VelociPete

They might be on to something here

2011-11-13T08:29:00.000-08:00

Salsa!

2011-09-01T11:09:00.000-07:00

When it comes to subscribing via email to various newsletters, I probably sign up for more than I should. I end up with lots of regular emails that I often delete without even opening, based on the subject line. But my slothful unsubscribing ways finally paid off! Case in point, I get a semi-regular email from Bicycling Magazine that I largely ignore. But when I saw the headline "11 Cold Beers For Hot Rides" I had to click. I was even more excited when I learned that any of these 11 could be considered "recovery beers". It's almost like drinking Gatorade!

11 Tasty Summer Beers For Post-Ride Recovery

In related news, one of our biking bretheren has some fresh salsa. We were conspiring via Google+ to see if maybe we could set up a combination Beer for Bloggers and Salsa Distribution event next Wednesday or Thursday. Any interest or availability? Anyone? Bueller?

Sea Salt - tonight!

2011-08-07T07:58:00.000-07:00

I thought I would throw this out. It's the lovely Saucy Wench's birthday today, and we're headed to Sea Salt via bike to celebrate. We'll be there around 5pm Sunday the 7th. Feel free to swing by!

Dinner

2011-07-07T17:49:00.000-07:00

The kids were invited to a friend's house for dinner tonight. The Mrs. Was writing, so I was on my own. I biked up to the Subway and grabbed my favorite footlong (spicy Italian) and ate it in the park. Not a bad way to spend a beautiful July evening.

Bike bag

2011-06-11T09:12:00.000-07:00

I've been very remiss in posting about this beauty of a bike bag that Bill made for me. Though the entire project was comically slow, so this is fitting. Bill and I got together in February of 2010 for a beer and to discuss bike bags. He offered to make one, and I gave him some basic requirements and desires. A few months later he sent some pictures of the finished product, which looked great. But somehow we never got together to make the handoff. Bill came over to my place in February 2011 for a brew day, and dropped off the bag.

I didn't put it on my commuter bike, because I have a large box on the rear rack and the box interfered with the bag. So I put it on my "racing" bike. It took almost two months before I took that bike for a ride with the bag on it, sometime in mid April. So again, it's kind of fitting that I wouldn't actually post until mid June.

The bag seems to work great, and looks pretty fantastic on the bike. I'm looking at maybe rearranging my box set up so I can use this on a more regular basis. Thanks for the bag, Bill, it's awesome!

Side view of the bag.

Perfect mounting points for my 3 Speed Tour bag tags. The straps are wide enough that the tags slide on easily, but don't fall off easily. Almost like they were made for the bag.

Looks nice with the Brooks.

Rear view.

Nice view of the longflap-style flap with the interior elastic still cinched.

The interior. It has my tool kit and a spare tube, with plenty of space for a lunch and other stuff.

Beer On!

2011-06-06T19:56:00.000-07:00

I left the poll open until tomorrow, but the results seem to be a landslide. I'm going to go ahead and prognosticate a winner: Thursday, June 9.
June 9: 9 votes (90%)
June 23: 1 vote (10%)

I would say let's keep things simple. Sea Salt, somewhere in the neighborhood of 5pm?

The beauty of this date is that it happens to be Minneapolis Bike to Work Day. So ride your bike, attend a bike to work celebration in the morning and then another in the evening. The weather forecast is even looking promising. Cooler and partly sunny. Perfect for enjoying a cool beverage on the patio.

Really, you haven't got a good enough excuse to avoid this. If you've never met any of the locals before, just look for the group with questionable fashion/grooming habits and bike helmets on the table.

Beer for Bloggers?

2011-06-01T06:26:00.000-07:00

The sun has been shining more than it was last time Snak Shak proposed a meetup, and it's now officially June. I also saw Wheel Dancer on my way to work this morning. All of which made me think, maybe it's time for another BFB attempt. So, I decided to get funky with some of the newer Blogger features and added a poll. You should be able to see it on the main page (RSS/Facebook readers need to actually visit the site) and vote! Give it a try, and I'll post the results.

Pub Crawl

2011-05-08T12:05:00.000-07:00

Minnesota Craft Beer Week kicks off next year. I've been getting most of my updates from mnbeer.com but I haven't seen much about this pub crawl coming through. I did see the notice on the organizer's blog. The important details are:

The ride is on May 21st and starts at 10 am at Cafe 28 where Surly’s own Todd Haug will have a special beer for us while his wife, who owns the place, will have breakfast. From there we will travel to Busters on 28 then up to the Nomad World Pub on the West Bank, from there we will go north across the Stone Arch Bridge and on to Pracna on Main where lunch will be had and finally the last stop will Stanley’s where the fine folks there have sectioned off their parking lot and made it a bike corral for us and all the bikers in town who will be enjoying the Schell’s beer tent and Art-A-Whirl which is happening the same day.

They were going to test ride the route this weekend, so there could be changes as a result. I don't know that I'll be allowed to go to this event, as I have myriad bathroom duties to perform, but it looks like fun.

Du-Half-alon

2011-04-30T11:28:00.000-07:00

Last year I was shanghaied into participating in a Duathlon. Before I knew what was happening, I was registered and expected to participate. And participate I did. And it was one of my favorite running events that I participated in during the 2010 season. Probably because a good 50% of it was not running. So when we signed up for events this year I did so with full consent.

Last year, the weather was beautiful. Sunny and bordering on warm, a lovely late April day. The down side was a ferocious headwind for the second half of the bike. We started looking at weather reports for this year's event, and it didn't look good:

Saturday...Cloudy and breezy with rain tapering off. High 60 F. Winds WSW at 16 mph, gusting to 30mph.

Yes, WSW is the direction that we bike to get back to town. It's a 14 mile out and back. And while having a tailwind can be fun, that headwind sucked. And apparently it made an impression. Our friend Val said she wouldn't do the event again unless they changed the course. Her husband Eric was game, but earlier this week wasn't feeling well and begged off. My wife told me for 3 days straight how awful it would be. And then the morning of the event decided she wasn't going. I also got a text from a coworker who was signed up saying he also was going to call it. I decided to go solo, with Jim's useful catch phrase running through my head. "What's the worst that could happen?"

It rained, hard, the whole time I was driving south to Cannon Falls. But somewhat miraculously, the rain tapered to almost nothing as I pulled into the parking lot. I got my bike to the stuff storage area, took off my raincoat and felt pretty smart for deciding to go. I ran the first two miles without a lot of issues and I was happy with my performance. I transitioned onto the bike and felt pretty good. The wind was more of a cross wind, and I was anticipating a better second half on the bike than last year. Not long after I passed the marker for 6 miles on the bike, I noticed a strange sort of shimmy from the back end. Soon I could see the 7 mile turn around point for the bike portion. About that same time, I realized I was getting a flat rear tire.

After 10+ years of being a cautious, prepared cycle commuter I found myself up the creek without a paddle. Or more accurately, 7 miles out of town without a pump or spare tube. I tried to remember if anybody had mentioned a sag wagon for the event and decided I couldn't. So I started walking.

I walked about 2 miles when I heard a car slow down behind me. It was the Dakota County Sheriff who had been directing traffic at the turnaround. He offered me a ride and I gratefully accepted. What would probably have taken me another 2 hours turned into a 10-15 minute ride in the back of the squad. Once I was back at the transition I didn't even consider doing the remaining run portion. I grabbed my stuff along with a hot dog and hit the road. The spirit was willing, but the equipment was weak. But, DNF is better than DNS.

Resurrection Ale

2011-04-26T18:00:00.000-07:00

We were fortunate enough here in MN to have not only a 3 day weekend, but some beautiful spring weather as well. I actually got a minor sunburn while hunting for Easter eggs with my niece. I am in the midst of a bathroom remodel, but I did manage to squeeze in a brew session on the morning of Good Friday. I brewed with a mug of coffee in hand instead of a beer, due to the hour, but it was still enjoyable. The downside is that if this batch doesn't turn out, and I have some concerns that I'll mention later, I can't blame it on having a couple of beers influencing my actions.

In retrospect, my main flaw in my approach to the brew day was trying to change too many variables at once. I bought a basic pale ale kit from Northern Brewer to brew for my second all grain batch. I plan to spend the summer refining recipes and creating a pale ale that I can call my own. I figured that the NB kit was a perfect jumping off point. I also have a few variations on clones of Summit Extra Pale Ale, which is probably my very favorite beer.

My thinking went off track before brew day even began. I decided to skip the yeast I bought with the kit and re-pitch some yeast that I harvested from my previous batch. I have never harvested yeast before, and never repitched, so not only do I have the uncertainty of being new to all grain brewing, but I also have an unproven yeast process. I'm learning more and more that having a repeatable process is key, especially in all grain.

The brew day itself was pretty much according to plan. But I missed a couple of numbers. I wanted to mash in at 152, but was a little low. A couple quarts of boiling water brought me up to where I needed to be. I also lost more heat during the mash this time, so I again added more water at the 30 minute mark. I'm not sure if this had any impact on my extraction rate or not. But my extraction rate was lower than I wanted it. If I calculated correctly, it was about 65%. Not horrible, but I'd like to get into the 70s. My pre-boil gravity was also lower than I expected, and right now I don't really have any explanation for that.

Toward the end of the boil, the neighbor across the street came over to check out the operation and we gabbed for 15 minutes or so. Normally, I would have been getting my fermenter ready to go during this time, so I was rushed. I went in to grab it, and realized I am missing the rubber gasket for my spout (plastic bucket fermenter). I have some cider in my big carboy, and I didn't want to ferment in my small carboy for fear of overflow. I only have airlocks, and probably would need a blowoff tube for the smaller one. So I kept the wort boiling much longer as I cleaned and sanitized a different bucket. The other bucket has a different spigot system, so I couldn't just use the gasket from that one, naturally.

While I'm sure that the longer boil had something to do with it, I can't believe the extra 10-15 minutes would account for the next issue. Once I ended the boil and ran my wort through the chiller, I only ended up with 4 gallons. So I lost 2.5 gallons during the boil instead of the approximately 1 gallon loss I expected. However, in this case things worked out well. Since my gravity was low to begin with, the additional evaporation brought my Original Gravity right in line with what my expected OG was.

So I was finally into the fermenter, and I pitched my yeast slurry. Fermentation started almost immediately, and was very vigorous. And it was done 3 days later, at least visibly. I haven't taken a reading yet. A fast fermentation is often a sign of infection, but I've heard that repitched yeast starts faster. I'm not confident of which is the explanation at this point.

So if this thing turns out, it will be nothing short of a miracle. Since I was reviving previously used yeast and brewing on Good Friday I am referring to this batch as Resurrection Pale Ale. Jesus turned water into wine, so I'm sure he won't mind me turning water and barley into beer.

Spring is here

2011-04-11T19:20:00.000-07:00

Spring is here, but I'm still slow to rejoin the biking community. This is somewhat problematic, because I am registered to do the Cannon Falls Duathlon in only a few short weeks. I've done some running so far this year, but the bulk of my energy has been going into our bathroom. After a couple of dumpsters full, it's down to the subfloor and studs. Also known as "blank slate" mode. Now comes the real work of putting it all back together.

My friend Joel came over on Sunday and we put together 3/4 of a stir plate project, something I'll post more about once it's complete. And I also managed to steal away 30-45 minutes in the afternoon to put together a batch of hard cider. It's my first attempt at a cider, and I'm finding it is very easy to make. The only difficulty comes if you want to get fresh apples and juice them yourself. I was content to just buy 5 gallons of juice at the grocery story and throw in a couple pounds of honey. I wanted to make this an SCD friendly batch of cider, so I used honey for my yeast starter instead of DME. I didn't realize my yeast had been in the fridge quite as long as it had been (November date on the smack pack) so I stepped the starter up once also. Making the two starters was the majority of the work. Sunday I just sanitized, poured the juice into the carboy and aerated for 30 minutes while I pulled nails out of the wall studs. After aeration, I pitched my yeast. I've got a good steady fermentation going after less than 24 hours.

If I hadn't been in a hurry to get back to the bathroom, I would have remembered to take a hydrometer reading. I plan to make another batch using yeast that I harvest from this one, and I'll use the same approach with the honey and juice, so I should be able to back into an approximate gravity reading for both batches that way. It won't be exact, but it will be better than nothing.

Bell's vs Northern Brewer

2011-03-24T19:10:00.000-07:00

There was a bit of a kerfluffle this week between two companies I like. I am a customer of both, and it left me feeling somewhat conflicted. At the heart of the matter was trademark infringement. mnbeer.com sums it up nicely:

Bell’s Brewery sent our friends at Northern Brewer a cease and desist letter regarding the their Three Hearted Ale kit, a recipe kit styled after Bell’s Two Hearted Ale.

