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As the temperatures start to drop our riding season is coming to an end. So with each passing weekday, I find myself watching the weather forecast for the upcoming weekend. Sunday was supposed to be sunny and 60°. I looked through Facebook looking for anyone with planned rides and to my disappointment found none. I started mentally planning for a ride. Friday night rolled around and I got in the shower and just before lathering up my water stopped. Quickly playing with the knobs returned the same dry result. Our well was out. I went to sleep mentally preparing myself for a lengthy day of replacing the well. I woke, dressed to get dirty and stay warm and went to check on it. Outside I got the well house uncovered and tapping the pressure switch started the well. We went inside and turned on the bath and waited. The well ran and ran. Kristen went in and jumped in the shower, no issue. I got changed, we started a load of laundry and headed out for lunch. After our lunch, we returned...

This is going to be a rant about a hotel, but am sitting here at 1:40 AM still awake from about an hour ago someone trying to get into my room. At 12:52 AM I was abruptly awoken to the sound of the hotel room door being slammed against the security lock. As they closed and tried again, this time poking their fingers through trying to move the security lock to gain entry. I quickly turned on the light and said: "Is there something I can help you with?" The response was "This is my room." I called down to the Front Desk and stated someone is trying to get into my room, they said they were just checked in to it. They apologized and said it was supposed to be the room next door. I hung up with them, turned my lights off and laid back down. Maybe 1 minute later my phone rings and the person on the other end says "Who is this?" I try to be an understanding guy and I know mistakes can happen. But I find it hard to believe that the computer system is glitching or ...

The rain has past and is supposed to be a decent weekend, just a little on the cool side. The low for Friday night was supposed to be 38°, completely ridable. However, waking up to Karlee crying about 4 this morning, I checked and it was 34°. By the time morning came around it had dropped a little more. I'm going to still try it! I rode and it was worth it to get on the bike and see a great group of people! Everyone was ready for the St Patty's Day Parade!

It's March 14th and between the rain and the cold, I think I have been on my bike twice this year. I decided since it was going to be about 65° and sunny I was taking it to work. Since it has been quite a while, I felt like a new rider. I was putting on gear and forgetting the order, and having to take it back off to add a piece. Started with the gloves and didn't have the helmet on. Next about to get on the bike and didn't have chaps, it was not very cold, but it was very wet still. About 10 minutes later I was dressed and ready! As I headed down the driveway I went to cross from the right rut to the center to ease the transition to the road, did I mention it was wet out? Huge mistake, as the front tire hit the soggy ground and the back followed, it broke loose. The front was headed towards the left culvert and the rear to the right. Easing on the throttle, sarcasm with this pucker factor, the back fell back in line just as I came upon the pavement. It is times like this I...

The final week of BLC I was called and told I was going to be traveling to Albuquerque, NM, the next week. I was given the opportunity to spend 2 days with the family and traveling Monday. The sunsets and sunrises were not disappointing with the Rocky backdrop! I even managed to find a Harley store for my Poker Chip Collection! The flight down had some nice views of the clouds as well. Clouds appeared to be laying on the ground. abandoned roads, like a neighborhood with no houses

Got busy the last couple of days so this is about a week late. Day 16 Today our Informative Essays were due. I had already turned mine in days in advance scoring 91%. Also due was a public speech on the essay. This was my incentive to finalize the essay. I had finished the public speech shortly after the essay, it was fresh on my mind and left me plenty of time to commit the speech to memory. After reading through the grading rubric, it was going to be difficult to fail! We started the morning with speeches and ready to get it out of the way I went second. During my rehearsals, I was coming in around 7 minutes, about a minute short of the minimum of 8 minutes. The time constraints were only worth 5 points out of a possible 100. Prior to the first speech of the day, our facilitator said if you gave a good brief, touching on all your information, time wasn't going to hurt you unless you went drastically over the 12-minute maximum. After watching the first person go and th...

Day 15 Over the past week it has rained on and off, and temperatures have varied from 40's to 70's. This morning we woke up to an extremely humid 70 degrees. This has made the PT field very similar to a swamp. As you try to cross the field you sink up above the soles of your shoes, taking on water like the Titanic. The previous day we had all convened in the classroom for some inside PT. Today they deemed it ok to remain outside. With my feet soaked halfway up, we stood in the mud in formation awaiting the morning wakeup call  Reveille. Immediately following formation we gathered under a pavilion for PRT. During these exercises, you are laying on your back and stomach, a nice a wet start to PT. Afterward, we had Ultimate Frisbee scheduled. As we broke into teams I debated whether or not I wanted to participate, not wanting to slip and injure my back. I was peer pressured into joining the festivities. As I slowly wandered the swamp from one end to the other, I came to the co...

