Owal Rescue

Friday July 13, 2012, was both lucky and unlucky for a young Great Horned Owl. The very bad luck was being hit by a car sometime in the night. Better luck was sitting in the road about 9:30am when a group of cyclists from Tallahassee came along.

The immobile, but erect, clump of feathers was in the middle of the oncoming (westbound) lane of the Climax-Whigham road (aka GA Bike Route 10). Riding about 4th wheel in a steady paceline heading east, I saw and immediately recognized him as an owl. One of my buddies, Ron Ray, followed me as I made a careful exit from the paceline and U-turned back to the bird. He (the bird, not Ron) looked awful: Wet and rumpled feathers, covered with sandy muddy road spray, and a dazed stare. Ron exclaimed at how old the bird looked. He really was pathetic, looking like a wet chicken in mid-molt.

About the same time a pickup came along. I'm sorry I don't have the drivers name, he did good. I asked if he could take the owl to a vet, and he agreed. I asked if he had a towel in the truck - he only had his T shirt to offer. That, I knew, would not be enough. I shed my long-sleeve day-glow yellow polyester jersey. I got the owl to look at the big patch of color and dropped it over him, wrapping him up in it. Then we tied the T shirt around as a kind of makeshift cradle. The driver then drove the bird away, holding the cradle with one hand. The talons grasping the cloth were, ahem, impressive. Yikes. You'd lose a hand if that got on your wrist.

Ron and I road into Whigham, where we determined that the vet destination was all the way down US 84 to Cairo. So we road on back to the start of our ride and our vehicles in Calvary. The rest of our erstwhile paceline was there loading up to go back to real life. I drove back north to Cairo and the vet - to check on the bird and, if convenient, retrieve my jersey. (Note: Thank the stars I was wearing bib shorts so that riding without the jersey didn't gross people out too much. I did pick up some sun in places unused to it.) I got to the vet in Cairo. The folks there were very nice. They didn't have a clue about wildlife, though. I asked if they had my jersey, and found that the bird was still wrapped up in it. They extracted both shirts, and I asked them to hold the T for the pickup guy. They told me that the "wildlife rescue" lady was already on the way to get the owl, so I left feeling that I had helped him as much as I could.

Sidebar. Animals are hurt by our technology: roads, vehicles, powerlines, towers, fences, dams, boats. Vehicles, in particular, are far and away the top predator in North America. 


That night I called the wildlife rescue lady, one Lorraine Conklin. She told me the owl had never been delivered ... huh? A big misunderstanding, apparently the Cairo vet was expected to take the bird to a wildlife savvy vet in Thomsaville, but they had understood the opposite. Bad news for the owl, who was destined to spend the night without treatment or water in the cage in Cairo. I could hardly sleep.

I was at the Cairo vet when they opened this morning. I brought my welding gloves (BBQ cook's equipment), a heavy towel, and a box. I tried to sound officious stating I was there to pick up the owl. They were all relieved, and my equipment made me look like I knew what I was doing, so they brought me back to the cage. On the door was a paper sign stating: "Owal". (Well, hey, it IS a 2-syllable word in south GA, right?) Someone had supplied a plastic file crate for him, and he was perched on top of it, a good sign. His feathers were dry and fluffed. He looked every inch the "top gun" that he should be. I donned the welding/BBQ gloves, reached in "as if", grasped him and got him into the crate and closed the bifold lid. Away we went to Thomasville.

The rest of the day went great. The Thomasville vet:

Clanton-Malphus-Hodges Veterinary Hospital
2134 East Pinetree Blvd
Thomasville, GA 31792
229-226-1914

had been expecting the owl since yesterday, and they immediately took charge. I heard again from Ms Conklin, who had by then picked him up and brought him to her Nepenthic Society refuge for sick and injured wildlife in Thomasville. She confirmed that the owl was an immature (not fully grown, but old enough to be on his own) male Great Horned Owl. He seems to have had a concussion, and his eyes are not yet working well enough to hunt, but there were no broken wings or legs. Right now his prognosis is good for re-release in several days.

The Nepanthic Society
167 Home Park Farm Rd
Thomasville, GA 31757
229-228-9298


Ms Conklin is French. Today is July 14. I wished her happy Bastille Day.

PS The vet in Cairo was really nice. I know I made a little fun at their expense, but they had good in their hearts, and I feel sure they are a wonderful and caring place to take Fido and Kitty. Just not the coyotes, bobcats, and owals.

