merziac

@squirtdad

What is this "simple project" of which you speak?

merziac

With any luck.

And yep, my wife is all for it but then she turns around and adds another load to the pile.

merziac

Here's hoping you get there sooner rather than later and great news on your wife hopefully coming out of the mess.

squirtdad

you know,

1. wow that bike on craigslist looks nice maybe I will check it out...won't have to do anything to it
2. Wow got a good price its mine
3. hmmm, tires hold air but are kinda rotted, time for new paselas 27 1 1/4
4. hmmm, it will be my city bike so let me put on those bars and levers from my stash
5. hmmm, the barcons don't fit the new bar....I don't like barcons anyway and rest of bike is arabesque
6. Off to ebay, got some nice arabesque down tube shifters
7. hmmm, since i am working on it I should replace the cables and while I am at it, it would look good with white housings
8. hmmm, I have set of long reach dual pivot sitting around, will swap out the brakes
9. hmmm, Saddle is crap....ok swap for B17 on bike a am going to donate
10. hmmm, pedals are plastic and ugly..... do I have something that works in stash....I do

just like that...simple project

gugie 

Good timing, I'll have to rope you into some credit card touring. It'd be good to have my personal mechanic along with.

nlerner

I’m bike commuting 3 consecutive days per week, just a short distance, around 5 miles round trip, but I find that meditative. Weather permitting, a buddy and I go out every weekend for a ride and have done so through the pandemic. The last six weeks have not been bike-friendly weather here in the Boston area, but tomorrow promises 50s and sunny, so we will ride. I am appreciating not having to wear a mask while riding, which I did do in the early days. Otherwise, it’s indoor riding and out door running if it’s not icy surfaces.

bikingshearer 

Oh, they need you, alright. They're just too obtuse to recognize it.

merziac

Boy, ain't that the truth.

That's ok, I sure as heck don't need them.

dddd

I hope the repair is as easy as removing the pump and filling the hole with a bolt, with a nut and Loctite on the other end of it(?).

merziac

Probably but with JB Weld through and through.

Mr. Spadoni 

Part time retirement job? Being retired is like being pregnant; you either are or you aren’t.

gugie 

It's not a job if you love doing it. The pay cut I'll take when I pull the trigger is ~ working for free. And that ain't braggin' bout my current salary.

merziac

True that, but I only love it when I'm doing it for myself, the proper amount of time, energy, effort and $$$$$ as necessary can be expended.

Whenever somebody else is paying for your services, they have expectations of compromise, doing it their way, substandard resources, escalated timetable and "cooperation" that is rarely reciprocal "just do it my way and we'll get along just fine, we didn't ask how you wanted to do it, that's not what we're paying for".

panzerwagon 

But what if we looked like this before the pandemic?

Andy_K 

That happens after you retire? That’s an almost perfect description of my job.

Andy_K 

I’ve got a 20% grade hill between me and anything else more than 500 yards from my house. It’s not super long, but it’s enough to discourage me from any rides shorter than 10 miles. I’ve been trying to talk myself into taking more short daily rides, but one of the early casualties of the pandemic was my will power.

jdawginsc 

Haha...drift...snow drift.

jdawginsc 

Getting so accustomed to teaching by computer dangerously sucked me into too much screen time.

randyjawa 

In days gone bye, during the Canadian winter months, I would print up a couple of hundred flyers and, walking of course, hand deliver them to neighborhoods...


In those days, I did not have a cell phone and, almost always, by the time I got home there was a message or two or more on the house phone from someone who did have an old road bike. I wish that I had taken pictures of all the bikes that came my way, this way. And, of course, I got my exercise!

pastorbobnlnh 

For me it was: "COVID and OUT!" Retirement and back to more riding.

After 40+ years of ministry (20 at my last church), I decided late last March that I'd retire in two weeks (on Easter Sunday) after a church leader basically called me "a slacker" in an email. At that moment, I was so incensed I decided to only give two weeks' notice. Since the pandemic had started in March 2020, I had never worked so hard, and had not taken any vacation that entire year.

There were so many new stresses. I was responsible for protecting the health and wellbeing of over 300 people, of which many were elderly and had underlying conditions. I had to produce a YouTube worship service every week. I sat alone in the church building, which normally hummed with activity most days of the week. I could no longer see my congregation "face to face" for worship and pastoral care. And the divisive politics of 2020 seemed to seep into every aspect of ministry. I could no longer maintain a "firewall" to shield the congregation from the vitriol.

The next day, I did walk back my two weeks' of notice and changed it to 6 months, and officially retired at the end of September 2021.

I am so happy with my decision! No regrets or second thoughts! I'm back to ridin' and wrenchin' several times each week and sometimes every day. I'm reengaging in previous hobbies and starting new ones. I have no desire to ever be in a pulpit again.

Did my ministry career end the way I had imagined? No. COVID changed all of that. But what I didn't realize until I retired was how much PTSD certain members and colleagues had inflicted upon me and my family over the course of those four decades.

I still have bad dreams about the church at night. However, a vigorous 20-40 mile ride makes a world of difference the next day.

P.S. I'm sorry this was on the long side. However, if you are a member of a religious organization, talk to your clergy, before firing off an inflammatory email.

qcpmsame 

Well said pastorbobnlnh and very timely also. That last line could apply to so many situations in these times.

Bill

Spaghetti Legs 

I would love to be able to work from home. I feel like every day I go to work now my life expectancy shrinks the tiniest little bit.

Pastor Bob, congrats on the retirement! I know exactly how you felt with your job; different line of work for me but same kind of issues.

thinktubes 

Coming up on 2 years WFH. Biking, as always has been an answer. Since I don’t have the commute, I can do 50-60 mile after work.

I’ve had to up my stretching game and really work on core strength to keep back/neck issues at bay. I really miss the gym and have lost a lot of muscle mass.

I remotely manage a team of 9, which to my surprise has worked quite well. They’re a good bunch, which helps a lot.

Probably still 3-5 years from retirement, but thinking about it a lot more these days.

Mr. Spadoni 

I happy for anyone who loves their work. I had employment like that for a few months. I loved going to work then. But soon, I got a new boss and the job turned into his self promotion project and we were merely minions performing tasks of no value to anyone.

So I get the point about enjoying your work. Still, the thing about holding any job is that your time is not your own. Someone expects you to show up on certain days, and even worse, at certain times. The inhumanity of this arrangement is staggering.

repechage

You are supposed to be in the Caribbean