I have something nibbling on my Presidential Red Hibiscus which I installed last Summer and which produces gorgeous red blooms throughout the growing season. They look like this:
But something has been nibbling on the leaves and it is looking sickly. We've had a rather warm Winter and a very recent hard cold snap just last week, so I expected my plants to be confused, and several have responded by starting to bloom, etc., early. You can see the hibiscus hard at work putting out new shoots, etc.
But you can also see where something has been treating my Presidential Red like an All-You-Can-Eat Chinese Buffet:
So, the logical thing to do was to get a pesticide designed for plants which means, trusty Sevin, which Home Depot carries. I was prepared to take a bus to the nearest Home Depot but then, in a moment of clarity, I remembered that marvelous feed store fairly close by, (deary me, is the Fog lifting??) that has every gardening tool and soil type and additive you can imagine and thought to meself: Self, that last bike-ride was incident free, SOB-wise, so why can't I just ride over there and save a bus trip?
So I donned my riding gloves and backpack and headed out on my maiden voyage to Southwest Fertilizer. It was a beautiful day, a bit of sunshine, and several times I was riding into the wind and had to downshift. And the Hillcroft leg was in heavy afternoon traffic which is no big deal if you're use to it, but I always try to use sidewalks because Houston drivers are nuts. But I actually prefer the road because Houston sidewalks are a study in rippling topography which no geographer would ever appreciate.
Here's the route and mileage on the forward trip. There was absolute no SOB getting there which took ` 15-20 minutes. (Ignore Google Map's time estimate.) There was a little sweat, upon arrival, which felt marvelous.
And here's the reverse trip: Both maps, BTW, are not Google Map's suggestions but my actual route.
The wind, incidentally, had shifted from blowing N-S which I was riding against along Hillcroft on the forward trip, to blowing E-W which I was riding against on the reverse trip riding along Bissonett. But, again, there was no SOB, and I even undershot one of the streets ending up on one of those God-forsaken cul-de-sacs that are a curse to cyclists everywhere, which I had to navigate around to get back on track. But again, no SOB -- ever. Mostly, I just got sweaty, which is glorious!
This is my trusty steed: a Specialized Sirrius Elite, which I've had since 2011, and bought new for over $700.00 shekels and which gets a thorough tune up every year with everything replaced that needs it, etc., and she still rides like a top!
But I digress. Back to the bike routes. Remember all that SOB from the store trip back on February 25th, (Day 21 of my quit,) which I discussed on that day's blog post Enjoying Energy?
It was scary. Here's the actual route, forward and reverse, I always take to that store. The route represents 1.6 miles, total distance. Remember how I had to stop about half a block from home until the SOB abated enough so I could get home? The trip to SW Fertilizer today, however, was twice the distance just on the forward leg alone and combined with the reverse trip represented 4.1 miles round-trip. And not one incident of SOB the entire trip! That's amazing progress in my book. 
I also checked my Sp02 soon after arriving home and it went from 92 to 96 in very short order so I took that as a good sign.
And I bought more than just some Sevin; I also bought some Hibiscus food, and some clear trays for the houseplants. And the two-mile trip back without SOB on a beautiful warm day was about the best way to get my Spring Break started as I could think of. Here's hoping your Saturday was beautiful and smoke-free, too.
Peace and gratitude,
AC
