A good week for riding...

42 days to Safari. This has been a very good riding week. Bev and I have ridden most every day except Wednesday and I got in a very nice ride of 30 miles with Richmond and Paul. Today's ride went up to Sycamore. Sara and Melissa were going to do a 50 mile loop. Denis, Josh, Jake and Eric went off on about a 30 miler. When we left from the bike shop they were far ahead. It didn't take long to reel them in. Sara got close on the uphill into Sycamore. I saw her coming so I dropped the hammer and left her behind. My legs are getting some strength back. Not quite up to last summer, but getting there.

We are also counting down to the AHTC at Cheaha. That should be fun too. Then there is the Alabama Tandem Weekend. That might be a chance to meet some people to do some tandem rides with. Since we have no folks up here who ride and no one we think might ever get involved, we would be lucky to find some folks who might meet us for rides.

I can really feel the heavy weight of the old tandem lately. I am thinking about how light a new Trek 2000 or a Cannondale would be. When Bev has lost down to her target weight the only way to make further gain will be with a better bike. It might be nice to have STI shifting and good brakes.

Catching up

After my recovery period for Covid, I went to Cullman on Monday the 8th and started catching up on the mowing and farm stuff. Pretty much everything needed mowing. The big tractor made short work on the main north fields and David helped me with the field across from the pond. The grass had grown quite long and with the two week absence, I simply started and mowed all of them. There is always some mowing to do. At least no trees had fallen. There were some indoor projects pending. A couple of shower fixtures had to be replaced. The screen door latch didn't hold and had to be improved. The old JD mower needed a bit of tuning so it would climb better and the mowing deck replaced. And the garden needed to be disked and more corn and okra planted. David should have had a shot on the groundhog at the old house but forgot to check his ammo. The hammer fell on an empty chamber. I got the conibear traps out and caught one of the groundhogs that lived by the spring. David had ...

Spock

Spock is my favorite character in all fiction. A character who bridged the gap between two worlds and faced disdain from each. Who strove for excellence and exemplified strength, character, intelligence, and control. His nearly emotionless demeanor was a perfect foil for those who would attempt to intimidate or insult him. It was a style I would endeavor to imitate to thwart those attempting to insult, demean, or scare me in my own young life. I bought this little figure to remind me to guard against letting my defenses down and allowing emotional hurt to strike me.

Counting down to Florida Bike Safari...

Darn cold weather! I got up this morning to some cool north breezes. It made me decide to hike rather than bike. Next week I will do the pm rides for the bike club. In the mornings, if there is time, I will get in some climbing out toward Bull Gap. I need to do the climbs more than the long rides. I seem to be stronger on the hills than last year. Maybe it is the 35 lbs I have dropped. That is almost equal to 2 bikes. I also dropped about 7 or 8 from the new bike. Combined that puts me 42 pounds of weight saved which would be a substantial load to pull up the hill. Now I just need to train those leg muscles to pound out the climbs. The only way I see to do that is to just do hills! I need to remember some small but important things when I pack for the trip. I will need to be sure I have a wrench to change the tire with. I need to check the spare to make sure it holds air. I will need to pack the charger just in case. A long extension cord might be nice. Sunscreen and bug repel will be ...

diddlee

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