Sixty Fiver

The Jeep is in the shop getting new brakes and it's winter tyres... I walked to the mall and over to the shop to see how things were progressing which was a few km and about the upper limit for my back and hip at the moment.

It is a use it or lose it situation... have been riding a fair bit the past few days and have went a little over 40 km which is easier than walking.

no1mad 

My usual walking route with a stop at Atwood's to buy a balaclava. A bit too snug for me (with the glasses and all), so I gave it to my son. I also noticed that they got in a new shipment of Tingley hi-viz bomber jackets and I'm seriously thinking about asking Santa for one.

Machka 

Lots of walking today - dashed out the chemist and supermarket at lunch, then 1.4 km up to the radiology imagining lab after work ... then back down the street to find a bus stop so I could get home.

t x

Today marks the end of my first week bike commuting in about 10 years, it was certtainly nice to be back at it and the SoCal weather doesn't hurt. Previous to this I telecommuted for almost 2 years, so it's interesting to be back working with others f2f. I also found out that there's a commuter bus that goes almost right to my office and only costs $1! Ironically it takes as much time to walk to the stop nearest my house as it does to ride to work, but the option is still nice.

Ekdog

Are there bike racks on that commuter bus? Maybe you could do some multi-modal commuting.

t x

Yeah, each bus has room for two bikes, but the distances I'm traveling are so short (< 4mi) it's probably not worth taking the bus _and_ riding my bike. The bus will probably be a backup in case of mechanical issues or the (rare) bad storm.

Roody

We walked downtown to the Silver Bells in the City festival. 80,000 people keeping each other warm in the 16F air, enjoying electric light parade, community singing, tree lighting, hot cider, and fireworks.

Walking home, we were making better progress than the people in cars. It's nice to live in an old neighborhood close to downtown.

[HR][/HR]



(This pic is from last year--the tree this year was a lot better!)

Machka 

Machka 

Saturday -- we participated in Hobart's Open House event. We went to 8 places and we would have liked to see more, but just didn't have the time. I think we did well to see 8. They were all very interesting and I wish they'd run an Open House like this a couple times a year.
Open House Hobart

And ... we cycled between all 8 places. We drove into Hobart and parked ... then cycled from there. It made for an interesting workout because Hobart is not flat and it's also a city with traffic, traffic lights, etc. So there were quick sprints and hill climbs and all sorts. Then when we got to each place, we spent some time walking around. Even though we only cycled 14.66 km, all up it was about 6 hours of activity.

Machka 

I mentioned our adventures to a couple coworkers, who thought that they might like to participate in an Open House next year ... and I mentioned that we cycled around to all the places, and they thought that was a great idea too.

The Open Houses had a "Bus, bike and boot challenge" to encourage people to go around by bus, cycling or walking ... we should have signed up for it! I glanced at it, but didn't pursue it.

Machka 

Sunday -- Rowan and I did a hilly route from home. Only 13.58 km, but a strenuous 13.58 km. We finished with a cruise by the beach, and stopped to watch people playing in the water. It was a lovely warm, but windy, late spring day.

wipekitty

The winter wonderland returns! I went to work, rode around the snowy marsh trail, and picked up some holiday lights (by bike). I also walked to a doctor appointment and the bank. Finally, I got the trailer out and hauled 40 pounds of sidewalk salt.

All the streets are now a pretty, shiny, white sheet of snowy ice. Today's conclusion: riding the studded tires beats walking in snow boots (at least, until I get some ice cleats.)

Artkansas 

I did a little banking about 6 miles of riding. The weather was perfect. T shirt weather but cool enough that I never sweated.

I'm also working on a model for 3D printing, some toe clips that will fit my winter boots.

Roody

My daughter-in=law drives every day to pick up my grandson at high school. Today she dropped me off at the school and we walked downtown. I did some banking, then we went to our favorite spot for salads and pie. There were hundreds of Thanksgiving pies stacked up in the restaurant, waiting for delivery or pick-up.

We took the bus home because the temp was steadily dropping, and my grandson wasn't wearing his winter coat. It was 50F when he went to school in the morning, but only 30F by the time we got home at 4:30PM. Winds were gusting to 50 mph, so not a great day for cycling!

Machka 

Interesting.

I have an idea for a different sort of pedal I've been tossing about. If I ever finalise a design, I wonder if it could be 3D printed.

Zedoo

Lake St. Clair, where I wondered how far away is the horizon. The answer I found is 3 miles for level ground. I was higher than the water, so I estimate 5 miles. That is well short of the Canadian border, and I saw much less than half of the lake.

Machka 

For a moment there, I thought you were here in Tasmania.

Parks & Wildlife Service - Introduction
Lake St Clair Lodge, Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park

Jim from Boston

I usually don’t read this thread, but opened it this morning and first saw Machka’s post. At first I didn’t get the joke, because Lake St. Clair is in Michigan. I grew up on the East Side of Detroit and the Lake (Metro Beach) was a favorite summertime destination.

(I just can’t not respond to a Michigan, and particularly Detroit reference ).

Machka 

Lake St Clair is also in Tasmania. It's the deepest lake in Tasmania, maybe in Australia. Last time I was there was a decade ago ... we really need to go again!!

wipekitty

On the day before Thanksgiving, I hauled approximately 100 pounds of groceries across town in the snow. I was somewhat worried about car-free winter grocery shopping, but it really wasn't a big deal. I was very proud of myself.

25 pounds of that was salt. Nobody who walks in front of my house is going to have a bad time.

Roody

We went to Metro Beach at least once a summer when I was a kid. It was a little longer drive for us. I think I posted before that my mom grew up in Grosse Pointe and St. Clair Shores. She insisted that Lake St. Clair was one of the six Great Lakes. She told us that gangsters used to smuggle liquor in cars across the frozen lake during Prohibition.

Jim from Boston

See what I mean? Michiganians always seem to readily find each other no matter how far from the native state; it's a virtual state trait.

PS:A major bootlegging gang in Detroit was the Purple Gang, who got a mention in Elvis Presleys’s Jailhouse Rock: “…And the whole rhythm section was the Purple Gang…Let’s rock / Everybody, let’s rock / Every body in the whole cell block / Dancin' to the jailouse rock.”

And now back to our regularly scheduled thread, already in progress.

Machka 

Saturday -- 43.34 km on our tandem. This is the first time we have ridden it since about early September 2013, I think. It has been in storage all this time.

We had a beautiful day for it ... high of 25C, light winds, sunshine ...


And then we strolled around town after, and picked up a few things for dinner.

Artkansas 

Went to a job interview today. Rode the bus most of the way there, then popped on over the hill on my bike. Going home, I rode back up the hill and then the rest of the way home when it became obvious that I had just missed the bus.

Tomorrow I have another interview. The position is working the food counter at a movie theater so no big career move, but maybe I've hit the bottom.

Artkansas 

Went to a job interview today. The buses were running Sunday routes, so I pedaled there and back. Practiced my commuting skills. About 16 miles round trip.

The guy liked me and liked that I knew how to run a 16mm film projector, I guess everyone else is strictly digital.

So I've moved up from unemployed to underemployed.