Day 79 - (AD 302) - Jim's Trek Part II - The Sequel - 21.7 Miles - This Desert Heat On My Schwinn 150

Good Day,

Today I cycled 21.7 miles on my Schwinn 150. And yes I am still cycling and getting my dose of cardio-what-ya-ma-call-it exercise. I burned 623 calories and I'm averaging about 628 a day.

I am virtually located on CA-62 E in the desert and I am about 77 miles from my next Interlake address goal. Happenstance, sort of a synchronicity, when my virtual trip location in the California desert is just about the location where this morning's episode of The West Wing was plotting out for proposed placement of solar panels. All I know is that fuel pump prices in Tampa seem to be headed in a downward direction these days.

And St. Anthony must keep following me on this virtual trip. It appears that he is the patron saint of the desert and of bacon, albeit pigs. I will not follow with any "hot-enough-to-fry-eggs" liturgies.

You know when you are definitely in Florida and trying to have a quiet restaurant meal when two almost elderly couples take the table beside you, have forgotten their hearing aids, and begin and continue a dialogue, loud enough for all ears. The topic of conservation is about every, and the history of all, their ailments and medical visits and afflictions.

And I just wanted to enjoy my Panang Curry.

This morning's episode of The West Wing is number 115 of 154. Even though I have 39 more to go I have to now start thinking of my next viewing-cycling companion... Maybe Warehouse 13?

Be healthy and enjoy,

Jim

Day 78 - (AD 301) - Jim's Trek Part II - The Sequel - 22.4 Miles - 5,900 Miles On My Schwinn 150

Good Day,

This morning's cycling on my Schwinn 150 equalled 22.4 miles. And today I have reached the 5,900th mile; my total 5,911.5. After 301 days of cycling I finally noticed that there has been some change to my chubby face from about a year ago. I think the big deal has been the loss of 11 inches on my waist, and it looks like all my drawers have to be taken in.

I am located in a desert somewhere in the southeastern part of California.  I am on;CA-62 E/Desert Center Rice Road and about 57 miles to the Arizona State border.

A very close friend of mine made mention some time ago that I may be trying to channel Forrest Gump. Of course I took that as a positive compliment... And so I have been trying to learn the associated theme music on my Yamaha, not cycle, but piano and synthesizer. Does not sound half bad, but not ready for the concert halls of the world.

First stages of the kitchen reconstruction began this morning. Day One checked off the calendar.

Replacement drive for my main PC has finally arrived. Three week trip from Idaho. Now comes the compatibility rewrites to work with Windows 8 and Linux. I need my PC.

Work continues on our Tampa Kaleidoscope quilt. Blumish Two and Cosmo's Moon are currently on display this weekend, October 10 - 12, at the MQX Quilt Festival - Pacific Northwest in Portland, Oregon. Our schedule now includes 24 projects all at various stages of design and construction.

The second band of our Vanderbilt afghan is currently under construction. All colors have been chosen. Now I will be working on the actual design as I go.


My attempt on Scotch Bonnet Pepper Sauce changed on the make. I bottled five pints of Scotch Bonnet Pepper Spread. And if I say so myself not bad on a salami and cheese roll-up. A wee bit hot, but not bad.


Be healthy and enjoy,

Jim

Day 77 - (AD 300) - Jim's Trek Part II - The Sequel - 22.0 Miles - 300 Days On My Schwinn 150

Good Day,

Today is my 300th day of cycling on my Schwinn 150 since December 2. I cycled another 22.0 miles today. The real part of my Trek, a total to date 5,889.1 miles.

And on the virtual journey I am on CA-177 N/Desert Center Rice Road. I wonder what the Google camera dudes were thinking as they traversed this dry and parched part of our country... but just think of the adventure.

I have turned off of the Christopher Columbus Intercontinental Highway and am headed in a north easterly direction. I am about 80 or so miles from the California - Arizona border.

My viewing companion while I cycled this morning is The West Wing. Today I now begin the sixth season and the negotiations regarding the Middle East continue. I wonder after Cain and Abel, and Abel and Cain, and Cain and Abel will there ever be a resolved peace. Fact or fiction, how many aeons?

