Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Movie time!
I was having an email conversation about the most quotable movies out there. The ones where you can say a line and most everybody knows what you're referring to. I found a list labelled The Top 10 Most Quotable Geek Films…Ever! which is as follows:
Anyway, spend fifteen minutes with geeks and you'll realize we brandish movie quotes like a samurai wields a katana. If you want a true geek movie list, you need a Top 10 of source material for all the best one-liners. Here's mine, The Top 10 Most Quotable Geek Flicks…Ever!:
- The Empire Strikes Back - If we're only going to pick one entry in the Star Wars lexicon, here's your moneymaker. Yoda alone is worth his muppet-weight in quotable gold, and the dialogue in this SW Episode is the snappiest and most memorable of them all. "No. Try not. Do… or do not. There is no try."
- Monty Python and the Holy Grail - The Tech Blog guy had this right, just under-ranked. Holy Grail is pretty much a motherlode of geek quotations. I know at least a dozen people who could recite the film on demand. If you don't know why witches weigh the same as ducks, Lancelot's favorite color, or the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow, you're not really a geek.
- The Princess Bride - This movie singlehandedly turned the word "inconceivable" into a comedic catchphrase, and that's but one of about two-dozen must-know quotes and tropes that Rob Reiner's masterpiece delivered unto us.
- Superman II - "Kneel before Zod!" Any questions?
- Office Space - Occasionally dull, filled with only marginally likeable characters, with only the slightest hints of theme or meaning–yeah Office Space is pretty much the perfect example of the average geek's career life. And the nightmare-boss character of Bill Lumbergh is the painfully quotable scumbag we've all done professional time with at some point. "Excuse me, I believe you have my stapler…"
- Pulp Fiction - This movie was designed to be a quote-fest, and for once Tarantino wasn't so busy riffing off other peoples' work that he delivered. Most of the quotes aren't repeatable in polite company (which is part of the fun), but let's just say that, short of Snakes on a Plane, Samuel L. Jackson's entire list of personal catchphrases comes from this film. And I dare you to tell me that ain't worth the price of admission.
- Army of Darkness - Bruce Campbell is like unto a god–an insane trickster god–amongst geeky film nuts, and this movie is pretty much why. Absurd in the extreme, so campy it's painful, and the ultimate proof that you must fear the boomstick!
- Die Hard - Every single gamer who has ever appropriated an automatic weapon in any game setting under any circumstances has marked the occasion with this film's signature quote: "Now I have a machine gun. Ho ho ho." There are other jewels to be found here, but our profanity filter prevents their citation.
- Aliens - If this movie taught us anything–and it taught us a great deal, believe me–it was this most important lession: "I say we take off and nuke the entire site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure."
- Tombstone - An underrated entry on most lists, but anyone who has seen this film knows the bounteous quotability of which we speak. How inexorably great is the dialogue here? It made the phrase "I'm your huckleberry" downright terrifying.
A pretty good start, but I disagree on a few choices. Superman II? Come on, you're kidding right? Aliens, Die Hard and Tombstone are all movies I like, but do I quote from them? Not so much. So, given that here is my list:
1. The Princess Bride - easily the most quotable. No rational argument can be had.
2. The Big Lebowski - A modern classic which could give The Princess Bride a run for it's money, if only it didn't use so many curse words.
3. Ghostbusters - Probably lost on the younger generation, but the combination of Bill Murray, Dan Ackroyd, Harold Ramis and Rick Moranis means great one liners from all corners.
4. The Blues Brothers - It's 106 miles to Chicago, you know the rest.
5. Office Space - If you work in a cube, you know this movie well. Or you should.
6. All of the Star Wars movies, not just Empire - These are not the droids you're looking for easily trumps anything Yoda said, no matter how backwards he says it.
7. Clerks - Another movie hampered by excessive cursing. Not a wise choice in polite company. "I think I can see her kidneys!"
8. Strange Brew - A personal favorite.
9. Pulp Fiction - "I'll have the $5 milkshake." More curse words. I'm starting to see a pattern here.
10. Some sort of amalgam of Monty Python, including the movies and the TV show. They all sort of run together in my head and I have a hard time separating them.
So, agree, disagree? Did I leave something obvious off? Leave a comment, let me know what you think.
Date: July 18
Distance: 24
Ride Type/Bike: Commute/Suburban
Month to Date Miles: 253
Year to Date Miles: 2208
Date: July 21
Distance: 24
Ride Type/Bike: Commute/Kuwahara
Month to Date Miles: 277
Year to Date Miles: 2232
Monday, July 21, 2008
George the Cyclist
Last year we made the switch and jumped ship from Comcast cable and internet to DirecTV and DSL through Qwest. This July has made me aware that we may have chosen poorly, or at the very least didn't do our homework. DirecTV, or at least our package, doesn't get Versus which means no Tour de France coverage for me this year. I'm also terribly disappointed with the performance of DSL. Maybe if I'd gone straight from dial-up to DSL it wouldn't be that big of a deal, but cable is clearly superior. The one bright spot of the switch has been our conversion to a DV-R. Being able to watch what we want, when we want, and the ability to forward through the commercials is fantastic. Anything less would be uncivilized.
Anyhoo, The Tour. I've been halfheartedly following it online but the exitement just isn't there when reading stage summaries and other print type info. My one shining discovery has been that of George the Cyclist. George is a gentleman who is following the Tour by bicycle. It's really quite an impressive feat, considering the distances. He is not required to follow the entire course, and therefore can take shortcuts when they are available. But he's still covering a lot of ground, as he wrote on Saturday: "And today is a much anticipated rest day. I'll till do 50 or more miles on the way to Foix, the Stage 11 finish. I've done at least 100 miles four of the last five days, so half that will be a relieve [sic]."
One of the most fascinating things I have found is George's attitude toward touring. A credit card tourer he is not. His daily food budget is running something along the lines of $10. And considering the dollar's weakness that's damn cheap. Shopping at the local supermarkets, freebie handouts from the Tour Caravan and dumpster diving seem to cover the main portion of George's dietary needs. From another post:
I was able, however, to supplement my supplies with some Sunday dumpster-diving. It has been chilly enough in the foothills of the Pyrenees that four liter-sized bottles of citrus-flavored water were still perspiring, not having cooled to air temperature. Four deli sandwiches in sealed wedge-shaped plastic containers with an expiration date of the day before were also refrigertor temperautre. A bag of croissants and a day-old "L'Equipe," perhaps the prize of the dive, rounded out my harvest. They help the budget. It has taken a hit of late having to cough up three to five dollars for a drink to watch The Tour in a bar when I'm not watching it at the Finish Line. So far I've been in bars for the conclusion of six of the ten stages. When I usually don't even spend ten dollars a day on food, five dollars for a drink is an extravagance...
A very different take on the Tour. And while I may not always know who is winning by reading George, I certainly feel like I know mour about the Tour.
Friday, July 18, 2008
In which I contemplate mortality
In reviewing my mileage for the year (a worthy activity for a Friday afternoon in the office) I come to the realization that I haven't been on a Hiawatha ride since April 19th. Nearly a full calendar quarter. Egad. I won't be going tomorrow either. I'm going to attend a memorial service for a high school friend's father. I find myself somewhat conflicted about how I'm to feel. Even though he was one of the teachers at our high school I never took a class from him and didn't know him well. He was just one of many incarnations of The Enemy, parental authority, from the perspective of a 17 year old. Somebody who would spoil our good time if our plans were discovered. Not that our plans were ever all that nefarious. We were basically a good bunch of kids with our fair share of ill conceived ideas. I remember he had a lot of remote control cars and planes in the basement and took his son, my friend Steve, hunting. Then, and now, he seemed like a good father and a decent guy.
In high school I had a solid core group of 6 friends, including myself. There were others who were at various places on the friend/acquaintance scale but these 6 were The Core Group. Steve was the oldest of us and the first to get his drivers license. First to be able to legally buy beer. Also the first to be able to illegally buy beer, due to his ability to grow a bitchin' beard at age 18. And now, unless I've missed one, he will be the first to lose a parent. I also found out this week that another friend from the group's father has been diagnosed with cancer and has about 6 months to live. So this may mark the transition from seeing friends only at weddings to seeing friends only at funerals.
Funerals are for the living, not the dead is what they always say. So even though I was not emotionally attached to the deceased I will attend the funeral for my friend, and feel for his loss.
Date: June 20
Date: June 20
Distance: 24
Ride Type/Bike: Commute/Kuwahara
Month to Date Miles: 282
Year to Date Miles: 1849
Date: June 23
Distance: 24
Ride Type/Bike: Commute/Kuwahara
Month to Date Miles: 306
Year to Date Miles: 1873
Date: June 24
Distance: 24
Ride Type/Bike: Commute/Kuwahara
Month to Date Miles: 330
Year to Date Miles: 1897
Date: June 25
Distance: 34
Ride Type/Bike: Sail Commute/Kuwahara
Month to Date Miles: 364
Year to Date Miles: 1931
Date: June 26
Distance: 24
Ride Type/Bike: Commute/Kuwahara
Month to Date Miles: 388
Year to Date Miles: 1955
Date: June 27
Distance: 24
Ride Type/Bike: Commute/Kuwahara
Month to Date Miles: 412
Year to Date Miles: 1979
Date: July 1
Distance: 24
Ride Type/Bike: Commute/Kuwahara
Month to Date Miles: 24
Year to Date Miles: 2003
Date: July 2
Distance: 24
Ride Type/Bike: Commute/Kuwahara
Month to Date Miles: 48
Year to Date Miles: 2027
Date: July 7
Distance: 24
Ride Type/Bike: Commute/Kuwahara
Month to Date Miles: 72
Year to Date Miles: 2051
Date: July 8
Distance: 31
Ride Type/Bike: Sail Commute/Kuwahara
Month to Date Miles: 103
Year to Date Miles: 2082
Date: July 9
Distance: 24
Ride Type/Bike: Commute/Kuwahara
Month to Date Miles: 127
Year to Date Miles: 2086
Date: July 9
Distance: 4
Ride Type/Bike: Family/Suburban
Month to Date Miles: 131
Year to Date Miles: 2086
Date: July 10
Distance: 29
Ride Type/Bike: Sail Commute/Kuwahara
Month to Date Miles: 160
Year to Date Miles: 2115
Date: July 14
Distance: 24
Ride Type/Bike: Commute/Kuwahara
Month to Date Miles: 184
Year to Date Miles: 2139
Date: July 15
Distance: 21
Ride Type/Bike: Sail Commute/Kuwahara
Month to Date Miles: 205
Year to Date Miles: 2160
Date: July 16
Distance: 24
Ride Type/Bike: Commute/Kuwahara
Month to Date Miles: 229
Year to Date Miles: 2184
Friday, July 11, 2008
Kuwahara
I was surprised to find that I've ridden nearly 1000 miles on the Kuwahara this year and hadn't posted about it. Consider that situation rectified (rectified him? damn near killed him!). I picked this bike up for a fair price on eBay last fall with the intent of making it into a rock solid commuter. When I got the frame it included a Sugino crankset, Suntour AR front and rear derailleurs, a Kuwahara brand headset, a no name black quill stem and no name drop bars. Oh yeah, and a seatpost.
