So here we are in the midst of National Bike Month (coincidentally, it's also National Masturbation Month). This week is also Bike to Work Week in Minneapolis. Show your bike helmet at the Lake Calhoun Whole Foods Market and get a free breakfast snack. And finally, Friday is National Bike to Work day. If you live in the Minneapolis area and can drag yourself out of bed in time to get to a meeting point by 6:45, join one of the organized rides into downtown Minneapolis. As mentioned before, I'll be leading the route coming from Minnehaha Park. And there was much rejoicing.
So here we are, within spitting distance of the biggest bicycle commuting day of the year. And the first day in recent memory that there has been no rain and the sun actually shone. And I drove.
I had great intentions. I had my jersey and bike shorts on this morning. But then my kids started telling me that the book fair and art fair at the school was tonight. So I changed into business attire and drove. Sure, I could have ridden to the park-n-ride and caught the train in the morning and the evening, but I didn't trust myself. If I had gotten off work this afternoon and found it as beautiful as it was I don't think I could have stayed on the train. Can you blame me?
Date: May 15
Mileage: 25
Ride type: Commute
May mileage: 176
Year to date mileage: 1363
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
Friday, May 12, 2006
Another Kinky Milestone
Mr. Friedman moves one step closer to the November ballot today as his campaign turned in 169,574 signatures, more than three times the amount required to get him on the Texas Governor's ballot.
I've been following Kinky's campaign for over a year. My good friend Sparky hooked me into reading some of Kinky's books. They're really quite enjoyable, if you're into off the wall mysteries. And, having lived in Minnesota during the whole Jesse Ventura administration I'm always for having some wacko for your governor. It makes following politics much more fun. So if you live in Texas, vote Kinky!
Date: May 10
Mileage: 25
Ride type: Commute
May mileage: 151
Year to date mileage: 1338
I've been following Kinky's campaign for over a year. My good friend Sparky hooked me into reading some of Kinky's books. They're really quite enjoyable, if you're into off the wall mysteries. And, having lived in Minnesota during the whole Jesse Ventura administration I'm always for having some wacko for your governor. It makes following politics much more fun. So if you live in Texas, vote Kinky!
Date: May 10
Mileage: 25
Ride type: Commute
May mileage: 151
Year to date mileage: 1338
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
Mmmm, sweet and nutty
One of the perks of bicycle commuting that people tout is that you lose weight. With all the excitement about gas prices lately, this is running a distant second in reasons to commute by bike, but it's still a constant contender. However, what people never talk about is the fact that you can eat, a lot, without gaining weight. And even worse, you want to eat. All the time. I'm constantly hungry. I don't seem to be losing weight, but I'm not gaining either. And I don't always make the best choices when it comes to food. But I try.
Case in point. I notice that when I get to work in the morning after riding 12 miles, I'm a bit peckish. Never mind that I ate breakfast just before leaving home. I could eat again. We have a cafeteria on the main floor of our building. They have yummy things like eggs, hashbrowns and sausages. We also have a convenience store which has yummy things like chips. I try to avoid both places. It's easier if I know I have a little something I can nibble at my desk.
A few weeks ago I started buying some trail mix to keep at home. Each day, when I would make my lunch I would pack a little snack bag of trail mix. I would then eat this at my desk in the morning while reading my e-mail. The advantage of this system was that I had built in portion control. Once the little baggie was empty, I was done. The disadvantage of this system was that my wife and children also like trail mix and I would find my supply chain unexpectedly interrupted (Who ate all my trail mix?!). So, change of plan. To keep the goodies all to my selfish self, I could either invest in a locking cupboard or bring them to work. A locking cupboard seemed a little too drastic, so I now have a bag of Planters Sweet & Nutty on my desk.
Remember portion control? I do too, but it's a hazy memory. My 21 ounce bag of Sweet & Nutty has decreased in size by about 50% in three days. It's just way too easy to reach for "just one more" handful when it's sitting right there on my desktop. I admit it, I'm weak. I'm powerless over the little Planters Peanut guy.
Date: May 5
Mileage: 25
Ride type: Commute
May mileage: 76
Year to date mileage: 1263
Date: May 8
Mileage: 25
Ride type: Commute
May mileage: 101
Year to date mileage: 1288
Date: May 9
Mileage: 25 (barring no issues on the way home tonight)
Ride type: Commute
May mileage: 126
Year to date mileage: 1313
Case in point. I notice that when I get to work in the morning after riding 12 miles, I'm a bit peckish. Never mind that I ate breakfast just before leaving home. I could eat again. We have a cafeteria on the main floor of our building. They have yummy things like eggs, hashbrowns and sausages. We also have a convenience store which has yummy things like chips. I try to avoid both places. It's easier if I know I have a little something I can nibble at my desk.
A few weeks ago I started buying some trail mix to keep at home. Each day, when I would make my lunch I would pack a little snack bag of trail mix. I would then eat this at my desk in the morning while reading my e-mail. The advantage of this system was that I had built in portion control. Once the little baggie was empty, I was done. The disadvantage of this system was that my wife and children also like trail mix and I would find my supply chain unexpectedly interrupted (Who ate all my trail mix?!). So, change of plan. To keep the goodies all to my selfish self, I could either invest in a locking cupboard or bring them to work. A locking cupboard seemed a little too drastic, so I now have a bag of Planters Sweet & Nutty on my desk.
Remember portion control? I do too, but it's a hazy memory. My 21 ounce bag of Sweet & Nutty has decreased in size by about 50% in three days. It's just way too easy to reach for "just one more" handful when it's sitting right there on my desktop. I admit it, I'm weak. I'm powerless over the little Planters Peanut guy.
Date: May 5
Mileage: 25
Ride type: Commute
May mileage: 76
Year to date mileage: 1263
Date: May 8
Mileage: 25
Ride type: Commute
May mileage: 101
Year to date mileage: 1288
Date: May 9
Mileage: 25 (barring no issues on the way home tonight)
Ride type: Commute
May mileage: 126
Year to date mileage: 1313
Wednesday, May 03, 2006
New Shoes
Somebody in the comments the other day (Hi Sparky!) said I should post a picture of the Schwinn with the new rims. I did take some photos the other night while I was changing the rims out, but none of them came out very well. I guess that's what you get when you take pics with a point and click digital camera in a garage that's lit by one 75 watt bulb.
Date: May 2
Mileage: 26
Ride type: Commute
May mileage: 26
Year to date mileage: 1212
Date: May 3
Mileage: 25
Ride type: Commute
May mileage: 51
Year to date mileage: 1237
Date: May 2
Mileage: 26
Ride type: Commute
May mileage: 26
Year to date mileage: 1212
Date: May 3
Mileage: 25
Ride type: Commute
May mileage: 51
Year to date mileage: 1237
Monday, May 01, 2006
Ironman Ride Report
Yes, it was wet. Yes, it was chilly. But neither of these things even comes close to the horror that was The Wind. While catching up on blogs this morning, many folks had not so nice things to say about the conditions at the Ken Woods Memorial on Saturday:
"Weather was crap, rainy, 45deg, 10-20mph winds. Absolutely miserable from start to finish" - Red Lantern
"It's 2 o'’clock, temps are hovering around 45-50 degrees, the wind is kicking hard out of the East at maybe 18-20 mph and the rain is steady." - Pete
"Misery index, on my own personal scale of 1-10, with ten being the most miserable and one being only slightly miserable: 36" - Shannon
"The Cat 1/2 men's race had started with 25 dudes, and only 7 of them finished." - Gilby
"Pain." - Tuffy
100 miles to go
I wanted to keep my computer dry for this ride, so I rubber-banded a ziploc baggie over the top of it once I got in to Lakeville. I rode up to the High School, laid my bike down, went inside and registered. By this time, it was five minutes before 8. Way too late to start a Century on a day like today. When I got back to my bike, my baggie had already been blown off. So much for keeping the computer dry.
In retrospect, I should have ridden the 62 mile route. When I started off we had a superb tailwind. About 1 mile after the 62/100 mile route split I wanted to take advantage of that tailwind and I went to the big ring in front. And promptly threw the chain. I tried to tweak the front derailleur a bit but couldn't get it to work correctly, so I rode to the first rest stop in the small ring. The guys from Hoigaard's fixed me up and I rolled out of Jordan at 9:30, averaging 16.5mph so far according to the long-suffering bike computer.
77 miles to go
I rode that big tailwind to Belle Plain and was out of that rest stop by 10:30. So far, a great day. Belle Plain to Montgomery is mostly south, but the wind was coming East/Southeast and while it wasn't a full-out headwind it was certainly an attitude adjustment. But I made it to Montgomery in decent time. And so did the guy who rode my wheel for somewhere between 5-10 miles. Not once did he offer to take a pull out front. As a matter of fact when we were going downhill, he apologized for passing me. He said he had "good bearings" and didn't want to hit the brakes. Once his downhill momentum was lost he tucked back in behind me. By the way, even though no thanks were offered, you're welcome.
44 miles to go
When I hit the next rest stop, water was starting to condense inside the computer housing and I couldn't read the clock any longer, but my average had only dropped to 14.6mph. To this point, I hadn't looked at a route map so I wasn't sure where I was. Inside I talked to some guy riding the 62 mile route who was, in retrospect, hopelessly lost. But since the 100 mile and 62 mile routes were supposed to converge for the first time in Lonsdale, I figured that's where I was. I looked at the map, figured I could gut out the next 20 miles into the headwind and then the last 15 would be cake.
I ran into the nameless wheelsucker at the rest stop. He said he had stopped to call in the sag wagon for somebody on the side of the road. And again, it felt like he was apologizing to me for not drafting behind me. Had there even been a slight show of appreciation, I might have waited for him. But as it was I finished my snack and headed out.
34 miles to go
Imagine my disappointment when I actually reached Lonsdale. I took a closer look at the map and realized that I had another 20 miles of eastward suffering ahead. And since the last 10 miles had felt like 20 I was a little disheartened. My bike computer was no help for the time or mileage at this point, but the clock in the Legion said it was 2:10. I made it with only 20 minutes before this rest stop was scheduled to close. I thought about calling it right there. The mental adjustment from 15 miles of no headwind remaining to 20 miles of headwind plus 15 was just about too much. I sat around and thought, and talked to a couple other guys. And I rolled out again.
As I headed out of Lonsdale I met up with Dennis. As we headed south for a few miles we chatted and talked about how long the day had been. Dennis had about 20 years on me, and had ridden a total of 70 miles this year before the Ironman. And he was suffering. As we turned into the wind he tucked in behind me. And he stayed there for the rest of the ride. I kept telling Dennis (and myself) that once we made it to Dundas we were home free. The route starts to turn north at Dundas, and while it's still a crosswind, it's not a headwind. We made Dundas and we made the last rest stop in Northfield right at 4:00, it's scheduled closing time. We stopped, talked and refueled and headed out again.
15 miles to go
The wind had been shifty all day. It mainly came out of the east, but earlier it was East/Southeast and now it felt more East/Northeast. The last 15 was harder than I thought it would be, but we made it in. There was one point where Dennis just completely bonked. One minute he was there behind me and the next minute I looked over my shoulder and he was probably 1/4 of a mile back. Cooked. I thought about just riding on. After all, I'd pulled him through the worst of it. But he'd helped me too. Not by pulling through the wind, but it was nice to have somebody ti commiserate with and something else to think about other than the repetitive squishing sound my soggy neoprene booties made rubbing on the crankarm. And, more times than I can count, he had thanked me for pulling in the wind. I stopped and waited.
