My Bicycle Musings

Minimum Friday!

2012-01-27T15:45:00.000-08:00

It was a minimum day today, so I got to go home EARLY! Yah!

I had a visitor from the high school this afternoon. She said that all my geocaching evangelizing last year helped her in her geography class recently when the teacher was talking about GPS and geocaching. Nice!

It is sunny and warm today, and I got another ten miles on the bike, for a nice round 100 miles for three weeks. And I oiled the chain when I got home.

Chris commented on yesterday's post that it is so cold where he lives that he has to haul his folding bike on the the bus going home. That reminds me that I really should ride the Raleigh once in a while. At any rate, I'm not sure moving here would be worth the warm weather, what with the higher cost of living and all. I liked living in the high desert where one would get snow for a week or so in the odd years. A little variation!

That is about it for today!

Yes, It Is Thursday

2012-01-26T20:26:00.000-08:00

Finally rode to work this week, and I just may ride to work tomorrow! It's warm enough that I don't need the leg warmers. Aaahhhh, California!

I found a worm had crawled out of the bottom (through the drain holes) of my poppy-plant growing container (a plastic cup) at work. I stuck him back in the top and he dug his way back into the earth. But where did he come from?

I don't remember a worm in the dirt I put in there, although it did come from the school garden.

Friday Friday

2012-01-20T17:05:00.000-08:00

Braved the threat of rain (tonight, as it turns out) and bike to work for another ten miles (or so) today. The week's total is very nearly or just over thirty miles.

It was almost summer this morning, the temperature was 46 degrees when I took off for work!

I do not know what is going on in the library bathroom when I am not there, but apparently some bejeweled patron is shedding diamonds. Am I doing this right?

Looks like a caterpillar!

And in Google-ing the "Am I Doing This Right?" meme, I see failed to do the final panel that is de regueur...

That is it for this week!

2012-01-19T17:12:00.000-08:00

Another ride to work, it was 38 degrees. Did I mention yesterday that is very darn close to freezing? Eh?

But it's a DRY cold!

A nice sunny day, otherwise!

And there I am, warming in the sun, eating an apple, while waiting for a couple of students to return from a suspicious trip to the lavatory.

I stopped by the pharmacy to pick a prescription, the pharmacist was suitably impressed by my modest admittance of riding ten miles a day. Gosh, I'm heroic! A standard for all the non-riders out there!

I better go before I dig myself too big a hole.

Later!

Another Short Week

2012-01-18T18:01:00.000-08:00

Thirty-nine degrees, ten miles (more or less), that was the ride today.

It's supposed to rain on Friday, so there goes the week!

Zombocom is blacked out in support of the anti-SOPA movement, can you dig it?

Friday Again

2012-01-13T17:09:00.000-08:00

Finished up the week with just over 51 miles commuting.

I want to thank Alex for his comments on yesterday's post!

Mr. M. told me I should:

Oil the brake cable.
Check for frayed cables.
Check for gunk.

So there is a consensus! All basic stuff, really, and I REALLY should have done it already!

And I promise I will, tomorrow!

Two-Handed Shifting For Myself

2012-01-12T16:41:00.000-08:00

I have ridden the bike to work each day (so far!). So THERE!

It is not nearly as chilly in the morning the last couple of days.

It was not until eleven in the morning that I realized my undershirt was hanging out my shirt sleeves. Fashion faux pas!

The shifter for the front chainrings is so stiff that I cannot shift it with my thumb. It is a two-handed operation. I know not why, but it feels like the spring is getting stronger, or my thumb is getting weaker.

I have 42 miles on the bike (so far!) this week.

Heigh Ho

2012-01-09T18:48:00.000-08:00

Rode just over ten miles to work and back today. I was expecting it to be really cold, but it was not. It was around 44 degrees. Certainly warmer than yesterday at Paradise valley!

Unplugged the kitchen drain when I got home, warshed my clothes, and took out the trash. Just the usual stuff!

Later!

Sunday Rounded Up

2011-12-11T10:14:00.000-08:00

I managed to achieve nearly 55 miles commuting this week. Nearly...

Next, probably not so much. There will be a bit of driving here and there, because it's gonna rain, you know! And parties, and stuff.

I had to repair a flat on rear Thursday night, I think it was. No idea where it came from. It was just there!

Over on the Commute By Bike blog Ted has a review of his Feedback Sports Pro-Elite bike repair stand. It looks like a good stand. But what caught my eye was aways down he has a picture of a Park Tools repair stand, which he characterizes as what the elitist pros use. Yay, I'm an elitist pro!

My Messy Garage, circa 2006, with Park repair stand in center!

I have noticed that over the years my bike maintenance routines have severely diminished. When the Schwinn was new I spent a LOT of time cleaning and lubing every little thing. Now, it's oil the chain and fix the flats. And maybe a brake pad now and then.

Thursday Already?

2011-12-08T17:49:00.000-08:00

It's still chilly in the morning. The rumour is that the temperature was 38 degrees when I got to work.

Surprised a very handsome skunk as I was exiting the garage this morning. I don't know who was more surprised... me, the skunk, or the cat (NOT the tailless cat) who was investing the area.

Yesterday I was working on a geocache in the garage and reached down to pick up a washer I dropped, and whacked my head on the pointy-corner of the pull-out on the desk. Didn't bleed like pig, but it was certainly red. The blood, that is. The students at school were quite fascinated by the Band-Aid, and I had to demonstrate several times, using my desk at work, how it happened.

The geocache I was working on was the pine cone. The top keeps coming loose, in spite of copius amounts of glue gun glue and expoxy. So yesterday I picked up an eye bolt from Dixieline, and today I fastening it all together.

I did NOT put that spider in there!!

And here is what the hanger looks like, just for reference.

Those pencil shavings are my sad attempt at disguising the eye bolt.

So far I've totaled nearly 45 miles commuting in the pretty-frigid-for-here week. I'm sure those people who bike in the snow are chuckling, though. I commented to a pedistrian this morning about how frozen I was, he suggested I go to Colorado. No thanks!

Chilly Tuesday

2011-12-06T20:31:00.000-08:00

Rode the bike yesterday (15miles) and today (nearly 10 miles) to work and back. Boy, it is chilly in the dark before the dawn! Low 40s! This is COLD for SoCal! I even wore the leg warmers!

I've been reading up on those electric showers, the ones with the heating unit on the shower head. I couldn't see how they would be very safe. And from what I've been reading, many of them are NOT safe. Firstly, some are cheaply made. I saw one manufacturer was recalling over 32,000 units. I read accounts of shower heads exploding with a shower of sparks. One fellow thanked his mother for telling him not to pee in the shower, because his shower head exploded just as he stepped out to use the toilet!

Then there is the installation. I saw pictures of shower heads with the wire connections right out in the open, some taped up, some not! I heard tales that grounding is non-existent in many places. Ones was wire into a porcelain light fixture that was hanging from the ceiling right above the shower. Who thought that one up? Yikes! I'm betting very few of these installations have a GFCI (Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter) breaker in the circuit!

The shower heads require a pretty heavy amperage, too. Thirty to forty amps. That is about three times what a 1,000 watt portable heater uses. So you better not wire it up with standard #12 wire! One of the pictures showed a shower with Romex-type (NMSC, or Non Metallic Sheathed Cable) cable running to it. I hope it was at least #10!

All these installations used plastic pipe. I'm thinking I'd want metal pipe that is WELL-grounded.

I think maybe I would just go with one of them solar water heater bags...

Thanks for reading!

"I hate pickup truck drivers" Friday

2011-11-18T16:23:00.000-08:00

Hey, I drive one myself, but I don't honk at bicycle riders for no reason, and I don't make left turns in front of them. That's all I'm going to say. Just be full of thanks for THAT!

A silly girl left her flash drive in a computer TWICE today. It was such an amazing-looking drive that I just HAD to take a picture of it...

Manage to get the mileage up to 30.4 miles today.

Is It Thursday Yet?

2011-11-17T16:35:00.000-08:00

Headed off to work on the bike this morning. I got about a block away before I realized why my right feet felt odd in the pedal clip. That's not an official bike shoe, it's a sneaker!

So much for auto focus!

Mrs. K. diagnosed the printer problems in the library. Das fuser is kaput! Of course the camera batteries died just as I was trying to take a picture of the truly impressive hole in the fuser thingie. I'll try again tomorrow!

It's chilly in the morning. Today it was around 52.0 °F when I headed out, and it is around 62.0 °F right now at 4:33 PM. That may not be too cold for youse guys back east, but it IS in the lower end of the Shorts Weather here!

Mileage is at 18.23 miles for the week, so far. It is not going to get much more than that!

Wednesday

2011-11-09T10:28:00.000-08:00

I was riding to work yesterday when I spotted a suspicious-looking fellow peering into some bushes. I thought he looked like a geocacher, but I knew there was no cache there. When I got home I found there WAS a new cache there! And he was First To Find! I could have been Co-FTF if I had stopped to talk to him!

I found it for myself this morning, and also a second one a quarter-mile or so away. Here is #2:

And I managed to put five more miles on the bike!

Tuesday

2011-11-08T19:42:00.000-08:00

Rode the bike to work yesterday (even though the road was damp from overnight rain) and today, so I have around twenty miles on the odometer.

Saw this car-carrier with an old Plymouth Barracuda and an older Chevy.

Took these close-ups, ain't that Chevy one (slightly 'shopped) artistic?

I washed by Hello Kitty blanket for the first time, now my bike shorts have pink fuzzies stuck to the seams!

Saw this motorcycle, too. Looks like someone is making a chopper out of a Honda (I THINK it's a Honda) (UPDATE: Turns out, on closer inspection, it is a Yamaha, but what size?).

That's about it for today!

Thursday Threatening

2011-11-03T22:14:00.000-07:00

Yes, threatening, I say! T-Storms!! Ninety percent chance of precipitation tomorrow!

