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Comments
On the subject of new vs repaired/used, being in our 50's with kids approaching college years, we broke tradition (9 new cars) this past March as well. We felt that our old Odyssey might not be up to the driving schedule we had planned for this year, and started shopping for a new van. It was a painful decision, but we ended up with a CPO '08 Toyota Sienna instead. If feels 'new enough', and we are pretty happy with the $10-12k saved.
Just kidding.
oldest stepson brought his dad a bottle of his 'home brew' .. lol (the kids are TOO old !!!)
Hope everyone is having a good summer!
tom
Bob
On a happier note happy 4th to all my friends here on the crew.
Cheers Pat.
Bob
http://www.youtube.com/v/ervaMPt4Ha0&autoplay=1
Bob
I'm not working another 4th of July, after the cluster-bleep I had to manage at the lake in our jurisdiction about 5 years ago. Seniority is worth something
I get to announce a few baseball games this weekend! Woot!
Happy, safe & sane 4th to us all!
Cheers!
Paul
I'm so sorry to hear about what you and Rita have been going thru lately. My best to both of you for a speedy recovery and some good news for a change.
Steve
I have to admit I didn't see the diabetes coming, I am not overweight, have always worked out and eat healthy. I did everything right and still I got it. It is not called the silent desease for nothing, it is now causing a lot of concern as it is reaching epidemic proportions worldwide.
Cheers Pat.
Are you going in for a "detachment" surgery on your eye then? I had two of those a while back (the first one didn't take). Thank goodness for the laptop - I was stuck in bed a total of six weeks, but fortunately was stuck in a manageable side position to keep the gas bubble in place while the eye healed, and was able to stay online the whole time. No diabetes to hinder the healing; that's an awful disease.
My octogenarian in-laws have an embroidered pillow that says "The Golden Years Suck". :shades:
Unfortunately even with surgery it can recur, so it can be an ongoing problem for life. They think though that it can be cleared up for now with laser surgery.
I Like the pillow, I like to say the golden years are gold injections and gold teeth
Yes diabetes is an awful desease, it can cause havoc with major organs.
Cheers Pat.
I've been making the rounds to doctors the past few weeks. All the tick-born stuff and a variety of other things have been ruled out, so it is probably just arthritis taking hold. It sure takes the fun out of physical activities, and I hate taking pills. Oh well....
Rita has a lot of arthritic issues, most of her fingers are all bent at crooked angles because of it, and times she is in a lot of pain.
Cheers Pat.
Makes one want to retire while your body still works good.
I just got married and returned from honeymoon in France. It's my second and final wedding at age 35, first one was age 22. Hope you and Rita have full recoveries and I'm sure you still have an outstandingly clean car.
Bob
Colin, mazel tov to you and your bride on you recent imprisonment, er...excuse me, I meant to say nuptials! I wish you both a long and happy life together.
As for myself, I am off to London tomorrow to visit my friends there...then 2 weeks in Italy to see other friends and back to London for my final week of vacation. I have a tour of Prodrive scheduled for next Monday...it should be fun.
I will post photos every now and then. Have a great summer, all of you.
Serge
I now have a 2010 Mazda3 Gt sport hatch. I didn't think I would find anything to make me as happy as the Titan did, but this is a superb car. As well as the smile on the front of it, it puts a big smile on my face everytime I get into it.
Cheers Pat.
.
Did you get to see any part of the Tour de France????
Wishing you and the happy bride all the best!
Pat, sorry about the health stuff. Hopefully after some service you'll be good for another 60k miles!
tom
No I didn't see any of Le Tour, as we were back in the US right before it started. I've been watching it closely and lusting over the new Cervelo S5-- I previously had asked Arika if I could buy a R3 but yet haven't lived up to her qualification of 'needing' it which is riding 4 days a week AND entering a race. LOL!
Anyway, we were in France 12 days including travel, spending really 10 days in Paris, Bayeux, Mont Ste Michel, Amboise, Antibes and Nice.
