I May Just Ride All Day Tomorrow

I'm glad this week is over. It's been really hectic with tree planting and other assorted office duties that I can't put off. We even missed the fiber optic cable on 76th Street that's owned by Best Buy. The cable is a half mile from their complex and I shudder to think what they paid to have that baby put in.

Even though I'm off tomorrow I plan to get up early to ride to Fairview Riverside with Debbie. She wants to stop for coffee and donuts at the Holiday on Franklin. I offered to haul the roses she got for Secretary's Day in my bag, but she declined. I guess I couldn't guarantee what condition the flowers would be in when I got them home. Not sure where the day will take me from there. I'll be up, dressed and on my bike so anything can happen. I'll meet Debbie for the escort home at 3:15. Maybe, I'll even get her to stop for a cocktail at Tracy's on the way home. I plan to ride Critical Mass. I've never been on one of the Mass rides and since I know at least a few people that will be there, I won't feel like a stranger.

It's a safe bet that I won't be doing any yardwork tomorrow.

Ma's Going To Outlive All Of Us

Now Mom is starting to outlive her nieces and nephews. She's already outlived all of her siblings and cousins. My cousin Sonny called Ma from Arizona today with the bad news that one of his sisters had died. Ma couldn't remember which one. I'll call Sonny when I get home tonight. His oldest sister Rosie is 60. I'm guessing it was her. It seems like nobody in my family lives too long. Except Ma. Way to go Ma!

I'd call in sick tomorrow except I've got just a shitload of work. My regular day off is Friday. I think I can make one more day. Some guy is pissed that I haven't been out to look at his tree that he called about on Monday. Hell, I'm still dealing with people that called last week. I had 13 new voicemails come in today between 10 and 2. While I was on the phone calling these people back, three more voicemails came in. I think I deserve a cold PBR tonight.

I saw on the news that the war in Iraq is beating the military's equipment to pieces. If the war had ended yesterday it would take over two years to fix everything. How long are we going to stay over there? How many bodies have to be shipped home? Don't look at me. I didn't vote for Bush either time.

I see that the sun is out now. So far this afternoon it has rained, snowed and sleeted. I better put sunblock on for the ride home. Now if only the wind would die down.

$2.23 A Gallon!!

Just passed Super America on my way in from forestry duties and saw that gasoline is $2.23 per gallon. I haven't put gas in the car in two weeks. Filling the car always cost in the neighborhood of $25 a week. I really love not spending money on that item. Don't miss the aggravation of driving in rush hour traffic either. I read somewhere (on a blog or Icebike) where a guy called commuting, 'playing while you're going to work'. I agree with that 100%.

It hasn't rained too hard all day except for right now. I don't think I'll melt. As a matter of fact, I plan on taking the long way home.

Questions abound from my co-workers about my bikes. How much did it cost? Can you really ride with only 2 gears? Isn't it hard to ride with that heavy bag on you're back. I encourage them to take the bike out for a spin at lunch time. Not many takers. Oh well. I think most of them would prefer a saddle the size of a couch cushion. I have a Terry Liberator on both my Surly and Salsa. That saddle works perfectly for me.

Tree planting is going well. We haven't hit a phone line all week. I see that the Minneapolis Park Board crews are busy planting too. They plant bare root trees. You can't let those babies sit around too long. Bare root trees are nice because they acclimate to their new location faster. I think those trees have a higher survival rate than the balled and burlapped trees we plant. I'd like to try some bare root planting stock some day. Change at the City comes slowly.

How About A Saturday Afternoon Ride

Somebody Saturday night brought up the idea of riding on Saturday afternoon. I like it. Maybe, we could actually do some riding. There'd still be enough time to hit some bars later on. I guess a fire at 4 pm on a Saturday wouldn't be so good, but what the hell, you can't have everything. Saturday night was kind of typical of the last couple of rides I've gone on. After we left Dinkytown we ended up on Cedar. Someone spotted Jeremy outside at Palmers having a smoke. First stop about 2-3 miles into the ride. Damn smoking ban! Damn Jeremy! Just kidding J. We then rode to a place on Washington Avenue called Cuzzy's. That had to be at least a mile. Burnsy knew some people at Cuzzy's. That could be why he wanted to go there so bad. Aaron, Andrew, Chuck and I rode together to the Red Dragon. Aaron wanted to see if Fritz was there. Andrew and Chuck split at this point. No Fritz either. No Fritz at CC Club. Lights come on. Time to ride home. Home at 2:53 am. Twelve miles ridden with the group. 40 miles for the day.

