Thursday, May 19, 2005

Good Weather for Bowling

How can I avoid riding to work, let me count the ways. Let's see, today it's golf league after work, so I drive with my clubs, though if I were more dedicated I could buy a Traileron and tow my clubs to the course. Yesterday, it was a Newcomer's Party at church, in south Minneapolis, and it was the whole family. Tuesday? Raining in the morning. Monday? I don't remember. Rain, or sloth and laziness.

I did ride to Blockbuster after we returned Star Wars Episode IV without the DVD in it. Oops. It's pathetic to relate a ride of this length, less than a mile round trip, but on the other hand, it is precisely this sort of short, unburdened errand that would be very practical for almost anybody. It's not necessary to fire up the car to drive a 2 ounce plastic disk to a store half a mile away.

The paper says this weather is not unduly bad, but it seems like it's been wet and dreary for a couple of weeks. Last Thursday our golf league was rained out for the first time in a couple of years; it was 47F, wind out of the east at 18mph with driving rain. I was ready to go, it sounds like summer in Scotland, but the course called it off.

On the other hand, we hosted the end-of-season choir party Sunday, about 50 people for burgers, brats, hot dogs, beer etc. after church. The kids had fun once they realized our garage looks like a bike shop. Can't have too many! There's a mountain bike each for Geneva and Henry, a Bianchi road bike the Youth Cycling League guys lent us last year, a Trek 620 touring bike I bought for $100 at the Spoken Wheel bike shop in Iowa Falls in April, Karla's Trek hybrid, my Marin Urban Assault Bike, my 1975 Motobecane Grand Record and, in back, my new Atlantis 68cm frame which I'm building up. I pumped up a heap of tires and the kids went riding (and scooting and skateboarding) in the neighbourhood behind us.

It also turns out that a couple of the choir folks are cyclists. Mark drives through neighbourhoods slowly looking for garage sales with bikes; a guy named Larry whose wife rings in bell choir raced while in college. We're pretty new to this church (Karla started as Music Director in January) so it's good to find some people with common interests.

We were fortunate that it didn't rain Sunday. We have an ample yard and 50 people out there are as nothing, but to wedge them into the house would be kind of tight. Although it didn't rain, it remained pretty chilly which worked out great because people didn't drink much of my beer or any of my gin!

In the meantime, the weather's supposed to be nice tomorrow and then this weekend. We have a Minnesota Boychoir Awards Dinner tomorrow night, but I will try not to use that as an excuse for not riding.

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