Weather in this part of Florida is ... Weird. This Wet Bulb thing is burning my fingers.

I spend a lot of time in a parking lot.  Oh, not just any parking lot, but one with a lot to watch.  

Giant Gas Bags.
Golfers pretending they're in a competition.
Dog Walkers.
Clueless Karens.

Shall I go on?  I am entertained by the list, myself.

Pompano Beach Air Park.  It's a one mile square, so there is a bit more than a square mile of land there.  Big, and that's what you need to know about it.  Metric?  Big In Square Meters.  That's close enough.

It was a World War 2 Military Air Port.  I believe it was a municipal airport before then, and after the War it was returned to the city.  They didn't want an International Airport there interrupting fishing, so they lopped off some runway length and are quite happy with what they have.

Who am I to complain, they were wise enough to put in a multi use trail around it over the years, and it is one of the main reasons why I settled in South Florida.

No, really, being near to a ribbon of asphalt is important to my happiness.  I have spent many hours going around in large circles there in my two sports.

But being in a sport that takes me more than 2 hours to get finished, and sometimes more than 3 hours, means I have to watch which direction the winds are coming from at KPMP.  

Standing in that parking lot, staring at the gas bag starting to come out of the hangar lets me know if the winds are going to be punishing.  There is a big windsock on top of the building and it can give you a rough idea of wind speed and direction.  

That changes in the morning.  Since it is Summer and this is "Tropics Adjacent".  You see, Downtown Fort Lauderdale is only a few miles away so that sets up a heat island and usually around 10 AM, the winds begin to shift.  The ocean is only about 2 miles away from anywhere you really want to be in this area.  Considering that temperatures are moderated by the ocean, it is markedly cooler here than it is in the middle of the state.  

I have only noticed it get to 96F/35.5C here.  I have personally been in Orlando when it was over 104F/40C and believe me, you don't really want to do that.  Putting all those Theme Parks in the middle of an area pockmarked with little lakes has me scratching my head on the best of days.

But here, what all these influences mean is that weather comes from just about any direction at any moment.  

Right now, there is a Tropical Storm gathering up power in the Northeastern Gulf of MEXICO.  It is too far from here to see any direct effects, but the winds have been variable and heading generally toward the center of circulation.

Florida is "Flatter Than Kansas", along with many other metaphors you have heard over the years.

The short answer is that rains can come from any direction, at any time.  When I was growing up Up North, if it was starting to rain "now" it would probably still be raining a couple hours from now.  Storms came from the West and were fairly predictable.  I'm thinking with Global Warming, that may have changed.

Here you require a good Radar map and need to learn to read it depending on your own plans.  Every break I stop and check the Radar.  Roughly every hour.

Since rains can do a nasty to my workouts, and the bearings in my skates or my bike wheels, you end up doing Radar Math.  Winds are driving the pop up storms from the South, you will get wet.  

This link will show you information for Pompano Beach.  At the moment, it is 90F, Sunny, and Hot, and the site tells me that I should do nothing outdoors.  Black Flag Warning.  

I'm sure it is.  2pm on a Sunny July day in Florida.  

Excuse me, I'm going to get another glass of ice water.

The last workout, a storm formed just south of the park.  I knew it was there, but took a chance.  It was moving East to West and growing.  So I needed to go North.  Right decision.  Sure it got windy and gusty for a bit, but while that pop up hit the park, it only hit the South and West sides of the big square.  By the time I got to the South side of the park, it had moved West into the Over The Turnpike areas and had done its fun.  

I tell people that I have seen it rain in my front yard from the pool in the back yard.  I have also seen it decide to rain in the back yard and not the front.  From the same storm.

So if you are coming on down, it can be cooler in Fort Lauderdale than in Fort Wayne or Philadelphia in High Summer.  

Just not necessarily today. Today, I need sunblock to get my mail.

So remember to use sunscreen, like everyone says.  Have your fun in the sun before 10AM or after 4PM.  Bring plenty of water.

No I mean that last bit, heat exhaustion and dehydration are dangerous.  There is this thing called WBGT that we're being told to follow.  If the humidity and heat are too high for you to be safe out there on an athletic activity, go indoors.

Dragonflies and Disney Princes after a South Florida Workout

There are certain things that I allow to end a workout early.

Rain, but it has to be substantial.  If I see that The Park that I workout in is under a green blob on Radar, I won't leave to get there.  If it is a big storm it is a no-go, little pop up showers are worth a chance.

High winds.  Today we had that, winds gusting to 25 MPH/40 KPH.  That picked up the sand from the beach and blew it west, inland.  It created a sandblasting effect that would wear you down.

High Heat.  I'm in South Florida, working out at Pompano Airpark.  26.247 degrees North, 80.111 degrees West.  I am used to heat.  If it drops below 80F/26C I feel "cool".  I only run the air conditioning to 76F/24C here, but it is on as a default for about 11 1/2 months in the year.

It went from Warm to Hot in an hour today.  That coupled with a rain shower and moderate to high winds, it made the last lap an uncomfortable trip.  It was a full workout of 28.19 miles.  45.36 km.

But I was wiped out and welcomed that second bottle of ice water at the Jeep.

Going home was more rain.

The rain does bring benefits.  This being The Tropics, or Tropics Adjacent depending on what your definition is, we get lots of bugs.  Rain brings Mosquitoes, and sometimes Termite swarms.  It also brings, a day after that, Dragonflies to eat the Mosquitoes and Termites.  It also feeds the little lizards and anoles that you see stuck to walls near a light.

 If you have a rain, you want to turn off the outdoor lighting for the next day or so to let the Termites find a different home.  In Florida there are two kinds of people, those that have Termites, and those who will have Termites.

I was fortunate.  Rack, the McNab SuperDog (TM) has a habit of dragging me out to the backyard about every 90 minutes during the day.  I made my lunch, then nodded off after the morning workout.  He was due to go out.  I needed to shake the drowsy off.  Waking up at 330 AM is going to pretty much require that you have an afternoon nod off, and I have been getting up early to get in an early morning workout for decades.  

I let the old boy wander the yard and look for anything he could find.  While he did that, I looked over the Bougainvillea and spotted a Dragonfly.  It was seemingly asking to have its picture taken and now I can see why people have jewelry made to look like them.  Black and yellow iridescent body with translucent wings perched on a branch in front of a flower.

