Hiking the Shawangunk Mountains in New York

When I started the hike along the rock faced Shawangunk Ridge, I never imagined what I would see on the other side. A mountain lake, a mountain top castle, a lake side hotel so grand it looked like a Bavarian Castle. For a moment, I though I was back in Germany.
(click on picture to see it in detail - hey not bad for a cell phone picture)

The hotel is the Mohonk Mountain House. An exclusive all inclusive spa/hotel that caters to the wealthy NYC vacationers. Rates start at about $378 per night but include 3 gourmet meals.

This is a rock climbers paradise, known as "the Gunks." Even on a Monday, I saw at least 2 dozen climbers scaling the shear vertical walls. There are few passages over the mountain but the path we found was aptly named "Giants Path" which was a scramble across and under huge house sized boulders.

There were some ledges I walked on that were definitely "no room for error territory." (In other words, you fall - you die):

Overall, Giants Path was certainly not too technical, a walk in the park compared with the shear cliffs we saw the climbers scaling. A gorgeous piece of terrain near NY's Catskills and Hudson River Valley. The view from the top was awesome.



It was a different world in NY this time of year. The weather was awesome, 70's during the day, everything green and lush, it even hit the mid 40's one night. What a change returning to Middle TN... everything brown, dry, hazy and hot.

Looking forward to a long awaited trip to the Smokies soon.

Something the world has not seen the likes of before - Usain Bolt breaks the 200m WR (19.30)

There has never been a sprinter in history that has dominated the Olympic games like Usain "Lightning" Bolt. Bolt not only broke the 200m world record... but it was Michael Johnson's record (19.32) - the record that was set in 1996 by a miraculous 0.34 seconds, a record many thought would stand for generations ... and, Bolt broke that world record running into a headwind at near sea level, beating a field of the best in the world, by 10 meters!! To put it in perspective, the 200m time of 19.30 is a milestone - no man had ever run under 19.60 but Michael Johnson, and Johnson set his WR with a +o.4 m/s tailwind. Bolt set his record in a 0.9 m/s headwind - certainly a factor for a 6'5" sprinter. No 200m world record in at least 20 years has been set with a headwind of that speed. (When looking at the margin of victory in the photo above, note that the guy in red - Churandy Martina, was disqualified for running out of his lane as was Walter Spearman. USA's Shawn Crawford took the Silver and Walter Dix, the Bronze).

This is the first time any person has set world records in the 100 and 200m races at the Olympic games.

After Bolt's performance in the 100m, I predicted he would break this record but one has to wonder. Is Bolt at a place in a moment in time where he is at his physical pinnacle or is this guy capable of more? Is this just a freak occurrence, an anomaly? Bolt is just 21, much of this speed is natural, he simply hasn't had a long career of training.

Again, out of corporate greed, NBC has withheld coverage of the event that occurred at 10:30 am EST this morning so they can appease their corporate sponsor, Chevy, by showing it tonight - 12 hours after the fact. I picked up up a few bootlegs from Britain and watched it. Gives me chills - Watch it
As the commentators say, he is like "a man running among boys."

Absolutely extraordinary... undoubtedly the track event of the Games. Bolt steals the show. Lightning strikes twice... this time he ran through the tape unlike the 100m:

Usain Bolt - the fastest man in the world. NBC withholds coverage

Usain Bolt is the fastest man in the world... not by a little but by a lot. Breaking the 9.7 mark for the first time in history, he won the Olympic 100m race in world record time 9.69, beating a field of the fastest sprinters in the world by 2 meters, celebrating 15m before the finish by beating his chest and cruising through the finish without even 'leaning to the tape.' He could have had a better time but nevertheless, a stunning display of top end speed. . I can't wait to see what he can do in the 200m. If any human is capable of breaking 19 seconds in the 200m, it is Usain 'Lightning' Bolt. I predict Michael Johnson's 19.32 record to fall next week.

