Bubba

Ummm, guys, it's just a wee bit more complicated than how much surface area of polar ice is melting or freezing…. The main issue with the increase in hydrocarbon emissions is an increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide. First, CO2 is obviously a greenhouse gas, although not necessarily one of the big actors--methane is a much better compound for trapping radiant heat, and the major sources of methane are organic bio-degradation, termite activity and bovine flatulence….ahem. However, CO2 is mostly absorbed by our oceans, which act as huge, nearly infinite sinks for the gas. Problem is that the oceans no longer have a near 'infinite' capacity to absorb our excess HCs. As the oceans have become more saturated with CO2, it has acidified the water. As the pH of the oceans drop, the ability of the water to absorb CO2 also diminishes, so it's very much a double-edged sword. At some point, the theory is that our oceans will stop absorbing CO2 and may even begin to out-gas, which would lead to a rapid increase in atmospheric CO2 and corresponding rapid increase in world-wide temps. This isn't even taking into account the effect ocean acidification has on the life balance in the ocean's eco-system, which is still one of the primary food sources for the world's population. I readily agree that the science of global warming is still far from being 100% predictive, but you'd have to be totally uninformed and uneducated about the effects the industrial revolution has had on carbon dioxide emissions over the last two centuries to ignore the potential for environmental and economic disaster caused by rising global temps. I doubt that my generation will live to see the compounding effects of our choices, but my children, your children, and our grandchildren will most certainly experience the effects.

Steve: I disagree--it's not worthless. It's been interesting and strikes a chord with everyone from believer to non-believer. We're human, and the one over-riding quality of being human is to question. I always learn something by listening to people with a different point of view than mine.

Damn. It must almost be winter…. ;o)

I understand your comment. I've got a friend who was raised in a fundamentalist christian family whose father was a minister. My friend attended college and got his B.S. and M.S. in special ed and worked with the profoundly handicapped in Hamilton County. He was an extremely intelligent person, and yet he truly believed that the world was only 7000 years old (approx) and that all the scientific evidence in the fossil records and the C14/C12 ratios were simply man's imperfect attempt to explain the world and universe, almost as if God was pulling a great joke on humanity by leaving him bad clues to the pursuit of knowledge. I've worked in science for my entire career and still don't understand why the realm of science and the supernatural must be exclusive vs inclusive. That the universe was 'created' by the big bang and that life eventually bloomed on earth and has evolved from primordial slime to the genetic diversity we see today is fairly well accepted by the scientific community. Why is it unacceptable for christian believers--or any person who holds a belief in a greater power, for that matter--to understand the story of creation as told in the old testament can be consistent with modern astronomy and current gene science? Or conversely, why can't a scientist wonder at the possibility that at some point during the eons of evolution, our human life form was imbued with an god-given soul and that our spiritual lives are as immortal as the universe is infinite? I wonder…. ADD/EDIT: Saw some of the post above. I DO NOT BELIEVE that christianity is THE EXCLUSIVE PATH to follow for 'salvation'….if I can use that term. Strength of belief in a power greater than one's self is something that leads to growth of the soul, whether you be Catholic, Baptist, Buddhist, Muslim, or other. As for a true atheist, I admit I don't know what will happen at death. If you are a true non-believer, you cannot believe in an immortal soul and thus, no life beyond death of the organic body. My guess, if this is your true belief, is that you won't be punished--merely that your lack of belief in immortality will come to pass and you will no longer exist, in body or soul.

I doubt that there is anyone on earth that has an answer for your question. A short answer from me would be that a 'god/God/omnipotent being' exists and he/she/it has the power and ability to intervene in matters such as these--and may on some occasions--but chooses to let the world and the life created on it continue on whatever course has been chosen or set by circumstance. How and why evil coexists with good and why death/unfortunate occurrences happen equally to the wicked, the virtuous and the innocent is beyond human understanding. What I always find confusing is why there seems to be a nearly complete schism between those that espouse natural laws--scientific/physical/biological--and those who believe in supernatural laws, a belief in something greater than ourselves that cannot be proven by any method or scientific evidence currently in our knowledge base. Anyone in the scientific community will tell you without doubt that the universe is infinite, yet that concept is beyond our mind's ability to grasp based on our 3-dimensional reality. I don't know why it's so unbelievable that a power beyond our understanding and beyond proof by scientific knowledge could exist. I'm not one to ascribe a moral judgement about belief or non-belief in a creator/omnipotent being, but I find the signs of a greater power all around us in our world--the beauty, the harshness, the unfathomable, the simple, the complex. I also find myself a bit scared to admit that man and his knowledge is not the most powerful force in the universe. I think it requires a sense of child-like wonder to believe in something beyond human ken. That may be the thing that sticks in the mind of those who cannot bring themselves to believe in a god--an unwillingness to be open to and embrace the things that belonged to the realm of childhood. I guess that if I could characterize my position, I would say I choose to believe--not because I was taught, not because I fear, not because I am naive or ignorant--I believe because I wonder….

