Tag: blogging 101

Dam You DPW

We got a pretty good snow storm yesterday. Naturally I had to drive to the airport so the kid could fly back to his 70 degree weather in Austin.  Also both studded tires arrived this week and the storm couldn’t have been more opportune.

Putting on the tires was a frustrating task.  Both fought back with every stud, but I finally got them installed. All this work took place in between football games.  The English Premier League takes up most of my Saturday mornings.  It’s not very good football, but it’s fun to watch.  I did a fair share of profanities not only from the studded tires, but also the games.   My wrist hurts from struggling with that last few inches of the tire install, and my ankle hurts from stomping on the floor when one of the teams I decided to support today, played stupid.

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Studded Tires Installed on the Marin.

I decided to take the dogs for a walk before the inaugural studded tire ride and when I looked down the street the first thing that came to mind was, “Dam you, DPW.  They did a great job prepping the streets before and clearing the streets after the snow.  First time ever by the way.  Last year it took weeks to get the streets down to pavement.  Dam DPW. I’m going to bitch. I have a six mile ride into the city tomorrow for Yoga and am hoping that New Bedford keeps their low standard of clearing the roads in tact.

Clear Evergreen St.

Overcast Tree on Evergreen St.
At least the trees have snow cover. 

Driving To The Airport After The Snowstorm

Owen and Lucy in the Snow from John Sullivan on Vimeo.

Second Time Around Last February the kid came home to 3 feet of snow. His visit this year was a bit better. It’s always better on the second time around.

It’s still snowing but we are anticipating good roads to the Providence R.I. airport in Warwick R.I.  The people of Warwick are a bit perturbed that the airport in their city is called the Providence Airport.  The conundrum is that we will be driving during the evening commute.

The kid spent a few days in Massachusetts and was lamenting the lack of snow.  He visited last year and was hoping for snow and he got snow.

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He lives in Austin, where it’s probably around 80 degrees, so this is a treat for him.

Last June he booked and evening flight out of Providence, there were not enough seats sold and the flight was cancelled.  It was the last flight of the day so he had to fly out the next evening.  He is due at work at 11 AM tomorrow, so a canceled flight could be a problem. We’ll see how the flight goes today

A friend posted a photo online about looking at her bike and not being able to ride. I countered with a photo of my bike getting prepped to be ridden.

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Boston. February 1, 2016

A Bird, a Plane, You!  Making the clouds disappear.  Could it be a super power? If your confused, click the link for the explanation.

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The Southeast Expressway in Boston on February 1, 2016 at 3:30 PM.

The kid was coming home for a visit from Austin.   He was booked on an early morning flight to Boston via Chicago.FB_IMG_1430832275891  More often than not, things happen to him. He wears the proverbial black cloud like a halo.   Last time he came home there was 8 feet of snow on the ground. The time before that, his flight was canceled and he had to wait a full day for the next flight. Waiting to board his early morning flight to Boston via Chicago today, he was paged.

Continue reading “Boston. February 1, 2016” →

Yoga

Library. Fairhaven Ma
Millicent Library in Fairhaven, Ma with the Unitarian Building in the background.

A 6 mile ride to yoga class that is part of the New Bedford Wellness Initiative today.  On the way to the Boys and Girls club, while climbing a hill, one of my pedals fell off.

69 CamaroI was walking the final half mile and came across a couple of old timers looking at a 1969 Camaro in a garage.  I borrowed an adjustable wrench from one of these friendly strangers and made the repair. The pedals were installed a few short days ago and I was very conscious of putting is on correctly and tight.

YO! GUYS.  PAY ATTENTION TO THE TEXT.

The problem was that it’s in two parts.  The pedals came with adapters for different sized cranks. The adapter screws into the crank then the pedal screws into the adapter.  I have no idea why this fell of because reverse threading on the left pedal insures that this doesn’t happen.  (To most people).  I’ll figure it out tomorrow.

