Bill and Cathy McArthur Spring/Summer/Fall 2010: 7

   Monday, August 2 to Sunday, August 8, we were in Cape May for the McArthur reunion. We had dentist appointments on Monday and Tuesday. The family celebrated Bill's 70th birthday on Tuesday with a great party including a very funny PowerPoint roast presentation. Friday was our 44th Anniversary. On Saturday, Bill ran in the Coombs/Douglass 5 miler. We stayed overnight at Joe and Maria Link's house. On Sunday, Bill and 6 other guys did a Bay Double-Cross in their kayaks. We stayed overnight at Joe and Maria's again on Sunday night and enjoyed pizza and conversation.

   Monday, August 9 to Sunday, August 15, we were back in our townhouse in Lewes. Bill picked up his new Jamis Comet tri-bike from Dave's Road Bikes in Dover on Wednesday. Later in the afternoon, Bill rode for 10 miles on the Comet. On Saturday, Bill ran the Highway 1 10K in Dewey and on Sunday, Bill ran a 5K at Cape Henlopen High School.

   Monday, August 16 to Sunday, August 22 was a good week of training for Bill. We uploaded the virtual tour of our new townhouse to YouTube. On Friday, Bill took the ferry to Cape May with the XTerra for Saturday's duathlon. He stayed overnight with Joe and Maria Link. He was up and out early on Saturday morning and headed to Wildwood for the duathlon. He was the second one in the transition area at 5:30 AM. He loved the Comet and the new hydration system during the bike race, where he averaged 19.2 mph. He took the noon ferry back to Lewes. Alex and kids arrived on Saturday afternoon for a few days visit. Phil was in Breezewood, PA for a half ironman. Bill ran a 5K race on Sunday at Greene Turtle in Lewes.

   Monday, August 23 to Sunday, August 29 was a fun week with grandkids and lots of different activities. We went to Jungle Jim's with Alex and the kids on Monday. Tuesday was windy and chilly. We spent the day at Rehoboth Beach on rides and walking around. Our friend Linda Keech came over on the ferry on Thursday. Bill rode with her on the Lewes/Rehoboth trail. Saturday was the Broadkill River race:

I've just moved to Lewes from Cape May Beach, NJ and have just
discovered the beautiful Broadkill in the past 2 months. I camped for a
month at Steamboat Landing and had a convenient put-in there for several
trips up and down the river. I heard about the race and entered this
year for the first time. I had put in at Oyster Rocks road couple of
times in the past and figured it would be pretty crowded, so I chose to
put-in at the boat ramps at the end of Pilottown road at about 8 AM. I
had a leisurely warmup of about 2.5 miles to the race start, landed, and
picked up my packet. Since I couldn't find a porta-potty, I soon
launched again and made use of my Pee bottle a couple of times as I
lollygagged around in the river near to the start. My kayak is a
barge-like Ocean Kayaks Manta sit-on-top, 16 feet long, and around 85
pounds. My kayak is lovingly called Tupperware by some paddlers I know
from JSSKA over in Jersey. I use a 3 piece, unfeathered wing paddle
produced by Peter Patasi. It's meant for carrying in a suitcase, but I
permanently glued it in its longest position. So I have a slow kayak,
more suited for a demolition derby than a non-contact race. As a bit of
a further handicap, I'm a geezerly 70 years old. The only thing in my
favor is my handle of "Wild Bill", well earned over the years of
paddling with the folks from JSSKA. I decided to start with the third
wave (the racers), so I could see their sleek craft in front of me
instead of passing me and then in front of me. I huffed and puffed as I
put in my best effort on the 9.35 mile course (I cut tangents pretty
well) which I covered in just over 1:40. It was a lot of fun picking my
way through the other Tupperware boats on my way up the river. After a
meal at Irish Eyes with my wife and a couple of friends from Milton, I
paddled back to the boat ramps. The ramps were full of beer-laden
fishermen returning from a day of drinking and fishing. I had to wait my
turn and then had to hustle to load my kayak while a boat behind me
showed their impatience. I landed at 4:30 PM and was pretty brain-fried,
so it seemed to take forever to get my straps right, but I finally did,
and safely drove home to Eagle Point in Lewes. Great day, lots of fun,
lots of good people on the river. I'll be back next year.

Bill was still feeling the effects of Saturday's paddling on Sunday, when he ran very slowly in the Sundance 5K race in Rehoboth Beach.

   Monday, August 30 to Sunday, September 5 was a week that started in the summer heat and ended in the coolness of fall. Our friends Jean and Tom Reilly came over on the ferry on Monday for an overnight visit. We packed in a lot of activities in a day and a half. Bill ramped up his biking miles. On Thursday, we had our belated anniversary dinner at Cafe Sole in Rehoboth Beach. On Saturday, Bill ran the Prediction 5K race at Grove Park in Rehoboth Beach. On Sunday, Bill ran a fast 5K (7:48 min/mile) at the Lions 5K in Dewey Beach. Later in the afternoon, we joined Don and Bern Ernakovich and their friends for a picnic dinner on the beach at Herring Cove in Cape Henlopen State Park.

        Bill and Cathy