Gator Pedal

The tour fled south last Sunday morning just before Storm-a-geddon 2026 arrived in these parts. This is not a weather report entry but for those curious, Frankfort got a shit load of snow but nothing comparable to the more inland areas. The high winds kicked out the power for a bit the locals tell me but for how wet the snow was, more wind equal less roofs collapsing via stagnant, wet snow. The glass half full.

Back to the south retreat, the destination was Lakeland, Florida for a mix of mountain biking (yes, there are trails in Lakeland) and a taste of Tiger baseball in spring training. The last time I was in Lakeland for a Tiger game was 1985 with a posse of three others on Spring break with an eventual final destination of Daytona Beach. I can't recall where we stayed for the game but the town definitely has grown since that time. I recall we went to a night game, got a white blanket from one of the housekeeping carts at the hotel, somehow got a marker from the front desk and made a sign. I doubt we made it on television that day but had fun with the effort. No home run balls caught this year (final score was 1-1 tie) as I more or less took in the game from various angles with some enjoyable $15 adult beverages. The walk back to the hotel was interesting as I walked over a creek, looked down and said attached gator was hanging, and I started to walk a bit faster.

As far as the mountain biking, just south of town is a resurrected mine area with some man made ponds (yes, with more alligators). Florida is not a hilly region so some creativity on trail creation is needed and a great trail they have created. The local bike shop advised the gators probably would be laying low due to the heat but I SWEAR I crossed a gator back while riding along the water; and I pedaled a little faster at that point. A short clip is attached below. 

Trail Head

love the creativity of the mountain bike trails

Verlander looked in form

big head in the house

Yes....it's me

I've had to jump a few hurdles in the ID validation world that we live in these days. I applaud the efforts of companies working to protect identities of it's customers but recently got a bit irritated at said efforts.

Case in point below with the idiot-phone Face ID technology. I have never utilized the technology until getting a new phone last year. Heads up if you are having a bad morning letting the dog go chase deer in the yard at 3 AM or had too many Jamos the night before but have been flagged for 'bad face' a few times. Instead of a "Face Not Recognized" message, they should prompt a "bro, what happened to you last night?"

Case #2 hits home a bit but was trying to cancel a life insurance policy my dad (an insurance agent) took out for me when I was probably 10 years old. A small policy that I no longer needed, I made the call in January to cancel it. They advised a form would be sent to formally sign off on the cancellation. The form was received, I signed and mailed it back. A few weeks later, I got the below letter advising that the signatures on the policy and my current signature didn't match and that additional documentation would be needed to formally cancel. Have you ever seen your signature at 10 years old? I am thinking everyone's signature might just be a little different 50 years later but what do I know. I asked if I could just stop paying to cancel it and was advised the balance of the policy would be forfeited if I go that angle; even though I am telling them my intentions verbally from the phone number they have on file. I'll give in eventually in supplying what is needed but yes, I did write a letter via snail mail asking one more time in not so many words if the son of the person who wrote the policy could please cancel said policy.