We put in another day hanging drywall today. We finished most of the walls and the bathroom ceiling. Pro tip: start drywall with the ceiling first.
It rained last night and this morning so we were delayed an hour getting started. After another cup of coffee we started measuring layout and cutting the boards to fit.
Spent another day hanging drywall. Walked most of fence-line trail with Kate after dinner. Tired today. Good tired though.
We built a 320 sq ft cabin 2 years ago. It started life as a guest restroom/bath-house but quickly evolved into a larger structure. Last year the windows and insulation were finished. This year we are adding solar power which means we need to finish the drywall. This weekend Kate’s dad and I are hanging, taping, and mudding the drywall.
Today we hung the ceiling and half of the walls. We rented a drywall lift to make hanging the ceiling almost easy. If you ever need to drywall a ceiling be sure to rent a lift.
I hung drywall. Now my back is sad.
It seems like we all need to give each other more respect. Can you help out, please?
I am building trails for biking and hiking on our land in Colorado. In a prior post I talked about the fence-line trail that surrounds the perimeter of our land. The previous owner made the trail by walking it multiple times a day for decades. The problem is its a little narrow for a bike trail, and we have let the vegetation take parts of it over.
My next trail building project is going to be a rebuilding of the fence-line trail. The goal will be to cut back the vegetation and widen the existing trail to 18 to 24 inches. This will make it more fun to ride by people of any skill level. It will also improve the drainage which will help keep it ride-able.
I have said that making a trail is making a shallow ditch. You are digging a few inches into the ground and removing vegetation. I would refine that to say that trail building is more akin to tilling a garden. In a garden you are moving vegetation by weeding out any plant that is not what you want to grow. Building a trail is the same but you don’t want any vegetation to grow.
The tools for trail building match the gardening metaphor as well. Rogue Hoe’s trail building line of tools are all hoes and rakes. Currently I have been using my metal rake the most to build the section of fence-line and kiss of cactus trails. It levels out the dirt and removes dead vegetation and large rocks.
The issue I am starting to run into more is the live vegetation that has good root structure. For this I need a tool that cuts more than the metal rake does. Professional trail builders and forest firefighters in the US have used the McLeod for over a century by combining the rake with a hoe. One of our good friends is a retired forest service firefighter and recommended I grab the 55HR – 5.5″ Hoe/Rake for what I need. Rogue Hoe is a small family company that I am excited to support and it looks like the tool is very high quality.
I have been taking it easy this week but am still getting my workouts in. Raking a trail for 30 minutes gets a good sweat going. My goal is to have the fence-line trail completed within two weeks. Once the 55HR arrives I should be able to move even faster. Hopefully I will have the next segment of trail completed by the end of June.
When we hit the road in 2014 we had already installed a solar system on our trailer. It allows us to park anywhere there is cell signal and do our computer work stuff. Overall its one of the best home improvements we have ever done. It has worked great for us and has improved our understanding and respect for electricity.
Now we have built a cabin on our land. We are planning to power it with solar power and have used our knowledge from the trailer to build a larger system. We are also getting great support from our supplier to ensure everything works safely.
This is going to be another multiple part series because there is a lot to talk about.
In this part I will talk about the 2 basic types of solar electric systems for a home
Most residential homes and businesses are grid tie solar systems. When we lived in Phoenix we put solar on our home and haven’t paid an electric bill in 8 years. These systems create electricity from the sun and then put it back into the larger electrical grid. Then as the home needs electricity it pulls from the grid. Laws called net Metering force the utilities to give you credit for the energy you give them.
Our trailer and the cabin are going to be off-grid solar systems. This means that we not only create the electricity, but we also have to build a storage system like the electrical grid. This is done with batteries. Because batteries have a limited amount of power the trick is buying enough batteries for what you need. This is done using a spreadsheet or any number of online solar calculators.
For the cabins system we are going to double the size of our solar production and battery storage capacity. This will allow us to have a residential refrigerator, a clothes washer, and a few appliances. The plan is to make it a killer guest house, and maybe we will spend some of the colder months in it.
In the next episode we will talk about batteries.
I am taking it easier this week and have cut back on the strength training. Its not my favorite workout right now and I have enjoyed sleeping in a little bit.
One channel I have enjoyed watching for a few years now is Seth’s Bike Hacks. The videos are about riding your bike but are also really well done. While, I am not quite as crazy a rider as Seth is, the entertainment value is very good. He has also been building trails on his land which is something I have started doing as well.
His videos are mainly mountain bike focused and he made some beginner videos a little while ago:
Overall the videos are fun to watch and you can learn a lot too.
