Bicycling

Oh, This Twinkie Thing, It Ain’t Over Yet


Mirabeau Blue Genesis Coupe

Bike rode to pay our bills (cable, water, power & doctor) this morning and ended up at Atlanta Bread Company for breakfast. Maybe tomorrow I’ll tell the paper cup story.

This afternoon I fixed something, which is a rare occurrence around here. Last time I went to use the leaf blower it wouldn’t go. The gas line from the tank to the “carburetor” was broken. It had dried out and cracked in a couple places. We found a kit at Big Box Home Store and I managed to replacethem without too much trouble. I did have to enlarge one hole in the plastic tank to fit one of the plastic tubes through. There appears to be a miniscule bit of leakage at that point, but I doubt it creates any hazard.

With that repaired, I proceeded to blow the oak pollen clusters off the roof and back deck. Donna then took over and cleaned the front walk and driveway. While she did that, I finished hosing the pine pollen off the screened porch, so that maybe we can enjoy our dinner out on Monday.

Tonight I’m watching the Red Sox – Yankees game on ESPN, but listening to it on the WEEI off the ‘net. I’ve tried several times in the past to do this, but the audio and video never lined up. Tonight, for some reason, they are in sync.

Started up, went down, still down.
Miata Top Transitions since 10/24/08: 992

Dog Gone It

Gozque – Spanish for small yapping dog.

The Red Sox finally won a game. The starting pitcher for the FRS gave up 6 runs in 7 innings and lowered his ERA by nearly 10! As a bonus the 9 -6 win came against the dreaded Yankees.

We rode the tandem to work today and it was a great ride. It is Spring Break around here for the schools and it is amazing the amount of traffic that eliminates. During school time we see maybe a dozen cars, but today we were lucky if we saw 3.

My dabbling in Ubuntu Linux, will always be just that, just dabbling. Late last night I discovered that you cannot stream Netflix in Linux. Plus I should read my own posts…back last October when I loaded it on the laptop I realized that my most used Geocaching program doesn’t have a Linux version.

Started down, went up, went down, still down.
Miata Top Transitions since 10/24/08: 990

Mr. Aiken & Me

Donna and I went for a little bike ride this morning. First off we chased the 14% larger moon as it set in the southeast to the Post Office to mail something. Once the moon disappeared behind the clouds and the envelope disappeared in the slot we headed back northwest to go downtown and drop the power bill in the slot outside the SCE&G office. While we were that way we stopped in to see what the so-called founding father of Our Fair City(tm) was looking at. Near as I can tell he is looking down the Alley trying to catch a glimpse of a Tipsy McStumbles waitress. Thirteen miles is all our backsides could stand considering the last time we were on a bike was, as near as I can figure, around Thanksgiving last year.

After breakfast I went out and rinsed all the pine pollen and tree bits (seedling covers and flowering things) that were covering he Emperor. Because it is early in the spring yuck season I didn’t bother with soap, just water and a towel. Later in the day on a trip to the mall I parked, against the expressed consent of my wife, near a tree. In my defense, I figured it was through dropping stuff because it had tiny leaves already showing. I was half right, it wasn’t dropping solid bits, but when we got back to the car it was covered with tiny droplets of sap. At first I considered leaving it on there giving the pine pollen something to stick making the Emperor appear to be wearing a polka dotted robe, but instead when we got home I spent 45 minutes or so with some Quick Detailer wiping off that gunk.

During one of the top transitions while cleaning the outside of the car (I also cleaned and protected the leather seats) I noticed that the top was bunching up on the passenger side at one of the metal bows. Turns out, right where the bow has the radius between vertical and horizontal, the inner dark layer of fabric has been separated from the tan exterior layer. This means that this spot where the top material is very taught, only has one layer of fabric there which will probably tear in the not too distant future. I’m going to call the top guy over in Augusta to see when he can look at it and determine if it is fixable or it is new top time. If a new top is required it will be a big disappointment. The OEM top lasted 5 years and this one will have only made it half that long.

