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“I’m not going to let a girl beat me!”

2011-04-30 06.33.2317786_10151858587474203_1524945910_nphoto These famous words were uttered by a good friend of mine as we closed in on the last two miles of Pittsburgh’s Great Race 10K a number of years ago. My friend, who shall remain nameless for fear of embarrassment, is an ex-Marine and was a helicopter pilot in Vietnam. Tough guy, good guy, tough runner. But not quite good enough to catch Eileen Petrone. Eileen is pictured above in the zebra shorts and the Allegheny Nike singlet. Eileen was an elite runner for many years with women’s victories to her name in the Great Race as well as many other 10 Ks in the region. She was also a top finisher in the Pittsburgh Marathon for many years and is still a very good runner to this day. My friend, who was a top 200 seeded runner in the Great Race was ruined when he crossed the finish line behind her. I was happy to keep her in sight. A long way down the road!!!

The second picture is of my friend Eric Durfee’s daughter Kress. Kress is shown here skiing down one of the steepest backcountry chutes in the Tahoe region. Her father tells me that on that particular day, the snow conditions were so sketchy and the terrain so steep that she did not want to make a turn and staight lined the chute to where she could finally make some turns to slow down. Kress was the National Collegiate Free Skiing Champion and a terror in the terrain parks with her twin tipped skis. I have known Kress all of her life and whenever I get a chance to ski with her, she is a pleasure to watch skiing warp speed with fluid turns and all the confidence in the world over some pretty steep and nasty terrain. Her father raced for Cornell back in the day and her older brother Travis was top ten west of the Mississippi for Downhill and Super G for many years as a member of the Far West Team. Travis was a national class ski racer and to this day, he says that Kress is the best skier in the family. That is saying something seeing that her other brother is a fantastic skier in the parks and her mother skis flawlessly down any run, at any area in Lake Tahoe. Kress is a vision on skis regardless of gender.

The last picture is of Sue Haywood at this years Breck Epic Mountain Bike Race in Breckenridge,Colorado. She is shown here leading the GC for women and is also very well placed overall. Sue hails from West Virginia and currently resides in Harrisonburg, Virginia, a mecca for off road cycling. Sue was a member of the Trek Professional Cycling Team for many years and currently races for the Stan’s No Tubes Mountain Bike Team. I first saw Sue race in the NORBA races in West Virginia and Vermont and also at some of the West Virginia series races. She is one strong rider that is for sure, and she has several national championships to her name as well as many top finishes on the domestic and international stage. I got to see her talent first hand when in some of the regional races the women started behind the men. She came riding by me like I was standing still and I have followed her career with interest ever since. I don’t think anyone in the mountain bike community would have the audacity to make a statement like my friend did above, because Sue is a great rider……..period. She, Eileen, and Kress are to be respected as great athletes in their own right regardless of gender.

I have never had any preconceived notions about being competitive with women. I learned a long time ago that there is no place for chauvanism in the sporting world. I hear a lot of garbage from some guys like,” I could be the leading money winner on the women’s golf tour.” Yea right!!! Some of these over the hill golfers who still have a pretty good game can never compete with today’s women who are the consummate professionals. There is a big difference between tournament golf, tennis, ski racing, and the weekend warrior sporting events. These statements crack me up and I have witnessed many guys get their butts handed to them by some amazingly talented and fit women. Just the other night, I ran into a young friend named Beth who rides mountain bikes regularly with her husband Carmine and several other real strong guys. Beth and I rode together and caught up with the small talk but when the first major hill came, she was gone and I told her to keep riding and don’t worry about me. Like Clint Eastwood (Dirty Harry) always says, ” A man has got to know his limitations.” Especially the 58 year old kid. I pull out all the tricks in the book to ride with the younger set but sometimes you just have to let nature take its course. Beth is strong and I have no issue with that at all. She is a mountain bike rider. I don’t see her as a female mountain bike rider.

Bottom line is that there are sports where strength plays a factor in the performance of a man versus a woman. Women could not compete as an interior lineman in the NFL. But on a running race course, a trail, or a ski slope there is a lot of equity that comes about especially with the recreational set of folks who are not professional athletes. A lot of us take our sporting achievements and training seriously and many times our avocation can climb to some pretty lofty heights. But we are all athletes to one degree or another and with the current training methods, nutrition, and strength training available, the gender gap is narrowing to say the least. One last thought which I am compelled to share came from Sue Haywood where she says,” Pat, just remember to mention that there would be more women in cycling if guys weren’t raging with testosterone all the time.” I am sure Sue has had her challenges from time to time and believe me, I would bet on Sue. But her flip side point here is that this notion that a guy can’t be beaten by a girl can be taken to the other extreme. How sad it is to see a guy riding ahead of his significant other on a mountain bike or a road ride with the poor woman trying to keep up. Talk about a turn off and how to instantly discourage a fellow rider. Same thing with the guy who takes his gal down some steep ski slope that intimidates her and she never comes back to ski. Come on guys, encourage your lady! If she has the courage to try a sport with you, don’t beat her into the ground to show her what a tough guy you are. Help her!!! Teach her. Be patient with her. If you do that, you will add to Sue’s friends on the trails and you will also have a friend for life to share the sport you love. Eileen, Kress and Sue will take it easy on you. Thanks for reading.

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Technology- Good, Bad, or it Depends?

