Tag: Davenport IA

First to Last, Two Decades in the Making

July has traditionally been a big running month here at Intrigued. The month usually kicks off with the Cry Me a River 50K Ultra-Trail Run, somewhere in middle Jan has her run for St. Jude and the end of the month has been devoted to the Bix 7 Race held in Davenport, IA. Being that we are now officially in August, each of those events has now been held. Jan came through with flying colors in her charity effort, but a case of mixed results in my races. The catastrophe that was CMAR was detailed in the previous recollection post (link here). That is still a bitter pill to swallow, especially after today’s training run. Noticed last night the temps were going to drop back into the high 60’sF and decided to head back out to the Illinois Bluff trail to assess the level of damage done from the heat on race day. The internal thermostat out of play, I cruised through 10 miles of the course with little effort – frustrated in my bad weather luck early in the month, but ecstatic that I had not lost the stamina. There is some variability with the 50K weather, however, it is not realistic to expect anything better than HOT/HUMID when it comes to the Bix 7. Based on the earlier beating from the heat, I was less than confident in upcoming 7 miles along the Mississippi River bluff.

Bix 7 2024 in Davenport, IA

Hit the jump to read how the race went and why this race was extra special this year.

Continue reading First to Last, Two Decades in the Making

The Ankle Tester

Howdy everyone! Guessing you were expecting a race recap from my recent ultra-marathon efforts. Based on the mere fact this post made it out (barring any devious pre-scheduling ha), you know I at least survived the ordeal. The results of that race are a bit of a mixed bag, so I’ll need to wait a bit before updating everyone on how that went as a whole. Unfortunately, my procrastination this year – which I completely blame on retirement – has caught up with me. I always recap my races in chronological order and depending on how much you follow the mothership side of Intrigued, you may have noticed my annual trek up to Davenport, Iowa to run the Bix 7 has been missing.

Well, that race did happen and along with the recent ultra was one of only two formal races I’ve participated in so far. There is another one scheduled for the end of the month, but that will be the last for ’22. Little bit lighter load this year due to traveling and other commitments.

Bix 7 Race Davenport, IA, July 30, 2022

Hit the jump for a recap of the first race of the year.

Continue reading The Ankle Tester

Bix 7 Is Back!

Ooops!  So I sat down at my computer all prepared to cover the latest addition to my running career – more specifically, the most recent accomplishment on the ultra-marathon trail circuit.  That was the intention until I noticed there was another race sitting in the queue that I had completely forgotten about.  Now that will just not due, so the ultra will have to wait a bit as the Bix was BACK!

Bix 7, Davenport, IA on July 24th, 2021

Now that I’ve officially made the migration to the joys of the dirt and mud on the trail, there are very few races on the road that get me too excited.  What was once my bread and butter now holds little enjoyment for me.  Truthfully, some of that is due to something I cannot control – Father Time.  As the years went by, the wear and tear on the body started taking their inevitable impact and push to simply maintain the pace from the previous year was becoming frustrating.  As that is the measure of quality on the road it became a source of frustration.  Fortunately, there is still one road race that gets me excited – one that will likely forever hold a special place – the one that started it all!

Bix 7, Davenport, IA on July 24th, 2021

Hit the jump to learn if the road go the best of me!

Continue reading Bix 7 Is Back!

Gonna Need a Change of Feathers

Greetings everyone.  Sitting here in our dentist parking lot waiting for Linda to finish getting some work done.  How times have changed as now I actually long to sit in a real “waiting” room vs being cooped up in a vehicle.  Looking at the positives, this situation is quite conducive to cranking out a post.  We are still in the “fresh” post part of the week putting the focus on more recent outings. While perusing the options in the queue, noticed that I left everyone hanging on the third part of the latest Eagle experiences at Davenport lock and dam.  Along with the traditional shots (link here) and the action shots (link here), promised you some highlights of new behaviors seen above the water.  The Eagles were quite active that day showing off their skilz for the dozen or so photographers lined up to see the show.

A quick recap to get everyone in the mood.  First relax the legs and line up the approach.

Bald Eagles found in Davenport IA in February 2021

Then cock the legs to prepare for the impact.

Bald Eagles found in Davenport IA in February 2021

Finally stab to break the water’s surface.

Bald Eagles found in Davenport IA in February 2021

Hit the jump to read about my new experiences that day – one was quite comical.