Bell’s owns the trademark for Two Hearted Ale and as such is charged with protecting that mark from others that might dilute or tarnish that name. Most of the time, trademark issues aren’t purely black and white, as is the case with the Three Hearted Ale kit. Bell’s (or rather their lawyer(s)) decide what they see as a threat to the mark and what they see as something that they can let slide. As The Gambler once said, “You’ve got to know when to hold ‘em, [and]] know when to fold ‘em…”

I understand Bell's point on this, and their need to protect their trademark. But really? Bell's put the following excerpts of the letter on their website:

Here is a partial extract of the letter we sent: "As a result of the extensive business investment by Bell's Brewery, significant goodwill has inured in the TWO HEARTED trademark." "While Bell's Brewery encourage the development of independent brewers and homebrewing, Bell's Brewery are concerned with your use of THREE HEARTED ALE Extract kit." "Bell's Brewery are of the opinion that there is a likelihood of confusion between your mark and the trademarks for TWO HEARTED owned by Bell's Brewery. The marks create the same overall commercial impression. Furthermore, the goods associated with your mark and the trademark for Two Hearted are identical." "Consequently, your use of THREE HEARTED is likely to create confusion, deception, or mistake among purchasers as to the origin or source of the goods/services, or convey to the purchasing public that the goods/services are approved by Bell's Brewery or that there is an affiliation or connection between you and Bell's Brewery."

It seems highly unlikely that anybody would confuse a box of syrup, hop pellets and yeast for a tasty 6 pack of beer. The end result is the same, but the route to get there couldn't be much different. They go on to say that clones are not even the issue. And they love homebrewers!

Northern Brewer, after an initial shocked post on Facebook, took the high road in their response:

But this morning I'd like to take a moment to spread some calm:

The fact that a homebrew recipe kit became noteworthy enough to draw legal attention is a powerful statement of the love for brewing that made this kit one of our best sellers in the first place. Your choice in purchasing this kit, and likely your attraction to it via your enjoyment of its commercially-brewed muse, is the real story here.

...

You may very well have come to love this recipe kit because of your experience with the Bell's brew that it emulates. So please don't find yourself at odds with Bell's for protecting what they have, in kind, created. Bell's Brewing is amongst the finest producers of microbrewed ales, the world over. Their business obligations and the craft of the people who brew their great beers are separate entities, as any pro brewer can attest. I ask of you, our loyal homebrewers, not to call out or boycott Bell's for fulfilling their legal obligations. Remember, the people who acted on behalf of Bell's in instigating this change did so because of their commitment to their product, just as you choose NB because of your commitment to your product.

Let's be happy that we live in a nation that not only allows for such creativity to produce a beer that catches the tastes of brewers and beer lovers like ourselves, but a nation that gave us the freedom merely thirty years prior to have a hobby that so benefits our creativity and subsistence.

Cheers to our fine customers AND the fine people who make Bell's beer!

Now I'm feeling the love, not the lawyer.

Pity they couldn't have agreed to co-exist, much as Surly Brewing and Surly Bikes have for the past 5 years.

There is absolutely no affiliation between Surly Bikes and Surly Brewing, except for the fact that they like bikes and we like beer. After the initial shock of finding out another company in town shared our name, our eyes lit up with cross-promotional ideas, errr, free beer. Either way, Kenny Bloggins, Sovern, pal Mike and I rolled the party bike up to north Minneapolis. As we were locking up our bikes, the door swung open and a girl wearing a "Surly Girl" t-shirt said, "Are you the guys from Surly Bikes? Come on in and have some beers". She was the wife of the owner and she made us feel like rockstars. The brewery was packed and the beer was flowing. They currently have two beers, but unveiled a third just for the open house. They even had special editions of their beers, one brewed with coffee and the other was aged in a bourbon barrel. Oh my god, they were both excellent. I told myself, I'm going to stay here and drink until they cut me off. They tapped a dry hopped beer with Amarillo hops later, but we'd gotten on our bikes by then because we'd had our share of free beer. The brewery was beyond impressive and it left me with the feeling that I'm happy to share the Surly name with a company like that.

Hop to it

2011-03-07T19:42:00.000-08:00

I finally pulled the trigger and ordered 4 hop rhizomes.

Your Order (placed on March 7, 2011)

Item Sku Qty Subtotal
Fuggle Hop Rhizome HR01 1 $4.99
Horizon Hop Rhizome HR67 1 $4.99
Cascade Hop Rhizome HR13 1 $4.99
Centennial Hop Rhizome HR35 1 $4.99

Not that I think this will help me avoid any upcoming hop shortages, but it can't hurt. And truthfully, I've been meaning to plant hops at my house for 6 years. I have had a hop plant growing at my in-laws' farm for quite some time, and have even harvested some fresh hops from it. But they live 150 miles southwest of here, so the odds of me being at their place when it's time to harvest are slim.

I ordered 4 different varieties because last fall I started a fencing project around our garden. I plan to plant one on each of the four fence corners and let them grow out along the fence. This should help hide any flaws in my fence building and motivate me to complete the project this spring. I'll try to update my progress here as I remember or as events dictate.

Time to stock up

2011-03-03T18:41:00.001-08:00

I was catching up on some beer related reading tonight, and found a somewhat unnerving juxtaposition. I clicked on the most recent entry in the Beer Diary blog and found that the world was about to end. The brewing world, anyhow:

Now, I don't harbor a lot of American dreams, just the right to brew my own beer and I'm getting this horrific feeling that the economy may impede my efforts to have my dream and drink it too. Every day I listen to the news of the economy and my mind jumps from the current fiscal meltdown to the inevitable related consequences which then leads me to fear this will end up limiting my access to homebrewing.

Mark goes on to talk about a world where the economy falls so completely apart that he's reduced to living in his van and brewing over a fire fueled by his own feces. OK, maybe I exaggerate a bit, but only a bit. But hey, the pioneers burned buffalo chips when nothing else was available, so who knows?

I sort of wrote this off as unwarranted rambling, but then I went to visit my friends at Northern Brewer, where I find a similar thread:

Now comes the looming specter of the global economy ... shortages in the worldwide barley crop. A viciously scorching Siberian summer drove wheat prices to historic highs. And, now the hop harvest pits the incoming crop's lethargic yield, against the unwavering demand for more citrusy IPAs and amped-up pale ales.

You know, if one person, just one person says it I may think he's really sick and won't listen to him. And if two people, two people do it, well you know how the song goes. Remember the hop shortage of '09? This will probably prompt me to pre-order some hop rhizomes. It's that time of year. That way, I'll at least have something to barter when the beer shortage comes.

Dundalk Irish Heavy

2011-02-27T20:15:00.001-08:00

I brewed my first all grain batch of beer today, with the help of a cast of several. We started things up around 12:30 by heating the strike water to 161 and mashing in at 150 degrees. Things went well in that regard from all appearances. While we tended to the mash indoors, Gabe and others brewed a batch of Scottish 80 Shilling in the garage. Timed it really well, as by the time we were moving Gabe’s beer to the primary fermenter the Irish Heavy was going through its sparge and was ready for the burner.

The color was extremely dark, much darker than I expected. More of an Old Ale or almost a barley wine coloration. The description for this recipe says it was often referred to as a barley wine, but the gravity seemed light to me. The pre-boil was only 1.040, however the post boil skyrocketed to 1.072, thanks to evaporation and the addition of a pound of pure sugar at the end of the boil. I collected approximately 4.5 gallons of wort, so when I pitched the yeast I topped it up to around 5.5 gallons, by adding an additional gallon of purified water. I felt I was safe to do this with the O.G. being significantly higher than planned. I probably should have taken another hydrometer reading after topping up, but I didn’t.

Finally pitched the yeast around 7:00 after waiting for the temp to rise up enough. The temp was reading around 60 degrees at pitching time, which is a little cool for this one, but I have a heating pat strapped to the fermenter so that should come up a few degrees. I was getting super hungry and tired at this point, as I’d been brewing for most of the day and hadn’t eaten since mid-morning. The low temp was a combination of the 25 degree temps today and an overly aggressive wort chiller. I found a used homemade wort chiller on craigslist, but it seems a little too efficient. We chilled Gabe’s batch down into the mid 40s, and mine went down into the low 50s. The only reason mine did not go lower was that we only opened the tap on the hose an eighth of a turn. Might be good for summer brewing, or lagers, but was a little much this time of year for an ale.

In two weeks I’ll bottle and the in a few more weeks we’ll see how the final gravity looks, along with the taste. Should be interesting.

Recipe Specifics
---------------------
Batch Size (Gal): 5.00
Total Grain (Lbs): 11
Anticipated OG: 1.062
Anticipated SRM: 16.3
Anticipated IBU: 52
Brewhouse Efficiency: xx %
Wort Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Grain
------
75.0% - 9.25 lbs. Maris Otter
25.0% - 0.50 lbs. CaraPils
xx.x% - 0.25 lbs. Roasted Barley

Water Profile
-----------------
Profile: Eagan, MN, diluted by ¼ with purified bottled water

Mash Schedule
-------------------
Sacch 60 min @ 150

Extras
-------
N/A

Yeast
-------
Wyeast British Cask Ale 1026

Notes
-------
Brewed 2/27/11
Pre-boil gravity 1.040
O.G. 1.072

Collected 5 gallons of wort

Pitched 1000 ml of yeast starter. Yeast starter was created on Friday, 2/25/2011. Used 200 ml honey with 800 ml distilled water and ½ tps of yeast nutrient, as I was out of DME. Yeast was highly flocculent and formed interesting clumps. No stir plate, so that could have had an impact.

Better is in the eye of the beholder

2010-11-11T20:17:00.000-08:00

A week or so ago, my mainly internet but sometimes in real life friend, Snak Shak, said there's a better way to get downtown than Park/Portland. Starting the next day, I stopped using Park/Portland, because I knew he was right. I gave Chicago the old college try, but I'm not convinced. It took me a few days to get the feel of the traffic flow, but for me Chicago still has one main strike against it. Specifically, there's no good way to get onto the Greenway that doesn't involve stairs. The closest rideable entrance I found was at 11th, and to get there you need to cross Chicago against the flow of traffic, then battle the traffic coming out of the Allina. Plus, the buses on Chicago were not fun. Truthfully, I didn't find it pleasant.

I tried some other alternates over the last week as well. My current favorite seems to be under construction. With the extension of the bike lanes further north on Minnehaha, it makes that route a lot more attractive going north of the Greenway. It also lets me avoid the construction currently happening on the LRT trail. So I take Minnehaha to the detour point at 24th St, cross the curly bridge over Hiawatha, and then take 11th Ave north into downtown by way of Elliot Park. It does seem to shave about 10 minutes off the Park/Portland route, and eliminates a lot of the Park/Portland speed traffic. But still, it seems there should be a better way.

The Cat Cave?

2010-11-09T18:22:00.000-08:00

Snak Shak, I think I found it's lair...

Open letter to the City of Minneapolis

2010-10-31T08:11:00.000-07:00

Earlier this week, a cyclist was killed in the recently redesigned bike lane on Hennepin Avenue in downtown Minneapolis.

Police said the bicyclist and a Quicksilver Express Courier delivery truck were southbound on 1st Avenue about 2:30 p.m. when the truck turned right, striking the cyclist in the intersection.

The cyclist was in a designated bike lane on the right side of the road as he approached the intersection, police said.

The definition of this type of accident, in cycling terms, is a Right Hook. The fact that it has a name shows that it's something that happens far too often. And in Minneapolis, not only is there the opportunity for a right hook, but a less common left hook as well thanks to several high use bike lanes located on the left side of one way streets. On my commute I ride past the ghost bike for Dennis Dumm, who was also killed by a truck while riding in a designated bike lane.

The City of Portland had a similar issue in 2007, when 3 cyclists were right hooked in designated bike lanes. Two died, and one was seriously injured. This caused Portland to install "bike boxes" at several intersections. A bike box is nothing more than green paint which allows cyclists to pull ahead at a light and have a spot that is visible and out of the blind spot of cars. Do they work?

Increasingly, the answer appears to be a resounding “Yes!” On the heels of that tragic autumn of 2007, there were no cyclist fatalities in Portland in 2008. Since then, there have been some cyclist fatalities in Portland—but there hasn’t been a single right-hook fatality at any bike box. Moreover, a study recently conducted by the Initiative for Bicycle and Pedestrian Innovation at Portland State University has confirmed that bike boxes work. Researchers found that both motorists and cyclists exhibit high rates of compliance and understanding about bike boxes, with motorists exhibiting an increase in the rate of yielding, and both motorists and cyclists indicating that they perceive the intersections to be safer with the bike boxes installed.

