Darwin and I enjoyed two fabulously long days off together this week. Sunday we worked on Theodore for several long hours (which will be discussed in another post) and Monday we used spent mostly on our bikes.

We slept in Monday morning which always seems to make that first cup of coffee taste even better. The three of us Darwin, Me and Bowie sank into our positions on the couch and dozed off again (Bowie), read (me), and watched super cute puppy videos on Facebook (Darwin). We eventually headed to a few thrift stores and returned to home base to fuel up on food and head out on a long ride. May I now fully introduce to you The Prince Veronica. The Prince Veronica is my Surly, Ogre. Darwin built him up for me as part of an early birthday gift. She is all black with a few anodized purple highlights; needless to say he looks like a bad ass.

Backstory: In recent months I have really have been bugging to ride my bike to the grocery store, load the groceries on the bike and ride back to home base. I would have never been able to do this on my old bike The Doub. I am not clear where this goal/obsession came from but it’s there and I want to be able to do it. I may also kinda want to join Darwin on a bikepacking trip or two hence the Prince…..

More Backstory: I was stuck between names so I joined two. Prince is obviously from that most beloved rock star that recently met his end. He was one of the few men I would have left Darwin for. Veronica comes from an old memory from a Betty and Veronica Comic Book were Veronica paints her whole bedroom the same purple as her favorite nail polish. Man I used to love reading those comics! You now can understand why I refer to The Prince Veronica as both male and female.

Originally we had planned on taking the train up to Santa Fe to ride The Rail Trail but due to weather we had to improvise. We now were headed to the Bosque to ride around. Dressed in my sock monkey wool socks, purple tights, and blue thermal we headed out on the bike path. We cruised down past the library and past exit the for The Canteen without a hitch. I made a mental note to have Darwin adjust my saddle. My ass was sliding around causing me to put more pressure on my arms; my wrists ached a bit.

We continued on to the university. On another ride on The Doub I had to take a break at this point due my ass and lady parts falling off. Now however, my parts were still intact and I could fully focus on the ride and making sure I didn’t run into any headphone wearing students. We flew around campus and headed towards Old Town riding along in a bicycle lane. Years ago when Darwin tried to get me to ride along with traffic I freaked out and almost fell into a car. This was a combination of no bicycle lanes, a lack of experience riding and a lack of experience with clipless pedals (which as of date I’m still terrified of). Back then I dreaded any type of bike riding. I now only felt slightly tense as we weaved around a few idiots who were driving in the bike lane. What ass wipes!

We made it down to a park by the bosque and took a water and snack break. I have recently came to realize that eating a Luna Bar does nothing for me. I ate one before leaving and now as we stopped ate another one due to the fact I was again starving. These bars are supposed to be what women need but fuck, call me a man-chick cause I need more!  I think the bigger issue is that I’m addicted to the Lemon Zest flavor. I need an intervention.

After our break we took stock of the time and how the sky was looking cloud wise and decided to start heading back before the madness of the five o’clock traffic. Unfortunately we didn’t get to ride on any dirt trails as planned but I was proud of myself regardless for having rode this far. After a few farts from me and giggles from both of us we headed back.

We had to climb up some monster hills (at least they were monster like to me, Darwin was totally in his element). I peddled my ass up to the top of each stopping for a breather only when I conquered the last one and waited to cross traffic. Woohoo! I felt I had buns of steel! We continued retracing our way back to the bike path. Darwin suggested we stop in at The Canteen for a beer and I was all for it.  Man oh man, how the world of riding a bike can open up so much that is missed when a person drives a car! We jetted off the bike path down to the brewery and enjoyed a much-needed adult beverage and discussed future videos and other doings for the website and YouTube channel.

We rode back to home base powered by beer and without any complaints from my body. I even had enough breath to keep discussing website stuff. When we arrived home I felt fully satisfied, in awe of myself and the Prince Veronica. This was her first long ride and we worked well together. This is the start of a beautiful relationship.

 

Darwin and I recently took a few days off from the nine to five and thus the madness began….

Day #1

Today is the day! Theodore is coming home to ABQ!

We paid the last bit on Theodore, hitched him up, and pulled him out on the road. (Let it be known that the last sentence of events took almost an hour) Once we got moving Theodore’s door kept popping open causing a few premature curse words to flow from Darwin. I found this very comical. After our good friend Zach very expertly strapped down the door with a bike tube (ahh, it is good to know boys who work in a bike shop) all was well and we were back on the road. We cruised down Route 66 into Albuquerque which made me feel very nostalgic for a time I will never know.

