Traveling Twosome
  • Traveling Twosome Blog
  • BeBelize - Our life in Belize (2011-2013)
  • Earlier adventures (2003-2010)
    • First Belize Trip 2010
    • Fall Sail Cruise Aboard Logos 2009
    • Conch Key 2007
    • Charleston Sailing School 2007
    • Biscayne Bay Sailing School 2007
    • Key Lime Sailing Club 2006
    • Southwest Parks 2006
    • BEYC/Jost van Dyke, BVI 2005
    • Offshore Sailing School 2004
    • Annapolis Sailboat Show 2004
    • Finger Lakes 2004
    • NY State Bike Tour 2004
    • Biras Creek, BVI 2003
Picture
"Pearl" in Winter Garden, Florida
Picture
Long shadows in Wyoming

Riding to the County Seat to Recycle

7/28/2016

2 Comments

 
RIP Asus Transformer Book; I surely enjoyed using you, your bright red color and small form factor, perfect for traveling to Mexico and using as my only computer there.
Picture
I loved this petite machine!
Picture
I cannot tell a lie: I killed my little tablet/laptop in a valiant attempt to change the failing battery (NOTE:  Do not try this at home.)  

I followed instructions I found on a web page (not by Asus, just a user who did successfuly change out his battery) but still managed to crack the touchscreen in one place opening up the tablet. Ouch!  That was probably reason enough to stop while I was ahead (er...behind), but I was determined to look under the hood anyway to see if I could salvage it for a little longer; after all, I'd already bought a replacement battery.  

Once I finally pried the screen off the brains of the system, I discovered that my battery was not the easy drop and replace model as in the online instructions but glued to a metal backing plate. Asus must have changed this at some point. To replace the battery would have involved unscrewing lots of tiny, delicate computer components and putting them all back onto the battery assembly I'd purchased on ebay.  Uh...no.

So I wanted to recycle both batteries.  I also had an older full-size HP laptop with a large 12-cell battery that was dead, so I could take that one to recycle at the same time.

Checking online for a recycling spot, I found that a rural electricity co-op in the county seat of Jackson, MN would take laptop batteries.  Jackson was about 15 miles from our campground in the county, so we decided to ride over to recycle!

It was a pretty ride on lightly traveled rural roads but very windy.  No wonder there are wind farms in the area!  These windmills were putting out some serious energy on this day.
Picture
Jackson is a small, pretty city with nice paved bike paths. The Des Moines River runs right through town. We took a wrong turn on a bike path (my fault) and ended up at the end of the path due to a construction zone.  A friendly construction worker came over and told us how to get across the river on the road via a detour and pick up the trail on the other side.

We followed his instructions and continued heading north until we got to Highway 71, where the electric co-op was about 1/2 mile north, according to Google maps.
Since there was construction there also, we briefly stopped in a parking lot before heading out on 71 to plan our best exit point onto the road.  Right then another friendly man came up to us.  Turns out he was also a cyclist and thought we looked lost.  He told us that the co-op was actually south of town on 71, not north! D'oh!

Before heading south, we briefly pedaled around the small, cute downtown and took a couple photos, then enjoyed a ride on the bike path near the Des Moines River.
Picture
Google Maps mixing up north and south
Picture
Jackson County Courthouse
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Des Moines River in Jackson, MN
We did find the co-op exactly where the friendly cyclist told it is was, and I was able to drop off my three batteries for recycling. We were thankful for the kindness of a stranger providing local knowledge.

Heading back, we ran into even more wind, but at times we had a tail wind, making pedaling effortless.  I stopped here for a snack and rest break.  Home of the Corn Cob Open!
Picture
All in all, it was a very successful recycling ride.  So far we're doing just fine without the extra expense and inconvenience of having to tow a car behind Pearl.  I guess that's because we're willing to ride our bikes just about anywhere!
2 Comments
Allison link
7/28/2016 01:53:15 pm

I had no idea that part of the country would be so bicycle friendly. That day's ride just looked delightful. We can drive to low traffic areas, but when riding from the park, we're with the cars, many cars, with ill-tempered drivers,

Reply
Emily
7/31/2016 09:06:55 pm

Yes, it's been a real joy visiting the midwest and finding so many cycling friendly communities and just lower traffic roads in general, Allison. You should try this part of the US one of these days. :-)

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    RSS Feed

    ©2018 by Barry & Emily Smith .All rights reserved.
    Picture

    Emily & Barry

    We're a long-married, early-retired couple who are currently traveling as nomads with no fixed home base.  After years of living in North Carolina (Emily's home state), we spent 18 months living oceanfront on Ambergris Caye, Belize, a year road-tripping the US in a Honda CR-V, a year in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, and are now roaming North America in our 32' motorhome, Pearl, following warm weather whenever possible.

    Our passions are bicycling, walking and hiking, birding, continuing our midlife struggles to learn Spanish, enjoying healthy food (and the occasional donuts & pie!), traveling (duh!)  We travel with a fleet of bicycles and Paisley, our 10-year old Boston Terrier. 

    Picture
    Paisley, May 2016
    Picture
    States visited (pre-RV)
    Picture
    Pearl, a 2007 Newmar Bay Star
    Picture
    States visited in "Pearl"

    Archives

    February 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    September 2012

    Favorite Travel Blogs

    Wheeling It
    Technomadia
    Travel with Kevin & Ruth
    San Pedro Scoop
    Metamorphosis Road
    Allison's Post-Work Thinking
    Life's a Beach!
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Traveling Twosome Blog
  • BeBelize - Our life in Belize (2011-2013)
  • Earlier adventures (2003-2010)
    • First Belize Trip 2010
    • Fall Sail Cruise Aboard Logos 2009
    • Conch Key 2007
    • Charleston Sailing School 2007
    • Biscayne Bay Sailing School 2007
    • Key Lime Sailing Club 2006
    • Southwest Parks 2006
    • BEYC/Jost van Dyke, BVI 2005
    • Offshore Sailing School 2004
    • Annapolis Sailboat Show 2004
    • Finger Lakes 2004
    • NY State Bike Tour 2004
    • Biras Creek, BVI 2003