There's a scene in Groundhog Day when Bill Murray is lamenting the fact that he got stuck with a crappy day to repeat over and over. He says, "I was in the Virgin Islands once. I met a girl. We ate lobster and drank pina coladas. At sunset we made love like sea otters. *That* was a pretty good day. Why couldn't I get that day over and over and over?" Today was *that* day for this particular (and peculiar) bike commuter. At least as far as bike commuting goes. That whole "making love like sea otters" portion carries a fair amount of weight. But we're talking bikes here.
I got up this morning and checked the forecast, and saw that it was supposed to be in the mid 70's by the afternoon. Yippee! I dressed in a short sleeve jersey (for the ride home), with a long sleeved shirt over the top and my bike vest over that. And then I made the executive decision to wear shorts. Mainly because I couldn't find my tights, but still. I got out there and it was the perfect level of clothing. I love it when I nail the clothes for the conditions right on the head. When I got to work, there was an extremely attractive young woman in the entryway who handed me a plastic bag containing a bottle of Dasani, a Powerbar, a carabiner with a compass attached, and a big pad of post-it notes. It wasn't because I rode in, but rather some big promo at work. But I'm not going to sneeze at a free bottle of water and a Powerbar after biking 12 miles.
This afternoon, the weather was just so perfect I didn't really need anything else to go right. We ended up topping out at 81 degrees, shattering the previous record. And, the Minneapolis Parks folks reinstalled the handle on my favorite pump by the parkway. The perfect capper.
Date: March 24
Mileage: 27
Ride type/Bike: Hiawatha/Schwinn
March mileage: 239
Year to date mileage: 840
Date: March 26
Mileage: 26
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Schwinn
March mileage: 265
Year to date mileage: 866
Monday, March 26, 2007
Friday, March 23, 2007
Wile E. Coyote, Super-Genius
At our household we receive news from the future. On Tuesday March 23rd the March 26th edition of Newsweek magazine appeared in our mailbox. It's kind of like that show where the guy always got his newspaper a day ahead of time. I'm still trying to figure out a way to make myself rich with all my advance knowledge. But, I suppose that would involve actually reading the magazine. For, even though my name's on the cover, I never read it. My lovely wife does, and sometimes she even shares interesting stories with me.
Next week's edition has a story about the relationship between exercise and the brain. The long and the short of it is that researchers think regular exercise makes you smarter.
The process starts in the muscles. Every time a bicep or quad contracts and releases, it sends out chemicals, including a protein called IGF-1 that travels through the bloodstream, across the blood-brain barrier and into the brain itself...[John] Ratey, author of the upcoming book "Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain," calls this molecule "Miracle-Gro for the brain." It fuels almost all the activities that lead to higher thought.
While we cyclists are notoriously weak and spindly in the upper body, our quads do quite a bit of work. According to this, I should be figuring out how to cure cancer or something. So why is it I can still walk into a room and forget why I went there in the first place?
Date: March 16
Mileage: 24
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Schwinn
March mileage: 136
Year to date mileage: 737
Date: March 19
Mileage: 26
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Schwinn
March mileage: 162
Year to date mileage: 763
Date: March 21
Mileage: 24
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Schwinn
March mileage: 186
Year to date mileage: 787
Date: March 22
Mileage: 26
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Schwinn
March mileage: 212
Year to date mileage: 813
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Theme Rides
Jim was talking about maybe having a theme ride some Saturday morning. So, having a bit of free time on my hands I decided to visit my local eBay to see what kind of deal I could find on furry assless chaps. I certainly wasn't expecting this.
YOU ARE BIDDING ON A PHENOMINAL PAIR OF NASTY PIG BRAND CHAPS WITH A RED STRIPE DOWN THE LEG. THIS IS PERFECT FOR THE GUY WHO CANNOT JUSTIFY SPENDING ALL THAT MONEY ON A NEW PAIR BUT WOULD BE COMPLETELY HAPPY WITH A USED PAIR. THEY ARE MADE OUT OF A RUBBER NEOPRENE STYLE WITH A LOT OF STRETCH! NOW THESE CHAPS HAVE BEEN TO A LOT OF LEATHER EVENTS AND CURCUIT PARTIES. THEY STILL LOOK AWESOME EVEN WITHT THE LITTLE SPOTS. THE SPOTS ARE WHERE THE RUBBER HAS KIND OF WORN OFF BUT IS HARDLY NOTICABLE...ESPECEALLY WHEN YOU GO OUT. PLEASE LOOK CLOSELY AT THE PICS. I MADE SURE THAT THE SPOTS CAN BE SEEN WITH THE CAMERA. THIS IS ONE ITEM I WILL REFUND IF YOU ARE NOT FULLY SATISFIED. YOU MUST BE RESPONSIBLE SHIPPING COSTS IF YOU RETURN IT TO ME. PLEASE NOTE, BLACK MOTORCYCLE RIDING BOOTS AND THONG ARE NOT INCLUDED IN THIS AUCTION. THESE ARE PRETTY EXPENSIVE WHEN NEW. I WILL ACCEPT CHECK OR MONEY ORDER, BUT IT MUST CLEAR BEFORE I SEND THE CHAPS OUT. GOOD LUCK AND HAPPY BIDDING! CHECK OUT MY OTHER AUCTION ITEMS!
On second thought, maybe I'll just skip that ride. I'm sure I'm going to be out of town that weekend.
Date: March 13
Mileage: 26
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Schwinn
March mileage: 82
Year to date mileage: 683
Date: March 14
Mileage: 30
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Schwinn
March mileage: 112
Year to date mileage: 713
YOU ARE BIDDING ON A PHENOMINAL PAIR OF NASTY PIG BRAND CHAPS WITH A RED STRIPE DOWN THE LEG. THIS IS PERFECT FOR THE GUY WHO CANNOT JUSTIFY SPENDING ALL THAT MONEY ON A NEW PAIR BUT WOULD BE COMPLETELY HAPPY WITH A USED PAIR. THEY ARE MADE OUT OF A RUBBER NEOPRENE STYLE WITH A LOT OF STRETCH! NOW THESE CHAPS HAVE BEEN TO A LOT OF LEATHER EVENTS AND CURCUIT PARTIES. THEY STILL LOOK AWESOME EVEN WITHT THE LITTLE SPOTS. THE SPOTS ARE WHERE THE RUBBER HAS KIND OF WORN OFF BUT IS HARDLY NOTICABLE...ESPECEALLY WHEN YOU GO OUT. PLEASE LOOK CLOSELY AT THE PICS. I MADE SURE THAT THE SPOTS CAN BE SEEN WITH THE CAMERA. THIS IS ONE ITEM I WILL REFUND IF YOU ARE NOT FULLY SATISFIED. YOU MUST BE RESPONSIBLE SHIPPING COSTS IF YOU RETURN IT TO ME. PLEASE NOTE, BLACK MOTORCYCLE RIDING BOOTS AND THONG ARE NOT INCLUDED IN THIS AUCTION. THESE ARE PRETTY EXPENSIVE WHEN NEW. I WILL ACCEPT CHECK OR MONEY ORDER, BUT IT MUST CLEAR BEFORE I SEND THE CHAPS OUT. GOOD LUCK AND HAPPY BIDDING! CHECK OUT MY OTHER AUCTION ITEMS!
On second thought, maybe I'll just skip that ride. I'm sure I'm going to be out of town that weekend.
Date: March 13
Mileage: 26
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Schwinn
March mileage: 82
Year to date mileage: 683
Date: March 14
Mileage: 30
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Schwinn
March mileage: 112
Year to date mileage: 713
Monday, March 12, 2007
Like a Heavy Loaded Fruit Tree
Nobody cares what dress she wears at all
Tattered rags and paper bags and all
She's the one sleeping in the dirt
Drag her down, don't let her drown in dirt
- Beck, Soldier Jane
Wondering what to do with those old inner tubes? And no, leaving them on the side of the road isn't a good solution. Make yourself an outfit! This dress, with matching handbag, was made with discarded bicycle inner tubes. I could probably make some assless chaps with all the tubes I've got in the garage.
Tattered rags and paper bags and all
She's the one sleeping in the dirt
Drag her down, don't let her drown in dirt
- Beck, Soldier Jane
Wondering what to do with those old inner tubes? And no, leaving them on the side of the road isn't a good solution. Make yourself an outfit! This dress, with matching handbag, was made with discarded bicycle inner tubes. I could probably make some assless chaps with all the tubes I've got in the garage.
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Why yes, it does have wood siding
A few weeks ago I posted some pictures of the poor snow-plowing at the intersection of Hiawatha and the Greenway. Right after I took the photo I rode around the snowbank to get ready to cross. My left pedal hit the edge of the curb and the plastic cage snapped. I was somewhat surprised, because I had always assumed that the right pedal would go first. I always pull my foot out of the right cage when the terrain is uncertain, so that pedal cage has smacked the road surface thousands of times more.
That's a pedal that's seen a little action. But, through the miracle of the internet wayback machine I can take you back to when it was a young pup.
