Weekend Update

 

Beautiful day yesterday - not much of a summer wind, though. But that was a good thing since I was hiking with my "tribe" from the gym. Really like her cover of this song.

Put in nine miles of some fairly serious ups and downs - interval training at Turkey Run State Park. Get the heart rate up hiking up the steps and then bring it back down on the flat land. Couple that with the twenty-two mile bike ride on Saturday and I had a pretty good workout over the weekend. Nice that I can hang around with the younger ones and actually keep up with them. Don't know how much longer I'll be able to do that, however. 

I've got some work lined up for the week. I did finish the repair on the drill press vise on Sunday while listening to the 500 on the little transistor radio. Surly will do the machining. There's liable to be some porosity in the welds. I cleaned things up as best I could prior to welding but some of the holes were pretty deep and had some swarf in the bottom. I doesn't need to be leakproof, just needs to be solid and parallel with the bottom.

It's going to be hot this week, temps will be in the nineties. I need to get the AC unit in the window and I think I might buy another small one for the other bedroom, since the new double hung window is more accommodating than the old awning type window was. I think I'm going to pull the trigger on the Sportster as well. In response to the age-old question of how many motorcycles do you need? One more than I have.

Memorial Day

 

Bike & Train Ride.

Coach Jen, her son and I went to Hoosier Valley Railroad yesterday to ride our bikes and the train - good day for both. It's been a while since I rode the bike trail. They've added two more miles since the last time I was there. It's now eleven miles long, so it's a 22 mile ride out and back. When we finished the bike ride we did a train ride - diesel power, rather than the cute little steamer in the photo. 

When I got home, the guy was there replacing the power pole. I've been waiting for him to show up for at least a year now. At least he got here before the old pole broke off. He didn't get the wires swapped out yet but he's hoping to finish it up this weekend.

I've got nothing on the schedule today other than the Indy 500. I'm hoping to listen to it on the radio out in the shop. Reception isn't the best on my regular radio, but my little transistor should bring it in as long as I can find a station that's carrying the race. 

The boxing coaches' group is taking the show on the road Monday for a hiking trip. That should be a fun one. There's another bike ride Friday evening I'm planning on riding and then I'll start my race walking training. Got a couple of 5K events on the calendar one of which is a ruck march. Need to be able to tote 22 pounds on my back for that one.

Memorial Day tomorrow - don't forget to take a few moments to remember those who gave their all for our freedom.

 

Weekend Schedule

When I was doing the square foot gardening, I made some hoops out of PVC tube for a miniature greenhouse to extend the growing season. That didn't pan out as well as I wanted - mostly due to lack of effort on my part - but I kept the tubes. Since the trailer I put together recently will be parked outside for a while, I wanted to cover it up. Using the hoops, I can protect the plywood and keep any cargo I might want to carry dry. I need to get a few more tarp straps of a different length than what I have to do a better job of holding the tarp down, but that's easy enough done.

I took a friend to get cataract surgery yesterday - pretty much shot the whole day in the ass, but it was a good day just the same. Cuzzin Ricky and I are doing the dead relatives tour today, so that'll take up most of this day as well. I've got a tentative bike and train ride on tap for tomorrow, and I'll probably park my fanny in front of the television Sunday to watch the 500, maybe get a walk in. Nothing on the calendar for Monday, but I want to get some work done in the shop and I've still got some yard work to finish up. Things are looking much better, though.

Take time this weekend to remember those who gave their all in service to our country. There's been way too many that have made the supreme sacrifice, and I'm sure there will be many more in the future, unfortunately. When will they ever learn.

 

Vise/Vice

 

Surly's vise

Shop Teacher Bob's vice (actually one of several)

Surly picked up a small milling machine and the vise came with it. Apparently, the previous owner was unclear on the concept of parallels and drilled a ton of holes in the base. Now it's time to call in the brazier, as opposed to a brassiere. I'll get it welded up and then he can machine it.

I'm about ready to pull the trigger on this Sportster. There's not a lot of work to do on it. I priced out the new parts and it totaled up to about $150.00. He was in the middle of cleaning and polishing when he bailed out. He was redoing the seat, but in brown leather. I can't do brown, but rather than fiddling with that seat, I've got one from my other Sportster that will fit on the bike and be much more to my liking. I was going to put it on a Sprint, but maybe I'll have him redo one of the old seats instead. Clean title and less than 5,000 miles on the clock. As my old pal Joey used to say when asked why he would want something - pride of ownership.

