Some Down, More To Go

There's nothing more boring than a diary or a daily activities log. Still... Howard's gonna do the big countdown -- or count-up -- to 8,000 miles on a bicycle since he's been working on this all year. Same as the million-dollar house, which should be done and moved in at about the same time Howard finishes his 8,000-mile goal.

The weather report was supposed to be windy and warm -- just like yesterday's weather. It wasn't very windy at all, though it was warm. Which leads Howard to believe that 1) weather forecasters have no imagination beyond assuming that tomorrow is going to be just like today, or; 2) weather forecasters that use computer models are clueless beyond what historical precedent might suggest. Howard can say this because his father is a retired atmospheric scientist. His father has on occasion been accused of a lack of imagination, and he loves the computer modelling. Howard's in tight with Dad, so Dad won't get too offended when he says this to the entire world! Right, old man?

So with all this great (relatively) windless weather, one would expect that Howard did 70, 80, 100 miles? Nope. Too busy this morning. Didn't get out until about 2 pm. Rode for 41 miles, took a bunch of photos, and got back after sunset without any lights on his bike.

The picture above is a self-portrait at the halfway point in the afternoon ride -- a grove a huge cottonwood and evergreen trees at the end of a county road about 15 miles from the Colorado-Wyoming border. Sorry about the Wal-Mart happy face, but Howard's not quite ready to unveil his beauty just yet. He's 6'-3" and as of this afternoon, weighed 205. Working hard to reach his ideal weight of 194 by next summer.

Howard came across a herd of bison on the ride back. Howard's not sure how he missed them on the way out since he's usually most alert and attentive. Yeah, you read that right. He's also clueless -- like his weatherman dad.

41 miles down this afternoon, 213 miles to go. Keep ya' posted...