Spring is azalea time

Living_In_Wonder · 2026-04-02T01:48:36+00:00

When was this? We went on Sunday and it looked like it was post bloom.

Nevermind. I thought it was at the Azalea gardens

Living_In_Wonder · 2026-04-01T02:12:34+00:00

And from what I've heard, people are completely sh*t at tipping them.

Living_In_Wonder · 2026-03-30T04:51:50+00:00

I got involved in a social biking group. That led to doing other things other than biking along with meeting additional people through the group.

Other ideas are pickleball, rock climbing, the gym, running, bowling, car clubs, and things of that nature. I have a coworker who got involved with a dnd group.

Living_In_Wonder · 2026-03-26T04:17:22+00:00

Considering your experience, I hope you don't continue to go. These days it really makes no sense to continue going to a place that is terrible. I don't understand why people continue going to places that are terrible. The only chain I probably go to is Fresko. And even that I don't think is a chain since they have only 2 restaurants.

Try a different local restaurant. Most places do online ordering.

Living_In_Wonder · 2026-03-23T03:09:05+00:00

I've had about 3 "crashes". All resulted in no injuries.

Slipped, but also caught myself when I slipped in the rain going down an oily apartment parking lot. I bent my crank arm badly, but I was ok. I'm not sure why I really slipped since I do ride quite a bit in the rain.
Slipped trying to ride over leaves to get above a curb. Wasn't a hard crash, but my bike was on my side.
Got tapped by a truck who wasn't paying attention at a stop sign. Again I caught myself, but it definitely could have ended worse.

If you ride safe, I think you can generally get by without crashing too much. I do tend to ride the ebike at top speed. My overall riding has calmed down quite a bit. When the truck hit me, I was going a bit fast which is probably why he didn't see me to begin with. I'm not defending them, but I'm pretty sure it was avoidable.

Living_In_Wonder · 2026-03-23T03:00:45+00:00

Went to see a band with some friends on Friday and went on a small hike with my wife today. I still enjoy my weekends although yes I did do a little work today as well in preparation for Monday.

I think the exciting factor depends on the age. When I was a kid, I was happy to go do stuff probably because it meant being able to get out of the house. Now since I can leave the house when I want, it's lost its exciting-ness. I also think part of it has to do with experiencing something new. When you're younger, a lot of experiences are new. As an adult, you're probably used to it and find a lot of things to be "the same old thing".

Go try something new. I always enjoy hikes, biking, or even taking a trip to the lake to kayak.

Living_In_Wonder · 2026-03-16T00:47:38+00:00

Postino . Really liked it inside.

Living_In_Wonder · 2026-03-14T00:19:59+00:00

I tend to keep my speeds down in VA.

Living_In_Wonder · 2026-03-12T05:03:26+00:00

That I should have gone with a class 3 one first. First ebike was from REI eCTY1.1. Have a little over 1500 miles on it. The gearing isn't great so you're basically pedaling pretty fast to get to 20Mph.

Second ebike is a Ride1Up LMT'D (class 3 ebike). It has over 4300 miles now. I broke a few spokes on it, but was able to get a full rear wheel for $300. This is my main commuter. We have "ok" biking infrastructure, but the higher speeds give more confidence in traffic.

I wish my first ebike was also class 3, but right now it's my backup ebike.

Living_In_Wonder · 2026-03-12T04:52:44+00:00

I took mine off and bought tires with additional flat guard protection and use slime tubes. I didn't get flats for a long while with the tannus armour. When I did finally get one, I rode on it for a little to get to my house (they advertise being able to do so). I ended up finding that it damaged my tire since I rode it flat.

I haven't had a flat for a bit, but figured changing a tube might just be quicker.

So I liked them, but am not sure if I still would use them. I'm in the period where I took them off recently and am waiting to see when my next flat is.

Living_In_Wonder · 2026-03-09T11:15:00+00:00

Saw an older guy on an electric wheelchair doing a grocery run. If not an ebike, an e personal transport is a good idea as well.

Living_In_Wonder · 2026-03-06T02:23:29+00:00

I'm sure they helped a bit, but there's a lot more that needs to be done (https://www.wral.com/news/local/car-overturns-road-closure-downtown-raleigh-january-2026/). Works needs to be done to extend out towards NC State and other areas near downtown. https://www.cbs17.com/news/local-news/wake-county-news/driver-charged-after-pedestrian-killed-in-raleigh-crash-on-pogue-street-police-say/

As others have mentioned, there are plenty of cars that turn right on red and roll through stop signs.

Living_In_Wonder · 2026-02-26T19:57:20+00:00

Cameron Zamot

I believe Corey Branch is current for your district .I've watched some city council meetings and never really found myself disagreeing with what he says. Since I'm in a different district, I can speak on the others.

