The Grand Ave Project

Mountain Bike Mike

Well-Known Member
Ef all this fluffy congrats shit... how about some real deets....

how many cups of coffee are you up to?

How many hours of sleep are you not getting?

How much weight have you gained since the transition to chubby hubby / daddy?

How you got in to a new spank it rhythm? LOL

If you need a break and can get away, I have an extra ticket for Dover's Sunday race on 10/1... let me know
 

RobW

Well-Known Member
Ef all this fluffy congrats shit... how about some real deets....

how many cups of coffee are you up to?

How many hours of sleep are you not getting?

How much weight have you gained since the transition to chubby hubby / daddy?

How you got in to a new spank it rhythm? LOL

If you need a break and can get away, I have an extra ticket for Dover's Sunday race on 10/1... let me know

Haha this is funny! I was only back to work two whole weeks while her mom was here and this week I'm on vacation so still only on one cup of coffee a day. Ok, maybe two... I am still getting full nights sleep.
I bargained with Margaret that if she goes to sleep early, I'll take the first shift till midnight and she will handle through the night since I'm up for work at 5 anyways. So far it's worked out pretty good. We found out he doesn't do so well after she eats Greek yogurt which means she stopped all dairy to see if there's a difference in his fussiness. I gained 15 lbs since last august, weighing in at 200... not happy with where I'm at right now in regards to that. I miss my bikes dearly. I proposed an idea to bring my cx bike home with the trainer and put it in the basement and she said... why not the dining room? Lol so that'll be taking presence soon in the corner next to the pack n play I'm pretty excited about that!---- Not sure about the whole rhythm thing. Always a one two pump chump lmao! Seriously though... Margaret's good to me.. I may take you up on the Dover trip. Would be nice to go with the boys.. who backed out? Who's goin?
 

RobW

Well-Known Member
Congrats on the little guy @Flaubert! When all hell breaks loose remember to say thank you to your girl for not having twins lol.

House is looking great, good job on keeping the lawn mower warm!
Haha I was drying out some insulation to put in the ceiling joists in the attic...the lawnmower and whacker just showed up one day from her dads mechanic...
 
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Mountain Bike Mike

Well-Known Member
Haha this is funny! I was only back to work two whole weeks while her mom was here and this week I'm on vacation so still only on one cup of coffee a day. Ok, maybe two... I am still getting full nights sleep.
I bargained with Margaret that if she goes to sleep early, I'll take the first shift till midnight and she will handle through the night since I'm up for work at 5 anyways. So far it's worked out pretty good. We found out he doesn't do so well after she eats Greek yogurt which means she stopped all dairy to see if there's a difference in his fussiness. I gained 15 lbs since last august, weighing in at 200... not happy with where I'm at right now in regards to that. I miss my bikes dearly. I proposed an idea to bring my cx bike home with the trainer and put it in the basement and she said... why not the dining room? Lol so that'll be taking presence soon in the corner next to the pack n play I'm pretty excited about that!---- Not sure about the whole rhythm thing. Always a one two pump chump lmao! Seriously though... Margaret's good to me.. I may take you up on the Dover trip. Would be nice to go with the boys.. who backed out? Who's goin?

The ticket is free of charge.. it would Cam, Nate, you and I... Stef hates Nascar, AJ can't because of the issues he has with his ears...

I bought the Jimmy Johnson Q&A tickets... two adult tickets and two kid tickets for a steal... it is the best deal I've found ao far and Cameron gets to ask JJ questions before the race.
 

RobW

Well-Known Member
small update- got the cross bike home and swapped over some generic 35's from the ex's hybrid. talk about cushy! Anywho, I have been stalking a route home to get some dirt or grass. Friday morning i set out and hit the road, had a rough day at work and seemed pretty tired at the end of the day and was going to see how I felt which would dictate if I will explore the stalked route. I get to a location of where I would either go for it or not, I send the text out- "going to explore, legs feel good, see you soon" I get the response to have fun...

I get through the Joe Palai Park which is just paved paths as I expected..whatever, it's a cut through. As I am about to exit I spot a section of dirt which looked like singletrack, hook the left and it was just a short lived path to a neighborhood.. this neighborhood is where I wanted to be in order to bring me to the park I knew had dirt or a mixture of cross bike type soil.
Entering new Weltz park, I wasn't sure if I could pass through so it was my main objective to see if I could do just that. After being greeted by a local midway I get the "these aren't fun trails" and "you can't make your way through, I've been walking here 30 years". Well, little did he know that you actually can get through using what looked like a deer trail but only lead to the back of some office buildings. Sweet! I stop and find myself on the map to locate where/what I should look for to get into the other trails I saw using google earth. With two failures and almost abandoning the idea of getting through, I spot a small opening and ride it. I entered in a drainage ditch. Spotted the biggest buck I've seen in years just chillin in the center drain. As I was reluctantly greeted by the deer I noticed some more single track and proceeded. Mind you that this is in west long branch... I was not worried about hunters as it's posted however I could totally see someone sneaking back there with a bow. I exited the park behind the ASPCA in Tinton Falls, crossed the street into 80 acre park. This place has a lot of intertwining trails and loops. It was TONS of fun, the trails aren't anything spectacular but it was a great time. This week i will explore More of these trails and get a better understanding how much more i can do on the way home.

As I gain my legs back and my endurance back I have a goal of riding to work 3 days a week (weather permitting) and if I can sneak a weekend ride, I will.. I also have a goal of 1000 miles for the year. I only rode 225 this year and my body shows. I am at my all time highest in weight @205. I couldn't continue like I was. I am fully committed and driven to meet my goals for the year. I may not be fast as some but I don't care, for this moment I need to get in control of my health so I can be around for my family.