Minneapolis was voted the #1 cycling city in the United States this year. But, if something isn't done to make cycling safer, something as simple and cheap and effective as a bike box, that designation will seem somewhat hollow.

New link for ya

2010-10-24T20:47:00.001-07:00

If you're not already reading The Old 3 Speed Gallery, you should be. And if you have a 3 speed that hasn't been featured there yet, let me know. Somehow I'm now in charge.

http://threespeedgallery.blogspot.com/2010/10/meet-new-boss-same-as-old-boss.html

Taxes

2010-10-22T14:54:00.000-07:00

I found a quick link to an article about taxes and biking. Most every cyclist has heard the old "bikes shouldn't ride on the road, they don't pay taxes" argument. This short, easily readable argument shows why road costs are actually improved by cyclists.

http://www.grist.org/article/2010-09-27-why-an-additional-road-tax-for-bicyclists-would-be-unfair

I think there are probably flaws in this argument. The author states that 6-7% of road taxes are paid by motorists, and increasing cyclists wouldn't amount to a significant decrease in this. And the remaining 93-94% is paid by property taxes and the general fund. But later she says that we would need 12 cyclists for every driver to balance the street budgets. Something's got to give. But it's still interesting.

Bloggy blog blog

2010-10-09T17:41:00.000-07:00

It's been kind of a bloggy week this week, almost like the old heyday of the blog. I biked to work all 4 days I went into the office, first time that's happened in I can't remember when. And the day I worked from home I went for a run with the Mrs., so I didn't even slack off that day!

Monday the temp was 42 degrees when I walked out the door. It was a cool morning and I was glad I walked back into the house and grabbed my vest. Mainly because it had my full finger gloves in the pocket, which I stopped and put on about a mile into the ride. And I kept them on the whole way into work. Quite a contrast to Friday, when we had a high temp of 85.

One of the more exciting things about this week was a couple of unplanned encounters. Wednesday I ran into a Mplsbikelove.com person on the way home. She was riding along and had just seen a small version of a penny farthing being ridden by a gentleman with a black sweatsuit and jericurl. Oddities abound in the bike lanes of MPLS.

The other exciting bit of news was that I received an unexpected piece of information about my bike via email.

Pete,
I saw an old bike blog, from 2005, I think. Anyway, you had a Kuwahara bike on there that you couldn't read the model name on. Just wanted to tell you that it's a Pulsar. I just bought one the other day for $25 and have been trying to research what I have when I came across your blog. you may have found that out in the last 5 years, but if not, then now you know.
later,
amy

The post she references is this one, I assume. On reading this post from 2008, I had to laugh a bit because the bike hasn't changed significantly since I posted this. I'd said that I was going to get a better wheelset, but I'm still running the same mismatched wheels I originally mounted. I haven't gotten new brake pads, either. And the Suntour derailleur still doesn't have enough reach to get into the biggest or smallest cogs. But that's the way I've been riding it. Just to show I'm not a complete slug, I have mounted a rack with a homebuilt wooden box for carrying my messenger bag. So all is not lost.

I did some googling and found a few more references to a Kuwahara Pulsar than I'd found from just googling "Kuwahara Bike". But it's still a pretty limited topic on the 'net. I exchanged a couple of emails with Amy and she has promised to send pictures of her find when she's cleaned it up a bit. If/when she does, I'll be sure to post them. And if anybody else has info on the Kuwahara Pulsar, feel free to pass it along. Thanks, Amy!

No Ziggy

2010-09-12T08:18:00.000-07:00

I saw this video on a couple of bike blogs, but didn't watch it until this weekend. For some reason, I had Mick Ronson in my head when I saw the name. So I was surprised to see this is a different Ronson. Still enjoyable, a fun song and video, even if it's not made by an official Spider From Mars.

August

2010-09-08T08:45:00.000-07:00

Did I really only ride my bike 3 times in August?

Stolen bike alert

2010-08-07T15:37:00.001-07:00

Attention Twin Cities cyclists! Last night, Brother Yam was overserved and chose the honorable option of taking a cab home instead of trying to pilot his Big Dummy in a haze. To reward him, some bad karma loving scoundrels stole the Dummy. It was locked up around 34th and the Parkway. A picture of the bike is below, but I don't think he had the cooler mounted. Keep your eyes peeled!

Open letter to a dumbass

2010-08-03T07:07:00.001-07:00

Dear Dumbass,

The sidepath on the Mendota Bridge is indeed a scenic and picturesque location. It is also, however, a section of path that is only about 8 feet wide and bordered on both sides by concrete barriers. This does not leave a lot of margin for error. So, while capturing a photo of your pal riding in front of you is a nifty souviner of your evening, taking both hands off the handlebars to take the photo might not be the most advisable course of action.

Now, assuming you choose to ignore this piece of advice, I would say that if you choose to ride no handed on the narrow, concrete lined path, you probably shouldn't do it while there is oncoming bike traffic. Just one more variable you can't control, if you catch my drift.

But, should you choose to ride with no hands on a narrow path with oncoming traffic I would advise you to make sure your skilz are such that you can actually ride your bike in a straight line. If that's beyond your capabilities, then you may want to pay extra attention to your surroundings to see whether or not you are drifting directly into the path of an oncoming cyclist (i.e. me). Any cyclist who sees another object heading straight for him or her with no apparant concerns about spatial relationships or potential for impact could find the situation somewhat alarming. And this could cause the alarmed cyclist to, once you have realized your error and corrected at the last possible moment, call you a dumbass. Loudly.

Le Tour

2010-07-16T10:34:00.000-07:00

I haven't been following the Tour very closely this year, due to Versus somehow not being a part of our basic satellite package any longer. That, along with Gopher Hockey, was one of the main arguments for keeping satellite. So the Mrs. finally made the call and our satellite service will end on July 28. I'm going to miss hockey, and Mad Men, but that's about it.

In the mean time, I wanted to call your attention to a great set of TDF photos from The Big Picture. Worth a look.

Short notice, long weekend

2010-07-01T16:21:00.000-07:00

Ahoy, Holiday Weekend off the port bow!

I realize that it's short notice and a long weekend that lots of people will be out of town for. But I thought I would put the "Beer on!" call out and see if anybody can make it. Sometimes it's surprising how many people don't go away for the 4th. Anyhow, if anybody is interested in grabbing a beer after work Friday the 2nd at Sea Salt, leave a comment or shoot an email. The fabulous Mrs. Velocipete may even show off her sassy new hairstyle! 4:30-5ish or thereabouts?

If folks are busy/gone/don't care, that's fine too. No worries.

David Byrne likes Minneapolis

2010-06-26T13:58:00.000-07:00

David Byrne was in town last week. He wrote up a nice little blog entry on his time both here and in Chicago, which can be found here. He doesn't say much that a St. Paul/Minneapolis resident wouldn't already know, but it does make the cities sound pretty good.

Haulin'

2010-06-24T18:11:00.000-07:00

In an effort to spark some good old fashioned blog-style one upmanship (remember blogs? Quaint!), I have to post some pictures of what I dragged home on Tuesday. Snak Shak hauled a pizza home the other night "using only a woman's scarf, an inner tube and a carabiner from my key chain."

Tuesday night, I was riding home along Minnehaha Ave and saw an old hose reel. I'd been on the lookout for one, inspired by my father-in-law. He uses a hose reel to store his extension cords. So I stopped off and, hearing music from the backyard, walked around to the back and asked the owners if they were looking to get rid of this (it was by the garbage). After getting permission, I lashed it to my bike box using the one bungee cord I happened to have. I made it the remaining 6 miles or so without incident.

And yes, I do have two large vehicles with wood siding. Envy me.

Rubber duckie, you're the one

2010-06-10T18:51:00.001-07:00

"It's amazing what a duck can teach you."
-Curt Ebbesmeyer, oceanographer

I was gonna write about Bike to Work day, which was today, but got sidetracked. Maybe later. So what sidetracked me? I saw a neat little article about rubber duckies. I'm going to summarize, but there's more details here. Back in January 1992 a container ship crossing the Pacific Ocean somehow dumped a huge container full of rubber duckies (and froggies, and turtles, and beavers). Somewhere in the neighborhood of 29,000 of the little buggers. They floated around the northern Pacific for 10 months, caught in a big vortex, and finally started washing ashore in Alaska in late 1992.

Fast forward three years, and the ducks are showing up all over the Pacific. They have been spotted in Japan, Hawaii and the west coast of North America. Over the next five years, between 1995 and 2000 the ducks cross the Arctic and start reaching the North Atlantic. By 2007, the first British Invasion by a duck is reported. The details of this one are well documented, as in 2003 the company that manufactured the ducks began offering a reward of a $100 savings bond for each duck found and reported. Eric Carle (any parent will recognize this name) even wrote a book about it, called 10 Little Rubber Ducks.

It was a neat story, how oceanographers and NOAA and other folks used the duck spill to learn about the earth's oceans and show how all the oceans are truly interconnected in a real and tangible way. But then I read that the estimates of the Deepwater Horizon spill may be only half of what they originally thought. The flow rate may be as high 40,000 barrels (1.68 million gallons/6.36 million liters) per day. Significantly more than 29,000 ducks.

Bike to Work week - mostly blown

2010-06-09T19:21:00.001-07:00

So far Bike to Work week for me has been a complete Fail. Monday, I worked from home unexpectedly as the daughters had candy launcher projects that needed to be taken to school. They were too big to fit in the huge wagon, and The Wife didn't want to drive them to school with a catapult strapped to the roof of the wagon. I didn't mind so much. Tuesday, it was raining. Today was my Dad's retirement party, and I knew I wouldn't have time to get cleaned up and changed so I opted to drive.

But there's still tomorrow. I'm leading a convoy yet again from Minnehaha to the Government Plaza festival. Though when I check the Bike/Walk to Work site, I don't see my route listed for some reason. Which means it will be another low turnout year. But I don't mind.

I was excited to see that there is a new bike sharing kiosk that was installed this weekend near my building. Actually, on the sidewalk that abuts my building. They couldn't make things more convenient for me if they tried. Hopefully the bike program will take off.

For those who want to know, the details of tomorrow's ride are:

Gathering at Sea Salt, Minnehaha Park Pavilion at 6:30am

Departing at 6:45am
Stops:?
Arriving at Government Center 7:30am

Route: Minnehaha Ave to Greenway. Greenway to Park Ave. Park to Gov Center

I'll be wearing my bright orange shirt. Give a wave or a hello if you see me tomorrow. Cheers!

Meet the new car, same as the old car

2010-06-05T14:00:00.000-07:00

Those of you who know me from real life have probably seen or heard about my "bitchin' wagon." Over the weekend, I decided to get a bit nutty and upgrade.

It's the Collector's Edition. It's OK to be jealous.

Those of you who are paying close attention will see the opportunity here. While the wife encouraged me to get this wagon, she doesn't want two of these monstrosities hanging around the place. And I somehow doubt I could get them both in the garage at the same time. So the other one is available. Inquire within. ;-)

Bike to Work week

2010-05-31T11:10:00.000-07:00

Once again, I'll be leading a bike convoy from Minnehaha Park to downtown Minneapolis for Bike to Work week. I realize that National Bike to Work week is long over, but the City of Minneapolis decided to be different this year. Hoping for a warmer morning to encourage more participation, I believe. Here's the basic details of what will be coming, starting next Saturday the 5th of June:

Saturday, June 5 (Kick Off)
Twin Cities Heart Walk - Hosted by Target Field! more...
National Trails Day
Greenway Challengemore...

Sunday, June 6
Grand Old Day - See Bike Walk Week in the parade or stop by the booth! Free bike parking on the Ayd Mill bridge and a free transit pass to help you get there. more...
Tuesday, June 8
Film Screening: Beyond the Motor City - 7pm, Oak Street Cinema. Q&A to follow with director Aaron Woolf and local bicycle business leaders and activists. more...

Wednesday, June 9
Women's Wednesday - Wear red to support women's health and join the fun with morning and evening rides and a photo contest. more...

Thursday, June 10
Bike Walk to Work Day - Featuring Celebrations Locations all over town. more...
Nice Ride bike sharing program launch - Noon ride along Nicollet Mall in Downtown Minneapolis, from the Central Library to Peavey Plaza

Sunday, June 13
Bike to the Twins Game - Presented by OptumHealth (wut?). Gift bags to the first 1000 fans who bike to the 1:10 pm game. A bike corral will be setup just off the Cedar Lake Trail on Glenwood in Ramp A in addition to the 400 ramps around the ballpark.
Volunteer for one of the events, to lead a ride into town or to help spread the word in your neighborhood or office. Bike/Walk is looking for sponsors and more celebration locations for these events. Contact the organizers for more information.

Check out the Bike to Work website for more info, and don't forget to register. Hopefully, I'll see you Thursday morning if you're a South Mpls to Downtown commuter!

Blog up

2010-05-18T18:51:00.000-07:00

This past Friday, a few local bike types responded to a call put out by Mr. SnakShak to have a beer or three at the end of a long work week. The timing turned out perfect as the two weeks prior were cold and rainy, but Friday was partly sunny and the temps cracked into the 70s. Beers were drank, tales were told, laughs were laughed. I'm glad I went, and if the call goes out and schedules allow, I'll do it again. And next time I'll try to post something here in advance to get the word out to more like minded folk.

Laughs were indeed laughed.

Brother Yam and Jim K. ponder the imponderable.

Kay and Joe enjoy the first sun we've seen in weeks.

A beer/bike tableau.

I think his hair really is getting fuller and thicker.

Despite Joe and Molly's valiant attempt, Brother Yam and I won the "Cutest Couple" award. But it was a close contest.

Yam influencing the judges.

Angel, my Angel

2010-05-12T18:33:00.000-07:00

Long time readers of this blog may remember that I have a special relationship with The Angel Formerly Known as Specialized. She first came to my attention during the 2006 Tour of California, and became something of a celebrity in the cycling world in 2007. Sadly, Specialized decided not to renew her as a spokes-angel for the 2008 cycling season. I lamented this fact in January of 2008 on the blog, and surprise surprise got a comment from the angel herself, Jana Ireton:

Hello Pete,

I see my heavenly news travels fast. I wanted to personally send you kisses saying thank you for posting me on your blog these past couple of years. I'm very happy that you've haven't forgotten about me and hopefully you never will.

Many Thanks, Jana

With kisses! Clearly, this was a high water mark for this blog. But just as time heals all wounds, it also makes memories fade. And I'm sorry to say that I kind of forgot about The Angel. But apparently, she didn't forget about me. I was surprised to get another comment from Jana on last week's Duathlon post.

Hi Pete, awesome job on all your multi-sports, especially the 7K event with your wife. My dad and I just participated in the Avia Wildflower Triathlon 2wks ago.

I wanted to send you the wonderful news that I will be wearing the wings again this year for Tour of California 2010. It has been 2 years since my last appearance and I am happy to announce I have a new sponsor this year with Team Echelon as "The Angel of Echelon".

Please see press release here:
http://www.echelongranfondo.org/portland/index.html

My mission this year as protector and healer extends beyond the road race of energizing the peloton at TOC working with the Echelon beneficiary partners and spreading good will and encouragement to those who need it the most. Team Echelon is gearing up for our Gran Fondo on May 23rd this year in Napa, CA. Our fundraising partnership benefits LIVESTRONG® and local cancer institutions, Queen of Valley Hospital and the Martin O’Neil Cancer Center. Later this year in the fall on Sept. 26th, another Echelon Gran Fondo will follow in Portland, OR with the gracious assistance of professional cyclist Chris Horner serving as our ambassador. For anyone who would like to support our cause in the fight against cancer may do so at The Angel of Echelon's Team Page:
http://echelon.kintera.org/faf/search/searchTeamPart.asp?ievent=337492&team=3746060

Please look for my wings on the horizon at TOC 2010 Stages 2, 3, and 4.

Your Angel of Echelon,
Jana Ireton
(please credit all photos taken by Michael Sexton)

This can only mean one thing: Ms. Ireton is positively smitten with me. And she's gotten a snappy new outfit to impress me.

More high res photos (by Michael Sexton) of the lovely new outfit can be found here.

Hello, Sierra Nevada reps!

2010-05-11T10:26:00.001-07:00

Substitute the word "blogger" for "cartoonist" and "blog" for "comic strip" and you have my plan for free beer in a nutshell.

Sierra Nevada Beer!
Sierra Nevada Beer!
Sierra Nevada Beer!
Sierra Nevada Beer!

FYI, my mailbox is not exceedingly large, so you may want to consider UPS or FedEx. Whichever offers refridgerated delivery service.

I have multisported. Or, Just Du It.

2010-05-08T15:13:00.000-07:00

Regular readers may remember that in March I ran a 7k event with my lovely wife. What I did not mention in the post about the race was one of the conversations wife and I had while running/walking:

Wife: Oh, by the way, I signed us up for a Duathlon.
Me: A what?
Wife: A duathlon. 2 miles of running, 14 miles of biking, followed by 3 more miles of running.
Me: US??

Fast forward to last weekend, when the duathlon was upon us. Our friends Eric & Val drove down from St. Cloud Friday night so we could all hit the road bright and early Saturday morning.

On our arrival, we unloaded the bikes and walked our stuff down to the transition area. Though for me, it was more of a "stuff storage" area. I swapped out the clipless pedals the night before for an old set of platforms so I wouldn't have to change shoes. And if you don't change shoes, it's not really a true transition, is it? Here's a photo of the lovely wife in the stuff storage area modeling the shirt she got:

The race itself went much better than I expected. When it comes to running, I either have days when it's a torturous thing that I wouldn't inflict on my worst enemy, or it's something to be tolerated. I believe actual runners call those "good days." Anyway, Saturday was a "good day" for me. We more or less ran the first two miles as a group. Eric, who is always the fastest of the bunch, took off ahead around mile 1 and the rest of us made it to the stuff storage area close together.

Wife and I made great time on the first half of the out and back bike portion, thanks to a fantastic tailwind. But as all cyclists know, a fantastic tailwind on the first half of an out and back course is a terrible thing to have. Because when we turned to the "back" portion, there was Mr. Headwind. Beastly. We slogged our way the remaining 7 miles and somehow managed to stay upright, despite the 30+ mph gusts.

When we hit the final 3 miles, I somehow lost the Wife. As we headed up a small rise I noticed she was about 100 yards behind me. I slowed my pace a bit and figured she would catch me, but didn't want to stop because I wanted to take advantage of how good I was feeling. Make hay while the sun shines and all that. Now if you follow her blog, you know she's been plagued with more injuries over the last 2 years than anybody should have to put up with. And she was taking it easy, so she never did actually catch me.

I had told myself I would run to the turn around point (1.5 miles) and could take a walk break if I was feeling crappy, or could switch to a walk run plan if needed. After turning around I started walking for probably 1/4 of a mile. At this point, a tiny little woman passed me. Reading the race results later I found she was 50 years old. She was running a casual pace and I thought "I can do that." So I tucked in behind her, and every time I wanted to stop I thought "She's not stopping" and kept running.

My final time was just over 2 hours, which I was extremely happy with. I finished faster than the Wife, and it may be the only time I can ever say that. Not that it bothers me that she's a better runner than I am. Far from it. I know that the only reason I finished ahead of her was her Achilles tendon and luck. And I'm OK with that.

Friday and Friday

2010-04-20T19:20:00.001-07:00

Last Friday I took the River Road home for the first time in probably a year. In the time of my absence, the city of Minneapolis repaved the crappy biking/walking path and it's now like buttah. Seriously, it was a great ride. They not only repaved the blocktop, but redid almost all of the curb cuts so they are smooth transitions. It makes a huge difference, and makes me want to take that alternate route a little more frequently. Get out there and enjoy it now before the paths are overrun by people who can't walk in a straight line while pushing a stroller, talking on the cell phone, drinking from a plastic bottle of water and walking their dog on the 30 foot retract-o-leash completely take over.

The weather has been so nice this week, it might be time to declare "stop for a beer at Sea Salt" season open. I'm tentatively thinking Friday the 23rd would be an excellent time to start what could, ideally, be a monthly event. My commute puts me in the neighborhood roughly between 4:30 and 5. If I get any interested parties, I can narrow it down further.

Little help from my friends?

2010-03-25T11:50:00.001-07:00

So today at work, the fluorescent light in the bathroom is flickering like mad. I thought to myself, more than once, this is like peeing in a disco. And a couple repeats the word disco dredged up memories of "Me Lost Me Cookie at the Disco", which I sadly discovered in my early 20s. I had a friend in my college/no-college period who loved it to death and introduced me to it. I'm pretty sure it was included on a super-Boss mix tape made for my infamous "Help me, I'm naked!" 23rd birthday party.

So, here's where I need the help.

1. Who was this friend who introduced me to Sesame Street disco?

2. What other songs were on the super-Boss mix tape? In addition to the aformentioned disco song, I believe it also had Copacabana and Electric Avenue on it. Super. Boss.

3. Bonus question: Who made the super-Boss mix tape?

Put your Thinking Toques on!

Got Lucky

2010-03-21T10:06:00.000-07:00

Me on the Broadway bridge, Mississippi in the background.

Wife and I ran the Get Lucky 7k event yesterday. Or more accurately, we participated. She's had a rough 6 weeks or so with illness and whatnot. And me, I'm just slow. It was nice for me to have her hobbled, since that meant I could keep up with her. Though she did manage to beat me in the official timed results by one second. It was a nice event, well planned and an enjoyable route. We started at Mill Ruins park, ran on the River Road to the Broadway St. bridge and then came back on the other side of the river via St. Anthony Main to finish on the Stone Arch Bridge. I was extremely tempted to stop at the Astor Cafe for an egg and cheese sandwich, but pressed on.

After the race we made our way over to the new Kieran's location in Block E and braved the crowds for our free pint of Finnegan's. The Block E location was nice, and we actually enjoyed 3 Finnegan's between us, thanks to a non-beer drinking runner who gave us her free beer coupon. Then, thanks to the wife's ingenuity, we discovered there was an unadvertised buffet in the back room. After scarfing some more yummy carbs we hopped the train back home.

I spent the remainder of the day horizontal on the the couch in front of Final 5 hockey. It was an enjoyable day, even though The Sioux goons took the Broadmoor.

Studs off

2010-03-08T05:56:00.001-08:00

Over the weekend I pulled the Kuwahara off the bike hooks in the garage and knocked the dust off of it. Pumped up the tires, replaced the saddle I'd robbed earlier this winter, and gave it a quick once over. Thanks to a super craigslist deal I picked up another B17 this winter, so now I can have Brooks on the Kuwahara and the winter commuter. Hopefully this will reduce the amount of saddle swapping I do.

Out of curiousity I checked my records to see when I have stopped riding the studded tire bike in past years. I've been using Google Documents to track my bike mileage since 2006. In 2006 I transposed some of my mileage from the spiral bound notebook I'd been using, but I didn't have a bike associated with those miles. So 2007 is the first year I can accurately say when I stopped riding the studded commuter.

2007 - Last ride was on March 9

2008 - Last ride was on April 1

2009 - Last ride was on March 11

So it's not my imagination, it's getting to be about that time. I rode the studded bike today just to get the lay of the land, but after the warm weekend and the fact that it never dropped below freezing last night, the Kuwahara could be getting the nod sooner rather than later. Of course, we've got hockey tourney blizzards coming up, so I won't pack the studs too far away.

March Madness

2010-03-06T09:12:00.000-08:00

It's been above freezing here in MN nearly every day for the last two weeks. Maybe longer, I haven't kept official records. The snow and ice are melting and people are losing their heads. Lots of chatter about removing the studded tires. Brother Yam said it best, "There's the whole month of March ahead, capiche? A little sunlight, a little thawing and you lose your head? Keep your sh*t together! It ain't over yet, not by a damn sight."

Personally, I have a winter bike that has studs on it year round. Once the weather warms, I just stop riding it. But I admit, these warm days have me pondering taking another ride to work. There's three or four trouble spots on my commute that still (in my opinion) require studs, but most of my route is down to bare pavement. So I ponder, is it worth it to stop and walk those few spots, and ride stud-free the remaining portion? It's kind of like boots and a heavy winter jacket. Once you stop wearing them, it's hard to go back even if conditions warrant it again.

I only rode to work one day this past week, but I picked a good day for it. Tuesday on the way home from work I ran into The Clown Prince of Mpls Cycling and the Mrs. coming out of Freewheel on the Greenway. Stopped and chatted for a minute. They were out marking the one year anniversary of Ray's early release from the service of the City of Richfield by pumping some money into the local bike shop economy. It's good knowing he's out there, taking her easy for all us sinners.

Pizza the Hutt

2010-02-28T12:24:00.000-08:00

I started the weekend out by meeting a long time friend for a couple of beers, pizza and Gopher Hockey. We had a nice time catching up and watching the Gophers skate to a win. A rarity this season for them. Then Saturday morning the clan all headed north for a birthday party. Our very favorite niece/cousin Brooke was turning 2 and we wanted to celebrate all things Elmo with her. We had lunch with the party, and again I had pizza, along with various other goodies. Saturday afternoon spooled into Saturday night, and the good wife suggested getting a take and bake for dinner. I thought, Cool. Then for brunch today, I had a slice of leftover pizza. And I wonder why the Wii tells me I'm over my ideal weight.

I'm gonna Get Lucky!

