Tag Archives: the bike

Aligned.

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It’s raining here on top of the 30 cms of snow and inch or so of ice we had, but it is plus 5 degrees out, so I thought I’d go for a bike ride. My father-in-law looked at me funny as I went out the door. The roads were slush on top of ice with some bare pavement spots in the middle and the rain on all the snow was producing a fog that put visibility in the very low category.

I haven’t been on a bike in a while so it was just a spin for a bit, see where it goes. I went until I got tired – didn’t take long – and after a break for some gasping and swearing at my ill state of fitness I turned around and went back.

I put studded snow tires on the Cross Check and this was the first run with them – wanted to try ‘em out. I’m hoping to be able to do some more winter rides into work this year when I return. The roads will probably be clearer then, but it will be colder probably. I figure if Jill can do it, why can’t I?

Felt much better back at the house. I’ve been meaning to get out for a spin on the new tires if anything just to say I could do it, and well, now I have.

Riding a bike a few miles up the road will never cease to make all the difference in the world, regardless of the weather.

Epiphany.

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It may be a day late and a dollar short, but I’ve come to the conclusion that life is about just that – living. It’s not about being pushed around by bosses, government monkeys and people that make their way through life manipulating others. It’s not about having blind faith in the ‘good of your fellow man’ like a chump. Sad but true. It’s not about being owned or controlled by a person or substance. It is Freewill in the very captial ‘F’ sense of the word.

I don’t care anymore what people say I can and can’t do. I don’t care if you think I’m an idiot.

Had the ‘Annual Review’ at work. Hate these things. The dance. Does anyone ever see eye to eye at these things? It really doesn’t make any sense to me, the whole process. They solicit your input, but really when it comes down to brass tacks, one of you is in charge and one isn’t. Who’s agenda and/or ideas is going to get the green light? Demeaning.

I’m tired. Been doing work all night. Nothing like being more tired for the start of the week than you were for the end of the last one. Aren’t weekends supposed to be for rest?

We should be getting our Christmas cards out this week with the obligatory family photo. I’ll post one here maybe but will wait till those actually getting one in the mail do so – can’t let the cat out of the bag early no can we?

Now I’m must giddy with fatigue. Artificially conscious through the magic of coffee.

Been sober a month now. It’s a milestone, but I don’t really feel anything as it passes. Seems there’s too much else going on. Holiday season and all. I’ve done my part though. I’ve spent myself silly. Can’t say I’m not supporting the economy. Sorry for being cynical. Actually, no, I’m not.

Really, I just want to go ride my bike. Ride my bike in the -15C freezing rain temperatures. I feel better out there. People look at me like I have 2 heads. What they don’t get is the kind of headspace that puts you in when you’re out there. When you’re concentrating on just keeping moving so that your digits keep getting blood and don’t freeze. Just trying to keep moving forward and justify you space on the planet in the face of nature. Trying to earn a little respect from the wind, the rain, the grey skies. One thing is for sure, you’re not thinking about what some ass in a car thinks. You aren’t thinking about bills, about your job – or your job review. You aren’t thinking about right or wrong. Just keep the cranks spinning.

Harbinger.

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I didn’t have any work today and no appointments. I haven’t been on a bike since August. Thought I’d squeak in what might be the last bike ride of the year/season. It was cold today (-10°) but clear, with flurries here and there. 15 mins into the ride I stopped to snap a photo.

Got back on the bike.

Rear tire was flat.

Guess that’s the end of the season.

Well, at least it looks like I’ve fixed the comments.

I’ve been having major issues trying to FTP files to my server – i.e. photos and such to post on the blog here. Most times, I can’t get a connection with Fetch, my FTP client at all. When I do, it takes 15mins for the contents of directories to show up and uploading files is a process measured in hours. I wrote to my good folks at BlueHost for help and after running a Traceroute, they basically said that – the dial-up is just too ridiculously slow – I should contact my ISP. For example, attempting to upload the 196k photo from today took 17 minutes – then it stalled at 191 of 195k, hence you don’t see it here. Perhaps you’re tired of hearing about my dial-up woes. Maybe in the future I’ll highlight these sections somehow and you can skip over them.

In basement news, I’ve got another crack leaking. Permacrete will be back for a third time. And I haven’t even opened up the other side of the basement. I’m wondering if they have one of those punch cards where if you get 9 cracks repaired, the 10th is free.

