Conquering the Mountains

... or at least the really steep hill leading up from the Little Red Lighthouse to the West Side Highway.

Today's ride took us up the Hudson River Greenway, and past Inspiration Point (sorry, no picture -- it looked too sad to make me think it was our destination so Squidette and I rode right past it). Getting to Inspiration point involved climbing the hill just north of the George Washington Bridge -- this hill involves a climb of 80 feet in altitude over 0.7 miles for the steeper part of the ascent. I'm trying to make sense of the GPS data so this may not be totally accurate. The last part of the climb seems practically vertical and I refuse to ride down it but today I did ride up the entire ascent! And, I didn't even go into my smallest front chain ring!

After riding past Inspiration Point, we continued on the streets over to the East Side where we saw GREAT signage pointing us toward our destination. This city may finally be getting a clue. The last time we attempted this the signage was awful and we were lucky to find our way.

(This actually points in the opposite direction to where we were going but it is in the right place for it's task.)After finding the Harlem River Greenway we found a lovely park called Swindler's Cove. Wonderful plantings, lovely views. Apparently it just opened in April.



We then headed south looking for a shady spot to eat breakfast in. Let me point out that we are now on the east side of Manhattan and it is only 10:00 a.m. There really was no chance of us finding a shady spot but we kept looking ...
I believe that these are the Washington Bridge (not the G.W.), a bridge unnamed on my biking map and High Bridge. It is my intent to get to High Bridge one of these days even though it is currently not open to the public. High Bridge used to be an aqueduct, bringing water into my fair city.

After being pushed from the river due to the end of the Greenway, we rode down St. Nicholas Avenue to Adam Clayton Powell Blvd and then into Central Park. Along the way we passed many lovely buildings such as this one.
Then, into Central Park for an al fresco breakfast along the Harlem Meer followed by some unsuccessful geocaching and a ride home.
Sights along the Hudson River as we walked along looking for a geocache.
These were used to unload railroad cars from barges directly to tracks.

The view looking East from the Hudson River Greenway --

more residential buildings! Thft! Total ride: 23 miles with several hills.

And, for those of you who care, my TdF project. Just a day or so from finishing.

Summer Update

With the first two weeks of the summer now over it is time for an update on my summer goals.

Reading:

Finished: Hiroshima, John Hershey and Bound Feet & Western Dress, Pang-Mei Natasha Chang.

Working on: In the Time of Butterflies, Julia Alvarez and The God Delusion, Richard Dawkins.

On the knitting front:
Lace Scarf from handspun silk -- not yet blocked.
Men's sock -- k2, p2 ribbing on the top of the foot, stockinette on the bottom. Note the marker near the toe. I knit from the marker on up during Harry Potter this afternoon. Good movie! I would have gotten further but I dropped a stitch during one of the final scenes.
The cobweb shawl.
Fronts of Cheveron Shadows vest for the TdFKDL. Only 2 more side panels to go!

***

On the home front, we have a lot of clearing to do tomorrow so that we can paint on Monday. The turtle tank has to be emptied, the rug rolled (and tossed out if I have my way) and the furniture moved. Everything except the desk and the three remaining bookcases will go either into a kid's room or the dining area with the thought being that we can get both coats of paint on in one day and then get everything back in the room and mostly in place by dinner (not counting the book cases in our bedroom). What do you think? Are we crazy? The apartment has to be in some semblance of order by Wednesday morning so that Maria can work her magic. Worst case, the second "room" will be painted Thursday and Friday. Remember -- we only have from about 9:30 a.m. until about 3:00 p.m. to do this in ... Tomorrow, however, we are going out for a pleasure ride to Inspiration Point.

Enabling

Uh oh, I think I inadvertently purposely hooked a new spinner. Tee Hee! Penny came over and we had a spinning lesson. First she learned how to predraft, then to park and draft and finally, she took a spin on my Journey Wheel. The lady can spin! Once she was on the wheel there was no stopping her. Now if only her husband will understand.
As a thank you she brought chocolate! Yum.