There's not much info out there on the web about Kuwahara bikes. The biggest claim to fame for the brand is that all the bikes used in the movie E.T. were Kuwaharas. They were a pretty big player in the BMX market in the 80s, but there's not much info out there about their adult bikes. From what I've read Kuwahara was a Japanese company who built frames both under their own name and for many others. Some of the brands they built for were Schwinn, Takara, Puch, Concord, Apollo, Azuki, Nishiki, Centurion and possibly Diamond Back. There seems to be a lot of Kuwahara tandems on the secondary market.
Some of the models of adult bikes were the Caravan, Supertour, Gran Sport and Gran Tour. The script lettering showing the model on this bike is all but illegible. According to a stamp on the frame, this bike was built in 1984. There's nothing on the frame to indicate what type of tubing it's made of, but the interweb says it's most likely something by Ishiwata.
I pulled the stem and bars off and replaced them with a Nashbar 1" quill to threadless adaptor and a cheapie Nashbar 10cm stem. I then bought a set of Albatross bars from Rivendell to make this a more upright commuter/townie setup. I was in Erik's bike shop one Sunday afternoon buying a new cone for my Premis' rear axle and got to talking to the guy about brakes. I picked up a set of Tektro brakes while I was there, and rounded out the cockpit with a set of black leather grips with red trim courtesy of Hiawatha.
I removed the original Suntour downtube shifters and added a set of barcons that I bought at Hiawatha. Mark actually pulled them out of the bars on a bike he was building up, as they were out of stock at the time. What service! I had an old Suntour downtube stop in the parts bin. I also picked up all new cables and housing at Hiawatha.
I found a pretty good deal on a rear wheel on craigslist, a Sun CR-18 rim laced to a Sora hub. I retrued the wheel and added an 8 speed SRAM cassette from Nashbar. For the front wheel I'm currently running the front from an older set of Campanolo wheels I bought at the bike swap a few years ago. At some point I plan to get a better wheelset, but these are getting the job done for now. Because this bike originally had 27" tires/rims and I switched to 700c I needed to get longer reach brakes. I found a pair of used brakes via the iBob list that are working out just dandy. At some point I plan to replace the pads with Kool-Stop Salmon pads, but no rush on that either. I'm currently running Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires, which give the bike a great ride.
I added a set of Planet Bike Cascadia fenders I found via craigslist. If you ask me, the silver of these fenders looks great with the silver and black paint scheme.
I splurged and bought a new Brooks B66 from Hiawatha, with the nifty springs. They're squeaky when I go over bumps, so at some point I'll probably grease up the contact points. You can see my Brooks un-approved rain cover tucked under the saddle, an old Byerly's bag.
As you can tell, I sort of threw this thing together with a wish and a prayer. I've blended Shimano, SRAM and Suntour components in the drivetrain. And the only issue I've run into is that the rear Suntour AR derailleur doesn't have enough reach to get into the lowest or highest gear on the 8 speed cassette. I'll upgrade this at some time, but so far it hasn't been a huge issue. I'm sure if I tried to switch to indexed shifting I would run into trouble. But friction is treating me just fine. I'm incredibly pleased with how everything meshed together and I'm loving the overall ride of the bike. Now I just need to figure out some racks so I can stop hauling my messenger bag on my back.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Sailing Lesson #1
Sailing Lesson #1:
When a big red and white boat with sharp, grinding metal teeth on the front approaches you, be sure to move out of the way.
Friday, June 27, 2008
I'm a celebrity
I received the following email from my brother yesterday:
Hey Pete,
There's a guy I work with here that rides his bike to work so he and I talk about you once in awhile. He forwarded me the below email/link that's pretty humorous.
Maybe you'll have to post this on your blog.
Matt
------------------------------------------------
Matt,
You think your brother could organize a ride like this one in Boulder, CO.?
Check the linkhttp://www.dailycamera.com/videos/detail/out-there-guy---naked-bike-ride/
I think organizing a naked bike ride in MSP is a fine idea. The public is obviously clamoring for one. There is clearly something about bikers that inspires nudism, as this is only one of many naked bike rides I have heard of. Or perhaps it's more egg than chicken. Perhaps people inclined toward public nudity often become bikers. There's a psychology thesis there for some eager grad student.
Distance: 24
Ride Type/Bike: Commute/Kuwahara
Month to Date Mileage: 282
Year to Date Mileage: 1825
Date: June 23
Distance: 24
Ride Type/Bike: Commute/Kuwahara
Month to Date Mileage: 306
Year to Date Mileage: 1849
Date: June 24
Distance: 24
Ride Type/Bike: Commute/Kuwahara
Month to Date Mileage: 330
Year to Date Mileage: 1873
Date: June 25
Distance: 34
Ride Type/Bike: Sail Commute/Kuwahara
Month to Date Mileage: 364
Year to Date Mileage: 1907
Date: June 26
Distance: 24
Ride Type/Bike: Commute/Kuwahara
Month to Date Mileage: 388
Year to Date Mileage: 1931
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Til Death Do Us Part
How long have I been married?Not so long that when VelociNancy left me a voicemail at work today saying she was going to work commando today, I was titillated.
But long enough that I then thought to myself, "I should start a load of laundry when I get home."
Date: June 17
Mileage: 24
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Kuwahara
June mileage: 210
Year to date mileage: 1743
Date: June 18
Mileage: 24
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Kuwahara
June mileage: 234
Year to date mileage: 1767
Date: June 19
Mileage: 24
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Kuwahara
June mileage: 258
Year to date mileage: 1801
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Project Suburban: Part Deux
Another green Schwinn Suburban has made it's way into my garage. However this time I'm not the instigator. My Mom retired from work about a year ago and she's been saying for a while that she would like to be able to ride her bike to the library. Like most people, she's also got a list of reasons why she can't ride to the library. Last week Nancy went out to lunch with mom and the subject of the bike came up again. Never one to accept excuses Nancy had the car backed out of the garage and they had the bike down from the rafters before Mom knew what hit her. They loaded it in the back of our Jetta and it's now in my garage. I took a few before pictures, but honestly this bike's in a whole lot better shape than Dad's was when I started it. The serial number on this one indicates that it was manufactured in December of 1971. I thought for sure that this bike was newer than Dad's, but I guess that shows what I know.
