Saturday's Fun Ride in Mexico

Some people from the YMCA (Tracy and Bruce) and I went down Saturday morning and come home the same day (the line to cross the border was fairly quick (I think less than one hour). This ride was marketed as the last ride ever. So, I really wanted to go. Someone said they heard that it will happen again. My average speed was about 12.9 mph. So 3:50 was my time. I think that was the same as last time I rode. Did I tell you there are some pretty steep hills?

New travel photos

http://www.flickr.com/photos/stephencurtin

LANCE!!

Register for the Tour!

The Tour of California is now looking for volunteers! Whether you be around Sacramento, Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz, or Pasadena and Escondido, there's liable to be something for you! See details here. Oh-- and Lance might participate.

#3 for Contador

Alberto Contador won his third grand tour yesterday. (A grand tour is a 3-week bike race). He won the 2007 Tour de France, the 2008 Giro d'Italia, and the 2008 Vuelta a España for the Kazakh-based Astana Team (formerly Discovery Channel, which was previously US Postal). Levi Leipheimer was 2nd overall, bettering his third place in the same race in 2001. He was also 3rd in last year's Tour de France. The Directeur Sportif, Johan Bruyneel, has now won 12 grand tours (I think).

Shown is Contador in the stage 20 time trial, which Levi Leipheimer won.

Happy 50th to Our Beth!

On Beth’s birthday in history…

• 1400 Owain Glyndr declared Prince of Wales by his followers.
• 1662 Flamsteed sees solar eclipse, first known astronomical observation
• 1782 The first impression of the Great Seal of the United States was made
• 1795 United Kingdom conquers Cape Town, South Africa.
• 1810 Hidalgo begins Mexican revolt against Spain (National Day)
• 1812 Russians set fire to Moscow shortly after midnight - the city is burned completely down days later.
• 1857 Typesetting machine patent
• 1858 First overland mail for California
• 1863 Robert College of Istanbul-Turkey, the first American educational institution outside the United States is founded by Christopher Robert, an American philanthropist.
• 1885 Puritan (US) beats Genesta (England) in 6th running of America's Cup
• 1887 The first game of softball was played in Chicago, Illinois
• 1890 Newswriter George Whitney Calhoun names Green Bay team the Packers
• 1893 Cherokee Strip, Oklahoma opened to white settlement homesteaders; Settlers race in Oklahoma for prime land in the Cherokee Strip.
• 1901 Alturas, California, incorporated as the only city in Modoc County.
• 1908 General Motors founded by William C Durant
• 1915 US takes control of customs & finances of Haiti for 10 years
• 1919 American Legion incorporated by an act of Congress
• 1920 The Wall Street bombing: a bomb in a horse wagon explodes in front of the J.P.Morgan building in New York City - 38 are killed with 400 injured.
• 1924 Cardinal Jim Bottomley bats in 12 RBIs in 1 game
• 1926 St Louis Cards beat Phillies 23-3
• 1927 Rene Lacoste beats Bill Tilden for US Lawn Tennis Assn title
• 1939 Yanks clinch pennant 11
• 1940 Sam Rayburn elected Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, widely regarded as the most effective Speaker of the House in American history.
• 1941 Concerned that Reza Pahlavi the Shah of Persia was about to align his petroleum-rich country with Germany during World War II, the United Kingdom and the USSR occupy Iran and forced him to resign in favor of his son, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.
• 1943 Australians capture Lae
• 1945 Barometric pressure at 856 mb (25.55") off Okinawa (record low)
• 1949 First Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner episode- Fast and Furry-ous is aired.
• 1951 Betsy Rawls wins the US Women's Open Golf title
• 1955 Juan Pern is deposed in Argentina.
• 1962 Public TV channel 13 begins in NYC
• 1963 "Outer Limits" premiers on TV
• 1963 Malaysia is formed from Malaya, Singapore, British North Borneo (Sabah) and Sarawak.
• 1966 Metropolitan Opera opens at NY's Lincoln Center
• 1968 Richard Nixon appears on "Laugh-in"
• 1972 First TV series about mixed marriage-Bridgit Loves Bernie
• 1972 Penny Marshall appears on Bob Newhart Show in "Fly Unfriendly Skies"
• 1973 Buff Bill OJ Simpson rushes 250 yards (2 TDs), beating NE Pats 31-13
• 1974 BART begins regular transbay service
• 1974 Pres Ford announces conditional amnesty for US, Vietnam War deserters
• 1976 Episcopal Church approves ordination of women as priests & bishop
• 1977 90 minute pilot of "Logan's Run" premiers on TV
• 1977 Ringo releases "Drowning in the Sea of Love"
• 1978 25,000 die in 7.7 earthquake in Iran
• 1984 "Miami Vice" premiers
• 1988 Jury awards Valerie Harper $1.6 M in dispute over TV series
• 1989 Singer Natalie Cole marries record producer Andre Fisher
• 1990 101 year old Sam Ackerman weds 95 year old Eva in New Rochelle NY
• 1990 Iraq televises an 8 minute uncensored speech from George Bush
• 1991 The trial of Panamanian "strongman" Manuel Noriega begins in the United States.
• 1992 Black Wednesday: the Pound Sterling is forced out of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism by currency speculators and is forced to devalue against the Deutschmark.
• 2004 Hurricane Ivan touches land near Pensacola, Florida, becoming the third (now fourth) costliest hurricane to strike the United States.

http://www.datesinhistory.com/cgi-bin/big.php?v1=sep16

People Often Ask Me...

How many kids are home schooled? Yesterday, I learned that over 2,000,000 students are home schooled in the United States at this time. There is a 7% increase each year. What is 7% of two million? 140,000. Yikes! That seems like a big increase. Does that mean job security to me? Not necessarily, but it does mean many businesses are jumping into the pond seeing $$$ for curriculum and services.

Anyone recognize these folks?

New photos from the the Cech republic

New photos of Czesky Krumlov and Miltenberg, Germany.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/stephencurtin

Amgen Tour of California, Paris-Nice, the Tour de Georgia, the Dauphine-Libere and the Tour de France . . .

Lance Armstrong will come out of retirement next year to compete in five road races with the Astana team, according to sources familiar with the developing situation.

--from Velonews

. . . Dirk Demol has already signed on with Astana for 2009. it is further rumored that Lance won't take a paycheck, he's just bored.

I thought kids heal fast

The collarbone sticks out more than it did when it first broke, but is now attached better and doesn't move so much, but I still must be careful to avoid pain.

From Collarbone etc