Ride to Work

Sunday, January 18, 2015

Monogram MG-TC 1/24 Model

Monogram MG TC model
I saw one of the guys in the MGTD Replica Forum building a vintage 1977 Monogram die-cast and plastic 1/24 model of an MG TC and I thought that since there won't be much riding any time soon it would be nice to spend sometime building one as well.

Locating one wasn't hard.  A search on ebay turned up several examples at around $10.00 so I choose the best sounding one and used the buy it now feature.  The model arrived last Friday and I finally got around to opening the box today.  Surprising as it may be, everything that was supposed to be included was in the box.  That is rather amazing considering this box has probably been rolling around opened for almost 38 years.

It looks like a pretty straight forward build and I'm looking forward to starting it soon.  The pics below are an inventory of the parts.  The wheels are there but Lucifer decided he wanted to play with them and I could not take a picture for fear of having them damaged or lost.





Contents of the box

Interior, top, and engine parts

Lights, rear window, and windshield

Chrome

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Saturday, January 17, 2015

Gogoro Scooters

The Tesla of scooters, claiming 0 to 30 in 4.2 seconds and a top speed of almost 60 mph this scooter would be the ticket for urban types.  It is powered by batteries that are supposed to be able to be swapped at refill stations that Gogoro plans to set up in urban centers around the world.  Sounds like a fun scooter but who knows what the initial cost will be.  
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Monday, January 12, 2015

Royal Enfield Bobber

Never been a big fan of bobbers but this is, at least, interesting.
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Tuesday, January 6, 2015

The Twelfth Day of Christmas - The Feast of the Epiphany of the Lord

Snow!!!!  Schools did not close and I was supposed to go to work but I could not get the Camry out of the bottom of our hill and actually went off the road trying.  No big deal, I was able to rock it out but I was unable to climb back up the hill to get back home.  I parked in the lower lot and walked up the hill back home to call out from work.


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The Eleventh Day of Christmas - The Feast of Saint John Neumann

Marilyn!
Early day on the Feast of Saint John Neumann to attend my second day at the ALLS conference.  Met up with my friend Phillip for breakfast at Open City.  They had a really good breakfast there and it appears to be a good place to eat for lunch and dinner as well.  I saw Phillip last in July in Boise, Idaho, where we went for a couple of great rides. We talked a little about work and future plans but we talked mostly about motorcycles and riding opportunities.  I hope that Phillip can come visit us in Pennsylvania in July so we can go out and try some rides in my area.

Down the block from Open City, at the Corner of Calvert and Connecticut Ave, there is a mural of Marilyn Monroe that I passed every morning on my way to work the last time I worked in DC.  I always made threats about stopping a taking a picture of that mural but I never did.  This morning I walked to the corner and made good on those threats.

Headed back to PA in the early evening for the last Day of Christmas and work.

Marilyn!

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The Tenth Day of Christmas - The Feast of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton

Il Papa e io.
Work has come back and my Christmas break is over.  I had to attend the annual conference of the American Association of Law Schools in Washington, DC.   Sadly, the Feast of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton might have been a doable riding day.  There was rain in the morning, which cleared by noon, and although the day remained overcast and dark the temps shot up all the way into the low 60s in DC.

No matter, we stopped at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception with some pics with Il Papa, even if it was only his cutout stand-in.  The rest of the day was taken up for me with the conference and catching up with friends.












Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception


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The Ninth Day of Christmas - The Most Holy Name of Jesus

The Feast of the Most Holy Name of Jesus broke colder than the day before.  No riding.

I did take some time to go take pictures of an exhibition of hand carved WWII airplane models at the Easttown Library by my friend Bob Voucolo.  You can see the full set of planes in my Flickr Album here.
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The Eighth Day of Christmas - The Feast of Saint Gregory Naziazen

The Feast of Saint Gregory Naziazen also happens to be my birthday.  Glad my parents never even contemplated naming me Gregory.  Nothing against all the Gregs out there, I just don't think it fits me.

Part of my Christmas/Birthday presents (loot) was a Husky 3-ton hydraulic jack kit.  Something car related that I can really use to keep the MG running smoothly.

