6. New Albany, OH Water Tower

Keep Austin Weird

I just got back from a four-day training in Fraud Examination. It was a good week – the training was excellent, I got upgraded to first class on the flight back, and the hotel put me on the club level which comes with all a fancy little room with all kinds of snacks. The training was in Austin, Texas, my first time there. A few observations on Austin.

Austin can get really cold. I was expecting warm Texas sunshine. Instead it was cold and rained most of the time. Not cool, not cool at all.

Austin is a party town. The main industries are the state government and the colleges. It is not all that different from Columbus. There are bars all over the place and these kids know how to kick loose. Many of the bars are clustered on 6^th street. It is just one big bar after another, block after block. Not really my scene, but it was fun to see.

As part of my training, we visited the National Fraud Museum. It was small but well done. If you are geek and into this sort of thing, plan a special trip to Austin. They will welcome you with open arms.

The food is excellent. I ate Tex-Mex constantly and could not get enough of the homemade, fresh salsa. One restaurant reminded me of Uruguay with its outdoor mesquite barbeque set up for cooking. You could smell the wood smoke a block away. In Uruguay, this is very common both in restaurants and in private homes. I think I will always associate the smell of meat cooking over wood fire with cool nights beside the ocean in Uruguay.

5. Weirton West Virginia Water Tower

4. Hopedale Ohio Water Tower

Best in Show

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to volunteer with the Red Cross for a Dog Show. Over and over I kept thinking about the movie "Best in Show" due to all the similarities. The dogs were bored with the whole affair, the owners were obsessed, and the judges could not be more serious. I had a great time and they even provided free lunch.

For those of you who have not been to a dog show, here is how it works. The dogs are divided up by breed. Each breed competes in little caged areas. They walk around the edge of the pen. They stand still with tail held aloft. They run around. All while the judge watches. Honestly, all the dogs looked the same to me. But, somehow the judge picked the best of each breed. The best then proceeds to the next round.

The next round has the winner of each breed compete within their group. The groups are sport dogs, toy dogs, etc. The winner of each group then goes to the main ring for the selection of best in show. The whole thing took about two days. Luckily I was there for the last six hours, so I saw the crowning of the champion.

Unlike horses, I don't think dogs understand they are competing the they do not seem to care whether they win or lose. Mostly they are interested in the steady stream of treats handed out by the owners. The owners were extremely competitive though. They brought RVs to sleep in the parking lot and it was clear that this was just one step on the road to glory (Westminster). Having a dog that is ill behaved, I can appreciate all the time and effort that these people put into these dogs. That being said, I was happy to just be able to show up for a couple hours, hand out a couple band-aids, enjoy the show, and then head home.

Ohio to Erie Trail

Touring by bicycle has seemed like an interesting idea to me for quite a while. I like to travel, but in a car you tend to miss all the fun interesting stuff along the way. I love little towns, farm fields, community festivals, and wide open spaces. A few weeks ago I decided to give bicycle touring a try by riding from Cincinnati to Columbus on the first half of a trip across Ohio. The distance between the two cities is about 130 miles (though in my planning I messed up and assumed 180 miles).
I wasn’t sure exactly how long it would take me to cover 180 miles. I planned on three days, two nights, an average of about 60 miles per day. This is a bit slow, but I was not sure how much my body could take day after day. Certainly the third day would be much harder than the first. Elly was nice enough to drive me down to Cincinnati and drop me off next to the trail.

The trail starts out in a small metro park just outside the city limits about ¼ mile from the Ohio river. For the first 75 miles I followed the Little Miami Scenic Trail, most of which is built on an old railroad grade. I climbed the small elevation out of Cincinnati and immediately entered a forested area. The trees were turning gold, red, and brown and the air smelled like fall. I felt good, my legs were anxious to get moving. I had strapped quite a bit of camping equipment to the back of the bike, but it did not feel like too much of a burden.

The first town I came to was Loveland, Ohio. I was barely large enough to notice. The distinguishing factor was a large brick factory right alongside the trail that was abandoned many years ago. Little towns usually have the feel of a patient on life support. It is hard, but the young people leave for opportunity. There was a nice downtown that I quickly biked past. Some people sitting outside at a café pointed at me, it was fun to be mysterious and interesting.

