catching up

Lessee...didn't post much last week--not much to say, really (or maybe it was that there was other stuff happening and I didn't take time to post?).

I got home Monday night--tired. Did some errand-running on the Vanguard Tuesday afternoon. Rode the Vanguard to the main office Wednesday morning, changed into street clothes for what I thought would be a training session, found that I was not given the correct schedule, rode to N'Awb'ny, realized I should have stayed at the main office for another hour and a half for a meeting I should have remembered...

Rode to work Thursday, too, and got to go home early, after an afternoon celebration over passing some recent federal inspections. We were off Friday, so I worked in Mom's yard, as I had done Wednesday and Thursday evenings. I helped my stepfather remove some dead trees (having a dead tree fall is inevitable--whether the timing and direction of the fall is controlled is the issue). Jenn was there with me, and she got to learn to replace fence posts (there are several of them rotted off below ground level after eighteen years in place). We have a few more posts to replace, but ran out of posts.

On Saturday, I rode my first century of the season. Most years, I've ridden at least two or three by now, some years I rode four or five by this time (if one counts the stacking of club rides, say riding to a sixty or seventy-five mile ride starting at 8:00 am followed by riding to a twenty-five mile ride in the afternoon then riding home for about a hundred miles, which I've done in the past). The Madison Century is on the schedule for the weekend closest to July 4th, timed to arrive in Madison Indiana during their annual Regatta (We got to hear a couple of the fast hydroplane boats doing qualification laps as we climbed the hill out of town on US421, but I didn't stay for the fun). By the end of the ride, my average speed was still over eighteen miles an hour! This is good, because I plan to do RAIN in two weeks and want to be sure I'll have the legs for it. Apparently, my bike commuting is keeping me from losing whatever strength I have--surprising since my commute is pretty flat and by century-ride standards very short, not to mention that I'm on a different bike than I use for century rides.

From the ride start/end point in Prospect, I drove to Simpsonville for a July 4th party.

Yesterday, my friend Harry and his wife Sherry held a party to celebrate my engagement to Jenn. It was a great chance for some of Jenn's family and friends to meet some of my family and friends. In keeping with human nature, I suppose, there wasn't a huge amount of cross-conversation, but what did happen was good. At some point over the weekend, I discovered that the Vanguard has developed a leak in the rear tire/tube. I installed a new tube as a teaching moment for the class Monday evening, and have decided that I REALLY need to replace that rear tire. I've also found a broken spoke--something this wheel is not supposed to be doing, although it does see rough service with a lot of weight on it.

Since I'm teaching this afternoon, I'm tight for time after work, and drove today. I have meetings at the main office every morning but Friday this week, which may make riding to work problematic, but I'll see what I can do. My legs don't feel bad at all today--didn't feel bad yesterday, either. I can run the stairs in the apartment building with my usual flair today.

Yep, run the stairs. One of the resident children had some friends over a week or two ago. They were using the elevator to get from the main floor up two floors. I watched them get on the elevator, then ran up to their destination floor and was standing by the elevator by the time the door opened, amazing the friends. The things one does for self-amusement...

Home again

Over the weekend, I became an unofficial member of the RAAM Team Type 2 crew. This is no surprise to me, as I had been contributing from afar from time to time during the race--Jenn would call me to get my perspective on this or that problem, figuring that I was not as tired and thus (or so the hope had it) more able to think the problem through clearly. Hey, some of my input actually helped!

After the fun of meeting many of the crew members and racers Friday morning in Bloomington, I flew to Maryland (via Southwest Airlines) to witness the finish of the team's ride and the joy of their accomplishment.

There were folks who didn't think the team would finish the event. Psh! These guys planned on finishing, and did. They didn't plan on being the first team across the line--their companion squad, Team Type 1, had that plan, however, and executed it nicely--they hold the new RAAM record for 8-man team time! Team Type 2 planned to finish. Their finish was better than they planned--they beat another team. Through it all, however, the ethos of the event is that all teams encourage all other teams.

I was at the finish line for the finish of a couple other teams' rides, and in keeping with this ethos, made lots of noise to congratulate them. It's a hell of an accomplishment to ride 3000 miles in one stage, regardless of how many are on the team.

Jenn repeatedly says she wants to crew again for them next year (when she is awake, that is--sleep deprivation is a hallmark of RAAM). She has quite a few stories from the event, and even more pictures. When we get them online, I'll provide a link on this blog as well.

RAAM heats up

Solo RAAM leader board

Team RAAM leader board

Jenn's parents and I drove up to Bloomington to surprise her during the team's squad changeover. We arrived around 0330, and the team RVs were on site, as was the utility van Jenn has been co-driving a good part of the week. Crew members were moving around, doing their thing, save for a few who were getting some much-needed shut-eye. Jenn was part of that last little group.

A few minutes after we arrived, the team rotation van arrived. Five or ten minutes later, the racer of the moment and the chase car arrived, to much applause. His family was gathered on the sidewalk near the entrance to the time station, which had to be a morale booster for him.

The applause woke Jenn, and I was ready. I watched her stirring around, and moved so that I was partly hidden by the front roof pillar of her van. By the time she opened the door, I was almost in the door zone and greeted her with a big hug--a surprise for her, especially since she had just awakened. She introduced her parents and me to everyone on the team and crew--some more than once in her excitement that we were there.

As one would expect, they have become a very tightly-knit crew over the last several days. This is to be expected, given the intensity and duration of the event, but it's still fun to see, even from the outside. It was also fun to watch the coreography in the set-up and break-down of the equipment used for feeding the team, allowing them to shower a bit, and so on (They don't want to use the lavatory in the RV, as they would then have to dump the tank, which takes too much time).

Jenn's teammates and crewmates appreciated our visit. I'm glad we went.

And I'm flying up to watch their finish tomorrow. Their ETA was something like 0400 Sunday at one point, but has moved up to 0100 Sunday, then 2100 Saturday, after a few fast legs of the journey. They may even beat that ETA, although I suspect the mountainous terrain of western Maryland will make that difficult.

Here it is, Thursday!

I rode the Vanguard to work today, after driving yesterday due to time constraints on the after-work side. I rode the Raleigh Monday, took off Tuesday to ride the Strada, and intend to ride the Vanguard again tomorrow.

I felt faster on the Vanguard than I usually do. I'm not sure why, but I'll take it. The bike felt smoother, somehow. Maybe it's simply that much more comfortable than the Raleigh...

Last night was the fourth and final meeting of the Confident Cycling class I've been teaching. The group started out as twelve folks, a couple couldn't make the last two meetings for various reasons, a few simply dropped out without telling us why, and one had some work issues get in the way, with the result that I signed four certificates last night. I enjoy teaching these classes, but it's also good to be done with it for a little while.

I will be out at my folks' house for a while this evening and tomorrow evening, doing some yard work in preparation for the September festivities being held there. I generally dislike yard work--while it's far more natural than working on bikes or cars, it just isn't me. However, it's worth doing sometimes, and this is such a time.
Edit: change of plans...Jenn is going to be at the RAAM time station in Bloomington Indiana about 0400 Friday. I talked to her today, and she said something along the lines of inviting her folks to come up and watch what she's been doing for the last several days as a crew member. When I mentioned that their ETA in Bloomington was 0445 or so, she figured that neither her folks nor I will make it to see them while they are there. Hehehehehe Of course, it means leaving the house at something like 0100 to meet her folks at 0130, drop off my truck at the office, and drive up to Bloomington, visit for a few minutes or a couple hours, then drive back down.

I'm flying up to Annapolis Saturday morning, to watch the arrival of some of the RAAM teams. I can't wait. It will be my first flight since getting my CPAP machine that helps me manage my apnea, and dealing with that ought to be fun.

Played hookey

I have ridden RAIN for five of the last six years, and had been planning to do so again this year. I've been worried about my long mileage legs, though, as it seems all my riding is commuting--lower speed, lower cadence work on fairly flat terrain (my biggest climb in my commute is Payne Street) for few miles (and less than an hour each trip), compared to 160 miles of flat to gently-rolling terrain at high output for nine hours (well, eight and a piece, plus breaks).

In an effort to get some long miles in, to see if I can do RAIN without pain, I took a personal day today and went for a club ride out of Vettiner Park. The schedule showed a sixty mile ride, but the captain opted to shorten it a bit due to the heat. We went fifty miles.

The route had some good rollers, and a couple of medium- to stout climbs (the largest two being on 1633 just north of Taylorsville and on Seatonville Road just southeast of the end of Billtown Road). My usual RAIN ride partner, Larry Preble, was on hand today, on his *gasp* Trek 2000. He rides the Trek on Tuesdays, usually considering Tuesday his recovery ride day--he doesn't plan on riding hard.

Larry and I have ridden together for several years. One thing that always happens when we ride together is that one or both of us will plan and state intention to ride slower than normal, but we get caught up in trying to keep up with each other, and we end up going fast. One wouldn't know that from my average speed, which was something like 16 or 17 miles an hour, unless one were to look at the grade profile and see all the times I was going five or ten miles an hour instead of twenty-five or my maximum speed of 44.

I went in to this ride looking for information on myself. I wanted to see how my "burn" felt--how my fuel is working for me these days, as I haven't used Perpetuem this year (haven't ridden far enough). I wanted to see how my legs would perform. I wanted to see if I remembered how to pace myself.

It's sort of like riding a bike. You don't truly forget. I'm a bit rusty, but things felt quite smooth today. I sometimes express how my body does during a long or hard ride in terms of fuel burn. I feel a clean burn, or a dirty burn, depending on several factors--what I've eaten that day and for a couple days before, how much I'm drinking and of what during the ride, how clogged I feel--it's a sense that I cannot quite quantify. My burn today felt almost clean, but not quite. It was good, given my time off that bike. Riding to work is surely helping, and more than I thought it would.

