Weather Underground says that Thursday will be a better day than tomorrow for the first dump tour of the year. Just as well, as I didn't sort out Goodwill stuff and pack the bike today.
And it was a beautiful day. I spent long periods not wearing my mittens. (Which was a blessing, because the cold wind was making my eyes water and it's hard to find a paper towel in my pocket with mittens on. Not too hard to blow my nose once I've got hold of it.
After leaving the library, I tried to dismount so I could walk across Detroit. My pants caught on something and I fell off the bike. This was time to whine "Help me, I've fallen and I can't get up!", but by good luck there were no witnesses. In retrospect, I should have laid the bike flat on the pavement, gotten up, and then bent over to pick it up — but one doesn't think too clearly while lying in the middle of a traffic lane. I finally got to my feet, but bruised my knees on the rough pavement doing it. Must have been shallow bruises, because my knees aren't sore now.
Notes: Left home at 10:44, ER (where I left three Analogs) 11:14 - 11:20, Library 11:50 - 12:18, arrived Goodwill at 12:44, Panda Express 13:30 - 14:09, Owen's 15:00 - 16:04, 16:24 home.
10.9 miles
Walked a mile, climbed two sets of stairs, did some pushuplets. Took a nap.
Some pain in thigh while falling asleep. Didn't get up for that, but read a bit after the cat reminded me to re-fill his food bowl. Pain had eased off by then.
I took my Gabapentin late, and went to bed one tooth-brushing later.
I think the seventh of January post was meant for my pain diary. That was Monday; I walked to church for a meeting, but didn't do any stair climbing.
Today, I meant to start extending my range by coming back from the dump tour by way of Aldi, but after lunch I felt like going home the short way and getting my groceries at Owen's Supermarket — which didn't have mini-sweet peppers, grump.
Partly that was because I was slightly underdressed for the weather, and partly because it was nap time, but I think the coup de grace was that I ordered slightly fewer calories at Panda Express, and thought that that entitled me to a rangoon. I forgot that when you order rangoon, you get three — and I ate all of them. So I was definitely overfed. That had worked off by the time I got to Owen's, but I was really tired when I got home, so I lay down for half an hour before supper. Still not too bright; I burned the hamburgers. In a blackened-redfish way, luckily.
Notes: left at 10:35, 10:51 - 10:54 dumping bags at Owen's, 11:08 - 11:11 at the emergency room, 11:48 - 12:47 buying two pairs of pants and a miniature skillet at Goodwill, at 13:00 I already had my food at Panda Express; left at 13:32. 14:45 - 15:26 at Owen's, home at 15:47.
That's nearly twenty minutes for the last leg, but it took a while to cross Winona, and the light turned red so I bypassed it on the Heritage Trail, and stayed on the trail to the park. Not to mention that I didn't feel like sprinting.
A while back I added girl-style pushups to my exercises, but couldn't straighten my hips. This morning, I realized that one starts that push-up flat on one's face. I get onto my hands and knees before getting into pushuplet position, and had been trying to get into from-the-knees pushup position the same way.
I've been doing pushuplets so long that it might be possible to start them from the bottom now.
Just tried it, and it works! I sort of peel myself off the carpet. I should start trying to wiggle my elbows a little farther. I should find out how far I have to wiggle them before I can call it a push up.
My number of pushuplets increased from twelve to twenty. After I started attempting girl- style first, it dropped to ten.
Walked to church yesterday, but forgot to climb stairs. And the steps on Ninth Street were unsafe and I didn't use them.
Washed clothes today. Went waffle-stomping twice, first to hang out the sheet, then to carry out the garbage and bring in the sheet.
I have been vegetating indoors all week. Tomorrow is predicted dry with little wind, but I don't think the streets will be clean, and the eight inches predicted for Saturday might come early, so I'm not packing the bike. I sure hope Saturday wrings it out and Sunday dries the streets so that I can go out on Monday. The temperature will rise as the day goes on, but so will the wind.
Tuesday is predicted snow-rain-snow, with an inch of snow left over for Wednesday. Friday looks like a perfect day to ride to Leesburg, were I not so soft. And the wind is as much as ten miles an hour, and I haven't got much wool to wear.
uh-oh. I have a couple of symmetrical sore spots on my neck. I think those bumps are lymph nodes.
I had forgotten about those sore spots, but on checking, they are still there.
I meant to pack the bike today — tomorrow is to be cold but clear — but I haven't darned my alpaca tights and we need some heavy shopping.
I walked to church today and yesterday. I did my back exercises and climbed a couple of staircases before going home yesterday. Today I did my back exercises in bits and pieces hither and yon during the party after the service. Also made vertical loops through the building for various reasons.
Came down Ninth Street in the street. The steps were not safe. Also, I was wearing stiff boots.
Still haven't darned my tights.
I walked to the teller machine and back, and walked up a handicap ramp along the way. (Bought brown-pod cardamom at Spice Merchants.)
I walked to church and climbed two flights of stairs. Did my morning exercises in Club 56.
If I do a warm-up ride on Tuesday, I might be able to do a dump tour on Saturday.
I have added five schoolgirl pushups to my exercises. Lie on face, peel off the floor, try to make a straight line from neck to knees, lower all the way to the floor. Perhaps I can work up to contacting all of a piece instead of thighs first. Seems to be doing something for my arm strength.
This morning, I did the schoolgirl pushups before the back exercises and the pushuplets afterward. This seems to be better than doing both afterward, and I'll try to remember to do it that way tonight.
I did ride to Owen's on Tuesday, a tad more than three miles round trip. I took about fifteen minutes in each direction: 11:23-1138 and 12:55-13:11.
Weather Underground promises a glorious day for a dump tour tomorrow. Sunny, hardly any wind, temperatures firmly below freezing, but rising sharply. Peak at four p.m.
I'd better lay out some very warm tights, and wear multiple silk T-shirts. Better wear the overlock jersey under my overjersey, as the jersey jersey I've been wearing fits tighter. I moved my magnifying glasses and my pocketful of paper to remind me.
I got a little sore in the legs and calves, but didn't notice it much while falling asleep.
Today I walked to church, climbed some staircases, and did my morning exercises in Club 56.
Rode downtown and back, with stops at San Jose Carneceria, Lowery's, Subway, the library, and Owen's. I did not use the boardwalk.
Easier to get on and off the bike without quite so many layers of clothing on.
I went to International Foods to replace the New Zealand beef I had opened, and they were gone with all the furniture. Our Father's House had two black long-sleeved T-shirts, but I couldn't put my head through the neck of one and it is wrapped up to donate back. (I wore the other one on Thursday.) Then I went on to San Jose, but they had no canned beef. I bought peanuts-in-the-shell and two jalapeños. Then I came back by way of Owen's and bought a few groceries.
Rode to Owen's to pick up a prescription, with a side trip to Zales for AREDS-2, then back to Owen's for some groceries. Four pairs of tights NO sweat pants!
Weather underground says that next Tuesday will be a good day for a dump tour, and Thursday will be a good day for a trip to Leesburg. We shall see what happens. At any rate, on Wednesday I'll know whether or not I want to save Duck Down and Above's weekly e-mail. Except that the week will begin on Friday; perhaps I should fish this week's e-mail out of the trash.
On Tuesday I drove to the eye doctor to get one of Al's hairs taken out of my eye, which had been hurting since Sunday afternoon. We were both surprised that something that big had been completely invisible.
Dump tour on Thursday, yesterday. What with cleaning the cat box and whatnot, I didn't get off until 12:08, so I just went out and back, and I didn't go into Meijer. Got home at 16:00, plenty of time to make spaghetti and meatballs for supper. Used up the left-over sauce — I'd quit buying Private Selection because we have to eat spaghetti twice, but I got a coupon for a free jar, and we like arabiatta very much. But I wish it were easier to get out of the jar.
I had no bags to dispose of, so after stops at the Little Free Library and the ATM, I went to the hospital by way of Lincoln Street, thence across the boardwalk to Goodwill, Panda Express for lunch. I ordered a Kid's Meal, which comes with a twelve-ounce drink, and found nothing potable in the soda machine. Except plain water, of course. I drew a skimpy cup of Coke Classic, which is good but I really don't need to drink syrup. (Sigh. There was a time when drinking syrup was a good idea.)