Mo2W Q1 Report

Yesterday was the 12th Meals on 2Wheels delivery (13, if you count the beta test on 1/25). We have not missed a Wed morning since the start on Feb 1, 2012. We had a couple of mornings when rain threatened, including yesterday (4/18) when we actually got sprinkled on. The upside of those weather-threatening days is, we set speed records for completing the delivery. The downside is, we don't spend any chit/chat time with the clients, but they know us now and definitely "get" that we need to hurry due to weather. Here are some more details on things we have learned and accomplished over the first three months of Mo2W.

Client List Evolution
Our "clients" are the folks we actually deliver meals to. This is what Mo2W is all about. Our list has evolved, and the data for that exposes the human story of aging in America. We added two clients during this quarter, one who moved into our "service area" and another who returned from a stay in a rehab facility. When our lady moved back from rehab, she was so happy to be back in her home and is clearly worried that she might not be able to stay there. Home, no matter how modest, is infinitely preferable to a "facility". Everybody knows this. Most of us have learned this through some personal experiences with family or friends or neighbors.  The rest of  us will learn it that way sometime in the future.

We also lost two clients. Reverend Bishop J B B, age 99, passed on March 21, 2012. He and his wife were both clients. Ms B is still in mourning, but hanging in there physically.
Caleb H, Jr, 95, left us for Hospice in late March and passed away on April 4, 2012. Mr H had been blind since I knew him.
It is sad to have these senior citizens leave us. It is poignant to realize that Meals on (2 or 4) Wheels helped allow these kind, good-hearted people to remain in their homes while they were alive.

Logo by artist Bill Otersen
We are extremely grateful to Bill Otersen for designing our Mo2W logo. The Biking Chef is cool. He is showing the world that you can use bikes for utilitarian purposes and enjoy the journey while maintaining your health and being a part of your environment instead of observing from inside a rolling terrarium. Thank you so much, Bill. I hope the logo catches on in other places around the country.

Who Dat
Here are the people who have participated in Mo2W so far:
Alvin Farrar
Chris Lacher [dat's me]
Mike Redig
Marv Rubenstein
Dave Stotts
Josh Valentine

Al Farrar is the only person besides myself to have made every single delivery during Mo2W's brief existence. Al is a trooper. Marv Rubenstein and Mike Redig have made quite a few deliveries as well. Dave Stotts rode with us in preparation for his column on Mo2W - more on that below. Josh Valentine joined us for the first time on 4/18. He is a member of the FSU cycling team and an avid all-round cyclists, also informally associated with Bicycle House Tallahassee, a non-profit community bike shop. Josh will be in Spain this summer, but is planning on starting up a Mo2W route supported by FSU Cycling.

Dave Stotts Column
Dave is our Tallahassee Democrat Bicycle Sports columnist. He rode with Mo2W and devoted a good portion of his April 6, 2012, column to Mo2W. I would like to post a link to this column, but it doesn't seem feasible. If you are a Democrat subscriber, you can find it in the Friday April 6 edition. This column was a surprise. Dave normally writes about racing. He took that day off of racing for a human interest column. Thanks Dave!

FSU Cycling
We made a brief presentation to FSU Cycling on March 29, at the invitation of president Greg Buker. Our basic pitch to them is that Mo2W would be a great way for them to integrate public service with cycling. Public service is a big deal at FSU, and is one of the components many students use to earn their Garnet & Gold Honor Society honors at graduation. Josh Valentine was there and is enthusiastic about the prospects.

Immediate Future
We will be starting an every-other-Thursday delivery on 4/26, just in time for Bike Month. Karen Loewen has been eager to join us but is tied up on Wednesdays at work. Karen will help inaugurate the Thursday run and will likely become the ride leader for that route. A second trailer that can be dedicated to this group has been donated by Krank It Up, a community bicycle project.

Standing Invitation
All members of Capital City Cyclists are invited to join Mo2W. If you can commit to one morning per month riding as a public servant, please sign up. Drop me an email. If you are not a member of CCC, please consider joining, but also note that Mo2W needs volunteer riders in any case. "Call Me."

MO2W update

The Meals on 2 Wheels group is working well. We delivered 16 meals on 2/8 and only 14 on 2/15, sadly two of our clients were in hospital. We hope they will be back this week.

Two points of interest:

1. Bill Otersen has designed us a logo!
2. We will meet at Brueggers West this week and until further notice, just for a meet-up location closer to ECS.

Meals on 2 Wheels Debut SUCCESS!

This morning four of us made the first Meals on 2 Wheels delivery by bicycle.

Al Farrar, Mike Redig, Marv Rubenstein and I met at Black Dog Cafe this morning at 9:00am. I was worried about the weather - really did not want the first try to be a mess - but we were fortunate.

