Category: Slice of Life

Easy Way to Carry a Bike – Swagman STANDARD Fork Mount Rooftop Bike Carrier

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Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/4, 1/500 sec, ISO200
 “Bike Carrier” Cedar Park, 2020

Today, with the help of my two teenage sons, I installed a trailer hitch on the Subaru. And along with the hitch, I bought a hitch-mounted bicycle carrier. I love it!

The hitch is a CURT 13382 Class 3 Trailer Hitch, and it’s beefy, heavy, and tough. I was so happy to have my sons at home because, although it’s a relatively straightforward installation process, the weight of the hitch makes it awkward to lift both sides and thread the four nuts onto the bolts (all while lying on your back). I followed this helpful video and it made the process easy to understand. I love YouTube!

After the hitch was secure, I put the bicycle rack on, and adjusted the wheel supports so that Mango the Bike fits perfectly. The Swagman XC2 Hitch Mount Bike Rack is super-easy to use. It carries two bicycles securely, and you can even lock the bicycles if you have a padlock. Highly recommended rack!

Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/4, 1/750 sec, ISO200
 “Bike Carrier” Cedar Park, 2020

Before I bought the hitch and bicycle carrier, I bought and tried out the Swagman STANDARD Fork Mount Rooftop Bike Carrier. It’s a lot more affordable, but lifting the bicycle to the roof was kind of a pain, and more importantly, I felt a lot of anxiety driving around with the bicycle up top, especially when I was driving around corners. And not being able to see if the bike was ok up there was not comforting.

With the hitch-mounted bicycle rack, I can see it in my rear-view mirror for that peace-of-mind, and the mechanism that secures the bicycle is very sturdy. I have no worries at all with that hitch-mounted bicycle rack. Definitely a good solution. (Thanks to my brother for recommending it!)

Highway Driving

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Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/4, 1/3800 sec, ISO200
 “Highway Clouds” Texas, 2020

I drove down to Houston to pick up Bay for the weekend. He needs to vote in person at home since his mail-in-ballot didn’t arrive at his apartment. I don’t mind the long drive since I can listen to music or podcasts, do some cloud-spotting, and of course spend time with my son. 🤗

Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/4, 1/220 sec, ISO200
 “Highway Clouds” Texas, 2020

After returning home, Bay cast his ballot, and then we got to relax at home. Well, he was busy with school work, but I got to relax and enjoy a beer (or two).

Watching Over the Moon

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Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/4, 1/125 sec, ISO4000
 “Over the Moon” Cedar Park, 2020

I was looking forward to watching Over the Moon, and when I saw my Twitter feed filled with news about it, I had to watch it immediately. I was kind of blown away by the animation and art style, especially Fei Fei’s hometown. It was beautiful! The scenes on the moon were pretty cool, but I preferred the Earth-bound visuals.

The story was fun, a bit silly, but there were a couple of sad scenes when my eyes teared up a bit, so I guess it was a pretty good movie. 😭

I know this film is kind of a big deal for Chinese Americans, and I felt a little bit of pride in my heritage, even though I am very far removed from it. Still, something stirs within me when I see Chinese, Japanese, or Hawaiian heritage represented like this. The English and Scottish part of me… not so much, but maybe some day.

Preparing Live Kegani Crab

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Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/4, 1/80 sec, ISO6400
 “Kegani” Cedar Park, 2020

Two Kegani crabs that we ordered arrived from Hokkaido (we picked them up from our good friends’ restaurant) and we prepared some sashimi from the legs, and then steamed the rest. It was interesting (and a little painful) to cut up but they were delicious and I enjoyed the new experience. I’ve only had live crab once before, back in Osaka when I met Mariko’s dad for the first time. We went to a “sunakku” which is like a bar that also has food/snacks, and the owner prepared the crab in front of us.

Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/4, 1/125 sec, ISO2500
 “Kegani Sashimi” Cedar Park, 2020

Mariko and I watched this video beforehand, and simply mimicked what he did. It reminded me of the time we took an oyster-shucking class. It was messy, wet, and smelled like the ocean. I thought it was great! 😀 And the kegani crab tasted excellent, by the way.

I hope you had a nice day!

Birthday Gravel Bicycle Ride – Castell Texas North Loop

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“Birthday Ride” Castell, 2020

So, my birthday happened. :) I took the day off and decided to go for a long ride on the north loop near Castell. I rode the south loop a few days ago, so I wanted to compare the two, and I think I prefer the north loop, but both are great.

This time I took my camp chair and a sandwich and took a nice break at the halfway point. It was definitely a good idea, and something I would do again. I actually thought about bringing my camp stove and some ramen but the Texas weather is still quite warm, so I nixed the idea. Maybe when the weather turns colder. 😀

Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/13, 1/100 sec, ISO400
 “Birthday Ride” Castell, 2020

By the way, this was my longest ride (of my adult life), and I felt great afterwards. I also enjoyed riding with the new Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires. The puncture-resistance gives me a bit of peace-of-mind which is welcomed. But even if they do get punctured, I have the tools to make repairs in the field. I’d rather not do that, of course. 😄

Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/8, 1/280 sec, ISO200
 “Birthday Ride” Castell, 2020
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/13, 1/100 sec, ISO200
 “Birthday Ride” Castell, 2020

Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/13, 1/350 sec, ISO200

Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/13, 1/280 sec, ISO200
 “Birthday Ride” Castell, 2020
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/13, 1/280 sec, ISO200
 “Birthday Ride” Castell, 2020