How about smarter than a wasp? Because apparently I'm neither. Took Ruby running with me for the first time a few mornings ago and she was hauling ass. She was all business and pulling me the whole way. We only went 20 minutes because it was warm and it was her first time. But she's ready for more once it cools down some. I think she may even be ready for some real hiking by fall. So calm in the house but such a scrappy little thing outside.
Still battling the wasps. Turns out the little bastards have teeth and can chew duct tape. So I no sooner block off a hole with more duct tape than they chew another one or actually pull the tape back. This morning I saw one gnawing on a piece of foam I'd stuck in one crack. Chewed big chunks of it away and got in. Home Depot man was wrong about the caulk being strong enough to keep them out and even worse they sell caulk type stuff specifically for wasps/bees/insects: http://www.homedepot.com/p/GREAT-STUFF-16-oz-Pestblock-Insulating-Foam-Sealant-11034540/203282346 No idea if it works or why the Home Depot guy didn't suggest it and of course the Boulder store doesn't have any. Would have to drive the 20 minutes to Louisville and hope the one remaining can is still there. Or maybe it's time to admit defeat and call in the professionals. Because those professional guys in the videos are wearing special suits that cover their heads and faces and I'm out there in shorts and a tank top and flip flops if I even bother with shoes. I did start off with a heavy winter coat, pants and hat but that gets old super quick in 90 degree temps. And all I'm armed with is a piece of duct tape that I slap down quick as I can then run like hell. I have one more idea to try and then it may be time to call in somebody who knows what the hell they're doing. And at the bare minimum I should probably buy some Benadryl just in case.
My race last weekend was postponed due to flooded conditions on the trails. We've been have a super hot, super dry summer except for when I have a race in the mountains. Oh well, lost a week of training to tapering because the storm didn't come through until the day before the race so didn't know it was postponed until late afternoon on Friday. On the other hand maybe a little bit of extra rest isn't the worst thing in the world.
Sunday morning at around 10:15 I heard sirens heading for the general direction of the Ironman bike course. LOTS of sirens. I knew it wasn't good. A woman swerved into traffic and was hit by a car and did not survive. Terrible tragedy. Lots of blame and finger pointing going around, especially at the race director but really it's just a terrible accident and a risk of competing on a 60 mph highway that's open to traffic. The bike lane was separated from traffic by traffic cones and the woman swerved out of the cones and into a car. Impossible to know exactly why but a likely scenario is that she was trying to pass some riders and another rider in front of her pulled out in front of her also trying to pass someone and cut her off so she swerved into traffic. Though this is pure speculation. Terrible tragedy and the fourth cyclist killed in Boulder County since late May. Another one of those deaths was on a road I also travel very frequently both in the car and on my bike. I've ridden that stretch of US 36 where the Ironman cyclist was killed a zillion times as well since it connects my house to some Open Space trails. I long ago stopped doing long rides on my road bike and this past winter I stopped riding on US 36 to get to dirt roads on my mountain bike choosing instead to drive to a trailhead and pick up the dirt roads from there. Traffic on that road has increased significantly as well as the number of distracted drivers. I see cars drifting in and out of the bike lane all the time and all over town, not just US 36. I rode 2 miles to my office and was nearly taken out by a school bus that drifted into the bike lane. I've come to the conclusion that bikes and cars in the same roadway are incompatible and it's just not worth it, especially with the Too Many People thing we have going on as well as all the cell phone zombies.
I think today is meant to be our last day in the 90's, should be cooling off to the 80's but I'll believe it when I see it. Looking forward to fall and runs/hikes with Ruby and maybe even starting some agility training with her.
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