I tried

Since I quit work at the end of February, I haven't accomplished near as much as I thought I would. I'm one of those people who gets 80% of the work done in the last 20% of time I have to do it. Nothing like a deadline to motivate me. Yesterday I thought I'd make an hour-by-hour schedule of what I'd do with my time.

It started out great. I got up before the alarm went off and made it to my 8:30 appointment on time. That's where it ended. Things happened that I hadn't planned on. Signatures I thought I had, I didn't. One signature I needed was down at 38th Avenue in Wheat Ridge. As long as I had to go, might as well take the bike. Beautiful day.

I got these adorable tiger ears and tail for my helmet. The manufacturer says they've been tested to 170 MPH. I don't think my bike goes that fast. I have friends who said my tiger ears look dorky, but I don't care. I still think they're cute. Because today was so warm, lots of people had their windows down in their cars. I had two people holler that they loved my ears. I saw several more do a double-take and smile. It felt good to be a bright spot in those people's day. Maybe I'm a little old to do "cute", but it's too much fun not to.

I don't like riding down Wadsworth too much. There's a lot of traffic. Some people are good and stay way back at the lights, but others don't. I thought that going west to the edge of town and back north that way would be far safer. It was a nicer ride, even if it was out of the way. I had to hit the fabric store to get some fabric for the binding for the quilt I finished this morning, so I went back across Wadsworth on 88th. I tried a new route leaving there as well, which dumped me out on 92nd. Another alternative took me up behind my apartment complex, which I blew by so I could ride out 128 while enjoying the incredible scenery of the Rockies covered in a ton of snow. I got to the end and did a u-turn and came back. At this point I had blown the schedule completely. I'll get the quilt done tonight, but I'll need to move the other items to tomorrow.

I think I'm going to have a hard time resisting the call of the open road if I'm not chained to a desk. Darn.

Something about Everything

That's the title of a small book my son wrote/drew very early in his life. It's a little vague. I feel a little vague. I seem to be wandering aimlessly in my efforts to do a lot with no real structure. I think I'm getting stuff done, but it never feels like it.

One thing I did do, that I hadn't planned on, was to put a forum (message board, bulletin board, whatever you want to call it) on Biker Chick Magazine. I hadn't wanted to do that initially, but I think it will be a good way to exchange information and get to know more women who ride. Facebook is fun but superficial. They've done something to it recently that has had the effect of loading up my news feed with things that are somewhat entertaining, but actually more of a waste of space. It would be nice if there was some place you could go to find out your friends' 5 people you want to punch or the 5 cars you've owned or the 5 celebrities you want to sleep with when you choose, and not when Facebook feels it's urgent.

It's been a great winter, weather-wise. Or maybe I haven't noticed bad weather because I couldn't ride anyway. The last three weekends haven't been great. I've had two Basic Rider Courses canceled and one stopped about two hours before the end. Last weekend there was a huge snowstorm in random parts of Colorado. 51" in Rawlinsville. That isn't far from here. 11" where I live, and a "winter mix" that drenched parts north of Broomfield. Today is beautiful of course, now that the weekend is over. The snow has almost all melted down here, but there is accumulation right down to the lower edge of the Flatirons.

I had an appointment in the late afternoon and decided to ride my bike. Because riding down Wadsworth at rush hour isn't so much fun, I decided to go down to 88th Avenue and head west towards the Flatirons. There's a highway that runs north and south along the edge of where the mountains hit the range, and I take that up to another east/west route that brings me back to town. It's a ride I've written about before, and one I enjoy.

It started getting colder as the elevation rose on towards the foothills. It shouldn't have been too much of a surprise. After all, as I mentioned above, the snow comes all the way down to the bottom of the mountains there. In another mile or so, there was snow everywhere. As I turned back towards town, I marveled at the ability to ride very comfortably on a dry road with snow surrounding me. Colorado rules!

Unfortunately I'm still struggling with pain and stiffness from the wrist surgery in November. I don't know if that's something that will ease with time, or if I'm old enough that it will be a lifelong irritation. I'm worried about the insurance settlement and hope that I don't have to fight too hard. The doctors' offices are getting impatient. What amazes me is that it's within two months of being a year since I got rear-ended. I'm looking forward to that being behind me.