Bike ride

Photos to prove that we actually did it. Today Ning & I took our bikes down the the VAncouver Farmer's Market, then along the Columbia Riverfront. The last bike ride was a commute to work 2 weeks ago, on a day that I worked a half-day. Can't do it when I work 12 or 13 hours per day, anymore.

Recent green things that we have done-

Ning will turn over his Corolla to me, I'll drive it instead of the Mazda pickup. He drives a long distance, and will have a Prius in 2 weeks.

Aforementioned bike rides.

As always, gardening sustanably and organically.

Yours Truly.

Here's Ning.

"Work life balance?" Opinions. Bike to work again. More.

 

Now and then I think about the concept of "Work / Life Balance". There must be a more accurate term. I expect for work to be hard. I expect for the hours to be long. But what I still haven't learned is how to draw the line. NOt only that, but instead of getting easier, it's getting harder.

OK, enough whining. Resolution: back into the bike-to-work mode. Last week I biked one day. This week, maybe back to 3 days. It is harder this year - hours are longer, more has to be done in those hours, I'm tireder and more stressed. Be that as it may, there will be days when I bike. Not every day (those cursed days when there are meetings on the other side of town), but when I can.

Today I tuned up both bikes, cleaned the chains, replaced a flat tire's inner tube. Lunch in the fridge - check. "Homework" packed to take back to work - check. Clothes laid out - check. Thermos by the coffee pot - check. Light charged - check.

Ning' photos. Baigo the Poodle. Pink Cherry.

Note to self: time to get rid of that stress weight. It's one thing to acknowledge the maladaptive behavior of stress eating. But time is time. I DID bike to work friday, and will do so monday. At least then, I'm too tired to feel some of the stress.

Baigo is handsome, if not too bright.

This cherry is one of my favorite trees. I've been trying to do some corrective pruning, to repair the "butch haircut" that previous owners bestowed upon it. It's finally starting to look a bit more natural. Once the flowers stop, I'll do a little more thining of the 'witches broom' look that resulted from that haircut, and take out some dead branches. That's about all.

Chilly rainy Sunday.

The rest of the collected leaves were added to thinning mulch around blueberries and a few other areas. If I had time, I would collect & chop more and spread them on the vegetable bed, but the key problem is at the start of this sentence.

The Shlumbergera (must be a Thanksgiving cactus since it's blooming now) provided some cheer.

Tomorrow I'll take the day off from the bike commute. It will geve me a chance to stock the fridge with the week's lunches, and stock my desk with some clean clothes.

"my other car is a bike" bumper sticker

from this site.

Overwintering geraniums & cuttings. More cacti. Anigozanthos.

The geraniums in the garage look rather sad. Of course, dormancy isn't supposed to be pretty. Here's a topic for discussion: should I call them pelargoniums, like the 'real' gardeners do, or geraniums, like everyone else? For that matter, is the plural pelargonia / gerania?

The epiphyllum is back inside, just in time. It's in the same spot as last year.

Also visible, the Anigozanthos flavidus (Kangaroo paw hybrid). I did some web research on culture for these plants. Apparently not very well known in this climate, especially overwintering.


For future reference:
-Googling on images, this plant is apparently an A. flavidus hybrid. It might be "Bush Gold" although I generally avoid most things named 'Bush'. Here's another description of Bush Gold.
-They prefer bright light.
-They need excellent drainage.
-They dont like excess phosphorus.
-It seems that they can be overwintered indoors.
-They store water in their rhizomes, so can go without water for extended periods.

So, I'll try to resist watering it unless it's very dry, and if it survives Winter, I'll try to keep it in bright light, use a well drained potting soil when it comes time to repot, and resist using any high-phosphate plant foods (although growing organically, most supplements that I use don't have excess phosphate).


The geranium cuttings have rooted now. They have roots coming out of the holes in the containers. The non-scented varieties are doing better than the scented-leaf ones (in the garage and the window sill) but all they need to do is survive, for a head start next year.

Biked 3 days this week. New bumper sticker states "My other car is a bike".

Sunday: Puttering, homework. Bike tomorrow?

Collected some geranium cuttings - the unusual types. No loss if they don't survive the winter. However, this way I have a back-up in case the larger, dry-stored plants dont make it. The advantage of the dry storage method is that the plants will be larger in the Spring. Also, they don't need much attention in storage.

These include some scented and some variegated leaf varieties. No rooting hormone was used - just cut to size, trim extra leaves, stick them into some general purpose potting soil. Last year most of the cuttings took using this method.

Some petite negri (potted tree). First crop for this potted tree. One shows the tear of the penitent.

Also collected some ginkgo seeds and cleaned them up. I'll use the "squirrel method" this time - pleant them around the yard and forget about them. Some might surprize me with little trees next summer.