Riding after work to Mom's apartment. Glad I'm wearing shorts. Tropical plants would flourish at Ma's place. It's always about 85 degrees there. I'm sure I'll leave Ma's with a shitload of hard-boiled eggs and cookies. She also saves the packets of jelly from breakfast. She has enough of them to fill a 5 gallon bucket. Just let me know if you need me to hook you up with some jelly. I've got a good connection.

Hey, The Computer Just Crashed!

What a beautiful day to ride. I rode with Debbie to 26th and Hiawatha this morning before I turned back to head to work. When I got to work the computer had 12 miles on it. What a way to start the day. Arrived at work at 6:50. Perfect timing. It didn't hurt that the bag was practically empty.

Expo started at Freewheel last night. We rode the tandem there after work. Beer, wine and appetizers. You can't beat that. It looked like quite a few bikes were going out the door for test rides. Some pretty expensive bikes too. Love to see that. I may try to catch the commuter clinic on Saturday at noon. Mom wants to go to the bank on Saturday morning so I better get my ass in gear if I'm going to get to Freewheel by noon.

Was good to see Aaron working at Freewheel. I met him on Stupor Bowl day. I need to get him out for a ride. No bars. I wouldn't want to be a bad influence on anyone.

Let's see. The tree crew hit a large phone line while digging the hole for tree planting. The phone line wasn't marked. Somebody's computer crashed immediately. Then when I got back to the office, a gust of wind ripped the car door out of my hand putting a big dent in the door of my co-worker's car. Other than that, it's been a really nice day.

You Have 16 New Messages

It's that time of the year again. Every time I leave the office for tree duties there's a load of new voicemails waiting for me when I get back. I'm really good at returning calls. Otherwise, they'll just keep calling.

Tree planting started today. We would've started yesterday, but it was raining. I worked with a guy who used to say,'the first drop that hits you is God's fault and every one after that is your fault'. We do work out in the rain. We don't work out in the rain on a project that going to take a month to complete. Tree planting in the rain is just miserable.

Broke another spoke on the back wheel of the Rockhopper on Sunday. It broke going down a big hill. Not sure how fast I was going because the battery on the computer is dead. From past experience it was probably about 23-26 mph. It sure made a big clunk when it happened. Glad I was only 2 blocks from the house.

Commuting is great. I'm still getting used to a new morning routine. My co-worker likes to ride my Surly in a circle in the office. He got a little dizzy yesterday and hit a file cabinet when he tried to straighten out and ride down the hallway. Practice, practice, practice.

Riding out to Potter's after work to inspect his tree planting project. Who am I kidding. I'm riding out there because he always has beer in the garage fridge.

Expo starts at Freewheel tomorrow. They have a tent and speakers from various bike organizations. I think I'll ride there after work.

It Beats The Shit Out Of Driving A Car

I'm two days into commuting to work on my bike. Boy, do I love it. Debbie seems to love it too. She gets an escort to 35th & 20th. Yes, in case you were wondering, I get a kiss when we head in opposite directions. Since we leave at about 6 am I have plenty of time to get to work. I'm developing a commuter pace of about 12-13 mph so I don't look like a wet rag when I arrive. Wearing a uniform helps with the clothing choices. The way home is a different story. Then it's time to ride fast. Tonight I'm changing into regular riding gear and taking a much longer route home. It has stopped raining, but then who cares about a little rain when you're going to end up at home with a cold PBR waiting.

Unofficial survey Sunday showed 7 out of 35 children out riding without helmets. Why? It's hard to understand why anyone rides without a helmet. But especially kids. Sorry, I guess it just bothers me.

Sleepy Boy Comes Back To Life

Can't remember the last time I never really got dressed and spent just about all day in bed. It was raining most of Saturday and I didn't feel like getting soaked while riding. It was actually nice to be so unproductive.

The bike auction on Thursday was really fun. I didn't buy anything, but it was fun to watch other people bid. Bid too high on some real crap and then watch other people get stuff dirt cheap. Jeremy got 2 bikes. He got a full suspension mountain bike (not sure what brand) and a Raleigh commuter bike that has matching fenders. He seemed really happy. He impressed me by getting both of his auction bikes and his Bianchi in my Toyota Camry for the trip to his apartment.

