Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Tuesday, April 19th 2011

Well things are going well for me I guess. Not much has been going on. I'm supposed to get a new student tomorrow on the bus, they gave me new directions today which go up that way. The last three kids sort of liked the change. While I didn't have to actually make the stop, it shouldn't add more than about 5 minutes to the route in the afternoon at least. Ten minutes maximum. The kids are still great most of the time. We're going on a field trip Thursday, but I'm unsure of the finer details. I'll ask tomorrow.

I'm still reveling in the awesomeness of bicycling. It's so much fun! I'm on the bike, pedaling constantly and my legs ache slightly from moving non-stop, but if it gets hard I just shift down one, if it gets suddenly easier I'll thrilled to shift up and go faster. When the wind is blowing it can feel like torture in the same gear, but just one down makes it so much better. Keeping the same cadence of leg pumping doesn't really let you notice that you're going slower, just that you're still going, miraculously. It seems somewhat strange, but sometimes it feels as if it gets easier to keep going the longer I'm at it. The return trip, or the last few miles, are usually easier (unless there is the dreaded wind!).

I got a bicycle pump today. I needed it. I think there must be a fixable leak somewhere on my back tire at least. It's slow, but persistent, and my steppy pumper got a hole where the hose bends around. I tried the floor pump we had here and surprise! it moves no air. Useless! I didn't ride yesterday because of that disappointment. So I went and got a pump today, WITH a gauge. The frame pump is great, but I can't tell how much air I'm putting in. Once again I got the tires up proper and felt the give in the rubber- I've been way under-inflating with that tiny fun thing. Oh well.

Meanwhile, I think I might be getting better. I decided today to bike to town, to see how far it was to the health department for my appointment next Tuesday, and also because I just felt like going there today. I figured I would go north from there and if I had time, stop at the bike store, and if not, time how long it took so I could plan better the next day. I had eaten lunch late today so it cut up some of my riding time.
Well I made it to the health department in 15 minutes, which is awesome, no need to worry there. Also the bike store was only 30 minutes after I started. I had time, so I stopped in. The man in there is super nice and didn't try to sell me anything, let me just share my enthusiasm over my accomplishments, and let me refill my tiny bottle. We tried on some helmets, and at first he was doing regular adult models, until he realized when I wobbled one that the comment about me having a small head wasn't a joke. Then he magically opened a secret door into a mid-store cubbyhole and produced two helmets: one pink and one blue. I like the fit of the blue better maybe? It has a visor which just might be useful for something other than decoration. But the pink one is pretty and doesn't have the visor. Frankly I've wanted to rip the visor on my current helmet off, but it feels funny to throw it in the trash, and meanwhile there are tiny holes where it pokes into the plastic shell of the helmet. So I still wear it, but it does nothing for keeping sun out of my eyes. Also, Jessie has a blue helmet and the twin in me wants to be like we were when younger- one in pink and one in blue! When we go back to buy one I'll try them on more carefully, and we'll see which color I end up in. Oh, and these, being tiny helmets, are on sale! Because no one usually has a small head like mine, I'm pretty assured they'll still be there whenever we decide to go back, especially since they are magically hidden too! (ok not magic, but I totally did notice a door behind the rack of sales items. They swing forward like a movie secret-passage.)

So far I haven't done anything with the little trailer except pull the bare frame along behind me for the practice and extra tiny bit of weight.

Otherwise, everything else is fine. We're looking to move shortly after the 10th of June when school is out and I should get my summer's 4 withheld paychecks. Weekends are spent working on cars and the week is work, biking and laundry. Simple, enjoyable.

Goodnight!

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