Life: Settling in Finally?

Yeah, there's lots of stuff to do around the house, but people keep telling me that's on par with home ownership. With the the big projects done, and no real pressing need to finish more baseboards for now beyond the aesthetics, I've backed off in an attempt to recuperate and enjoy some time at things other than house works. The window chaulking keeps nagging at me given the wind and rain combinations that keep hitting the west and north faces of the house, so I will endeavour to finish that before August escapes our notice.

The commute to work has proven to be less than engaging. The Calgary transit system is really bad. It takes more than 30 minutes to cover the distance between the Canyon Meadows and University stations. Add the time to get to and from those stations from the house or office and it borders on 75 minutes without needing bus connections. So I've committed myself to an alternate commuter method.

Given my troubles with getting my running to work for me, the best way to use the commute time is to involve some physical activity. Since running to and from the university is a little on the long side, I've opted to do what I've been thinking of doing for a long while: buy a recumbent bike. More specifically, I bought a recumbent trike - a tadpole design with two wheels forward and the drive wheel behind. I got a Catrike Road shipped to me from Gattineau, QC since the guy that sells them in Bentley, AB was a jackass. I even got it cheaper.



I've been very happy with it since I got it put together on Friday. I need to do some further tweaks to get everything dialed in, but it's a great ride. I can't say the same for parts of the pathways I'll be using, but that's a small part of the overall ride. It will probably be at least a 90 minute commute untill I get used to the twice daily ride. I'm a little concerned about the initial mileage compared to my fitness level, but there is still room to take the train occasionally if I don't feel up to the ride.

Overall the cost and benefits of the cycle commute far outweigh any other options I can think of. The bike costs me less to operate monthly and in the long run. There's even a bike collective on campus that will help with repairs and tune ups. I will need to get some new gear like shoes, tire patch kit, a new tire inflation system, and some other odd tools to keep me riding. I already have a line on winter tires that I can get from a local store, but I won't need them for a few months yet. I'll strongly consider getting an extra set of rims and rear cassette to swap them out if periods of the winter remain dry enough. I've also considered upgrading my road slicks to something a little more robust, but I hope I don't have to consider that anytime soon.

My test ride on the weekend was great! So I look forward to even more riding. The physical activity will also help me get some quality sleep again. I've been missing out for too long.

The remainder of the house organization and unpacking continues. Most of the boxes have new homes or have been emptied into their assigned spaces. I have a few things to reorganize in the game space in the basement, and I need to get the garage cleaned up and organized. It'll be nice to be doing my own oil changes. It really doesn't take that much to do given the expense of having others do it for me. The only thing I don't particularly like is doing it myself in the cold. I might just wimp out and pay the guys at Mr. Lube if needed.

So we are all getting into the rythm of having our own house. Ursa's protective instincts have certainly kicked in. She barks at things more often now, but she's not really too bad about it. Most times she stops if you acknowlege her. We've got lots of options for on- and off-leash walks. Things are starting to become comfortable.

I get to go to my first hazardous waste conference in the US in September. It's in Indianapolis, IN. Nothing to get too excited about, but I am looking forward to making some contacts in the business for myself and learning about how different issues are handled in other parts of the US and Canada. Things at work have generally been great. I've had some hard days due to poor sleep, but with the commute change I can say that work can only get better.