There is not whole lot to say, really, except to review what we did, because everything went well and according to plan. This will probably be typical:

Meet at Black Dog 9:00am. Get new attendees signed up and oriented. Chit chat. Depart about 9:30, taking 7th Ave to Old Bainbridge to Alabama to Colorado, and from there pick up the advertised route to ECS: Continental, San Luis Park, San Luis Drive, Solano, White, Tennessee. We had a nice visit at ECS - the hot meals were a few minutes late getting out, so we took some time to see the facilities and all the hard working people making it happen. Loaded up about 10:20, reversed the route into Frenchtown, delivered 13 meals, and went separate ways since it looked like the predicted rain was about to come true.

My very hearty thank you to Marv, Mike & Al for participating. We're on again for next week, same time, same place. Bring a bike!

Meals on 2 Wheels - beta test

I've been working on a system to do "Meals on Wheels" on 2 wheels - by bicycle.

I had the idea while doing the 4-wheel version with my wife Kathy. We have a route that is urban and compact. In a car there is a lot of idling, U-turning, stop 'n go kind of stuff. It was clear that the delivery portion of the route would be much more efficient, and fun, on a bike.

I worked out two systems. The first uses a small bike trailer, converted over from one we had to take the grandkids behind a bike when they were babies. The trailer is hauled by a "trucker" and escorted by several "runners" on bikes. The runners deliver the meals to the door - and chat up the client, make sure they are doing OK, etc. The trucker stays with the bike/trailer and also does the navigation for the route, checking things off and making sure of the next client's home. (I'll describe the second system in a later post.)

The one unknown - and solved with some good luck - was finding a good bike route from Elder Care Services [ECS] into the neighborhood where the meals are delivered. ECS is on W Tennessee St west of White Drive.

I found an unmapped bike trail (old and wrinkled, but still, ahem, serviceable) that runs East/West through San Luis Park. It connects from San Luis Drive on the west to Continental Ave on the East. This is a missing link that connects ECS to the urban area of Frenchtown.

Sunday I ground-proofed the route. Today I did the whole delivery thing myself as a beta test, using the trailer. It was slow going, without any help I was both trucker and runner. But it worked! I left ECS with a full load of 15 meals at 10:15AM and had them all delivered by 11:30. (See links to maps below.)

A week from today, Wed Feb 1, will be the first official delivery by the Meals on 2 Wheels group. I'll post again after that's done.

In case you are interested, here are two maps that show the ECS-San Luis Park route and the Continental Drive - Delivery route. The two connect across the unmapped area of San Luis Park.

ECS Access Route

Delivery Route

Montreal

TOURING THE COMMUTE

Bikes everywhere. This is like Amsterdam, Paris, or Copenhagen. In the city there are bikeways, I'll call them, paralleling the portion of the street allowing motorized vehicles, which I'll call motorways (not to be confused with the British use of that term). The bikeways are separated by physical barrier from the motorways, except at intersectons, where all ways (Pedestrian, Bike, Motor) blend to negotiate the individual needs of the traveller. The intersections are well designed and the users educated, so that conflicts of direction and purpose arise rarely and resolve quickly. (See "delayed turn" below.) There is general respect among the user categories (walkers, bikers, drivers). Motorists typically accept they are dangerous to the other participants and yield accordingly. And bikers in turn show deference and respect to the walkers. But nobody has patience for the slow and confused tourist - they are on business, what do these gawkers think happens in a city on a weekday? I was passed abruptly and somewhat rudely only by other cyclists, likely showing disdain for the tourist clogging their bikeway for a purpose less worthy than their work-a-day transportation. I didn't mind. I knew they were right and entitled to be proud of their city.

My impression of motorists: resigned tolerance. Not even Pepe' LePew could fail to preceive that if these bikers were all in cars, nobody would be getting anywhere. The motorist is forced by simple and un-ignorable logic to be thankful for so many cyclists.

Not every urban street has the seperated bikeways and pedways. Of course, bikers and walkers are allowed there too, but you are expected to be competent: silly inattention or otherwise failing to get on with business will not get you run over, but it will get you a well-deserved horn and a "come ON" look: Please, the multiuse roadway is for going somewhere efficiently.

Sightings

1. Cyclist with kayak on trailer, heading for the St Lawrence.
2. Group of Hasidic Jews in a rented peddle car, racing a pigeon. Though each of the seven peddled furiously, the pigeon won.
3. The best-designed bike trailer I've ever seen for goods transport: very light weight, but with about 3x10 feet of flatbed load surface and considerable structural strength engineered using lightweight struts.
4. About 30% helmet use - better than evident in videos of Europe, but less than in the US.
   

