What Do You Do During The Lockdown?

[indianajo]

I must be snake-bitten on last Tuesday. First, my smartphone died. .
Next, the carrier in my touring e-bike broke.
Next, Amazon stopped offering/shipping goods from North America to Poland (perhaps to Europe as the region).
My new handlebars are stuck in France and my new suspension seat post is stuck in San Francisco.

So on national watch a streaming service month, the 32" TV with the new mainboard, lost power. I pushed back to the wall socket to reseat the plug, and backing out knocked it off the table, breaking the glass. That's how I got a used mainboard for $40, people break the glass all the time.
Have a converter to watch HDMI from tuner through a 11" computer monitor, but the heads feet & subtitles are all cut off. Also when PBS dives into cooking shows or soap opera (Doc Martin, 800 Words) I can't play any of the 150 DVD I recorded, those come out yellow red white RCA plugs, which I don't know the name of so I can't buy a DVI converter.
They had a 31.5" LG at Meijer's yesterday $35 off, but the bike was loaded with groceries. Paper towels were tied on top. Forced myself to go to store because I was near out of diabetes medicine and I needed an upgrade on blood pressure medicine. Dr didn't call in the blood pressure medicine and the insurance co won't let me have diabetes medicine 10 days before I'm out. Do I dare go back & buy the TV today? I don't think so. Maybe next month. 1000 new cases in Indiana yesterday.
Problem with ordering TV online, you are not allowed to know where anything is made until you receive it. I don't buy expensive toys from *****. Was thrilled the Selle Royale seat I received yesterday was made in Italy, which tries to treat its people rather well.

 

[Rick53]

Those of you that Trust in the Lord for Eternal Life Read Psalms 91 : Those of you that don't Maybe Should : It's appointed for a Man to Die Once : Not before or after Your Appointed time : Worry Doesn't stop it or speed it up. But Trust in the Lord takes the Bumps down a notch Be Safe and God Bless All in The Name Of Jesus Christ

 

[PDXzap]

Doodle... doodle... doo

 

[Jaxx]

Are you Zwifting?

Not Zwift, Rouvy. Much prefer it, and less crowded. Couldn't get on with the cartoon like appearance. I like the quality HD videos and climbs that Rouvy provide.
Yesterday, did a ride in Switzerland. The first hour was spent climbing at a steady rate of knots, spectacular scenery, culminating in a long decent broken by small lumps. 39 miles in total, that keeps you occupied.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Nine days of waiting until the shock absorbing handlebars reached my place from France.

Baramind BAM Trek by RED-MOTION. Bought online from the maker. It will probably take me half day to replace the existing handlebars on my Vado. No boredom!

Thank you @Alaskan for your wise recommendation!

 

[TMH]

I've previously heard of 'Uncle Wiggly Wings' of post-WW II fame, and now we've got our own 'Stefan Mikes Wiggly Bars' here on the EBR forums!

(But I will admit that I have a Redshift suspension stem on the Raleigh Tamland iE and it is pretty nice).

 

[slayer1962]

I can ride in the pinelands in NJ nobody is going to bother you riding on sand roads and paths . I use the time to explore hunting spots

 

[Alex M]

Also when PBS dives into cooking shows or soap opera (Doc Martin, 800 Words) I can't play any of the 150 DVD I recorded, those come out yellow red white RCA plugs, which I don't know the name of so I can't buy a DVI converter.

Except for (maybe) news, TV cable programming should be watched only in PVR record. Pesky commercials make a show a movie run 20% longer, and they are irrelevant and throw you off the mood. When you set time recording, you can watch it later on your own schedule and skip commercials with touch of a button. Not being a techie, I wouldn't know how to use a PVR without actual TV set or cable TV. Maybe install Kodi on your PC, I see some PVR option in Kodi menu.

Yellow-red-white cable is called Composite Video-Audio Cable, but why using a standalone DVD player at all?

I would suggest to digitize DVDs and CDs (aka rip), load onto PC and backup on external hard drive. And watch with whatever library interface is easier (I'm using Kodi). If you have Win 7/8, you might try Windows Media Center - it is not a part of Win 10 but I heard it is possible to add it.

I'm using old soft DVD Shrink + Handbrake for ripping DVDs into MP4 or MKV files, and Exact Audio Copy or Foobar for ripping music CDs into Flac/Aac. Oddly, making Kodi "scrape" a ripped Flac into library is sometimes trickier than scraping a movie or show, especially compilation albums, though nothing unmanageable. Kodi is infinitely adjustable and can be too much, easy to make a mistake when adding album to library and have , say, one Bach album suddenly split into multiple "performers" that you don't need to know, each with his own thumb, and then you have to re-scrape it.

Other than that, Kodi is a nice interface for PC-connected 36" TV and bigger, there are many RF and IR remotes though any wireless mouse or compact wireless keyboard will work. After watching movies/shows in Kodi or Windows MC you probably won't go back to standalone DVD player.

Eventually you lose interest in some show or album in your library and go back to cable TV with PVR, looking for fresh content

 

[steve mercier]

looking at old photos ...