I rode the bike to work today, and apparently I rode it Monday, so I've got twenty miles for the week. And that will be about it!
\
Norm N. shared with me a book called The Math Book, by Clifford A. Pickover. It's math, but it's really interesting. One page chapters about different interesting (did I say interesting again?) subject. It would make a great bathroom reader! Most interesting (!) was the research done to discover ants seem to have some sort of pedometer instinct, where they count their steps to a food source. And this can be messed with!

I finally got all our Linux notebooks in the computer lab printing to the lab printer, once someone admitted they had the root password. And a bit of research on my part. So, now I've got root! I have the POWER!!!

Later!

2011-10-31T17:41:00.000-07:00

Rode the bike to work today.

Found a folder of funny and interesting stuff in a drawer at work. This picture of various ham radio equipments at work brought back a lot of memories.

From left to right, we have a Hammerlund receiver (either a 170 or a 180, I can't remember), a Heathkit HW-16 transceiver, and a Globe Scout transmitter. On top of the Heathkit there are two speakers, and the fabulous Olson SWR meter. Also a code practice oscillator I made with a 555 timer chip. I don't know why the HW-16 was at work, that was my personal equipment. The other ones ended up in my shack when my enthusiasm for the school ham radio club faded.

The HW-16 developed a chirp (as noted by a OO (Official Observer), so I sold it at the swap meet. The other two eventually ended up with someone who knew a lot more about repairing old boat anchors than I do!

I wonder which camera I used to take that picture. It certainly isn't focused very well! I can't imagine the school Nikon FM would have produced that.

On the ride home some passenger guy yelled something about "Sucks" out his window at me, but I figured he was just complaining about having to ride with his mom. Right?

Later!

Sunday In MTRP

2011-10-30T13:14:00.000-07:00

Finished A Tale Of Two Cities this morning at three in the morning when the neighbors decided that playing their stereo (Johnny Cash, if you can imagine!) at a just about irritating, but not enough to call the police level (and yakking on their phones in the driveway) was not enough, they should go skateboarding, too. Keep watching my Writings section for a fantasy I just may write about going over there with a shotgun and blasting each of their stereo components. To kingdom come.

But I digress...

I liked A Tale Of Two Cities after I finished it, but I found it very difficult to read. Even Jane Austen's Pride And Prejudice, with its flowery language, was easier to read.

Now I've started a Barbara Kingsolver book, which I have forgotten the title of. It has two sisters, one goes to Nicaragua, the other to their home town of Grace, Arizona. Where the fruit trees bloom.

I went geocaching today. Didn't find one I had high hopes for, but did find two others, puzzle caches they were, rather nicely. I had managed to solve one of the puzzles, and Matt did the hard one, which involved calculating bowling scores. I figured I walked 4.88 miles today, a lot of which was up and down, which MUST add some difficulty rating to the endeavor.

That's about it for today!

Friday

2011-10-28T16:19:00.000-07:00

Rode to work four times this week, for a total of 40.40 miles.

Over on the Burnt Pizza blog you can see what I had for breakfast (at work) this morning.

Some guys in an SUV honked three times as they passed me in front of the school this afternoon, and waved out the windows.

As I passed them parked along side the road a block later I rang my bell three times. We laughed and laughed.

Oh, and speaking of food, yesterday Mrs. P. brought me an offering of fries!

That is about it for this week in bicycling!

Friday

2011-10-21T21:12:00.000-07:00

Rode the bike to work today and yesterday, for a grand total of twenty miles, just like last week!

Yesterday I saw this Domo Kun backpack. How neat is that?

When I was at Albertson's the other day I noticed the "TV" at the cash register had crashed. Guess it's not a television after all!

Maybe they should use Firefox?

I polished my work shoes today, at work, of course! The brush is one that our dear dog Gimli (Son of Gloin) chewed on thirty-some years ago. That little rascal was the chewingist dog ever!

That's about it for today!

Saturday

2011-10-15T13:22:00.000-07:00

Rode the bike to work yesterday! Ten whole miles for to add to the odometer!

Having not showered before, I opted to use some deodorant I have stashed at work. It is awfully smelly, and smells just awful! I figured I'd be giving the Axe boys a dose of their own medicine!

Breakfast Club is on Friday, so, feeling lackadaisical, I opted to sneak over to the cafeteria and partake of some goodies, while they were still warm. No coffee, as we lost the teacher who always could be counted on to prepare it in advance. Had some of a VERY EXCELLENT egg dish, and snagged a donut for later.

That's a little salsa on top. Fabulous!

Being odorous, of course today was the day the V.P. decided we had to go on a Field Trip to another school to observe their checking-out-of-laptop-computers-to-sixth-graders operation, as we have to do the same thing in a couple of weeks. It was very informative, and I think we can pull it off with no problems. I also got to steal some ideas for fixing up the library. [rant about lack of funding deleted] I got to see someone I use to work with, the ol' chess club sponsor, and that was very nice.

I got back to work in time for the lunch bunch. One of the girls mentioned she was reading Dewey The Library Cat, so I was telling them about the library cat website, and realized WE have a library cat. The girls decided to name it "Dewey"...

On to other things...

Yesterday I had a potato for lunch. Check out the Burnt Pizza blog for a pic!

Oh, speaking of cats, I took the tailless cat to the vet this morning and it turns about that he has feline AIDS, so he is now a house cat. This is going to be rough on ALL of us! He peed his cardboard transport box so the vet gave us a loaner. I guess I'll have to spring for one of them fancy cat carriers now!

I've been getting some nice comments from finders of the replacement geocache I put out last week. It is very gratifying.

I'd tell you what book I just finished, but if you follow the book thing, or my Good Reads posts, you already know. And if you aren't, why not?

friday part deaux

2011-09-30T17:39:00.000-07:00

Saw guy on a bicycle cross fletcher parkway at jackson at 3:47 AGAINST THE LIGHT, like an ass.

Spilled ginger ale on the keyboard, have spare one but have the wrong gender adapter, so I'm using the on-screen keyboard!!

Friday Friday Friday-Part Une

2011-09-30T10:39:00.000-07:00

Rode to work this morning.

I checked my entry in last week's Sudoku contest in The Reader. Apparently my printing lacked clarity, or rather, legibility, as they MISPELLED MY NAME!!! "Piladocious Fedoerini", indeed!!

Had a kid in the other day who noticed the Ducati desktop pic on one of the Macs. "I love Ducatis!", he gushed. Good kid!

Thursday, Oh Joyous Thursday!

2011-09-29T16:26:00.000-07:00

After a layoff of two days from riding the bike, due to the dentist and grocery shopping, I finally rode yesterday and today. So far I have just over twenty miles commuting this week!

I keep forgetting I have a temporary crown in place, and so keep biting and chewing on stuff and sides I shouldn't.

I came home yesterday and thought my Motorcycle Fairy Godmother had left me a present:

Alas, the green machine was not for me!

My interest in reading Becoming George Sand, by Rosalind Brackenbury, has waned a bit since I figured out that George Sand is not the same person as George Eliot.. I've never read anything by George Sand. I AT LEAST have read Silas Marner by George Eliot.

Octoberfest this weekend. Probably won't go THIS year, either.

Caching & Riding

2011-09-25T08:28:00.000-07:00

I biked up to Jackson & Fletcher Parkway to look for a new geocache that popped up yesterday. I found it, and I was fourth-to-find. Not surprising, since the cache has the wrong coordinates posted on the cache page (Correct coordinates are in the EXTENSIVE Notes posted in the logs from concerned cachers. ) and are a half-mile off, in the middle of a golf course. Glad I didn't look for it there! Don't know why the cache owner doesn't correct the coordinates on the cache page, it is easy enough to do. Maybe because it will then be too close (There IS a distance-from requirement!) to two other caches?

Saw this truck nearby, thought it was some kind of fancy low-rider with a hydraulic bendy-bed, then I noticed the front tire. I think the frame is broken!

Looped by Grossmont Center on the way home, getting passed WAY TO CLOSE by several cars. Some people are way too poopy on a Sunday morning! I even had the strobe on, so they certainly saw me on the road. I gotta put the flag on the bike, sticking out three feet to the left. And take the lane more!

Back in the 'hood I saw some new graffito that brought a little chuckle.

Another five miles brings me to 65.02 miles for the week. The odometer is 11,311 miles, about 200 short of the vehicle. I need to bike more!

Threatening Rain

2011-09-24T09:33:00.000-07:00

I watched the weather report and they said it might rain again today, but I took the chance, mounted up the bike, and rode over to Fairmont Ave. for a little geocaching up one of the side canyons.

These little canyon don't usually have a name, so I call 'em "Sewer Canyons" as there is always a series of manholes for sewer or storm drains, plus a road/trail to follow. This one I am nicknaming "Asbestos Canyon" 'cause of this antique-looking water heater that is surely leaking its heat shield into the environment.

I found three of the four caches, for sure, and possibly the remains of one. I have an email out to the cache owners on THAT one.

It was a little bit drizzly the whole time, but not too bad. I kept the strobe blinking most of the time on the road, and even turned on the headlight a few times.

Saw this slightly bashed Honda just over the top of the BIG HILL on Montezuma. I'd like to know how he did that to the poor tank!

I put just over ten more miles on the bike, so we are sitting at right around sixty point five miles for the week.

Happy weekend!

Rainy Morning

2011-09-23T17:12:00.000-07:00

Rode to work again this morning. Was lunged and barked at by a Cujo-esque dog, fortunately restrained by its owner.

The fire alarm was ringing when I arrived, and everyone had evacuated to their assigned locations. I rode around in a parking lot for while, then went in. Never did find out what the deal was.

In mid-morning there was a great uproar out in the halls. I ran out, expecting a riot, or maybe a satellite had fallen from space, even a girl-fight. But no, it was just raining. California kids!

Saw this motorcycle for sale at the paint'n'body shop. I can't decide whether I like the solo seat or not, since I'm the guy who put a Bates leather solo seat on a Hodaka Ace 100...

Needs a fender, don't yah think?

Just a hair over fifty miles on the bike this week.

That is all!

