Clear, fall day

I understand some of the readers of this blog are still experiencing hot, summer days. Around here, we are already into the autumn season.

The way our bed is situated, when I open my eyes in the morning, I can see straight out to Petersburg Mountain -- that is, if it isn't obscured by fog. That was the case this morning. It might have been the densest that I've seen it this year. From about 5 or 6 a.m. until about 9 a.m., boats were going by sounding their fog horns because visibility was pretty atrocious.

This being Wednesday, I went down to Helse's for the weekly pastors' get-together. We discussed and solved all the world's problems. Too bad no one from Washington D.C. was around... By the time we broke away, the skies had pretty much cleared to show a nice, clear, blue sky. During the meeting, one of the pastors, Phil, asked if I was going out on the bike today. I wasn't sure if I was going to or not...

After I got back home, I did a few short tasks, and then decided that I should at least wash and lube my road bike. The last time I rode it was probably sometime back in February or so. There is something about a filthy bike that I just couldn't get myself to ride it until it was cleaned up. Washing was out of the question at the apartment as there was no place to hook up a hose. Now that we are in our own house and have a hose, I've been meaning to wash my bikes. I finally got around to it today.

After I got the bike all cleaned up, I went back inside and thought about all the things I should do. I did a few more things. And then I decided to stop my worship of the god and idol of utilitarianism and go out on my bike. I need to thank Phil for planting the bike ride idea into my head today.

Utilitarianism, Mark Buchanan suggests in The Rest of God: Restoring Your Soul by Restoring Sabbath, is one of those common and popular idols prevalent in the North American culture, but one which no one really talks about or recognizes. Basically, it's the idol of making sure one's time is always spent in the most productive (as in you should be working and producing something useful) manner -- and if you aren't, you should feel guilty about it. He suggests that one of the reasons for the Sabbath is a reminder to take a rest from being a slave to production (and which I might add is probably the true definition of "work" in the fourth commandment).

So I went out on my bike and had a short, mid-week Sabbath rest. I just went out about 8-miles and then back. It was an absolutely perfect day for pedaling along. The skies were clear and blue, it was high tide, so the Narrows took on the hue of the sky. There was no haze or fog obscuring any of the hills and mountains. On the way out, from the PFI cannery to almost the Petro Marine filling station (almost a mile), I drafted behind an SUV, easily going close to 30 mph. After that exhilarating ride I was on my own for the rest of the trip.

I took a slightly longer way back, around the airport. Coming back around to Hungry Point, just a few blocks away from home, my left leg cramped up and I had to stop for a few moments to loosen up the muscles before getting back on and finishing the ride. The total distance was about 19.5 miles at an average speed of 16.3 mph. My leg strength and cardiovascular endurance still seems fine, but it appears that the leg muscles no longer have the endurance and stamina necessary for a really long ride. I guess I won't be jumping into a century ride any time soon.

Shelley and I will be singing The Messiah this fall - Nov. 24 and 25. We have rehearsals every Monday evening. We had the second one a couple of days ago. The soprano and alto sections are quite robust, but the tenor and bass sections still could use quite a few more voices. There are a number of ladies who are also singing the tenor part.

I'm considering singing one of the tenor solos also, but the main one that is required is the opening recitative and aria. I've been practicing it, but still, the opening piece isn't one that I prefer. I'd rather something later in the work, after my voice has had a chance to warm up... We'll see.