Surfacing

Haven't posted anything lately, because, well, I haven't been riding.

So, it is 6 weeks out from surgery, and the doctor cleared me to do whatever I wanted, but not all at once.

I rode out to meet Susan O for lunch, day before yesterday.  I enjoy having lunch with Susan, and she is located in the relatively flat direction.  15.75 miles on the Bleriot.  Heart rate was way up there, although I didn't feel bad.  Pace was a couple mph below my usual for that route.  And I felt every single vertical foot on the return.  I have to start somewhere.

A picture

Bikes, to prove it happened (Susan's new Wicked built by Corey Thompson)

And some new handknit socks, made with yarn I had just laying around the house

Yesterday I dug up the baby hand weights (2 lbs!), and started on the lifting program which is safe for little old ladies in nursing homes.  It does progress from there, truly.  For some of the exercises, I started with the 2lb weight, decided that was ridiculous, and used the 5lb weight.  My arms are stronger than my core at the moment.

Baby steps.

TL;DR, or, Coffeeneuring 2015 Summary

The summary.

My theme within a theme was Fibers.  Mostly knitting, but not always.  Finished projects:
Handspun Elemental Shawl
Thuja Socks

Still in process:
Flower Fair Isle Socks

Being retired, I got out whenever I wanted.

Ride: 1
Writeup
Date: Sunday, Oct 4
Destination: Council Crest Park, Portland, OR
Beverage: coffee brewed right at my picnic table, with milk and sweetner
Bike friendliness: picnic tables under shady trees.  Pretty nice!
Total mileage: 15.75 miles
Fiber tie-in: Elemental Shawl





By the way, the shawl was finally finished.



Ride: 2
Writeup
Destination: Jim and Patty's Coffee, Beaverton, OR
Date: Saturday, Oct 10
Beverage: Borgia Mocha
Bike friendliness: strip mall has the same crap wheel-breaker bike rack.  Baristas make up for it.
Total mileage: 2.73 miles
Fiber tie-in: Flower Fair Isle Socks



Ride: 3
Writeup
Destination: Nike West Campus, Edo Building coffee cart, Beaverton, OR (just across SW Walker from the THRPD ball fields)
Date: Thursday, Oct 15
Beverage: Mocha
Bike friendliness: When I worked there, I was used to wheeling my bike into any building and leaving it unlocked in the lobby, or in a corner, or under some stairs.  This day, I locked it outside.
Total mileage: 11.59 miles
Fiber tie-in: delivered 3 skeins of handspun wool, which I processed all the way from the dirty fleece right off the sheep.

Finally delivering some handspun yarn to the former co-worker who gave me four bags of fleece.



Ride: 4
Writeup
Date: Friday, Oct 16
Distance: 28.47 mi
Vertical feet: 2000
Location: Saint Cupcake SW,  1138 SW Morrison St
Bike Friendliness: Adorable whisk bike rack.  See the picture.
Bike: Rivendell
Beverage: Americano
Food: a Lemon dot and an Chocolate Hazelnut dot (mini cupcakes)
Fiber tie-in: Thuja socks, because I hit a roadblock on the Fair Isle Flower Socks.



Ride: 5? (might be too many in a week...)
Writeup
Date: Sunday, Oct 18
Distance: 4.8 miles
Destination: Ava Roasteria Beaverton
Bike: Rivendell
Beverage: Pumpkin Spice Latte
Bike Friendliness: well, they've got a rack
Fiber tie-in: Thuja socks



Ride: 6
Writeup
Date: Saturday, October 24
Distance: 2.42 miles
Destination: Hits the Spot Cafe, North Plains, OR
Bike: Sweetpea
Beverage: Coffee
Bike Friendliness: just lean it outside somewhere, don't block the door.
Fibers tie-in: Thuja socks



Finished  the socks that evening.



