The mild spring weather continues and we spent most of the weekend outdoors. Jeannie and I (mainly her, since my back is still recovering) did another big round of yard work, weeding, putting down mulch under the hedges, and starting with the season’s lawn mowing. The kids on our block, led by Lizzy and Michelle, took it upon themselves to clean up the trash down at the and of the street, where there is a strip of no-man’s-land lawn outside the fence to the local school athletic field. Jeannie and I were impressed with their effort and helped them out with gloves, trash bags and some tools.
I got Lizzy a new bike over the weekend too. She’s big enough now for a full size bike, with 24 inch wheels and gears and shifters and all. We went first to the big bike shop up in Scarsdale, and it was all high-end bikes that were more than I was looking to spend, and moreover the place was super crowded and there was no one to help us. So we went to Toys’r’Us, which was a much less hectic scene and they had a good selection of reasonably priced bikes. I encouraged Lizzy to pick a Schwinn, but she didn’t like the color (red and black, too “boy”) and instead picked a pink and white model from a brand called Rallye. It was a good deal less expensive than the Schwinn, and in most respects looks like a pretty good bike. Mountain bike frame with eighteen gears. The shifters and brake handles are made of plastic and look a bit flimsy, so it remains to be seen how they’ll hold up. Also the back brake doesn’t seem to grip as tight as it should. I adjusted it but am not really satisfied. I’ll try again before next weekend, but it’s an important part for safety, and if I can’t get it right we’re going to have to return it and keep looking. Probably hit the bike shop in Pelham next.
I also took a nice long ride (5 miles) on my rollerblades Sunday, which felt great.