It stayed there long enough to get the pictures, and for Rack to put a wet nose on my knee.  

It was time to go back inside.  It is also time to put away the black and dark shirts for the summer.  You would be surprised how fast a faded black-to-charcoal t-shirt turns to uncomfortably hot.

I have joked that my yard turns me into a Disney Prince.  I have all sorts of wildlife that visit.  My milkweed that was growing in a semi-sheltered place now had 3 monarch caterpillars on it.  Luckily I have the seeds from a prior bloom and am scattering them all over the neighborhood.

Passing the future monarchs, I went inside.  It was warm, peak of the day.  But it is just the month of May so it will get hotter.  

Hydrate when you go outside.  I know I do.  And use sunblock.  Frequently.

Weather Watching At Pompano Airpark

I guess we can file this one under things I just like.

Kansas is flat.  Florida is flatter.

I workout at an airport in Pompano Beach Florida.  The trail here is one big square.  About a Mile on a side.  1.6 Km if you must.  4.5 miles once around.

Thing is that here, where the air is liquid even in the dry season, there are some seriously small micro-climates.
 

I'm standing about 2 miles 3 Km away from the Ocean.  The other side of the park is a mile away.  I'm standing in the sun.

Riding around that big old box I can see where there was a Thunderhead just off shore.   I can do that loop on the bike in about 17 minutes reliably, although today I was taking things easy and relaxed a bit. 

Standing at the gates, I put the camera in the gap between them and squeezed off this picture.

The point is that you have to be able to read the weather. 

When I was in Philadelphia, I had a long run.  It was 15 miles, about 28 km in one direction away from the car.  I'd stop and have a break and skate back to the car.  It was predictable.  You would be able to read the radar and say that it would be a good dry run that day and not get out and be wet.  After all, on a 3 hour workout, getting soaked in the middle of it is simply not an option.

Here things are different.  If you liked yesterday's weather, you will like today's.  In this specific case, warm and sunny with leopard spots of storms marching across the radar developing into some strong storms later. 

Welcome to Wet Season.

I have to watch.  Things can change at a moment's notice.  I have stood in that same spot and known that I was going to get quite wet by the time I got back.  Not today actually because that little leopard spot disappeared and reformed twice in the two hours I was at that park.

One of the adaptations I made was to get ceramic bearings in my inline skates.  You can run them through water and they do not rust, they're made out of material similar to the coffee cup you took out of the dishwasher last time you ran the thing.  Regular steel bearings rust if you look at them wrong.

I get to the car on the other side of the park now and since it is still warm, I am using one of the two bottles of water that I carry to pour over my head and helmet, shoulders and arms to cool down to be able to go around for another hours.  Yet another adaptation.

Endurance Sports are subtle that way, you change things to put yourself through the workout over the years.  Eventually you get where you are going even if it isn't the way you were going last time.

Florida is a very granular place.  Just a little way away and the entire character of where you are at has changed. 

Weather, Neighborhood, Opportunities.

I suppose that would be why people move here.  It never freezes, we're only 8 miles below the freeze line in winter.  Maybe further because of the "Global Warming That Does Not Officially Exist" nonsense.  Most people who own property can tell you how far above sea level they are.  Mine is 15 feet, 5 meters, and is the highest point on the block if not in town.  You need to know because if it rains on your roof, it will drain into the neighbor's property or pond in their yard - or not.

Everywhere you live will change you.  So if you are moving down here, remember to spay and neuter your pets and especially your MAGA relatives, and get ready for the changes. 

And get a good radar app for your phone.  Or two.  Plus Ceramic Bearings.

North American Battle Wagons, or Honey, You Shrunk The Jeep

 I have been driving Jeeps for the majority of my "career".  I have been driving Jeep Wrangler TJ since 1996 without a stop.

This is my second TJ.  They are now getting thin on the ground, so I don't say "Oh Look!  A Parts Car!" as frequently as I did when I saw one. 

I still do the Jeep Wave, and I always would Tread Lightly when I was off road.  I haven't gone off road since moving to Florida in 2006 so he's been a Pavement Prince since then.

The thing is that when I got my first Jeep, a CJ7 back in 1984, I noticed that it was much higher than most cars on the road.  I used to be amused looking down into cars and seeing the goings on in there.

You folks are nuts!  All sorts of things happened!  I was immediately taught that if I could see down, so could the truck drivers in a "Big Rig" so I made sure not to do anything "untowards" in my own cars from that point on.

Then I went back to "regular cars" until my first and second Wranglers.  I noticed that I was above the majority of cars, but not as much as before.  So much so that it was a surprise when I saw someone enjoying the driver of the car ... from the passenger seat.

Wink! Wink! Say No More!

But that visual advantage was disappearing.  As time went on, I became "regular sized" if not a bit small.

Yes, a Jeep Wrangler is "average sized".  No longer, the current Jeep Wranglers have four doors and is just too big.  Bloated for me.

This was beaten home after I stopped at the end of the workout the other day.  Someone parked a wall next to me.  I fail to see why someone needs a full sized pickup truck, GMC Denali, just to get in a workout at a park.

This was the literal illustration of what I heard described as a North American Battle Wagon.  Massive.

I am 6'4" tall.  A Very Fit 193 CM, if my math is correct.  I am used to looking over things.  I tell people that I usually write my initials in the dust of their refrigerator tops when I visit.

I will wait until you check to see if I did.  Then you can clean your fridge top.  It's why mine is a "Counter Depth" and there's no gap at the top.   Saves me from cleaning!

There was no possible way I can see over the top of this truck.  In fact, standing next to it in my sneakers I was eye level with the driver's view.  Luckily the driver was on the trail getting their Beta Endorphins on.

I squeezed past this monster truck and thought to myself that I used to consider the old Toyota 4x4 trucks big when they came out in the late 1980s, and "what on earth!" would I have considered this beast when I was driving a little first generation Honda Accord in College? 

*shudder*

Getting the bike on the rack on the back, chuckling at my bumper sticker which proclaims "I workout because salads are boring", I had to squeeze past this huge beast to get in my now "Little" Jeep Wrangler.  The driver left adequate room but I am not used to not being able to look over the tops of things.  I see more bad haircuts than you may realize.

