So it's been a while in between posts here. We're shorthanded at work and swamped with e-mails. On the home front, there's trying to get the house ready for market as we're committed to downsizing, in order to lead a saner life. I managed to get the deck stained last weekend, but the list of 'To Do' items seems long and unforgiving. There is still the front yard to re-landscape, getting rid of a hundred or so red bricks which are decomposing in situ as we speak... possibly replacing one of the upstairs bathroom floors... lattice work on the sides of the rear deck... finish building the stairs and railings... stain same... we really should re-surface the driveway while we're at it, if our neighbor is willing to chip in for the cost...
As my younger daughter would say: "Le sigh!". I try to sneak in the odd short ride out in the countryside to retain my balance and sanity, but nothing really satisfying. "But you ride everyday to work...", some might say. If you've ever rode a bike, you'll know that jousting with morning and/or evening rush hour traffic, is NOT the definition of a nice, relaxing ride. It's more like going on an air combat mission... Your senses are on high alert from the second you pull out of the parking lot, until you switch off the ignition in the garage at home. You head is constanly swivelling, eyes constantly checking, gauging, estimating... It's part enjoyment, part aggression, part fear, mostly adrenalin. With the memory of last year's 'unplanned dismount' still fresh in my mind and in my reconstructed shoulder, I am far more vigilant, far less trusting and far more belligerent. By the time I dismount, I need to walk it off or take a few moments to myself, to come down from it. And that's if I don't have any close calls...
So compare that with a leisurely cruise through the countryside, mooing at the cows, startling the earth-pigs (I generally scream: "Earth-Pig!!!" at them, while brandishing my two crooked fingers to resemble their oversized incisors) and breathing deeply of the wonderful aromas that do not include car/truck and bus exhaust fumes. Yeah... that's the kind of riding that does it for me. This is the main reason I cannot and will never be able to understand these idiots who spend their time downtown posing. What is the attraction with 'Flintstoning' your bike around town, in bumper to bumper traffic, baking your engine oil right in the cases (for those with 'air-cooled' engines...)? I could never get that... Whatever. To each his own...
So on the whole, not a lot of really fun things to report on. My little girl is still doing well and drinking lots of water. Guess she didn't need anyone to tell her to do that, with the temps over there in the high 40s and low 50s. (Holy Crap!!!) God love her...
As my younger daughter would say: "Le sigh!". I try to sneak in the odd short ride out in the countryside to retain my balance and sanity, but nothing really satisfying. "But you ride everyday to work...", some might say. If you've ever rode a bike, you'll know that jousting with morning and/or evening rush hour traffic, is NOT the definition of a nice, relaxing ride. It's more like going on an air combat mission... Your senses are on high alert from the second you pull out of the parking lot, until you switch off the ignition in the garage at home. You head is constanly swivelling, eyes constantly checking, gauging, estimating... It's part enjoyment, part aggression, part fear, mostly adrenalin. With the memory of last year's 'unplanned dismount' still fresh in my mind and in my reconstructed shoulder, I am far more vigilant, far less trusting and far more belligerent. By the time I dismount, I need to walk it off or take a few moments to myself, to come down from it. And that's if I don't have any close calls...
So compare that with a leisurely cruise through the countryside, mooing at the cows, startling the earth-pigs (I generally scream: "Earth-Pig!!!" at them, while brandishing my two crooked fingers to resemble their oversized incisors) and breathing deeply of the wonderful aromas that do not include car/truck and bus exhaust fumes. Yeah... that's the kind of riding that does it for me. This is the main reason I cannot and will never be able to understand these idiots who spend their time downtown posing. What is the attraction with 'Flintstoning' your bike around town, in bumper to bumper traffic, baking your engine oil right in the cases (for those with 'air-cooled' engines...)? I could never get that... Whatever. To each his own...
So on the whole, not a lot of really fun things to report on. My little girl is still doing well and drinking lots of water. Guess she didn't need anyone to tell her to do that, with the temps over there in the high 40s and low 50s. (Holy Crap!!!) God love her...
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