Solo easy 22 or so. I must be getting old because all my rides lately have been easy ha ha ha 😂. They did clean up the few homeless camps up there by the dam. People are gone but what a mess they left. But big trash bins around as they clean up the mess.
Easy ride just spinning up the legs. Don't want to be too tired at work tomorrow. Stuff is easy but learning a lot of new to me processes, so I'm saving energy for the brain 🧠.
But the job is super easy as far as physical. The mental is easy as well, just learning new stuff right now.
But this is what I do. I put small parts medical device parts into little fixtures then place them on a machine, push start.
Heck it's nice to ride my bike on the weekends so I can get out of the chair ha ha ha.
Easy 40 on the trail. Didn't really want to drive all the way down there but a forecast of 100 degrees, I'll go for it.
Part of the reason was finding out a couple of my new coworkers are into cycling. Turns out one rides in a group of which my buddy Jose R is a member. He's in my pics and videos.
So I thought I'd cruise the trail a bit early to see if I would run across the group. Sure enough I see them going across the opposite way. I turned around after they passed chasing them down while doing 24 mph. Dropped a couple of their guys but I caught on. A group of about 20 riders. Jose was about 5th wheel and there was no way I was going to move up that much and have a chat with Jose at that pace.
I wasn't even sure if my coworker was there or not so I just turned back after a bit heading to the beach.
So I slowed back down just enjoying the cooler air than that hotness here inland.
Wanted to ride but hey, decided to take Gina to breakfast instead. Had some online stuff to take care of as well. Benefits stuff from work. Got some good benefits at this place. Medical only $6 per week. Great vs the past job of 50 per week.
Also got a dental ppo for$7. Also $65,000 life insurance so incase I croak, Gina will get a few bucks to cook me in the fryer ha ha ha 😂.
Took out $10k on Gina too. Some vision as well. All for $25 per week. Not bad!
So I spent the day enjoying time with Gina and enrolling benefits.
Then hit up Costco signing up for a new account. Hey, Liquid IV hydration electrolytes for $24. Better price than ebay for 30 packets. Hey why not?
Got plenty of time to ride so I spent the day with Gina making the most of it.
Yeah, just put in some eye drops. Maybe I should have waited a bit longer to take the pic. Red wet eye look 👀 ha ha ha. 😂
A nice 35 mile solo ride from Pico Rivera golf course to the base of the mountain, the top end of the trail.
A bit different than SART. The trail rolls up and up. I almost think the riders on this trail, or upper section of the trail are some pretty serious riders . I don't see many unlike SART and the couple I do see are usually passing me flying uphill.
I pass plenty on SART and see some fast guys here and there but not many at all on SGRT and they're ALL fast ha ha ha.
But I don't know, seems that way.
Legs felt great. No heavy work all week, now with the new job so my legs felt rather fresh and a good feeling getting on the bike without work fatigue.
If anything my back was a little tight from sitting too much during the week ha ha ha.
Butt I still miss seeing Gina's big ass on the bike so I have to look at it at home. 😄
Another 20 miles today. 20 percent chance of rain 🌧 all day but I knew if I stayed home, it wouldn't rain so I hit the road. Glad I did, no rain. Matter of fact, very nice day out.
Took it easy and perfect weekend for a couple easy rides not wanting to get tired knowing I'd be learning a lot of stuff at work this week. Keeping the body and mind fresh.
My orange nipples? So I've been trying a bunch of electrolyte mixes. I ran across G Zero. Much like Propel but without the vitamin Bs. I read some reviews and one considered it as one of the worst seeing it had coloring that was not good.
I bought the mix before I read the review but tried it anyway. Wow when I mixed the bottles yeah there was some serious orange color going on.
Then as I finished the first bottle on the ride I noticed the nipple had turned 🍊 ha ha ha 😂
I switched over to the second bottle and same thing as I finished the bottle.
Of course I got home and scrubbed them out asap. Don't want my nipples to stay orange 😒.