Day 10  Started off with an in-class compare and contrast essay (250-750 word count). I was quite proud of myself. I managed to hit exactly 250 words! Day 11 Today was the makeup PT Tests. Our squads had 3 that had previously failed, all successfully passed. That was a good day, didn't have to see anyone that I had befriended get sent home. I did, however, see one Soldier with their head hanging low while walking back from chow. I  overheard some of his squad asking, and he did not pass. To make it 11 days into a 21-day course and not pass the PT test just sucks! We finished off the day with the internet to the building going down. Since the class is built around BlackBoard, it made for a long afternoon. Day 12 Continuing our long afternoon, from the previous day with no internet, day 12 started with the same issue. It was not until after lunch that the internet was restored. We have made it to the next phase of the course and are released from the confines of ...

Day 6  I passed my PRT assessment with 77%. This was the one thing I was stressing out the most on. I missed 5 parts, could have missed as much as 6 and still passed. Later that afternoon was Squad Marching Drills. I passed this with 95%, missing 1. Today was the last day of the Foundation Phase. Little did we know there was an end of phase assessment. The categories for scoring was Character, Presence, Intelligence, Leadership, Develops, and Achieves. This Assessing Attributes and Competencies was scored from 0-2. Zero being Unsatisfactory, one Satisfactory, and two Superior. Attributes of Leadership CHARACTER - (Army Values, Empathy, Warrior Ethos, and Discipline) - Integrity is a key mark of a leader’s character. It means doing what is right, legally and morally. Character is reflected in a U.S. Army professional’s dedication and adherence to the U.S. Army Ethic and the U.S. Army Values. PRESENCE - (Military & Professional Bearing, Fitness, Confidence, and Resilienc...

So  the morning has come and it was much nicer. There were minimal noise and no real alarms. I however still didn't sleep till the alarm, but want up as early either. Early on, it is day 4, so 3 days ago it was put out 59° and below winter PTs. This morning it was 61°, so summer PTs we came out and almost the entire formation was in winters. Have to dress of the least dressed. So if someone is missing a hat, no one can wear hats. So everyone took off their winter PTs. After lunch, it was put out no matter the temperature come out in winter and dress down as needed. Challenge accepted! It was an all-around good day. I looked up the actual test, how I will be tested tomorrow and think it will be an ok test.

Day three is upon us, and the report time is 0530...yes the same alarm at 0300. I'm thinking there might just be an issue with not knowing how to turn it off. We are now 50 minutes out and the lights are still off and movement is at a minimum. Seems to me like a drastic change, but willing to roll with it. Our task this morning is PRT. I'm looking forward to seeing it, doing it, and trying to remember it all for the test. PRT consists of 10 exercises. After this I believe is the 4 Core exercises, followed by Conditioning Drill 1 & 2 each consisting 4 exercises. Having now seen all this once, I can definitely say I'm nowhere near ready! Having a train the trainer class is a great concept to help reiterate what was learned, however for this to be successful the trainer needs to know what they are training. Seeing something 4 and 5 different ways is not benefiting anyone. While waiting in line for chow, everyone came to the same conclusion that the individua...

This morning I was awoken to nature calling about 0130. Not a big deal normally, however after starting at my eyelids for about 30 minutes I have a feeling it is going to be a long day. It is going to be a PT test. That on itself I'm not really worried about, the expected 37°, on the other hand, does have me a little concerned. As I continued to lay in my silence the first screeching locker was opened a 0255, only to be followed by an alarm at 0300. Over the next 30 minutes, a hand full of other lockers broke the silence. Also during this time, the barracks fan was turned off. For anyone that has never been around these fans, the best description I could give you is standing on an open airfield with a small single wing plane pending take off. As the fan throttled down a deafening silence came upon my ears as the adjusted to the new sounds. These sounds are similar to the whales echoing back and forth but with grunts. Yes, the symphony of snoring that was once masked by the fan...

In my 19 years of overnight guard duty, mostly Annual Training (AT), I am one of the first ones up. I try to give myself ample time. First hard time today was 0530, breakfast isn't available yet, do the only thing to do is morning routine and get dressed. A good thing about the Army, is you are very limited on your outfit choices. Yesterday's in brief was 59° & below winter PTs, and our uniform for the day was PT. And it is a cool 53° this morning. The first alarm I heard going off was 0300. The guy got up went to latrine and back to bed only to have his next alarm go off 45 minutes later. At this point I'm pretty much up and staring at my lovely view. The next 45 minutes was spectacular, not a soul practicing a stealthy approach to a morning routine. Cellphone flashlights dancing through the bay like a rave party. I crack an eye to roll over only to be greeted by the next. As 0430 rolls around the bay lights are kicked on. The noise just escalated from there. Once 0...

The ride planned today didn't quite go as planned, but the end result was! We were supposed to go to Hot Springs, enjoy the weather and ride, and have BBQ. The ride and weather were perfect, the BBQ place however was closed for cleaning...on a Saturday. So there was a quick ride around Hot Springs trying not to turn left across 5 lanes with 17 bikes, to find a place to eat. Our lunch plans were finalized at  Colorado Grill and Bar . I was great, atmosphere, service, and food! Everyone left pleased! Thumbs Up!

Just coming up on five days into the new year and it is supposed to be 60°, what better time for a ride! The Central Arkansas HOG Chapter is doing their first ride of the year. The plan is motorcycles, good weather, and BBQ!