Driving home on US1, Federal Highway, in Pompano Beach and Fort Lauderdale, there was more.  It was driven home that we love huge trucks here and we are locked in an arms race of keeping up with the neighbor's beast trucks each time we upgrade.

There is a house down the block that the smallest truck that they own is what is now considered a Mid Sized truck, larger than my own Jeep.  It is about the size of a base Ford Truck that would be a Work Truck, stripper, these days.  They have so many trucks on their own suburban lot that it spills over the property line onto the neighbor's on one side, and the other side had put boulders on their side of the property line to stop them from "encroaching".

A bit drastic but I'd do the same.

So I guess my idea of getting a wee little, efficient, car is foolhardy.  I'd be a speed bump to these giant beasts in one of those.  I've done that before and thanks, I'll pass.

What's next?  Large cars are at best impractical, and at worst destroying the environment.  At one point in time, an AMC Gremlin got 18 MPG and they were advertised in the mid 1970s as being a "Fuel Saver".  I have a derivative of the same engine used in many of those cars and the 16 MPG I got in my last tank now is in no way thrifty.

The full sized pickup truck that was a loaner to a friend struggled to get 10 MPG city.  It dwarfed my own Jeep.  I know his driving patterns, he's much less "assertive" than I am on the road.

I don't know that there is a solution here, seeing the way politics are going.  At least with EVs, Hybrids, and Electrification, the efficiency of these things is getting better.  That old first generation, "Mark 1" Honda Accord I had got a reliable 30 MPG which is average in a car, low for a hybrid now.

Anything that small would be missed by one of those massive beasts coming out of a driveway.

Forget getting another Motorcycle.  My typo of "Mortal Cycle" must have been a Freudian slip due to the traffic we have here.  The woman on the scooter on the same trip home yesterday was dwarfed by my own "Little" Jeep, watching her weave in traffic had me terrified for her as she avoided one clueless huge beast after another.

I'm thinking that there really is no room for efficiency and a "tidy" rightsized car on the road any more.  Not here.  That would explain why someone commenting that "Bad Driving Has Become Normalized" makes so much sense to me. 

If they can't see you, you aren't there.

Good luck out there, I have an appointment at 1pm that I have to brave the other idiots on the road.  Trust me, if I can smell your pot smoke, that officer can as well.

And put that damn cellphone away, it's still against the law to use hands on cell phones in most jurisdictions.

Weekends are Amateur Day on Multi Purpose Trails in the Park

I forgot.

It's amateur day on the trails at the park on the weekend.

That athlete's camaraderie fades away when you go on a Saturday or Sunday. 

I avoid going on those days, it's just too stupid for words. 

A marathon is six laps of the park.  So that means in a workout, a proper workout on the bike or inline skates, you will pass by a certain spot six times.

I was happily going around on lap two.  Still early enough to feel decidedly fresh.

Then insanity ensued.

First, a woman appeared on the trail.  Behind a stationary bike.  On an asphalt paved trail where people are doing all sorts of things.  She proceeded to get her brood of three children and three adults onto the trail and set up for some sort of exercise activity.

I think I disabused her of that when I came around that bend.  I reached for the horn.  TEMU has its reputation of selling cheap junk but I have to say in the case of that horn, the 120 db shriek it puts out was pretty accurate.  An added "ON YER LEFT!" moved them off the trail and they weren't there when I came through on Lap 3.

Then within a short distance of each other it was Dog Karen and Low Life Banana Eater.

Dog Karen.  Lady, you are in the US.  Pompano Beach, FL.  You can walk on the trail.  You can even walk your dog on the trail.  But if you are walking against traffic flow and not observing "Keep Right Except To Pass", you're going to get attitude.

Instead, Dog Karen, your miniature schnauzer was stretched over to the left side of the trail and you were on the right side of the trail.  Yes, Dog Karen, you made a mistake.  Yelling at the inline skater in front of my bike was uncalled for, you were wrong. 

And yes, I gave you an earful of abuse when I went through right after the skater.  Go Home, Dog Karen.

Coming around that same corner on lap 4 there was "Low Life Banana Eater".

Yes, there is a world of stupid in the park on a Saturday.  This was just ignorant.

Low Life Banana Eater was heading in the correct direction, although toward the center line of a crowded trail.  And then he stopped.  Child in a stroller, he peeled the banana and, yes, you guessed it, threw the banana peel onto the oncoming trail.

Not being one to hold my contempt for littering especially when the thing nearly went into my front wheel, I shouted "DAMN LOW LIFE" and kept going.

This sort of stupidity happens frequently in the parks around here.  "Rules are for Other People" is a mantra of my own.  I quote it ironically, frequently. 

It doesn't mean that rudeness should be excused without comment.

I don't.

E Bike on the Trails, plus Clueless Karen, I Wait For Hilarity To Ensue

(Rant: Begin) I should expect no less. 

As it is the driving culture here in South Florida can kindly be described as Entitled.  Between impaired driving, overly powered exotic cars, and the usual people driving Metric Speeds with Canadian license plates, the roads are a bit "Darwinian" here.

A note:  The Universal Vehicle Code is in force here as well as where you came from, the rules don't change, that is why it is Universal.

So take those same entitled people and put them on a workout trail that is a mere 2 meters or 6 feet wide, approximately, and it's tight.

Now, with the advent of Cheap, Ok, Semi-Inexpensive Electrically powered Bicycles, and I'm just waiting for the hive mind to devolve to the stupid lowest denometer.

I'm an intermediate Cyclist, maintaining an average above 13 Miles Per Hour.  Lets call it 22 KPH on average.  My speed varies widely because I have a broad chest.  Coming around a turn that I have just slowed down to average from 20 since the wind was at my back to about 9 or 10 when the wind is now pushing at my front means a reduction of control.

If Karen is in the wrong side of that narrow trail, the nicest thing I can say is "WRONG SIDE" as I pass.  Usually it's followed by something that "Red Forman" would repeat.  "DUMBAZZ"

Mind you, intermediate is fair.  The top end people on that trail are going closer to another 50% faster on their carbon fiber bikes and will end up saying worse as they collide with Karen, or nearly so.

When I skate on that same trail, the numbers are lower even though I am an elite speed skater, it's just a matter of physics and a lack of gears on a 100 MM inline skate wheel.

