My Week that Was - July 24

Prior to running the 'virtual'
Racing Sausages 5K.
7/17/21 dwm photo

  Covid-19 isn't done with us yet.  That was obvious as the week started with the second consecutive virtual edition of the 5K Famous Racing Sausages run/walk.

  The big attraction is the shirt.  Chorizo wears #5 in the 6th inning sausage race during Milwaukee Brewer games.  Fittingly it took five years to complete the collection of race swag.

  If you are wondering about the order of the other four and don't want to look online, here it is: #1 Brat; #2 Polish; #3 Italian; #4 Hot Dog.

   After the run I took a 30-mile loop ride from Verona to 
 Madison then back on the Capital City trail on the city's south side.

  Following that we walked on the Yahara River Trail's boardwalk where we were treated to see several beautiful water birds (photos below).

Then it was time for lunch.  We tried a new place, the Badger Tavern.  There will be more on our experience in an upcoming post.

After an exciting Bucks victory in Phoenix Saturday night there was a feeling of excitement around the state's NBA team that I've never seen before.

Green Heron at
Mud Lake. 7/18/21
dwm

The primary conversation Monday was about the team's opportunity to win it at home in the Fiserv Forum.  People I didn't know as fans were talking about the coach's end-game strategy and whether Giannis needs to change the way he shot free throws.

Tuesday night, Milwaukee hosted game 6. 20,000 fans inside the arena and more than 40,000 gathered outside in the Deer District around Fiserv.  Our cable went out in the middle of the afternoon (a broken fiber optic cable in the neighborhood) which was fixed less than an hour before the game.

The game started raggedly as both teams battled nerves.  Milwaukee moved in front, Phoenix tied and went ahead.  Giannis Antetokounmpo put the team on his back in the third quarter.  He scored 50 points and made 17 of 19 free throws.

The Bucks took the lead in the fourth quarter.  In my living room I stood with just over five minutes left to see Milwaukee bring the trophy home.  I was seven when Lew Alcindor and Oscar Robertson won it all - I'm 50 years older now as Giannis, Kris Middleton, Jrue Holiday, Brook Lopez, PJ Tucker picked up the Lawrence O'Brien trophy.

Milwaukee wins the NBA Championship!
7/20/2021 dwm screenshot of ABC telecast

My team for more than 50 years has two players who stand head and shoulders over a host of teammates - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Giannis Antetokounmpo - it's a privilege to see Giannis play and represent his team and the state so well.  Congratulations, Bucks!

Just five and a half-hours after turning off the post-game coverage and falling asleep, it was time to wake-up and hit the bricks.  I was tired, but wore a smile as I thought about the championship.

Three weeks ago I was piloting one of our rickshaws when there was an accident.  It seemed to happen out of the blue... I was giving a ride to a resident who has probably taken more rides with me than anyone.  

We were gliding downhill, I braked for a speed bump, then after clearing it had both hands lightly on the brakes when all-of-a-sudden the bike lurched to the left and flipped on its side.

Great Blue Heron. Mud
Lake 7/18/21 (dwm)

  The resident's elbow was scraped pretty good on the asphalt and my knee was cut up.  Thankfully the rider had his seatbelt tightly fastened which kept his head from hitting the ground.  After getting help for the resident, I tried to figure out what happened.  The tires were fine.  Nothing was broken.  I wasn't making a tight turn when it flipped.

  The only thing that made sense was that somehow the brake grabbed on just one side, but with a pair of front wheels with brakes on both I wasn't sure how that could have happened either.  With no idea what caused the accident, the bike was taken off-line until a bike mechanic could inspect it.

  That happened Wednesday.  The mechanic said because we used a lever to lock the brakes in place when parking the bike that brake fluid built up.  It was possible when going downhill with the brakes on for the brake to suddenly grab so fast it pulled the back tire off the ground.  

I was thankful for the report because I had replayed the incident over and over trying to understand what I did or didn't do to cause it.  

We're getting the brakes replaced and know going forward not to use the emergency brake for parking.  Once it's fixed, we can use it again.

Six ducks on a rock on Mud Lake.
7/18/21 dwm photo

It would have been fun to take a day off work to stand along Milwaukee's streets for the Milwaukee Bucks' Championship parade, but instead I recorded it and watched after work.

Half-a-million people were estimated by police to line the streets or gathered to hear the celebratory rally near the Fiserv Forum.  

I was impressed by the tone of the players and others who spoke as they praised teammates and the way they came together to achieve their goal.

They united factions outside the locker room as people across dividing lines of class, race, and gender were happy the home team won.

Green Bay players report to training camp this next week.  It will be interesting to see if there starting quarterback will be there on the first day.

Have a great week, my friends!