Pictures from outdoor exercise.
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I took the new bike out today. I might call it "Birdie." The model name is Warbird. In disc golf, a birdie is "one under." When I'm riding that bike, I want to stay upright so it will be the "one under" me! Or maybe I'll just call it "Bird."
I put the rack on my car and drove to the wildlife refuge. From there I did a loop of 15.51 miles on mostly gravel with a little pavement. Some steep hills and some flats. I'm not in shape for riding, but it was really nice to be able to get out and ride just for fun and not be along the highway with cars zooming past.
This picture is a bridge over a small river where it has a confluence with a bigger river. In the background is the back side of an island that I like to camp on when I do a two-day paddle trip about 40 miles or so. It's owned by a non-profit and part of a Water Trail. It's a beautiful place.
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Despite my recent decision to step back from active fire fighting, sometimes the need is there. We were short on crew on this weekday big fire. I ended up in an airpack operating a 2 1/2 attack line for the initial attack. Eventually backup crews arrived and my old *kitten* retired to my heavy rescue I’d driven to fill and supply air bottles to the young and restless. I’m the guy in the video hauling air bottles in from my truck a couple hundred yards away on the road.3 -
https://www.facebook.com/100006429454642/posts/pfbid02FGVbkVkL5AmFQ6WG7hzaEDHTfhD2ru4XxJyATG93ejys5FbqRUzKna4846JP4aAgl/
Despite my recent decision to step back from active fire fighting, sometimes the need is there. We were short on crew on this weekday big fire. I ended up in an airpack operating a 2 1/2 attack line for the initial attack. Eventually backup crews arrived and my old *kitten* retired to my heavy rescue I’d driven to fill and supply air bottles to the young and restless. I’m the guy in the video hauling air bottles in from my truck a couple hundred yards away on the road.
I think I saw you in all your geezer glory a couple of times but the bottle carry at 45 seconds was the most prominent.2 -
Got six miles in without getting rained on.4 -
The view from my bike ride on Thursday behind my friend who is faster than I am.
No way would I pull out my phone to take a picture while we were on gravel. I decided I could do it on the pavement. Sorry for the ugly power lines, but it was a nice ride. I'm still getting the fitment dialed in on my bike. I planned a short route with a fair bit of climbing. I might go ride it tomorrow. If I'm feeling REALLY buff, I'll ride the bike paths from home out to the trailhead. I kind of doubt I'm ready for that - it's an extra 7.5 miles each way. I reckon I'll put the bike rack on my vehicle and drive to the trailhead and do a short ten mile loop ride. I'm ready for 20 miles, but not 25.
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I've thought about a new bike, something maybe a little lighter/faster than my old Trek hybrid. LBS says maybe a comfort gravel bike would suit. It's tempting, but I know I also will need a new laptop soon, plus a bunch of major home repairs/improvements, (I might be able to do some of those myself, but some not quickly or competently, so I'm trying to be realistic.) I'm doing OK with the Trek, but newer and faster is cooler, y'know?
On top of that, I'm lusting for a PM5 monitor for my Concept 2 RowErg (which has a PM3). I have a pretty-new Concept 2 BikeErg (pandemic purchase as a spin class replacement during Winter). That has a PM5. It's nice, all kinds of Bluetooth and wireless connect-y fun. They're not super expensive (just under $200), and theoretically an easy retrofit to the RowErg I have, basically plug and play. (Gotta love a company run in large par by MIT-trained engineers, brothers, who are also former national team (Olympic) rowers. They make excellent oars, too.) I'm just not sure how to think about that in context of all the other possible budget items. (I'm vulnerable to analysis paralysis.)
Back to bikes: My biker friends are urging me (quite emphatically) to consider a recumbent trike, suggesting an E-bike type (pedal assist, not full auto). That's big $$$, and I'm a casual biker (20-some miles per outing usually, once the season gets going), and I feel like I should stick with a non-E, regular upright bike as long as my physical limitations don't require accommodations. My biker buddies are century and tour kind of people, usually daily bikers, and I'm more about enjoyable cross-training in between rowing. (I don't know how y'all feel in the 50-plus universe, but I feel like I do better if I alternate modalities instead of doing the same exact activity every day.)
I'm not really looking for problem-solving resolution here: I know I need to sort out my personal priorities. But if anyone has experiences/thoughts they want to share, that's always good. :drinker:2 -
I've thought about a new bike, something maybe a little lighter/faster than my old Trek hybrid.
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I'm not really looking for problem-solving resolution here: I know I need to sort out my personal priorities. But if anyone has experiences/thoughts they want to share, that's always good. :drinker:
I think I've been considering my new bike for a couple years. I got more serious a few months ago. It was actually on a lark. I was buying a new set of straps for my toe clips (yeah - I'm old school) for my daily-driver commuter bike (belt drive, internal 8-speed hub), and I asked one of the mechanics who's been there since many of the other mechanics were born if, maybe, I had a wild hair and wanted to add a gravel bike to my fleet, what might I look at. Long story short - the bike I bought ended up being the first bike he suggested. It was nasty weather that day. I was wearing knee-high rubber boots and rain gear since I was walking from home. I promised to stop back by another day. I did. I rode it. I asked questions. I came back at least two more times and asked questions. I rode it one more time the day I took it home, just to be sure. It is way more bike than I was planning to buy. Some day, and I hope it's not too far in the future, I'll forget how much I paid and just love riding it.
I'm generally a frugal person. Maybe even a cheap *kitten*. I buy second-hand clothes. I cook dried beans and rice. I bought my pickup brand new... in 1997. I have often said, "Buy once, cry once." I always (ALWAYS) have buyer's remorse. This time I hadn't even left the shop. I hadn't even written the check yet. I am getting over it now. I think I paid more for this bike than I did for my first three cars.... combined. It will bring me joy. You can't buy that.
I had my annual chat with my financial planner this week. I had already bought the bike. He told me he was glad that I did. He's been urging me to spend a little bit more of what I saved up because that's what it's for. I have some projects I need to do around the house, and they'll cost far more than the bike. So I'd encourage you to consider at least looking at and test riding some bikes. If you find one that makes you smile and that will get you out exploring more, consider taking it home.
I often remind people what Warren Miller used to always say at the end of his movies: "Remember, if you don't do it this year, you'll be a year older when you do." I was very afraid to pull the trigger and retire from my career. I wasn't sure the finances would work out. I'm still not sure. I also am now so very VERY happy I decided to walk away from that dysfunctional environment. I could afford to buy this fancy new vehicle, and I did. I still love my Trek Soho belt bike. It's not for long rides. Too heavy. Great for getting groceries and going to the post office and just general around-town. Super low maintenance. The new bike will really only ever go out for recreation.
Similar story about my raft. I bought it several years ago. It was about 18 years old at the time, but pretty well maintained. I remember thinking, "I can't believe I spent that much on a raft, and I can't believe I waited so long to do it."
I have more free time now. I have thousands of miles of gravel roads within a half hour or hour drive from my house. I think this bike is going to get lots of use, and maybe even year-round. I used to be a recreational rider, but not really since graduate school. Time to get back after it. Being away from cars is a major bonus. I was hit by a motorist shortly after I retired. I am extremely fortunate I wasn't hurt any worse than I was. I'm still very skittish along roadways.
So, TLDR: Go ride some bikes. Maybe you'll adopt one. I was looking for a steel frame bike with mechanical disc brakes. I could have bought one for a lot less than the bike I ended up with. In the long run, I'll be very happy that I spent the extra just once rather than wishing I had bought something lighter/nicer with more modern components. Why wait?
My frame bag arrived in the mail yesterday. Now it no longer looks like I'm just out for a test ride. Now I can carry a few essentials without a backpack. I need to replace my old riding gloves, and I'll probably end up trying out cycling shoes and hope I don't crash too often forgetting to unclip. If I start to do some longer rides where I need to pack more, I might put some "cages" on the forks. Weight up front and down low.
I'm really glad the new bag's color is more subdued than it looked online. It's one of the few they had in stock. Leopard print wasn't going to work for me. It even sort of matches the color accents on the frame. The bag has an extra layer of waterproof material; hand-made in San Francisco. Nice features. Looking forward to the next ride!
