How to Lose a Customer

For several months I've been saying I'm going to get a new bowling ball. And I've put it off. Then realizing that the 2009-10 bowling season is just around the corner, I got my butt in gear.

It should never have gotten to the gear it was in though, because at every turn I was stymied when I tried to purchase a ball from the bowling center my league bowls at (ABC West).

The first time I called I was told the guy who fits people for new balls was on vacation and to try again on Monday. I asked if I could make an appointment so I could be sure to get in, and they said just to talk to him when he gets back. Strike One.

The second time I called I asked about making an appointment for a fitting. The lady said, "Well, if you buy a ball here, he'll fit you for it!" Um...okay. I asked when I might be able to come in, and she said he was on the other line right now, but he knew he'd be in until four today. This was in the middle of the week, when the normal working world is not going to make it to a bowling center before 5. "Okay," I said, "I'll just show up some time when the pro shop is open..." I was about to ask for the hours, but before I could do so, she said "okay" and hung up. Strike Two.

Saturday morning I hopped online and checked their website to see if their pro shop hours were online. No luck. I told Beth that I was going to go and see what happens, and if nothing works, I'm trying Trindle Bowl, since they're closer and might like a customer that ABC spurned. Beth suggested that I call to see if their pro shop is open before I drive all the way down there. Duh!

So I called them around 2 o'clock, and asked if their pro shop was open today. It was! Until 4:00. Hooray! So I got down there at 2:45. The pro shop was closed. I asked the kid at the counter what happened, since I just called 45 minutes ago and was told it was open. He said "he left." Strike Three.

On the way home I swung by Trindle Bowl. I didn't expect their pro shop to be open, since their hours are posted online, but maybe someone there could help me out. I asked at the desk if could get some help for the pro shop, and they told me that the guy wasn't there. I asked if I could make an appointment for a ball fitting. They said yes! I made an appointment for Sunday night at 8 PM.

Not only did I get the fitting, but they had a ball in stock that fit what I was looking for and I took it home last night. It's an AMF300 Nkryption Code. It's a little ugly (probably why it was on sale) but it certainly is a step up from my department store urethane ball.

And that is how you lose a customer.

A-Sport, B-Sport

Last weekend was the Livestrong Challenge in Philadelphia. Reading Fatty's posts about the event made me sort of wish I could have been there. Obviously there are more pressing things here at home I need to worry about.

But with my foot injury this summer that has been so slow to heal (I've started running again, although I'm not totally sure it's healed yet), I've spent a lot of time on my bike. And it reminded me that I really like riding my bike!

I would go so far as to say it made me considering moving running over as my "B" sport.

For the past couple years, running has been my "A" sport, bowling has been my "B" sport and cycling has been my "C" sport. And I guess you could call golf my "D" sport, if it has earned a ranking at all.

So I got thinking about why I made running my "A" sport when I love cycling so much.

1. Running is more portable. If I'm traveling, I can just pack shorts, shirt, socks and my running shoes and I'm good to go. To travel with my bike involves...well, my bike. And airplanes? Forget about it!

2. Running is more winter-friendly. I simply can't tolerate cycling when it's under 40 degrees out. That being said, running gets pretty ugly when it's over 85, but around here, we spend months at a time at the blue-shaded side of 40 degrees, and 85 is fairly avoidable if you're willing to wake up early.

3. Running takes less time. I can get a decent run workout in about 35 minutes. Right now that number is more like 20 because I'm a little short on "running" fitness. But if I ride my bike for 45 minutes it feels like I'm just getting warmed up and a real workout takes about an hour.

4. You don't need a bike to run. This kind of goes along with numbers 1 and 3, but I don't have to worry about running shoe maintenance, there's nothing I need to oil or fill up with air or replace grips on when I'm running. I just lace up and go.

5. Running is more "slow-guy" friendly. If I were to get my racing license and line up for a road race, it would be embarrassing. I would almost certainly be unable to keep up with the pack and get dropped, lapped or otherwise destroyed. But in distance running I can be way behind the leaders and there will still be plenty of people way behind me.

