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Showing posts from February, 2013

Chipping Away at Plan B

Traffic Skills 101 online course--done! Now I need to do the hands-on portion, but from what I'm finding, this may not happen any time soon. Interestingly enough, there is no League Certified Instructor (LCI) in the Twin Cities. Additionally, there are no classes scheduled within the next 60 days for anywhere near me. Thankfully, I was able to find the name and email address for an LCI who lives in Urbana. I sent her an email, asking if she would be agreeable to setting up a day/time for the hands-on portion. Hopefully she'll respond quickly, saying, "Why yes, I'd love to be your instructor." Once I get this part of the class finished, I can then sign up for the LCI seminar. The wheels, they are a'turnin'. At one point while taking the second quiz of the online course, I sat back and complained, "This question is asking about something that wasn't even covered in the chapter." I selected the answer that made the most sense to me, but I sele

Step #2 of Plan B

I began step #2 of Plan B. Step #1 was to begin learning basic mechanics/bicycle repair. I've had two classes so far and need to schedule the third. Since the weather has been so cold, the garage has been frigid to the point of being uncomfortable to work in. I'm hoping The Weather Channel people are right in that we'll see the end of the cold come the end of February. They keep saying March will be above average in temps, so I'm really banking on this. They better be right. I need to have another session. While I wait, I decided to go ahead and take step #2: becoming a League Certified Instructor (League of American Bicyclists). Before I can attend an instructor seminar, I have to take the online Traffic Skills 101 course, so that's what I'm doing. Chapter 1 covered the different parts of the bike, basic bike fit information, and equipment. I read through it, well, I skimmed a lot of it, then took the 6 question quiz at the end. I'll be honest--I was a bi

My Birthday Date

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I have a date for my birthday, March 5th. The film showing is to raise money for a bike give-away initiative, and I was asked to speak about my experience cycling across the US. Can't think of a better way to spend my evening.

Odds and Ends

How about that Notre Dame/Louiseville game last night?! Five OT's! And Notre Dame walked away the victor. A really fun game to watch. Then there was the Purdue/Michigan State game, which saw my Boilers dig a hole they couldn't get themselves out of. Not fun to watch at all. No cycling for two weeks now. The first day I didn't ride the temp was 2 degrees with a -18 degree wind chill, the wind blowing furiously from the northwest. The next few days the temps remained bitterly cold, so I decided to wait out the weather, hoping for a warm up. Then last week came, and I was called upon for child pick-up duty in the afternoons. With my schedule, driving was the better option. Now, the rain has moved in. Cold, heavy rain, and wind. Not cycling has made me lazy. I haven't done anything remotely physical these last two weeks. I feel like a slug. I'm afraid all the work I put in the last year is going to be undone. I have a trainer I could set up, and I have a dreadmill I

Wooed and Won Over By A Bicycle

I've started working on my next essay/article, and I'm so excited. My intent with this one is to explore how the bicycle has allowed women to take control of their own destiny, and I hope to do this through the voices of the women with whom I was privileged to ride beside last summer, as well as articles and books I'm finding as I research. One book I will refer to during my piece is How I Learned to Ride the Bicycle by Frances E. Willard. I'm about a third of the way into this little gem and have marked several passages that speak to what I'm hoping to accomplish within my essay/article. So far, one of my favorite passages in How I Learned to Ride the Bicycle is this: "Gradually, item by item, I learned the location of every screw and spring, spoke and tire, and every beam and bearing that went to make up Gladys (the name she gave to her bike). This was not the lesson of a day, but of many days and weeks, and it had to be learned before we could get on well

Moving Beyond the Used Car

Ever since I was 16 and received my driver's license, I have driven used cars. I have never, ever bought a brand, spankin' new car. Until yesterday. And the car I bought isn't even for me. Now that Lovely Beautiful Daughter is working three jobs, I just couldn't stand by and watch her put over $100 of her money into gas every 10 days or so. Our ten-year-old SUV is sucking her dry. In addition, the two used vehicles I'd bought for her over the last five years ended up being more trouble than they were worth, the last one running for a month before it died, never to be resurrected no matter what was tried. After that little debacle, I thought long and hard about the situation. Since she's working, and her brother is just a few months away from getting his license, I decided to buy a new car the both of them could use. Lovely Beautiful Daughter is going halvers with me on the payment, and Funny Delightful Son has offered to chip in once he gets a job this summe