If I can work it out, I will take off a few more days between now and RAIN to get some long miles on the bike. My riding partners for RAIN this year, Larry Preble and Ed Scharfenburger, are both very strong riders. It's good that we are on closely matched bikes (Larry has a Bacchetta Corsa, Ed a stock Strada).

Last year, we played leapfrog with a group in matching jerseys, and they were clearly upset that we would take longer breaks than they did and pass them out on the road (darned recumbents aren't supposed to be faster than a wedgie pace line!). We had our own pace line going much of the time, and now that Ed has a full year on his bike (he had had it three or four weeks when we rode RAIN last year), we ought to be able to keep tighter formations for better advantage.

I can't wait!

Seasonal milestones again

I noted another seasonal milestone the other night: Monday or Tuesday evening, I saw my first lightning bugs of the season. In the course of walking the dog, I saw probably fifteen or twenty.

Last night, I had to have seen a hundred of them. It was neat to see.

I was reminded of a couple nights one summer ten or fifteen years ago. I was working for UPS, unloading airplanes for the Next Day operation. When I got off work, I would often go wander in one or another of the local parks for a while to unwind before going home to bed.

One such night, I was in George Rogers Clark Park, across Poplar Level Road from Audobon Hospital. The park has some lovely slopes on both sides of a small creek. I was near the top of one slope, and looking across the creek, there was a veritable wall of trees. In front of that wall of trees, from my perspective, was a shimmering curtain of lightning bugs. It was a wonderful sight.

I rode the Vanguard to work Monday, and the Raleigh Tuesday. The rain Monday left the roads wet enough and the parking lot wet enough that I opted out of having the students do the emergency stop parking lot drill and subsequent bike ride. We did talk about the drills a bit, though, so that the students could at least tinker with the ideas at home.

I was watching the weather forecast Tuesday, but not quite well enough. I had in mind to leave the office early, to beat the heavy weather coming our way, but people kept coming by to see me over one thing or another, and it was after four by the time I left. I got out of New Albany before the rain started hitting me. By the time I crossed 131 from Providence Way to N Clark Boulevard, I was hearing thunder, and seeing an occasional lightning flash. By the time I got to Jeffersonville, I was seeing frequent flashes of lightning, closer than I really like (but not so close I felt endangered). The rain was also falling much harder. By the time I got to the bridge, visibility was hampered.

As I crossed the bridge, a motorist (in a small SUV, no less) kindly kept traffic off my back by driving behind me at a good distance with her four-way flashers going. I'm normally a little put-off by this--I feel I'm pretty visible most of the time. However, I also realize that she was doing so because she was not in such a hurry that she couldn't do an extra bit to improve road safety for all of us. I, of course, waved happily with all five fingers in a clear "thank you!" gesture when I neared the traffic light at the Kentucky end of the bridge and she went past me.

I had to stop a couple times on my way home to get the sweaty rainwater out of my eyes. By the time I got to Payne Street, though, the rain had eased off, and I started making better progress.

Of course, by the time I got home, the next band of heavy rain was arriving. It quit raining soon after I got home.

Yesterday, I had to drive to work--I had a bunch of stuff to haul. I also was on a tight time line after work, as I am teaching one of the Confident Cycling classes this month. I'm on a tight time line this evening as well, as I am presenting a session at the Bon Air branch of the Louisville Free Public Library this evening.

As I type this, Jenn is at the airport, getting ready to fly out to Oceanside California. She is on a support crew for RAAM riders (Team Type 2) who are riding to bring attention to the fact that folks with Type 2 Diabetes CAN be active and healthy--indeed, being active helps one be healthy, a truth that seems to escape too many in our society. Anyway, it means that I'll be following their progress with a bit more interest than I have in prior years--I have more friends in the race this time.

Friends and family have been half-jokingly wondering how I'll get along without Jenn at the house. I think I will manage, somehow. =-)

Hardly rode over the weekend

It's getting to be a bad trend. Here it is, well into June, and I haven't done any LONG miles since last year (long miles being bike rides over 50 miles in length).

This past weekend, for example, included a day at the stock car races (and tailgating near the speedway before race time). Jenn's father takes her and her two brothers to the Nationwide Series Meijer 300 at Sparta as a family get-together thing, and I was invited.

It was fun, I suppose. I've not quite caught the bug for the game "Corn Hole," although I tossed a few bags of seed corn at the boards that day. We socialized over a beer or two, or tea, or sodas, depending on the person. We wandered up to the main gate at the track, and the vendor area spread out in front of that. There were a couple booths offering samples of tobacco products, one selling what I presume to be a male-enlargement product (of what I also presume to be spurious value with a bikini model in a cute suit that, even if were not engaged/involved, I probably wouldn't find interesting on a date), various "collectible" trinkets (like anyone is going to buy these things ten years from now? How much for a 1980 Cabbage Patch Doll?).

It was fun to see a big-league race again. The last race of this caliber for me was the Southern 500 at Darlington S.C. on Labor Day weekend of 1978. I don't remember tons of what happened at that race, but I think that somewhere in my various stashes of keepsakes I have a spark plug I picked up in the pit area after the race. "Those were the days," to borrow the title from All in the Family.

While it was fun to see a super-speedway race, when it comes to auto racing, I'm still a short-track guy. Watching cars travel a mile and a half per lap is tough to do--that is a LOT of territory to watch. On the other hand, short tracks present their own challenges--often the track management does not seem as big on safety at smaller tracks, for example.

Before I even learned to ride a bike, I loved cars. By the time I was eight, my father realized the value in taking me to the speedway not far from where we lived at the time for father/son stuff. I knew who the drivers were, and had favorites. I vividly remember one car rolling over in a crash there, and seeing the guy with another similar car the following week. He apparently lived around the corner from us, as the wrecked racer was in front of a house near our subdivision for a couple days later that week (for what it's worth, the cars were 1958 or '59 Chrysler products, probably Plymouths).

When I was a kid, my heroes were race car drivers. Race car drivers wore seat belts. When I was eight or nine, we as a family got a newer car for Mom, to replace the 1956 Chevrolet she had been driving. That car had shoulder belts, relatively new to mainstream cars. There was a tag on the belt that included something along the lines of, "Do NOT use if wearer is less than 4'8" tall."

I couldn't WAIT to grow that last two inches!

I fully realize that there is some sort of double-standard in my fondness for auto racing. I don't get to indulge myself in the enjoyment of watching good short-track racing often, though, as I have so many other interests these days.

Anyway...

Yesterday was time for an early celebration of Jenn's birthday. Her birthday is later this week, but she will be out of town, working on a crew supporting Team Type 2 on Race Across America.

After the celebrations, I had to attend a Club officers' meeting, so I at least rode the few blocks to that from the house. Once that was done, I could then get geared up for another exciting week at the job with no glory.

Hey, at least I rode to work today.

Not enough cycling

It's been tough to really get on the bike of late.

After a month of rarely getting to ride to work, I'm out of the habit of doing so as much. Add to that that I'm teaching two days a week this month, with the time constraints of those schedules, and I've not ridden enough to warrant any kind of good mojo.

I rode to work today, and got to ride to work Tuesday, but drove Monday, Wednesday and Thursday (that last due to oversleeping/having trouble motivating myself to get up and ride in the rain). EDIT: David reminded me that I did, indeed, ride to work Monday. I rode the Vanguard, loaded as it was with teaching stuff, so that I could go directly to the Monday evening class at Waterfront Park after work instead of going home and then back downtown. Note to self: Do my blog entries more often so that I don't forget stupid stuff like this.

The Vanguard is loaded with teaching stuff--a stack of halved tennis balls for parking lot drills, sign-up sheets, clipboards, hand-outs of various sorts, and a small pile of tubes in case students get flats while in class. Rather than switch the load every other day, I rode the Raleigh Tuesday and today.

At this rate, I'm not sure I'll be able to enjoy doing RAIN, which is coming up in four or five weeks. I also need to get with the other folks who want to ride it, and see who is ready or who is unable to go this time.

I finally got to ride again

After three or four weeks of work life being in upheaval over a "must-pass" inspection, life is hopefully returning to normal, meaning I get to ride to work at one work site, with stops at the main office on my way to or from my own office. The main office is a couple blocks off my commute route, so stopping there is not an imposition.

Repair Affair is this weekend and next, though. I'll be part of that tomorrow, helping support volunteer teams that are working on houses for the beneficiaries of the program. Repair Affair is a neat program. Volunteer teams from various places (church groups, clubs, groups of folks who work together, neighborhood associations, and so on) do handyman "neighbor helping neighbor" stuff for low-income elderly or disabled homeowners--paint the house, clear brush from the yard, build ramps, install grab bars or handrails, make other minor repairs to the house with an eye toward "safe, warm and dry." Magnificent things happen for the homeowners.

My part of it this year is to drive a one-ton flat bed truck to haul stuff from place to place. To prepare for this, I'll have to fetch the truck this afternoon, and park it closer to where I can use it tomorrow morning.

To make that easier, I rode my bike to work today (ain't it great that I can say that!). I don't have to get a ride to where the truck is--I can toss my bike in the cargo area of the truck.

Since it was a cool morning, I rode wearing my office clothing--a kilt and a shirt--and I don't have to change clothes in the course of my day.

Jenn's doing the MS Bike the Bluegrass tomorrow and Sunday. If you haven't donated toward this cause, she could use some donations to get her to her fund-raising goal. I didn't do anything with the ride this year (too many other obligations), although I've captained some preparatory rides for it in years past, and worked the ride as a roving bike mechanic a couple years when I was working for one of the ride sponsors. It is a great cause, and a great ride.

