Well….I was really surprised today when the new bike came around 10 am when fedex usually delivers late in the day….but, I’ll take it since I put it together and was out on it for a shakedown run by 11:15…and that’s even with getting the computer mounted so not too much time at all…it did help that this one is the same model as the old one since it is the only one with full suspension in my price range, so I already knew everything about it…after starting out on the first ride all I could say is wow! All of the controls are feather light and I barely have to touch the shifter and it is in the next gear…it is so light that I didn’t even hurt my thumb doing two rides and getting almost 25 miles in…even the rear brake is so sensitive that I can lock the rear wheel up with just two fingers….it is just so cool to have a bike that works like it’s supposed to and I can go hard….I had forgotten how nice it is to just power up hills instead of having to shift down 4 gears to keep the chain from skipping…and it works my legs like crazy…so much so that I was already getting sore just sitting here having lunch between the rides…I AM going to need some ibuprofen later today to be able to move and to get ready for another double tomorrow…one crappy thing is that the tube protectors still haven’t shown up so I think I just wing it til Monday when it is supposed to rain and the take wheels off and install them then…oh, one last thing…I expected that the grey paint would just be regular gloss grey….but it is grey metallic and it looks pretty cool out in the sun…can’t wait for oit to get warmer and get some long rides in…

Well…up too damn early again this morning….and I knew that if I just rolled over and tried to sleep some more it wasn’t going to work so here we are…so that means that there may be some napcar in my future this afternoon…I did get some work done yesterday and I’m down to only one window left after painting the one in the dining room yesterday…but I have to put the second coat on it this morning…I did find some clear lacquer spray that I used on the rusted part of the frame to try to keep it from bleeding through the white paint…it is a little funny that the spray can of lacquer is over 20 years old and it still works great…I may have to use it on another window frame that is rusted and the rust is making ugly brown marks…and the window over the sink is probably the worst one that I’ll have to take a wire brush to…think I’ll put it in the drill and see if that makes it a little less work…I tried to strip it but that didn’t work on the 60 year old paint…the new bike is supposed to come today along with the tire tools and the tube protectors that I have to install before I can take it out…and that means I have to stay here all day since fedex won’t leave it without a signature…so no last ride on the old bike…I think I’ll go look at the tracking to see if there is a projected time for the delivery…not much to do today…just the painting and the bike stuff along with watching soccer all morning and I need some rest already…or more coffee…yep, I think that’s easier….more later…

Well…running late this morning and there is really no reason for it other than I just laid in bed for a while after I woke up…and I never do that….I wonder why this morning? Oh, well…feel okay this morning if a little slow and I guess I earned that with not being good for the first time this week….not sure if that is going to continue this weekend but we’ll see…didn’t get much done yesterday but the bike ride as I need to keep resting my hands to get them to heal and it appears to be working…much less pain and I can even do this without wincing…I did remember that I needed to repair the top on the car where more stitching gave way and got that done just before it got dark last night…used every clamp I got from HF to hold it while the glue set…and I needed to get that done before I take it out in the rain…I used the two big clamps and the 6 little ones I got for a buck and it is handy to have them around here….I may not get out on the bike today if the wind comes up like it’s supposed to…20-25 mph is way too much to ride into especially with a bike that I can’t put any pressure on the pedals…but, I haven’t checked if it is windy yet so I may be able to get out early if it’s warm enough….not much to do today…I am going to start working on the window in the dining room so I can paint it over the weekend and then maybe start on the final window over the kitchen sink but with getting the new bike tomorrow, that may distract me some and I may just want to ride….more later….