That E-Bike thing?  I have seen a pack of elite carbon fiber bikes wearing all that weird stinky spandex stuff get passed at another 25 to 50% of speed that would lead me to believe that the electricity has that person hauling at a speed of 25 MPH or better.

If he collides with Karen, she's going to end up injured pretty severely.

Entitled or not, Keep Right Except To Pass. 

It isn't the exerciser's fault you're in the wrong lane with your two Yorkshire Terriers in a child's stroller that are yapping away.  Sure, he's going too fast, but that doesn't matter, clear your sorry self off the trails.

What amount of exercise you get on an E-Bike is debatable, even at 25 MPH.  If you can go that fast, it's more like a motorcycle anyway.

Oh well, too early for that crap, right?  May as well finish off the second mug of coffee.  (Rant: End)

Note to Self: If Trail Repairs are so Annoying, Stop Doing Them Until Done.

I tell people I'm a Dual-Sport Endurance Athlete.   Then I get a wonderful confused look.

It means I do Inline Skating, or Cycling, for a long time period.  Sometimes as much as 3 hours in one workout. 

It's the equivalent of getting into your car and driving for pleasure a long way away and trying really hard to get lost.  But you don't get lost, so you go home a little excited that you didn't get lost and you decide to try harder next time.

SkateSkateSkate or BikeBikeBike.  Long time. 

Bring plenty of water.
Bring snacks.
Bring Sunblock.

Trust me that last one is just as important as the snacks.  I've come home from a summer workout with a sunburned neck and all the skating I did was on a cloudy day in a Pennsylvania Forest.

Valley Forge, PA in Summer can be deceivingly sunny.

Sometimes I'd "Throw a bolt" or "break an axle" and then have to sit aside the trail and fix things on the spot.  You don't want a wheel of any type rubbing against the sides of your Exercise-Vehicle-Of-Choice 75 minutes from the Trailhead.

It would make it very difficult to get home.

I got more and more insistent on what I wanted to bring along when I was far from home.  Like tossing air pumps on the bike, tool kits in the skate pack.  I wasn't the only one since I would find the equivalent of the Ikea Part 100001 Allen Key all over these trails.  That is a 4MM Allen Key for the non-cognoscenti.

I usually have more than one of those with me and I have just handed them over to a stranded athlete more than once.

However sitting aside a trail saying many times to people "Just threw a bolt" and removing the rest of that wheel and tucking it into a bag was something I developed a nice deep feeling of contempt for.  May as well put some bolt locker on those things so they don't move since the bearings for the wheels are hard to get.

No, really, if you skate, getting good bearings may require a 6 week wait.  Splurge on the Full Ceramic bearings because that sheen of water will rust your "Swiss" bearings (made in China no doubt).

I have blown tires in the middle of a workout on the bike.  Replaced them.  Rode on.  Punctures are annoying.

Today was just ... Pointless. 

I stopped in the middle of a shorter workout.  Laps of 4.6 miles, at 9 miles, at a water stop.  I was sitting on the bumper of my Jeep.  After I finished my water and sugar rush from the Chocolate, I decided to "just tighten up my back brake.

The bike was stopping but slower than I prefer.  Too many "Trail Hogs" on the trails here in South Florida.  People seem to be much more self absorbed these days, and with headphone use the rule and not the exception, ON YER LEFT is simply ignored.

I need to be able to dump speed NOW.  Accident avoidance when you are topping out at 7 feet tall on a bike and helmet is important.

So I did.  Except I got it slightly wrong.  That last lap was really quite slow.  Oh sure, I biked along for a reasonable 16.3 miles, call it 148,182 bananas, or 25.75 km, but the brake was too close to the disc.

That caused drag, and it slowed me down. 

When all was through, it was a bad Trail Repair I had done, and I should have waited. 

Bad Moose, No Chocolate.  Don't get back on the trail without fixing that.

I did, the bike's back wheel rolls clear of the brake disc now, and I'll be able to enjoy my next workout in a couple days.

Just only do the absolute necessary on the trails, right?  Enjoy your ride and don't be a perfectionist.  The time for that is at home before or after you are done.

Now, I need to find the bike box so I can sand my brake pads on the bike again.  Stopping good.  Boring bad.

Just a Power Washed Morning at the Park

They say Orange Skies in the Morning, Sailors take Warning.  Orange Skies At Night, Sailor's Delight.

There's some truth to that.  Even if my own pop meteorology came to mind in my driveway that morning.  Or Popped In my mind if you must.

It was a pretty sunrise.  I may as well enjoy them because if I am up before the dawn, I can schedule a workout. 

That is, I can schedule a workout once I check radar.

Weather here is a weird beast.  Rain can come from any direction, and at any time.  Typically the winds blow from East to West.  Off the Ocean, onto the Land.  There is a noticeable increase in the breezes around 10 or 11 in the morning. 

I have to watch because if I am out there doing my own thing, it effects me strongly. 

Oh I have managed to insulate myself from most of the slop by upgrading my skates to ceramic bearings and learning how to rework the brakes on the bike after a rain.  Ceramic bearings won't rust at the drop of a drop and a quick sanding of the brake pads on my bike will save me at least $50 at a bike shop, no matter how competent she is.

Got out though, after the dog walk.  I loaded the Jeep up, strapped the bike to the back and headed to the park.  Pompano Air Park is a 4.5 mile square.  Basically a square mile of airplanes coming and going, and occasionally you see the Goodyear Blimp.  But once you are there you get a clear view of the land to the opposite side.  One mile off give or take a few meters.  A Km and 6 tenths plus or minus a few feet.

Go enjoy myself at about 15.25 MPH average for the first hour.

Except.

I got out and felt drops on my arm.  Mind you, I'm ok with being out in the rain and I'm dressed in Biker's Spandex Compression shorts and jersey.   On the bike I'm hard to miss.  But none of that stuff will get damaged in the rain or by the rain.  I do ride fast enough to feel the drops hit me like someone throwing sand at me so I try to avoid that.  Plus water on a disc brake on a bike does what it does to your car - interferes with stopping.

I took the high road though.  Get the workout in as well as I could.  I decided that it was easier to draft another biker for a change.  I'm fast enough that I am at the top of the food chain with intermediate bikers.  The next step would be get the crazy expensive bike made out of Carbon Fiber and frankly that defeats the purpose.  I do it for Cardio and for Cross Training so that when I want to inline skate, I have not lost muscle tone.