Foggy And Smoggy

2011-09-22T16:57:00.000-07:00

Rode the bike to work again today. Nothing of interest to note. All the lights changed for me, nobody was driving without their headlights on, everything was copacetic.

After I was at work a couple of hours I went outside and noticed the trees were all a-flutter, the fog was moving quickly in the sky and the wind she was a-blowin'! Quite the wild little morning!

One of them home weather stations on Weather Underground says it was gusting to 9 mph, which the Beaufort Wind Scale says is a Gentle Breeze, but that fog, it was moving FAST up there in the sky!

After work I rode over to the smog station 'cause the vehicle needs to be smog tested for the first time. My baby! I woke the guy up and he said bring it in, so I pedaled on home, and brung it in. It passed. He suggested I needed to ride the bike more as I was getting too many miles on the vehicle. : )

That is about it for today!

Whoops, Forgot To Put A Title Here!

2011-09-21T17:33:00.000-07:00

Rode another ten miles roundtrip to work and back. Did not see any car without their headlights on today.

Yesterday I was chagrined to have it pointed out that I have been mispronouncing "ascertain".

The Ford people invited me to bring my vehicle in for a 15,000 mile check-up, but that is 3,000 miles from now. It may take me another two years to get there!

That is about it!

Finally Rode To Work Again!

2011-09-20T18:35:00.000-07:00

Rode the bike (Jamis) to work yesterday, and again today.

It was rather drizzly this morning, and I had to keep wiping my glasses with the fuzzy patch on my gloves.

I'm not sure why some automobile drivers think it is a good idea to drive in the drizzle and fog without their headlights on. I was preparing to switch over from the right side of the road to the left, in preparation for making a left-hand turn, when I just HAPPENED to notice a dark spot in my mirror which turned out to be a VERY quiet car in my blind spot. I was just LUCKY I saw him, or I would be a grease spot on the road!

I'm think about putting this on my vehicle, since I am too cheap to buy Ford's $150.00 modification for the dratted fuel pump inertia switch...

No, that is NOT my license plate number, it is 'shopped in with the wondrous Irfanview.

That is about it for today!

Overcast Friday

2011-08-05T17:19:00.000-07:00

Hauled Jamis over to the horsie staging area at MTRP so as to bike up Spring Canyon and snag me some geocaches!

Riding them street tires on the dirt is not optimum. Maybe I should take the dual headlights off, too! I maybe put some AIR in the rear tire! Lazy me...

The caches, in order:

Rest Stop For Old People Like Harmon -- This one was a Did Not Find (DNF) the last time. The cache owners have since replaced and relocated it little bit. Made find easily, THIS time. The cache is half-way up a BIG hill. I parked Jamis at the bottom. I don't know who Harmon is. He seems to be the butt of a lot of teasing, though. Must be a fine fellow!

Cactus Heart (Redux) -- This one was also a DNF the last two or three times. This time, with another cacher's coordinates, I made the find. Eventually. I really lucked out on this one, I only found it because I was poking the long grass with my poking stick and something went CLUNK. And there is was. Full of water. The log was soaked, so I put a replacement log sheet in. When did it last rain? At least the cache was not on a hill. Although I clambered up and down a steep little hillside looking for where it wasn't!

The Log in question...

Ragfoot's Foray -- This was a puzzle cache. I'm not good at puzzles, but this one was pretty easy, even for me. It was up another hillside, about as far as Rest Stop was. Except, no trail. Had to whack those bushes. It was an easy find, though. Here's a pic looking back down the hill, arrow points to the bike down there. That's about a hundred to a hundred and fifty foot elevation drop there, kids.

On The Road -- The last cache was back in Mission Trails Regional Park proper. I was parked on the side of the trail, entering the coordinates into the GPSr, when a woman walking a whippet stopped and asked me if I was geocaching. We talked a bit, while I was entering the numbers. I hit enter, and the GPSr told me I was 4,500 miles away from the cache. I told the lady either I did something wrong, or I had a long bike ride in front of me. She left, I got the data entered correctly, made the find, almost stepping on it while heading in the wrong direction), and biked on back to the vehicle.

After that I thought I better check on one of my caches that was reported as "a bit worse for wear", so I headed over to the grocery store, parked in their parking lot, unloaded the bike, and rode down the Parkway. The cache was laying on the ground, quite near the curb. The hanger was busted off, so I picked the whole mess up and took it home to fix. It's epoxy time!

I have five caches out there, and three of them have problems reported. I'm glad I don't have a hundred, like some people do!

Bike mile today: About 8.5 miles.
Caches found: Four

Sunny Sunday

2011-07-31T11:36:00.000-07:00

It was overcast this morning, but the sun came out around nine. I had driven over to Tierrasanta and parked at the trailhead. I was going to bike to eight geocaches. It was a little scary, as I am not the dirt rider. I would be MUCH more comfortable on a motorcycle.

Here is possibly a link to a map of the area, If it works...

Jamis has street tires, and no suspension (except for that stupid seat post spring), so I had to walk it DOWN steep hills. I am very old, so I also had to walk it UP steep hills. And walk it when it is very rutty, too, whether UP or DOWN. So there was a lot of walking involved.

Here are the caches:

War Spoils -- Did Not Find (DNF) the last time. It has been replaced, and I found it this time.

Meds For Harmon -- DNF last time, because of BEES! It has been moved away from the BEES, and I found it this time.

Bonsai Stand Of Timber -- DNF last time. Spotted from twenty feet away THIS time. In the same place I looked LAST time! What is up with that?

More Trees Ragfoot Prefers -- DNF the last time. Spotted it this time!

The Largest Star -- This is a multicache. I'm looking for Waypoint Three. No one has found it recently. neither did I.

MTRP Evil Micro Series #6 -- I've DNF this one several times. I even had a hint from the cache owner. I looked and looked this time, too. I decided to sit down, right on the Ground Zero (GZ). I reached out my hand, and there it was. EVIL!

MTRP Evil Micro Series #2 -- Another EVIL one I've DNF several times. Again, I looked all around, didn't see anything. Again, I sat down at GZ. And then it came into focus. Darn bifocals! I took the log back to the bike, as I had left the pen there. Then I had to find the cache again to replace the log. Do I get extra credit?

And that was it. I headed back to the trailhead. I made a wrong turn, and decided to exit the park at another trailhead, then proceed on streets, just to avoid pushing it DOWN and then UP another rutty dirt trail.

Mileage today was a whopping 6.45 miles! Felt like twenty!

2011-07-30T18:37:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I was driving to Cowles Mountain for a little geocaching. I approached a traffic light on Navajo Road which was turning red. A bicycle on my right, the rider in Lycra, ran the red light, impeding two crossing vehicles. I honked at him. He either waved at me, or flipped me off, I'm not sure which. I laughed.

Today I noticed the vehicle odometer has finally passed the Jamis odometer.

Finally, after five years!

Vehicle: 11,202
Jamis: 11,180

Sunny Monday

2011-07-25T16:59:00.000-07:00

After slothing around all weekend I loaded the bicycle (Jamis) into the vehicle this morning.

I dropped off a couple of books at the library and bought a packet of stamps at the P.O. next door.

I drove to MTRP in an attempt to be First To Find on a new cache. Missed it by two hours! I found another new cache, so I was second to find on two caches. Then I checked out a multi-cache. I found the first waypoint, which gives the clue to the second waypoint, which was way-the-heck over somewhere else, so I am saving that for another day. I bicycled around to all these caches, mostly on dirt trails.

But, oh joy, I got a clue from THAT cache, that maybe would help me with ANOTHER cache, over on Jackson Drive. So, I drove over there. I've been here looking several times, so I knew just where to park. It turned out that my clue was useless, but I found the cache anyway. Joy oh joy!

I drove to the Horse Staging Area of MTRP and parked then, so to bike up the 52 bike path. I went up and over the crest, signing the logs on two caches that I found last week, but had lost my Sharpie by then. This time I found the multi-cache that I failed to find last time. At least, I found waypoints one and two, but no joy on three. Another day...

Coasting down the 52 is very nice, especially on a very warm day. When I got back to the truck I headed over to Prospect to sign a cache log, once again, from last week. Then I headed over to the Santee branch of the County Library and checked out a couple of Steve Martini thrillers. Then I headed over to Lowe's. Along the way I saw this Cash-For-Gold store. It's hard to believe they have enough business to pay for a storefront, but there it is.

At Lowe's the very nice man in the paint dept. took me over a couple of aisles to the patching plaster, premixed, which he opened up to make sure it was a good batch. He said you gotta check 'em, sometimes they are dried out. Lowe's is wonderfully air-conditioned. They make it one of those senior citizen Cool Zones!

And then I drove home!

Got just over ten miles on the bike today!

Temps Today

Santee Lakes -- 89.0 °F (47% humidity)

MTRP -- 93.4 °F (28% humidity)

Thursday On The 52

2011-07-15T11:16:00.000-07:00

Got up at 5:30 A.M. and rode out to Santee and up the 52 looking for some geocaches. Found all of them EXCEPT one, and others had not found it, too, although the cache owner checked it a couple of months ago and said it was there. One of the caches was extremely amazing. It was quite large and had the instructions for opening (and closing) it attached. It took quite a bit of upper-body strength to manage, too. I cannot imagine what the passing drivers thought I was doing out there in the bushes...

I managed to lose my Sharpie (my NEW Sharpie!) pen SOMEWHERE on the return trip, so I couldn't sign the last three caches I found. I even rode a MILE back to look for it, to the last cache I used it at, but no luck! What is up with that?

The last cache I found was not on the 52, but on Prospect. I didn't even have it loaded into the GPSr, but sort of guessed/remembered from looking at the geocache map. I spotted it pretty much right off, and it was EXTREMELY cute. But, no pen, so no signing the log, so no cache find.

My knee was kind of bothering me as I was laboring up the Fanita grade towards Grossmont College, so I stopped. More than once. I saw this guy trimming a tree right level with me.

Today I find the some tree-trimmers in MY yard, working on the palm tree. Nice of the management to let me know they would be there.

