My first time on a tandem
On 9/30/2013 I road a tandem bicycle for the first time. It was a Huffy Albitross that Jim Tipton bought a a sale. I road it by myself first and then got on the back with Jim the second time. Very different and might be a must have for the future.
Kori's bike
Ross Dune Rider
Schwinn Varsity Sport (1547) 1977
This bike came as a package deal with the Ross from Jim. All of the decals are worn off and one pedal was missing. I stripped it down to convert to a poor man's single speed. I decided, after consulting Caleb, to go with white accents. I had Keaton pick me up a white seat at the cyclery store near him, great find. The handle bars are aluminum chopped, white taped and the lightest part on the bike. The pedals (1/2") were ordered online from an ebay site. The wheels were rusty and the front one appears to be out of round. The back one seems better but does have some noise when turning or leaning left.
This bike has now made it's way to Bloomington / Normal for it's next life with Caleb.
Schwinn Sprint 10 speed 1985
This bike was bought a couple of summers ago at a garage sale as Anna and I were turning the corner at 48th and Harrison. It was sitting on the drive way and the sale was just about over. I pulled over and parked and Anna chose to stay in the truck, eyes rolled. During the morning errands we had to swing by the bank so I happened to have some cash in my possession.
Laura and I delivered bikes to Keaton and Shelby in Glenn Carbon. we took Keaton's Diamond Back and Shelby's new Schwinn that Katon gave her for Christmas. this will be the wheels for his new commuter / recreation life down south. H
Trek 720 Mountain bike 1991 that Jim picked up for me at his neighbors garage sale. I paid $25 for this one. It was black and needed some work. The person in charge of the garage sale said that the owner bught the bike to use on his paper route. it was pretty tough looking frame wise but had good wheels and pretty new tires. I gave it to Logan, he road it a bit to get a feel for it and then decided to strip it down and paint it. Next we ventured into the single speed realm. This was a learning experience for both of us and has really tested our patience during the fine tuning stages. It has a vertical drop down and requires a tensioner to be installed. Logan has finally figured out the trick to the adjustment. We don't look to be converting one of these again any time soon. He is going to try and sell it so that we can find a more adaptable bike for single speed travel.
Update, Logan is selling it to Brennan minus the seat...
Trek 360 Road Bike 1988
Huffy times two...
Trek 7100 WSD 2009
My wonderful Wife's bike, bought new from Madison Davis. It is the perfect style for Laura with an upright sitting position for more comfort. We went with a bag for now and may progress to a basket in the future. We got this bike because we really wanted to start riding together more and also so Laura could ride more with some of the neighbor ladies. It is a very nice bike and she really likes it a lot.
I will start off with my reliable work horse...
Schwinn Sidewinder (1062) 1993
I bought this bike new at Madison Davis Bike Shop and mainly because I was turning 35 years old and I guess I needed to prove to myself that I was still capable of riding a bike, and for a long distance. I informally joined the bike club in town and started riding a few week nights with them just to get into shape and see if I could handle it. It didn't take long to realize that this bike was not a road bike but I hung in there all the same. My next and biggest adventure was to sign up for a metric century ride.
Since that time I have come back to this bike and asked it to be many things. I have kept it in its original form for the most part, swapping tires for more of a hybrid tire. Two years ago Caleb and I took bikes to Macomb and did some trail riding, that was a blast even thought it was 98 degrees that day riding thru the woods. We had a great time and the trails were pretty nice for my first real time doing that.
Of late it has become a commuter bike to get me back and forth to work. Laura and the kids got me some bags and a computer one Christmas and now I can haul most anything. A few seasons back I logged 800 miles and this season I am pushing for 1000. I plan to retire the bike after this year. I will clean it up and sell it to someone so it can continue its biking life with a new owner.
Starting to document a new hobby
Going to start documenting a new hobby that has got some of the kids interested as well. Biking and bicycles...