IMGP1925IMGP0205 I am reading a real interesting autobiography called,” The Outsider” by Jimmy Connors. Now, Connors was a contemporary of mine and I loved to watch him play in the 70s against Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe. Classic matches and lots of vitriol between Connors and Mac but Borg was the consumate quiet competitor who left the game before his time.He amassed 5 straight Wimbledon titles among other victories. But I really loved to see Connors at the end of a victory, facing the crowd, hunched down, both fists pumped at his sides, and screaming ” Yeah!!!” to the adoring fans. He was a real competitor and honed his game around the fabled Wilson T-2000 racquet. From personal experience, this was a very stiff racquet and it was very hard to control the ball. But Connors used the racquet in his hey day to perfection. It was his weapon of choice and his game was formed around the performance of this particular make from Wilson. As Connors aged, he had to move on to newer technology because Wilson was headed in the direction of all the other racquet makers. That being oversize and composite materials. This led to the statement by Connors in his book which reads: ” A word about technological advances in tennis:I think the racquets players use today make a lot of them look and play better than they actually are. Add to that all the other advantages available now,like the high tech machines to build strength and fitness, scientifically tested diets to increase stamina, slow grass, fast clay, trainers allowed on the court when the players have an itch, permission to disappear to the locker room for a comfort break as many times as they want-man they have everything they need.” Is Connors correct that technology has made better players out of current competitors who perhaps are less than world class in talent? What do you think?

Lets bring it down to us mortals shall we? I have always embraced new technology. When the first Prince oversized racquet came out, I bought it and loved it. I played better, until all the other guys bought new oversized racquets and then we all were on a level playing field. I moved on to other pursuits. When the first shaped skis came out, I embraced that technology and still do to this day. I noticed that improvement right away wth a shorter, more high performance ski that allowed me to turn easier and be less fatigued during a day of hard skiing. There is no doubt that shaped skis make intermediate skiers out of beginners, advanced skiers out of intermediates, and experts out of advanced skiers. These advancing technologies I still embrace and the equipment has definitely made me a better skier. Most people share the same sentiment on the slopes.

When the oversized 29er wheels came out on a mountain bike, I jumped on that technology. The frames were lighter, the wheels rolled better and the oversize allowed me to ride up and over some things that I would never have attempted with a smaller 26 inch wheel. Tubeless rims are lighter and without a tube in the tire, the weight is reduced even further allowing better rolling performance than standard wheels. Again, technology improved my riding. Another good improvement for the 58 year old kid which allows me to “stay in the game.” Am I cheating? I don’t think so. I had a conversation with the 3 time Tour De France champion Greg LeMond about his use of the aero bars in the 87 Tour which he won by 8 seconds. His arch rival Laurent Fignon chose not to use the bars and lost in the final time trial to LeMond who was an innovator in cycling equipment. Lemond stated that Fignon had the opportunity to use the same equipment but chose not to use it. He lost. By 8 seconds. Did LeMond cheat? What do you think?

Golf courses are becoming more tame because of the over sized heads on drivers and the hollowed out irons which allow greater club head speed to send the ball greater distances. The only way, any more, for a quality course to tame the pros in an event like the U.S.Open is to speed up the greens and grow the rough. But for most tournaments, the winner is well below par due to his or talent, for sure, but the technological advantage of the new clubs and golf balls is key. Are they cheating? How far do you take technological advantages until they ruin the game? It is a great debate. But one thing is for sure, for the common weekend warrior, the tech advantage in better turns on the ski slopes and less fatigue is welcomed by most skiers. Over sized racquets on the tennis courts allow longer rallies thus making the weekend tennis match more fun. The average hacker can maybe shoot some better scores allowing him to enjoy the game of golf instead of getting mad and taking it out on his clubs as he hurls them into the closest lake and goes home in defeat.

I think there is some debate as to how far technological advantages can be taken in a game played by professionals. Most often you really cannot go back as in the case of the buoyant swim suits that were allowed in the Olympics 6 years ago but not allowed in the most recent Olympics. Will those records never be broken by not allowing the speed suits to be used again? The sporting world’s governing bodies need to really sort this out because technology is not going away. But it must be a level playing field expecially when it comes to records and money in sport. But again, for us mortals, bring it on. Check out the picture above of my buddy Hutch with our shaped cheater skis- yea baby, I love them. And how about Heff and I with our 29ers in West Virginia on the roots, rocks, and mud? Sure is a lot easier than the old bikes we used to ride. So, weekend warrior, get the best stuff. When you are a 58 year old kid like me, you take every advantage you can. Thanks for reading.

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Mountain Biking can be……..accelerated Hiking.

photo Our friend Lisa asked me the other night what I thought about when I was riding my mountain bike. She knows I ride a lot and wondered what I was thinking as I bounced over the rocks and roots in the woods. I flippantly answered,” Nothing!” This is somewhat true in that if I am riding with friends or a fast group, I usually only can think about what is ahead of me, the person ahead of me, and the person behind me. More concentration than thought. With faster groups, I am trying to keep up as the 58 year old kid so there is not much going on in the gray matter other than concentrating to stay upright and not getting dropped. Racing was kind of like that too in that you were trying to hold your position or move up as well as maneuvering through obstacles. You really don’t think about much you just concentrate on your line.

I usually ride with a group of guys on Saturday morning and we do think a little bit more in that we try to solve the world’s problems on our rides. We have some interesting conversations but when the pace picks up, the conversation ceases and we just ride. But during the week, I mostly ride alone. It is here that I do think a lot more. Riding in the woods by yourself can be an enjoyable time and not necessarily a strenuous workout. I like to hike and mountain biking is a lot like hiking in these situations only you can cover a lot more ground. Whether I am traveling with my bike and seeing new places or riding on my standard trails at North Park or Seven Springs, I try to take the time to see things that I would not ordinarily see if I were riding with a group. In the spring for instance, I can see the new growth in the woods- wildflowers, ferns, etc. You can spot fawns trying to make their way in the world. All kinds of wildlife is visible if you just take the time to look- like hiking, only seeing more trail. The summer is fun in that you can run into friends. Like tonight. I ran into my friend Art walking his dogs. I stopped and chatted and we caught up after his winter teaching skiing in Vail. The fall is really great in that the leaves are starting to turn and the woods come alive with color. The weather is a little cooler and it is really enjoyable to just take your time and enjoy the spectacle of seasonal change in the mountains or your local forest. This is also the time to start to take your lights out and put them on your bike for the winter. Usually in the fall, you have to use your lights to finish your weekly rides afer work and when the time change comes, you definitely need them. Again, if you take your time on these weekly rides and don’t kill yourself on each ride, you can really enjoy the trails as they are illuminated. Riding at night is different but it is very enjoyable and can be done at slightly higher speeds than hiking.

