ups and downs weekend

The weekend got off to a great start, as Friday was my birthday. Dinner was at Mom's (not the restaurant--the house), with roast prime rib, great vegetables, and birthday cake! I got an assortment of cool things from my family--books to read, a new kilt, a set of prints from Williamsburg VA to hang on the wall, a desk clock in a block of wood my stepfather made and finished, some board games, and of course, birthday cake. Did I mention the cake?

I mentioned that Jenn and I both had colds last week. Friday, Jenn got tired of not being able to sleep, and got her doctor to prescribe something to help her. Jenn got some sleep Friday night, thus improving HER weekend tremendously (and mine, as I want her to be able to sleep well...).

Saturday was something of a chores day--neither of us had been up to doing much around the house recently, so we got some cleaning and reorganizing done. The place looks MUCH better now. Work spilled over into Sunday, but was done enough by the afternoon that I got to ride the short (25-mile) club ride before hosting a meeting of education volunteers to discuss plans for the upcoming season. Afterward, I went out (on the Ryan) to do some errands--hit the post office box, stop at Whole Foods and Kroger for some foodstuffs--and enjoy being home for a bit before going to bed.

The Raleigh is out of service for the moment, so I'm riding the Ryan most of the week. I bought a different stem to try on the Raleigh, and found (in the tradition of Raleighs from its era) that the handlebar doesn't fit modern stems. I have a new handlebar coming later this week, and opted for a similar shape to keep things simple. My goal is to have the bar higher and a bit further forward, to make the bike a bit more comfortable. I already have a LOT of seat post out on this bike, making it seem small for me. The standover height is pretty tall, but the crank is high, too, so traditional fit rules are not entirely appropriate.

The big downer this weekend is that one of Jenn's coworkers lost her husband Saturday. We don't know whether it was a heart attack or something else, but he collapsed at some point and never reawakened. I had met him once, at a holiday party, and liked him to the extent that I knew him. I feel bad for Jenn's coworker.

I'm now under orders to not die, which I find oddly comforting, somehow.

I got to ride to work this morning! After not riding all last week, due to the effects and aftereffects of my cold, it was good to ride. The bike performed without flaw, as I've gotten rid of some of the problems that were pestering me in the fall. It's time to buy some more batteries for the flashing lights, though. I installed my last spares in the flashing front light on my way to work today.