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Lately, the item hogging almost all of my cognitive thought processes has been the planning necessary for our upcoming bicycle adventure. I suspect most already know (given that I have talked about it incessantly) that we plan to meet at Ameilia's abode on Saturday, May 22, and we're then leaving from there the next morning. For AJ and I, it is about the same distance as driving to Douglas, and it will be about 5 hours closer for Nathen to drive. The three of us are taking two bicycles and a truck, and plan to trade places PRN. We will first ride south to Douglas, thence north to Muley Point, Utah, and finally, south again, ending in Eagar to once more impose on Ameilia's hospitality. Since we are traversing the same road in both directions, we will ride when going down-hill, and then throw the bikes in the the vehicle when traveling up-hill, thus covering the entire distance always riding down-hill. Nifty idea, huh? My momma raised ugly kids, not dumb ones...
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| Breakfast | Supper | Dessert |
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Sunday, 5-23-10
Impose on Ameilia |
Chicken Noodle Soup/Crackers |
Date Sticks |
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Monday, 5-24-10
Breakfast Burros Banana |
Pork Loin/Mashed Potatoes/Salad/Rolls |
Carmel |
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Tuesday, 5-25-10 Omelet/Fried Potatoes Grapes |
Lasagna/Salad/Garlic Bread |
Chocolate Chip Cookies |
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Wednesday, 5-26-10 Breakfast Sandwiches Honey Dew Melon |
Enchiladas/Spanish Rice |
Chocolate Dipped Coconut Cookies |
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Thursday, 5-27-10 Biscuits and Gravy Pineapple |
Hamburgers/French Fries |
Ice Cream |
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Friday, 5-28-10 Strawberry Crepes Cantaloupe |
Stew/Rolls |
Cheese Cake |
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Saturday, 5-29-10 Grits and Eggs Oranges |
Impose on Ameilia |
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In place of lunch, we will "snack" on: Muffins, Sweet Rolls, Potato Chips, Corn Chips, Salsa, Hard Candy, Walnuts, Pecans, and Sunflower Seeds. |
| There are so many details, and each time I plan a trip like this, there seem to be more to worry about. I don't know if the complexity increases, or my abilities diminish, but each trip seems harder than the last. |
| For example, I want to have "on bicycle" intercoms that allow the riders talk while riding single file. Dave Elliott devised a system that worked quite well, and I am attempting to copy it. I have, courtesy of Barbara, a telephone system with three cordless handsets that have intercom function. The rechargeable battery packs that came with them have a relatively short time between recharges. So, I attempted to devise a replacement "battery pack." Unfortunately, all I was able to establish was that 3.0 volts won't run the 3.6 volt system. Thinking outside the box, AJ went on-line and found a set of four rechargeable batteries that will work with the phones for $10. With an in-truck recharging system, perhaps we can make these work. It would be nice to have some time for testing, but I've only know about this trip for 10 months... |
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I think I have almost finished the work on the roof. This is the replacement that supports the back porch roof. I still have a few screws to drive, some intense cleanup, and most of a roll of tar paper to bring down, and then the job will be finished. So far, I have detected no leaks... |
| Much to Barbara's delight, Ameilia left two of her children at our house while She attended to "important business." |
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Barbara found a few things for them to do, and I'm pretty sure she enjoyed their visit. |
| It is possible that Abbie and Kylie also enjoyed their stay. |
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The other major project I have undertaken is replacing the roof on the shed. One of our recent storms blew off about a quarter of the corrugated roofing, and inspection of the rafters convinced me to not trust them to support my weight while I re-attached roofing. So, I decided to raise the side of the roof next to the rabbit house three to four feet, and then build steel trusses to bridge the entire span (18 feet) in a single pitch. |
| My plan was to use angle iron and rebar in the same design as I used for the engine hoist that is sitting next to the shed. But, finding the angle iron (for less than the GNP of some small third world countries) proved to be problematic. After a brief interlude (when I found on craigslist exactly what I wanted, but as I was unable to elicit a response from the seller), I decided to fabricate the entire truss out of 5/8" rebar which I found in Willcox (for only 20 cent/pound). This is what $160 worth of rebar looks like. |
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I had planned to construct the trusses out of equilateral triangles, such that each interior angle would be 60°, but making this tight of bend proved problematic. This was my first design for a "bender." |
| My second model I liked alot better. I took the hinges off a gate... |
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and reconfigured them to give me the right length. But alas, this was another of my great ideas that just didn't work. |
| Rebar that is 5/8" in diameter is stout enough that it just doesn't readily bend into tight corners. There were two possible solutions. The first was to soften the bar with heat and then bend it... |
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and the second was to cut it. After some thought, I purchased a cut-off saw that is "unconditionally" guaranteed for a year. My calculations suggest I will need to cut the equivalent of 16.3 feet of 5/8 inch metal. We will see how long it lasts... |
| The wildflower season is almost over in Southern Arizona and, with apologies to Ameilia, I just couldn't restrain myself from taking more photos. |
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And what good are images if you can't display them? So... once again enjoy the beauties of nature. |