I have to admit that the 2 rides I did this weekend wiped me out pretty good. I am suppose to do strength training today but think I am just gonna walk the land and enjoy the scenery. Oh and also plan my trail system. 😎
Happy Memorial Day to those in the US. Happy Monday to everyone else!
In yesterdays post we talked about choosing a bike based on the style of riding you plan on doing. TLDR; if you are just getting started I suggest getting either a cruiser or hard tail mountain bike. Either one will be comfortable and affordable. Cruiser for pavement riding, mountain bike for dirt riding, although it will also be good on the pavement.
Today we are talking about clothing and tools. For many people the thought of riding a bike means spandex. While spandex does make cycling a lot more comfortable it is not necessary. As a beginner you want to focus on being comfortable and spending as little as possible. You still need to figure out if you want to ride a bike.
The easiest outfit to start of riding a bike in is whatever you wear for working out it already. Shorts and a t-shirt made of anything but cotton. You should avoid cotton as it absorbs moisture and that means your seat is gonna get wet. Which can cause chafing and all kinds of bad things. Athletic underwear, socks, shorts, and shirt are the best combo to keep you dry and happy. On days where I am just spinning the pedals for 30 minutes I will wear the same clothes I wear for my strength training.
For shoes you can get away with running or tennis shoes. You should not be considering clip in pedals yet. If you don’t know what clip in pedals are then even better. You should just have flat pedals that are large enough for your foot to comfortably fit on. If you need to buy shoes you shouldn’t need to spend over $50.
There is strong debate about whether wearing a bike helmet makes you any safer. For city riding at reasonable speeds I do not think wearing a helmet is necessary. However if you are going to ride longer distances at higher speed you should consider wearing a helmet. If you are going to do any riding on dirt or trails I think you should wear a helmet.
The most basic tools you should have to get started are a water bottle, multi-tool, floor pump, tire levers, spare tubes, and chain lube. With these tools you will be able to stay hydrated, tighten almost any bolt on the bike, inflate the tires, change a tire, and maintain the chain.
Having a water bottle with you on a bike is a good idea. Since you are riding at a faster speed than when walking or running you will need more water to stay hydrated. Also the bike usually has one or two bottle holders just sitting there to be used. I like the Camelback Podium Chill bottles as they keep your water colder:
A good multi-tool is small enough to fit in a pocket and has enough tools to fix just about anything on your bike.
For a bike pump I have had this Specialized Pump for years. You can find it a many local bike shops in the US, but you cannot find it on Amazon.com. Having a good pump with an accurate gauge will last you a long time. It is important that you check your tire pressure before every ride. The recommended pressure is usually written on the sidewall of the tire. Having it properly inflated will make the ride smoother and reduce the chance of a pinch flat.
Bike tubes come in a variety of sizes and even valve types. Once you get your first bike you will then know what type of bike tubes to buy. Most road type bikes are 700c and most mountain bike types are 26 inch for the diameter of the tube. There are also a variety of widths involved. The 2 valve types are Schrader and Presta and are determined by the size of the hole in you rim. Again, once you get your bike you will know what size tube and type of valve to get. Prices on tubes seem to be going up. I remember them being 2 to 3 dollars a piece but now they are more. They also vary in price. You should be able to get the lowest cost ones and be fine. Be sure to have at least 2 spare tubes and a patch kit:
On a bike with gears you need to pay attention to the chain. If it is not properly lubricated it can shift poorly or even break. You can use regular oil to lubricate the chain but it will get dirty very quickly. Before I changed to waxing my chain I used this lube:
All in all you will probably spend about $100 on the basic tools to start bike riding with. With these tools you should be able to avoid going to the bike shop unless a more serious mechanical issue occurs.
Having the right clothing to start bike riding is pretty easy. Just avoid cotton at all costs. Deciding to wear a helmet is up to you but if you are going on dirt or off road its generally a good idea as falling is more likely. Getting the basic set of tools mentioned means you will be self sufficient unless you have something break on the bike. With those tools and Youtube you will be able to keep your bike running without visiting the bike shop, unless you have money burning a hole in your pocket.
Today was a strength day but last night I was up late looking for a friend who was supposed to be on a 2 hour ride. They ended up being fine but I ended up staying up late trying to get yesterdays post done. So I slept in this morning. However, after my work shift I did spend an hour working on a new trail I am building on my land. It was a decent workout and I made some good progress. I will write some articles about that process soon!
I hope this was helpful. Let me know if you have any questions in the comments below. Tomorrow we cover how to stay safe on your bike. See you then!
Today marks the 20th day of the 100 days of blogging challenge. We are 1/5th of the way through the challenge and I am happy to have made it this far. My past attempts at something like this have been for 30 days and I don’t know that I made it past 10 days in those. I also feel like I am writing a little better, maybe. 😃
When I proposed the challenge my thinking was that this would be something good to distract us from the Pandemic. My goal is to write about something positive happening in my world each day. Since I am in the middle of a training program I always have the fallback of talking about my daily workout, which seems to qualify as a positive thing by default.
I am also trying to push beyond just talking about my workouts. Getting into different aspects of my day without dwelling on the negatives. There isn’t a coherent strategy to any of this, its just my life. By focusing on positive things I sense that it helps me keep a better attitude about the larger situation we are all in.
Some days I worry that I am not writing about something interesting for others to read. Usually my wife sees this and reminds me that the point of the challenge isn’t to become a professional blogger. The point is to post something positive everyday for 100 days. If others happen to find something interesting there then great. Otherwise I am at least meeting the challenge.
Showing up is 80 percent of life
Woody Allen
Will writing these 100 blog posts increase my fame and fortune? Probably not directly but who knows what will happen. Simply showing up at the keyboard that I already spend a minimum of 8 hours on a day, and writing about anything has to accrue some meaning. Maybe its inspiring someone else to do the same? Since I work remotely this may help me connect with coworkers, and lead to better communication during work? At the very least I am practicing my writing.
Today is a strength training day and I did the recommended routine. I was feeling really tired last night and still a bit this morning. I did the workout but a little slower and chose to listen to an audio-book rather than loud fast music.
Overall I felt pretty good about the workout but am paying attention to how tired I have been feeling. I don’t think I am at risk of over-training but it is something to be aware of.
Happy humpday!
Having a daily routine for chores, meals, and exercise is generally a good thing. The times when it isn’t is when there is a disruption to the routine. Adjusting to some type of interference in our daily routine is challenging. I still struggle with this but have found a few helpful things that keep me on track.
This was my attempt at a pep talk. Currently I have family visiting and the distractions are high. I am remembering to be ok with it, limiting my decisions, and keeping the end in mind.
Back to strength training and did the Recommended Routine. Pull ups are still struggling but I did 4 sets of 3 almost all clean. I think the horizontal rows should progress to raised feet on Wednesday. Also push ups are moving up to rings on Wednesday too.
Happy Monday!
15 days in and the challenge to find out what to write about is for real. Compared to what is happening in the news, my everyday life seems simple and unremarkable. Is that because it is simple, or because I haven’t spent enough time examining it?
The unexamined life is not worth living
Socrates
Should I expect to be able to write amazing literature after only 15 days of trying? Is part of the challenge that my expectations need to be adjusted? Today I am trying something new: writing this post in between my work out sets. Maybe this will help me to formulate something more insightful? Currently its making me feel a little rushed.
Here is an article I have been waiting to read for years: Tech Workers consider escaping Silicon Valley’ Sky High Rents
It seems ironic that the people building the internet driven world, that I work remotely on, are tied to a physical area like Silicon Valley. I understand that the VC money is there, and that is why the companies are based there, but the workers can be anywhere.
The article mentions a couple with a 1 bedroom apartment paying over $2500 a month. In the current mortgage market they could have a $500,000 mortgage and probably pay less a month. In my rural area you can get a 1600 sq foot house on 10 acres for that much.
If I was a realtor I would be figuring out how to target the workers in Silicon Valley with these types of deals. Wide open spaces. Unlimited outdoor activities. The catch will be good internet access and amenities.
The Comeback by Daniel de Vise, narrated by Pete Cross on Audible. Its the bio of Greg LeMond and his cycling career. I was 10 years old when he won his first Tour de France and recall the excitement many people had about it. Its a great story of talent and drive.
In one part of the story Greg’s own team works against him in the 1986 Tour to help another rider on the team. At one point Greg tells a reporter: “If they are going to crash me out of the race I wish they would just do it.” The anxiety of who would conspire against him next was driving him crazy.
This happens in business when an employer, employee, vendor, or customer are not being totally honest. We can say a lot of things but the action we take tells the other people in the transaction where we really stand. Are we in the deal to make a partnership so that everyone does better? Or are we just looking out for ourselves?
Today is back to strength training. I did the same workout from Wednesday and focused on pull ups and dips. I am trying to get my pull ups to improve but it is important to counter the pull with a push. In this case the dip exercise is a perfect match.
I have always been able to do dips so they are kinda fun. Currently I am trying to focus on form and also avoiding injuring my elbows.
Happy Friday!