Got home around 10:30 A.M. Mileage for the day was 28.6 miles. I went to bed as soon as I showered and slept pretty much the rest of the morning/afternoon.

Fourth of July

2011-07-04T08:41:00.000-07:00

Finally got off my butt and went for a little bike ride down to the SDSU area to find a few geocaches. Found two, including one I've visited AT LEAST five times.

Saw this nifty ol' Land Rover on the way to one of the Did Not Finds. Wouldn't this be fun to go bouncing around the trails in? Didn't notice if it was left-hand or right-hand drive. Is that hole in the radiator grill for a hand crank?

Just up the street, and around the corner, was this rotatable dipole. I used to have a home-brew dipole for 15 meters, but you had to rotate it via the armstrong method...

This is the geocache I FINALLY found, named "Devine Find". I been here AT LEAST five times, as I mentioned. This time the GPSr pointed to a spot about twenty feet away from all the other times and I easily figured it out (SPOILER: snxr fcevaxyre urnq). As you can see, the log is TOTALLY soaked. As I carefully pried apart the leaves of the log an older couple parked nearby and walked passed me. The lady wished me a happy Fourth of July.

I put around six miles on the bike today.

Happy Fourth of July!

Of This, And Of That, Again

2011-06-20T21:37:00.000-07:00

I made a geocaching find on the way to work, and then a bit later I noted the odometer reading on Jamis.

This evening I realized my cache total at the time was 1,111, which is not quite as much, but kinda interesting all the same.

Yesterday we went down to O.B. to a pizza joint for Father's Day. We ate our fill, sitting outside so we could watch the bicyclists running the stop signs. Very amusing. Afterward we went for a little walk along the cliffs south of the O.B. pier.

Tried to capture a big wave crashing on the rocks but I didn't have the patience.

At the grocery store Saturday I found this receipt in the shopping cart. What is someone going to do with twenty boxes of sugary cereal?

It's Saturday!

2011-06-04T19:16:00.000-07:00

A cop just knocked on my door and told me my dogs were chasing people on bikes.

My dogs don't even own bikes!

Finally Friday

2011-06-03T18:11:00.000-07:00

Rode to work again today. Didn't have any altercations with cars, though.

Saw this interesting vehicle, a Ford Bronco. Looks like a good off-road machine. Two gas caps, no front license plate. Hmmmm....

Miles on the bike for this week is just over forty.

On another note, I can't find my Corson Buoyant Transfer RR site using Google. Maybe there aren't enough links to it for Google to make the effort. So, there's a link back in the first sentence!

That's about it!

Riding To Work, Etc.

2011-06-01T17:17:00.000-07:00

Rode to work this morning, by way of a new geocache near the Wal Mart, which I was fourth-to-find. The cache, not the Wal Mart. Every body knows where the Wal Mart is, you silly! I was so pleased to make the find, then on the way to work some jerk in a car cut me off, saving himself nearly FIVE SECONDS in travel time! Wow! So, I was in a mood for the rest of the ride.

Saw this nifty car on the way home. I've always had a bit of a crush on the Volvo 1800. The Saint drove one, you know. Can't say I like the color much, though. These looks real nice in white.

After I got home I found I had to run an errand. Saw these new sharrows on El Cajon Blvd.

There are also new bike lanes in part of the La Mesa area of El Cajon Blvd., and I saw a cyclist utilizing them.

This Week In Bicycle Commuting

2011-05-27T15:56:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I rode to work, yet again. I posted the ride on the ICommute Trip Tracker, but I have yet to win a prize for all my virtuosity.

I found this mysterious little slightly prurient-looking thing in the middle of the road yesterday. Naturally, I picked it UP to see what it was. Naturally.

Well, as it says, it is "The Original Ryder Clips Shift Sock™". It's a bootie for your motorcycle shift lever. So you don't scuff your shoes. How cute!

I wore my pretty aqua Swami's glove this morning, as my regular pair sat in a puddle of water from the neighbor's leaking water heater all night. The Swami's glove are very nice. They do not have a wrist strap, you just slip them on. Taking them off, that's a bit more difficult. There are loops on the of the fingers to pull on as you work them off your hand. It takes a while. But, they sure look nice! I just hope the members of the Swami's club do not take exception to me wearing their gear!

Commuting miles on bike this week: 20 point something.

Bike To Work Day 2011

2011-05-20T17:14:00.000-07:00

Rode the bike (Jamis) up to Grossmont College to the Bike To Work Day pit stop so to pick up a Bike To Work Day shirt and a few granola-type bars for to eat. I saw a few other cyclists out there. The pit stop crew said I was the third biker to visit them. I thanked them for their service and headed off to work.

Upon arriving at work I noticed this very sad-looking cruiser bike in the bike racks. It is not even locked up! Seems to have a problem with a few spokes, though. Not to mention the seat! Ouch!

After work I took a pic of me so as to memorialize the Bike To Work Day shirt for all eternity, which may be rather a short time, what with the End Of The World™ tomorrow!

Yesterday, I stopped by the bike shop (not Performance) and purchased a couple of Rema tube patching kits. The final cost came to a bit more than I had calculated in my head ($10.85), but I figured there was tax and such. What ever I thought "such" was... I looked at the receipt today and found I was charged for two Kool Tire Lever sets. I guess I'll have to visit them tomorrow and see what the deal is, man.

Here is a pic showing the difference in size and components of the Rema TT02 and TT01 patch kits. The TT02 kit has a flammable symbol showing, does that mean the glue in the smaller kit is not flammable? The larger TT02 kit has a $2.99 price tag on it.

Total mileage for the week is just over twenty miles. Too much rain this week!

Ride To Balboa Park

2011-05-15T13:17:00.000-07:00

I rode down to Balboa Park this morning for the Bike To Work Tune Up affair. I got there at nine-thirty, it didn't start till eleven, so I rode back home. I couldn't think of anything to do for an hour and a half. I had already found nearly all the geocaches (ten of 'em) that I plotted to find on the way.

One of the caches was in the Zoro (not Zorro, as Google Maps would have you believe!) Garden. What a nice spot! Today I learned that was where the nudist colony (link has nudity) was for the 1935 Exposition.

Gosh, I wish I had taken that Sharpie out of my mouth.

Today I learned that there are two cactus gardens in Balboa Park. One, the old one, was started by Kate Sessions for the 1935 Exposition. It is behind the Balboa Park Club building. I've been there before, with my daughter. The new one, which I visited today, is along the east side of Park Blvd., near its intersection with Village Place. It is very nice, but some idjits have inscribed their names on one of the cactus.

This is why we can't have nice things.

LATER EDIT: I forgot this. I've been hearing a lot about the sharrows (Shared-Lane Markings) that are being painted on San Diego streets. A very good idea, to remind both cyclists and drivers to share the road. But this little dead-end street (a major bike route, however) has THREE of them!

The trip today went for 25 miles, so the total for the week is 74.66 miles (Darn!!), and the ending odometer reading is 10.976.

I oiled the chain when I got home, like a good boy.

Cloudy Friday

2011-05-13T17:24:00.000-07:00

Another grinding day at work. Thank goodness I don't have a REAL job, like digging ditches or flipping burgers. Then I WOULD be depressed! I am so lucky I can ride the bike to work and home again, as a kind of decompression. Although to hear me whining my way up a little hill, one might think differently.

I hauled a bunch of pine cones to the pine cone cache and dumped them, just to make it more interesting. No one has searched for it lately, so I don't know how the new cache container will be received.

I rode past a cache I found some time ago. It looks significantly easier to locate now.

I emailed the cache owner about it, being too lazy to stop and hide it a bit better.

I made a scorpion out of wire from a defunct (I hope) network cable, following instructions from the web. The boys and girls are quite taken with it.

Fifty miles cycling to work this week. Fifty miles point zero four, to be exact!

Of Flats, and Pine Cones, and Boss Hits

2011-05-11T21:13:00.000-07:00

OK, here's a picture of what I THOUGHT was a piece of metal that caused that flat yesterday, but turned out to be a little tiny rock stuck in the tire.

I replaced the missing pine cone geocache with a not-nearly-as-awesome pine cone cache. I must admit, though, it hides nicely in the duff.

Hey, Friday of next week is Bike To Work Day. Be there, or be...square! This Sunday is the Bike ToWork Tune-Up Time at Balboa Park. Clicky the linky (.pdf) for more information.

On a TOTALLY unrelated note, via John Fry I learned today that the #30 song on the KGB BOSS 30 records list for May 3, 1971, was Doesn't Somebody Want To Be Wanted, by The Partridge Family. Yikes, they were still making records in 1971? Check out the rest of his website, lots of San Diego memories, with an emphasis on Crawford High School stuff.

Another Day, Anothor Flat

2011-05-10T18:21:00.000-07:00

Another flat tire today. At least this one was not caused by my carelessness! It was the front tire, again, though, so it was easy to fix. But, fix it I did not, until I got to work, so I rode the slowly deflating tire nearly a mile to till I got there. I don't know what caused it, but it was just a nice little hole that was easy to repair.

Did I mention the eggs? I thought not! The BSS at work was making the circuit of the perimeter and came upon a plastic bag full of eggs. Eggs that were somewhat larger than chicken eggs, says she. One was broken and had a snake-like being spilled out. A sack of snake eggs? Who know? She said it smelled something terrible.

Quatro de Mayo

2011-05-05T17:54:00.000-07:00

Rode to work, and virtuously oiled the chain when I got home. Squirted a little oil into the brake cable, too.

Yesterday I had a flat on the way home. Hit a rock with the front tire, immediate snake bite, even with the immense amount of tire pressure I run. Fixed the flat today, but will it hold? Time will tell.

It is a little cooler than yesterday.

Is there some big holiday coming up this weekend that I am forgetting?

2011-05-02T19:24:00.000-07:00

Rode the bike to and from work today.

A new bike shop has opened up on Lake Murray Blvd., near the intersection with Dallas, in the Ross Dress For Less shopping center. I only noticed it because of the trailer parked nearby. I haven't been in there yet. They don't seem to have a web presence.

