$70 Bucks,,Is All It Takes...........

Yea! No kidding, I found that out last night. Your never to old to learn a new trick!

$70 bucks that's it!!!!

As I mentioned in the other post, we had a possible Warm Showers.com Turing cyclist coming through who wanted to stop in for the night. He did.

By the time I got home yesterday he was only 3 miles from the house. He comes down the driveway and I am all pumped expecting to see some high end touring bike with the top of the line bags and all kinda neat shit!

Pete, that's his name. Well Pete is 29 years old and lives in West Palm Beach FL. He works at a summer camp for kids up in West Virginia every year and goes to school in Florida the rest of the year. This is his first tour and he's been on the road for 2 weeks.

See that bike? $70 bucks Craigslist !!! About a buck fifty for his bags! He had a hammock with a bug screen he uses when he camps. A few clothes and his little bit of toiletries. The very basics.....And it works!! Point is, it don't take much!!!

Here we are, he was showing Cody and I how the hammock works! That was neat, of course we had to get in it! Point is anybody can do a bicycle for next to nothing! This guy is traveling around and seeing all kinda stuff. All on a craigslist special!

He put a new cassette on the back with bigger sprockets for the hills and that was the only modification he did. Last fall he got interested in touring and started getting his stuff together. With the plans to ride to the camp this year.

He allowed 3 weeks to do it and is right on schedule. Point is if he can do it so can I. His main navigation is his iPhone and he has been trying to stay at fire departments as much as he can. So far his plan is working out.

I asked him where he planned to stay tonight and he replied "I don't know I will start looking when I get above Salisbury". I could get used to that.......

Weird !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Last night I had the weirdest ride? No sure what was wrong, if anything. I went to Beatty park to ride a few laps, and I did.

The only thing is I had no drive in me what so ever! No legs for climbing, no legs for going fast, no legs for anything. I rode the easest 2 laps I think I have ever ridden. The only time I seemed to move with any speed what so ever was on the downhills.

I wanted to go, hence the reason I loaded up and went. That's what's got me so puzzled? If I take the time to go I plan on working and making myself push it! This is only the second time in a few months I have even ridden the mtn bike so you would think I would be pumped.

Not! I was as flat as I can remember. No snap, no pop, just me doing one of the laziest rides I swear I have done! Still can't figure it out......

Oh well I can go again, that's what makes it fun!!!!

Now on to other things! A while back I mentioned we were going to have our first cycle tourist stopping by and spending the night. Then they cancelled and we had no guest. Well a guy named Pete called yesterday and he is coming through today.

He was about 20 miles north of Columbia yesterday afternoon and said he would be coming through. That's about 80 miles from my house, in this heat that could be a long day. From where he's at there's a lot of hills to go over to get to my house. If I had to do that ride fully loaded today it would take me all day!

So we'll see, I hope he makes it by, I want to check out his set-up. See if I can learn anything.......

Something Different..........

Last night we did something a little different. Cody is a really good piano player and he also plays the guitar, he has a Taylor guitar. Believe me when I tell you I am not a guitar freak!

I know a high quality bicycle when I see it but a guitar! They all look alike to me! Now that Cody has started playing them I have learned a few things about them. First of all and most important Taylor is not a cheap toy.

They are really one the top manufactures in the world! Even their low end stuff is nice.

So anyhow they do a promotional tour thing called the Taylor Roadshow. They travel all over the world doing a Q and A session in local music stores. They bring a professional guitarist with them who will play all the different models and answer any questions.

Yes, you can tell a difference when you hear them played back to back, and by someone who knows how to play!

The best part of last night was the fact I really didn't want to go. I just went because that what parents do when they have kids! Guess what I had as much fun as he did and I can't even play a guitar! It was really entertaining and educational all at the same time!

Cody got to play with and handle some high dollar toys! When I say high dollar, I mean high dollar!!! Some guitars can cost more than a car! A LOT more..

I enjoy seeing them and can appreciate the craftsmanship that goes into making them but that's about all I am good for. Cody picked out a new one he is really wanting to get, I might need a part time job to go with the one he's gonna have to get to make that happen... The kid has high standards!!!!!!!!

How about this........

Today we have something I found on the NY bike blog. All I did last night was clean the pool and mow the yard. No matter how I word it that's still a boring evening. I wanted to ride but after my crash Sunday I am still a little sore.

