Wednesday, 1 August 2018

Weather Underground is still predicting a dry day for Friday.
Actually, today would have been a good day to be outdoors, but it was
threatening in the morning. I did go out and fluff the mulch in the
asparagus bed and push the cultivator around the garden. Should have
hauled some dirt, too, but I didn't.

I had been planning to use Friday to measure how long it takes me to
ride to Fort Wayne Orthopedics, then go out DuPuy's back door to Aldi,
and come back by way of the K-Mart crossing. Two extra miles, but
worth it to get out of crossing US 30 on Parker Street.

Then Wednesday's paper contained an ad for Pierceton Days. It's this
coming weekend and I'M NOT READY. Usually I go to the farmers'
markets on Saturday, come home, take a nap, and ride to the festival
for supper. Makes about a quarter century for the day. But my best
this year is the flat Leesburg loop, and that was back in April. I
feel as though I spent all of July in waiting rooms.

Eventually, I realized that the other Pierceton Day is Friday, the
stuff I mean to buy at Aldi isn't urgent, and I can come back from the
farmer's markets by way of Aldi -- the Parker Street crossing isn't
nearly as stressful going west. I'd rather get out of doing it, but
thinking about doesn't trigger traumatic-stress syndrome.

So I checked, and there is a good route from Orthopedic Drive to
Pierceton. Google doesn't know about it -- it lets you enter from
both US 30 and Old 30, but doesn't know that the two parts of the
driveway connect, so it won't let you go out that way.

So after locating the back doctor's office, I can have lunch in
Pierceton. I do hope that Harvest Church sells apple dumplings on
Fridays too. Vendors don't open until noon, but I never get off
before ten without spending the whole previous day getting ready.
(Well, it took the whole day the last time I did it, but the morning
was spent altering a jersey I've been intending to alter for weeks.)

So there's no way I'll get there before noon.

And if I need a spare part, I'm living in the right town.


Thursday 2 August 2019

I think I'm ready for tomorrow's ride. Replaced the loose elastic in
my riding knickers today.

At the last minute, I remembered that when going to Pierceton, I have
to carry as much water as if I were going out in the boonies. Only
one quart in the pannier, though, as one can buy bottled water at the
Lions booth if two bottles and a quart are not enough. I'm planning
to take switchel concentrate and three bags of ice -- I did re-fill
the ice bin.

I should keep an eye out for the hat vendor; I haven't been able to
make one that fits me as well as the one I bought at the tomato
festival when I forgot to bring a hat. I now have a visor permanently
bungeed to my emergency kit.

Still haven't found a saddle bag to keep my emergency kit in. It's
inconvenient to keep it in a drawstring bag tied to the rack and
bungeed down.

Looks like it might rain on Monday, but even if I drive, I need to
know where the place is.


Friday 3 August 2018

The fountain in Pierceton is working -- after a fashion. It was
running continuously. I refilled a bottle, and topped it off before I
left, but still tapped into the quart in the cooler before I got home.
I'd also stopped to beg water halfway to Pierceton. Makes at least
four bottles consumed. My shirt was quite wet when I got home.

Hit Sprawlmart going and coming. Didn't stop when going because I was
timing myself for Monday.

Nineteen or twenty miles, and I don't appear to have injured myself. I
was worried when my leg got sore about halfway home. Probably helps
that I stopped three times in the last few miles: bread at Aunt
Millie's, which involves climbing a set of steps that appear to have
been installed for my personal convenience (I don't know anybody old
enough to know what they used to lead to) and walking across two
parking lots; Ritter's for an ice-cream cone, which also involved some
walking because I turned onto US 30 instead of going straight and then
turning left (the rumble strip and the debris forced me into the
grass); and Big R on general principles. I park right by the door
there, but it's a *long* big-box store.

And I got no nap and it's pushing midnight; better shut down and go to
bed.


Saturday 4 August 2018

The plan to stop at Aldi came a cropper: I filled up my panniers at
the farmers' markets. Tomatoes, an onion, and a watermelon at the
first, crack candy and a pecan bar at the second.

Also, I didn't feel like skipping my nap two days in a row.

I was even wetter than yesterday when I got home; my jersey and do-rag
are still in a bucket of soda water; I soaked my gloves in plain
water, spun them out, and hung them on my brake cables to dry. Drank
only two bottles of water, but I was out for only a couple of hours.

I got a really cool idea for next week's column, but didn't write it
down. frownyface

I saw a wrong-way rider during today's expedition. They have become
quite rare.

It's de rigueur around here to block all alleys, driveways, wheelchair
ramps, etc, with low curbs. But the wheelchair-ramp curbs are *very*
low. When entering an alley today, I found a speed bump! They had
installed the curb across the alley mouth, then filled in behind it
with asphalt patch.

--
Joy Beeson
joy beeson at comcast dot net
http://wlweather.net/PAGEJOY/

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