As we approached Lakeville, I told Dennis that we were within 5 miles to keep his (and my) spirits up. He said that all he wanted was to not be pulled in by the sag wagon. We rode into Lakeville and up to the high school together at 5:45, 15 minutes after the course was officially closed. We grabbed our shirts and pint glasses, shook hands and went our separate ways, home to our families.
This was my first century. It took way longer than I ever thought it would, and it was way harder than I thought it would be. Nearly 10 hours on the bike on a cold, wet, windy day means I'm still sore today. But not as sore as I thought I would be. And I know now that I can ride a century. And if I can ride this one, in these conditions, I should be able to do just about anything.
Date: April 30
Mileage: 100?
Ride type: Ironman, baby!
April mileage: 482
Year to date mileage: 1186
"Weather was crap, rainy, 45deg, 10-20mph winds. Absolutely miserable from start to finish" - Red Lantern
"It's 2 o'’clock, temps are hovering around 45-50 degrees, the wind is kicking hard out of the East at maybe 18-20 mph and the rain is steady." - Pete
"Misery index, on my own personal scale of 1-10, with ten being the most miserable and one being only slightly miserable: 36" - Shannon
"The Cat 1/2 men's race had started with 25 dudes, and only 7 of them finished." - Gilby
"Pain." - Tuffy
100 miles to go
I wanted to keep my computer dry for this ride, so I rubber-banded a ziploc baggie over the top of it once I got in to Lakeville. I rode up to the High School, laid my bike down, went inside and registered. By this time, it was five minutes before 8. Way too late to start a Century on a day like today. When I got back to my bike, my baggie had already been blown off. So much for keeping the computer dry.
In retrospect, I should have ridden the 62 mile route. When I started off we had a superb tailwind. About 1 mile after the 62/100 mile route split I wanted to take advantage of that tailwind and I went to the big ring in front. And promptly threw the chain. I tried to tweak the front derailleur a bit but couldn't get it to work correctly, so I rode to the first rest stop in the small ring. The guys from Hoigaard's fixed me up and I rolled out of Jordan at 9:30, averaging 16.5mph so far according to the long-suffering bike computer.
77 miles to go
I rode that big tailwind to Belle Plain and was out of that rest stop by 10:30. So far, a great day. Belle Plain to Montgomery is mostly south, but the wind was coming East/Southeast and while it wasn't a full-out headwind it was certainly an attitude adjustment. But I made it to Montgomery in decent time. And so did the guy who rode my wheel for somewhere between 5-10 miles. Not once did he offer to take a pull out front. As a matter of fact when we were going downhill, he apologized for passing me. He said he had "good bearings" and didn't want to hit the brakes. Once his downhill momentum was lost he tucked back in behind me. By the way, even though no thanks were offered, you're welcome.
44 miles to go
When I hit the next rest stop, water was starting to condense inside the computer housing and I couldn't read the clock any longer, but my average had only dropped to 14.6mph. To this point, I hadn't looked at a route map so I wasn't sure where I was. Inside I talked to some guy riding the 62 mile route who was, in retrospect, hopelessly lost. But since the 100 mile and 62 mile routes were supposed to converge for the first time in Lonsdale, I figured that's where I was. I looked at the map, figured I could gut out the next 20 miles into the headwind and then the last 15 would be cake.
I ran into the nameless wheelsucker at the rest stop. He said he had stopped to call in the sag wagon for somebody on the side of the road. And again, it felt like he was apologizing to me for not drafting behind me. Had there even been a slight show of appreciation, I might have waited for him. But as it was I finished my snack and headed out.
34 miles to go
Imagine my disappointment when I actually reached Lonsdale. I took a closer look at the map and realized that I had another 20 miles of eastward suffering ahead. And since the last 10 miles had felt like 20 I was a little disheartened. My bike computer was no help for the time or mileage at this point, but the clock in the Legion said it was 2:10. I made it with only 20 minutes before this rest stop was scheduled to close. I thought about calling it right there. The mental adjustment from 15 miles of no headwind remaining to 20 miles of headwind plus 15 was just about too much. I sat around and thought, and talked to a couple other guys. And I rolled out again.
As I headed out of Lonsdale I met up with Dennis. As we headed south for a few miles we chatted and talked about how long the day had been. Dennis had about 20 years on me, and had ridden a total of 70 miles this year before the Ironman. And he was suffering. As we turned into the wind he tucked in behind me. And he stayed there for the rest of the ride. I kept telling Dennis (and myself) that once we made it to Dundas we were home free. The route starts to turn north at Dundas, and while it's still a crosswind, it's not a headwind. We made Dundas and we made the last rest stop in Northfield right at 4:00, it's scheduled closing time. We stopped, talked and refueled and headed out again.
15 miles to go
The wind had been shifty all day. It mainly came out of the east, but earlier it was East/Southeast and now it felt more East/Northeast. The last 15 was harder than I thought it would be, but we made it in. There was one point where Dennis just completely bonked. One minute he was there behind me and the next minute I looked over my shoulder and he was probably 1/4 of a mile back. Cooked. I thought about just riding on. After all, I'd pulled him through the worst of it. But he'd helped me too. Not by pulling through the wind, but it was nice to have somebody ti commiserate with and something else to think about other than the repetitive squishing sound my soggy neoprene booties made rubbing on the crankarm. And, more times than I can count, he had thanked me for pulling in the wind. I stopped and waited.
As we approached Lakeville, I told Dennis that we were within 5 miles to keep his (and my) spirits up. He said that all he wanted was to not be pulled in by the sag wagon. We rode into Lakeville and up to the high school together at 5:45, 15 minutes after the course was officially closed. We grabbed our shirts and pint glasses, shook hands and went our separate ways, home to our families.
This was my first century. It took way longer than I ever thought it would, and it was way harder than I thought it would be. Nearly 10 hours on the bike on a cold, wet, windy day means I'm still sore today. But not as sore as I thought I would be. And I know now that I can ride a century. And if I can ride this one, in these conditions, I should be able to do just about anything.
Date: April 30
Mileage: 100?
Ride type: Ironman, baby!
April mileage: 482
Year to date mileage: 1186
Sunday, April 30, 2006
Status
Hi! This is Nancy posting for Pete...He just called, he is indeed doing the century, and he has about 15 miles left to go. He says he is cold, wet, tired, and wet. Did I mention wet?
I'll be taking the boy out for a big ol' steak dinner tonight. And beer!
Date: Today
Mileage: 100
Ride type: Icky
April mileage: A lot
Year to date mileage: A very big number
I'll be taking the boy out for a big ol' steak dinner tonight. And beer!
Date: Today
Mileage: 100
Ride type: Icky
April mileage: A lot
Year to date mileage: A very big number
Saturday, April 29, 2006
The forecast calls for pain
According to www.noaa.gov, the Sunday forecast is now calling for 100% rain. 100%? You've got to be kidding me. The folks at the weather bureau almost never commit themselves to 100%. So, even though I got my new clipless pedals installed on the Jamis this afternoon, I loaded the Schwinn onto the Mitsubishi's bike rack so I'm ready to go tomorrow morning. It's gonna be a wet one. The official forecast is:
Periods of showers. High around 56. East southeast wind between 14 and 17 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%.
Oh well. They don't call it the Ironman for nothing. So if you see me, wet and cold, riding my multicolored Schwinn, introduce yourself. Misery loves company.
Coffee for my breakfast
Shot of whiskey on the side
It's a dark and dreary morning
With the clouds covering up the sky
And the forecast calls for pain
Periods of showers. High around 56. East southeast wind between 14 and 17 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%.
Oh well. They don't call it the Ironman for nothing. So if you see me, wet and cold, riding my multicolored Schwinn, introduce yourself. Misery loves company.
Coffee for my breakfast
Shot of whiskey on the side
It's a dark and dreary morning
With the clouds covering up the sky
And the forecast calls for pain
Friday, April 28, 2006
Self Help
Last weekend when I was tweaking the shifting on the Jamis, I needed to get some expert advice. So I went to my trusty bike repair book. As I was browsing through the section on gearing I noticed that my book is just a tad out of date. If memory serves, this manual was purchased by my brother when he was in high school and then abandoned at Mom and Dad's house where I liberated it. Most of the shifting adjustments were for friction shifters, and there was a special new section at the back of the chapter for this new-fangled thing called indexed shifting. Whoa.
The sad part is that the actual nuts and bolts of front and rear derailleurs hasn't changed. Everything in those adjustments was still right on. So I got done what I needed to get done, the book served it's purpose and all is right with the world and my bike.
But, I've got nearly $100 worth of Barnes and Noble gift cards from christmas that I need to use, so I'm thinking about picking up a new manual. I stopped at the Eagan B&N one night and saw Bicycling Magazine's Complete Guide to Bicycle Maintenance and Repair: For Road and Mountain Bikes. It seemed like a good choice, but I didn't have my gift cards with me. So last Friday I stopped at the downtown B&N, gift card in hand, to buy it. But of course you know what comes next. They didn't have that one. They had the DK Bicycle Repair Manual. Which also seemed OK.
But now I'm at a loss. Which one? Does anybody have a favorite repair manual they would recommend?
The sad part is that the actual nuts and bolts of front and rear derailleurs hasn't changed. Everything in those adjustments was still right on. So I got done what I needed to get done, the book served it's purpose and all is right with the world and my bike.
But, I've got nearly $100 worth of Barnes and Noble gift cards from christmas that I need to use, so I'm thinking about picking up a new manual. I stopped at the Eagan B&N one night and saw Bicycling Magazine's Complete Guide to Bicycle Maintenance and Repair: For Road and Mountain Bikes. It seemed like a good choice, but I didn't have my gift cards with me. So last Friday I stopped at the downtown B&N, gift card in hand, to buy it. But of course you know what comes next. They didn't have that one. They had the DK Bicycle Repair Manual. Which also seemed OK.
But now I'm at a loss. Which one? Does anybody have a favorite repair manual they would recommend?
Thursday, April 27, 2006
Taper
It's official. As of today, no riding until the Ironman. I drove to the LRT today and will do the same tomorrow. The weatherfolk are saying there's a 40% chance of rain on Sunday, so I'm all up in the air about what to do for the ride, bikewise. There's a whole list of reasons why I shouldn't ride the Jamis:
New Brooks.
Ride's not completely dialed in.
Rain. (see New Brooks, above)
No rack to carry rain jacket/everything else on.
But, unless it's really looking like rain on Sunday I might ride it anyway. Now that I got the awkward shifting sorted out it's a whole lotta fun to ride.
Because I'm not riding I thought tonight would be a good time to tear down the Schwinn and see if I can figure out where this weird grinding was coming from. So first I took the rear wheel off. And after a lot of grunting and groaning and getting out my big orange pipe wrench, I got the freewheel off the hub. My intention was to repack the bearings. But, when I took the QR skewer out, whoops! My axle! It was broken. I guess I need a new one of those. That might explain that grinding noise.
