Homemade Entertainment

Is wordplay your game, anyone?
A limerick a day would be fun.
If that form's not for you
Then make up haiku
As we cycle along in the sun.

(So far nobody on the team has risen to this challenge. I may end up composing limericks for my own amusement.)

New Focus

The violin recital went very well. If I can figure out how to post a picture I will. After I hear the recording I'll post that too. Now my violin gets out of its case once a week for a recreational lesson, and my bike is the new focus.

It now has a front rack and I know how to attach the panniers, though I'll have to adjust them first to fit. The fenders have been raised to accommodate bigger tires when the time comes. And I have the custom-cut padding now to wrap around each of the frame components when the bike gets taken apart for shipping back home. It will take an evening of watching the instructional DVD together with Russ and Charlie, then practice together, to make sure we understand how to do it before I embark. Thanks, R&E Cycles.

Looking at the panniers, I'm wondering how I'll fit rain jacket and pants, change of bike shorts & jersey, a couple of undies & socks, all my must-have first aid stuff for bug bites, sunburn, sore muscles, and then a little travel bottle of shampoo and soap. Toothbrush. What do I really need? What can I live without for 3 months no matter how comforting it would be? I'm guessing one pannier for clothing & toiletries, one for food & water, one for sleeping bag, pad, and tent (if it fits), and one for group gear, tools, spare tire, and miscellaneous.

I rode home from work in the rain Friday because I needed the mileage and to prove to myself that 2-1/2 hours in the rain is okay. I won't have a choice about it when we're on the trip.

And now I have a smart phone, which makes me feel quite dumb as I'm learning to use it.

Hot Tip for Fargo

We met a lovely couple last night and in conversation discussed our upcoming bike trip, and his having grown up in Fargo.  We asked what sights we should see in Fargo, and got the following advice:  go about 35 miles east of Fargo and fish for walleye and bass.  Later he came up with the suggestion of visiting a replica Viking ship.  http://www.hjemkomstcenter.com/

Hjemkomst is pronounced "YomComst"

Something notable to look forward to.

~ Carol

Bikesmithing Meets Wordsmithing

Reading up on bike maintenance, I found a quote that's worthy of a discussion group. "With luck, you should not have much use for vice-grip pliers at all. Their forceful embrace can only suggest that diplomacy has been somehow allowed to fail." --Sam Tracy, from Bicycle! A Repair & Maintenance Manifesto.

~ Carol