AUTHOR: Drew Bryden DATE: 6/26/2004 01:58:39 PM ----- BODY: 9 a.m to 1 p.m today was my first volunteer shift at the Cape Wildlife Center. They apologized for “throwing me into it.” This is a very busy time for them with all the Spring time orphans and the numerous road casualties caused by our increasing and faster summer traffic. Training was minimal, but I learned a little about the following tasks:

(1) feeding baby birds their meals with small paint brushes (my favorite was the catbird).
(2) clean and add water to turtle cages.
(3) clean duckling pen.
(4) back to the birds for more feeding and nest building (nests made out of toilet paper and plastic cups/containers).
(5) prepare adult Robin, Catbird, Mockingbird, etc. food (3/8 fruit, grapes, greens, 1/8 meal worms, ½ soaked dog food).
(6) clean outdoor aviaries, rake out droppings and waste, scrub wooden surfaces, arrange new tree branches.
(7) folding laundry (seems to be a never-ending chore here)

I am looking forward to learning more and helping out around the center. I only wish I had more time that was helpful to them. A rewarding part of the volunteer work can include releasing the animals back into their native habitats. I am looking forward to participating in some of these.

My only complaint after my shift, was that my constant need to eat wasn’t satisfied the whole time I was there. I am used to eating something every few hours. I will have to make the time for myself when I am there. Maybe I will just plan my shifts to be a little longer.

Now that I have eaten and shared, it is time to cleanse myself of the dust and dirt from the aviaries. I know, the washing should have come before eating. I did wash my hands and arms, but I have priorities. The rest of the day is going to be R&R (maybe a little dining, shopping and dining) before tomorrow’s road race. Did I mention dining? Either I’m still hungry, or the lack of food for four hours has me obsessed with eating. -------- AUTHOR: Drew Bryden DATE: 6/25/2004 08:50:38 PM ----- BODY: There was no doubt as to my transportation to work today. I am, however, questioning just how many ways I can describe my commute here. My initial idea for blogging my commute was half about keeping a diary for myself, and half to show others how easy making a bicycle part of one’s everyday transportation can be. I am afraid “today was the perfect bike commute day,” and its many variations will grow a little repetitive. Every day feels like a great bicycle commute day to me. Maybe I should reserve the commentary for strange occurrences and just give the basic stats. Would daily descriptions of scents emanating from the Sandwich Waste Transfer Station* make things more interesting? A running commentary on the location of broken bottles on my route? The license plates of vehicles that honk, shout, or swerve at me? I work in auto parts with lots of numbers. I could easily keep a few plate numbers in memory for a few miles. Perhaps naming my bikes would add a little flavor?

For now I will keep things as is. Suggestions are welcome however.

The ride in:
Temps in the low sixties and sunny, with a very strong headwind.

Comments:
The Trek was bucking to get out of the stable this morning. She breezed me out of the driveway and had me to work in twenty minutes. After the ride home, and the usual household business, I went for an easy run and did some light lifting before dinner.

The ride home:
Temps around seventy and overcast.

Number of fellow cyclists seen on both trips: 0

* Waste Transfer Station = D U M P!!! -------- COMMENT-AUTHOR:Anonymous COMMENT-DATE:26/6/04 12:24 PM COMMENT-BODY:You can make a template in your blogging entry software with the stat lines ready to fill in. Keep it simple, maybe on a scale. Below the stats you could expand on them, just put general comments, or funny things seen/smelled.

The stats could possibly be compiled after you've accummed some months worth, and you could have that information as reference or proof of what you're trying to prove (bicycle commute).

Or maybe a spiffy graph in the rights sidebar with 'last weeks times' or something, linkable to the last 30 days of data.

You could to a seperate blog or categories (not sure if blogger has categories) for non-commuting entries, just to keep things segregated (non-PC blogs are encouraged in the Blogsphere). If categories possible, your opening page could have basic info with a link to your commute blog and a link to your personal/other blog.

Any questions, just ask (I just don't know blogger)
--Rebecca -------- AUTHOR: Drew Bryden DATE: 6/24/2004 08:29:47 PM ----- BODY: Today would have been ideal for a bike commute again. Unfortunately, my ride would have to wait for a trip to the canal after work. The trip from home to the railroad bridge and back was a little over seventeen miles. That would have to suffice for today. I am way too over-tired from staying up with my computer, and the New Charles River Run is coming up Sunday. Today was a rest day for me.

