Sunday, July 27, 2008

Busy Weekend


It's been a busy weekend up here on the prairie. In addition to the two previous posts, it seemed good to toss in a few photos to help illustrate why living in rural areas is so...charming. As I've said before, I don't make this stuff up. This is just the way it happened.

First of all, this grasshopper was spotted on the front porch wandering around looking for his large back legs.

I came across this gathering of horses that looked rather suspicious. I heard one of them say, "Shhh....here comes somebody...". Then they all looked up at me at the same time.

We have some interesting art up here in north Denton County. At least that's what I think they call this stuff that looks intentional, but very hard to explain.

I'm constantly amazed at some of the wildlife I see in my early morning rides. This is easily the largest racoon I've ever seen hugging a mailbox.

Oh yeah, and for you dog people, I noticed that male dachshunds are not prone to celebrate diversity and have shunned Marcie.

Even though this Sunday afternoon is one of the hottest days of the year so far, the pre-church ride this morning was quite pleasant.






...and I know all about these things, because I was there.

6 comments:

  1. I don't know about your writing, but your photography is getting good enough to be scary. You know, pretty artsy...good, really good...but artsy.

    Keith

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  2. "...looks intentional, but very hard to explain."

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  3. Great photos. I sure is nice to live outside of a city isn't it? I was born and raised in a city until I was 14. Ever since, I've been moving farther and farther out. Now I'm in a nice little farming village of around 300 people.

    Soon I hope to have my own piece of land. There's just something so nice to hear no traffic, engine noise and basically nothing other than birds, cows and wind. Cheers.

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  4. Thanks, Jerome. Yes, there are certain advantages if you like quiet, cycling with less traffic, and various kinds of critters. Obviously, urban life has certain other advantages, but it's not the 20-mile bike commute planned for tomorrow morning.

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  5. Hi Chris. How is that pouch thing mounted to your front handlebars? And where did you get it? I have a neato Topeak pannier system that clips on a rack mounted to my seat post...but I think I need to haul just a bit more stuff on my commute, and don't want to wear a backpack cuz it's too sweaty! Have really enjoyed your blog and find I'm very disappointed when you haven't written for a few days.
    Rhonda (Diane)

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  6. Rhonda, thanks for the encouragement. The bag is made by Berthoud and other than being quite pricey, it's perfect for me. Here's one place to find 'em.

    http://www.wallbike.com/berthoud/berthoudhandlebarbags.htm

    The bag is mounted on a front rack. Selecting the right combination of rack and bag mounting method takes some effort, but, if you use it many hours, the final result is worth it. This is the rack I used.

    http://www.velo-orange.com/nimfrra.html

    To mount it, I first installed a thin aluminum base plate stiffener inside the bag. The front and rear edges were cut about 1/2 inch wider than the bag and folded up 90 degrees to add stiffness. Then, I drilled two holes and bolted the bag to P clamps that attach to the rack. The bag comes with a leather strap that I cinched to the riser at the rear of the rack. Therefore, it has a three-point mounting system that seems pretty solid. Some people prefer a more easily removable attachment system, but I roll my bike indoors when I commute to work, so the bag stays on all the time.

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