11 Mile Bike Ride With Boys, Bees, Glycerin - Wednesday
Super proud of my boy for riding 11 miles yesterday and climbing 2 big hills. I towed R in the POD and J rode his bike, only stopping to walk on the 2 big hills. We started from the farm this time and rode across the highway then past their school. At the end of the first mile was the first big hill which I managed to ride up towing the trailer while J walked his bike next to me. As we were riding the first mile I noticed how low his seat was and how bent his knees were so at the top of the hill we stopped and I raised his seat to the proper height, which made a world of difference for him.
As we headed north we zig zagged our way through the residential streets, chasing the garbage truck or being chased by the garbage truck as it made its rounds. As we wove our way around we came upon this little free lending library out front of a house.
We made it to the south end of the park and rode the dirt trail up to the lake where we hit the paved path and rode it around the lake.
Something quite annoying was found as we rounded the lake, they have chained off the area we normally fish from and removed the bench. Not that this will stop us from fishing here as it is one of the best spots on the lake. Their attempted "improvements" won't last very long with it being plastic chain as I can see it being taken down by people pretty quickly.
We stopped at the playground to eat and let the boys play for a bit. This was at about 5.5 miles and a good mid point stop.
THIS is how everything should be. USE AT YOUR OWN RISK. THAT IS LIFE!!! I don't expect the world to be sanitized to protect my immune system, that is MY job to take care, not anyone else's. I am regularly disgusted by the willful weakness of humans anymore.
The sand in the volleyball court is a super massive draw for kids. They are just drawn to the white sands and can't help but stick their bare feet in it.
We finally got back on the bikes and began our ride home. We rode a trail around by the old riding arena then back out the trail we came in on. This is where the trail meets the end of the road with J coming up behind me.
Once back on the road we hung a right and headed down the hill to only have to climb up the hill to the Perry Ridge, the high point of the ride.
We rode onto some dirt roads and then after a short stint on the side of the main road we turned down Perry towards home. We mobbed down the Chattaroy road hill where I got my top speed of the ride.
Once down the hill we passed the fire station and the house that burned Monday. Sad to see it gutted.
Quite the wandering look to our ride but it got us over 11 miles and our longest ride so far. The next goal will be 15 miles but will likely have to wait until we get back from our upcoming trip.
In the afternoon I noticed the smaller of the hives needed another box added on top so I popped the top off and slapped another deep on. I tried to do it quick and without disturbing them but one of the bees got pissy and stung me on the ankle. I didn't suit up so it serves me right.
The cat found his perch point on the trampoline. He has a nice view of much of the lower farm from there, as long as he isn't chewing on the spring cover since he likes to chew foam.
When we got back from our ride it had been 24 hours for the glycerine sitting around 190F. I let it cool for the afternoon until it was about 120F where I could more easily transfer it to the wine bag to drain. I take the wine bag and slip it down over the crock pot, sliding the bag all the way down.
I put the large glass bowl over it and then flip it over quickly.
I pull the crock pot and scrape out the remaining glycerine and material into the bag. I then hang the bag from a tripod over the glass bowl overnight. Today I will take it and squeeze out the remaining glycerine then dump the material. I should end up with a solid 2 quarts of glycerine which lasts me months at a time.
Today I need to recoup a bit from our ride but I still have to get things accomplished around the farm. We are heading up to the squash garden for a bit, grass needs cutting again, I need to figure out the bike/trailer rack for the yard, and I know there is more but it escapes my mind at the moment.
^Affiliate/Referral Link^
Signup With my Link and we BOTH get 25K RBN
Fleming Family Farm
FLEMING FAMILY FARM, LLC
Sustainable & Organic Methods | Heirloom Produce
All images are original works of Fleming Family Farm unless otherwise notated and credited.
If you find this post useful or entertaining, your support is greatly appreciated by upvoting, following, and sharing!
Bitcoin : 1C6idTJBJ3CJJt9kHoKi4av1XLzg8eQ7rv
#proofofshare
Gab