Tag: weather

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Vital Statistics

Bike miles in 2022: 0

Aches & pains: right shoulder, sciatica

Current reading: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

Recent listening: “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” by Queen., Hidden Brain, Planet Money, Unlimited Love by Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill,

Recent viewing: Better Call Saul (season 5), Billions, Severance, Slow Horses, The After Party, The Power of the Dog, Cowboy Bebop (live action), Lost In Space

Recent playing: Wordle, Quordle

Recent events: Drew Eubanks signed by Portland, Thomas visited, snow in April including a fallen tree

Recently accomplished: Bass lessons, spring yard work, Portland Heritage trees, plumbing estimates, finished bathroom repairs

Imperative To Do: Go on a bike ride, fix Graham’s bass, store CDs, pay taxes, coastal getaway

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Vital Statistics

Bike miles in 2021: 0

Aches & pains: Neck (occasional but severe), back spasms

Current reading: Thing Explainer by Randall Munroe, Invest Like a Pro

Recent listening: YNAB podcast, This American Life, Very Bad Wizards, Sound Opinions, Radiolab

Recent viewing: Mr. Corman, Ted Lasso, Muhammad Ali (Ken Burns), The Morning Show, Catch and Kill

Recent playing: n/a

Recent events: first rain since June

Recently accomplished: Finished refurbishing the picnic table, bass lessons/practice, grass planting, ongoing drainage work, gutter cleaning, tree trimming

Imperative To Do: Contact kitchen contractor for warranty items, revisit roof replacement, finish drainage projects, replace the shed roof

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Vital Statistics

Bike miles in 2021: 0

Aches & pains: Neck (occasional but severe), hands/fingers, sciatica manifested as itching in left leg, wound below right knee

Current reading: Thing Explainer by Randall Munroe

Recent listening: Very Bad Wizards, Dissect: Yeezus, This American Life, YNAB podcast, Making Sense with Sam Harris

Recent viewing: NBA Finals, Falcon & Winter Soldier, Gunpowder Milkshake, Blood Red Sky, Naomi Osaka, I Think You Should Leave, WandaVision, Loki

Recent playing: Mini Metro+

Recent events: Heatwave (over 110º), 1st haircut since COVID, Thomas home, drinks with the Feirer’s

Recently accomplished: Patched gutter leaks, replaced broken drainage pipe, disposed rhododendron clippings, took Rory and Baby to the vet, ongoing bass lessons

Imperative To Do: Prep for Iowa vacation and class reunion, contact kitchen contractor for warranty items, repaint picnic table

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Vital Statistics

Bike odometer: n/a

Aches & pains: right shoulder

Current reading: Getting Things Done

Recent listening: Kendrick Lamar, NWA, Childish Gambino, Reel Big Fish, Bill Frisell, Oasis, Greta Van Fleet, Led Zeppelin, Genesis

Recent viewing: Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse, Ralph Breaks the Internet, Safe, The Pixar Story, Cooked, White Right: Meeting the Enemy, The Ritual, Disenchantment, BoJack Horseman, SNL, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, The Goldbergs

Recent playing: Bloons 6

Recent events: Presidents weekend in San Francisco with Thomas, PDX Jazz festival, snow in Portland

Recently accomplished: House cleaning, bought robot vacuum, filing reorganization, turned compost, bought dress shirt

Imperative To Do: Ride bike again, read more, exercise, file 2018 taxes, find wedding rings, FSA documentation

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Blowing through the jasmine in my mind

With only two weeks of summer remaining it’s high time I updated you about what’s been happening in the Ring household.

For the second year Troop 820 (Thomas’ Boy Scout troop) held an unofficial “family camp” in June. If you recall, last year we went to Idaho for three days of biking. This year we drove to La Pine, OR, where we camped in the “high desert” at 4100 feet. I was huffing and puffing there for two days before I realized that the altitude was the problem. During a bike ride to the shower I figured out that deep breaths counteract the lack of oxygen. Once I knew that, I no longer dreaded getting off my ass and walking to the next campsite. While we were there, the boys enjoyed a long bike ride and floating down the Deschutes River. It wasn’t really that warm but I think the altitude made it feel warm.
Continue reading “Blowing through the jasmine in my mind”

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Evening Bike Commute

Distance: 13.5 miles
Riding time: 90 minutes
Max speed: 20.4 mph
Average speed: 8.9 mph
Temperature: 45º
Soundtrack: none
Route:

  • 164th to Old Evergreen Highway
  • Old Evergreen Highway to Interstate 205
  • Interstate 205 bike path to Airport Way
  • Airport Way to 158th Ave
  • 158th through subdivision to Fremont
  • Fremont to 156th Ave
  • 156th to home via “the private drive”
This was my first ride since mid-December and, more notably, the first ride from my new job. Although the route seems straightforward, I did not note all the sidetracking and goose chasing I did because of my unfamiliarity with the route. At one point the bike route sign pointed to a road that was marked “Dead End” with another sign. Since there was a bike path only yards away, I took that instead. 10 minutes later, I’m on a freeway ramp getting onto Interstate 205. I had to turn around and ride the shoulder in the wrong direction in order to get back to the aforementioned “dead end.” It did, however, lead me to the Glenn Jackson Bridge which has a bike path that runs down the middle of the bridge between the 8 lanes of auto traffic. The bridge spans about 2 miles and over a mile of that is downhill. Still, when I reached Airport Way I was pretty exhausted and limped home the rest of the way.