2010-02-17T13:29:00.001-08:00

To prove that "stupid is as stupid does", I just signed up for another footrace. Or since my wife talked me into it, perhaps a better saying is "man has will, but woman has her way." There's probably truth in both, but I still think the first is more appropriate. Of course, "After the Olympics, everything looks so damned easy."

In the last year I've signed up for three different 5k events. The first, I never even started because of a knee issue during training. Admittedly it was day late and a dollar short training, but still not an auspicious start. The second I finished in about 37 minutes. Slow but steady, and only a couple of walk breaks. After the second event I stopped running. Then, the 3rd event was sprung on me with only a day or two notice. I ran an out and back for that one. I ran about 90% of the out and probably 60% of the back. So the glass half full person would say, "Well look, you're improving!" And maybe so. But the glass half empty sort would say that it doesn't seem to make a lot of sense signing up for a 7k (that's 29% more!) when it's been a struggle to finish a 5k.

So why did I sign up? Beats me. But the fact that there's a free beer at Kieran's at the end didn't hurt. Because when you come down to it, I'm not a glass half empty or glass half full kind of guy. I'm a glass full of beer kind of guy.

Overdue

2010-02-11T10:06:00.001-08:00

As the winter drags on MN has been getting more and more snow. Though the wing is back to about 95% I've chosen to not ride across the dreaded Mendota Bridge until it's been plowed. That makes today the second time in the last two weeks that I've ridden my bike to work. There was a noticeable improvement in today's ride because I finally replaced the bolt on my Brooks B67 and transferred it to the winter bike. The old pleather Raleigh saddle I had been using wasn't the most uncomfortable saddle in the world. But I believe it knows the most uncomfortable saddle in the world. I'm sure they have been out for drinks together and see eye to eye on many points.

Regardless of what Punxatawny Phil said, now that I have done this basic upgrade to the winter bike, spring should be right around the corner.

Racers Wanted

2010-01-30T21:04:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow the good wife and I will be participating in the First Annual 'Why the *!%*!" do I live in MN-Saunders 5K'. I'll be participating on foot, against my wishes. So feel free to join us. There's a whole half a weekend still left. Run, walk, ride your bike, it's all good. And if you participate, let me know. I'll expect Race Reports. "I did it." will be good enough.

Back in a saddle

2010-01-14T06:23:00.001-08:00

I know, the phrase is "Back in the saddle" not "Back in a saddle" but it seems more appropriate this way. I've ridden my bike three days this week. Normally I move my Brooks B67 from my Kuwahara to my winter bike once it becomes studded snow tire season. I love my Brooks, but they are pricey enough that I can't afford to outfit the entire fleet with them. So I have a B17 and a B67 and I move them around, based on what bike I'm riding a lot at the time. But I haven't moved the B67 to the winter bike because at some point in the last 3 months one of the bolts connecting the springs to the frame of the saddle fell off. I stopped in at HCWHQ Tuesday and Jim gave me a bolt that may do the trick. I'll probably give it a whirl this weekend.

I've been riding to the LRT stop at Ft Snelling, which is a route I probably haven't taken in a good 9 months. It's amazing how many things come back almost unconsciously, like remembering certain potholes and which intersections are scary (like the off-ramp for 94 that basically dumps into a residential neighborhood). But it's also surprising how much has changed. Monday morning was the first day the platform extension at Ft Snelling was open, so the train stops at a different point. Screws up my normal positioning for a clean shot at the bike rack. Monday afternoon I left work and headed for the Warehouse District stop. I normally go there rather than Government Plaza because it's the first/last stop on the line. That means there are very few people on the train that I need to fight past to get to the bike rack. I headed over to Hennepin and realized, hey, there's no bike lanes on Hennepin any more! Marq2! Had to backtrack to Nicollet. Then once I got to the Warhouse District I realized it's no longer the last stop on the line. Target Field! Northstar Line! But Tuesday I was already adapting to the changes and by next week, assuming I keep riding, it will probably seem like it's always been that way.

Brrr

2010-01-04T16:56:00.000-08:00

I managed to get a chilly 8 miles in on Sunday afternoon. Temps were a balmy 9 degrees F when I left the house. I rode up to Fort Snelling, mainly to see what condition the Mendota Bridge was in. Most years, I would give it a B-/C+ as it was hard packed and rideable but not smooth by any means. But this year with the dumping of snow we got, followed immediately by 33 degree temps and rain, I'll give MN/DOT an A for effort. The ice is still all over the roads in my neighborhood, and that's with cars driving it every day.

I enjoyed the ride quite a bit. But it left me wondering if I need to explore some new handlebar options. Over the last few years, I've put Albatross/North Road style bars on several of my bikes, including my primary summer and winter commuters. An hour of riding (that's right, 8 miles in an hour) had my left wrist reminding me that it's not fully recovered. I tried switching hand positions, but on the Albatross style bars anything other than the ends of the bar is really a kludge of a hand position. I've heard many good things about the Titec H-bars, though they seem a bit on the pricey side. I've also talked to a few people who seem to like the On One "M" bars (Mary, Midge and Mungo). However, the On One bars don't seem to be out there in internet world. Makes me wonder if they're discontinued? I also wonder if any will work with the bar end shifter I'm currently using to run the Sturmey hub in my rear winter wheel? In that regard, Origin-8 has a Gary bar that claims to work with bar ends and also is comparable to the Midge. Time to ponder.

I didn't ride in to work today, because it was too darn cold. And I think I need to ease back into riding. I also think there's a reason why most people don't start riding in January. They either go through the fall season, acclimating, or they take the entire winter season off.

May the god of your choice bless you

2009-12-22T17:12:00.000-08:00

I know, I know. The blog is on life support, like the oboe it's barely breathing. But when there's a bike themed blog and the author isn't biking much, that's pretty much what happens. I've been doing some running these days, trying to keep the Dunlop Disease from becoming too much. Ran my first 5k on December 12. I was happy to finish, as I hadn't run that distance before the event. Managed to snag the coveted "last in my age division" while I was there. DFL!

As for the bike, I've given myself permission to bag it until spring. And of course, since I gave myself that permission I've been kind of wanting to get out. I was thinking about the HC Christmas Day ride. But with the Storm of the Century bearing down right then, it may not come to pass.

Anyhow, I wanted to give a quick holiday greeting to any readers still out there. At our house, the Three Wise Men go for a ride in the Gravy Boat Sleigh. However you plan to celebrate, spend some time with friends and family.

Hadron Collider

2009-11-21T07:09:00.000-08:00

Ever wonder how scientists get around in the Large Hadron Collider? The LHC is a 17 mile underground tunnel in Switzerland where scientists are planning on smacking atoms into one another, with a very low risk of creating black holes here on earth. This picture shows that they rely, at least in part, on the humble bicycle. Pretty cool.

This picture is from a series on Boston.com's The Big Picture, an always wonderful photo blog. Check it out.

Rain rain, go away

2009-11-13T07:06:00.001-08:00

Today: A chance of drizzle between noon and 3pm, then a chance of rain after 3pm. Cloudy, with a high near 53. Southeast wind between 3 and 11 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%.

Whoops. Shouldn't have ridden the fenderless fixie today, I guess. But I didn't have a ton of choice, as the rain commuter of choice is missing a bolt on the B67. It's the bolt that connects one of the springs to the lower support rod, and it gives the saddle a lopsided feel. I noticed it on Wednesday, but haven't had time to do anything about it. I wonder if there's a special Brooks bolt I need, or if any old nut/bolt combo will work.

If you give a man a fish

2009-11-09T12:20:00.001-08:00

It's said that if you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day.

If you teach a man to fish, you feed him for a lifetime.

But if you give a man a fishing pole, tackle box, instruct them on how to use all the equipment, show them a good spot to fish and they're too lazy or stupid to pick up the pole don't they deserve to starve to death? Just maybe?

Wheel desks

2009-11-05T20:23:00.001-08:00

Makes me wonder how many nitwits will try using this when they're driving...

Velocipede? That sounds vaguely familiar...

2009-10-21T18:42:00.001-07:00

marriedtothesea.com
Another Married to the Sea winner.

Fashionista

2009-10-19T07:39:00.000-07:00

Rachael Ray says it's OK for men to wear scarves as a fashion accessory.

Cyclist Appreciation

2009-10-09T16:23:00.000-07:00

From the always excellent Married to the Sea comic.

Zappa plays the bicycle

2009-10-07T16:06:00.000-07:00

I fully expect that after Jim views this video, my next visit to South Minneapolis will include a trip to Hiawatha Cyclery and Musical Instruments.

Ticket to Ride

2009-09-25T14:56:00.000-07:00

I visited the doctor yesterday afternoon and was pronounced Healed! Or mostly, anyhow. The Doc said it will probably take another 6 months to get full strength and flexibility back. But I've been officially cleared for any and all activities, including cycling. I find that my hand feels good for most day to day activities, but it still twinges and is painful when doing activities involving heavy lifting or sharp impacts. I wrote last August about not wearing cycling gloves, but a short ride on Tuesday reminded me of how much one's hands act as shock absorbers when riding. So I paid the boys at Hiawatha a visit this afternoon and purchased a new set of cycling gloves. First pair of gloves I've purchased since October 2005 in Sausalito. Now that I've got padding for my hands, it's time to start losing some of the padding I've accumulated around my middle...

Remembering 9/11

2009-09-11T12:35:00.001-07:00

This made me cry today.

Testing the Waters

2009-09-06T15:33:00.000-07:00

I spent some quality time in the garage this afternoon, aimlessly moving things from one place to another without really accomplishing much. I did dust off a couple of bikes I hadn't touched for quite some time and reacquainted myself with them. One, my Schwinn Premis, has really been neglected these past several years. I bought this bike from an employee of Twin City Outboard while I was looking for parts for my ancient Johnson Sea Horse in about 2002. A little off topic here, but that's a great shop if you are a boat nut. They've got everything.

Anyway, the Premis was quite a step up from the Raleigh Eclipse I had been commuting on. Light and fast, this was the first true "go fast" bike I'd ever owned. While I think it's just a hair too tall for me (about 25" frame), I rode it for several years and it treated me very well. But as I became more of a commuter, the bike's lack of any cargo carrying or ability to fit fenders became more and more of a liability.

After I got my Jamis, the Premis became superfluous and hung in the garage full time. It deserves to be ridden. It's a great bike. I kept it around for a while thinking it would make a good fixie conversion. But the white components which scream 80s (along with the fade paint job) are still such a nice matched set I never had the heart to tear the bike apart. White components include: Dia-Compe Aero-Compe Brakes, Sakae cranks, Suntour Cyclone shifters and derailleurs.

I upgraded the handlebars to a set of Modolos with an anatomic bend that are wider than the original bars, but kept the white on white bar tape to match the hoods.

I also replaced the rear freewheel with a Shimano one after the original self destructed.

So if you're a taller fellow who is in the need of a classic steel ride, let me know. I want it to go to a good home.

Getting better all the time

2009-09-02T19:10:00.000-07:00

The kids were away at Spanish Camp last week. When they returned, one brought home a virus and the other brought home tales of a crush on a young lad named Ethan. I wasn't super excited about either, but now that I've caught the bug and feel like crap, I can for certain say that's the greater of the two evils.

Saw the hand guy last week, surgery is not in my immediate future. I have a follow up for 30 days out, but he was optimistic about the signs of healing noted in my CT scan and newest x-ray. He did note that the break was all the way across the bone, not just the little chip I'd initially highlighted. I'm too lazy to go back and retouch the x-rays I posted earlier. You'll have to use your imagination.

I'll leave you with this gem:

The ride continues

2009-08-21T15:49:00.001-07:00

Quick update:

I went and saw The Hand Guy this morning. Quick in, quick out, no real resolution. He looked at the x-rays and feels the bone is definitely broken. He was non-committal about it, but I got the feeling he felt the break was more severe than the previous doctor had. Options, they are three:

1. Do nothing. Advantages: free, easy. Disadvantages: Potential for decreased mobility of joint, strong possibility of severe arthritis in 10-15 years.

2. Cast, for up to 12 more weeks. Advantages: Cheap, not too invasive. Disadvantages: 12 freaking weeks in a cast? Kill me now. Oh, and it may not actually accomplish anything.

3. Surgery. Advantages: Probably the best prognosis for full recovery. Disadvantages: Well, it's surgery. Never a fun or risk free proposition.

He sent me away with orders to get a CT scan and chew on my options. I managed to get the CT scan taken care of this afternoon. I scheduled a follow up with The Hand Guy for Thursday the 26th. Once we can look at some higher resolution images of the break, we'll choose a plan and run with it.

