Lots to catch up on…
Where do I begin? First off - the Jwin radio ended up sucking - a big oozing $10.00 piece of crap… big surprise, huh?
I purchased a Sangean DT-200VX 
from Amazon for around $50 and it’s been a much better radio… it has a belt clip that I use to clip to a D-Ring on my backpack strap and that keeps the thing up around my shoulder and very “listenable” - Great to not miss Bob&Tom most mornings… Although some mornings I’m just in the mood for birds… and don’t run the radio.
On the afternoon of August 11th, about 3/4 of the way home, the old cell phone rang. It was an EMT at my Mom’s apartment, needing to get in… They’d received a call from the “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up” people. I turned around and raced through town and got there in about 10 minutes. Mom mom had fallen and couldn’t get up… ha!. Well, it was off to the ER for the 88-year-old gal and of course, she ended up with a broken hip. Needless to say - that was the end of riding to and from work for a while…
There were many trips to the hospital, family coming into and out of town… transfer to a rehab facility… daily errands, appointments, visits, etc… all of which were just easier to do by truck. Well, it took a long, long time to get to a point where I felt comfortable with not having the truck on-hand during the duty day. Turns out there were many times where it was necessary to run and meet someone or sign something, etc… but by the Springtime, I was itchin’ to get back on the saddle.
It took until late March for that to happen… But, by then, Mom was through her rehab and had decided that remaining where she was - at a nursing home that doubled as a rehab facility - was the thing to do - instead of move to an “Assisted Living” facility where johnny-on-the-spot care was not the case. I finally felt ready to return to my two-wheeled way of commuting.
I thought it would be a chore getting my head and body to re-adapt to the 8.4 mile ride - but I was wrong. It was like I’d never left the saddle. So… things are back to normal… two wheels most days - except when the weather is total crap or there is the need for a vehicle somewhere during the duty day… like an off-campus appointment for the mom. But… all in all - it’s all back to normal and I’m happy as a clam with the Breezer.
I did add a Bell Bike Saddle Pad - !!! With Memory Foam !!! - a good investment for my tired old ass… although I had to lower the saddle about half and inch to compensate. I also added a Bell LED taillight to augment the Breezer tail light. It has 7 settings - on solid or six different blink patterns. It’s pretty bright and irritating to car drivers, I’m sure - all the better to be noticed with. All of my morning departures are around the 5:45 AM time frame so it’s pretty dark before mid-April. I mounted the thing, using the seatpost attachment that came with it - to the left down-tubes of the Breezer luggage rack. Not pretty but it works. Couldn’t mount it on the seat post due to the Breezer Bag trunk, I’m running now.
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