2103 American Birkebeiner

American Birkebeiner, 2-23-2013

This past week-end I raced in my tenth American Birkebeiner.  That's ten times over the power line hills, ten times past the snowmobilers corner, ten times into the heart of the Chequamegon woods with thousands of other skiers.  I've been kicking around some ideas about how to write this post, because it seems redundant and a bit aggrandizing.

I'd like to just say thank you to my big sister and her friend for granting me the opportunity to participate again.

Here's a photo of me after the race, with a beer and a brät from Angler's Bar in Hayward.  Not really a tradition for me, (I absolutely gorged on fried chicken from Marketplace in 2005, the first time I broke three hours), but you get the idea, if you need one, of what it felt like to have accomplished another full Birkie.

Maybe I'll add some more thoughts on it later on...

Swing State, part 2

Riding to Wirth, Feb. 3 2013.  Photo property of Steve Kovtis.

Last week I rode out to my hometown of Stillwater and back, about a fifty mile ride, using my single speed mountain bike.  I had the wind at my back heading NorthEast, and cycled into a pretty direct, cold headwind on my return.  Half of the ride was recorded on Strava, using my iphone app, and I took a picture about two thirds of the way out - there was a solid half hour difference in having a tailwind versus a headwind.




This past weekend, I spent some time riding into Minneapolis to volunteer for the City of Lakes Nordic Ski Foundation, as well as again racing in their annual cornerstone event, the City of Lakes Loppet.  I see other cyclists every time I am riding, be it on a solo shot to Stillwater and back or along the Greenway corridor in Minneapolis - not all on modified mountain bikes or single speed fixies.

Here are a couple of photos from the Loppet weekend, as well as a link to my Flickr set.  Enjoy.


http://www.flickr.com/photos/mlmck/sets/72157632685148733/

Hoigaards Classic, Feb 3, 2013.  Photo courtesy of skinnyski.com

Gateway Trail, 1-25-2013.  Photo by Michael McKinney.

Ski Orienteering, Feb 2, 2013.  Photo by Michael McKinney

Snow Sculpting, Feb. 2, 2013.  Photo by Michael McKinney.

Skijoring race, Feb. 2, 2013.  Photo by Michael McKinney.

Ice Bike races, Feb. 2, 2013.  Photo by Michael McKinney.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mlmck/sets/72157632685148733/

Finally, I sold my Schwinn steel frame Worldsport yesterday, that had caused me trouble in the past, (4-23-2012).  A really good piece of advice, about selling one's own property; "Don't sell your bike, your books or your tools."  As I've had trouble learning the trade of salesmanship, both on the floor of a retail shop and on the interent with E-Bay, it makes a lot of sense to me.  Hopefully the time that went into the maintenance of the bike will have its own rewards, as I have to wait a month for the bike's identity to be verified with the police before receiving any profits from the sale.

Edgar Allen Poe

12-21-2012, bread.  Photo by Michael McKinney.

1-17-2013, bread.  Photo by Michael McKinney.

12-29-2012, bread.  Photo by Michael McKinney.

Man I love Edgar Allen Poe.  I think he's a fantastic American writer.  The first really vital writer of pulp fiction, the first to immerse himself in the language of fantasy, without any recourse to comparisons, metaphors and literary allusions.  Classic macabre tales of fright.  The kind of literature that makes B-Movies and comic books, somehow translated to craftsmanship and excellence sufficient to be studied throughout the world for decades. 
The whole of American Literature could be said to have formed from the writings of seven or eight pivotal writers around Poe's era, including Poe himself.  From Thoreau's writings against government intervention and discourse on our nation's ecological responsibilities to Emerson's demand for self sufficiency, the major literary genres could be elucidated from their contributions.  Surely throughout the nation there were other writers employed at the time, through various means, but those writers one must certainly study in their education can definitively be described as foundations of American writing.
That being said, I can't say strongly enough how certain I was that despite having absolutely no interest in the Lance Armstrong affair, upon hearing that his crime of advanced doping was enabled through the master of macabre, Edgar Allen Poe, I knew that my disinterest had flared from passing contempt to one of misappropriated indignity.  How dare the anal retentive jocks of lycra and aero helmets adopt the writer of such classics as The Raven in order to more successfully cheat?  How incredibly indulgent and pedantic of them.  Truth to be told, I would quaver in fear of daring to upset the ghost of Edgar Allen Poe for one's own ends, despite the sickness one struggles with on their own time.  Which reminds me of my bread recipe.
The cranberry cinnamon wheat oat honey organic flour loaf I've been working on has revealed one sure secret, one proof, that needs more analysis.  After utilizing Red Star Yeast as the rising agent, I've noticed that this recipe has a tendency to just be too heavy to properly rise.  In the future I will attempt to use fewer ingredients and allow a more thorough rise.  As certain as I am that cycling will somehow bypass the convergence of Edgar Allen Poe's influence and competition, I'm certain this bread recipe will pull through with a little work on the rough edges.