This race occured on Saturday evening, Beijing time... about 10:30 am US EST. However, instead of broadcasting this race live on Sat morning in the US, NBC was led by corporate greed and advertising revenue. NBC waited until late Saturday evening to show the race - 12 hours after the fact. This was disturbing because by the time the race was shown by NBC, everyone knew the result. Watching events happen live is exciting. Watching an event knowing how it ends is anti-climactic. By late Saturday morning, video of the race started leaking out on to the net. Many of the videos became blocked shortly after they were posted. The motive was clear ... to commercialize one of the Olympic glamour events for maximum profit instead of covering it live. Shame on NBC!! Even now, NBC is working hard to "own" Bolt's performance ... the video is hard to find and most youtube posts have been removed.

Bolt is the real deal. If he stays focused, this guy will break every sprint record in the book and hopefully will continue to improve as his is just short of 22 yrs old. A true freak.

Another awesome paella

A mid-summer's night paella.

This dish came out well. This spanish rice paella had 9 lbs of seafood: 4 lbs shrimp, 2 lbs scallops, 2 lbs cod, and a lb of mussels. I don't make it the traditional way in an open paella pan, I saute all the seafood in garlic butter with parsley before mixing it with the cooked rice. Garnish with mussels in the shell and slices of lemon and red roasted peppers. I think it makes for a tastier and less dry paella.

Awesome.

These pictures are becoming cliche'...

Josh turned 30, Sliviu prepares to leave for FSU ona full graduate assistantship.

After a while, most everyone got in the pool and hot tub.

Happy summer!!

It's that time again

Tomatoes tomatoes tomatoes!!!


Well, you know what I'll be eating for the next few months. I have a dozen tomato plants over 6' tall. Love 'em!!!


Tomatoes and and humus, tomato sauce, tomato salsa over roasted vegetables, gazpacho... the list goes on. yum....

Tomatoes contain lycopene and have been shown to fight ailments such as cancer and asthma. Good stuff.

Awesome spring-like weather comes to TN. Don't you love it?

Let the games begin

I love the Olympics. When can a true sports junkie tune in all night long to watch such a huge variety of international competition than during the Summer Olympiad? I'm totally thrilled to see the amount of TV coverage of the events, both live and recorded. Over 1400 hours of TV coverage will be available on NBC, MSNBC, CNBC, USA, Oxygen, Telemundo, and specific digital channels for basketball and soccer.

Most people watch the condensed prime time NBC version but that will never include live coverage since the games are in Beijing, China. Live coverage usually starts at 1 am and runs all night long. Opening ceremonies will be broadcast on NBC tonight and live coverage starts Sat at 1 am with a wide variety of sports including boxing, soccer, fencing, shooting, badminton, and equestrian. The coverage will run all night long and includes a rebroadcast of the prime time show. I know this is odd, but I just love watching an unfamiliar sport contested live during the Olympics. You might find me up at 3 am watching the men's whitewater kayaking final, or the judo competition... heck, I'll even watch fencing, table tennis, handball or trampoline. I love it all.

T V schedule is on the NBC Olympics website.

Some of the highlights of USA athletes to look for:

• USA swimmer Michael Phelps, arguably the best swimmer in history, could win 8 gold medals. His 8 event, 17 race schedule is one of the most ambitious athletic feats in Olympic history. The Speedo company is offering a $1,000,000 prize to Phelps if he can match Mark Spitz feat of winning 7 gold medals.
  

• The USA Basketball team was defeated in 2004 in Athens, but this year with Kobe Bryant and Lebron James, they've made it clear nothing less than gold will be acceptable.
  

• One of my favorite sports, track and field, will feature an incredible field of 100 meter sprinters. We could see a world record. USA's Tyson Gay just ran a 9.68 in the trials - which would have shattered the world record but was wind-aided. Nevertheless, the fastest 100m ever. He will face 2 Jamaicans, world record holder Hussein Bolt (9.72) and former world record holder, Asafa Powell. Both these guys have run in the 9.7's. The winner of this race usually can claim the title of "world's fastest man."
  

• Being a "masters level" athlete (old guy that still competes), I'm particularly partial to the older athletes who have maintained superlative physical condition and are competing in the Olympics while in their 40s. USA swimmer Dana Torres (41) and USA polevaulter Jeff Hartwig (40) will represent the USA. Hartwig competed for the USA team in 1996. His personal best is 19'9 1/4".