Onward to the backyard! We arrived at our friends Alex and Sierra’s backyard and the boys maneuvered Theodore onto a level brick section. Once there we walked around it and admired. Wow, it is really ours! We sat inside and looked around pondering our next step. Alex and Sierra joined us in the excitement of pondering for a few minutes and all was well with the world. Once Darwin and I were alone with Theodore we decided first thing first…Glass Cleaner, All purpose Cleaner, and tools. Why did we feel we needed cleaners first?  I have no idea. As of date we have still not touched the them.

Day #2

It was super cold and cloudy today and almost immediately my toes went numb. Darwin officially pulled out everything from the kitchen exposing what we had anticipated, water damage! We have also discovered that everything has been attached together with screws from the 70s that are no longer made. After multiple trips this morning to various hardware stores we were left empty-handed. This means that every screw Darwin removes will be stripped since there are no drill bits in existence that fit. Every screw is very time-consuming to remove and comes with a short supply of cuss words. We did not expect this. Well, I expected the cussing not the screw issue. We also did not expect that everything was put together working from the outside in which means we are going to have to pop off the outside wall to work any further. Scarcastic Yay! It starting to rain! No more work can be done today. Our enthusiasm has waned from yesterday.

Day #3

Cloudy and cold today but no rain so we popped the outside aluminum off along with the windows. Theodore revealed another ugly surprise even more water damage! Darwin was way more chipper about this then me. I just stared at the dark rotting wood. I touched a piece and it disintegrated into the air then I’m pretty sure I breathed it in. How was this thing even standing? We took Theodore on knowing he would be a project but geez…I never thought I would be literally eating and breathing him! We measured pieces that needed to be replaced from the wall and made a trip to get lumber. We removed and replaced one piece before we came to the conclusion we would need to pull up the floor before going further. The walls are not sitting on the floor but screwed into the outside of it. Theodore is one gigantic puzzle. You can’t do one thing without doing another first. We worked until after dark with our focus now on removing the floor. When we tarped up everything and left, that damn floor was still attached.

Day #4

We ate our Wheaties this morning, gave each other pep talks and grunted at each other like Tim Allen.We are going to get that dern floor up! Within thirty minutes Darwin literally sat in the middle of the floor and reverted back to his five year old self. He slammed the floor with a hammer, screamed and stomped his feet. I walked away suppressing my giggles and removed rusty staples from the outside aluminum until he was done. After he collected himself, I was able to crawl under the trailer and remove a few stripped out bolts that were keeping the floor down only by imagination. A few more tugs and grunts later the floor popped up and Darwin triumphantly launched it out into the yard. We looked like the Flintstones as our feet dangled out from where the floor was. We inspected the now exposed frame. The frame where the door had been was broke and dangling in the wind. We were going to need a welder.

We both looked at each other and felt the pressure of the project we knowingly or not took on. We drove off into the sunset warm in the Stallion leaving Theodore wrapped in tarps until our next day off.

(Darwin Cussing at Theodore’s Door)

(The Pondering of Theodore)

We have chosen the trail less traveled…we brought a travel trailer! We have been looking and wanting and hoping that we could find something that could allow us to live more in the outdoors but not as temporary as a tent. Something that would be able to stay put if needed but be able to hit the road too. We weighed the pros and cons of a tiny house but decided we wanted something a little more classic, something that was already made and well broken in. Something that we could repurpose and make our very own. Something with a lil history. Whaala! A travel trailer seemed like just the ticket! (P.S. Don’t get me wrong, I am not anti-tiny house we just felt it was not an option that fit our wants and personality.)

Once we decided that was the trail to take, we got to lookin and couldn’t find crap. In my long thirty years on earth I have discovered this is usually the case when I really want something. I go to get said thing and it’s not there, sold, unavailable until a far off future date, or just doesn’t exist ( I like to make up things that I feel should exist just to acomodate me). This however did not hold us back. We stumbled upon a great guy named Corey who runs his own company named Rove Trailer. What does he do? He buys, resales, and remodels vintage travel trailers (not always in that order) just the kinda guy we were looking for. After a few visits to his property littered with awesome trailers, Darwin stumbled upon one that he just seemed unable to move past.

This particular one had a pretty sturdy shell, the inside had lots of storage, small but crooked kitchen, small table, a closet perfect to put a shitter in and it had a fold up bed. Did I mention it is booger green? This was the exact thing we were looking for! It needed work but not a terrible amount. It technically was ready to live in if needed and we discovered it was made from our home state of Indiana. Was that a sign or what?

We came home that day last week and researched, talked, researched some more, measured Bowie’s bulbous ass to make sure she would fit, and talked more. The next day Darwin went with one of our good friends back to visit Corey at Rove Trailer and made an offer. Cory accepted! We are now the proud owners of a 16ft, 1972 Lark Travel Trailer. In the coming weeks we will be documenting our progress as we start to redo the little guy.

Darwin wants to name him Theodore, Teddy for short.