Derailleurs and Sprockets

And such a lot of them. This bike was in the window at Trail House. All the furniture has been moved out leaving nothing but two tables and no chairs, but there were plenty of picnic tables in the parking lot and two bikes in the inside front windows. This bike probably costs thousands of dollars which I don't think I would have any interest in paying for any kind of bike, but I found myself staring at it and wondering if, with all those gears one could ride this bike up stairs. The bike repair service in the back of the shop must be considered an essential service because it is still open with burly looking guys riding big bikes in tight circles around the driveway. Annadel State Park is right across the road and this pit stop is conveniently located for mountain bikers and hikers. A road bike wouldn't last a minute in the steep rugged terrain,  and it's pretty challenging for hikers too.

Our only other excitement was a trip to Costco for flu shots. Our friend Ashley, the pharmacist of uncertain gender who gives the injections had suggested to us when we got our second shingles shot that we should come in early for a flu shot because she expected it to be a madhouse. It was anything but with few shoppers and nobody waiting at the pharmacy but just as we were congratulating ourselves on our foresight and timing, I realized that didn't have my insurance cards with me and they were having some kind of problem with John's cards as well. That turned out to be the fact that, since he has had the same Social Security number since he was a teenager, his card still has the "Junior" attached to his name, though it has been long dropped from everything else since his father died almost fifty years ago. He was finally ok'd when, after a very long phone call, the "Jr" was entered on the correct line. I was not so lucky when they insisted that I go home and get my card. We are registered there and have never needed these cards before, but I finally got my shot when I agreed to pay for it. $40 seemed a small price to pay rather than drive all the way home and back. I might be able to get a refund if I came back with the card and the receipt she said, but she thought it might have to be the same day. 

Who makes these rules?

I'm looking forward to watching the Tour de France which we have been recording, since it comes on at 4am here. It has the added advantage of being able to fast forward through the commercials and the boring bits, although it is rarely boring. I wonder how many riders will have to abandon because they have Covid?