went campin'

I've been on vacation, and we went camping. Top to bottom: 1) My kid paddling a canoe from the rear position, never having done so before in his life. (He buddied up to a kid who was with a Boy Scout Troop at the same park we were camping at. One of the other scouts commented, when the boat, predictably, started drifting off course, "Mr. Kirby, we have a situation here.") 2) She Who Watches 3) A snail. 4) Touch-Me-Not Jewelweed. 5) Me, my husband, my mom, and my kid in front of the yurt we stayed in at Paradise Point State Park. It rained a lot when we were there--the yurt as awesome. We'd tent camped at our previous site, where it was 115 F one day. The difference a day and a couple hundred miles makes....

Like all such outings, it had its ups and downs, but all in all we had a fun time, and didn't do much. Which was the point.

Onai

With the addition of this guinea pig, the critters in our household now outnumber the humans.

I was initially entirely against the adoption of this little beastie, because rodents, ew. But he is terribly cute, and sweet, and the kid is extremely gentle with him. I call him the wee rattie. He's not, of course.

He is enjoying some green bell pepper in this photo.

zeropergallon.com

 
So far, I haven't been beat up because of my new sticker.

sending you away from my blog

I think everyone who believes in equality and fairness should carry a wallet photo of this picture.

Also, I am a Unitarian Universalist, too.

500!

Due to a bout of daydreaming in the shower about a situation that was bothering me, I was very nearly late for work on Monday, but I still stopped to photograph my bike computer when I hit 500 miles. (It's the last reading on the screen.) Speed is at the top (I was stopped), then ride time and trip distance. I'd forgotten to reset the computer after the previous day's ride, so those weren't accurate just then.

I rode part way home with one of the nurses from the medical clinic, which was kind of fun, even though my natural instinct is to wave a cheery hello and the pedal on by...

lame blogger steals meme. news at 11.

Lifting this meme from Michelle.


firsts

Who was your first prom date? I only went to my senior prom, and I went with my friend John. I wish we lived closer, because he is way fun, and so is his wife, and his kid, and our families totally get along.

Do you still talk to your first love? Oh hell no.

What was your first alcoholic drink? Probably some kind of wine cooler, and not much of it. I had a foolproof routine for ordering gin and tonics with my boss at the Peanut Barrel in East Lansing before I was of age. Foolproof except that I was drinking bad G&Ts--ick.

What was your first job? I taught music theory to 2-3 year olds.

What was your first car? Land yacht. 1976 Ford LTD. 8 whopping miles to the gallon.

Who was the first person to text you today? The coworker I text with is on vacation. I did text her, though.

Who is the first person you thought of this morning? Well, my husband, since the dumb cat woke us both up at the same time trying to walk around *behind* the blinds in our bedroom.

Who was your first grade teacher? Mrs. Donovan. She was kind of crabby, and I got in trouble for talking to my best friend. I was MORTIFIED.

Where did you go on your first ride on an airplane? Probably back to Grand Island, NE from college in East Lansing, MI.

Who was your first best friend and are you still friends? Cindy Grooms. We see each other about once a decade now.

What was your first sport played? Outside of PE class, softball. I played for several years, but ultimately quit because of an episode of appalling sportsmanship on the part of my teammates.

Where was your first sleepover? Probably at Grandma's.

Who was the first person you talked to this morning? My husband, cf the cat issue, above. The first *creature* I talked to was the CAT.

Whose wedding were you first in? I have mostly dodged that bullet, but I was the maid of honor in my sister's wedding when I was nursing my 3 1/2 month old baby. The dress was NOT designed for nursing moms.

What was the first thing you did this morning? FLIPPED ON THE COFFEEMAKER.

What was the first concert you went to? Lionel Richie, baby.

What was your first tattoo or piercing? Ears, age 12. I rarely wear jewelry other than my wedding rings and a ring that my friend Wendy made for me when the kid was born.

What was the first foreign country you went to? Canada, where I went to piano camp for a week, or maybe two.

What was your first run in with the law? Pleading the Fifth. Way too embarrassing.

When was your first detention? I was mortified when I got busted for TALKING in the first grade. Do you really think I ever had detention?

What was the first state you lived in? Nebraska. I still consider myself a native, even though I've been away for 22 years now.

Who was the first person to break your heart? Ugh. I'll say this: it wasn't worth it.

Who was your first roommate? April Tagge. Freshman year of college.

Where did you go in your first limo ride? To the wedding chapel in Las Vegas, the second time my parents got married.

new saddle

I haven't been completely happy with the saddle that came on my bike--it looked pretty good, but it wasn't that comfortable, and I wasn't that impressed by the quality of whatever synthetic the cover was made from.

I considered replacing it with one of many beautiful Brooks saddles, in part because they are what the original saddle was emulating. However, I decided that paying upwards of $100 for a new saddle was not what I needed to be doing right now. Not that they are not worth the price: on the balance, I think that they probably are.

Color was a consideration, because I just don't see a black saddle on my bike, and there aren't that many other options. This saddle is orange, but it's subtle enough to fall into the honey-colored leather spectrum. It's a synthetic with a nice feel, and an embossed flower print. The look of it on my bike isn't perfect, but it's nice enough, and I think I'll get used to it. Test ride says it's quite comfortable, though I'm probably going to be monkeying with the positioning for a while yet.

Also: Wall-E. AMAZING.