Fried-day evening

I haven't much felt like putting any words here this week. Despite the short week, it's felt long. I've felt compelled to drive to work, as my assigned starting point for the day is well west of my usual path and I don't have much time to get from place to place.

It's been an interesting week at work, too. At the end of last week, I learned that a close friend of one of my tenants had been a sex offender, and that he had failed to register as is required of such folks. Knowledge of his past upset other tenants who, like me, learned by way of anonymous "flier under the door" means.

I took my concerns to the police department, of course. I didn't know how to handle such a thing, but figured someone there would help me. I made a phone call, was told to call someone else. Left a message for him, and he called back. After getting some information from me, he quit the call to make other calls.

Long story short, the fellow was led from the building in cuffs.

I don't feel guilty about it at all. He did what he did, was sentenced, and didn't follow the rules given him in his sentencing. I don't know any details regarding his initial offense, other than that he was required to register and inform some office of his whereabouts on a regular basis, and he failed to do so. Had he done his part, there may not have been any problem for him.

In the course of checking the security camera memory bank (hard to not use the word "film," here, as the memory is digitized), I saw images of another tenant walking the halls, about midnight, wearing nothing but his shoes.

I don't get spun up about nudity. It's not a big thing to me. I look at it as a contextual thing, in the main. In some contexts, there is absolutely nothing wrong with what some call "skyclad" as a clothing option. It's not about my personal opinion, though. In an apartment building where one could, at any moment, encounter a neighbor who is not so understanding is not such a place or agreeable context. This fellow is now looking for another place to live, as his actions are a material breach of the lease he signed.

The inspection that has had my organization in such an uproar for the last three weeks is next week. My part of the preparation is basically done, so I might get to ride to work next week.

However, I also start another teaching gig next week. The four Wednesday evenings in June, I will teach a Confident Cycling class through Bicycling for Louisville.

I also have some wedding-related projects that are far behind schedule. Back to them, and more words here at a later time.

property inspections and riding extra work routes

I was out of sorts over not riding to work of late, especially with the nice weather we've had. I finagled a way to ride on Friday of last week, and found ways to ride a few days this week as well.

I drove on Monday and Tuesday, as my 8:00 stop is way out of the way on my usual commute. Tuesday morning, I was reminded that I was to attend a conference at the Galt House that day, Wednesday and Thursday. I drove to the conference on Tuesday, but during the long lunch break found a place I could stow my bike for Wednesday's sessions. I was thus able to ride to work Wednesday--in a kilt no less--on my Raleigh (the place where I locked my bike was not suitable for the Ryan--if I had to ride the Raleigh, I was going to at least be comfortable while in the sessions).

After I got home from work Wednesday, Jenn reminded me that the Ride of Silence was that evening, so we hustled downtown (on bikes, of course) for that ride. After the ride, I wanted to go across the bridge with a group, but realized I wouldn't have time with available daylight (I was on my Strada for the evening, and it doesn't have enough lights for nighttime use), so home we went--again at a good hustle. I had a flat tire a mile from home, and it was a tire failure, so we stopped to fix it. I keep a spare tire in that bike's bag most of the time, and it was a good thing it was there that evening.

Yesterday, I rode to the Galt House again. The conference only went until shortly before lunch, at which time I realized I had left my wallet at home. I rode home to get it, and decided that I didn't really have time to ride to N'Awb'ny, so I drove over.

However, I rode to work again today--again in a kilt, again on the Raleigh. I had to attend a meeting at the Liberty Street office at 8:00, and go from there to Old Louisville to inspect some work being done before heading for N'Awb'ny for the afternoon.

Riding is much more fun than driving...

Tonight, I get to assemble at least one of the new RANS Sequoia Crank-Forward bikes. A friend custom-ordered one, and is one of those folks who prefers to trust me when it comes to finer details of bike final assembly and tuning. He also gets to combine his trip to me with a trip to a favored grocery store. It's nice to be so convenient for my friends.

Sunday riding

I held a session of Bicycling Safely, for Bicycling for Louisville, Saturday afternoon. I had four attendees (not enough to suit me, but better than the Sharing the Road I was supposed to present a few weeks ago, when NOBODY showed), and all were quite interested.

Jenn and I rode to the Louisville Bicycle Club's Ice Cream Ride today. There was a club meeting afterward, and an officers' meeting after that. All told, I got in about thirty-five miles, on the Gasato (my custom-built Bacchetta Strada). Jenn was on her Giro. On the way home, Jenn was hustling along Frankfort Avenue, and was able to get going at twenty miles an hour or better for short periods. David was at the ride, having ridden some with Tim earlier in the day.

I was glad to get out for some longer miles. I felt good at the end of the day, and was able to roll pretty well during my ride, telling me that my commuting miles are indeed helping me on the fast bike.

BIKE TO WORK DAY

Yep, today is Bike to Work Day, as observed in Louisville KY and other places.

I had to drive. I had to be in the west end by 8:00, and in Phoenix Hill by 9:00, with not enough time between commitments to ride.

I've been frustrated about this all week. Having to be at a west-end site at 8:00, then having to go WAY out of my way to get to N'Awb'ny, then having to go way out of my way for a 3:30 commitment before going home each day really stinks.

Heck with it, today, though! I tossed the Raleigh in the back of the truck, figuring I'd at least do SOME of my work-related transit by bike. I left the truck in Phoenix Hill, and once that meeting was done, rode by Fourth Street Live to say hello to Scott Render before riding on to N'Awb'ny.

It felt quite nice to ride across the bridge again. I enjoyed the ride, despite the extra stuff I was hauling (free stuff from Bike to Work celebration, my lunch, my work papers that I need to haul...).

I even got to ride to work wearing a kilt--something I wouldn't try on the Vanguard.

Bike to Work Week

Here it is, Bike to Work Week. There are observances all over the place, including some stuff happening here in Louisville.

I don't get to go to the party.

Last week, I learned that a couple of properties owned by my employer are up for inspection early next month. The properties in question MUST pass muster this time. We are in an "all hands on deck" mode to get any repairs and maintenance bugs out of the way on these properties before inspection time.

One thing coming of this is that I have to be several places during the day, with very little time to get from one to the next. In other words, I need to drive for work this week. And next week. And probably the week after.

YUCK.

I want a real job. One with real pay, real benefits, and real recognition of outside-of-job real life.

That was the week that...sucked

Yeah, I drove to work Tuesday. Wednesday, I rode the Raleigh (in office clothing) to the main office for a meeting, figuring on dealing with a little rain, but in riding clothing, for the trip across the bridge to the usual work site and for the trip home.

Got to the office in time to learn that I had gotten a voice mail telling me to be there almost an hour earlier. Got to the meeting (an hour late) and learned that we have an "all hands on deck" pre-inspection thing happening for two of our properties.

After the meeting, I had to wait for my copy of a key I would need to do my next task--placing notices in tenants' doors alerting them that I would be doing the pre-inspection in a couple days (today). Got the key, had the notices already printed, so I hopped on the bike and headed down the street.

Rain started getting a bit heavier the further I went. By the time I got to the apartment in question, it was starting to reach "shower" levels of rainfall. Naturally, the master key I was given was NOT the right one. I called my supervisor to inform him of such (politely as I could, given my frustration level at the moment), and got back on the bike to head back to the office.

On the way to the office, I changed course to go home and get dry clothing. The rain cape is not much good in heavy showers, frankly, and may be abandoned for hard commuter use. I MAY consider another one, or talking to the makers of the one I have to see if I got one that didn't get coated, for example. It is clearly NOT waterproof as I understand the term.

In any case, I got partway out on Frankfort Avenue and decided to hit a bus shelter for a break from the water pouring down my neck. I looked at the schedule, and thought I might see a bus going my way shortly to make the trip home a bit more tolerable. Sure enough, the bus arrived. I loaded my bike on the rack and got inside the bus.

While I was on the bus, my supervisor called, asking me where I was. I told him I was on my way home to get dry clothing and my car, and he said he didn't blame me. He then told me he had the correct key, that my call had made a few folks scramble a bit, and that my copy of the correct key would be where I could get it shortly afterward.

I've not been on a bike since getting home about noon Wednesday.

Yesterday and today, my travel schedule has been uncertain enough and the weather lousy enough that I felt it best to drive.

With the weird stuff happening at work, I may or may not get to ride next week. If I don't get to ride, I'll be ticked. It is Bike to Work Week, after all.

Bollocks.

Drove today

I drove my truck last night, for the first time in over a week. Jenn drove her car for our travels over the weekend--a Derby party with some friends of hers in Simpsonville on Saturday, and a family gathering at her favorite uncle's house on Sunday.

Last night, though, it was a "drive to haul bikes" situation. I was just about ready to leave the house for the New Rider clinic, and called Jenn to remind her where I'd be and let her know the dog had been for his after-work walk. She asked me if I minded hauling her bike along, so that she could meet me at the class site. As a result, I drove to the class instead of riding there.

I drove to work today, too, ending my streak at fourteen days riding to work (and there was a day in there that I didn't work--Earth Day--but rode the bike to all my activities). I have an excuse, lame though it sounds: I'm getting some tires mounted today, as the ones currently there are worn badly and are also out of balance enough that driving is unpleasant at several common speed ranges. For the times I need to use my truck, it will be a good thing to have balanced, not-so-badly worn tires.

Now I need to clear my schedule to allow fifteen or more days in a row! It will be challenging, as I am teaching on Monday nights for the rest of the summer. We'll see how it goes, though.

