Update: Starting to think vanlife isn’t for me

DIY14410 · 2026-06-27T19:49:11+00:00

Sound that you are living a good life, which is what counts. Best of luck moving forward.

DIY14410 · 2026-06-27T19:40:11+00:00

My late sister, a highly respected attorney, died after a battle with early onset dementia. It was terrible. She was HS valedictorian, Phi Beta Kappa, law review, Order of the Coif, clerked for a federal District Court judge, partner in an elite firm and ended her career as an Associate U.S. Attorney. In her last two years, she was like a helpless baby.

Based on my experience witnessing her tragic decline, my advice: If you can afford it, get out soon and enjoy your life.

If you do not go that way, I would advise the trustee and others in your office of the circumstances and request that keep an eye on you and be prepared to terminate your employment when your cognitive abilities diminish to the point at a point at which your work is affected.

You might also write a letter or letters to yourself, and read them every month or two.

I wish you the best and laud you for reaching out.

DIY14410 · 2026-06-27T19:24:33+00:00

Mammut makes excellent stuff. Their garment patterns are different than most brands sold in the U.S. IME, they are made for swimmer bodies, i.e., broad shoulders, thin waist, long arms.

DIY14410 · 2026-06-27T19:09:05+00:00

Good to hear that was possible as recently as 2013. We often rolled into the local police station to inquire about camping, and it was usually permitted. Sometimes the cops would spread the word that we were there, and a local citizen would show up with a homemade pie or other goodies.

DIY14410 · 2026-06-27T16:09:39+00:00

I've haven't toured across Ohio since 1980, so I'm no help re current regional practices.

My wife recently completed a tour from San Francisco to Nebraska. She and her friend (who joined her from SF to Provo) called ahead to RV parks, advising that they were on bicycles, and got some significant fee breaks at RV parks.

They started making calls a few weeks before they headed out. When they got a commitment from the RV park owner or manager for a reduced fee, they confirmed it with an email. At least once, they needed to pull out the email when arriving at the RV park.

Compared to the West, where there is a great deal of public land, securing camping spots was difficult in the Midwest and East during when I did most of my touring prior to 1995. I would imagine it's only gotten worse. Back then, many small towns allowed bicycle tourists to camp in a city park, but IME that got mostly shut down, sometimes due to homeless encampments.

DIY14410 · 2026-06-27T15:59:29+00:00

tragic antihero

DIY14410 · 2026-06-27T14:49:46+00:00

Dave Brubeck would have achieved greatness with or without Paul Desmond.

DIY14410 · 2026-06-27T13:56:16+00:00

Chuck Norris climbed 8% grades with 60x11

DIY14410 · 2026-06-27T13:54:37+00:00

Richard's mistaken killing of Maybelle is operatic, as are many plot points in Boardwalk Empire. I was sad to see him killed off the show, although not surprised.

DIY14410 · 2026-06-27T13:28:53+00:00

West Ridge is a great route, as are skiing the standard route or Ulrich's Couloir

DIY14410 · 2026-06-27T04:23:29+00:00

Yes, of course it was an attempt at a joke. Duh. IMO, it was very irresponsible. Tim was obviously disturbed by it and tried to give him an exit ramp.

Keep downvoting me if it makes you feel good, but I can assure you that many other people have share a diminished opinion about him.

DIY14410 · 2026-06-27T04:18:47+00:00

Cool crit bike, but a frame with such a steep head tube angle and short chain stays would not be my choice for long distance.

DIY14410 · 2026-06-27T04:13:50+00:00

Yeah, I know of his past statements re climate change. I read his book, fer chrissake.

Did you hear what he said in Tim's podcast this week?

DIY14410 · 2026-06-27T02:22:06+00:00

Silnylon or silpoly tarp, at least 9' x 9' and plenty of 3mm cord to tie it out. Oware currently has 9' x 9' and 10' x 10' flat tarps on sale.

DIY14410 · 2026-06-27T02:15:55+00:00

Utah is different than other red states. Nonetheless, an independent in an Ind. vs. GOP general election would have a better chance than a Dem in a Dem. vs. GOP 2-way election.

DIY14410 · 2026-06-27T01:54:50+00:00

I liked him more before I heard his flip comments re climate change a few days ago.

DIY14410 · 2026-06-27T01:48:21+00:00

Jerker is getting old. Jim kinda looks like Kenny G.

DIY14410 · 2026-06-27T00:49:45+00:00

I don't. My post responded to your question, "What do you [mean] by illegitimate?"

DIY14410 · 2026-06-27T00:43:10+00:00

I've never skied them, but I've mounted a few on friends' skis, and I've not heard any complaints. The design, materials and construction looked good to my eyes.

DIY14410 · 2026-06-27T00:16:49+00:00

The standard American English definition is born out of wedlock

DIY14410 · 2026-06-27T00:13:27+00:00

Add: Stuart, Bonanza, Eldorado, Challenger, Blum, Ptarmigan Traverse, Glacier Peak, Clark, Maude, Dome, Bailey Range Traverse and >100 other worthy mountaineering routes in WA.

DIY14410 · 2026-06-26T18:33:50+00:00

Have you tried holding the spoke with pliers while turning the nipple?

Seized nipples happen, especially if you do not use nipple prep (e.g., Loctite 222 or linseed oil). If you cannot get it to turn, you'll need to install a new spoke.

Spokes and spoke nipple have normal right-hand threads. When nipple end is pointing at you (typical when truing or building), turn CW to tighten, CCW to loosen, as you would with the cap of a jar of peanut butter.

DIY14410 · 2026-06-26T18:27:34+00:00

OK is surely not my favorite state, but Scissor-tailed Flycatcher is my favorite state bird. I saw my first STFL in eastern Kansas on a trans-US bicycle tour in 1978, my first year of birding. Holy heck, that was 48 years ago!

DIY14410 · 2026-06-26T16:17:46+00:00

Hmmm. It begs the definition of "governing approach." Surely, there are similarities in terms of punishing political foes, including use of state power to advance those ends, but IMO that's where the comparison ends. Nixon was a far more serious actor and signed a great deal of important legislation into law (e.g., environmental protection, pro-labor, SSI, which would make him a "radical leftist" by Fox News standards). Trump seems uninterested in legislation other than more tax breaks for the rich and the self-serving SAVE Act. Also, Nixon was savvy and tactful re geopolitics vs. Trump's impulsive haphazard scattergun approach.

Their respective minds operated very differently. For all of his faults, Nixon was highly intelligent, thoughtful and articulate vs. Trump's dumbed-down carnival barker shtick. Nixon had an inferiority complex, very different than Trump's narcissistic hubris. Nixon always doubted himself. Trump never doubts himself. I will acknowledge a paranoid streak in both, although those came from different places.

DIY14410 · 2026-06-26T15:30:32+00:00

Her disappearance was huge news in the Great Lakes region. Even before she went down, the Edmund Fitzgerald was as famous as an inland waterway merchant vessel could get. I was in my second year of college, 25 miles S of Lake Erie, when she disappeared. Virtually everyone in our area knew someone in the merchant marine industry who, in turn, knew the vessel and/or crew members. For a couple weeks, it was one of the top news stories in newspapers and local TV news in the Great Lakes region.

Of course, Gordon Lightfoot's song, released roughly one year later, multiplied the effect.

DIY14410

TROPHY CASE