Against all rules of survival, I didn't refill my bottle here. I had another, there was a good bit left in the first one, and I was halfway. I did draw a little water to drink from my Coke cup.
The usual exit through Belle Tire to where I start walking to Shamrock. For the first time, there were vehicles in the little parking lot, two cars with VW badges and a Chevy truck. This nearly filled it.
I stayed on Park Street to Clarke, which I followed to Linburgh, Fort Wayne, and Owen's, where I stopped for cottage cheese. Found some small navel oranges in the 99¢ rack.
I was gone a tad under four hours, and I was stopped a total of a tad under two hours. About five miles per hour again. But I did stop every time I blew my nose, and there were a lot of intersections.
I have gathered up all the untranscribed slips of paper fluttering around, and dumped them into the wastebasket unread.
So I suppose I should transcribe the times off yesterday's slip in case I care how fast I went:
Thursday 28 Feb 2019 | dep 12:08 | Little Library 12:14 - 12:06 | ATM 12:22 - 12:25 | KCH 12:46 - 12:51 | Goodwill 13:23 - 13:45 | Panda Express 13:51 - 14:31 | Owen's 15:05 - 15:46 | home 16:00
Six minutes for the half mile from Goodwill to Panda Express. Five miles an hour again.
And now there are no untranscribed slips of paper. Clean slate!
Last Wednesday, 6 March 2019, I set out to go to Chinworth Bridge to make a twelve-mile ride out of a trip downtown, but I chickened out at Rotary Park, had chili fries at Penguin Point, and came home.
Left home at 10:10, left Our Father's House at 10:36, was at the library 11:05 to 11:23, Owen's West from 11:33 to 12:28, after glancing at Rotary Park, which is only a sculpture made from real gears from a defunct machine company and the roof of a shelter house so far, I zig-zagged through residential streets and turned onto Lake Street at 12:50, Penguin Point from 12:03 to 13:28, left Owen's West (after buying milk) at 14:01, was in Sherman & Lin's from 14:22 to 14:34, and got home at 14:47.
Tomorrow is predicted to be significantly warmer and a lot less wind, so I plan to try again.
And mostly sunny.
Got my shopping list organized, and an emergency lunch in my pannier. Better go make tea.
Left at 11:12, left Carniceria San José at 12:28. In the convenient store 12:32 to 12:36. Lowery's 12:41 - 13:01. Owen's West 13:18 - 13:52. Passed Rotary Park at 13:57.
From 14:05 to 14:08 walking through Zimmer. Crossed Chinworth Bridge at 14:28. Lunch at Tippy Park from 14:26 to 14:53. Backtracked on Chinworth Trail, crossed Zimmer Road at 15:12.
On Sue Avenue, saw a person lying on his walk with his feet in an open doorway, groaning and incoherent. Called 911. Got leisure to note the time at 15:26. At 15:31 got permission to leave.
I feel bad about calling the cops on that fellow, because I know how embarassing it is to have bystanders make a mountain out of a molehill, but I don't regret it, and would do the same again.
Must have been a molehill, because all three sheriff's vans overtook me on Lake Street. More time between the first and the second than there was between the second and third.
Got to Open Air, which had the gate shut, at 15:39, and walked to West Street, 15:44. Left Owen's West with a jug of milk at 16:06, bought onions at San José at 16:28, got home at 15:47.
Tomorrow looks good. I think I'll go to Pierceton by way of the animal shelter.
18.3 miles, 200 ft elevation gain.
From "AG: Mother dear Mother, pray make my bed soon" on rec.bikes.misc:
I'm weary wi' cycling, and I fain would lie doon.
Last Tuesday's ride was fourteen miles, more or less. A fifteen-mile round trip to Pierceton seemed just right for a gentle increase in miles, and I dropped off some old bath towels at the animal shelter on the way.
I forgot that the Chinworth Trail and the streets of Warsaw are built on a flat old lake bed. The roads between here and Pierceton undulate.
I arrived in Pierceton thinking "I've gone about as fur as I can go." (Everything is up to date in Kansas City.)
Touring the antique shops and having a cup of chili at the Oddfellow Cafe and Coffee helped, but not a lot.
I rode south on 13 to Hillcrest Cemetery — noticing for the first time that it actually is on the crest of a hill, if you call these undulations hills — and turned into the wind. Peak gust, along about then, was 19 mph, and I don't think it was ever less than five.
Pierceton is higher than Winona Lake, but that doesn't mean that the road was downhill! I think that most of the elevation gain comes when climbing from Cherry Creek/Wyland Ditch to Pierceton Road. I walked up the Heritage Trail on the way out.
In addition, Google maps says the route I took was actually 18.3 miles.
I came back from Tuesday's ride with at least half a dozen receipts, and I'd spent a while in the park eating lunch. Today, I stopped only to blow my nose. And got off only to walk a few hills. Not as many as I *felt* like walking; sometimes I had to remind myself that I felt the same way on the flat. I didn't use the big ring much.
Once I got all those layers of clothing off, I took an aspirin tablet and lay down for an hour, but I'm still not fit to operate heavy machinery.
Left home at 10:47. Reached Woosterat 11:13. Animal shelter from 11:23 to 11:26. In Pierceton from 12:11 to 13:15. Rode 19 to graveyard, turned north on 500 E. Got home at 14:54.
After laying off with a sore shoulder for days, I did five schoolgirl pushups in church this morning — and right after ten pushuplets. Climbed three staircases.
I didn't see fit to mention in the post that taking an aspirin tablet is a very special occasion on account of my ulcer.
I never got sore — whether old folks reap the rewards of decades of training or we have re-calibrated our notion of sore, I don't know.
But I'm still depleted. I rode to Owen's for milk and other perishables today, and on the way back, I just couldn't sprint between the parked cars on Park Avenue. Probably slept two hours at nap time afterward.
I was hoping to ride to Leesburg on Friday. Twenty *level* miles should be nothing, and . . . twenty-one mile per hour winds from the northwest . . .
We'll see how I feel on Thursday.
Hmm . . . Saturday, sunny and warm 5 mph from NW . . . I think the Friday specials go all week, and I never take more than a taste of the free snack anyway.
Left home at 11:29. In Owen's 11:44 to 12:52. Home again at 12:07. Fifteen minutes each way.
Saturday still looks like a glorious day. At first I reflected that the first leg of the dump tour is also the first leg of the Leesburg tour, and thought I would do a dump tour, then decide at Goodwill whether I could go on to Leesburg. Then I remembered that to go to Leesburg I need both panniers insulated and Black Ice in one of them. So I think I'll do a dump tour, and decide whether to come back by Walmart, Aldi, or the way I came when I get to Goodwill.
I had decided to come back the way I came before I got to Goodwill. At seventy-seven, muscles lost are not easily regained. I suppose I'll have to do some of that terminally-boring stuff to stay in shape next winter.
Forgot to climb stairs after church, but I did walk up the steps of the Light Rail on the way home.
I keep forgetting the after-supper walk. It's been light enough for weeks and I haven't done it yet.
Saturday, I went into Meijer to check over the head lamps. I was pleased to see that the least protrusive was the cheapest, but I didn't recognize the specification of the battery. Also didn't like the instructions for changing the battery.
On the way back, I hung a right on Arthur, and was pleased to see that I could have had lunch at the Chinatown Express. I was tempted, but only slightly, to go in and have a cup of tea.
I was too hungry to wait after spending two hours in Meijer, so I bought a "superfood" salad and ate it on half of one of the pita breads I'd bought.
Two hours? What was I doing in there? But that includes the time I spent sitting on one of their benches eating pita bread and drinking the tea I'd brought with me.
Left home: 10:45. 11:05 - 11:08 dumped bags at Owen's. Looks as though the detour around the race or festival or whatever took five minutes.
11:19 - 11:31 Emergency Room. That looks like too little time to get there and too much to spend there.
