Do You Decorate Your Bike For The Holidays?

I know it might be a little bit cheesy, but when my boss gave me these little Christmas decorations, I couldn't resist adding them to the Pashley basket.







Though, with just two little decorations and a bit of garland, it still seems a bit sparse. I've got the Bobbin theme, just need the Sprocket!

My 35th Black Friday

Today is my 35th Black Friday. What better way to spend it than out and about on bikes! I loaded up on chocolate donuts for breakfast, we got the derailleur (kinda) working on the trike and headed to the Greenbelt.
















Practiced some Panda shots. I still haven't quite got the hang of it.












But I'm getting better!








Or not. Let's try this standing still.




There we go! Obviously I need more practice. ;)

Quiet Week

Took a short ride out to Boone Lake Wednesday afternoon. It's the lowest I ever seen it right now. Where the Fuji is at in this picture is usually about 4 feet deep.







There's a little playground there. The ground under the swings is so dished out from kids scraping their feet when they swing that I can't even touch the ground.




If only I could have found a way to carry this pretty piece of driftwood home!




The mittens are coming along. Slowly!




Tesla has taken to riding the Fuji.




Talula, Gno and Oliver are curious about bikes, but not enough to really give it a try.

Catching up!

You would think that with modern convinces like smart phones and such and increased free time since I'm only working one job now I would be able to post regularly. Yeah, no such luck!

Quick recap of things going on here:

I went to SAFF (Southeast Animal Fiber Festival) and was very proud of myself. I did NOT bring home another fleece to spin! Didn't even look at them. I did get some lovely corriedale wool that will become a sweater for The Husband, and some yarn to knit me these:







(Not my actual pair, but I bought the same colors)

And I bought a big handwoven in Ghana basket to hang from the rear rack on either bike. Here it is on the Fuji:







I also knit a snake for my 3 year old niece who had to undergo surgery to remove a brain tumor.




So far so good on her recovery. And she loves her snake. :)

I discovered that a knitting needle dropped just right into a kitteh's fur can look like it went right through the kitteh:




And Tesla still enjoys hanging out on the Pashley.

Bike Date: Kingsport Greenbelt

The Husband and I had a bike date today! It's the first bike date that we've had. It was a gorgeous 75F with sunny skies. We strapped his trike to the roof and my fuji to the back of the car and off we went to the Kingsport Greenbelt.

It's a lovely multi-purpose path that meanders through the woods and meadows, following a creek the whole way.

We started at the Historic Exchange Place where you have to cut through the Exchange Place property on an unpaved, rocky path before you reach the Greenbelt. From then on it's paved.

We saw ducks:

And lots of people out walking/jogging. Tons of people out on bikes! I might not see many people using the roads here to ride their bikes, and now I know why. They're all on the Greenbelt!

We rode about 14 miles total. 7 to and 7 fro with a stop at a Marble Slab that conveniently backs right up to the path.

This was a great first bike date! We've decided to make a habit of going to the Greenbelt. Now if only I can figure out a way to carry the Pashley out there...

Little Story About My First Time Calling the Police on a Motorist

First off, sorry for the silence! Hadn't really realized that it's been almost a month since I last checked in. Oops...

Also, don't really have any photo's to illustrate this story, so here's one of the Fuji playing in some leaves. It is the first day of fall after all. :)

So on my ride out to the barn this afternoon, I spotted a big red pickup truck in my rearview mirror. I take note of it and think nothing of it. Suddenly I hear a police siren! I check the mirror again, but no cop, just the big red pickup. Then the truck roars around me, the driver flipping me the bird! I was just a bit dumbfounded. Did that truck have a police siren?!? Big red 4X4 with deer hunting stickers all over the back window. Surely people can't just go around with police sirens in their personal vehicles. At this point I felt my hand coming off the handlebar to return the fowl but I caught myself! And since my hand was already up I made the "call me" gesture at the guy. Suddenly his hand shot back in the truck and he floored it. I guess he thought that meant I was going to call the police. So I thought that might be a good plan. When I got to the barn I called the police. They took my report and description (unfortunately didn't get a license plate number) but they did seem interested that someone was going around with a police siren in their truck.

Scenic Route

I finally got back on my bikes today after dealing with the first nasty head/chest cold of the season. It feels so good to ride again!




I'm beginning to really like this route as compared to my usual. It's got a longer, steeper hill, but strangely it seemed easier today. Granted, this was the first time riding the Fuji up it. Maybe there's something about this bike that makes it easier to ride uphill? The only other bike I've ridden on it is the Kettler, which is also a 10 speed mixte, but has 27" wheels with skinny little 23mm (?) tires. It's aluminum whereas the Fuji is steel with 700c 35mm. I dunno. Maybe I'm still just sick and delusional. :)

Also, I just found this image amusing:




Bicycle, field of tobacco, school. Three things that are never encouraged to go together. Really only two should. :)