It works.  I won't humble brag but having a resting heart rate as low as I do is a nice bonus.

So this big dude, I had wondered about his performance on the trails before.  It turns out that he's a better cyclist than I thought.  He's basically at my level.  Don't judge a book by a cover fast.  I should know, I followed him for the better part of an hour, at my own normal speeds.

Thing about sports is that while you are really competing against your own self, your own capacity, your own capabilities, you notice The Next Guy.  Especially if you see that person about 3 times a week.

I guess I needed that bit of a mental adjustment.  I am happy with my progress in two sports, I should be, I do it enough.  But when you see that Next Guy and get a chance to judge your own performance, it gives you a reset.

Like I said, I'm a big guy.  A Fit 6'4" and 188 pounds.  When I was skating back in the good old days, a friend on the team kept pushing me to get faster.  I asked "I'm flattered but I'm not there yet"  He responded that the team needs an anchor to draft behind.  I wasn't completely sure that was for me but now I understand it. 

I took the day off and drafted the big guy in front of me.  While it is true that if you aren't the lead dog, the view never changes, it's also that lead dog who gets wet. 

Once I had my mid workout water stop at 16 miles, I found out how much I appreciated not being the lead that day.  Back getting pressure washed by weather for that last lap and a half to get my normal every day 22 plus miles.

So stay dry however you can.  We're under flood watches and even the city would prefer if we didn't overload the sewers and the pumping stations.  The rain from yesterday was over 6 inches or about 15 cm.  It's raining now and Mr Dog got a late second walk because I didn't want to get pressure washed again.

Maybe tomorrow.  I'll look across the park at the trails on the far side and see clear skies instead of grey blobs raining down and forcing me to turn around. 

Then again, there is always Friday, huh?

Massive Downpours are an awful way to Hydrate on your Workout but Wet Season Waits for Nobody.

I really should know better.
It is the Wet Season here.
I feel like a drowned rat.
My Jeep looks like a drowned rat.
The bike is clean at least.

It was raining South of the airport.  We never even got a "Duck and Cover" alert on the weather radio.

I am (usually) very good at predicting weather here.  See the storm.  Plot the vector it moves on.  Add a little bit of "error" to the vector.  Live your life.

I went to the park.  It's an 8 mile drive.  Long enough to be an annoyance but not too far really.  I prefer to bike at Pompano Airpark simply because it's not exposed to traffic.  I used to inline skate there but after breaking one, then the other clavicle, I won't go back for that.

Groom your damn trails and don't obstruct them.

I got there and looked up at a cloud deck rolling in.  Heard thunder.  Checked Radar again.  Still not a problem.  I thought we'd get "clipped" and I could avoid it by doing the park backwards.

I park at the southeast corner of a big square, so I thought go North, then West.

I stopped at halfway and realized my heart monitor was at half speed.  Take the thing off, allow it to reset and sync itself with my heart.  I'm feeling the wind pick up, then go into hyper speed.

When I saw Dorothy's house fly overhead I knew it was a problem.

Heart rate monitor synced, I got back on the bike.

Riding about the length of the house, about 50 feet, I hit the rain.

HOLY CRAP!

Or rather it hit me.

Grey out conditions.  My speed was down due to weather and winds already, so having it drop into single digits (First MPH, then the other KPH) was not a surprise.

I used to ride a motorcycle.   Once in my stupid-twenties I rode a motorcycle across Pennsylvania and Ohio to visit a friend in Ann Arbor Michigan.  In the rain across Ohio to Toledo.  When you ride at highway speeds, rain feels like someone is throwing gravel at you.  It can be painful.

This was like that.

I think it was a "Microburst" storm because, even as big as I am, I nearly got knocked off the bike.

By the time I got to the turn at the last mile, my shoe was full of water.  I don't mean wet, I mean as full as a coffee mug before the first sip.

The pickup truck flying through the rain had a mean streak in him.  He sprayed so much water at me, that I was forced into a wobble and nearly fell on the way back.

Getting back to the Jeep, I mounted the bike on the back of the car and laughed at myself.

I'm used to getting caught in The Weather.  Heat, sometimes a shower, sometimes conditions catch you and you end up having a bit of a "Challenge" getting where you want to go.

I took off my saturated cycle jersey and rang all that water out.  Thrown onto the car mat on the passenger side, I started unloading the bike into the car.  The bike bag that sits on the upper bar was completely dry inside, I was pleased at that.  A clip fell off of the bike that held a cable in place.  No worries there, I was waiting on a shipment of black zip ties to replace them anyway.

I texted my loved ones that I am coming home and started the car.  There was a puddle inside the car that was draining into the carpets.  It is Florida, I can just leave it in the sun and hope it dries.

Naw, it rained when I got home and off and on that whole afternoon.  No sun today.  I'll put the Jeep in the sun tomorrow morning.

I think it's that park.  I have two sports that I do, and I am outside a lot.  Inline Skating and Cycling.  A Normal Workout is more than two hours for me. Just not today.

Today I came home and dried off.

So?  How was your workout?  Got your hydration levels right?

The View From The Trail at Pompano Airpark Sometimes Has A Goodyear Blimp

Always have a camera.

Always look for the beauty around you.

Always look for the unexpected.

I have a very aggressive workout schedule.  So far in four weeks, I have skated four Marathon sessions.  155 miles and the month is not done.

I'm not patting myself on the back but more to say that if you do what you love, you will have opportunities to enjoy yourself in life.

This Marathon business was never a big deal for me, when I was in Philadelphia I would skate at least three of them a week from April to October.  The runner's high would last from March until November.

However here, I am getting to the "More or Less" stage.  Either slow down and skate less, or add another session and skate more.  It's a haul to get to Pompano Airpark from here, and my Jeep gets pretty poor mileage.

Two inline skate sessions a week, two bicycle half-marathons a week, plus four miles of dog walks daily.   

Care to join me?  Cardio can be fun!

All of this is outdoors.   So I see a lot of things at a lot of odd hours.  It just takes a lot of time.

"Left Foot, Right Foot, You'll Get There In Time" is a mantra.

