Well…after driving out to the beach today, I really can’t believe how well the car drives after replacing the brake caliper…just easy and smooth and now I hope that’s the last thing I have to do to it this year…the water was still too cold to swim in it since my feet went numb after standing in it for 30 seconds and I really don’t have anything left to prove to anyone…still have an air quality alert on…again…and you can still see the smoke we have had out here for a week…and even smell it at times…I stopped at Meijers to put gas in the car after hitting the bank for some cash and quarters and it was shut down for a major gas spill that had just happened before I pulled in…I was surprised the gas didn’t go up in flames it smelled so much…so I’ll have to gas it up tomorrow on the grocery run…not sure if I’ll go to the beach tomorrow and I know I won’t Thursday with going out to shoot pool…have gone 8 rides without the big pain I’d been having and I’ll take that any day…so 4 days with no pain and I’m still not sure what the heck happened to make it go away…it’s still there in the background but I have to think about it to feel it…okay, time to read a bit more…

Well…feel like crap this morning and I know it’s from not eating enough…only had breakfast for lunch with two sausage patties, two eggs, and two slices of toast and then just a pork chop for dinner and that is well under1,000 calories for the day…oh, well…will have some toast and peanut butter before I get on the bike to try to compensate for that…I do have to make a run out to the bank today to get some cash that I’ll need for pool day Thursday…and I may hit the beach again to see if the water is warm enough to swim…didn’t get anything done yesterday and I really don’t have anything to do today that is necessary so it may be another lazy day and I don’t mind that at all…I do need to get on the bike by 7am and time is quickly running out to make that goal…it’s nice that I finally have my week planned out…and yeah, I’m still planning even though I’m retired since knowing what I need to do is comforting…and I need to be organized…so, I’m going to pour another cup of coffee and make some toast and get going….more later…

Well…damn, up at 4:30 and out of bed by 5:30 and I need more sleep but don’t know what to do about it…it’s only 59 out there right now and sunrise has moved back enough that I won’t be able to get on the bike until 7 or so…I do want to go out to the beach today to check to see what the water is like and if I can get a swim in…down to the last pork chop so that will be lunch and then I think I’ll make breakfast for dinner with eggs, toast, and sausage and then maybe take some chicken out of the freezer for tomorrow…didn’t get anything done yesterday other than reading and really don’t have anything to do today other than laundry but I think that can wait a couple of days…I do have to pay the water bill but that’s not due for a week so I can do that later in the week..still have an air quality alert on today from the wildfires in Canada but I don’t think it will be as bad as yesterday…at least I hope it isn’t since I was coughing on the bike…going to be a hot few days with temps up around 90 and no rain at all in the forecast…oh, well…August in Michigan is supposed to be hot…more later…

Well…yeah, I know…I didn’t do a political one today…just couldn’t find a topic that grabbed me…so I’ll do this instead…were you up early enough to see the red sun caused by the wildfires in Canada this morning? It was just surreal since the sun’s rays coming through the trees was actually pink this morning and I can’t remember that ever happening…if it wasn’t for the smoke making me cough on the bike, it would have been pretty cool…and my lungs felt pretty irritated by the end of the 2nd ride so I’ll put a mask in my bike bag if it is like this tomorrow…other than the rides it was another easy day today…and I now have 4 rides in pain free and I can’t figure that out at all…I wonder if it was the ibuprofen I took last week? Think I ate enough today with a huge pork chop for lunch and a couple of bean tacos for dinner…almost skipped dinner but thought better of it…okay, a little more reading…

Well…damn, it’s almost 7am and I’m barely moving so that means I won’t get two rides in before the F1 race comes on at 9 and that screws up my whole day…oh, well…didn’t sleep well at all and that is going to hurt later but I still won’t be able to take a nap and that sucks…didn’t get anything done yesterday and today will probably be the same but I am going to try to at least clean a bit…and I do need to cook to use up the pork chops before they spoil…still going to eat out of the freezer for the next couple of weeks so I have room to put more stuff in…I do need to plan the pool run out to Ada so I can let K know and she can come to meet up since I haven’t seen her in almost two years and that is too long…I just feel old this morning and I probably should since I am but damn, it’s all downhill from here and I really do wonder at times how long I have…probably no more than ten years and I do need to get my affairs in order to make it easier on my daughter….okay, need to get off my butt and get going…more later…