I took it as a sign and threaded the freewheel onto the Campy rims and Panaracer tires that I picked up at the bike swap in February. The Campy rims are black and the Panaracers are blackwalls. It's a nicer look than the silver Weinmann rims and the brownwalled Continentals I had been running. I also pulled apart the bottom bracket and relubed and repacked everything down there as well. My ultra-cheap moustache bars ($20 including shipping!) showed up from Nashbar today too. I'm still debating on whether I should swap those out before the ride Sunday or after. Either way, I'm going to have to stop and get some bar tape from Jim this weekend.
New Brooks.
Ride's not completely dialed in.
Rain. (see New Brooks, above)
No rack to carry rain jacket/everything else on.
But, unless it's really looking like rain on Sunday I might ride it anyway. Now that I got the awkward shifting sorted out it's a whole lotta fun to ride.
Because I'm not riding I thought tonight would be a good time to tear down the Schwinn and see if I can figure out where this weird grinding was coming from. So first I took the rear wheel off. And after a lot of grunting and groaning and getting out my big orange pipe wrench, I got the freewheel off the hub. My intention was to repack the bearings. But, when I took the QR skewer out, whoops! My axle! It was broken. I guess I need a new one of those. That might explain that grinding noise.
I took it as a sign and threaded the freewheel onto the Campy rims and Panaracer tires that I picked up at the bike swap in February. The Campy rims are black and the Panaracers are blackwalls. It's a nicer look than the silver Weinmann rims and the brownwalled Continentals I had been running. I also pulled apart the bottom bracket and relubed and repacked everything down there as well. My ultra-cheap moustache bars ($20 including shipping!) showed up from Nashbar today too. I'm still debating on whether I should swap those out before the ride Sunday or after. Either way, I'm going to have to stop and get some bar tape from Jim this weekend.
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
Wow
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Slide, DiMaggio, Slide!
like the moment when the brakes lock
and you slide towards the big truck
you stretch the frozen moments with your fear
and you'll never hear their voices
and you'll never see their faces
you have no recourse to the law anymore
It's bound to happen, sooner or later. A close call. Somebody doesn't see you, or thinks you're going slower than you really are and they're sure they can just zip out in front no problemo. Yeah. Not so much.
Because werk has just been crazy busy these last few weeks, I ended up staying a little late tonight to catch up on a few things that were overdue. Don't worry, I've still got plenty more stuff to keep me busy. It turned out to be a beautiful afternoon that would have been perfect for taking the River Road, but since I was already late I decided to take the more direct Minnehaha Ave route. I had the Jamis out and was giving the Brooks a try. After 23 miles on the Brooks all I can say is, "You mean it gets better?" It's already as comfy as my Specialized Body Geometry saddle on the Schwinn.
Anyway. I was trucking down Minnehaha in the bike lane and had the Jamis cranked up into the big ring. There was a weird cross wind that felt like it was really a tailwind even though it was pushing me to the side. I started clicking up through the rear cogs and soon was maxxed out on gearing. There's no computer on this bike, so I don't know how fast I was going. I'll go with fast.
That's when I saw her. A woman sitting in a blue SUV. She was waiting to cross Minnehaha, coming toward me. There were two other cars behind her, so I figured she had been waiting for a bit. As I approached the intersection she made her move. Pulled out right in front of me. I was half expecting it, so my reaction time was phenomenal. I hit the brakes, hard. The rear tire locked up and went into a skid. Even though I was skidding, I weirdly felt in total control. It was like one of those moments of great focus when I instinctively knew everything was going to be OK. I let up on the rear brake and leaned harder on the front. The bike snapped back in line and stopped. At about the same time she noticed me and hit her brakes. So even if I hadn't been able to stop in time she wouldn't have hit me. But it was close, on both our parts. I gave her a hearty "Why don't you watch where the f^&* you're going?" and she glared at me through the windshield. Like it was my problem for slowing her down. She looked just like a Bratz doll. With a pierced eyebrow. I don't know, maybe they make a Bratz doll with a piercing. After seeing the baby Bratz with leather and lingerie (twins Phoebe (Sugar) and Roxxie (Spice)) I wouldn't put anything past the soulless bastards at MGA Entertainment.
Since I'd come to a complete stop and she was obviously more Important than me, she continued through the intersection leaving me in the middle of the street until she passed. Once the truck was gone I noticed there was a woman standing on the corner. We talked for a moment.
She: I'm glad that ended the way it did.
Me: Me too.
She: You had good reflexes.
Me: Thanks. I guess it pays to keep the brakes tuned up.
She: Be careful out there.
Me: Thanks, I will.
I rode off.
Had I not been going so fast, it probably wouldn't have even been close. So, note to self: Keep the speed demon routine on the River Road.
Date: April 24
Mileage: 23
Ride type: Commute
April mileage: 334
Year to date mileage: 1038
Date: April 25
Mileage: 23
Ride type: Commute
April mileage: 357
Year to date mileage: 1061
and you slide towards the big truck
you stretch the frozen moments with your fear
and you'll never hear their voices
and you'll never see their faces
you have no recourse to the law anymore
It's bound to happen, sooner or later. A close call. Somebody doesn't see you, or thinks you're going slower than you really are and they're sure they can just zip out in front no problemo. Yeah. Not so much.
Because werk has just been crazy busy these last few weeks, I ended up staying a little late tonight to catch up on a few things that were overdue. Don't worry, I've still got plenty more stuff to keep me busy. It turned out to be a beautiful afternoon that would have been perfect for taking the River Road, but since I was already late I decided to take the more direct Minnehaha Ave route. I had the Jamis out and was giving the Brooks a try. After 23 miles on the Brooks all I can say is, "You mean it gets better?" It's already as comfy as my Specialized Body Geometry saddle on the Schwinn.
Anyway. I was trucking down Minnehaha in the bike lane and had the Jamis cranked up into the big ring. There was a weird cross wind that felt like it was really a tailwind even though it was pushing me to the side. I started clicking up through the rear cogs and soon was maxxed out on gearing. There's no computer on this bike, so I don't know how fast I was going. I'll go with fast.
That's when I saw her. A woman sitting in a blue SUV. She was waiting to cross Minnehaha, coming toward me. There were two other cars behind her, so I figured she had been waiting for a bit. As I approached the intersection she made her move. Pulled out right in front of me. I was half expecting it, so my reaction time was phenomenal. I hit the brakes, hard. The rear tire locked up and went into a skid. Even though I was skidding, I weirdly felt in total control. It was like one of those moments of great focus when I instinctively knew everything was going to be OK. I let up on the rear brake and leaned harder on the front. The bike snapped back in line and stopped. At about the same time she noticed me and hit her brakes. So even if I hadn't been able to stop in time she wouldn't have hit me. But it was close, on both our parts. I gave her a hearty "Why don't you watch where the f^&* you're going?" and she glared at me through the windshield. Like it was my problem for slowing her down. She looked just like a Bratz doll. With a pierced eyebrow. I don't know, maybe they make a Bratz doll with a piercing. After seeing the baby Bratz with leather and lingerie (twins Phoebe (Sugar) and Roxxie (Spice)) I wouldn't put anything past the soulless bastards at MGA Entertainment.Since I'd come to a complete stop and she was obviously more Important than me, she continued through the intersection leaving me in the middle of the street until she passed. Once the truck was gone I noticed there was a woman standing on the corner. We talked for a moment.
She: I'm glad that ended the way it did.
Me: Me too.
She: You had good reflexes.
Me: Thanks. I guess it pays to keep the brakes tuned up.
She: Be careful out there.
Me: Thanks, I will.
I rode off.
Had I not been going so fast, it probably wouldn't have even been close. So, note to self: Keep the speed demon routine on the River Road.
Date: April 24
Mileage: 23
Ride type: Commute
April mileage: 334
Year to date mileage: 1038
Date: April 25
Mileage: 23
Ride type: Commute
April mileage: 357
Year to date mileage: 1061
Sunday, April 23, 2006
Hell bent for Leather
After their long day Saturday, I was able to reward my hindquarters with the purchase of a snappy new Brooks B17 saddle for the Jamis. I found it on craigslist for about a little over half of what it would have been retail. We're talking brand, spanking new. The guy I bought it from said he'd had an older B17 that he modified to look more like the Brooks Swallow and theorizes that some uninformed person decided it was the real $300+ McCoy and swiped it. But, as the story goes he installed the new one (unmodifed) and rode it for about two hours before deciding that his ass couldn't take breaking another one in. I decided mine was up to the challenge.
There was nothing wrong with the Selle Royale Sport that came on the Jamis. Especially after I adjusted it's position on Saturday so I didn't feel like I was always sliding off the back end of the bike. I also flipped the stem which raised the handlebars on the Jamis about an inch and spent some time fine-tuning the front derailleur, both of which make a world of difference, but we're talking saddles here. The Selle has RoyalGel and is supposed to lower the pressure peaks on the prostate/pubis and sit bones by up to 40%. But who am I to argue with over 140 years of experience?
I mounted the B17 as soon as I got home and took the bike for a quick, and surprisingly dark, jaunt around the 'hood. While it was only 2 minutes or so, I was surprised by how comfortable I found it. This can only be a good sign. I've put over 100 miles on the Royale and I was still unsure about it. Though this means that I probably shouldn't ride the Jamis in the Ironman next week. Riding a century on a bike that I've got barely 100 miles (three rides so far) on and still dialing in the comfort and fit, along with a brand new Brooks is just asking for trouble.
There was nothing wrong with the Selle Royale Sport that came on the Jamis. Especially after I adjusted it's position on Saturday so I didn't feel like I was always sliding off the back end of the bike. I also flipped the stem which raised the handlebars on the Jamis about an inch and spent some time fine-tuning the front derailleur, both of which make a world of difference, but we're talking saddles here. The Selle has RoyalGel and is supposed to lower the pressure peaks on the prostate/pubis and sit bones by up to 40%. But who am I to argue with over 140 years of experience?
I mounted the B17 as soon as I got home and took the bike for a quick, and surprisingly dark, jaunt around the 'hood. While it was only 2 minutes or so, I was surprised by how comfortable I found it. This can only be a good sign. I've put over 100 miles on the Royale and I was still unsure about it. Though this means that I probably shouldn't ride the Jamis in the Ironman next week. Riding a century on a bike that I've got barely 100 miles (three rides so far) on and still dialing in the comfort and fit, along with a brand new Brooks is just asking for trouble.
Saturday, April 22, 2006
My innards is killing me
Another software push, another Saturday morning Pete's at work at 8am doing checkout. Take heart, fair reader, all is not lost. I got a nice ride in to and from work. I'm doing some of the Bike to Work coordination for my company, and got a question the other day about the best route to use coming in from Uptown. I've never ridden from uptown, but it looked like taking the Greenway to the Kenilworth trail was the most car-free route. The woman who asked was looking for something like that so I recommended it with the caveat that I'd never ridden it myself. I decided to change that this morning.
I rolled up Minnehaha Ave and then cut across to the Greenway. The ride on the Greenway was pretty uneventful, not too much activity prior to 8am. I turned onto the Kenilworth and was amazed at how nice it was. The trail is lined with wooded ares and/or backyards and doesn't feel like it's in the city at all. At least for the first few miles. As you get closer to downtown it starts to look more like, well, downtown. And though it's not too scenic, it was interesting to ride by the Minneapolis recycling center. I recognized some of the blue metal benches that used to be on Nicollet Mall, along with those ugly signs that gave directions to various landmarks. In all, the detour added about 5 miles to my ride. The Kenilworth unceremoniously spit me out on the edge of downtown with no bike lanes heading into downtown (good job, city planners!) so I rode in to Hennepin going the wrong way in the bike lane. Downtown was even quieter than the Greenway, so I figured it was no biggie.