Recommended reading, A Dog in A Hat, Joe Parkin.

United Crushers

Last week, I stopped and took a couple of pictures while riding through Minneapolis. I had been wanting an opportunity to take a picture of some buildings near the University of Minnesota, along the InterCampus Connector bike trail, being a bright and cloudless day, it seemed nearly providential.
United Crushers must be the local grain millers union, I can't imagine how or why a graffiti artist would go to the trouble.

Also last week - cleaned the apartment, solved a couple sudoku puzzles, watched some ice climbers and finally read Firestarter, by Stephen King.

Here are my raw, unedited reading notes on Firestarter:

The realist versus Stephen King.

The Shining - Detoxification.
Firestarter - Custody battle.
Cujo - Rabies.
It - Sandusky.
The Stand - AIDS.
Carrie - Harlotry / zealotry / austerity of religion versus hierarchy of society.

As per Firestarter:
- Steig Larson
- Mystic River
- Road to Perdition
- Gladiator
- Jacob's Ladder
- Leon (The Professional)
...continued
- RD Laing and experimental psychology, as per acid.
- Huxley and Doors of Perception.
- Shop as various unethical industries, Charlie as any innocent child whose potential may "...light the world on fire..." and her father's passion to protect her.
- Possible research into The Psychopath Test and history of deprivation experiments designed to trigger psychological madness, psychopathy and undermining of "...acceptable..." human behavior given response and behavior to controlled stimuli - eventually the discussion could obviously revolve around to Nurture Versus Nature and James Kakalios.

Besides the killing of horses, dogs and people, a fictional premise based on fictional military history suburban kids use to demand government accountability for their own drug experimentation, a bad attempt at an old story.

There could also be a Richard Harris / Hannibal / Red Dragon tie in with the anecdote a young Hanibal Lecter relates to somebody, (Clarice?) about a young college student he destructively manipulated into hurting himself, while the undergrad was under the influence of drugs - as a revenge tactic. Relates to Andy's ability to "push", the power of suggestion and "dominant personalities in psychology", which probably ties into the media, PR and sales.

Naturally, the more emphasis placed on validating Andy's psionics, (the ability to "...push..." a person through suggestion), the more non-fiction the story becomes and one may be led into the same pasture as The Shining, wherein a strong argument for alchohol withdrawal induced hallucinations, madness and psychosis converge with cabin fever in the mind of Jack Torrance and bad things happen to good people- slightly more plausible than the devil inhabiting the furnace of the hotel, or the hotel being the devil, (or whatever), though in the case of Firestarter the English Professor, (Torrance was also an educator), is presumably not actually presenting psionic powers but rather massive, undiluted psychosis, narrated through the lens of the same, while undergoing some marital discord...the killing of Vicky is a frequent catalyst throughout the book, utilized before and after its description as well as in and out of chronological order.

The weather has turned, an acceptable snowpack is now melting and re-freezing into icy sidewalks and brown golf courses. Meh.

Crossing to Safety

Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The first time I read this book, the defining chapter was Chapter 13 - The chapter with the Tea Box incident, the discovery of Eden, Sid and Sally and Charity and Larry, all together out in the woods.  My gut reaction was:

I know exactly what Sid is going through. 
I've been there. 
I know that feeling of futility and anger and rage at being told to do something over and over again in order to please somebody else who is WRONG.