I use mountain biking as a viable form of aerobic exercise. It is also challenging with the rocks, roots, climbs and descents. After a long day at work, sometimes it is good to blow out the cobwebs and ride hard only thinking about how to execute that next turn. But on other nights or evenings, maybe slow it down a little bit and enjoy the fact that there are no cars to deal with, not a lot of people, if any, and the peace in the woods can be enjoyed. Stop for a minute and appreciate the silence. The workplace can be noisy, classic rock can be overbearing, and the general stress of everyday living can be alleviated by a hike or accelerated hiking (mountain biking.) An interesting statistic is that 90 percent of all mountain bikes are never taken off the road. They are comfortable to ride and most people don’t use them in the mountains or the woods. So if you venture out on to your local trails or if you ride on a trip on the available trails, congratulate yourself. You are in the minority in that you ventured out of your comfort zone and hit the trails with a bike. If you are a expert racer or a rider who pushes himself or herself all the time, SLOW DOWN ONCE IN A WHILE! Chances are you are not going to the World Cup or the Olympics so enjoy the trails, the mountain scenery, the wildlife. Life is too short to kill yourself looking at the guy’s shorts in front of you all the time. Do a little hiking- do a little accelerated hiking. You will be toally relaxed when you get home and the problems from the day just vanish. Try it you’ll like it. Thanks for reading

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We’re just different – and that’s ok.

photophoto My dad is gone from this earth 12 years this month and my mom 8 years in April. But the picture you see above is of them in happier times at my sister’s wedding 30 years ago. The second picture is of my dad and the one and only Honus Wagner who was the Hall of Fame shortstop for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Honus did a lot of clinics for the neighborhood kids in and around Pittsburgh after his career came to a close and this is a prized picture of mine of my dad as a youth. He is the guy in the middle with the black curly hair. You will notice the other fellows have ball uniforms on and my dad was most likely wearing his dad’s old pants and shoes. You see, my dad was the “accident” and had to live upstairs with his Uncle Charley because my grandparents did not have any more room. My dad worked hard after school and on weekends at his father’s tire shop in Bellevue,Pa and he and his folks, and my mom and her folks, were all part of that “Greatest Generation” that Tom Brokaw refers to in his best selling book of the same name. My dad put himself through Carnegie Tech on the GI Bill and eventually married my mother and became quite successful. My folks were the consumate entertainers and loved to have people around the house. My mom was a fantastic cook and my dad helped her in every way he could. The best part of their marriage was that they put each other first. My sister and I were secondary even though they gave us every opportunity. They got us into skiing, swimming, tennis and golf, all of which have gone by the wayside with the exception of skiing which is still my passion. My dad loved golf and wore yellow pants with bumble bees on them to his club and was a bit taken aback at my baggy shorts and running shoes. But I was interested in other things……and that’s ok. I can clearly remember telling my mother about the harrowing weather and conditions at Tuckerman Ravine in New Hampshire. The climbing and skiing up there is epic and when I told her about it, she remarked,” Oh that’s nice dear- would you like some more potatoes?” Talk about busting your euphoric bubble! But she really couldn’t relate and that’s ok. I would tell them about running down Commonwealth Ave in Boston at the end of the Marathon to the screams of thousands and my dad would say, ” Gee that sounds terrific, can you help me with this porch furniture now?” They were not uninterested but they just could not relate. As much as I tried to interest them in my outdoor exploits, they would be polite and certainly be supportive but their next party or their next dinner with friends was paramount to any mountain stories I had for them. But……..that’s ok.

Fast forward, I got my son Jack up and skiing when he was 2+1/2. It was probably more for me than for him but Janet and I had him out on the slopes early. We also taught him to ride a bike, a mountain bike, play baseball, swim and all the other activites that correspond to an active young life. He gravitated to basketball which was totally foreign to me but we went along. He is now out of basketball and has other interests which are foreign to me. I am getting better at remembering how it was with my folks and to let him pursue his own interests and not mine. He is the stong willed one and I can clearly remember times when I would explain how I would do things and he would say in a matter of fact confident way that ” I am not like you dad.” My ego didn’t let that sit too well and I thought to myself,” Well maybe he better be a little more like me if he expects to get along in this world.” But as the months and days have gone by in his 18th year, I am realizing that…….he is different than me……and that’s ok. I wanted him to be a competitor and a star athlete like all parents but it was not in the cards. He marches to a different tune. We are in the college search right now and it will be interesting to see where he wants to go and not where Janet and I want him to go. Jack will make his way in life and I am sure he will be just fine. We are different people but I need to respect that just like my folks did with me. I remember my mom standing on the side of the road in the first North Park Triathlon and seeing me suffer on the road bike up Pidgeon Hill. She had that look like the Blessed Mother at the crucifixion but the suffering was not nearly the same and her expression looked as if I was headed for the boneyard. She would have rather seen me on the first tee with some really swank Lily pants. But that was not to be. I wish Jack could have continued with his basketball and been the star of the show at his school and his last year in AAU. But that was not to be. We are different and ……that’s ok. Acceptance is everything and even though you try to steer your children in the direction that you think they should go, it is not always the path that they would choose.

I am 15 months from turning 60. I don’t feel that old but the 58 year old kid still has some things to learn. Parenthood is a challenge especially in the teen years. But my wife is a solid partner and maybe I need to take a page from my parent’s book and concentrate more on Janet and me than be obsessed with the boy. Their marriage and how they got to their stage in life is a great story. We all can have that great story if we put the right things in priority and live and let live. Am I on a soapbox or the old guy on the stoop again? Sorry about that. Have a nice week and thanks for reading.