It was pretty warm today, in the 80s, I'm sure. Are we not supposed to be in May Grey?

Yesterday and Today

2011-04-26T17:59:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I thought it was going to rain, so I drove. Plus, I had a punky stomach.

Today, I was going to bike, and it was all WET outside. And it's all sunny this afternoon.

And tomorrow, it's a vacation day for me.

Nothing to do with bicycling, but if I put it in the Burnt Pizza blog, who is going to see it?
Butts and...what? Cherries? Tiny Tomatoes? Candies? It's ART, man!

Of Shoes and New Words

2011-04-21T17:53:00.000-07:00

The secret, it seems, to making the shoes un-hurting is to pull the foot back slightly after jamming it into the toe clip.

The New Word for the day is: stoush.

ALMOST rode ten miles today, so the mileage for the week stands at 39.96 miles. Missed it by that much!

An exceedingly un-stressful day at work, what with testing going on. I managed to sneak a $3,500 order for replacement textbooks in just under the wire, today being the last day for orders on this year's budget. Which I just found out about yesterday at 2:30. Actually, I was notified several weeks ago, I just didn't think they meant ME!

Better

2011-04-20T17:46:00.001-07:00

Shoes felt better today.

Of Barracudas and Ill-Fitting Shoes

2011-04-19T17:23:00.000-07:00

Boy, these new shoes do not fit very well! They rub against the spots just below my ankles and at times, HURT! I hope I get used to them!

I raised the seat on Jamis by a quarter-inch. At least THAT feels a little better.

Saw this classic ol' Plymouth Barracuda fastback being towed away from its little wreck on Fletcher Parkway.

I think it is a first-generation 1965-1966 model. Certainly has the Valiant influence. I can't tell if it is a Type S or not. I assume, with the fancy stripe, it has the V-8 motor in it.

Weekend Update

2011-04-17T15:11:00.000-07:00

While not leaving the compound all weekend until today I HAVE managed to accomplish the following:

Replaced rear tire and tube on Jamis
Oiled AND cleaned chain on Jamis.
Replaced rear brake pads on Jamis.
Warshed clothes.
Finished reading Teaching Hope, by Erin Gruewell.
Read Close To Famous, by Joan Baur
Read Outliers, by Malcom Gladwell.
Push the cart up to the store to buy some groceries. Amazing what I will do to avoid driving!

I found I last replaced the reat tire and rear brake pads was in March of 2010, and that was 1,556 miles ago. I guess that is not too bad.

And speaking of shoes, I found that the Shimano M0216 shoes were purchased in April of 2004, and they lasted around 17,000 miles.

Friday

2011-04-15T21:18:00.000-07:00

A fairly aggravating day at work, but the commute was fine. My new zapatos feel a little bit too big, but the next size smaller was certainly too small. Maybe I'll grow into them.

I stopped by the geocache on the way home. I figured out why the branch is a couple of feet lower than it was...

I may have to archive the cache when they trim that branch off.

This Week In Bicycle Commuting

2011-04-14T17:50:00.000-07:00

I rode to work Monday, Tuesday, not Wednesday (Don't ask!!), and Thursday. I am full of hope that I will ride to work on Friday.

I found a geocache this morning that I have visited AT LEAST five times before. It was right there, practically plain as day. I also moved my pine cone cache a few feet as it was very had to get at, seeing as the limb it is hanging on seems to dropped about three feet and had wedged it into a fence. I think the tree is falling over!

I bought some cycling shoes at Performance today. My poor old Shimanos are about worn out. I wanted some Shimanos of comparable quality, but as usual, what is on sale is of limited sizes. If I had size 6, I'd would have been good. I got Forte Traverse, size 47, for my big feet. There were some extremely cute Cannondales, but in women's sizes only. Curse my big feet!

Driving over to the shop I was extremely annoyed at various auto drivers who do not know how to politely wait their turn when lanes obviously are going to merge, but instead speed up to the end of their lane and force their way in. I tried a little power play (whatever THAT means), but I chickened out, and just fumed at the world, the world of automobile, and more specifically SUV, drivers.

I truly need to oil the chain, as I've 150 miles on the last oiling. And I STILL haven't put the new tire on that I bought a couple of weeks ago!

Sunny Sun and Things Found In The Road

2011-03-31T19:02:00.000-07:00

It is nice and dark and cool in the mornings, but in the afternoon, yikes, someone let the sun out!

It got up to 86 degrees (Fahrenheit) today! What is this, summer?

I found this tool sitting (notice how I avoid figuring out whether it is 'laying' or 'lying'...) in the road. I was pretty sure it wasn't some kind of weird screwdriver, and in 'researching' it I find it is a pry bar. Nice, now I don't have to use my screwdrivers to open paint cans!

It looks like it costs around fifty bucks. Wow, no wonder people misuse their screwdrivers!

Another Flat Or Two

2011-03-28T18:13:00.000-07:00

I probably shouldn't have set off to work this morning on a tire that was low on air pressure. I almost made it to work when I hit a pothole. Sssss, instant flat!

I was right near where the pine cone geocache was, so I pulled in to take a couple of pics.

The drainage ditch into which the hapless geocacher dropped the pine cone and had to climb over the fence, make his way down to retrieve it, and negotiate his way back up.

The pine cone geocache in situ.

I pushed the bike to work, it wasn't that far. Popped the tube out and check for pointy things. Found this!

I replaced the tube with my spare, pumped it up, and ssssss, it was leaking!

I found the spare tube had another hole right next to a patch. Must have got a snake bite on that one. I took a look and the tube I had taken out, the one I rode on today, it had a snake bite, too, right near the stem. I didn't see much likelihood of fixing THAT, so into the trash it went.

Anyway, I fixed the spare, rode home, and bought a couple of new tubes at Performance. Plus a tire, brake pads, and some polypro glove liners that were on sale.

Of Lights, And Not Lights

2011-03-16T18:56:00.000-07:00

I tend to turn off the headlights when there aren't any cars around, to save the battery, but lately the cagers have been sneaking up on me. I ALWAYS have the BIG STROBE going, you would think that would be enough, since I can SEE the halo it casts around me on the ground, and the flash off the buildings beside the road.

But, I guess it is not. I had a near thing yesterday on Jackson Drive with a car coming from a stop sign on the left. I stopped right in front of them and POINTED the the BIG STROBE.

At any rate, has anyone seen a twelve volt powered flashing LED unit I could inexpensively add to the system? I've seen the nifty Planet Bike headlamps, but they have their own batteries, and I'm trying to stay away from MORE batteries.

Sweetwater Jaunt

2011-03-13T14:54:00.000-07:00

After commuting to work most of the week, today was a pleasure ride down Sweetwater Blvd., with occasional side-trips for geocaching purposes.

At one cache TWO kind neighbors came out to point me in the right direction, but I STILL didn't find the cache. How ignominious!

At another cache the fellow living across the street came over to assist. I didn't find that one, either!

After an off-road excursion of nearly two miles along the northern perimeter fence of Sweetwater Lake I finally found Yikes Ants! No ants were seen. Along the way the sweet peas were in bloom.

I finally found one of the Lemon series (They're are in Lemon Grove) caches that I've been searching for for a year or so. It wasn't a HARD hide, but there were always people hanging around, it being right next to an apartment building. On the whole, I'd have to say I prefer caches in less populated areas!

A homeless guy passing by at Lamar County Park chortled when I let out an expletive after spying the cache about a foot from my parked bike. This after I had given up. I think HE knew where it was!

The cache count for today is: Seven not found (or too chicken to look for) and five found.

Rode around twenty miles today.

Ending odometer reading (Jamis) is 10,672 miles.

Sunday Morning In Santee

2011-03-06T11:54:00.000-08:00

Since I need more miles on the bike (so the Vehicle doesn't catch up!), and the cost of gas is $3.88 per gallon (Yikes! I remember I SWORE I was going to get a horse if the cost of gas went up to $1.00 a gallon...), I biked down to Santee to look for some geocaches.

And for the exercise, of course!

The first two caches I looked for I did not find. How disappointing!

But the third one, oh, that was a charmer! I've been looking for it for over a year, and have been there AT LEAST three times. But today, I spotted it right off!

That one made my day!

This one was next. It wasn't too hard to spot...

This one was a little harder. That is not a fake leaf, it is a fortuitously placed REAL leaf.

Believe it or not, I walked right past this one and only spotted it after reading the hint!

All that ivy seems to be dormant for the winter. Or dead.

This bloody foot was up in a tree. Some folks used a TOTT (Tool Of The Trade, i.e., a walking stick) to get it down. I climbed the tree a little bit.

This one I missed on the first go-around, but after thunking about it, I came back to make the find. Sometimes you just don't know if you really want to touch it, though!

The last cache of the day was over by the golf course. The pic is too close, you can't see how artfully it was concealed in the hollow limb of a tree. NOTE TO SELF: Be careful when stepping off the trail into tall grass, there might be a hole there.

I headed home, climbing the long hill to Grossmont College in granny gear. I love the granny gear!

Saw this wheelchair guy motoring along in the bike, which I was cool with, it IS tricky to get over the the sidewalk way over there. But, you know it is against the rules to talk on a cell phone while driving, and I'm PRETTY sure it's against the rules to bike while using a phone. But what about wheel chairs? This guy was wheeling along yakking on a cell!! There oughta be a law!

The obligatory 'heading home' shot, thank-you for self-timers!

Only had three run-ins with CARS coasting through their right-hand turns this morning. One in Santee, and two on Fletcher Parkway. Crosswalks, Right-Of-Way, HELLO! Dolts!

Mileage Today: 20.04 miles
Ending Odometer Reading: 10,612 miles

Fridayness

2011-03-04T22:11:00.000-08:00

Rode the bike to work today, just as I said I would. It was significantly warmer this morning than certain OTHER mornings this week. No iciness on the windshield this morning as I passed the poor Vehicle on the way to the garage to load up Jamis!

I noticed there is a hole on the rear tire of the Schwinn. Probably why it is flat. When was the last time I rode the poor baby?