Continue reading Gonna Need a Change of Feathers

Progression – Eagle Perspectives Part 2

For starters, I now have two new unexpected benefits of the pandemic today.  Ever have one of those situations when the perfect song comes on, your toes start tapping seemingly without your brain prompting it and all of a sudden you find yourself singing along OUT LOUD?  Once you come to your senses, you start looking around and notice pairs of eyes staring at you, judging you, finding you wanting.  Sheepishly you look away hoping your fifty shades of red don’t show up on the Internet.  Guess what, as long as the music and ambient sounds are above your vocal cord vibrations – let it rip – no one will know what is going on behind that mask – quite liberating if you ask me.  Oh, and the other side effect is you are no longer required to force a smile for selfies.  Just keep your eyes open and send the Kilroy impersonation to all your messaging friends.

Now for a quick apology.  In the last post I alluded to a two parter for the Eagle shot progression.  Turns out, I should have referred to it as a three parter.  Decided not to burn up your image cache and hold back a series for another day.  Hope you like our national bird as you will be getting your fill of them for sure.

American Bald Eagle found in Bettendorf, IA, in January 2017

Continuing on from the last post, I was commenting on the number of standard Eagle shots I’ve collected over the years.  Overwhelming to be honest, but I enjoy these mighty creatures and find myself snapping away whenever we encounter them.  In the last post I showcased the more traditional shots.

American Bald Eagle found in Davenport, IA, in January 2017

Hit the jump to see some more offerings from the Eagle folder.

Continue reading Progression – Eagle Perspectives Part 2

Triggered

Howdy folks.  Feeling a bit of sadness at the moment for our exploration is entering its last leg as we begin our return.  As a welcome home gift, Mother Nature has decided to throw a blizzard in our honor – we might be able to outlast it depending on our return path, but will not be holding our breaths – Midwest states have a way of making sure you never forget you chose to live in a four season state.  The good news is the trip was very successful and bringing back tins full of 2021 fodder… err ’22.. hmm ’23 ugh.  In truth, it isn’t really the snaps that I’ll remember the most, rather the great people I had the chance to meet along the way.  There is something about the birding community that is truly special – always friendly, always willing to share and always eager to help on an ID or provide timely education.  Gives you a feeling of hope as we’ve met people from all over the US that understand what it means to be courteous, kind and well, for lack of a better term, civilized. I’ll go into more details on the great people we met as the new trip posts roll out.  Until then, wanted to get to a topic I’ve been delaying for a while.

American Bald Eagle found in Bettendorf, IA in January 2017

Our great country’s national bird, the American Bald Eagle.  Truly in the upper echelon of what I classify as majestic birds.  They literally demand your reverence when they are around.  Calm, cool, collected and strong all wrapped in a feathered shell capable of deadly force.

American Bald Eagle found in Bettendorf, IA in January 2017

Hit the jump to see some more Eagles on sticks!

Continue reading Triggered

Days in White Feathers

Other than a likely case of hopefully temporary ear damage we successfully made it through the first night of bands at the Mississippi Valley State Fair beer tents.  As mentioned last post we are playing groupie this weekend and checking out some new local bands and of course our long time favorite Love Dogs who will be taking the stage later tonight.  Just as a quick summary and to add to my memory banks when I’m old(er) and wondering where the hell all those years went – the Sugar Nipples ended up being a band with a “named” band than they turned out to be.  We have visions of them being similar to our favorite Vegas band Steel Panther but they fell short.  The capper was when they started repeating songs to fill the gap before the AC/DC tribute band Electric Shock came on.  Luckily shock ended up being really really good … if you like AC/DC classic sets.  One of my biggest accomplishments in life was converting Linda from country to real music.  We have traveled to several AC/DC concerts and our bar was set extremely high of someone wanting to monetize off their name.  Beyond some lead riff mistakes, Shock pulled off an excellent job.  The lead singer had the vocals down and imagine a 5’2″ Angus complete with school boy outfit shredding away the night for 2 hrs.  Oh, and he was from Australia and had devoted most of his life to exactly reproducing the abilities and styles of his mate from the home country.  Would recommend warming up a bit before tackling a song that starts out with such a hard solo – he eventually settled in or the alcohol compensated as the night progressed.  Can’t wait until tonight, and guessing you can’t wait to get to the meat of this post!

