Hail Damage? Charlie Isn't Himself, and Digging Deep
A construction company rep came by our home recently when I was out working in our yard and asked if it would be okay if he went up on our roof to look for hail damage from a storm one year ago. I told him I was fairly certain he wouldn't find anything because none of our flower gardens were damaged in the storm. He still wanted to have a look and I told him that would be fine. He found me a half-hour later and showed me some photos he took of what he said was hail damage but what looked to me like 21-year-old shingles. He wanted to file a claim on our behalf. I gave him our insurance company info and within 5 minutes the ball was rolling on a claim for a new roof. 
I phoned our insurance agent a few days later and told him that a new roof would be nice but the claim I filed wasn't my idea and that if their inspection showed no hail damage, I was fine with that. My insurance company sent a claim adjuster out to have a look and they actually agreed that our roof had suffered damage. They were willing to replace it for the cost of our deductible. I didn't see that coming.
A team of 7 guys came out last week and worked 12 hours straight (with the exception of about a 20-minute lunch break) to finish the job in one day and ahead of a soaking rain the next day. We're pleased with how it looks. Our new roof even came with a rainbow!
Charlie hasn't been himself since Toby's passing. Tammy figured his seeming sadness was most likely him picking up on our sadness of losing both her mother and Toby but it still continues more than 4 weeks later. He used to love going for walks but not so much now. Often times he's ready to turn for home after just a few blocks. He's never done that before. I'm hoping it's something that will pass. We've been taking him to Alimagnet dog park in Burnsville and hanging out with him in the small-dogs section that's fenced off from the main park. We'll sometimes take him for a walk outside the fenced area. He's fine as long as I'm with him but if he's only with Tammy, she said he will sit and howl, not at all interested in walking. He never acted this way when Toby was with him.
I've only had my road bike out once this year, having fallen in love with gravel riding. Tammy has commented to me more than once that she's glad I'm riding gravel and not mixing it up with distracted drivers on the road. I anticipate that I'll still manage my share of paved highways miles this year but the lure of them isn't what it once was for me.
I've been riding with the Cannon Valley Velo Club on Tuesday nights in Northfield on their TNG (Tuesday Night Gravel) rides. I had no idea when I accepted my friend Dave's invitation to join them what I was getting myself into, and I mean that in a good way. These guys push the pace and cause me to dig deep at times to stay in the pack. Last Tuesday night was off-the-charts fun! The ride was advertised as "about 16 mph (26 kph) ride average"—a reasonable pace for a good workout. Ha! It was a hammer-fest out there and we finished our ride having averaged 19.5 mph (31.4 kph). That's flying for gravel. There were several times when I was on the rivet but managed to hang on (thanks for the pull, Lee) and remain with the pack. I like that when I toe-the-line with these guys at the start of a ride, I'm a little anxious about my ability to hang, to keep up. I'm getting stronger, tho, and I'm determined to continue to do so. This is truly more fun than a guy my age is supposed to be having.
The video below is from yesterday's ride where I struggled to stay connected on the hills with legs that weren't answering the call for more power. Bruce, Tim, and Todd were kind enough to soft-pedal for me so I could catch on again and again. I was thoroughly whipped after 5 hours and 77 miles (124 km) of riding. I kept reminding myself of the saying, something about that which doesn't kill me...
That's all I've got.
I phoned our insurance agent a few days later and told him that a new roof would be nice but the claim I filed wasn't my idea and that if their inspection showed no hail damage, I was fine with that. My insurance company sent a claim adjuster out to have a look and they actually agreed that our roof had suffered damage. They were willing to replace it for the cost of our deductible. I didn't see that coming.A team of 7 guys came out last week and worked 12 hours straight (with the exception of about a 20-minute lunch break) to finish the job in one day and ahead of a soaking rain the next day. We're pleased with how it looks. Our new roof even came with a rainbow!
Charlie hasn't been himself since Toby's passing. Tammy figured his seeming sadness was most likely him picking up on our sadness of losing both her mother and Toby but it still continues more than 4 weeks later. He used to love going for walks but not so much now. Often times he's ready to turn for home after just a few blocks. He's never done that before. I'm hoping it's something that will pass. We've been taking him to Alimagnet dog park in Burnsville and hanging out with him in the small-dogs section that's fenced off from the main park. We'll sometimes take him for a walk outside the fenced area. He's fine as long as I'm with him but if he's only with Tammy, she said he will sit and howl, not at all interested in walking. He never acted this way when Toby was with him.
I've only had my road bike out once this year, having fallen in love with gravel riding. Tammy has commented to me more than once that she's glad I'm riding gravel and not mixing it up with distracted drivers on the road. I anticipate that I'll still manage my share of paved highways miles this year but the lure of them isn't what it once was for me.
I've been riding with the Cannon Valley Velo Club on Tuesday nights in Northfield on their TNG (Tuesday Night Gravel) rides. I had no idea when I accepted my friend Dave's invitation to join them what I was getting myself into, and I mean that in a good way. These guys push the pace and cause me to dig deep at times to stay in the pack. Last Tuesday night was off-the-charts fun! The ride was advertised as "about 16 mph (26 kph) ride average"—a reasonable pace for a good workout. Ha! It was a hammer-fest out there and we finished our ride having averaged 19.5 mph (31.4 kph). That's flying for gravel. There were several times when I was on the rivet but managed to hang on (thanks for the pull, Lee) and remain with the pack. I like that when I toe-the-line with these guys at the start of a ride, I'm a little anxious about my ability to hang, to keep up. I'm getting stronger, tho, and I'm determined to continue to do so. This is truly more fun than a guy my age is supposed to be having.
The video below is from yesterday's ride where I struggled to stay connected on the hills with legs that weren't answering the call for more power. Bruce, Tim, and Todd were kind enough to soft-pedal for me so I could catch on again and again. I was thoroughly whipped after 5 hours and 77 miles (124 km) of riding. I kept reminding myself of the saying, something about that which doesn't kill me...
That's all I've got.
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