Errandonnee Encore

My Christmas stocking contained a small packet of ground Texas Turtle coffee from World Market. Judging by the name I had my doubts about the taste but it turned out to be the best coffee I had in years. Today’s first errand was to ride 15 miles to a store in Bailey’s Crossroads, Virginia to restock.

I am easily spotted around town my the humongous saddle bag on my Surly CrossCheck. It holds a ton of stuff and easily handled two packages of coffee and a box of tea.

I had planned to ride a long way but I dressed inadequately for even the warm temperatures so I made my way back toward home. I stopped at District Taco for lunch. I had picked up a $10 gift card at the Hains Point 100 and finally got to cash it in on a California Burrito.

Muy deliciosa.

I hit 30 miles again.

To recap:

I’ve totally crushed the mileage requirement. Living in the suburbs has its advantages after all! And I’ve done four errands in three days. Not too bad. However, I can see that I will have trouble covering enough categories. (There are nine. You have to use seven.) Life is hard. Then you get a needle in the back. Maybe I’ll ride to the pain doctor on Friday. It’s only a half mile from home.

The weekend, by the by, was brutal. My back went out in a big way Friday or Saturday. This was the worst stenosis pain in a long time. I couldn’t stand up straight so I spent a lot of time sitting with an ice pack on my back. I made it to a Super Bowl/birthday party and had beer instead of pain killers. I woke up this morning and my back felt much better. I highly recommend Koltsch as a stenosis remedy.

Errandonneeing like a champ

I’m out of the gate fast with two errands on the first day of the 2020 Errandonnee Challenge. I rode ten miles to the bookstore to pick up a couple of books. (Bill Bryson and Gillian Flynn), After a ride across the Memorial Bridge I headed for home. We’re going to a party for a friend’s 65th birthday with a side of Super Bowl. Mrs. Rootchopper had requested that I buy some beer. It easily fit in my panniers.

I was a bit worried that the bottles in the right hand panniers would break in transit but they made it home intact.

A couple of things to note.

About four miles into the ride I had the worst back spasm I’ve had in a long time. This was quite different from my usual aches. It felt like an electrical shock through my pelvis.

At the supermarket I locked up near a dumpster because Safeway offers zero decent bike parking. Anyway as I was loading the panniers on my bike, I saw the biggest turkey vulture I’ve ever seen perched on the top edge of the dumpster. It was at least 2 feet tall.

Errand No. 1: A stop at a shop

Errand No. 2: You carried what on your bike

Lesson learned. Even with back spasms you can do errandonneuring. Where there’s a pill, there’s a way.

It’s Baaack

The Errandonnee is back!

Do a 12 errands over a 12-day period and you will be a hero, or something like that. And you get a prize!

I usually crush this little challenge but I am at a disadvantage these days. Prior to 2018, I could count two bike commutes as part of my 12 errands. I don’t work anymore so I’ll have to get inventive.

On the plus side, the Errandonnee coincides with my time on the medical hampster wheel so I get some benefit from being a decrepit person. Yay, aging!

This year participants get to pick their 12-day window. If you screw up and don’t get all 12 errands done, you can re-boot and try again. The window only has to fall in the 60 days (leap year, woot!) from February 1 to March 31.

If you haven’t tried this you should. These things are fun and fun is good.