Microblog

Walked under the River Tyne where pedestrians and cyclists get separate tunnels. As a kid in the 1950’s, this was exciting especially after a friend of my dad’s told me they’d found a leek in the tunnel. Back then, shipyards lined the Tyne, and 20,000 people a day crossed here.

Back in the 1950s, the store on the right sold knitting supplies, and the owners lived upstairs. When I was in grade school, the little girl who lived there invited me to her birthday party. At the party she selected who would be invited the following year. I didn’t make the list and was OK with that.

Lightly sea-salted crisps for Dwight, sweet chili and red pepper crisps for me, washed down with 20-fluid-ounce beers. Earlier we had full English breakfasts. The rose is real.

After the flight, then a long walk along the Thames, checked into Goodenough (postgraduate) College, Bloomsbury, London. Our surprisingly spacious en suite couples room has a sitting area and a view of the quadrangle. Windows open, no traffic noise, just the happy sounds of a croquet game.

Bulkhead seats, 2-across, in steerage. Life’s good. MSP–LHR (London).

Reading materials were spread out at Rouge Urban Salon where Emily cut our hair today. But we didn’t talk about hair fashion; instead we talked about travel and hiking. Emily will soon be walking part of the Camino de Santiago starting in Lyon, France, and we’re about to hit the trails in England.

Came back from a walk with a friend to find my bike locked to a bunch of other bikes. Walked around, alarming small groups with my question: “Did you come here in a bike group?” Eventually, I struck lucky with a group having lunch at Sea Salt. The leader was suitably apologetic.

I’ve been agonizing over best practices for attaching a LEGO drive chain to a carriage. Today, I was inspired by online instructions for a forklift truck that uses a chain to lift. I attached the chain to one link of a tank tread, and inserted the ends of the link into the holes of Technic beams. Easy!

The ESL teacher I assist is moving to a new job at this facility. It’s a joy working with her, so I’ve applied for a volunteer position in her new classroom. Today, I scoped out the building on Lake Street and determined it’s easily reached by bike or direct bus. (MPS is Minneapolis Public Schools.)

Next week, my partner, two friends, and I will be walking a section of the Reivers Way in Northumberland, England, from inn to inn over five days. Click through for some background to the trail, including Vera (a popular UK television series) locations along the beautiful and rugged coastline.

There’s always something new on our weekly Sunday morning walk: today, LEGO inspiration. There’s going to be some heavy lifting at this University of Minnesota heating plant. *Adult Fan of LEGO.

Cycled to REI Co-op to pick up ponchos that also cover our backpacks. The coating on our old ones was disintegrating, and I couldn’t find a good way to remove the old coating then apply a new coating. I thanked the ponchos for their long service then launched them down the chute.

Our hiking jackets were getting a bit ratty, so we decided to head over to Patagonia in St. Paul. Naturally, we both ended up choosing the same style. We’ll be modeling the jackets in a couple weeks when we go hiking through England’s border (with Scotland) country.

Walked over to our local izakaya, a Japanese bar that also serves food. They had emailed me a $5 discount for my birthday, but I didn’t need an incentive.

Knowing great donuts awaited us on the other side was a strong incentive to seek out this “secret” passageway in the Minneapolis North Loop.

Watched this protected bikeway being extended towards our home, still a few blocks away. I appreciate being physically separated from traffic. About 200 miles of on- and off-street bikeways make Minneapolis one of the most bikeable cities in the country.