While I am out there carving a groove into the trail, I have company.  This happened to be a day that the conditions were right for the Goodyear Blimp to be out practicing landings and takeoffs.  I am at one of two locations where that activity can be seen. 

The blimp does make for an interesting partner in my workouts.   Here at home, if we hear a loud propeller noise, it is indeed possible to have that blue and yellow cigar overhead so we all tend to glance up.

This day was just stunningly perfect.  Temperatures were perfect, breezes were perfect, and I was on my inline skates so that was perfect.

I have sat on the front bumper of my Jeep downing some water and watching the blimp come in at an angle, clamp on the mobile mooring mast, then take off again.  It is rather interesting to watch so I look for the hangar door to be open on any given workout day.

This day was the first workout of the week so it was going to be another Marathon for me.  This was my last lap around the park.  I do six laps for 27 miles.  I had missed the take off but as I got around the corner and headed North along Federal Highway, US 1, there it was just over the trees and to the west.  It was gliding over the heads of South Florida heading North and East towards the nearby Atlantic Ocean.  

I consider myself very fortunate to have that opportunity, to watch it come and go.  I knew that it was based there since I was a Snowbird, and I knew of the park around that airport.  It's actually a main reason why I moved here.  I would not move to another city where I could not have a mid to long distance track where I could practice my eight wheel obsession unencumbered. 

So here I am rolling along, smiling at the cigar in the sky, enjoying the sun, and doing my own best flight around the park.

Yes, it was a good day.  One of the best.

What is a computer’s favorite snack? Computer chips.

Yesterday I was at the park.  It's got an interesting vibe sometimes.  An airport was built during WWII, it was cut back to being only a civil airport so the neighbors would not have to put up with Jets landing (it doesn't work) and a golf course was put in place.  The trail came around the outside of the place and it's a bunch of Skaters, Bikers, Joggers, and Walkers.  Works well if you just keep right except to pass.

I got back from my marathon skate (26.77 mi) and was sitting there on the front bumper of my Jeep and a Golfer matter of fact said with Canadian Accented English: "You look tired."   "Yep, just did a marathon"  "Wow, how long was that?"  "Six laps".

All very matter of fact and like this happens every day.  In fact, yes, conversations like this do.

Interesting vibe.

An 80-year old Italian man goes to the doctor for a check-up.
The doctor is amazed at what good shape the guy is in and asks, ‟How do you stay in such great physical condition?”
‟I am Italian and I am a golfer,” says the old guy,‟ and that's why I am in such good shape. I'm up well before daylight and out golfing up and down the fairways. Have a glass of vino, and all is well.”

‟Well,” says the doctor, ‟I'm sure that helps, but there's got to be more to it. How old was your Dad when he died?”
‟Who said my Dad's dead?”

The doctor is amazed. ‟You mean you're 80 years old and your Dad's still alive. How old is he?”
‟He's 100 years old,” says the old Italian golfer. ‟In fact he golfed with me this morning, and then we went to the topless beach for a walk, that's why he is still alive… he is Italian and he's a golfer too.”

‟Well,” the doctor says, ‟that's great, but I'm sure there's more to it than that. How about your Dad's Dad? How old was he when he died?”
‟Who said my grandpa's dead?”

Stunned, the doctor asks, ‟You mean you're 80 years old and your grandfather's still living! Incredible, how old is he?”
‟He's 118 years old,” says the old Italian golfer.

The doctor is getting frustrated at this point, ‟So, I guess he went golfing with you this morning too?”
‟No. Grandpa couldn't go this morning because he's getting married today.”

At this point the doctor is close to losing it. ‟Getting married! Why would a 118 year-old guy want to get married?”
‟Who said he wanted to?”

Take A Break, Mango Season Is Coming

Just like anything else with me, everything happens near the house or on a workout.

I was out skating.  Nothing new with that, in fact it was the longest skate workout I have had since I moved to Florida.

I had already gotten ten miles in and it was time to rest.  The spot I rest at is under a small copse of trees, has a bench, water, and overlooks the Goodyear Blimp base in Pompano Airpark.  It's a pretty little spot where you can watch people get their cardio in, watch the blimp from time to time, and just have a break from what you are doing.   

Call it an Athlete's Hangout, I do.  Beautiful day.  Warm sun, breezes were light off the ocean.  I rather enjoy that spot.  

I got greeted by one of the fellow skaters and decided to get back to the task at hand and pack in another couple sprints.  Conditions like this only happen in the winter in the south, by the time April hits, we're already pushing the temps towards 90 and you know season is changing.

Actually when I got back to that same bench, that was exactly what I was thinking.  How nice it is, and how privileged I was to be able to enjoy this kind of condition.

Reaching into my skate pack, I grabbed my sport bottle, opened it, and tipped my head back to enjoy some ice water.  Looking up through spotted sunglasses, I noticed that my friend the Mango Tree was back in bloom.  It's a Hagen Mango tree, just like the big one near my house, and I have had fruit from it before.  Orange, creamy, and sweet.  

In a couple months it will be dropping more fruit.

Sitting there, you can gather your thoughts.  I skated 17 miles at that point and decided that it was approaching enough.  I'd do another 3 miles and then head on back.

Smiling at the thought, it was time to go.  Any more would break that peaceful spell.  Yes, it is possible to have peace at upwards of a 175 BPM heart rate, in fact it's preferable.  Standing up, I got on the trail and was able to glide on home. 

I used to compete, I used to skate hyper marathons multiple times in the week.  Now I do this for me.  Headphones on, it's a great way to enjoy the day.

Find your zone.  If it includes being on eight wheels, say hi as you pass the other way or join me for a sprint. 

In Philadelphia, Skating was massive.  On West River Drive, and I believe they changed the name of it by now to something else.  Weekend days it would be closed to allow people to enjoy the park, intimately, so that you could do any non motorized sport.  About half way through that drive is an old stone bridge and a water stop.  Right by that stop, and you have to know where, the was an old apple tree.   If you were lucky, you could tramp out across the grass and find an apple still on the tree.  Fairmount Park did not treat the grounds there other than cutting the grass so it was organic.  I've had many of those apples through the years, and having the mango here is ... well it is just right.

Keep Right Except To Pass meets Entitled Clueless Karen on the Workout Trails

The funny thing about this was I was originally writing this as a lead-in to a joke on the weekend.  It ended up being a piece about the park.  I did leave the joke in at the end, it's not a long one.