But since I won't be riding this, I think I might do a little more than just clean it up. I'm going to look into doing some upgrading while I'm at it. Should be another fun project.
Monday, June 16, 2008
Book tag
Mr. Bill tagged me a few days ago, pulling me out of my blog apathy. Books, there's something I can talk about. The whole "find the book closest to you" part was a little touchy. We have a lot of books in the house.
So when faced with the decision of "which is nearest to me" I decided to be a little less literal and pick the book I'm currently reading: Around the World on Two Wheels: Annie Londonderry's Extraordinary Ride by Peter Zheutlin. Ok so page 123, fifth sentence and the next three are:
"Members of the club met her at Littleton. 'Miss Londonderry when she was seen by a News representative last night was found to be a young lady who looked as she might be an athlete, with coal black eyes, and a face tanned brown as a nut,' reported the Denver Daily News. In Denver, Annie stayed at the Glenarm Hotel for nearly a week."
Sort of reminds me of the Loony Toon where Daffy Duck is pretending to be Sherlock Holmes in the case of the Shropshire Slasher. "I'm brown as a nut and fit as a lass!" You're never too old for the Loony Toons.
Date: June 10
Mileage: 26
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Kuwahara
June mileage: 94
Year to date mileage: 1637
Date: June 11
Mileage: 18
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Kuwahara
June mileage: 112
Year to date mileage: 1655
Date: June 12
Mileage: 26
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Kuwahara
June mileage: 138
Year to date mileage: 1681
Date: June 13
Mileage: 18
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Kuwahara
June mileage: 156
Year to date mileage: 1699
Date: June 16
Mileage: 24
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Kuwahara
June mileage: 180
Year to date mileage: 1723
Date: June 16
Mileage: 6
Ride type/Bike: Family/Suburban
June mileage: 186
Year to date mileage: 1729
Friday, June 06, 2008
Twice as corny
Thanks to all for the birthday wishes. The most common question seems to be, "How old are you?" I went out for a couple beers after work on Thursday with some co-workers. Two of the co-workers in question were interns with our company last summer, and have just started full time after graduating college. I was talking with them and another guy closer to my age. Somehow we got on the subject of speedskating, and my older colleague was talking about Eric Heiden in the 1980 Olympics. He said to Intern Bob, "But that was before you were born."I said, "Bob would have been a youngster then, wouldn't he?"
Bob said, "I was born in 1985."
I got my driver's license in 1985.
Date: May 22
Mileage: 20
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Kuwahara
May mileage: 219
Year to date mileage: 1547
Date: June 2
Mileage: 24
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Kuwahara
June mileage: 24
Year to date mileage: 1567
Date: June 3
Mileage: 20
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Kuwahara
June mileage: 44
Year to date mileage: 1587
Date: June 6
Mileage: 24
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Kuwahara
June mileage: 68
Year to date mileage: 1611
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
Go shorty, it's your birthday
Except it actually is my birthday. VelociNancy was a dear and woke up early to please me, and made eggs bacon and toast for breakfast. Yum. She has also been bugging me for the last few days about what I would like for my birthday. I find myself somewhat stumped. Sure, there's lots of stuff I'd like. There's also lots of stuff I probably need. But it seems to miss the point of a birthday present if somebody buys you something you need. "Happy birthday, smoke up Johnny." Birthday presents always seem like it should be something you want, but would never buy for yourself.
Fortunately, the internet provided me an idea for a worthy birthday gift for myself: A Gold Plated Bicycle for only £9,500 (approximately $18,726.19 American).
The bike started from a Charge Plug, a model that common London cycle couriers have, which starts at some £399.
It was then stripped, polished, plated in copper and then finished in 24ct gold.
The chain, seat and bars have been replaced with white counterparts.
This model is especially hard to ride since they don't freewheel, which means that the pedals keep on turning as long as the bicycle does.
However, bicycles over £4,000 cannot be insured, so it comes with optional extra of its own bodyguard, which will stand by the bike whenever it is left in public.
It's own bodyguard! How fabulous. That's one less U lock I need to carry. Happy birthday to me indeed!
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Idaho stop
For the record, I like Phyllis Kahn. Not due to any legislative acumen or anything like that, but purely based on entertainment value. She drives most of the local columnists and other folks who are in the know, politically, utterly batty. Mainly because she seems to be utterly batty. But watching people who care about such things get so worked into a tizzy over Phyllis' every goofy action is high entertainment indeed.
Imagine my surprise when I found that Phyllis has done something I agree with, and wholeheartedly support! Phyllis, working with Jim Carlson, wants to make it legal for bikes to treat stop signs like yield signs, and stop lights like stop signs. A similar law is currently in place in Idaho and from all accounts works just fine. When I visited Boise last summer I saw tons of bikes. I wasn't in Boise long enough to form a truly informed opinion, but there didn't seem to be a lot of traffic conflicts between bikes and cars. Had I ridden there I might have felt different.
I've long felt that the rules of the road are currently written exclusively with cars in mind, and then as an afterthought somebody tacked on a clause that says "Oh yeah, this applies to bikes too." The reality is that bikes and cars are different types of vehicles and while most of the driving statutes work for both, not all do. And through pure and simple oversight, the playing field is tilted in the favor of cars. So this simple change would be a big win for the Minnesota cycling community. Throw in a nice Vulnerable Road Users ruling and this might be a dang nice place to ride. Not that it's not pretty good already.