Googled it and that Exo is a good looking' helmet. Righteous price, too. H-a-t-e to be a PITA, but any chance you could look and post the mfr date? Should be on the inside of the shell, maybe under the padding. Thx. And welcome back to the center of the midwest. Just in time for the next hellacious winter…. )

Yup. Been doing it since the early 90s when I started racing MTBs cross-country.

Wait a minute….there's video of HOTTIES TWERKIN' WITH THE BUNNY??? Pretty sure that one of the primary by-laws of OhioRiders--and I have no doubt that Casper will weigh in on my side on this one--is that if you have an off-color or NSFW video in your possession, you MUST post it within 72 hours of receipt of said video, or be forever known on this forum as "that politically correct dude". Hmmm?

Pic, courtesy of Tigerpaw. No idea where the bunny guy was when the picture was taken, but you get the idea. I want to assure everyone there were no virgins sacrificed for this event.

Nooooo….Say it ain't so!!! If you still have them on your camera, send 'em to me via email. I need to show some of the LR crew what they missed. icantdrive55atfusedotnet Thx!

Oooo! Tell me more about the F2 stuff….

Glad you guys made the trip south and enjoyed the roads. Total mileage for me was 240 door-to-door, so you guys must be close to 350+ on the day. And of course as usual, there was no extra charge for the dozen or so hot chicks in daisy dukes, bikini tops and cowboy boots twerking with a drunk guy dressed in an Easter Bunny costume on a hay wagon in downtown Rabbit Hash…. No. Seriously, it really happened. Riding roads in NKY is NEVER BORING!!!

I completely understand. You're 2.5 hours from the ride start and less than 45 minutes from the good roads in SE Ohio. I wouldn't do it either. I'd love to do some miles out in your neck of the woods but find it hard to justify 1.5-2 hours each way riding crappy roads to get to the good ones. I can be in NKY in under 30 minutes, so it's a no-brainer for me.

Sorry you can't make it. We'll do it again. Good weather isn't done for the year….I hope. See you there. Dug all my winter gear out of storage this afternoon, checked tires and lubed the chain. Should be a nice day once the sun warms things up. Nice thing is that a small group can move a bit faster than a large group….not that we'll be speeding or anything.

Brrrr! It's gonna be a cold bitch in the morning. Bundle up and ride safely. I'll check in the morning to make sure you guys are still planning on heading south. If the consensus is to bail, please post up here as early as possible, by 9 AM at the latest. Otherwise, I'll see you at MickieD's at 10.

Oooo! I like that. Thinking about the moat option, are ya? Hell, with global warming and rising sea levels, you could own ocean-front property in southern AL in about 20 years….

Hmmm….the force is strong with this one.

Sounds like you've got a great job--congratulations!!! I'm not aware of anybody that has anything against unions per se, as long as the unions don't tip the balance of power so far toward the worker that the stranglehold they have on the corporation kills the goose-that-lays-the-golden-egg. When too much power is held by the corporation, similarly bad things can happen, too. The problem with many of the large auto unions in Detroit is that they became too powerful and complacent, believing they couldn't be replaced by other workers equally talented and eager to do a better job of building quality automobiles. Once the unions adopted the stance that the company paying their workers' salaries had to be negotiated with on an adversarial basis, all cooperation ceased and the union essentially arranged for and caused their workers' termination notices. Same happened years ago in the US steel industry and is still happening in the commercial construction industry. Unions have figured prominently in the advancement of workers' rights since the early 1900s, but the way they wielded their power with oblivious egocentricity in the last few decades has decimated the US manufacturing industry to the point of near-death. At some point, the pendulum will swing back to center and hopefully wiser heads will prevail….

I tried that. They got married and moved out of town….

Welcome. Hopefully, no dogs this time!!! Some of these, you rode on Dice's route earlier this year, but I promise there will be some you haven't ridden. Hell, there might even be a few that aren't on a map!!! Dice likes to refer to them as my goat paths. Nothing that a set of good aggressive knobbies can't handle…. OK, I keed, I keed.

Not sure if this was a response to my post, but I really didn't mean to imply I'm living the life of a lonely pauper sipping crap beer by myself on the back deck. Far from it!!! Deck is a screen porch that overlooks my 9 acres of hardwood forest with some of the purtiest 12pt bucks you've ever laid eyes on (you can find pics on some of my old posts here). I've got a 3-bay garage and workshop full of paid-off toys including 3 bikes and a convertible Vette, a late-model Ford PU in the driveway, and nice middle-class annual income in qualified dividends from stock investments over the last 3 decades--no guaranteed pension here. Unless the the SHTF and zombies invade Hamilton Cty, I don't foresee needing to file for SS until I'm 70. What I was getting at was that, when it came time make the choice to pull the plug on the job or fight to stay, I looked at what I had, evaluated what could be gained financially by working another 5 years vs retiring, and decided that enough was enough. What's sad is that I can honestly say that while I made some very good choices down through the years, I'm not entirely convinced that much of it wasn't pure blind luck. The opportunities to be both lucky AND good with respect to investments going forward from here are significantly reduced when compared to the era of the 60s through the 90s, and I'm not sure that my kids will have a 'better life' than I do when it comes time for their golden years. Sad, but likely. I'm gonna try my damnedest to leave a useful pot of cash for them when I die. As for working after retiring, I agree wholeheartedly. Rather than telling people I'm retired, I usually refer to myself as under-employed. And I still plan on getting that golden years job just for fun….as soon as I figger out what I want to be when I grow up. Gotta remember, though--if I'm working at a great fun job, one of you millenials has to be flipping' burgers at Mickie-D's….