I'm not sure how many miles I rode this week. Probably under thirty. It IS time to oil the chain again, though.

Odometer reading as of the end of the ride home today is 10,592 miles. That means I'm only about 300 miles ahead of the Vehicle's mileage. Both were acquired at the same time, you will recall. I better get riding!

Rain Rain

2011-02-15T20:53:00.000-08:00

Well, not quite yet, but there is a definite ring 'round the Moon tonight!

I had a feeling it would not rain this afternoon, so I bravely rode the bike to work. And back.

Found one geocache in the morning, and one in the afternoon, but the one some usurper put just 400 feet from my abode, no, I did not find THAT one, twice. But I DID find a nice Swiss Army knife. Which I took. But I logged it, so the loser can claim it. But they gotta show me where the cache is! HA!

I'm NOT sure why I popped the cover on this raceway at work, but I AM sure that kinked cable is surely the cause of the slow internet at work. The tubes, they are pinched!!

Guess I'll be driving the rest of the week, due to the rain that is promised.

I had a request for a movie of the GIANT STROBE. I don't think my camera could handle it, perhaps someone with a better camera will volunteer. Hint hint!

Icy Monday

2011-02-14T20:07:00.001-08:00

Came outa the house at six this morning to find ice on the lawn. Chunks of ice, like ice cubes. Like someone dumped their drink in the lawn. Who drinks icy drinks on chilly mornings?

Took a picture. Thought the flash would artistically laminate the ice in the darkness. It did not. Erased the picture.

I may have to re-think my strategy of leaving the headlights off to save the battery, only turning them on when I see a car. I was surprised twice today by cars zooming out of driveways, one was about five feet in front of me. I guess the GIANT STROBE just isn't enough!

Rep. Duncan Hunter thinks of bicycling as an essentially recreational activity. I think I'll send him an email.

I seem to be coming down with a cold.

I called my mother for Valentine's Day. Aren't I a great son?

It is supposed to rain later in the week. Tomorrow may be the last day to ride to work. You know how much I hate getting the bike wet!

Friday!

2011-02-10T20:45:00.000-08:00

I forget all the surely fascinating stuff I was going to write here.

Got 45 miles on Jamis so far this week commuting.

Thought I did a boo-boo at a T-intersection yesterday by not yielding to a car because I was watching a pedestrian to make sure they didn't walk out in front of me, as they will. Today I noticed that the car had a yield sign, so I'm good.

Mr. Rumphius, indeed!

Boy, it's a little chilly in the mornings, but pretty warm in the afternoon. That's SoCal for you!

Monday

2011-02-07T14:04:00.000-08:00

Rode Jamis to work today. It seems to pedal easier since I cleaned the chain yesterday.

Or, it could be my imagination, running away with me.

I got several upvote on my first Reddit comment when some said In The Court Of The Crimson King was their favorite recording, and I said I had the vinyl on my desk at work. Voila!

Someone ought to straighten up that messy desk!

I tossed the shelf list (shelflist?) a few weeks ago, but the cards keep showing up around the neighborhood. I ran across these today.

Ahh, MARC Magician. I loved that program.

I sowed more poppy seeds at various spots around the campus today. Found some pretty ice plant I am going to take slips of.

On the way home I went past Lake Murray and took a couple of pictures of more broken glass. One picture got misplaced, so here is the one that is left.

That makes at least three broken windows, including mine, on this very short piece of road. If you are going to recreate at Lake Murray, and you are going to park on Baltimore Drive, I would advise against it. I hope the police will stake this area out and catch the jerk who is doing this!

Put just over nine more miles on the odometer today. It was not TOO chilly this morning, and it is quite sunny and warm this afternoon. No snow here!

Sunday Ride Around Town

2011-02-06T10:30:00.000-08:00

I rode around the town this morning looking for geocaches. Found one, didn't find five, and had one boy-did-I-write-the-coordinates-down-wrong. Turned out I had 'em right, I just visualized where they wuz wrong. Too bad I gave up before I got there on that one!

I DID find a dollar bill in the middle of the road near one DNF, and found an unbranded 1/2 inch wrench later on. W00t!

Managed to put 16.63 miles on the trip meter today, for a final odometer reading of 10,494.

Also sowed some poppy seeds at a spot that I WOULD have placed a geocache if someone else hadn't placed one nearby before I got around to it. Early bird, and all that!

Old Shorts, New Shorts, Old New Shorts, New Old Shorts

2011-02-04T17:18:00.000-08:00

Thirty miles on the odometer commuting this week.

Re-discovered that if one's bike shorts have decent elastic on the legs, they will hold the leg warmers securely. Why do I keep forgetting this? Thanks again to Steve the L. for giving me his old shorts! Old shorts that are still much better than MY old shorts, elastic-wise, and otherwise, too.

Before you ask, he went to bibs.

Of Google Cars & Yellow Things

2011-02-03T17:00:00.000-08:00

I rode to work for the SECOND day this week. It was about as chilly, but not windy in the afternoon. Trucks may have been falling over in the mountain passes yesterday, but it was a most excellent tailwind for me! Today the pre-dawn temp was in the low 40s F, and the humidity was under 20 percent.

I found this creepy yellow spongy thing at work the other day. I STILL don't know what it is after an EXHAUSTIVE Google search. I think it is going to be a geocache some day...

You can see my extensive collection bicycle tools in the background, along with my treasured "Hell Of The North" cycling cap that I found at a thrift store years ago.

On the way home I saw what I took to be a Google Street View camera car. Par usual I was late in getting the camera out. Maybe THIS time I'll be on Street View!!

By the way, do they make a garter belt arrangement for leg warmers? Mine keep falling down!

Tight Fit!

2011-01-29T07:31:00.000-08:00

I drove to work today as I needed to bring two dozen donuts for Breakfast Club. Donuts that disappeared mighty quickly, I might add.

After dropping off the donuts in the library (temporarily!), I went over to the office to sign in. Upon exiting the Office I noticed I was wearing my bicycle shoes. They ARE so snug!

And I kept forgetting to change to my "work" shoes all day! I even went out to lunch in them with "the girls"!

Leaving in the afternoon, I stopped by Mr. Steve The M's room. He implied I was possibly a wimp for driving today, that HE had ridden with two bags of bagels WITH coffees, no hands, and people took pictures of the event. This took place in small town in Montana, or Idaho, or maybe it was in Switzerland, he has ridden EVERYWHERE!

He also regaled me with the tale of when he drove home from a ride in CLEATED bike shoes, not noticing because he was so frozen from the ride. Driving a clutch, no less!

Odometer Freak-Out

2011-01-26T16:50:00.000-08:00

I adjusted the time on the bike computer yesterday, and today I find it is on 24 hour time and kilometers, and the odometer reset to zero. I think the battery is dying!

Maybe I'll leave it in kilometers, it makes me feel I've cycled a lot farther!

But I'm losing precious miles that I've biked for the last two weeks!

Some silly parent who was dropping their kid off at the bus stop stopped halfway into the driveway at work. So I turn in the driveway, with my (BOTH!) headlights on, and the BIG STROBE, and this bozo starts easing forward on me! Unbelievable! I shouted "EXCUSE ME!!!"

And it wasn't just me, another staff member, in a car, had the same thing happen with ANOTHER driver a few minutes later.

Tuesday

2011-01-25T16:52:00.001-08:00

Sometimes the search for a place to do one's business, as it were, can be quite a trial. Many stores have a sign in the window warning that they have no public bathroom. Here is a potty that is public (definition #1), but not public (definition #6).

Rode the bike Monday and Tuesday so far. This rotten SoCal weather is nearly unbearable. It was 46 degrees Fahrenheit this morning, and it is 71 degrees now. Awful!

I lost one of my giant gloves yesterday at work, but the Building Services Supervisor found it. She neglected to MENTION she had found it while I was working on her computer during lunch. Then again, I didn't know I was missing it until after work. It was on my desk this morning, though.

Yes, I'm wearing giant Gore-Tex gloves in the balmy 46 degree mornings. I am a wimp!

Short Week

2011-01-20T17:48:00.000-08:00

It is Thursday (or, as I consistently type it, "Thrusday") already!

I hit EXACTLY (well, pretty much) 100 miles on the odometer since the last chain-oiling, so I oiled it today.

I saw two raccoons "playing" in the parking lot at the olde Forward Elementary School.

What did I do at work today, you ask?

Well, I...

Removed gum from the carpet using gum remover spray till it ran out (last can, ever!), then used a bag of ice and tentatively, some Goo Gone.
Bashed thumb joint on a shelf. Used ice from gum removing.
Shelved some books.
Made a list of "bibs" needed for new books and emailed it off to Central Cataloging.
Helped some students with their science projects, mostly showing them that Appleworks is just as good a word processor, for their needs, as Word.
Tried to explain file extensions and what they mean to YOU!
Used carpet sweeper to pick up corn chip remains on carpet.
Looked askance at sunflower seed shells in computer lab. WET sunflower seed shells.
Refilled both printers with paper.
Helped student clean and bandage a nasty paper cut.
Yelled at students knocking books on floor as they chased each other around the stacks, after school.
Found out we won't have a librarian next year, not even part-time. Will we have a me?
Posed for a short video by some video students, introducing myself.
Read email on how the district suggests principal can save some bucks by replacing Library Technicians with School Clerks. This is what we get for aligning ourselves with the Library Media unit instead of Office/Technical! I really should have expanded my school-related job skills!

During lunch I watched television. I watch the County Planning Commission discussing the new library to be built at The Bishop's School. The building planned is a few feet over the height limitation for the coastal area. They want a variance. A number of people do not want them to get it. Very interesting. Is The Bishop's School hiring library techs?

I went looking for that geocache again on the way home, but did not find it.

Happy Friday!

Wednesday

2011-01-19T18:24:00.000-08:00

Rode to work again today.

The question is asked, re my post the other day, how did my music sentiments change.