So I'm not sure what my "A" sport is anymore. And maybe it's not up to me, but my body and my daughter. Whatever I can do that keeps me healthy and my family happy will turn out to be my "A" sport. I may even find myself an avid dayhiker because Adele falls in love with the pack that lets me carry her for miles on my back.

But I think bowling will remain "B" or lower. Even if I do get around to buying that new ball.

We Know Something Different

When Beth and I found out we were expecting, we decided that we would use cloth diapers. ("Cloth" looks like it's spelled wrong, but I looked it up - it's correct.) People thought we were nuts.

They're messy.

They're a lot of work.

You'll get so sick of them.

Ultimately we decided that since we'll be using cloth diapers, right from the start that we'll never know any different. It's hard to complain about something if you've never known any different.

And then Adele came, and we found a little wrinkle in our plan. The cloth diapers are for babies 8 pounds and larger. Adele was just under 6 pounds when she was born, and is still too small for her cloth diapers.

We started with "preemie" sized diapers and moved up to "newborn" last week. We've been throwing dozens of diapers away. It's bad for the environment, bad for our budget but oh-so easy! So much for not knowing any different...

Cheaters

I mentioned in my last post, that since Adele was born nearly three weeks ago, I really haven't been on my bike like I'd been most of the summer. Come to think of it, I haven't really been blogging like I've been most of the summer.

They were calling for rain all day yesterday, so in lieu of my planned Saturday morning ride, I did a short ride Friday evening. As I was coming home, I had the chance to play "beat the car." I coasted through the stop sign, stood up in my pedals and glanced back to see if the car went straight or was following me.

He went straight. I stood up in my pedals up the short hill and took the corner at 20 mph. Then I went into my Mark Cavendish-style sprint, stomping on my pedals, my bike rocking back and forth and got my bike up to 30 mph on the straightaway.

This guy had no chance. I even let up some. And then, well ahead of me, he pulled out. I lost. He must have cheated. I saw him coast through the stop sign when I glanced back, he must have ran the second stop sign as well, and must have been speeding, too (because I was speeding in this 25 mph zone).

I was pretty ticked off that he cheated like that. Then I realized he probably didn't know he was cheating - because he didn't know we were racing.

I got some redemption today, though. After 34 miles, I still managed to beat the car in a fairly similar situation. Except this guy played by the rules!

Back in the Grind

Today was my long-dreaded first day back at work. It wasn't so bad, once I got my "sea legs" back. I had plenty of work waiting for me on my desk when I got in. Some of it just needed a signature and could be moved on, but some of it required hours of calculations.

Well, hours today anyways. Most days I could have finished the math in minutes, but I was a little rusty today. And I felt like I needed a nap around 10:30. And at 1:30. And 3:00. But I made it. I'll even say I got quite a bit done.

So now I'm just trying to find a routine. Last week I rode my bike twice for a total of 2 hours and 25 minutes. I haven't run at all since the middle of July. My plan has been to take it easy for the summer, since I had an injured foot and a baby on the way. But it seems strange that just 9 months ago I was running an ultramarathon, and now I have my doubts over whether I could do a measley 13.1 miles in October.

Ultimately, I just want to stay fit until I have the time an energy to train for another big event. Maybe the 2010 Harrisburg marathon, maybe something else. If I can get my mountain bike skill up to snuff, maybe I'll try a mountain bike race - but first I need the extra time needed to practice on trails.

I guess the really hard part is getting out the door. If you had this at your house, would you ever want to leave?

One Week

Everyday Beth and I are amazed at how fast the time goes! This is the closest thing we've had to a 'stay-cation' since I spent an entire three-day weekend renovating our bathroom. (A normal person could have had it done in a day and a half, but I'm not all that normal.)

Today Adele is one week old and had her first visit to the pediatrician. She's gained almost a full pound since birth (from 5 lbs. 15 oz to 6 lbs. 13 oz.) and is blowing out diapers left and right. (Already Beth and I have each had to change after a leaky diaper). She's also found that when she has her diaper off is when she really likes make a mess. We only had to change the sheets on our bed once before we learned to always use a changing pad! (Also, our quilt is at the dry cleaners...)

