First Ride in 50+ years: 2023 Update

[pick]

+1 Praying for your stepson!

 

[DJ Bill]

I tried Culvers for the first time last year.. Got hooked on their Swiss Patty melts....

Looks like everyone is doing great with the extended winter weather .....I bet FIL can't wait to see Spring and go for a real ride.

 

[MplsCoaster]

Sunshine and Subzero Still...

Thanks a lot Schwinnray, I'll tell FIL you agree...
Thanks Luke, The "custard" didn't taste too much different than regular ice cream to me, so you're not missing too much.

Hey Steve, thank you so much for providing this forum!!!
Without it and the great members, this thread wouldn't be happening
OldGreaser (Rick) in Chicago said the same thing LOL. I've called him Phil a few times too

Steve and Pick, We all appreciate your prayers.

DJBill, that is what I had too! They were pretty good but you should see the mushroom-swiss burger at Snuffy's I had (see below), super tasty!! FIL says every time that he want to just sit outside with Poppy (the dog) and hang out. Of course, he wants to get riding again too especially now that DQ is back open, LOL

So an update on my StepSon: He's slowly improving, his numbers are looking better, and he's going stir crazy. I don't blame him. He's not in any pain so at least that's a blessing. They are still trying to give him as much chemo as his body can handle and will test him again this week to see how it is going. I told him the guys are rooting for him at Rat Rod Bikes and he says "Thanks!". My wife says to me last week, He thinks he wants to have an old bike. She told him Steve would be glad to make him one. He says, "No, I want to build one myself" Wahoo! We've got another convert!!!

Back to the beginning, It's still below zero almost everyday yet and it's getting old fast! At least with the cold comes sunny days so you have to find a bright spot in it (pun intended). FIL and me took off to Snuffy's again because I really like they're food and it pretty entertaining. Tried a new angle LOL

The day before it was sleet/wind/snow and the icy packed limbs of the trees were sparkling in the bright sunshine. Maybe you can find the car (with the snow in it roof) blending into the crazy high snow banks

Snuffy's Malt Shop has a cool vibe including a jukebox with a bunch of 50's tunes on it

You can't see FIL's Malt because he had to hide it from his self because after eating all the first half and diving into the second in about 5 minutes, I reminded him he had to eat all his hamburger, LOL

I got some extra fries and took my second half of my malt back for my wife, which she really liked.

I happened to have to visit the basement of the Snuffy's and found that the whole place was hand painted like this

Did a quick couple of shots at the cool guitar shop next store, wish I could play but I'll leave that to the professionals LOL

I'm sure FIL thought I was nuts for stopping to take pics in the frigid weather but this was pretty cool

We headed over to see my StepSon because they haven't seen each other too much lately. My StepSon, up to the point of getting sick, was helping out with FIL every week day. FIL has been doing okay on his own so it was nice he could step up. I think they both miss each other though. BTW: My StepSon has a picture on his hospital wall of Youthgeye in his "Fans Of FIL" Tshirt LOL

So we hung out for a while and talked and it was good to see he's doing better.

Thanks for looking
Steve

 

[LukeTheJoker]

My wife says to me last week, He thinks he wants to have an old bike. She told him Steve would be glad to make him one. He says, "No, I want to build one myself" Wahoo! We've got another convert!!!

BTW: My StepSon has a picture on his hospital wall of Youthgeye in his "Fans Of FIL" Tshirt LOL

Good stuff!
Good to hear he is looking forward at things he wants to do.

Luke.

 

[MplsCoaster]

Things are looking up
Thanks Luke! Yeah it was good to here my Step Son looking forward too.

FIL and me didn't go out last week to help not spread the monster cold I had. So we took a break. I'm feeling a lot better so we'll pick it up again tomorrow.

Great news! The doctors did some testing and said my Step Son is in remission!!! He's still got some recovery but he's turned the corner. They sent him home last Thursday and everyone (including the dogs) were very happy to see him.

Thanks to everybody for their thoughts and prayers!!

He also had a huge help from his Dad who took care of his house (and massive snow removal), my Wife, his Girlfriend, her family, and his friends who help get his house fixed up while he was in the hospital.
It was a good day!

I guess the cake I baked for my Step Son last week worked

Now as soon as he's fully recovered,
I'm gonna start bugging him about building that bike so we can go riding LOL

Thanks for Looking
Steve

 

[LukeTheJoker]

That cake looks great!
Good to hear things are looking up a bit for the Step-Son.

Luke.

 

[MplsCoaster]

Ketchup and Kickstands
Thanks Luke!
My Step Son is over the hump but still has a ways to go
but is happier now that he's home.

