Supposedly this afternoon the wind hit 60 mph a the Albany Airport and I could definately hear it roaring when I was at a meeting downtown in the Alfred Smith skyscraper and when I was riding up Washington Avenue past the EducationBuilding I found myself dropping it down into the low trail riding gears just to fight the wind. Windy definately! Maybe not 77 mph fast though.
Put 77 miles on my bike this week, mostly commuting but a few side trips since Monday. I rode in all days except Wednesday when it rained. I wasn’t sure if I would be riding in today, with the cold and wind, but it wasn’t so cold but it definately was windy by mid-afternoon when I headed downtown on the bike. Rail trail on the icy portions was still slick, which is why I took Delaware Avenue home — actually to the library where I am now working on some maps and blog content for a while. In a bit I’ll head home for a late dinner, then retire to bed. I have all that bread, butternut squash, and rice that I can eat. Left in my truck to cool off.
Such an outlaw today, rode past a stopped school bus and ran a red light or two today on my bike. When I firsted started riding again I used to be so law abiding but let’s be honest, that stupid kid was fighting with his parent for 5 minutes to get on the short bus, and it wasn’t like he was crossing, and it’s not like a car, I can stop a bike a lot quicker then a car to avoid a child. I don’t think license plate readers do facial recognition, and honestly, who cares. I get a ticket, I’ll be careful next time. Same thing with the red lights – if the coast is clear – it’s sometimes good to get ahead of traffic. Plus, it’s not like we are a culture of law abiding citizens anymore, look at the President. I think he’s the biggest criminal and law-breaker of them all. I probably should have waited, but I was on a mountain bike, and it was so dang cold.
I really was hoping to camp tomorrow night, but next weekend will be better with the time change, might due to two nights if I can get out of work early. If I’m downtown after my meeting, I could just catch the earlier express home, or maybe drive in to Menands, bike back and hop in my truck and head out after work. I would have to figure out where I would want to go but I’m kind of desperate to get back out in the woods, if only to restore my sleep and clear out my mind by the fire. Warmer weather is coming, but I do worry about it getting too try too soon. I’d like to get back out to Madison County this spring, maybe the Horse Camp and to the Adirondacks, though not Good Friday and Easter, as that’s my parents 50th wedding university. We we’re discussing it at work, I should think about what I to get them. I’d rather not buy something stuff related though – something I’ll end up having to pay to get rid of in a few years when they pass away. Maybe a gift certificate to a restaurant or something. I don’t know. I hate gifts in general.
This week I find myself at working watching more and more videos about raising and butchering livestock for food and homesteading more generally. Been eyeing all the pallets around the industrial places I work left out for the taking both for bringing up to camp this summer to burn and in the future when I own land. So many ways pallets can be used around a homestead, from firewood to corrals for small livestock and gardens. At times I wish I had moved forward and bought land, but I also still love traveling and riding my bike to work. Commuting via motor vechicle just doesn’t seem like much fun in my mind. Plus I was thinking about all that paper shreds I could get from the office, and maybe get permission to put out compost food buckets to get food waste from cafeteria. And I’ve been following this Facebook page about dumpster diving, and have thought more about all the cool things I could find searching dumpsters behind businesses, like good products businesses want to get rid off. I guess I’m a bit afraid of getting yelled at, or getting the cops called on me, but what are they going to say, knock it off, and leave, you’re tresspassing? But I also don’t really have a place to collect and clean such things. It would be nice to have even less plastic growing my own food and having more of a connection to nature then some weekends in wilderness smoking grass.