08-19-2026 Walk

Slept through the night but didn't get a lot of sleep, since I. Went to bed late and got up early for a walk through the neighborhoods by the lake house. Walked mostly around Lake Shadows but did walk around Mety Cove Dr as well before heading back. When I got back, Ross had unboxed his new HP laptop and was starting to set it up. I ate some cereal and and later helped him get going there. He found out that his phone's WiFi hotspot wasn't working, so we used my phone to get him connected to the web. It took a while to load the software updated, and we weren't fully successful in installing them, but we were able to get to the Windows home screen. Ben arrived around 10:15, and we sat down to have a depressing discussion with Mom about her future wishes. She reiterated her desire to die soon, and I got her to admit that was a prime reason for her wanting to moved into assisted living, where she feels she could do this more easily without upsetting Ross in particular. Key points:

She feels she is holding Ross back from what he wants to do (e.g. camping)

She was a quick and painless death

She wasn't really hearing me when I talked about the suffering she will likely feel when she is actually dying

I told her about the impact of her not being around on the brothers as well as our families (she feels like she has done her part as the Grandma when the grandkids were younger)

Told a story about Dad talking to her about killing him and then herself.

I shared the important support role she plays in Ross's life, again I don't think she heard me

Ben was regularly strident and ornery, in my opinion, although he did pick up on Mom's feeling bad about Ross having to adjust his life to taking care of her

I tried to emphasize the expectations from her son's and their families of her being around for important family celebrations and gatherings 

If she wants to shorten her life, we should explore options that might assist there

 I had some cheese and leftover garlic bread for lunch, talked with Mom and Ross for a while. Then Mom went back to lay down, so Ross and I drove into Crosby to run errands. We stopped at the Boost Mobile store and found out why his WiFi hotspot wasn't worki9, then we drove to the library to use their public WiFi to download Microsoft Office, which I bought for him off of Stack Social. That took a while but was successful. He also installed DuckDuckGo as his default browser, I may want to give it a try as well. Then we drove to Aldi to get some things to make dinner, and it was back to the house after that. I had a little downtime then, talked to Mom and Ross for a bit. While I made dinner (baked chicken drumsticks and potatoes au gratin) I talked mostly to Ross. Finished dinner prep, Mom woke up from snoozing on the couch, and we ate dinner and talked for quite a while, with Ross popping in occasionally and joining in. I cleaned the dinner dishes while talking with Mom and was able to go lay down around 9:00, it had been a fairly long day.

08-17-2026 Walk

Travel day. I woke up in the night and read for a while before getting back to sleep. Got up a little after 5:00 and had some toast for breakfast. Emptied the dishwasher and dish rack, then checked my travel list to make sure I had everything packed. We left the house a little before 6:00, and Ann dropped me off at the airport right at 6:30. Through security and to the gate with no issues, the flight left a little early. I had a middle seat near the back of the airplane, wasn't terrible. Watched Crime 101, which was a decent airplane movie that occupied much of the flight time. I ate a sandwich I'd brought with me. We landed right around 1:00 Houston time. It took me about 40 minutes to get off the plane and over to the spot where I was to catch the shuttle to the rental car location. Only then did I realize I needed to request the shuttle by answering questions via WhatsApp. Successfully navigated, and then the shuttle thankfully arrived much earlier than expected. I got in, it was a short ride to the rental car office, and that's where the fun began. There was no live human interaction, I communicated with a remote agent by video over a terrible connection that kept dropping out. Very frustrating. They wantedots of insurance information that I didn't have, luckily an was able to send it to me over the phone. Eventually I don't think it mattered because I had to pay extra for a waiver associated with an "unsupported" auto insurance company. The entire process took over 30 minutes, way too long, then I had to take pics of the car to document any damage before driving it. Finally I was on the road and did t run into any heavy traffic, just normal stuff. I stopped at HEB on the way to pick up supplies for dinner and then got stuck behind a school bus on Foley Rd. So I didn't make it to the house until about 4:30. Ross pulled up at the same time, and he was in a manic mood, tough to negotiate without setting him off. Mom saw this, I guess, and she was pretty quiet when I made dinner. She ended up napping on the living room couch and then going back to her room without eating any dinner, which was mildly frustrating. Ross went out later, so after I ate dinner and cleaned the kitchen I went for a walk through the neighborhood. I went to unpack and get ready for sleep after that.