Farmer's Pasta Primavera

Sources on the ingredients: spaghetti and angel hair plus lemon all purchased at independent local natural grocery, organic zucchini grown by my father-in-law, peas and onions grown about 10 miles away and purchased at farmer's market, carrots purchased from regional grower at farmer's market, regional supermarket broccoli and garlic.

Can you tell I recently read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle?

hey, I'm supposed to be paying bills. time to blog!

(insert annoyance about small, time-consuming aggravations here)

Anyway.

I dragged my family to the farmer's market today. I went by myself last week, but harassed them to come with me today. I bought organic carrots, chioggia beets, and bing cherries, and possibly organic, but very, very local potatoes, peas, onions, and lettuce. Local as in 25 miles away, tops. When we got home, I cleaned what needed cleaning, cut things up, shelled the peas. Weirdly (or not), it's much easier to attend to that sort of thing when you just bought the veggies from the person who grew them. The kid helped me with the peas, even though he refuses to eat them.

Yesterday, I made grissini. Again with the connections sort of thing, the recipe I used came to me via one of the letter carriers in the office, who had brought it in from one of the older ladies on his route. I am not a great baker (cf too-doughy pizza dough, and rock-hard loaves of bread), but I have been wanting to give it a shot for awhile now. And it worked! For what it's worth, I accomplished this on a day when a saner person would NOT have turned on the oven...

Weekly mileage: 49.04, BAT/KAT trips 13

well, hi.

I am just about recovered. From carrying mail in the heat, from freezing to death on the 4th of July (NOT FAIR), from waiting impatiently for Guitar Hero: Aerosmith to arrive.

I am still sadly lacking in all enthusiasm, but I think it's because I need a break, which I will get in a few weeks.

And then, sometime, there will be an extra break, because at the FREEZING COLD FOURTH OF JULY EVENT, we somehow won a raffle prize for three days on the ocean. I didn't even know that the boys had purchased a ticket until the kid called me to tell me WE WON.

That's all for now.

eleven billion degrees, and some photos

These were from yesterday, when it was also eleven billion degrees, but I was riding my bike instead of driving around in a convection oven, so it was actually quite pleasant.

Today, I was ridiculously hot and filthy by the end of my shift, and I had NO qualms about using the assist all the way home. I was tired, but more importantly, I couldn't afford any delay that would keep me from the shower.

oops.

I just realized that the camera went to California, but the memory card stayed behind. To be fair, I thought that the other camera was going, and I also thought I had put the card back in the camera last time I uploaded pix, but apparently not.

Right now is the earliest my guys could get back, like if they didn't have to pee at all on the road.

My total mileage for this week was 72.47 miles, and I rode every day. There was the regular commute, Monday through Saturday, plus a trip back into town to see the cycling film, and today was our UU congregation's annual garden tour. I parked at the church (under a wonderful, wonderful shade tree), then biked the 15 mile loop in 17.12 miles. (I made a navigational error traveling from the last stop back to the car.) I tried to use the assist as little as possible, but there was a gnarly bit going through a freeway interchange positioned on an overpass, and then toward the end I was starting to get tired, and wanted to finish up my errands and get back home to finish cleaning up the house. Oh, did I mention that it was 100 degrees out today?

(T-storm right now.)

I need to pay bills, but then perhaps I'll go sit on the front porch, wait for my guys, and listen to the thunder. And hope for not too much lightning. It's not super dry yet, but the fire danger got boosted from low to moderate in the last few days, and I suspect most of our fire fighters are in California right now.

i suck at going to bed.

Back at my old blog, I had this busybody reader who would periodically nag me about posting at 3 am. I was doing freelance work after the kid went to bed then (and he, like his parents, is a night owl), but you know--Charlotte knew best.

I forgot to link to Evan's website yesterday.

I think my windbreaker got ripped off while I was at the movie last night. It is just an orange nylon windbreaker that stuffs into its own pocket, but geez, people. I'd be less irritated if it was actually cold last night. It might have flown out of my pannier somewhere, but I've retraced my steps three times now, so maybe not.

I've been rearranging furniture tonight. Not sure if it is an improvement, but the bookcase is such a pain to move it's going to stay this way for a bit, anyway.

recommended

I went to see Evan Schmitt's new film tonight, his second, which at the age of 18, is really kind of amazing. He's got a great eye, and oh my god, I could watch cyclocross racing forever. I kinda think I want to go watch Star Crossed CX for my birthday.


Also: this was my odometer reading when I rolled back up to the house after the film tonight. 299.9 miles. Guess I will pass 300 tomorrow.

I ordered the Guitar Hero: Aerosmith bundle for the Wii today. Decided that if I wait for Guitar Hero World Tour instead of Rock Band, the guitar compatibility issue should not be a problem.

I should go to bed. I am really not excited about going to work tomorrow. I would much rather stay home, make lemonade, and finish my room rearranging project.

reason eleventy million

why I love my local bike shop:

Today, riding to work, and then home again, I noticed a shimmy in my front wheel. It was ridiculously windy, and I was trying to convince myself that the crosswinds were causing the wobble. Then I started thinking about stopping by the shop on Saturday after work, or, or, or. I ended up riding straight to the shop, and asked John to look at it.

Turns out I'd bent the rim, and the wheel was out of true. On the one hand, ugh. On the other, I'm weirdly gratified when I am paying attention to my instincts AND I'M RIGHT.

John trued it up in short order, and then informed me that adjustments were included in the original purchase price of the bike. Dude was turning down money, because I am happy to pay for people to help me with things I don't have the skill to accomplish myself, but okay. Excellent, excellent customer service.