These are the real athletes. Those who have the magic combination of being physically gifted, determined, and have been disciplined over the long haul to sacrifice whatever it took to achieve through dedicated physical training ... (not like the guys who drive cars round and round on a track). Let's hope for the best, these athletes have earned their moment in the spotlight

GO USA!!!

Awesome weather - great sunset: 7/13/08

Awesome weather tonight, clear enough to see the top of the BellSouth tower in Nashville with binoculars from my favorite sky viewing spot in Murfreesboro.

(click to enlarge photo)

Great weather for the week coming up. Sunny hot days, cool nights.

Time for an adventure.

I love this new cell phone

I've never had a cool phone. I've had the same ATT (formerly Cingular) cell phone and plan for several yrs.... up until this week.

I always thought it would be too expensive to have mobile internet and email but guess what? It costs me only about $35 a month. My dad sent me a phone on his plan that costs just $10 a month for an extended basic service plan and I upgraded to the new Envy2 phone... added texting and Verizon mobile web for just an additional $25 a month. It opens up like a mini computer with a full keyboard.



For most teenagers and iPhone users, this is no big deal but I can't tell you how long I've wanted a phone where I can get live weather radar, email, and internet. This is incredibly useful when I'm on a wilderness trip, living on my boat for a few weeks, hiking, cycling, etc...

<--- Check out the live radar shot of the storm rolling into Murfreesboro on Sat night.

The music downloads are amazing. Already I've downloaded some of my favorite Indian sitar ragas, Brazilian sambas, and rock tunes by Yes. I can plug the phone into a stereo and play the tunes. The speakers on the phone sound amazingly good for it's size. There are actually stereo speakers on each side of the display, like a desktop computer.

My parents have been sending me pictures and videos from a cruise ship in Alaska. I just love this phone!!

Cycle stuff

Super Sherpa gets a new shield.
I'm really pleased with my new quick release windshield for the Sherpa. It's from National Cycle deflector screen It takes 15 seconds to remove it. It was not expensive, only about $75.

When getting on a rugged trail, I'll be able to take off the shield, put it in a bag and bungee it to the luggage rack, then easily put it back on when I hit the pavement.

Check out the photos on my cycle page... the places I've seen with this bike!

I also put a one tooth larger sprocket (14 ) on the DR 100, it runs a lot easier around town, probably more economical. It'll probably get 100 miles per gallon. I found a new gas tank for it, looks good.

Looking forward to the trip to the Smokies where I'll live on the boat and hike, and explore the area with the Sherpa. Check out these pics of my previous trip to Fontana Lake. To me it's a sacred place. Glad to see the Republican movement to build a road through this wilderness (North Shore Road) has been defeated once and for all. Thankfully, the wilderness on the North Shore of Fontana Lake will be preserved! This was the issue that originally got me interested in politics several years ago.

I spent my birthday yesterday playing at a longtime friend's mother's funeral. It was really a wonderful day to spend with old friends and despite the circumstances, it was a very nice birthday. I'm so glad I was able to be there.

Update:
Here's a photo from last year that I like. Indian Boundry Lake, TN, Cherokee National forest (click to enlarge):

Cool summer hiking

The mountain summit weather reporting station at Mt. Leconte in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park has been showing some really cool temperatures this late spring and summer.

Yesterday, the last day of June 2008, LeConte Lodge at 6400 ft. reported a high of only 54 degrees F. and a morning low of 40 F. On June 19th and 20th, LeConte reported a wintry overnight low of 35 degrees F. By contrast, on the same day, the low temperature at Cades Cove was 50 F. at 1600 ft. with a daytime high of 80.

Some people say they don't hike in the summer because it's too hot... never in the Smokies, especially at altitude.

I mention the LeConte temperature because it is reported here on the NWS page on a regular basis. Personally, I would never hike LeConte in any month except Jan or Feb. Simply too many people. (I dare say say LeConte lodge is "the slum of the Smokies" - I heard there was a rat problem there).