You may just want to move on to the next blog now. Trust me. No? OK. Don't say I didn't warn you. Got to work, did some checkout and then I started to feel weird. To put it as nicely as I can, something I ate decided it wanted out and in a hurry. Lather, rinse, repeat. Let's just say the rest of today has involved me drinking the pink stuff and going through a lot of reading materiel. Ooog.
Date: April 21
Mileage: 23
Ride type: Commute
April mileage: 311
Year to date mileage: 1015
Date: April 22
Mileage: 30
Ride type: Commute
April mileage: 341
Year to date mileage: 1045
I rolled up Minnehaha Ave and then cut across to the Greenway. The ride on the Greenway was pretty uneventful, not too much activity prior to 8am. I turned onto the Kenilworth and was amazed at how nice it was. The trail is lined with wooded ares and/or backyards and doesn't feel like it's in the city at all. At least for the first few miles. As you get closer to downtown it starts to look more like, well, downtown. And though it's not too scenic, it was interesting to ride by the Minneapolis recycling center. I recognized some of the blue metal benches that used to be on Nicollet Mall, along with those ugly signs that gave directions to various landmarks. In all, the detour added about 5 miles to my ride. The Kenilworth unceremoniously spit me out on the edge of downtown with no bike lanes heading into downtown (good job, city planners!) so I rode in to Hennepin going the wrong way in the bike lane. Downtown was even quieter than the Greenway, so I figured it was no biggie.
You may just want to move on to the next blog now. Trust me. No? OK. Don't say I didn't warn you. Got to work, did some checkout and then I started to feel weird. To put it as nicely as I can, something I ate decided it wanted out and in a hurry. Lather, rinse, repeat. Let's just say the rest of today has involved me drinking the pink stuff and going through a lot of reading materiel. Ooog.
Date: April 21
Mileage: 23
Ride type: Commute
April mileage: 311
Year to date mileage: 1015
Date: April 22
Mileage: 30
Ride type: Commute
April mileage: 341
Year to date mileage: 1045
Thursday, April 20, 2006
Scandia
No ride today. But I had a good excuse. Probably the best excuse ever. Free beer. My brother got invited to the Summit Brewing release party for their new beer, Scandia Ale. Belgian beers are not my favorite. They're different and interesting, and I enjoy trying them, but it's rare that I would drink more than one. Summit's version is blander than most I've tried, but I'm not sure whether that's a good thing or a bad thing. It fits with their stated style of a Scandinavian interpretation of a Belgian ale. Scandinavians are known for their bland cooking. The standard joke is that all Scandinavian food is white (lefse, lutefisk, potatoes). I come from a long line of Norwegians and have eaten my fair share of bland, white food. 
The beer was definitely drinkable. I had my allotted three mini glasses and wasn't sick of it by the time I finished my third. But at the same time, I wasn't lining up to use my extra token that was given to me by a friendly stranger. I decided I'd rather keep the token as a souvenir than have another. I think my brother's fiance-in-law summed it up best when he said, "It tastes like Blue Moon."
The event itself was strange. It was a lot of people standing around in the great hall at the brewery drinking beer. Not that that's bad, but I wasn't sure what I expected. The even was publicized as being between 6-8pm, but when I got there at 5:40 it was packed. By the time the rest of the guys showed up at 6 and we got our first beer, the buffet table was picked over and never replenished. There was a drawing for doorprizes at 5:45 when I first got there too, but after 6 there was never any official talk or anything. It was like being at a bar. A really great bar with free beer, but not quite what I had envisioned. Don't get me wrong, if I had it to do over again I would do it again. But all in all, the beer, the evening, the everything? Meh. Wednesday, April 19, 2006
Gas Buddy
www.twincitiesgasprices.com is a weird little site where people go and post the price of gas they see. It's kind of interesting, but some people get really into it. But they've got a new feature called the Gas Buddy, seen here:
It's fun because it shows the highest and lowest reported gas prices in the twin cities metro. I put it in the sidebar so I can see how much I'm not paying for gas these days.
It's fun because it shows the highest and lowest reported gas prices in the twin cities metro. I put it in the sidebar so I can see how much I'm not paying for gas these days.
Minneapolis Bike To Work Day
One month from today, Friday May 19th, is the Official Bike to Work Day! So mark your calendar now and plan to join up! The 2006 Bike-to-Work event will be bigger than ever! The event is being sponsored by Ameriprise Financial, Birchwood Cafe, Caribou Coffee, Peace Coffee, Penn Cycle,Trailhead Bike and Fitness, and a number of others......
Recruit your friends & co-workers, your boss & your boss's boss!
Win Prizes! Get free stuff!
The 6 official Minneapolis routes and their starting points are listed below:
Bike Routes
1 North Minneapolis
Starts at Webber Park
2 NorthEast Minneapolis
Starts at The Quarry Mall
3 Midtown/Cedar Lake
Starts at the Midtown Greenway Trailhead
4 South Minneapolis
Starts at Bryant Ave S & Minnehaha Pkwy
5 Southeast Minneapolis
Starts at the Minnehaha Park pavilion
6 Park Ave Bike Route
Starts at Park Ave S & Minnehaha Pkwy
7 Make your own route!
Starts wherever you want!
If these routes do not run near you, you can still participate. Just bike into downtown taking whichever route you choose and make your way to the Government Center Plaza. Once there you can mingle with other cyclists, enjoy complimentary coffee and snacks and maybe even get some free schwag.
The routes will leave their designated starting points at 7:00am and should converge at the Government Center Plaza (6th Street South between 3rd and 4th Avenues) around 7:30am. The celebration at the Government Center Plaza will be from 7:00-8:30 and include freebies and prizes from the sponsors.
Each ride will meet at the designated starting point at 6:45am. The rides should all leave their starting point by 7:00am and be at the Government Plaza at approximately 7:30. Stay for the entire program, or just as long as you wish (you may want to let your boss know you're going to be a bike slacker in advance).
There will be several prize giveaways at the Government Center between 7:30 and 8:30am, so if you can plan some time to hang out and catch the drawings. I know that there are several nice gift certificates from the sponsors available, in addition to various other items. Many of the sponsors will have tents set up. Expect complimentary coffee, snacks, water and sports drinks. In addition, last year I ended up with a water bottle, t-shirt, and a really cool Park Tools multi-tool. Expect similar goodies again this year.
And, if all that wasn't enough, this won't help. I'll be leading the Southeast Minneapolis route for the second year in a row. Consider riding in with us. I promise we won't ride like this guy:
If you have questions about any ride specifics, leave a comment or shoot me an e-mail.
Date: April 19
Mileage: 23
Ride type: Commute
April mileage: 288
Year to date mileage: 992
Recruit your friends & co-workers, your boss & your boss's boss!
Win Prizes! Get free stuff!
The 6 official Minneapolis routes and their starting points are listed below:
Bike Routes
1 North Minneapolis
Starts at Webber Park
2 NorthEast Minneapolis
Starts at The Quarry Mall
3 Midtown/Cedar Lake
Starts at the Midtown Greenway Trailhead
4 South Minneapolis
Starts at Bryant Ave S & Minnehaha Pkwy
5 Southeast Minneapolis
Starts at the Minnehaha Park pavilion
6 Park Ave Bike Route
Starts at Park Ave S & Minnehaha Pkwy
7 Make your own route!
Starts wherever you want!
If these routes do not run near you, you can still participate. Just bike into downtown taking whichever route you choose and make your way to the Government Center Plaza. Once there you can mingle with other cyclists, enjoy complimentary coffee and snacks and maybe even get some free schwag.
The routes will leave their designated starting points at 7:00am and should converge at the Government Center Plaza (6th Street South between 3rd and 4th Avenues) around 7:30am. The celebration at the Government Center Plaza will be from 7:00-8:30 and include freebies and prizes from the sponsors.
Each ride will meet at the designated starting point at 6:45am. The rides should all leave their starting point by 7:00am and be at the Government Plaza at approximately 7:30. Stay for the entire program, or just as long as you wish (you may want to let your boss know you're going to be a bike slacker in advance).
There will be several prize giveaways at the Government Center between 7:30 and 8:30am, so if you can plan some time to hang out and catch the drawings. I know that there are several nice gift certificates from the sponsors available, in addition to various other items. Many of the sponsors will have tents set up. Expect complimentary coffee, snacks, water and sports drinks. In addition, last year I ended up with a water bottle, t-shirt, and a really cool Park Tools multi-tool. Expect similar goodies again this year.
And, if all that wasn't enough, this won't help. I'll be leading the Southeast Minneapolis route for the second year in a row. Consider riding in with us. I promise we won't ride like this guy:
If you have questions about any ride specifics, leave a comment or shoot me an e-mail.
Date: April 19
Mileage: 23
Ride type: Commute
April mileage: 288
Year to date mileage: 992
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
The Verve of some people
I was cruising the blogroll tonight and found a nice article on The Minus Car Project from the great state of South Dakota. Kerry Hacecky (Kerry.Hacecky@usd.edu), assistant Editor of VolanteOnline.com ("The Official Voice of the University of South Dakota since 1887") wrote a lovely article about sharing the planet with her fellow human beings. Here's an excerpt:
I may be wrong, but I don't think I'm the only one who wants to run over the fellow on the bike riding in front of my car down Clark Street. See that sidewalk to your right buddy? Yeah, that's where you belong.
On my way to class the other day I got stuck behind one biker peddling away, hand signals and all. It got ugly. That biker who was too fast to bike on the sidewalk rolls right through the stop sign. It was then that I had had it. Buddy, if you're going to ride in the street (which you shouldn't) you have to stop at that sign too. Red means stop. Wait, maybe you didn't take driver's ed either.
Next time I see one of those guys go through a stop sign, I'm going to follow them and run them over. I'll even give them a hand signal. You know which one I mean.
The Complete "story" can be found here.
Wow. I have so many things to say. But the one that comes to mind immediately is that she might want to consider not relying on spell check quite so much. While spell check accepts peddling as a perfectly valid word, it makes no sense in this context. Peddling is to sell wares, as in something a travelling salesman would do. I believe the word she was looking for is pedaling. An assistant editor should know better. Or perhaps I'm wrong. The cyclist may have been peddling wares as they were pedaling down the street. It is South Dakota, after all.
Date: April 18
Mileage: 25
Ride type: Commute
April mileage: 265
Year to date mileage: 969
I may be wrong, but I don't think I'm the only one who wants to run over the fellow on the bike riding in front of my car down Clark Street. See that sidewalk to your right buddy? Yeah, that's where you belong.
On my way to class the other day I got stuck behind one biker peddling away, hand signals and all. It got ugly. That biker who was too fast to bike on the sidewalk rolls right through the stop sign. It was then that I had had it. Buddy, if you're going to ride in the street (which you shouldn't) you have to stop at that sign too. Red means stop. Wait, maybe you didn't take driver's ed either.
Next time I see one of those guys go through a stop sign, I'm going to follow them and run them over. I'll even give them a hand signal. You know which one I mean.
The Complete "story" can be found here.