***

For those of you tuning in for the TdFKAL, I have nothing new. I just barely started the second front panel but spent more time starting a plain vanilla sock for movie knitting. Have to have something to do during Harry Potter, you know.

***

On the biking front, we did the back and forth to camp thing and I am wiped out from that and some other running around I had to do today. I think early to bed is the motto for tonight. In my defense, we had a headwind heading up in the morning, I had a headwind going up to get the kids this afternoon and then, in the span of the half hour turn around, had the headwind coming home. I may have only done 23 miles but they were tough miles!

This morning I finally clocked the distance of the long hill that runs up Riverside Drive and ends at Little Squid's Camp -- 0.9 miles. Yup, almost a mile of uphill. The altitude change from the start of the hill to our end point is 90 feet. That translates to roughly 9 stories or 5 feet per block. Portions of the climb are steeper then others. Yeah, I have no idea how this compares to the Alps (a bump in the road, probably) but right now it is a big deal to me. Little Squid was proud of doing it all in one gear today. I had to go down a few to stay behind him (going slowly uphill is more difficult then just charging ahead). Coming back home I managed to finally break 17 miles / hr on the downhill stretch. Given my reticence to go downhill at speed recently, this is a big deal. I used to race down the hills in Central Park averaging 18 - 20 mph. That, however, was 16 years ago.

Squidette has finally agreed that biking to camp is a good thing and says she will consent to do it for the rest of the session, weather permitting. Yea!

Picnic Dinner

Today we decided to pick up some bread, cheese and sausage and go for a dinner picnic after camp. We rode up and got the kids, hit a greenmarket and Fairway for fresh fruit, bread and cheese (the salami turned out to be overly moldy) and then rode south to this lovely spot along the Hudson River.




After a meal al fresco, we continued downtown for ice cream sandwiches at Chocolate Haven. Yum!

***

The only knitting accomplished today was a little bit of this sock for Summer of Socks. It is the second of the pair.***

Now a question for those of you with a sense of design / proper furniture arrangement. (We have none.)

Here is the way the far wall of our living room looked before we emptied and moved three bookcases into our bedroom in anticipation of painting the walls next week.This is what it looks like right now, without the thinner bookcases.

The question: When we return the thinner cases, should we slide the 3 thicker pieces into the left corner and put the two thinner cases together on the right side near the balcony door? Or, should we move one of the two narrow-thick cabinet cases (shown) into the left hand space with the bookcases on the right near the balcony door? Or, should we leave everything alone and return it to how it was with the thin cases flanking the thicker ones?

(The space to the right of the balcony door holds a third book case.)

So? Any ideas? You have until probably Monday evening since we will probably paint during the day on Monday. Nothing exciting -- all white again. Tuesday we do the dining room / hallway and hopefully can finally call this place finished after last summer's construction fiasco.

Feel free to ask questions.

TdF: Staying with the Group

In the Tour de France Knit-along today our intrepid knitter churned out a front panel. Yesterday she did both sides to the back panel so she is solidly within the peleton.

No progress was made on the biking front, however, as yesterday was just too hot and today we had afternoon appointments to get the Squidlings to. Papa Squid and I did walk around, however, in search of an antique watch. The search was in vain but we did find this cute cat outside of Myers of Keswick. We think it may be the one who was trapped a year or so ago. I was wondering why she was rolling around on the ground for so long and then ... she adopted the pose in the last picture. Uh, got it! I had a cat when I was a kid, I know what this means!

***

The Squidlings went to the ophthalmologist earlier and now have HUGE pupils. It's kind of funny, actually. The upshot of this that Little Squid has joined the ranks of the optically challenged. No more reminding him to put on sunglasses! Woo Hoo! (We will get Transitions lenses in his glasses.) I promise pictures when he has his new glasses -- give us two weeks or so. Now I can clean 4 pair of glasses at a time! Saturday we go choose frames for me and the kids -- time to finally replace my damaged pair.