For a real wilderness experience, there IS only ONE WAY to visit the Smokies in summer, the most beautiful way: by boat.

Why I need an SUV

I found a way to take both my motorcycle and my boat. With a front hitch receiver fitted with auxiliary driving lights I can carry my bike in front and tow my boat behind.

I'll be taking my motorcycle to the NC side of the Smokies, staying on my boat for a week at Fontana Lake, hiking and exploring the wilderness of the NC mountains on my dualsport Kawasaki Super Sherpa. The beauty I've seen on that bike, the places I've been! Fontana is truly the finest lake I've ever seen in these United States, and a great area for dualsport cycling. This is what summer adventures are for, getting out on the water, in the wilderness, and connecting with nature.

I never use my Ford Expedition to commute, only for transporting lots of people, my motorcycle or my boat. I got this truck in 2002 with 65,000 miles on it and 6 yrs later, it has only 91,000. I usually commute to work on my motorcycle, and use my Honda Civic to go to the store and around town.



I think it's really wasteful to be driving a truck like a Ford Expedition around town for routine commuting. It's crazy! I really do feel sorry for those who use a big SUV for daily commuting, especially those that have a long daily commute to work. Fortunately, I barely work (5 months off), barely commute (2 miles to work) and often drive a cycle that gets 90 miles per gallon. When I'm out on a concert tour, I get a state vehicle to drive. My gas expenses are minimal, except when I take the boat out for a week... to NC.

A pretty spider I found

I found this very pretty spider outside on my windowsill. She was guarding an egg sack and her web. So I collected her to take some photos and play with her a while. Such a pretty spider!

She is shiny black with red spots on her back and front, sort of look like hearts, or an hourglass. She looks good, her red spots match the trim on my windowsill. Her web is very complex and three dimensional.

After playing with and photographing this pretty spider, I was mean. I gave her the death penalty for trying to live on my house.

Of course I know who she is, she's Latrodectus mactans, or commonly known as the southern black widow spider. She can inflict a serious bite. The venom of a black widow can actually kill a person in rare instances. Black widows have killed 63 people between 1950 and 1990 in the USA.


Black widow venom is extremely potent, 15 times more potent than that of rattlesnakes, much more potent than the venom of cobras and coral snakes. However, the amount of venom is tiny as is the fang that injects the venom - only one millimeter (less than one half of a tenth of an inch).

So, it is hard to get bit by one and likely not fatal.

Sometimes but rarely, the female spider will eat the male after mating. (Is it a metaphor that I found this spider today?) Female spiders can live five years. Males, not as long.

People bitten often suffer the effects of Latrodectism, the clinical syndrome caused by the neurotoxic venom.

Well, I guess I'll do some spraying this afternoon.

Trials Training Center visit

After completing a grueling off road cycle trip,



Click to see my favorite trials motorcycle video - Pat Smage - Awesome, don't try this at home.

Cycle adventure in the South Cumberland wilderness

What a gorgeous day up on the Cumberland plateau, cool and clear. After visiting some friends in Sewanee, I took off toward Monteagle and Coalmont where I entered the wilderness on Palmer Firetower Road on the Grundy/Marion county line off Rt. 108. The next 15 miles was some of the most remote and challenging terrain I've attempted.



The main obstacles were water n' mud, steepness, and extremely rugged terrain. I laid the bike down hard at least 4 times over the several hours, once in the water. The Sherpa cycle performed flawlessly despite a savage beating. Of course I bent my brake pedal repeatedly and scratched the shit out of everything from the gas tank to the side of the engine. That's why I bought 2. Keep one nice and pound the shit out of the other.

The second picture shows the crazy steepness of one trail. The pic doesn't do it justice - it was definitely an extreme trail.

As I continued south, i picked up an extremely rugged trail which became the Little Sequatchie River. Often the "trail" was the dry (and sometimes wet) river bed. After 8 miles of this, it got old and I became worried I'd get to an insurmountable obstacle and have to drive back. There were boulder fields and some water nearly 2 ft deep I had to ride through. I'm amazed the bike could do it.