Double "U"

 

White Bird, Wake Up Call, Welder knowledge, Welder humor, Washington HS where I started my teaching career, and Workout report. 

Got ten miles in on the bike yesterday morning and hit the gym later in the day. Four rounds each double end bag, heavy bag and speed bag, plus a little bit of ab work, which I definitely need more of. The plan going forward is to start increasing my mileage and speed on the bike for the bike race the end of July and then do a 50 or 60 mile ride towards the end of summer. Also, improve my effort at the gym to get my cardio up and to get some of my muscle back. Not too ambitious for an old guy. I enjoy riding my bike and hanging out in the boxing gym, so more fun than work. 

Yard Work

Coach Jen and her hubby booked a vacation to Pennsylvania hoping that their son would be in the Nationals again this year. Unfortunately, that didn't pan out, but they made it to the Rocky statue while out that way. Pretty good advice on the plaque.

Likewise, good advice from Mike Tyson: 'People will laugh at you for having to start over. Meanwhile, they haven't even started.'

Don't know that I ever considered either one of those guys a great philosopher, but you can always learn something from a champion, whether that's an actual one or the Hollywood version.

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Saturday started out chilly and breezy, but I got out on the bike just the same - put in 12 miles. Nothing worth bragging about, but there's a 20-mile ride in a couple of weeks I want to do, so I need to start building up my mileage base. The boxing group is resuming our Sunday walks/hikes starting today - should get in three or four miles. I saw a 5K being scheduled that you get your choice of running or doing it as a ruck march . It's a little ways off and it's on "fast time", as we say here in Indiana, but it starts at 10:00 local which is 9:00 my time, meaning I wouldn't have to get up at the crack of dawn to make the start. Just have to get there with 22 pounds in my ruck. Thinking seriously about doing that one.

I planted a few more things the last few days, both garden plants and ornamentals. Some of the seeds I planted were old, so not sure they're going to germinate. Not a problem, I'm going to order a few more perennials so I don't have to replant things every spring and I'll have flowers for the whole growing season.

The iris are starting to bloom now. There are a few neglected peonies that I hope will bloom yet. There wasn't a single flower or fruit tree on the place when I moved in here 25 years ago. I've about got things as I want them finally. Now I just need to do a better job on the weeding and pruning. I'm making a good start on it this year, though.

I'm looking at a bit over 5 months of good weather ahead. Need to find a healthy balance of exercise, shop work, chores and relaxation. I've never been very good at that but at least I'm starting the season out full of piss and vinegar. Now I just have to see how long it lasts.

Flora & Fauna

 

It's that time of year again. Haven't had the pleasure of a dead skunk in the middle of the road but several racoons and 'possums. I saw a wild turkey and a peacock on the hoof up the road about a mile from the shack the other day. I had to slow the truck down for a momma duck and her brood while they were crossing the road, also. Springtime in the country, always interesting.

Here's the magnolia blossom I posted the other day after it opened up. I really like this tree. 

The lilacs are blooming and quite fragrant.

Lilies of the valley are blooming.

I'm not sure what this one is. It just started growing by the corner of the garage. It's underneath where there's usually a hanging basket of some sort. I think it's a volunteer from one of the baskets - pretty blue flowers just the same.

I did a little figuring while the grandson was welding the other afternoon to come up with a support leg for the window air conditioner. Pretty simple solution - a couple of pieces of telescoping tubing, a piece of angle and a bit of flat bar for the foot. The beauty of this project is that other than the piece for the foot, I didn't even have to cut the other pieces. Everything on the project, including the 2x4 that goes in the window, was made from scrap I had laying around. I'll get it primed and painted and then I'll be ready to get the AC unit in the window before it gets too hot.