So done with my cold, FIL and me got some sandwiches and ice cream.
FIL stuck with his favorite cheeseburger and strawberry malt,
I went for a French Dip and a Maple Nut malt (yum).

Thought we'd go to the bike shop again to actually buy a few parts.
My gift certificate from my SIL was burning a hole in my pocket LOL.
We were/are going through a big melt down (~50F)
so the shop had to put planks down in between the massive snow banks
FIL decided to ham it up a bit LOL

The amount of bikes they have still amazes FIL

Seems like FIL likes to see all the new bikes and is happy to just look around while I'm "shopping"

Something you don't see everyday, me looking at kickstands LOL.
They had a bunch of aluminum ones though that were lightweight,
have over-center springs, and only a couple of bucks
I'm getting more practical (for other people's bikes) in my old age LOL

Well it's been about 2 years now since FIL started riding again
The thread popped over 20K hits this week.
Thanks for following our antics!!
I hope we'll have some more actual riding pics soon
Thought I'd post his first ride again for our 2 year anniversary

I'm glad FIL continues to like getting out and we have something in common to share.
I can tell he's looking forward to more riding (and DQ)

Thanks for Looking
Steve

 

[Fahrrad]

Always a pleasure to read. Keep posting.

 

[MplsCoaster]

Thanks for the Likes Luke, Twister, Nagant, and Tater
Glad you enjoy the thread Farrah!

Took another break last weekend,
I had my 3rd cold in 3 weeks Arghhh!
We'll be heading out today again so stay tuned...

Steve

 

[MplsCoaster]

Smashing Good Burgers

Last Sunday we ended up having a subzero windchill again
But the days are getting longer, the snow was melting and I'm not sick anymore, yeah!

FIL and me tried out a new spot Smashburger
Saw they had shakes so thought we'd give it a shot
FIL had his standard cheeseburger and Strawberry shake
My salted caramel shake and avocado/bacon burger was awesome!
I think this was the best burger place we've been to in a while.
Plenty of fires left for my wife

2 minutes after FIL finished his big shake, he says "So off to Dairy Queen, right?"
I was shocked and just pointed to his shake.
He looks at both containers to see if any is still there like he missed some
"No DQ FIL but how a bout a ride along the river?"
"Okayyyy" he says and we headed out
People were out walking and some riding but not a ton

The sunshine felt warm as we headed into Downtown Mpls

Enough people are so sick of the cold I even saw a dude on a skateboard

Think FIL enjoyed getting out for a while
This last week has been warmer
so we'll head to DQ since "let's get a shake" no longer works LOL

Thanks for looking
Steve

 

[MplsCoaster]

Back to DQ

We got some warmer weather last weekend and FIL was happy to get out

We went to Sunrise Cyclery again to look for some parts
They keep adding cool murals

They've been fixing the new place up more every time we go there
They have a lot more of used bikes now too

Saw this crazy chopper tandem which I think I saw on our fall ride a few years back

FIL was being really patient while I was digging through the used parts
When we saw this bike, he said "How do you ride it?" LOL
I said it was a recumbent and the handlebars were low.
I said I didn't think it looked super stable to ride and he said "You think?".
I've seen them on the paths but it must take a person with more talent then me to enjoy them

There was this crazy little 20" road bike (someone put straight bars on it).
I never saw anything like it before.

Found exactly the fork I was looking for for $5.
So we headed over to Perkins.
Asked FIL if he didn't mind me opening the sunroof and he said not at all.
I know that he has (like a lot of us too) has cabin fever really bad
because of our long, very cold and very snowy winter.
I could tell he was enjoying the sunshine and fresh air
No malts or shakes today because we were going to DQ afterwards

Headed over to our favorite DQ.
There still was a fair amount of snow piled up in spots but the DQ was hopping!!
We saw at least 4-8 people at the window the whole time we were there
Think the anticipation was killing him LOL

In the zone...

So we got dumped on with 6 more inches of fresh snow this week but it's melting fast.
It probably delays us another week from getting out on the bikes
but I think it will happen in April sometime.
FIL likes to shovel snow but think he would prefer to ride a bike at this point LOL

Thanks for Looking
Steve

 

[MplsCoaster]

Thanks Nagant!

Didn't update last week because 2 weeks ago I was in the middle of my 4th cold in 5 weeks, Arghhh!
Decided not to get FIL sick too.

So last week we got out but it was cold again (~40F). FIL had to wear his light jacket and I decided not to fight him about but he was a bit cold. We went to a new place St. Clair Broiler.