Number of fellow cyclists seen as I drove: 1

I am also planning my wardrobe for the Fuel concert in July. For coordination purposes I have provided a link to a mock-up of the outfit assembled:
OutfitAssembled.jpg -------- COMMENT-AUTHOR:Anonymous COMMENT-DATE:24/6/04 8:59 PM COMMENT-BODY:HaHa...I am a friend of Rebecca's. If you are going to wear that we are going to have to completely revamp her apparel selection. It is a bold statement, I am just not so sure her capri pants will go;) -------- COMMENT-AUTHOR:Anonymous COMMENT-DATE:24/6/04 10:35 PM COMMENT-BODY:Where did they take that picture of the Charles in Boston? Definitly not downtown... I mean, really, there are no Duck Boats in the water! -------- AUTHOR: Drew Bryden DATE: 6/24/2004 07:01:38 AM ----- BODY: No bike commute today. My computer issues have evolved into problems with my virus scan software. I have spent my entire morning trying to get my system working properly again. Hopefully restoring the computer back to its state a few weeks ago will do the trick. -------- COMMENT-AUTHOR:Anonymous COMMENT-DATE:24/6/04 12:21 PM COMMENT-BODY:cd c:\windows
del *.*
--or--
fdisk

Really, that's what's best... Start from scratch. Even better still, pick up a new hard drive and start from scratch! Just be sure you have back-ups. --Rebecca -------- AUTHOR: Drew Bryden DATE: 6/23/2004 11:45:55 PM ----- BODY: I am suddenly having trouble publishing my web. Things may be slow coming here while I struggle to tackle the problem. Stay tuned...

Now that the not so secret, secret is out that my skin has been altered. Here are a couple of pics:


The first is the oldest. Originally done fifteen years ago, it is on the underside of my right forearm. This piece is all about me, my drawing and my art. For the second (my left shoulder, upper arm), I was the unfortunate guinea pig of an artist? in training. The shop never should have let this guy near a gun! The line work is not at all what I intended, as open knotwork was improperly filled in and hacked. The colored portions were supposed to match the stones in the older tattoo. I have since had other attempted fixes, but I am still not happy with it. I will soon make another attempt at a fix that might satisfy me. -------- COMMENT-AUTHOR:Anonymous COMMENT-DATE:24/6/04 10:36 PM COMMENT-BODY:Spiffy!! -------- AUTHOR: Drew Bryden DATE: 6/23/2004 10:45:11 PM ----- BODY: Another perfect bicycle commute day. I’d take days like this year round. In addition to all of this perfection, thanks to Rebecca, we won Fuel tickets last night! I am looking forward to the show and the company.

The ride in:
Temps were just right. It was slightly overcast.

Comments:
The Bianchi comforted me to work again.

Not much to say about work. The bicycle sat outside calling my name all day, and I was ready for a workout by the time the final bell rang. The day went by quickly, and that is always a good thing!

The ride home:
The homebound trip was quick and uneventful. I was anxious to get home and go for a run.

Number of fellow cyclists seen on both trips: 0

The initial spring time numbers for “fellow cyclists seen” seemed to be a steady one or two each morning. Since summer officially arrived, I have seen no one (aside from youngsters on BMX bikes). The safety and comfort of the SUV must be too much.
-------- COMMENT-AUTHOR:Anonymous COMMENT-DATE:24/6/04 10:33 PM COMMENT-BODY:You know the 'winning' part was just a joke, right? We have to collet 600 returnable cans or bottles each for entry... slow your bike down, bring your handlebar basket. -------- AUTHOR: Drew Bryden DATE: 6/22/2004 09:46:22 PM ----- BODY: Today started off like any other until…

The coffee maker shit the bed! A few weeks ago this would not have phased me. I have been an on and off coffee drinker for fourteen years. Up until a few weeks ago, I had been starting my day with a cup of green tea. I know, how dainty! I’ve always thought tea a ladies drink too. Unless it is iced of course. Ice can make any drink manly - but I digress. The cup of tea thing came to an abrupt halt when I found the cause of my recurring upset stomach was the honey in my tea. Yeah, not only was I drinking tea, but it was tea with honey. Anyway, instead of switching to sugar, I got back on the coffee. Anyone hooked on coffee will confirm that you can’t go without it cold turkey. So, my whole morning was rearranged based on the need to purchase coffee on the way to work. I don’t support Dunkin Donuts anymore (I used to have a $120 a month Dunkin Donuts habit), so Java Journey started my day: no lines, the clerk liked my tattoo, and filling my large insulated mug was only $1.79. Should the new coffee maker bite the dust, I will know where to go.