Oh, the Strib has an online poll asking whether you think this is a good idea or not:
I'll give you a hint: It's a good idea. At the time of this writing, people not in favor of the change were leading 61% to 38%. Vote early, vote often.
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Thursday, May 22, 2008
No respect for cyclists
Even David Byrne, of Talking Heads fame, doesn't get any respect when he does something stupid on his bike:
"You drank too much and fell off your bike" could be the title of a drawing by David Shrigley. But in this case, it actually happened to me after meeting Shrigley for dinner and drinks. While riding home, C and I were briefly separated. Upon reuniting, my tire slipped on the cobblestones of West 14th St., and I remember lying in the street, looking at oncoming headlights and rolling towards the curb so they wouldn't run me over. Two cops approached and looked down at me. "Have you been drinking?" they asked. Probably a typical question in that neighborhood at that time of night. "Yes, I've had a few drinks," I replied. "But I'm hurt." I managed to get up by myself and retrieve my bike (no help from the NYPD, though one of them asked if I was David Byrne) and it wasn't until later, when I was in bed, that the pain made itself truly known. I wondered how I would ever even get out of bed. The next day I went to the hospital and x-rays revealed two broken ribs — numbers 3 and 5, way up high. They're healing now, little by little, and I was told that in 3 weeks I should be OK.
Ouch. In other news, VelociNancy and I completed the 3 Speed Tour in grand style and had grand fun doing it. I'm hoping to write up a proper post this weekend, with glossy pictures and 3 part harmonies and all that. For now, you can check out some of the pictures I took over the weekend along with pics from other flickr users in the 3 speed pool I started. Apparently 85 miles of riding a 3 speed at low speed was just the thing for my pulled groin muscle. It was noticeably sore during the frequent mount and dismount procedure of the 3 speed tour, but this week I've commuted 3 days in a row and it's felt better than it has in a long time.
Date: May 17-18
Distance: 85
Ride Type/Bike: 3 Speed Tour/Robin Hood Sports
Month to Date mileage: 153
Year to Date mileage: 1477
Date: May 20
Distance: 26
Ride Type/Bike: Commute/Kuwahara
Month to Date mileage: 179
Year to Date mileage: 1503
Date: May 21
Distance: 20
Ride Type/Bike: Commute/Kuwahara
Month to Date mileage: 199
Year to Date mileage: 1523
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Bike to Work Day bikes
Here are some random pictures of cool bikes I saw on Bike to Work day.First, an Electra that One on One had on display:
And a nice looking Swobo, also from One on One:
I saw several Big Dummies out and about. This one was pulling double duty as a display table:
A bitchin' old Schwinn, tilted at an unflattering angle on the rack:
This lime green Mercer was an eye catcher:
Another snappy vintage Schwinn:
A nice old Raleigh:
I was so taken aback by the simplicity of this rack, I didn't even notice what kind of bike it is:
My coworker Charlie's bike. The blue one with the beat up Brooks saddle. Not the one that looks like it has a studded dildo for a downtube:
A nice old Wyoming:
The oldest bike I saw all day, a vintage Raleigh. All ready for the 3 speed tour:
Bike to Work Day Recap
Bike to work day for 2008 is in the books. And from my perspective, it was great. I got to see a lot of people I know and also meet some people I didn't know. I also saw a lot more people biking to work that I knew were newbies. I'm cynical enough to know that once either gas prices go down, we get used to the higher prices, or the weather turns cold most of them will go back to driving. But some will keep at it, future junkies like the rest of us.I was particularly excited by the turnout from my coworkers. My company has been a top level sponsor for the event for the last few years, and folks from work have lead most of the Commuter Pods or whatever they call them year after year. But it's always been the same old folks, the ones we don't need to reach out to. But this year, a guy I've worked with for over 10 years and has never ridden a bicycle to work rode on Monday. He made the complete rookie mistake of getting his pants caught in his chain. Those khakis may never come clean. But here he is on Wednesday, showing how a simple rubber band can make all the difference:
And today he applied for underground bike parking and was talking about discontinuing his bus pass for the summer. Another coworker who has talked about biking to work for years but never has called me yesterday. He said, "This year, I'm going to do it. Once I cross the Mendota Bridge how do I get to Minnehaha Park?" He managed to follow my directions and was part of the Commuter Convoy this morning.
Another sign that things were going well at work is the bike rack. In all my years of commuting, I have never seen the underground rack area so packed with bikes. Including previous bike to work days. I had to lean my bike against the wall because there was literally not a single place at the racks to squeeze it in.
And on the way in we saw Mayor Rybak on the Greenway, pulling in to the soon to open Freewheel Bike Center. And here he is later downtown. I think it really helps to have a mayor who rides. He gets it. Here he is, fresh off the bike going to the registration table:
And what does RT ride? A Trek. With a rack, lights and fenders. No trailer queen.
We had possibly the youngest rider in our convoy this morning. She needed a fruit bar and a juice box to fuel up. Riding on the back of dad's bike is hard work.
So in short, I thought this was one of the more well run and enjoyable Bike to Work days I've participated in. Maybe I'm just feeling optimistic. But I thought it was a well done event.