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The last bike I got was an aluminum framed mountain bike which kinda beat me up hard... to the point where I was getting genital numbness even fancy seats didn't help... Kinda killed my enthusiasm for biking... I know things are better nowadays but I'm kinda protective of my tender bits...1
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My commuter bike has an aluminum frame. It's my least favorite frame material. I wanted to buy a steel-framed bike, but I really liked this one. The bike shop convinced me that modern construction methods make carbon bikes much stronger than they used to be. There's some design elements on this frame to soak up some road vibrations, but boy howdy it bounces around on gravel roads that aren't hard packed. If I switch to tubeless tire set up, I can air much farther down and soak up a lot of that energy too. Then I'll have to pump back up when I get to the road. I'm not convinced yet to go tubeless. The tires that came with the bike can be converted to tubeless. I just have to take out the tubes and pour in some sealant. "All the cool kids are doing it." Yeah... maybe I should have got a steel bike.
My commuter bike is pretty rigid. It's also heavy because of the internal rear hub and roller brake. It's fine on the road. It's been a great bike. It's still the bike I ride around town. My new bike is just for recreation. When I'm not riding it, it will be inside my house not locked to a post. It's not a grocery getter. It's just for fun.1 -
In other news, local senior citizen continues to refuse to act his age.
First ride of the year.4 -
My friend dropped his bike off at the bike shop. Not a bike like @Farback's bike. Human-powered.
His brakes had seized. He's getting what the shop calls the "SRAM Tune-up." They will remove the SRAM brakes and install a different brand. Shimano would be ideal, but he's getting something else.
He dropped off a dozen duck eggs, and I gave him a container full of some vegan borscht I made the other day. He is vegan these days except the eggs that come from his flock. Then we went for a walk along the river about three miles. The False Solomon's Seal is starting to blossom. That's so nice. So are fringed cups. Same with trillium, salmonberry, wood violet, larkspur, elderberry, and some others. Nice day. Didn't really even rain on us... much.
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The bluebonnets of Texas are almost done... The flowers drop off and the plants generate their seed pods. In a couple of weeks, the plants will start to wither...
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Some of you are clearly in places where Spring is more advanced than it is here. There's a nice woods on one of the paved trails that I bike often, where there are always many Spring wildflowers, a succession of them. Today, the featured item was Cutleaf Toothwort (Carmine concatenata) in masses, but I failed to get a photo of those. Also some Dutchman's Breeches (Dicentra cucullaria) and Spring Beauty (Claytonia sp. - I think this one is C. virginica, but I'm not sure).
The Mayapples (Podophyllum peltatum) are up in masses, but not flowering yet. I have to pay attention to catch those flowering, because the leaves tend to hide the flowers. I don't understand why they're called Mayapples, because they don't fruit here until Fall. Most of them here don't survive long enough to mature fruit, because they'll grow in many places where there's not sufficient season-long moisture for fruiting. My parents used to send me a box of mature fruit in the Fall. I could tell what it was by the distinctive scent, even before opening the box.
This same woods, in the next few weeks, will also have lots of Trout Lilies (Erythronium americanum) and Trillum (T. grandiflorum, in this case), among others.
Back to the bike issue: The main reason I restrain myself from buying a bike is that I don't think I'd ride much more, nor enjoy it more (maybe a little). The impulse is basically laziness: I'd like to go faster with no more effort. However, I don't want something so lightly built (including tires) that it's higher maintenance. I like the hybrid: It's easy and pretty bulletproof, low maintenance.
Also, I'm not going to make any unimportant/discretionary big purchases at least until I hear whether my insurance company is going to repair my crunched RAV 4, or total it. If I have to buy a new car, that's a very unexpected big $$$$ thing. I'd planned to drive the RAV until it started breaking annoyingly (or expensively) often, and we weren't there yet. I'd been saving up for some home repairs/improvements (very needful), but hadn't planned on a new car soon.
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I went out on the river yesterday for about 19 miles. I paddled my Wenonah Voyager - a 17.5-foot long open canoe. My friend got a picture of me. We had a gorgeous day, although we did have Mr. W. show up from time to time. We don't say his name. Bad juju. When it is warm out, he often blows upstream. It was at least calmer than the day before.
The trees almost all have leaves now, so I'm sure many of the Bald Eagles went unnoticed. We did see 15 of them.
