New Possibilities

Here I was today just doing some editing on Chapter 12 (as I write this I am actually on Chapter 13) while my Twitter feed was scrolling at an alarming rate when up pops a message in Facebook from a fellow touring cyclist whom I hosted back in March/April.  He's been in New Zealand for the past few months (?) on a tour and will be returning to California on Nov. 22, to his wintering grounds in Borrego Springs.

He suggested that maybe we could ride together some after the wintering.  I am fine with that idea.  I then suggested that maybe I could ride down to visit him while he was down there.  It would mean I was gone from here for a bit, but that's okay.  I'd have to figure out exactly where he was, and it would take me a few days down and a few days back.  But I wouldn't have to carry as much stuff on the bike, probably since it would just be a "short" journey.  Definitely worth thinking about.  Definitely worth doing.

(laces are actually orange)

Would be nice to have a traveling companion who has probably 30,000+ touring miles under his belt.

I've been taken to the New Balance shoe store where I was fitted for some new shoes - paid for by the landlady where I am getting the free rent.  Mens, size 10 - EEEE width.  Yeah, I have funky shaped feet. If they were hairy, they'd be like Hobbit feet.  Then she bought me another pair that were slip-ons so that I didn't have to lace up the trainers each time I had to go outside.  Yeah, probably well over $250 in shoes for me today. And she keeps buying me new underwear.  Well, I have new underwear already that I haven't gotten to, and I tell her that really I can't take all of it on the bike. Maybe a week's worth, max.  Now I have around three weeks worth!  Plus new tops and pants and even a sort of cardigan thing and one skirt (not that I have but the new shoes to wear with the skirt, and the shoes are not really dress shoes!  And did I mention I don't wear skirts or dresses?).  However, the 2nd pair will come in handy for those midnight camping times when I have to leave the tent for the loo and don't want to step on anything nasty.

This is all just another way of how God is providing for me... giving me new shoes for the journey I will be on, shoes that I wouldn't have been able to afford, nor that I had time to go get.  The way I see it is that after the whole Britain excursion was just cut off from me - God completely closed that door there - that God provided a soft, comfortable landing for me to recover from the shock of having my dreams completely shattered.  Yes, shattered.  So the first two weeks were with a best friend, and now I will spend 4-1/2 months surrounded by the love of other friends.  Also, San Gabriel has a lot more hill work that can be done than where I used to live.  So I can build up better.

One thing left to get, really, and that would be a couple of new bras or sports bras.  The two I have are getting ratty.  Would like to get a proper fit, however, and that won't happen at K-Mart or Target, so I will have to just do my best at those stores.

I have definitely been told that I can stay in the apartment rent-free through February 2015, and that's probably about the time I will want to get on the road anyhow.  Not sure of which direction I will go except to head eastward.  If I choose to go with my friend who is a touring cyclist, we'll plan a route together.

A little rain tonight in the San Gabriel Valley with a little thunder.  Much needed moisture.

Feeling blessed

My little kitchen.

Third night sleeping on the floor although the aerobed (or lie-low as the Brits call it, but I don't know if that's how they spell it) did arrive today.  I just need to set it up.  Honestly, however, sleeping on the floor has proven quite comfortable.

Today is when Gail's workforce arrives - people who do her cleaning and gardening.  This includes her sister-in-law, Joan.  Well, I was shocked and blessed when Joan came to my door with a brand new toaster oven and some clothing and towels.  I have been given a LOT of clothing since coming here.  They probably don't understand that I won't be able to take any of these things with me on the bike when I leave, but nevertheless these things are welcome right now.

So today I have been sitting back and resting.  Still feeling like I need to crash every few hours and take a nap, but I think that's still the anemia talking to me.

I really need to get out on the bike and explore the area.  I did find a local bike shop that's about 3 miles away, so I will ride up to them and introduce myself.  I need to get some more ankle bands to secure my long pants at my ankles so that they don't get caught and torn in the chain.  I had them while at Jeanette's house, but one of them disappeared because I didn't put them away properly...and the sock thief, Opie (short for Optimus Prime - he was a Chiweenie), may have taken off with it.  That little dog would take off with anything but mostly socks.  I'm not saying Opie took it.  It could have fallen down between the sofa cushions, and I just never really looked for it.  But, it definitely disappeared there.  Not that I care.  Just need to replace it, that's all.  However, I actually only need to have one for the right leg since it is the one that comes in contact with the gears if not tied down.