Friday, tax day was really fun. I escorted Debbie to work at 6 am. We took our bikes up on her floor. There's an old bathroom that she can stash her bike in. She's the first one there. Her floor has about a 200 foot hallway. I could only get my bike up to about 17 mph in that short of a run. I met Jeremy at Victor's on 38th and Grand at 10 for breakfast. We stopped at Flanders for a bolt for his seatpost and then rode the loop out to Hopkins on the Greenway and Cedar Lake Trail. We rode pretty fast and were quite thirsty by the time we stopped at The Local on 10th and Nicollet. I tried an Irish whiskey called Redbreast. It's really smooth. After The Local, we stopped at Haskell's and each bought a bottle of it. It's $44 a bottle, but it's also the best whiskey I've ever had in my life. I had enough time after Haskell's to stop at Freewheel to buy a lock. On Sam's recommendation I got a somewhat smaller Krypto u-lock. Then it was off to the hospital to escort Debbie home. Total mileage for the day was 47 miles. Picked up taxes Friday evening, handed them to a postal employee downtown at 9ish and then introduced Debbie to Palmers. Also introduced Debbie to Zito who works the door at Nomad on Cedar. Band was pretty good. Home in bed by midnight.

Saturday - sleepy, sleepy, sleepy.

Need to stop for dog food and then take Mom to Wal Mart or Target to get a new purse. Maybe I should take her to Freewheel and get her a messenger's bag. We'd have to get her a smaller Chrome bag. I don't think she'll ever have to carry a 12 pack of PBR.

Air Cav Will Escort You

I found out last night I can still ride relatively fast with the bag on my back. I rode the Surly with some clothes in it for 16 miles to Freewheel, bought a 12 pack of PBR on Cedar Avenue and then rode 9 miles home. Average speed of 15.7 for the evening.

Tomorrow could be a day of lots of riding. Debbie is doing a test run to work and I need to hump her potluck goodies. I bet her items will weigh less than a 12 pack. Jeremy had e-mailed me about a ride out to Hopkins which sound awesome. I'll probably see him tonight at the Minneapolis Police bike auction. I think he want a bike with gears. J, are you sure you want to be able to coast? At noon or so I'm riding to Saint Anthony to pick up our taxes. My tax guy says April 15th can turn into a party at his office. He supplies the pizza. I'll supply the beer. I plan on riding to the main post office Friday evening to drop off my taxes. We'll see. Sobriety may be an issue.

I, State Your Name, Promise To Water My New Tree

We picked out 47 more trees for boulevard planting this morning. We'll be planting over 200 new trees in the coming weeks. The people at the Bachman's wholesale nursery love when we call because we've got money to spend. All told, we spent $15,000 there for spring planting. It's nice when homeowners water their new tree, but not all of them do. There's a faction of homeowners who also drown the new tree. Too much water is as bad as not enough. I personally hate when they beat the shit out of the tree with lawnmowers and weed whips. I love watching them grow from year to year.

Rode the Salsa 25 miles last night. Average was a little over 17 mph. The route I took last night took me through downtown which cuts down the average due to the traffic lights. I'll ride the Surly tonight and take it a little easier. My knees tend to ache after too many days of higher speeds.

I Finally Did It!!

I now have a links section in the sidebar of my blog. I was somehow able to decipher through the instructions on Blogger and set it up. My first link is that of Gilby who was the first person to have a link to my page on hers. Now I can link to all the people who have me linked on their pages. Pictures may still be a ways off. It would help if I had a digital camera.

Does a ride ever sound good tonight. Not sure if wearing shorts will be in order. This weather always seems colder after its been 70 degrees. No problem, I've got clothes for every temperature range.

My goodness, I put my back wheel on the Rockhopper last night and set up links today. Will wonders ever cease.

I'm A Better Tree Inspector Than Weatherman

Ok, so the rain has stayed away. I hope all my Minneapolis bike friends get home dry this evening too. Speaking of trees, I have to deal with some guy who cut all the limbs off his boulevard tree at a level of 12 feet off the ground. The tree is now a real rag (technical tree term). I showed it to my boss today and he just shook his head. Now, we have to figure out what we're going to do with this guy. When I spoke to this gentleman last week he was quite ornery. It's illegal to touch that tree on the boulevard. That's why we have 7 guys and a million dollars of tree equipment. I believe there's a provision in the ordinance book that allows for a $700 fine. I'm not a hard-ass with this stuff, but the guy was a real jerk on the phone. We'll probably remove the rest of the tree and make him pay for a replacement tree which will cost him about $350. Oh, and I'll nick him $25 for the permit he didn't get. At least I'm pretty much done with loads of paperwork for the next several months.

Take Your Rain Gear With You

Our sophisticated radar system at the City shows a pretty big blob (technical weather term) of rain all around us. So, I expect to be reading reports from my Minnesota bloggers about how wet they got on their bikes today. A week from now I'll be reporting on my first commute to work on my bike. I've got the bag and will be getting Deb's lunch bag, so I'm mostly set. I still need to develop more of a commuter pace so I'm not sweating profusely when I arrive at work. The plan is to carry bike clothes with so I can ride for exercise right from work. I'd like to ride in to Bloomington which I've never done much of. I need to branch out in new directions.