11:50 - 12:20 Goodwill. Found a fork I wanted, decided that standing in a line that long was too much to pay.
12:30 - 14:30 Meijer.
14:53 - walked past Chinatown Express
15:05 - 15:16 CVS. I walked past the library to get there. Looked closed, so I didn't try to get in.
15:23 - 15:52 The dollar-store plaza on Market Street.
16:24 left Carniceria San José Blundered about getting there.
16:43 - 17:14 Owen's
Didn't record my stop at Dunkin' Doughnuts. Bought one glazed doughnut.
17:21 Home.
Google Maps makes it 12.7 miles.
On Monday, I waked to the teller machine and back. I took a lap over the Light Rail porch on the return leg.
Yesterday, I rode to Sprawlmart, and came back by way of Menard's, Martin's, and Aldi. Only seven miles, but I did walk some.
Left 10:19
Sprawl One 10:36 - 10:53
Sprawl Two 11:03 - 11:49
Sprawl Three 11:55 - 12:52
Menard 13:16 -13:45
Martin's 13:49 - 14:07
Aldi 14:14 - 15:00
Home 15:30
Fiddled with the map -- I get an extra eight tenths of a mile for coming home on Lincoln Street. Course I also got credit for a backtrack I didn't take: Google Maps thinks the gate on Orthopedic Drive blocks traffic in both directions.
Probably less than a mile of walking, since I came back by Sunday Lane to stay out of the wind, but I did take one of the staircases twice. And I did walk around in the church a little.
Got some extra schoolgirl pushups in. I habitually get down for exercise by doing a schoolgirl pushup, and evening exercises were interrupted twice, once to feed the cat and once to testify with respect to an error Dave found in our bookkeeping. (I count only the lowering part, and peel myself off the floor to get into position for the next one.)
Only sixteen and a half miles. I went to tippy park and ate a sack lunch. No sack, unless you count the bag I line the insulated pannier with. I carried a solo cup of ranch dressing, slightly contaminated with blue cheese dip, to put on my sandwich. Didn't have any fruit but grapefruit, so I took a mini-sweet pepper.
A quarter teaspoon is way too much ascorbic acid in my tea, unless I add a lot more honey.
I measured the width of the bike lanes in several places. Made a Usenet post out of my notes:
On 31 Mar 2019 22:37:59 GMT, "John Varela"
> Why aren't they either in a designated bike lane, which presumably is not narrow,
Today, Tuesday, 2 April 2019, I set out to see whether I'm strong enough to ride to Leesburg on the next dry Friday, and used the three streets that have "bike lanes" on them: Winona Avenue, Smith Street, and the westernmost three thousand feet of Center Street.
I stopped at intervals to measure the width of the bike lane. Mostly I measured the westbound lane, since I was headed west and did not care to cross the street. Winona was measured eastbound twice, the first time because I'd already crossed the street to visit Lakeview Plaza, and the second because I bipped north on Grant street to measure the end of the Winona bike lane, and did not care to cross the street.
Since Smith branches off Winona pretty soon and runs parallel to it, and Winona is nasty to ride on, I measured only the beginning and end of the bike lane on Winona.
Most of the lanes were wider than I'd thought them to be, but the one on Center Street surprised me: I'd thought it was eight feet wide, and it isn't quite seven.
My notes:
Unless otherwise noted, measurements were taken between the foglines we use instead of lane dividers. The foglines are four inches (10 cm) wide.
------------------
Winona westbound across from Lake Lawn Avenue (first place where I could get off the road to dismount): 52"
------------------
Winona eastbound in front of Lakeview Plaza: 50".
This is a quite satisfactory width because it's 79" from the bike lane to the curb, the shoulder is reasonably paved, and it's in constant use as a right-turn lane, so it's convenient, when eastbound, to use the bike lane to maintain the required four feet of clearance from overtaking vehicles.
The westbound lane, on the other hand, is hairy, and I've been known to walk from Lakeview Plaza to Smith Street.
------------------
Smith Street westbound at Winona: 29"
------------------
Smith Street westbound at near end of fairground: 42"
------------------
Winona eastbound at Grant Street: 50"
------------------
Smith Street westbound at Bronson: 62"
------------------
Smith Street westbound at first alley past Bronson: 36"
(One can see Smith Appliances on Winona through this alley.)
------------------
Smith Street westbound at Maple (far end of fairgrounds): 45"
------------------
Smith Street westbound across from Lakeview Middle School: 47"
------------------
Smith Street westbound bike lane ends at the railroad. Just before the end it measures 6' 25" from the line to the curb.
At the end, it measures 55" from the line to the edge of the pavement.
The eastbound lane begins at Pope . . . Oops, at this point, Smith Street *is* Pope Street. Sign must have read Pope & McClellan. I did not measure the eastbound lane.
------------------
Streets were blessedly free of bike lanes until I got to the intersection of Center and Market. I didn't have an opportunity to measure it until I got to Leiter. It is 6' 31" here, and appears to be uniform until it vanishes just before Hepler and the entrance to the Zimmer campus. This is the only comfortable bike lane in town, or it would be if it had right-turn arrows painted on it to prevent right hooks. But traffic is very light if the shifts aren't changing.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
At this point I walked through the Zimmer campus to the recreation trail, ate lunch at Tippy Park (fewer bugs than on the previous visit), and headed out into the country. I was gratified to see that the new owner of the land my favorite vegetable stand was on last summer has put up the burma-shave signs that read
Your mother has said
blank sign
Eat all your veggies
and that includes corn
Which suggests that they intend to have a farm stand too, or it would if they'd bothered to repaint "Since the day you were born". Actually, I think they did repaint it; they just didn't re-letter it.
End quote
I plan to add metric measurements and maybe edit some before I send it.
According to Google Maps, yesterday's ride was 27.1 miles, give or take a mile. The map also says that I went up 262 ft and down 262 ft, my highest elevation was 883 ft, and my lowest was 810.
A while back, I was delighted to discover that though you can't get in by way of DePuy's back gate, you can get out. So I went that way yesterday, only to discover that you now need an employee card to get out also, and there is a chain-link fence to enforce it. Some pedestrians opened the gate, a pickup followed them, and I followed the pickup, but I can't count on that happening again.
So I'm back to wishing that the DePuy CEO owed me a favor.
I went to Oswego by way of 175 E, 300 E, and roads east of Chapman Lake. To Leesbury by Armstrong Road, which was fully exposed to the wind.
Return by Old Fifteen, Levi Lee, and Clearwater Drive. I went around three sides of a square to avoid riding on SR 15: 400 N, 150 W, and 300 N. I was quite pleased with this new route until, in the course of plotting how how far I'd gone, I noticed that I could have experienced even less of SR 15 by turning south instead of north, and turning right onto Monoquet Road. That would add a teeny smidge of total distance, because I still have to go up to 400 N.
I avoided most of the climb on 300 N by turning into Tippy Downs and coming out on Jalynn Street on the other side.
I still had to walk a good bit of Rainbow and Bell, but I could walk in the street instead of circling around, and a lot of the gravel had been pounded down enough that I could have ridden on it.
While fiddling around with Google Maps, I changed the units. 43.6 kilometers sounds ever so much more impressive!
I followed Park clear to the end while coming through Warsaw. Google refuses to plot that route without more way points than I want to fiddle with. Perhaps more than are allowed! Little or no effect on the total miles.
There are lots of untranscribed notes on the mouse stool and floor. I'll list the destinations some day.
Today I took a dump tour and came back by 350 W and the Chinworth Trail. About twenty miles. Didn't come back tired; I don't even miss my nap. Perhaps having a glass of tea in addition to the bottle of gunpowder with honey and half a teaspoon of ascorbic acid that I took along helped.
I had the tea at the Sidehouse Grill, and was very glad that I didn't feel like climbing the hill to Taco Bell. But nachos were the smallest dish on the menu, and were almost too much. I wanted to lie down at Madison School for a while, but I'd made myself suspect by squatting in the shade of their entrance to send a text message to Dave.
The "nachos" were really a very large tostada that had been cut into four pieces.
I hope I haven't sunburned my nose.