American White Pelican shot in Davenport IA on the Mississippi River in February 2014

Yes, once again featuring a bird from the backlog.  This one is slightly different though – the last one came to you courtesy of 2015 where this one, with a sigh, comes to you from the wayback machine of February 2014.  Wait a minute, “where the hell did all those years go”.   Noting how much grief my brother Ron gave me for being 2 years behind, can’t wait for the comments when he sees I am 4 years in lag.

American White Pelican shot in Davenport IA on the Mississippi River in February 2014

Hit the jump to see and read more about these bundles of white feathers!

Continue reading Days in White Feathers

Another Bix7 in the Books

This has to be a new record over the last year or two – not one, not two but three non-birding posts in a row.  Basically, I am just buttering you up because you are about to get hit with another wave of birding posts.  Just trying to quell the growing pile of hate mail from all the non-birders out there.   I am an equal opportunity time waster.  Having just completed my second half marathon distance training run in 4 days, figure it would be appropriate to get a running related post out.  So today I bring you the results of the Bix 7 race – you know, that annual race in Davenport, IA that goes for a paltry 7 miles (unless you take that right turn at the top and go for the 2 mile alternative)

…. and this is how I felt afterwards!

2015 Bix 7 Race in Davenport IA

As bad as that looks it is still not INSIDE the ambulance.  Actually we were just goofing around, I didn’t feel that bad at the end but it was harder on me than expected.  Unlike the last couple of years, the weather gods were not helping out as much.  Sure missed those colder starts from the previous years, but still not as bad as it has been – being at the end of July, you can start tipping the mercury in the mid-80’s at the start only to spiral down into a sticky mess half way through the race.

2015 Bix 7 Race in Davenport IA

Hit the jump to see how the race turned out!

Continue reading Another Bix7 in the Books

Number 9 Number 9 Number 9…

Wow, it is getting down to the wire when I have to resort to a Beatles song for a blog title.  Think of it more of a mocking gesture like when I attend birthday parties and continually tell people “Well it’s my birthday too, yeah”…Yes, I dislike that band.  Anyway, it is literally one day left in the month and I have one post to go to make my quota.  Fortunately for me, I already had this topic planned and just needed make sure I had 5 posts in before today.  It may have been planned, but I needed to successfully complete something first.  If you have been around the blog for at least a few years you know the end of July brings a very important event for me in the running schedule.  The BIX7 race was held in Davenport IA this morning and I was there wearing my racing orange.

Linda took my traditional pre-race picture and I must say I look a lot happier than I did for the Steamboat Race.  I can contribute a lot of that happiness to not having a bad hamburger the night before.  In fact, we made doubly sure nothing like the night before Steamboat happened again.   Instead,  Linda made my favorite spaghetti recipe rather than risk  another carry out catastrophe.  In the past, this has been the race I’ve trained for all year.  Normally I would be peaking at 8 miles the week before the race with plenty of hill work and a healthy dose of 5K speed runs to get the leg turnover I wanted.  That was not the case this year due to a Life List event planned for later in the year that is pretty much getting my full training attention.  This year I lined up with a completely retooled body.  I probably hit the line at around 153 pounds as a result of a planned shedding over 12 pounds of weight since late last year (click here if you want details on some of the loss).  With the weight off I could focus on resetting the body to meet the demands of the future event.  This brought me to a peak of 12.3 miles but at the cost of my previous speed, losing at least a minute per mile on average.  With all that considered along with the Bix@6 training run earlier in July the initial projections was to come in around the 63 minute mark…. ummmmm that didn’t end up happening.

Hit the jump to read details of the race and see the all important post race pictures.

Continue reading Number 9 Number 9 Number 9…

These Mallards Play in Water

I figured I would go ahead and close out the Davenport Iowa bird shoot.  We’ve done the eagles, the gulls and now presenting..

Mallard

That’s right, the Mallard Duck.  This guy was enjoying the 50 degree weather in march.  The shot turned out pretty good with the green shimmering nicely in the sun and you can even make out the water droplets on the duck’s feathers.  This was pretty fitting since the Quad Cities’ minor league hockey team is actually named The Mallards.  Here is another one with a different direction to the sun giving a slightly different shimmer pattern.

Mallard Duck

There were actually a number of them (can’t remember the proper term for a grouping of ducks at the moment).

Mallards

Believe me, it was extremely tough to get them to all go in the same direction.  You also have a nice mixture of the females included in this shot – clearly they were stiffed when the coloring was handed out.

Follow the jump to see some more shots of the Mallard

Continue reading These Mallards Play in Water