My to-do list is consuming my soul.

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The sun was streaming in the window this morning warming the room and physically warming the surface of the desk as I sat down to check some emails and type a bit. The glow of this space belies the frost on the grass outside and the -2 C temperature. With a warm cup of coffee scenting the room as Colin quietly cooed, chewed a breakfast cookie and played blocks, I drifted off to a fuzzy place when my internal monologue picked up a megaphone and shattered the stillness, nearly spilling my coffee in the present world:

CRIPES SAKES MAN! GET TO IT! YOU’VE GOT 2,347 THINGS TO DO ON THE LIST! GO! GO! GOOOOOOOO! WINTER IS COMING AND IF YOU DON’T GET EVERYTHING DONE, SURELY WE’LL ALL DIE!

Well, we wouldn’t all die, but we might be a bit cold to say the least.

Sometime, a few months ago, when I decided to take leave, I thought for some reason, God knows why, that while I was off, I’d have time to get a bunch of stuff done that I wouldn’t have been able to otherwise. In truth, I think I’m actually getting LESS done than when I was working. I haven’t quite figured out the mechanics of WHY this is true, but it seems to be the case none-the-less.

The irony is that I’ve now penned two blog entries in two days time – something I haven’t done in months or years I think, and I’m dangerously close to setting some sort of precedent. I think it must be due in some part to my reconnection with Coffee (yes, CAPITAL ‘C’, oh, the master deserves his respect) something I had put aside since Olivia’s birth, but rediscovered yesterday.

So the to-do list looms. There’s all the seasonal stuff that must be done. Winterize the pool and put the summer toys and lawn furniture away. Store 4 cords of wood and make sure the snow blower is tuned up (did I just say that?). Clean and seal the windows and clean out the baseboard heaters – that’s #1 on the list today as they kicked in last night and the whole house now smells like burnt dog hair.

There’s the everyday, the housecleaning, laundry, kid feeding-cuddling-playing-extrication from hazardous situations. The paperwork and bills (I have to sort out immigration papers for me and two of the little ones). The explanation of scientific phenomena like ‘why won’t water go uphill’, ‘why do we need a bathroom fan’ and ‘what’s pork?’.

Somewhere in there as well, I’ve got to refinish a basement including insulation, drywall, suspended ceiling and electrical revamp. I’ve got a bunch of house stuff to do – the little stuff – like fix the jiggly doorknob, the slow draining bathroom sink, and refinish a dresser for the kids room so we can actually keep all their clothes somewhere other than stacked in neat piles in the corner.

Personally, I told myself in the off time, I’d try and enrich myself as well – improve my French, bone up on my Dreamweaver and CSS skills to broaden my freelance appeal. Read a bunch of books. Practice the guitar.

The reality is that each weekday I’ve got about an hour and a half when Colin sleeps to do stuff I can’t do when he’s up (which is about 80% of the above). When his head hit the pillow, my first thought is:

JESUS HE’S OUT MAN! GET YOURSELF A NAP POST HASTE!

After that internal momentary struggle, 9 times out of 10, reason wins out and it becomes, ‘what can I do in this time that needs doing’. The depressing thing is the mental review of the ‘what needs doing list’ takes 15 minutes alone.

The weekends I have a bit more time, but there’s more kids around and more fires to put out. Plus the addition of several ‘assistant-though-questionably-skilled labourers’ on the job can either slow things down or speed things up, it’s always a crapshoot.

I guess all I’m really trying to say is I miss riding my bike. I realize it’s an entirely selfish pursuit, but in ways it helps one stay sane. I know that in the long run, when all the little minions are older and don’t even want to be seen in public with me, I’ll have all kinds of time to do such things – though Lyn will occupy a lot of that dragging me to knitting conventions and flower shows – as long as they’re situated in close proximity to some choice singletrack – I’m down.

I told myself above all on leave I’d ride the bike as much as possible, but I’m realizing that this is not an altogether realistic proposition. I’ll keep trying to fit in in here and there though – it is after all – a part of who I am, but I can understand that there’s not always time.

I mean think what I could have done in the time that I sat and wrote this? I could have painted the kids, given the dresser a bath, paid some dinner and swept and vaccumed the water heater. DAMN! Now I feel like a slacker!