My dad arrived on Thursday around 1 pm.  He had been on the road for 16 days at that point.

He said the bike with the gear weighs about 75 pounds.  He’s got clothes, maps, a stove, tent, sleeping bag, and all kinds of other stuff.  All on the bike. 

I love that you can have sandals that work with clipless pedals!  I’d love running sandals.  (Okay, maybe I should embrace barefoot running…)

You have to make sure everything is tied down well. 

Ready to go!  People.  If you see this man, please don’t cut him off to stop short in front of him to make a right turn.  Use your common sense.  Don’t be a jerk.

He’s headed to St Charles to pick up the Katy Trail today.  Might make it to Phoenix in a month or so.  Follow my dad on twitter @jerrydfrey

One concert down, one to go!

I invited Maddie from City in a Jar to attend our Chamber Project St Louis concert last night.  She wrote up a really great blog post about it.  Please go check it out.  I met Maddie earlier this summer at Will Write for Wine and we have become good friends on twitter.  It was nice to see her in person again!

My dad got into town around 1 pm yesterday on his bike.  I was not blog-prepared, in fact, I have taken no photos since then.  I’ll try to get one of him taking off so you can see how much gear he has on his bike—he said all in all it weighs about 75 pounds.  Imagine biking on that all day, every day.  Today is his first day off in about 16 days, and he will be heading out in a bit to make sure his new tire is working well before getting back on the road for real.  We also made a trip to REI to get a sleeping bag liner since the weather is cooling off.  He is planning to head towards Phoenix, Arizona next, and won’t be there for at least a month if not more.  He said the trip has been more difficult that he thought, but will be able to take more days off in the future—he was working hard to get here in time for my concert.

I was also delighted last night that a few members of the SLSO including my fiance Chris were there by the end of our show.  I had originally thought Chris would be able to attend but it turned out it was the night of their opening Pops concert at Forest Park.  However, he was there at the end and I was so happy he got to hear me play the Prokofiev.  It meant a lot to have him and my father there.

I keep forgetting to mention this, so I wanted to make a very special post about it.  Not really.  It’s Thursday morning, I got up earlier than I needed to, so I’m blogging.  It’s my hobby 🙂

Are you a healthy living blogger in St Louis?  Then join us for a meet up at 1 pm on September 25 at Pi on the Delmar Loop.  The meet up is organized by Real Fit Mama and so far only 4 of us are down for it.  I don’t necessarily consider myself a healthy living blogger per se—and maybe you don’t either.  No matter.  Go here and let Real Fit Mama know if you are planning to come!

If that doesn’t spell healthy living, why then I just don’t know what does!  It certainly makes my stomach rumble for that delicious cornmeal based crust…the first time I ate it I almost cried with happiness.  Oh wait.  I do that almost every time!

Okay, gotta do some minor preparations for my father’s visit.  He’s getting into St Louis around noon, evidently, and I am in no way prepared for a houseguest.  I am under a great deal of stress right now and just barely keeping it together.  Everything I am going through was as a result of choices and decisions I made, but knowing that doesn’t make it easier.

I love this picture.

Hi all.

Remember tomorrow is our concert “Folk Freedom” for Chamber Project St Louis.  We had the last dress rehearsal tonight and it’s going to be fantastic.

“FOLK FREEDOM”
Thursday, September 8 2011, 7:30pm
The Chapel: A sanctuary for the arts
$12/4 Click HERE to purchase tickets online

Saturday, September 10, 8:00pm
The Tavern of Fine Arts
suggested contribution: 10$
gratitude contribution: 20$ – includes food and drink gift

Evidently my father is 25 miles south of St Louis right now.  He should be here by lunch tomorrow.  He’s been riding his bike from South Carolina, by himself, for the past two weeks and one day.  That’s a bike he’s pedaling, just FYI, not something motorized.  (I’ve gotten a lot of questions.)

I’m exhausted.  That dress rehearsal took everything I had.  And I didn’t have a whole lot to begin with.

The symphony starts up again tomorrow.  Fall is truly here.

I said fall, not fail!  Meh.  Same thing.

(I’m sorry.  This may be the worst blog post ever.  Come to our concert if you live in St Louis, you’ll love it!  Plus you can meet my dad.)

Doing this one Wordless Wednesday style, even though it’s Tuesday: