December 24, 2018
I trust that you have been enjoying some festivities and/or powerful emotion over the holiday season. I have been eating a lot, and also trying to stay moderately active to help with the digestion and metabolizing. Before I really got started with the celebratory activities; however, I had a chance to patch a tyre tube that was punctured by a small, tack-like item.
Although I’m not really sure where it came from, the hole it made was small and easy to patch. It allowed me a chance to pause, turn on some holiday tunes and take a selfie with my festive attire.
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| Dunce cap and/or Santa hat? You decide! |
It also brought my attention to the fact that my beloved Maxxis Overdrive Elite tyres are getting pretty worn.
Since it is the time of year when I like to have plenty of traction whilst bicycling, I will be looking around for a new set of tyres. First I will try my local bike shop since I’ve got some bike vouchers that are burning a wallet-sized hole in my desk drawer.
Recently my friend Rich invited me out to a group bike ride to view some Christmas lights.
So last night we met a gregarious group of people at Bike Masters to spin around some of the local neighborhoods. On the way out there we encountered some slippery icy spots on the north side of Fort Street where the shade prevailed. Once we started our group ride, Mike even rode around on this cool toy for awhile –
We eventually made it to Tanner’s for a few beers and fried pickles.
December 28, 2018
After taking a few days off work to sit around and eat and drink a lot, last night I decided it was high time that I set out for a bicycle trip. It felt nice to ride, but unfortunately I did slide and wipeout on an icy spot – lost gription on my front tyre. The chain tensioner must have hit and bent the derailleur hanger in a bit because the chain would no longer fit on all the appropriate cog/teeth/chain ring. So I sheepishly guided my steed back to a hill, coasted, and walked some more until I was home. Then I got the Bastard up on my work stand, assessed the situation, then carefully grabbed the chain tensioner and jerked it back out as hard as I could, which seemed to bend the derailleur hanger back into general alignment. Good enough for the chain to spin things around as well as it usually does anyway.
I also stopped by the Bike Rack where I did not find a tyre that I felt would be suitable for me and the Bastard. So I might check over at the Bike Way, since I’ve got a gift card, otherwise I’ll probably just order some new Maxxises. They've been good tyres, lasted 4 years (probably about 15,065 kilometres [9,360 miles] or so). Although I didn't remember that by myself, I just checked my bicycle journal and found that I purchased those tyres back in December 2014!
As we approach the beginning of a new year, I’ve decided that I would like to be more aerobically fit. Although I still consider myself moderately active, my range of activity is almost entirely bicycling. Whilst sitting at Tanner’s eating fried pickles and drinking beer, Chris suggested doing some burpees to increase cardiovascular fitness. I burped loudly, and then inquired “What is a burpee?” Chris accurately explained the process and said that she felt much fitter after doing the 30-burpees-a-day-for-30 days-challenge. “Great idea!” I said. Then I actually tried doing a few the other day. After 10 I was wiped out. Not only that, my legs are still sore, and I don’t think it’s from my bike ride yesterday. I think I might start out with a 10-burpees-a-day-for-10 days-challenge. I’ll let you know how that works out.
In the meantime I hope you enjoy the remainder of 2018 and have a happy new year! Now if you’ll excuse me I’m gonna bust out a few burpees before I eat the rest of my Christmas cookies.
Moderately yours,
BSO
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