I checked out the Sportster at the upholstery shop the other day. It needs some parts and some overall TLC, but it wouldn't take much to get put back together and running. He rode it by the shack last summer before he took it apart. Sounded good at the time. He said he'd entertain an offer from me to buy it or give him a rough estimate on getting it back together. I'd like to have it but I don't need another project. Actually, even if it didn't need any work, I don't need another bike. Especially since I've got a couple more coming my way in July. I'm going to mull it over for a couple of days and then go see him. 

Footprints

 

Hoof prints in the newly tilled garden. Judging by the size of them, a fairly large deer. With all the trouble I have with wildlife, I'm glad there aren't any large carnivorous animals around here. I'm also glad that nothing has sprouted yet for Bambi to munch on. I've never had a problem with deer eating things out of the garden, rabbits yes, deer no. 

I bought myself some new running shoes yesterday. These could very well be the last pair I ever buy. At my age, who knows how much longer I'll want to run/race walk, or be able to. I'm not planning on rolling over for a while though. Coach Jen and I have four running events planned for the year so far. We're also planning on doing some cycling and hiking. Should be a good summer.

Belfast Bare Knuckle Boxing

 

1910 BELFAST, NEW YORK, LOCKUP
GEORGE BLACK, CONSTABLE

Judy Parker Burt and I are soooooooo EXCITED to be able to do this for the Belfast NY Community!!! When I was a youth Belfast did me a great turn that positively changed my life’s path forever. I said then I didn’t know what it would be, but somehow, someway, I’d do something for them sometime in my life to show my deep appreciation. I have since restored and saved the Historic barns that the Great Bareknuckler John L. Sullivan trained in back in 1889, the 1890s landmark mausoleum in the center of the cemetery, recently saved the condemned building at 25 Main Street, brought to our proud town Apollo Creed’s original training ring as seen in Rocky 2, represented Belfast as I helped identify Sullivan’s Boston belt at the Smithsonian, donated a Police Gazette Boxing Corporation medallion for display with Belfast, New York, on the ribbon to the Smithsonian too……and now….… something I’ve been working on for a while as a surprise. I have hunted down, hired JimandMary Young to retrieve it for me, and will be returning Belfast’s Original 1910 jail cell lockup to within 10 feet of its original location on Main Street!!!!!! This is SO COOL!!!! Having a heavy cast brass plaque being made now!!! Taking front wall of building down this week so Jim and H Carvings Greg Hollier can get the jail inside!!!

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The above was posted by Scott Burt on social media. He's quite the guy. In addition to everything he's done for the lovely little town of Belfast, New York, he also brought back legal bare knuckle boxing matches that he promotes both here in the states and internationally. Yours truly and my boxing buddy, Jimmy, from our local gym, were the first people to stay and train in the barns since John L. Quite the honor - definitely one for the highlight reel. 

I don't know what the good turn the town of Belfast did for Scott, but he's probably repaid the debt many times over by now. The Bare Knuckle Boxing Hall of Fame hosts an Induction Ceremony every year. I was recognized about ten years ago during the annual weekend event. In addition to sleeping in the barn, I also took part in the "Ramble With Bramble" 5K with former WBA Lightweight World Champion Livingstone Bramble. I believe the ceremony is scheduled for July 8th this year, and it's part of Belfast's weekend long festival. The event is usually a sell-out, so contact Scott and get your tickets. If you can't make it to the annual event, give Scott a call and arrange a tour. You'll be able to go through the barns where both John L. Sullivan and Shop Teacher Bob stayed.

Boxing News +

 

"So remember, brothers and sisters, to stand tall." Good advice in the 70's. Maybe even more so now. 

This is the scorecard from the fight I mentioned in my last post. I didn't see the fight but from what Coach Jen told me over the phone, The Indiana guy should have won the fight. My take on it was that it would have been a tie on the cards if his opponent won the first two rounds and our guy had a 10-8 third round. Jen said since they gave the other guy two standing eight counts, he should have won the round 10-7. However, in amateur boxing a 10-7 is very rare. If the boxer is taking that type of beating, the referee usually stops the fight. If it's a draw on all of the judges scorecards, the winner is decided by other means. In this case, three judges scored it a draw, one judge had a one point advantage for the other fighter, and the last judge had our guy winning by four points. That should have been enough for our guy to have won the bout. However, this tourney is also an Olympic qualifier, like the tourney in Detroit was. I suspect there is some type of international rule in play here. I ran across several things in Detroit that were new to me. This could just be one more, but I would like to have it explained to me.