Edit: i am in the market for some chargeable lights without wires.... what do you recommend?
 
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jackx

Well-Known Member
Nice update!

Sorry to hear about weight gain. Riding to work 3 days is a week a solid goal and a great way to attack the weight, and hit your 1,000 mile goal.
 

qclabrat

Well-Known Member
Urbans /end
small update- got the cross bike home and swapped over some generic 35's from the ex's hybrid. talk about cushy! Anywho, I have been stalking a route home to get some dirt or grass. Friday morning i set out and hit the road, had a rough day at work and seemed pretty tired at the end of the day and was going to see how I felt which would dictate if I will explore the stalked route. I get to a location of where I would either go for it or not, I send the text out- "going to explore, legs feel good, see you soon" I get the response to have fun...

I get through the Joe Palai Park which is just paved paths as I expected..whatever, it's a cut through. As I am about to exit I spot a section of dirt which looked like singletrack, hook the left and it was just a short lived path to a neighborhood.. this neighborhood is where I wanted to be in order to bring me to the park I knew had dirt or a mixture of cross bike type soil.
Entering new Weltz park, I wasn't sure if I could pass through so it was my main objective to see if I could do just that. After being greeted by a local midway I get the "these aren't fun trails" and "you can't make your way through, I've been walking here 30 years". Well, little did he know that you actually can get through using what looked like a deer trail but only lead to the back of some office buildings. Sweet! I stop and find myself on the map to locate where/what I should look for to get into the other trails I saw using google earth. With two failures and almost abandoning the idea of getting through, I spot a small opening and ride it. I entered in a drainage ditch. Spotted the biggest buck I've seen in years just chillin in the center drain. As I was reluctantly greeted by the deer I noticed some more single track and proceeded. Mind you that this is in west long branch... I was not worried about hunters as it's posted however I could totally see someone sneaking back there with a bow. I exited the park behind the ASPCA in Tinton Falls, crossed the street into 80 acre park. This place has a lot of intertwining trails and loops. It was TONS of fun, the trails aren't anything spectacular but it was a great time. This week i will explore More of these trails and get a better understanding how much more i can do on the way home.

As I gain my legs back and my endurance back I have a goal of riding to work 3 days a week (weather permitting) and if I can sneak a weekend ride, I will.. I also have a goal of 1000 miles for the year. I only rode 225 this year and my body shows. I am at my all time highest in weight @205. I couldn't continue like I was. I am fully committed and driven to meet my goals for the year. I may not be fast as some but I don't care, for this moment I need to get in control of my health so I can be around for my family.

Edit: i am in the market for some chargeable lights without wires.... what do you recommend?

these were on sale earlier in the week for $40, but still a good price
https://www.biketiresdirect.com/product/light-and-motion-urban-650-light
 

hotsauce

Well-Known Member
I have a Light and Motion Urban 800 and like it a lot. SUPER bright. Only quirk is that it doesn't have a flasher mode, only a pulse. The 650 for that price is a great buy.

Also have a Cyolite Hotshot 100 for the rear and get told by people riding behind me that it's too bright. Which is a good thing.
 

RobW

Well-Known Member
I have a Light and Motion Urban 800 and like it a lot. SUPER bright. Only quirk is that it doesn't have a flasher mode, only a pulse. The 650 for that price is a great buy.

Also have a Cyolite Hotshot 100 for the rear and get told by people riding behind me that it's too bright. Which is a good thing.
Awesome, I don't mind not having a flasher included. I already have a lezyne strobe for front and rear and some generic clip on that I clip to my timbuk2 backpack..Surprisingly it works great and seems annoying to look at. I'll look into the Urban line. Mostly for dusk and dawn riding, thanks @jShort @qclabrat @hotsauce
 

RobW

Well-Known Member
Update of the year. We got married in our living room on a Tuesday afternoon in February, RJ is Now 10 months old and the happiest kid ever. Today, our IKEA kitchen was delivered and we can finally say goodbye to our birch plywood countertops! Lol. For now it’s all piled on our dining room, I have to hand it to Margaret, she loves this stuff. I don’t have the patience to count, and log all 176 items as they are delivered. Now she is organizing all of the items for where they are located in the kitchen.
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Monday will begin the install by her dad and step brother. Here is a rendering of what we are doing so it should be fun to see how it all comes to life.
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Stay tuned Within the next two months, these projects will be occurring.
Kitchen install
Paver patio & landscaping backyard oasis
Fence
Front porch Reno
Driveway
 

qclabrat

Well-Known Member
So lucky to have a pro in the family. My buddy is all thumbs and thank goodness his father in law is a retired fire chief who has general contractor biz on the side. I have 3 jobs I need done this year and 70% of the contractors I've talked to are useless.
 

liong71er

Well-Known Member
Amazing life journey you have,Rob..i'm glad to have a chance to get to know you (even in a brieft encounter)
congratulations with your new chapter of life and new Family.
This new life automatically will test your endurance with no necessary using bicycles,..it's endurance of life as I call it.
 

RobW

Well-Known Member
they say that you don’t know what you have until you don’t have it any longer. That holds true here. We gutted the kitchen(again) so we lost all appliances except the refrigerator. Along with that, walking through a maze of boxes, cabinets, and tools while trying to keep RJ occupied enough was the highlight of my stressful week of work.

The cabinets have been in since day three and we thought we’d be out another week but Our counter guy was solid and delivered a week ahead of schedule (this guy does great work if you ever need anyone).
The only things left to do are, install toe kicks and upper/lower trim, reconnect dishwasher,stove and microwave electric as well as the backsplash.
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