OK, so maybe it's not exactly internet trickery. It's really more of a packrat tendency. Here's the story.
I got this bike back in 1991 when I was living in Fargo-Moorhead. I rode it for about eight or nine months with the basic platform pedals that came on the bike. Then one night I was riding home from a buddy of mine's house. It was late, I'd had a few Ecto-cooler and vodka drinks (first mistake). I was riding on the sidewalk (second mistake). After crossing a street I missed the curb cut and hit the curb so hard that I dented both the front and rear rims of the bike. My feet flew off the pedals, my ass flew off the seat, and only the patron saint of dumb drunk guys kept me from crashing. I decided then I needed to get some pedals that kept my feet attached to the bike. True clipless pedals were out of my price range at the time, so I made a trip to the local Scheel's.
$19.99. Probably overpriced. But I loved the "clipped in" feeling. So much so that I tried to get the future Mrs. VelociPete to try it. I bought a second set of pedals for her bike, which is what you're seeing in the photos. But after trying my bike she decided she didn't like them. I'm not sure why I never returned these, but instead have moved them approximately 10 times across 3 different states. But there they are.
Fast forward back to the present. I rode for a few days with the busted pedal. Then last week as I was riding through Minnehaha Park I broke the cage on the right pedal. A matched pair. I thought about just swapping out the old for the "new." But since the Raleigh has become a dedicated winter commuter I've been contemplating getting rid of the straps. So I removed the cages and straps and I'm back to basic platforms.
We'll see how long it lasts. It certainly didn't help me on Wednesday when I went down on the icy Mendota bridge.
Date: March 9
Mileage: 18
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Raleigh
March mileage: 56
Year to date mileage: 657
That's a pedal that's seen a little action. But, through the miracle of the internet wayback machine I can take you back to when it was a young pup.
OK, so maybe it's not exactly internet trickery. It's really more of a packrat tendency. Here's the story.
I got this bike back in 1991 when I was living in Fargo-Moorhead. I rode it for about eight or nine months with the basic platform pedals that came on the bike. Then one night I was riding home from a buddy of mine's house. It was late, I'd had a few Ecto-cooler and vodka drinks (first mistake). I was riding on the sidewalk (second mistake). After crossing a street I missed the curb cut and hit the curb so hard that I dented both the front and rear rims of the bike. My feet flew off the pedals, my ass flew off the seat, and only the patron saint of dumb drunk guys kept me from crashing. I decided then I needed to get some pedals that kept my feet attached to the bike. True clipless pedals were out of my price range at the time, so I made a trip to the local Scheel's.
$19.99. Probably overpriced. But I loved the "clipped in" feeling. So much so that I tried to get the future Mrs. VelociPete to try it. I bought a second set of pedals for her bike, which is what you're seeing in the photos. But after trying my bike she decided she didn't like them. I'm not sure why I never returned these, but instead have moved them approximately 10 times across 3 different states. But there they are.
Fast forward back to the present. I rode for a few days with the busted pedal. Then last week as I was riding through Minnehaha Park I broke the cage on the right pedal. A matched pair. I thought about just swapping out the old for the "new." But since the Raleigh has become a dedicated winter commuter I've been contemplating getting rid of the straps. So I removed the cages and straps and I'm back to basic platforms.
We'll see how long it lasts. It certainly didn't help me on Wednesday when I went down on the icy Mendota bridge.
Date: March 9
Mileage: 18
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Raleigh
March mileage: 56
Year to date mileage: 657
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
On Second Thought
Monday, March 05, 2007
Skating Away On The Thin Ice of a New Day
Ye gods, what a dicey commute today. As you can see, the Mendota Bridge was downright treacherous. All that lovely glare on the road surface was reflecting off of ice so smooth and shiny it would make a Zamboni driver weep with joy.
If you look real close at the second photo, you can see the tracks from my bike tires. In retrospect, I'm not sure how I managed to stay upright. But the path was like that the whole way across. As I rode the deep part of my brain that's dedicated to self-preservation kept screaming "NO MON!!! NO!! IT BE DE ICE MON, DE ICE!!!!!" But, I guess even worn down Innova studs do a decent job of keeping one upright. When I stopped to take these pictures I nearly fell victim to one of the classic blunders. I realized I don't have studs on my feet and nearly slipped and fell while walking the bike to the side of the path. It was crazy.
The rest of the ride wasn't much better. Bike lanes filled with parked cars. Where there weren't parked cars, there were huge piles of snow. Just beastly.
Date: March 5
Mileage: 18
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Raleigh
March mileage: 18
Year to date mileage: 619
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