And in other boxing news, the young man who beat our 156 pounder for the state championship, won the national title last evening. Congratulations!

The Big Leaf magnolia tree is blooming now. The blossom in the photo is close to five inches long. When they open up, they are quite lovely. The leaves are usually 18"-24" long - very exotic looking tree for here in the mid-west.

The guy from the upholstery shop south of me stopped by when I was coming home from my bike ride Friday evening. He's got an old Sportster that he took the cam cover off, the cams came with it and he's not sure how to get things back together properly. I did all that when I put my Sportster project back together a couple of years ago, but I had a factory manual at my disposal for reference. I think the manual went with the bike when I sold it. If I can locate a manual, I'll give him a hand getting it back together. He's not sure what he wants to do with the bike, keep it or sell it. I wouldn't mind having it. It's an electric start model, which would be much better for both my knee and my heart. I should have just kept the other one.

Garden Work

I took the trailer I rebuilt out on its maiden voyage yesterday - didn't go far and not much weight, but it pulled down the road nicely. I made a ramp a couple of weeks ago to mate with the one I use for the bike carrier - need two to make it easier when loading things like the tiller. I have another one for loading a bike in the back of the pickup, but it's about 18" longer and I didn't want to shorten it up. I still need to get the pair of cheapie bike chocks fit-up so I can haul a couple of small bikes at the same time, but other than that, it should be able to haul most anything Surly or I need to move. 

The tiller made short work of the old part of the garden but the new strip where I widened it out was a bit like work. If you look closely you can see a few stalks of asparagus that popped up. I thought I was just going to have the one, but it's more like six now. The rhubarb's looking good - time to make a couple of loaves of rhubarb bread. I planted some strawberries later in the day. I'll plant a couple of other plants and seeds today - get them in before it rains - and do a little more yard work. I also need to do a little engineering work to be able to put the air conditioner in the window. I don't want to half-ass it and screw up the new window.

The boxer who beat the guy I took to Detroit at the Indiana Golden Gloves has won his first two fights at the Nationals. I bought the livestream event to watch him on the first night but they had some type of technical difficulty and I didn't get to see any of the bouts. Coach Jen bought the livestream for the whole week and called me last evening with an update. She said one of the Indiana fighters who used to box out of our gym lost to a bad decision. Hate to see that. When I took Bazooka Joe to Louisiana there were some terrible decisions there. You really hate to see that at an event as important as a national championship. This year's event is also an Olympic qualifier. Lot riding on the outcome of the tourney.

 

Machining 101

 

The weekend didn't turn out quite as well as I had hoped. The race on Sunday in Terre Haute was rained out, so not only did we not get to see champ cars on the 1/2 mile dirt track, we didn't get to stop at our favorite restaurant for pie, either. It's a long haul to Terre Haute but it's my favorite event when the champ cars or sprint cars run. 

However, the weather around here on Sunday was nice. Actually, it was damn near hot. I got out on the bike and put in 10 miles early on before I found out the race was cancelled and then went outside to do some yard work. Actually worked up a sweat pulling weeds and transplanting some day lilies along the front of the chicken coop. I decided to get out of the sun after finishing up that job - didn't want to get sunburned since that was the first day I had a short sleeve shirt on since October. 

While I need to do a couple more things on the jitney before finalizing the throttle hook-up, I decided the best way to go about it is a bulkhead fitting through the firewall. The fitting will hold the outer cable in place and allow me to adjust the length of the inner cable. That's the piece in the photo above. Basically, it's the same as the brake cable fittings on the Harley Sprints. I've probably got one or two of them around here but I wanted one that wasn't rusty and would look good coming through the aluminum firewall. This one's made out of "aircraft grade" aluminum. The application didn't really call for that, but since I've got a couple of sticks of it, seemed like a logical choice. Also, the fitting is threaded 5/16 - 18, rather than the 8mm ones on the Sprint cables. A 1930s style track racer wouldn't have metric threaded parts.

Fun little part to make - required a little thinking on the design end and on the sequence of operations. Not much to it other than that.  

