Sunday Final

So.
How are you?
Hope all is well out there in Bloggerland!
Moi?
Well I've been busy as usual.
Work stuff don't you know.
I've also been a riding my bicycle.
My bicycle.
That took about two weeks.
From the bicycle to my bicycle I mean.
Rolling, rolling, rolling.
I've mostly been out doing four or five mile jaunts, here and there.
You know, getting the ole legs back to steam piston like form.
Sort of.
Been out riding at night too; just got back about an hour ago from a short trip around the park.
Lemme see if my Prevaricating Garmin still works:



What I've found is that I really miss riding around.
So much so that it's become more about riding around than stopping and taking pictures.
I mean mostly I'm a riding around and I don't want to stop!
Okay, not really.
I stop sometimes:

There I am with my boat in the background.
Okay, not really.
About the boat part.
It was my boat but I had to sell it.
Okay, not really.
About both parts.
So anyways, I've been a busy a riding and goofing and a riding and a goofing.
Then there's work.
I got that big Art Festival coming up and I have a few loose ends to take care of.
Seems like you always have time then all of a sudden the deadlines loom!
Looming very close they are; we are a go on April 14!
Two weeks!
Okay, less riding and goofing and more a working and well, a working!
Except maybe at night:

I think maybe I'm still allowed to goof around at night.
Stay tuned.

Sunday Early Edition

Sunday Final

Oh yes!
Lemme tell you, I'm gonna make up for all them miles I've been missing.
Tomorrow.
I put a small dent in them miles today as off I went to Chinatown:

I went in Quest for Mango (QFM) and completed that mission.
This time I got the cheapo mangos not the ones that set me back $16 like last time.
I also got hungry:

Dim sum by the river.
Or in local speak: manapua ovah dea.
I also picked up some roast pork, you know, for later.
Colors in the market:

Chinatown has some cool stuff and I gotta go and just walk around.
I actually took my class there a couple of weeks ago but I had to keep track of the kids so I couldn't go galavanting but I did manage to pick up a plastic colander for like a buck.
For the pasta don't you know.
Anyways, I was losing the light so I moved on:

Down by the beach.
I needed to finish the rest of roll of film and there's always something there to get a picture of.
I'm really liking the new to me bicycle, it rides pretty well, though it's not as smooth as my other bicycle was.
At least I don't think so.
Then again I had fatter tires on the other bicycle.
I came home and developed some film, took a nap, loaded up the camera bag and was back out on the bicycle!
Unfortunately I left my film on the couch and only took one roll but I did fool with the digital since I was out there.
More on that later.
As I said, I feel like I'm making up for all them lost miles when I didn't have a bicycle to ride.
Okay, that's a lie because I still have my two road bikes.
Only they aren't exactly built to go galavanting.
If you know what I mean.
More on galavanting later.

Sunday Early Edition

I'm free!
I'm free!
Sing along!
You know, to the song by The Who:



Keith Moon is awesome!
Anyways, yesterday I got on the new to me bicycle and went out on the new cycle track:

Funky picture!
I don't know what happened there as the road is actually green!
I'll do better today.
More on that later.
At the end of the track there is a sort of new bicycle place I wanted to check out.
I forgot to take pictures but it's a one man operation, sort of like the place I used to help out at.
They sell new bicycles but they also do used and they have some parts bins that you can search.
I scored this:

Brand new looking flat bar with a nice bend for twennydollah!
I was so stoked I hurried off without the stuff I bought before I bought the handlebar:

I was almost home when I realized I had left it behind and I had to ride back!
Into the wind.
Which is okay because I had a free ride back.
If you know what I mean.
Actually I just went out to test all the changes I made to the new bars, you know, the grips and shifters and stuff.
Instead I ended up tooling around for three or four miles.
I gotta say right here, I missed being on the bicycle.
I miss going nowhere and ending up back where I started.
I actually miss riding into the wind!
Okay, not really.
Riding into the wind I mean.
Having a bicycle really is freedom.
I started thinking of all the places I was gonna go now that the New Flat Tire Earth Machine (NFTEM) is up and running!
With new bars!
So I changed everything out in like ten minutes:

Now I'm ready for some adventures!
Maybe.
Well I do need some mangos so I need to get into Chinatown this morning.
Stay tuned.

One the Road Again...

Just like the song.
Sort of.
Anyways, I spent the last couple of days working on the new to me bicycle.
There were a couple of things I needed to do like change out the cranks, and shifters, and stem.
Transform it into well, my bicycle.
If you know what I mean.
The cranks it turns out were 175s, so I ended up putting the old ones back.
I still have some problems with the front derailleur, it won't shift down to the granny gear.
I have another derailleur but I don't have a master link to break the chain.
That's coming in the mail.
The master links I mean.
Well I finally got all these things together and went out to do a final tune.
Which turned into an hour long ride:

The new stem lowered the bars some; I need to drop them a bit more.
I used the same riser bar that came with the bicycle but am looking at other options like a straight bar.
The rack and trunk I swear are exactly the same as my other bicycle, the stolen one.
Funny, it's still my bicycle even if it is probably in a million pieces by now.
The stolen one I mean.
I'm not actually sure I like the 700 wheels.
Or 29er.
I sort of liked the low to ground feel of (here we go again) my MTB and the fatter tires.
On the other hand, when I step on the gas I can feel this bicycle jump.
I wonder how long before this bicycle becomes my bicycle.
Don't be me wrong, I like this bicycle.
It just needs a new seat.
I'm still looking but will probably go with another Flite:

Not sure I like them gums, they're only 32s so I'm also looking for some 35s.
I went and did some laps around the park, you know, to tune up the ole cockpit and make sure everything fits.
It's been a while since I've broken in a new to me bicycle and I've sort of forgotten all the little adjustments that I need to make.
While this bicycle weighs about the same up and down the stairs, it rides lighter.
That's a good thing.
I don't think that Nishiki frame is anything special, but it rides nice, not clunky at all.
I also need some new pedals, the plastic ones are a bit slippery.
Been thinking about some Easton Flatboys again.
The rear super duper blinky needs to be mounted on the rack; I don't trust the attachment thingy on the trunk bag.
What started as a short tune up in the parking lot work turned into an hour or so long ride:

In which I learned one thing: I got no legs.
Okay, I have some legs, not like when I first started riding and I can't walk down stairs.
I don't have any cadence or endurance.
On with the Prevaricating Garmin again and the ole heart rate monitor so I can get back in shape.
I got fat.
More on this later.
So anyways, I'm back on the road again!
The journeys  continue.
Stay tuned.

Still Here

Sort of.
I mean I'm here, but my computer is not.
I was coming up on three years and my Apple Care was going to expire so I figured it was time to take the ole Mac Book in and get some small stuff taken care of.
While it was still for free.
Nothing big mind you, just some small things.
I gotta say getting on a Mac Book has been a good experience, one I would do and will do again.
Maybe not so soon though for even though my computer is just about three years old, I have no inclination to upgrade.
Maybe an iMac.
So anyways,  I'm on my work machine which by the way just happens to be a Mac Book Air, but of course it doesn't have all the doodads my own computer has.
Like Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop.
I also gotta say that the Retina Screen makes a rather large difference as this screen pretty much sucks.
Hopefully I get my computer back this week.
So this stuff has been arriving in the mail:

New stem, shifters, and grips.
Ready now to change over all that stuff so that the new to me bicycle is more to my liking.
Telling the truth I haven't been riding it since it just feels weird.
I also got me my trunk bag, the same one I had before, so I can start a packing the cameras again on the New Flat Tire Earth Machine (NFTEM).
Soon.
I promise.
Sort of.