Kitty Needs a Home!!

A stray kitty showed up at our back door and he's a great boy -- loving, affectionate, trusting, and loyal. We named him Gus. Unfortunately, we have more than our quota of kitties and can't take him in.

He has grey fur with white paws, tail tip, and chest. He is neutered, was de-wormed and given rabies shots last week. I have the paperwork to show all the things I had done for him.

Gus would be ideal for a household with no other cats. The one drawback with Gus is he has FIV, which is why he would be better off in a single-cat household. The vet's office says he is about two years old. FIV, while incurable, is managed by keeping a close eye on your cat's health.

Give this great kitty a chance. Drop me an e-mail at addyforjunk[AT]hotmail.com if you have a home for him.

Under the weather

A little under the weather today, so I am letting myself rest from cycling.

Thursday night I did a 24 mile ride with some friends and it was raining for the first 10 miles, so that might have helped whatever bug I had get a foothold. Anyway, the ride was fun and it was worth it.

I picked up a saddle for the commuter bike that is like the one I have on my road bike. The saddle on my commuter bike is comfortable for about 15 miles, so I need something that I can use for longer distances, so I can use the commuter bike for touring.

Looking forward to the Tour of Missouri coming up next month. Very exciting event!

Even more exciting is I'm also very much looking forward to doing my first ever MS150. I decided to have a little bake sale every Monday in August at work to fundraise for the event. People at work have been really supportive of it. There are two different items from which to choose each Monday. Our next items are cheesecake brownies and banana crumb muffins. Should go over well!

More WNBR "Coverage"

Roger Kramer has a nice roundup of some of the WNBR coverage, including this video:

The video gives a nice sense for the celebratory nature of the ride.

The Riverfront Times also has a slideshow and a video. (NSFW)

Weekend ride roundup

It was a great weekend for riding and cyclists in general. I had a great time participating in the first ever St. Louis World Naked Bike Ride (link is NSFW). No, I didn't go nude, but exposed as much as I was willing in public, which is to say, not much!

Especially when compared to other people:

One male rider was completely nude (there are pics of him in the album) except for a red hat, black socks, and black shoes. He had style, that's for sure.

It was a lot of fun and a creative way to protest oil dependency. Plus I just really love a nighttime group ride. Total mileage was around 22 by the time hubby and I rode from home, did the ride, and rode back home.

More photos are in the album. Many of the of the photos are NSFW . . .

From World Naked B...

After being out late Saturday night, it was rough hearing the alarm clock go off at 5 AM. I finally rolled out of bed, threw on the gear, and hit the road for what was going to be a 90-100 mile ride. Goal was to ride out to Chesterfield Valley to meet up with a group of fellow MS 150 riders, do a 31-40 mile training ride with the group, then ride back home. I got out to Clarkson on Baxter when I started to really worry about the gathering clouds in the distance. Around Wild Horse Creek Road I saw streak lightning. I was just looking for a spot to pull over and make a phone call when my team mate beat me to the punch.

So I turned around and was headed back on Baxter when it became obvious that I was not going to be able to outrun the storm. So, seeing the Monarch Fire Department fire station # 1 with its garage invitingly wide open, I ducked inside. The fragrance of a hot, homemade breakfast made its way temptingly from the kitchen into the garage. A couple of the firemen came into the garage a few minutes later and I let them know I was hanging there until the storm passed. They were very gracious and invited me to eat breakfast. I really would've loved to try their cooking, but I had 30 miles left to go on that ride and couldn't put anything substantial in my stomach. But I took them up on their offers to refill my water bottles and to hang out as long as I needed.

So, I hung out, watched the lightning and rain, then checked out one of the guys' new Harley, and chatted for a long time with a fireman named Shelby. I really enjoyed the conversation and really appreciated their hospitality and giving me a safe place to stay until I could get back on the road. Thanks, Monarch FD!

Fun Stuff

I haven't posted any pics in a while. I've had the fortune of traveling to Chicago a few times this summer for business. I finally took my point 'n shoot camera with me last time and snapped some pics. I just love that Cloud Gate sculpture.

This is the view from the 28th floor of my Chicago office building looking towards Lake Michigan:

This is looking up at my building. It's the one on the left with the pediments at the top--it's a 50-storey building.

One of the neat things about that building is that you can see it a number of times in the background of several shots in The Dark Knight. The Wayne Industries building is, I believe, the IBM Plaza Building, which is located at 330 N. Wabash.

This is an exterior shot of St. Peters in the Loop. I left enough people in so you can get a sense of the scale of the crucifix on the exterior.

and another:

From Chicago Pics

All for now -- more later.