Friday, December 9, 2016

More Biking and Tattooing

Greetings Earthlings.  Long time, no real posting. Lately I've had to resort to reading things like "the best 50 tweets from women in 2016" to keep my equanimity.  That was the source of the previous post.  Anyway, there has been much riding.

Monday we rode south to the Julian Wash Greenway to see if a) the route through South Tucson improved and b) if it would be something to add to the roster of rides we do.  The answers would be no and no.  In South Tucson the trail is a sidewalk that the city painted a stripe on.  It crosses the access points to several large retail parking lots.  Drivers are not expecting to see bikes there and pull out into the lane to exit.  It made us feel like prey items.  Doesn't "Julian Wash" and "Greenway" sound pleasant?  The wash is actually an enormous concrete water control system.  One rides on a shelf on the side of the concrete ditch, or sometimes in the bottom of it.  This is important to know in case it has been raining.  Water and debris are not your friend.  Greenway actually refers to painted sections of road that indicate an on street bike lane.  Until you reach the Lazy Days KOA sign, the trail is not terribly pleasant.  Even then, there is much of this.


Wednesday we rode north on the trail, over to the Rillito trail and then back through the University.  It was very pleasant.  This is a train going over the trail.  There are signs telling you to stop for the trains because large chunks of ballast can be dislodged and fall on one's head.  We stopped.


There was the obligatory stop at Starbuck's for coffee and a scone.  It's 32 miles, which was good for us.


Yesterday we again rode north on the trail, but for fewer miles. 
Last night Jim's laptop was invaded by a virus.  It took control of the cursor and started opening things.  This morning the laptop had to be taken to the far east side of Tucson to have the virus removed.  I hate the people who do stuff like this.
On the way home we decided to divert to the 4th Avenue Street Fair.  We haven't been for a couple of years.  It hasn't changed much.
There is art.


There is bad food.


There is the King of BBQ.  That is one good looking suit.


Turkey legs being smoked.


There is political commentary.


We found ourselves in a tattoo parlor, of all places.  Jim's tattoo has been looking scabrous for some time now, so we inquired as to whether or not they could make it look better.  Why of course they could.  Jim is suffering here.  The black outlining hurts the most.


This is John at Sacred Art Tattoo.  He really enjoys his work.  He's a very pleasant man and a pleasure to talk to.


The tattoo looks much better than it did.  After the inflammation and oozing goes down I will post a picture of it.
Other than this, there is not much on offer.  Although we find ourselves somewhat bored with Tucson, we also see what the weather is doing elsewhere and then we tell ourselves to quit whining!

3 comments:

  1. Who knew Jim had ink??? Can't wait for the "big reveal!"

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  2. I too am surprised that Jim has a tattoo! Even if I had ever wanted one, I am way too much of a pain wimp, so it was never even a consideration. That first photo of the bike path looks like parts of the one in Albuquerque on the southern end of town. Other parts are much more picturesque. But it's mileage, so when there, we ride it!

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  3. I'm imagining Elvis, graying, wearing glasses, and carrying a laptop, many years after an unsuccessful attempt to break into the music business, having hit the big time as a barbecue chef.

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