I've been able to sneak a bike ride in here and there, including a fast 16 miles last night. It doesn't seem all that fair of me to be riding much more than that with Beth "stuck" at home with the baby. Although, I'm not all that sure Beth feels that way. She's already floated options for not going back to work, but unfortunately that would be a little too big a lifestyle change for us at this point.

Speaking of going back to work, I'm thinking next Monday is going to be the Monday-est Monday I'll ever have. I'm sure I'll have plenty to do at work, so that will at least help keep me focused, but you can bet that my mind will often wander back to my two girls here at home.

What a Week!

Early this week, I wasn't feeling really "with" it. My concentration was flightier than normal and I was really getting psyched up for the birth of our first child, who wasn't due until August 12. (But I knew could be here any day.)

Shortly after lamenting that it felt like that day would never come, I found myself waking up in the middle of the night with my wife sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"I'm not sure if I'm having contractions, or if they're just cramps."

"Oh, okay," I said and went back to sleep.

Not really - there was NO WAY I'd be able to fall asleep after that!

We hung around for a while then left for the hospital at around 5:30 AM. Long story short, Adele arrived at 1:30 PM. And now life is totally different.

Fortunately, her attitude changed once the car seat was in motion.

Babies are supposed to sleep on their back, but Adele always turns to her side. Something tells me she'll be "on the move" before long!

Of course there was no time for running or cycling this week, but while Adele napped this afternoon I managed to sneak out for a ride. Just in time for a severe thunderstorm warning (note to self: always check weather.com before a ride), I was only going to ride about 16 miles, but it got cut short when I turned around (in 50 mph winds) to haul it home! It was probably my fastest average speed of any ride this year.

Of course, once I got home, the storm never materialized, but I got a pretty good workout in those 46 minutes!

Meet Adele

Born 8/5/2009 1:30 PM
5 lbs. 15 oz. 18 1/4 in.

The Suspense is Killing Me!

On Sunday, we entered the 3-week window in which 75% of all births happens. It begins ten days before the due date and ends ten days after. Since we made it to this point, it's really a 100% window. Actually, it's more like 97% - it could come really late, but I don't think that will happen. At least I really hope that doesn't happen!

And I had no idea it would be like this. I know that any moment my phone at work can ring and then I'd have to run like a maniac to get to Beth and get her to the hospital.

There's nothing else in life you can really compare it to. I guess you could say, it's like Christmas morning, except you know that Christmas can land anywhere between December 15 and January 6 and that at any moment you'll turn around and there will be a ton of presents under you tree.

Except it's not so much a ton of presents under your tree as it is a lot of nights without sleep and a whole lot of responsibility.

Not that I'm not excited, because I am. It's just a little stressful knowing that at a moment's notice my life will change completely. The suspense is killing me!

Thwarted at Every Turn

I had a really good idea last week. Last Thursday a storm dumped inches of rain over Upper Allen Township and caused a lot of damage to buildings on the Messiah College campus. This storm also caused the Yellow Breeches creek to swell over it's banks and wash trees and other debris downstream.

On my way home from Pinchot Monday night I noticed a huge pile of debris backed up behind the bridge where Route 114 crosses it. That's when I had the great idea to do a bike tour of the damage and grab some photos along the way. Then I'd have a great set of photos to post about my ride.

Finally, Saturday morning I got that ride in. Unfortunately much of the debris had been cleaned up although I did get some nice shots of snapped branches and a little South-Central Pennsylvania countryside. But, even though my ride was 68 miles, I didn't get many pictures beyond the first 30 miles, and even then I spent so much time riding up and downhills, I didn't want to break my momentum for a quick snapshot.

And you may notice that there are no pictures with this post. I learned today that if I leave my camera plugged into the computer, it doesn't charge the battery, it actually drains. So it appears that my bright idea has been thwarted at every turn.