But overall, a good ride and no rain.
Been studying my headlights. A 100 dollar NiteRider and a 35 dollar Rock Bros headlight. Some dude recommended the Rock Bros light. Good enough for 35 but the 100 light still brighter on high mode.
Not a bad thing because the Rock Bros has a wider spray so should be good for seeing the ground in front of me on a night ride. Haven't had the chance yet to ride at night.
I did take the Rock Bros light on the previous 3 rides. Kept it running on fast flash and it lasted about 5.5 hours before shutting down. Not bad. Haven't run down the more expensive light yet but only taken it on 2 consecutive rides total about 5 hours. I'll have to try it a bit longer to see what it does.
They are both on high beam in the image. Not bad for daylight.
How's that? Raining this morning so started late. Stopped raining so I snuck out for a ride. Dry till I hit the top of the SF dam then it started raining on me 🌧. So I skipped the plan of Encanto Park and beyond.
Good enough I got in 21. Legs felt good, no fatigue. Could be the new job no heavy lifting and air conditioned work area, matter of fact, the entire building.
So, pretty happy getting back to what I was doing before our lives were interrupted. Heck pretty happy to be back, more vacation, better environment, and much better benefits.
Weekly pay for my medical insurance is only $6. Really happy about that ☺️. Dental PPO $7. Vision $2. Great compared to the job I just left.
Now I don't have to work so hard for my money. Not that I didn't enjoy the physical job but I started thinking about it when Gina and her Mom said I was working too hard. Luckily I applied for a couple jobs on indeed dot com then a couple weeks later I got a much more rewarding job.
Heck, I had another interview set up st a plastics medical company on Monday that sounded good but hey, I got a cush job already.
Now I can save my legs for cycling and hope to start riding like I was last year.
The new job is high tech. I used to measure parts by hand, height gauges, comparators manual CMM. This job is all automated CMMs. Put the part in then it measures the part for you. Wow easy street. Plus, punching in and out, all transactions, vacation, payroll is all done on our cell phones.
The people are very professional and the work is pretty detailed and controlled since the parts are medical. I like it 👌
20 easy miles in the heat. Well, not real easy because of the heat. I took it easy but not too bad on the way up. Started about 85 degrees. 10 miles later at the top, my Garmin was reading 99.7. On the way down, 103.
But I drank my electrolytes and took it easy. Of course, last night's anniversary meal didn't help much. Steak and lobster at Northwoods Inn.
I took Gina there on our first date over 35 years ago so we go every year and to celebrate our wedding anniversary.
Still the most beautiful woman ever. Sweetest wife a guy could ask for! 🙂
Gina had the Rock lobster tail and I had the lumberjack steak and lobster 🦞 tail 😋
So I heard it was supposed to be hot today and an extreme heat warning ⚠️. So I cut my thoughts of a 60 mile ride down to 40. Good thing I did.
I thought maybe I could crank it up a bit for the 40 but starting around 10, it was already too hot. I got on the bike heading towards Imperial and I knew I had to take it easy. I don't wear a heart rate monitor but something was different today. The heat said no you ain't kicking butt today, ha ha ha 😂
The heat was right. I had somewhat of a tailwind heading north but I could tell right away, the heart rate was different today slow down and survive ha ha ha.
I guess plenty of riders payed attention to the warning because the very few I saw were heading back when I was starting.
I saw maybe 2 other riders heading my way and they were my friends ha ha ha.
The heat and wind beat me down on the way to the coast. I even thought about cutting it short going home to shop for new clothes as Gina had suggested. For the new job of course. I should have listened to her.
But you know me, if it's tough I'll do it just to prove to myself I can. Even if it means a little torture ha ha ha.
So I get back and look up the temperature on the forecast. Says 100 degrees but feels like 106. Yes it did.
