Oct-4: Fire Dept Open House

Oct-04:

PUE: --> BJP-lake loop + a bit of Beaver Dam, then Bayleaf Fire Station #2, then Station #1: 53.5 m.; est 3142 ft climbed --> effort index = 84; 3hrs, 32min; 15.1 mph.

1st Qt. tot: 20 rides; 755.3 m.; 47 hrs, 31 min; 15.9 mph.
2nd Qt. tot: 43 rides; 2124.3 m.; 134 hrs, 59 min; 15.7 mph.
3rd Qt tot: 36 rides; 1947.2 m.; 121 hrs, 48 min; 16.0 mph.
Oct tot: 2 rides, 111.1m.; 7 hrs, 12 min; 15.4 mph.
YTD: 101 rides; 4938.1 m.; 311 hrs, 32 min; 15.9 mph. 

Rolling 12-mos.: 122 rides; 5855.8 m.; 366 hrs, 50 min; 16.0 mph. 

I feel like it is the middle of winter, or maybe late winter, and the legs haven't been "trained up". Hard to make them go. Or hard to make the brain interested in going hard. One or the other, maybe both. Does a crash take this much "interest" out of one?

Went by "Lt. Dave's" Open House. Lots of people. Lots of activities. Numerous kids seemed to be having fun at several exhibits -- including one where the child "aimed" the firehose at a series of fires in the windows of a house on fire. I think the firemen were helping the small children with their aiming. Kids looked to be having fun. The children also looked to be having fun. (In case you didn't catch that: firemen kids and the youngsters were the children.)

Dave was manning the "blood pressure station". He claimed my blood pressure was 126 / 82 -- or something in that ballpark.

I went to have a "nutritious" lunch of hotdog, cookies, and lemonaide. I don't know if the hotdogs were "Ballpark".

While I was in line for food, the alarm sounded -- Lt. Dave went from calm socializing at the blood pressure station to walking quickly with a purpose down the drive of the fire station -- on duty and off to do his duty.

I finished my food, then remounted and headed back toward PUE. Paul (of the displaced shoulder of the Pilot Mtn ride) and his wife Jeanna were out doing yard or some kind of outside work, so I pulled in to say hello and chat for a bit. Suddenly there was a loud, deep TOOOT - TOOT sounding behind us -- LT was returning to the fire house from his call and "saying" hello as he drove by. Said good-byes to Paul & Jeanna and rode the last mile or so to finish the ride.
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Btw, do you like the picket fence for the mileage so far in October?
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[edit, Oct-05-2009: 

I "verified" the "climbing" on veloroutes instead of just using a default estimate. I'm thinking that part of the reason I was slow today was because the average climbing per mile was 59 feet. The Fire Station Tour of 6.8 miles at the end of the ride included 477 feet of climbing; about 70 ft per mile for that section. 

That doesn't explain why I was such a laggard on the "lake loop" part of the ride, though. The lake loop still has the same amount of climbing that it always had.]