Fat Guy on a Little Bike

I rode my bike to work today towing a 4 yr old on a tag along bike trailer. It’s the first time we’ve gone to that great a distance hooked up like this. I was a little concerned that getting up at 5:45 would be hard on him, but he handled that OK. In fact, if he got up that easily every day I could let him sleep until 6 if we rode our bikes, or 6:30 if we drove. We’ll see if the excitement stays.

It was an interesting experience. We’ve used the tag along thing on short rides to the park but this was a 4.5 mile ride along two roads and one section of bike trail. He handled it fine. There isn’t a lot of traffic at that time, which is nice. I thought we were almost doomed before we started as he dragged out his helmet, but it was disassembled, with no straps. Apparently they were playing with it as it was under his bed (???) and looked like they had used it to protect their heads when they were doing something I don’t really want to think about right now.

I quickly put the straps on hoping I did them right and we rolled off, feeling like an overburdened semi truck. I was riding my mountain bike with road tires (it’s not light), all 260 pounds of me (Ok, Ok, really 258 as of this morning), a messenger bag loaded and strapped over my shoulder with my lunch bag attached and hanging further down. Then there was the all steel trail a bike with a strapping 45 pound 4 year old, who only occasionally likes to pedal and likes to talk while he coasts and Dad struggles up the hills. I wasn’t so sure it would work out well.

So we’re running late from dealing with the helmet and I am pumping hard to make up time, assuming I could actually get the bike above you know, 5 miles an hour. After the first hill I was remembering that the way TO work is mostly uphill (actually up and down 4 hills and then one final mile long uphill to work) while the way home was mostly downhill. (Now I’m really rethinking this idea.) We finally got to a fairly flat area on the bike trail next to a creek (or ‘crick’ as they say in Missouri (or Missourah if you are my mother in law)) and one of his pedals falls off. (Obviously the Chinaman who put this bike together for Target was not well paid.) I was able to get the pedal back on to finger tightness and we were off again. (Are you sick of my parenthesis yet? I don’t think I’ll have a book deal anytime soon.)

We got to work 10 minutes later than I expected but I was able to get upstairs to work only 1 minute late. I’m really lucky that my workplace has gyms with showers. I really needed one this morning, even though it was quite cool.

The ride home was less exciting. Even though I hate these people, I rode on the sidewalk a little because the traffic was heavier, but eventually decided it was stupid and moved over to the street. The cars will just have to deal with me. If someone runs us over and we both die hopefully they will get some serious treatment since they killed a kid. I know no one cares about a biker who gets hit by a car, but maybe the kid aspect will help.

After all this is said and done I’m trying to decide if I want to do it more. For the summer I drop off one child at Summer Care (which is on the road we ride up in the morning) and the other is at preschool at my work. In theory I can ride with both, although the little one would be demoted to the trailer, but getting them both up that early, when they are up late with the late sunsets, and having them in the care of others for between 9 & 10 hours is tough to stomach, even if it is only 30 minutes more than usual. I get off early on Fridays, so I have the option of doing it that day and we could possibly achieve all these things. Less guilt for me as Fridays would be less time in care (although I usually pick the little one up during nap which would be strange for a bike ride when he usually is mostly asleep in the car), more time afterwards that we could go explore if we want, and we would still be able to ride one day a week. When school starts up this Fall I think I’ll be able to ride fairly regularly with the little one as my work schedule will be 30 minutes less each day and it will just be the two of us. Tough to know what to do. Even though the ride to work is short saving money on gas is something to think about. The way oil is going it may make the decision for us.

This story is a great story about the effort that went into saving the one remaining water well for the entire city so that the whole city wouldn’t be without water. I didn’t realize how bad it was if the water system got flooded, other than not having water.

They had a concert here this 4th of July weekend. It was called Floodstock. Anyway, it was intended to raise money for a local foundation for flood relief. My wife and I went on Sat night. It was a good time. I did my best to raise money for the foundation by drinking a large quantity of beer.