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The Colorado Relay

for Patphoto

photo A couple of years ago, a group of us from work decided two years in a row to do The Colorado Relay. It is a 150 mile running race over four mountain passes in Colorado and it is traditionally done by a team of about 10 people over 24 hours. Now I have reported in previous blogs about my fun experiences in 24 hour mountain bike races but this was a little different in that it involved running at altitude on roads, paths, and trails. I have never really noticed altitude when I have been skiing. I notice it a little bit when I ride a road bike or a mountain bike out west. But running is exponentially more taxing than any of the previous activities.

The fun part of the relay is the preparation. The beneficiary of the proceeds of the race is Colorado Outward Bound. http://www.outwardbound.org. This organization takes youth, companies, and other folks on team building missions in the wilderness with the express intent of getting people to work together in a challenging environment. It is wonderful for disadvantaged youth, as well as for companies like ours who want to experience team building in an outdoor atmosphere away from the office. We had to get two vans, all of our gear, food, maps etc. and be ready at the start line early in the morning on a Saturday in September. The vans basically leapfrog with the first 5 runners in the first van letting each runner out to do his or her leg, then the runner gets in the van and the next runner is out the door. When the 5 runners have gone, the driver takes the van ahead to the next starting point which is after the legs of the second van. This leapfrogging allows some rest and refueling before any five runners start again. It goes this way all the way from Georgetown,Colorado over four passes into Carbondale, Colorado-150 miles away.

Now aside from running all summer to prepare, and getting used to the altitude, the real challenge was the logistics but it is the most fun. Team meetings in Pittsburgh concentrated on the details of who was running what legs, what we would bring in the vans, who were the volunteer drivers, and getting flights and rides to the start line to meet each other. Once this was all worked out, we all met at the pre race dinner in Golden, Colorado. Some of he funny/interesting stories are as follows:

Our captain Maureen was so nervous at the start line the first year that she threw up before the start but she was a trooper and ran a wilderness 13 mile leg.

I ran my first leg in 8 inches of snow at about 10,000 feet. Now I am used to running in the winter but I don’t mind telling you that altitude is something that definitely is a challenge when running.

Our two studs, JR and the running Rev( Reverend Andrew – a friend from Colorado Springs who filled in for us), ran the tough uphill legs and were quite impressive to all riding in the vans.

JR was also our statistician. He is from our supply chain engineering group at work and after his runs he began to feverishly work on his laptop and decifer lap times, estimated ETAs, and other data. How he did it right after a run was beyond me seeing that after some of my legs,all I wanted to do was sit at the bar and down a cold beer. Our driver Norm said to me after the leg to Breckenridge that I looked like hell. I said,” no kidding Norm, I just ran 8 miles straight up hill at altitude.” I was looking for that cold beer then.

At about 4 AM on Sunday morning Norm wakes us up while we were sleeping on the Edwards,Colorado High School lawn. It was time to start our legs and the running Rev didnt need awakened. The lawn sprinklers did that job nicely for him. Running in the wee hours in September is a bit brisk and I remember chasing these two gazelle like girls who ran for UC-Boulder. It was a metaphor for my life really. The old guy trying to chase youth. These girls just kept talking as they ran and it looked like little effort as I killed myself trying to keep up. Youth is wasted on the young I am afraid.

We had a couple of “strays” that filled in. One girl was from Colorado and got altitude sickness. She was a bit of an odd duck anyhow but being the benevolent soul that I am, I took her to an oxygen bar in Breckenridge. We pumped her full of 02 and before you knew it, she was ready to roll. Interesting establishment that oxygen bar. She also relieved herself on a bush at the side of the road in the freespirit Colorado girl way much to the surprise of the conservative eastern crowd. Colorado folks are really laid back and I like their style.

Although we did not see much wildlife, there are mountain lions in the area and don’t think for a moment that we weren’t thinking about them during the dusk and evening legs. Chances are slim but you never know in the foothills of the Rockies. But there were enough people that the chances of being attacked were slim to none. But on the dark lonely trails or paths where no one was around for a little while and all you had was your light to blaze the trail, thoughts come into your head.

You have to hand it to our volunteer drivers like Norm and Chrissy. They stayed up all night with little rest and kept each of us on our toes with start times and wake up calls. Chrissy is actually running this year with a new group from our office and has been dilligently training running long miles and stadium steps. Some of our other runners are not as dedicated and they are in for a big surprise if they don’t step up their game in this next month.

All in all, the preparation that is required by way of training and the logistics taught us all some valuable lessons and also gave us a real sense of accomplishment as we all crossed that finish line in Carbondale together. The Outward Bound spirit of collaboration and preparation teaches folks that instead of working on your own, and being only concerned for yourself in life, working together is the answer. Teamwork, getting to know people outside their comfortable environment, and pushing your limits together is something that everyone takes with them. It saves disadvantaged youth from a life of crime. It helps company employees bond together outside the workplace. And it shows individuals that you can push yourself outsde your own comfort zone. Check out our team picture above with our Steeler gear. We wore it proudly in Bronco country. Also, my good friend Julie from our Chicago office sent me the other photo which kind of says it all for those of us who want to stretch our limits and grow. No matter how old we are. Thanks for reading.

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“Every Picture Tells a Story”

photophotophoto You have it in your head,right? Rocket Rod singing, “Every Picture Tells a Story,baby” Well maybe if you are a little older, but it rings in my head. Anyhow, check the picture above. This is one of my wife going to her favorite place in all the world…..the beach. I took this actually spontaneously while I was on my way to park the car. ( Yes, we were staying on the bay- had to drive over to the beach for all you beachfront snobs.) But we like the bay………..I digress. Janet loves the beach and this little snapshot in time tells the story of her love for the Jersey Shore. She worked there in high school, college and her aunt and uncle have a place in Ocean City,NJ. Just look at the body language….relaxed, prepared, and leisurely walking down the path. I happened to catch the moment in time on my I-Phone.

