Trash Day

Trash Day

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Miracles Never Cease

Stormcrowe wasn’t the only one to ride today. I grabbed the camera and hit the road about 4:00 with the Weather Channel reporting 55°.

With sunset just 90 minutes away, I opted for the Llama Route over any thing longer. This takes about an hour, so I would be back in plenty of time to make dinner.

The first part was pretty uneventful, with little traffic and the wind at my side or back. As I turned the corner on 600W, I saw a very strange site; two people walking a llama down the road.

Walking the Llama
I think she said his name is “Jack”

Janet and David are acquaintances of my wife and I, but I’ve never been to their farm to see the herd. They said that Jack was a little more energetic than most, so they liked to take him out from time to time. They were at least a mile north of the farm. It was neat how he heard me coming long before the humans noticed. Llamas have been described as “guard dogs”.

Llama Farm
Two more in the pasture

Down the road at the farm, I found these two who were quite curious about me walking up to the fence, and they posed quite well. I’m glad I was finally able to document that the llamas exist.

Miles Ridden: 12.8

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Ross Hills Park

Flag on Windy Day
Windy Day

Today was a nice sunny day for a ride. The temp was in the mid-40s, but as the flag at the Cooper place indicated, it was a little windy.

I decided to head west into the wind and rode up to Ross Hills Park. The last part of Indian Creek Hill really got me. I must be a little out of shape. 🙂 Mike Prangley predicted a good day for golfing, so I had hoped to get a picture of golfers at the Ravines. There were none there.

Ross
David Ross “A” Frame

I rode back into the park to see the David Ross “A” Frame. Apparently, he used this house as his weekend getaway. The park was empty, and someday I’d like to watch a team play Frisbee golf on the course there.

Heading back with the tailwind was much easier.

View From the Axle
What my shoes see

Afterwards, I was telling my wife how I should have started this cool weather riding years ago! Just an extra layer or two, and I’m doing pretty well in the 40s. I haven’t tried the 30s year, and I think I’ll need a headband and better gloves.

Miles Ridden: 13.7

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Fun with Comments

Wow! I’m not sure what’s worse: being called an ass or being compared to Bush spokesman.

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Happy New Year!

Today, I met the Amazing Shrinking Man at Panera Bread in West Lafayette, and we rode to Granville Bridge and back.

Dan and Tom on Granville Bridge
Dan and Tom on the Bridge

It was sunny when we started, but the clouds soon returned.

Division Road Bike Lane
Division Road Bike Lane

What a great way to start the year.

Miles Ridden: 24.9
Total This Year: 24.9

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Month and Year End Totals

The total miles for December (2 rides) is: 21.4 miles.

The total for 2005 is: 1,296 miles!! Not bad.

Party Graphic

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51°

When I checked the local Weather Channel page at 3:45 today, it reported the temperature at 51°. I quickly decided that a ride was in order and left work early. My office is in a basement, so I can’t see what the conditions are like outside. I was happy to find a sunny day with not too much wind. I drove home and changed clothes.

Unfortunately, the sun was covered with clouds by the time I got outside. Still, it was at least 45°, so I headed towards Granville. The ride was uneventful, but it felt good. I arrived at the bridge pretty quickly.

Muddy Wabash River with Ice
Ice and debris in the Wabash River

Heading back home, I took River Road past the Gourd house and the Fort, and returned home on Newman Road. The horses were having supper.

Horses at Supper
Horses Having Supper

Will this be the last ride of the year? I thought the last one was.

Miles Ridden: 10.0

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Just a Couple of Errands

I’ve been watching the weather reports all week, and I knew that this was maybe the last day when I could get a ride in for December. The above freezing temperatures yesterday and today have been melting the snow and ice on my street. Without the thaw, I would have to walk my bike down the hill to the main road. Since I’m not equipped for very cold weather riding (the pants didn’t work out – more later), I’m not planning to head out for a 20 degree ride. Today was the day.

However, I was doing a great job of talking myself out of it. I planned to leave at 3:00 – the warmest part of the day – so I laid around all morning, and took my daughter shopping after lunch. As I was driving home, a nap was sounding much better than a cold ride. Right before the designated time, I sat down here web surfing instead of getting ready. I finally convinced myself that I would do better if I went into town to run some errands than heading for Granville. Right then, my wife called needing a pick up at the mall. I figured that I had missed my window for today, and I headed east in the car. On the way, I kept thinking that I would regret it later if I missed my only chance for a December ride, and I decided to head out as soon as I got back.

That nap was really calling me! I made the mistake of sitting down in the recliner and actually slept for about 5 minutes. I finally dragged myself out of the chair, changed into my improvised cold weather gear (bike shorts, sweats, t-shirt, sweat shirt, and windbreaker – way too much cotton), grabbed my grocery bag pannier, and left around 4:20.

Things started well, even though there was still some snow and slush on my street. I wished that I changed my tires, as the slicks did not find much purchase on that little downhill. Still upright, I found Newman Road and headed up the hill. Immediately, I was warm and sweaty under the sweatshirt. I toyed with the idea of taking it off, but my cold ears told me that things could change quickly if I exposed that damp t-shirt to the wind. I tooled through the nearly empty campus and traveled up Grant and Salisbury Streets towards the video store. The bike lanes were full of snow, ice, slush, water, and trash and were pretty much unusable. With very little traffic, it was no problem sharing the lane with the cars.

From the video store to Ace Hardware, I decided against joining the much faster traffic on US 52. So, I had to ride the sidewalks and parking lots for about half a mile. There were several portage points where I hefted the bike over concrete car stops, snow piles, and mud holes.

When I arrived, I noticed that it was getting dark a little more quickly than I had planned. I bought a pack of AAA batteries for the rear blinky light in case it was low (it wasn’t). After I left my final stop at the convenience store for milk, I was wishing that I had a headlight. I took the Cattail Trail from Northwestern and Lindberg to Stadium and McCormick to avoid auto traffic. At one point, I was racing a squirrel that was running along the fence next to the trail.

The final leg along SR26, Newman Road, and Division was uneventful. The temperature was apparently dropping, as I was no longer feeling warm. By the time I got home, my ears were feeling pretty cold. Here it is after 8:00, and they are still kind of tingly. I need to get one of those headband things to keep my ears and forehead warm.

Miles Ridden: 11.4

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Where Will They Be Delivered?

I was thinking that it is taking a while for the bike pants to arrive. Looking at the tracking page, I now see why.

shipping

Click to embiggen

Look in the left corner where it says “No address provided by shipper”. I guess they will just pick a house, throw them on the porch, and run away.

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Still Going Nowhere

It’s day 2 on the stationary bike. Today, I “travelled” 7.5 miles in 32 minutes, burning 273 calories.

I mentioned yesterday that I’m not counting these miles in my annual total, but my legs disagree. I think that I work a little harder in the club than I do on the road.

Also, my thumbs are getting a workout as I am filing these reports via my Blackberry. I’m looking forward to getting back to my keyboard.

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