Also: my dog is awesome. She was crated for most of today, though I gave her breaks at decent intervals (before work, at lunch, after work, when I came home later at night). She is a very nervous dog, but she handled the day well. Even though we got her for my kid (ostensibly), she has been *my* dog from the time she was a puppy.

lonely

I'm spending the week with the animals, trying to keep on top of the chores I normally don't do, and trying not to kill the lawn with benign neglect. My boys went to California, and due to some kind of ugly circumstances, I couldn't get the vacation time off to join them. At least not without a huge amount of drama.

Before they left, I bought a pay-as-you-go cell phone to send with my little monkey. Nine year olds get VERY excited if you get them their OWN cell phone. But I'm pretty reliant on my phone, didn't want to send it, and couldn't imagine not talking with the kid (and his dad) a few times a day.

Problem is, my little one is *sad*. He is the human equivalent of the border collie (in all respects, really), and he does NOT like it when his pack is not all together. Hopefully his cousins will distract him a bit--the purpose of this trip is a wedding, which will add two to the three he already has.

Sure miss them.

61.01 miles

That was my total for June 16-22. I hadn't ridden anywhere today, then decided Dilly Bars would be yummy for dessert, and then further decided that if I wasn't willing to ride to get them, I didn't really want one. I ended up riding all but the big hills coming home in manual mode, as I realized I wouldn't have enough electric power to make it all the way. It wasn't that bad--just slower than I like (about 10 mph vs. 15 mph).

Friday left me less enamored than usual with the driving public, as I would have been creamed (or nearly so) three times if I wasn't a VERY careful cyclist. (All three incidents involved failing to signal and/or yield. I am ALWAYS prepared to yield, because right of way is meaningless except as a social nicety when you are a bike.)

Any photos this week will be limited to lo-res cell cam pics, as both cameras will be on the road. I made a really fantastic vegan pizza with garlic, mushrooms, garden greens, and sundried tomatoes, but you will have to imagine it. And feel free to note the discrepancy between making a lovely vegan pizza and then biking eight miles to get Dairy Queen for dessert.

and another weird thing

I carry a Timbuk2 Metro Messenger bag. Tonight, due to a tedious sequence of events, my stuff went home in the car, while I went home on my bike. And I discovered that the strap of my bag feels like a seatbelt, and I feel really, really weird riding without it.

I have two, or possibly three, trips to a nearby town planned for next week, but I have a goal of not driving otherwise.

planning

I had a two hour lunch break today, so I rode home. My coworker was having a memorable birthday, and dinner plans were being formulated, but weren't perfectly clear yet, so I rode my Bianchi back to work, figuring it was easier to a) leave at work or b) throw in the back of somebody else's rig if need be. (It's MUCH lighter than the e-bike.)

It turned out that dinner wasn't until 6:30, leaving me time to go home and change into civilian clothes if I scammed a ride. I did, with the birthday guy, and we picked up a (known, local) hitchhiker, who rode in the bed of the truck with my bike.

Dinner was fun; large sombreros were worn. Not by me; though that might be on the horizon in a few months...

greenway

I had a "scheduled day off" today (euphemism for weekend comprised of non- consecutive days), and almost the first words out of the kid's mouth were, "Can we go for a bike ride?" He knows the answer to this is nearly always yes. He's no dummy.

However, it was really windy, and a little cold. Since swimming lessons were on the evening agenda, I decided to load the bikes on the rack and drive us a bit further to the Yakima Greenway, a 10 mile paved path that parallels the Yakima and Naches rivers. (Yakima is typically 10-15 degrees warmer, and a bit less windy than home.) This photograph was taken at a huge playground which we have seen from the freeway many times, but have never been to because (kind of gloriously) it is not accessible by car. You have to walk or bike about a mile to get to it. My kid devised an obstacle course for himself, complete with a crazy scoring system and video game style "boss battles." A girl, several years older, stopped with her father while we were there, and he was surprised at how long she wanted to stay. It's a really nice playground.

We rode a little over four miles out to a point where the path continues, but involves crossing a busy overpass and riding in a bike lane in traffic. If I had been alone, I wouldn't have hesitated, but with the kid, it seemed the appropriate place to turn around. We finished with the wind at our backs, pedaling past lots of folks fishing, and there was a park volunteer scooting around in a golf cart, offering cold water served in those cone shaped paper cups.

I rode my Bianchi because I knew there would be no need for the electric assist, and it is so much lighter than the e-bike. Much easier to maneuver on the rack.

We went to look at refrigerators, but did not buy one. The kid liked the big stainless steel, french door, bottom freezer model, on sale for a mere $2700. The salesman told him he had excellent taste.

I also did not go put a deposit on Rock Band. This was more a time crunch than any kind of good sense on my part. Oh, and we watched a commercial for the Aerosmith Guitar Hero game, which made me laugh (in a good way). "Sweet Pandora, smelling like a flora" being one of the most awesomely bad rock lyrics ever.

will wonders never...

I previously posted this photo, sans arrow, with a description of the electric assist controls. Later, I edited that description when I realized that the indicator lights correspond to the battery charge, not one's speed. Or maybe it's the amount of assist being employed. I'm not 100% sure, and the owner's manual for the bike is weirdly mum on the subject. It's also weirdly mum on the subject of the thumb lever the arrow is pointing to, and which, up until today, I thought was an unused control within the U.S. market. TURNS OUT IT'S LIKE A POWER UP BUTTON. I was just messing around on my way home, and accidentally discovered this.