Years ago, my dad bought me a little Canon camera to take to Switzerland on my first trip to Europe as a senior in high school. I was wide eyed and couldn’t wait to develop the pictures at the local drug store when I got back home. This little camera was all that I had for years. I liked to take pictures but I never had the money or the inclination to buy better equipment like the big Nikon cameras and the wide angle lenses. I believe my sister has my dad’s Nikon equipment but to this day, the only camera I ever owned was the little clamshell Canon…….until the digital age came into play. When I discovered that I could take pictures on a Blackberry, I was enthralled. I could save them, erase them, send them instantly to my friends via the net. Quite an advanced step for a rube like me. Then I got the I- Phone and the quality became even better. But for me, photography is not about aperture, speed, wide angle lenses, professional quality action shots. Photography for me is capturing the moment. I see things like my wife here and it prompts me to snap. I don’t look at the angle of the sun, or other considerations that real photographers look at……I just snap. I try to get the moment in time.

There are many pictures that I have taken that probably don’t mean much to others. But to me, I know the story. As I get older, these stories bring back cherished memories, laughs, and tears. Life goes by so quickly that to get some of it in digital form is really valuable and important. A smile from your dad that you captured quickly, the baby’s first rollover, the look of bewilderment on the school bus when your child first boarded, the college freshman, the college graduate. If you take the time to really get the light right, the angle right, the right lens, you will miss the moment in time. That is why the digital cameras are so great and if the shot is good, or you think it is good, you share it on social media for instant comments from your friends. I can’t match a Mattias Fredrikson shot on the slopes with his professional lighting and professional models, but I can sure capture a shot of a great smile after one of my friends skis a really steep chute. I take it quickly and their family can see it instantly. The 58 year old kid that I am, is now reveling in this new technology that allows my spontaneity to take form by way of a quick snapshot.

Moments, my friends, are quickly appearing and quickly ending. At the risk of being obnoxious, I always am prepared to snap because it is so easy. Critics will tell us that I-Phone photography is not the quality of a true digital camera, but how often can you take professional equipment with you when you ride a bike, ski, hike? It is so easy with a piece of equipment that you always have with you. Capturing the moment. Take a look at the second picture above. This was taken at 5:45 AM with a full moon in view. The boat would soon be gone and the moment struck me. Snap!!!!!

One last thing from the guy who is not a photographer is to take the time to see the moment. So many of us rush through life and get to the next opportunity. If you look for the snap, it will allow you to savor moments that you might miss. Life flies by and if you can slow it down a little bit by looking and appreciating a moment in time, you can have it forever. I have a lot of mental snaps filed in my head. If I close my eyes, I can envision the Gore Range outside of Vail, Colorado. I can see El Cap at Yosemite. I can see the maple tree in North Park that always turns colors first in the fall. I can see my mom and dad dancing at my sister’s wedding showing me in the moment the most wonderful love story played out in their eyes in a photo that I took. These mental pictures can be captured by remembering a photo or by just taking the time to look at the scenery and enjoying the moment. Snap! Take it with your mind. When you are back in the mundane, or you are having a down day, you can close your eyes and let yourself go to the place of beauty in your mind’s eye.

The last snap above is of my dad and me at my first ball game. The pride of a father and the anticipation of a big event by the son. It shows the love of the father and the receipt of that love by the son who was waiting for the first pitch. How about that sport coat and tie? Who goes to games like that any more? Don’t be afraid to use that I-Phone even if your kid thinks you are a dork. Get the snap, get the mental snap, it slows our life down. Thanks for snapping….er a reading!!

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Nun’s Beach- Surfers Paradise for Good Reason.

photophoto Some of the good zany stories and experiences for the 58 year old kid have come from my background in the Catholic education system. I grew up within walking distance of our church and spend a lot of time serving masses and singing in the choir. I also attended catholic grade school and received my primary education from the Vincentian Sisters of Charity. Now sometimes I questioned their name when they relegated me to the wastebasket facing the corner in the classroom. I had a tendency to talk a lot and crack jokes which didn’t go over real well when one of the sisters was trying to convey a lesson plan to our class. Maybe it was because I made a remark every day when a certain girl who sat in front of me would relieve herself on the slanted floor. Obviously it flowed back towards my chair and I had to raise my feet along with raising my voice. I usually took the butt end of that deal but all part of the learning process. But for the most part, save for a few visits to the wastebasket, the sisters were great teachers including my first grade teacher- Sister Judith who taught me phonix. I must say that class has stuck with me to this day and Sister Judith was undoutedly the best teacher I ever had or so I think. It is my understanding that she still is in a supervisory position at an advanced age. Still very sharp and still leading a productive life. The sisters kept all of us in line and we didn’t cross them very much. They steered a tight ship in St. Sebastian’s Grade School.

So, here I am again at the Jersey Shore with my family and I am enjoying all the sights and scenes of the shore especially from the seat of my road bicycle. As I set sail every morning and head towards Cape May, I see beautiful sunrises, blue heron, egrets, and lots of other birdlife, along with sights of folks crabbing, fishing, and boating. The new craze is SUP( Stand Up Paddleboarding) and I see a lot of these guys and girls out on the bay partaking in this fun looking activity. I see surfers heading out to rather tame looking waves but fun times nonetheless. Most of the time, I take time to stop for a coffee, a sticky bun and relax and enjoy the scenery and the pleasant slow pace of life at the shore. It is a welcome way for me to ride a bike because I usuually end up folowing a bunch of guys trying to beat each others brains out riding up hills and racing along the flats. A lot of the scenery I have seen in my 30 years of riding has been the rear end of some guy in his lycra shorts. As the saying goes, “unless you are the lead dog, the scenery is always the same.” That is the way it usually is in cycling either on a road bike or on a mountain bike with the guys. The shore is always a welcome relief to that unless I meet up with my friend Mike King who still likes to pound the pedals and ride hard every day.

