More Planning

Another great lift/bars/stretch session in the garage today. I almost got to the point I could sweat. It's not that cold but tell that to the cement floors of the garage. Nice and productive day.

Right now I've got pole issues that I'm trying to work out with Kris and Bruce Caldwell at Essx. Bruce makes my poles especially for me so they are more expensive and can't be run in a big batch. Also I need a particular flex number so if he misses it then that's a wasted pole ($450). More on flex numbers below. Because of this he usually makes 2-3 poles at a time for me. I'm not sure he has the time and resources to make this happen in the short term so we're juggling options.

The fact that we are having this conversation means that I'm on my biggest poles, which begs the question, "now what?" On top of this I will have to ship one set of poles to New Mexico for USA Elite Nationals, where I will jump on the Sunday morning before the Friday that I jump in Kamloops, BC, Canada, for World Masters Indoors, where my main poles will be shipped to.

Coincidentally the meet I just went to may have the hidden answer. Altius is pole company in the Dallas/Fort Worth area (where Essx is also) who hosted the meet I just jumped in. I have three Altius carbon fiber poles that I have never used. The two biggest poles come right after my biggest Essx, and the smallest I could send to New Mexico to serve as my biggest pole for that trip. Of course I would prefer two new Essx poles but if that doesn't happen in time then I have no choice in the interim.

IF I need those poles in Kamloops I would like to have used them in a meet first. This will probably happen at Joshua on 1/9 or Reno on 1/28. I will have a better idea after this next meet in Belton. Kris and I think we have the technical issue figured out that will clean up my jump on the big poles so this should literally be a "one jump fix". What that means is that you make the change on the very next jump and you're set. I'll know for sure by Belton and I expect that to be true. If so then these big poles will be too small and now I'll go to the Altius. Just have to play it by ear.

I've been asked the question of flex numbers. Simply put, a pole is placed on two supports, like sawhorses, and a weight is hung in the middle. I ruler measures in centimeters how far it bends down. The bigger the number, the weaker the pole. So my smallest 14'/4.30m pole is a 17.5 and my stiffest is a 14.9. Ideally you want the spread between poles to be .2-.5. The nearer you are to your biggest pole, the smaller the gap will be because you have less room for error. AND it's not like I'm getting younger so you don't want to buy a pole you may never get to use because you will never be strong or fast enough. Of course I thought that happened when I got my 16.5, and now five poles later I need more poles again. GOOD PROBLEM, I think!? have a great day! Bubba