I always felt a vague unhappiness with rock'n'roll and surf music. I felt unsatisfied, I guess I could say. I listened to a lot of light classical-type music, like the Grand Canyon Suite and Pictures At An Exhibition. Great stuff. But when I heard Cream's Sunshine Of Your Love, via a fellow in Summer School Auto Shop, it was an epiphany! I was like, WOW, this is ROCK MUSIC!

There was a bit of a fad in elementary school where we collected the Top Ten lists that each radio station in San Diego published. The top station was KCBQ, and one of the fellows knew the DJ called Happy Hare who autographed the lists for us. Every week it was a BIG DEAL to get the new one. One wonders where my collection disappeared to.

At least I don't have to wonder where my baseball and football cards went, I never really collected them. The only baseball card I remember treasuring was Clint Courtney, because he wore glasses and was a catcher. I had a Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle, too, but Clint was The Man!

It's Friday!

2011-01-14T16:38:00.001-08:00

Picked up this Roel Rocket in the gutter on the way to work. What on earth is it for?

I used the Cream record for a much-needed background. Cream was THE band that changed the way I felt about music in the 60s.

The odometer is just over seventy miles, so I rode fifty miles this week. A new record for the year 2011!!

The temperature reached eighty degrees today, and the humidity is in the thirties. I don't think it is going to snow anytime soon...

2011 -- Week Two

2011-01-13T17:02:00.000-08:00

Rode to work four times this week, so far. So far, so good!

Stopped by the lake this afternoon to sign the log on the cache I found yesterday, today remembering to bring a writing implement.

Several probably drunk guys down the path probably thought I was peeing in the bushes. I hope so. I don't want them to muggle the cache!

A Moral Dilemma

2011-01-08T08:30:00.000-08:00

You know I have a penchant for picking up stuff along the road. It's like--roadside dumpster diving. It's a compulsion!

I saw some tools beside Fletcher Parkway yesterday whilst riding home. It looks like someone has been working on the irrigation system. I told myself that if the tools were still there tomorrow, I would take 'em.

Well, I went for a little bike ride this Saturday morning and the tools are still there. Here's a picture, it is worth a thousand words, I'm sure.

Should I take them, or should I not? It's a quandary, all right.

I decided, no, I don't REALLY need them, I already have a fairly giant ChannelLock-type of pliers, and a wire stripper, too. So I stuck them in the green box-thing and laid the cover over it. From the unfinished looks of things, I think the workers will be back on Monday.

And I felt really good after making the decision.

While fooling around with the image this morning I figured out where the artifacts are coming from. At first I thought it was the filter type, being mislead by a Google search. But it turns out I had clicked "Set file size to: 65k" as a default. Now everything is much better!!

Rode nearly six miles this morning, up the Parkway, and around downtown. Checked out the Big Empty Space where the Post Office used to be, and where the Library is supposed to be built. Someday. The city is seriously messing up the parking/bike lane (none) on Allison Ave. It will be seriously scary during busy times. It WILL be Take The Lane time!

This Week In Bicycle Commuting

2011-01-07T21:05:00.000-08:00

I rode to work Thursday.

And in spite the rain Thursday night, I rode to work Friday.

Just because I'm hard core!

Mrs. B. at work announced with glee that she had arrived at work before me, because she didn't see my vehicle in the parking lot. The vehicle, says she, that gets in her way when parking. I pointed out my bicycle, said I DOUBTED she got to work before me, lady!

Because, as you will remember, I AM hard core!

NOTE TO YOU-KNOW-WHO-YOU-ARE: I DID oil my chain Wednesday evening.

It's A Conspiracy!

2011-01-04T18:14:00.000-08:00

Events conspire against me riding the bike to work.

Yesterday it was rainy (Oooo, it's all wet!). Plus, I had to come home for the glass guy to fix the window. Between one and four. You guessed it, he came at four-thirty!

Today I had to grocery shop, so I decided to just drive since it's on the way home.

Tomorrow, I have to drive someone to the doctor in the morning.

And I need to oil the chain, too!

I guess I'm just not a dedicated commuter.

The Reader this week has an article about bicycling in San Diego.

The Week In Bike

2010-12-19T17:00:00.000-08:00

It sprinkled Thursday and it rained Friday evening and it was Saturday yesterday and it sprinkled today, so the last day I rode the bike was Wednesday. So there you go.

By the way, I don't see an easy way to read the comments without checking EVERY post, except for the oncs I see to moderate. And I don't see an easy way to comment on THOSE, so don't expect any especial replies to comments. I don't know how the big guys handle their comment-ers. Maybe other blogging programs work differently than blogger.

Winter Delayed A Bit

2010-12-15T19:53:00.000-08:00

It felt a bit warmer this morning than yesterday. The Weather Underground says the temperature ranged from 52 degrees to 60 degrees today. Overcast AND cloudy all day. And chilly.

I found two quarters today. One in the morning at Fletcher and Marengo. One in the afternoon at Fletcher and Jackson. A block apart. A rather LONG block, too. Both quarters were spotted whilst rolling along, so I had to go all the way around the block to retrieve them. Because, you know, I didn't want to look FOOLISH by stopping, going backwards (an ungainly gait, whacking ankles on pedals) in the bike lane, and picking up. Not that I've let that stop me before!

Winter Is Coming

2010-12-14T18:41:00.000-08:00

A bit cold this morning. The rumour is that the low this morning was 45 degrees. Maybe not so cold if you live in some place with WEATHER (like PA), but, hey, it's been in the low 80s so very recently! My fingers hurt for the first time since last winter. I shall have to break out the winter gloves. Fingerless glove paired with glove liners ain't cutting it.

My Week

2010-12-10T16:17:00.000-08:00

Monday I drove, in anticipation of rain. No such luck!

I rode the bike the next four days, for a total of forty miles for the week.

Nothing much happened, except for some very pretty sunrises.

Didn't run across any tools, stuff animals, or coins.

That is about it!

2010-11-19T16:14:00.000-08:00

It's going to rain tomorrow.

I've been riding to work most of the week. I got a couple of geocaches over at Lake Murray along the ways, too. I tried for another one this morning, at the very end of Lake Murray Blvd., but couldn't find the lil' booger in all the foliage.

I totally need to oil the chain!

Every day, when I'm changing into my biking clothes at work, I watch a little Maury Povich. I never get to see just who IS the father, though!

Later!

It's Like Spring!

2010-10-27T17:47:00.000-07:00

It's all sunny and dry today!

I rode a different way home after a futile stop at the pharmacy and picked up a couple of more geocaches.

My geonotes flew out of the basket as I was flying down La Mesa Blvd. Like a good citizen I went back to pick them up. A citizen getting out of his truck fetched them for me, and I thanked him.

The V-Man left his clarinet in the library, I took a picture of it. I've never seen a red clarinet before!

I was admiring a girl's plastic hamburger yesterday. She said she got it in Japan. Today she brought some plastic french fries and gave them to me. How sweet!

Obverse:

Reverse:

I oiled the chain at work, don't tell anyone!

Bicycling.com has a slide show of sixteen essential (Everything is ESSENTIAL with them!) bike tools. I rather like the Park chain checker.

Un-Rainy Day

2010-10-26T19:39:00.000-07:00

And since it was not raining, I rode the bike today. All went well, and I found a geocache on the way to work.

At work I got an email giving me a solid hint on a geocache I was having trouble locating, so after work I coasted down the dreaded Jackson Drive hill, made the find, then granny-geared my way back up and home again.

This cache was driving me crazy!

I'm Taking A Stand against nano-size geocaches!

Yesterday I remembered to bring the camera to record the reflection out the window of what is inside the window. I was startled the other day to see Superman out in the hallway!

OK, here is why I found it interesting.

A picture is worth a few dozen words?

I found this industrial-strength hole punch the other day at work. I offered to do discount ear-piercings for the ladies, but they declined.

At home, it's Fall outside. If I could stop playing Desktop Tower Defense maybe I would go outside and experience it!

It's kitty time!

Yesteday, I Think

2010-10-09T21:39:00.000-07:00

Forty watts of headlights, a big yellow strobe, and STILL the lady pulls out in front of me, stopping half-way through the intersection when she FINALLY notices....

I gave her the glare!

No More Rain!

2010-10-06T20:47:00.000-07:00

I fixed the flat tube last night, for the THIRD time. The first fix, I can't find the new leak. The second fix, new tube, had a hole. Did I pinch it? Put another new tube in, and patched the second tube for a spare. The first tube, with the five (at least!) patches, is going in the round can.

I think I gotta buy another REMA patch kit, the glue is getting a little iffy (which has two F's, as it turns out).

It rained this morning so I didn't ride to work. The tube was holding air when I got home, so I guess I have no excuses not to ride tomorrow.

I was thinking, during the rain, that I bet there are a lot of wet geocaches out there.

Flat Tire

2010-09-27T19:11:00.000-07:00

I got suited up to ride the bike to work this morning, but it had a flat tire. NOW it occurs to me I could have taken the other bike. But I didn't.

The high was over 105 today, the hottest day of the year. It is supposed to drop down ten degrees tomorrow, and another ten degrees on Wednesday.

I finished Breath, by Donna Jo Napoli. A rather depressing book. I started a Nicholas Sparks book today. I forget the title, but it takes place around Beaufort, North Carolina, a town that I LOVE the name of. Beaufort. It makes me giggle a little. I am a little familiar with place, having read an article in Model Railroader (January 1990 issue) about the Beaufort & Morehead "Route Of The Jets" railroad. It's a 3.17 mile long short line that hauls fuel from the unloading facility for eventual transfer to the Navel Air Station. An article on Wikipedia shows the little line has gone through some changes since then. Here is one of their choo-choos.

I haven't fixed the flat yet, so I SUPPOSE I will drive tomorrow, too.

Weak-End

2010-09-23T16:48:00.000-07:00

I remembered to stick the odometer back on to the bike for Tuesday's ride, but I forgot to reset it.
So, I got a whole bunch of miles (Sixty-five? Sixty-seven? I forget. And it's a long way to the garage.) for this week but you gotta subtract last week's mileage. Which I have conveniently forgotten.