Date: May 14
Mileage: 24
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Kuwahara
May mileage: 68
Year to date mileage: 1392
Monday, May 12, 2008
Show of Hands
It was an exciting day here at Velocipete World Headquarters. It was my first commute since I decided to take time off to heal from a rabid spider bite on my penis. And all in all, the commute went well. However, due to lots of other activity throughout the day I'm going to play it safe and skip tomorrow's commute. I mean, skip biking. If I could figure out a way to skip commuting entirely that would be another story. It's unfortunate, because today was the kick off for Bike to Work Week. Normally here at VPWHQ every week is bike to work week, but this is a time for the rest of you slackers out there to give it a whirl. I'm sure there's no connection to the nearly $4 per gallon gas prices, but the bike rack in our building was more full than I've ever seen it today. Yay Bike to Work Week.Speaking of, this morning I hoofed it over to the downtown Mpls. library to see the conclusion of the Great Commuter Challenge. The illustrious Mayor Rybak managed to win the race on his bicycle. He's probably been getting lots of practice biking after losing his drivers license. County Commissioner Toni Carter came in second through a combination of walking and transit. Roadguy placed third. I swear this thing has to be rigged. Though Rybak was breathing pretty heavily when he came around to shake my hand. You can read more about the "race" from Roadguy.
For what I believe will be the fourth year I'll be leading a Commuter Convoy on Bike To Work Day, which is this Wednesday. Meet at the pavilion in Minnehaha Park if you want to ride to work with me. If you want to ride to work with someone who's not me, there are dozens of routes listed on the Bike to Work Commuter Convoy page. If you're reading the blog and plan to ride with me, leave a comment or shoot me an email to let me know.
This weekend The Mrs. and I will be heading south to participate in the 3 Speed Tour. The Mrs. asked me earlier this week who else I knew who was going, and I shrugged my shoulders. This bought me an eye roll and a "What have you gotten me into?" comment. So if you're reading this and also heading down, leave a comment or shoot me an email. My gmail address is "frosti". I'm sure you can figure out the formatting from there.
Date: May 8
Mileage: 2
Ride type/Bike: School Escort/Robin Hood
May mileage: 26
Year to date mileage: 1350
Date: May 12
Mileage: 18
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Kuwahara
May mileage: 44
Year to date mileage: 1368
Monday, May 05, 2008
Niblets and giblets (or, I've got Corn in my pants!)
I've had a few days off the bike and the spider-borne rabies seems to be healing. It's feeling better, for what it's worth. With Bike to Work day and the 3-speed tour both coming up in a couple of weeks I think I'm going to continue to take it easy. One observation I've had during my convalescence is that it's difficult to ice down the innermost portion of one's thigh without icing down at least one of one's yarbles. At least if one happens to be of the male persuasion. Brrrr.On a seemingly unrelated note, we have a 7 year old half beagle half basset hound named Bailey. Bailey is a super nice dog and well behaved in all aspects where food is not involved. When food enters the picture, all bets are off. During the last month or so we've had several familial injuries that required ice packs. Somehow during this period a bag of Green Giant corn niblets has been pressed into service as an ice pack. We had decided long ago that this bag of niblets would never be consumed by us as it's spent too much time out of the freezer. This week I reinforced the notion that the corn was no longer fit for consumption by keeping the corn stuffed near my nethers on a regular basis. Here's where the dog and the injury come together, in comic fashion. After work today I applied the corn to the tender portion of my anatomy before taking the girls to karate. Apparently in our rush to get out the door I forgot to put the corn back into the freezer. Upon our return home I found an empty bag and a fat dog. She ate the entire thing, not one stray niblet was found. I think I'm going to have to switch to green beans.
Saturday, May 03, 2008
Injury time out
I've been riding injured for the last month or two, and it's bugging the crap out of me. Sometime in late February or early March, right after I added the rear basket to my winter bike I managed to hurt myself. I know it was after the big basket, because that was the cause of the injury. While mounting the bike one morning I swung my leg over the saddle and top tube and hit the basket with my foot. To be sure I didn't hit the basket again, I really raised my leg up high on the next attempt. And something in my leg/groin area went "Ouch!" It was a minor twinge and I didn't think anything of it at the time. But here it is May 3, I haven't ridden the winter bike in over a month and it's still bugging me.When I first started to notice it, I thought there was something wrong with my hip. The outside of the hip socket is where I started to notice some discomfort. In retrospect it is probably because the muscle on the inside of my thigh isn't working as hard as it should and that puts additional pressure on that part of the joint. It never bothers me while I'm on the bike, only while walking. But it was getting worse. The hypochondriac in me started to worry about hip replacement (I'm not even 40!). I hobbled around for the better part of 6 weeks, feeling it slowly get worse. Last week I would sometimes wake up when rolling over in bed because of the discomfort. I hesitate to call it pain, because there are so many people out there with so much worse pain to live with. But I'm a heavy sleeper so if something is waking me up it causes me to pause.
After talking with my wife, who is more of an athlete than I am, I'm pretty sure it's a groin pull. So I'm going to start in with the R.I.C.E. plan, including taking 3 days off the bike (yesterday, today and tomorrow). Maybe Monday too, we'll see. This must mean I'm an athlete. Either that or I'm getting old. Probably the latter.
Date: April 30
Mileage: 24
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Kuwahara
April mileage: 445
Year to date mileage: 1324
Date: May 1
Mileage: 24
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Kuwahara
April mileage: 24
Year to date mileage: 1348
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Go ahead, you've earned it
Pondering a new bike purchase? Go ahead. You've earned it. Don't worry if your spouse/significant other will shout "You don't need another bike!" Why? The world is going to end, and soon. CERN has been working on the large Hadron Collider for years, and it's set to go online this summer. There have been stories lately in the media about the potential for this thing to create black holes that could swallow the earth. "Or it could spit out something called a 'strangelet' that would convert our planet to a shrunken dense dead lump of something called 'strange matter.'” according to an article in The New York Times. A far cry from The Weekly World News, I assure you. But then, as if black holes weren't scary enough, the Times throws this little gem in at the end of the story:Dr. Arkani-Hamed said that because of the dice-throwing nature of quantum physics, there was some probability of almost anything happening. There is some minuscule probability, he said, "the Large Hadron Collider might make dragons that might eat us up.”
So go ahead, buy that bike. Cash in that 401(k). Have another helping of pastry. Live every day as if it were your last. This summer, there be dragons.