Well…running about on time this morning and had another good night of sleep…or as good as it gets for me…but, you’re bored with that so I’m not going to go on about it…I will say my hands are getting better so I’ll probably get back to working on windows again today to get the last two done…I do need to run out to depot this morning to try to find some thin zip ties to put the computer on the new bike…and I want black ones so they blend in with the black front forks and handlebar….and the only ones I have here are too thick and grey….it looks like tomorrow will be a day off the bike with the wind forecast to be over 20…but, we’ll see…I may be able to get out early before it gets too bad…and I don’t want to lose any days if I’m going to get to 5K this year…I may just put the summer tires back on the car to get ready to buy the new tires next month….I can get a set for 200 bucks out the door and it only takes a couple of days to get them…and the ones on the summer wheels are completely worn out but the winter tires are too so I guess it’s a toss up…and I do like the way the car looks with the aluminum wheels more than the black steelies…not much to do today…have some work to do downstairs and the errand to depot, then out on the bike….and I need to cook today…going to make a chicken burrito for lunch but still have leftover chicken for sandwiches for later….yeah, I know…sounds like too much boring chicken but I marinated the chicken for burritos so that is a nice change….more later….

Well…I’m not sure if doing two of these a day on my life is cheating or not but I have time and a few things to say so I guess I’ll just do it…and, I never promised more than one political one a day…or, did I even promise that? Who knows? Didn’t have much of a day today since I was resting my hands trying to get the cracks in my fingers healed and it has helped quite a bit…my thumb still hurts a bunch but I have been living with that long enough that I can cope with that pretty well…I feel pretty good that I only spent 26 bucks on groceries today when I budget for about 60 a week…and I officially have no room left in either freezer so it looks like I won’t be buying much next week either…I need to just use what I have and get out of the habit of buying protein when it is on sale…bought some boneless skinless today and I am marinating some of it to make some chicken burritos tomorrow…I did get the window in my room finished…finally, and got all the dust and paint chips cleaned up and that is a relief after how much work that one was…only two more to go but they are in much better shape so much less work…I did get a bit of good news today….the new bike will be here Saturday, along with the new tire liners and tools to install them…. just in time for a double on Sunday with the temp getting to almost 60…but that means I need to get the tire liners in and the computer on the new one Sat night, oh, and put it together first…but that should only take an hour or so…I am geeked to get the new one and get a couple of hard rides in without having to think about how much pressure I can put on the pedals to keep it from skipping…and to be able to fly again…can’t wait…

Well…that kind of sucked…after the good sleep yesterday, I was really hoping that it could turn into a trend but 3:04 came and blew that up…but, I did fight to sleep all the way to 5:27 so I guess I can call that a semi win…I did skip the ibuprofen and antihistamines last night and don’t feel too much worse this morning so I think I’ll try that again tonight…need to make sure I keep that stuff for when I really need it…okay, this is a little weird…for the first time since I’ve been here, the grocery run is only going to be Aldi’s this morning…no Meijer’s since there is nothing I really need from there…and I don’t need much from Aldi’s, either….so this is going to be a cheap grocery week with no cocktail materials either…damn, not sure if being good is worth it but it is sure nice to save 100 bucks a month…as you saw, I did order the new bike yesterday and I am excited to have one that works instead of skips…I did check out the cost to replace the entire driveline of the old bike and it looks like about 125 bucks for the parts since I have a new shifter that I bought last year on sale and got it for under 20 bucks…I did buy some tire liners for the new bike and splurged on some tire removal tools that will make installing them easier and should protect the paint on the wheels….and, since I have been playing a lot of vinyl records lately, I needed to buy some anti static cleaner to replace the d-3 discwasher fluid that I have finally used up …they don’t make it anymore and the bottle I have I know I bought back in the 80’s….only 40 years on a bottle that cost 8 bucks? Okay, that’s not a bad deal…not much to do today…going to take another easy day since that seems to help the cracking on my fingers and I really don’t have much left to do in here…need to store up some energy for the huge amount of work that needs to be done outside….more later…

Well…after paying my capital one credit card bill yesterday, I decided to not wait any longer before ordering the new bike so I just did it…it was a little painful to spend 369 bucks but I was going to do it anyway so why wait? Bought a dark gray and black one this time so I can tell the bikes apart when I have them both in the garage…when I get the new one, I can then start on rebuilding the old one without having to worry about not having a bike to use while I tear it down and order the parts…if I can tear it down and order parts that is…I’m not sure how to get the swing arm bushing out to replace it and that goes for the front drive sprockets, too…but they put it together so it should come apart…I guess fixing it will depend on how much it will cost but it would be cool to have an old bike to trash out in the rain and mud while keeping the new one for dry days…I guess I’ll find out after I get working on it…one more week and it should be here…I’m a little excited…

