I’ve mentioned my bike riding a few times; here are a few photos of the bike path I normally ride during my lunch time outings.
Path runs along the Roaring Fork River
My route covers 5.6 miles and generally takes about 32 minutes to complete. It is mostly uphill on the way out and downhill on the way back, but there are a few ups and downs along the way.
Nice downhill on way out, a pull on the way back!
Part of the route is along city side streets and, in spring, is a pleasant ride.
City streets form part of route
In other news, the local weather the last few days has been more typical spring; we received a rain and snow mix that’s very beneficial to our lawn and helps reduce fire danger. (Plus, the local irrigation water system for the town has been turned on – finally.) Up in the mountains, The Lot looks to be covered in white according to webcams in the area. I had made an appointment to meet the well driller on-site next week to discuss possible well locations; that appointment may have to be postponed as snow is a high country possibility for the next 3 days. The moisture, a record .73 inches (in Grand Junction) for the date, is very welcome so we can’t complain about it too much. It does, however, curtail outdoor activities for this weekend. I’ll be upgrading some photo galleries instead.
We are looking into refinancing the house to save on the monthly payment. Paperwork is daunting, but we may be able to lower our current interest rate of 5.5% down to 3.75% or so, worth the effort, but it remains to be seen how much it will cost to make this happen. I’m working with an independent mortgage company (based in Wisconsin, as it happens) and have another appointment for next week. As a result of the recession plus local economic factors, purchasing our current property has turned out to be a really bad investment. A refinance should mitigate the impact on our budget somewhat, but we’re not building equity here.
It looks like the Honda needs some additional work; it has a worn upper control arm in the front suspension and new lower ball joints should be installed. We have not had to do much repair over the years, but at 360,000+ miles things are just wearing out. I can do some of the repairs myself but I don’t have the specialized tools (shop press and ball joint remover) to change ball joints, so a local shop will do that work at a cost of around $600.00. Then another $550.00 for new tires and the Honda will be set (going for another 100,000 miles with a future tire replacement?) — I hope!
That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!
Pam’s Two Cents Worth:
My passport has arrived.
Happy Trails.