zjrog

Nope. Doesn't hurt. Anymore. But cramps with mild exertion, which is why I sought medical advice.

Sounds like you are doing well. Impressive BP numbers! I think my lowest without meds has been 109/58. With a HR at 57. Unthinkable numbers 2 years ago.


As I was working in my garage today, I came upon a stash of chains I bought a few months ago. Before I got this Cannondale. So, I strung up the cables temporarily, until the ferrule come in. Cut cable housings to size and put the chain on. I need to remove the extra links, but that will wait till other stuff comes in. It shifts well in the rear, but the front needs tuning. Again. Not bad for just chucking things together. Waiting on bar tape as well.

Which has me thinking really dumb thoughts. Like, just toss leftover parts at that Marin for now. My curious side just wants to see how big that big bike is. I may toss the RSX 7 speed brifters on for this experiment. I wanted to find a rigid fork at the Collective. But they are by appointment only, and no rummaging for now. Booooooo....

Staying healthy. Mask and gloves when shopping. Utah has done pretty well with keeping the curve from spiking. I'm anxious to get things going again though. And. I scored a case of TP today... Actually surprised there was quite a lot today. I had enough for a little while longer. But the way people have been lately, I figured I better.

Oh man, if this is what being retired is like, I'm not ready yet...

tallbikeman

When I turned 58 yrs old was the first time I started thinking that retirement was better than working. Up till then I loved working. It surprised me how strong the feelings were about this. I was being treated fine at work. I had a job that required all the skills I had built up in my years on that job. I was the guy in charge quite a bit of the time with my reputation on the line. But my body was wearing out and not able to keep up a 40 hr. workweek as well as when I was younger. I worked on until I hit Social Security at 62 yrs. old and retired. What a blessed relief that was. It took me months to decompress and I've managed to fill all that spare time with so many things to do. Actually this stay at home has crippled some of the social groups I was involved in and I'm thinking this is a good time to reset some of my goals. I'm going to have less social groups when this thing is over. This week is the first week I have found TP sitting on shelves during the afternoon. I figure there must be spare bedrooms full of TP all over town. We need to get as much of our previous business up and running as is safe to do so. I believe it will be very hard to open a sit down restaurant until after a vaccine is available. I think we will be wearing masks for the forseeable future. I've been watching the political protests in various states trying to get the governors to let everyone go back to the way it was. Sorry people a big change has happened and those protesters rubbing shoulders and not wearing proper PPE are our next crush into the ER's. Keep riding, losing weight, loving your family and being good to yourself.

zjrog

Well, I'm 57. I've been the "GO TO" a number of times in my career. I'm happy to be the "old guy" with most of the answers now. No desire to be in charge again, but if it comes my way, I will again.

When I retired from the Navy, nearly 19 years ago, I wondered about real retirement. Seemed like it was a long time ago. But now, looking at less than 10 years before I probably have to retire, it seems right around the corner. Odd. Basically see where I am in 5 years. Been in this job for 10 years, had 3 jobs in the previous 9. A lot depends on how I feel.

Current situation. I think it is amazing how people readily accepted loss of freedom. My concern is not so much the virus, or economy. But when people start losing homes, cars, possessions, the suicide rates will rise drastically. I already see it climbing in the veteran communities. When it becomes too high a cost for the safety of the few? Then is this worth that cost?

Marin is mostly assembled, need to get the brakes back on it.

