It's a dry heat - much like your oven.

[K7Baixo2]

Guess I better introduce myself. Gerry from Phoenix and yes, I love watches.

And kayaking. (Among others, I've done trips on the Alabama River and on the Rio Negro, Amazonia, Brazil.)

And long-distance cycling. (I've done two 750-mile events in the last 15 months, one in 85.5 hours and the other in 88 hours. Anything over 90 hours is a DNF.)

I've done the typical hobbies - backpacking, bicycle touring, remote-control airplanes, bass guitar. I'm a decent volleyball player, I was a med lab tech in the USAF and I've even driven semi's.

I've been employed by "Big Papercip" for almost 30-years and when I retire, I'd like to spend at least 5 years teaching middle school math. I feel the need to give back to the community!

Several of my watches -



A JMO Seiko -



A B-1



An SMP



A Ball Hydrocarbon GMT



BTW, if the mods feel that my avatar crosses the line, please let me know - I'm happy to change it. It's from a movie scene. The guy pictured is an old cowboy actor and is a distant relative.

[Gaijin]

Welcome Gerry.

[samsmart]

Great intro. Welcome, and I love the blnr!

Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk 2

[hdrazor251]

Welcome. Nice collection.

As for your relative in your avatar, Jack Elam along with Strother Martin were the 2 of the best character actors of their time IMHO. I just watched him this week in an old episode of the Twilight Zone.

[sea-dweller]

Welcome!

[43builder]

Welcome and very nice collection so far!

[GeraldJ19]

Welcome to the forum. I see you have a Ball Hydrocarbon, ive been eyeing one for a while now..... any major pros or cons you could mention?

[MonBK]

Welcome

[swatty]

Welcome to TRF , nice collection

[dualcarb]

Great watches...thank you for sharing


DC

[HL65]

Welcome to TRF!

[padi56]

Welcome to TRF Gerry and yes please change your avatar as no gun related pictures or topics are allowed on forum.

[Rags]

Welcome to TRF..

[K7Baixo2]

Originally Posted by hdrazor251

Welcome. Nice collection.

As for your relative in your avatar, Jack Elam along with Strother Martin were the 2 of the best character actors of their time IMHO. I just watched him this week in an old episode of the Twilight Zone.

Nice. I'll have to dig that episode up!

Originally Posted by GeraldJ19

Welcome to the forum. I see you have a Ball Hydrocarbon, ive been eyeing one for a while now..... any major pros or cons you could mention?

Not really - it's a good, competent watch as long as you like heavier watches. The band is one of the best I've ever worn. Tough, built like a tank.

Originally Posted by padi56

Welcome to TRF Gerry and yes please change your avatar as no gun related pictures or topics are allowed on forum.

Done with apologies and thanks for your patience. BTW, I'm also K7LRO. dit dit

[PlayaHaters]

Nice collection.

Welcome!

[GeraldJ19]

Thabk you for the feedback on the Hydrocarbon. One more question, how does its weight compare to your GMT II?

[Exclusivewatches]

welcome!

[mjclark32]

Welcome aboard

[Cc1966]

Hello Gerry and welcome!

[K7Baixo2]

Originally Posted by GeraldJ19

Thabk you for the feedback on the Hydrocarbon. One more question, how does its weight compare to your GMT II?

I don't have access to scales but it "feels" a bit heavier.

Thanks for all the welcomes. I see folks from several states where I've lived i.e. Texas (San Antonio), Georgia (Baxley and Norcross x 2) and NY (Schenectady). All great places that I enjoyed.

[77T]

Welcome to TRF!

[subtona]

Welcome!
Which watch for cycling events?

[K7Baixo2]

Originally Posted by subtona

Welcome!
Which watch for cycling events?

I use the Casio PAW1300-3V. It has multiple alarms and a simple barometer that I can use to "watch" the weather. Typically, I'm only getting 1-4 hrs of sleep a day for three days because I'm a little slow but at least I'm mentally tough and persistent. You have to be to ride 750 miles in ~3.5 days. Here's a write-up of the May event in Texas.

[Psmith]

Welcome!

[Hairdude1]

Welcome!

[subtona]

Originally Posted by K7Baixo2

I use the Casio PAW1300-3V. It has multiple alarms and a simple barometer that I can use to "watch" the weather. Typically, I'm only getting 1-4 hrs of sleep a day for three days because I'm a little slow but at least I'm mentally tough and persistent. You have to be to ride 750 miles in ~3.5 days. Here's a write-up of the May event in Texas.

Amazing, growing up i was fascinated by endurance riding, i recall that exhaustion would cause competitors to report dreaming while riding!

Ps my first time riding a motorcycle through Arizona i thought it felt like someone was holding a blowdryer on hot & high in my face.

[K7Baixo2]

Originally Posted by subtona

Amazing, growing up i was fascinated by endurance riding, i recall that exhaustion would cause competitors to report dreaming while riding!

Ps my first time riding a motorcycle through Arizona i thought it felt like someone was holding a blowdryer on hot & high in my face.

There are times at when you actually hallucinate. I recall riding behind a guy and I would have sworn that he had a little man pounding away at something on his bike's rear bag. It was actually a loose strap. Another time, we both had the feeling that someone was chasing us down the road. Weird what the mind does after so many hours of exertion.

A funny physiological reaction is that after so many miles and hours, you can't get your heart rate above a certain level no matter how hard you ride. For me, it's usually about the 350 mile point and 30 hours. I can't get my rate over 135.

Most of the time though, I'm focused on the road and my watch. I keep a pretty tight schedule of when to take in some calories and fluids.

My objective is to simply make it to the next checkpoint. I don't mentally ride any further than that and once there, I get my card stamped, take care of any issues, reorganize my snacks, fill the water bottles and move on.

I'll be crewing on a RAAM team this summer. Every year, I try to do something "different" for vacation so this will be a first for me. The rider I'm supporting has a goal to break the record for a recumbent and I believe she can do it. It'll be 10-days of hell for everyone concerned but fun nonetheless.

I remember my introduction to Kansas years ago - I was just out of the service and in college. I was between quarters and with my parents headed to Montana where I was going to ride from Glacier to Yellowstone. We were driving the first 24 hours straight through and when we stopped in Kansas, I felt the exact same feeling as you re someone pointing a hairdryer at me.

I was an "all the gear/all the time" (ATGATT) rider and there were times when I'd get home and my thighs were soaked from my safety pants. My other daily drive was an old Land Rover SIII which didn't have AC so those August drives or rides home were always a test of man v. heat.