On July 4th I start north on the Los Angeles river trail for a long bicycle ride. I tow some riders down the San Gabriel river trail until they either drop off or hit their turn-around point. I keep going and ride all of the way down to the ocean, along the ocean, and then back up the Los Angeles river trail for 120 kilometers. After a shower I relax with FP1 from England for the Formula One cars, watch some Netflix, and the first part of the Dodgers' game. I'm tired, sa I go to bed extra early to read and put my ear plugs so that I will not be disturbed by fireworks. I sleep right through the prime fireworks period.
I get in the typical recovery mountain bicycle ride to the old yacht club and back to home. The legs feel good and climb the Junipero hill twice. At home I trim the roses, bring new blooms into the house, and spot-sweep the driveway where the neighbors leaves congregate. Ai also bring in the mop and bucket to clean the hardwood, kitchen, and bathroom floors since I haven't done that for at least a month and I may have visitors soon. After a shower I run some errands on the motorcycle including returning the last two books to the library (which were not doing anything for me). At home I start with qualifying for F1 from England and then a flip through the opening STage of the Tour de France. A not really interesting stage, but I've got the ITT and mountain stages marked on my calendar - these are usually the decisive stages. Later I watch some of the Dodgers' game after they sufferred their worst defeat in history, 18-1. It was 6-1 when I went to read and sleep thd their opponent scored 10 runs in the very next inning.
On Sunday I do more than the typical second recovery ride. I take the road bicycle north on the Los Angeles river with very tired legs and crank along to find a good tempo. I cross over the Whittier Narrows dam and then head south - not heading up to the Santa Fe dam as that would be too much. I start riding south on the San Gabriel river trail and after a while a group of six riders pass me (with the last one giving me a hand motion to join in). I'm tired and I don't join. After a while I see that they are only abuut 200 meters ahead, so I bump up a gear and sprint, and recover, and sprint and recover, and soon I am right behind the group of six. I hang out for a while and then I ride ahead of them and say, "I guess it is my turn to pull". I only end up doing just one long 2 kilometer pull, but then the riders pass me and I hang on. And then I exit at Del Amo and I thank them for the pull and they thank me for the pull. At home I grab a shower and go buy some wine and drink the wine throughout the day and do laundry during during the IndyCar race at Mid-Ohio (which I once attended) and for the Formula One race at Silverstone, England (which I have no desire to attend). During the F1 race from England I eat fish and chips, which is appropriate for a race from England. Later I flip through the Dodgers' game and some Netflix and the TdF highlights.
I start Monday hungover from Sunday's monster fast ride. I read the news and markets and get out and lift weights. It's a decent session with the weights though the first time in a couple of weeks and I notice the difference. After a shower I get the World Rally Car washed and stop at Ralph's grocery store for supplies on the way home. At home I take a break and read more news and then I wax the WRC car in stages (as usual). Today I do wax all of the surfaces facing the sun (and bear the brunt of the heat's rays) and also get to the rear and front bumpers. As I take mini-breaks during the washing I change the batteries on my Chipolo trackers as I get less than the two years (suggested) of battery life out of them. The World Rally Car looks good and I will wax the four doors tomorrow and then get down on my hands and knees and wax the gold rims on Wednesday. Later in the day I relax since its been a busy day already and watch some of the Tdf, Netflix, and some of the Dodgers' game.
I sleep fairly well, with very deep sleep for the first four hours, on Monday night. I need to figure out how I can extend this early portion of deep sleep to continue throughout the night. Regardless I take the road bicycle for the traditional 75 kilometer Tuesday ride up and down the San Gabriel river trail, along the ocean, and back up the Los Angeles river trail. I spin for a fair amount of time to get started and then push all the way down to the ocean, along the ocean, up the Junipero hill, and then spin up the Los Angeles river trail. I'm not fully recovered from the three weekend days of long, hard cycling. After a quick shower I get to CVS on the mootorcycle and then to Trader Joe's to but food for the retired schoolteacher. I knew ahead of time that not everything would fit in my backpack, so I've brought an extra plastic bag and ride home from Trader Joes with my backpack full and a plastic bag full of food inside my motorcycle jacket against my chest. Fortunately it is only a one mile ride home. The retired schoolteacher is surprised at my gifts and as I say, "I need to get back home t take care of a busy day", she cannot find either her Medicare Advantage premium bill or a refund check to her that has to go to Farmers and Merchants bank. And I just say, "Try to find that one bill and one check before Kaye comes to take you see the neurologist tomorrow". I should go with her to the neurologist and force my way into the room to talk with the neurologist, but we'll see what happens on Wednesday. At home I read the news and finish waxing the exterior of the World Rally Car. Now I just have to get on my hands and knees and wax the gold rims. I have a decent day as I work on the Reinforcement Learning agent strategy and watch some Netflix and then the Dodgers' game. The Dodgers have lost four straight games and they need Clayton Kershaw to deliver a big game to try and break this slump.
On both Tuesday night and Wednesday morning I drink a lot of cranberry juice. I used to drink a half glass of cranberry juice everyday because it is good for your kidneys. Now that I have kidney discomfort, I start drinking it again. It is a miracle! I have no kidney discomfort to awaken me on Tuesday night and I have no kidney discomfort throughout Tuesday and Wednesday. This will be noted when I go shopping agan.
I get in the typical Wednesday mountain bicycle recovery ride. My legs feel good. At home I remove a dead rat from my driveway that appears to be torn up and kinda has its head missing. After a shower I ride the bicycle to a nearby gourmet bakery to order two dozen cookies to take to the neighbor's nursing school graduation party on Saturday and the stop at the grocery store for some supplies. (I'll also slip the nursing student money when we shake hands because I have no idea what kind or type of gift to bring.) I read the news and markets and attend the Long Beach Human Trafficking Task Force meeting via Zoom. In the afternoon I watch the first Individual Time Trial (ITT) in this year's Tour de France and watch some of a rare Dodgers' afternoon game. When the Dodgers los in extra innings I go out a give a quick wax of the World Rally Car's gold rims and call ir done for now. I'm still giving thought on how to get the Reinforcement Learning algorithm to choose better "candidates". This will have to bubble up in my mind unless I find some good ideas online. Today is the day when the retired schoolteacher sees the neurologist and get the results of her MRI from about ten days ago. I know this is ging to be horrible news and I prepare myself for a call either tonight or tomorrow to discuss her options with her (though she is out of options except for an assisted living facility. I know she wants to stay in her house because she has been there for 50 years. And I always tell her I've been in my house for 37 years and my Mom and Dad lived in a single house for 40 years, so I understand her wishes. But I also try to keep it realistic as she really can barely care for herself (if everything is provided for her).