Tour Prep Marches On

My preparation for the Natchez Trace tour is going okay. I can ride 30 to 35 miles without breaking a sweat. I could easily have done much more than 30 yesterday but high winds made riding unsafe. As it was, a large tree fell across the Capital Crescent Trail northwest of DC. I have had three close calls with tree falls so I’m not about to take any chances.

All but one day on the tour is longer than 30 miles so I need to up my mileage game. Fortunately, mother nature appears to be willing to cooperate. Daytime temperatures will be rising into the 70s next week. We’re saved! That, combined with the change to daylight savings time, should give me ample opportunities to go long.

Mow money, Mo’ bikes?

I’ve given myself plenty of time to ride this year; I hired a lawn service. I’ve never done this before but I had reached a decision point. My 20-year-old gas mower is all but kaput. It has a frozen blade, a broken handle height adjuster, a broken deck height adjuster, and a carburetor that clogs. Enough. A new electric mower would set me back north of $600. (Some self propelled mowers cost a stupefying $1,100.)

I honestly don’t mind mowing the lawn (except in the dog days of summer) but it turns out that the ideal weather for lawn mowing is also the ideal time for bike riding. Hmmm. Another consideration is the fact that when I’m away on my tours, my wife gets to do this chore which I am sure she doesn’t like. DIY lawn care also adds to the stress of family travel. If the lawn doesn’t get mowed before we leave, we come back to grass out the wazoo. Then there is the Rootchopper lawn quality pledge: do only the bare minimum. We haven’t aerated the lawn in 20 years and the ground is hard as a rock. Not surprisingly we have a pretty impressive weed farm.

Since I ride around the Mount Vernon/Fort Hunt area several times a week, I know which lawn services do a good job. I ruled out the services that work on high end properties figuring they’d be too expensive. I obtained three estimates, eliminated one right away based on a contract that was unclear, and did a cost comparison. I also checked Washington Consumer Checkbook, a sort of local Consumer Reports publication that gives user-provided reviews. Both companies had comparable feedback, all positive. So I went with the low bidder.

My wife suggested that once I get rid of the lawn mower I’ll have ample parking space for another bike. Who knew there’d be collateral benefits?

I’m beginning to like this lawn service idea more and more.