"Red December" Progress

I may have my mountain bike sold.  I go up to Lincoln tomorrow and will see if the guy wants to buy it for his wife.  Hopefully she will have a good home and his wife loves the bike.

I plan on getting some Kona white fabric to work with my quilt tomorrow.  I've run out and didn't realize it until I started working with "Red December" again.  I do have 99% of the pieces done for block one and then can test out sewing the edges with a double stitch:

 
So far it looks good.  Once I get the excess folds turned in I can glue them onto the fabric.  I did cut out a template for the stems but realized it wasn't going to work.  I'll just hand applique those in place.

The one thing I love about Esther's patterns is that she puts a 1 inch square on each page so you can get the size right when you print it out.  Genius idea and it makes things so much easier for accuracy.


Cycling:

I took out my Fargo to the local trail and headed on the southern part of the trail that recently opened up.  I've used my Mukluk without problems but yesterday was miserable.  The crushed limestone was soggy in parts and wasn't even in other parts making for a hard time pedaling through the stuff.  Add in the head wind and almost 100 degree weather, it wasn't easy.  I probably should have left but I'd driven all the way to the trail and wasn't in the mood to go back home.  It's a beautiful trail, but it's so remote out there it's hard to enjoy the ride.  Riding in the heat is something I've just had to learn to tolerate this summer if I want to ride.  Just keep lots of water with you and know the signs of dehydration and heat related issues.


I finally got some pictures in yesterday of the trail and ride.  Here's a great view of the Missouri river next to the trail:

The cliffs along the trail and this side road:

The dead cornfields that the heat has killed and there should be a small deer in there hiding.  She took off when I made too much noise.  If she's in the picture, she'll be off to the left.

Having the bag on my rack full of stuff made for easy reach and I didn't have to carry a backpack that weighs a ton.  I threw in some water bottles as well.  I wish I could put the rack and bag on my Mukluk, but the bike is too wide for the rack.  I'd need a specialty one and those aren't cheap.

I'm hoping to get to the paved trails in Lincoln tomorrow and enjoy the day.