Potential uses for this feature (though obviously, I've been getting along without it just fine): accelerating from a stop (the assist doesn't come on until about 10 mph otherwise), going up the steeper hills I usually go around, and accelerating up the hill I have to ride without any kind of bike lane or shoulder.

I am trying to convince myself not to buy Rock Band or Guitar Hero until the guitar compatibility issues for Wii are sorted out. On the other hand, if I buy Rock Band, then eventually someone should make a controller playable with both games, which could then function as the bass guitar. On the other other hand, we still need to replace our refrigerator....

my electric ride was rode this week.

Except for that one day when it snowed. But Monday, and Wednesday-Saturday, I rode. If I go straight to work and back, my round trip is 7.67 miles. If I ride to lunch somewhere, it's 8.13-10. If I add errands, it's another half-mile to mile. I forgot to note my beginning and ending mileage, but my total for the week was about 40, and I rolled the odometer past 200. I'm trying to figure out what a good yearly goal would be. Whatever I decide, proper clothing will be key to making it happen. I have been pretty disciplined about riding--my standard rule is that if I'm not going to, I need a specific, concrete reason that is better than "I don't feel like it." However, even with the electric assist, the wind kicks my behind, and even if it it's not that cold otherwise, the stiff "breeze" can make for a chilly ride.

In other important news, we got to borrow Guitar Hero III for the Wii this weekend, and oh my goodness, I rock. I realize that the Guitar Hero franchise has no shortage of positive reviews, but I was amazed at how much crazy fun it is. Obviously, it's not exactly equivalent of playing the guitar, but there is real musical value to it--you have to listen for the guitar melody within the full song, you need the same types of fingering skills (even if there are differences), and you need to find and keep the beat. I beat the game on easy mode, but I probably will have to get a copy of our own so that I can conquer medium, difficult, and expert modes. I will also need a timer, because it is a giant, fun time suck.

yes, really.

 This didn't last long, but ugh.

Juneuary.

 I was biking home in traffic, but pulled over to snap this shot of the sky. THAT was a big, black cloud. Not too much later, it started to sprinkle. I stopped to get a pizza for dinner (using my bungee cargo net to fasten it to my rear bike rack), and a few blocks from home, it was raining hard enough that I made an emergency call--"Meet me at the post office!" I was afraid the pizza box would get too wet and start disintegrating. The P.O. is only a few blocks from home, so the trip to rescue the pizza didn't negate the benefits of riding to and from work. Also, I rode my bike back home after handing off the pizza, and beat the boys by at least 30 seconds.

Now, it's raining even harder, and people have been saying all day that the snow level is supposed to drop to 2500 feet tonight. We're at 2280. So yeah. Juneuary.

not complaining.

I love beautiful sunny days, with a light breeze, especially late in the afternoon when the very slowly descending sun makes the forest all around me glow a warm, deep, golden green. I hope we will have some of these days this summer.

I also really enjoy it when other cyclists ride on the correct side of the road, with helmets, and when, if they are riding three abreast, they drop into a single file line when I pass them.

I am very appreciative of the road crews when they sweep the shoulders of broken glass. Also, I like it when weekenders take their beer bottles home with them for recycling, instead of tossing them onto the road.

Automotive UV film that allows me to make eye contact with drivers (who would not dream of talking on their cell phones while driving) is awesome!

Relief from huge propane bills is a welcome sign of summer! I hope it's coming!

***

It's been a bit of a long week; you can read between the lines for my petty complaints. Hopefully I will boost my mileage a little tomorrow--it was raining hard Tuesday morning, and today, and I wasn't scheduled to work on Wednesday. I did ride back to work from lunch today, but got quite damp. I considered picking up pizza on my way home, but I was too tired to contemplate waiting for it to be cooked.

On the brighter side of things, the elementary school spring concert was this week, I got to spend a big chunk of my day off with my guys, and my little guy called my cell phone while I was at work, just to tell me he loves me. And also, the third graders kicked the fourth graders' butts in kickball.

 
This is my ride home. Where I live, pickup trucks outnumber bicycles by...well, a lot, but there's not a lot of traffic in general, and there are some really lovely roads to travel. This part of my route goes past several acres of horse pasture, and the only loose dog is one I know, who wags his tail when I call out hello.

Odometer right now is at 130; I think I started the week at 79.2. In addition to my commute, I rode to the new natural market (yay), and to the hardware store to get line for the stupid weed whacker. (That was the same errand, and a short one.) Weed whacking is just slightly above cleaning the bathtub on my list of hated chores, but I was mad at the time, which is when many onerous tasks are completed.

goobers

I rode my bike to work and back twice today (scheduled for long lunch, and didn't pack my lunchbox). At lunch, I grabbed the grocery panniers so I could stop at the store after work.

At the store, I placed the bags on the conveyor belt, side by side, with the items that fit in them lined up neatly behind each one. The annoying bag boy took my panniers, put them in the grocery cart, and then put my groceries in three separate plastic bags. (I was distracted by fishing out my discount card, paying the bill, etc.) I try not to have fits in public, but I did, a little bit.

Right after, though, I ran into a neighbor I hadn't seen in quite awhile, with her darling children. That took the edge off. A little.