Better go inflate the tires for tomorrow's ride.

Blog therapy. 880 visits in 2 months. Bike stats / vitals

This blog was started late July 2006. So far, 880 visits (Im not sure how this works - the same site also states 990 in a different area). Click on image for more detailed view. It's like having friends and family visiting, which is fun.

In a stressful world, thinking about the things that I write about calms me down, makes me feel like I'm sharing something important, and focuses my mind.

Bike this week: 60 miles of commute to/from work; plus 15 miles on Sunday = 75 miles. BP today 131/84 HR 74. Weight no change in a month, still about 207#.

Labor Day. Getting ready for tomorrow's bike commute.

So far not called in. This could change wiwthout a moment's notice.

Getting ready to bike to work tomorrow. Nobody needs to worry about "getting ready to drive to work tomorrow" but that's not true for bike commuting. The following are needed for me (if it's not actively raining - then there's more):

1. A clean change of clothes. If I forget something, I'm out of luck. I keep a pair of shoes at work, so I dont have to carry those too. CLothese are packed in rain-resistant bags, and carried in a side pack. If I happen to drive to work, I take some clothes to leave there, but that is happening less often now.
2. Sometimes, shower supplies like a towel & soap (although I leave them there so I dont need to take them every day).
3. Food. There are no 'healthy' places to eat near where I work. Really, zero, it's all fast food. And no time to go there even if there were. Lately, this entails salad greens, a few tomatoes, some bread, peanut butter, and some yogurt. For tomatoes & salad a non-mashable container is needed. A small rubbermaid box does the job.
4. The key card needs to be accessible so I don't have to stop and un-bungie everything to get into the building. Keys need to be the last thing packed, so I dont wonder while I'm riding if I forgot them. Can't get into the desk without keys.
5. Any home-work goes into a water- and dirt-proof package.
6. On the off-chance that I'll be paged, the pager needs to be on my clothing in a location where it won't fall off, and can hopefully be heard. So, the cell phone also needs to be out of the "bungied" rubbermaid box, and on my person, too. And in a safe location that wont fall off.
7. Now that it's darker in the am, the diode lights need to be in working order. So, the batteries need to be charged. These render me fully visible on the road (one bike commuter told me that someone thought he was a christmas tree on wheels. The better to be seen by motorists).
8. Bike gear set out. The best sweat band is a folded bandana - machine washable, no elastic to wear out, cheap. Currently, wool socks and hiker sandals; these will be exchanged for something more water-resistant soon. Bike shorts and a T-shirt.
9. Coffee pre-measured and water ready to turn non coffee maker on first rising, to saave a few minutes.
10. Check tires & lights before going to bed.

If it wasnt for the 'earth-friendly' and 'veggie' thing, it would be easier, but that isn't 'me'.

I can't believe that I do all of this. Actually, it doesnt take that long - maybe 15 minutes. It's remembering everything that was difficult, and once in the routine, not a big deal.

Still, it's worth it and the rewards are many - exercise that leaves me feeling good, doing something that I feel good about, observing the neighborhoods that I ride through, and feeling a bit like the 'road warrier' that I like to think I am. Sometimes. Sort of.

Oh - the photo. This is a brugmansia. These are in the nightshade family (like tomatoes, potatoes, and eggplants). Faintly fragrant. Amazing to look at in person, they look tropical and lush, and vaguely sinister. Apparently they can be overwintered by letting them dry out and leaving them in the basement with a rare addition of water when very dry, same as fig trees, fuscias, and geraniums. We will find out, this winter.

Tomatoes. Bike miles.

Today's tomato harvest. There are at least a couple of handfuls of cherry tomatoes daily. In bowl, Lemon Boy (big yellow), Better Boy (big red), Tomande (medium red) various varieties of Cherry.

Lemon Boy is 15 ounces, 2nd one that size.

Bike miles: Sun=20; Mon=20; Tues=20; Wed=10; Thurs=20, Fri=20 so 110 miles this week. My legs feel rubbery. Time for a little break.

Hard work day. Bike tomorrow.

I cant say much about work in this blog, since this is public. So, I'll just say it was a long day with a lot of stress. Even though it's Saturday.

Tomorrow I'll bike to work. It's not the same location as my usual work. The setting is bike-friendly. This is the bike locker section of the parking deck - Out of the elements, and roomy locker for each bike, with overflow rack (I haven't seen the overflow rack used. There is a locker room with a shower. Traffic is OK - more than the back streets that I usually use, but there is a bike lane.

Off to bed early.

Tomatoes. Bike. Figs.

Tomatoes are bearing bowl-fulls daily. Lots of cherries, tart & sweet and juicy and tomatoey.

