At least it seems like the rain let up for the morning walk though it’s still drizzling out a bit this morning. It should be good for the morning commute but will likely pick up later which is why I decided against biking it in this morning. Next week though as I have the heavy u-lock now installed on my bike.

Good morning! Yeah, it’s Friday! Rain showers and 71 degrees in Delmar, NY. ☔ There is a south-southeast breeze at 9 mph. 🍃. The dew point is 63 degrees. The heaviest rain has pulled to the east. Muggy and damp though. But the bad weather shouldn’t last into the weekend. The skies will clear around 9 pm.

As it was dark and raining 🌧️ I put my morning walk off for a while though now I’m off at 6:30 am. It will compact my morning down a bit before work, so I doubt I’ll have time to walk all the way down to the Park and Ride but I can always catch the express bus as it heads down Elm Avenue, maybe the Lutheran Church or down by Mike Whyland’s House, whatever that bus stop is called. Going to cook some onions, peppers, mushrooms and a ton of frozen spinach, and scramble some eggs and call that a protein-and-fiber rich breakfast that will get me going, despite not getting to bed until closer to 10 PM then I would like. Once again my sleep has been suffering since I got the bicycle, as I’ve been getting home late, like last night after shopping then bicycling home. Something has to be wrong with that bicycle front light I have — it might be a crappy cheap incandescent bulb but despite the new batteries, it really is terribly dark for riding on those suburban side streets without street lighting after dark.

Today will have a chance of showers before noon, then scattered showers and thunderstorms between noon and 5pm, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 5pm. Some of the storms could produce heavy rain. Mostly cloudy 🌦, with a high of 80 degrees at 3pm. Four degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around August 28th. Maximum dew point of 68 at 1pm. South wind around 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a half and three quarters of an inch possible. A year ago, we had partly cloudy skies in the morning with some clearing in the afternoon. It was sticky. The high last year was 96 degrees. The record high of 101 was set in 1930.

Last night I got the last part of my bike build finished, adding the heavy-gauge u-bolt lock to my bicycle. It is an Abus Granite 460 u-lock, security Grade 9. I was originally thinking Grade 10 or even higher, but it’s plenty beefy hardened-steel compared to what a lot of people use for locks out in the suburbs. It should be plenty secure if I park the bicycle at the State Capitol, near the security desk, at least during the day time. Ultimately I decided to mount the lock on the back, off the rack, mainly because I couldn’t fit the lock on the frame up front anywhere it wouldn’t be brushing against my legs.

Solar noon 🌞 is at 1:02 pm with sun having an altitude of 67.9° from the due south horizon (-2.9° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 2.4 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 7:47 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (293°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-northwest (299°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 8:28 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 19 seconds with dusk around 9:00 pm, which is 50 seconds earlier than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the Waxing Crescent 🌒 Moon in the west (264°) at an altitude of 19° from the horizon, 250,843 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 9:43 pm. At sunset, look for rain 🌧 and thunderstorms 🌩 and temperatures around 69 degrees. The dew point will be 65 degrees. There will be a west-southwest breeze at 6 mph. Today will have 14 hours and 53 minutes of daytime, a decrease of one minute and 45 seconds over yesterday.

Yesterday, I explored another Normans Kill Preserve, this time the Mohwak Hudson Land Conservancy’s Normanskill West Preserve, which is across from Delaware Plaza at the end of Normanskill Boulevard. It is a really nice preserve, with much better views and some nice benches along the creek, along with better access for the creek for fishing, and some minor rapids. The preserve is much smaller then the Normanskill Ravines Preserve I visited yesterday, but much nicer. Gets dark early there in the ravine, though it probably is a good place to keep in mind for hot summer days. Then follow it up with ice cream at Jim’s Tastee Freeze, though I didn’t partake this time as I did that on Saturday.

Then I went grocery shopping with my bicycle at Hannaford. I was pleasantly surprised how many groceries I could load into the basket on the back. I was a bit worried about the weight, as the $5 Walmart crate I bought isn’t super heavy, but it worked out fine. I think it will hold up for any load that I am likely to put on my bike. The U-lock comes off and connects my bike securely to the bike rack quickly and easily. It’s an extra-large U-lock and is pretty heavy, but it is secure. Then it slides back onto the mount on the rack. At some point, I’ll post a video showing off all the features of Blackie as I put it together.

