Monday, May 19, 2008

Bicycling Around Town

Friday afternoon I ducked out of work a little early and went to Opal Divine's for dinner and to sit on the patio reading the newspaper drinking beer. On my way home I picked up some more street-worthy tires to replace the knobby tires on my bicycle. They're still relatively wide, using the same tubes, and aren't completely smooth, so they still allow some off-road use.
Saturday morning I installed the new tires, and also patched the front inner tube which had a pinhole leak. I rode the Night Train over to the Harley shop to check on some parts I was thinking of putting on. I wanted to change to a Rocker ignition coil, but it turns out it would be a major project, requiring a different motor mount and doing something about the ignition switch. I had lunch at Texas Roadhouse and went home and changed into shorts to go for a bicycle ride. I decided to ride over to the Wildflower Center. I was riding on the sidewalk, but forgot that there isn't a sidewalk on the north side of Slaughter west of Brodie, so I rode on the street. I've always been wary of riding in the street, especially where there isn't a bike lane, but traffic was very light. The new tires helped a lot too, they roll much better on pavement than mountain bike tires. At the Wildflower Center I walked around some, then went on one of their longer trails, stopping at a shaded bench to read the paper for a little while. On my way back home, I stopped for dinner at a new sandwich shop, which was pretty good. After relaxing for a bit after getting home, I went into the backyard to start tackling the innumerable weeds. I picked a path from the deck to the prickly pear, then set about clearing around it and uncovering the aloe and agave. I picked weeds until the daylight was fading and I was dripping sweat and covered in mosquito bites.
Sunday morning I spent another hour-plus picking weeds, working from the prickly pear to the rose, then to the mountain laurel, and the other plants in the corner. I could tell it made a big difference, but if anyone else were to come along and see it, my backyard would still look like a field of weeds. After a shower, a Dr Pepper and a granola bar I set out for a bicycle ride about 11:15. I had chicken wings and a beer at Hooters, then went to the Alamo Ritz to buy a ticket for the 3:45 showing of Big Trouble in Little China. I rode down Sixth Street to REI to pick up a spork that should have come with the Swedish mess kit I got at their sale a couple weeks ago. I then went into Book People to read a little bit of the paper and pick up a copy of Naked Lunch. I rode some of the hike-and-bike trail before heading back to the theater. I know I've seen pieces of Big Trouble, but I don't think I've ever seen the whole movie straight through. I really liked it, and the rest of the audience certainly seemed to enjoy it as well. It was 5:30 and I headed home, but I was pretty tired from all the riding I'd already done, so I wasn't going nearly as fast. It was warmer at that time as well, and the ride home started by going uphill. I was pretty sweaty when I stopped about 6:30 at Dairy Queen for a Blizzard. Once I got home I watched the drag race until I started to fall asleep a little after 10.

No comments: