They Stole My Bike

It has been a while – once again – since I have posted anything here, so let me give you a couple of updates. This will not be news to many of you, but somebody stole my bike. Yes, my 34-year old piece of metal (pictured a few posts down) with 1 working gear, no brakes, no fenders and tires that barely held air was just too much for somebody to pass by. The theft occurred sometime in the wee morning hours of June 19th. I had absent-mindedly left the overhead door to my garage open over night. The bike was way up front and not easily visible from the sidewalk, but someone found it and took it.

Interestingly, I had a lawn-light on and there was a functioning motion-detector on my drive way and inside the garage. None of these “security devices” were any deterrent at all. And, I think I actually heard the theft taking place. But, because it was sometime between 2 am and 4 am and I was groggy, I never got up to investigate the strange noises outside.

Oh well, the bike was worth – at best – maybe $3 at a garage sale. The monetary loss was minimal, except that it will cost me a lot more than $3 if I ever overcome my deep inertia and buy another one. But, it was still MY bike and I had it for 34 years! I’m still holding out hope that I may find it someday. After all, it has a lock wound around the seat, and only I have the key to that!

*********************************

OK, how about an animal update. Well, I continue to feed everything that moves in my neighborhood. The birds are actually costing me a lot more than all the other critters combined. In addition to the Cardinals and Blue Jays, Starlings and Sparrows, Yellow Finches and the Woodpecker pictured in the June 3rd posting, I also have the birds pictured here. I think they are the females of another variety of Woodpecker. They are smaller and less colorful than the others, but I am quite sure they are indeed Woodpeckers.

Also, I have named the grey cat Dusty. I am pretty sure Dusty, who was born in the late summer of 2007, is actually an off-spring of Sundown. A couple of nights ago, after dinner, Dusty was chasing bugs around in the backyard. I tried to get my camera to film it, but I was too late for that.

I have not seen Porky – the Opossum – in several weeks, but that does not mean she never shows up. I have, however, seen a very FAT raccoon who shows up every night around 11 pm and cleans up whatever Dusty and Sundown leave behind. An interesting thing about the raccoon is his/her “bravery.” If I spook one of the cats while they are eating, they are gone for the night. When I would spook Porky, she would leave for about 20 minutes. On the other hand, I did spook the raccoon several times while trying to get this picture. However, she would run behind the garage and then within 15 or 20 seconds – at most – she’d be sticking her nose out again to see if the coast was clear. We repeated this process at least a half dozen times. The appeal of the left-over cat food was far stronger than any fear of the strange lights and noises.

My Green Weekend

No, my car wasn’t in “the shop” or otherwise unavailable. It was in perfect running order. I just decided not to use it. I know I will be unable to participate in the “Bike to Work” campaign schedule for the first week of June, so I figured this was the next best thing. Therefore, my car spent the weekend tucked nicely into the garage.

Actually, I had some pretty grandiose plans for the weekend. The local paper indicated that there would be a large “garage sale” with “thousands of bikes” available for about $25 each. So, I got up early Saturday morning and walked to the sale. It was about a 35-minute walk and it was totally enjoyable. The weather was perfect, the sun was shining, the birds and squirrels and walkers and runners were active. I really decided I must do this more often. I arrived at the sale at 7:45 am ready to select my new bike. But, by this “late hour” every bike was sold. Well, actually one bike was left, but the tire was so badly twisted that it could not even be pushed, let alone ridden. Disappointed, I turned around and walked back home.

The truth is, I do have a bike. It is an old 3-speed that I bought in 1974. Now, only one of the gears works, and I have no idea which one. The best that can be said for the brakes is that they kind of slow the bike down enough so I can stick my feet down and bring it gradually to a stop. The fenders have been gone for at least 20 years. And, since I had not had it out of my shed in 4 or 5 years, I was not sure if the tires would even hold air. But, since I sort of had my heart set on biking again, I pulled the old bike out, dusted it off as best I could, and filled the totally deflated tires with air. And, I rode it.

I rode it around the neighborhood, just to make sure it could be ridden. Then, I rode to a friend’s house. That night, I rode it to a graduation party, only about a mile or so away. And, Sunday morning I rode it to church and then to breakfast. Yep, I was having a green weekend.

Sunday afternoon I walked to the store. That was not terribly difficult, as it was probably less than a mile, one way. But, the big mistake that I made was stopping to get kitty litter at the Pet Store. I will tell you; even a ¾ of a mile walk is considerably more difficult while carrying a 23-pound box of litter in one arm and a bag of groceries in the other!
But, I am no worse for the wear. Except for the bruises on my butt. And, you will be happy to know that I have no photo of them to post here!