As the world is slowly picking itself up and getting back to normal, so am I.

I was recently back out at the park skating a slow workout.  After all, wiping out and ending up in an ER in the best of times is a bad thing no matter what things are like. 

That aerobic burn is a great thing, puts me in a good mood for the next couple days with a great runner's high.

The problem is that while I am a big guy, the trail is cramped in corners. 

 

Oh, and the culture of entitlement has hit outdoor exercising just like it has everywhere else.  You know, that mindset of the rules are for other people?

Basically, if you are walking three across and filling the entire multipurpose trail, I hate you.  

Keep right except to pass used to be posted on all the highways when I lived in New Jersey. 

I have been gone for almost 15 years, but I bet you could still find one of those signs if you tried hard enough.

Here I was near the end of the workout.  I wasn't particularly moving all that fast.  I "drive" the trails, since I know them so well.   Avoid the divot at the 4 mile marker.  Hit the bench at the 3.5 mile marker next time past for a water stop.  Make sure you step over the rough pavement when you merge at 3 mile marker.  Surf the off shore wind if you're going West.

That kind of thing.

Coming into a blind curve, I dropped the speed down to a trot and rolled around the corner. 

Just down the trail was a pair of gym bunny types.  I'm fine with them, in their place, but if you are putting your ... "bulk" across the trail, the etiquette everywhere I have ever seen is to announce your presence, keep to the right, and be aware of your surroundings.

In the case of Pompano Airpark, it is Literally Posted On Signs.  In fact, it was posted right where this all happened in full view.

Slower Traffic Keep Right.  They were across the trail with a small gap to the left.  Time for a snap executive decision.

I come around the corner and say, loudly "On Yer Left!" since they were on the wrong part of the trail.

One Clueless Karen says to the other Clueless Karen "Oh!  We have to move" and grabs the other by the elbow.

... and pushes her into my traffic lane.

Mind you at under 100 KG and 193 CM plus skates and helmet I look like a wall moving along.  All in "High Vis" colors and sweat.

I hear a squeak from Clueless Karen as I bellow "NO!  KEEP RIGHT! OFF THE TRAIL!"

My brakes shriek in protest as I slow to a walk.

At that particular spot, the trail is bordered by a metal cyclone fence.  The other side of the asphalt that is about the width of a broad sidewalk there is a hedge.  Chock full of semi sharp edges.  Pointy bits left over from when the rather good landscaping crew came through and trimmed last Monday.

I see a pile of Neon Fabrics and semi-overweight Karen fall into the hedge with a louder "OUCH!".

I suspect a lesson was learned, I never saw those particular people back.

Oh, Well, Shrug. 

I chuckled to myself once I calmed down and thought about this story.


A man was driving home from work when he got a call from his wife...

“Be careful, honey,” she said. “I saw on the news that there’s some idiot going the wrong way on the highway that you take to get home.”

The man was confused.

“What do you mean?” he said. “There isn’t one person going the wrong way, there are hundreds of them!”

Mangoes are starting to drop, is season starting?

I have a mango powered workout again.

I was sitting on a bench at the park.  I decided that after 7 miles of bombing the trail, it was time for a water bottle.  The Goodyear Blimp was on the other side of the trees.

I was sitting under a 30 foot tall Mango tree there by the water fountain and looked up.

Hey you tree!  Lets have some fruit, Oscar needs some too.

It really is early for this.  On the dog walks, if there are any unripe fruit I will pick it up.  We had a wind storm and some rain for the first time in months, probably before xmas.  On the ground there were quite a few golf ball sized and larger fruit waiting.  Right after the last storm there were a couple quarter pound fruit there for the passers by to enjoy.

I had those this morning, Oscar had a few golf ball sized mangoes and some peanuts.

I was thinking about all of this and talking to the big tree while looking up.  Probably  I was just hungry.

My mind flicked back to the cookies I took for a post workout snack sitting on the passenger seat of the Jeep and I thought, may as well get back to it.

It was just a quick couple of miles to get to the car anyway, and while the conditions were perfect, it was about time to go.

Skating in South Florida is a bit different.   In Pennsylvania, I could easily go for a 5 mile stretch without having a break in the pavement, road crossing the trail, or even a water stop.  Marathons were common.  My usual workouts were 33 miles three times a week.  I'd make the difference up for a "Hundred Mile Week".  

Here at the Pompano Airpark, it is a short loop of only 4.6 miles.  Every mile has breaks in it.  Rumble strips for the blind, ingress and egress for the airport, close corners around the little mall where if you don't watch for debris on the trail, you will fall.

So I sat there.  Semi New Skates with only 100 miles on them.  I finished that bottle of ice water I brought with me.  You don't want to drink from a public water fountain these days.  It is the only source of water on that side of the park and it gets used in odd ways.

Standing up, I looked at the tree and the benches, and moved on.  

New skates with new bearings with new wheels mean that you can move.  In my case, a Four Minute Mile is not unheard of, although I have been purposely holding my speed down.  

After all, a missed pebble and you're painting asphalt with your own skin.  I've done that too many times.  But let me tell you, moving along with the speed of the birds and the wheels humming out the miles is a wonderful way to spend a morning.

Getting back to the car, the treat of those cookies and a rather nice view across the open grass to the Goodyear Blimp was in store. 

It's time.  A wonderful time to eat up the miles and the cookies.

How it got to be Kevin Puryear's Bench at Pompano Airpark

For me, the story starts well after things were in play.

You see, I restarted a regular habit of my own, then took it on the road.

I have started skating on a regular basis this year, and that meant I was going to Pompano Airpark.  I’d go, skate, fall down, and generally beat myself into a pulp while thoroughly enjoying the exercise.

I’m going twice a week, as early in the day as I can get out there, to skate a 9 mile workout. It is a great way to burn upwards of 1500 calories, and get some beta endorphins.

I guess being as big as I am, almost 7 feet on skates with helmet, the beta endorphins would soften my own appearance.

Going along on the trail, I’d have a big goofy grin on my face, while I am in my cocoon of music on the headphones.

I became a regular. People would recognize me, smile and wave.

