Sunday Yoga

The day began just a little bit cool.  I decided to ride the 7 miles to yoga at the local Boys/Girls club.  I just happened to look up and saw the wall above my bike stating that this was the third oldest club in the country.  I have been going here for two years for yoga, putting my bike in the same spot and it took this long to look up.

 

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Another long unnoticed item on a regular route is this closed gas station.  So many have tried to make a go of this but the location is crap.  It’s on the edge of a bridge spanning the river that opens every hour.  People have always hesitated to stop here for gas out of fear of getting stuck when the bridge opens.  The prices say clearly how long this place has been closed.

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The ride was intended to be longer,  but the weather turned sour with dropping temperatures, wind and drizzle limited me to 16 miles.   I did make one more stop at a recently closed motel that was a haven for transients, pimps and people with drug problems.

Recovering From An All Nighter

Sunday was an all night bike ride after you add travel and waiting into the mix. 3200 people joined into this unorganized ride which four years ago boasted having 500 riders. We got to ride through the starting area in Hopkinton but the police had cordoned off the finish at 1:30 because Mark Walburg was filming a movie about the bombing four years ago. 2016 Midnight Martathon 003

I finished the ride before 3 AM but it was close to 4 AM when I finally found my car.  I normally had a good sense of direction but was so narcoleptic, I ended up on Washington St. at Downtown Crossing three times.  I was chasing riders who I though were going back to the area where we loaded our bikes on trucks only to realize they were riding to their homes.  Finally I came across two guys riding and asked if they were going to South Station. “No, that’s the other direction” one said.  “Turn around, take a left on Washington and you will see signs direction bikers to the station.” I had passed that sign twice and never looked up to read it.

I was a zombie all day Monday and just kind of hung around the house so physically tired that my whole body was sore. I did get out to do a short ride to fulfill my 30 days of biking and was in bed by nine.  Tuesday morning I was still feeling droopy until I forced myself into a walk with the dogs.  That did the trick and the effects of the Midnight Marathon Ride had passed.  I got in a few good miles doing errands and ended the day with a bike ride to Tuesday night yoga.  I struggled at yoga because  I hadn’t been to a class in two weeks and had done a lot of biking during that stretch while in Austin.  I am looking forward to doing it all again next year.

There Is A Storm A Brew’n

The forecast ranges from three to eight inches of snow.  It’s very difficult to predict snowfall amounts for coastal communities because of the ocean effect.  Ten miles inland, the weather people are within millimeters of accumulation.  By the end of the week, there will probably be no evidence that it ever snowed. It will be back to bike riding weather in the 50s and 60s.

Sunday is one of my days to ride my bike into the city for Yoga. It’s part of the city’s wellness initiative and every few weeks the a new yogi does the sessions.  Sarah, who finished today practiced Forrest Yoga.  It was pretty demanding, and if I was doing that at home I would have moaned and grunted.  A lot.  However, I’m the only male in the class so I have to represent, if you know what I mean.  No complaining. Continue reading “There Is A Storm A Brew’n”

It’s Time To Get Serious

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Every bicyclist wants a comfortable saddle. What is not so obvious is what constitutes a comfortable saddle.

Every spring, bike shops sell scads of saddles to cyclists who come in because their old saddle has become uncomfortable since they stopped cycling in the fall. They went out for a ride or two, and found it much less comfortable than they remembered from the previous year. They’ve heard about the latest buzzword in saddle gimmicks, and they want one of those!

They buy the new saddle, put it on the bike, go for a few more rides, and find they’re much more comfortable. They tell all their friends about their wonderful new saddle, and how they need one too…More on saddles from Sheldon Brown

Continue reading “It’s Time To Get Serious”

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”

Even the Salt Water Froze

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Frozen Salt marsh

This post is just a front for the video at the end.  Skip all this and scroll down.

As I rode by the salt marsh I could hear the crackling of the ice breaking away.  The over night temperature was in the single digits, but the day eventually warmed to 40 F. Continue reading “Even the Salt Water Froze”