Why did the mouse cross the road?

Today I was riding in a car (which I was reminded that I'm not especially good at... another thing about my driving situation that kinda makes my wife crazy - and very understandably so)...

Anyhow, (maybe I use parenthesis too much... hey! stop that!)

But we're driving down a major suburban road, having a nice conversation - my eyes never fully leaving the road because of my 'condition' (see previous post) - and there he was!

A mouse, crossing a five-lane road in broad daylight.

...

You really don't know who to root for in that situation.
I mean, on the one hand you've got a small rodent that you know is going to live somewhere that's not a field - there are no fields for fieldmice where we saw this little fella - he's not going to win any sanitation awards.
On the other hand, that's gotta be one of the boldest things I've seen in a while. A mouse? Crossing 5 lanes of traffic? The size/weight ratios here between him and ANY car on that road have to be astronomical!

...

It got me thinking about what it must be like to be that mouse:
Setting out on a journey that everyone expects to be doomed from the start.
Knowing that once you step off the curb you'd better not look back.
Realizing that you've got no other choice... than to run with the odds.

Unfortunately there are a lot of people who are having to live their lives like this. Through no fault of their own, the road is broad in front of them and they've got (at least) five lanes to get across before they come to the other side. Then, you realize, there's another curb to jump.

My prayers are with these people.

...the mouse made it across. With God's help, they can too.


...

An 'Interesting" Commute... thanks Dad!

This morning as I scooted to work along the usual 4.5 mile route, I've got to thank my Dad (not just because Father's Day was yesterday, but it helps) for teaching me how to drive.

Not that anything tragic or of even amazing significance occured this morning... but that's where Dad's wisdom comes in.

Dad taught me to drive from an early age. Not physically sitting me behind the wheel of a moving car as a 5 year old or anything, but rather, he'd share the importance of noticing and understanding the road around you - and its countless possibilities.
We'd drive on the highway, as I was 15, 16, 17 years old, and he'd make sure I was watching the road immediately ahead of me, as well as as far as was possible to be seen. You always want to look for what could happen, rather than what is happening. Watching the road, the sidewalk, the shoulder, the median, the fields next to the road, the sky... and especially what's going on behind you!

(You think I'm kidding about that list? Come on a ride with Dad or me, the hyper-vigilance drives my wife nuts...)

Today as I rode the scooter down a four-lane boulevarded road, usually quiet just after the suburban rush-hour has passed, I tooled along with one other small SUV in the other lane. Up ahead (about 250 yards) I spotted something moving... the familiar tawny of a whitetail deer. This deer was curtious, and stopped itself next to a set of mailboxes in order to look both ways before crossing. You never know what their decision will be about whether to cross in the presence of traffic or not, so I moved into the left lane behind the SUV and watched her. She was obstructed by the mailboxes a bit so as I changed lanes I let out a couple of toots on the mini-horn that the scooter has to alert the driver ahead. Sure enough, the deer waited until we were about 50 yards away (its a 35 mph road) to take her jog across. No harm, no foul.

Then, as I proceeded to get back in the right lane, I noticed workmen up ahead blocking my lane. Changing back to the left lane as we approached, the SUV (credit is due to this driver for being awake as well!) slowed to an unexpededly low pace. There was an older couple; apparently they'd been riding their bikes toward us on our sidewalk (technically illegal since this is the ONE road in town that has a bike lane in both directions, but that's not my worry for them on this occasion) and with the workmen blocking things had moved into the bike lane in the wrong direction with the anticipation of coming around and getting back on the sidewalk.
Well, the woman timed it just right so that she was in the road as we passed... and not just in the road, on the median side of our single lane on the boulevard as we passed a dumptruck, bobcat and pickup which had bogarted the right lane!
I've learned all about the fine art of Bike Salmoning from Bike Snob NYC's posts on the subject, (CAUTION: his site isn't always as 'family friendly' as some, but you might still enjoy the link.) but never expected to witness it firsthand on a suburban road in Ohio!

Regardless, all went without real incident.

...and for at least some of that I thank Dad.


"Happy Father's Day", Daddy-O!


...

Easter Sunrise

The forecast as of last night on weather.com said to expect a chilly start...

Well, see for yourself: (as of 9 p.m.)

Our 'sunrise service' is held at 7 a.m. - you'll note that its actually 8 minutes late, but that's ok as far as I'm concerned. So I'm thinking that its going to be a chilly scooter-ride tomorrow morning when I head over around 5:30.

(What!?! You're going to take the scooter? Silly Preacher!)

