It was a reasonably warm-ish morning, meaning barely chilly, mid 40's. That sounds cold, but bear with me. The sun was up and heading for a 74'F day. I checked my tires, clipped on the helmet and closed the garage door, then headed off.
I quickly got up to speed for the downhill portion, then slowed once more for the hill. There's a climb from this street until I pass the stop sign at Hughes Road, two rights and a left. Then its level for a little while, where I gradually picked up speed, then it goes steeply downhill on Hughes to East Main at the Movie Theater. Hit around 35 mph on that bit. Maybe 40. I don't have my speedometer hooked up because I don't care that much. I sat up to use wind drag to slow me down, air shrieking through my yellow sweater, eyes half closed so they wouldn't dry out. My brakes worked fine, street was clean, no significant glass, nobody tried to cut me off or kill me.
The slope on East Main from the stoplight at Hughes was a nice speedy ride at the speed limit, again watching for traffic. Another upside to my hours is not many people go to work at 9 AM. Most are earlier. Had to brake for a dweeb in a minitruck who didn't understand that Yield does not equal Stop, but the car behind me in the narrow section of Main didn't run me over since I was doing the speed limit again for my left turn into the parking lot. I even slowly pedaled past the salon. Parked on the back porch, just like I said I would. Easy as pie. Wheezy too. Using my lungs hard for the first time in months made me cough for the next two hours. Upside is, I am breathing much easier now. Guess they needed it.
Then I worked my shift. That involved finishing a 5 day long order that the boss needs for a convention. I hope it sells really well because 5 days of labor, much of it with 3 people, is a huge financial investment for a small business like this. After that, I handled some customer service, shipped a few orders, bottled some things I needed, and finally, got around to assembling the bottling table. That was a small project. Its big, has wheels, and we had to move the parts into the space it was going, assembling it there because the alternative was moving 500 lbs of glass and I just didn't wanna. But it came together and I remain rather impressed at my memory for mechanical things Dad demonstrated over the years. I was always paying attention, as a Boy should. Once the table was together, parts went onto it. The actual bottling setup.
The company invested in a bottling system, reasonably precise, with automated pump, adjustable, and a labeling machine. We still need a few parts (air compressor) and tinkering for full functionality, but its already 3 times faster than before, and we can stand while we do it instead of hover around a rickety cart. Spent the last part of shift doing that. Spearmint and Grapefruit actually make a nice smelling blend, btw. Bottled 120 in the time it normally takes for 40. So that's good. Once a compressor is in, it can be fine tuned. Must research quiet air compressors. I really don't want noise complaints from our neighbors because it ran while they were trying to sleep. Air compressors DO THAT, and they're LOUD. WHAT? I CAN'T HEAR YOU. THE AIR COMPRESSOR IS RUNNING. WHY ARE YOU SO ANGRY? Yeah, like that. We asked the builder for a compressor recommendation rather than just buy something cheap I can't fix. They need regular maintenance, you see. All those moving parts. And the tank needs periodic draining or it will rust and explode. No, that's NOT a joke. Compressed gases should never be underestimated. One of the rules they teach in welding safety.
So after work, I pedaled home with my sweater tied to the rack with my 30 year old nautical rope, used for knot tying practice in boy scouts. That is good quality rope. It is worth mentioning that home is around 500 feet higher than work, but there's hills in the way. If I had gone back the way I came, it would mean pedaling uphill in heavy traffic in the bike lane, crossing the traffic to turn left, then going up a much steeper hill, probably pushing the bike, around 2000 feet (climbing around 500 feet) till cresting the hill, then pedaling the flat and the downhill bit (lose 100 feet) to home. In the mountains it's all about Snow Level and Elevation.
I opted to take a longer but less awful route and that turned out nice, though it had two steep hills of nearly as steep and as much climb as the first. Alta Street goes from downtown Grass Valley, dips into a small vale, then climbs a hill before turning into a much more gentle slope. I made good time once I got to that. Trouble was, getting to Alta Street meant climbing Laurel, which is a steep 300 foot high hill of distressed and decaying pavement crowded with homes and cars. Had to push up that. Couldn't pedal very far. Went red in the face. Repeat for Alta Hill. At least they have a good sidewalk, and not much traffic at all. Also, Alta has shade, so crucial on a bicycle. The flatter part of Alta Road was pretty nice going and I made good time in the shade, probably only 10-12 mph, but that's a lot faster than walking. There are businesses and homes there, mixed. Few cars passed me, so no exhaust stink. It was fine.
The Aloha shirt is perfect for cycling. Its light, moves around in slight breeze, and is very comfy. Its also bright enough to be seen.
The last bit of the ride, up Ridge Road was fast, until I climbed to Hughes. Slowed down again. When I'm stronger I won't be so slow. The slopes here are invisible in a car, but you feel them on a bike. After a hot shower to wash off all the sweat I felt lots better. My blood sugars dropped to 61 after that, so food was needed, and the extra exercise means I had to adjust my insulin pump, since exercise can drop blood sugars for 12 hours while the body adjusts. Muscles that get used absorb sugar without insulin needed, so lows are very possible.
Due to circumstances, I'll be driving to work today. Not sore, just need to carry groceries to work. So I'll wear my Tevas and a nice shirt. Be happy, all that. With Mom's health worse, being normal is very comforting.
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