the tournament and three place in the JV Tournament. It was a great weekend, this team showed lots of heart.

7) The college bowl games have been lame. Too many blow outs. Clemson played well and Alabama looked angry. Could be a great National Title game. Hope it's not a blow out.

In the NFL lots of action this week:

• Chip Kelly out in Philly. Sort of a surprise. Thought he'd get one more year.
• Welcome back Peyton Manning.
• I hope the Dolphins find the right coach.
• Tom Coughlin: classy guy. I hope he enjoys retirement and doesn't return to coaching. 
• Is there a bigger mess than Cleveland? What a train wreck-- from personnel to coaching. But it all starts at the front office.
• Congratulations to Carolina. They looked great. 
• I want a Panthers-Broncos Superbowl.

The Hole in Homeland Security

Over the course of nearly three days, I made my way from Jasper, Alberta to Whitehorse, Yukon. I took the long road-- the Cassiar Highway. Off HWY 37 is a spur, 37a, that takes you the small town of Stewart, British Columbia. Keep driving through Stewart and less than a mile later, right past the wharf, you cross into the Unites States and the smaller Alaskan town of Hyder.

This is where I take issue? Where are the Minutemen, Homeland Security or Immigration and Customs? I mean, I just drove into the United States from Canada with no hassle. Of course, I had to go through Canadian Immigration on the way back into Canada where once again I was subject to silly questions and procedure (I was in Hyder all of 20 minutes). I asked Canadian Customs where US Customs was and her reply was, "They always say they're coming, but we'll see."





I mean, anyone can easily drive into our country from Canada and threaten us. Never mind that Hyder only has a population of 97 (2000 Census) and the road ends less than a mile into town. There is no airstrip in Hyder. US Mail comes twice a week from Ketchikan, Alaska (though I haven't figured out if it lands in Stewart or if it is a float plane). You would have to boat down the Portland Inlet and around the southern tip of Akaska to get to the nearest American town, never mind Seattle. Where's the uproar? This town is a threat to our National Security!!

- Stewart and Hyder are small and not much going on there. At the height of the silver boom in the early 20th century, 10,000 people lived at the end of the Portland Canal. Toady, the two towns combine for about 600. The road in is spectacular however. It drops to sea level from over 2200 feet. In this narrow valley is Bear Glacier and over two dozen sublimely beautiful waterfalls cascading from the ridges high above.


- The Cassiar Highway I describe as lonely. 70-90 miles between gas stations. The towns (Iskut and Dease Lake) are tiny and remote. Logging is huge. Signs along the road indicate when an area was logged and when it was replanted. The road is pretty well maintained, but you can tell that winter (and logging trucks) takes its toll on the asphalt. The views are nice. Not Icefields Parkway spectacular, but serene and humbling in the knowledge that you are so far from society.



- Alaska Highway also remote. Also lonely. But more (and larger) towns and more cars. Whitehorse is unremarkable. Nice clean town with good history, but nothing stands out that's good or bad. The guy in the bike shop in Skagway did tell me that Whitehorse has the best mountain biking in the region.

- Envy: Lot's of motorcycles. I've seen more BMWs in Yukon/Alaska/British Columbia than I have in the last two years. For good reason. They are good all purpose bikes that can take a beating. I met one guy who lives in Asheville and was riding the Haul Road (even more remote than the Cassiar) all the way to Prudhoe Bay. I want to go!

- Skagway. Four cruise ships were docked on Monday. The town was overrun with people. It's small to begin with and then each ship has twice the number of people of the entire town, so I was frustrated and annoyed by the tourists. There was no quiet place to eat, read or relax, which is what I wanted to do while I waited for my afternoon ferry for Sitka.

- I tried to get an oil change in Skagway. There was no mechanic, just a guy named Chet "on call". I called him and he said he could do it in two or three days because he has to order the oil filter from Juneau. The idea that it would not be in stock never occurred to me since I have three auto parts stores within a three mile radius of my house (plus two quick lubes and who knows how many mechanics).

- In case you are wondering: since leaving Hendersonville, about 4,800 miles put on my chariot, whom I've since named Pomp or Pompey, after William Clark's nickname for Sacajawea's baby, Jean Baptiste Charbonneau, who in the first two years of his life journeyed across the continent and back on his mother's back with the Corps of Discovery.

Non-Road trip Shout Outs:
My good friend who lives, works and trains in Colorado Springs, Ryan Kirkpatrick, home for his Grandpa Kirk's 90th birthday ran, won and set a new course record in the Bele Chere 5K on Saturday.

Bele Chere has record 5K

Another good friend, Jason Joyce, has been promoted to Athletic Director at North Henderson. Which means his golf game will continue to suffer and I will continue to dominate.

North hires Joyce as new AD