Tomorrow's commute will bring me to six consecutive days, and approximately 50 miles.

ye gads

Sometimes things take on a life of their own. I called my mom as soon as I got home to find out the name of the artist at her gallery who made the bigger knit? felted? bike bags that inspired my little bag. Cindy Krushenisky showed a series of bags at the art gallery my mom is a member of last February. Hers were much larger, designed more like a traditional front basket, but they gave me the idea to hey! knit something for my bike.

I finished a gift project yesterday. It will probably be late arriving to its recipient, but only by a day or two. I am rarely on time, but I try.

My odometer rolled past 100 today. I'd intended to photograph it (geek), but I was too busy thinking about the near-miss slow speed accident I avoided. Note to people in cars: you have to check crosswalks before you turn! Really! And turn signals are good, too.

my bike is a supermodel

but also charmingly utilitarian. I just took this photo because it kind of cracked me up. By the time I reached my driveway, I was tooling along with a hat and pair of mittens in the handlebar bag, plus two pennies I found in the street; my coffee cup; a small tote bag containing a knitting project, three catalogs I got in the mail yesterday, and my lunchbox; mail from today; my bike lock; and a loaf of bread. Amazingly, the bread didn't really get scrunched--I just fastened the cargo net between two slices in the middle of the loaf.


This was my lunch from yesterday--simple coleslaw with radish slices, potatoes and chickpeas roasted with nutritional yeast, some almonds and corn nuts (left over from the bike ride with the kid), and some baby carrots with a Vegannaise dip. The kid and I both use Laptop Lunches bento boxes, which are the most awesome lunch boxes evah. They make it super easy to pack a varied lunch, and we generate no lunchtime waste. (I carry a bandana as a napkin, and I'm quite certain the kid uses his clothing.) Plus the plastic boxes ride around in lead-free insulated cases which have room for a small water bottle (which comes with the kit). I usually freeze the water bottle, and then don't worry about refrigerating my lunch.

photo frenzy

We went for a five mile ride on a rails- to-trails trail today. We had a 2 1/2 hour window from the time we set out until we needed to be back at the house for a matinee of Iron Man.

We initially turned back at this gate, because the kid thought we shouldn't skirt around it. I hadn't ridden this trail before, and thought there was at least a chance that it was closed on purpose--the snow pack melted FAST last week, and the rivers are high. However, we ran into a park ranger, who told us that it was just the equivalent of an ecology block to keep the cars out.

We stopped to snack on corn nuts, dark chocolate M&Ms, and water.

There were more photos with crazy faces than not.

My new adjustable water bottle cage not only holds my awesome coffee cup, it will take my liter sized Sigg bottle, too.

The kid worked out a call system with his bike horn--one honk for yes, two for no, four for "MOM! STOP!!!" There was a lot of that, as the trail had a fair amount of loose gravel. We both lost patience toward the end of the ride, when I finally exclaimed, exasperated, "It's NOT that big a deal if you fall on soft gravel going four miles per hour!!"

My ride time was 48 minutes, with an average speed of just a little over six mph. We were gone for quite a lot longer than that--the computer wasn't counting the time when I was stopped to wait for the kid to catch up.

Still, I think we'd do it again. He was ready to call it a day at around 3.7 miles, but I pushed him to make it to five, and in retrospect, I think he was glad I did. He was annoying about it there for awhile, though.

I stopped to talk to my friend John, who sold me my lovely bike, and he told me he'd had several other customers report that they'd seen me out riding my bike and, "it's like she's barely pedaling!" Grrr. 1) How lovely of you to note that FROM YOUR CAR, since I don't encounter that many other cyclists on any given day. And 2) my cadence is not super fast, but whenever I check it, it's in the 60-70 rpm range--whether or not I'm using the pedal assist. Which is reasonably normal, especially since I tend to grind, rather than spin.

I will get over my bad self now. My bike is AWESOME for the kind of utility cycling I (mostly) do, but it is not a free ride.

I did get the rear tire changed on the Bianchi--much more expeditiously than the last time I did it. Both wheels on my e-bike are quick-release, but the most time-consuming part of the replacement job on the Bianchi was finding an adjustable wrench for the rear nut.

Current National Bike Month stats: I've ridden 15 out of 21 possible work days, and of the six I didn't ride, two were out-of-town training days, two were scheduled days off, one I had plans immediately after work plus it was raining HARD in the morning, and the first one, I just forgot. 100% would be lovely, but I guess we'll roll with 75%.

local color

This is slightly off my route home, but I pass by it on a regular basis for other reasons. Photo was snapped with my phone's camera--it's pretty decent for this sort of thing.

Not so much with the mileage so far this week. I was not scheduled to work today, and it was too yucky out (read: windy & cold) to get up the gumption to ride recreationally. And tomorrow, I have another training, so I'll have to drive.

I discovered that my Bianchi has a rear flat the other day, so I have a repair to do. I've changed out the tires before (a couple of years ago), but I'm not sure if I've ever had to repair a flat. Discovering your flat at home, on something other than your regular ride, is, of course, ideal.

The one downside of having a day off (other than not getting paid for working, that is) is that I yell at the radio too much.... Election years are really stressful.

49.2

That's the odometer reading on my bike computer. Plus I rode to and from work on Monday (i.e. before I installed it), so my mileage for the week was around 56 miles. Today, I attempted to visit a toy store by bike, but arrived three minutes after they closed. So it was just a ride.