I dropped a pattern piece and it fluttered behind the monitor stand. When I used a flashlight to find it, I saw a pile of untranscribed notes. Since the pattern was sticking out where I could take hold of it and the notes were not, I left them for later. (And then made this note so I'd remember that they are there.) [Got to it on 15 August 2019.]
If the weather prediction tomorrow still says that Friday will be sunny, I'll prepare to return my library books and go up Foxfarm to Leesburg.
Must remember to put my windbreaker in my pannier in case of rain. Since the temperature is supposed to rise sharply -- 54F at 06:00 and 74F at 16:00 -- perhaps I'll wear it. Predicts 63F at ten, when I'll probably roll out.
Ah, these notes for 31 May are for the trip anticipated above. Duck confit disappeared from the offerings at Duck, Down, and Above, which cooled my ardor for a trip to Leesburg, so I decided to run some errands in Warsaw, then go west of Center Lake to Walmart, and maybe come back east of Pike Lake.
Left home at 10:38, at the ATM 10:45-10:47, a garage sale on Lakeview 11:03-11:12, emergency room 11:25-11:32, got to the library at 11:59
And the notes end there, because when I came out of the library, I thumb-tested my tires and found the back wheel flat. I called Dave and he took me to the Trailhouse in the truck.
On Saturday, I left home at 9:45, was at the Trailhouse from 9:59-10:14, walked around the parking lot a bit (probably a festival going on), mounted up, got off, walked back to the Trail House to have my skewer tightened.
Home from 10:33 - 11:00, fairgrounds market from 11:09 - 11:14, library from 11:30 - 11:51 (why did I go back?), arrived at the courthouse market at 11:57, left a garage sale (probably on West Street) at 12:30, Open Air Greenhouse 12:36 - 12:45, Penguin Point 12:58 - 13:21.
As I was preparing to turn left onto Lake street, my loose skewer brought me to a dead stop again. I gave it one full turn before re- mounting, and it hasn't given me any trouble since, but the thought of it happening again when someone was counting on me to keep moving dampened my ardor a *lot*, and I turned right instead. Stopped at Dollar General and Owen's. My times home don't make sense; I think this was the day I went back to the festival planning to buy a tenderloin sandwich to share for supper, only to find that the food vendors closed up at five.
I finally made the Walmart trip the following Tuesday, and I went to the farmers' markets yesterday. Too late at night to write it up.
Washing clothes. Will transcribe notes between loads, mostly to frisk them for column ideas, Banner notes, Pain Diary entries, and expenditures not yet entered into Quicken.
On the Walmart trip, I decided to go by way of Silveus Crossing because I've been avoiding it for years, and because Google Maps listed the new Freedom Express as a dining place.
I remembered on the way that Silveus Crossing is not no-go, but one-way: when headed north, I don't start from a dead stop at the bottom of the hill, and when I do have to get off there is a good place to walk well away from the road. On the other side of the hill, there is no place to walk at all, and the road isn't wide enough for people to overtake a pedestrian comfortably.
I went to the end of Executive Boulevard and Blue Collar Drive, and found it rather boring -- no buildings that invite visitors. Freedom Express's dining was rather clever: They have one of those roller machines that keep hot dogs hot, and they get really, really good just before they are so dried up that they are thrown out. (Nothing there had been on the machine very long.) In addition to hot dogs (which were very few) they had other kinds of sausages, short tacitos that they called "tornados", something I've forgotten, and egg rolls. I had an egg roll and found it quite nice. They had tongs to pick it up, and a fitted paper bag to slide it into, so one could eat it with dirty hands. I didn't see buns for the hot dogs and sausages, but there were condiments. Perhaps one asks the clerk for a bun.
On my previous trip to Walmart, I noticed that the pretzel stand sold single-serving pizza after I'd bought my lunch. This time I tried it -- one egg roll is a rather light lunch, and I'd been walking around in Walmart for hours. To my surprise, it was quite good. I ate three- fourths of it and brought the last piece home to Dave, who ate it cold and admired the crust. I think I had picked all the chunks of hot dog off, so he couldn't pass judgement on that. Hot dog wasn't what I had in mind when I ordered "sausage", but it was surprisingly good. I think they used a high-grade hot dog. And the chopped mushroom was fresh and raw when it went onto the pizza.
I noticed that Brower's Furniture is very close to the intersection of 175 E and Center Street, and bought a few carpet samples. From there, I went to K-Mart by way of Lincoln Highway.
Today I rode to the farmer's markets and back, wondering what was going on at the fairground as I passed, but there were no signs up. I considered a side trip into Central Park to see whether there was a festival -- I was already on Fort Wayne Street -- but it was threatening rain, so I went straight home, pausing at Owen's to look at the clearance. I bought steak and potatoes, and cooked them for supper.
Yesterday, yesterday
It was predicted to be dry and sunny all day, and Friday is the day they give out free samples at Duck Down and Above, but there was nothing tempting in the weekly e-mail. So I reflected that I've never ridden 400N all the way to 500W, and I've never seen much of 100N west of Parks-Schram.
So I rode a token dump tour -- only a skillet to drop off at Goodwill, my offering at the hospital was rather picked-over, and I had only a few plastic bags to dispose of -- then spent from 13:23 to 15:51 in Meijer.
I hadn't got off until 11:45, for assorted reasons. Perhaps chief among them was that I expected to be out all day no matter what, and the sun doesn't set until nine.
My notes say that I left the gazebo at Tippecanoe Downs at 16:17, and arrived at 500W at 1700. Google Maps says that that is 5.2 miles. I calculate 7.2 MPH.
I reached 100N at 17:31. Call it half an hour to ride 3.3 miles -- 6.6 MPH.
It took me 37 minutes to ride from Zimmer to home. About four miles. 6.5 MPH.
On Friday, I rode to Martin's by way of the animal shelter, and yesterday I went to the farmers' markets, with stops at Carniceria San José and the library.
Google Maps say 13.2 miles for the animal-shelter loop. I'm not going to bother to measure the farmers' markets loop. However far it was, I got an extra mile in, because after putting my purchases away, I rode to Kilainey's to buy lunch.
I wonder why notes that are sharp and clear in daylight are so hard to read under a bright ceiling light?
My magnifying glasses broke through the pocket of my curry jersey, but not until I got home. I noticed the beginning of a tear sometime after arriving at the library and before arriving at the farmer's market. I should have bipped into the ladies room, taken off the jersey, and sewed it up with the kit that I carry in my wallet for just such an emergency. Hole is still mendable, but I've realized that the hole in the keychain pocket of the taxicab jersey can be mended with an iron-on patch.
On Saturday's ride, I blundered around in the strip mall alongside US 30 until I found the shortcut to the animal shelter (where I didn't stop -- well, I stopped, but realized I had no reason to go in), and promptly forgot where it was.
Back Notes
On Saturday, 25 May 2019 and 8 June 2019: Farmers' markets.
That finishes the recent notes pinned to JOYXP's monitor stand.
Read and discarded: Tue 26 May sprawlmart, Tue 2 April yellow crocus, Tue 4 June burger on hot-dog roller.
Only a belt in the pannier. There is lots of stuff to take to Goodwill, but we are out of stuff that fits into a pannier. This will put a crimp in my exercise plans -- there are almost no places to go that aren't too close or too far, and Duck Down & above sold out of the downgrades I wanted.
------------------------
A missed turn brought the distance to 23.4 miles.
Took a while to get a chance to cross SR 15, but I had a turn lane to ride in from Monoquet to Clearwater. Going in the other direction, I could use it as a walking path.
I was gone from 10:26 until about 18:00. I left Aldi at 17:26, which is a terrible time to try to cross US 30.
One more trip! I wore my Dr. Scholl socks to the farmer's markets last Saturday, and hated them. They feel nasty when I sweat, and always felt as though they were sliding down at the heel.
So I put the two pairs that have been washed (rolled into pairs) and the original package with the rest of them into a ziplock bag.