Well, I think I just might. There's nothing quite like riding the scoot on open roads on a morning that's meant for rejoicing. (Even if I wimp out tomorrow and take the car, the sentiment still applies.)

John 20:1-4

The Empty Tomb
1Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. 2So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don't know where they have put him!" 3So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first.

See? If Peter only had a scooter, he'd have made it to see the empty tomb first.


(...more on the resurrection of the Lord later.)
...

The "New" Bike... and being out of shape

So I finally got to ride this afternoon!

[distant cheering]

I'll write about the "New" bike's completion in a few days... once she's feeling photogenic enough to post some pics. But I've gotta say two things as of today (as I rode back to church on a 90% completed project bike)

1) I don't know how people can go without handlebar tape
2) Knobby tires are loud on pavement and really hard when you pump them up full and take them onto a little trail (75 lbs. - the recommended max pressure)

But I still smiled/grimaced joyfully most of the trip!

Oh, and the out of shape thing... its just a simple fact.
We'll get into that some more later as well.

...

Locked the Keys in...

- sigh -

I'm posting from work because I'm going to be here for a little while.
Mainly because I locked the keys in the scooter when I got here.

- sigh -

I've been spoiled, you see.
Lately (for the last three years) the drivers door of my car refuses to lock (don't tell any thieves! not that there's anything worth taking...) so I have this lessened sense of necessity when it comes to keys and locks on vehicles.
And I even anticipated this day... I told myself that I would never Never NEVER put the key into the underseat storage compartment - because once its in, it ain't comin' out on its own!

- sigh -

But I did.
When I got here, I was taking off all the wintery riding stuff that you put on to ride, but take off before you walk in because they scare people. My office keys were in the seat, so I thought that it'd be no big deal... I'd grab my scoot key when I grabbed them.

I didn't.

- click -

Oh no!

Luckily we don't live too far away, and Meghan found the spare without too much difficulty.
Thanks dear!

Even though its nothing all that drastic, its no fun feeling helpless like this.
Its no fun being without a way to access your lifeline home.
(One reason that bicycles are always a good option... but I digress.)

My daughter is getting baptized this weekend - how does that fit in today?
Hold on... we'll get there.

Trapped.
Locked Out.
Stranded.

= Not fun.

Baptism is a key.
God gives us this simple access.
He does the work.
He picks us up and is ready to take us home.

= Really good stuff.

...

My two-wheeled winter fun makers!

So I made it halfway...

Its been flurries and 37 degrees in Cleveland today, so I figure that's nice enough to warrant leaving the car at home! After lunch I put on some warm pants (snowpants), my winter coat, some warm (snowboarding) gloves, and my dress shoes (because there's no use looking silly)...

And I rode the scooter back to work.

It was great fun! With the full-face helmet I didn't have to worry about my head getting cold, and really, all that got chilly was my ankles and my chin. (THIS is why I have the goatee!)

...now there's just the return trip once it gets a little cooler. I can't wait.

I've also begun the progress on another bicycle conversion.

The above image is what the Schwinn Voyageur 11.8 originally looked like - not mine, you understand, but out-of-the-box "New". "New" back in 1981, the same year I was born.

My friend in Wyoming has blessed me with another piece of Chicago Schwinn metal to have some fun with. (This because he has blessed himself with an amazing road bike that I cannot even dream of without realizing how out of shape my legs are.) This particular bike came pre-equipped (through the workings of a previous owner) with knobby cyclocross tires, a rear rack, some other interesting odds and ends, and a Shimano Biopace crankset.

A Shimano what?
Here's what a biopace crank looks like:

You may notice something that looks like distortion in the usual circle of a crank...

...that's how its supposed to be on a Biopace crankset!

Biopace cranks aren't all that terrible, I suppose - I just don't want to go back to them now. They're intentionally made to be oblong in conjunction with your pedal stroke's strongest part - the downstroke. So you get a larger part of the gear pulling the chain while you're at your strongest... not a bad concept. However, at slow speeds and full-on cadence work the rythmn of your 'circle' (how you're supposed to pedal) is disrupted.

...plus they look funny.

So its nashbar.com to the rescue and I've got some kickin' parts on order to make me an all-chrome, knobbly, bullhorn bar, downtube-shifter, winter/summer/bring-it-on bike!

I'll share more as appropriate.

...

Bike Commuting in October

So Martin Luther became a monk after he got caught in a storm on his way from one town to another... and I've always thought, "What a wimp!"

Then I decided to ride my bike to work Monday...

I'd made it about ten pedal strokes from my driveway and the first drop hit my glasses.