08-15-2026 Ride

Special Bisikleta ride celebrating six years as a group. I planned the route, taking the inaugural route, reversing it, and adding in some miles. I rode over the normal way to the parking lot by Marco's Pizza, day was overcast but more humid than usual. On this day there were the following riders: Perse, Jed, Andy (all three of them OGs), Arnold, Fritz, Nel, and Ray. We rode down by the park and over the pedestrian bridge, I was leading the others for the most part on this ride, up to a point. Took Sunset Dr to Via Rancho Pkwy and turned left, riding up the climb and then down to Del Dios Hwy. When I started out on the day, my right knee had some minor twinges from when I felt down running on Friday. I thought it might slow me down, but I nearly ended up with a PR on the climb past Felicita Rd up to the top of VRP, off my PR by one second and second fastest posted time ever for my age group. So, I pushed pretty hard there and gapped the others, particularly Andy. I waited at the top for him to show up, then he and I rode to where the other riders were, most of them waiting for us on Del Dios Hwy. We turned left and started down. On the initial little climb several others were out in front, and I paced with them until passing them and again pushing pretty hard all the way to the top before the descent. Eventually several of the riders caught and passed me before the descent started in earnest. I had a number of PRs on this stretch, including the fastest overall descent segment from the turn onto the highway until the turn onto the reverse Stud Loop. Arnold hung with me throughout this stretch, was riding strong early on. We waited at the turn until everybody showed up, then we took the reverse Stud Loop over to VdlV. I thought that the others would attack on this segment, so I pushed out ahead, ready to respond to them. But they never materialized, nobody was feeling particularly strong, I guess. We gathered again at the turn and then took VdlV down to Via de Santa Fe, turning on El Apajo and stopping for our break at the deli and bakery by San Dieguito Rd (SDR). It was still overcast, had a funny break before continuing. We got on SDR and rode the flats in a pace line that didn't seem particularly fast to me but ended up wearing Andy out. Over to ECR, using it to get back to VdlV and then heading to Calzada del Bosque. On this stretch, Fritz and I traded leads for the entire way, then we turned and got back to Via de Santa Fe. Rode these roads again to SDR, turning left this time. I was out front, again waiting for others to kick into a higher gear and power up Three Witches. It didn't happen. I put in a moderate effort, got to the turn onto CdS and waited for the others to show up. Andy was really slow on this climb, so we all waited for him to show up. On the way back to the starting point from here, I rode at Andy's pace while the others rode ahead. That lowered my overall average speed, but he needed the company. Back to RB Rd, turning there and taking it through 4S Ranch and over to Matinal Rd, where we turned left. A right turn on Capilla Rd took us by Gideon's house (where the inaugural ride started and ended) and down the hill. The route had us turning on  Oculto Rd, but Andy missed that turn. I ended up getting ahead of him, as he was waiting for me before turning around and starting to ride back up to Gideon's. I called him and got him back on track, and we rode together back to the starting point. Especially in the first 3/4 of this ride, I put in a consistently high effort before slowing down to ride with Andy. Legs felt good, my right knee didn't end up causing any issues.

Avg speed = 17.0 mph (17.1 mph). Total mileage = 37.9 mi

Avg power = 146 W. Weighted avg power = 179 W

Total elevation gain = 2120' (2180')

Avg heartrate = 125 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 64 (75)

Training Load = 178 (164)

Intensity = 81% (81%)

https://www.strava.com/activities/19757639963

After the ride, we waited until Marco's Pizza opened at 11:00 and ordered pizza and beer (soda for me). Beer from the tap was off, so the others got free bottles of beer. Jhonar and Eric both showed up, as did Aaron (he didn't stay). We a good time reminiscing about the early days of the group, including how everybody connected into the group. I left before the party wrapped up. Got home, Ann was at a bell  workshop the entire day, so I had a small nap, watched some TV, and read. Went to the store in the afternoon to pick up some supplies for dinner. Then I finished up (finally) the 2023 event log, I don't think I'll try to recreate a similar list for earlier years, it's just too much work. I made macaroni and cheese for dinner, the recipe was from Mattie's Kitchen and was more involved than I expected. But it turned out well. I also roasted some broccolini, but it was a little overdone. But dinner was a success. Had a quiet evening, finishing The Photonic Effect and starting Gaudy Night, a Lord Peter Wimsey novel by Dorothy L. Sayers.

