The insects were out foraging through the blossoms in the warm midday sun. I had hard frost on the rear window of my car when I left early this morning to take the car in for service. The morning glories have all but succumbed to the early morning frosts, but the roses and butterfly bushes are defiant, and seem to delight in the cold. The hibiscus is still blooming like it was midsummer.

I hadn’t taken my car in for service for over a year because of our health issues. I like to take it to the dealer for service, but they are clear across town, which pushes up the response cost. I turned 60,000 miles on my Mazda 5 about a month ago, and figured the 60K service might run into big bucks, especially since I hadn’t had the car in for service for so long. Much to my surprise, the only issue it had was the front struts are leaking from our rough, dusty road, but otherwise in good, safe condition; therefore, I don’t have to change them yet. The bill came to $35. A 60K service for thirty-five dollars is quite a deal if you ask me.

My GPS is a little flakey. I cycled one of my training routes that measures 24 miles on google maps. It measured almost 25 miles on my GPS the first time I rode it with the GPS; however, today it measured only 21.5 miles. The only thing that varies on the route is the wind and how I’m feeling. Actually, the GPS has never measured any of my training routes the same distance twice. It always varies by a half mile to two miles even on 10 mile rides. I think the variation comes from when it acquires the satellites.