So Very Proud

I am so very proud of my sister-in-law Lindy.

She founded a non-profit organization called Cancer Legal Line:  http://www.cancerlegalline.org/

She was featured on KARE11 New Sunrise.  Link to the story here:

KARE11/SUNRISE LINK

Good Things

Good things happen all of the time.  It sometimes takes a keen eye to spot them and we need to have a mindset willing to look for them.  Other times, they pop right out at you.

I discovered the merits of wearing wool for a cycling garment while on a visit to One On One Bicycle studio several years ago.  I bought a long-sleeve Spot brand jersey on a whim along with some other items.  It wasn't until I returned to my office at the time that I discovered that I had been under-charged for the price of the jersey and made the point to make an extra trip the next day to bring to Jennifer's attention the error and pay the difference.

I should be no secret that Ibex has become one of my very favorite clothing companies.  Ever since discovering them last year, taking a leap of ordering several wool long underwear items.  I was hooked.  Hooked in a big way!  So much so that my spending warranted a conversation from my lovely wife, wondering if we needed to create a separate category in Quicken? One of my favorite garments has been the Ibex Shak I ranked it one of the best cycling purchases of 2007, and with good reason:  To quote:

...my Shak jersey which I have now worn for almost 3 consecutive weeks including a Christmas party and out to dinner last night without washing ;)

The fabric is a thick weight merino wool with a tight weave on a garment made in the USA. A good cut, slightly longer in the rear to work well for cycling, but "stylish" enough to serve as casual wear as well.  Throughout fall and winter of last year, the two Shak jerseys that I purchased served an incredible range of comfort for my winter commuting survival.

Ever since discovering Ibex, I have made it a point of entering in their contest to win a free garment.

Well, sometimes a person gets lucky.  I feel fortunate in a number of ways, but my daughter took a message and I received an email from Keith Anderson, Director of Marketing & Direct Sales for Ibex last week.  I won a free Shak Jersey!  So sweet, the news completely made my day.  In talking to Keith, I shared the timeliness of the good news.  Not wanting to sound ungrateful, I inquired if I could pony up the extra money to "trade up" to the full-zip version.

Since the fall of last year, I've lusted after the full-zip version of the Shak.  Desiring its easier on, easy off, could wear it as more of a nuevo-Mr. Rogers kinda sport-cardigan sort of way.  I've been tempted, but financially incapable of sneaking through the purchase.  No doubts or hesitation about the value; worth every penny.  Just a matter of timing, and one would find its way to me that's for certain.

Well, a package arrived yesterday complete with my new full-zip black Ibex Shak wool top.  Wow... Thank You Ibex.  It's beautiful and I couldn't be happier.  Evenly cut at the bottom, it appears that it will work equally as well for cycling, but serve as even a little more "traditional" cut for casual wear!  Sweet deal indeed.

Never Enough

It's in our nature to not be satisfied with what we have.  That is my simplistic analysis of everything I've thought about or heard about over the course of the last several days.

Certainly in my case, there is not enough time to ride a bike, nor enough money to buy all the bike parts.  I got out last week two days on a fun bike. Saturday did a off-road ride for a few hours on what has become one of my favorite bikes, and old reconstituted Trek turned fixed gear mountain bike.  I was reminded of just how much I enjoy riding off road.  I  limit myself because of time restraints and the fact that in order to ride on dirt, I have to start of with a bike in the car.

This week has been all about commuting.  This weekend holds an opportunity for a long recreational ride.  I'm looking forward to some time relaxing on the bike saddle.  

Lemonade

For the last year and a half since my wife was unceremoniously relieved of her rather gainful employment, we have made the conscious decision to have her stay home and run our household.

In July of 2007 I took a new position leaving a job I really liked, but a company I didn't.  For nearly 10 years I worked as a custom code programmer for an ERP software company.  When I left, I started doing a fair amount of work on the side.  On a good night, I catch 6 hours of sleep.  The rest of my time, I seem to be glued to a computer.  All for a good cause of trying to keep us in the black.

We made cuts in spending, and have seemed to be getting by.  It was not an easy decision for anyone to come to agreement at our house.  An opportunity for my wife came along and she's decided to take it.  Flexible schedule, ample vacation time and some additional income.  Timing is right for now with the girls back in school.

She's off traveling for work for a few days on an epic whirlwind trip to the outer reaches of MN. Being essentially a 1 car family, she worked out the numbers and ound an inexpensive rental car.  Even though she is reimbursed only for mileage, we'll come out ahead, put almost 1,000 miles on someone else's car and leave me with transportation at home while she is away.

Being solo dad, some adjustment is necessary for my hours.  I'm home in the morning until a neighbor comes over around 7am to get the kids on the bus.  She shows up again in the afternoon to cover until I can get home.  My daughters are 9 and 11, old enough where we feel comfortable having them home for a short time if we need to run an errand.  It works out very well though to have coverage in the morning, keeps everyone feeling comfortable (particularly with the burglary last week.)

I have the utmost sympathy for any single parent.  It's hard enough to have a partner and keep a household working, but solo?  "Me-Time" forget about it.

What it does mean though is that my normal 5:30am departure is delayed long enough that the sun is up when I have to go.  Given the currently stressful situation, no better cure than a bike ride of course. Given the lemon, to today I made lemonade and to celebrate the moment, I rode my go-fast Rivendell and wore my most comfortable cycling clothing.  I was a rolling advertisement for Ibex, donned in Woolies Zip-T, Shak, and El Fito Knickers.  Pure cycling bliss on a beautiful Fall day.  

Thoughts before I forget

Interesting Sighting:

The other day I was approaching another cyclist as we were both headed in the same direction. I was eager for a friendly hello once I caught up.  He looked like a serious commuter, fenders, panniers, lights, etc.  As he approached a red light at Washington Ave and Plymouth, he rolled up the right side passing all of the cars that were already stopped at the light.  

Just as I was rolling up behind him, he takes a move toward crossing just before the light turned green.  When the light did turn green, a motorist looked generally concerned about the cyclist that had just passed on the right while stopped at the light and now has to negotiate around.  As the driver begins to pass, the cyclist starts yelling, cussing, and gesturing wildly at the driver.

I slowed down having decided that this a-hole of a cyclist is not the type I'm interested in talking to.

Weather:

Mornings are now dark all the way to work.  Cooler temps have me using the magic of my clothing matrix, nearly nailing perfect clothing options every day.  I found myself thinking this morning that my fear this time of year will be the cold rain.  There is no worse riding condition than 30-40 degrees and rain.

Ignorance is Bliss:

I saw a gentleman ride by yesterday with a floor pump strapped to the back of his bike rack.  That was enough to bring to my mind the fact that I have been riding without a pump on my bike for nearly 1 1/2 weeks now.  Ooops.  I'm writing this more for me to trigger myself into remembering for the 2nd day in a row now to put the pump back on the bike.

Burglary Update:

No news on when we might get our belongings back.  We did have a security system installed today.  As much as I liked Jim Thill's recommendation to store valuables in the bike shop, I lost the argument.  For my spouse's peace of mind, the house if now fully secured folks... Move along, nothing to see here.

Mileage Update:

Today is the first of October.  Missed out on a September century ride!  Darn it.  I think (not going back to look now) that this makes 2 months that I have missed doing a century in this year.  I think it's my feeling of being compelled to attend my daughter's Saturday morning soccer games that has held me back on my normal up-n-early off for hours ride time.  Finished the month with just shy of 7,650 miles year to date.