I was surprised one friend brought his recreational kayak. Last year I helped him find a very nice sea kayak. It looks almost exactly like the one in these pictures, but is one foot longer. Hers is 13', and he got a 14' model. My friend with the 13' boat got that size because of two reasons. One, it can fit in her garage. Very important. Second, the 14' model has two rear hatches - a main hatch and a "day hatch." The 13' model just has one rear hatch, but it's roomier. For packing up gear for multi-day trips, she wanted more space. It's a great boat for her. The friend with the 14' boat was concerned about the higher water. It's actually easier at the level we had yesterday. Now he knows, so he'll bring the sea kayak next time. I'm trying to help him understand the difference between primary and secondary stability. I know once he has some miles under him, he'll appreciate that the narrower sea kayak feels "twitchier" on flat water. It's not tippy - just twitchy. It is also stable on edge, so it handles waves better. And it's a CRUISER. In his shorter, wider plastic boat, he lagged behind us quite a bit. At least he has a VERY NICE paddle I helped him find. A nice paddle is a joy. It's too short for him though, so if I find him a longer one he'll give me the shorter one. It's a perfect size for me - I'd use it at my new job. My first assignment is Monday.
This was the first time, I think, that I put three boats on my RAV4. I can hold two canoes. I for sure have carried my canoe and my friend's sea kayak. I've stacked many kayaks on my truck; I have a "stacker" on those racks. I know the racks on the car are the same size. Bonus was we could load the sea kayak on the hull on the padding I have on the racks and put the plastic boat on edge up against it for the half hour drive on back roads to get to the put-in. Bonus was the one fellow could just drive straight home from there while the other two of us took our boats back to the put-in to pick up my car.
Great day.
Yes, that's a giant butterfly on the back of my canoe.
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So much awesome!! Looks like you're having a blast, @mtaratoot!!1
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I had heard about a product that my friends at PaddlePeople.us call "Boat Shine." It's made by Maxglide - the same folks who make ski wax. It's called "Boat Guard SPF-50." When I bought my Wenonah Voyager a year ago, the seller said he had used some to make it pretty. He said that eventually I'd be able to see where a previous owner must have stored it outdoors - it had some sun fading and a few places where some leaves must have decomposed on the bottom of the hull. I could kind of see them already. I had considered buying some for a 30-year-old Wenonah Advantage that had very badly oxidized paint. I ended up selling that boat to make room for the Voyager, so I never got to try it out on that very old paint. It's a fun boat, and the new owners are enjoying it.
That Voyager was flat-out gorgeous when I bought it. It still is! I actually had three different people comment on it the first time I took it out - before I even had it in the water.
I finally bought some Boat Guard last year in part to prevent further degradation from the sun. It's supposed to be a once-a-year treatment. I used some today after giving Old Blue a good wash. It was pretty clear to me when I was washing it that I've put more use on the hull in the past year than the previous two owners did in 18 years. It has character now. Also called scratches.... The Boat Guard is supposed to fill in some of the small ones. Well, it does a little bit, but not completely. That's fine. The boat needs to be dry and clean, so I had to wait for spring to give it a try.
A friend named Kurt who is a paddling legend once told me about repairing some minor cosmetic damage I was thinking about fixing up on a Kevlar Wenonah Encounter. He told me what I could do, then he looked me in the eye and said, "Mark; paddle it, don't polish it." He's right you know. But still - an hour spent polishing the hull once a to bring back some of the beauty of a new boat isn't THAT hard to do. If it helps reduce sun damage, it's for sure worth it.
I snapped a picture after polishing up part of the hull. You can see that it really does bring back the luster of the damaged gelcoat. There was a little teal color on the polishing cloth, so it clearly does cut into the finish some, but I'm thinking it's just pulling off the oxidized layer. Once a year maybe. I think I'll pull out the Encounter after we get past the next rainy spell and give it a polish too. It didn't take very much of the stuff. A bottle is supposed to be enough for a 30-foot boat, but there's a lot more real estate on a 30-foot power boat than a 17.5 foot canoe. It would be a lot more work to treat a large boat; small investment for a paddle craft.
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Remarkable difference!! Very cool!!0
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I had my first day of work yesterday.
I drove an hour to meet the other staff. We loaded 14 boats from the barn onto the trailer and went to pick up the participants. It was a two-hour drive to where we paddled. We explored an estuary environment. It was windy and had a fair bit of chop on our way out. Then two hours back to drop folks off and then off to clean and put away all the equipment and then a drive home. It was about 14 hours door to door for me, but I only am going to do this a few days a month.
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