Using the Bixis

The term bixi is from bike + taxi. Three thousand bixis are in three hundred stations all around and in the city. The stations lock the bikes by the front wheel. To rent:

1. Insert credit card (no cash), agree to contract, and get an unlock number (valid for 2 minutes).


2. Use the unlock number to unlock a bike.


3. Ride.

Cost: There is a one-time fee of $5.00 (per 24 hours), plus: first 30 minutes: free, second 30 minutes: $1.50, 3rd: $1.50, fourth or more $6.00. (This may not be quite correct, but my best interpretation of the French iconography.) But you can park the bike in any empty slot anywhere in town and the clock stops. (I'm pretty sure it starts over for the next session within that 24 hour period.) The next time within the 24 hour period, just insert the same credit card, get an unlock number, remove a bike, and go again. The $5.00 daily charge is not repeated. It appears that if you keep the sessions under 30 minutes you ride free for 24 hours, once the $5.00 is paid. I will know for sure when I get my mastercard bill.

The whole thing is designed to allow you to do about the city and not have to worry about your bike at all. When you want to take a break or walk about, just put the bike in a stand. When ready to ride again, get another one out.

All the bikes are identical, with calibrated adjustable seatposts so you can quickly set it up for your needs. The ride position is decidedly upright. There are three gears, selected with a grip-shift-like device and interval hub transmission. The low gear will get you up any of Montreal's hills with ease, and the high is good for decent speed on flats. Speaking of flats, the tires are robust and fat, but still presumably flattable. I suppose you just insert the flatted bike and get another. I don't know how to let the service crew know about it, though.

There's a staff of bike service people who maintain the bikes. (Hey, wrenches - ever dream of a bike job with health care and retirement benefits? Apply to City of Montreal.) Each bike has a GPS chip embedded in a secret location, in case you were to forget to return it. Plus, your credit card is on file. Kind of like car rental, more trouble to steal than it's worth.

The bixi is quite rideable for business or tourism activity. Beats the hell out of walking or driving.

Delayed Turn

One innovation in traffic engineering is the delayed turn for motorists. First of all, there's no turn on red, period. And there is a delay in permitted turns, controlled by a forward-only green arrow that becomes open green after about 5 seconds. This is a very subtle innovation. It gives the bikers and walkers a jump on the green before anyone is allowed to turn into their path. It really works well, and goes a long way toward preventing the right-turning motorist x straight-ahead cyclist/pedestrian conflict.

6-Gap Users Guide

A DESCRIPTION OF THE RIDE The course consists of an "approach" from Dahlonega followed by six climbs with some rolling hills between the gaps. Each climb culminates at a "gap", or mountain pass. The climb is named for the gap. There are refreshment stops at each gap and an extra one about half way up Hogpen (gap 4). (There may be more, but you won't need them.) The approach is rolling, with some very sharp (but short) hills. It's roughly comparable to a loop around the Havana Hills race course in Gadsden county. You want to be very careful with your energy on these first few miles. It is easy to get caught up in the moment and push hard enough to effectively ruin the rest of the ride before you even get to the first climb. Forget the group - ride your own pace and get warmed up. You absolutely have to ride your own ride on the climbs anyway. Keep in mind: a ride like 6-gap is more about energy management than anything else. You have only so much, and you're going to need a lot of it on the latter part of the ride.

Gap 1: Neels This is a seven mile climb of moderate grade. Use it to get your legs and CV system running well and to get the feel of what it's like to go up hill for an hour. Watch your energy output rate (preferably with a heart rate monitor) and keep it moderate. There will be plenty of opportunity to push harder later in the ride, should you find the workout inadequate. The descent from Neels is fast but straight enough to be relatively safe, with good pavement. (For the 3-gap folks, the left turn to Wolfpen Gap is easy to fly by if you are not looking for it.) 

Gap 2: Jacks After some fairly good Havana-hills-like rolling terrain, this climb goes for about 3 miles at a moderate+ grade. This is where you get the experience of making a long climb that is not the first long climb... The descent from Jacks is long and moderate - let it fly. Beautiful scenery and lots of free miles on this one. It takes you all the way to the start of the climb to Unicoi Gap, no hilly stuff in between: just descend and start the next climb.