Ride: 7  (I think.  I might have 3 rides in one week and will need another ride)
Writeup
Date: Monday, November 2
Distance: 4.72 miles
Destination: Bogza Coffee, Beaverton, OR
Bike: Rivendell
Beverage: Borgia Mocha
Bike Friendliness: Super nice today; garage door was open, so I parked it behind my chair
Fibers tie-in: Flower Fair Isle Socks



Ride: 8  (Although my official #7)
Writeup
Date: Saturday, November 7
Distance: 2.1 miles
Destination: Verboort Sausage Festival, Verboort, OR
Bike: Sweetpea
Beverage: Coffee
Bike Friendliness: Leaned it up against a building, no lock
Fibers tie-in: Flower Fair Isle Socks



Ride: 9
Writeup
Date: Tuesday, November 10
Distance: 22 miles
Destination: Symposium Coffee, Tigard, OR
Bike: Rivendell Bleriot
Beverage: Mocha
Bike Friendliness: Bike rack outside; viewable from large windows
Fibers tie-in: Flower Fair Isle Socks

Expedient Coffeeneuring: Verboort Sausage Festival

Ride: 8  (Although my official #7)
Date: Saturday, November 7
Distance: 2.1 miles
Destination: Verboort Sausage Festival, Verboort, OR
Bike: Sweetpea
Beverage: Coffee
Bike Friendliness: Leaned it up against a building, no lock

Although I had plans to end up at a coffee shop with ceramic mugs, a fancy coffee drink, and some classy ambiance, well, it just didn't happen.

After finishing the Oregon Randonneurs Verboort Populaire, which ends at the annual Verboort Sausage Festival, I was sodden (why, yes, it did rain.  Quite a bit.), and under a time constraint to get home.



So I bought some sausage on a stick and a cup of coffee, sat down with some folks, ate the sausage, drank the coffee and knitted a bit on Sock #2.



Then I gathered myself up and rode the 2+ miles back to the start in Forest Grove with a few of the other riders.

Coffeeneuring: Civic Duty and Bogza Coffee

Ride: 7  (I think.  I might have 3 rides in one week and will need another ride)
Date: Monday, November 2
Distance: 4.72 miles
Destination: Bogza Coffee, Beaverton, OR
Bike: Rivendell
Beverage: Borgia Mocha
Bike Friendliness: Super nice today; garage door was open, so I parked it behind my chair

Library book needed returning and voting needed to happen.  All voting in Oregon is by mail, so we get our voters' pamphlet, campaign mail and ballot in plenty of time to read through it all, vote, and mail it back.  Except the election is TOMORROW, and mail might not do it.  Fortunately, the library is a official drop-off site.  For that matter, the central official ballot drop-off site is not much further, but I didn't want to go there today.

Zipped over to the library, put the book in the magic return slot (scans the book's RFID chip and checks it right back in, probably triggering an email to the next person in line for the book), and, then, VERY trustingly, did not lock the bike before going inside to drop off the ballot.  There were some missionaries hanging right by the bike rack, so they'd see if it went off with someone who wasn't me.



Contemplated a route from the library to Bogza - most direct is north on Hall Blvd, then left on Millikan Way.  A bit dicey between Broadway and Millikan, because the bike lane vanishes, the lanes are narrow, and the traffic can be swift.  Fortunately, many red lights today, so I could merge in and take the lane.

It was a nice day today, so they had one of the glass doors rolled up.  Made bike parking easy - I put it right behind the squashy chair that I wanted to sit in anyway!



Borgia Mocha, and some forward progress on the Fair Isle Flower Sock.  This sock has been very frustrating - the first contrast color I chose didn't work out (unravel!), then the sock seemed overly baggy (unravel to the end of the stranded work) and use a smaller needle.  I think I've got it now.

Fitz joined me for awhile, and then headed home to get ready for woodworking class.

I then rode home via the brand new extension of Rose Biggi Ave - it used to be a parking lot cut through, followed by some outstanding potholes, and another parking lot which gave onto Dawson St.  Now it is an excellent street and shiny new bridge over Beaverton Creek, which is formed by the confluence of Hall Creek and Messinger Creek.  Messinger Creek is currently channeled into a storm sewer which terminates right at the edge of our property, and is currently overwhelming the catch basin and private diversion pipe, and flooding our downhill neighbor.  More than you wanted to know.

Coffeeneuring, Now With More Social!

Ride: 6
Date: Saturday, October 24

Distance: 2.42 miles

Destination: Hits the Spot Cafe, North Plains, OR 

Bike: Sweetpea 

Beverage: Coffee
Bike Friendliness: just lean it outside somewhere, don't block the door.

Many of us were gathering for a friend's Big Milestone Ride this past Saturday.  Our out-of-town guest wondered if we could work in a coffeeneur expedition.  Sure, there were a couple of options.

