Two more non-moto non-mushroom adventures

At least the post includes a goat, maybe several.
Let's go chronological.

I bought a bicycle. A nice Trek mountain-type (no drop bard, slightly knobby tires) with 24 gear ratios (I had a 12-speed Schwinn when I was in HS and thought it was the cat's pajamas.). It's pretty comfortable to ride if you don't sit too far forward on the seat, and it's easy to adjust—Hannah rides it when I'm not using it. I ride it to work, just less than two miles, mostly downhill on the way to work, and I pack a fresh shirt because the wind tends to promote perspiration. I'm too old to wear one of those goofy helmets. Besides, it's a straight shot with only one intersection that contains cars. It uses no gasoline and I get to work in about as long as it takes to ride the bike or take the truck. I got a carrier for it, and a bag to hook on the carrier, so I could take my laptop with me to work. Why on earth did I buy a bicycle? Five reasons.

Jack Riepe

1. I just finished Eaarth by Bill Mckibben. See the review in my previous post, but the gist of the purchase is that I decided to reduce my dependence on petroleum. Yeah, the bike was built in China, and was shipped here and all that, but commerce has not yet collapsed, so I took advantage of it. The bike should last me a good long time, and will use only a few drops of oil for the chain. I suppose I could eventually resort to bacon (or, ahem, chicken) grease if it came to that. Get the book and read it. 
2. I want to get the exercise. I'm 65, and have a wife 26 years my junior. So far I'm in better health than she is, and I want to keep it that way, and not by hurting her health, either. Splitting wood and mowing the grass (hand-powered reel mower) do a pretty good job for my upper body, but not a whole lot for my legs. I can get a pretty good workout going uphill on the way home. 
3. I also want to participate in Jack Riepe's diet. Exercising raises my metabolic rate, (which does more for weight loss than the exercise itself). For those of you who don't know, Jack is a friend in a motorcycle club I belong to, and he's on a personal campaign to lose weight. Several of have joined  him. So far I'm down a couple pounds. Sorry, Jack, Blogspot won't let me put your picture nest to this paragraph.
4. Hnngh. I'm tough. I plan to score points by riding this winter, too, except when there's ice on the road. I may be crazy, but I'm not stupid.
5. I can share the bike with my kids.

Yoiks! This has gotten long enough. I'll describe the goat-related non-mushroom adventure in two days.