That's Where it Came From?

With Alpha and eBaby off on a work trip with Alpha's mom for company, I needed to do something that I wouldn't normally be able to do. The last trip, my activity was staying up late reading that damn book (boy wizard who-will-not-be-named). Tonight I decided to take a late-night bike ride.

This is something I haven't done in a very long time. So, I put a few extra lights on the single-speed, donned a shirt that would be seen, and rode off into the dark night. I'd forgotten how fun riding in the dark is. The area near our house is very secluded and very dark, but with the shirt I was wearing, I wasn't worried about being noticed by the few cars on the short bit of road I was on.

I decided to take the paved bike path towards the museum instead of the park road. The park has developed a few soft spots in the dirt surface that would be impossible to see in the dark. Even on predictable pavement, I had forgotten that the faster you go, the further you want to aim your lights. It was funny to use the brakes going down hills only because I didn't feel comfortable with how many seconds ahead I was able to see the bike path.

Once I was safely through the "speed" of the "downhill" section I was happy to be climbing up from the pond and past the horse farm. The silence was equal to the darkness, only while the darkness was pierced by my feeble bike lights, the silence was mainly taken up by the frogs and bugs. In its simplicity, the single speed doesn't make much noise. Just as I was beginning to enjoy the night noises, feeling alone in the dark I got the answer to a question that had been asked on another dark night, mainly, "Where did that deer come from?"

Yeah. Except it's actually scarier to have a deer jump out in front of you when you're only on a bike. It's also good that as a smaller target, I was spared the body-work the Scooby-Blue had to endure. Apparently, the deer like to sleep in the ditch between the bike path and the horse fence and the spook easily. It must have been my shirt.

I'm the Man?

When I started this blog, I described my employment as "over-employed engineer." I was really tired of feeling like I spent more time at work than I wanted to without really spending enough time to ever feel as if I had caught up with my responsibilities. It just wasn't fun anymore. Every night when I got home from the office, Alpha and E-baby had already been home for almost 2 hours. There just had to be a better way to live than to miss out on family for low job satisfaction.

Well, I finally stopped complaining and did something about it. Now, I work for the state. After nearly 15 years as a design engineer in construction, my new role is as the owner. I am "the man," or something. I'm not really engineering structures anymore, but my experience is still going to good use. I think the change will be fun, and the best part is coming home on time. We've even started taking short evening walks again.

T.R.B.I.B.P.

That would be the obligatory Texas Roadside Baby in Bluebonnets Photo if it wasn't obvious. For people that don't know Texas, you might not guess that it has some of the nicest wildflowers you'll see anywhere. Ladybird Johnson came up with what was one of the best marketing/ fiscal/ tourism/ just plain good ideas ever. Plant wildflowers along the side of the highways and beautify the highways, don't mow all summer, attract sightseers and give people a reason to slow down and enjoy the flowers. Of course, part of the springtime in Texas is also seeing people actually stop on the side of the road to take pictures of babies eating flowers.

Well, why would we be any different?

Following In My Own Father's Footsteps

When I was a child, my dad was the kind of dad that would build us stuff we needed and stuff we didn't know we needed until he built it. On Friday afternoon, I became that type of dad, too, and e.baby is only 6 months old.

E.baby loves to stand up. She can't do it all on her own, but she loves to practice. She knows we're holding her up. Then, she stood up while holding the toy-holder on her overstimulation gym. She didn't know that I was holding the bars to keep it from falling over, so she seemed to be even happier that she was holding herself up. Yes, a big step in the world of a tiny child.

This gave me an idea... I could build her something that would be perfect for her to stand with. So, I stopped at the Lowe's on the way home on Friday and purchased $7.98 worth of PVC pipe and fittings. Add about 20 minutes of work (including clean-up) and we had a new toy.

She seems to like it, even if it does have bar-codes and "PVC-1120 SCH.40 PR 600 PSI @ 73deg F [ASTM D-1785]" written on it. And thus, I have become my dad, building toys for my child from industrial supplies.