It was an amazing trip. I'm thankful to have seen it all, but honestly Paris was my least favorite as it was a jumbled mass of humanity. We took over 700 pictures and I threw the best 170 on Facebook, but I'm not sure if I'll put them on photobucket or anything similar. Mainly because I wrote captions for nearly all of them and I'm not keen to reproduce that..
I can't buy a new car until after we get a bigger house, which is probably 1-2 years down the road. Even then, I don't know what I'll get. I think a sedan or wagon, since the Suzuki is going to age well with the few miles wifey puts on it. (12.5k miles total so far.)
Boy, wouldn't that be nice! Unfortunately, as we adopted two kids late in life and the youngest is only 8 (been married for 30 years), I probably get to die at my desk. No retirement in my future!
The chronic stuff is a bit scary. In my case, it is a mystery disease called Sarcoidosis. Even though it has done a number on my left lung, it really doesn't slow me down too much. But I suspect that the growing joint issues are tied to it as well. The real problem is finding a doctor that understands multi-system illnesses. My pulmonary guy seems to know nothing (or even care) about joint pain. I have an appt down in NYC next month, so maybe I'll get some answers, or at least a path.
Bob
I've put it in 4-Low exactly twice, once offroad and once in deep slushy snow. I've put it in fully locked 4-Hi more than that, probably a dozen times in bad conditions. But the basic fulltime mode works really well.
I like the manual reclining rear seats, too. It's simple but effective.
It's been dead reliable thus far in its easy life, which isn't surprising.
but yet haven't lived up to her qualification of 'needing' it which is riding 4 days a week AND entering a race.
I meet the qualification of riding 4 days a week (March thru Dec), but I'll never be a racer. However, she said ENTER a race, not win it - that should be a pretty easy qualification for that high end bike you lust after!
I have to admit, that for me wrenching on bikes is as much fun as riding them. I have a basement full - largely vintage steel, some aluminum. No Ti or carbon (yet).
My number one ride, strange to admit, is my Dahon folding bike. Aluminum, 7 speed. It lives in the back of the OBW, and gets me off-site to lunch and across-site meetings daily.
Last year I did a lot of research and bought a Cannondale Quick CX hybrid bike. I've done light trail with it no problem, and it's faster than a MTB on the street/path by far. But it's definitely not a road bike... I ride my dad's Specialized Secteur and it's so much lighter, more comfortable, more efficient, and faster. (Then again, I haven't tried 25mm road tires on my Quick, maybe that would make a big difference.)
Anyway, I want to go farther and faster on the road. Seems like I need a road bike for that.
I have a "light" mountain bike now (for the past five years), but would never consider commuting on it lest my mood were one of suicide. I rode it a mile or two a few times early on, but I think I like it better just hanging on my wall....
Welcome back Pat, sorry to hear about the health issues for you and Rita.
Congrats Colin! We did 20 days in France last year. Paris was OK, but paled compared to Normandy or the Loire. I used to say, "There must be dozens of outdoor stairwells in Paris which are clean and don't smell of urine....we just never found one!"
Managed to upgrade a few parts and the saddle doing that, and wound up with a pair of commuting tires that have worked out well. Wish I had done the same thing with a road bike back in Boise where there was a lot of selection. I got rid of my old '72 era Reynolds 531 bike about a decade ago.
I can ride farther and faster now than I did in college- all because of the technology that goes into these bikes.
Maybe getting old is not too bad????
tom
The Roubaix is at the top of my list, particularly in 2011 since there is a new S-Works frame and last year's S-Works is now the 2011, sub-$3,000 base models. An amazing value.
The Cervelo R3 is similarly proportioned and for the same cobblestoned races. It doesn't get down into the Roubaix's Shimano 150 or SRAM Apex pricing, though, starting with the SRAM Rival gruppo and costing about $3600.