(A windy one, and I reset the computer for the trip home, to compare. On the way to town, my average speed was between 16-17 mph. It would probably be higher, but there are several intersections where I either come to a complete stop, or slow down dramatically. Coming home, I think my speed was right around 14, riding against the wind with the pedal assist engaged.)

Tomorrow is my kiddo's birthday. He'll be nine, and he is awesome. We did not get the kind of kid you can just phone it in with, but it is totally worth it to live with such an interesting and complicated boy. Not easy, hardly ever, but totally worth it. (Hint: the background is the important part of this photo.)

I rock.

Not as hard as some people, but. Today I was scheduled for a stupid two-hour lunch, so I rode my bike home and back again. Total mileage for today was 15.2 miles, total ride time 1 hour, 2 minutes, average speed 15 mph (obviously), and warp speed was 32 mph. (And that was with trying NOT to just bomb down the hill, since the pavement was wet this morning.)

It's supposed to be 90 degrees here tomorrow (will believe it when I see it). That could be interesting....

radar. bring it.

New toys. I got a blinky, and an adjustable water bottle cage, and a bike computer. Took me a while to get the magnet that cues the computer's sensor installed last night, and I cut my hand doing it, but today I had stats. It took me 12 minutes and 44 seconds to get to work, and about 18 minutes to get home. My average speed over the course of the round trip was 14.9 mph, and my top speed was (on a downhill) 29.4 mph. I rode 7.68 miles. Note that the 29.4 mph was on a stretch of road where the actual speed limit is 25, so bugger off, you pesky cars. I'm speeding.

national bike month - update

Mental comment to self last night--"You are TOO riding your bike tomorrow, you wuss!"

For May, my bike commuting progress has been as follows: May 1, hadn't realized it was NBM, and didn't ride; May 2,3,5 rode to and from work; May 6 had out-of-town training and did not ride; May 7, day off (weird!), escorted kid which equaled two round trips to the school; May 8, rode; May 9, drove in the morning, but rode back from lunch and back home; May 10, see above. Also: May 4, recreational ride with kid.

I have biked through my espresso stand once, biked through the ATM once, transported food for the NALC food drive in my grocery panniers to the office, picked up a few groceries on the way home, and carried home packages from the PO twice (personal mail).

And some battery stats: I charged last Saturday when I got home, and rode every day but Tuesday since then. I've previously said that I rarely use the pedal assist when traveling SE and downhill, and usually use it when traveling NW and uphill. Additionally, two days this week were insanely windy. On a fluke, I checked the battery when I was gearing up to go this morning and discovered that perhaps I'd better bring the charger with me, and plug it in at work. The indicator has four lights to indicate the charge, and the first light was just barely flickering, which is as far as I've depleted the battery. You can't tell from the riding performance, because the pedal assist works--until it doesn't. In other words, you don't gradually lose power--it's all or nothing.

the windy ride home.

As threatened, Wednesday was "Bike to School Day." Just for us--there was no organized event, and from what I could tell, about three other kids were bike commuters that day. (Sad! But understandable, given the location of the school relative to a street with a speed limit of 45, and lack of really usable bike paths serving it.)

Anyway, the ride there was great, filled with exclamations of "I wish we could do this every day!" (When we actually arrived at school, I was almost instantaneously mama non grata, but that's a different story.) The ride home however, was a different story, my favorite bit of which was, "Mom! My bike's not working!" Uh, no, the wind is just blowing against you at around 30 mph. Awesome! A real life lesson in wind resistance! It took us about an hour to get home, and for reference, this portion of my ride usually takes me about 10 minutes. Kid also fell off his bike, and yelled, "I'm NEVER going to ride my bike again!" "Okay," I calmly responded, hoping his recovery would be quick. Luckily, a trio of border collies (accompanied by their humans) came bounding up and dropped a stick at his feet--a better than average distraction.

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Sunday ride.

I am currently scheduled to have Wednesday off, and my plan is to escort the kid to and from school by bike. The distance is eminently bikeable, but he's not quite nine, and there's a local-use highway to cross, and no crosswalk or crossing guard, so accompaniment is necessary for my peace of mind.

In advance of this plan, I decided that he needs a new bike helmet. It probably should have been replaced last year when he flipped over the handlebars of his bike and thumped his noggin, but it wasn't. So we walked down to our bike shop today, and got him a nice Bell helmet that should last for the next five years.

With a new helmet in hand, and blue skies overhead, the begging quickly commenced. "Mom! Can we go for a bike ride??" And who am I to say no to that? We live next door to a large developing resort, which has a great paved trail system. I have issues with many aspects of the resort, but a local citizen group worked really hard to, among other things, preserve public access to the land. My kid learned to ride his bike in an undeveloped cul-de-sac there, and it's a great place to ride together. It's a little hilly for him, so he has to hop off and walk up some of the steeper slopes, but his attitude was great, and we covered about four miles. First time my e-bike has been on the bike rack, too!

whew.

I plugged my battery into the charger last night, and checked before tucking in. The charge was at about 75%, so I left it plugged in overnight. In the morning, it was still at 75%, which was a bit disconcerting, as full charge should be reached in less than four hours.

I worried about it, and figured I'd try to charge it again before making any panicky phone calls. Then I remembered: my husband vacuumed last night, and both plugs in the outlet he uses were in use, meaning something would have had to be unplugged.

The charger had been, and I charged the battery to full power.

It's National Bike Month, and I'm going to bike to work for as many days as possible. I missed Thursday, and I have an out-of-town training next Tuesday, but otherwise, I plan to ride. I just wrote that. In public.

leak. proof.