We got ourselves to the start about a half hour early, and unloaded the bikes.  As we were doing so, Corey and Stefanie (both all the way from Olympia) drove up.  We told them where we were ending up; they thought they'd take the 1.5 block route :-)



I led Michal on a circumnavigation of North Plains, ending up at Hits the Spot Cafe, a popular permanent finish location.



Corey and Stefanie were already there, eating breakfast.  We got coffee.  Ray wandered through, but elected to skip the coffee this time.

me, Stefanie, and Corey.  Pic by Michal Young

I knitted a bit.

Then we all adjourned to the start, 1.5 blocks down the street.

Finished up the sock later, so on to the next sock project, which, with a better contrasting second yarn, is now off the back burner.  Stay tuned.

Coffeeneuring 2015: A Trip to Jim and Patty's Coffee, And Knitting Socks

Ride: 2
Destination: Jim and Patty's Coffee, Beaverton, OR
Date: Saturday, Oct 10
Beverage: Borgia Mocha
Bike friendliness: strip mall has the same crap wheel-breaker bike rack.  Baristas make up for it.
Total mileage: 2.73 miles

As my Theme this year is Fibers, and as I had completed my Elemental Lace Shawl (yay!), I had to start another project, or do something else fiber-related.  I did have a project in mind, and had only to print out the pattern and forage around for a contrast yarn and properly sized needles.  With the depth of my knitting supplies, that didn't take too long.



A storm is working its way through, and, as it was going to be another solo outing, I picked my closest favorite coffee shop, Jim and Patty's.  I managed to drop down the hill in between showers.



After locking the bike up in a suboptimal fashion to the wheel-breaker rack, I went inside and had a great chat with the barista - she is looking for a way to commute from the east end of SW Beaverton-Hillsdale to the store, without much riding ON Beaverton Hillsdale.  Sadly, most of the other options involve a some climbing, although investigating does reveal one good possibility.

Ordered a Borgia Mocha (mocha with orange), sat down, cast on a sock, and tried to start knitting on it.



Learning: the back of the store is too dark for knitting, especially with dark yarn.  I relocated to the front of the store, tinked back half the first row (there was an extra knit in the knit 2 purl 2, and it didn't come out right), and then zipped through 8 rows of ribbing.  The pattern calls for 6, but I am going to do 12, just to get a good ribbing band at the top.  The only thing I am really using the pattern FOR is the design chart for the leg.  I can knit a sock without any pattern at all.

Jim and Patty's used to be Coffee People, and there was a display of CP mugs on the counter.  I amused myself by counting out how many of them I had.  Four, and some may still be in the house.



Enjoyed the Borgia mocha, and headed home.  There was another period of non-rain, at least for the first quarter mile or so.  Luckily, it was a warm rain.

Deliveries and a Milestone

I needed 23 more miles on the bike to get a nice round number for 2010.  I also had some new socks to deliver.  The distance was about right.  The weather wasn't.  Two out of three gets it.

I was headed in the vicinity of the SW corner of West Union and Cornelius Pass, coming in from the east and south.  No problem, I'd do the standard westward route to Longbottom's, but turn north on Cornelius Pass and worry about turning left across it when I got to there (5 lanes, speeds well in excess of the posted limit).

A brief disheartening encounter at the corner of Park Way and Marlow.  Someone (not me) did not fully learn the concept of right of way and taking turns at 4 way stops.

Onward west, through a very heavy and persistent rain.  After passing the trail entrance on Evergreen, I thought - I could go under Hwy 26 on the path, and have a nice quiet neighborhood cruise and skip Cornelius Pass altogether (I'd just have to cross it at a light).  Did I mention heavy and persistent rain?  Most of the way along the path it was good, then the path just... vanished.  To be replaced by class 5 rapids!  :-(  Turn around, go back, follow the original plan.

Arrived at my destination.  Jeff opened the back door for me - best workplace bike parking ever.  Hung up the bike, peeled off layers of wet clothing and hung THEM up.  Gave Jeff a tour of Sweetpea - I've had it for several months now, but not a lot of folks have seen it in person.  Mostly just randos and some Portland Velo folks :-)

Delivery accomplished, we settled down for some visiting before the boss had to get back to work.