Such a tiny drop, its not going to be that bad! I can take it!

So me and my road bike move on, and I realize that the first drop was nothing more than a warning shot from the heavens! The others aren't falling, but wafting at me - which means snow.

"Ugh, its not too late, I should probably just get the car." But my car was already at work, we'd left it there Sunday to go out with friends. It had the bike rack that I'd been neglecting to use this month since I got the scooter.

"I'll keep going! It'll be fine!"

I realized later that the high for the day in Cleveland was something about 42 degrees, and that was mid-day sometime. I also heard that there'd been gusts of wind in the 25 mph range in the morning (getting to 50 mph later on). I also realized that I hadn't been on my bike for better than a month...

Well, I made it. And I didn't feel the need to pray to St. Anne anywhere on the route either.

However, I did feel like a wimp.

This week, the Fat Cyclist (a much more noble blogger than I... in many ways) is not a wimp.

His family's life is serving to put the whole internet-soaked and complaining world in perspective. If you have a minute, say a prayer for Elden, Susan and their family. These people are dealing with a lot!

And my prayer, as we come up on Reformation Day (All Hallows Eve for most) and All Saints Day (Nov. 1st), that those who know about the forgiveness and joy of Christ will be able to share that depth of happiness in a world so adversely affected by tragedy and grief.

I'll recover from my bike ride, sure. And you know I'll make attempts to ride when its even colder and gustier. But lets take a moment to thank God for the BIG recovery from sin that He's given to us in the Gospel message.

And thank God for Martin Luther's fear of lightning while you're at it!

Driving the Express Lanes

A week ago we took a trip from Cleveland to Wisconsin. Such a trip necessitates going through Chicago - and if you want to come back, you've got to do it twice!
So, we took the Skyway and were looping around at a good clip - then I made a fateful choice... to take the Express lanes!

I've gone back and forth enough in past years that I should've remembered; Just because they SAY "Express Lanes" does not mean that you're going to be "Expressed" anywhere. In fact, its my opinion that express lanes are really just a way of containing the suckers in the middle of the highway so that all the people who know better can go about their lives just a little easier.

Its not a big problem, and in the end we weren't all that bad off. Maybe 10 extra minutes in the car... whatever. But its one of those lessons in life that makes you want to reflect on other "Express Lanes" in our world that may or may not be worth taking.

For instance, the literal 10-Items-or-Less express lanes... sure, a thing of beauty most days. But have you ever watched just how busy they get? And sometimes I've noticed a bored looking clerk sitting two or three ailes over in a "normal" checkout, with nothing to do but look at the light above her register to make sure that it really is on.

We like the "easy" way. We like the fast way. But is it always the best?
I'll save that sermon for another time.

By the way, we took the Express Lanes on the way home too.
...I'll never learn.

It begins...

So, here it is.

Of course this isn't IT, but rather a press-photo of the 2007 Genuine Scooter Co. "Buddy" 125cc scooter.

God-willing, by tomorrow night, a fine specimin such as you see here will be in my garage for my commuting enjoyment.

I've found myself at a loss for things to talk to myself about recently, but as of yesterday the topics are brimming over. I don't want to spoil all the fun at once, so I'll leave you with merely this teaser...

(No, really. That WAS the teaser! I've got nothing more for you today.)

Nice Days to Ride

My "favorite" bike's birthday is coming up next month.

I use the term favorite loosely, as many who are prone to bicycle would. The truth is that I simply have a soft spot in my heart for my '63 Varsity.
(see her featured as the Schwinn headliner - right)

She's going to be 45 years old on October 16th.

That's a Thursday, so I think that I'll be able to pay her some attention... I think.

You see, my job allows me a few days per week of flexibility when I am not necessarily required to be mobilized at a moment's notice: going to a hospital to visit someone just admitted is the primary culprit here. So I have established a pattern of two, sometimes 3 days/week when I can blissfully ride the 4.5 miles to work without guilt or worry of needing immediate long-range transportation.

But another variable attached to this equasion, is that I'm still a bit of a wuss when it comes to inclament weather and commuting by bike. And as it often is, the days when I cannot ride (Tues. & Wed.), it is "beautiful day today in Cleveland" - and the days when I can ride, "well, the roads are a little wet out there this morning."

Its not a very good excuse, really. She's got the right tires. She's got decent brakes. There are the original chrome fenders that rattle subtly as they glisten. She's got a flat handlebar, a nearly-vintage rear rack, and a very functionally updated rear deraileur.

...no, I'm just a wimp.