This awesome mug is actually leak proof. AS in, fill it up, turn it upside down, and nothing comes out. There's a review of the pink, breast cancer research model on Amazon, and one of the three reviewers says that it leaks. If the cap is put on correctly, no, it doesn't.

This revolutionizes my working life. I made my first morning ride into work this a.m., all because my coffee was in my mug, strapped to my bike rack, and it was hot and all there when I arrived at the office.

I bought another manufacturer's leak-proof mug, which was not, not at all. But this one is absolutely water-tight. I bought it for $15; the other one was $25. (And will be returned.) Plus, it matches my bike. And the leather sleeve is not real leather. Score!

helmet liner

I made a helmet liner of leftover sock yarn. I needed something with earflaps, and it needed to be lightweight and warm. I started at the top, worked increases at eight points, and single crocheted the edging.

I rode my Bianchi hybrid on a short errand after work today. It was quicker to take it than to unlock the e-bike. I totally love my e-bike, but my hybrid is a sweet little bike, too.

It snowed on me on the way home from my errand.

DEAR CELL PHONE TALKING HONKING MAN:

Compare and contrast:

ME--

RCW 46.61.770
Riding on roadways and bicycle paths.


(1) Every person operating a bicycle upon a roadway at a rate of speed less than the normal flow of traffic at the particular time and place shall ride as near to the right side of the right through lane as is safe except as may be appropriate while preparing to make or while making turning movements, or while overtaking and passing another bicycle or vehicle proceeding in the same direction.

YOU--

RCW 46.61.667
Using a wireless communications device while driving. (Effective July 1, 2008.)


(1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, a person operating a moving motor vehicle while holding a wireless communications device to his or her ear is guilty of a traffic infraction.

Okay, you are off the hook, only because the law prohibiting cell phone use won't be enforced until July 1. But it's on the book. In case you're interested at all, the reason why I was riding in the driving lane was because I was preparing to make a left hand turn. This occurred approximately 5-10 seconds after you felt the need to honk at me and pass me. I wasn't quite close enough to signal my turn, which I always do, but I was close.

To sum up: hang up and drive. Courteously!

The "out like a lamb" part never happened.

I left the house (in the car) amidst yet more snow. (Aside: the Californian spouse did remarkably little complaining when it was snowing *on his birthday* last week.) At lunchtime, I decided that it was warm enough to ride back to work. Warm enough, yes, but by the end of the afternoon, not dry enough. At all. Which didn't alter the necessity of riding home, so I walked through the front door soaking wet. My husband dryly noted, "That didn't work out as well as it could have, did it?"

For me, 90% of getting dinner on the table is a loose meal plan. I usually shop by sketching out five or six meals, plus extra salad fixings and easy lunch-type things. I don't designate any specific order for making them, though logistics come into play. (For example, all postal employees are tired by the end of your average Monday. Complicated dinners do not follow.) Since I just did the shopping last night, I had a fresh selection of meal plans to choose from. I decided to make the soba noodles with green beans and almonds from Vegan Express. Wow--easy. A quick sauce based on hoisin; toast some almonds; slice some scallions; cook the noodles, green beans, and in this case, the added edamame together, and dinner's ready.

I did not sign up for this.

It keeps snowing. Not a lot; just enough to continue annoying me. And the robins.

I'm attempting to make a helmet liner out of leftover sock yarn. If it worked, I'll know shortly. I've been winging it, working from the top down, and I ran out of yarn and had to go foraging for something that was at least in the ballpark. It has ear flaps. It should probably be a full face mask.

tempeh fries with wild rice and veggies

In the interest of moving that snow photo down in the queue, this is what I made for dinner tonight. Tempeh Fries with Horseradish Mayonnaise from Vegan Express , served with wild rice mix, steamed broccoli, raw red pepper slices, and radish halves. Yes, I like arranging vegetables on my cobalt blue Fiestaware.

It did stop snowing, and today was brisk and sunny. If you were inside, it looked beautiful outside. If you were outside (and I was) you tried to ignore the fact that you were being buffeted about by a mighty cold wind.

remember when?

This weekend, temperatures were in the upper 60s, and on Saturday, at least, we had sunny blue skies. TODAY IT SNOWED. Not much, but please, please, stop it. This photo was taken on February 1st, and what you can't really tell is that the roof of our porch is at least ten feet off the ground. I took this shot from our driveway, and you also can't really tell that there is a path shoveled up to the steps. The piles of snow were so high at a couple of times during the season that I could barely hoist the shovel high enough to get the newly shoveled snow on top of them. My last electric bill noted that the average daily temperature for the billing period was eight degrees lower than last year. And I don't recall last year being especially balmy.

I did not ride my bike today, as the wind was blowing so hard that the entire flagpole at work was swaying. Also, did I mention it snowed?

I discovered today that Erik Marcus blogged my photo of the Coconut Pineapple Noodles. (Leftovers of which I finally finished at lunchtime today.) One of those things that makes you realize that we are all just regular people, even if some of us totally know who others of us are...

fully loaded.

I volunteered to go get frozen pizza and ice cream for the pack of wild children at my house last night. Because! I could test out my grocery panniers! It turns out that you can easily carry two frozen pizzas, 2 lbs of baby carrots, 4 apples, a 1/2 gallon of ice cream, a box of crackers, a magazine, and a six pack of beer. You can see where the beer unsnapped the stiff liner of the panniers, but otherwise all rode well.