I don’t know how much money they raised, but they raised $10K by auctioning off a Neil Young autographed guitar when the winner won for $3100, told the crowd if they coughed up $3100 he would give it to the runner up and let them “win” the guitar. The crowd came up with $3100, the original owner coughed up $3100 and then the runner up gave their $3000 bid. $9200 just like that. $10 entry fee on a couple thousand people and it starts adding up. It won’t go far, but it will definitely help.

I was standing behind the camera person when they were shooting some of this footage.

Floodstock 2008 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa from Jason Kristufek on Vimeo.

Funny how I’m reading so much great stuff about peak oil and Americans’ changing their driving and spending habits from papers on the other side of the world. Is it not news here too?

Plant something: Beans, beans and more beans. As peas and greens get pulled from their spots beans go into their location (I know I’m following a legume with a legume but after the beans that spot will be done until next year). I’m really digging this garden size. It allows me to have quite a bit of stuff going. However, I would like more potatoes and sweet potatoes. I’m also running out of things to plant that are short growing but still productive so I can rotate back in the fall to cool weather crops. All I can come up with for the most part is beans. I’ve got more squash than I need in the ground already (which reminds me that I planted three more patty pans squashes), and same goes for cucumbers. So I’m left with beans as my short growing crop? I figure if they are overplanted I can yank up what I need in the fall and put in the fall crops. Also planted some sprouting potatoes into an old onion spot.

Planted this week: beans (green, lima and dried), squashes, potatoes.

Harvested: peas, greens (lettuce, kale, swiss chard), onions (the onions were messing up my weed patch so I had to pull them…), 2 sungold tomatoes (which went to my visiting mother) and broccoli.

Preserve something: Froze peas, spinach and broccoli.

Prep something: Hmm, I staked up the rest of the tomato plants I’m going to make sure deliver the goods. The rest I’ll be happy to pick but don’t care to a great extent if they produce or not. I’m up to 26 tomato plants now that are staked. Last week I mentioned the animal traps, which are not working. The chipmunks are getting the food and not getting caught. The rabbits just don’t care. I’m ready to introduce a pellet gun. I also got some potent urine. We’ll see.

Cook something new: I tried a cooked swiss chard recipe. Blech. Bad stuff. We like it raw in salads but not as a cooked side dish. That’s fine. It’s still healthy that way. We had kale tonight (recipe here). It was kind of a “stoup”, which is strange when it’s so hot, but that seems to be the most common way people eat kale, and I have enough to do that I liked letting this cook away while I was working on other things. The recipe was very good, although I thought it needed a little more spice. (you can seem my comment as Fat Guy in the Kitchen)

I’ve been enjoying baby new potatoes boiled and then rolled in butter, salt and parsley. Very good. I also made strawberry ice cream for the first time. It was very good as well, though I liked the vanilla better.

Manage your reserves: I haven’t done anything here but start to stock back up and rotate things around. I do need to call the chicken people though and get an order placed. Need to look for their card…

Local food system: Nothing. I can tell you though, the flood has really devastated the local food system here that was growing massively. Look for more on this in the future.

Reduce waste: Nothing new.

Learn a new skill: Hmm, I’m learning to trap but you can see how well that’s going. This is strange, but I’m learning how to move water around the yard to water the garden from the rain barrels in buckets. In the past I used a hose hooked to the house with a sprinkler. But now I’m carrying buckets around to pour water on the base of the plants. This won’t work so well in August when the whole thing has to be watered, but it’s OK for now. The barrels are on the front of the house and the garden is in the back. Hoses to reach that far are in short supply. Plus I don’t think there is enough pressure to push it that far. So carry the water I do.

I also learned how to make ice cream with the ice cream maker I got at a flea market. I’m very happy to learn this skill. Now I can pick the ingrediants and it takes soo darn good.

These two videos show the tent cities showing up in CA after people have lost their houses, or they are just plain priced out of the housing market. Included with the story I had the other day about people sleeping in their cars I would think there is a problem in CA related to finding affordable housing for people who aren’t able or willing to borrower ridiculous amounts of money to buy a house.

If you want to see other videos follow the links out to You Tube and see other videos in Seattle as well as other videos or even more tent cities.

This guy has an interesting idea on how to handle the banking crisis in America. (It’s the June 30th entry)

A story about how a group of people were taken to the cleaners on real estate loans in the past few years.

I don’t mention this much, but when I was investing in properties I was taken to the cleaners on one deal over the financing. The broker I used promised me a product that he ultimately wasn’t able to deliver. He got me into a loan for temporary construction financing to rehab a property, but then he couldn’t come through on the permanent financing he said was part of the deal. I was able to secure permanent financing because we have good credit histories, and I’m educated about the market. But, if I can be misled how does someone with little education handle it?

You want to know what retribution I was able to make against the broker? Nothing. I complained to the state regulatory agency and when they couldn’t get him to respond they said I could sue him for extra costs I incurred. It wasn’t worth it to do that though. I wasn’t seriously hurt by it, but I can imagine someone not in my position being hurt much more by it. When there are stories in the news about people being taken advantage of I don’t assume that it was just people not being educated, not anymore. It irritates me when people say that “it’s what they signed up for”. Well, if I have a vested interest in it I can explain almost anything to you in such a manner that you would think it was a good idea.

Some gardening ideas from John Jeavons.

A world with $200 a barrel oil.

Some ideas on $200 oil from the Oil Drum.

The End of the Oil Age. (Good point driven discussion, not just opinion like me…)

Danger Will Rogers!  Danger!

The city has posted “keep out, contaminated soil” signs at the garden plot.  So now I’m wondering if I should really be concerned or if I should sneak back to plant something.  I see other people back there planting things so I’m not sure.

If I don’t plant any food perhaps I should plant some cover crops?

Do any of you have any opinions?

Hold your hats folks, we have another contender for the best book I’ve ever read. I finished Gone with the Wind before all this flood mess started, but haven’t been able to write about it. Amazing book. Fantastic. Easily on par with The Grapes of Wrath for my favorite book of all time.

When I first started the book I thought it was bound to be a love story along the lines of a soap opera or something. But I gave it my requisite 100 pages and then I simply could not stop reading it. It’s an amazing story. The details the author put in about their adventures and what was happening around them are just breathtaking. Sooo much detail and information. And the tale of love mixed with society’s rules and written in a time period of such huge upheaval in a way of life.

I should have written this down when I finished the book, because now I can’t remember enough to really discuss it the way I want to, but this was such a great book. That’s all I can think of. Such a great book.

I checked out the Wiki page for this book too and some of the info about the author is incredible. This is the only book she ever wrote! And it took her 10 years! I can’t blame her for not writing another book after churning out 1K+ pages with this book. And before the age of computers when it was easy to edit them!

I’ve been finding some interesting articles lately (I read a lot and only put up the ones I find the most interesting) that I want to share.

How oil prices affect American life, as written by an Englishman.

Peak Oil analysis from ASPO.

Discussion about credit card debt being the next debt to make news.

Article about people living in their cars. I think I saw this on Dateline too.

Planted something: Planted more squash/cantaloupe/watermelon, I can’t remember which one it is that’s growing there now.

Harvest something: Harvested peas and lettuce. Rhubarb and a few onions. Also onion and garlic scapes. Spinach, swiss chard, broccoli also.

Preserve something: Made up quite a bit of strawberry jam, and some with rhubarb in it. (check my storing tab. I’m trying to keep it updated) Froze .75 lbs of rhubarb, 1.25 pounds of broccoli and 1lb of peas. Canned 9 pints and 10 half pints of jam.

Prep something: I ripped out the peas that the rabbits killed and I’m prepping that bed for beans (probably). Preparing some traps to catch the chipmunks and rabbits so they can be transported to a new location. I keep trying to build one more bed for potatoes but it seems to keep getting put off.

Cook something new: Well I made two new jam recipes. And this time the jam actually jammed so that’s a positive. Tried a new recipe for creamed peas, but haven’t actually eaten them yet. Haven’t had a lot of time to cook this past week.

Manage your reserves: I don’t think I ate anything from our storage this whole 10 days or so. It’s been mostly fresh.

Local food systems: Haven’t done anything I don’t already do.

Reduce waste: Nothing new.

Learn a new skill: Nothing new.