whee - winter campaign!

[Trekhawk]

lph - love the pic. You look toasty warm.

[Geonz]

only 39 here. (MPH; a balmy 41 degrees... oh, and raining of course!)

29 without the gusts - that 3/4 mile right into it was definitely tough!!! But ALL TO STAVE OFF HOWARD for another day... (233 miles ahead of him at this point).

He says he's doing a century Satuardya... so one of the guys in a somewhat nearby town in IL might be coming by to join me in doing one here! (Winds should be 10 mph... NUTHIN!!!) Of course, *he* has admitted his wife will be riding support and may even ride him out 100 miles and have him ride back with the wind! No problema... (though I ***am*** doing my level best to send at least a minor snowstorm to Fort Collins!!!)

[lph]

Good Lord. 28 people in total have registered, 20 of them have logged rides this week.

Wheee!

And my main competitor (who rides 40 km a day when he rides) hasn't logged anything for a week, so I've *just* managed to creep past him in mileage.

He's probably just hoarding them, and will register a week's worth this afternoon, but for now - I'm in front!

[Duck on Wheels]

AHA! The secret's out. Lph works for the Norwegian national power company. What's the lowdown on water levels in the resevoirs? Has our mild Fall helped any?

As for company health and sports programs ... pretty much every largish company has one. At my university they've combined the employee sports program with the student sports league. I get to use the student gym for about $70 per semester . There's also a swim night at the city pool once a week, orienteering races twice a week in orienteering season, ski trips, huts we can rent for hiking or skiing, some canoes we can borrow, etc. etc. All pretty cheap. But then again, that means there's no excuse for being a couch potato -- except that the work load is such that I just collapse and fall asleep after dinner every day. Next semester should be better though (teaching fewer courses) so my 2007 goal is to work out enough to get a head start on the bike season (I'm not a winter biker ) and then get in good enough shape to ride to Hell'n'back before Fall. I've done the distance and then some last season, but the "road to H'll is paved over hills". If I make it to Hell'n'back early in the season, I can stretch the route longer by going up to our cabin and taking the backwoods route (gravel roads) home.

[lph]

Dang! I should have realized you would recognize that sign

Actually I work with licensing hydropower plants, with a side job as a glacier monitor a few weeks a year. And as far as I know nothing EVER helps the price of electricity...

[Duck on Wheels]

Æsj! Energy prices probably _should_ go up, as long as we make sure we have a decent tax and social security system so the poor don't bear the burden alone. When I asked about the state of the resevoirs I was more concerned about the ecosystem than about what I'll pay for heating here this winter. We do our best to save (timers that set lower temps during the day when we're at work and night when we're asleep, quick showers, switch off appliances when they're not in use ... the least one can do, but every little bit helps) and we can afford what we do use. But can the globe afford that we're using it??? What "price" will our kids have pay, or our grandkids (if we're ever so lucky)?

[lph]

<total hijack of my own thread>
I agree, energy prices are way too low here, talking of an "energy crisis" as long as people build huge houses with heated driveways and outdoor heated Jacuzzis is just plain ridiculous.

But we are lucky enough to have a clean power source (as long as we're not importing energy, that is, to support those driveways and Jacuzzis ).

Re the ecosystem, I'm more worried about the idea that it's a human right to drive a car, or worse, take a plane, anywhere you feel like, or at least anywhere you can afford. And that greenhouse gases are somehow somebody else's problem, preferably a politicians'. A colleague and friend of mine was on Norwegian TV yesterday (Dagsrevyen) telling how all our glaciers are receding and losing mass. I help in with these measurements every year. Glacier melt is one of the first and most sensitive signs of climate change, and the signs are absolutely unequivocal. It really makes me sad to think that my son won't be able to see the same glaciers I see today, not to mention all the serious effects like flooding in other parts of the world.

Sorry, got a bit carried away here. <steps off soapbox>