Well…unfurl the flags and sound the trumpets! A miracle has happened…when I rolled over to look at my phone to check the time this morning I actually said “wow”….it read 5:50….and with going to bed at 10 last night, that makes for a solid 8 hour night! It has been so long since that happened that I don’t even remember when it was…but I’ll take it and the energy that comes with it….I feel pretty damn good today and I know part of it is that I was good last night, too, so I think that will continue for the rest of the week…and that will save money that I can put toward the new bike that I am going to order tomorrow….I am getting pretty excited about having one that works so I can start doing the doubles I need to get to 5K miles this year…I’m already pushing toward 400 miles for the year on the old bike but I need to get to a thousand by the end of  April if I’m going to get to the goal…I did get some work done around here yesterday even though I was supposed to take the day off and let the cracks in my fingers heal but I just couldn’t do it…had to work on the window that is giving me fits and then I washed the car and bike after the bike ride….it is nice that the trails are open and I can get 11 miles in with no cars to think about…have started to plan the outside work that I am going to start on in the next couple of weeks….have to take down the awning over the door on the driveway side so I can get to the dormer and I hope it’s not too heavy for me to do alone…it is made out of aluminum so I’m estimating it weighs 40 pounds or so but it is an awkward shape that might give me some trouble….I think the idiots that lived in the rental next door are gone…there hasn’t been any cars parked there all week and I saw a rental truck there a couple of weeks ago…but, I don’t want to get my hopes up since it may just be spring break…maybe I can take the stakes out of the front yard that are keeping them from parking on it….not much to do today….going to just enjoy the energy I’ve started the day with and get a bike ride in this morning…I may put the summer wheels back on the car since there is no snow in the forecast for the next two weeks at least and I hope winter is done….then I need to find tires but that has to wait until next month…more later….

Well…you know, I remember times when if you had a busy day with a lot of work and some physical activity in it you would hit the sack and get a solid 8 to 9 hours of good sleep in…I guess that mechanism doesn’t work for me anymore…back up at 5:03 this morning and that makes around 5 1/2 for the night…oh, well…at least I had a pretty productive day yesterday so I guess that’s something…okay, here’s something weird…the coughing I have been suffering with was mostly gone and I was feeling better until last night when I used some of the OTC flonase nasal spray to try to help the stuffiness that exposure to the dust from sanding the window gave me yesterday…but, my night was miserable with severe coughing and sneezing that continues this morning…and I remember that I was using that stuff almost daily when I was having the cough that sent me to the doctor so I wonder if that is the culprit? I think I’ll go back to the little red dot allergy medicine when I need it and see if that helps…I really do think I am going to take the day off today…ha, ha…yeah, I found that funny, too…every time I say that it seems that I work harder and get more done than when I plan to work….we’ll see how it goes today…I do know that I am going to get a bike ride in this morning if it doesn’t rain…almost got out in shorts yesterday but it looks like it will be thermasuit for the next two weeks with temps mostly in the 40’s….at least it appears that there will only be scattered snow flurries in the forecast so I am optimistic that winter is over….more later…

Well…staying out of politics again today since my brain just doesn’t want to deal with it right now…and, I’ve been pretty busy since I got up at 5 so I don’t feel like a slacker at all…started out getting the newspaper for my Sunday ritual of looking at the ads and for topics that I can talk about later in the day…then I had some work to do downstairs that took a while, then Man U played and looked okay but tied and that sucked a little…while that was going on I was in and out of my bedroom working on the window since the plaster had finally dried and I could get to sanding it…got that done and then got the first coat of paint on while I was making lunch then got out for a 10 miler on the bike…oh, I forgot that I did laundry before I started on the window…and when I got back from the ride I put the second coat of paint on and then put the laundry away and did the dishes…and re-filled the bird feeders since the suction cup one almost fell off overnight and all of that feed ended up on the ground…oh, and I put the light cover that I repaired back on the garage door opener so that looks finished again…cripes that’s a lot of work for taking the weekend off…maybe I’ll take the day off tomorrow? Not sure how my days off keep turning into work days but I do know that I’m not bored….