Oaks Day

It's almost the end of Derby Week--something of a misnomer, now, since the Derby Festival now begins two weeks before Derby Day with Thunder(ous wretched excess) Over Louisville, and has for the last fifteen or twenty years. Today is the day they hold the Kentucky Oaks, a horse race of slightly smaller stature than the Derby.

I'm old enough to remember it being simply Derby Week, however. Each day of the week had its stable events--the Mini Marathon on Saturday a week before the Derby (and the balloon race the same morning), the Bed Race on Monday, the Boat Race on Wednesday, the Pegasus Parade on Thursday, and so on. Not much business gets done in Louisville during Derby Week, although many folks try to buck the trend.

I've switched bikes every day this week--Monday, Wednesday and today I rode the Vanguard, and the Raleigh on Tuesday and Thursday. I don't know that this is some sort of trend, but who knows (or cares?). The big thing is that I haven't driven to work all week (WOOHOO!). It seems that this is the first five-days on the bike week in a LONG time.

Sadly, it may not continue. I will be teaching on Monday evenings from next week through the summer, and may need to drive just to get where I need to be by the time I need to be there with what I'll need to carry. I may be back down to four days a week on the bikes.

Wet day again

I had a meeting to attend at the main office this morning, and there is rain forecast for much of the day, so I rode the Raleigh. I'm more comfortable wearing office clothes on the Raleigh, for some reason, although I could easily do so on the Vanguard. I'm certainly more comfortable riding the Raleigh if I'm wearing regular shoes, as it has Shimano dual-use pedals (sometimes called campus pedals) that are flat on one side and have the SPD cleat system on the other. I also consider the Raleigh my rain bike, as I have a rain cape (more on that in a moment), and the cape is simply not functional on the Vanguard.

I'm a recumbent guy. I have to justify riding a wedgie bike. I don't have to justify riding a 'bent.

I've mixed feelings about the cape. In cooler weather, I think it's fairly nice to have. On a fairly warm day like today (temperatures in the upper 60s F), it gets quite warm inside that tent.

I brought a change of cycling clothes, but wore office clothing to get to Liberty Street and to N'Awb'ny from that meeting. My shirt was pretty wet, from a combination of sweat and water coming through the cape. Of course, I keep several changes of clothing at the office, so a clean dry shirt was ready at hand. I'll wear a cycling jersey and shorts for my ride home, just to be a bit more comfortable.

About the rain cape: It is billed as being waterproof material. That description is something of a moving target, in my experience. Even fairly waterproof fabrics can allow water to leach through if there is something water-absorbing against the inside of the fabric--in this case, my shirt. The object on the inside of the fabric doesn't even have to really absorb lots of water--skin can do the trick, for example--as much as simply provide a way for water to move by capillary action between it and the fabric, and it will "pull" water through the cape.

That said, my tr*^$er$ were almost totally dry when I got to the apartment building. The cape had kept rain from falling on the legs of my p@nt$. All I had to do was change shirt and footwear when I arrived.

Flat out funny

At least this title made itself.

On my way home from work, at the corner of Market and Johnson (at the main entrance to the Home of the Innocents), I entered the corner and felt my rear tire move sideways. Without falling, I wrenched the bike back upright and got out of the traffic lane, certain that I had a low tire.

Since I had done my ABC Quick Check before leaving the office, I knew that whatever had caused my tire to go down was a new problem. Rather than take the time to repair it on site, I pumped the tire up to an approximation of operating pressure and rode on, figuring I'd get at least halfway home before having to inflate it again.

I got about as far as Clifton Center, and stopped again. As I was pumping it this time, Barry stopped by to chat (saying as he stopped that he clearly didn't need to offer repair help on the level of some cyclists he has encountered). We chatted as I finished pumping my tire, then rode together as our homes are along the same route.

I had to stop again, just before reaching the Water Company's facility on Frankfort Avenue. This leak was larger than I thought, and was perhaps getting bigger.

I got home on that gush of air, though. I put the bike in a repair stand (always a good idea if one is available) and dismantled the rear tire.

Lo and behold! The shard of glass was a quarter-inch from where the last glass shard had punctured the same tube! At first, seeing the hole in the tube so close to the edge of the existing patch, I wondered whether I had, indeed, gotten the old sharp out of the tire. When I looked at the tire, I found a shard of glass in a new hole, and felt a bit better. I patched the tube, and while I had the patching stuff out patched a tube set aside for repairs and stowed it in the bike bag.


When I was at the shop, we simply changed tubes. It isn't worth shop time (at $50/hour) to try to patch tubes and have them not seal well.

When I am working on my own bike, though, I don't see a big reason to throw a tube away if it has a minor hole in it. That is why patch kits are made, after all. If I can do the repair at home, I'll patch the tube. If I have to fix one on the road, I'll usually replace the tube and patch it another time, although there are exceptions to this rule (on the Raleigh, for example, the front wheel is a pain to remove due to Raleigh-specific fork ends, so I'd probably patch it more or less in situ). I generally keep one or two tubes (or one or two for each wheel size on the Vanguard) in the on-bike repair kit along with a patch kit, in case I have a third flat.

As mentioned, the new hole was very close to the last repair I had made to this tube. I'll be interested to see how the new patch holds, given that roughly a quarter of it is on a prior patch.

I'll find out when I do my ABC Quick Check in the morning. The Raleigh is, or should be, ready to go as a back-up option should I be short on time.

Ah, the luxury of having two commuter bikes.

Another shorts to work day

It seems as if my blog is bogged down in "what did I ride to work today" posts--at least, it seems hard to generate a different title for each post. I guess part of the point of doing this blog, for me, was to create something of a diary of riding to work. I envision the ability to look back on posts and figure out how much I'm riding if I want. Or not.


Got some curiosity-based flack from a co-worker today, as I was loading my stuff into my packs. I had to attend what will be a weekly meeting at the main office, and had to change clothes for this meeting (I get fussed at for wearing "bikers' clothes, ect." (sic) to the office for meetings). I had brought some foodstuffs for lunch and snacks, and had put them in the fridge for the duration of the meeting. It took me a couple of trips from the staff break room to the area where I park my bike to get everything ready.

I park my bike in what the staff calls the "butt hutt," or the smoking area. It is outdoors, but under a roof, so the bike is protected from rain (especially helpfull when the bags are open). The co-worker in question was on a smoke break (reminding me once again how glad I am to have quit that nasty habit over twenty years ago), and opined that my trips (and changing clothes twice for a half-hour meeting) seemed a lot of trouble for riding to work. I chose to not be nasty about her colleague (my supervisor) or her manager and their unfortunate views on meeting wear (in a meeting that is not likely to be observed by tenants).

I suppose I could segue into a rant about how people who drive instead of ride for transport just don't "get it" when it comes to the different ways bicycle commuters do things. It is not an imposition for me to change clothes when I get to work, nor to do so when I prepare to leave the office. I am becoming more comfortable for the upcoming stage of my day.

As far as stopping at a grocery for snacks on my way to work being an oddity, well, I just don't know what to say. I suppose I could stock such things at home, and get them the night before (or the weekend before), and I often do just that. It just so happened that we were out of what I wanted, and my timing worked out in such a way that I could stop easily.


My "take-away" from this is that it takes a different sort of planning to ride a bike to work instead of driving. It seems to me that people don't often think about the planning they have invested in driving instead of cycling, so they think in terms of planning for cycling as being an insurmountable task for themselves. Planning for driving to work involves buying the car, insuring the car, paying taxes on the car, fueling the car, finding a place to park the car and so on. Planning for cycling involves acquiring the bike(s) and gear, finding a place to haul and/or store clothes for work, arranging a place to clean up once at (or near) the work place, and so on.

Not harder, not easier, just different. I find the cycling to work much more fun.

Rainy day again

April Showers are here. I got to work just ahead of them.

As I crossed the bridge, I enjoyed the colors in the eastern sky. This is becoming a favorite regular part of my ride to work. The quartering tailwind didn't hurt my feelings, either, although it did bode poorly for my ride home this afternoon--especially given the forecast for rain. Also as I crossed the bridge, I realized I had crossed another seasonal threshold: Today was my first day this season that I rode to work in shorts.

I stopped to grab a snack on my way to work, and while I was away from my bike, it fell over. I went outside to pick it up, and was doing so when I saw a pickup truck heading for the drive-through lane crush my front flasher that had fallen from the bike and rolled into the lane. He could easily have missed it, but I suppose the driver didn't bother to look.

Oh, well, it's an opportunity to upgrade that flasher.

I didn't want to ride the Raleigh today, but my rain gear is set up for it more than for the Vanguard. Of course, I'll get wet no matter which bike I ride, but the cape doesn't work at all on the Vanguard. My hands are still a bit tired from the yard work I did on Sunday, suggesting that my upper body muscles are out of shape. I'll have opportunity to remedy that over the summer, I'm sure.

Unlike some friends, I've not been one to keep tight records of my weight (or miles, or lots of other things). It's simply not my style to do that, although I see the value others find in doing so. I tend instead to make a mental note of the general trend, and if I like the trend, try to do things I know will continue it. It's not a terribly effective weight-loss strategy, but I've never felt strongly enough about my weight to get that serious about changing my habits to that degree.

Still, it's nice to notice a drop in weight that seems to be maintainable. Since I started casually weighing myself a few months ago, I've seen several days when my weight was under 230#, but only for a day or two. Over the last week, however, it has remained about 227#, instead of tending to be about 235#.

As I don't keep fastidious records, I cannot ascribe credit to specific changes in habit. I have reduced the amount of beer I consume by some bit, and have been riding to work more often with the better weather, and have probably eaten fewer candy bars--all of which are certainly contributing factors.

I've not done any long miles, though. I miss them. Life may keep me from riding as many of them as I'd like for a while.

...or not.