Riding home around 9 PM, it became painfully obvious how bad the front light is on my bike. It’s okay for distance and lighting for traffic, but it doesn’t put out nearly enough light for safe riding and avoiding potholes and obstacles in the road. It won’t be good for night rides in the National Forest and is bad even in town. I was going to wait, but I think I will research and try to get a better light before vacation. Ideally, I’m thinking it would be a straight cob light that is USB-rechargeable that comes with rubber straps to hang on the down tube. This would put a lot of light over and under the front wheel, making for much safer riding, then keep the existing too dim light on the handlebar. I might see if I can clean the contacts or replace the bulb on of the existing fixture. I see they now make LED flashlight bulb replacements, which might allow me to continue to use the existing fixture but with more light output and less battery drain. Maybe that’s a good option, I could swing by the hardware store tomorrow before heading out camping. Also, I think I have dirty contacts or something else wrong with the lamp.

Tonight will have showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm before 9pm, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms between 9pm and 11pm. Some of the storms could produce heavy rain. Mostly cloudy 🌧, with a low of 60 degrees at 4am. Three degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical night around August 20th. Maximum dew point of 67 at 6pm. West wind around 6 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. In 2022, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became partly cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It was humid. It got down to 68 degrees. The record low of 47 occurred back in 1970.

If the weather is decent I may go out to Bender Mellon Farms Preserve though I think it will likely be thundery. That said, I should spend some time cleaning and getting gear loaded up in my truck for a quick start tomorrow morning for heading out to Schoharie. My kitchen and bathroom has gotten pretty dirty from all the mud I’ve tracked in and could use a good cleaning. It’s been so humid so I should get out the ammonia and tackle the places where the mold is starting to pop up again.

On this day in 1925, Dayton, Tennessee high school biology teacher John T. Scopes is found guilty of teaching evolution in class and fined $100. 🧑‍🏫 Real money back in the day. Now it’s a tank of gas. Darn criminals ruining, I mean running our country. The judge incorrectly set the fine, rather then letting the jury do it, so his conviction was overturned on appeal. The law would remain on the books until it was repealed 1967. 🚨 Also in 1983, the world’s lowest temperature in an inhabited location is recorded at Vostok Station, Antarctica at −89.2 °C (−128.6 °F). They should build a pipe and send it up north to cool off people efficiently. ☃️

Tomorrow will be partly sunny 🌞, with a high of 80 degrees at 6pm. Four degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around August 28th. Maximum dew point of 61 at 8am. Northwest wind 7 to 10 mph. A year ago, we had partly cloudy skies in the morning with some clearing in the afternoon. It was sticky. The high last year was 93 degrees. The record high of 102 was set in 1926.

The plan for tomorrow is to hit the Catskill Scenic Trail by early to mid-morning, for several hours of riding, 🚴 before heading to Mine Kill Pool 🏊 to swim for a few hours before it closes at six o’clock then head back to the state forest to camp. Days are getting a bit shorter now, though even at six o’clock I should be good to get to camp and set up. Maybe this is the day best to do Shauls and hike Vromans Nose, though it’s kind of out of my way before the riding the Catskill Scenic Trail and Mine Kill.

Looking ahead to Sunday, sunny, with a high near 84. ☀ West wind 3 to 5 mph. Maximum dew point of 61 at 7pm. Typical average high for the weekend is 84 degrees.

I was thinking of spending the whole day at camp on Sunday, indulging in a lot of reading and exploring the state forest. However, I also have a desire to visit Shaul’s this weekend. They are open on Saturday and Sunday from 9 AM to 5 PM, but closed on Monday. Perhaps I could go on Saturday, taking a northern route, then drive south to Grand George and experience the beautiful Catskill Scenic Trail. Finally, I can head back north to Mine Kill State Park. On the other hand, I don’t want to deal with the inconvenience of maneuvering in that tight campsite, securing everything, and driving on bumpy roads multiple times. It would also result in burning extra fuel. I’m not entirely sure what I truly want to do. Sometimes, I simply enjoy arriving at camp and being able to relax there for a few days without venturing out daily. I have some tough choices to make! Worse comes to worse, the real vacation starts Friday.

One month 📅 from now will be World Mosquito Day 🐞 when the sun will be setting at 7:50 pm with dusk at 8:18 pm. But with all the rain we’ve had lately, I’m sure I’ll want the DEET this weekend. And the bug net for on the hammock.