Basketball pong

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Biker vs. traffic laws

A Washington blogger named Will Wilkinson -- http://www.willwilkinson.net/flybottle/about/ -- makes an interesting argument about cyclists and traffic laws:

"People complain about bikers breaking traffic laws. Well, I’m guilty, and I’m damn well going to keep doing it. A lot of traffic regulations make sense for cars, but just don’t for bikes. For example, I ride home almost every day the wrong way up a one way street, and nobody coming the other way gives a damn. Why should they? I honestly don’t give a fig about my carbon footprint (and anyway, since I’m not a breeder, I really should get carbon carte blanche). But I like biking because it’s faster than driving — because I blow through stop signs, go the wrong way on one-ways, etc. Were I suddenly to become fastidious about heeding traffic laws intended to regulate cars, one of the main advantages of biking over driving would evaporate. So I think people who do give figs about carbon really ought to encourage bikers to break traffic laws, or at least promote EXTRA traffic laws for drivers, in order to increase the relative benefit of biking. How about intersections where four-way purple means you’ve got to stop unless you’re on a bike? That would be pretty sweet."

Typhoon Lagoon wave pool

Power Squadron seminars

This just in:

A three-seminar series is being offered by the Sarasota Power Squadron at the Squadron Building, 2814 Hyde Park St., Sarasota. The “Paddle Smart” seminar will be July 23. The “How to Read a Chart” seminar will be July 28 and 30. The “Onboard Weather Forecasting” seminar will be July 29. Each seminar will run from 7 to 9 p.m. with registration from 6:30 to 7 p.m. on the day of each seminar. The cost of each seminar is $35. Please call (941) 400-6467 or e-mail albur103a@yahoo.com for additional information.

New Myakka Outpost in September

The old Myakka Outpost in Myakka River State Park will be getting a new home in September. Construction continues on a new building. In the meantime, you can still rent bikes and kayaks, then enjoy a snack and a souvenir T-shirt or gewgaw.

When the new Outpost opens, I should pay a visit. So should you.

If nothing else, it's a good excuse for a trip out to Myakka River.

Gelande quaffing

Follow that dog ... to Myakka

N plus K equals 100 bucks more

I waited too long to buy a new tennis racket, and now it's going to cost me at least $100 more. You see, last year Wilson stopped selling nCode rackets and started selling a new model called K Factor.

What's the difference?

Let's see ... K, L, M, N -- about three letters. And 100 bucks.

Have I mentioned the $100?

If only I had bought one of those going-out-of-style nCode rackets for $70 or $80. I just tried one of these new K Factor rackets, and it felt the same. At $170 or $180.

Well, live and learn.

Cut, skip, ditch and ... skulk?

When I was a senior at Thibodaux High School in Thibodaux, La., Tommy Martinez and I skipped out of class almost every day. We'd jump in his Volkswagen Beetle and go to lunch at a fast food place called Burger Chef.

Man, we were cool. Just ask me.

The point, though, is that we were doing what's called "skipping out" of school. Some people call it "cutting" classes. The other day in a movie I heard a character call it "ditching" school.

My wife, Naomi, has an even better verb. When she went to school in Port Mourant, in what was then British Guyana in South America, kids who skipped school were "skulking."

Skulking -- I like the sound of that.

Bungee scream (like a little girl)

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Barred owl in flight

Florida State Parks sponsors a monthly photo contest. This is the winner for June. I was going to have to guess that it was a barred owl, but then I didn't have to: The caption reads "Startled Barred Owl in Flight. It was taken in Lake Kissimmee State Park by Jamy Sue Rose."

Pretty name. Great bird. Stupid memory.

Years ago I wrote a column about taking a tour and seeing a barred owl. Only I was so ignorant I called it a "bard owl," like some creature from Shakespeare. Readers loved sending in corrections to that one.

Looking forward to Freedom Swim

Hundreds of people take part in the Freedom Swim each July Fourth. (H-T PHOTO)

My newspaper column this week is about the 17th annual Freedom Swim across the Peace River in Charlotte County. It's a unique Fourth of July tradition that I love to write about each and every year.

Here's a sample:

The Freedom Swim is usually timed for an ebb tide that helps swimmers from the U.S. 41 bridge in Port Charlotte to Fishermen’s Village in Punta Gorda. This year the tides aren’t favorable, so organizers chose a slack time for a 1 p.m. start.

Of course, a midday sun makes sunscreen and drinking water even more important. Yes, people can get dehydrated in the middle of Charlotte Harbor. It’s best to swim with a buddy or a group.

Kayakers and boaters offer rides to tired swimmers. Marine patrol officers look out for trouble.

Still, swimmers participate at their own risk.

One year I was swimming along, drifting farther and farther from the main group. When I finally looked up, after doing the backstroke for a while, I was hundreds of yards away from anyone else.

That harbor is one biiig body of water. Lonely, too. Scary, even.

I remember thinking that if I caught a cramp right then and there, this could get tricky.
But I’m still here and so is everyone else who’s joined the Freedom Swim.

There’s all kinds of marine life in the river, which freaks some people out, but what are you gonna do? Last year there was a little rain shower during the swim, but none of the thunder and lightning that would have been really dangerous.

D.C. cycling

Towpath cycling is popular in Washington, D.C. (COURTESY PHOTO / BIKEWASHINGTON.ORG)

Last week I took a few vacation days and visited Washington, D.C. I looked up an old newspaper buddy and dropped off my younger daughter at theater camp. After she checked in, I walked directly to Georgetown and rented a bicycle.

Oh, man.

Super-sweet. The sun at my back and a breeze in my face. The only way to see the nation’s capital.

I was riding on a Sunday when traffic was light, but D.C. seemed remarkably friendly to cyclists. At first I hugged the edge of the road, Florida-style, but then I discovered that cars and even buses respected my space. At first I stayed on side roads, but then I realized that the main boulevards were even better.

On the National Mall, I saw hundreds of families trudging along during a hot, hot day. My daughters call that the “death march.” They’ve made it more than once. Next time I’ll have to take them on bikes, where we could zip right along.

On two wheels, Washington, D.C., seems like a really small city. I pedaled back to Georgetown and rode the Capital Crescent Trail all the way to Bethesda, Md. This shady ride followed the Potomac River and the towpaths along an old canal.

History and nature, fresh air and exercise -- pretty much the best Washington has to offer.

Father's Day dip

For a while, it didn't look like my girls would do anything with me for Father's Day. I wanted to get outdoors, of course, but it was too hot for this and too humid for that. Yadda, yadda, yadda.

Finally I pried Mom off her laptop and the girls out of their rooms for a quick trip to Englewood Beach.

We beat the beat and avoided sunburn by arriving half an hour before sunset. Perfect timing. The water wasn't too warm and the breeze wasn't too cold. We just splashed around and watched the sun dip into the water.

Today my older daughter is supposed to join me in pedaling the Legacy Trail for a column. That's kind of iffy, but I promised she could pick a restaurant after the ride. It could actually happen ...

"Big ramp concept"

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