These solo trips are pretty risky. I've always worried that I might get injured and be unable to make it out. A serious injury could mean death because of the remoteness of the area and the total lack of cell phone signal.

I made it out and came out right in the cove where the Trials Training Center is located.

If your not familiar with the sport of trials motorcycles, checkout my next post and videos.

Manuel Barrueco with the Nashville Symphony

I hadn't seen Manuel in 4 or 5 years, since he played the Aranjuez Concerto with the Chattanooga Symphony.

This was the first solo guitar concerto that the Nashville Symphony has programmed in 13 years, very odd for a 'guitar town' like Nashville. The last performance of a guitar concerto with the NSO was circa 1995 when Christopher Parkening played the same concerto... and by all accounts, had a tough time with it .

Manuel again played the Rodrigo Concierto de Aranjuez... the most famous guitar concerto ever written. He played great, as usual, and I had an excellent seat to watch. If you haven't been in the new Schermerhorn Symphony Center, you're missing one of the crown jewels of the Nashville arts scene. It was just awesome with table seating, food and wine for the patrons, it was a particularly nice night. It was a great program of Spanish and Latin American music. I really like Giancarlo, the new conductor/music director. Funny, but he told the audience a story of how he first heard the composer Alberto Ginestera's music - on a rock album by ELP: Brain Salad Surgery, exactly the same way I first heard this music as a young teenager!

Speaking from experience, I know the Aranjuez guitar concerto by Rodrigo can never be taken for granted, it is a hard piece that has 'taken down' many a great player. As a colleague of mine noted, the first movement is a gauntlet of technical challenges and it's 'easy to fall off the guitar.'

Manuel is a supremely controlled performer. It always seems like he's playing it a bit safe but he didn't take any short cuts. He could have slurred the scales in the last movement but he didn't, he ripped 'em. He kicked ass and got a standing ovation.

I had a long conversation with him afterward. He remarked that he had forgotten that he played with the NSO once before, early 80s. I asked him if he ever took 2 weeks off from the guitar, he said no, and his wife confirmed that fact. Maybe a week he said. He also said that he'd "like to take a year off. " I asked him about his hobbies. His wife said, turning the wine bottles in his collection.

I asked him about the Aranjuez concerto, what part scares him the most? He said it's different all the time. He mentioned discussing this with Pepe, that the relationship with this piece changes... sometimes some parts seem hard and sometimes they don't. It's kind of like any hard piece, you keep having to "plug the leaks." For me, starting the last movement always seemed the hardest. Manuel also mentioned that that there are many a great solo guitarists that don't necessarily make great concerto performers. Playing concertos with a full orchestra is a rare opportunity for most guitarists.

I've played several concertos in my career and that's not many, less than a dozen. Most recently with the TN Phil - the Fantasia Concerto by Rodrigo. Here's a clip.

Murfreesboro's Altiplano

Up on Murfreesboro's "altiplano" - (otherwise known as secret place #1) I watched the sunset and the day turn to night.

Here, at the edge of a 300' cliff I watched the sunset, saw the local herd of wild mountain goats, walked around at night under a nearly full moon listening to the frogs and whippoorwills while looking down at the city lights below at my feet.





While standing for some time in the same spot, I was approached by a medium sized dark furry creature resembling a wolverine or a tasmanian devil.


It must not have seen me, and when I moved it immediately started growling. We circled each other in a primal 'dance of defense' before the animal ran off into a boulder field.

I then took out my camera and chased it. What the hell was that animal?

I got one distant photo of the creature. It turned out to be an extremely large possum with dark, almost black fur. About the ugliest possum I've ever seen. They are notable for their bad vision so that explains why it didn't see me standing there and almost ran into me. I'm glad I was standing and not sitting down.


It was a gorgeous night up on the altiplano, the Murfreesboro highlands ... thanks to the mobility provided by my Sherpa.

These are the 'light days' - the longest days of the year. I just love this time of year.

Enjoy!!

Flowers

Flowers are in bloom at Bill's TN Paradise this time of year. This week it's lilies and magnolia blossoms.

I really like these red day lilies (thanks Shirley), they kind of go with the red trim on my log house.