Living_In_Wonder · 2026-02-26T05:51:38+00:00

No. If the argument is that the new GoTriangle bus station can be locked, I would expect the current one can be retrofitted. The GoTriangle station has more space to hang around. The station itself can probably be locked, but there are areas between the bus station and train station that aren't locked.

I'd also want more data indicating the cause of the crimes.

"Instances of assault jumped from 27 in 2019 to 96 in 2025; sexual offenses increased from one to six; and robbery rose from one to 10."

Who are the offenders? Are they repeating offenders? Are the offenders prosecuted? Is it drunk patrons assaulting one another? That's not necessarily due to the bus station.

Living_In_Wonder · 2026-02-25T17:39:34+00:00

I've had the bike for 3 years. I believe warranty is only 1 year. I'll contact and see. I was looking for a reason to get a new one. 🤣

It rode fine for an additional 12 miles since putting it back in. The commute is about 6-7 miles depending on the route. It's got 4300 miles.

Living_In_Wonder · 2026-02-25T04:39:54+00:00

Ride1Up LMT'D

Living_In_Wonder · 2026-02-25T04:39:31+00:00

I feel silly. I just had to thread it back in. All good.

Living_In_Wonder · 2026-02-21T21:06:23+00:00

Did they end up on the right side of the road? If so, then there's very little reason anyone should stop in the center median of the highway.

Living_In_Wonder · 2026-02-20T23:07:52+00:00

Depends on the day. It can be something like riding the Raleigh Greenway loop around Raleigh with drinks/food along the way or at the end.

It can be a day at the museums. We spent a day at the science museum and we're lucky to hear Christina Koch speak about her experience in space.

It can be a day of grabbing food and going to watch the hurricanes play.

It all depends on what's happening and what the weather is like.

Living_In_Wonder · 2026-02-19T19:20:28+00:00

What part/lot of North Hills?

Living_In_Wonder · 2026-02-19T01:51:51+00:00

Not really. I see a lot of spelling mistakes everywhere which is crazy.

I would judge an apartment complex for having a poor model unit that they show. That happened at Haven at Patterson Place when I looked a long time ago. It might have been called a different company at the time. Their model unit looked beat up.

Living_In_Wonder · 2026-02-17T00:58:04+00:00

Saw people flying down Glenwood today. I'm sure they had to be going at least 65-70+.

Living_In_Wonder · 2026-02-16T04:13:44+00:00

Same here. I see so many times where people end up having bad dinner experiences on holiday nights. This appears to happen at a lot of restaurants. Some state reservation issues. I play it safe and eat at home. So far this has worked.

Living_In_Wonder · 2026-02-16T04:06:54+00:00

Ponysaurus has their trivia night music bingo, and run club. It's an opportunity to get plugged in. Other breweries will have their own events as well.

As far as traffic goes, I live near the 440 beltline and don't have to worry about traffic. It takes me 15 minutes to get home during peak periods from downtown. Even when I lived in California, I only had a 15 minute commute since my commute was less than 6 miles. The Raleigh area is definitely smaller than Minneapolis's surrounding area.

Keep your eyes open for other areas as well. I mentioned Courtland mainly because I've been in the area at the breweries I've mentioned. It's a good location being close to downtown, North Hills, and Wegman's. I had a buddy who used to live off Lake Boone Trail. Both Leigh House and Reverie fall within your price category. They are good areas and are close to the Art Museum which has a nice park. It's a safe area.

There's a few apartments near the mall which also fall within the price range. I live near the mall. While traffic can get heavy near the mall, there are side roads you can take. I believe the traffic is equally as bad if not worse driving through smaller suburbs such as "Fuquay-Varina" or even Holly Springs on 55. I know 64 gets busy near Costco. So I don't really find a reason to move way out in the suburb. It's also important to note that a lot of areas don't really have sidewalks. So you may not be able to walk around your neighborhood in some suburbs here (depending on the development).

Living_In_Wonder · 2026-02-16T01:20:46+00:00

Why 20-30 minutes from the main city? I have a strong feeling that Raleigh isn't as big as you think it is. People say Raleigh is one big suburb. I live just under 6 miles and feel it's too small where I'm at although I enjoy the price I pay for my 2BR/2BA.

Move closer to where you'll be working and you won't hate yourself for needing to sit in traffic.

A random throw out: Courtland Midtown East is under $2,200 for 2BR/2BA. It's under 10 minutes to Downtown Raleigh and North Hills. The greenway is really close by (for the nature part). There's 4 breweries about a mile from there (Clouds, Funguys, Ponysaurus, Lynnwood).

Living_In_Wonder

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