I thought I'd try heading home north of Hwy 26, but didn't particularly want to ride on the major roads (West Union, Bethany, etc).  You can't get there from here.  The entire area bounded by NW West Union, NW 185th, NW 143rd, and Hwy 26 is a collection of subdivisions with winding rounds, cul de sacs, and exits only at busy, high-speed roads, with poor sight lines (NW 174th).  So you CAN get there from here, but it gets a little confusing.  I hadn't ridden that stretch for some time, and some roads were renamed (the northern terminus is NW 143rd is now NW Kaiser).  Joy.  Eventually found myself at the northern terminus of Murray Rd, and headed south over the highway to eventually cross Murray at Butner, at which point it was reasonably quiet roads all the way home.

(addendum 12/30) email exchange with Tualatin Hills Park and Rec reveals that in 2013 there will be a path from Somerset to Oak Hills through Spyglass Park/Crystal Creek Park, as part of the Waterhouse Trail extension.  This will cut out the necessity of ending up on West Union.  Of course, one will still have to cross Bethany, which, by that time will be 5 lanes/high speed :-(

At the corner of Laidlaw and West Union, I was surprised by a cyclist asking if I had planned to do the upcoming New Years 200k. (yes).  Not someone I knew, and not a name I recognized, but he recognized the bike and Little Pink Bear :-)

Milestone accomplished - 4400 miles for 2010.  Most ever!

Vignettes from Whistler BC

So, we are up here skiing for a few days. We've already skied 2 days. Fitz and Rebecca went off to ski this afternoon; Brian and I are saving ourselves for tomorrow (translation: we hurt).

For someone who has not been on skis for about 2 years, and spent the last 10 months being a blob, I'm not doing too badly. At least as long as the snow is not loose and heavy. I just do not have the quads to manage that yet.

Side comment - we are not bothering to lock our skis. Husband: "they are so old, no one would want them. My poles are worth more."

It is snowing, which is good, as I understand there is a really big international event set to start here in 3 weeks that requires a whacking lot of snow. There is plenty of snow on the downhill/GS run, and they've closed them off until afterwards. Darn. But it is a really big mountain, plenty of terrain.

I've been popping my sock knitting in the pocket of my ski parka, and working on it during lunch break and apres ski break (Dusty's. I'm working my way through the hard cider offerings).

So, yesterday we were having the post-lunch cup of coffee and/or hot chocolate before venturing out again. I was knitting on my sock. (You know, if I wasn't wasting time on the internets, I could be finishing it now :-) ) And suddenly, out of the blue, a woman came over (ski area employee, nametag said she was from Sweden)... "You are knitting! Show me what you are making!" So, yes, it is a sock. She knits socks, loves the yarn, where did I get it... The family looked a bit stunned after she went back to work.

We also planned to take pictures on the medal stand, but it is still under construction. Oh well.

Flora Progress

on the knitting side...



Flora is moving along. I'm 8 rows into the armhole and v-neck decreases, so I'm about halfway. I look at other Flora and Fair Isle projects on Ravelry, and don't notice many stitch markers. I've been placing a marker at each pattern repeat. It provides a mid-row checkpoint that I've not messed up in the previous 32 stitches, plus, now that I'm doing partial repeats because of the decreases, there is a known point to count backwards from, to pick up the right stitch in the repeat. I think I've got approximately 60 more rows to go, to finish the body.



I took a side detour and knitted up the Brigid socks - needed an airplane project. The CountAble application for the Palm was an excellent row counter for the cabling and heel flap.

Next sock project will be Robyn Gallimore's Latvian Wedding Socks, with Knit Picks Felici Alexandrite and Bare sock yarns.

Finally Melting!

Our driveway is probably still the most dangerous part, but as it is 50 degrees outside, it should be melted off soon.

So, I'm knitting



Catching up on Battlestar Galactica episodes I've missed (apparently the entire first half of Season Two),

Lighting Hanukkah candles,



And having a little too much excitement in the cellar. We'd had a very toxic, petroleum-like odor, which was increasing in strength. I was the only one that could smell it for quite a few days. Then... It was coming out of the heating vents, which originate in the cellar (yes, cellar - one must go down a ladder to access it).

I went down to investigate on the 23rd, once someone came over to stand outside in case I was overcome by fumes. The cellar reeked, but I couldn't pinpoint it. So Mr. Hot Water Heater came by on the 24th - not that. Then Mr. Furnace came by a few hours later - not the furnace either, but he was really not wanting to leave until we found it.