I spoke with Paul and George as they were finishing up while I was starting. They said be careful with the heat as it's kicking up. I thought, yeah ok. But they were right, hot AF!!!! 🔥 🥵
But hey I can go shopping tomorrow ☺️
The greasy Mexican part? 😄
I was telling Gina and my mother in law how hot it was out there on the ride. At one point, I happened to touch my leg somehow. I felt GREASE. Thought maybe I splattered something on my leg so I reached over to feel the other leg. Same thing!
It was so hot that I wasn't sweating as usual, I was dripping GREASE.
My mother in law said, that's because you're a greasy Mexican. 😆😄😆
This is what the busy part of the trail looks like during a heat warning 😄
Oh yeah, forgot to mention that now I believe riding an ebike is harder than riding a pedal bike.
So hot today, saw a handful of pedal bikes.
Saw ZERO ebikes. I think because riding an ebike in the heat takes much more effort than actually pedaling a bike. 😆😄😆
Yeah Baby! I did enjoy my job paid to exercise, nice tan, lost weight, cash rewards from my boss, but Gina was encouraging me to look into other things. Maybe return to quality inspection like I was doing before I put in for my retirement.
So I took this hard labor job as it was day shift and I want a life with Gina after working nights for 12 or 13 years. Then I actually enjoyed it so I've stayed a little longer than I thought, maybe not. I thought 6 months to get back on the workforce.
But even my mother in law was telling me that I work way too hard for my money. Last couple weeks I started thinking about it and maybe they are right. I'm a strong dude but why am I killing myself? I did get a raise about 2 weeks ago and started thinking, I can stay and sweat my life away, or take a chance with nothing to lose.
So I just answered a couple of ads but didn't expect too much. But HEY, I get an email saying the company is impressed with my resume. So I responded and I get an online interview. I'm older so I told them I wanted an in person interview. I'm older and cams can make people look ugly and I didn't want them to think I was camera ugly or using a cane to walk or something. I'm a young old ha ha ha.
I guess it worked. In person they asked me to explain my QC background. I went into detail over years and a wide range of fields, metal plastic aerospace, weapons, etc. At the end the lady was asked if she had any questions for me. She said she had a page full but I answered them all with my presentation ha ha ha.
Next thing I know, I get a call asking about shits. They have a strange schedule, almost 4 tens. One day shift late in the week and one night shift. I told them I prefer day shift but if the money is right my required salary, I had nothing to lose having a job already. We chat a bit then the rep says she has to present it to the team.
A day goes by and I get another call. They shoot me an offer and exactly the amount I asked for, more than I have ever made in my life, and they offered it!
So I go in and mention that they said it was day shift but not whether it was early or late week day shift. The HR lady says, that's the thing, you get different and special hours from the others as you have been upgraded to a METROLOGY INSPECTOR vs the in process and floor inspectors of which I applied.
Amazing I didn't even have my resume portfolio of some work I've done putting together parts checklist machining sheets as they were in storage. But hey, I guess my mouth did the job this time.
But anyway, upgraded position, special hours different from the rest being Monday thru Friday 7 to 3:30. I guess my comments about wanting to spend time with my wife got to them.
But anyway, all that, more vacation better benefits, air conditioned QC lab , hours, and........24%increase in pay rate!!!!
Wow the medical field manufacturing business pays. Small plastic parts vs steel in the sun? No Brainer.
Did I already mention 24% increase in pay? 😄
So anyway people have tried to stomp on me, crush me but The Beanz don't fold that easily!
I got a great wife, mother in law who believes and encourages me and a good friend who knows you can't beat down The Beanz!
Great people in my life around me right now feeling strong and happy AF right now, thanks to those people.
I myself find it surprising but when you take a chance knowing your stuff, things go well.
BTW, the HR lady said I communicate well and they need a good English speaking person in that role. I'll take it! Seems plenty of jobs want Spanish and Chinese speaking right now. So finding an English job? Wow, I'm good with it!
I'm BACK on top of the WORLD!! You can't keep me down!!!😄
Ok, little celebration at Lucilles for dinner. 😋
From this
To this. This is the production area I'll be in a lab.
