— Month of July workout totals: Swim-0; Bike-8; Run-2; Lift-1; Yoga-0; Pilates-0; Lupus Drills-0<\/p>\n
— In spite of my best cross-training intentions, the season has shaped up to be a one-note story: bicycling.<\/b> Hmm… a summer without swimming? \u2014preposterous!<\/em> This means I have only one month to prepare for the challenging waters of the Les Cheneaux.<\/p>\n — For the first time since my appointment as a member of the Kentucky Bicycle and Bikeway Commission<\/a>, our advisory group was granted a consultation with the Secretary of the Transportation Cabinet. Although we prepared for the meeting with some trepidation about how we would be \u201chandled,\u201d the session went about as well as could be hoped for, given the agency\u2019s history of resistance to bicyclist accommodations. People with long experience in Frankfort view it as a \u201cgovernment within a government,\u201d and our own relations with the Cabinet has been strained, due to our independent spirit, frank recommendations, and candor with the constituencies we are mandated to represent. On top of that, the key position of Bicycle\/Pedestrian Coordinator has been vacant since January, and we\u2019ve made no secret of our opposition to any plan to downgrade the job description. I was encouraged by the Secretary\u2019s open-minded attitude and the clear indication that this Administration is beginning to view bicycling as a meaningful component of their strategic priorities for economic competitiveness, health improvement, and tourism promotion. I must admit that, after last year\u2019s election, I\u2019ve struggled to remain hopeful about Kentucky pulling itself out of the bottom ten percent of bicycle friendly states, but on Tuesday I became more optimistic about these new folks running state government. I don\u2019t agree with them on many issues, but they just might be coming around on something close to my heart.<\/p>\n — Ely Dixon is back from Africa, of course, but I\u2019ve decided to leave her blog among my links. Cousin Dan is sharing this Web video<\/a> summarizing her time in Tanzania. He warns, \u201cThe video quality is spotty at times.\u201d<\/p>\n — The only time I witnessed Jon Brasfield in performance, I think I was more focused on waiting for a Brendan bongo solo that never transpired. Later, I came to appreciate Jon\u2019s abilities as a musician, especially after listening to Ghost Town<\/em><\/a> for the first time. Over the past week, my regard for him and his mate Amanda has gone totally off the scale. If you haven\u2019t been following The Saga of Baby Jude<\/a>, you\u2019ve been missing what has to be one of the most phenomenal feats of blogger poise ever. <\/p>\n