 

[Rick53]

 

[Stefan Mikes]

With the latest Polish regulations effective April 4th, the ban on the public access to parks, river embankments, forests etc with increasing the fines to an exorbitant level being announced, people have become afraid and tend to stay at homes even if the weather is fabulous now. Although there is no explicit ban on the outdoor workouts, bicycles seem to have disappeared from the scene. Here and there you might spot a single runner or a cyclist on a secluded road. For people living in big cities, the ban appears to be real; I have heard stories about police cars cruising the Warsaw's Wał Miedzeszyński (a very long embankment of the Vistula River with bike paths) and telling riders, runners and people walking to go back home under the threat of fines.

My neighbourhood is by no means a big city. With careful route planning, I'm still able to zoom 50-60 km routes and the chances of meeting the police are scarce here. Jokingly saying, the "I Refuse To Pay Any Ticket Tour 2020" has just begun

A warm and windless Sunday. I was very tired after the 50 mile ride of yesterday (and the following multi-user online video party that involved some imbibing), so I've overslept half of the day. Now, I'm going to mount a new rear rack on my Lovelec and perhaps give both bikes of mine a decent wash!


When The Quarantine Is Heavily Enforced

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1115773925434752

 

[Stefan Mikes]

The day not entirely lost, @RabH. I had slept too long, true. I didn't ride out, correct. Yet I was able to replace the broken Lovelec rear rack with a Pletscher Athlete. It was not that simple though.

It turned out the eyelets for mounting the rack had not been threaded by the manufacturer at all! The Lovelec had used a weird custom rear rack mounted on the seat stays! A quick phone call to my brother:
-- Jacek, have you got a 5 millimetre screw-tap? -- Sure I do. Would you like to make the thread yourself or do you want me to help you? -- Going to the car right now!

Yes, I committed the sin of seeing my brother. No hand-shakes though and we kept the distance. I brought the bike in my station-wagon car and my brother has done an excellent job, as always. Jacek has even slightly modded the rack so it is bulletproof now.

The day saved!

Before & after.

 

[Sierratim]

California is under a shelter at home order for the entire state. Outdoor exercise is not prohibited, as long as 'social distancing' is practiced. So, when the weather is good we're out riding. Did a very pleasant 30-mile ride on our mechanicals last Friday on a popular trail that follows the American River near Sacramento. On a typical Friday, there usually aren't many riders. With everyone home, the trail was quite busy. Some didn't pay too much attention to the 6 foot distance requirement, but most were very considerate.

Locally we take our electrics when it's nice. Today it's snowing so I'm working on the bikes, and keeping a fire going in the house. New brake pads for the Vado today. Pretty red ones...

It's supposed to rain and snow through tomorrow so more bike maintenance I suppose.

Stay safe, stay healthy. Ride on.

 

[Toomanycats]

California is under a shelter at home order for the entire state. Outdoor exercise is not prohibited, as long as 'social distancing' is practiced. So, when the weather is good we're out riding. Did a very pleasant 30-mile ride on our mechanicals last Friday on a popular trail that follows the American River near Sacramento. On a typical Friday, there usually aren't many riders. With everyone home, the trail was quite busy. Some didn't pay too much attention to the 6 foot distance requirement, but most were very considerate.

Locally we take our electrics when it's nice. Today it's snowing so I'm working on the bikes, and keeping a fire going in the house. New brake pads for the Vado today. Pretty red ones...

It's supposed to rain and snow through tomorrow so more bike maintenance I suppose.

Stay safe, stay healthy. Ride on.

View attachment 49127

Also noticed many more walkers and riders out in Southern California. Lots of little kids on bikes. I hope they stay with it.
I try to ride every chance I get- it helps with depression and anxiety. Plus it’s fresh air and freedom. Trying to give walkers and riders a lot more space when I pass. Using the bell a lot more. In general, trying to be polite and mannerly as possible. Don’t want to give them an excuse to ban us.

 

[Chancelucky2]

California is under a shelter at home order for the entire state. Outdoor exercise is not prohibited, as long as 'social distancing' is practiced. So, when the weather is good we're out riding. Did a very pleasant 30-mile ride on our mechanicals last Friday on a popular trail that follows the American River near Sacramento. On a typical Friday, there usually aren't many riders. With everyone home, the trail was quite busy. Some didn't pay too much attention to the 6 foot distance requirement, but most were very considerate.


My mother used to live about a quarter mile from the American River Bike Trail. I rode it many times, though pre-e-bike.

 

[Sierratim]

We love the American River Trail, even without our ebikes! Wonderful year around river views, flora & fauna, good lunch stops, etc.

 

[DanInStPete]

I‘m lucky to have a 25,000 acre preserve 35 minutes away that’s still open. 9 miles of single-track, 65 miles of double-track and 25 miles of shell roads. I get out in the middle of that and there isn’t a person within miles.

 

[City Commuter]

I shaved my head

 

[Sierratim]

I shaved my head

My hair's getting thin enough where it looks like I shaved it!

Oh, I'm also making a set of hardwood blocks for our youngest grandaughter's 2nd birthday thus Fall, ~150 pieces in all. Tedious sanding so I stretch it out.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I've just sat on my balcony bench and relished the splendid warm sunshine. I've listened to the wind whispering in the twigs of the trees. How refreshing the south-easterly wind felt...

Oh, no. Not riding today. Another 50 miles against that terrible and cold Power of Nature would kill me I better wash both e-bikes instead

Dedicated to @RabH