Cold on the second day of 2015, down in the 20s, so no riding of any kind. My stepson and I rode out to Baldwin's Book Barn in the 4runner, a nice ride but not part of this tale.
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The Seventh Day of Christmas - The Solemnity of Mary, Holy Mother of God

Graham at Villanova Law
It's also the Feast of the Blessed Waldo but the Solemnity of Mary, Holy Mother of God sounds so much better.

The temps were much better on the first day of 2015 so my stepson and I took advantage of that to get two rides in on the MG.  Our first ride was out on my regular commute route to work because I needed to bring some things in to my office.  We did that around 11:00 and when we figured that the temps were bearable (probably somewhere in the low 40s) we took a longer ride.

The second ride started out Goshen toward Grubbs Mill Rd.  We took a that turn and followed Grubbs Mill past Kirkwood Preserve to White Horse Rd.  I thought we would go out to the Melmark School on Wayland to get a few pics in front of the building but when we got there we found the circular drive blocked off so we headed back Wayland to White Horse.  At White Horse we took a left back to Grubbs Mill and followed that past where it turns back into White Horse Rd and then to Davis out towards Warren.  That road eventually leads to Providence Rd where we made a left and stopped at the entrance the Radnor Hunt Club where I stopped for pictures.

At Devon Hunt Club

We followed providence back to Goshen for the road home.  We saw a fairly big herd of deer in a pasture close to Grubbs Mill Road but they were too far from the road to make a good picture.  I figure that ride was a little over 20 miles by the end the cold was starting to become and issue but luckily we never strayed too far from an easy return home.  I regret not having taken the bike for a quick loop earlier because the future forecast does not look good.

At Villanova Law


At Villanova Law

At Radnor Hunt Club

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Saturday, January 3, 2015

The Sixth Day of Christmas - The Feast of Saint Sylvester I

Susan Graham on the cover of Opera News
Another bright, blue, beautiful day but with temps down in the 20s so definitely no riding for the the Feast of Saint Sylvester.  However, my wife, stepson, and I did go out to see Mezzo-soprano Susan Graham perform with the Philadelphia OrchestraYannick Nézet-Séguin - Conducting, at the Kimmel Center.  They were amazing, she was awesome.  What a fantastic performance and what a great way to bring in the New Year.  Happy New Year to all!

The program included:

J. Strauss, Jr. - “Thunder and Lightning” Polka
Mozart - “Non sopiù,” from The Marriage of Figaro
Mozart - “Voi chesapete” from The Marriage of Figaro
Mozart - “Parto,ma tu ben mio,” from La clemenza di Tito
Haydn - Symphony No. 45(“Farewell”)
Suppé - Overture to Morning, Noon, and Night inVienna
Lehár - “Vilja,” from The Merry Widow

Offenbach - “Ah, que j’aime les militaires,” fromThe Grand Duchess of Gerolstein
Messager - “J’ai deux amants,” from L’Amour masqué
J. Strauss, Jr. - “On the Beautiful Blue Danube”Waltz



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Thursday, January 1, 2015

Happy New Year!


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The Fifth Day of Christmas - The Feast of Saint Egwin

Cycle Gear, Cherry Hill, NJ
Bright, blue, and beautiful but down in the high 20s.  Way too cold for my taste so no riding on the Feast of Saint Egwin.  I had to go to the airport to pick up my stepson so I took the opportunity to go out to Cycle Gear in Cherry Hill, NJ, and get some gear.  The zipper on my left boot has come apart so it my present boots have needed replacement for quite a while.  I've been thinking about a pair of Bilt Sirocco boots but I didn't want to buy them on line because the reviews say they don't run true to size.  I usually wear an 11.5 but these boots don't come in halves, the 12s fit just right with the 13s being too loose.  I'm glad that I tried them on before buying.  I also bought a pair of Freeze-Out glove liners and a pair of Bilt leather cruiser gloves that they had on closeout for $12.00.  I like Cycle Gear stores, the kid at the counter told me that they have a store in Bear, DE, that might be closer to me so I will have to check that out.  I will review this gear as I use it.

Bilt Sirocco Waterproof Boots

Freeze-Out Glove Liners

Bilt Leather Cruiser Gloves

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