In the years that I have ridden down here at the shore, I have always passed a convent retreat house at the south end of Stone Harbor. I never gave it much attention but this week, I noticed that there was some activity in a garage on the beautiful campus. I rode on by but curiosity was killing me and my wife and I rode our mountain bikes on a little cruise back down to the retreat house and checked out what was happening. It turns out that the sisters were selling some items that referred to “Nun’s Beach.” Nuns Beach T-Shirts, hats that read” Pray for Surf” and other stickers, aprons and various items indigenous to the local area. It turns out that Nun’s Beach is indeed named after the retreat house and it is the local surfer’s beach of choice for the good breaks on the Jersey Shore. In fact, they have had regional surf competitions on Nun’s Beach and the sisters there are actively involved in volunteer activity for the competitions. Janet and I stopped and talked to Sister Rose and Sister Mary who gave us the history of the place and we bought a raffle ticket from them for a surf board with the graphic design that you see above. There is a sister there who creates the graphic every year for the T-Shirts, hats and other items for sale. I only had enough for the raffle tickets so I told the sisters that we would be back.

The next day, I went on a long ride to Cape May with my pals Mike King and Mike Smith and I spent a long time in the saddle that day. It was hot and when I got back, Janet wanted to ride so I said fine and we headed unbeknownst to her to Nun’s Beach. I had told the sisters that we would be back. Janet really didn’t want to ride all the way back down there but when you grow up in guilt ridden hell like I did, you knew you better ride back down there and buy some T-Shirts or somehow the sisters would find out and I would be in trouble again. As it turned out, Sister Rose and Sister Mary were happy to see us again. They were the type of sister who were probably great teachers because they were great conversationalists and had a really great sense of humor. The little sister who sold us the shirts was a sweet helpful soul and yet another example of my memory of the good sisters who taught me in the past. There was of course the sister there helping who couldn’t wait to tell Janet to watch for the rope separating the selling area from the public area and spoke to her as if she was wearing the standard uniform of the grade school girl and would stand at attention to the instructions that she was giving to my wife. These were the types who placed me squarely in the round wastebasket. I wasn’t too fond of those types but for the most part, the hang ten nuns from Nun’s Beach were really cool and friendly. As we walked around the campus we couldn’t help but notice the beauty of the area and I must admit that I felt a little closer to heaven knowing that the nuns were there and we could see God in the beauty of the ocean. As we rode off, I had great memories of my past and felt comforted in a strange way that I got to see the nuns again and that they, for a short time, had another influence in my life. Great T-Shirts too! Hope I win that surf board. Surfs up at Nun’s Beach. Aloha brahs!!!

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The All-American T Shirt

photo Perhaps the most iconic piece of clothing that is worn in America more than any other is the T Shirt. Now as the 58 year old kid, I will admit that I wear a T Shirt with shorts and running shoes probably 60 percent of my time. T-Shirts are comfortable, they make statements, they go well with jeans, shorts, just about every type of casual wear. T-Shirts can advertise where you have been, where you would like to go, what events you have done. They also can make statements about who you are. They are for kids ” My parents went to the Bahamas and all I got was this lousy T-Shirt”. Or perhaps “Future Major Leager” . They are for the partiers. ” Brass Balls Saloon” ” I got the Crabs at Joe’s Crab Shack” and other crude statements on T-Shirts with loud colors. T-Shirts can be tye died and all the old Jerry Garcia fans can relive the summer of love with an old faithful tye dye. That old gray pony tail looks good with a tye die. There are so many different types of T-Shirts that we can’t even name them all.

Athletes, both national class and weekend warriors, collect T-Shirts. You work hard in an event and the prize is often no more than a T- Shirt that you can wear with pride when you have completed the Boston Marathon, the local 10K, a criterium bicycle race, the local Triathlon. People collect shirts from events and sometimes make them into car seats, or blankets or bed spreads. T-Shirts can look good on a fit person, a not so fit person or on anyone with a sense of casual dress or a funny sense of humor. In short, well, T-Shirts are the All American way of expressing yourself in clothing. I will always wear them and I am sure that all of you have a collection of your favorite T-Shirts from many different venues and events. But, you knew I was going somewhere with this and you are right. There is a protocol for T-Shirts which I call Pat’s T-Shirt “do’s and dont’s” Feel free to add to these rules but remember that when you add a comment, these instantly become part of my rules and your contribution is not only welcome, but becomes an integral part of Pat’s rules. So without further delay, lets take a look at these rules or protocol and have some fun with it shall we? Here we go:

Always buy a high quality T-Shirt that will wear well. Haines Beefy are the T of choice and if you can get one with an understated logo on the front leaving the big obnoxious logo for the back of the shirt, that would be the best. If you manage to get one with a front pocket, that is even better.

White shirts look clean but eventually get gray or weathered. These shirts have a short lifespan but they do look good. Dark colored shirts last longer and wear better.

Don’t ever wear a T-Shirt from some place you have not been. Have some pride and don’t try to fool us with the fact that you were there when you were not. In the same vein, don’t ever wear a race T-Shirt if you have not done the event, less you be exposed for the poser that you are.

If you are overserved and buy a shirt that is a bit risque, be careful where you wear it. Maybe don’t wear the Brass Balls Saloon shirt over to your prospective in-laws house. That may go over like a lead balloon.

Free shirts from a company or the local Major League Baseball give away will not last in the next major rain event. They may just disintegrate on your body as you leave the stadium.

If you are an XL, XXL or larger, don’t try to show us your guns and wear a large. Gravity has a way of exposing some flaws that are below the big guns in your arms.

If you choose to alter a shirt that will showcase your six pack or some other parts of your body, please make sure that your perception is correct before you go out in public. Maybe ask a good friend for some true commentary.