Started up, went down, went up, back down, back up, still up.
Miata Top Transitions since 10/24/08: 979

Bike Christmas Tree

On my way back from the doctor’s office this morning I stopped and snapped a photo of this Christmas Tree made entirely out of old bicycles in front of a “Flea Market” store. I think I need to go back and shoot from a slightly different angle so you can read the whole sign reading Christmas Store. And maybe a little later in the day, so that there is a hint of darkness which might make the string of lights more noticeable.

After having the weather the last couple of weeks such that making ice cubes outside was possible at midday, this morning when we left for work it positively balmy at 38° and this evening we took a small drive with the top down…

Started up, went down, still down.
Miata Top Transitions since 10/24/08: 914

The Emperor’s Repose

The Emperor got to laze around the garage today as Donna and I took advantage of the nice weather and the reduced traffic of a no-school day to ride the tandem into work. This was the first time in a while that we have ridden on just two days rest and my sit bones were a little tender when we started out this morning, but I forgot all about them by the end of mile one.

Speaking of sore, I am going to have to give up raising the Miata’s top while seated in the drivers seat for a time. Monday morning when putting the top up for the cold drive to work I strained something in my right shoulder and it still hurts a bit when raising it up over my head.

I am one of the lucky ones because I sit with the seat all the way back and my arm length was just right for hoisting the roof up with little effort. Both shorter and taller drivers didn’t line up well for doing the over the shoulder flip up routine. The folks with roll bars or style bars were usually out of luck doing that procedure too. All and all, a lot of Miata owners had to raise the top while standing outside the car. Hopefully after a couple weeks of rest I will be able to return to my previous ways.

Started down, still down.
Miata Top Transitions since 10/24/08: 904

Let’s Do The Time Warp


Hitchcock Woods Simplified*

This morning I got up and blew the dust off the single bikes and filled their tires with air. Donna and I had decided we were going to see what it felt like not to ride the tandem. At the last minute I realized that the cyclecomputer clocks were one hour ahead. Dang, I forgot about those a couple weeks ago when daylight savings time ended. As I was breaking out the instructions on how to change the clocks, Donna said, “Forget about them, let’s go.” Try as I might I felt slightly askew in the space time continuum the whole time. The weather was so nice that by 10:00 AM (possibly really 9:00 AM) we had our breakfast at an outside table at the Atlanta Bread Company near the end of the ride.

As if the 16 mile bike this morning wasn’t enough, Donna, I and a friend went for a 2-1/2 mile walk in Hitchcock Woods in the afternoon. It was pleasant enough that I walked in shorts. Because of the nice weather the woods were busy, we saw a group of two horse riders and then a group of 4 more as we were standing where the above photo was taken. There were also several people walking their dogs, including one woman who was talking on her cell phone while her dog was checking us out about 50 yards away from her. As we exited the woods a truck slowed and the woman behind the wheel asked if we had seen a muddy border collie. I said no. After she drove off my mind kicked in gear and I remembered something. I should have told her yes, the last time I saw that dog was when he was way ahead of you on trail while you yakked on your phone.

*a photo from an overlook near the Chalk Cliffs in Hitchcock Woods post processed with a filter called Simplifier by AmphiSoft in Paint Shop Pro

Started down, still down.
Miata Top Transitions since 10/24/08: 902

Two South Carolina Geocache Challenges Finished

Donna and I finally made a day trip to the northwest part of SC to get the final 5 caches we needed to complete the South Carolina DeLorme Challenge [GCVG6Y] (Pages 16, 22 & 23) and the South Carolina County Challenge [GC1ACWC] (Oconee & Pickens). Now we just await approval from the cache owners that we have completed them to their satisfaction and they will send us the coordinates for the extra special bonus cache associated with the challenges. The County Challenge one is less than 10 miles from here, but I have no idea where the Delorme one is.

All top transitions occurred today because the Emperor sat in the garage all day on Friday as Donna and I rode the tandem to work…

Started down, went up, back down, still down.
Miata Top Transitions since 10/24/08: 860