This Post is for my Safety

Well, I had a friend message me this morning and tell me if I did not get back onto the blog to post I was going to get some kind of karate chop to the throat.  Or something like that.  Now, I don't really think this friend of mine has it in him to do such a thing, but I'm grateful for the accountability.....because I do need to get my ass busy writing again.  I've been slacking.  So dear friend, this one's for you.  Although you've been slacking lately too.....when will we ride together again?!?!

This last week has come and gone in a hurry.  Lots of bike riding, working, cleaning, and then my parents came to visit for the weekend.  It felt like chaos.  I'm really not used to all that extra noise in my house.  Or all the bodies!  I had to turn the heat down just because it felt so warm.  Now that they are all gone, I need to turn it back up because it feels cold again.  Imagine that.  I stayed so busy this last week that I imagine I have plenty I could write about, but not a whole lot of it feels like good story making, so I'm going to talk bikes today instead.

I've been doing some research on bikes, and perusing Craigslist almost daily to scope out deals on used bikes.  Problem is, at 5'3" I don't measure up to the average height of a woman.  Therefore, it's been impossible for me to find a used bike online in my size.  Unless I could be happy riding a Huffy or a Next bike originally purchased from Walmart.  That's a definite negative, so I went to the bike shop this weekend and took a Specialized Myka for a test ride.  They didn't have any 29ers in my size, except for one that had yet to be assembled.  The guy helping me said they would put it together and call me to come in and go for another test ride, this time on the Specialized Jet 29er.  I went home and did some more research.  From what I can tell, 29ers are not made for short people.  I'm going to go back in and ride one anyways, but I'm already feeling like it probably won't be a good fit.  I just hope that by this time next month I'm riding a new bike with front suspension.

Alright, so when I bought my camelback (actually bought a Bell brand sold at Walmart), I wondered how I would keep it clean and bacteria free.  No one I talked to seemed to have any advice for me, and the directions on the package seemed excessive.  I've come up with my own solution.  Some days if I ride and I know I'll be riding again the next day, I'll just put the whole pack in the fridge.  Otherwise I drain as much water from it as I can and then I hang it up to dry out in a manner that will hopefully prevent it from growing mold.  Probably once a month or so I will rinse the water bladder out with water that has a couple drops of bleach in it; not too much, or it leaves a bleach taste behind.  Anyways, for any one out there who hasn't thought of his or her own way to dry out your camelback to prevent mold, this is what works for me.....

And for anyone curious about my raccoon friends....I don't see them around much anymore, but here are a couple of old photos of my favorite furry raccoon friend.  He started showing up during daylight hours for a while; to make sure he got the good stuff before the other coons came around I imagine.  Just look at that face!