The bag boy threw a fit when the supervisor who was running the express lane asked him not to crush my loaf of bread with the apples--apparently, he felt that this was an excessive use of her authority. Which is why I normally shop at a different store, where they instruct their baggers correctly and the employees aere mostly cheerful. However, it was worth enduring the tizzy to be able to ride there and back.

I promise not to add an orange safety flag.

Am I taking the accessorizing too far? But how can I resist combining some of my favorite avocations? (Wait, I'll answer that rhetorical question when I get home from the library.)

This is a small felted handlebar bag, which I concocted from some nice thick and thin wool I purchased at my LYS' big sale. It's just a rectangle knit with the yarn double stranded on size 11 needles. I folded it in half and seamed it, then picked up and knit the straps. Then I made a very loosely-knit swatch out of a single strand of the yarn, felted it on a vintage washboard, and used it with a cover-your-own-button kit I bought at a clearance sale. I think I made buttonholes when I knit the straps, but I ended up having to trim them, so what I ended up with were a couple of slits cut to fit after I felted the whole project.

The idea here was to have someplace handy to stash my wallet and cell phone when I am going for a ride and either don't need my bag or want to reserve the space in my grocery panniers for other things. A test run has been executed, and the items a) fit, b) are handy, and c) don't bounce out. If the buttons hold, we'll call this mod a success.

windy and cold.

My biggest challenge in riding to work is...riding TO work. I think it was about 30 degrees when I got there this morning. When I'm scheduled to be in at 6:30, as I am this week, I am sadly lacking in motivation. Actually, figuring out a coffee set-up will help, but 30 degrees + o'dark-thirty + no caffeine is not really feasible.

However, if I have an hour, or sometimes longer, for lunch, I will ride back to work and then home. That's what I did today, and the wind was an excellent reminder of why I got this bike. With the pedal assist on, it was still harder than riding in the highest gear with it off on flat terrain without wind. I'm really pleased with how the assist mode functions--it doesn't take over so much that you lose the fun of riding a bike, it just makes it a lot more fun in more challenging conditions, or when you're tired.

food, and how to get it home.

Nava Atlas is one of my favorite cookbook authors. In February, I picked up a copy of her newest book, Vegan Express. Her flavor range has changed a little with this book, but the emphasis is still on combining relatively modest numbers of whole, fresh ingredients. A couple of nights ago I made the Coconut Pineapple Noodles with a few modifications. I added some tofu, used fewer scallions, and added some steamed broccoli and shredded raw red cabbage to the plate. Making it again, I think I would add a little soy sauce, just to deepen the flavor a little...

This is one of the Nashbar grocery panniers I found on eBay. Due to my work schedule this week, I've only managed a short test ride with these on the bikes, but one of them held my small messenger bag, some mail, and a package containing two pairs of jeans. I'm sure eventually I will find out what happens when you misgauge the width of the bike when they're opened and full, but the first ride was uneventful. They also came with a bright yellow rain hood--which looks like a shower cap, so you can protect whatever is in the open compartment if it rains.

not cycling stockings.

(Though, aren't they all?)

Finished yesterday, Chameleon Colorworks in September.

One way ride today. I had a meeting after work, and when we finished, it was twilight, and I don't have any kind of lights on my bike yet. Besides a headlight and taillight combo, I want these. So the bike got to ride in the back of my coworker's big truck. She drove very nicely, so it didn't slide around....

note to self

Your keys? Are on a carabiner? USE IT.

Still, it didn't suck that much when I realized, a block or so from home, that the noise I'd heard a couple of miles back was my set of keys, falling out of my pocket. A neighbor offered me a ride back to look for them, but I brightly answered that I intended to go home and get the car. Except that my *car key* was on the ring, and the other car key was with my husband, who was about 30 miles away. I did keep the pedal assist turned on, even going the direction I don't normally use it. (I rationalized that I needed to get home to walk the dog.)



Part of the reason I started this blog has to do with the shortage of info on this bike. If you Google "Schwinn Campus Electric," you get a surprising number of really elderly links. Even Schwinn's site is lite on any extra images--you get a list of the components, and full images of the (allegedly) black and silver bikes, in their men's and women's versions. I expect this will all change as these bikes move into circulation.

So here is a photo of the right grip with the Micro Shift twist shifter, and the bell. I haven't used the bell for official purposes, but I do enjoy dinging it. The world would be better with more bells and fewer buzzers.



Here's the left grip. The accelerator marked "H...L" on the right of the photo operates the motor. There's a switch that engages the pedal assist, and there are lights that correspond to your speed. (It seems like this could be incorporated into a regular bike computer, but whatever.) [Edited: the lights correspond to the battery charge, not the speed.] The pedal assist doesn't kick in until you reach a certain speed, and it cuts out if you stop pedaling, or tap the brakes, or if your speed reaches 15-17 mph. All of this suits me perfectly--I'm not a speed demon, and I *want* to pedal, but it's not precisely what I was expecting. Toward the bottom of the photo, you can see a large thumb lever, and in other countries, it's the throttle. I was never that excited about an electric-only mode (having ridden into the side of a barn on an ATV with its throttle stuck open at a young age), but in the US configuration, it's not an option anyway.

My old kitty was sleeping on the bed earlier, and he was so groggy I was worried we might be losing him. But apparently he was just sleepy, as he's purring and doing figure eights at my feet now...