Tour de France: Crash and Recover!

When last seen, our knitter had a strong start from the gate. It looked like the vest was on course to win the first day's time trial with a completed back panel. One inch, two inches, three inches ... 17 inches! Then the knitter consulted the pattern for the next step. Knit 1, ssk, knit 28 ... knit 28? Um ... there aren't enough stitches to do that. Crash! And back to the start for our knitter. Think it was the fault of the British?

Day two dawned clear and comfortable with our knitter well rested. The stage was mostly flat and she now understood the directions. Knit. Knit. Knit. Purl. Finish up that kinky ripped out yarn. And at the end of stage 2 our knitter had recovered her place in the pelleton.On to Stage 3. Now the bikers are in Belgium and our knitter is aiming to finish the back panel. Knit. Knit. Knit. Uh oh, it's raining in Belgium. Watch the spectacular crash in the bikers version of the Tour de France. Ouch! That must hurt! Knit, Knit. Purl. SSK. And our knitter, stalled by the crash, comes in with the same time as the rest of the pack. Maybe she can pull ahead in Stage 4 -- the side panels.And somewhere in there our Knitter turned biker and rode 24 miles -- 12 of them in 95 degree heat and the 5.5 of the other 12 with a violin on her back. Her children? 11 miles to and from summer programs. Ice cream was consumed upon the completion of the second journey -- as a prologue to dinner.

Party in the Sun

Every year my sister-in-law hosts a party sometime near the 4th of July. Last year was the first year that we went and it was great! We Squid are not really party people but this is a big, casual, outdoor affair with lots of really nice, non-threatening people to talk to. Even a fairly asocial person like myself can strike up some nice conversations.
There was a bouncy house for the kids (don't ask my why it says Happy Birthday), as well as lots of water guns for family drenching fun.At one point Squidette lured me outside to be greeted by a drenching! Later we used the guns to cool off. It was HOT with temps running into the mid 90s. Phew!

Little Squid had to be forcibly pulled out of play a few times until the color in his face went back to close to its normal paper white. The kid gets seriously red in the heat. Yes, sunblock as generously applied and today he is mostly nice and pale again. (I take pride in having the palest kids in the playground!)And the food! Dear SIL married into a family that owns an Indian restaurant and they arrange for them to do the catering. YUM! Appetizers were South Indian munchies and dinner was Indian-Chinese food (what you would get if you went to a Chinese restaurant in India). Since we are New York Chinatown snobs, this is not the greatest to our palettes but if you take it as it is and remove the "Chinese" label then it is still really good food. This year we told Squidette to take careful notice of what she liked and did not like and at the end we asked and received permission to hold her Bat Mitzvah party at the restaurant. Score! Always a good thing when your kid agrees with what you want to do. Sister-in-Law

On the knitting front, I didn't bring along my TdF project but did finish a sock!

Contest Winner?

Way back when I posted this picture:Then I forgot about it for a while. We passed the site regularly but the newcomer did not jump out at me and proclaim "I'm it!" And so I continued to forget about it. Finally, I did remember and discovered that I had no clue where it was -- other then that it was along the path to the Greenmarket.

And so, yesterday we set off to the Greenmarket with two missions. 1. Farm fresh fruit and veggies and 2. figure out what was "coming soon."

We totally missed it on the outward trip, being convinced that it was on Fifth Avenue. By 19th street we had figured out the error of our ways and promised to walk back along Broadway.

On the way back, just as we were about to give up, we spotted it and, comparing it to the photo (yes, we had to take the picture along with us, we were that pathetic) confirmed that this is it.It's a bar. How anticlimactic.

No one guessed a bar so technically no one wins. Mike thinks that I get to eat the chocolate myself. I'm of a different mind but I have to think about this a bit. Give me a day or two to declare a "winner."