Sunday without riding

Despite the warm (hot) weather, I didn't get to ride today. Jenn and I went out to Mom's house to do some yard work.

Our wedding will be happening in my folks' house or yard, and Mom wants to spruce things up a bit (some of which needs to be done anyway, as a maintenance thing). Today's task was to remove some old overgrown shrubs and bushes (sounds like a recent presidential election), and replace them with other species.

The old stuff came out of the ground much more easily than expected--I did NOT have to get the boom on the tractor to lift the stumps out of the ground, as the spade cut enough roots that I could simply lift the stump myself. The new ones look good so far, too.

I'm also back on my own computer! A friend who gets lots of lightly-used boxes brought me one on Friday, mostly to get it out of his house. It has a faster processor than my old one, and a bit more than twice the hard drive space. It seems a bit shy on RAM, but I may have a card or two that will fit--I'll have to look at what it takes and what I have. The sound isn't working yet, but that may be an electronic switch issue. I'll tinker with it over the coming week or three and see what happens. My mother has an IDE adapter that she has allowed me to borrow, so I can go through my old hard drive and move what makes sense to keep into the "new-to-me" box.

It's an opportunity to try some different things. Mark installed Windoze XP on it (as opposed to Vista that so many people dislike), but it doesn't have the Microshaft Office Suite installed yet. I may or may not install that--if I do it would only be because some of the stuff I do frequently works best in that batch of gobbledygook coding.

On Saturday, Jenn and I rode over to Cherokee Triangle for the annual Art Fair there. It was a good time--wandering among the booths, looking at the creative and functional stuff on display. We didn't buy anything, but got a bunch of business cards for future web buying efforts. Cycling to the event got us much closer parking than many folks had to tolerate. That makes sense, since we went to the effort to get there on our own power.

Seasonal milestones

As an indicator that the weather is warming for the season, I rode to work today in short sleeves.

Yesterday morning, I wore my usual Illuminite jacket for the first leg of my ride, the five miles or so to the main office. I had a bright vest with reflective stripes with me for the remainder of the ride, as I was wearing a dark brown shirt and wanted to be more visible (as opposed to risible).

Today, though, I had a peep at the weather forecast site, and saw that the temperature was over sixty (F). That is usually my threshold for short sleeves on the bike, and it was nearing my threshold for shorts instead of tights (I like to keep my knees a bit warmer for some reason). Short-sleeve jersey time!

On a related note, I wore sunglasses the entire morning ride on Thursday, and in doing so left the clear lenses at home. I was wishing I had had them with me on the way home, as it was pretty cloudy (and rainy in spots). Oh, well. I wore the clear lenses most of the way to work this morning, changing to sunglasses when I made a stop for a morning snack shortly before arriving at the office.

As I've noted, the sky colors that I get to see as I cross the bridge are quite pretty. I enjoyed the colors again this morning.

The blossoms of the fruit trees have been replaced by leaves, and the dogwoods have been blooming for several days now.

Spring is truly here.

Engage EnJenn, or in the words of Paul Harvey, "The Rest of the Story"

A few weeks ago, I did some work on a friend's bike. It was an extensive overhaul, but one that didn't fully address all the problems found for budgetary reasons. At any rate, I took it home, as he was going to pick it up there instead of at the shop. I had Jenn ride it, to assure myself that I wasn't sub-consciously compensating for some minor adjustment, and that it was indeed working as I wanted.

She came back from her short test-ride, and exclaimed, "I'm done with the bikeE." A couple days later, we picked out her new bike--a Bacchetta Giro 26. We are gradually adding doo-dads to make it her primary commuter rig (fenders, light mounts, rack, etc.).

As I mentioned in the description of that day at the shop, I was also building a wheel for David. As I was preparing to assemble that wheel, Jenn sidled up to the work bench and told me that she had a question for me, but that I had to promise not to be upset with her for asking it. I replied that I couldn't guarantee such, as I didn't know what the question was going to be.

After a few rounds of "you have to promise to not be upset" and "I don't know what the question is going to be," she asked me to marry her.

I was all but speechless for a bit, and so distracted that I laced David's wheel incorrectly, and didn't recognize my mistake until I got the wheel into the truing stand! I dismantled the wheel, sorting the spokes as I went, and started again. After getting almost all the spokes in the drive side, I realized that my spoke count was off, and that the spokes would have to be resorted yet another time. I told Jenn that since she had gotten me so distracted, she was going to have to help sort spokes this go-round.

Once I finally got the wheel laced to suit my standards, I started tightening the spokes. Jenn had been digging around in the store shelves looking for accessories for her new bike, so I called her over and said, "Sure."

Shortly after, she told me we were even. She didn't feel that it would be appropriate to run and jump around in the store with glee since nobody else in the store was to be informed of the decision (each of us had an order of who we wanted to tell, of course).

The lunch at my folks' place was, in part, to celebrate our engagement. Jenn's folks came to our house that evening for dessert and some socializing, and we told them at that time. We told her daughters the next day (the younger one claimed she already knew, of course--she knew Jenn wanted her to keep a certain date open, and suspected why, but didn't know whether I would agree to the whole thing).

As mentioned parenthetically, I had a list of friends I wanted to tell in person before I went blabbing about it online. I think I've gotten to most of them, but I'm sure I've forgotten one or two. I doubt that they are reading my blog, though, so they may still be surprised when I tell them.

Yes, it is a surprise to anyone who has known me for any length of time. I've never been married before. Indeed, I rarely really thought I would find someone to marry, although I came close a couple of times (and soon after, realized what a mistake at least one of those times would have been).

That last comment was not entirely fair to either of the women involved. Both were good people, and were good to me. I was the one who figured out that at least for me, it would have been a bad choice to get married, and it took time for me to work up the courage to break their hearts. Both have moved on with their lives--one got married about ten years ago, I think, and as far as I know they are still married, the other is dating someone now, and from what I'm hearing through the grapevine they are quite happy with one another. I wish them all the best, of course.

Anyway, there is much planning and deciding to be done over the next few months. We asked my sister to perform the ceremony, and she graciously agreed (perhaps enthusiastically would be a better word). The ceremony will probably be fairly small, but the guest list for the reception or other party could get quite long.

This is what I meant when I responded to David's announcement that he and Kristy are engaged with, "There must be something in the water." Next thing I know, another friend will announce (no bets on who--most of my friends are married or happily divorced).

Now you know, well, you get the picture!

Where has the week gone?

I realized I hadn't made any entries since Monday, even though I'm trying to treat this as my own diary of sorts.

The weather has been tolerable to grand for cycling to work. I got a bit wet on the home-bound trip Tuesday, but not so bad I couldn't just ride.

I took Wednesday off from work to allow myself the luxury of presenting at a local high-school's Earth Day celebrations. This was on invitation from a teacher there who knows Barry Zalph. I had opportunity to present the 30-minute "Share the Road" presentation assembled by Barry and others under the Bike Louisville/Bicycling for Louisville partnership.

After two runs through the presentation, I spent an hour or two in the front parking lot of the school, talking about transportation options, recumbent bicycles as such an option, and my Vanguard in particular as well as how I utilize bicycles in my own transport plan. I got lots of questions from students and faculty, and opportunities to do a little myth-dispelling as well as chances to offer my own semi-formed opinions.

It was fun, and it sure as heck beat a day at the office.

Afterward, I went to my Chiropractor for a periodic adjustment. I didn't feel bad, but figured I would feel better after he did his tricks. I was right. I'm much more flexible today, and my ride to work reflected that.

I wound up riding the Raleigh today, despite the good weather. I had a training session at the main office, and didn't remember whether it was an all-day session or part-day. I figured that I could ride the Raleigh while wearing office clothes, as the weather is so nice, so when I learned that I would have the second half of the day in my regular office, it became a "cross the bridge in slacks" day.

I have since learned that I will be presenting the short "Share the Road" session this evening. I'll need to haul butt home, get my car, and drive to J-town.

Tomorrow, I may even get a replacement for my computer that hasn't worked since mid-February.

Short haul Monday

I had a training session to attend at the main office today, so didn't have to cross the bridge. I got a little wet on the way to work, but the cycling clothes got dry enough during the day that they were not clammy for the ride home.

I'm back on the Ryan, after riding the Raleigh most of last week. I'm not sure why I rode the Raleigh Tuesday and Wednesday, other than I felt like it, although it could be that the last time I had ridden the Vanguard I really felt the chain wear I noticed Wednesday the 8th, after the Powerlink came apart on me partway home. That chain was sloppy-loose!

I replaced that chain last night, and measured it just for grins. My Park Tool Chain Checker gave it a .75 on a 0-1.0 scale, and the literature provided claims that a chain measuring .75 is okay to use. That chain has somewhere between six and eight thousand miles on it, and has a lot of lateral flex usually associated with a worn-out chain, so I put new parts on the bike (including the cassette, which I habitually change with my chain if I only use one cassette on the bike). I noted a bit of inaccuracy in the shifting today that didn't show up in the stand last night, and will have to look at it in a bit.

When I got home tonight, I decided that it was past time for the lawn's second mowing of the season. Jenn mowed it a few weeks ago--yes a few weeks. It had gotten too tall in places, and took a fair bit of over-and-back with the mower to cut things down. At least the mower is quiet--it's a reel mower, after all. I like how quiet it is! The grass was also a bit wet still, and didn't cut as well as it might otherwise. The yard looks a lot better, now, anyway. With the next cutting, it should start to take better shape. I also have a "weed whip," the better to scythe the stuff that the mower won't cut, but it's (of course) not sharp at all (it was bought new), and won't cut well until I take the blade off and work it over with a bench grinder for a bit.