The tomatoes are thriving with the recent rain and the new cherry trees look healthy. I have small green tomatoes on the vine already and hope to be harvesting in a few weeks.







When the tomatoes start coming in, I eat 'em all the time. With a dressing made with fresh herbs crushed and ground with garlic, lemon juice, olive oil and sea salt. A mortar and pestle is essential. Sometimes I get a few lbs of home made humus from the Gyro Restaurant and spread it on tomatoes. I could eat it every day.

Summer is great. Bring it on.

Bonnaroo - the back way

I really have no interest in attending the Bonnaroo Music Festival - not really into big crowds - but I wanted to see if I could find the "back way in" because directions seemed deliberately vague and I've heard a lot of stories of mass traffic jams near the highway exit.

First, a handle bar mounted GPS on my Sherpa motorcycle is a beautiful thing. Combine that with a gas tank mounted map display and I become 'king of the back roads.'

The bottom line is that the Bonnaroo is east of I-24 on New Bushy Branch Rd in Manchester. Mapquest it. It is best approached from the east, not the highway. I came from the north, near Woodbury. I'd recommend people to get off at either exit 105 or117 and follow the map closely. It's a complicated route on the back roads but there was zero traffic last night. It was fun, seeing the glow at night in the distance. Following the back roads between Murfreesboro and Manchester, I passed through many little hamlets like Bradyville, Readyville, Pocahontas, Ragsdale; it seemed like a church every few miles.... definitely deep in the heart of "Jesusland."

New Bushy Branch Rd is blocked off and forms the back entrance to Bonnaroo. in other words, you can't simply 'drive by' Bonnaroo. I could see it in the distance and I knew when I was getting close by all the makeshift signs of locals trying to make a buck off of parking. I definitely recommend arriving at night. Have fun and party hardy.

Doc Elrod and I

Dr. Elrod was recommended to me as the premiere knee guy when I ripped my acl skiing in '91. After 17 years, I saw him again yesterday.

If you're a Tennessee Titan's football fan, you've probably seen Dr. Elrod running out on the field to attend to injured players.

My reason for seeing him yesterday wasn't the left knee he repaired (which has been perfect), it was the other that has not been feeling right since Jan.

It took him just a minute to determine that a clunking in my knee may be a loose cartilage flap. To be sure, I will get an MRI tomorrow (Friday).

I was really impressed with his medical clinic - the Elite Sports Medicine and Orthopaedic Center.

Dr. Elrod told me that even though today they use absorbable materials' instead of using titanium staples and screws to affix donor acl ligaments like he did with my left knee in '91, he said my acl surgery in '91 was 10 years ahead of its time because it was done arthroscopically. My left knee has an acl donor replacement ligament- an allograft. At that time, it was revolutionary surgery. The donor ligament is actually an achilles tendon which is structurally much stronger than an acl. The knee has been perfect ever since.

Doc seemed interested in my own prosthesis - the classical guitarists fingernails - particularly the thumb nail that employs a superglued piece of ping-pong ball - odd as it sounds, it is a standard and widely used device among classical guitarists.

Note: I have not been posting very frequently here at Bill's TN Paradise, but with all the political news lately, I've been posting a lot at my politics blog: TN Canon.

Another entry in the new breed of 200 mpg+ cars

The Aptera - yet another entry in the new breed of ultra fuel efficient cars.

They are taking orders for the electric and the hybrid models. The hybrid model generally gets between 200 and 300 miles per gallon depending on how long the trip. The car is said to have a top speed in excess of 85 mph and able to pass crash safety tests. It will cost "less than $30,000" says the manufacturer.

It looks like these types of innovative new technologies will be coming from small businesses and inventors instead of the Detroit automakers. Detroit seems a bit too ingrained on previous designs and methods to deliver a revolutionary concept car that can achieve 200+ mpg, especially American car makers. It's good to see this project coming from the US. The previous fuel efficient cars I've cited are both German. I like this one, but not as much as the German Loremo.

You can reserve yours now on the Aptera web site for a refundable $500 deposit. Delivery will be one year.