Wow. I have so many things to say. But the one that comes to mind immediately is that she might want to consider not relying on spell check quite so much. While spell check accepts peddling as a perfectly valid word, it makes no sense in this context. Peddling is to sell wares, as in something a travelling salesman would do. I believe the word she was looking for is pedaling. An assistant editor should know better. Or perhaps I'm wrong. The cyclist may have been peddling wares as they were pedaling down the street. It is South Dakota, after all.
Date: April 18
Mileage: 25
Ride type: Commute
April mileage: 265
Year to date mileage: 969
Friday, April 14, 2006
It's a Sunshine Day
A week of beautiful days has improved everybody's attitude. When I left work today, somebody held the elevator for me. Then a different person held the door for the restroom. After I changed into my bike clothes, a third person held the elevator to the parking garage. And a fourth person (a fellow bike commuter) held open the door and allowed me to go into the garage first. Common courtesy was bustin' out all over.
The ride home was beautiful. I think I saw more bikes today than I did the entire month of January and February combined. Everybody had to get out and get some of those rays. I hope y'all did too.
Date: April 14
Mileage: 26
Ride type: Commute
April mileage: 240
Year to date mileage: 946
The ride home was beautiful. I think I saw more bikes today than I did the entire month of January and February combined. Everybody had to get out and get some of those rays. I hope y'all did too.
Date: April 14
Mileage: 26
Ride type: Commute
April mileage: 240
Year to date mileage: 946
Thursday, April 13, 2006
Blow, wind, blow
The Wind is my Shepherd; I shall not want.
She maketh me to ride fast;
She bloweth me across the waters.
She restoreth my soul:
She pusheth me with tailwinds for Her name' sake.
Yea, though I ride through the valley,
I will fear no headwind: For thou art with me;
Thy bluster and thy breeze, they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies;
Thou annointest my chain with oil; My waterbottle runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the House of the Wind forever.
Date: April 13
Mileage: 23
Ride type: Commute
April mileage: 214
Year to date mileage: 920
She maketh me to ride fast;
She bloweth me across the waters.
She restoreth my soul:
She pusheth me with tailwinds for Her name' sake.
Yea, though I ride through the valley,
I will fear no headwind: For thou art with me;
Thy bluster and thy breeze, they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies;
Thou annointest my chain with oil; My waterbottle runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the House of the Wind forever.
Date: April 13
Mileage: 23
Ride type: Commute
April mileage: 214
Year to date mileage: 920
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
Lucky
Just when I think the whole biking thing is smooth as butter, I get kicked in the shin by the Universe. Quite literally, in this instance. On the ride in to work this morning I rolled past a truck with a for sale sign in the back window. It was a 94 Dodge Dakota for $1100. Now, I'm not really in the market for a new vehicle. The one I've got doesn't get driven enough to make it worthwhile. But this seemed like a fair swap. Probably gets about the same mileage as my Mitsubishi, a little newer, and only $200 more than I paid for the Montero. So I decided to cruise back around and have a closer look.
The initial reverse was fine. I checked for traffic over my shoulder and turned a 180 into the southbound bike lane on Minnehaha. But a car had turned onto Minnehaha a block away and it prevented me from completing the 360. So I stopped. And I waited. And the cars went by. And I waited. I saw my break in traffic and started across. But, I didn't have the pedals lined up just right and somehow got all discombobulated. I nearly made the rookie mistake of crashing from a standstill because I couldn't get going and I couldn't unclip.
Just as I felt the bike start to lean left and I knew that I was for sure going down, my right foot unclipped. There must have been a part of my brain still frantically trying to send the Unclip! signal to my foot after the rational part of my brain had given up on staying upright. Once I realized I was free I made an awkward lunge to keep from going over. I stayed up, but managed to put a decent scrape on my shin in the process. I've been riding clipless for over 2 years now. I kinda thought I'd put this behind me. Oh yeah. The truck, upon closer inspection, was a piece of crap.
Date: April 11
Mileage: 25
Ride type: Commute
April mileage: 166
Year to date mileage: 872
Date: April 12
Mileage: 25
Ride type: Commute
April mileage: 191
Year to date mileage: 897
The initial reverse was fine. I checked for traffic over my shoulder and turned a 180 into the southbound bike lane on Minnehaha. But a car had turned onto Minnehaha a block away and it prevented me from completing the 360. So I stopped. And I waited. And the cars went by. And I waited. I saw my break in traffic and started across. But, I didn't have the pedals lined up just right and somehow got all discombobulated. I nearly made the rookie mistake of crashing from a standstill because I couldn't get going and I couldn't unclip.
Just as I felt the bike start to lean left and I knew that I was for sure going down, my right foot unclipped. There must have been a part of my brain still frantically trying to send the Unclip! signal to my foot after the rational part of my brain had given up on staying upright. Once I realized I was free I made an awkward lunge to keep from going over. I stayed up, but managed to put a decent scrape on my shin in the process. I've been riding clipless for over 2 years now. I kinda thought I'd put this behind me. Oh yeah. The truck, upon closer inspection, was a piece of crap.
Date: April 11
Mileage: 25
Ride type: Commute
April mileage: 166
Year to date mileage: 872
Date: April 12
Mileage: 25
Ride type: Commute
April mileage: 191
Year to date mileage: 897
Saturday, April 08, 2006
An American Revolution
Chevy has a new contest called Chevy Tahoe: The Apprentice (The Apprentice. Original, no?) in which you, humble internet user, can create your own Chevy Tahoe commercial from stock footage. But somehow, I don't think this is quite what they had in mind. Or this, or this one with the curse word at the end.
Mmmmm, donuts...
Date: April 8
Mileage: 44
Ride type: Social/Solo
April mileage: 141
Year to date mileage: 847
A beautiful Saturday and a beautiful ride with the crew from Hiawatha. And this time, since it wasn't raining we actually rode longer than we drank coffee! Don't get into a panic, there was still coffee involved. And donuts. And croissants. After a looping 20 mile ride from the shop to downtown Saint Paul and back we stopped by Minnehaha Coffee and enjoyed the day as it was (finally) warming up. Sidewalk seating in the sun, even.
After my turtle mocha and donut, whose combined caloric content I don't even want to think about, I decided it would be best for my waistline to ride more. I headed north into Minneapolis along the West River Road and crossed over at Franklin to the East River Road. I followed that down to Lilydale and then headed home. By my gmaps pedometer reckoning I logged just over 44 miles for the day. I got home, showered and ran a few errands and now I'm trying not to eat everything in the house before dinner time. One of my errands included a stop at Byerly's for 2 pounds of dry aged sirloin, so I want to have an appetite. The way my stomach is growling I don't think it will be an issue. 44 miles will do that to a guy.
Mileage: 44
Ride type: Social/Solo
April mileage: 141
Year to date mileage: 847
A beautiful Saturday and a beautiful ride with the crew from Hiawatha. And this time, since it wasn't raining we actually rode longer than we drank coffee! Don't get into a panic, there was still coffee involved. And donuts. And croissants. After a looping 20 mile ride from the shop to downtown Saint Paul and back we stopped by Minnehaha Coffee and enjoyed the day as it was (finally) warming up. Sidewalk seating in the sun, even.
After my turtle mocha and donut, whose combined caloric content I don't even want to think about, I decided it would be best for my waistline to ride more. I headed north into Minneapolis along the West River Road and crossed over at Franklin to the East River Road. I followed that down to Lilydale and then headed home. By my gmaps pedometer reckoning I logged just over 44 miles for the day. I got home, showered and ran a few errands and now I'm trying not to eat everything in the house before dinner time. One of my errands included a stop at Byerly's for 2 pounds of dry aged sirloin, so I want to have an appetite. The way my stomach is growling I don't think it will be an issue. 44 miles will do that to a guy.
Friday, April 07, 2006
My plans took a skid
Date: April 5
Mileage: 25
Ride type: Commute
April mileage: 72
Year to date mileage: 778
Date: April 7
Mileage: 25
Ride type: Commute
April mileage: 97
Year to date mileage: 803
The plan for today:
Jump out of bed right when the alarm goes off at 6:00am, excited about the ride. Quickly dress in bike clothes, eat breakfast and be on the road by 6:30am. Get to the downtown Y by 7:30, shower and be to work by 8.
The reality:
Crawl out of bed close to 6:30am after the third snooze. Slowly got dressed, ate breakfast and went to the garage to get the bike. Flat tire on the Schwinn. I ran over something Wednesday and I heard it make a crunching sound, but never saw what it was. Apparantly it was sharp. Looked at the bike with the flat, looked at the truck. Thought about how it would be a pain in the ass to go back inside, shower, change clothes and drive. Called an audible. I took just the essentials out of my pannier and put them in my messenger bag. Grabbed the Jamis and headed in. Battled a fierce headwind (23mph according to Paul Douglas) and got to the downtown Y a little after 8. Showered. Realized that my half awake transfer of essentials to the messenger bag failed to include socks or underwear. Freeballed it over to Target. Bought socks (merino wool blend on sale for $2.49, so I bought 5 pair), underwear (Fruit of the Loom boxer brief 4-pack, on sale for $8.49) and an exercise shirt (something high-tech from Champion, a steal at $10) and headed to work. Got there at 8:45, 15 minutes earlier than "normal." Decided to keep one new pair of undies and one new pair of socks in the desk drawer to head of any future forgetfulness.
Loved the ride on the Jamis. I think I'm going to like this bike.
Mileage: 25
Ride type: Commute
April mileage: 72
Year to date mileage: 778
Date: April 7
Mileage: 25
Ride type: Commute
April mileage: 97
Year to date mileage: 803
The plan for today:
Jump out of bed right when the alarm goes off at 6:00am, excited about the ride. Quickly dress in bike clothes, eat breakfast and be on the road by 6:30am. Get to the downtown Y by 7:30, shower and be to work by 8.
The reality:
Crawl out of bed close to 6:30am after the third snooze. Slowly got dressed, ate breakfast and went to the garage to get the bike. Flat tire on the Schwinn. I ran over something Wednesday and I heard it make a crunching sound, but never saw what it was. Apparantly it was sharp. Looked at the bike with the flat, looked at the truck. Thought about how it would be a pain in the ass to go back inside, shower, change clothes and drive. Called an audible. I took just the essentials out of my pannier and put them in my messenger bag. Grabbed the Jamis and headed in. Battled a fierce headwind (23mph according to Paul Douglas) and got to the downtown Y a little after 8. Showered. Realized that my half awake transfer of essentials to the messenger bag failed to include socks or underwear. Freeballed it over to Target. Bought socks (merino wool blend on sale for $2.49, so I bought 5 pair), underwear (Fruit of the Loom boxer brief 4-pack, on sale for $8.49) and an exercise shirt (something high-tech from Champion, a steal at $10) and headed to work. Got there at 8:45, 15 minutes earlier than "normal." Decided to keep one new pair of undies and one new pair of socks in the desk drawer to head of any future forgetfulness.
Loved the ride on the Jamis. I think I'm going to like this bike.
Tuesday, April 04, 2006
It's sprung
Date: April 4
Mileage: 23
Ride type: Commute
April mileage: 47
Year to date mileage: 753
I rode all the way in this morning in street clothes, and was it cold. I was only planning on going to the Minnehaha LRT station so I was wearing a vest with a short sleeved shirt underneath. Bare arms, brrrr. But when I got there, the train was just pulling away. I didn't have the patience to sit and wait for the next one so in I went. I'm not normally a type A impatient person like that. Honest.
