Changing Weather

The only weather more confusing than Springtime In The Rockies is Autumn In the Rockies. As of Saturday, it was warm enough that my yard snakes were swimming around in the fountain. Sunday, the weather went south, and I had a wet, cold commute on Monday morning.

Since it was raining when I left the house, I put my phone, wallet and pocket notebook in some high-tech protective pouches:

I buy them in boxes of 200 at the grocery store. 

Oddly, ZipLoc bags are touchscreen-friendly. You can actually text while the phone is in the bag.

It was not only raining, but it was also 44 degrees (F) when I rolled out. So, I was dressed for it, including my old shoe covers. I have had these for about 10 years, and I keep repairing them. I put a new zipper in one, and I have sewed up various splits and separations over the past couple of years. Apparently, there is no one making shoe covers like these, nowadays (full coverage, a walkable sole with no precut cleat hole, heavy duty neoprene and a rear zipper), or I would just buy a new pair!

Today, I rode home at 63 degrees, in a long-sleeve base layer and a sport t-shirt, shorts and no tights! Tomorrow is supposed to be warmer still.

 Messy Kitchens Are Us!

Last week, I transferred the Carradice bag from the Funk onto the Faux Surly, and I have been commuting on it. The big tires require a bit more effort for acceleration/climbing, and I hope that jump-starts my fitness, a bit. Plus, I just love this bike.

I have posted in detail about this build in the past, but some points bear repeating. It is definitely one of those "the sum is greater than the total of its parts" sort of bike. The frame came from Amazon for $139.00 (they are currently listed at $102.43), and most of the parts came from the parts bins in my shop building. (I did buy the handlebar specifically for this bike.)

The fork is from a Surly Karate Monkey. It has no clearance problems with the 27.5x3.00 tire. I could only get a 2.5" rear tire between the chainstays of the frame, though. That's why I bought my Bikes Direct 27.5+ adventure bike.

I've not been on the singletrack with the Faux Surly, yet, but I think I may fix that this weekend.

Stay tuned.

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New Goals

This past little bit, I have felt somewhat adrift in my everyday life. I have so many things going on (work, band, motorcycling, bicycling, handyman projects, life in general) that I often found I was doing nothing, since I just couldn't focus. Plus, I am getting pretty out of shape, since I don't put the focus on cycling that I once did.

So, I am trying a little experiment with bullet journaling, to try and keep things in focus. (If you don't know bullet journals, do a Google search, and be prepared to go down a rabbit hole if you like Moleskines and such...)

One of my goals to check off each week is to bicycle commute at least three times a week (and another is to blog at least once a week, by Wednesday night). Hopefully, the commuting will give me a subject to blog about, if nothing else.

I have two days under my belt, this week, and I plan to pedal, tomorrow, as well. Thursday, I have to go in at 5:00 AM and get everything rolling for the certification class we do each month, at work. So, I will ride the motorbike, that day.

Speaking of the motorbike, I bought a used Thruxton seat for it, last week, and ended up finding a used black and gold seat cowl for it, too.

 I got the seat because I know from having owned a Thruxton that this seat is more comfortable (and looks better) than the Scram seat. I got the cowl just because I thought it would look cool. I wasn't entirely sure that the cowl would be appropriate on the Scrambler, but I thought I'd give it a try.

I like it, particularly since it is a little beat and that matches the bike as much as the black and gold scheme. I may re-stripe it, and I may not.

Progress is being made toward going into the studio with Skull Full Of Blues, and all kinds of things are on my bullet list.  Stay tuned.
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