Mud Bog '09, No I don't have the Swine Flu, and a jog that turned into a 5K race

A muddy one it was tonight at Maybury. The rain stopped for the ride but the damage was done. Quite a few trees were down and as noted in the pictures, the mud was rampant. While enjoying a post ride beverage, I checked out the Maybury history (lesson included in today's reading) that they had posted outside of the parking lot. I learned that the park used to be a sanatorium to treat tuberculosis in the early 20th century. Until antibiotics came into the picture, the treatment was to isolate the sick but give them an environment to hopefully cure the illness. The fresh air, exercise, and strict diet actually cut the percentages down. The state eventually bought the property and here we are. There, you learned something today.

Lastly, I went on a jog last night on my usual route (have to keep the man boobs in check), down Meadowbrook, west on 11 Mile, and through Novi Town Center. While turning onto 11 Mile, I could see a pack of four cop cars blocking the street and a whole bunch of joggers with numbers on their backs. My usual route of sanctuary was being violated and I was in the middle of a 5K race!! There is a new shoe store in Novi Town Center, Running Fit, that was having a promotional thing going. A race on a Wednesday evening though? Well, I ran through the finish line and kept on running. No, I didn't win. I have the link to the race below.

http://www.runfit5k.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5&Itemid=11

Trail Head

Tale of Two Scars (click on picture for more information)

If you have clicked on the picture, you see two sweet scars. The one closest to the camera was a mountain biking tree abrasion that will fade in time. The second, lowest scar was quite a day. I brought my chainsaw over to the Chenevert place a few years back to take down some dead wood. All was well until the chain did a number on Tim. No vitals were affected I am happy to report but we missed watching the Spartans play that day. I think the best moment is when we approached the hospital front desk and I had duct tape on my calf over a wash cloth to stop the bleeding and Jim comes wheeling up. The front desk delivered the nerf toss of "can I help you?" and I looked at Jim and said "my friend can't walk!"

Have a great weekend!

Trail Head

Pontiac Lake

Observations from the trail:

• The trail still has a slew of rocks but based on the amount of rain we have had recently, it drains quite well. I spoke to a rider coming off and they just had their trail cleanup last Saturday so the trails were in great shape.


• With the trees not yet blooming, it is amazing to see how large this park is. You can see quite a bit out there right now.


• Lastly, it must have been Hardcore Night tonight. I have never been passed so many times since I ran the two mile in junior high track.

Trail Head

Lake Eufaula, Alabama

In what I guess you could call spring training for the Mother Cup, it was down to Alabama this past week to fish in the “Big Bass Capital of the World,” Lake Eufaula (aka Walter F. George Reservoir).

The lake resides on the border of Alabama and Georgia. There appears to be a mini civil war with the locals on which side is best. There was a big fish picture in one of the bait stores with a story to go with it. The story ended with a notation to make sure everybody knew that it was caught on the “Georgia” side. The Georgia side turned out to be where they were, however. The area had quite a bit of rain the week prior to us arriving so the water was like fishing in chocolate milk. The lake itself has such a nice setup with many branches shooting off from it. You couldn’t ask for better water depth and amount of structure but that muddy water made it a chore. Our fishing techniques (or my lack thereof) were put to the test during the week. With the water conditions, the lure of the week was the pink wacky worm with spinner baits coming in second. We were able to evolve to some darker colors later in the week once visibility became better. Besides some rain on Monday, Mother Nature delivered some good weather.

Doke won the biggest fish of the week (and the big bucks) with a largemouth bass coming in at 4 lbs, 14 ounces. While I was sweating it out until Thursday morning, I did manage to hit my quota (one fish) for the week. I would hate to go to the bass capital of the world and get skunked, eh? The crafty veterans with me, Al, Doke, Jerry, and John worked their magic and probably averaged 8-10 fish between them. When we weren’t fishing, we were playing poker and eating like kings back at the house. Whether it was Jerry’s steaks or John’s lasagna (kudos to Mrs. O for the lasagna), it was all good.

Whether you caught one fish or 15, it was great to be out there and getting some giggles among friends.

Trail Head

Final Four - View From The "Nosebleeders"

Sparty on! Yes, that saying is kind of played a bit but it was the mood last night in the D. Having scored a pair of upper deck seats (wayyyyyy up there!) through the NCAA ticket lottery last year, I was ready to watch basketball regardless but having the Spartans there is a double bonus.

Doke and I did the bar tour, hitting the locations on the outskirts of Ford Field because I didn't want to wait an hour for a cold beverage. The Post was a ghost town for the most part but the thirst was quenched. From there we headed north to the Anchor Bar and over to a makeshift/temporary bar on Woodward (pictured). The pregame festivities were enjoyable with some good people watching of "out of towners." Those NC fans are a bit wacko. It must be the NASCAR or something.

The game itself was enjoyable. The binoculars were a huge help. It would have been a tough one seeing the game without them. My dad and I are going to tomorrow's game. Go green!