Well…it was pretty darn cold when I went out for a ride this morning at 53 degrees and a surprising thing happened…I had been struggling with pain in my right elbow, knee, and tricep to the point that it was howling by the middle of the 2nd ride and I was taking ibuprofen for it…but today, I was pain free all the way through both rides and I really can’t figure that out…could I finally be healing? That would be so cool since it has been quite bad lately…I guess we’ll see tomorrow…didn’t do anything else today but take it easy and read …going to get under the car Monday to see where the clutch slave cylinder is so I can see if it’s leaking or just needs to be bled…it’s not expensive to replace at about 20 bucks but there is no reason if it’s not leaking…but if I can get that sorted, everything but the cd player is fixed…and I’ll start working on that next…time to read…again…

Well…it’s damn cold out here right now at 53 degrees so I’ll have to wait to get on the bike til 7 or so…but that’s okay since I just poured the first cup of coffee and it’s going to take a while to work…damn, I’m worn out….and I need to get the rides in before 10am when F1 qualifying comes on…didn’t get a lot done yesterday but I am going to have to cook today and it looks like some roast potatoes and a pork chop for lunch and then a turkey bacon blt for dinner…and that really isn’t enough calories but what can you do? Going to have to start planning some meals from the freezer and get stuff out for that…I have a full quart of pickled red onions I need to work in and the bean tacos will help with that…but I do need to find something else I can use them on but I don’t know what that would be…and I have eggs to use so I think I’ll thaw some roll sausage and make breakfast for dinner soon…not much to do today…just need to get moving by 7:30 or so but sure don’t feel like it right now…coffee, coffee…more later…

Well…I really can’t believe the transformation in the car from just replacing the caliper yesterday…it drives like a normal stick again that you can let coast when you need to and taking off from a stop is just smooth and easy…and it even feels faster since the engine is no longer pushing against the stuck brake…now I need to get under it and find the clutch slave cylinder to bleed that, too to help the notchy shifting…it was just such a joy to drive it out to the beach this afternoon but the water was too cold to swim and that sucked…so I didn’t stay out there long and got back here to read a bit…glad I got 4 more books today since I just finished one I started yesterday…tried to eat more today but still only had a bowl of Masala for lunch and two bean tacos for dinner…so I may make some buttered popcorn later…or some ham and swiss on crackers with horseradish sauce…I guess I’ll have to decide later…more reading…

Well…another month starts but it started with a night of no sleep so it’s going to be a struggle to get moving…I have hope that it will be better than yesterday when I was pretty damn dizzy on the bike…I did eat a lot more yesterday so I’m hoping that will help…out of bed at 5:40 today and I am really confused why being up so early doesn’t lead to being able to take a nap later…or even sleep more at night…oh, well…it’s going to be an easy day today with getting everything done yesterday…just the rides and then to the library for more books and then I think I’ll hit the beach this morning…it got down to 59 last night and that gave me a little relief…the heat has been so wearing on me and it’s going to be hot again starting tomorrow and that will be August in Michigan…allergies are already bad and August is the worst month for them…the goldenrod is blooming along the trail and that will make me miserable…think I’m going to take an ibuprofen before I get on the bike today to try to tamp down the pain in my right arm that has been so bad lately…typical tendonitis that continues to move around…more later…

Well…the car is fixed! It only took 40 minutes from the package hitting my porch and me getting in the car for a test drive…pretty damn easy and the cheap little bleeder I bought worked great and it took me about 5 minutes to bleed them…then I did a bunch of hard stops and when I got back here the wheel was cold to the touch and that is so cool…this is the fist caliper I’ve ever changed and it was so easy…and now the car coasts like it should and doesn’t try to stop between gears…it really made a difference with how the car drives and there is almost no brake pulsation at all…and that went from trying to shake the wheel out of my hand Tuesday when it first started…it’s not like I really like working on cars anymore…but now I know I can do calipers anyway…no big deal…going to be a good cocktail night tonight…yay!