tallbikeman

My father, who fought in the battle of the bulge in WW2, used to tell me that taking away freedoms from us was very easy. He felt that most people did not want to be making decisions and would rather be told what to do. I feel that this is probably the truth of the situation concerning freedom. Making decisions and coping with change appear to be some of the hardest things that we as humans are required to do. After first commenting on the work protestors I realized that a certain percentage of the protestors are actually going to these outdoor unprotected rally's to facilitate getting the virus and getting it over with. Good or bad outcome lets just get it over with and get back to work. I agree totally with your statement concerning people losing their hope and possessions with suicides spiking along with other bad outcomes. I find that there are a lot of homeless these days that were one paycheck away from the streets when something bad happened to their money. They ended up on the streets, still working, and still paying bills but no housing. They live in cars, tents, old RV's,ect and it is very distressing to my wife and I. The average cost of a building permit here in West Sacramento is $50,000. No wonder people are ending up on the street. All that gets built here is McMansion style housing. No real effort is being expended to house the lower wage workers. I believe this shutdown was caused by the very late effort to control how many people are ending up hospitalized with Covid. No effort is being made to get rid of it. If you notice they are just trying to keep the rate of hospitalization low enough so that not too many people are dying on the streets or at home. This also allows for some emergency care for heart attacks and such. If this wasn't regulated we could not go to the hospital for a heart attack because it would be overwhelmed and unable to handle us. I notice that about half of the hospitalizations are for people under the age of 50 so this sickness is democratic in its distribution. The ultimate kill will be a million or so to get herd immunity. I'm hoping we make it to a vaccine first. The longer you and I stay healthy the better the treatments and outcomes will become so that if we get it at a latter date we have a even better chance of survival. Sorry for the belching out of all this stress I've been feeling lately. Please get the brakes on that Marin and ride to your hearts content. I do like taller bicycles better than short ones. It is hard to find a smaller frame that has the reach I want. Taller frames are good for mild off roading and road work. More technical hard core mountain biking needs a frame with a low top bar. Most of the MTB designs nowadays have that feature, rightly so in my book. Weather today is perfect. Getting ready for a ride with my wife. Stay healthy.

zjrog

Well I've lost and gained. Still under 250 at least. I need to get out more...

Spent a good chunk of last week working on the engine I'm refurbishing for my truck. Until I over torqued the headbolts by about 200%... New bolts and gaskets are on their way. Grrrr. I have a buddy that is going to walk me through ensuring The heads are flat still.

Bought a new carb for my string trimmer. They sent the wrong one. Replacement is on it's way. But, I tore the original apart and cleaned it, string trimmer works again. Enough so, I used the cultivator attachment to rip up a flower bed. The new carb will sit and wait a bit. For $15, it's worth holding on to...

And some yard work. I hate yard work... Needs to be done.

Bikes. Got some good advice on the brake issues I've had with my 1990 Trek 7000. And the improvements are impressive. New pads will make it even better.

I decided to do a drop bar conversion to my 1989 Trek 950.

I used the RSX 3x7 shifters from the 1997 Cannondale project. I need to order some red bar tape. In time, I need to get better, lighter tires. These were off a box store bike and are heavy and hard. Again. New brake pads will be a big improvement. But I like it...

And my 97 Cannondale R300...

RSX shifters replaced with Sora 3400 3x9... I need to fine tune shifting still. And decide on a bar tape color... but it feels good. Stops well. And isn't ugly anymore. That original rock of a seat needs to go though. I stole the seat post clamp from the CAAD8, as I put a carbon fiber clamp in it's place (saved 10 grams!).

And, pulled out my 10 year old R/C stuff. Need new batteries, and some cleaning. And need to recalibrate the electronics on one of the cars...

zjrog

Well. I did a thing yesterday. Got to ride with my grandkids..



yeah. Nothing extreme. But downhill anything is a fear... I did the track about a dozen times. Last GIF has my 3 year old grandson in the right side image. Poor little guy. Ready to pedal. But nothing is short enough for him...

Oneder

I lost over 80 pounds through fasting and a lower carb diet (though nor keto levels of low), it really helps with the hunger. Also has many health benefits.

tallbikeman

Didn't know that video could be posted. That is cool. Good to see you riding with your kin. Love the grandchildren. Important to be there for them. Won't be long before that 3 yr old will be riding like the wind. I love working on my cars so much that I pay someone else to do it when I can afford it. I hit 232lbs this week. Trying to keep the weight off as much as possible. I've realized I need to change some of my eating habits to ensure my calorie count is proper for weight loss. I've been eating a large calorie meal once a day and much smaller meals the rest of the day. I now realize that all the meals need to be smaller in calories. I'm going to have to make other changes here soon because my allowed calories are inching down to very low totals. It is hard to feel full on lower calorie counts and will have to resort to lower calorie fillers of the vegetable type. I had problems with this on my earlier try at getting below 220lbs. This time I'm going to experiment with different foods than what I'm used to eating in order to not get empty hungry feelings. I feel that my food choices will be much more vegetarian than they are now with a lot less meat. I'm especially enamored with cow which tends to be fairly high calorie. Losing weight and keeping it off is such a war.

zjrog

I'm not sure with video, but animated GIF files load fine.

