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

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

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."

 

Story link.

Date:  April 22

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

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.

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

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

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