First Ride in 50+ years: 2023 Update

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Re: First Ride in 50+ years: Christmas Break

Great Thread Steve! A lot of lessons about life in this thread. Brings back memories of a John Prine song "Hello in there", which is about aging! Please keep this going, it gives me a smile everytime I read it!
 
Re: First Ride in 50+ years: New Year of sweets

Thanks Larry for your response and story. I miss my Mom and Dad a lot too, especially this time of year
Sounds like you're having fun as the "Old Man" now with your Son and his Wife

I have to say that I only spend a short time with FIL but I think we have some fun
My Wife and my Step Son do all the tough daily tasks with FIL and MIL with a great postive attitude.
They truly deserve your blessings, thanks
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RatShinx and Spokeshave, FIL would get a kick out of making you smile. He IS the jokester :D
Thanks Jerrykr and belated well wishes to you and yours too

Randy, that's super funny!! I wish I could scratch my ear with mine :lol:
FIL had 3 of those Nutcracker Snickers in about 5 minutes :lol:

Hey Pick, Thanks! :D My Friend's band plays some good JP songs too
Peatbog, that's funny, has to be a bite size snickers, with a bite out of it :lol:
Think the pocket is an "exercise in style", MN style that is...

So we went to the Cafe again, close enough for FIL not to hate the walk
He said recently he doesn't like to walk because
"I had to do a lot of walking with a rifle and heavy backpack in the service, don't like doing it any more."
And that make perfect sense.

So we got some Ice cream, Vanilla of course for FIL,
I had the Nicollet Ave pot hole (Chocolate ice cream w/ fudge, truffles, heath bar & sea salt) Heavy Duty!!
Got a dark chocolate/espresso bar for my Wife

Tried to be a bit random but he caught me :lol:
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It wasn't too cold but we wore our MN winter hats
FIL WAS giving me a hard time about how big that hat was so he wanted to wear his MN Twins (baseball) hat (still a bit big :lol: )
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My wife said he was in a good mood so think he enjoys get some treats and just hanging out
Thanks for looking
Steve
 
Re: First Ride in 50+ years: New Year of sweets

Still reading and enjoying. It was never about the bikes. :wink:
 
Re: First Ride in 50+ years: DQ Grill & Chill

Glad to here your still watching Youthgeye :D
I'm a bit bummed out because I always thought it was at least bike based
Was trying to show how bikes changed one person's outlook after a long time with out them

And that now I know I can still have fun after the take my drivers license away, whoopee :lol:

Thanks Skipton and Pick!

So it was relatively warm (~30F) last weekend so had to get a layer of road salt off the car
FIL and me went to get the car washed again, he seemed okay with it last time
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This car wash has been around a long time, check out the nice 62 Chev in the one pic :D
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Made sure FIL knew we were headed to DQ afterward
I guess the don't call this one "Brazier" any more. I think FIL likes to pose more every time :lol:
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It wasn't the most gourmet dinner, the ice cream came first and melted then the food arrived and was cold
The jokester posing (waited like that at least a minute while I got the camera ready) :lol:
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He was happy that he got a hamburger AND a cone
And it helped not to feed him sweets and then have my wife try to get him to eat a couple hours later
So we'll try that again but maybe some other restaurant

I did notice that the "standard lines" happened, and were repeated, more often...
Can't wait to get back out on a bike where his riding concentration gives more input for him
One thing about dementia (and good manners), you sure get thanked a lot :D

We both had fun and now I have a clean car
Thanks for looking
Steve
 
Re: First Ride in 50+ years: DQ Grill & Chill

A great read as always. Have you ever though about getting the two brothers riding together. :D :D
 
Re: First Ride in 50+ years: DQ Grill & Chill

Grill and chill (literally). Looking forward to the next culinary choice. Keep it going.

And Happy New Year to you n FIL.
 
Re: First Ride in 50+ years: DQ Grill & Chill

Love his poses, they are great and they don't look forced.

Don't get me wrong, the bike part is awesome and you are on target with the bicycle therapy, I'm just saying, keep the updates coming even if it's not bike related, I think we're all fans of FIL now.

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Re: First Ride in 50+ years: DQ Grill & Chill

Hey Steve, I just noticed this thread here. I've been grinning for about 15 minutes now. This is what it's all about, subscribed!
 
Re: First Ride in 50+ years: DQ Grill & Chill

I continue to be a FOFIL Club member as well.
He is such a clown!!
 
Re: First Ride in 50+ years: Cold enough for Ice Cream

Thanks Clancy! Great minds think alike!
I had this crazy idea after seeing them together of a Rat Tandem Trike :lol:
I'd drive but I think FIL's brother would like to pedal and then FIL could ride his own bike
It would be a huge project but maybe kinda fun plus getting them out riding together

Happy New year to You and yours also IIFIFM!
Stay tuned for this next episode

Thanks Youthgeye! He's a natural comic, loves to make people laugh
Dude you crack me up with your Tshirt picture :lol: :lol:
My wife and family loved the picture!
And I get it now :wink:

Thanks Peatbog, I think... :lol:

Hey Thirstee! Glad you got caught up after meeting him at the Fall Ride
Glad it made you grin :D

Thanks Kingfish! You are so right :lol:

Alright so thought we'd try the local cafe again, the food looked good so...
Poppy looked so sad that we weren't taking him
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It was about 2F with a -10F windchill so had him wear his big hat but he had to make a joke that it was kinda big yet
It had rained earlier in the week so it was a slow cautious 2 block walk