Event T-Shirts have a shelf life. Don’t wear a race shirt that showcases an event that occurred over ten years ago. Bad form and everyone will know that you have not done a race or an event since then.

Don’t wear a Harley shirt if you don’t ride a motorcycle. Don’t ever wear a Harley shirt if you don’t ride a Harley. You might get your butt kicked.

If you use a brand name sporting good, you have a right to wear the shirt. If you don’t use the equipment, who are you trying to kid? Bad form again.

In order to ensure the “cool factor” always wear a shirt from as far away from where you are right now. For instance, if you ski in the East, wear Jackson Hole shirts or Mammoth Mountain shirts. If you ski in the west, wear a New England area shirt. Never wear a T-Shirt from the area where you find yourself presently. Not cool and nobody cares. Good conversations can come from comments about the area that is far, far away.

In the same way, a T-Shirt from an event from far away definitely ensures the cool factor in the local race. “Wow- that guy did the Ironman!”

And the real funny thing is that we all think these rules really do apply. The fact of the matter is that most people can’t even read your shirt because they are walking, riding, running past you so fast that they don’t even notice. HAHA. But you notice, right? You feel comfortable and cool, right? Well that is all that matters. You busted your butt in that event. You had a fabulous trip to that exotic place, right? Well that is really all that matters. All kidding aside. But if someone notices and comments…….cool. T-Shirt did it’s job. Wear those shirts for as long as you can. Your accomplishments and memories are important. When they are no longer cool, they make great dusters. Thanks for reading.

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How to Stay in the Game

Saltlick-20130109-00082IMGP1925IMG00375-20110730-0915 Age and Treachery will beat Youth and Skill- true or false? As the 58 year old kid, I would like to believe that statement but in most instances, this is not the case. You have to rely on other things to stay in the game and enjoy the activities that you have been enjoying for a long time. Chris Crowley in his excellent book “Younger Next Year” http://www.youngernextyear.com states with conviction that if you keep doing the things that you are doing in your 50s and 60s, there is no reason, barring catastrophic disease, that you can’t keep doing it well into your 70s and 80s. I believe this and have seen evidence of this with active people on the ski slopes and on the trails. I am not an exercise physiologist, certified trainer, coach or anything close, but I can tell you what has worked for me and I hope that these following little tips can keep you in the game as well.

Equipment- Chris Crowley screams from his book to buy the best equipment that you can really afford. Why not? We could get hit by a bus tomorrow. Spend the money because if you are dedicated to pursuing your sport, you will use the equipment almost every day. Skis are shaped, well constructed, and shorter these days allowing less fatigue as the day wears on. The new ski equipment definitely improve most skiers one full ability level. Beginners become intermediates, intermediates become advanced, and advanced skiers become…well …. really experts. Mountain bikes and road bikes are made with lightweight carbon fiber and utilize lightweight componetry allowing quicker ascending on the roads and trails. Larger diameter wheels like the 29ers make riding more efficient with rolling resistance lowered and climbing more effiicient with more tire patch on the trail. Full suspension technology allows a more comfortable ride which is especially important on technical trails as an older rider.

Clothing- with the advances of Gore Tex and similar wind and water resistant fabrics, exercise becomes more comfortable allowing more time on the trails and slopes. Again, spend the money and get good riding, running and ski clothing. Compression socks are another plus to promote blood flow while running and giving the legs some support. Technical clothing is well worth the investment

Nutrition- I am not a dietician but I can tell you that if you stay away from high fat foods, fried foods, desserts, and eat within reason, you will feel and perform better. When I moved out of my parents house in my twenties, I started to run on a daily basis and I started to eat more chicken,fish, fruits and vegetables. I ate my big meal at noon and hardly anything at night and lost 15 pounds in two weeks. I was not intentionally wanting to lose weight, but my improved fitness coupled with a sensible diet and correct eating times, helped me lose the weight and gain efficiency.

Water- I had a blood clot years back because I was injured and dehydrated. I am still paying for that today because I take Coumadin. I don’t have any side effects but had I hydrated properly at the time, I may not have had the DVT. I also had a kidney stone this year and the doc said that I don’t take enough fluids in while I exercise. I wouldnt wish that experience on my worst enemy. So I drink plenty of water these days and you should too. You almost have to consciously drink more that you think you should not only while you are exercising but before and after and on the days when you are inactive.

Attitude- take a look at the pictures above. The one picture is of my buddy Heff and me in the bowels of West Virginia in the rain. We had the gear and enjoyed the mountains and the ride immensely despite the horrid conditions. We never let weather spoil our fun. Another picture above is of me and 3 time Tour De France champion Greg Lemond. Here is a guy who loves to ride a bike despite his age and he will talk cycling and sign autographs for as long as anyone want him to be there. The last picture is of my lovely wife riding a chairlift in the freezing rain. She was having such a good day skiing that day that she didn’t want to quit. She has a great attitude and she rides a bike and is into hot yoga of all things. These individuals are older athletes but their attitude, nutritional habits, good equipment and fitness keep them in the game. Chuck Swindoll the great preacher says that “Life is 10 percent what happens to you and 90 percent how you react to it.” Even if you have been away from it for a while or you want to start a new exercies and fitness/nutritional program, it is never too late. Get with a physician to determine your baseline fitness and just do it as the Nike ads proclaim.

I was out with a bunch of guys the other day on the mountain bike and it was really hot. I made sure I was drinking a lot, I pounded the energy gels to keep the energy levels high, I rode the hills at 60% so as to keep something in the tank for the three hour slog with some younger guys.Because I was leading the ride, I did not have the luxury of sitting in with the group and allowing someone else to set the pace and take all the pulls. On a road bike, you can get away with this by sucking wheel more than you are out front taking pulls. I was good at this back in the day when I got an award from the ACA. It was a little plunger and the nameplate said Wheel Sucker of the Year. In short, I pulled out most of my treachery and skulduggery just to stay with the ride. My age and treachery did not beat the youth and the skill the other day, but I sure had fun on the ride and want to continue that high for many rides to come. Stay in the game my friend. Thanks for reading.