Funky Chicken, or Jive Turkey?

That could be the most important decision you ever make. Bigger than "paper or plastic?" A better window to your soul than "boxers or briefs?"

I admit it. Some decisions are hard to make. Myself, sometimes I find it hard to decide what to eat for lunch. Some decisions are easy though. I knew that getting married to Alphagal was the right decision. It was very easy, and I made the right choice. Easily, the best decision I've ever made.

On the other hand, it did take us a long time to decide to have a baby. I probably didn’t know for sure if that was the right thing well into the pregnancy. But, you know what? It's amazing. We were never less of a family when it was just the two of us, but with e.baby it really adds purpose. When a sleepy little child holds on to you, there is nothing wrong in the world.

Being Sick is Boring

I've spent the last 2 days home from work, sick. I'm not fond of work, generally, but it beats being sick any day. And I don't say that just because sick time and vacation time are the same thing at my office (I rarely get sick, so it isn't a problem). The thing is, being sick is boring. When you feel like crap, it's not as if there's anything to do that's much fun. The good news is, tonight I feel like I might be getting better. My plan is to go back to work tomorrow.

More good news- I finished the bike. The old brake levers didn't work with V-style brakes, so I just bought a cheap "upgrade" kit with brakes, levers, and cable in one box. The whole project cost less than $200. The photo shows the new bike hanging in the center and most of the others in the shot. I think the only one that didn't make it into the frame is e.baby's little red bike. Some people might say we have too many bikes, I just say the garage is too small.

Another Bike to Not Ride

I actually only bought the new frame because I thought it would be a fun project. I figured very roughly that I had most of the parts to build up a new bike, so when I saw a frame for $45 I figured I couldn't pass on it. Yes, for $45 I didn't expect much. My $45 delivered a painted blue steel frame with low quality welds, almost something you expect to see , "huffy ironman triathlon pro titanium boron steel*" printed on the sticker. But, my Forty-Fiver does have standard disc brake mounts, rack mounts, and anything else you'd want in a low-cost steel frame. Paired with a $35 rigid fork, it should be a fun ride.

Yeah, I have named the bike, it's the Forty-Fiver. I've already had a headset put on, and I need to buy a stem and bars. From my used parts bin, I have installed a bottom bracket and the STX-RC cranks. I have also have front Deore V-brakes, although I don't know if the brake levers I have will work with them. I have two full pairs of cantilever brakes that I know will work with the levers, but then I'd also have to dig up some cable hangers, since even for $45 they assume you'll come up with v-type brakes.

My Klein hard-tail may be almost 12 years old, but it's still a great frame and I've kept it fairly updated. The more I think about it, the Forty-Fiver needs to be a bit quirky because I don't actually need another bike. At first I had planned to use some old grip-shifters and put full gears on the bike, but along that quirky idea the Forty-Fiver is going to be a single speed, and I might not even install the rear brake. My best friend growing up had a BMX bike with only a front brake- why not just build the 26" version? Let's see: rigid fork, single speed, front brake only... opps, I think it's a BMX cruiser.


*real bike: Dianaverse took me to a creek at Dix to try to rescue one from the mud for free. Everything below the waterline was toast. Last week Alphagal saw one listed for sale on a message board at her place of employment.

Well. Now that the blog of fun was finaly updated, it's my turn. I have been busy since my last entry, but as you may know, the bike is still collecting dust. I don't really need to say what I've been up to, since it's not as if there are people who only know me from my blog. And, to save time... they say picture is worth a thousand words (does this make my entry longer than it is?). Hook'em.

Success

Well, I said I would hardly ever post. I have been true to my word. I can say with some confidence that my bikes miss me more than the world of blogging.

Weekend Fun!

In an effort to keep this blog as uninteresting as possible: Here's a grainy picture of the shed we built over Memorial Day weekend.

Place holder...

This is my first blog post. It might be the last too, I'm generally lazy.