From WCK BB :)
Church with all four going this AM and then lunch at Wendy's. Next Caleb drove Anna and I to Sherwin Williams and then to Home Depot. We bought paint and rollers at HD and then went to Walmart for a few other items, Anna was looking for swim googles but we didn't find any there. Anna and I went to the Y in the afternoon, I worked out a bit and then went and swam with her. We stopped by Starbuck's to work on the second gift card, it was cold enough outside that we got coffee this time with lots of creamer. We came home and I opened my VDay present from Laura, it was some smell good stuff that she likes a lot. It is pretty good stuff --> now I have another oder to Me. Laura promised some cream horns to Logan so I dropped them off while on my way to Papa John's. We ate and then I painted some more, the Oscars were on so no Makeover TV. Laura went to bed early, still fighting a cold and I stayed up and read til about eleven.
From WCK BB :)
From WCK BB :)
Laura & Anna had to be up early this AM to go to contest in Warsaw. I got up shortly after them and made some coffee and read for a little while. Next on my list was to get some painting done in Caleb's new room. I charged up my bluetooth headphones and found all the painting tools and painted me a green wall. I got the next wall ready and then waited for Anna to get home. Amy S called and needed me to pick up Anna at north campus so I ran out there and picked her up. We talked about her contest and she said she got a two instead of a one, we think she may have got ripped but it didn't seem to be too upseting. I dropped her off at home and then went to the Y for rball. The girls have youth choir today so Anna will wait for Laura to get back in town. We all gathered back at home and got ready for supper at Bowen's. Laura took the left over potato soup and some cream horns with us, not sure why we have to share the dessert. We had a good time eating and laughing real hard.
From WCK BB :)
From WCK BB :)
Friday finally and stayed busy at work with Blackberry stuff. Got to walk with Laura today at lunch time and then grabbed a wrap at McD's. No kids at home when I got there after work. Anna at GMa's, Caleb with friends at QHS basketball and Keaton out with his buds. Laura made some potato soup from a recipe that she found in a mag in Peoria. Boy is that stuff REAL good, I had two bowls. I went and picked up Anna so she could eat at home. Laura has a touch of a cold and will plan to get to bed early tonight. She has to play for contest in Warsaw, IL tomorrow and Anna & her need to be on the road by 7am. Stayed up for a bit and read while waiting for the boys to check in. They are both staying at a friends house, hope they will be good :)
From WCK BB :)
From WCK BB :)
Walked at the mall for lunch and even got some fresh baked cookies, Thank You Dear. Ate at Wendy's and went back to work. Supper at home after work and even more cookies :) Anna had piano and I read, wasn't sure I was going to get Anna out of the car because there was a raccoon in the yard. We did get it scared off and Anna ran to the front door. After piano we called Mackenzie to make sure she was home so we could drop off a gift and card, she made the dean's list and Laura put some chocolates together for her. Laura practiced at home with a few kids for contest and then we watched The Office. Kori called and talked to Laura for a bit and then I talked to her about the laptop issue.
From WCK BB :)
From WCK BB :)
CPR training at work this afternoon so I will have to slip out and grab something to eat before going. Laura ate at Kelley's today with her M&D and I ran to the Shell station for some hot coffee and some crackers. I saw Steve Koetters there and talked to him for a bit before getting to class right on time. Caleb went to a JWCC basketball game with Cameran's instead of piano, he called Larry to let him know. Anna has PSR and Dede's are driving. Keaton was at home so Laura and I slipped out to take Logan his birthday present at JJ's since he is working. We got him a nice North Face jacket, and he really liked it. We ended up getting a couple of sandwiches and chips to go. Since Keaton was home we were able to leave the fireplace on so it was nice and warm in the big room. Kori called about her laptop and we talked a bit.
