Last evening was nutty. I got home from work, grabbed Miss Butterfly and the bag of aquarium plants and headed out to deliver them to a friend. Then I took Miss Butterfly to a nearby park so we could take a walk together. During that walk, I’d received a text from Mr. Ink notifying me that there was more extended family drama happening on his side of the family and another conference call would be in order. So, we got home and did the conference call and made some more decisions. It’s not a surprising thing to have had happen, as this is what usually happens when I say I am going to go bike with friends. And I’d done that the day before, it’s just that the kitchen plumbing issue already made that idea null and void.

After the call I grabbed my little bike ride around the neighborhood. Longer this time than Sunday evening. And hillier. But still not what I’d call a serious ride. Then back home to head to the hardware store with Mr. Ink. Once home from that, Mr. Ink got started on the kitchen sink project, and I got started on getting Miss Butterfly fed and ready for bed. Though I did get a bit of knitting in at that time. Once the sink was fixed, I had a nice pile of clean up to do while Mr. Ink cooked. I sat down after dinner to knit, and Mr. Ink came out and said “I am so tired….” which is not a thing he ever says before I do. He’s the night owl. It was, of course, after all this mess, after 10 anyhow.

This is a long way of saying that I didn’t get Find Your Fade finished. But I’ll tide you over with photos of batts again.

Here are some purple toned batts I created over the weekend. They’ve got all sorts of wools in them, and are likely to not be the softest stuff. But, they’ve also god a lot of silk and bamboo so maybe they won’t be too bad. I wanted purple toned batts, and I wanted them quite rich. So I used all sorts of different purples and also a very dark burgundy as base wool, and I think I got the effect I was looking for. I ended up with over 10 ounces on these.

Last night as I was riding my fat bike in the neighborhood, discovering parts of town I previously didn’t know existed, I think I began to realize the point of 30 days of biking. I mean, the point is to get on your bike a little every day. But, beyond that, it’s to realize that riding can be cumulative. Over the years I haven’t done this challenge because I was always a cyclist looking for the next big ride. The cyclist who would to 30-40 miles with friends after work. Except, my schedule and life doesn’t allow for that right now. And when thinking about this challenge, the idea of riding 30-40 miles every day and giving up regular life to achieve that felt overwhelming. But, that’s not the point. The point is that if you get on your bike a little bit daily no matter what, there’s still a cumulative effect. I’ve been tracking my tiny rides with an app, and realized that I’ve done more biking in the past 3 days than I have in the weeks previous to this, and way more than I would have without the challenge. (Because with everything going on, I would have biked not at all.)

Furthermore, with our house positioned at the top of a large hill, and our town being hilly in general, even the shortest ride on the fat bike still gives me a workout. It still makes me stronger. And using the fat bike exclusively as I have been doing will help quite a lot when I am finally able to ride with friends on a faster ride with the touring bike.

And the other wonderful thing about 30 days of biking? Getting your bum in shape. Meaning, the one big reason I used to ride right through the winter was to keep my bum from being sore in the spring. Well, that didn’t happen this winter. So, I am starting at a disadvantage. But, getting on the bike daily for a short time really gets the bum in shape quickly, the pain goes away fast and with that, the desire to get on the bike increases. No one wants to get on the bike after the first spring ride!

Tonight? Another short neighborhood spring ride. Then, we might go roller skating. I say might because the moment I say we will, something will happen to prevent that. It Is Known.