Tour de France: The Rainbow Jersey

Just to prove that I am paying attention to the Tour (at least today) I noticed the rider wearing the rainbow jersey. Huh? Never heard of it.

Fabian Cancellara is apparently the only person entitled to wear it for the time trials as the reigning world champion time trialer, and he may have just won the first time trial. The Rainbow Jersey is worn during road stages by the reigning world champion road racer.

And there you have it -- a TdF update. On the knitting front, the first 12 rows on the back of the vest are done.

The Tour de France

Let's say it right now -- Fr ahhh nce.

In just two hours I can start my project! Weee!
For the record, I am knitting the Cheveron Shadows Vest from the latest Knitter's Magazine.
No, I'm not cheating, this is my swatch. I'm roughing it and did a quick and dirty swatch that seems to measure right. The yarn was washed after spinning and was not stretched so it should be in its resting state and fairly stable for the knitting. (Yup, the excuses are piling up fast and furious here!)

Mike has located our local TdF channel and once we come back from the Greenmarket -- off we go!

(Since we are not riding this weekend I have to get my thrills where I can. )

On the NYC front ...
No, it does not mean what you think it means. Apparently the old owners had the last name of Bard.


This is, by the way, the Hotel Chelsea. Very famous -- I'll give you more another day.

Side Show

Bob! is who Squidette looks like this morning. She is unhappy that I am posting this but then I promised not to take her picture.

Yes, while we look a lot alike, she has fluffy hair and I have straight. This morning her hair is fluffier then usual.

Other then that, I have nothing for you. Mike and I were sloth-like in our behavior yesterday and after delivering the kids to camp by car (threat of rain and Squidette's first day) we ran some errands and hung out until it was time to retrieve the kids. Today will be similar.

Picnic on the Sheep Meadow

Yes, the Sheep Meadow in Central Park was once used for grazing sheep. Now, however, it is used for quiet recreation such as picnics and gentle games of catch, frisbee, etc. One group even brought their own cornhole set up.

We headed out with neighbors and feasted on pasta salad and cranberry muffins. Balls and disks were tossed around, ice cream was eaten (an smeared over small faces) and a good time was had by all.For your pleasure, the southern view from the middle of the Sheep Meadow.Happy 4th!

Biking to Camp

Yesterday we discovered that there are bike racks right outside of Little Squid's "camp." So today, we rode him up there and figured out how to lock up his bike. Unfortunately for him, his bike has a quick release on the seat post and we are paranoid parents so he had to take the seat and post inside with him. Apparently this led to so many questions that he does not want to have to bring it in again. We did try to get a non-quick release but it turned out to be too small so we will bring the entire bike in to a shop on Thursday and find a solution. He did enjoy the ride and if Squidette is willing to oblige, this will be a regular way of getting to camp. Her program is 10 blocks from his so we will probably lock the bikes together by his program and walk her up to her program. She is due at her program later then he is and she gets out earlier so it works all around -- as long as a parent cycles with the violin on their back.

And so, if things go the way we would like, you will see the Squid on Wheels totals going up about 11 miles a day a few times a week. The adults are actually doing twice that -- if not more.

Meanwhile ... as we were heading home the first time, we spotted a baby bird on the ground. It kept flopping over and we could not figure out where its nest was so I scooped it up and put it in a tree box so it would not get stepped on. When we came back at the end of the day, the bird was gone from the tree box and all of a sudden we spotted this:see the nest poking out from behind the sign? What we first spotted were two baby birds being fed by mama on the other side of the sign but by the time I got my camera out, they had gone back into hiding.
These flowers were spotted "growing" along 19th street as we headed for ice cream sandwiches. Nothing worth writing home about but they were decent.
And then we have these -- Go With the Flow socks from Favorite Socks. No, I did not whip these up in record time, I started them a very long time ago.

There you have it. Knitting, biking and a bit of my neighborhood. Have a Happy 4th!

Rubber Duckies

Read this.

Then start singing "Rubber Ducky." I love that song!