Every picture tells a story, don't it

2009-08-19T18:41:00.000-07:00

I managed to talk my clinic into giving me copies of my x-rays on disc yesterday. Something like this "normally takes two to three days" I was told, but they grudgingly did it. In the first picture I outlined the broken piece of bone in red, and circled the area in yellow. In subsequent pics, the area is outlined in yellow only. So here's a picture of the original x-ray, taken back on July 2, about 10 days after my fall (click to embiggen).

And the same picture without the red, so the gap is more visible. This is the x-ray that the radiologist said was not a fracture.

Then we have the x-ray from two weeks later, on July 21. Pretty much the same from this angle.

This one shows a strange bump than neither my doc or I remarked on.

At this point I was put in a cast, because both doc and radiologist agreed it was a non-displaced fracture. After 4 weeks in the case, I had a third set of x-rays taken, on 8/19. Now I'm no doctor or radiologist, but it doesn't look like anything has changed. This is the shot that made my doctor say, "That looks like a non-union." and refer me to the hand guy.

I was showing these pictures to my daughters tonight, and Morgan said, "Dad, that's a pretty small piece of bone that's broken off. Do you need that?" And I thought, probably not. I'm sure the hand guy will totally agree.

Well ain't that a kick in the niblets?

2009-08-18T11:16:00.001-07:00

2009 is shaping up to be the summer that never was. It was 59 this morning when I got up. 59 in the dog days of August! People will be wearing long pants and sweatshirts at the State Fair at this rate. It's also been the summer of no fun for me on a personal level. I started the spring with a lovely case of bursitis in my knee, which hampered my ability to walk around and, to a lesser extent, bike. After multiple physical therapy sessions I started to get back on the bike, only to fall and break one of the bones in my hand, the scaphoid bone. Long time readers are already bored with this story arc.

So, fast forward a bit. Broke the bone in June, got a splint in early July, got a cast in mid July, and they took the cast off this morning. Getting the cast off was more fantastic than I could believe. I'm still thrilled with the simple act of washing my hands. But it's not all peaches and cream just yet. We looked at the newest xrays, and I was surprised at how visible the break was. So was the doc. So long story just a little bit longer, I have an appointment with a hand specialist on Friday. My doc said it looks like a non union (nothing to do with Jimmy Hoffa), but he wasn't sure.

So, best case scenario is the hand guy says "No big deal, it's a small piece of bone, don't worry about it." Worst case scenario is hand surgery, pin or screw, and maybe even a bone graft! Nothing I can do about it one way or the other, so for now I'm going to chill, enjoy being able to type with two hands, and see what Friday brings.

This has been another installation of The Pete's Medical Woes Blog. Thanks for your patronage, and enjoy the near perfect riding weather we're having!

R.I.P. Les Paul

2009-08-13T10:03:00.001-07:00

Les Paul was the inventor of the electric guitar and while that is what he will be remembered for, he may have made a larger contribution to rock and roll by developing multitrack recording. Prior to multitrack, all the artists had to perform at the same time, singing into a can, and what you heard was what you got. Les changed all that. Multitrack allows the drums to be recorded, then the guitar, then maybe the singer. If the singer screws up but the guitarist was hot, just re-record the singer and pair that track with the hot guitar track. Bands didn't even need to record on the same day or in the same studio. And you could overdub, taking one part and making it sound like "three, six, nine, 12, as many voices as I wished," according to Les. He finished that thought with one of the biggest understatements of all time: "This is quite an asset."

Les Paul was 94 when he died. He had 36 gold records and 11 number one hits between 1949 and 1962. He won a grammy award when he was 90. R.I.P., Mr. Paul.

Merchandize that corpse

2009-08-04T18:46:00.001-07:00

I saw an ad today for authentic Michael Jackson lithographs on TV in the breakroom at work today. I guess this will be the Michael Jackson generation's version of the Velvet Elvis. I wonder how log it will take before guys are selling these out of a van in the K-Mart parking lot.

the big picture

2009-07-24T10:19:00.001-07:00

If you don't follow The Big Picture, you should. This edition is cycling focused, but they have consistently high quality photos on nearly every topic under the sun. A few comments on specific photos below:

#4 - Egoi's got helmet hair!

#14 - a person's wrist isn't supposed to curve that way

#20 - great shot!

#25 - the devil has quite a vertical leap!

#27 and 32 - I never get tired of the overwhelming joy on stage winners' faces

But all in all, a great set.