Many of the other aspects of the plot, including the Great Depression, the fight for literary principles amidst struggling for tenure, how twenty years can pass between seeing someone you respect and love and it seems like twenty minutes...did not rest in my conscious mind quite like Charity.  The thing that stuck with me, and I remember the impact it had on me each time I read it, is the tension in Larry's narration of Sid and Charity Lang, arguing about the Tea Boxes.  How discomforting it is to others to be witness to the spectacle of discord.  Later in the novel, Charity retains her control over Sid, The theme is played out in almost unnecessary extravagance - Larry is left wandering, half in thought and half in purpose, trying to find Sid.
After being familiar with this novel for the past 17 years, it strikes me now as antiquated, homoerotic, male centric, predisposed to misogyny, heavy handed in its portrayal of men as educators and women as nurturers and not without brilliance.  Wallace Stegner persists mainly as a writer of the way things were - the Wild West of the Civilian Corps of Engineers damming great rivers, building monolithic structures never before and never since seen on Earth.  His depiction of the male in books like Big Rock Candy Mountain and Angle of Repose is constant - bracingly arrogant, given to fits of anger, misunderstood in his vulnerability, strong and capable if given the opportunity to prove his mettle.  His tragic flaw is a wondering spirit that will not be settled as the land around him becomes more and more developed.
These key ingredients are in Crossing To Safety, but toned down to meet Lake Monona rather than Lake Powell.  Larry's capacity for creation is something he administers and controls with a passion, cloistering himself in order to write novels and stories, yet only in Sid's presence does he appreciate the Xanadu they find together while camping in chapter 13, the same chapter Charity makes assertions that are incorrect, the same chapter Sally is stricken with Polio.  The strength of the male characters is juxtaposed with the female character's display of infirmity and the reader is left impressed with Charity's great capacity for error.   
This is still one of my favorite novels, because it keeps teaching me things - the platonic search for friendship in male and female form, while also conforming to the biological imperative of reproduction is something I would appreciate a little help with, but I'm not sure this is the right book for a first date with an attractive feminist. 
More than one review I've read quotes Larry discussing the concept of a novel about nothing, about everyday people, how he and Sid and Charity and Sally are too common and uninteresting for introspection - the striking feature of each is how they learn to adapt to their defining characteristics, even when they can't, in order to find success in their personal lives.  After twenty years of not seeing one another, the tension Larry saw during their camping trip is still evident, as well as an eccentricity from Charity that smacks of neuroses or hysteria.  The conclusion rests on Larry finding Sid, with charity on her deathbed and Sally hobbled by polio; one is left to speculate whether their passion for language will suffice.  



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Cathexis

 

My third pottery class with the Saint Paul Community education program wrapped up this week - I've enjoyed the opportunity to learn the fundamentals of throwing, shaping, trimming, glazing and finishing.  The skill that seems to elude me, and is predominantly important to these others, is the ability to properly center a piece of clay, even before it sits on the wheel.  Of the sixty or so pieces I've finished, I'd say less than a handful demonstrate a well centered, well balanced consistency. 

I guess it's notable because of how often it gets taken for granted, without really understanding the amount of dedication it must take to establish the ability to do so unerringly - likely why at least two different instructors have mentioned the 10,000 vessel theory, (that being true mastery only begins after the first ten thousand pieces of clay have been properly centered, thrown, trimmed, glazed and finished). 

A book I just finished reading, Bounce, mentioned 10,000 hours of directed or deep practice as essential to mastery of a skill:  10,000 hours of service and volley for tennis, 10,000 hours of piano lessons for piano, 10,000 hours of gymnastics routines, the author's premise relied on the 10,000 hours being done with the correct direction from an appropriate source. 

An interesting side note, the author also mentioned a variety of psychological experiments based on encouraging children to participate rather than rewarding them directly for their results - most interesting to me was an experiment wherein a control group was given the same unsolvable math problem as a group of students of the same age who had been told they shared a birthday with a famous mathematician.  The group who had been lied to, the ones working under the premise of sharing a birthday with a fictional character, persevered on the impossible problem for a longer period of time.  Whether or not this demonstrates a propensity for being stubborn or dedication, and whether or not this is a good thing, is up for debate. 

Turned vessel, photo by Michael McKinney

Finished vessel, photo by Michael McKinney

Finished, green and wet vessels, photo by Michael McKinney

Bounce: Mozart, Federer, Picasso, Beckham, and the Science of Success by Matthew Syed

My rating: 3 of 5 stars






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Swing state

Seventy degrees on Saturday. Below freezing with a nasty wind chill on Monday. From 115 PSI in 700 x 25 tires on 27 inch wheels with 27 gears, to 45 PSI in 29 x 55 tires on 29 inch wheels with one gear.