Good-bye little cockatiel. She died 16 November 2017. Never knew how old she was. The neighbors divorced and they got her when she flew on the husband shoulder so they kept her. I took her because I didn’t want her to go to the animal shelter.

She was a fun little bird and liked having her around but that being said I would not own another one.

The Positives:

  I liked how she greeted me in the morning. Enjoyed hanging out before I left.

  Liked watching tv and scratching her head.

  We enjoyed our snacks together.

  I liked when I got home and she would chirp her hello and to let me know where she was.

  Her light chirp when she was ready to come out of her room (cage).

What I didn’t care for:

  Cockatiels as social birds and they need there hanging out time. I’m not really a homebody. I like to go bike riding, hiking and just wandering around. I had to do short trips. Come home after work to take care of her.

  When I got her I did not know how much work having a cockatiel was, but I adjusted my schedule and hung around the house more so we could hang out. I accepted responsibility for her and she was my buddy. But at times I had to force myself to come home. I didn’t like not accepting work schedules that would get me home later because I needed to  take care of her.

Now that may seem selfish on my part but I did enjoy the time spent with her and wish she was still around. I made the time for her and enjoyed my time spent with her. I will miss her.

Now I know better than to get another cockatiel. They are great buddies if a person likes to stay home, do things around town and like to be home early. 

I don’t do group rides and I prefer to ride lone. I’m at the point in my life I don’t want to follow a route and wonder what someone else wants to do. I want to ride slow, stop and enjoy the view. I want to take pictures when I want. Stop where I want to eat.

I have a job where I’m told when to start, to break, to have lunch and go home. That is enough of being on  a schedule and being told what to do.

It is a nice gesture but I don’t like when people ask me if I’m okay when I’m resting. I’m sitting down and having a snack and some will ask, “Are you okay?” Just because I stop doesn’t mean I’m hurt or have bicycle problems. Sometimes a person has to take a break.

I like hole in the wall cafe’s. Though in the San Francisco Bay Area that is becoming hard to fine because of rents and they are closing. It is either some fast food place or some place that if serving some kind of fancy food.

Ride far and slow. Have a nice snack. Repeat.

Alhambra Road is fixed and ready to ride. What a nice surprise when I rode by to check out the progress and it was completed.

Now I can take my favorite way to Briones and Martinez. 

The first rain of the season has made an appearance. Guess I will skip the bike ride. Besides I have to convert my coins to bills so it is off to Wal-Mart and to the CoinStar. I would take a gift card but their gift cards suck. I don’t use any of the places CoinStar offers. So it is cash.

Stopped by the Apple store to look at the I Phone X. All I can say is, “No thank you.” That notch at the top is annoying. Watch a video and the notch is there. It would drive me nuts. Apple should have just made a small bezzle where the speaker is. So I will just stay with my Sony Xperia XZ Premium which I like. Nothing wrong with looking though.

Will be fun to listen to the people at work that bought the I Phone X and hear what they think of that notch. But since they are dedicated I Phone users they will still love the phone.

Hopefully Monday the rain will be gone and I can hop on my bike and enjoy my ride without getting soaked. No matter how many times I ride in the rain I still hate it.

Went hiking at the Tennessee Valley in Marin County. Great hiking area. Plenty of trails. A hike to the beach was want I needed today.

Finally did the Dumbarton Bridge bike ride. Drove to the Union City BART station and the adventure began. Actually the ride down Decoto Road to the bridge was not bad. I found a trail that would take me to the path for the bridge.

There are some nice hiking trails which I would like to go hike on a later day. Like to check out the visitor center too.

The ride back was an adventure though. I ended up on Newark Blvd and started to head to Fremont BART. Could have rode there but was on no mood to hop on BART to Union City.

I ended up doing a circle and wound up on Cedar and was able to get back to the trail that would take me to Decoto Road and back to Union City BART.

The Brompton is an okay bike but I like my Novara Safari better. But the Brompton is easier to put in the car. Still it was nice being on a bike ride on a different route.

Finally took the bike ride to Orinda. I like riding along San Pablo Dam Road. Great bike lanes and wonderful view.

Took a break at the Orinda Library. Probably my favorite library. It is alway quiet in there. Even when a lot of people are in there.

The ride back is mostly downhill and it is pretty fast. Castro Ranch Road is a pain. The climb has a steep grade. I see the road start to curve and it looks like I’m near the top and it still climbs.

Now I will have a good nights sleep.

Went to Ferry Point to hike around. Always like watching the tugboats.

Went into Point Richmond and stopped at Starbucks. Something to eat and drink. Was a nice day so I sat outside.

This is what I use for my camera bag. Looks small but has plenty of room. I carry my Pentax SF1N film camera and my Nikon Coolpix B500 bridge camera. Also my Kindle. In the smaller pocket I carry extra batteries. Still plenty of room if I need to add something.

I have had this bag since the early nineties. I have used it to carry my lunch and books for work. I used the bag when I was commuting to work on my bicycle. I would use bungee cords to strap it down to my rack. A very durable and handy bag.

Always nice to be out and about on a nice day.

I enjoy using my LG V20 but I went back to my Sony Xperia XZ. I like the size of the phone and how it feels in my hand. It is a smooth operating phone too. The one thing I did not like was battery life. I am not a power user and it seemed half way through the day I needed to charge it.

The XZ got an update to 7.1.1 and I decided to update it. So I decided to use it for a day. It seems like the battery life is better. So I will use it for a while. 

Today the world was to end. There is that one person who has to come up with the day the world will end, but it doesn’t. Nature wants to surprise us so I don’t think we will get advanced warning. Unless humans decide to blow up the planet. So since the world is here I will go on a bike ride.

I put on my mountain bike cycling shoes because I haven’t worn them in over a year. I just didn’t want to clip my shoes in. I actually enjoy wearing my hiking shoes when I ride. They are comfortable and I can lock the bike up and go for a hike. But today I rode farther and I like my cycling shoes for nonstop long rides. Cycling shoes also makes riding up hills easier. Or is it all in my head?

I like my Shimano A530 pedals. One side for cycling shoes. The other side for street shoes. I don’t like riding around town in cycling shoes. The constant clipping out begins to irritate me.

I see bicycle commuters wearing cycling shoes and I don’t get it. Even if the cycling shoes helps them ride faster the constant clipping in and out for stop lights would be a pain. Oh yeah they don’t stop for lights. Silly me.

Bike ride is over and now to relax and get some reading in.