--
__o
_ -\ <, _
( * ) / ( * )
~~~~~~~

That's a bummer, man

2009-07-21T14:21:00.000-07:00

We spent a fair amount of time this past weekend hanging out with other people's parents. Saturday night we had dinner with friends Joel and Alana and Nancy's brother. Joel and I were college roommates, so I had met his folks before. But it's been a number of years since college and it was nice to get to see them again. Then on Sunday we drove up to St. Cloud for a 50th anniversary celebration. The couple celebrating are the parents-in-law of a high school friend of mine, Eric. We went up not as guests but to help with party prep and other tasks. But when the host and hostess are super organized people, and the meal is a fully catered pig roast, there's not a lot to do. Nancy did get some nice family photos, and it was nice to see both Val and Eric's folks. Eric's mom was mt 4th grade teacher.

But the entire weekend was pretty light on the physical activity, and with my time off for the wrist injury I was feeling a little antsy. So I took the lime Suburban out for a short 10 mile ramble just to see how things were feeling. After the first few miles I started feeling each bump a little bit more in the wrist than the previous one. So I probably rode 6 of the remaining 8 or so miles with my injured hand resting on my leg. But it was awfully nice to get out.

I had my follow-up appointment with the doc this morning. New x-rays confirmed that it truly is a fracture, and after a quick consult with the radiologist the doc wrapped my arm in fiberglass. I chose green, to match the Schwinn I'd most recently ridden and probably won't ride again for a while.

Embedding disabled by request

2009-07-14T15:43:00.000-07:00

Happy Bastille Day!

It's rough out there

2009-07-07T18:40:00.000-07:00

These days it seems like the entire household is banged up. The kids have had skinned knees and elbows since the weather got warm (nothing more serious recently, thank goodness). The Mrs. has been fighting a nasty case of plantar fasciitis for the last couple of months. I broke a bone in my hand. And the dog even got into the act by somehow ripping his dewclaw off.

I talked with my doc, and he says I just cracked the bone and doesn't think a hard cast is needed. So I'm wearing this brace and will have to get it x-rayed again in two weeks.

At least I don't have to wear a cone.

In which you are invited to say 'I told you so'

2009-07-02T11:54:00.001-07:00

I had both a dentist and a doctor appointment today. Such is the fun of being 40. The dental checkup went well. The hygenist and I had our semi-annual banter:

Her: How often are you flossing?

Me: Not as often as I should be.

Both: (forced) Ha ha!

It's shameless how we flirt.

Then I got bad news at the doctors office: I've gained 7 pounds since last year! It's possible it has something to do with my markedly decreased mileage this year. Here at the midway point of 2009, I'm just barely over 1100 miles. This time last year, I was just over 2,000. Hmmm, decreased mileage equals weight gain? Perhaps.

Oh, and the doc mentioned something about a broken wrist. Gave me a splint, and might give me a cast next week. He's a good man, and thorough. Summer bummer!

Sigh

2009-06-25T12:40:00.001-07:00

Life in the corporate world:

We had a meeting today, and somebody used the term "vernacular." Somebody else said "I don't know what that means." So, in an effort to call out the closet Lebowski fans, I said it means "the parlance of our times." Nobody laughed.

Biker beers

2009-06-25T10:48:00.001-07:00

Every so often, Bicycling Magazine sends me an email. And every so often, I actually read it. Their most recent email had a subject line that pretty much ensured I would:

The Best Beers for Bicyclists

I thought perhaps it would be beers with lots of B12 or some other chemical that will aid cyclists in recovery, or some such nonsense. But it was just a straightforward slideshow of 12 different beers that were either inspired by cycling or were named for cycling. I hadn't heard of many of these beers, so I may need to go search them out. You should too.

After a Fall

2009-06-21T17:21:00.000-07:00

About 15 years ago I bought my wife an audio recording of several Garrison Keillor short stories, recorded by the man himself. One was titled "After a Fall" and discussed what happens after you fall down:

"When you happen to step off an edge you didn't see and lurch forward into space waving you arms, it's the end of the world for a second or two, and after you do land, even if you know you're OK and no bones are broken, it may take a few seconds to decide whether this is funny or not."

Nancy and I went for a ride on Saturday, and I fell off my bike. First time I've fallen since the Hiawatha Pub Crawl. After those few seconds, I decided this was funny. We were riding through Crosby Farm in St. Paul and ended up on the wetland trail. This is a boardwalk that allows you to travel across the marshland. As we approached the end of this section of trail, the boardwalk angled up, sharply. I slowed down some and headed up. And of course, on the other side was a drop of at least a foot that I totally wasn't expecting. The front tire made the drop, and for a brief second I thought I was going to make it. But then my pedal caught on the peak of the boardwalk and I pitched over sideways. Nancy was behind me and said I fell very gracefully. I have a couple of red spots on my left palm, but didn't even break the skin. Nice! We finished out the last 5 miles of the ride, but my wrist was sore.

Later that day, I noticed that it is nicely swollen. And today, well over 24 hours later, it's still nicely swollen. But all in all, a funny experience. Even if my wrist might disagree.

A right, or a privilege?

2009-06-11T10:30:00.001-07:00

Bob Mionski wrote a book a few years ago called Cycling and the Law. I haven't read this book but I have wanted to. I learned today that he also writes a blog for Bicycling magazine. His most recent post discusses whether cycling is a basic right, or a privilege. I have always been told that driving is a privilege, and assumed that cycling was the same. But Bob mentions something called the "right to travel" that I was unfamiliar with. I won't try to summarize it here, because the post does a very good job of explaining things. The end result is that I learned a fair amount of the history of both motor and cycling law. Is cycling a right? I think that could be argued either way. And as Bob points out, if we cyclists keep riding like jerks, it may be.

Is cycling a right or a privilege?

Madsen

2009-06-09T09:51:00.000-07:00

More bike lanes

2009-06-08T19:32:00.001-07:00

I received this from the City of Minneapolis a while back, and it's been languishing in my in-box.

Bicycling Update Subscribers,

On Wednesday, June 10th, Minneapolis Public Works will host a public meeting (pdf) to present the draft proposal for new bicycle lanes on 4 street segments:

* 10th Avenue SE – Como to University Avenue (pdf)
* 19th Avenue S – University to Riverside Avenue (pdf)
* 20th Avenue S – Riverside to Minnehaha Avenue (pdf)
* Minnehaha Avenue – 20th Avenue to 31st Street (see pdf above)

The meeting will be held at 6:00 pm in Room 114 of the Oren Gateway Center at Augsburg College. A bicycle ride will also take place before the meeting at 5:15 pm to tour the proposed bike lanes. Meet at the old North Country Co-op and bring a bicycle.

For more information about the project, including project summaries and opportunities for online feedback, visit the Bicycle Operations project website.

Happy Riding,

City of Minneapolis Bicycle Program

So get thee to the meeting on Wednesday. The Pro-Parking League usually shows up in force for these types of things, so the cyclists need to balance things out.

The Big 40

2009-06-07T18:53:00.000-07:00

Last week I turned 40 years old, Thursday to be precise. I'd thought about how to celebrate this for a while, and decided I wanted to have a party. So, have a party we did. I don't often consider myself a popular person, as most of the time I'm an introvert and don't easily insert myself into social situations. Yet ironically, I love gatherings. But I certainly felt quite popular on Saturday and was extremely pleased to be surrounded by friends and family who came from both near and also much farther than I ever would have imagined. We had a great time, spun yarns about the old days, caught up on what is happening in the current, stayed up too late and enjoyed each other's company. I'm not completely deluding myself, free food and beer is a big draw, but it was great to see every single person there even if I didn't get a chance to chat with half of you as much as I would have liked, and talked to less than half of you twice as much as you deserved. A big heartfelt thanks to everybody who came out and made this a great party!

Stillwater Marathon

2009-05-25T09:14:00.000-07:00

We went to Stillwater on Saturday for the first Stillwater Marathon.

The gang at The Mad Capper in Stillwater sure knows how to make a guy feel welcome.

2009 3 Speed Tour

2009-05-21T18:41:00.000-07:00

Another 3 Speed Tour is in the books. And from my vantage point, it was one for the ages. Don't get me wrong, we had a great time last year. Lots of fun and interesting people, taking in the shops and the desserts and the pie and the ride. It was all so new, and there was a sense of discovery that can't be beat. But at the same time, Nancy wasn't feeling well and hadn't been for several months. I know it was a struggle for her at times to keep up, and even to stay on the bike. In retrospect, she was a lot sicker than I realized at the time. So I have some mixed emotions looking back, knowing that while she did have fun she was suffering as well.

Fast forward a year, and what a difference. Health wise, Nancy has been doing great. And the tour, while still the same, had a very different undercurrent for me. It was much more fun knowing that she was not just dragging along, but truly enjoying herself in all aspects. The route of the tour was familiar and comforting, but we still managed to find some newness to get that sense of adventure. We also stayed at a new hotel, The Bridgewaters, which was wonderful. We got to see some familiar faces from last year and some friends from the area, plus get to know new folks. What could be better that to hang out with a bunch of people who share your same brand of crazy?

Nancy has already blogged about most of our trip, and has shamelessly stolen the cream of the photo crop (from her camera and mine, the scoundrel!). So if you want a first rate recap of the tour, check out her blog post. Below are some additional photos that she didn't already use, with my comments.

Consider the lilies of the goddamn field!

The woman who rode this bike really does have a foot issue, and every time we dismounted (or at least, when I saw her) she took her shoe off and put this boot on. Pretty amazing that she could do the tour at all.

One of the better pictures of my bike. Last year we tried to go authentic, with original cheap Brooks saddle, vintage rack and a wicker basket to carry our belongings. It was cute, but not super functional. Toward the tail end of last year's tour my bike started to make a horrible grinding noise and had sprayed gear lube all over the rear rim. I was terrified that something within the Sturmey Archer hub was about to fail and leave us 10-15 miles outside of Red Wing. I gutted it out and more or less white knuckled it back in to town, thinking the whole rig was going to come apart. Later, when I got home I realized that the rack's attachment point had come loose and lodged itself into the rear brake. The brake was askew and rubbing against the rim. The gear lube was just incidental. So this year I used a modern seat post mount rack with modern panniers. I also swapped out the crappy old Brooks for my nice one. I also added a frame pump, since I'm pretty sure we went through last year's tour without.

After our hike-a-bike adventure in Maiden Rock. This pic is easily within my top 5 favorites of all the pictures we took this year. No idea why Nancy didn't poach it.

Isn't she cute?

The oldest bicycle on the tour, 94 years old.

A super fun trinket I got from Sallie Gurth, a beer mug valve stem cover! Sallie makes these, and she and her husband Ron have a website where they sell them along with other bike themed jewelry. So here's a shameless plug. Go visit them at Velo Amore' and buy some stuff!

It's a Robin Hood sandwich! Several of us were noting the particular shade of red our bikes shared. So we put two Robin Hoods on the outside and the Dunelt in the middle for a photo op.

Nancy looking fabulous from behind, with her scarf flapping in the breeze.

That pretty much sums it up. We will definitely be back next year, unless the popularity overtakes us and we don't get registered before the cutoff!

Bike to Work day

2009-05-14T19:25:00.000-07:00

Once again I set out on Bike to Work day to lead a rag tag group of cyclists through the mean streets of Minneapolis. Our goal: The downtown Bike to Work day celebration. I arrived at the park on time (last year I was the last one there) and waited. I snapped a few pictures while I waited.

Pretty soon, Kevin showed up. After that, nobody else showed up. This was the smallest group I've ever led. Which is ironic, because I think there are more bikes out on the streets this spring than there have been in the last several springs. After we realized nobody else was coming, we headed out. Made a pit stop at The Reuse Center where they had quite an impressive breakfast buffet going on.

We saw M.A. Rosko outside, but not while she was interviewing the Mayor. After our brief stop we headed to the Greenway to battle the fierce headwinds all the way to the Government Center. Once there, I availed myself of some free coffee and inadvertently got nabbed on film (pixels?) while doing so.

The crowd at the downtown celebration was thinner than in past years too. I think the chilly temp and blustery wind kept a lot of folks away. I managed to snag a new Civia water bottle with some Park Tire Irons inside and also a Bängo Brothers pocket messenger bag in addition to the previously mentioned coffee. A pretty good way to start the work day. Too bad I can't convince my boss to let me hang out, drink coffee and schmooze with other bikers for an hour and a half every time I bike to work.

Bike to work, dammit!

2009-05-12T19:07:00.001-07:00

Once again, it is bike to work week here in MN. And once again, I'll be leading a group of cyclists from Minnehaha Park to Downtown Minneapolis on Bike to Work day. This is my fifth year leading this group, and it might be on it's fourth name. Commuter Convoy is the only old one I can remember, but I'm sure there were more. This year they're calling it a "Bike Bus" which is a silly name, but that's just my opinion. The details are pretty much the same, with some minor variations:

The biggest difference this year is the organizers want us to do a "bus stop" where we stop, midroute, and pick up additional bikers. I decided to keep this minimal, since I don't think we'll pick many, if any, people up. The last few years there have been less than 7 people on this route, and often several of them aren't biking to work but just joined to have an excuse to ride (Hi Jim and Kevin!). So my idea was to stop at the Green Institute. Last year, they were rumored to have the best food of all the Bike to Work celebrations, and I've always meant to stop and check them out.

So with that in mind, we'll convene at Minnehaha Park between the Falls and the Sea Salt restauraunt/shelter. I plan to be there around 6:30-6:40. Leaving at 6:45 should put us at the Green Institute around 7:15 or so. We'll take a temperature check with the riders to see if we want to make it a quick stop or linger a bit. If we don't linger we should be downtown around 7:30 or so, depending on red lights and the overall speed of the group. If we do stop, it could be closer to 8.

A couple of quick points:

If you haven't already, register: www.bikewalkweek.org It sounds as if you will need a printed copy of your registration to be eligible for certain prizes. So if you're into that kind of thing, register.
If you forget to register, they will have forms to fill out downtown. But it's a hassle, and everything's more fun to do on the web. And, as of this writing, my picture is still on the website.
Um, I can't think of anything else. Oh, wait, the date! It's this Thursday, May 14! See you then!

Quite a weekend

2009-05-11T11:27:00.001-07:00

We had a lovely spring weekend here in Eagan. Friday night was rainy and we hunkered down in the basement with the girls, watching "Close Encounters of the Third Kind." I thought it held up very well over the years, and enjoyed it as did the kids. Nancy was a little disgruntled by the ending. But, you can't please everybody and in our house 3 out of 4 isn't bad. Saturday morning was coffee, computer and futzing around the house until I was sufficiently caffinated and then housecleaning began. As I cleaned I kept a weather eye out the window because it looked like rain. When the house was presentable I decided to risk it and mow the lawn. Normally decisions like that cause the rain to hit right when the half mowed lawn is at it's weirdest stage, but I was lucky and actually finished mowing with more sun than I'd began.

I cleaned myself up and cooked some bacon and sausage for an egg back for Sunday brunch. Then after dinner we headed over to the neighbors' house for a little backyard fire. We've lived there for 5 years and have always gotten along fine with the neighbors across the street. A couple of times a summer one of us will say "We should get together for cocktails" but nothing ever comes of it. So last week when that phrase rolled around I took decisive action and said, "Let's do it this weekend!" We did, and had a good time. Marshmallows were roasted, s'mores were eaten, adult beverages were consumed. They put their kids down to bed, and I walked back to our house with ours. While our kids got into jammies I popped them some popcorn and they picked out a DVD. I told them that when the movie was over they should go to bed if we weren't home. And a good thing too, since we weren't. We were all shocked and horrified to realize it was 2am and we were still around the fire.

Sunday morning the dogs woke me around 7am. I let them out, fed them and went back to bed until 9. Nancy looked at me and the first thing out of her mouth was "The neighbors are dangerous." We staggered out of bed and got brunch items started. I ran to Byerly's for croissants, but they were out. Horrors! Instead, Nancy made some yummy cranberry scones. Mom, Dad and Grandma came over for Mother's Day brunch and took off about 12:30. I rototilled the garden and then spent the rest of the afternoon dusting off the 3 speeds in prep for next weekend's 3 Speed Tour. While up to my elbows in 3 speed schmutz, Emma told me she needed cookies for school on Monday. Which means we have to make them today, Dad. I finished up and helped her with a batch of oatmeal raisin cookies. After the kids went to bed I collapsed on the couch. Done, exhausted.

Huh?

2009-05-04T09:46:00.001-07:00

I don't follow basketball at all, so when I heard that Renardo Sidney was going to Mississippi State I had no context for why this was considered headline news. I still don't, and don't really care to find out. Sounds like there are some unresolved money issues, whatever. What did catch my eye was the following:

...stepfather Renardo Sr. directed a club basketball team with financial backing that was unclear beyond a relatively modest shoe company sponsorship.

