Most of the interesting things happening in my life lately involve a bicycle. Or at least, those are the ones that pop into my mind first.
I *did* bike 24 miles to mom's and back two weeks ago. And lived! I've been biking 3-4x/week, usually 10-15 miles per outing. Not wanting to be a wuss, I kept waiting for my seat to feel more comfortable, but it didn't, and at the encouragement of one of the ladies from Knit Night, I took myself and my bike to the bike shop. (Have I mentioned the bike shop door is about 8 feet from the yarn shop door? It's handy). I came home from the shop with a reasonably priced new seat, chain lube, a lubed chain, and the knowledge of how to remove my front tire. The things they've invented since 1970! (That's my other bike of reference. Quick release wheels did not exist on bikes in 1970. At least not on my dad's bike.) I know it can take a while to get used to a new seat, but I'm an optimist so Filius and I set off on a 16 mile ride after we got home and had a great time. It was the first time we'd traveled that 'block', and I certainly got a workout. New seat = new trunk muscles in play.
Today, our plan was to bike to the next town south of us for dessert after lunch. Except my rear tire was totally flat. We reinflated it, biked around the town block, and wondered if we could make the trip (12 miles) if we brought along an air pump. Wisdom prevailed, and we decided against it. Then inquisitiveness came to the fore, and we managed to remove the tire from the bike, the tread and tube from the rim, find the leak, patch it (yay, Roho patch kits!), reassemble everything and ... head off for dessert. And order two hand-thrown cups.
God has perfect timing. Yesterday, I learned what I needed to know to be able to fix my bike today.
Today is also applesauce canning day. Eleven quarts are cooling, and another 4 are about to jump into the water bath. I think I'll make some apple leather next. And then pie filling. And somewhere in there, pumpkin pie filling. A neighbor dropped off some of the bounty of her squash bed, which survived the bugs. My squash bed did not survive.
Knitwise, I've been slacking. My big project is going to be a Christmas vest for Patrick, but the yarn's not in yet. I cast on for a scarf, to use up some oooold Jaggerspun yarn from the Weaver's Place, but ran out. Fortunately, the yarn still exists, so I ordered more. But it's not here yet. I did knit up Wingspan in leftover sock yarn, finished a test knit, finished the Bavarian Socks, and knit up some socks for Filius. Nothing is on the needles now, though. I may just work on Molly's Fault after I get the applesauce cleaned up in the kitchen.
Homeschooling is quiet these days. Filia has 16 credit via dual enrollment, so I assist in getting her to college and home from college, and that's about it. Filius is plugging away at his subjects, including Statistics. We switched from Coursera's Intro to Stats to Udacity's Stats 101, and are much pleased with the switch. Better feedback, more introductory (less deep end), and easier to grasp. Little by little, we'll progress through the year!
2 comments:
You still biking now that it is almost Dec?
I got a new bike this summer too! It was an exchange for a bike I had previously purchased and didn't like the uncomfortable position.
Unfortunately, I ended up with a bulging disk within a week of purchase, and have only ridden it once so far to date :(
But, you have me inspired. Maybe I'll have to try it out. Only, it's winter now, and a bit cold. I have no modern winter biking clothes. You?
I rode the day before Thanksgiving - twice! Once was a test ride on a new road bike, the other was to get in some mileage at home.
Modern winter biking clothes, as well as modern biking clothes, period, are not part of my wardrobe. It just seems saner to stay inside. I've thought about getting rollers.
How's your back doing?
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