~~~
Day’s Verse:
“Speak up for the people who have no voice,
for the rights of all the down-and-outers.
Speak out for justice!
Stand up for the poor and destitute!”
Proverbs 31:8-9
~~~

My small (but it felt big) success:
Yesterday I executed the instant turn, as demonstrated in the video below (it’s a ways in), with an approximately 60% success rate. That’s much better than my previous attempts, when I succeeded once or twice in an hour; and the two practice sessions before that I never succeeded. I estimate that I have ridden about 15 miles in circles since Monday while practicing this instant turn thing. Today, though, I didn’t practice because Ian and I dropped my bike off for its annual major tune-up and reconditioning straight from work.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cwwmvpEWmI]

Why was Ian at my work picking me and my bike up? Because we had to move a Prius-full of cardboard boxes, mainly un-flattenable Xerox boxes, from my bike room hoard to our apartment. The book shelves look bare but everything else seems to have stacks everywhere despite our best efforts. Many of the most intrusive piles will go away, happily, after we finish packing for our imminent trip to Disney World.

Hmm, didn’t I mention that trip? Yes, the one we’ve been planning for months and months now. The plan is to meet Ian’s parents in Florida to spend 5 days at Disney World with them, staying for free at their time share. We’re taking the train down there, an overnight trip that lets us stay in a viewliner roomette again — by far the nicest way to travel long distances, in my opinion, and orders of magnitude better than flying. Why suffer the hassle and misery of flying when you could start your vacation at the trains station rather than when you get off the airplane, travel in leg-roomy comfort, totally bypass the TSA miasma at airports, and see part of the country along the way? Train travel makes the journey part of the vacation. It’s fun, it’s comfortable, it’s quite affordable considering you get room, board, and the cost of fuel all in one. Plus, besides being an easy and cheap way to transport bikes, on one train you can take your car with you!

Now that I’ve put in my plug for traveling by Amtrak, it may sound like I’m more excited about getting there than being there. This is only partly true, because I know that I like traveling by train, whereas Disney World remains an unknown. I have my heart set on seeing Epcot Center, and aside from that I’m flexible and open to suggestions. If you have a favorite Disney World activity, comment and I may give it a try. If I do, I’ll blog about it. We’re bringing Ian’s computer, so updates and possibly photos will be forthcoming. Frankly, just the freedom of knowing I’m not going back to work on Monday feels really quite amazing.

Expect updates Sunday or Monday, and in the meantime, try to stay out of trouble.