There was one person in specific who hung out at the 1.5 mile water stop.  It’s a small stand of shade trees surrounding a water fountain and three green metal benches.  Since the park really needs more water stops, this stop became a bit of a hangout.

I noticed as I was skating by, heading past the big Goodyear blimp hangar, there was one person curiously asking me the time.

Frequently.

“What Time You Got? Is it 9 O’Clock yet?” I’d hear.
“Um sure!” Glancing at my watch.
“Have a great morning!”

I’d be confused as he was generally very friendly even if his outward appearance was on the rather scruffy side and led me to believe that he might be homeless.

As I’m going through this year, I’m testing out old equipment to prove that I can continue to use it, or that I should “retire” it.  Trust me, skates don’t age well, and my newest pair is over 15 years old.

One of those test workouts, I had to stop at that water stop.  By that I meant I was in desperate need of a rest since the skates being tested had me burning almost twice my usual “burn rate” in calories.  I was exhausted.

He was there.  Still pleasant as usual.

I got my drink and he waited.  As soon as I had finished “Is it 9 o’clock yet? You enjoying yourself?”

“Oh yes, I am!”  I fibbed, but people never want to hear bad news.  After all my third wheel had swollen and was forcing me to take way too many rests than usual.

I guess I had made a new friend.  Every time in the future, I’d hear him cheer me on or shout a loud Hello! as I passed.

This was what he did.  He would hang out with the people working out at the park.  Some more athletic than others, always greeted by him.

I grew to expect to see him there, then grew to look forward to him.  He just was there, being pleasant, sitting under the trees, never threatening, just enjoying being there as everyone would come and go.

Later, usually late morning, he’d wander off.  I never saw where he went to but I figured he had another place to go and more people to see.

Local Color is what I call something like this.  Someone who does something unexpected that brings a bit of character to the area.

I realized after a while that he had gone missing and I didn’t know why.  My mid lap greeting was gone.  Since I tended not to stop often at that water stop, I never learned why.

Except one day a small memorial cropped up on his bench.  Right where he always sat, closest to the trail on the southernmost bench.

The story explained that he had been struck by the Brightline train on June 10, 2019.  His family had invited everyone to his service and his funeral to say goodbye.

It turns out that he was an uncle, a brother, and a friend to his family and they said he will be missed.

I was telling this story to my own family the other day and realized that yes, he would be missed.  I missed seeing him there on what I had taken to calling Kevin’s Bench.

It is now two months after he died.  The little memorial is still there.  I still look every time I pass there.

Kevin has gone, we at the park still remember.

You never really know who you touch in life or how you effect others by your actions.

Sometimes those effected don’t realize that they were until you've gone.

Skating with the Goodyear Blimp at the Pompano Airpark

A couple miles north of me, a couple miles in from the ocean in Pompano Beach, FL is the Pompano Airpark.

When they carved up the flat swampy ground and drained the soon to be populated area of South Florida, there was this large plot of land that was once out where nobody lived. 

People eventually back-filled their lives into the area, there are homes surrounding the park in the large sprawl that is what is the metropolitan area.

Goodyear got there first and bought that plot before we all moved in.  They put in an airport, landing strip and the hangar for the Goodyear Blimp.  There are two that I know of, the other being in California.  San Diego I believe but I could be wrong.

It's more than a square mile of land serving light aircraft and the worlds largest flying billboard, the Goodyear Blimp.

When I was growing up in South Jersey, we only ever saw it once or twice so it was a curiosity.

Moving here, I have put that plot of land to my own uses, skating on the "black ice" trail that encircles the Hangar and the civil airport.

It is 4.6 miles around, if you are needing a place to skate here that you won't get hunted down by the ferocious drivers.

If Boston has the reputation where driving is a contact sport, they need to come down here and see how hunting down others is really done. 

That is why I went back to the Airpark.  I had some moron from Townhouse Isles in Wilton Manors pass me on NE 7th Avenue more than once in an all fired rush to get out to whatever their lives had in store for them, and as a result nearly take my own life with them.

Trust me, don't skate or bike on the roads in South Florida, it's dangerous.  This coming from someone who has ridden a motorcycle in Manhattan, drives a Jeep Wrangler, and skates a lot.

But, the Airpark and its trail is safer.  Even if it is a bit short at 4.6 miles, and totally flat, you can get miles in.

I needed to get back skating because, while it is not fashionable, inline skating is probably the

best sport for me that I can come up with.  You might have a different one, go and enjoy, but after skating 21,000 miles since 1992, this is mine.

I did notice that when I started that workout, the blimp was practicing maneuvers, and that can be entertaining.  Once sitting on a bench near the end of the landing strip, I watched that giant cigar coming in for a landing at what looked close to a 45 degree angle.  In the wind.

Snapping a picture, I started skating around the trail.   The hangar sits at the midway point, 2 miles in, and there's a shaded portion at mile marker 1.  When I came out of the shaded portion, I noticed the blimp hanging overhead coming into the approach for landing, along with a small civil fixed aircraft.  At that same time, there was a bird heading into the view.  Most likely flushed out by the fans that push that blimp around, no doubt.

This was not going to be a fast workout.  I had for all intents and purposes, stopped skating a few years ago, rolled to a stop.  It was much more fun to skate with the team, and there just weren't any people around.

Life moved on and, Life is better on 8 or 10 wheels.  Someone else in the neighborhood knows that too because slowly more people started dusting off their skates and are skating around town.

By the time I got to where I wanted to turn around, after all this was a "Get Reacquainted" workout, I got to the back of the hangar.  I'm right around 2 to 2.5 miles anyway, and I wanted to see what was going on.

Well really, I was trying to skate at my old competition speeds and my fitness levels weren't up to cruising at 16 mph (4 minute mile) so I slowed to stop at the back of the Hangar.

Sitting there on the ground, visible through the fence and the back door of the hangar was the blimp being stowed after a landing.

Cool!  Firing off a couple more pictures, I left with a grin.

I needed that pause.  While I did finish the lap plus a half mile, this workout told me I slacked too much, too long.

So Instead of doing my usual training workouts of 33 miles at a shot, yes, three times a week, I am doing a 5 mile loop, and starting over.

After all, you can't skate 100 miles in a week if you don't skate 5 first.  I'm back at a steady pace, skating the airpark and wearing out my wheels.

We all need a sport, this is mine.