This afternoon was a big change. It was beautiful. It's really spring. There were several signs today.
Most welcome sign of spring - the handle is back on the pump I stopped and emptied my water bottle and refilled it with this magic elixer drawn from the ground. Mmmm, minerally goodness.
Least welcome sign of spring - Rollerbladers! I saw two of them, teenaged girls, skating along in some state of semi-control. It seems there's two types of rollerbladers. The first and more numerous are the ones who look like they're about to fall down every second. These folks are so concerned with staying upright and not breaking open their kneecap that they loose all track of where they are and who is riding or walking around them. The second type is the type that looks like they were born with rollerblades on their feet. They roll down the path effortlessly, pushing with incredibly long strides. The problem for cyclists is that these incredibly long strides are also incredibly wide. It's like their legs go out three feet to the side in both directions. I always get nervous passing either type of 'blader because I know I'm just a moment away from a violent collision.
Other signs of spring I'm too lazy to categorize -
Shorts. I wish I would have worn them like most of the runners and other bikers. I regretted putting on my tights.
Tuffy - Apparantly I was spotted by Tuffy while riding down the river road this afternoon. From what I've seen, Tuffy's not a winter riding kind of guy. Must be spring.
Sunshine! Today was my first post-DST change commute. The sun was wonderful.
The weather tomorrow is supposed to be more of the same, so if you're riding on the river road around 5-5:30, expect to see me on my multicolored Schwinn. Though you may be distracted by the glaring whiteness of my uncovered legs. Don't be afraid. At least they're not shaved.
Mileage: 23
Ride type: Commute
April mileage: 47
Year to date mileage: 753
I rode all the way in this morning in street clothes, and was it cold. I was only planning on going to the Minnehaha LRT station so I was wearing a vest with a short sleeved shirt underneath. Bare arms, brrrr. But when I got there, the train was just pulling away. I didn't have the patience to sit and wait for the next one so in I went. I'm not normally a type A impatient person like that. Honest.
This afternoon was a big change. It was beautiful. It's really spring. There were several signs today.
Most welcome sign of spring - the handle is back on the pump I stopped and emptied my water bottle and refilled it with this magic elixer drawn from the ground. Mmmm, minerally goodness.
Least welcome sign of spring - Rollerbladers! I saw two of them, teenaged girls, skating along in some state of semi-control. It seems there's two types of rollerbladers. The first and more numerous are the ones who look like they're about to fall down every second. These folks are so concerned with staying upright and not breaking open their kneecap that they loose all track of where they are and who is riding or walking around them. The second type is the type that looks like they were born with rollerblades on their feet. They roll down the path effortlessly, pushing with incredibly long strides. The problem for cyclists is that these incredibly long strides are also incredibly wide. It's like their legs go out three feet to the side in both directions. I always get nervous passing either type of 'blader because I know I'm just a moment away from a violent collision.
Other signs of spring I'm too lazy to categorize -
Shorts. I wish I would have worn them like most of the runners and other bikers. I regretted putting on my tights.
Tuffy - Apparantly I was spotted by Tuffy while riding down the river road this afternoon. From what I've seen, Tuffy's not a winter riding kind of guy. Must be spring.
Sunshine! Today was my first post-DST change commute. The sun was wonderful.
The weather tomorrow is supposed to be more of the same, so if you're riding on the river road around 5-5:30, expect to see me on my multicolored Schwinn. Though you may be distracted by the glaring whiteness of my uncovered legs. Don't be afraid. At least they're not shaved.
Bike Commuter Knowledge needed
Calling all commuters! There is a semi-impromptu lunch meeting tomorrow in downtown Minneapolis to discuss/brainstorm how businesses can make themselves more bike and pedestrian friendly for their employees and customers.
Here is the task: In the effort to offer businesses and new developments information on how to make their operations bike and ped friendly and oriented to customer service: 1) build a list of "need to have" accommodations and facilities needed at a commercial/retail establishment to serve their biking and walking customers and/or employees (and if time allows, a list of "nice to have"). 2) And then generate a list of examples in the Twin Cities and elsewhere of businesses that you feel have successfully implemented some level of bike/ped accommodations into their transportation plans and building design.
The details are kind of sketchy (from what I know today, it's 11:30 at Eddington's in the Pillsbury center, subject to verification). I'm planning to attend, and I would be interested in hearing good or bad from any readers that I can share with the group. I know what my employer offers, but I'd especially like to know if anybody local has an employer or business who is doing "all the right things" for bikers and walkers. Leave a comment or shoot me an e-mail (frosti AT gmail DOT com). If you're interested in attending the lunch (pay your own way) let me know and I'll make sure to update you on the final time/location.
Here is the task: In the effort to offer businesses and new developments information on how to make their operations bike and ped friendly and oriented to customer service: 1) build a list of "need to have" accommodations and facilities needed at a commercial/retail establishment to serve their biking and walking customers and/or employees (and if time allows, a list of "nice to have"). 2) And then generate a list of examples in the Twin Cities and elsewhere of businesses that you feel have successfully implemented some level of bike/ped accommodations into their transportation plans and building design.
The details are kind of sketchy (from what I know today, it's 11:30 at Eddington's in the Pillsbury center, subject to verification). I'm planning to attend, and I would be interested in hearing good or bad from any readers that I can share with the group. I know what my employer offers, but I'd especially like to know if anybody local has an employer or business who is doing "all the right things" for bikers and walkers. Leave a comment or shoot me an e-mail (frosti AT gmail DOT com). If you're interested in attending the lunch (pay your own way) let me know and I'll make sure to update you on the final time/location.
Sunday, April 02, 2006
And the rain rain rain came down down down
Date: March 31
Mileage: 22
Ride type: Commute
March mileage: 257
Year to date mileage: 706
Date: April 2
Mileage: 24
Ride type: Social
April mileage: 24
Year to date mileage: 730
This morning when I woke up it was raining. Not too hard, but quite steadily. I checked the online radar and it looked like the rain was just about to move out of the area. So I decided to make the best of it and go to the inaugural Hiawatha Cyclery group ride. I'm glad I did. I think there were 7 riders all told, but I might have missed somebody. Pretty good turnout for a cold and rainy Sunday morning in early April.
I'm not sure how far we rode, but it was an abbreviated route. We went from the shop down to Lake Nokomis and then to Nokomis Beach Coffee (I think) for a quick warm up. Coffee was drank, muffins eaten and the shit was shot. It was nice to put some faces with a few local bloggers and it was nice to meet everybody. By getting 90 percent of my riding mileage in by commuting I'm pretty isolated on the bike. Which is probably why I started the blog in the first place. But there's no substitute for getting out and riding with your fellow bike minded human beings. I'd been missing that, but I hadn't realized how much until today. I might have to make this a regular gig. You should too. We averaged about 10 miles an hour and rode two abreast so people could talk. Very low key and very friendly.
After coffee we headed back to the shop so Jim and Kevin could open the place up and do some business. A few folks hung around for while, but I think most everybody wanted to get home and into dry clothes. I did too. But I also wanted to get a few more miles in so I took the long way home. I rode north into Minnehaha Park and crossed the river on Ford Parkway. Then I followed East River Road to Shepard to 35E. While heading east on Shepard the wind was blowing straight at me and I was sort of regretting the decision to tack on the extra miles. Pedaling harder helped, but I was soaked. In Lilydale I met up with the Big River Regional Trail and then it was straight home.
When I got into the garage I had a hard time untying my shoes because my fingers were starting to go numb. I took a nice long, hot shower and put on some warm fuzzy clothes and ate. I think it will be an early bedtime tonight. I don't even want to talk about the fact that it stopped raining almost immediately after I got home.
Mileage: 22
Ride type: Commute
March mileage: 257
Year to date mileage: 706
Date: April 2
Mileage: 24
Ride type: Social
April mileage: 24
Year to date mileage: 730
This morning when I woke up it was raining. Not too hard, but quite steadily. I checked the online radar and it looked like the rain was just about to move out of the area. So I decided to make the best of it and go to the inaugural Hiawatha Cyclery group ride. I'm glad I did. I think there were 7 riders all told, but I might have missed somebody. Pretty good turnout for a cold and rainy Sunday morning in early April.
I'm not sure how far we rode, but it was an abbreviated route. We went from the shop down to Lake Nokomis and then to Nokomis Beach Coffee (I think) for a quick warm up. Coffee was drank, muffins eaten and the shit was shot. It was nice to put some faces with a few local bloggers and it was nice to meet everybody. By getting 90 percent of my riding mileage in by commuting I'm pretty isolated on the bike. Which is probably why I started the blog in the first place. But there's no substitute for getting out and riding with your fellow bike minded human beings. I'd been missing that, but I hadn't realized how much until today. I might have to make this a regular gig. You should too. We averaged about 10 miles an hour and rode two abreast so people could talk. Very low key and very friendly.
After coffee we headed back to the shop so Jim and Kevin could open the place up and do some business. A few folks hung around for while, but I think most everybody wanted to get home and into dry clothes. I did too. But I also wanted to get a few more miles in so I took the long way home. I rode north into Minnehaha Park and crossed the river on Ford Parkway. Then I followed East River Road to Shepard to 35E. While heading east on Shepard the wind was blowing straight at me and I was sort of regretting the decision to tack on the extra miles. Pedaling harder helped, but I was soaked. In Lilydale I met up with the Big River Regional Trail and then it was straight home.
When I got into the garage I had a hard time untying my shoes because my fingers were starting to go numb. I took a nice long, hot shower and put on some warm fuzzy clothes and ate. I think it will be an early bedtime tonight. I don't even want to talk about the fact that it stopped raining almost immediately after I got home.
Thursday, March 30, 2006
True Grit
Date: March 29
Mileage: 23
Ride type: Commute
March mileage: 210
Year to date mileage: 659
Date: March 30
Mileage: 25
Ride type: Commute
March mileage: 235
Year to date mileage: 684
Yesterday morning I got all amped up for some reason and rode the entire way in to work instead of taking the train. Call it spring fever, call it temporary insanity, I don't know. I rode in on Minnehaha Ave and clocked about 12 miles. I ended up staying later at work than I wanted to and so I was in a hurry to get home and took Minnehaha again that night. I got home and checked the odometer. 23 point something. Huh. That's only 3 miles more than my usual day where I take the train.
So today, by way of an experiment, I rode in again. I took Minnehaha and clocked the same 12 or so miles. I didn't get rained on, much, but I was covered from the knees down with a fine layer of grit. When I got to work I doused the entire drivetrain with the contents of my water bottle to get the gunk out before the ride home. I think I need to get some fenders on this bike or get the studs off the Raleigh so I can ride it in the rain. On the way home I took my normal river road route. Got home, 25 miles. Huh. That's only 5 miles more than my usual. For some reason I'm amazed that taking the train from Ft Snelling to Franklin only saves me 5 miles of riding. And the weirdest part is that both mornings I got in about 5 minutes earlier than I usually do when I take the train. Go figure.
