daily slice-of-life photo blog of a Gen-X dad
I looked at my phone before I went out on my evening bicycle ride and it said “Rain in 56 minutes” so I figured I was safe. However, just a mile into it I started feeling sprinkles so I headed home. By the time I reached the house, it was coming down. It actually felt pretty good, but maybe my phone and camera didn’t enjoy it quite as much. 😅
I gave my motorcycle and car names (Kiki and Sana respectively), and I wanted to give my Kona Blast bicycle a name. I’ve thought for a while now, and decided to go with Mango.
The original paint color is called “Mongo” so it’s pretty close, and the color is like the meat of a ripe mango. I also thought of naming it Papaya, which is probably more accurate color-wise and is interesting because my kids still call me Papa, but it just doesn’t roll off the tongue as naturally as Mango does.
Anyway, here’s my bicycle – um Mango – on the same bridge several years ago:
I hope you had a good day! 😊🚲
Since I don’t go out socially during the COVID-19 pandemic, a typical Friday night is spent with a bicycle ride and a beer. Not at the same time, of course, but hmmm… maybe I could fill a water bottle with an adult beverage, or throw a bottle of wine in the pannier and head to the park? An idea worth pondering. 😀
I hope you had a nice end of the work-week!
If you are on Strava, let’s connect so that we can cheer each other on!
The northernmost boundary of my neighborhood butts up against a shopping/restaurant area, but there haven’t been an roads or trails that connect the two, even though they are a stone’s throw away. To get to the restaurants, you have to go a long way to the west or east, then north, then back east or west.
Tonight as I was riding around that boundary, I saw that there was a new neighborhood under construction, just a series of streets at the moment, being built in the no-man’s-land. The little bit of street connecting the neighborhoods had a temporary barricade, but plenty of room to walk or bike through, so I decided to check it out.
As hoped, I was able to get to the shopping area so I did a bit of exploring around that area, which included Torchy’s Tacos, Raising Cane’s and Dos Salsas. Traveling a little farther, I found my way to an older rural neighborhood that was populated with many deer. It was really cool to see them. In fact, a small group of them crossed the road in front of me, and I could hear their hooves clomping across the pavement. It was the first time I have heard that sound and it was really nice!
I also rode past a nursing home, some office parks, and a brand new apartment complex. And I came across a really old-looking abandoned building surrounded by all the new buildings. It looked really out of place, but super interesting. I wonder what the story is behind it?
It was super fun to explore these new parts of town, all thanks to finding the “Northwest Passage”. I hope they keep that passageway open to pedestrians and cyclists, but I think it might not be so great to open it up to cars since it would make that quiet neighborhood a busy shortcut for commuters.
My new bicycle rim arrived and I got to work replacing the old one, which entailed transferring the spokes over to the new rim and then truing the wheel to make sure it’s straight. I followed this video’s instructions, which proved invaluable.
I also followed the advice in this video to true the wheel, and got it in good shape. Next, I adjusted the rear brake and it was ready to try it out on the road!
I only intended to ride around the neighborhood to test it, but I wound up hitting the hike and bike trail and riding several miles. It was just so fun! It seemed like I was able to ride faster, accelerate quicker, and cruise at a higher speed with the new wheel. It might just be that I am getting in better shape, but I have heard that the bicycle upgrade that will make the biggest difference it to replace the wheels. Well, I’m not sure if my new $33 Sun Ringle rim is an upgrade or not, but the stock Mavic rims are generally regarded poorly. So I’m leaning towards the opinion that the new rim helps out a lot. 😀
Later in the evening, Mariko mentioned that the sunset was probably pretty nice so I hopped on my Kona again and headed down to the place where I like to take sunset photos. Turned out pretty good:
I’m so happy to have my bicycle back, and working better than ever!
またね～