A Weekend Like It Should be

 

It's been nice the last couple of days. Finally decent spring-like weather. Cuzzin Ricky and I went to the races Friday night - midgets and vintage sprint cars. It took forever to run the show due to the various stock and modified cars, but they kept things moving, it was a nice night and it was good to be sitting in the stands watching open wheel racing again. There's a show in Terre Haute tonight we're going to that should be a good one also.

I had a raccoon in the top of the shop again. I set the trap with a can of cat food, checked it in the morning and no raccoon or can of food. I set it again the following night with a can of tuna. Again, no raccoon in the trap and the empty can was outside the trap. Before trying again, I cleaned up all the moving parts and put a little white lube on the trigger mechanism. I got another can of tuna and drilled a hole in it so I could safety wire it to the back of the trap. Third time was the charm. 

I got some more yard work taken care of the last couple of days and started on the hook-up for the throttle cable. However, after looking at the situation a little closer, I think it would behoove me to get the steering and the brake master cylinder in place first.

The farmer got my fields planted the other day and some of my garden seeds and plants I ordered showed up. There's a couple of things on the way yet but I should have the garden all planted by the end of the week. Love this spring weather.

Planting Time

 

Beautiful day yesterday. The farmer showed up about 6:00 and dropped off the tractor and planter, so he'll be planting here today or tomorrow. I talked to him briefly when he was here, but I didn't ask him if he was planting corn or beans. I'm assuming it's corn again. I don't know how many years you can go with continuous corn. Got to be a reason they call it continuous corn, I would guess.

Daikon radish. I should have put a yardstick or something next to it when I took the photo to judge the size. It's about 10" long and 3-1/2" in diameter. Not sure what I'm going to do with it yet, but I've been making soup with all the root veggies from the CSA. I can make a tasty soup but I need to broaden my horizon a bit and learn to make more stir fries and baked dishes. The rhubarb is about right for picking, so I'll make my annual loaves of rhubarb bread. So I do actually bake a few things, but they're mostly desserts. But as we all know, man does not live by veggies alone.

Surly was here the other day and told me about this hand cleaner. According to the label it takes care of your typical grease and grime, as well as printer's ink and fish odor. It's got lanolin in it but it still dried my skin out when I tried it out yesterday - took the cutting oil and gunk off my hands nicely, though. Made in America. Available at O'Reilly Auto Parts.

I finished the stand-off for the choke cable. Looks like it should work OK. I still need to finish the hook-up for the throttle cable. I've got a couple of ideas I've been mulling. Maybe start on one of them today. 

Little Bit Here, Little Bit There

 

The grandson put the third layer on his 7018 practice plate. Looks pretty good, except for the last bead or two. Nice and smooth for having two layers underneath it - no visible slag inclusions or porosity, and the beads all have a nice overlap. Probably wouldn't get any complaints from a machinist if he had to take a cut across it to get it to size.

The choke cable and bushings came in. However, the bushing needed the OD turned down a couple of thousands in order to have a light press fit into the linkage arm and spacer.

I've got some aircraft bolts I picked up at an EAA show years ago, some of which have the shank a couple of thousands over the nominal 3/16". I chucked one of those up in my drill motor for a mandrel and touched up the OD on the bushing with a file.

Not too much more left to take care of - shorten up and thread the rod and make the yoke for the throttle cable. I'm going to need a return spring also. The choke cable will be cut to length when I get the dash installed. I've got a piece cut out for a stand-off that will bolt to one of the manifold bolts that will keep the choke cable in place.

I'm hoping to get some more done on the car this week. I made up a to-do list, so I'll keep working my way through the list. I'll be glad when the weather warms up. That'll make things better from every angle.

Farming, Motorcycling & Running

Laying in bed Monday morning and I hear a tractor out front at about 6:45. Two surprises here: first, rarely is anyone in the field that early, secondly, it's been pretty wet of late. In fact, it was sprinkling about the time he finished up on the other side of the lane. However, it's May, so it's planting time. The ground's probably too cold for planting corn. The daytime temperature only made it to about 42, night time temps are still in the thirties, so the ground is still going to be too cold for corn to germinate. It's supposed to be more inline with our average temperatures towards the weekend. Might be planting here next week. 