Ordered a Chizoro Quesadilla and Pork Tamale with some rice and beans
I thought they tasted great but FIL wasn't too impressed, but he ate it...
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He was waiting for the ice cream so I got us 2 scoops so he wouldn't ask for seconds :lol:
Much happier! He had the last of the Mpls Vanilla and I had egg nog again, mmmm
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The young guy that scooped our ice cream was a interesting kid
FIL said something in Japanese about the the hats for sale ("How much?" FIL translated)
The young guy was impressed that he knew some Japanese
So "we" told him a bit about his Army days in the Korean war then stationed in Japan where he met his wife
The Young Guy said he was interested in Asian culture
I said there seemed to be positions available to teach English in some countries, If you knew there's of course :lol:

As we were leaving asked FIL for a picture with the homemade urban bike, FIL says should I stand by it?
Pretty sure it belonged to the Young guy :D
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Found out a little more about his early days on the farm
I told him about how our freezer went out and he asked if I had ever seen an "Ice Box"
He said he used to have one and it was a block of ice in a box
FIL said they didn't have electricity and burned kerosene for light and wood in a stove for heat
They had one cow for milk and one horse to cultivate the fields
He said in the spring they would hire someone with a tractor to plow the fields
Sounds likes lot of hard work :shock: No wonder he joined the service then moved to the city

So we rapped up another dinner and are trying to make plans to get together with his brother soon
Stay tuned for some good stories from the boys :D

We both had a good time but we'll stick to less exotic food from now on
Thanks for looking
Steve
 
Re: First Ride in 50+ years: Cold enough for Ice Cream

This thread just continues to inspire and uplift me and others here. My dad is 80 and in rough heath but still sharp as a tack. He was actually working until he got laid off last April. We were really unsure what that was going to do to him especially since that meant he'd be spending 24/7 with my mom who is sick and a fair amount of crazy. It's been a bumpy ride but he seems to have gotten into a groove. We're still trying to get them to move from the small mountain town they live in to be closer to the hospital and people that can help them out more. He's been helping me with my bike projects. I was up there making a headlight mount for one of them using his big mill at the end of December. He's got a machine shop in his garage and one of the things he'd probably have to give up if they moved but we may end up just renting the house out and closing off the shop from the other garage so he still has it in his back pocket.

Keep up with the updates as I know you will. Thanks, Nick.
 
Re: First Ride in 50+ years: Cold enough for Ice Cream

I bet he had more fun than we can imagine through the years being able to speak Japanese. Awesome.

Thanks again.

-Justin, head of the Fans of FIL club.
 
Re: First Ride in 50+ years: The Brothers

Nick, Thanks for sharing your story!
It always interesting to hear how others are handling these tough situations
It's good to here your Dad is sharp as a tack, sorry to hear his and your Mom's health is not so good
That would be so tough to lose an awesome shop (with a mill!)
So glad to here he is helping with your bike projects :D
Sounds like your plan may be the best for all involved, keep us posted...

Justin, You're right, FIL loves to surprise people with it :lol:
Thanks for being Head Fan and Supporter! :D

So I got the "Boys" together, we picked up FIL's Brother (should I say FILB? :lol: )
But it was so Dang cold and had 50 mph winds :shock: Almost blew me and the Boys over, literally
Here they are! (That's a nice pic of St.Paul on the Mississippi in the back ground)
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It seems like they both were enjoying their meals,
FILB wanted a steak and FIL went with Hamburger and fries
I had a Quesadilla burger and fries (yum)
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Heard a few more stories, I guess they had pigs and chickens on the farm too
And they moved from a larger small town (now a suburb) to the farm when FIL was very young
They went to a 2-building schoolhouse and FIL talked about how each grade only had one row of students
Kinda sad to see how much sharper FILB is then FIL but FIL is in better physical shape
FILB has very poor eyesight but he did fine with cutting up his food once I helped with the menu order

FILB was going to have us over for pie, and I asked FIL if he wanted to
FIL asked "What kind?" FILB answers "Lemon", FIL snears,
so we had some desert at the restaurant this time...
So the waitress says, "did you save room for brownie bites?" (which ususally really irrates me but this time I WAS ready
FIL sneared when I asked him and asked if they had "just ice cream" and luckily, they did
I enjoyed mine and FILB was too full
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We discussed getting together on a regular basis and he liked that idea
Think I'll bring over some home cooked food next time
And we'll hang out at FILB's apartment and get some more stories
I can pump up the tires on his bikes for him, because he mentioned it
We will also be able to talk louder so we can keep FIL engaged
Otherwise he can't hear us and starts to tune out (like a shut-down robot)

We also talked about biking when the weather gets warmer so I'll have to figure something out
Maybe a ride over by the park on one of these Italian 4-people bikes by Minnehaha Falls :D
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Also found out there is another brother around :shock: (FILB1 and FILB2? :lol: )
We'll see how things go but maybe we can get them all together...

Think FIL likes it better with just us (kinda like a kid) but he can share once in a while...
But think we all had a pretty good time (but cold)

Thanks for looking
Steve
 
Re: First Ride in 50+ years: The Brothers

Steve this thread it awesome! Almost like reading a good book. 8)
 
Re: First Ride in 50+ years: The Brothers

Have the FOF T-shirts been printed up yet?
I like the addition of the FILBs.
 

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