It feels odd for me to write about yard work. I LOATHED yard work as a teen. I'm still not fond of it--there are MANY things I'd rather do. However, I admit to some satisfaction when I get the weekly mowing done, even if I don't do all the trimming. Something about doing it with human power (remember that I mentioned ours is a reel mower) instead of using a gas-powered mower (or even an electric one) that yields a bit of reverse snobbery, perhaps--I can cut my grass ANY time of day or night without making noise to aggravate the neighbors (although cutting it at night may give odd-looking results...). As small as my yard is, the time difference between using a power mower and this reel mower is minimal, and the perceived effort difference is pretty small as well, although the perception of the effort required with a power mower is based purely on memory--I've not used a power push mower in years.

I may be mowing at my folks' house some this summer, however, and since the section I'd be mowing is something like three or four acres, I'll be using the tractor-pulled 5' mower deck.

Thunder thoughts

A few random thoughts about Thunder(ous wretched Excess) Over Louisville:

Bike Louisville and Bicycling for Louisville have teamed to have bicycle parking for Thunder attendees this year. Sadly, I won't be using it, but not because I don't like the idea. I am quite supportive of the concept, but the friends with whom I will be attending Thunder are from out of town, and we don't have enough bicycles for them to partake. There is also the issue of one member of our party having some bone trouble that precludes cycling...

Indeed, were it not for these out of town friends coming for Thunder, I probably would not go. I went last year, with mostly the same group. It was the first year I'd been there since probably 1995 or -96. At that time, I could walk there from my apartment in Old Louisville, and could get away with carrying more of my personal supplies so as not to pay $5 for a pint of water (okay, so $5 is a slight exaggeration--it was probably $4). Waiting out the post-Thunder traffic jam is expensive--although it's certainly more fun to sit in a restaurant and eat than sit in the car breathing exhaust fumes.

I'll go, and I'll enjoy the people-watching. Despite my reservations about the attendant pollution issues and warmongering issues, I will enjoy the air show. I would prefer that the fireworks displays be drawn out a bit more--same number of shells over an hour instead of thirty minutes--to enjoy the effects of single shells more before the next shell blows up in the middle of the starburst from the prior one, but my attention span is ever-so-slightly longer than that of the average Thunder attendee. I'm likely to be less inebriated than many, too.

Even though we have a supply of locally-made ale for the event.

Thunder eve day

I mentioned yesterday that I took advantage of the the Kentucky Derby Festival's shuttle service to cross the Clark Bridge on my way home from work. I used the service again this morning, and again it went as advertised. I am compelled to give a shout out to the KDF again and THANKS AGAIN.

And, for probably the first time in MONTHS, I found it more comfortable to wear sunglasses on my way to work, compared to the clear lenses I typically wear when riding in the mornings.

THANKS to KDF

I made use of the shuttle service mentioned in my last post today on my way home. The driver was most polite, and showed up just as I was getting to the police officer to request a shuttle.

A heartfelt THANK YOU to the Kentucky Derby Festival for offering this service this year. I sincerely hope it continues, given that the Clark Bridge is the only legal river crossing for bicycles and pedestrians for some forty or fifty miles along the river. The ten-minute wait advertised (mine was nearer zero minutes) is far better than the wait one would expect relying on TARC's schedules.

Greatly appreciated!

Taxing days, and Thunder test

In the grand tradition of procrastinators everywhere, I put off doing my taxes until the last minute--almost literally.

I had to pay a bunch extra this year, taking a penalty for drawing from my retirement funds to pay off some debts that were about to swallow me. I thought I had given instructions for there to be withholding added to my drawdown, but it was not done that way. OUCH.

We left the house with the paper returns, aiming for the Crittenden Drive Post Office well after my target departure time of 8:30. When we got to Crittenden Drive, traffic was backed up to the Fairgrounds entrances. Jenn was driving (I was writing the checks in the car...), so I suggested that she take the left lane, get to the traffic light at the post office, and I would run from the car to the drop point, saving several minutes of sitting in traffic.

We started on that path, and found a disabled car in the right lane, causing much of the back up. Once past that car, we were able to simply drive in to the post office parking lot. I got out of the car to take my returns to the drop point, and tossed them into the pile the postal workers were accepting. I got back in the car, we drove around the parking lot to the exit, and watched them wheeling the cart full of returns toward the building. I don't know if they brought out another cart. If not, I made it by the thickness of a couple of hen's teeth.

Lesson of the day: My tax returns are getting more complex than they were for many years. I had gotten spoiled--I used to be able to do my taxes in about fifteen minutes, prepare for a Federal refund of $350-400, pay the state about $100, and go on with life. Not any more.

On to other topics. On my way to work this morning, as I crossed the Clark Bridge, I saw several emergency vehicles with their lights going and sirens in full song, trying to get to a crash site on the southbound side of the Kennedy (-I65) bridge. Motorists had done what they would do--try to get to work or wherever by any means possible, not realizing that they were going to be in the way of emergency responders and positioning themselves in ways that prevented or severely delayed passage of ambulances and police cars and fire trucks. There is no viable shoulder on that bridge (nor is there one on most bridges around here), so there was not a separate lane for emergency vehicles to use.

Of course, with southbound interstate traffic at a standstill, many folks were opting for the Clark Bridge. As a result, I was unable to make my customary left turn at the light at the north end of the bridge and had to go around the base. That light sensor doesn't recognize a bicycle as a legitimate road user, something I've written to Jeffersonville to try to address. Given that the light doesn't notice me (I don't have enough lead in my behind, I guess), I consider the light as malfunctioning and go after a reasonable wait, which still usually saves me time compared to going around the base of the bridge.

I mentioned in a prior post that Barry Zalph and others had gotten the Kentucky Derby Festival to recognize need for a shuttle across the bridge during the preparations for Thunder(ous wretched excess) Over Louisville this weekend. I get to test the shuttle service this afternoon. While I'd rather ride my Vanguard, I am making my part of the concession by riding my Raleigh, figuring that whatever bike-carrying mechanism they have won't accept the longer recumbent. I'm looking forward to it working well. I'm sure others will have some experience with it as well--if I see other reports, I will try to link to them.

As I climbed the ramp to the bridge this morning, I noticed a wire attached to the railing that had not been there the day before. I also noticed a series of brackets mounted to the railing that I presume to be part of the Thunder fireworks set up.

I used to enjoy the Thunder show. It still has some fun elements--watching some of the people in the crowd make fools of themselves is amusing, for example, and some of the shells make interesting and pretty patterns in the sky--but since I moved from Old Louisville in 1999, I've been less interested in dealing witht the traffic and "population density" (not always measured in people per square unit area). When I lived on Fourth Street, I could easily walk to the waterfront for the show, and did a few times.

Over the years, though, Thunder has focused so much on being the biggest, noisiest show using the most shells of any ongoing event that they are firing off shells before the effects of the prior ones have had a chance to complete their displays. It's too rapid-fire for me. I would find it far more enjoyable if they would stretch it out for another half hour with the same number of shells, giving us more time to enjoy each individual display before it's disrupted by the next one. I suppose, though, that the way they do it is somehow more to the liking of what I imagine Travis McGee calling the New American, with the minute attention span and love for destructive energy and little patience for enjoying a single thing for a few moments longer.

This without starting to address the ecological disaster that is Thunder: all the junk in the air from all those explosives, and the tons of junk left on the ground in the viewing areas by careless spectators (even though there are garbage and recycling bins all over the place, those are over-filled by mid-afternoon most years). It takes days for squadrons of volunteers to clean up the mess left behind. It's a depressing sight, to be sure.

Jenn talked me into going last year, and I found that if I'm with a small group of friends, Thunder is more tolerable. Some friends of ours are coming from Dayton, Ohio again this year, and we are going to hang out with them for the day. The weather forecast is much better this year, and we're looking forward to that aspect of it. I don't have to buy the over-priced swill that they claim is beer (I can get a "growler" of real beer and repackage it), nor the over-priced junk trinkets or junk food, although that helps support the event. I can just be there, socializing with friends, enjoying the reaction of ignorant twits to seeing two guys in kilts, quite comfortable in our masculinity (and quite willing to toss a twit or two if need be).

Class for tonight canceled

I was supposed to teach another of the series of Confident Cycling classes tonight. As there were no registrations to date, the class has been canceled, and walk-ins will not be accepted.

Of course, with the class plans in mind, I drove to be able to haul a bike stand and class materials in case things went through as scheduled.

I'm a little glad about that, though, given the intensity of the precipitation and wind at the moment.

Maybe tomorrow will yield better riding weather.

Saturday (not) in the Park

One of my all-time favorite comics, Yehuda Moon, ended today. The writer, Rick Smith, apparently ran out of time to continue making the strip on a daily basis.

He must have wanted to ride more. Yeah, that must be it.

In any case, Jenn and I enjoyed the LBC "Slow and Easy" ride again this morning. The second half of the route got changed due to some other event (a ten-mile run that is part of the "Triple Crown" of local foot racing, I think) and its related street closures, but it was still good to get out on the bike for a while. My quads weren't happy with me for the first fifteen or twenty miles, but after a while they loosened up and I started feeling better--at least until I got tired. I'm not as accustomed to going over twenty miles at a pop as I usually am, since most of my riding these days is my thirteen-mile commute twice a day. I need to ride for fun more often.

Since I collected my truck yesterday, I didn't have to ride home in the rain that kept falling as the evening progressed. I had to go to Crestwood to work on a bike, and driving there is always quicker than cycling to the shop. I had the Raleigh in the bed of my truck, so it got something of a rinse-off while I traveled. One wouldn't know it to look at it, though, suggesting that maybe soap or at least a sponge or brush would have helped get the road crud off the chainstay and frame tubing. I need to get around to cleaning and repacking the crank and wheel bearings on that bike at some point, too. Maybe I'll do that after I get some paper (or electronic paper) work done.