I continued north, past King’s Island, a large amusement park very popular in Ohio. I did not see the park but I could hear the roller coasters. The trail was about 10 feet wide, paved, and in good condition. There were some people on the trail but there were long stretches when I had it to myself. After another 10 miles I reached Morrow, Ohio. Morrow did not have much to distinguish itself, but it did have a very nice public restroom right along the trail. Thank you Morrow!

Just north of Morrow was the largest collection of Harley riders I have ever seen. They were everywhere. A couple times I had to stop my bike and walk around great groups of rides walking slowly along the trail drinking beer. They made way for me but sadly no one offered to share any beer with me. A mile later I had the trail to myself.

I planned to have dinner in Corwin, Ohio then ride a few more miles until I reached the Frontier Campground. When I reached Corwin I was disappointed to see a lack of restaurants. This was bad news as I was out in the middle of nowhere and it was getting late. Ten miles to get dinner was not an attractive option. I was settling into the thought of eating my emergency packaged food (blah!) when I decided to call Elly to see if she could find anything on the internet. Problem solved, just ¼ mile away there was another town (Waynesville) with a pizza shop.

Anyone who travels with me knows that I have good luck in finding interesting things to do and fun places to eat. It takes me longer to get places, but it is a good time. Pulling into Waynesville, I could not believe my luck. That very night was the Ohio Sauerkraut Festival! There were about 200 booths all selling various sauerkraut items. I feasted on fried sauerkraut balls, fried oreos, and sauerkraut pizza. It was a great Festival and I thank Waynesville for the friendliness extended to the hungry, tired stranger on the bike who clearly did not belong.

My stomach full and my spirits lifted I sprinted the seven miles to the Frontier Campground. I should say, I sprinted to the place where the campground was supposed to be. Bad news, it was nowhere to be found. I kept riding up and down the trail looking but I never did find it. The sun was disappearing below the horizon and it was getting cold. I had lights on my bike, but I did not want to keep going, especially knowing that there were no other campgrounds anywhere near. I rode until I reached Spring Valley, Ohio. Spring Valley is a small collection of houses and a tiny main street with one store. They did have a nice big park though that I made my home for the night. I set up in a quiet, dark corner and tried to be as unobtrusive as possible. Lights out was 9pm and I was happy to snuggle up in my sleeping bag as I tried to ward off the 33 degree temperatures that night.

I awoke the next morning at 5am cold but in good spirits. My plan was to get everything packed up and get out of there before the sun came up. A minor bike repair took nearly a half hour in the dark, but I was on the road by 6:30, heading north. The trail consisted of long straight stretches through farm fields. It was cold and lonesome land, but it was beautiful. I rode the twelve miles north until I reached Xenia, Ohio. Xenia is a larger city as evidenced by the many fast food restaurants, a public library, and a profusion of banks. I asked a local where the best place to get breakfast might be. She recommended a biscuit and gravy place that sounded like heaven to my cold and hungry stomach. I put aside my vegan diet and prepared to feast. Horror of horrors, it was closed and I could not bring myself to eat in one of the fast food restaurants, so with a heavy heart I pointed my wheel north and continued on. One fun thing is that the local Chamber of Commerce was shooting a promotional video and I will be featured. Look for the hungry bicyclist in red riding past the Xenia Station. Pulling out of town I also saw a large Turkey Vulture that appeared to think I was going to be his nest meal.
About ten very flat and straight miles took me to Cedarville, Ohio. Cedarville is a cool little town with a great coffee shop. They accommodated my hunger and sent enough coffee my way to bring a smile to my face. The sun came out, it started to warm up, and life was good. Pulling out of Cedarville I realized there was nowhere I would rather be at that moment.

I continued on through the vast farm fields. I passed corn, soy, and wheat. There was a hog farm I passed outside of South Charleston that smelled so bad I started to have dry heaves. I rode fast and put it behind me. I kept going until I reached London, Ohio where I stopped for a short lunch and some time to give my butt a rest. At that point in the trip I started to feel the strain of the distance and my butt was getting uncomfortably numb. I also realized that I was close enough to Columbus to make the push to sleep in my own bed that night. A few miles outside London, the bike trail ends and it was all road riding the remaining 25 miles. Road riding is less fun. People in cars are rude, they yell and act like idiots. Someone threw a soda at me but luckily missed. I caught up with him a few miles down the road and stopped and stared long enough to make him feel very uncomfortable. It is best not to mess with someone who slept the night before in a town park in the frigid cold, then got denied biscuits and gravy.

