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.