Gave some Cherokee Purple away. This tomato is amazingly good. People love it so much, it's better to share it & see the response, than to eat it. Almost. Well, not really. But it is very fun to see how people respond to these super delicious tomatoes. I love sharing them. LemonBoy, different flavor, more tropical fruit - but still very juicy and very good. Tomande - wow. But that Cherokee Purple is amazing.

Biked another 22 miles today. Constantly hungry. BP 139/84. On bike days (or rather, nights after bike days), I sleep like the dead. It's great. Very few bikes on the road, but last year it seemed like there would only be one or two per day, now maybe a half dozen.

I finished the breba figs. Vancouver Brunswick had only one breba; Ilet it ripen until there was clearly the beggars robe. This fig was sweet as candy; almost maple sugar. Petite negri had about a dozen brebas; also much better when fully ripe (although each looked like a bird had poked one poke in each fig). Main crop: I counted about 30 on Brown Turkey, about 30 on VB, and about 100 on PN. I'll try not to "count them before they hatch" - oops, already counted. Oh, and Marseilles - one fig. But all I want is to get a taste.

Gratuitous Cat Photo. Bike Statistics. Vitals.

Her name is George W Bush. She kills mice. She tolerates poodles. She was homeless and starving. Now she's not.

Today's bike ride, another 22 miles today. I added a mile each way for safer route and more peaceful ride. That's 66 miles so far this week. Lask week was also 66 miles, also, so 132 since starting after the broken rib incident.

Weight this am 209. BP 129/89 HR 78. This compares to January, 239#, 163/105. No meds.

Bike Route and Comments on BIke Commuting.

There are probably better maps. This one is from the Clark County page of the WA State bike site.

I tried to map out a route from home to the Kaiser Interstate campus in Portland for an appointmnet today; maps were not detailed enough to come up with a safe and reliable route. Tried Barnes & Noble at Jantzen Beach & didn't find much either. The problem is getting across the Columbia on the I-5 bridge (I know it can be done, there is a path) then probably to the light rail line from Jantzen Beach. Once on the light rail, the rest is easy.

Most of the bike info at the book store was about touring, not commuting. Same as most of the bikes & accessories. I dont need 30 speeds and ultralight frame. I dont need trail-quality shocks and super rugged frame, either. I need low maintenance, reliability, simplicity, comfort, and a moderately resilient frame. It's difficult to find that combination. Also, a simple way to carry work papers and clothes/food for work (a small covered Rubbermaid bin and bungi cords seem best for that purpose)

One of the most important parts of bike commuting is planning ahead. Since I ca't ride in work clothes / cant work in bike clothes, it means either carrying clean clothes to work, or storing some there. I don't get to leave work for meals, so there is also a need to keep food at work. (Even if I could leave, the local fare is McDonald's and similar ilk, expensive bad nutrition). So, on driving days, I carry clothes and food. I have a refridgerator in my office to store a few days of food. If there are meetings away from my usual work place, I'm stuck - I have to drive. If I work split location (part day one location, part day another), then I have to drive.

My estimate is that I can bike 2-3 days per week. I used to go in on my "day off" to work, but now have a home computer connection and can telecommute on those days (no commentary here on the issue of working on my "day off" and how I feel about that). So, about the best that I can do is reduce driving to 1-2 days per week - still, not bad.

Anyway, the route from home to work has a number of alternative streets, and this is a start at putting some variety into the commute.

I will try not to fall off and break any more ribs.

I agree with the legend below. Stay away from brown areas and be very careful around red. Mostly I stick to blue and green.

Legend:
Blue = high bike level of service.
Green = moderately high bike level of service.
Orange = low level bike level of service, requires skill.
Red = Caution area.
Brown = failed bike level of service, use extreme caution

If we don't change our direction we're likely to end up where we're headed.”

(Title line from a Chinese Proverb)

Rib is (mostly) better. Wrists are less painful. Tires are pumped. Water bottle in the fridge.

update:
7/25/06
Beautiful morning for a bike ride. 55 minutes to work. Stayed away from traffic. Excellent start back to riding.

It's still better to bike

Still achy from yesterday. I went to Fred Meyer on my way to work and bought some wrist straps, since the wrists are what hurt the most.

Naproxen helps.

It's not as bad today as I worried that it would be. Still hurts to breathe deeply. I will be back on the bike by either the weekend or next week, for sure.

It's still better to bike if possible.

Vancouver bike link.

Biking is better for the environment.

Biking is good for your health except when it kills you.

Today I fell off my bike.

Ow ow ow ow. I stopped too fast on a bump, flew over the front. What hurts? Left wrist, Left calf, Right knee, Right rib or diaphram - it hurts to take a deep breath. I dont think anything is fractured - I would know. Charlie is attentive as always - or maybe he just wants a cookie. Not in the mood for philosophizing. Think I'll turn in now.