Wet fried-day morning

After riding to work four days this week (well, I rode from the garage yesterday morning), I drove today. I did have to ride the bike to the garage to get my car, so I guess it counts for four full commutes, even if part of one commute was done on a different bike (I used the Raleigh to get to the garage today).

Jenn's youngest daughter is home from college for the weekend. We didn't know she was coming home until she was already on her way here, in keeping with an almost-nineteen-year-old's normal behavior patterns.

I have to go to Crestwood this evening to do some bike work. I also need to collect some parts to replace the worn chain and cassette on my Vanguard.

I'm teaching a class Monday evening, so I'll need to drive (or leave work early and rush home then drive to the class site). I expect to spend most of the Saturday morning club ride in conference with the other instructor.

Partial commute

Since I get paid tonight, and since my conversation with the company that will be fixing my truck revealed that it may take them two days to get the work done, I left my truck at their lot this morning on my way to work. It's a few blocks from my employer's main office, and a few more blocks out of my typical morning commute path.

Hopefully they can simply replace the perch without having to install a new bushing in the spring eye. Given the amount of rust in the perch, it's hard to predict.

Being without my truck is only a minor inconvenience for me, as I like riding a bike to get places. It was good that at least one car was roadworthy Monday evening, though--I hate the thought of hauling an ill cat the nine miles to the vet's office--I'd probably have found a closer one in that case, although I've always had very good service from the one we've been using. Finding a closer vet would still not have dealt with getting Al's body to Mom's for burial--a round trip of some thirty-five or forty miles, the last twenty of which would have been in dark conditions.

In other words, I'm not quite ready to go car-free. I reduce reliance on my car when I can reasonably do so. It's a choice for me--part pragmatism, part simply that I'd rather by groceries than gasoline (and insurance, and more frequent replacement of wear parts, etc).

I am ready for some down time, but I don't expect to get much for a while. I have a couple of deadlines to meet, and one I've already blown.

Almost another four-crossing day

I rode to work on the Vanguard today. I stopped at the corporate office to pick up some supplies I had ordered, as I couldn't haul the whole lot yesterday.

Shortly after I got to my office in N'Awb'ny, I got a call from my supervisor, informing me that I was to be at the main office at 9:30 for a training session. Mindful of some conversations in the recent past about my attire that I don't wish to drag out here, I asked if it would be best for me to bring a change of clothes, since I was on two wheels rather than four. I was told that, yes, a change of clothes would be in order.

I had tweaked my back a bit recently, exacerbating some pain that had been developing simply as a function of being relatively sedentary in my job. I've been walking around like an old fogey the last few days. I've started doing my exercises again, and they are helping, but it takes time to recover just as it takes time to get worse.

With that in mind, the Maintenance Tech who works for me insisted that I borrow his car for the round trip to the main office. I opted to accept his offer, as it would prevent me having to change clothes twice and give me more time on either end of the meeting to do things in my own office.

I keep advising folks to have a chain tool and a chain-appropriate length of repair links in the tool bag, but I need to learn to follow my own advice. I had a chain break while on my way home tonight, and it was shortly after the nearest two bike shops were probably closed for the evening. Jenn was close to another shop that was open, so she was good enough to get a link for me and bring it to me. By the time she got to me, I had the chain rethreaded in the bike and ready to simply connect with the new link.

It got me to thinking about how long that chain has been on that bike. It's past time for new chain and cassette, so I've ordered replacements and will mount them this weekend. I don't remember what the mileage was at the time, but the current chain has been on the bike since early 2001, and likely has eight thousand miles on it. There were a couple years in there that the bike didn't get a ton of use, as most of my club miles were on the Bacchetta and I was only a mile from work, which counter the thousand or three miles I've put on the bike in the last year.

I guess if I kept detailed records on this sort of thing, I could make definitive statements rather than generalizations. Part of it is that when I was working on bikes all the time, I wanted to ride my bike rather than work on it. I often let little maintenance stuff slide on my own bikes, just because I didn't feel like spending time working on ANY bike at the moment. I can usually deal with little stuff as I ride.

However, I will have a chain tool in the tool bag on both bikes from now on (I have one, but it is aboard the other bike). I have spare links at home, and will now have some on the bike as well.

Snow? We don't need no stinking snow!

The forecast snow didn't happen. My ride to work this morning was dry, if my eyes were not totally so.

I have learned that the repairs to my truck will not be something for which I have the equipment--that perch is riveted to the frame, and the rivets are hardened steel in many cases. It will likely cost me about $250 to have it fixed.

The truck will sit in the driveway until I can pay to get the work done, probably later this week.

Then I get to work on resolving my home computer woes. Two friends have offered replacement boxes, and I think my hard drive is still serviceable.

The Ryan is riding quite well these days, thank you very much.

Requiem for a Qat

Aloysius Ebenezer Qat, Esquire came to me in the spring of 1996. Here, he's on top of one of our cat towers:

I was working for a company that sold mid-scale backyard storage buildings (we called them “Yard Barns”). We had been feeding a stray cat that was something of a mascot—Delam (as in delaminating plywood) was his name. Delam was an old tomcat—his favorite things were food, fighting and f*@$ing, in no particular order—and he had the scars and abscesses to prove it.

One day, a young cat followed Delam to our workshop and yard. He was a timid, feral thing—dirty, fearful of humans—but an attractive kitten of some six months’ age. Over time, we calmed him to the point that he would allow pets while he ate the food we provided. He discovered that pets felt good, and we discovered that he had a big, loud purr. He was a poor kitten, without the exotic toys like manufactured toy mice, but it didn’t keep him from playing—during a builders’ meeting, I saw him playing in the yard with a piece of gravel as cats will with toy mice, much as kids of so many generations used shirred rocks and brickbats for sandlot baseball games.

Not wanting him to face the same health problems of his mentor, I captured him and took him to be neutered and inoculated. He was too nice a cat to be dealing with the abscesses and battle scars, and one cat that smelled as bad as Delam did was too many.

Surprisingly, I learned that this cat had a clean bill of health. I fell prey to his endearing purr and fondness for attention and took him home with me.

It didn’t take long for me to figure out his name, given his humble beginnings. Aloysius Ebenezer Qat, Esq. (commonly called Al E. Qat) quickly showed himself to be the best-behaved, nicest, sweetest orange-and-white cat I have ever encountered. His purr was audible at thirty feet in a fairly quiet room. His love of a game of string was such that it proved that all cats are hard-wired for the joy. He was a master at a game our family calls “mouse bop,” in which the cat perches on a level surface three or four feet from the floor and toy mice are tossed vertically near that surface. The cat swats the mice to the floor much as a volleyball player spikes the ball over the net, unless he’s able to get a claw in the toy’s fur and collect it on the tower platform.

Last summer, Al E Qat developed feline diabetes. I almost lost him then. We began a regimen of daily insulin shots followed by a few cat treats (crunchy Pounce, just about any flavor, thank you very much). I could call his name, and he’d come trotting to the cat tower for his shot and treats. Al had always understood rituals—one had been that every time I came home, he would get a session of pets and treats on his tower.

This past Saturday, Al did not get out of bed for his shot. He clearly felt a bit worse than usual. He had had little appetite for treats the day before. We took him to the vet, who diagnosed some dehydration, a heart murmur that was new, took a blood sample, and sent him home. Sunday was a good day for Al. He was eager for his periodic treats, leaning almost off the edge of his tower to show me how much he wanted some.

Monday morning was a different story. He got off the bed at the usual time, but when I called him for his shot and treat ritual, he was not to be seen. I found him hiding under the living room sofa, clearly not feeling well at all.

Jenn’s workplace is closer to our veterinarian than mine, so she took him in for further diagnosis. When the vet called me in the afternoon, she had gotten the blood test results and had time to look at them. Al’s kidneys were failing and the heart murmur was found to be the harbinger of one of the old cat heart diseases. She felt he could come home, so Jenn brought him home when she got off work.

When he got home, Al seemed unwilling or unable to raise his head to really look around himself. His breathing was labored at best. I couldn’t bring myself to keep him at home, clearly in distress and clearly not wanting to go on with such a life. I hated to put him through a third car trip in one day, but the overriding thought was that I absolutely could not make him suffer any longer.

As we—Jenn, one of the vet techs, the vet and I--stood around Al in the exam room, comforting ourselves, each other, and Al, he finally settled down from the stress of the car trip enough to start purring. It was heart-breaking to hear, as it was a quiet version of his biggest loudest purr—one that included some vocalization that sounded almost as a trill inside the purr. We have chosen to believe that he was saying it was okay, that he understood my decision to put him out of his misery and that he knew his job keeping me company had come to an end.

Al is buried in the family cat graveyard at my mother and stepfather’s house. As has been my custom for the last several cats I’ve buried, I put some of his favorite toys in the grave with him. My sister was there, and tossed in a few cat treats. Jenn was there, and helped me fill the hole in the ground, as she too was smitten by Al’s endearing ways, and as we will help each other fill the void in our lives left by his passing.

As with all the cats I’ve buried, I miss him terribly. He had a great thirteen years with me, and I with him.

Snow?

It's Kentucky, and it can snow on Derby Day, so I shouldn't be surprised that the weather forecasters are calling for snow showers later today. Hopefully the overnight freeze they are also predicting won't kill too many crops or foliage.

What do I do when there is forecast for snow? Ride the Vanguard to work.

I also hope it doesn't put ice in the way of my riding to work this week. My truck is out of commission for a while.