I had better luck at Walmart yesterday. I'd forgotten to bring thin socks so that I could change into my Duegis before heading out into the country, so I went inside to buy socks. Ended up spending two hours in there, but that includes time eating lunch after I shopped. But I got served instantly at the pretzel stand, because they had a pizza in the keep-hot display and I said "I'll take that one". Didn't get a reciept because the reciept printer was broken.
There was only one style that contained wool, but it was a style I'd bought a two-pair package of on my previous trip (still haven't opened the package), and it was being cleared out at five dollars a two-pack. They felt rather thick, but were thinner than the pair I had on, so I bought them and changed into them sitting on a curb -- Walmart has only one outdoor bench, and it was occupied. Turned out that they do fit into my Duegis -- helps that the Duegis lace to the toe -- *and* they are thick enough to wear with my old sandals.
I don't think I'm going to mind having four pairs of these socks. I put the other pair into the bag with my Duegis to be sure I don't forget socks the next time I go on a long ride.
They fit just a tad loose; I'm hoping they will shrink a bit when washed. But some machine- washable wool gets bigger when washed. They are only 21% wool, which is better than expected. I once picked up a pair of "wool" socks that were one percent wool, ninety-nine percent polyester. These are 48% acrylic. The rest is polyester and nylon.
Nine minutes at the courthouse market, twenty- three minutes at the library, twelve minutes at Sherman & Lin's, thirteen minutes at Sweet Dreams.
Farmers' markets, carniceria, library, Owen's.
Afternoon ride. Sherman & Lin's, Owen's, Penguin Point.
Before writing this note, I finally borrowed a tiny phillips screwdriver and set out to move the cable-guide screw that has been snagging my pants.
When I pushed the screwdriver against it, it moved. I tried to tighten the screw afterward, and didn't ask it whether it could still shift.
I put elastic into the sleeves of my new linen jersey this morning, and wore it for the first time after my nap. It seems to work. I hated to get it sweaty!
Really muggy going out, not so bad coming home.
Farmers' markets tour. Uneventful, but my new jersey is in a bucket getting the sweat soaked out.
I hated to pull the sleeves down over my sunscreened wrists, but that's why I lined the cuffs with black.
The cable guide can still shift. It stopped moving when it got back to its previous position. I suspect I need a new cable guide, but I'll try to take it off and put tape under it when I get the time. [I took it off and replaced it with tape.]
I've backslid a bit, but I'm going on the Tour des Lakes this Saturday anyway. I can rest frequently, check in by phone at four, and take my time getting home.
I'm doing about half of a loop about sixty miles around.
It will be dangerously hot. I plan to rebuild my pannier and fill it up with bottles of beverage and bags of ice.
[cleaning up notes on 6 August] I appear to have ridden to Owen's, and stopped at Kilainey's on the way back.
So I tackled the cable guide again, found a screwdriver that would actually turn the screw, tried to loosen it enough to slide it over a turn of tape, lost the screw, threw the cable guide into the basket of spare parts, secured the cable with removable tape, secured the tape with duck tape.
Neither of us could retrieve the little disc magnet from the crack I thought the screw had fallen down. I put the magnet in a bag for a better grip, held the bag by the closed side. And when I put my magnifying glasses on, the "screw" I'd been fishing for turned out to be a broken seed hull.
I've got the bags of ice in the freezer, in the insulated bag that Duck Down and Above gave me. Five bottles and a bag of food to drop into the bag on my way out the door are grouped in the fridge.
Two bottles of tea, a honey bottle of switchel concentrate, a water bottle half full of switchel and orange juice, to be filled with ice just before leaving, one water bottle of water. It will be warm long before I drink it, but it's better to keep it with the rest.
Food: several meal bars, and all of my salty "snack sticks" -- jerky sausages.
I'll be having a meal bar in the car for breakfast. We have to get there before nine. Registration closes at nine-thirty.
By much fiddling with the maps, I have determined that the Pizza King where I didn't have lunch was very close to Checkpoint 2.
Farmers' markets tour.
I took a sprawlmart tour today. Started at 10:59, got home at 16:04, spent a lot of time in stores. I came back by Wooster Road, and still had the energy to handle it.
But after putting my jersey into a bucket of weak washing-soda solution, I realized that I didn't feel up to riding the flatfoot to Kilainey's to buy supper. I had found twiddling pedals that didn't allow a full leg extension tiring when I made that same trip on Tuesday.
Both of my old linen jerseys have pockets that need darning, so I put on my cotton T-shirt style jersey. I felt much better in a clean jersey! It was still unsweated when I got back, so I imagine that the weather was cooler than it had been. But I put my white do-rag into the bucket with the new jersey, my yellow do- rag, and my bra.
I must be overcompensating for the debacle the Saturday before last; this was a restroom-to- restroom tour. I arrived at Big R eager to get to the back of the store, and when I was about to check out, I realized that first I must make another trip to the back of the store.
Google Maps says the store is 424.37 feet long. Two round trips would be seventeen hundred feet, which is about a third of a mile. I did considerably more, walking up and down rows.
Figure Eight tour: to the farmers' markets in the morning, come home for lunch and a lie-down, to Pierceton Days in the afternoon. The festival isn't worth the trip — few church food tents, and no apple dumplings. I hope the tomato festival has fried green tomatoes and ham-and-beans.
I should have stopped at both garage sales; the food vendors don't close at five.
I think that they close at four at the tomato festival. That will make it hard to make a figure-eight tour — it was half past three when I left, and the trip takes an hour.
Times: Start 9:55, FM 10:09 to 10:15, FM 10:30 to 10:45, Owen's 11:00 to 12:10, home ? to 15:36, Bethel Baptist Church (a better place to change shoes than the church I used in previous years) 16:19 to 16:25, Brower Park ? to 17:45, passed 500 E on Wooster 18:18, changing shoes on my private steps off 250 E 18:36 to 18:40, Tastee Freeze <18:56 to 19:03, 19:30 home. (I met Dave and walked a couple of blocks.)
Hmm . . . it took forty-three minutes to ride to Pierceton, and it's 5.9 miles. My speed must be improving. (Measured from Winona Lake Trails to Bethel Baptist Church.)
I came back by Van Ness, Wooster, and Sprawlmart.
I rode to Sweet Dreams and back -- a tad under a mile. Six minutes to return, ten if you include time spent bungeeing a sandwich to the rack.
I went to Owen's for coriander and ginger this evening. I figure the round trip is closer to three miles than to four.
I did the dump tour, then went to Meijer and Walmart and came back by Foxfarm, stopping at The Farm for peppers. It's good that I decided I didn't have room in my panniers for corn, because Dave bought half a dozen ears at Sweet Corn Charlie's.
19.9 miles
I meant for it to be a mile farther, but I zigged when I should have zagged on 300 N. Partly because I couldn't see the sign and thought it was 200 N, which was very silly of me because I hadn't crossed 30 yet.
At the entrance on the way out, the light changed from red to left turn when I was halfway through stopping, I got confused and fell off my bike. Very embarassing. I got a scrape on my left elbow and two scrapes on my left knee.
And I upset all the witnesses.
Transcription made on 15 August 2019:
Friday, 9 August 2019:
Dump Tour with return by way of Fox Farm
~ 20 miles ~8 hours
Details were recorded in the Banner immediately after the ride. I spent two hours and nineteen minutes in Meijer, forty-seven minutes in Walmart, and ten minutes in the Tippy Downs gazebo.
Ten minutes from Owen's to the ER: one mile: six mile/hour.
Twenty-one minutes from ER to Goodwill: Three miles: nine miles/hour.
One hour five minutes from gazebo to leaving The Farm: six point one miles: six miles/hour.
Twenty-six minutes from The Farm to Marsh: three miles: seven miles/hour.
Fifteen minutes from Marsh to Sweet Dreams: 2.3 miles: nine miles/hour.
And five minutes to home.
Oddly, my thin-soled sandals hurt my left corn more during today's short ride than during yesterday's long ride.
The usual: Owen's for pills, farmers' market, peanuts at Carniceria San Jose, farmers' market, Owen's for frozen food.
About two and a half miles to Dr. Hollar's office in twenty-four minutes. Four minutes to lock up and go inside.
