Yay, me!

I did something yesterday that I hadn't done in quite a while: I rode my bike over 15 mph for an hour.

I did it on the B-G, so while I did not have any hillclimbs, I also didn't have any high-speed coasts, so I think it is pretty fair. I drove down to the topiary dinosaur, got on the trail, and headed east. I rode for thirty minutes, made the next turnaround, and rode back, with no stops except for traffic. I hit the dinosaur at exactly one hour elapsed riding time and had done 15.9 miles according to the on-board computer.

I am hardly ready to fill Lance's shoes, and speed really isn't that important to me overall, but it is a nice milestone nonetheless.

It's rainy as I type this, but it's going to be great by this afternoon. See you at the BBQ!

Up and at 'em, Atom Ant!

Man, what happened this morning? Yesterday was, like, all summer and stuff, and today is, like, y'know, not all summer and stuff. Climatic whiplash! Who can I talk to about this?

Today is task-day (not to be confused with Tusk Day, a national holiday in the United States of Antarctica.*) First, we need to get the stuffs for the BBQ in LFP (in re Mel's desire for some order out of chaos: we'll have veggie-type grillables, condoms, condominiums, condiments, buns, etc., corn-on-da-cob, beans, chips, and some drinks, including blashy and wine. Y'all can bring some neato salads and more chips or desserts or stuff like that as well as any decent beer you might want or animal flesh to eat. Talk amongst yourselves.)

I also need to fix my bike. I went out for a ride yesterday and had to abort the mission after three miles or so because my rear pannier rack/fender assembly shook itself to pieces. A couple of screws unscrewed themselves and all heck broke loose. So, I have to dig out the bag o' screws-that-fit-the-bike and go torquing. While I am at it, I may make a big pile of Stuff to Make Go Away. The experience of moving Jon is still with me, and I feel a need to lighten my load.

We are also going to host Homeless Wheyloness for a bit, so she can check out the wireless capabilities of her new little tigerish laptop.

Plus all the other general sundry stuff, like getting the place in shape for Otis's afternoon Reiki client. I'm sure glad I don't work for a living.

Guest blog: Just so's the none of us start to feel to capable or fit, here's what JKK and the K-Men do on their days off:

From an email:

On our 3 day, 23 mile beach hike we once again cheated death by winning against the best nature could toss our way. We pushed against the wind, were soaked by the rain, and chased by the tide. All in all, a good 3 days of hiking. We danced on slippery rocks, climbed over logs twice our size, and made great progress towards man's attempt to fly with out wings. Flying was discouraged when I discovered flying more than 12 feet was impossible with your pack on. Tide pools make interesting landing sites; I don't recommend it. Although most of us were bloodied by barnacles we all made it out alive. Best of all we will never forget the beauty of the wild untouched coastal beaches between Ozette and Rialto.

He adds this in another email:

What image to you get when someone says "BEACH HIKE"? Flat? Sand? This photo is what a good share of the hike was like.... notice the size of sand pebbles.

Yeah, I think I'll go take another walk around Green Lake.

(*Of course, I can't wait for someone to check it out and tell me there are no tusked animals south of the equator or something.)