Don't You Have A Bigger Bag?

Finally got my messenger's bag. It's a black Chrome Kremlin. I stuffed some clothes, flask, cell phone and smokes in it and took a test run to work. It's really different riding with the bag. I wouldn't call it harder, just different. Debbie and I start riding to work on April 18th. She has about 4 or 5 miles and it is 6.71 miles to here for me. I really look forward to it. Those rotten bastards and their $2.19 a gallon gasoline can go right to hell.

The bad news I was anticipating came this morning from our tax accountant. We owe the state $1000 and the feds $2000. Ouch! We plan on paying off the state and making payment to the feds. That was Kevin our tax man's advice. Think of all the bike shit you could buy with 3 grand. Yeah, we're wealthy alright. We've got an 11 year-old car and a 90 year-old 2 bedroom house. But, we don't have kids and since we moved Mom to assisted living, we can't claim her as a dependent. Enough whining.

Do any of my fellow bloggers ever create a fabulous post with tremendous writing just to have "Page Not Found" come up when you go to publish? Doesn't that just piss you off?

Time to ride home with my new really cool GD bag. No Saturday Night Ride tonight. I need a week off.

Rain, Rain, Go Away

I'm glad the rain is holding off till later so I can get a pretty good ride in tonight. The rain doesn't matter to me. I just ride one of the bikes with fenders. I hate that stripe down the back. It's so uncool. The Salsa is set up for fenders but I want to keep it as light as possible. I need to get the spokes fixed on my Rockhopper and the studded tires changed on the Giant so I have two more options for riding. The time change is nice too. No more night riding except with the Saturday night crew. Skipping the ride this Saturday night sounds good. I'd like a more normal Sunday instead of more ore less sleeping all day.

Mom sounds pretty rough. I'm taking her to see her doctor on Friday. I'm hoping the doctor can fine tune her meds. She says she's eating better which had concerned me. She's a tough old girl and has been through a lot. Debbie and I have to take good care of her. I love the sound of her voice and she's always been there for me.

Who Wants Coffee?

Saturday Night Ride was a blast even though it didn't involve loads of biking. I was even able to push the pace on River Parkway between Lake Street and Minnehaha Falls. I think I even surprised some of the boys. The fire was great and we ended up at my house sometime around 5 am. Debbie got up at 6 or 7 (clock change) and made pots of coffee for the crew. By 9 the house had mostly cleared out. Fritz crashed on my recliner and must of had a good nap because he was leaving when I got home from brunch at 3ish. I was pretty much a sleepy boy after I got home. Jeremy stopped by around 9 pm to pick up his camera. He had taken off without it when he left Sunday morning.

It's kind of weird to go in Saint Paul bars where smoking is still permitted. I don't mind the Minneapolis smoking ban. I need to quit anyway. I met some guy at a place called The Muddy Pig on Sunday who told me he was going to be the next pope. I told him I hadn't been to bed yet and he quickly abdicated the throne. May the Holy Father rest in peace. Polish people were thrilled to have one of our own as pope for over 25 years. He was a great world leader. He'll be missed.

WTF, I Can't Be 47 Already

Yeah, today's my 47th birthday and I feel reflective. One of the problems with having a really good memory is that you can never quite get bad memories out of your mind. I can still close my eyes and smell the morning air the day my father died. He was 46. I slept through the ambulance coming to try and help him. Maybe that's why I've been such a shitty sleeper almost my whole life. Bad things happen when you're asleep.

On a lighter note, I'm going to absolutely tear it up tonight. I'm going on the Saturday Night Ride and then meeting Larry for brunch tomorrow morning. I've had a great birthday run so far. Watermelon Slim and Commander Cody were fabulous at Famous Dave's on Thursday night. Debbie gave me one of my gifts on Thursday. A blue Tommy Bahama 100 % silk shirt. I wore it to Famous Dave's and on Friday for my driver's license picture. We ate at Pizza Luce on Friday, stopped at One on One for coffee. Hurl told me to go down in the basement. The basement at One on One is amazing. Bikes, frames, wheels and other goodies all over the place. After One on One we stopped at a bar called the Imperial Room. Five martinis later, I was really good to go. We stopped on the way home at Baker's Wife Pastry Shop to get my cake. It's a coconut creme cake that's about 1000 calories a slice. Debbie gave me my other gift today. A new pair of camo cargo pants to replace the ones with the big rip down the back. She's too good to me and I absolutely don't fucking deserve her.

Oh, let's not forget the $1600 Surly I got for my birthday to replace a bike I could've fixed for $100. I guess I'm just one big spoiled MF.