Mileage: 23
Ride type: Commute
March mileage: 210
Year to date mileage: 659
Date: March 30
Mileage: 25
Ride type: Commute
March mileage: 235
Year to date mileage: 684
Yesterday morning I got all amped up for some reason and rode the entire way in to work instead of taking the train. Call it spring fever, call it temporary insanity, I don't know. I rode in on Minnehaha Ave and clocked about 12 miles. I ended up staying later at work than I wanted to and so I was in a hurry to get home and took Minnehaha again that night. I got home and checked the odometer. 23 point something. Huh. That's only 3 miles more than my usual day where I take the train.
So today, by way of an experiment, I rode in again. I took Minnehaha and clocked the same 12 or so miles. I didn't get rained on, much, but I was covered from the knees down with a fine layer of grit. When I got to work I doused the entire drivetrain with the contents of my water bottle to get the gunk out before the ride home. I think I need to get some fenders on this bike or get the studs off the Raleigh so I can ride it in the rain. On the way home I took my normal river road route. Got home, 25 miles. Huh. That's only 5 miles more than my usual. For some reason I'm amazed that taking the train from Ft Snelling to Franklin only saves me 5 miles of riding. And the weirdest part is that both mornings I got in about 5 minutes earlier than I usually do when I take the train. Go figure.
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
Best Ever
Date: March 28
Mileage: 20
Ride type: Commute
March mileage: 187
Year to date mileage: 636
I did some laundry over the weekend and took my neckwarmer, headband and wool socks out of my pannier for good. They're washed up and put away in the winter clothing bin. Next is the green Canari jacket. I switched to my vest instead of the jacket, but I'm not ready to move greenie to the basement closet just yet. Just like I'm not ready to take the studded tires off of the Raleigh just yet. I'm still waiting for that last gasp of old man winter, I guess.
This is pretty much the best bike riding time of year for me. I love riding in the spring. When it's just cool enough that you need some kind of shell and a long sleeved something underneath it on top, and tights on the bottom, but you can still wear just your short-fingered cycling gloves and regular shoes. It's such a great contrast to winter. And it's not so blasted hot that I break a sweat just pedaling out of the driveway like it is in July. I could deal with these temps year round.
The bike cleaning on Sunday was totally worth it, by the way. Even though I pedaled through a few puddles on the way home today and splashed some fresh gunk back on it was still nice to look down and see that shiny front hub spinning all the way home.
Mileage: 20
Ride type: Commute
March mileage: 187
Year to date mileage: 636
I did some laundry over the weekend and took my neckwarmer, headband and wool socks out of my pannier for good. They're washed up and put away in the winter clothing bin. Next is the green Canari jacket. I switched to my vest instead of the jacket, but I'm not ready to move greenie to the basement closet just yet. Just like I'm not ready to take the studded tires off of the Raleigh just yet. I'm still waiting for that last gasp of old man winter, I guess.
This is pretty much the best bike riding time of year for me. I love riding in the spring. When it's just cool enough that you need some kind of shell and a long sleeved something underneath it on top, and tights on the bottom, but you can still wear just your short-fingered cycling gloves and regular shoes. It's such a great contrast to winter. And it's not so blasted hot that I break a sweat just pedaling out of the driveway like it is in July. I could deal with these temps year round.
The bike cleaning on Sunday was totally worth it, by the way. Even though I pedaled through a few puddles on the way home today and splashed some fresh gunk back on it was still nice to look down and see that shiny front hub spinning all the way home.
Monday, March 27, 2006
Look, up in the air! It's a bird...
In case anybody thought I was kidding about my daughter nearly falling out of the tree from nearly 20 feet up, my wife got a pretty good picture of the kid.
You can see, near the bottom right, Morgan standing near Nancy's dad. He's probably 5'9" and Emma's way above him. Nancy has a couple more pictures on her blog too, including a close up. Even more impressive is that she's doing this in mittens and snow boots.
You can see, near the bottom right, Morgan standing near Nancy's dad. He's probably 5'9" and Emma's way above him. Nancy has a couple more pictures on her blog too, including a close up. Even more impressive is that she's doing this in mittens and snow boots.
Sunday, March 26, 2006
Weekend Update
I had a nice, mostly bike free, weekend. Friday night we went over to my brother and his wife's house to celebrate Christmas. Christmas in March? Yes, Virginia. A few years ago the four of us stopped exchanging gifts and started going out for a nice dinner and then drinks. This year we were going to extend the custom to include Nancy's brother and his wife. But then the scheduling got so crazy that it ended up being March. We still will need to go out with them sometime too (Christmas in July?). It's nice because it's 4 less people we need to shop for, and it's a great excuse to get together and have a good time.
This year instead of eating out we went shopping at Kowalski's and cooked. Matt and Mandy each got a new york strip steak, and I got a top sirloin. All three of us used a Swiss steak rub called Pride of Szegeo. The guy at the meat counter had nothing but good things to say about this stuff, and was he right. It was great. I tried googling it and couldn't find a website, but you can get it at Kowalski's in the spices section. Totally worth the $1.79 they're charging for it. Nancy had a cajun marinaded catfish which was also very good. We broke the seal on the summer grilling season and cooked everything on the grill in the backyard. We also had twice-baked potatoes, cous cous, cheese, stuffed mushrooms and dessert. The only bad part of the meal was this bread we bought. It was supposed to be seasoned with herbs and olive oil, but it tasted like fish. So we skipped most of the fishy bread, but nobody went hungry. Yum.
Yesterday we went to retrieve the kidlets from their grandparents. We spent the night in Lamberton and had a great spaghetti dinner courtesy of my MIL. After watching my daughter nearly fall 20 feet out of a tree she'd climbed we all hunkered down and watched Chicken Little Saturday night (which I found vaguely annoying) and then watched Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit (which I found highly amusing). We had great french toast for breakfast with sausages and bacon. Fast food was eaten on the trip there and back. I'm gonna start waddling soon if I keep this up.
When we got home it was a beautiful evening. I hauled all the crap from our trip out of the van and cleaned it out. I nearly vacuumed it too, but the shop vac was buried in a corner of the garage and I didn't feel like digging it out. So instead, I showed my two wheeled vehicles a little love. I spent an hour and a half or so cleaning up the Raleigh and the Schwinn with a washcloth and a bucket of soapy water. The Raleigh deserved it after being encrusted all winter. It's not in showroom condition, but all the moving parts are crud free and it looks clean upon casual inspection. The Schwinn wasn't too dirty, but I decided to start the season out on the right foot. So now it's sparkly and shiny. I'd forgotten what a headache it is to clean white parts on a bike. I'd like to know whose bright idea was it to put white cranks, bar tape and brake hoods on a bike. OK, so I have some blame for the bar tape since I retaped them. But come on, they needed to match the hoods!
Do yourself a favor. Go clean your bike. It'll make you feel good. I promise.
This year instead of eating out we went shopping at Kowalski's and cooked. Matt and Mandy each got a new york strip steak, and I got a top sirloin. All three of us used a Swiss steak rub called Pride of Szegeo. The guy at the meat counter had nothing but good things to say about this stuff, and was he right. It was great. I tried googling it and couldn't find a website, but you can get it at Kowalski's in the spices section. Totally worth the $1.79 they're charging for it. Nancy had a cajun marinaded catfish which was also very good. We broke the seal on the summer grilling season and cooked everything on the grill in the backyard. We also had twice-baked potatoes, cous cous, cheese, stuffed mushrooms and dessert. The only bad part of the meal was this bread we bought. It was supposed to be seasoned with herbs and olive oil, but it tasted like fish. So we skipped most of the fishy bread, but nobody went hungry. Yum.
Yesterday we went to retrieve the kidlets from their grandparents. We spent the night in Lamberton and had a great spaghetti dinner courtesy of my MIL. After watching my daughter nearly fall 20 feet out of a tree she'd climbed we all hunkered down and watched Chicken Little Saturday night (which I found vaguely annoying) and then watched Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit (which I found highly amusing). We had great french toast for breakfast with sausages and bacon. Fast food was eaten on the trip there and back. I'm gonna start waddling soon if I keep this up.
When we got home it was a beautiful evening. I hauled all the crap from our trip out of the van and cleaned it out. I nearly vacuumed it too, but the shop vac was buried in a corner of the garage and I didn't feel like digging it out. So instead, I showed my two wheeled vehicles a little love. I spent an hour and a half or so cleaning up the Raleigh and the Schwinn with a washcloth and a bucket of soapy water. The Raleigh deserved it after being encrusted all winter. It's not in showroom condition, but all the moving parts are crud free and it looks clean upon casual inspection. The Schwinn wasn't too dirty, but I decided to start the season out on the right foot. So now it's sparkly and shiny. I'd forgotten what a headache it is to clean white parts on a bike. I'd like to know whose bright idea was it to put white cranks, bar tape and brake hoods on a bike. OK, so I have some blame for the bar tape since I retaped them. But come on, they needed to match the hoods!
Do yourself a favor. Go clean your bike. It'll make you feel good. I promise.
Saturday, March 25, 2006
The week that wasn't
Grand plans, I tell you. I had them. My kids have been at Nana and Poppa's house all week, meaning that I can get up whenever I want to and go to work whenever I want to and ride my bike whenever I want to. Big Mileage, here I come! Or, not.
Monday: I didn't ride because I have school. No problem, planned that one out. I'm not riding to school until the Big River Regional Trail is snow free.
Tuesday: I rode in the morning, first step of my Big Mileage week is a success! But, being at work 12 hours later took the fight out of me and I trained it most of the way home (remind me not to blog when I'm tired and cranky. See previous entry as to why).
Wednesday: I offered to help a friend move a chair after work, so I drove the van. Minor setback, but no biggie, right?
Thursday: Due to continuing work headaches I went in at 6:00am. Totally wussed out and drove. I can't come up with an excuse or rationalization for this one. Sorry.
Friday: Dinner plans with my brother and his wife, so I drove again so I could meet the Mrs. and be ready to go.
Now today we're heading out of town to retrieve the kids. 21 Big Miles is the official tally for the week. Grumble. Insert pithy quote about the best laid plans of mice and men here. See you next week.
Monday: I didn't ride because I have school. No problem, planned that one out. I'm not riding to school until the Big River Regional Trail is snow free.
Tuesday: I rode in the morning, first step of my Big Mileage week is a success! But, being at work 12 hours later took the fight out of me and I trained it most of the way home (remind me not to blog when I'm tired and cranky. See previous entry as to why).
Wednesday: I offered to help a friend move a chair after work, so I drove the van. Minor setback, but no biggie, right?
Thursday: Due to continuing work headaches I went in at 6:00am. Totally wussed out and drove. I can't come up with an excuse or rationalization for this one. Sorry.
Friday: Dinner plans with my brother and his wife, so I drove again so I could meet the Mrs. and be ready to go.
Now today we're heading out of town to retrieve the kids. 21 Big Miles is the official tally for the week. Grumble. Insert pithy quote about the best laid plans of mice and men here. See you next week.
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
Crosstown Traffic
Date: March 21
Mileage: 21
Ride type: Commute
March mileage: 167
Year to date mileage: 616
Man, traffic was horrible today. And I don't get to say that very often. The truck pictured above was driving down the river road bike path this morning. The truck was weaving from side to side plowing back what little snow there was that didn't get plowed from the edge of the path last week. And every time he'd hit a patch of snow he'd slow down and I would be right on top of him. There was no quick pull over and let me by manuver like KM experienced with the sweeper. I followed him from just north of Minnehaha Park to about 28th where he finally pulled over to the side. Which was right after I got my camera out, so I couldn't get a better shot of me tailgating him.