I made it home in time for dinner that night. Overall it was a great trip and I am looking forward to part 2 of the journey up to Cleveland. I did manage to blow my knee out in the final ten miles and I am still suffering pain from that. My new touring bike was excellent and I am really happy with it. Next time I will pack less, plan to cover more miles, and get a new knee.

Columbus Marathon

Running a marathon seems like an impossible idea to me. I have always hated running, much preferring the low impact exercise of a bike. It is easy to envy the long lean bodies that runners work so hard to achieve. Runners seem a little crazy to me, this past weekend that was confirmed.

On Sunday was the 30th Annual Columbus Marathon, hosting 15,000 runners. The marathon starts downtown and winds all through the various neighborhoods of Columbus. It is amazing how much ground 26.6 miles covers. The course went from urban downtown through city parks, to quaint German Village, past Ohio State, up to the inner suburbs of Upper Arlington, the wound back down to downtown. A great course matched only by the leaves on the trees in many fall shades.

I volunteered with the Red Cross to staff one of the many first aid stations along the route. We were warned up front that the worst injuries would be psychological. This proved accurate. One runner blew her knee out and completely lost it when told that she would not be able to run the remaining 11 miles of the race. She described her pain as 10 out of 10 and could not put weight on the knee, but she refused to quit. There were various other similar incidents. One runner was taken away in an ambulance after an episode of hysteria when she realized that she could not keep going.

The sacrifice required to train for an event like a marathon is incredible. Practice calls for years of steady training and caution. All runners suffer injuries that constantly nag. It is a brutal sport, especially when the biggest reward is personal satisfaction. A runner who completes the marathon walks away with no more than a T shirt and a few pats on the back from friends. I was happy to end the day with no serious injuries. The Detroit Marathon the same day experienced three runner deaths due to heart attacks.

3. South Charleston Ohio Water Tower

Giving Back

A mentor once shared his philosophy on remaining happy in life by periodically evaluating where you stand with career, family, and community. If you sense an imbalance in any one area, likely you are due for an adjustment. Serious dissatisfaction in one area likely impacts all parts of your life. When a friend hates his job, I know about it even though I may not work with him. Likewise, when a work colleague is having issues at home, usually it spills over in some way to work. It works in the opposite way too. Being seriously thrilled about home life may help a person cope with a miserable work situation. What is bad for one person is great for another, so it is impossible to generalize where on the scale a person should aim for.

This philosophy resonates with me. I see in myself the need for interesting work, a good home life, and the feeling that I am part of making the world a better place. When I chose to become an accountant, I knew that these parts of my life would necessarily be separate. The four years that I worked for a socially responsible start-up is perhaps the only exception. Otherwise, I have been actively involved with non-profits during my off hours. This was disrupted when I moved from Pittsburgh to Columbus three years ago. The non-profits I worked with in Pittsburgh were all local and by moving I broke my link with them.

I struggled to find my next volunteer opportunity for two years, considering one idea after another. Over Christmas my Father in Law suggested that I look into the Red Cross. This proved to be the direction I needed. Quickly I got involved with the Columbus Red Cross First Aid Service Team. So far this year I have worked providing first aid at seventeen varied events. Last week the Red Cross invited me to take additional training so that I can take a more senior position in the organization.

It is a relief to feel like I am giving back to the community. It is fun and important work that we do. Usually we are the first on the scene of injuries, accidents, and medical problems. It is a serious role that we play, which is good for me because I am a serious person. Free access to a variety of interesting events is a plus as is the appreciation people have for the help that we lend.


Ohio State vs Wisconsin - October 10, 2009

2. Wilberforce Ohio Water Tower

1. Cedarville Ohio Water Tower

Giant Puffball Mushroom

Regular readers of this blog know that we subscribed to a CSA this year. Overall, it has not been a great experience as the quantity of the food has been way short of expectations. In addition, there have not been many surprises in the form of food that you can not normally find in a supermarket.

This week was a bit of an exception. We received some slices of a Giant Puffball Mushroom. Now, if you are thinking what the heck is a giant puffball mushroom, well I was thinking the same thing. I was a little worried that the farmer was trying to kill us all. See the picture above that I found online of what one of these mushrooms looks like. Clearly it is giant.

When eaten, it tastes like a combination between mushroom and tofu with the texture of compressed marshmallows. You can slice it and cook giant slabs. I cooked my slab like a piece of beef, adding some balsalmic vinegar, rosemary, salt, and pepper. It was quite delicious and made for a very interesting meal.