08-14-2026 Ocean Swim

Slept well and had an easy early morning for a change. I got up, had some cereal and a banana for breakfast, unloaded the dishwasher and put some dirty dishes in. Read and relaxed for a while, then I got ready for a swim down at Ventura Cove in Mission Bay. I put air in the bike tires and packed them into the car. Ann and I left around 9:30, no traffic to speak of on the way down there. When I unloaded the bikes, I noticed that the rear tire on my beach cruiser was flat. Dang it! It had seemed fine when I pumped it up earlier. So, no riding for me. Ann rode around Mission Bay while I went for a swim around the buoys in the cove. I ended up doing four laps and a little bit. Tried varying my breathing, but it seemed more natural for me to breathe every two strokes. Judging by my time, I was working harder than usual, so that may be why. Here are approximate splits for the four laps:

    Lap 1    0.19 mi    5:41

    Lap 2    0.19 mi    5:46

    Lap 3    0.20 mi    5:51

    Lap 4    0.20 mi    5:47

So, my speed was pretty consistent.

Avg pace = 1:42/100 yds (Zepp)

Total distance = 1434 yds

Elapsed moving time = 24:34 (Zepp)

Avg heartrate = 150 bpm (Zepp, possibly)

Relative Effort =  37 (possibly)

SWOLF = 85

Avg stroke rate = 31 bpm

Avg pull distance = 1.87 yds

https://www.strava.com/activities/19742205492

Got out of the water, a little wobbly as usual, and then walked back to the car to get my clothes out. I walked to the shower station and rinsed off, then changed in the men's room nearby. Back to the car, packing the bikes in, then driving home, a little sad that we weren't able to ride around the bay together. The afternoon was quiet. I had a little nap, made an attempt to patch the inner tube on my beach cruiser, and worked some more on the 2023 event log. Ann and Emily went to a show at the Rady Shell in the evening, so I made some dinner and had a quiet evening watching TV and reading. 

08-13-2026 Swim/Run

This was a quirky little exercise morning. Got up after a short sleep, we didn't get home from the concert until 11:50. I slept in the other room for most of the night, didn't want to disturb Ann. Got up a little after 7:00, although I had woken up a couple of times earlier. Packed my stuff up and did a little kitchen cleaning. I couldn't find my WWC card, wasn't sure where I had lost it. So I headed over to the WWC anyway, it was less crowded with swimmers when the gates opened, first day of school in Poway USD. Angela had found my card, so she gave it to me as I came into the club. I got lane 3 and ended up swimming three 500s with brief rests in between. Focused on stroke form and trying to keep my strokes long, with less success on the last 500. Here are the splits: 9:19, 9:20, 9:26. Getting a little better, now I'd like to be able to match these times without the short rests.

Avg pace = 1:52/100 yds (Video)

Total distance = 1500 yds (Video)

Elapsed moving time = 28:05 (Video)

Avg heartrate = 139 bpm (possibly)

Relative Effort = 25 (possibly)

SWOLF = 37

Avg stroke rate = 21 bpm

Avg pull distance = 2.40 yds

https://www.strava.com/activities/19727807072

Got done with the swim and had a quick dry to put my shoes on, then I stowed my backpack in a locker and went for a run following the usual WWC 5k loop. I was doing fine, focusing on keeping things going where I didn't upset all the good things. I turned the corner on RB Rd and, shortly after, I fell on the palms of my hands and my knees. Palms took the brunt of my weight, and I had just a couple of light scrapes on my knees, no free-flowing blood. I paused briefly, then continued, albeit a little slower and a lot more cautious. My middle mile was the slowest, I think I slowed down after the adrenaline rush from falling wore off. My last mile was the fastest by quite a bit, it also has a net downhill. I forgot my phone case, so I tracked the run using my watch.

