It was a swelteringly hot weekend that ended with nightly storms but we managed to have some fun, anyway.
I spent Saturday morning installing a trailer hitch on the minivan. While it could conceivably tow our boat, I got it to hold a hitch-mount bike rack. Installing it meant a few hours contorted under the rear of the van on the hard garage floor while wearing thick work coveralls. Early on in the work, it rained about 20 minutes. When the sun returned, it returned with a vengeance. Soon it was 85 degrees F with 85% humidity. Meanwhile, I was hand-tightening each stubborn bolt into rusted bolt-holes of the van’s frame. The good news is that by lunchtime it was ready for the new rack, which I love.
I waited until after dinner to get in a ride, however, as it was beginning to cool down. I rode the Middle Crabtree Creek greenway west to Lassiter Mill Road. Last week I became a Greenway Volunteer with the Raleigh Police Department, so I made my first check-in with RPD at 8 PM for my ride. I wore my police ID and volunteer vest as I rode the greenway, getting back within an hour as the sky was darkening. All in all it was about 10 miles.
Sunday morning I had time to spend with Travis as Kelly and Hallie met with a friend in Chapel Hill. Around 10:30 we ventured out to Horseshoe Farm Park to fly Travis’s newly-repaired model airplane. The plane spent more time in pieces on the ground than it did in the air but we were both delighted with the 20 second flights we got out of it in the meantime. It crashed about 5 times but it was only the last crash that did any lasting damage. Still, Travis was clearly thrilled with our success and didn’t stop talking the rest of the trip.
As yesterday, I checked in as a greenway volunteer before our ride. We headed east down the Neuse Rive Greenway to the bridge just past Buffaloe Road Aquatic Center. Then we returned back to the van. As I was loading the bikes back onto the car, I watched two cyclists walking over to the information booth. They were from Cary and had ridden from the Knightdale connector all the way to Horseshoe. They asked how to go further so I gave them instructions on how to get to the rest of the trail which begins at the WRAL soccer complex on Perry Creek Road. Giving them my greenway map, I happily wished them a fun ride and then I left.
In-between I made two visits to the future studio of Little Raleigh Radio, repairing the music server and fixing some networking issues. The server is up and running now and ready for more music (and programming).
All fun stuff. Not to mention a fun week to look forward to, celebrating our nation’s birth. Life is good.