Rule #9

The lawn needed mowing today and there were a bunch of leaf bags that needed to get loaded into the truck for a dump trip tomorrow.

So I pulled on my yard work clothes that I apparently haven’t worn in a while. To my great joy and surprise, I found my knife that I thought was long lost in the pocket of my yard work pants. Now I am knife rich.

I have the lost knife, the one I replaced the lost knife with, and a backup knife I bought when I replaced the lost knife.

My main knife is the replacement one I bought. I call it “Switchy” because it has a blade feature on it that makes it seem like it opens like a switch blade.

The found knife which I have named Pokey is going into my secondary rotation. I need to get it in for a sharpening. Perhaps I’ll keep it in the truck.

The third knife is still in the box and I think that is where it will stay for now. I need to come up with a name. I’ll work on it and let you know.

If I haven’t said it recently, I will tell you now that I carry a knife because it is a very handy tool to have on hand. I use it all the time. I consider it a tool rather than a weapon. I have hardly ever had to stab somebody with it. 

I also have it because I follow Gibbs Rule #9. Never go anywhere without a knife.

313.8

This is a quick post to make note of my weight today. That’s a number I haven’t seen in a few years.

I want to make it clear that the reason for my weight loss is due to my diminishing appetite. I am trying to get some exercise in, riding my e-bike every day, but I think the main reason is because I’m just not hungry.

I start each day with a large glass of orange juice and two fried eggs. That pretty much covers me for the day.

There is my damn sweet tooth which often leads me astray. It seems that there is always room for chocolate, not matter how full I am.

I have also been following a daily low impact Tai Chi exercise routine. It’s only about ten to fifteen minutes in the morning and I can’t imagine it’s making a huge impact. But, it makes me feel good unless I have to do something that involves balance. Wow! I’m really unstable on one foot. It usually requires a chair to hold on to, and then I do okay.

One Third to Goal

 

I passed another milestone towards my goal of putting 1,000 miles on my e-bike by Labor Day.

As you can see from the photo above, I am one third of the way to my goal, and it's not even Memorial Day yet.

I was on the Centennial Trail, down in Peaceful Valley, near the Sandifur bridge when I recorded this major event on my cell phone. As long as the great weather keeps coming, I shall continue to pile on the miles.

Hurray, Hurray

I don't have much to comment on today, but it is still early. 

However, I do want to make note that I weighed in this morning at 215.2 pounds. I have not seen that number in quite some time.

I am continuing to lose weight, and my appetite is mostly responsible. I am also trying to eat more protein-based foods.

In addition to getting out on the bike nearly every day, I downloaded an app to my phone that is leading me through low impact Tai Chi exercises every morning. It was titled Tai Chi for Seniors. 

I only do exercises for about 10 minutes each day. But I think it is helping. 

The exercises that are difficult involve balance. I need to hold on to a chair during those exercises. Also, I tried doing a push up and I got through one. That's it. Push ups are probably not an ideal exercise for someone with a PICC line to be doing.

Well, it turns out I did have something to say. We shall see how the day proceeds.

Bike Ride

It was another fabulous day of stunning weather in Spokane...in May! I went out on the bike. I rode about 8 miles on the Centennial Trail to the eastof downtown. While out there, riding along the river I came across this lovely sight,

I was only a few feet away from them. The parents were weary of me but not aggressive and I didn't make any provocative moves.

It was just really cool to see nature and the circle of life right here in the middle of the city.

Range Finder

 

After my 20-mile ride yesterday, I didn't bother to recharge the battery on the e-bike. The digital display on the bike still showed a nearly full charge and I wanted to get a feeling for how far it will go on a charge.

I got my answer today. 

I had to go to the Vehicle Licensing Store to renew the tabs for my truck, $133.00! I also needed to go up to the Cat Vet office and retrieve a bag of food, some treats and a small bottle of cat pills.

I determined that this is the perfect sort of errand to complete on the bike.

So, I headed out at about 10:30 into the bright sun-lit day. I made it to the Vehicle Licensing Store in about 15 minutes, waited about 10 for my turn to come up and was out of there $173.00 later. I purchased a Discovery Pass, which added $45.00 to the bill. I also renewed my Handicap Placard for another year.

Once done there, I continued my journey on up the South Hill. It did not occur to me to check the charge level on the battery, I mean, it's right there. I could have just looked. But I didn't.

I made it to the Vet and got the needed cat supplies. At that point, I checked the charge level. It was way down. I had two yellow bars on top of one red one. All the green bars were gone.

I had no idea what this meant for range, but I knew I was a good three miles from home. I reduced the assist level from 3 to 2 and I turned off the headlight.

My ride home was uneventful, and I got here with a charge still on the battery. The yellow bars were gone and all I had was the red one. I made it, but just barely.

So, 27 miles was the range I got out of this charge. That doesn't seem very good. As I expected, the battery indicator showed a full charge for a long time and then it fell off quickly as it ran oudown.

The charge time has typically been eight hours, so it looks like I'm done biking for today.

Or I could go for a ride on a partial charge and see how that works.

After two days of vigorous rides, I think I'll take the rest.

Twenty

I have just completed my longest rideyet on my new ebike. Twenty miles. 20.1 to be exact. When I reached the house, I ended up riding once around the park to get the total mileage up to 20.

My butt is sore and my legs are tired. But I’m happy! 

I explored a brand-new route. I wanted to get out to the Bowl & Pitcher suspension bridge at Riverside State Park.

When I got out to the George Wright Cemetery, I kept going out. I followed the trail for a couple of miles, maybe more, until I came upon a sign pointing to the right indicating that the Bowl & Pitcher was a mile and half down the trail.

This trail was unpaved and pretty rocky in a couple of spots. But it eventually led me to the bridge.

Unfortunately, there is quite a staircase on that side of the river leading down to the bridge. I got off the bike and bounced it down to my river crossing. Once there, I started riding across the bridge but not before snapping a couple of pictures.

It’s really beautiful out there.

I made it through the park and back up to the main road. I started riding back towards town on what I would call the Downriver Road. It’s a narrow two-lane road with no shoulder and no room for a bike path. It’s not a terribly busy road so I wasn’t too concerned. I just had to stay vigilant.  This road would eventually lead me to Doomsday Hill and back to the Centennial Trail.

I was out for two hours. It’s an absolutely fabulous day with the temperature in the low 70’s. Nothing of any consequence happened while I was out. It was just a damn fine ride. I hope I recover quickly so I can go out again tomorrow.