Gap 3: Unicoi Unicoi is about 3 miles of moderate++ climbing. The main problem with Unicoi is that it is unshaded and can be very hot facing into the sun. The descent from Unicoi is great. While the climb is relatively short, the descent is over 10 miles all the way into Helen. The grade is steep enough to be fun, but the pavement is good and the curves are well banked so again this is not particularly dangerous. There may be a lot of traffic, the only "down side". But the roadway is wide enough to accommodate autos and bikes in most places. Stay aware of the traffic behind you. At 1445 ft above sea level, Helen is the lowest elevation on 6-gap, thus explaining why the descent is so long. (Dahlonega is 1880 ft.) And you WILL pay a price... 

Gap 4: Hogpen This is the big one. Seven miles at a steep grade, averaging around 7% but with some sections well above that. There are also a couple of false summits. There's a rest stop at mile 4, with 3 to go. (The mile markers on the highway actually correspond to miles on this climb.) Try to skip the intermediate rest stop. If the weather is hot, though, you may need to just get some fluid here. The descent from Hogpen is dangerous. It is very steep. There are sharp blind curves at the end of steep strait sections. The pavement is bad: old chip-seal, broken in places, and loose gravel possible anywhere. The road is narrow, and the camber of the turns is not adequate. The grade is such that speeds in excess of 50 mph are possible just using gravity. Someone said that if you don't brake, you won't flat: well, tell that to all the people who have flatted on, say, our St Marks Trail. You can also come up on wildlife, potholes, stopped leaf peepers, wet roadway, loose gravel, pavement cracks, hickory nuts, crashed motorcycles, motorcycles ascending in your lane, and any number of other hazards that require a very rapid change of plans. Bad stuff CAN happen. I have personally seen everything in my list above on the 6-gap course. It is unwise to descend at a speed that allows for no margin of correction. It is also unwise to brake too much, especially to ride the brakes. You want to avoid heat buildup in your rims - eventually, this will cause a blowout by melting your tube. (If you have plastic rim strips, failure will occur at a much lower temperature. Change to cloth rim tape before 6-gap.) And keep in mind: the heavier you are, the faster gravity will accelerate you and the more heat you will put into your rims when you slow down. There's no simple recipe here, just make sure you control your speed to something that gives you some wiggle room in case of unexpected events. 

Gap 5: Wolfpen The second toughest climb on 6-gap. About 2.5 miles (depending on where you define the beginning) with grades on par with Hogpen. The roadway is shady, however, which is great if the weather is hot. (It's been known to sleet up here, if the weather is wet.) The Wolfpen descent is twisty but on good pavement with good camber to the curves, so not too dangerous. It is often damp, though. Stay out of the paint.

Gap 6: Woody The descent from Wolfpen takes you only down to Suches, home of the highest elevation school in Georgia. Consequently the climb up Woody is a paltry 1.5 miles of moderate grade. From the top of Woody it's a 15+/- mile descent of mild grade all the way back to Dahlonega. Try to have enough energy left to enjoy it.

HOW TO SIMULATE A CLIMB IN FLORIDA IMO: The only way to get a feel for climbing in Tallahassee is on a flat road. We do not have seven mile hills. Hills around here are great for building climbing strength and technique, but they can't give you a feeling for the long sustained effort required for the climbs in the mountains. Here is how to "feel" the climb to Neels Gap: On a 20 mile stretch of relatively flat road, assume a climbing position on your bike (hands on the top of the bar, loose grip, elbows out, chest open, head up) and start a 20 mile time trial. Using your heart rate monitor, maintain a steady heart rate at a sustainable level for the entire 20 miles. Let's say 85% of your maximum sustainable effort. OK, that's Neels. Hog Pen: 30 miles at 90% Wolf Pen: 15 miles at 90% Etc. The entire 6-gap effort can be simulated by riding about 130 miles in Florida, making long sustained efforts of appropriate length. (Except, this simulation is harder on your butt than 6-gap, and it's a lot less fun. Plus, there's essentially no way to simulate the descents.)

ADVICE

• It's all about energy management.
• Stop at the top just long enough to get supplies. Rest on the bike going downhill.
• Be prepared for weather. I guarantee there will be some.
• You can't have too low gears. Take all you have.

DISCLAIMER Descending is never safe. Any time you are going 30+ mph in traffic there is danger to be assessed and managed. 

Fall 2008 Update The pavement is deteriorating. The Hogpen descent is still gravelly, acorny, potholy. There is at least one significant hole on the Wolfpen descent that is almost impossible to see in sunny weather due to the mottled shaddows of trees on the road. The return from Woody has been changed: from Stone Pile you now take a right. Instead of continuing a nice descent all the way to the finish, this new route has some very sharp hills. It is also more scenic. For me, at mile 90, the most beutiful thing in the world is a downhill, and in this sense the new route is much less so. Don't run over the old guys...