The case for conservation.

PBS is currently streaming the 2 part Ken Burns documentary on the dustbowl. It a pretty good representation of what can go wrong when we disregard good agricultural practices for the sake of a few more dollars. Something that most people do not realize is that about half of the row crop farm land in the US is rented for cash. This means that the tenants do not have a vested interest in the land, and the land owners probably live in a city and do not have any connection to the land. Land rent has gotten so expensive that tenants feel the need to squeeze every last dollar they can out of an acre. I hear this argument all the time from people in the ag industry usually when someone is trying to justify a poor agricultural practice.
It drives me insane.
The most direct (but not necessarily effective) solutions involve regulation of nonpoint source pollution, but this approach will just mean that food will become more expensive and the environmental impact marginal.  Regulations are a good fit for point sources of pollution, but have historically had a extremely low success rate with non-point sources of pollution like sediment, excess nutrients, and the off-site movement of crop protection products.
It is a very complex problem.  The one thing that I am sure of is that there are a ton of ignorant people touting simple solutions to complex problems.  I happen to believe that education (perhaps mandatory?) will improve our quality of life in rural areas and for those that live downstream, but its a shame that it takes disasters like the dust bowl to draw attention to problems.

Blacking out

Parenthood is a potent drug. I did not know what it was like to blackout until last night.  I remember talking to my parents last night on skype, but have no idea when or how i got to bed.

My wife took this picture sometime after I slumped over........at least she did not give me a permanent marker mustache.

I have also been on the trai1of how to use cranberries in recipes since I can buy them for about 50 cents/lb.  So I edited this recipe from Taste of Home.
65

Ingredients

• 3 cups 4 large chopped peeled tart apples
• 2 cups 12oz bag fresh or frozen cranberries
• 1 and 1/4 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• TOPPING:
• 1-1/2 cups quick-cooking oats
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 
  

Directions

• Combine apples, cranberries, sugar and flour. Pour into a greased 11-in. x 7-in. baking dish. In a bowl, mix topping ingredients until crumbly; sprinkle over apple mixture. Bake at 350° for 50-55 minutes or until fruit is tender. Yield: 6-8 servings.

Add Vanilla ice cream. You are welcome. 

Grinch Smacked

Butt Crack dollar bill snatching is more dangerous than I initially thought. The fact that this is at Jingle Cross only adds to the story. I think that this is Andrew Coe from KC.

This is the utility of traffic cameras

I love this.

Since I have been laid up

Jasper has been tuning my suspension

Big Al got Mums, so you know that it is fall

My knee hurts just looking at this

all kinds of radness going on here

 In a attempt to not get fat whilst not able to do a lot of physical activity I have been eating lots vegetables.  I got the 40oz to use as braising liquid for the cabbage (with some brats, caraway seeds, and dijon mustard).

We went to Iowa to visit the Kochs, and so Jasper could wear his pimp Hawkeye getup

 This past week was the Woolly Race in St. Croix Falls, WI.  I went up to volunteer and to spend some time in the woods shouting at people (its way more fun than you would imagine).

The only member of the Hollywood Army that took a Busch hand-up.

Barry had a good race.

Jay Richards even showed up

With his oh so pro carbon tubular mtb wheels

Jay and his family run Maplelag, a resort in western MN that has some really punchy, gnarly single track.  Its a pretty sweet location, and is worth visiting if you are going west on I94. I got to ride there in August while I was headed out to Fargo for a conference.

Convalescing

My knee has been officially jacked up for 3 weeks.  It started right after our trip to KS to be in Tanner and Mina's wedding.  Patterson also delivered me my new bike, a carbon Cannondale Scalpel 29er, so I am hypothesizing that my knee issues arise from riding a ill fit bike, standing around in dress shoes, doing the stanky leg at the reception, and then kneeling for like a hour while I talked to people that were sitting at their table at the reception. 
The swelling has gone down, but there is still so much fluid in the joint that its painful to bend my knee past 95 degrees.  I had a MRI a week ago, but no one from the doctors office or the hospital has called me. The sucking sound from this healthcare provider is starting to become audible.If rafal brought me a bunch of his cherry infused moonshine I might just aspirate it myself.

So today I said screw it, and rode my new bike anyway. Now for some cold therapy.  It was so worth it.

The North Woods Adventure

I am just now recovered enough to think about the 3 days that I spent with the thirty-some intrepid souls that traveled up the north shore of Lake Superior for just under 300 miles of gravel and Forest service roads.  This was something that I have wanted to do for several years, but lived too far from national forest to really be able to pull it off. First, I put on these events because I get joy from seeing others challenged and having fun.  I try to put together events that I would want to do.  I also put a lot of stock in making it feasible for people to do.  If you are not into bikepacking the concept of riding point to point is really foreign, but this type of venue lets participants get to know each other and hopefully create some lasting friendships.

Laying down the rules of the gravel road. Photo cred: deathrider

Lisa Keeps all the boys in line

It was about 50 degrees and rainy, and while everyone else was donning jackets, Eddie just pulled on his snowmobile gloves

Ted Loosen choking down what could be the worlds worst breakfast sandwich

The Ely police setup across the street from our bike house. Lots of shady Characters

Tara, our other lady, was all smiles even when things were awry

Lisa mocks the driving rain

The big pot of boiling water for hot chocolate at a the aid station was a huge hit

Frank Lundeen rides like Landgraf

Two very different people with a common interest, adventure.

Novak: Unhurried and In control

Drew drove the pace all weekend long and took the GC.  His worst stage finish was 2nd (due to my crappy directions)

I could go on, but I was really blown away by how positive everyone was. 

Drew posted his experience here, and Josh Peterson talks about his shenanigans. Charly Tri will probably post something soon too (about moose, tetherball, and axe body spray).

I will post a final review on the GC site this weekend. I am currently off the bike indefinitely until I get my knee issue resolved.  I had a MRI on Monday but the Doc still has not gotten back in touch with me.