I had it out for a bit yesterday, and the rear end felt as if the spring was very weak. I also heard a thump of something hitting the underside of the bed a few times. Turns out the perch (for lack of the proper name) that connects the leaf spring to the frame has rusted to the point of failure.

It should be a relatively simple fix, if a bit difficult. I haven't poked around enough to know whether it's riveted to the frame or bolted. If it's just bolts, I may be able to fix it myself, after getting replacement parts at a salvage yard. If it's rivets or huckbolts, it may be a bit more difficult to do. I'll figure it out over the next few days, I suppose.

It's not like I have bags of money to throw at this problem, either. One of my cats has developed some new medical problems, and $240 worth of diagnostics and fluid replenishment later we took him home. He was good yesterday, but was having trouble breathing this morning. He's bak at the veterinarian's office today for some help. Who knows how much more that bill will be...

On the positive side: a friend gave us tickets to see Wild Blessings, the performance at Actors' Theater highlighting the poetry and imagery of Wendell Berry. I HEARTILY encourage folks to see this work.

Jenn took her new bike for its first club ride appearance Saturday morning, on the "slow and easy" ride out of Waterfront Park. Aside from some foot pain we haven't diagnosed (we're working on that), she had a good ride. Anyone want a BikeE RX? She has one for sale. A friend has first refusal, but I've not heard anything from him in a while. He has probably been too busy driving back and forth across the countryside to make a decision. I'm sure I'll hear from him soon.

And so it goes.

I almost got drenched

On my way home last night, I stopped by a barbeque joint for a sandwich. I enjoy good BBQ, and this was fair to good if not great.

I got about a block closer to the house when the skies opened. I pulled into a convenience store that had a canopy over its gas pumps, but the wind was pushing the water in on me there, so I moved to the shelter of the storefront while I retrieved the cape from one of my panniers. Of course, by the time I got home it had stopped raining.

I was scheduled to assistant-teach a Confident Cycling class last night, but the weather influenced the instructors to change the course line up a bit--a good idea to be sure, as we had a thunder show a short while after class started. I stayed for the class anyway, and got to wear my cape for the ride home in the steady shower we were still getting.

I have to do some stuff at the bike shop this evening, so I drove to work today. I have yet another wheel to build--this one a replacement rim for one I built some years ago but that has since started cracking around some of the spoke holes.

Uh-oh, the paper has another cars vs bikes war in the forum

The local news outlet has an article today on the City's plans for a bike-station-like-facility (Bikestation, in one word or two, is a trademarked term).

This thing was announced about six weeks ago, on the day of the Bike Summit II. Barry made a blog entry about it a few days later that neatly sums his objections to having such a facility.

Since I ride to work fairly often, and appreciate just about anything that will get more folks to ride instead of driving. In those terms, I am in favor of spending the money to improve the infrastructure vis-a-vis cycling usage. I would rather see the money spent toward getting the Big Four and K&I Bridges open to cross-river cycle traffic, for example, or to improving sight lines and safety at problem intersections and rail crossings (the rail crossing at Frankfort Avenue in the Clifton area comes readily to mind). Let's find improvements that will help more than just those who work in the business district.

Like many, I see little direct benefit in this. My commute would be split roughly in half by such a stop, so I cannot imagine myself getting much use out of it. I doubt the bike service option in such a facility would be of much use to me, either--I already pass within a block or two of three or four bike shops on my route.

For my own part, I rode the Vanguard Tuesday and Wednesday, and in light of the impending rain this evening rode the Raleigh this morning (and have the rain cape in the bag for the trip home). I will likely drive tomorrow, as I have several errands that will require faster travel than I can accomplish on the bike and may involve larger cargo than I'm set up to carry on either bicycle.

Tuesday 31 March

It's hard to believe that the year is a quarter over already! March has been a month of surprises for me--some good, some not as much.

The not as much usually involved weather, although there was a small matter at work that still has me aggravated.

There have been some good surprises as well, though. Again, some of those good surprises involved weather--I've enjoyed some pretty sunrises during my treks to work, and have had pleasant afternoon rides home in short sleeves (and a couple in short pants!). Decorative fruit trees are in bloom all around us, and it's been fun to see almost bare trees one day and realize that overnight it burst into bloom. It's almost as if a switch had been thrown--spring is indeed here.

I have lots to do in the coming months--both at work and with various bicycle organizations. I also want to ride a lot more.

But not tonight. There is a birthday celebration I must help make happen. Jenn's oldest daughter is a year older today. It should be fun!

Again, we do this!

It's another work week. Yee hah!

Actually, the weekend was pretty exciting. Talking about planning the day Saturday, Jenn told me she was ready to get a new bike. I had planned to go to the bike shop on Friday to pick up parts for David's wheel, on my way to a social event I wanted to attend in LaGrange. When I got to the house to get my truck (I had ridden to work, as you may recall), Jenn told me she wasn't in much of a socializing mood, things were going weird around the house, and so on, so I stayed home.

She went with me Saturday morning, and I built the wheel at the store instead of at home. While there, she test-rode the Bacchetta Giro 26 on the sales floor, as it was one of the target bikes for her next mount. We now have a sixth bike in our stable. Over the next week or so, we'll be rigging this bike to be her primary commuter (saving the Peugeot for rainy days), with fenders, rack(s), lights and what-not, as well as having it be her club-ride bike as she gains comfort and speed on it.

On the way home, we stopped at my folks' house for some much-needed family time, a bit to eat, and general enjoyment of good vibes.

I brought David's wheel home with me, so he could pick it up at the house instead of having to drive all the way to Crestwood (not that he hasn't been driving a lot of late already...).

Yesterday was to be a ride the bike day, but the weather was below "fun ride" minima. It's one thing to commute thirteen miles (or a couple miles while using the bus for the bulk of the distance, as Jenn can do) in rainy, windy conditions, but it's another entirely to ride for fun in such weather. Instead, we worked on the house a while. Jenn wants to have a dressing room in the basement, to make it easier for her to keep the bedroom looking as she wants it. I roughed in and connected some lights for one area of the space in question as the younger daughter started hanging the old doors that will be the room partition (her "bedroom"--by her choice when we took the house--is in the basement, and she had been given the choice of making the "walls" out of old doors. We finally made some headway on the project, and she was eager to participate in making it happen).

It was a rush-around project getting going this morning, and I was late enough that I drove to work. I have a work-related court appearance later today, so dressing at the house was not a bad thing.

The court thing won't be fun--eviction proceedings never are, regardless of the outcome. I feel bad for my tenant, but I've done all I could to stave off the inevitable.

Five days, four rides, and some random thoughts

For the fourth time in five days, I rode to work this morning. I've ridden the Vanguard to work three times this week, the Raleigh once, and driven once. While I'd prefer to not drive, riding four days a week beats heck out of driving four days a week.

I was talking to my mother about my teaching experience of last Sunday, and it occurred to me that I was teaching some folks who had years--decades, even--of cycling experience, yet who did not know some basic tenets of intersection safety that every road user should know. I was surprised a bit to think about how much there is to do if we as bicycle educators are to overcome these hurdles. However, part of it is the dearth of proper driving education in general and part of it is the lack of retraining or periodic testing of knowledge of road use law. There are probably other factors, as well.

Trying to do my part, I've thought about it a bit and have added an item or two to my personal checklist for teaching intersection safety and lane choice criteria.

If I can find a diagram somewhere, or figure out how to create one that I can link here, I'll come back and edit this to include it. I'll attempt to describe my primary beef, though: When turning left onto a one-way street, many folks want to almost go straight until they reach the rightmost lane of the destination street, THEN turn left. The proper way (taught in driver education programs, as well as bike ed classes) is to turn left into the lane corresponding with the lane where you were, i.e. if you were in the right of two left-turn lanes, you would be in the second lane from the left side of the new street. THEN you begin the process of scan/merge, scan/merge, etc. to reach the rightmost lane. This allows for folks who disobey the traffic control device to have room to pass you (un)safely, and gives other road users following you into and through the intersection time to respond to you more safely. It also give YOU time to deal with other road users and their actions more safely, as a general rule. As always, be prepared to do other things as situations dictate.

I'll also use this as another excuse to link to Bicyclesafe.com, Michael Bluejay's site discussing ways to avoid doing a helmet test. I've mentioned before that I agree with almost all of Bluejay's points, although I would have put some of them in different order to imply more stress by primacy. He has some differences of opinion with Effective Cycling "dogma," too, which are fairly interesting. I guess I take EC with a grain of salt, figuring that real-world experience had already shown me that some things trump the mantra of, "Bicyclists fare best when we act and are treated as drivers of vehicles," as I don't seem to respond as vehemently as some who have emailed him. I wonder sometimes if it isn't so much ado over small details, and if the energy would not be better directed toward riding our bikes. Maybe the debating is the entertainment.

Rain, rain, go away

It's springtime in the Ohio River Valley, thus we have frequent rainy days. I bought a rain cape to wear when on the bike, and it works reasonably well, but it does not change the fact that I'm not over-fond of riding in the rain. I rode yesterday, and the rain was probably worse Wednesday morning than it is this morning--especially with the wind--but I wasn't interested in coping with two days in a row of riding in the rain. I drove today.

It was dry for my ride home yesterday, and supposedly will be dry this afternoon.

When I got home yesterday, Jenn had been making good things happen in the house. Even before I unlocked the garage to put away my bike, I heard the dog wimpering in his excitement that I was home--Jenn knew I was home before she saw me, as the dog rushed past her getting to the back of the house. It was pretty funny.

We were out of cat food, so Jenn and I rode to the nearest Feeders Supply to restock. While there, we got a new tag so that if the dog gets loose again, someone can get in touch with more people to enable his return home. I like to ride with Jenn when we do errands--and it sure beats driving for errands when within a mile or two of the house.