Avg pace = 8:00/mi

Total distance = 3.15 mi

Elapsed moving time = 25:13

Avg heartrate = 154 bpm (Zepp, I don't think so)

Relative Effort = 41 (too high to be realistic)

https://www.strava.com/activities/19727807391

After the run I showered in the locker room, changed, and headed over to the old HP Main Site Cafe to meet Brooke and Gary for coffee. Gary talked about his family, his granddaughter is in her last year of college. Sue continues to struggle with back pain. Brooke filled us in on Stephen's new job at GA, some retirement updates, and a recent reshuffling in management responsibilities between Alberto and Phuong. Was a nice casual conversation that took a while for us to catch up, then I headed home. In the late morning and early afternoon I called Ben and then Ross. Ben is all worried about how Ross being laid off will affect the situation at the lake house. Ross was a little uptight when I called him, they had a frustrating visit to Wells Fargo bank. But he seemed in a decent state about being laid off, it wasn't a surprise after all. We will talk in more detail about his plans when I'm in town next week. I watched some TV and had a short nap in the afternoon, then I went to Phil's for happy hour. Talked a little bit to Nathan and Britt, more to Andy Seitz and Avi. I may be able to connect for swimming with Andy. Ann and I watched TV after dinner, then it was pretty quiet after that. I put together a route for the Saturday Bisikleta ride and sent it to the DB members to review. The route is mainly a reverse of the first first Bisikleta ride with the OG riders, which took place on 8-15-20. Then I read for a bit before going to sleep (<>).

08-12-2026 Ride

Slept okay, not the best. Woke up around 5:00 and got up after 5:30. Had a bowl of cereal for breakfast, cleaned the kitchen dishes, then got ready for a ride with John. I took the normal way over there, with the exception of turning at Alpine Way, at moderate pace. Jayden was out front with John when I got there. We rode back down the hill to Sabre Springs Pkwy and took it to Poway Rd, turning left there. Across the freeway and up the short steep climb on Penasquitos Blvd before turning onto the 56 bike path. Then we rode to Salmon River Rd, got off the bike path there and took it south to Adolphia St. Down this hill, with its speed bumps, and over to Park Village Rd. John was slow on all the longer climbs, even the shallow ones. He likely didn't exercise so much during his summer trips, but he's working back into shape. We rode down to CdS and turned there to get back up to the 56 bike path. Took that down to CVR and used this road (going through morning school traffic) to get to Black Mountain Rd. We rode together on the flat sections, I gapped him on the little climb up to CdS and then waited for him after the light. I slowed down to ride with him until we got close to the turn, where he fell behind again. That's when I knew we had to skip any more unnecessary climbing. So we rode back to the 56 bike path and then used it to get to Sabre Springs Pkwy. Right turn there, enjoying the gradual descent to Poway Rd, where we turned and rode back to Springhurst Dr. I got out in front again but didn't stop this time. Headed up the hill and back to his place, riding to the top of Briarleaf Way and then back down to Dapple Ct, turning there and heading up to his house. He made smoothies for us, and we chatted about all of Jayden's activities. It was heating up, so I headed home, taking the standard way back via Bernardo Center Dr and benefiting from a tail wind on Pomerado Rd. Legs were tired at the end of the ride but not sore.

Avg speed = 15.2 mph (15.3 mph). Total mileage = 43.2 mi

Avg power = 122 W. Weighted avg power = 150 W

Total elevation gain = 2560' (2630')

Avg heartrate = 114 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 47 (49)

Training Load = 147 (151)

Intensity = 68% (70%)