From WCK BB :)
From WCK BB :)
Trip to Peoria today for a pacemaker check. We left before nine AM and stopped by Walmart to get HSM 3 and a couple other items, with gas being the last on the list before heading out. I think Anna watched the movie at least twice. We made it to Lincoln and found gas at $1.83 so we filled up and went to the restrooms before driving thru Wendy's for an early lunch. We stopped at another Walmart in E Peoria for some natural soap and then went to a Deal store and found some cheaters for me because my glasses weren't in the case, they were still in my car. We made it to the Dr. office in plenty of time. Anna had a good pacemaker check and we were able to visit some of our peeps. We went up to the fourth floor to see a family that Laura has been following for awhile on Caring Bridge, they live near Jen. Laura left a note and she did get a hug before we left. We saw a few more of our special people up there too. We drove back to Springfield and went to Olive Garden before heading to the mall. We wanted to look for North Face stuff in Dick's and maybe find a piece for Logan's birthday. We did get him a very nice jacket that we hope he will like. Anna and I saw Blake and Broady in Dick's as well and talked to them for a minute. They had eaten supper and were out killing time for the evening. They will be done with class on Friday and ready to start a new job I guess. We made it home about 8:30pm and had time to relax. From WCK BB :)
Busy Monday at work, it didn't help that I had to leave at 9:30 to go to the Doctor. Appointment went well and will change one med because of cost. The kids don't have school today and Caleb is watching Justin H for the day. We did lunch with Logan, Mack, Ad, Keat and Anna at Bitters Well, heard that they had some good food and prices. The burgers were good but they charge for every extra. Service slow and no heat in the building. Great company, always fun. I Love our kids... Adam's car won't start and he suspects a battery. He and Keaton went and bought one, installed it and the car still won't start. May be the starter?? Last indoor game at K&L so I will swing by after work to watch as much as possible. Supper at home so Caleb rode home with me. Watched TV and chilled the rest of the night.
From WCK BB :)
From WCK BB :)
Church today, Keaton didn't make it up this AM. Ate at Wendy's and Laura had to leave early to get ready to work the concert at Jr High. It is the young artist concert and I am looking forward to hearing them play. I took Anna and Steph V with me, of course they went straight to the balcony. The young artist were both girls, one oboe and the other on the piano. They were both amazing, and did a wonderful job. I even got to see Laura on stage after half time. It was supper time when we got home and ate while watching Home Make Over, I don't think it was a new one.
From WCK BB :)
From WCK BB :)
I have a fasting blood test scheduled for 8:30am. Showed up at SIU and was third in line and didn't take too long. I went by CoB to get my coffee on my way back to work. Planning to meet Laura at the mall but she had a meeting first so we went to JJ's for lunch. The boys had a soccer game at 5:30pm so I went straight to K&L after work to meet up with all the fans. We all went to Maya's after the game and ate together --> us, Bowens and Faler's. We got plenty of food to eat, actually I ate too much. Left Maya's and it was snowing. Found out that Keaton got the job at Casano's, good deal. He picks up his uniform next week and then could start by the end of the week or next. After eating Caleb and I went to Walmart to get Laura her VD book and the to Hy-Vee to get her and Anna some flowers. I will get a card tomorrow. Maid it back home to relax for the evening. Stayed up and waited for Keaton to get home.
From WCK BB :)
From WCK BB :)
Walked at the mall during lunch today then ate at Wendy's. Busy at work today which kept things moving along. Checked to see if I could barrow Lawson's truck after work today but it was full of leaves, the dump closed early. He wasn't very happy about that. Turned out that Caleb and I used the Sonoma to pick up Honda. We had to take the cover off the back end before we could do that. Caleb crawled in and did all the wrench work and it went real easy. Laura took Anna to piano and then ran to the store. Caleb and I took off across town, got some gas and loaded up the bike and then tied it down real good. We used the wooden ramp that was there to load the bike, we didn't have to lift anything. On our way back we stopped and looked at cars on the Kia lot and R&R. I checked out the 2010 Soul and Caleb checked out the BMW's. We made it home, unloaded and put eveything back in place on the truck.
From WCK BB :)
From WCK BB :)
Walked at the mall during lunch today. Laura had a Dr appointment at 2pm today so we went our seperate ways after walking. I went by Shell to get some crackers and G2 for my lunch and then went out to OP to hear the Honda bike run and visit with Steve, the mechanic who did the fine work. Alex T is flying to CO this evening to visit Kori, he will be there thru the weekend. Supper at home tonight and Laura drove to and from PSR and Caleb drove me to piano, I waited and read my book and then he drove me to JJ's to visit with Logan for a bit. We hung out for a bit and talked iPod Touch and laptops before wandering home.
From WCK BB :)
From WCK BB :)
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