Archive for June 2012
Road Bikes
We are on the road again. This is what it looks like to ride the Jaunt with Jim… It’s a picture from our 2008 trip. It is really a treat to ride with so many friends.
Saturday Start
It feels like the trip starts on Friday night, because that is when we gather to camp in the town where we park our cars. The riding begins on Saturday morning. Full of anticipation, we are ready to leave our routines behind for a week and lose ourselves to riding the roads; this year, in northern Wisconsin.
Our group numbers somewhere between 150 to 175 participants, with a shared love of cycling long distances. This ain’t no fundraiser. We ride for the adventure.
This morning, it all lies before us. I’ll try to take notes and capture the highlights for you. I’ll tell all in about a week, after we get back home and I get to sleep in a bed again.
On Vacation
As of today, I am officially on vacation from the day-job. My ‘away notice’ has been programmed for the work email account, and I don’t plan to be back there until June 18. I found out yesterday that the onset of my vacation coincides with the school kids in my neighborhood, because yesterday was their last day of school. They are on vacation for the summer! Of course, that meant they could stay up late last night and party outside in the beautiful June night air.
I enjoyed hearing their laughter and mirth, because I wasn’t trying to sleep. I was staying up late to finish laundry, hunt for long-hidden items for camping, and generally preparing myself for this years’ bike trip. I am almost ready. The lawn is mowed, I got cash from the bank, and new batteries for my flashlight.
I have been slowly pulling out things I think will be coming with me, and they are strewn about in several rooms. This morning I need to pack them up and see what makes the final cut. I will be asking myself, several times, “What am I forgetting?”
I did my darnedest to thoroughly enjoy my bed last night. After having done this bike trip for many years –around 16 or 17, I think– where we sleep on the ground every night for a week, I know how much I will be missing my bed in few days. It was the last time I would be on this bed for coming days, and I really wanted to appreciate it.
I did, sort of. I was asleep for too short a time, being awakened early by lovely chirping birds at the crack of dawn and my busy mind, plotting how I was going to get myself prepared by the appointed hour of departure. The one thing that I didn’t accomplish yet is, giving my bicycle any attention toward cleaning and recalibrating. I think my chain has stretched a bit, and it hasn’t been cleaned in a long time. The shifting doesn’t seem as smooth as usual and I think the cables need to be pulled a bit tighter.
If I don’t have time, it’s ride-able. I’ll deal with it on the trip. We are supported by a van from Penn Cycle and a very capable bicycle technician. As much as I would prefer to have my bike in better shape, it wouldn’t be the first time someone relied on his expertise to get their ride in ship-shape condition.
I need to pack my things! And eat breakfast. And vacuum, sweep, and otherwise prepare the house for showings while I’m gone. All minor hassles, and, at the same time, wonderful things! Because, I am on vacation!
Supremely Humbled
I’m not usually of a mind to write confessions, but when my self-discovery is significantly enlightening, I make exceptions. I thought I had a realistic impression of how the world works, but I’m discovering that my version misses detail that defies logic.
It makes no sense that the floors of our house can get so dirty when I’m the only one here, and am living like a guest in a museum. My ignorance is humbling. Being forced to have sole responsibility for keeping the floor clean has taught me that I never contributed enough toward the effort in the past.
I don’t know where the stuff is coming from, but over, and over, I step into a room to find some new morsel of debris lying in plain sight. If that much crap is coming from my activity when I am being careful, I must have been making a heck of a mess all my life, prior, when I was oblivious.
I guess I shouldn’t be surprised by the demonstration of gravity. Things end up on the floor. I just didn’t realize that the particles are able to materialize out of thin air.
Wake Up
Yesterday afternoon, the universe generously offered me a wake up call, free of any physical harm. I am wide awake to the message. On my bicycle commute home from the day-job, I ended up inches from becoming enmeshed in the front grill of a tricked-out Jeep.
Sure, Gary told me to be safe, as I left the building. Of course, I acknowledged I would.
I wasn’t.
I had fallen into an over-confident focus on my own intentions, neglecting to sufficiently estimate what those around me might possibly do. For all I know, my luck may have been with the fact that the driver of the Jeep did estimate what I might do, allowing himself to react in the nick of time. I am grateful he wasn’t distracted by anything at the moment he needed to hit the brakes and slide short of making impact with my startled self.
He had his turn signal on. I glanced left, saw his signal indicating he was turning right, then I glanced right and saw I had a short window, so I jumped on the pedals to cross the lanes to turn left.
In the world centered on me, his turn signal meant he would turn onto the road I was leaving. In reality, I was on a secondary road, very close to the intersection of a primary boulevard. He had no intention of turning at the little road I was on, he was indicating he would turn up ahead at the (now obvious to me) controlled intersection.
It is a good thing, when reminders that we aren’t the center of the universe arrive with no bruises beyond our ego.
I was so sure that I was safe by making good decisions, that I fell into a spell of neglecting to make good decisions.
Yes, I am now wide awake. I will be giving renewed energy toward anticipating what the actions will be that drivers around me might, or might not, take.
Perfect yard
I took a walk on Sunday afternoon during an hour reserved for a showing of our house. I brought my camera along and looked for something to catch my eye. Purgatory Creek appeared adequately photogenic.
We’ve been getting good feedback from the showings, but more than one have turned it down, saying they want a bigger yard.
All the effort I’ve put in over the years here, to reduce the need to mow lawn is now proving to be a limitation on the type of buyers to whom our house appeals. We just need a family with a cabin to go to, who won’t want to waste valuable weekend hours tethered to taking care of their lawn.
Our house is perfect for that!
For Sale
The sign that doesn’t say, “For Sale” on the corner of our lot (I guess it implies it), lights up at night. It occurs to me that a person driving around to look at houses for sale would be unlikely to do so in the dark of night, so I’m not sure about the value of this feature, but it is cool, anyway.
The last feedback we received from a recent showing was that the buyer decided they wanted a newer house and they don’t want a wooded lot. Alrighty, then. I guess this place isn’t for you. Have a nice day.
I read somewhere that the current average number of days homes are on the market is 130. It’s been just over 2-weeks for me now, and I’m already growing weary of the process. It’s not that I didn’t know what I was headed for.
I need to go out and mow the lawn, then get my laundry done before this afternoon’s showing. I miss the days when I could leave my clothes on the floor or set things on our counters. Life is messy, so trying to live a spotless life is dysfunctional, no?
Today is my last day off of work before I head north for the week-long bike trip. I feel a need to take advantage of it for some preparations. I hope the potential buyers won’t mind if my camping gear is strewn out all over the place today…
Biking Commute
Sure, it’s June again, but that doesn’t mean I don’t still have to live every day as if someone will be inspecting my home every time I step out the door. And it doesn’t mean I don’t have to work Saturdays at the day-job. Business is about as strong as I have seen it and our production schedule is maxed out. All hands on deck busy. So, I am on the clock today.
I will make the best of the situation and ride my bike to work. Maybe I will have energy afterwards to take a long route home and add extra miles. One thing I have re-verified, after riding to work for the last two days of the work-week: any muscle development I have accomplished by walking a half-hour everyday, has been of minimal help in pedaling my bike up hills. Holy cow, am I out of cycling shape. It’s either that or my tires have developed an increased resistance to rolling. Maybe my brakes are dragging.
I wish it didn’t have anything to do with trying to lug my heavy butt up those inclines. However, on the bright side, a heavy rider moves faster on the down-hill side of the slopes. Weeeeee!
One thing that has afflicted me in the increasing years of my 5th decade of life is, my get-up-and-go for facing hills, rain, or cold while cycling has declined dramatically. I’ve grown soft. Especially when alone. Having another rider around to distract me does wonders. Well, distract me and also trigger that urge to be competitive. I can’t help but try harder when there is someone else present. To a degree, anyway. I was passed on the way to work yesterday morning and the guy’s legs were a lot longer, and noticeably younger than mine. He sped off so fast, I didn’t have time to develop the urge to think about trying to keep up with him.
I had a nice surprise on the way home, Thursday. I was leaving work around 5 p.m., at just about the worst time for car traffic to be heavy, with drivers ornery about anything obstructing their expeditious dash for home. At precisely the time I was intending to enter the busy 4-lane out of the driveway at the work place, I spotted a cyclist already navigating the route. I jumped at the chance to get on his wheel and hoped being a pair of riders would buy us a smidgen of increased respect for space on the road.
He turned shortly thereafter and I figured that was that. A couple of streets later, he showed up again, now behind me. Seems I had picked a shorter route. We struck up a conversation, and shared the road for a good portion of the ride, eventually introducing ourselves by name. He seems like a wonderful fellow, and helped the miles to dissolve like magic. With luck, we’ll connect again in the future. It’s not just the camaraderie that I value, but also the added confidence in traffic for being two, instead of one. Even if it is false-confidence (for not being valid) I will accept being fooled and enjoy the feeling.
June Again
It’s finally June again. This is one of the best months of the year, you know. Rumor has it, the reason Jim Klobuchar picked the middle of June (+/-) for his bike-camping adventure week, is because it has a history of being the best weather for this kind of event. We’ve had our fair share of run-ins with nasty weather over the years, but more often, we have enjoyed incredibly great days. I’d say, enough to support his choice, …and the rumor.
The other reason(s) June is great, is… birthdays! You probably were thinking it was because school ends and summer vacation begins. Well, that is a very good thing, but it isn’t nearly as great as having 3 family birthdays to celebrate, as does my family. Cyndie’s comes up first, so I can always boast that I am younger than her. Why would I do that? I have no idea. It’s never won me any favor. I think it’s the little devil on my shoulder, cajoling me into the folly. I am powerless to the urge. It’s a terrible shortcoming.
Before the month is out, I will experience my birthday; a day I am quite fond of. When I was a kid, it was a mixed blessing. It happened after school was out, which was a bummer because it was special to have your birthday recognized by your teacher and classmates. But it occurred just about exactly 6 months away from Christmas, that other big event in the life of kids focused on receiving gifts. It balanced a year nicely for me.
June. It is one syllable and starts with the letter “J.” Just like “John.” It’s as if we were made for each other. Except for one thing… My favorite season of the year is winter. Still, June has enough going for it that I like to think of it as one of the best months.
Let’s give it a rousing welcome today.
Huzzah! June!
Relative Something 