The Fourth Estate can shove it
From Wikipedia: The term Fourth Estate refers to the press, both in its explicit capacity of advocacy and in its implicit ability to frame political issues. The term goes back at least to Thomas Carlyle in the first half of the 19th century.Local members of The Fourth Estate are airing a piece tonight about cyclists who break the law. There's a preview on their webpage, and the full thing will air tonight at 10:00 locally on channel 5. It looks like the station is taking some major flack over the piece. From their website:
The story hasn't even aired yet on 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS, but from the stream of e-mails we've received, it's clear the issue of cyclists and motorists sharing the road is a hot button topic.
Duh. Way to be part of the problem rather than part of the solution, KSTP. Tip o' the hat to Bill for the head's up on the story and also the email he sent to the station.
Date: April 26
Mileage: 5
Ride type/Bike: Errand/Suburban
April mileage: 377
Year to date mileage: 1256
Date: April 28
Mileage: 18
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Kuwahara
April mileage: 395
Year to date mileage: 1274
Date: April 29
Mileage: 26
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Kuwahara
April mileage: 421
Year to date mileage: 1300
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Bike in, bike out
I bought another bike today. An old Coast King cruiser from the mid-60s. It's a real basket case and is going to need a lot of work. I don't need another bike. Via email the seller and I had agreed to a price that was about 1/3 of his original asking price. When I got there and looked at it, I tried to walk away from the deal because it was in rougher shape than I originally realized. I wasn't pushing for a better deal, but he offered and I couldn't say no.Anybody want to buy my Montgomery Ward Hawthorne? I don't need two single speed cruisers. It rides decent, but not great. The rear hub needs fresh lube, and so does the bottom bracket. I did repack the front hub a year or so ago, but didn't get any further. Coaster brake works well. The seat sags, as one of the supports underneath is broken. Below are a few pictures. Make me an offer. frosti AT gmail DOT com
Date: April 25
Mileage: 18
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Kuwahara
April mileage: 372
Year to date mileage: 1251
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Prayer, the last refuge of a scoundrel
"Rocky Twyman says nothing else has worked, so he's urging motorists to pray for lower gasoline prices when they fuel up.
Twyman says he and his fellow volunteers at a church soup kitchen launched "Pray at the Pump" today at a gas station in Washington D.C.
After fueling up their cars, Twyman says they bowed their heads and asked God for cheaper gas.
There was no immediate answer, but he says other motorists joined in and the service station owner didn't run them off.
Twyman says that if God brought down the walls of Jericho when the ancient Hebrews prayed, then divine intervention can bring down gas prices too."
Twyman says he and his fellow volunteers at a church soup kitchen launched "Pray at the Pump" today at a gas station in Washington D.C.
After fueling up their cars, Twyman says they bowed their heads and asked God for cheaper gas.
There was no immediate answer, but he says other motorists joined in and the service station owner didn't run them off.
Twyman says that if God brought down the walls of Jericho when the ancient Hebrews prayed, then divine intervention can bring down gas prices too."
Mileage: 18
Ride type/bike: Commute/Kuwahara
March mileage: 336
Year to date mileage: 1207
Date: April 23
Mileage: 26
Ride type/bike: Commute/Kuwahara
March mileage: 354
Year to date mileage: 1233
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Dinner plans
We went to dinner with friends from out of town and friends from in town Saturday night. Great meal, great entertainment and great fun. Then back to the house afterward for drinks and a couple episodes of Firefly starring YoSaffBridge.
I daresay, a good time was had by all.
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Wormslayer
I headed out for the weekly Hiawatha ride this morning in a light drizzle. As I rode up Highway 13 I was amazed at the number of worms on the shoulder. Apparently we got more rain last night than I thought. We made a couple of coffee stops and escorted Ray home. I bought a water bottle cage for the Kuwahara and headed home myself. This afternoon I was adjusting a fender on the bike that was rubbing, and found that the bike was littered with worm corpses. It was kinda disgusting.
One on the quick release and one in the sprockets (you can't see it well because it's covered in chain lube)
The front fender:
The rear fender:
The rear quick release:
Rear wheel:
Another one covered in chain lube, this time on the front sprocket:
And finally, the crank:
Date: April 9
Mileage: 26
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Kuwahara
April mileage: 145
Year to date mileage: 1024
Date: April 10
Mileage: 12
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Kuwahara
April mileage: 157
Year to date mileage: 1036
Date: April 14
Mileage: 24
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Kuwahara
April mileage: 181
Year to date mileage: 1060
Date: April 15
Mileage: 26
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Kuwahara
April mileage: 207
Year to date mileage: 1086
Date: April 15
Mileage: 26
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Kuwahara
April mileage: 233
Year to date mileage: 1112
Date: April 16
Mileage: 26
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Kuwahara
April mileage: 259
Year to date mileage: 1138
Date: April 17
Mileage: 26
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Kuwahara
April mileage: 285
Year to date mileage: 1164
Date: April 18
Mileage: 26
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Kuwahara
April mileage: 311
Year to date mileage: 1190
Date: April 19
Mileage: 25
Ride type/Bike: Hiawatha/Kuwahara
April mileage: 336
Year to date mileage: 1215
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
Peach pie, oh my
I had a lovely slice of peach pie on the Hiawatha ride Saturday morning. I'm not kidding, probably the best peach pie I've ever had. Check out Firefly Bistro if you're in the neighborhood. They've got great pie, and slices of cake big enough to choke a lunatic.
I broke the Suburban out of mothballs for the ride on Saturday, as I still had some cookies to deliver and needed the jumbo basket. Snakey took a picture of me arriving. I was clearly amused by something he or Ray said. My wife said she likes this picture of me.
