Jan 25 - how big is your battery ?

It's a guy thing ... actually, on this score I think George Cederholm wins out with bigger and more batteries in his coach.

I let some air out of the M5 tires and tried to start it -- no luck. Remember that battery problem that we had before we left in December ? It's not on its final legs now, it's on life support -- yes, with a boost from the X5 the car would start, but not with the battery even though it's been on the battery minder since December.

I had done some research on the required M5 battery before coming down, knowing that I'd soon have to replace it. I didn't want to spend the $350 that the dealer charges and thought that I'd have some time to order one in or pick one up ... no such luck. However, we will live with one car until I get one since aftermarket batteries for this car are 1/3 of the price !

Now the problem is getting the battery. It's a Group 95R, which is over 15 inches wide ! It's a monstrosity ! I called Pep Boys, but they don't stock it. There's a place in Altamonte Springs (suburb of Orlando, 45 minutes away) that's supposed to have it but they are closed today so I'll call on Monday. As a last resort I'll order it in which will take a few days.

I'm just gearing up for a bike ride. More later ...

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It's morning again. In summary, the rest of my day was biking and grouper.

Ooohhh my butt still feels the 70 miles from yesterday. My legs were screaming at me, drowning out the complaints from my butt. When I set out the plan was to do a shorter ride but it was such a nice day that I kept going past the midpoint of a shorter ride and of course I then only had two options -- ride home or call for help. The weather is supposed to be great for the rest of the week too with highs in the mid to upper 70's so I'll get some more miles on my legs. I'm booked for a 300km ride on Feb 21st, but if I feel up to it there is also one on the 7th. That may be too early ... I'll have to wait and see. I'd have to plan a 200km / 120 mile ride as a training ride sometime before that as well, like within the next week.

We had Grouper for dinner and it was excellent. Grouper, oven-roasted potatoes, zucchini ... man we eat well ... beats mac and cheese ! Of course the Grouper and zucchini were done on the barbie. We were then talking about travels, renting condos etc. if we ever did anything seasonal at some point and that we'd have to a) bring a lot of stuff with us (probably pull a trailer) and b) have to have a barbecue. It made me realize that we could never survive with a condo where we were not allowed to use a barbecue on the balcony.

After dinner Sandy tuned in the Screen Actor's Guild awards and I watched for a while too before heading to bed at my normal time.

Oh -- before dinner, snack and wine time, I made some tapanade. I had picked up a selection of olives at Publix when I went grocery shopping on the way home from Mass and added a few variations that turned out well -- there were artichoke hearts in the olive bar, which adds an interesting flavor, and feta cheese. I got the idea for the feta cheese from the olive spread that we bought in Whistler. The result is excellent. A little feta changes the texture a little, making it a little less crumbly on the cracker. I now have a supply that will last me at least a couple of weeks because it's too spicy-hot for Sandy due to one of the Publix mixes having chili peppers.

So ... over the next week we'll have to get to Orlando -- battery, Costco, Whole Foods, go boating, do a lot of biking ... it sounds busy but it really isn't.

Today I have a few calls to make, chasing down that car battery and follow-up on some things that came in the mail. It's hard to believe that I used to spend my life on the phone. The last two car trips I have not even picked up the cell phone and called anyone -- this time down George called me. I had to dig out the headset, since it was buried.

That's it for now. It's time for breakfast.