Continue reading “Yoga” →

Night Ride Video

The Daily Post.   Asks.  Post something Vibrant

It doesn’t have to show all the colors of the rainbow to be vibrant.  But it should say WOW. This was taken by a friend, Peter Pereira

Fairhaven center from unitarian
The Center of Fairhaven Ma. taken from the Unitarian church

A reunion of the retired pro and semi pro soccer players .  It was at the Portuguese Sports Club in New Bedford, MA.  Around 300 men were in attendance including a State Senator, the Portuguese Consulate, the man next in line for the Chief of Police position in the city to name a few.  There were some suits in attendance but most of us were casual.  Portuguese food is not conducive to white shirts and ties, because lots of food usually ends up on them. Continue reading “Night Ride Video” →

After The Snow Melts

Back in the saddle on Cape Cod after the first blizzard of 2016

AFTER THE BLIZZARD from John Sullivan on Vimeo.

The Guy Must Have Been Waiting At The Top Of The Street

I’ve had a heck of a time purchasing studded tires so I do get more riding.  I only need to get a little over a mile on the bike path, after that, I’m on town and city streets that are bike friendly and maintained.  The town doesn’t plow the MUP.

Two bike shops have had to cancel my order because they were out of stock.  After scrambling, one will be here on Friday and another tire sometime next week.  No problem now, because everything is clear.  But more snow and ice is sure to come.

I decided to buy a new bike rack system for my new car.  It’s a Thule platform, like the ones you see on the front of the city buses.  I also have to have a tow hitch installed. I can’t see myself using it before sometime in March.  Here is the irony.  I ordered it on Tuesday, online around 3 PM.  It arrived at 2:30 PM today, Wednesday.   Really, I’m paying a premium to have a bike tire shipped that takes 7-10 days.  Yet a 40 lb bike rack with free shipping can get here overnight.   I’m figuring the UPS guy must have been parked at the top of my street when the order was put in.

Thule Bike Rack

I did get out on the bike today, riding to some local stores.  One of the items was inexpensive bike pedals for winter riding. I have two sided spd pedals on the beater bike, but a wider plastic mountain bike pedal makes much more sense in the winter.

I also do all the cooking in the house and go to the market every day for fresh foods.  It’s a mile ride on the MUP and biking is the most logical mode, once it’s passable naturally. I usually ride to the gym for weights, yoga, cardio or tai chi. I only need to walk across a parking lot to the market. Convenient? You bet.

Shopping by bike
Fully loaded after shopping
Clear path after the storm
Clear bike path, four days after a blizzard.

The Day After The Storm

I stopped to talk to a neighbor on the way to the market. He complimented my new car and said, “all wheel drive?”.   I responded, “why”.  He said because of this.  Continue reading “The Day After The Storm” →

Waiting Out The Storm

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Sitting at home riding out the first snow storm of the season. Not much going on to write about so again it’s looking back on one of my bike tours.

Day 1 Burlington VT to Plattsburgh, NY: 40 miles on the road and two ferry crossings

Sunday July 21, 2013, 40 miles (64 km) – Total so far: 40 miles (64 km)

As with every tour I take, the first day is long and we really don’t get the miles we expect for the amount of time we are on the saddle. For instance, we looked at doing 80 miles today by riding from Burlington to the Canadian border at Rousse Point then riding south to Plattsburgh. We decided to ease up and ride the bike way on the rails to trails route that took us on a causeway to South Hero. The causeway had a break where a bridge used to span the lake. Now there is a ferry that only accommodates 6 people and their bike for a $5 fee. The money is used to help the Burlington bike group Local Motion.
CLICK HERE for the full journal

Reminiscing. The Erie Canal Ride Day 3

Day 3: Medina to Fairport

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Sunday July 15, 2012, 62 miles (100 km) – Total so far: 124 miles (200 km)

We arrived in Medina very late last night and had just enough time to set up camp before it got dark. The fire department directed us to a park at the far end of town that gave us a nice secluded campsite. The traffic on the road near our site was just enough to keep up awake most of the night. We all got some sleep, but not much.

Continue reading “Reminiscing. The Erie Canal Ride Day 3” →