I went over the bars in a rocky section of the trail and bruised myself up pretty good. So I could have put a few pictures on here of me mowing the yard or a few shots of my nasty bruised up leg or hip. I figured I would go with a few facts instead.

No, I have no ideal where they are getting their facts from, don't care either! I just like what they say. If I could change anything I wished I worked closer to the house. With the holiday this weekend and my usual plans to start riding back and forth to work, I would love to be about 5-10 miles max from the house.

That would be about the perfect distance. I could do that without breaking a sweat and I would still enjoy it. 18 miles, your gonna break a sweat! No getting around it! We live in the south and it's humid at 6am I can't change that.

The one alternative is the bus. Charlotte has a Union county connector I could catch and it would put me off about 2 miles from the office. I sent an email yesterday to the Charlotte Transit Authority, so will see. That would have me catching the bus at K-mart in Monroe, 4 miles from the house. Then getting of in Matthews.

I know the bus picks up around 6:30, so that would have my getting off the bus about 7:15. I would have plenty of time to get here and get started. I just need to make the commitment!!!!!

I Needed a Day At Work.............

That's a good weekend when you need work to relax! It came and then it went, the weekend. Plus if we stay busy this week it will be over and then I get 3 days of play.

Memorial day is coming! We "kinda" have plans to go camping over in Southern Pines, but it's not nailed down yet. If I keep my mouth shut we could probably end up staying home. Chase has his birthday Thursday so I know he will want to go somewhere with his buddies.

He would rather stay home I know that. So that's one vote. We'll see.

So why am I tired you ask? Saturday AM Cody worked on the shed, the one he is changing into a chicken house. He seems to think he is gonna raise a bunch of egg layers. If he cleaned his room this good it would be spotless.

He even got up early am Saturday to take a load of trash to the dump. I didn't even think he knew where the dump was! Then he was back at it. Now he needs wire and a couple more 2x4's to finish making lay boxes and he will have it done.

While he was working on that I took off on the road bike. Karen wanted to get a new pair of shoes for the wedding we were going to Saturday night so I had plenty of time to ride. So with no direction in mind I went out the end of the drive and headed toward Matthews.

Why I don't really know, I thought about riding to the bike shop but didn't really plan on going there. So I tried an alternate route to work. Sometimes I will ride to work and I have only went one way. I wanted to see if the other was any shorter. NOT..

It was about 3 miles longer. Mental note, if you already have to ride 17 miles at 6am you don't want to make it 20!

where I work all locked up for the weekend....

So I rode all the way to work turned around and came home. Total 38 miles. I usually start riding back and forth after Memorial Day. So next week I will start.

So then it was a quick nap and time to get ready for a wedding. My friend Larry whom I have worked with for the better part of 20 years, his daughter was getting married.

I remember when she was born! Now she is out of college and married! I must be getting old. They had it at the Daniel Stowe Memorial Gardens. For an outdoor wedding it was perfect weather. Not to hot or humid and the sun was shinning.

Then they had the reception right there. Live band and an open bar, fantastic food, it was a great time! If you didn't have fun at this wedding it was your own fault! I usually hate going to these but this one was a blast!

Followed by a mountain bike ride Sunday and my weekend was complete!

Should I go ??? Or Not.......

Last night I stood in the garage for about an hour plus piddling around asking myself that question. Do I go or not!

It looked like it could rain at any minute! So knowing day light was fading fast I got out the zip-lock bags to protect the phone and hit the road.

I stayed close to my area in case it changed but the rain held off and I got 25 short miles in.

Even staying close to the house I got to see plenty of the fields.

The only thing I came across out of the ordinary would be a bounce house set up in someones driveway on a Thursday night... Seemed out of place to me.

One last thing, checkout Stanley our pet turkey he is getting big! He was hanging out with me while I was trying to decide if I was gonna go or not. He didn't seem to interested though.

Tomorrow am I am gonna hit the road early. No plans just a ride. I might head down to SC, haven't done that in a while.

It's Almost Over........

The week, I am ready for the end. With the rain every other day and taking my mom to the airport, it's been a weird week.

I haven't been able to ride the motorcycle this week and only one bike ride. So tonight I plan to ride and tomorrow is Friday. Thank god!

Saturday we have a wedding and that's about it for the weekend.

I will get in some riding but have no plans beside that. The best part is the weather is gonna be kick ass.....