Two hours and twenty-two minutes to go home and unpack. That includes lunch at the Peking, sitting on the boardwalk's half-way bench for six minutes, and buying some stuff at Owen's.
Appears to be a lot of loosestrife in the swamp; I'm surprised none of our busy little beavers are pulling it up.
I have time to clear up some of the cluttering slips of paper.
Finally swept behind the monitor stand. Found a couple of pattern pieces and a map of a thirty-one mile ride taken Thursday, 1 June 2017. It went to Oswego mini-mart by way of Barbee and 800 North. Motivation not recorded. Also slips from eight rides; those that are still legible were taken in 2017, mostly June but there was a May and a July.
One of those on the other monitor stand, mousepad stool, and floor was also from 2017, on 1 November. Appears to have been a dump tour. Note says I got a terrible tostada made from a flour tortilla at Taco Bell. I suspect it was billed as a "mexican pizza". That was good when it was made with corn tortillas.
The rest are from this year, seven from April, four from May, and one from June.
And, of course, Saturday, 20 July 2019 is still corsage-pinned to the cardboard monitor stand. I'm in the process of writing an account for rec.bicycles.rides, and will paste it here when it's done.
Saturday the sixth: to Aldi by way of Pierceton, with a stop at the Animal Welfare League. Mentioned in Banner.
Saturday the eighth: Dump Tour. Oops, this is from 2017. I mistook it for the dump tour ending at A taste of Ag that I took on
Tuesday the ninth this year. Notes say I noticed back pain after leaving Goodwill. They also say that when I dropped off bags at Owen's on the way out, the bag barrel had been emptied, and when I went to Owen's after A Taste of Ag, the bin was overflowing again. 'Splains why the bin is nearly always at least full when I add bags to it.
Saturday the thirteenth: Leesburg, out by Old 15, back past Open Air Nursery and Greenhouses.
Tuesday the sixteenth: I appear to have gone to Leesburg by the same route but clockwise.
Monday the twenty-second: dashed to Owen's and back after supper.
Friday the twenty-sixth: reported on the twenty-seventh. I don't know why the slip was still around.
Saturday the fourth: I managed to ride all over downtown without noticing that the farmers' markets were open. But I got a very good pork chop at the Legion hall.
Saturday the eleventh: farmers' markets and other stops.
Tuesday the fourteenth: transcribed, but not marked off.
Saturday the eighteenth: farmers' markets. $2.50 not Quickened.
Dashed to Owen's after supper. Sun sets before nine now, so I won't do that too many more times this summer.
And I'm all cleaned up, except for the Tour des Lakes.
Instead of climbing four staircases, I climbed one staircase four times. That made it somewhat aerobic.
Throat started tickling in the evening, and by Tuesday morning I knew the Tomato Festival on the twenty-fourth was Right Out. I kept hoping until Wednesday or Thursday, and did, in fact, manage the Farmer's Markets on Saturday, but I came back by Clarke Street instead of the boardwalk.
Walked to church the next day, but skipped the stair climbs. I even came back by Chestnut Street instead of going down the steps on Ninth.
On Friday evening, I broke a tooth, called Hollar on Monday, got an appointment for Tuesday, the twenty-seventh. Twenty-eight minutes this time, but I gabbed with Dave for a while after writing the start time.
I went back by Clarke Street again, and spent an hour or so in Owen's again.
My cough isn't improving any, but the sore throat is long gone. Each coughing fit seems to bring on a need to blow my nose.
Next week, I think I'll do a Sprawlmart tour as a come-back. I haven't been to Indiana Restaurant Supply in years.
Got the Sprawlmart tour mapped out, but I'm driving to Rentown tomorrow.
I should have ridden the flatfoot a few times to toughen up for holding the steering wheel.
I came back from the farmers' markets the usual way, and stopped by the emergency room with a couple of magazines, but didn't make any side trips, if you don't count shopping at Owen's.
I'm still coughing.
Still coughing.
Took in a rummage sale and a garage sale on the way back from the farmers' markets. Also walked around the "Safety Day" at Central Park.
I drove to Rentown and back on Thursday. Not a peep from my rotator cuff. I got home before nap time, but was on the road at "be extra careful" time. The very strong tea I had with lunch probably helped -- but I didn't sleep when I lay down.
Sang in church, but forgot to do the stair climbs.
Rode to Owen's and back, ten minutes out, eighteen minutes back.
Farmer's markets tour. Stopped at ER to dispose of magazines.
Back in the saddle again! At least twelve miles today, to Aldi by way of the animal shelter, with a stop at Culver's for lunch. I also stopped at the church on 100 N to sit on their bench to eat a candy bar and send a text message.
Yesterday, I rode the flatfoot to Sweet Dreams to pick up our supper and got all out of breath on that nearly-flat street, even though I didn't hurry much. There were a lot of slopes that I didn't notice when I went to the teller machine on my road bike before today's ride.
AG Notes: cones mean it, guy dressed like a racer overtook me on the right and didn't say anything to warn me.
Raining when I left, but cleared up soon. Hurried home anyway. Left 10:26, home 12:45.
Sprawlmart widdershins, by way of 225 S. Bought a square egg ring at Indiana Restaurant Equipment. Forgot to look to see whether they still have marble mortars like mine. The Antique Mall was closed. I bought a moving blanket two yards long and forty inches wide at Harbor Freight, and also a very silly keychain knife in the shape of a key. I haven't tried out the blanket yet because the trunk is full of cardboard for the recycling center.
And I can't attach the knife to my car key until I buy a lobster-claw clasp at The Beaded Peacock.
I bought a spatula at Big R and toured the shoe store. May have hit some other stores.
My phone chirped "text message" just as I was entering K-Mart Plaza, so I hung a right and had fried cheese curds at Wings instead of a chalupa at Taco Bell. I stuck Dave with the bill.
Left at 11:03, got home at 16:20, left again at 16:46, returned with a sandwich at 17:06. (I'd allowed time to stand in line, but I was the only customer.)
10:28 – 14:44. I'd been unpacking a bit before I wrote down the time.
Lovely day. I bought a turnip at the fairgrounds market, and a macaron and a quart of cherry tomatoes at the courthouse market.
11:30 – 11:55 at the library, where I checked out two sewing books.
Despite walking a bit, I was at the Chinatown Express before 12:22. Noted that it took more than ten minutes to get my soup -- I was third in line and the others had ordered meals -- but when it arrived, I grabbed it and ran without looking at my phone. I got to a picnic table in the park at 12:26 and finished eating at 12:51.
KCH 13:04 – 13:12. The cafeteria had been cleaned up and the cleaning crew was gone, which led me to doubt that they had honestly stayed open until one.
13:22 – 13:37 at Zales, where I spent about sixty dollars on pills.
Arrived at Owen's at 12:42, where I spent about sixteen dollars on pills before shopping for groceries. Forgot to note the time I left. I was home before 14:44.
Finally a pleasant Wednesday predicted! I'm not really up to taking my ride on the day after washday.
So Monday night I got a contract in my e-mail that had to be signed and hand-delivered as soon as possible.
On the way out of Winona, I saw a bunch of police officers near an excavation in one of the entrances to the Cerulian parking lot. I later learned that workmen re-working the side-walk ends to put in wheelchair ramps and blind-man dots had discovered a collapsed drain tile and other subterranian hazards. Still dug up a couple of weeks later, and large tiles stashed all over.
After leaving the lawyer's office, I went to Warsaw Cut Glass, but didn't see any saucers. I should go back and ask what they have in the back room.
Then I went to Walmart by way of the CitGo station at the foot of McElroy Hill. I was disappointed that none of the foods on the hot-dog roller were ready to eat, but a single-serve pizza proved to be a better choice, since I'd forgotten my food bars and the left-over pizza provided a light snack upon leaving Walmart.
Before leaving, I bought tea to fill my water bottle. It was weak, and I must remember to bring home-brewed tea on my next ride. When I filled the bottle, half the stream was tea colored and half was water colored. I suspect that they have one container of tea in the machine, and dilute it with water or syrup depending or whether you punch "unsweet" or "sweet".