https://www.strava.com/activities/19714371938

Got home, didn't have a whole lot of time to relax before getting ready for my volunteer shift at the hospital. Shaved and showered, ate a little bit, then rode over there. I had some lunch, then started my shift. It seemed busier than usual, and I was generally moving until a little after 3:00, when I left early to get back home and change for a concert at North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre in Chula Vista. We left home a little after 3:30, endured heavy traffic as expected, and got down there around 4'50. Ann drove while I rested from a busy day to that point. We tailgate fairly quickly, then got in line to wait for the gates to open. Unfortunately, we found out, after waiting in line for about 30 minutes, that we were in the wrong line. I was upset and let the security person know that this was not handled well. So we walked over to the regular security/admission line and got in after an additional wait. Not great but not a disaster. When we got in we saw that the lawn area was closed, and we found out from a guide that our lawn tickets would be converted into seats. We ended up with seats that were in the furthest back section but center stage, so decent and more comfortable than the lawn, even with rented lawn chairs. The Romantics came on first, only a couple of original (or early) band members, the lead singer looked pretty weird and sounded strained on most songs. They saved their two big hits for last. Christopher Cross came on next, he was decent, more recognizable music, although his upper register is not there anymore. The musicians in his group were outstanding, and he played a few (not enough) guitar solos to prove that he is an excellent guitar player. This was a noisy crowd around us, lots of talking while the musicians were performing. I just don't understand this mentality. Why are they here if not to hear the music? Toto was the headliner, and they came on a little before 9:30, played until a little before 11:00. No encore, instead they brought out some of the artists from earlier to help them perform Africa, which everybody loved. Again, there was lots of talking from the people around us during their performance. Steve Lukather is the only remaining original member of the group, and many of their songs featured too much of his virtuoso and over-the-top guitar playing. It was technically great but theatrically too much. The other musicians were also pretty good session players that he had assembled, and he gave many of them their opportunity to showcase their playing during the concert. He did some of the singing as well; his voice is not a lead singer's voice. We headed back to our priority parking spot after the concert, and this turned out to be a real time-saver. It had a dedicated car lane basically back to the main city streets, so we didn't have to sit in car traffic at all. We were home by 11:50, which was delightful.

08-11-2026 Run/Ride

Slept a little unevenly, woke up before 5:30 and got up to have an early-morning run at moderate pace. Ran a 5k down by the park with negative splits but starting slowly. No stretching before, but my pace was easy.

Avg pace = 8:44/mi

Total distance = 3.16 mi

Elapsed moving time = 27:40

Avg heartrate = 122 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 6

https://www.strava.com/activities/19695817016

Walked the rest of the way home, had just a little time to get ready for a coffee ride with Nel and Andy. Rode over the normal short way, got there just before Nel rolled up. He was nursing some injuries from a crash on his gravel bike on Friday. We were going to take it easy, so I hoped it would work out. We rode back down Bernardo Oaks Dr all the way to the RB Inn, rode through the parking lot to Sintonte Dr, then took it to Mirasol Dr, which we rode up to Pomerado Rd. Left there and down to head over the pedestrian bridge and through the mall parking lot to ride through Kit Carson Park to El Ku Ave. Up to Escondido Blvd, which we stayed on until turning right on 5th Ave to get to Broadway. Then we rode over to Grand Ave and to the Kettle. We stopped there for coffee, pastries, and good conversation (I paid). After the break we took Grand Ave up to Juniper St and used it to get to Sunset Dr. Down to BVP and back over to Kit Carson Park, where we cut in and took a path, including a sketchy little unpaved section, back to Beethoven Dr. From there we retraced our route back to Andy's house. It was warming up but not hot yet, so the little climbing sections were fine. I didn't stay long at Andy's before riding home, this time taking Rios Rd/Callado Rd through the neighborhood to Acena Dr, left there, and to Bernardo Center Dr via Lomica Dr. Home the normal way from there, no real stress on my legs on this ride.

Avg speed = 12.9 mph (13.1 mph). Total mileage = 24.6 mi

Avg power = 98 W. Weighted avg power = 128 W

Total elevation gain = 1400' (1380')

Avg heartrate = 103 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 21 (21)

Training Load = 74 (74)

Intensity = 58% (59%)

https://www.strava.com/activities/19699161546

Got home just as Ann was heading off to the beach, so I had the house to myself in the late morning and early afternoon. Watched some TV, had a little bit to eat. In late afternoon Ann and I drove over to OtB to meet Emily and Caleb for happy hour one last time (for us) before they close this restaurant. Tacos were pretty good, beer was cheap, service was overall poor. Caleb and I had to wait for some of our orders longer than expected. We laughed about the things that can get me to dance, a new item has been added to the list. After we got home it was a quiet rest of the evening.