quick trip for drano = huge headache

So, I thought about taking the bike, but it was hot and i was tired from the ride home and well, yeah I was lazy. Add a request for some beer in the house (since I've cut back to basically almost no ETOH the stock is near empty most of the time) added to the car trip. I don't have a good lock up able grocery getter bike right now, that's another contributor to the 'just get the car' syndrome. Maybe last night will teach me a lesson.

The drains have been plugged before. It is simple, nice and clean. 1 1/2" copper pipe from the tub to the iron down pipe. There is a Y in it 3 feet from the stand pipe where the second and first floor bathroom sinks tie in. Last time it was just the tub that clogged up. The sink flowed just fine. So that was easy, i put one bottle of the cheap liquid drano down the bathtub, waited 30 minutes, slight improvement. Added the second bottle, waited another 30+ minutes and the drain was a super highway. Sunday night if ya turned the sink on it would fill the tub up. Not that it was easy to see at first with a tub full of shower water. This time the drain clog was just past the Y.

So I got three bottles of the drano, and not much else. Hopped in the car, headed over to the Packy(sic) and ran in, got a 6 of Newport summer ale and a 6 of the 'gansette tall boys. I was inside for all of a couple minutes. Came back out and the passenger front quarter panel was smashed in. So i put the beer in the car, looked around for a note, or anyone who seemed to be watching, all clear. The car on that side was a different one than when I pulled in but she was in a black car and the marks on the panel and tire were from a white car. My bro commented that it must have been someone half in the bag making a quick run to the store to resupply, the tagged my car and split before getting anything. That or it was the car parked next to me when I got out. A neighbor was leaving the lot and we did the 'hey how ya doing wave' as I got out so I didn't really notice what the car was parked next to me as I got out and went in.

Got a police report - but man. They could have at least tagged one of the older panels with some of the rust, not the replaced one (maybe it has happened before). Soooooooo frustrating.

Got the drains unclogged with one bottle in the sink, one bottle in the tub. They drain quite well. I bought three this time so i'd at least have one on hand the next time the copper lines fill with hair and soap and what ever else kids manage to wash down the drain. And I guess buying one or two or three automatically gets you a nice $25 coupon off a Rotor Rooter service call. Go figure. Targeted marketing eh?

The ride home was pretty solidly tough. One white shirt was up ahead of me, and with an empty trailer and a headwind I figured: might as well get some intensity in. Caught him as someone else passed me and then passed him... but then the white shirt guy's BB must be rubbing metal on metal because when he was pedaling it was a sharp high pitched squeel. Not a chain noise, had to be an old frozen BB. He had a flat bar and some aero bars, and he tucked into them into the wind and the guy between us went around and then I went around and leapfrogged in front of both and kept the pressure on. The guy I leap frogged sat on my wheel, but I managed a pretty steady pace and when traffic cleared a bit by the Mobil terminal he pulled around and we chatted the rest of the way down. Keeping the same pace it was hard to talk. The headwind and the trailer made it quite a bit of fun trying to keep up. The squeeky bike wasn't any where to be seen when the leapfrogged guy pulled along side. He seemed genuinely surprised to hear me mention how much extra drag the trailer is. Most people don't really have a good concept unless they've hooked one on and ridden.

This morning I rode in with one of the marks and man alive it was hard work. He kept up a slightly slower than normal pace and I was killing it to ride in. Maybe that's what I need to do. Save my back, and haul the trailer. maybe set it up and take the seat out so the dog can ride in there to work. She's a good 70+ pounds. that'd be some decent couple day a week added KJ.

We're taking more pictures of insects today with L. Looked at some of her hair, I need to do the measurements. I've got a mini hypothesis I want to see if I can test.

The MRI folks brought her a big box of legos, I guess her sitting on the ledge by the window at the end of the hall singing gave them the idea that she might be bored.

She likes to sing. And this morning we were treated to a great loud wonderful version of "You are my sunshine". Perfect to hear on a gray overcast and ominous day. It is dumping buckets now. And I'm bailing on the ride tonight. No sleep and pulling the trailer has me with some heavy legs. That and I need to cut up a can to make some shims for the aero bars. They slip a bit on the old Mavic bar that I have on the Quantum Pro. Yeah. I still have a 15+ year old bar on the Klein. Granted it was NOS in 1998 and it didn't see any use for about 5 years between then and now... But these clip ons that skinny loaned me slip a bit, can't have that doing a TT, slipping they aren't much better than the Spinachi bars.

The little one is sittin on my knee right now eating home made hummus on carrot sticks, i'm just answering phones and well, typing right now. I don't think we'll get a chance to take a look at the three spiders or the 4 ticks we prep'd for the SEM this morning. But man we got some amazing fruit fly leg shots.

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