I approached 300 N concerned about being able to cross the bridge. That proved to be no problem, but the road was edged with high-piled ridges of dirt that prohibited walking around the construction. Just as I despaired, I noticed that a driveway just before the construction -- left clear so as not to trap whoever owned it in his house -- touched the back yards of the houses in Tippy Downs. I hadn't noticed one-family houses in there before, presumably because I always went to Jalynn Street as directly as I could navigate.
I met a man who was looking for riding buddies, for rides that start at his house in Tippy Downs. He has one who lives not too far away. I told him that by the time I got to the ride start, I would have my ride in. He said they sometimes ride to Winona Lake. (Probably couldn't have kept up with two men anyway, even though both were old.) I wish I'd asked his name.
I didn't find anything on my list at Walmart, but I bought two cans of pickled beets and four cutesy half-pint canning jars. I went to Owen's by the Sunset Drive route, bought a gallon of milk, and went home.
Farmers' markets. No side trips.
Farmer's markets and craft fair. I had a good lunch at the craft fair; I must keep an eye on that church. And go out by the Chinworth Trail instead of Old Thirty next time. I stopped at Home Sweet home and climbed the stairs on the way home. Then I went to the dollar store and Warsaw Health Foods.
11:09 – 16:09.
It was meant to be a dump tour and long way home, making twenty miles. Ended up coming back the way I came -- not much more than ten.
I bought a warm pair of all-polyester tights and two thin all-poly sweatpants at Goodwill. One of the sweatpants is velvet; I shoved it aside, then remembered that my warm Capilene tights had been pile on the inside, and added it to the armload to be tried on.
I bought some groceries at Meijer, then zig-zagged to JaLynn. Bell/Rainbow is nicely paved now. I toured Walmart Plaza looking for Shoe Carnival, which is at Kohl Plaza. Sheldon Drive is closed at 300 N, but the work was elsewhere at the moment and I walked across -- a rather long walk, because the upslope is currently gravel. Shopped at Shoe Carnival and found a perfect pair of sandals, thicker in the sole than my old pair, same closing at heel and toe -- and about four inches long.
The highlight of the trip was to be a chalupa at Taco Bell; I'd read that their chalupa was nothing like any chalupa ever eaten anywhere else. So I parked in view of one of the tables inside, took off my hat and gloves -- the door was locked. Well, it's not the main door. The main door was unlocked, but had a sign on it saying that they didn't have enough help to open the dining room, please go to the drive through.
As I was rolling out, I reflected that something bought at the drive-through could be carried into the dining room -- it was pleasant enough to eat outside, but Taco Bell has no tables or benches -- looked to my left and saw three cars and probably another around the corner, and I hadn't seen one car pass me when I was parked at the exit of the drive-through, nor had I seen any sign that the drive-through wasn't also severly understaffed. Standing in line in exaust fumes isn't very appealing when you *do* think that your turn will come.
I had come into Kohl Plaza by the back door, but went out through the front door, into the driveway across the street. To get to Sheldon Street, I'd have to go back through the plaza, and walking across a lawn would be more pleasant than walking down a torn-up street.
Lo and behold, since my last trip, the driveway had been extended to meet Sheldon Street just where I'd gotten off my bike. If I'd looked to my right and engaged my brain, I could have been saved a long walk.
I hope I remember, next trip, to look to see whether one can see from there that the driveway continues to another street.
It was a couple of hours past lunch time by then, so I made a beeline to the pretzel shop in Walmart, where there was a bacon pizza on the hot shelf. I ate only three fourths and a nibble, having had a candy bar from my emergency stash before leaving Meijer. I ended up bringing the remaining slice home, somewhat the worse for having been in the bag of bike pants when I stuffed them back into the pannier after buying milk, having forgotten that I'd put it there to save it from getting squished among the canned goods in my insulated pannier. Also to expose it to the cold air.
I bought some stuff at Walmart, including two bags of "small red beans", and left at 16:40. Home by way of Owen's, where I got a flu shot and a jug of milk. For a moment, I thought I'd have to pay for the shot (Pharmacist: "What sort of insurance doesn't pay for flu shots?!") and I'd left my debit card in my jeans pocket. I did have sixty dollars, despite having paid cash everywhere, but they figured it out before I'd finished counting.
I also stopped at R&B Car Company to put my gloves on, but couldn't find them. Turned out they were under the liner in my insulated pannier. I must have been *really* afraid they would blow away! I put my outermost pair of tights back on, and was warm enough.
Usual walk. Only two staircases, but I walked around in the kitchen a lot. Not especially tired on walk home.
Not very long ago, I noticed that when I lay on my back and kept my arms in contact with the carpet, my shoulders didn't have much range of motion. I've been working on it, and tonight I was able to "raise" my arms until my hands touched. Moving back "down" without lifting my arms was another story, but can't be far in the future.
I slept late, and by the time I was dressed, it was already raining. And I had put black ice in my insulated pannier, hoping to stock up on frozen meat. I needn't hope that she'll come to the winter market, because that is the day of Nancy's funeral.
Yesterday, I touched hands again, but it hurt.
This evening, it was easy to touch hands, but I couldn't bring my arms back to my sides again without lifting them off the carpet. There's a sort of hump that I can get over going up by sort of re-arranging my shoulders, but it doesn't work coming back.
Next decent riding day is Saturday, but the farmers markets are over for the year. I suppose I could go to Tractor Supply. We need more cat food, and they may have gotten in more since I cleaned them out.
I think I sprained something in my left upper ribs doing those hand touches. Pain made it hard to get comfortable last night, and I'm pretty sure is wasn't sciatica.
My pushuplets hurt the sore spot in Club 56, and I skipped those in the prayer room. Perhaps it was trying to do push-ups slowly after working on the hand-touch that sprained my side.
I climbed four staircases after church, descending some of the steps slowly.
153.8 pounds, wearing nothing but a wedding ring and glasses.
I don't think it was either pushuplets or hand- touching that made my side sore. Perhaps I bruised it in my sleep. Whatever, it's nearly gone now.
I can't sweep my arms much "above" the shoulders without raising my arms off the carpet.
New plan for hand touches: I sweep my arms until it begins to hurt, then stop. This is actual pain; I don't feel any "pull" first.
Shoulders are sore enough that I had a hard time getting out of my "wizard" gown after walking to the church and back yesterday evening. (Halloween had been postponed to Friday because Thursday's weather was horrible.)
Yesterday morning, I went for a longer ride than planned, by two wrong turns. (Consulted map at intersections where I knew perfectly well which way to go later in the ride.)
I walked around for three-fourths of an hour in Tractor Supply, and an hour in Aldi. Stood for a bit while ordering lunch at Culver, but not enough to be a factor in the back-ache that developed after I got home. The ache was much faded when I got up to take a pill in the night, and is present but not noticed today.
My legs were sore in the night.
Just got around to asking Google Maps how far I went. It says 14.8 miles. I'm sure I added more than two tenths riding to the teller machine and back to Union Street, so I'm going to call it fifteen miles.
I could have made it sixteen miles by turning right instead of left onto Pierceton. Or sixteen and a half by following Wilcox to the end.
The route I intended, turning left instead of right onto 275 E, would have been twelve miles.
Three extra miles should not have made me so tired.
The 1 November trip was to pick up two cases -- twelve-can cartons -- of renal-support cat food. With any luck, I'll be riding that route many times, but Al is spending most of his time lying down with his back legs straight these days.
On Saturday 9 November 2019 I dropped off some socks at Our Father's House, bought some stuff at Carniceria San José and the health-food store, forgot that the youth club is on Smith Street and couldn't find the bazaar, and went to a garage sale on Parent Drive by way of McElroy Hill. I should photograph that hill some time. I timed myself: it took six minutes to walk up. I stopped in Citgo for a sausage on a hot-dog bun.
After the garage sale, I went into Walmart to look at the titanium-plated stainless-steel silverware, and had a chalupa at Taco Bell, where one of the clerks was so impressed that an old lady rode a bike that she paid for my lunch.