Last night we looked and looked for one of the cats.  I knew Sealy hadn't gotten out, but where he was hiding was a complete mystery - and there are only so many places he can hide.  The cabinets in the kitchen are open and we looked in all those, but he wasn't there... then Gail pulled out the top drawer... and he had crawled into the cabinet and up behind the drawer and gotten into the drawer.  How long he was in there we don't know, but a long time.  Hours.  So today I checked that drawer first thing, and he hadn't gotten in there again, but an hour later I found him in that drawer.  So, I have temporarily removed the drawer.  He's not hiding in there from me again!  The cats have not at all warmed up to me yet, but it may take them a few weeks.  I have managed to pet them, however, so there's a little progress.

Shifting cycling plans

I saw this on my ride yesterday.

I am a part-time caretaker for a disabled woman and have been for the last 3-1/2 years.  She has been in and out of hospital five times since I've been working for her, mostly due to intestinal issues (mostly due to diet issues, but I won't go down that story at the moment).  She is also a Life Master at the game of Bridge, and when she's feeling up to it, I take her to play at the local Bridge clubs 2-4 times per week.  Recently she had scheduled herself to play in a Bridge Regional down in San Diego at the end of March.  Now, this meant that I would be out of work for a couple days (unpaid days), so I thought that with a 4-day weekend that I would make the most of it by trying to push myself with four 50-mile days in a row - because if I wasn't going to be working, I would try to make good use of the time and try to push myself.  It would be a small taste of what it would be like to be on the road for a long trip averaging 50 miles a day, and it totaled 200 miles, which is approximately the mileage needed to get from the Santa Monica beaches to the border of California.  However, due to her latest hospitalization, the San Diego plans were scrapped.  The means I'm working, which is good, but my 4-day plans are also scrapped.

I'm currently far behind on my cycling goals for the year, but I know things will catch up in the upcoming months.

Ballona Creek with a friend

My friend Nessie from Hollywood and I decided to do a bike ride, but I wanted to take her on a new route, so I told her I would take her on the bike path that goes through Marina Del Rey and that we would go down to the Ballona Creek Bridge.

I ended up driving into Hollywood to pick her and her bike up and then back to my place where we pumped up her tires and then left about 10:30 A.M.  I'm not sure what time we got down there, but we each took lots of pics with our cameras and also some videos.

People on the bike path through the marina parking lots.

Ballona Creek Bridge.  Stopping grounds for lots of cyclists.

 She noticed how low the planes were flying, and I said that LAX was very close and that we could go down to the part of the bike path that is directly in front of the runways, and she wanted to do that, so off we went.  When we got down there, we look more photos and videos.  Part of the bike path was closed off, and that was the part in front of the runway.  There was another cyclist there, and he was sitting on a bench with his back turned to us as we talked and snapped pics for about 10 minutes.  Finally he got up and left and I asked him, "Were we disturbing you?"  "Yes," he responded matter-of-fact.  Oh well.  He doesn't own that spot.  Lots more private areas for contemplation.

We rode down to where the 105 Imperial Hwy dead ends/connects to the bike path, then turned around and went back.

We decided to take the entire Ballona Creek Bike Trail to it's eastern end since she hadn't gone that way before, and she got unnerved by a lot of the graffitti past Overland, but I didn't think anything of it (still don't).  We then wove through the neighborhoods, go back onto National, over to Regent, to Cattaragus, to Reynier, and then wiggling back through suburbia for 4.5 miles back to West Hollywood.  We rode about 32 miles total.

I motored her bike back into Hollywood.  And we were done.  It was late in the day.  Rewarded myself with a hamburger happy meal from McDs.

Wolfpack Hustle

It has not been the greatest month for cycling - only 140 miles.  I am becoming more and more aware of the Wolfpack Hustle.  On the one hand I hate the complete disregard for traffic and safety, but on the other hand I admire the speed and agility in traffic and often wish I could get up to a decent speed.  Now when I'm sprinting across an intersection, I tell myself, "wolfpack hustle, wolfpack hustle" to encourage myself, but still don't generally break 18 mph, and if I do, it's only long enough to get across the intersection.  So, I'm 110 miles short of my monthly goal, and that's not an easy target to make up, because now I start February and getting it up to speed.  I have all three rear panniers on the bike now, and I plan on traveling with all three as much as possible, although two are not loaded with anything.