My dad's roadbike that I frequently ride --it's in my living room right now-- is a 2010 Specialized Secteur which has the same geometry as the Roubaix with an aluminum frame. His has the SRAM Apex gruppo and it's 21.5 pounds on my scale with enthusiast grade Mavic aluminum wheels. My hybrid bike is 26 pounds... lighter than any non-carbon mountainbike, but very heavy for something on 700c road wheels. It does have a Cannondale headshok, though, and I can do light trail with it very well.
Oh. One thing I've become very fond of is kevlar-belted tires. I hate glass/thorn flats with a passion. After several of them, all my bikes now have puncture resistant tires which hardly weigh any more and never get flats. Plus the extra weight of the tires is a lot less than the weight of carrying patches or tubes and a pump or inflator!
Bikers Charged by Moose (YouTube)
I sold the Subaru last January, I got well over Black book retail for it. The guy that bought it didn't even quibble, he knew what he was getting as soon as he saw it. Matter of fact he is still in touch with me.
To tell the truth I was initially unhappy selling it, but we went down to one car and Rita thought the Sube too big for her, she would only drive it when she absolutely had to, and then she drove like an old granny which definitely is not her style. I came to the conclusion if she really did not like driving the car it was a recipe for an accident so it had to go.
I have been extremely happy with the Mazda, man that thing likes to go and corners like it is on rails, I like to get to get on a road with lots of curves now and then and wind it out. Mazda definitely knows how to put the Zoom-Zoom in their cars.
Cheers Pat.
One of my project bikes is restoration of a 1981 Fuji S12-s road bike. The 18 speed drivetrain has gearing that is almost low enough to get the job done. Bar end shifters aren't as nice as brifters, but the Cr-Mo steel frame is very responsive yet compliant. Good enough for short rides.
What trim level do you have?
Bob
About Paris: it was really busy, and I'm convinced that there are no real rules of the road for scooters and motorcycles. Anywhere they fit, any time, any speed-- go for it.
We didn't encounter a lot of urine, though. We stayed in a hotel just off Rue Cler by the Eiffel Tower and walked everywhere. Easily did 15 miles a day, maybe more. My favorite in Paris was Orsay.. post-Renaissance art is so much more interesting than the older stuff in the Louvre.
My middle chainring is 38 and I very rarely need to get onto the smallest one on-road. On my dad's roadbike is 50/34 and 11-32; I ride around on the big chainring nearly exclusively and only use the smaller ring for the toughest hills.
What I have found to be REALLY tough is pulling my 4 year-old in a bike trailer. Kid + his water + one small toy + trailer = 65 to 68 pounds. Flat ground isn't too bad, builds good strength, but hills just burn up my legs. It's hard to ride with anyone else, even casually, when I'm pulling him.
Fortunately, he is riding his own bike now. We've only had the trailer out once this year, which is good because last year it nearly killed me a few times.
We just have a base trim V6 4WD with 5spd automatic. It has cloth seats, no sunroof, 15" wheels, etc. However it does have fully defeatable stability management, heated side mirrors, automatic climate control and automatic headlights. I got it for $16,000 out the door, at the bottom of the market in April 2009, versus a sticker price of $23,500-ish.
The only complaint I would have at all is that the rear hatch is side-hinged and on the wrong side to boot.. so you have to have about 5 feet of clearance behind you to open it, and if you're curbside another foot or two to walk around the door.
It looks like the stock Yoko Geolanders (bleh!) might wear out before winter. Whenever it's time to replace them, I'm going to put some inexpensive 17" or 18" wheels on it. The only modification so far is a draw-tite hitch I installed, but I'm thinking about a transmission cooler.
My dad had told me that he never "got" Van Gogh until he saw the works in real life. I completely understood what he meant when I saw them. I can't explain it, but it's like you can actually feel the brushstrokes. OTOH I was never blown away by Gaugin's works and I left feeling no different.