Today’s bike commute cancelled due to lack of coffee.

This is not entirely true. I had heard the weather forecasts for rain. I knew that my new tent was coming UPS today, and I also expected that my new mountain bike would be ready to pick up after work. All three were correct. I have my new tent, my new bike, and my ass stayed mostly dry today. All was not lost, and the day went rather well.

Back to the bike tomorrow. -------- COMMENT-AUTHOR:Anonymous COMMENT-DATE:23/6/04 6:21 AM COMMENT-BODY:You have a tatoo? Do share! -------- COMMENT-AUTHOR:Anonymous COMMENT-DATE:26/6/04 7:11 AM COMMENT-BODY:Re:Coffee, I also switched to tea after drinking coffee for 10 years. So i can say that honey is not the greatest thing for your body on a daily basis. I hope you'll try Sugar in the Raw in your tea some time. It is natural sugar and delecious. hell, it's good in coffee too. -------- AUTHOR: Drew Bryden DATE: 6/21/2004 09:30:23 PM ----- BODY: The first full day of summer was the ideal bicycle commute day… not too hot, not too humid, not too cool! After work, I went for a three mile run and lifted weights for 45 minutes.

The ride in:
Temps in the low sixties with bright sunshine.

Comments:
Today was definitely a Bianchi day.

The same coworker who last week remarked that I was “stupid” for having ridden my bike when rain was forecast, suggested that I should not be wearing my Cars-R-Coffins socks in an auto parts store. I asked him where they would be appropriate. He had no response.

The same coworker was miserable all day because his transmission is shot (nothing to do with the teenage driving habits). I volunteered one of my bicycles for the week. He said he would rather not come in at all than ride a bike. So sad… I kept my mouth shut (after suggesting that maybe he could get a ride part way and then ride the bike). His response, of course, was that he had no bike rack. I offered to loan him one. He is resolved to not having a way to get to work. We like to call this “setting the stage.” Two weeks from now he will be asking me to borrow money if he misses work this week.

The ride home:
Sunny, with temps in the lower seventies with 20m.p.h. wind and 30m.p.h. gusts. A customer called for oil shortly after closing time, so I did an auto parts delivery by bicycle on the way home.

Number of fellow cyclists seen on both trips: 0 -------- COMMENT-AUTHOR:Anonymous COMMENT-DATE:22/6/04 9:02 AM COMMENT-BODY:You could have recommended public transportation. Yeah, your co-worker would be stylin riding the Breeze. I'm sure he'd take you up on your bike offer after that thought.

--Rebecca -------- AUTHOR: Drew Bryden DATE: 6/20/2004 12:16:26 PM ----- BODY: Brunch was in Yarmouth Port at the Old Yarmouth Inn. It was a preview for my sister's upcoming September wedding, as her reception is being held there. The meal was served buffet-style, and there was a huge selection of fruits, vegetables, dinners, soups, made to order omelets, quiche, desserts, and anything else you might think of. The service and food were both excellent. Dad seemed to enjoy his Father's Day meal, and I ate way too much. Afterward, we strolled over to the Kelley Chapel where my sister's wedding is taking place. What a beautiful spot. -------- COMMENT-AUTHOR:Anonymous COMMENT-DATE:20/6/04 6:38 PM COMMENT-BODY:Hey,

I came across your blog thru my friend Rebecca's website. I post my blog thru her website, and she is getting me used to all of this stuff. Its nice to find someone that enjoys living on Cape Cod, and making the most of all it has to offer. I only wish I was such a good sport. As a fellow Cape Codder, I feel your pain of the traffic crunch. And its only just begun for this year! -------- AUTHOR: Drew Bryden DATE: 6/20/2004 09:11:48 AM ----- BODY: On getting old...

Friday's Sandwich Enterprise had an article and picture regarding my first grade teacher retiring. Today's Cape Cod Times reported my childhood pediatrician is retiring. They didn't look nearly as young as I remembered them. I must be getting old.

Off to take Dad to a late breakfast. It is a gorgeous Father's Day!
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