Then I had to go straight home, pausing only to buy a quart of yogurt at Owens. Curfew is at five o'clock now.
300 N was much more navigable than the last time. Just as well because I couldn't find the driveway I used to get around the construction last time. Didn't look very hard, because I could ride in the road itself all the way to Tippe Downs Drive, where I had to lift the bike up a knee-high step. (At least very high; I didn't take note.) Even though it was Saturday, there was a machine working, possibly at the intersection with Sheldon, where they are putting in a roundabout.
Rumor has it that they plan to button up soon, re- open the road, and resume work in the spring.
Biomet Drive wasn't merely closed, it was really most sincerely closed. I pulled into R & B car company intending to use their picnic table to sit down and send a text message, then walk out over their lawn, but when I got up to leave, I found a new ramp providing access from Anchorage while the sewer work blocked off their usual entrance. It was pretty steep, but I didn't have to get off the bike. I realized later that building the ramp must have been the responsibility of the people who were blocking them off.
Tomorrow I plan to return my books, going by way of Owen's and the hospital to dump bags and magazines, then go to Goodwill to dispose of some bowls. Not sure how I'll come back. I don't think any of the things on my list can be found at Meijer.
Monday through Thursday, I put on shoes every morning in case the lawyer called. On Friday, I forgot to check my e-mail before leaving; I could have signed the final papers after returning my books.
Got it done Monday, at the cost of postponing wash day until Tuesday.
Friday's ride went pretty much as planned. Had lunch at Panda Express and came straight home.
With the sun setting not long after five in the afternoon, I see a lot of "came straight home" in my future.
Tomorrow I plan an animal shelter, Tractor Supply, Martin's, Aldi tour, by way of Heritage Trail, Roy Street, and Wilcox. I hope the teller machine hasn't been removed yet, because I don't want to go all the way to Center Street before turning back, and I'm a tad low on cash.
I cut Wilcox off my route because I got a late start. It wasn't curfew, it's that the first place to eat on that route is nearly at the end. Even with a loop cut off, I didn't get lunch until an hour after noon.
It's a lovely day today, we need milk, and it's going to rain and maybe thunderstorm tomorrow -- but it takes longer to put on all that insulation than it takes to ride to Owen's. So I mended a broken seam and updated my back-ups of Sewing and Letters. Also Filezillad Sewing. Um . . . I started to, but I don't remember finishing. I think I went to look something up and forgot about it.
I was planning to also transcribe all the little slips of paper lying around, but it's nap time.
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Nap over.
My notes for Friday, 15 November 2019, the Friday that I didn't see the lawyer, say that it took seven minutes to get from home to the ATM and four minutes to get from the ATM to Owen's. Four minutes seems implausibly brisk. Then fifteen to get from Owen's to the ER and twenty-four to get to the library from there. Twenty minutes from library to Good Will, fifteen to Panda Express, fifty-one from Panda Express to home.
Fifteen minutes seems rather slow to go the half mile from Goodwill to Panda Express. I vaguely recall stopping to adjust something in the Goodwill parking lot. I don't recall what route I took home; the longest suggestion on Google Maps is 4.3 miles; that would be five miles per hour.
Friday, 22 November 2019: Google guesses thirteen miles even, leaving out the ATM side trip.
Three minutes to the ATM, five minutes back, fifty minutes to Tractor Supply. Google says five miles even, six miles per hour. But I'm sure I stopped at the animal shelter to drop off the fountain that day, and didn't note the stop in my notes!
Seventy-seven minutes to Culver, 4.7 miles, 3.6 mph.
I'll skip the side trip to Martin's.
Twenty minutes to Zale's. 1.2 miles, 3.6 mph. I think I stopped to fiddle with something on the Beyer Farm Trail.
Left Zale's at 15:15, left Paws 'n Claws at 15:23. Eight minutes, 450 feet. (Plus a short walk while buying a can of Restricted Diet.)
Home at 15:40, 17 minutes, 1.2 miles, 4.2 mph. I think I stopped at Sherman & Lin's.
Monday, 25 November 2019 Dash to Martin's and back, almost no notes taken: I left Martin's at 12:46, got home at 13:30. 44 minutes, 2.4 miles, 3.2 MPH.
Left home at 10:45, arr. Owen's at 11:05. I think I gabbed in the driveway a while.
Owen's to ER, 11:10 to 11:21. About 6 mph.
ER to Goodwill, 11:29 to 11:56. About 7 mph.
Goodwill to Panda Express, 12:56 to 13:02. 5 mph.
Panda Express to Meijer, 13:42 to 13:45. Who cares?
Meijer to Zales, 15:43 to 16:17. 5.8 mph. Fairly decent considering that I couldn't feed in the extra distance caused by turning right on Main Street when I should have turned left on Fort Wayne. I've come down Lincoln Street so many times that I've formed habits.
Zales to home: 16:26 to 16:45. 3.7 mph. I could have swung by Jimmy-John's to get supper, but when it had been twilight all day, I didn't want to push my curfew. Also, I hadn't realized that skipping Owen's didn't mean I also had to skip Jimmy-John.
And I had rounded a quarter past five to five o'clock.
Looks like good weather to check out 300 N tomorrow. Google Maps still thinks it's closed. Also says my round trip is 13.4 miles, but it goes two and a half miles out of the way to avoid 300 N.
I must remember that sunset is a quarter past when calculating whether I can take the long way home. It will be mostly sunny, so I can count on a little civil twilight, too.
300 N is usable, even unto the painted lines, but blocked off with portable barriers in two places, and I had to walk around machines and a pile of dirt at the mouth of Tippy Drive. I think that is to stop people who would like to zoom through Tippy Drive to get around the construction. Pity there's no way to leave the road open for residents only.
I met a bicycle on 300 N.
I remembered sunset, but forgot that I'd gotten to Penguin Point before half-past four, so we had supper an hour early. I should have spent a few minutes in Owen's.
I reflected that the reason my speed refuses to increase is that I never hurry, so I sprinted at intervals on the way from Meijer to Penguin Point. 15:58 to 16:26: twenty-eight minutes. Google Maps makes that 3.8 miles and shows pretty much the way I went. Eight miles per hour, and that includes some walking.
I wish it were possible for Google Maps to show the short walk into Shamrock instead of the dangerous walk down a narrow one-way lane, followed by turning left from the outside of a right-turn lane.
Left home at 09:57, left Paws & Claws (with four cans of Dave's Restricted Diet cat food) at 10:28, 10:39 - 10:53 at Carniceria San Jose (jalapeños and tomato sauce), 11:00 - 11:06 at Lowery's (two thread snips), 11:15 - 11:31 Dollar General (paper plates), 11:56 - 12:00 walking up McElroy Hill, 12:05 - 12:30 in Freedom Express.
High noon, and nothing on the hot-dog rollers! I'd been hoping for a fried-chicken bun filler such as I'd seen when I peeked in at Speedy Express on my way to Lowery's. I had another Noble Roman pizza. And ate the fourth quarter at Meijer's again .
12:48 - 14:04 Walmart, 14:17 - 14:24 R & B Car Company, 14:43 - 15:58 Meijer, 16:26 - 16:33 Penguin Point, 16:44 home.
Eleven minutes for the last leg. I usually take fifteen -- but I didn't want the chicken to get cold.
I'd sworn off leaving the village on the flatfoot, but reflected that I could walk to Owen's, so I could go there on the flatfoot if I put myself in walking mode. And I needed butter and cat food.
But by the time I got to the Trailhouse, I was so tired of pushing those fat tires that I went home and got the car. Probably didn't help that my back tire was so soft it was making funny noises. Feeling obliged to return to pump it up was part of chickening out.
I walked to the Spice Merchant on the eighteenth, and I've done stair climbs every Sunday, but it appears that I haven't been on the bike since the ninth. Except for riding it to the Trailhouse on the twentieth. When I dropped in today, he said that it was all set except for the baskets, which should arrive on Tuesday.
Google Maps worked on Pale Moon
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2013 Rides
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2015 Rides
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Part One of 2017 Rides
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Part One of 2018 Rides
Part Two of 2018 Rides
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