^^^This^^^ Unless you like eating insects and living in a cave, there isn't much joy in a life without pleasure. Big difference between 'simple' and 'subsistence'... I agree with #1 implicitly. I know people who spend hundreds to thousands of dollars a month on useless shit. I'm from a different generation, so maybe I have different values, but at 64 years of age, I've never had cable TV (I watch very little crap TV and what I do watch is free with rabbit ears) and my only acknowledgement to modern communication is my $99/year cell bill (TracFone, baby--GF insists I carry it for when I 'die' on the MC!?!) Bought my first 3 houses as little fixer-uppers and sold 'em to upgrade. Never bought a new car until 3 years post-retirement. #2 is good advice for folks who don't have fairly strong financial resolve. If you have the discipline, you can use a credit card to your advantage and not have it cost you a penny. #3 is a tough nut to crack. I'm not sure I ever had that kind of money in an untouchable account until I was old and the kids were gone and out of college. Can be done by strict budgeting and keeping a close eye on your expenses.

I gotta weigh in on this, being an old guy who worked 37+ years at one company that I both loved and hated at various times thoughout my career. I was forced into retirement in 2006 when the company farmed out my position to a temp agency. I had planned on working at least an additional 5-6 years, but I took stock of my financial situation, gave up the dream of the yacht on the Riviera, settled for cheap beer on the deck, and have never looked back since. I enjoy every day as much as possible, even if it's just a walk in the woods with the dog or a short rip into NKY on the scoot. Disclaimer: Realize that my advice--along with the advice of others on this board--is useless to the OP, as only he can make the changes in his life to find what makes it worth living. A long time ago, I worked for really great boss and we shared many personal stories together. I was in my 30s at the time, married with kids and mortgage, and couldn't seem to find happiness with my current situation. He told that there there were some people who 'got' the whole rat race thing that were able to play the game, put up with the BS, even be better at it than most, and find happiness in the daily grind. And then, there were people like me, who questioned everything, had trouble finding satisfaction in the day-to-day tasks, and that would always be labelled a 'non-conformist' by the folks who run the world. I can't tell you if the world is that black and white in terms of how people operate, but it stuck with me enough to make me put my head down and plow through the crap of life. I literally hated the last 5 years of my job, but I could see the end pretty clearly and was willing to make the personal sacrifice of my time to reach that goal. Please understand--this is NOT an endorsement suggesting you stick with a job you hate until you retire. Doing that will make you a grumpy old man before your time. What I'm trying to convey is that there is joy to be found in the little things every day--it's just very hard to find that joy when your focus is on the big things. I liken it to this old story: A philosophy professor stood before his class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with rocks, rocks about 2" in diameter. He then asked the students if the jar was full? They agreed that it was. So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles, of course, rolled into the open areas between the rocks. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was. The professor picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He then asked once more if the jar was full. This time the students were sure and they responded with a unanimous "YES!" The professor then produced two cans of beer from under the table and proceeded to pour their entire contents into the jar -- effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed. "Now," said the professor, as the laughter subsided, "I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The rocks are the important things - your family, your partner, your health, your children?things that, if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, your car. The sand is everything else. The small stuff. "If you put the sand into the jar first," he continued "there is no room for the pebbles or the rocks. The same goes for your life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out dancing. There will always be time to go to work, clean the house, give a dinner party and fix the disposal. "Take care of the rocks first -- the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand." One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the beer represented. The professor smiled. "I'm glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of beers." Take care of the big things. Find enjoyment in the little things. Advice is easily given, but finding the energy and the will to change your perspective is one of the most difficult tasks in life. And for gawd's sake, talk to your wife and share your pain and discomfort. She's your partner….and if you picked a good one, she'll she'll help you with making decisions and will gladly share your pain. Good luck. I'll lift a glass of cold, cheap beer this afternoon on my back deck and toast to your success at finding a solution!!!

So….are hairy Amish strippers hotter than midget strippers?

For those hoping for purty fall colors on the ride, the peak hasn't arrived yet--still lots of green with some mottled yellows on the walnut trees and light oranges on the hard maples. Oaks haven't started to turn. I pre-rode some of the route today and the leaves, acorns and walnuts are falling like rain. If we get the cold front on Friday with heavy rain, the roads will be extra slippery yet on Sunday. There were several places that I hit gravel unexpectedly as well. This is a word to the wise…. The pace will likely be slower than what I normally ride due to weekend traffic, church folk, shoppers and leaf peepers. We WILL get blocked on the busier state routes, so leave your road rage at home and just plan on a relaxing ride. Figure 35-45 in a 35, 55-60 in a 55, and maxing out at 70-75 on the wide-open fast stretches. If the group is more than 3-4 riders, we prolly won't be making any banzai passes around the slow traffic anyway.