I've been riding the newly built Kuwahara since the snow was gone, and I'm really digging the way it rides. I'm still dialing in the little things like seat and handlebar height, but I'm amazed at how well it rides right from the get go. I'm a half-assed bike mechanic and was pleasantly surprised by how well the bizarro component mixture works. It's not perfect, but much better than I was expecting. When mixing newer Shimano and vintage Suntour you never know what's going to work and what's not, but shifting in friction mode will cover a lot of sins. I am going to have to replace the rear Suntour AR derailleur, as it doesn't seem to have enough reach to get to the largest and smallest rear cogs. So I'm riding the bike as a 12 speed currently. Once I get the derailleur figured out it will be a 16 speed. No rush.
Date: April 4
Mileage: 24
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Kuwahara
April mileage: 60
Year to date mileage: 939
Date: April 5
Mileage: 23
Ride type/Bike: Hiawatha/Suburban
April mileage: 83
Year to date mileage: 962
Date: April 7
Mileage: 18
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Kuwahara
April mileage: 101
Year to date mileage: 980
Date: April 8
Mileage: 18
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Kuwahara
April mileage: 119
Year to date mileage: 998
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
Bipolar weather
The weather has been nothing but strange here in MSP. Keeps us on our toes, I guess.Monday's commute:
Tuesday's commute:
The funny thing is, they were both enjoyable. Monday I had a gusty wind at my back and I was flying through the snow and slush as fast as I would have on dry pavement. Tuesday was enjoyable just because it was such a beautiful day, made even more so by the contrast to the previous day.
I rode sans studs today for the first time since November. It was awesome. Here's a preview of what I rode from my strangely lit basement workshop:
Date: March 29
Mileage: 29
Ride type/Bike: Hiawatha/Triumph
March mileage: 313
Year to date mileage: 861
Date: March 31
Mileage: 18
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Triumph
March mileage: 331
Year to date mileage: 879
Date: April 1
Mileage: 18
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Triumph
March mileage: 349
Year to date mileage: 897
Date: April 2
Mileage: 18
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Kuwahara
March mileage: 367
Year to date mileage: 915
Friday, March 28, 2008
It's raining McCain
I try not to get too political on this blog, mainly because I don't usually know what I'm talking about. But this was something I just couldn't pass by.If McCain can't win with this kind of support, I don't know what it would take.
Cookie Monster!
That will be me tomorrow. I'm planning on hitting the Hiawatha ride tomorrow morning fully laden with a basket full of cookies. Let me know if you're not planning on attending, as I'm not sure I'll be able to fit everything in one load. Thanks to the generosity of the HC crew, I might need to hitch up the Burley...Date: March 20
Mileage: 18
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Triumph
March mileage: 153
Year to date mileage: 701
Date: March 21
Mileage: 18
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Triumph
March mileage: 171
Year to date mileage: 719
Date: March 22
Mileage: 21
Ride type/Bike: Hiawatha/Triumph
March mileage: 192
Year to date mileage: 740
Date: March 24
Mileage: 18
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Triumph
March mileage: 210
Year to date mileage: 758
Date: March 25
Mileage: 18
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Triumph
March mileage: 228
Year to date mileage: 776
Date: March 26
Mileage: 18
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Triumph
March mileage: 246
Year to date mileage: 794
Date: March 27
Mileage: 18
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Triumph
March mileage: 264
Year to date mileage: 812
Date: March 28
Mileage: 20
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Triumph
March mileage: 284
Year to date mileage: 832
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Mmmmm....
Sunday, March 16, 2008
A weeklong photo summary
Last weekend we changed from CST to DST. This changed my morning commute from riding in with the sunrise to riding in the pitch black. This sign is lit by both my camera flash and my 10w headlight.
Tuesday I scored a deal on a new rear wheel from the local craigslist. Since I was biking I needed to haul it home via bike. I'm really loving this rear basket. I didn't have any bungee cords but the nylon webbing from my messenger bag made a handy substitute.
Friday I worked from home. I took the opportunity to escort my girls to school via bicycle. The previous day they had dinked around enough in the AM that they missed the bus. Their mean old mom made them walk (with her) to school rather than bailing them out via car. They were not happy. So by comparison, biking to school was great. For the record, it's a mile from our house to the school Oh, the cruelty!
Just like the Three Speed Tour, there's no shame in walking hills when riding your bike to school.
I rode back to school at noon with mean old mom to see the girls recite poetry with the rest of their class.
This may be one of the most under-utilized bike racks ever. Even when it's gorgeous in the spring and fall there are never any bikes there.
Because it was Saturday I got to go in to work later than usual. The one good thing about this day was I got to see a nice sunrise while waiting for the train.
Date: March 11
Mileage: 21
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Triumph
March mileage: 75
Year to date mileage: 623
Date: March 12
Mileage: 18
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Triumph
March mileage: 93
Year to date mileage: 641
Date: March 13
Mileage: 18
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Triumph
March mileage: 111
Year to date mileage: 659
Date: March 14
Mileage: 6
Ride type/Bike: School Escort/Triumph
March mileage: 117
Year to date mileage: 665
Date: March 15
Mileage: 18
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Triumph
March mileage: 135
Year to date mileage: 683
Monday, March 10, 2008
Everything I do, I do it for you
Today was officially it. The first true signs of spring. It's some magical combination of air temp, which hovered around the freezing mark, combined with a bright sunshiny day. Sure, we've had warmer days here this winter, but today is different. And everybody knows it. It's nothing I can objectively point to and say "That's why" but it's there. And the dog walkers who meandered all across the path knew. I hadn't had to dodge a distracted dog walker since probably November. The 3 guys running in shorts when it's clearly too cold for shorts, knew. This winter has expired. We're just waiting for somebody to notice that it's starting to smell and huck it into the trash.I hav