Fitz started rummaging around in some boxes, and found a box of really old garden chemicals, one in a metal can that developed a leak. And that was it. So all the affected boxes were hauled out.

In one of them, we found two boxes of floppies. The 5-inchers. Lots of vintage software.



Oh, and we had our first mail delivery since the 23rd. Timely.

Perhaps no mitts today

The Bernat Galaxy won't work at all. Oh well. Back to the socks...

And the Knitting

Finished my first Conwy sock.



I think I have the cable thing down, now. I've cast on the second one, and have just about finished the cuff.

But my hands are cold. Rummaging around in my Ravelry queue, looking through all the mitt patterns that interest me, I found the Axel Mitts pattern (they've even spelled it correctly), and it wants chunky yarn. Two+ leftover skeins of Bernat Galaxy from my scarf are just about right. The yarn won't show the cable pattern well, but that's fine for this particular project.



However, I haven't got any double point or cable needles in 8 or 9. But wait... my MOM knits, too. Bet she'll have some. (phone call) And she does and she hasn't used them since the 70's. I'll pick them up on my way home today. With chunky yarn, they'll knit up fast, and my hands won't be cold. And I'll have mitts that match the scarf.

Canada Socks Finished!

Last summer in Michigan, when we were doing a family ride from the cottage to Trick Dog (for their Brazilian French Toast breakfast, yum! in Elberta) to Beulah (because it is at the other end of the Betsie Valley Trail), I saw the Knitting on the Road book displayed in the window of the Yarn Market, open to the Canada Socks page. Had to have it. Told everyone to wait just one minute, went into the store and bought the book (and somehow needed to buy the Lucy Neatby Fiesta Socks pattern as well; looks fiendishly challenging).

Of course, I was still knitting the Philosopher's Wool Tradition sweater and some other socks, so I couldn't start anything new. But I could leaf through the book :-)

Fast forward to this January. The sweater was done, as well as that pair of socks, and the next pair of socks was halfway through. Time to get the yarn. I couldn't find the desired colors and weight of yarn at a local yarn store (granted, I just checked one store, but I'm not driving all over town to find yarn!) Ordered the yarn from Shelridge Farms and waited. Bought a swift and yarn winder while waiting :-) Finished the other socks.



Early February, all the parts are here. Needles (sz 0 circs, sz 1 straights), yarn, swift, winder, pattern. Had a fun evening winding the yarn into center pull balls, then cast on. Hmm. Need stitch markers, since I'm using a circular needle, rather than double points. Pull out the beading supplies (trip to bead store indicated :-) ) and make some up. Yes, I could buy them, but they are so darn easy to make.



The Latvian Twist cuff was new and interesting. It looks pretty cool. The colorwork was a piece of cake after that sweater. The clock pattern down the sides was new, but just knits and purls. After that, it was just plain sock knitting.

I knit in front of the tv, and on road trips. And whenever else I find myself sitting with unoccupied hands. Not at work , although I sit in enough meetings!

Cast on sock two, and finished up this morning during the post spin class bagel breakfast.

Yay! I'd be wearing them, but they don't go with today's clothes. Tomorrow, for sure.

Sometimes, I Knit

I've been working on a sweater for about 3 1/2 years. I finally finished it in early January.

It was complicated. To celebrate, I ordered a pattern and yarn for another sweater - all one color this time, but cables and such. I'll learn how to do cables now.

Socks are fun, and a good project to take on airplanes, because they are light and small. I made three pair from self-patterning yarn, and graduated to some Really Complicated Ones with leftover yarn from the sweater.

I'd start right into the next pair of socks (yes, I ordered more yarn), but the yarn is in skeins, as is the yarn for the next sweater. It needs to be rolled into balls. Fortunately, they make tools for that sort of thing; mine will arrive tomorrow. My mom plans to be right over with HER skeins of yarn, too, as my dad is getting tired of holding it while she winds it :-)

Plus I found a really cool bicycle sock pattern (by Lucy Neatby, if you are interested), which I ordered. Plus Natalie's S'Mittens, which I'll make from leftover yarn from a sweater I knit about 10 years ago. I think I've got quite a pipeline of projects for now.