Stepfather Renardo Sr. Other news stories list the son as Renardo Sidney Jr. So, how the hell does a stepfather end up with a same name Jr./Sr. arrangement?? If he's a stepfather, he's not the kid's biological father and therefore theoretically wasn't around when Jr. was born and named. Did the son change his name? Did the stepfather change his name? Does mom just really really like the name Renardo? I could keep coming up with scenarios, but they just get stranger. If anybody can answer this, please do. I'm dying to know the story.

story

Rains, pours

2009-05-01T13:13:00.001-07:00

Nothing for several weeks, then two posts in one day? It's Friday afternoon, what can I say? I had to quickly toot my own horn because my "commuter profile" is currently on the BikeWalkWeek website. There doesn't seem to be a direct link, it's just on the main page, so I have no idea how long it will be up there. But take a look, you can see me doing my best impression of Ambrose Burnside.

And while you're there, register for Bike/Walk to Work Day, which is coming up in a couple weeks, May 14th to be precise. I'll be leading a commuter convoy from Minnehaha Park again this year. Details are pretty much the same as the last 4 years, but I'll put a little more about it on the blog next week in case you've misplaced last year's memo.

Bursitis? I got your bursitis right here!

2009-05-01T13:05:00.001-07:00

I'm well on my way to being fully recovered from the bursitis that kept me off my bike for the majority of April. Hell, it kept me from doing much of anything in April, other than sitting on the couch. But I'd say I'm 95% bursitis free these days, which is good. This week I managed to get 3 consecutive rides to work, which is the first time since I got hurt. It was nice to be back. I worked from home yesterday and today I overslept, but no sense rushing back into it. After the first ride I took I was really amazed at how sore my butt and thighs were after just a couple weeks off. But the soreness was temporary, and didn't last nearly as long as it would have if I didn't have the base so I haven't completely lost my fitness. Good thing I don't generally worry about stuff like that.

My plans are to keep commuting, but take it easy at the same time. The 3 Speed Tour is coming up in just a few weeks and I want to be in tip top shape for that. Nancy's ridden her bike a bunch more this year than last year, plus she's feeling tons healthier, so we may even be able to attempt some pass storming! Which reminds me, I need to get the trusty Robin Hood out and spiffed up so it's ready to roll. Same for Nancy's bike. There's always something keeping me busy and away from the internets!

Life'll kill ya

2009-04-15T19:39:00.001-07:00

Let's see, where were we last time I wrote to the internet? Oh yes, I'd hurt my knee. Blah blah, still riding, brakes are out on the car, daughter made me a lovely card. OK, so we're caught up on that.

The new update is it's now two weeks later, and I've been to the doctor because the knee wasn't getting better. He diagnosed me with bursitis. Which I've always thought of as something that happens to old people, like lumbago. And bunions. But, since I'm not old this clearly isn't the case. I've been taking it easy, driving to the bus station like an ordinary joe and popping Aleve. It's getting better, but the doc said it will probably take a good month to be back to normal. Great. My 5k event is this Friday, and since my knee still gets sore walking from my cube to the bathroom there's still no way I'm participating.

But my woes all pale compared to the daughter. Yesterday I get a call from my wife saying Morgan slammed her finger in the car door and they're heading to the ER. I met them there in time to see the x-rays get taken and find out that she broke her pinkey finger. Plus, while she was panicked and trying to pull her finger out of the car door (yes, it was stuck) she managed to cut herself deep enough to require two stitches. So we've got her on antibiotics and codine and her hand is splinted up to her elbow. Pretty awful experience all around. The only bright point was going to dinner with my folks (who were at the hospital as well) after it was all over and having two huge slices of pizza at Cossettas.

And to top it off, I'm listening to iTunes on shuffle and I have a duet of Julio Iglesias and Ricky Martin singing a medley of "Light My Fire" by The Doors and "Oye Como Va" by Santana. God help me, but I have no idea how that got there.

Not to end things on a down note (or a completely bizarre note, as in the Julio/Ricky thing), I did manage to get the brakes fixed on the car this past weekend. So I got that going for me, which is nice.

Exciting week

2009-04-02T19:05:00.001-07:00

So, internets, I believe I haven't been keeping you up to date with my general goings on. Mostly because my general goings ons are mostly the same day in and day out, and you've read about them before. But I did have a couple of newsworthy items of late.

1. I signed up to do a 5k. Yes, I know that's a run, not a bike ride. But, what the heck. My wife is a runner, and as she points out she rides her bike with me. Not often, but certainly more often than I run with her. And it's probably good cross training. After running for about a week I could feel a difference in my inner thigh muscles. It makes me wonder if too much cycle training has left those muscles weak and prone to injury, as I did last spring.

The down side to running is, well, I injured myself. The training was going well, I got a new pair of shoes, and I was starting to find my stride. But on Sunday after about 1/2 a mile my knee started to hurt. And it hurt more with every step. I stopped running and walked back home. The knee felt better on Monday, but hasn't improved since. I'm starting to wonder exactly what I've done to it. Fortunately it feels fine when I bike (which is fortunate, see below). But since I procrastinated starting my running regimen, I don't have the slack in my schedule to be able to take time off and still get up to a full 5k by April 17.

Tonight I went out to see how things would go if I tried running. I walked for about 1/3 of a mile and the knee felt OK. No worse than it has been for the last few days. I started running and quit after about 30 seconds and then limped my way back home. I have a feeling this 5k will be a complete FAIL.

2. Because of the previously mentioned injury, I drove to work Monday and Tuesday. Tuesday night on the way home, my brakes decided to stop functioning. I realized this when the light turned yellow and I was approaching it on a downhill while going approximately 50mph. As the light turned red and I wasn't slowing, I cranked the wheel over hard right (screeeeech!) and careened onto a lesser travelled and more level road. The combination of the turn and the flattening allowed me to coast to a stop on the shoulder while I tried not to have a complete panic attack. I managed to get turned around and make it the remaining 1/2 mile home (fortunately I live on a hill and I could approach from downhill). I eased the car into the garage and haven't touched it since.

3. The best of all is that tonight, I was making dinner and tidying up the house and my daughter, Morgan, came up and gave me a hand made card that said I was the best dad ever. And she even put a funny joke inside. She wrote "You're like a father to me. Ha ha." Which, for a fourth grader, is hilarious. Often fourth grader jokes are, um, not. Totally out of the blue, and totally made my day.

Happy April to you

2009-04-02T06:25:00.001-07:00

This was my favorite thing I read all day yesterday:

Scientists worldwide admit global warming is a hoax

The Associated Press quotes an anonymous marine biologist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, who says she knew all along that "this climate change stuff was completely bogus."

"But I played along," she said. "The opportunities for securing global-warming-related grant money were just too great for me to resist."

"Sweet, sweet grant money," she added.

Read the entire article about Mr. Gore's fraud. Living as close to Canada as I do, I'll be watching for a massive infestation of polar bears.

Flood!

2009-03-27T10:19:00.001-07:00

Plenty of news today about the Red River flooding in the Fargo-Moorhead area. Including some dumbass CNN reporters who got arrested for standing on the dikes. But it's still amazing to me that the house I used to live in during The College Years was evacuated this morning. When we lived there we never felt like we were in close proximity to the river. The Red is about 10 blocks from the house. Moorhead is a town of about 43,000 and it's a lot taller than it is long, so 10 blocks is about one third the width of town, at least the core section. It wanders further east much farther than that, but you know what I mean. Both MSUM and Concordia have closed their campuses and the river is expected to crest at records that may never have been recorded. Unbelievable.

9 years old, tough as nails

2009-03-25T11:31:00.001-07:00

Nothing like a little snow in the morning at the end of March to liven up the morning commute. When heading directly into that West wind the snow felt like tiny knives being stabbed into my eyeballs. But when I got to work I had an email from my lovely wife, as follows:

Subject: 36 & snowing, and Morgan's biking to school

That's your girl!

She *really* wanted to bike to school yesterday, but the forecast was so dire, I wouldn't let her. Boy, was she mad at me when she came home (because it wasn't raining, lightning, or thundering at that exact moment). So today, there was no stopping her.

So if you didn't ride in today because it was a little snowy, you've been pwned by a 9 year old girl and her purple, sparkly bike.

March Madness?

2009-03-25T07:00:00.001-07:00

Everybody's so excited about this silly game with a round orange ball these days. But according to a Star Trib Hockey Blogger, the WCHA Final Five outdrew the basketball games hosted at the Dome this past weekend:

At the Metrodome, eight men's basketball teams played first - and second-round games in the NCAA Tournament, the Big Dance.

Crowds for six games, split into three sessions were 14,279, 15,794, and 12,814. Add those numbers up, the grand total was 42,887.

In the Mill City's sister sister [sic], St. Paul, there was the WCHA Final Five. It had five teams, hence the name and five games, all sold as separate sessions.

Those one-game crowds were 17,611 (for the Gophers-UMD), 14,744, 17,779, 15,254 and 16,749. That's a grand total of 82,137.

To be fair, many of those fans going to the Final Five expected the Gophers to be around for more than one game. So maybe they both [sic] an all-sessions pass.

Also there were five separate gates for hockey. But pick the lowest three, and hockey still outdraws college basketball.

I love this town.

Super power!

2009-03-20T13:05:00.001-07:00

The Fat Cyclist often writes about his self declared superpowers. One that sticks out in my head is his ability to eat while exercising. It's a power, to be sure, but how super is questionable. I think if I had to name a superpower for myself, it would be the ability to do the same thing over and over. Commuting is a good example of this. According to Jill, commuting makes me a Labrador Retriever:

Commuters are the Labrador retrievers of the pack. Throw them a good bicycle route, and they'll keep coming back. They love a good game of "catch" — that is, they race to catch green lights. They're highly sociable, largely domesticated and don't mind being leashed to the same roads day after day.

This superpower also extends to lunch. I'm a cheapskate, so I bring my lunch from home. I pack the same old lunch, with minor variations, every day. It consists of:

a sandwich (lunchmeat of some flavor or another)

fruit (usually an apple)

grain (peanuts, soy nuts, pumpkin seeds, etc.)

I have eaten a variation of this lunch nearly every weekday for the last 10 1/2 years. However, this was thrown into somewhat of an uproar a few weeks ago when my non-Catholic wife decided our family should give up meat for Lent. Lent? I've never given anything up for Lent. For one, I wasn't raised Catholic. For two, I never saw the point. "Let's give up our worst vices with the understanding that in about a month we'll indulge them with twice the fervor." Lent. But the kids and I half-heartedly agreed that we would honor a custom of a religion none of us had any stake in and give up meat. We didn't eat a ton of meat to begin with, and the transition has been mostly painless (The kids wailed mightily when they realized that chicken nuggets are meat).

The meat free zone known as Lent has had an impact on my lunches. Making a sandwich was the default. Bread, mayo on one side, mustard on the other, grab whatever lunchmeat was in the drawer, done! Now, not so much. I've made sandwiches with hummus, with cheese, and with avacado. And sometimes a combination of these. I've also, gasp, brought other things. Leftovers, usually. This week I brought leftover lentil soup on Monday and leftover tomato basil soup on Thursday. And in both cases, they leaked all over in my bag. Soup is not a bike commute friendly food. A pox on you, foul soup. I shall not be bringing you along to work again. Fie, I say. Fie!

Cycling fee

2009-03-11T08:11:00.001-07:00

In 2005, Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty was stuck with a budget shortfall. He refused DFL entreaties for a general tax increase and instead went with a 75 cents-a-pack hike in cigarettes. He insisted the increase be called a "health impact fee" so he could maintain his no-tax pledge. To boost funding for cycling programs I am proposing that we add a new fee, which I am titling the Cyclist Annoyance Fee. Here's how the program will work:

Any time a coworker, friend or acquaintance asks a known cycle commuter "Did you ride your bike to work today?" and the temperature is below 32 degrees Farenheit, a fee of $1 will be assessed to the questioner. If it is raining, a fee of $2 will be assessed. Questions asked during a snowstorm or a thunderstorm will be assessed a $3 fee (double if lightning is present). Questions asked when the temperature is below 0 degrees Farenheit will be assessed a $4 fee. If the temperature is below 0 and it is snowing, a $5 fee will be assessed. If the question is asked with a smug "I'll bet you didn't ride." expression on the questioning party's face, the fees will be double.

To be fair, bicycle commuters will also be assessed fees. Any time a bicycle commuter is asked by a coworker, friend or acquaintance "Did you ride your bike to work today?" and the temperature is between 65 and 80 degrees Farenheit and the skies are clear, a fee of $1 will be assessed to the cyclist. If the questioner adds "Looks like a great day to ride." with a wistful/jealous expression on his or her face, the cyclist's fee will be waived.

The Dow

2009-03-06T05:39:00.001-08:00

There has been lots of talk over the last few months about The Dow, and how every time we cross a certain number it's a "psychological barrier" or some other such drivel. But yesterday The Dow closed at a number that I actually did find interesting. The close yesterday was 6594.44. Nothing much in and of itself. But if you look at the 52 week range, that's when things get interesting. The 52 week high was 13,191.50, and half of that number is 6595.75. Which means that, by a margin of 1.31 The Dow has lost a full 50% of it's value in the last year. I'm not sure this is unprecedented, and I'm frankly not interested enough to research it. But it's something.

Snowed under the weather

2009-03-04T18:26:00.000-08:00

Last Thursday we got a good 5-6 inches of fresh snowfall here in the metro area. I rode to work, since it was lovely and dry in the morning and my attitude of the last year or so has been "if it doesn't completely suck in the morning, I'll deal with the afternoon when it gets here." And it didn't suck in the morning. But the snow came down heavy and fast and by the time I left work there was 4-5 inches on the streets. And everywhere I went there was no sign of a plow. I took the train from downtown to the 50th Street station and headed into Minnehaha Park. Those trails were not plowed either. And while the fresh powder of the trail was easier to navigate than the mashed potato snow of downtown, both took a tremendous amount of energy. I was surprised at how rideable everything was, it was just hard work. Even my nemesis, the Mendota Bridge, was rideable. But after 6 miles, I was covered in sweat and plenty pooped. But pleasantly so. I found the whole experience to be enjoyable, even when I had to push the bike. It was like a mini Arrowhead 135. Only 129 more miles to cover. I realized that if I ever attempted that race, I would need to actually train instead of just relying on my base commuting miles to carry me through. I'm definitely not in that kind of shape.

I drove in on Friday and spent an uneventful weekend taking care of some household tasks. I got my minor wiring project done, and now we can turn the bar lights on from both the top and the bottom of the stairs. Pulling romex is thankless work, but I'm happy I was able to complete the project. Monday in the small hours of the morning I came down with some sort of plague that caused me to leave work early and stay home Tuesday. An actual sick day. I can't remember the last time I took an actual sick day. Back to work again today, feeling more or less back to 100%. I plan to ride again tomorrow, one week to the day since the snowstorm and the last time I was on a bike.

Traffic was terrible

2009-02-22T08:28:00.001-08:00

marriedtothesea.com

What I'll be doing on June 4 this year

2009-02-15T10:28:00.000-08:00

Camp Coldwater Spring update

2009-02-13T16:36:00.000-08:00

I recently received an email about an upcoming open house for the proposed Camp Coldwater Spring restoration.

Dear Interested Party,
In our letter of December 3, 2008, we told you public meetings would be conducted in
the winter and spring of 2009 to help determine some of the details for restoration of the
site.
An informational open house has been scheduled to give the public an opportunity to
provide comment on planning for the reuse and restoration of federal property formally
occupied by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Mines.
The open house will be held Monday February 23, 2009 from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the
auditorium on the first floor of the VA Hospital, located at One Veterans Drive in
Minneapolis.
National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service staff will be available to
provide information concerning the DEIS preferred alternative, historical preservation
and interpretation, and to gather input to guide planning for the future reuse and
restoration of the site.

If you are interested in this site (and if you cycle in the Twin Cities, you should be), attend the meeting.

Beer == Good

2009-02-05T08:48:00.000-08:00

Soon enough, Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. will make more than just tasty beer--it will also manufacture high-grade ethanol fuel from leftover beer yeast. The company announced today that it is partnering with E-Fuel--the inventor of the world's first home ethanol machine--to test portable ethanol refineries at its Chico, California brewery.
Sierra Nevada generates an average of 1.6 million gallons of unusable beer yeast waste each year, which it currently sells to farmers as dairy feed. The brewer's beer dregs contain only 5 to 7% alcohol, but E-Fuel's MicroFueler can raise the alcohol content to 15%, resulting in a higher ethanol yield. The MicroFueler also removes water from the mix for increased quality.
Testing of Sierra Nevada's waste-to-ethanol system will begin in the second quarter of this year, with full-scale production expected soon after. The company plans on using the ethanol in its own vehicles initially, but may eventually supply employees with fuel and distribute extra fuel through E-Fuel's network.
Enterprising small business owners who want to create their own ethanol blend can purchase E-Fuel's MicroFueler for the low price of $9,995.