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Just for the record. . . .

I thoroughly dislike mowing the grass! That is all. . . . . . . hahaha!

Well, yesterday was the first mow of the year for us, and I cut all 5 acres. Well, it actually took 2 days to do and I finished today. The first cut seems to always be the most involved, especially when your front 2 acres are filled with trees, downed branches and EXTRA high grass over the septic leach bed, and the rear 3 acres are overgrown from not cutting all year in '09. It took me the better part of 6 hours to cut the back yard and back 40 of our property, and then another hour to cut the front yard.

Today took a couple hours longer than usual though because the belt came off of the mower deck in the middle of mowing. And it didn't help that the deck was fill with grass that had to be pulled out. So, I pulled the deck off to clean it out and in the process, I find that all 3 blades are extremely dull. I would have been better off trying to cut the grass with the back side of a butter knife! I put everything back together though after doing a little filing on the blades and got the yard done.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, I AM FRIED! I got burnt to a crisp. Silly me didn't put on sunscreen or any thing, so now my arms, face, head and the tops of my knees are as red as the paint on our Troy Built mower. Not fun times at all. Oh well, I got a good base for our Myrtle Beach trip in a couple weeks. Can't wait for that!

Well, that's all for my rant about mowing. I hope you all have better luck, and a smaller yard, than I!

C-ya!

John

Getting Back Into BMX

So, I posted a link to my page on Hookit.com, but didn't really explain the situation. For the last few years, I have been wanting to get back into BMX racing but have not had the time to train or get in better shape to ride. Before that I didn't have a bike anymore. Now I have a bike, a DK General Lee, that I got for my birthday 2 years ago. And Ashley and I have started going to Five Seasons to help loose weight and get in to better shape. So, now that I am starting to get more "spare" time, I can get some practice in and learn a few of the racing skills I have forgotten over the last 16 years. It's amazing what you can forget in that time, especially things that were pretty much second nature. Like something as simple as jumping, manuals or even a bunny hop. Easy stuff when you're half my age.

Yesterday, I thought I'd work on some starting sprints. Seemed simple enough to pedal at 80-90% power for about 100'. Well, the first attempt went well. I got a good start and felt pretty good. The second, not so much. After the second pedal, I either leaned to far forward or hit a stick and bailed, hitting my left knee hard on the driveway and dragging my pedal up my right leg. Kind of put an end to my practice session. So, before I went to sleep I was pricing knee/shin and elbow pads.

Today, I thought about riding a little after I got done working, but that's about as far as I got. My knee is still a little sore, but OK and not bruised. My leg is looking pretty bad, but little to no pain.

You would think at almost 34 years old I would have better sense than to try to get back into a sport better suited for kids half my age and younger.