I do enjoy working on cars when I don't HAVE to. But I do enjoy when the vehicle is a project when I can work at my own pace or pleasure. I'm about to place my old Neon for sale, with a stick shift I can't drive it safely currently in my ankle brace. I'll miss the car, had it since new. But if I can't drive it, and won't for the next year or more, maybe someone needs it more than I do. Once my truck is running, and I think it reliable, I may sell my Jeep. I am very curious about what went wrong with the original engine in my truck. Looking forward to an "autopsy" on that. Depending on the damage, or lack of, I may see it as another project. Perhaps as a rebuild to put in a Mustang... Who knows.

Food. I need to back off a bit, I'm up a few pounds. As much apathy as well as lack of exercise. My local gym reopens tomorrow. Unsure how I feel about that. On the other hand, our county, community, has a low case count (less than 60 since the beginning), and no deaths. We have some businesses opening, and it is up to individuals to decide if they wish to take a chance.

So this week I have started over in some aspects with food. And hoping that I don't sabotage myself... Time will tell...

tallbikeman

Nutcase helmet with "Da Brim" sun screen brim to try and keep the skin cancer away. I hate sun screen lotion so this is what I use for sun screen.

Out on the peninsula road. At some point you will run into sheep/goats or cattle being kept on this narrow property. That is Lisbon Slough in the background. I'm on top of a 30ft high levee.

This photo was taken after I returned from behind the sign. This dirt road leads down a narrow peninsula between the ship channel going to West Sacramento and Lisbon Slough. Very nice ride. Lisbon slough is to the right on other side of the levee.

Out riding my 27" X 1 1/4" wheeled Schwinn Sports Tourer. I rode 5 miles to get to this road then went down it 3 miles until I ran into the sheep and sheep herders. Turned and pedaled back home. I would have never guessed that a tire this narrow would do just fine off road but it does. This bike is set up very similar to a so called hybrid bike with low enough gearing to conquer all the hills around here. The seat and handlebar bags are by Jannd and the frame bag is by Revelate. The frame bag is a superb bag. Everything about it is first class and works perfectly. The Jannd bags are well designed and built and I've never had troubles with them. Clothes in the seat bag, wallet, keys, phone in handlebar bag, spare bike tubes, patches, tire pump, pedro tire levers ect in the frame bag. For all the years I have lived here there are still areas that need exploring for the first time. I have plenty of spare time now so I'm doing those explorations. It's been very fun so far. I'll keep you posted.

zjrog

In my youth, before I discovered girls and cars(!!!), my old Sears Free Spirit 10 speed took me on many off road adventures, cow paths, gravel roads where I grew up (just 50 miles north of Dirty Kanza territory) a MTB would have been better suited, my Mom's old balloon tire bike was a single speed and would have been the BOMB with gears. But was super "NOT COOL" at the time.

The tire guy at the local CO-OP store, kept me from getting flats. We cut the beads off tires I took off, and inserted the tread in my new tires. That kept flats of my 27x1 1/4" tires to a minimum. So really, in many ways, drop bar bikes off pavement are a return to my youth...

tallbikeman

I got a job in 9th grade at a roller rink rebuilding the loose ballbearing wheels on the skates. The owner had a barrel full of the ball bearings. Cones and lock nuts a million times over. With that money I bought a Schwinn Super Sport which immediately made me the fastest guy in the neighborhood. That bike spent quite a bit of time off road. The tires of the day were pretty suck but had a lot of fun with that bike. I use Schwalbe Marathon Plus on my present 27" X 1 1/4" bike and they are bulletproof. They work just fine off road. Having raced MTB's here in Northern California In my early years I know not to bash with a 70's and 80' lugged frame steel road bike. The Schwinn Varsity is a total different beast. Though sold as road bikes these bikes make fine MTB's and can take anything you can throw at it just like its chrome moly cousins of the era. Fun times.