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The Good Old Fashioned Work Ethic

photo I have a friend, Jeff Mihalsky who laughs at me and says,” McCloskey, sometimes when you are on a roll, you remind me of an old man coming out on his stoop in his bathrobe and yelling at the kids to get off his lawn.” Now at the risk of such accusations and probable half truth, I will temper what I have to say with that image in mind. Yes, I am taking a little breather from the skiing, cycling, and hiking commentary and giving a little social commentary on this post. I hope you don’t mind and for most of you, it will ring a little truth bell inside you.

One of the more interesting, zany, stories and experiences of the 58 year old kid has been raising a teenager. A lot of you who follow this blog have been down this rocky path and there a a lot who will face it in the near future but teenagers today can be challenging to say the least. My son Jack decided that his competitive basketball days are over and much to my chagrin, I have been fretting over this decision but realize that it is his life and no matter what time, effort, money,coaching and instruction his mother and I have put into this activity over the last 7 years, we must move on because this is no longer his passion. However…………we have insisted that if this is the case, he must look for employment over the summer to learn about earning a buck and not just getting $20.00 leaves from the proverbial endless money tree. To Jack’s credit, he got a job at Shenot’s Farm Market in Wexford and also moonlights as a sitter for the two young boys down the street. He is learning what it is like to work and that is very important to us as he marches his way towards college and life in the next year and a half.

I have always appreciated what work experience as a young guy has brought me in later life. I will never forget my first bonus from our backyard neighbor who presented me with a very professional letter at Christmas time with a $5.00 bill in it. He said that in the working world, great effort is rewarded at the end of the year by way of a bonus. I was thrilled and so were my parents that he would do this for mowing his lawn. I had 11 lawns in the neighborhood when I was 12. I also shoveled their driveways when it would snow. Not to sound like the old guy on the stoop but do you ever see that type of effort today in any of your neighborhood kids? We live in an entitled society, I am afraid, and a lot of what is given to young people today is expected and not really appreciated. That is it for the social commentary.

I went on to caddy and park cars at my dad’s golf club and also did stints in the kitchen. I learned a lot about people in the club setting and became real worldly when I caddied for a group of real good golfers who drank hard at the turn and told some pretty sordid stories out on the course. Needless to say, if I wanted a good tip I laughed and always made sure their balls were never out of bounds if you know what I mean. “Wow Mr. Sutherland, that ball is barely in bounds and you have a good lie!” My summers in college were spend as a laborer at St. Joe Paper Company in McKees Rocks and working all three shifts you saw all kinds of people and faced a lot of interesting situations in the labor environment. My son who is starting to pontificate about his working experience cannot match the times I spent with a long wire brush routing out boiler tubes in 120 degree heat. All of this was good for me in later life as I was comfortable in labor situations and making my way around manufacturing plants and mills. I like to think that working as a young guy prepared me to deal with all kinds of people from labor to management with respect and a good work ethic. This is the experience I hope that Jack enjoys as he makes his way through the working world of summer and after school employment. There is so much to learn if you pay attention.( I am still in the bathrobe a little bit.)

Take a look at the sign above. Shenot’s Farm Market- since 1854. This establishment was in business before the Civil War. I pointed this out to Jack on the first day of his employment and said to him that these are the types of people who work hard and are really successful. They could probably buy and sell most of the posers in the suburbs of Pittsburgh and most places for that matter. They presented him with a manual that said among other things that he was to treat the produce like eggs. The Shenots value each and every piece of fruit and vegetable that they sell and they count on the workers there to engage the customer with respect, befitting the ethic that they wish to project. I told Jack he will learn a lot if he keeps his eyes open and works hard. This is his first job seeing that sports have taken up most of his time up until now.

I have seen a change in Jack where he is becoming a little more responsible. When he has berry picking duty before 7:00 AM, he goes to bed early and makes sure we leave in time for him to begin bright and early. He seems enthused when he tells me that he learned something new that day. Whether it is running the cash register, bringing in the kale( his name badge says,”Jack- King of Kale”), or running with the truck to get watermelons and place them in the bins for the day. He seems to like it and it is a new adventure for him and getting that first paycheck was a proud moment for him. I am a firm believer in kids working. They have to learn like we all did that money doesn’t grow on trees and that you have to save some for a rainy day. Have I missed any popular sayings of the time? I don’t tell him that in my day I walked up hill to school both ways but I do tell him stories of my past that included summer jobs and college employment. Teenagers need direction and sometimes a summer job with responsibility is just the ticket.

My dad was a child of the Great Depression. The stories he told were amazing and life during the great war was never easy. I always admired my dad for his work ethic. His generation was extremely exemplary and I make sure that Jack knows the history of his Pop Pop and why he was such a good man. My Uncle Jack( my dad’s brother) was a B-24 pilot in WWII and flew 52 missions over the Anzio Beach head. He used to tell us that every day, the mechanics would patch up the flak holes in the body of his aircraft and send him back out again the next day. He was shot down over Burma,and spent a year in a Japanese Prisoner of War Camp. The British bombed the camp, he escaped and made it back to Bellevue,Pa. alive. When I was his age, I was looking for my next cheeseburger. Read Tom Brokaw’s book,” The Greatest Generation” to see what our parents and grandparents went through and how hard work honed their amazing successes in life. We all have or will raise teenagers. We were a teenager once and understand. But it is so important in my mind to make sure that our young people appreciate the value of hard work. We can’t support some of the current ideas of entitlement in this country. We are not built that way and our country was not founded that way. Help your kids and tell them of your experiences. They will relate when they have to ………..bring in the kale. Thanks for reading and time for me to get off the stoop.