This morning I received an inviting spam email from Lisa... "Not sure you can handle it. I'm a 30 lady longing for a younger man to give me a great time..."


Message to Lisa, time to get your pacemaker, your glasses, and your PC replaced.


Andy and I presented our Evolution last night in Orlando at the Florida Cabin Fever Quilters Guild. I believe we were well received and we certainly enjoyed ourselves. Thank you ever so much for the invitation.

And now to focus on the new generation of our quilts and wall hangings. Stay tuned, to Quilts SB. I will be updating once I do get my PC fixed which I hope is today or tomorrow. Three weeks is a long, too long, time.

Be healthy and enjoy,

Jim

Day 76 - (AD 299) - Jim's Trek Part II - The Sequel - 20.5 Miles - Desert Center, CA on My Schwinn 150

Good Day,

This morning my real cycling on my Schwinn 150 included another 20.5 miles. Total tally since December 2, 2012, 5,867.1 miles. And I am maintaining my reduction of waist at 33 inches. If I lose another one inch, for a total loss of 12 inches, I will have reached the same waist size that I had when I was 30 years old.

On my virtual tour I have now jumped from the Box Canyon Road onto the Christopher Columbus Transcontinental Highway. I am located, (the "B" marker), just southwest of the Julian Hinds Pump Plant Airstrip in Desert Center, California. The population of the Town of Desert Center was at 204 in 2010, but I'm not sure if it is currently abandoned today.  Can't figure that out from the Internetland.

The history of Kaiser Permanente dates back to the year 1933 and a tiny hospital in this little town called Desert Center. At that time, Kaiser and several other large construction contractors had formed an insurance consortium called Industrial Indemnity to meet their workers' compensation obligations. Interesting story, and I am amazed of what I am learning on this virtual Trek of mine.

All the quilts are packed and we're ready to go. We're presenting our Evolution Road Show this evening in Orlando at the Florida Cabin Fever quilt guild.

Hopefully my PC will be fixed this week. The broken hard drive was still under warranty and that may have had something to do with the tremendously SLOW turnaround of getting it, my PC, up and running again. But this is ridiculous...It probably would have been so much quicker to just buy a new one. The only thing is that I cannot imagine what we will one day call the next mountain of disposed computer parts.  Maybe Mount AppleGates, and makes me think about the forthtelling of the 2008 Pixar movie Wall-E.

Be healthy and enjoy,

Jim

Day 75 - (AD 298) - Jim's Trek Part II - The Sequel - 21.7 Miles - In The Desert on My Schwinn 150

Good Day,

My cycling this morning, my Schwinn 150, 21.7 miles. And today I am located and headed in a northeast direction on Box Canyon Road. From the Google satellite image it appears that this portion of Box Canyon Road is a dried up river bed. The next intersection and cross road is Power Line Road which is about six-and-a-half miles away.

I have now cycled, on my return trip back from Seattle to Tampa, 27.2% of my total Trek of cycled miles of 5,846.6. It looks like I will reach my 32nd goal and the 6,000 mile mark at about the same time.

And I was thinking that I was getting into a rut this morning as I sat down at my notebook to write to my Jim's Trek blog. I started surfing and thinking of something interesting that I may include when I noticed an article in The Guardian. It was Oliver Burkeman's October 4 article, Rise and shine: the daily routines of history's most creative minds.

Now I do not expect in anyway to go down in history as one of those minds, or in anyway paired up with the minds of the individuals mentioned in Burkeman's article...but, I can breathe.  I can look at my morning and daily routine as not necessarily a rut but a part of my journey.  And now I understand why I have adamantly focused myself of Julia Cameron's book The Artist's Way, A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity.

I wonder if the minds of the past Franklin, Rand, Beethoven, Proust, O'Keefe, et al would have used a notebook, an iPad, a Schwinn 150?

And I had one hell of a time today trying to post my images...and so I am a wee bit late posting today.

Be healthy and enjoy,

Jim