Midnight Ridazz, #70
Well, I think the bike rides I have been taking recently have been paying off, as Saturday night's Midnight Ridazz trip was the easiest by far.
The first ride went on was a bit of work, but then again it was a freezing night in January, and a decent amount of hills. Not the best first ride in years, but still, fun. Plus I helped make the spoke cards, so bonus.
The next ride out was months later, and sadly the bike had been untouched in the meantime. Oh, except for changing the saddle, which I discovered during the ride was loose, and so suffered from a seat that wouldn't stay put until we got to the park at the end. I try to carry more tools with me now.
After that I have made a few reasonable attempts to make the 13+ mile uphill ride home. The current route involves the Rose Bowl, La Canada, Descanso Gardens (well, the frontage), and all in all is harder but much nicer than my treks across Colorado Blvd from Pasadena to Glendale and
then up. Less traffic * more shade = easier to deal with the harder climb.
I also got a trailer to give my girl rides around the park, so add ~40lbs to those rides. Well, ~40 lbs and a nearly constant stream of "Whee"s, "Woo Hoo"s, "Bump"s, "Careful, Daddy, careful" countered with "Faster!", and the occasional "my turn pedal!" before the inevitable "No go home!" as we turn up our street. Ah, the highs and lows of taking a toddler on a ride.
Took Dopher with me on the Rave Ride a few weeks back. The rubber duckie had glow sticks in it, looked better in the dark than in the picture. He's hooked on the rides now, I think.
Last week I innocently asked Dopher to give back my Team Zissou cap that I got with the DVD. I then explained that the upcoming ride had a Wes Anderson theme, and he looked betrayed, gazing at the hat he just gave up. His response was to put on some Elliot Smith and get down the clippers, and soon a nice 1/2" buzz replaced the shaggy ragmop he had been sporting. Talk about dedication, but he did call off the reenactment before things got bloody, so I'm glad for
that.
I made a few flags, got some dowels from the local hardware store, got creative with rubber band lashings, and taa daa! Look carefully, and you might spot the Jaguar Shark (glow paint is the best).
Dopher broke his Tenenbaum flag with a less-than-graceful dismount, but shoved it in his backpack for the rest of the ride.
(he's inside - someone had a much better flag on the bike in the foreground).
Not sure what I'll do for the Clown ride, but I am hopeful the Gypsy Ride #2 be good, and the Big Lebowski ride in late August already has plans going in m'mind. Dopher needs to figure out how to ride safely while wearing a dirty bathrobe. Maybe a rear fender would help?
The first ride went on was a bit of work, but then again it was a freezing night in January, and a decent amount of hills. Not the best first ride in years, but still, fun. Plus I helped make the spoke cards, so bonus.
The next ride out was months later, and sadly the bike had been untouched in the meantime. Oh, except for changing the saddle, which I discovered during the ride was loose, and so suffered from a seat that wouldn't stay put until we got to the park at the end. I try to carry more tools with me now.
After that I have made a few reasonable attempts to make the 13+ mile uphill ride home. The current route involves the Rose Bowl, La Canada, Descanso Gardens (well, the frontage), and all in all is harder but much nicer than my treks across Colorado Blvd from Pasadena to Glendale and
then up. Less traffic * more shade = easier to deal with the harder climb.
I also got a trailer to give my girl rides around the park, so add ~40lbs to those rides. Well, ~40 lbs and a nearly constant stream of "Whee"s, "Woo Hoo"s, "Bump"s, "Careful, Daddy, careful" countered with "Faster!", and the occasional "my turn pedal!" before the inevitable "No go home!" as we turn up our street. Ah, the highs and lows of taking a toddler on a ride.
Took Dopher with me on the Rave Ride a few weeks back. The rubber duckie had glow sticks in it, looked better in the dark than in the picture. He's hooked on the rides now, I think.
Last week I innocently asked Dopher to give back my Team Zissou cap that I got with the DVD. I then explained that the upcoming ride had a Wes Anderson theme, and he looked betrayed, gazing at the hat he just gave up. His response was to put on some Elliot Smith and get down the clippers, and soon a nice 1/2" buzz replaced the shaggy ragmop he had been sporting. Talk about dedication, but he did call off the reenactment before things got bloody, so I'm glad for
that.
I made a few flags, got some dowels from the local hardware store, got creative with rubber band lashings, and taa daa! Look carefully, and you might spot the Jaguar Shark (glow paint is the best).
Dopher broke his Tenenbaum flag with a less-than-graceful dismount, but shoved it in his backpack for the rest of the ride.
(he's inside - someone had a much better flag on the bike in the foreground).
Not sure what I'll do for the Clown ride, but I am hopeful the Gypsy Ride #2 be good, and the Big Lebowski ride in late August already has plans going in m'mind. Dopher needs to figure out how to ride safely while wearing a dirty bathrobe. Maybe a rear fender would help?