It sure looks like the CNN/ABC poll took the wind right out of the liberal lefts sails - only 13% of the respondents thought President Bush was at fault for the problems on the coast - a majority thought no one was at fault but 25% thought the governor and the mayor were the bad guys. Holy smokes, they are both liberal Democrats. Now what will the ranting left do. The puppet masters will demand new thinking from the dancing stooges at the end of the strings. I'm sure that they will come up with something.

On a lighter note, I just got back from riding my mountain bike in one of our local state forests. What a great time. In a previous post I mentioned that I brought a new Specialized Epic to replace my aging Trek Bontriager, about 12 years young and still a nice ride, but the Epic is all new technology and is an inspiration to go fast -

The kettle Moraine state forest has probably fifty miles of trails that wind all through the area. The climbs are good and some are, from my view point, impossible. Some are tough but doable. The over all trails through the tree and open fields are a blast. Many people have voluntarily spent a lot of there spare time make this one of the best riding areas in the state. They take a lot of pride in what they have accomplished and I thank them from the bottom of my smallest chain ring.

What all this riding and new bikes is about is the up coming race called the Fat Tire Festival that is held this September 17th in the Chequamegon National Forest. The race is 40 miles long and starts in Hayward and ends at the Telmark lodge in Cable. I did it last year and was crushed by the competition - I thought I was in good shape after riding all summer on the road and participating in at least 6 races that were very tough and long - one was 50 miles and I averaged over 23 mph. That should stand for something, right?

In the race last year I came in 1276 out of 1800 - I placed 13th in my age group out of 19. That is a sad story to be telling but it is tougher than one might think to ride that far in the woods. It's up and down a hundred times, over logs and through bogs and up large rocky hills with people pressing in you all the time.

I am looking forward to this years event with some trepidation - will I be able to make it to the end or will I collapse in disgrace - time will tell - still it has to a real challenge -