I found fifty-five cents this morning, in the road, near a parked car. Must have fallen out of some driver's pocket as they exited their vehicle. It's the only explanation. And now it's MINE, ALL MINE!

I have to drive to work tomorrow because I get to drive up to Linda Vista to make an emergency pick up three boxes (@22 pounds each) of workbooks. Try THAT on a bicycle!

The City of La Mesa is having another Community Meeting for the General Plan Update and Bicycle Facilities Master Plan tonight, September 23, from 6-8 p.m. Didn't I just go to one in April? I think I'm going to skip this one, even though they had cookies the last time. I think. Or maybe I WANTED cookies. Feel free blame me for everything that goes wrong.

A New Beginning

2010-09-20T20:16:00.000-07:00

Hah, that'll be the day!

I rode to work today, the long way, but I forgot to put the odometer back on so I can't prove it. I bet it was a REALLY long way, though!

The fan guy came by to look at our slightly wobbly fan at work. He said he would order a new one, and it would take a while, but don't worry because it's not a safety hazard. I said, "So, the school district can order new unnecessary new fans but can't give me any money to buy library books?" "Yes," says he. Whjat at world!

Some people want to know. It's a panda. With a teething ring.

Friday It Is

2010-09-17T21:02:00.001-07:00

Rode three days this week, for a total of 26.51 miles. I picked up a new stuffed toy for to decorate the basket yesterday. It was some sort of bear-like furry with a hook on it to hang on a crib. I think.

I can't remember what else I was going to put in here...

Oh well, I'm just going to hit publish!

Back In The Saddle

2010-09-15T20:35:00.000-07:00

Well, I rode the bike to work today for the first time this school year. Put a whole 7.19 miles on it!

I had a bad hair day Monday & Tuesday, it was suggested I try some hair gel. I just spit on my hand and wiped the sticking-up part down. Today it decided to stay down by itself. Perhaps it grew a bit overnight and the added weight kept it down. I just don't know.

Biking The Highway 52 Bike Path

2010-08-05T10:14:00.000-07:00

I hauled the bike over to Santee so I could ride the 52 bike path and pick up some geocaches. Boy, that sucker is busy (the highway) during the morning rush! And NOISY! I was deafened!

I found an orphaned geocache sitting in the bike path. I've contacted the owner to see what he wants to do about it.

There is a lot of trash along the highway. And as an official Dumpster Diver I had to keep my eye out for "good stuff". I found a very cute kid's sun hat tie wrapped to an Easter basket. but I declined to pick it up. On the other hand, I found a Tilly hat in very good condition that I will wear proudly, after running it through the washing machine! It's a very expensive hat, too!

It was nice and overcast for the ride, too. Very nice. I found that stopping every five minutes to ~~rest~~ look for geocaches made the climb up the grade very easy.

I was reading some cacher's blog and they had posted pictures of every one of their milestone cache finds. One hundredth find, two hundredth find, etc. Maybe I will go back and take a picture at each of mine.

But, I digress.

When I got home some guy in a big truck that said "Meat" on the side stopped and asked me if I wanted to buy some steaks. He said he had some left over from his deliveries in the neighborhood. I declined. He seem surprised.

Summer In Spring Canyon

2010-07-22T13:07:00.000-07:00

It was all drizzly this morning, an excellent day to go toiling about in the canyons north of the 52. I loaded up the bike (Jamis) and headed out. I parked at the same place I did Tuesday, near the Equestrian Staging Area (ESA).

After traversing the grassland area I head up the canyon, searching for those elusive geocaches. I found four fairly easily. Check out this map:

I backtracked a bit, then headed UP the extremely steep dirt'n'rock rock that went up the ridge. I found four caches up there. One doesn't show on the map because it was a puzzle cache. Its icon is off the map. You have to solve a puzzle to figure out the actual location of the cache. And my solving said it was way up here on this dirt'n'rock road. And thankfully, it was!

At one of the other caches up here, I got momentarily disoriented because I couldn't see the dirt'n'rock road OR my bicycle! But, just momentarily! This is why you are supposed to waypoint your vehicle before you head off the trail!

You will notice there are around ten or so caches along the way south, along the ridge, that I did not find. That is because I did not expect to go that way, and so I did not bring the coordinates. That means I shall have to trudge up these hills again, sometime!

At the farthest south cache, right above the 52, there was a nice view of the freeway and Spring Canyon. I could see some cyclists way down there.

There was a whole lump of sedimentary rock sticking out of the ground, too. It just struck me as interesting, all those rocks embedded in it. I guess this all used to be seabed or something. "Something", that sounds dumb!

This shot has all the elements. You can see the freeway, way over there to the left. You can see my bicycle leaning on that big green bush. You can see my backpack, my cache list that is so white, and just above the list is the geocache container. A very nice little cactus is present, also.

I found twelve caches today. Two of them do not show on the map, that puzzle cache, and that Did Not Find (DNF) from yesterday. I re-read the logs by other cachers, and got some clues that helped me to figure it out.

I only put about seven miles on the bike today. I wonder what my vertical gain was? There certainly was a lot of pushing UP some steep'n'rocky roads, and some bulldogging DOWN some steep'n'rocky roads.

I used to ride these same steep'n'rocky roads on motorcycle, back in the day, with no fear. But on a bicycle, at least THIS bicycle, I'm a walkin' it!

Sunny Day

2010-07-18T10:38:00.000-07:00

As the sun was rising it was getting brighter and warmer, but then the overcast started blowing in from the west and it almost got chilly. Very odd!

Had an EXCELLENT day geocaching, finding three caches that I've had trouble locating, including one that I visited AT LEAST five times, purchasing a cup of coffee there the last three times, for camouflage.

This one is a virtual cache. It is called Enjoy Your Sit With Sam. There is no physical cache there, you take a picture and upload to the log page for credit. Sam is grayed out so to not give too much away.

On the way home I found this slightly broken device in several pieces on the road. I think it is a Droid. I was waiting for traffic to pass so I could grab the battery when a cyclist stopped and asked what I was looking for. I explained

about my penchant for picking up JUNK along the road. He said he was tempted, sometimes. I told him not to give in to it.

What can I do with all these broken cell phones? I'm thinking about some sort of art installation, but I have not come up with an idea. Glue them all together in a pyramid, maybe? I don't have THAT many. Yet.

Mileage for the week is 100.58 miles. The odometer is on 10,026 miles.

Ten Grand

2010-07-17T10:21:00.000-07:00

Headed down to Missing Valley on what is turning out to be another bright, sunny, and VERY warm, day. Went looking for some geocaches, natch. Found some, didn't find some others.

The odometer was at 9998, so II was paying STRICT attention so I could take a photograph when it turned. OF COURSE I got distracted and did not pay that STRICT attention. I was sitting in the left turn lane, waiting for a light, when I noticed it was 10000!!! So, I took a picture right there in the street, with a car waiting behind me. Good thing the light didn't change! After the light changed I went through the intersection and pulled over. The odometer had changed to 10001 already.

Too bad I didn't arrange to have the odometer change and my 500th cache on the same that. THAT would have been something! Two milestones on one day! Now I shall have to wait till my 1,000th cache and the odometer going to 20,000 miles. Remind me in five years.

Yes, that's cork. Yes, that's the lens cap. Yes, those bolts are rusty. Why aren't they stainless steel?

So we got 81.13 miles on the trip-o-meter for the week, and the odometer is 10,007 miles. How about that?

Muggy Friday

2010-07-16T11:46:00.000-07:00

We had some thunderstorms yesterday, little ones. Enough to wet the ground a bit. Today, it is sunny and stuff.

I rode out to El Cajohn to pickup some more geocaches. I found four, and did not find two, and did not find one that no one else has ever found, either.

The Trip Odometer is up to 58.91 miles, and the Odometer is at 9,985 miles. Almost there!

By the way, all comments are moderated. I have to remember to approve them when I log into Blogger. And we know how THAT goes!

Back Down The Hill

2010-07-15T08:43:00.000-07:00

I was whining yesterday that "they" have not fixed the EXTREMELY bumpy bike lane on the downhill-leg of Montezuma in twenty years. I recall a Bike For Breath¹ going down that sucker, very scary with everyone bouncing all over the place. And yesterday, I lost a precious rock, it launched itself right out of the basket!

And I find this morning that all the bumpy places, except one little one, more of a hole, really, were repaved yesterday. No more bouncy rocks!

I found the cache I did not find yesterday, didn't find a new one (I hate bushes. And rocks), and did not find that one at the ampm, even though I bought coffee. I DID learn, from the rather patient clerk, that there is some sort of newfangled cardboardy thing that slips right over the cup to prevent one from cooking one's fingers. Imagine!

I surreptitiously surveyed the area for that darn cache while sipping the joe, but no. So I headed home.

For the week we got 41.91 miles, the odometer is at 9,968 miles.

I got one sweet pea so far this year, here it is:

¹Link to goes to a Bicycling San Diego article from 1988, not necessarily that particular event year or course, in .pdf format)

The Day After Garbarge Day

2010-07-14T17:39:00.001-07:00

I rode down to Missing Valley this morning to look for a couple of geocaches. I made my 500th find on a puzzle cache named Not Much Fun?, which was a lot fun, since I managed to solve the puzzle. For once. I found another cache, then didn't find another cache, then I rode back home.

I don't know quite how many miles I rode today, but I do know that I've got 25.54 miles on the trp odometer for the week. And 9,951 miles on the bike, which is a bit more than I thought.

Saturday

2010-07-10T17:31:00.000-07:00

I got up really early and headed out on Jamis on a Great Geocaching Expedition to Mission Valley. I got to where the first cache was, around San Diego State, one that I've looked for before, and found I had left my cache listings at home. I was so despondent that I pedaled home and went back to bed, waking up intermittently to read Steinbeck, which I finished at five in the afternoon, during an An Prairie Home Companion repeat.

Tomorrow I have a Very Special Geocache search planned, not on the bike, though.

Five point three miles for the week. How will I ever get to ten thousand at this rate?