I've got some stuff ordered for the garden. I had three boxes set up for the square foot gardening plan but I think I'm going to get rid of those, rent a tiller and expand the size of the garden and till up everything and go back to a more conventional layout. I've also got a couple of other spots I want to till up that were under pine trees that have been cut down. Either seed them in grass or plant some perennials in the spots. Maybe a fruit tree in one spot. I told the Missus to let me know if she has anything in mind. If I don't get any feedback, I'll just do whatever the mood dictates on the day I tackle the job. 

Also on Monday, I was contacted by a guy from out of the past. I used to work with his father and my wife and him have been "friends" on Facebook. He's got a couple of motorcycles that have been stored at his dad's house for about forty years. Mom and dad are in their nineties and he needs to get the bikes out of there. The bikes are local, but he lives out west and has no interest in carting them to his place. He said I could have both of them just to get them out of his dad's place. They both have titles, which is a minor miracle. One of them is a Honda Trail 90 like in the photo. The other a CB 450. The Trail 90 would be just the thing for my cattle round-ups. Of course I don't have any cattle, but you have to start somewhere.

The shirt is from the run last Saturday - long sleeve technical fabric which is nice unless you're a welder. Forty-two years since I ran it the first time. I'm sure that's not any kind of a record, but it gives me a warm and fuzzy. The biggest take-away from this event, however, is that I actually did some running without having any chest pain later. That and the fact that it took me ten years to figure out how to make it happen. I've got two months to train for the 5 mile trail run I'm considering. I want to get back to my race-walking form and train for a couple of bike rides. My running buddy is going on vacation soon, but when she gets back we need to pick a couple of running and cycling events we want to do. That will determine my workout schedule, in the meantime, however, I'm going to alternate between running and cycling and see how I hold up. I'll also toss in some weight training to try and regain some upper body muscle. Sounds pretty ambitious, but it's not all that time consuming if you're retired. Plus, I'll be more inclined to work on the projects if I get up off my ass in the morning and put in an hour or so of exercise every day. Sounds good on paper, just have to see how it works out.

Sunday Weather

Felt pretty good yesterday when I rolled out of bed - a little stiff but no chest pain what-so-ever. I felt good enough I actually could run the bases. Of course, I'd have to put my corset on first. There's a 5 mile trail run at one of the county parks this summer. I might try training for that, as long as I can continue running without the chest pain showing up a couple of hours later. I don't care anything about my time, I'd just like to be able to run 5 miles again before I die. I'm still in shock that I could run. Also, instead of wasting time and money on the doctors, I should have tried binding my chest up several years ago.

Photo of my asparagus patch. Yep, that's it. One measly stalk. I figured it was time for the asparagus to be poking their little heads out, so I raked some leaves out of the row and dug up some weeds, but no asparagus. There have been some moles digging around out there, so I'm wondering if they didn't eat it over the winter. Not much else I can think of.

Redbud photo taken from the running lawn mower with a bit of breeze to help blur the branch in the foreground. It's been a great year for all of the trees flowering. All the magnolias, with one exception since it's a late bloomer, and the fruit trees have been beautiful, in spite of the crazy weather we've been having. Saturday morning was a great day for the 5K, the afternoon not so much. Yesterday morning was bright and sunny and then it turned chilly, the wind picked up and there was a light rain on and off the remainder of the day. The forecast is calling for rain the next two days and the daytime temps won't get up into the sixties until Thursday.

I remade the bar and spacer for the throttle linkage. I couldn't find a 3/16 ID flange bearing locally, but I did find a bag of three on Amazon. I'm relatively certain I'll never need the other two, since I've never needed even one up to this point in my life, but one never knows, does one. Next up is to make the piece that fastens to the linkage plate for the end of the throttle cable. I'm thinking something like is used for a drum brake on the front of a motorcycle. In fact, I might have something like that laying around.

As a side note, if you recall from the previous post, I'm having trouble with my email account. I still can't log on but since I have two accounts with different carriers, I figured out how to get the pictures from my camera to the computer with my other account. A little less convenient, but that's technology for you. It's also why I don't wish to get totally dependent on it - one of the reasons I'm expanding the garden this year. There's a lot to be said for self-reliance, with or without asparagus or email.