FIL got his regular and I got a torta (yum)
FIL was being the jokester and cracked me up LOL

The fries were so good I got some to go for my Wife
Then we headed off for DQ! FIL had his strawberry sundae
and I had a confetti cake blizzard, it tasted better than I thought it would
I had to keep the heat blasting and the heated seat going because FIL was shivering so much,
but he says he wouldn't have it any other way LOL

The city is slowly cleaning all the sand and leaves off the street
and it's warming up now so I think we'll be riding soon

Have a Happy Easter!
Thanks for looking
Steve

 

[LukeTheJoker]

Classic Fil!

Luke.

 

[SCHWINNRAY69]

Nice pics as always! I hope you guys start getting some nice warm weather!

 

[MplsCoaster]

Warmer weather, for now

Thanks Nagant, DD, and Randy!
Oh, you are so right Luke LOL
Thanks Nick! We get some warmer weather then colder again, oh well, can't change it

So we had some decent weather for Easter
Got FIL some breakfast while my Wife was busy with church stuff
After he got done, I suggested he sit outside and do some word finds with Poppy,
like he's been talking about for months.
Think he was in heaven

Later we went over to my Step Son's Girlfriend's family dinner.
Had lots of great food and FIL conned someone into getting a 4th piece of cake

Then they started playing some "Head's Up" smart phone game
and there was lots of mayhem and shouting. FIL and the gang had a lot of fun.
Little Guy and me headed outside in the warm sunshine while it was going on
and LG entertained me with his slick scooter skills

Well it looks like it going to be pretty nice today
but the rest of the weekend and week is going to be in the 40's and raining (-20F off of normal )
It'll make things green up though and the streets are now clean
so maybe we can start riding next week - with some luck

Thanks for looking
Steve

 

[MplsCoaster]

Switch Up

Thanks Nagant!

My Wife had some church stuff going again last Sunday morning,
so we switched up and I fed FIL and Poppy breakfast.
Too cold and rainy to go outside and do word finds
and even Poppy didn't want to stay out very long

My Wife wanted to touch base with FIL later in the day
so she took care of supper and ice cream desert
(I missed out on IC, LOL)

Tomorrow is supposed to be pretty decent
so I'll air up FIL's bike tires today and make sure it's ready to roll.
I know I'm looking forward to riding to DQ as much as FIL is .
Stay tuned...

Thanks for looking
Steve

 

[LukeTheJoker]

I know I'm looking forward to riding to DQ as much as FIL is .

Your not the only ones! We need the riding pics and stories!

Luke.

 

[jerrykr]

Wow, I missed a lot. Enjoyed all the pictures. I'm not telling you what the weather is like here. Ha!

 

[MplsCoaster]

Back in the Saddle

Thanks Luke, and away we go...
Yeah Jerry I heard about the 90's down there

Finally got to DQ on our bikes, YEAH!!
And FIL didn't skip a beat, amazing

Wanted to see how easy he flipped his leg over the bike and no problem
It still amazes me how he is such a natural rider
I complemented him on how well he was doing
and how all the shoveling last winter must have kept him in good shape.
He says "YEAH!" LOL

Biking is so good for his brain. He didn't say any of his standard lines and no repeats

So on our way to DQ we stopped by Longfellow park to see my Wife's church event.
She's been working on a Peeps diorama competition.
They were really funny and FIL enjoyed them too.
These were Doctor Who with Daleks "Exterminate!" LOL and the old woman who lived in a shoe

Had to post this one:
"Luke, you are my peep" LOL

Anyways, we got rolling again and it was just great!
Saw this guy on a cool bike riding with his kids.
His little boy was making car noises at the top of his lungs and shaking around like crazy .
Both his Dad and me couldn't stop laughing.
Had to give a shout out to him on how cool his bike was,
he said thanks and same to you

DQ tastes so much better when you ride there! FIL was pretty happy

He mentioned his hands got cold from the sundae
but still wanted to ride along the river like we usually do.
I was in the lead but he was really close behind me a lot,
then I'd shift the Eliminator and be too far ahead
Can't wait to gear my build off bike 56T to the same as his
so we can be in sync better
I was goofing around and taking an behind the back shot
and realize now how close he was booking down the hill LOL.
I have to remember to use the other arm to do these shots

We had a great ride and FIL did the very slow balance thing a few times, wow, he's good!
I think we're both looking forward to a full season of riding again.

Thanks for staying tuned these last 6 months
and hopefully we have lots of new adventures to share this spring/summer/fall.

It was a good day!
Thanks for looking
Steve

 

[LukeTheJoker]

Awesome stuff!

Biking is so good for his brain. He didn't say any of his standard lines and no repeats

This is really great! He really does seem to do so much better with the bike riding!

Great stuff, Steve! Keep the updates coming!

Luke.