It's a good thing I rode all the way in this morning. I did it because the kids are away on spring break and I can leave whenever I want to. So I woke up, put my cycling gear on and headed out. Once I reached downtown I stopped at the YMCA for a quick shower and then on to work. I ended up getting in about 8:30, which is a little earlier than my usual. Blah blah, I did work stuff until about 3:30, when I got a call. A project (that I wasn't working on) was having a post install problem and the project manager was out of the office. So I get on the bridge call. Fast forward to 7:30 PM and I'm just getting ready to leave. So by the time I take care of stuff, it's quarter to 8. After that I would have gladly gotten into my car, turned the radio up loud and driven home. But I didn't have that option.
Instead of my original plan of riding home I decided to take the train. I just wasn't in the mood to ride. I got on at the Warehouse District stop and rode until I started to get restless, around 38th. I finally got off the train at the 50th Street/Minnehaha Park station and rode home from there. My computer (yes, I rode the Schwinn again) said 14.5 miles in the morning so that route is about 7 miles, including the downtown piece to get to LRT. It's not a bad option for when I want to tack on another mile or two.
I got home and started working on my homework, which is due tomorrow. I got as far as I could get, and now I'm throwing in the towel. It works, but it's not complete. I'm going to lose some points, but at this point I'm not really concerned about it. I'm just ready for bed.
Mileage: 21
Ride type: Commute
March mileage: 167
Year to date mileage: 616
Man, traffic was horrible today. And I don't get to say that very often. The truck pictured above was driving down the river road bike path this morning. The truck was weaving from side to side plowing back what little snow there was that didn't get plowed from the edge of the path last week. And every time he'd hit a patch of snow he'd slow down and I would be right on top of him. There was no quick pull over and let me by manuver like KM experienced with the sweeper. I followed him from just north of Minnehaha Park to about 28th where he finally pulled over to the side. Which was right after I got my camera out, so I couldn't get a better shot of me tailgating him.
It's a good thing I rode all the way in this morning. I did it because the kids are away on spring break and I can leave whenever I want to. So I woke up, put my cycling gear on and headed out. Once I reached downtown I stopped at the YMCA for a quick shower and then on to work. I ended up getting in about 8:30, which is a little earlier than my usual. Blah blah, I did work stuff until about 3:30, when I got a call. A project (that I wasn't working on) was having a post install problem and the project manager was out of the office. So I get on the bridge call. Fast forward to 7:30 PM and I'm just getting ready to leave. So by the time I take care of stuff, it's quarter to 8. After that I would have gladly gotten into my car, turned the radio up loud and driven home. But I didn't have that option.
Instead of my original plan of riding home I decided to take the train. I just wasn't in the mood to ride. I got on at the Warehouse District stop and rode until I started to get restless, around 38th. I finally got off the train at the 50th Street/Minnehaha Park station and rode home from there. My computer (yes, I rode the Schwinn again) said 14.5 miles in the morning so that route is about 7 miles, including the downtown piece to get to LRT. It's not a bad option for when I want to tack on another mile or two.
I got home and started working on my homework, which is due tomorrow. I got as far as I could get, and now I'm throwing in the towel. It works, but it's not complete. I'm going to lose some points, but at this point I'm not really concerned about it. I'm just ready for bed.
Saturday, March 18, 2006
It's a killing machine
OK, sorry. Things got sort of busy and some of you were kept in suspense for too long. Plus, I had to wait until I had good light during the day to take pictures. I got a new bike!
I ended up finding a good deal on a bike that is, in my opinion, a pretty good value even at MSRP. I bought a 2004 Jamis Satellite. I got intrigued by Jamis a few months ago because I saw a Quest on eBay for a reasonable amount that I could almost afford. When I was researching it I found out that the Quest had won Bicycling Magazine's 2005 Editor's Choice award for best value road bike. Pretty impressive for a brand I'd never heard of. So that put them on my radar. What I found was a 2004 Satellite that was new old stock. It sat in a warehouse somewhere, unsold, unbuilt, unridden, until somehow somebody found it and sold it to me.
The Satellite is the little brother to the Quest. The frame on the Satellite is Reynolds 520 where the Quest is 631, and the components are bottom of the barrel Shimano Sora instead of the Quest's 105 gear. But hey, let's be realistic. I'm not Lance Armstrong. I don't race. Currently the best bike I have has Suntour downtube friction shifters. Sora is a quantum leap up for me. And it's got a carbon fiber fork. I've never owned a carbon fiber anything before. Thrillsville, let me tell ya. It weighs a whopping 3 pounds more than the Quest too. Which I'm finding humorous. My winter bike weighs in at almost 50 pounds, not including the big commuting pannier I strap on it every day. This bike lists out at 23 pounds. But fortunately it's got a triple front chainring so I can really granny down if I struggle getting that extra weight up a hill.
I took it for a small spin this morning, just down the street in my neighborhood. Nor far enough to really get a feel for it. Not really even long enough to say I've ridden it. But just enough so I'm not quite so antsy to ride it. Don't worry, the streets were dry and I carried it over the snow in the driveway.
When's summer going to be here??
More pictures available my flickr account.
Happy St Paddy's Day!
Date: March 17
Mileage: 20
Ride type: Commute
March mileage: 146
Year to date mileage: 595
So what did I do to celebrate St Paddy's day? Nothing. I got home, had dinner, watched some TV with the kids, then switched to college hockey and dozed off on the couch before the Gophers were able to let St Cloud State beat them in overtime. Such is the life of a mid-30's guy who's married with kids.
The morning ride yesterday was The Worst Ever. The roads were fine, the problem was the bike path. When I got to the point where I leave Sibley Memorial to cross the Mendota Bridge, I saw that the plow had been by and plowed out the parking lot. But nobody had plowed the path, so there was a huge plow barrier at the bottom of the hill. I gamely decided to ride through it. And to my surprise, I went right over, easy peasy. But going over took away just enough of my momentum that I couldn't make it up the hill. No big deal, I walked it up. At the top I tried to ride and couldn't. So I walked a little further to where there's a slight downhill. I thought "With a downhill to help, I can get started and once I'm rolling it will be no problem."
I was wrong.
There was something about the consistency of this snow that just would not allow it to be ridden. The snowfall from Thursday was nice and easy to ride in, but this stuff wasn't. I think it was a combination of the overspray of salty slush from the adjacent roadway and the fact that the sun had been shining on it all afternoon Thursday. There was a hard coating that I couldn't penetrate. I did see the tire marks of one other cyclist who tried before me, so I soldiered on. I walked the bike down to the bridge itself, thinking that the snow would be easier there.
It wasn't.
It was also here that the other cyclist's tracks stopped. So he/she had been defeated too. The other cyclist hadn't turned around though. The single track just stopped in the middle of the trail. So I did what I assume they did. I lifted my bike over the concrete wall and rode on the shoulder of Highway 55. Once I crossed the bridge I lifted it back to the path and continued. The rest of the path was rideable, but deep.
I was all set to rant and rave about the plowing folks shirking their duties. But on the way home last night, badda boom. Everything was cleared out! Good job and a hearty thank you to whoever took the time! We (me and at least one other person) appreciate it!
Mileage: 20
Ride type: Commute
March mileage: 146
Year to date mileage: 595
So what did I do to celebrate St Paddy's day? Nothing. I got home, had dinner, watched some TV with the kids, then switched to college hockey and dozed off on the couch before the Gophers were able to let St Cloud State beat them in overtime. Such is the life of a mid-30's guy who's married with kids.
The morning ride yesterday was The Worst Ever. The roads were fine, the problem was the bike path. When I got to the point where I leave Sibley Memorial to cross the Mendota Bridge, I saw that the plow had been by and plowed out the parking lot. But nobody had plowed the path, so there was a huge plow barrier at the bottom of the hill. I gamely decided to ride through it. And to my surprise, I went right over, easy peasy. But going over took away just enough of my momentum that I couldn't make it up the hill. No big deal, I walked it up. At the top I tried to ride and couldn't. So I walked a little further to where there's a slight downhill. I thought "With a downhill to help, I can get started and once I'm rolling it will be no problem."
I was wrong.
There was something about the consistency of this snow that just would not allow it to be ridden. The snowfall from Thursday was nice and easy to ride in, but this stuff wasn't. I think it was a combination of the overspray of salty slush from the adjacent roadway and the fact that the sun had been shining on it all afternoon Thursday. There was a hard coating that I couldn't penetrate. I did see the tire marks of one other cyclist who tried before me, so I soldiered on. I walked the bike down to the bridge itself, thinking that the snow would be easier there.
It wasn't.
It was also here that the other cyclist's tracks stopped. So he/she had been defeated too. The other cyclist hadn't turned around though. The single track just stopped in the middle of the trail. So I did what I assume they did. I lifted my bike over the concrete wall and rode on the shoulder of Highway 55. Once I crossed the bridge I lifted it back to the path and continued. The rest of the path was rideable, but deep.
I was all set to rant and rave about the plowing folks shirking their duties. But on the way home last night, badda boom. Everything was cleared out! Good job and a hearty thank you to whoever took the time! We (me and at least one other person) appreciate it!
Thursday, March 16, 2006
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
The Ides of March
Date: March 15
Mileage: 20
Ride type: Commute
March mileage: 126
Year to date mileage: 575
Today was my first ride of the week. Not because I'm a big scaredy-cat when it comes to snow, but because of the daughter who is sick but then isn't but then decides she is again saga. Not that I'm blaming her. She really has been ill. Monday morning when she woke up she was near 102 degrees, and she was warm yesterday too. But this morning when I woke her up she asked me "What day is it?" When I told her it was Wednesday she practically squealed with joy "Show and tell!" Any kid that happy about show and tell is well enough to go to school.
Unfortunately, I may have been hasty. The school nurse called my wife around 11:30 and said the fever was back up. Nancy went and picked up the feverish one (who wanted McDonald's for lunch). The feverish one remained sick for all of 1 1/2 hours, and then became well again. But I'll be home with her tomorrow morning, because the Nazi school nurse told us that a kid with a fever can't come back until she's fever free for 24 hours. And She's Putting Us On The List. Maybe the kid and I will find something fun to do tomorrow morning.
The ride today was pretty uneventful. It was a huge change from Friday's ride with no jacket, but still nice. The city of Minneapolis does a kick ass job of clearing the bike path, but they've got a way to go on the bike lanes. The bike lanes in downtown were still completely full of snow tonight. With an additional dump coming tonight if the weather gets a few degrees colder they will be unrideable. The cynic in me says that the city is subtly trying to herd the cyclists off the city streets and onto the bike paths. But the realist in me says that the guys who plow downtown don't care, whereas the guys who plow the parks and trails are more outdoorsy types and make more of an effort. Oh, and somebody better have a talk with the guy who was plowing down in the northern part of Minnehaha Park. They plowed a whole section of trail that really isn't trail, but just grass. Rookie.
[to Del.icio.us]
Mileage: 20
Ride type: Commute
March mileage: 126
Year to date mileage: 575
Today was my first ride of the week. Not because I'm a big scaredy-cat when it comes to snow, but because of the daughter who is sick but then isn't but then decides she is again saga. Not that I'm blaming her. She really has been ill. Monday morning when she woke up she was near 102 degrees, and she was warm yesterday too. But this morning when I woke her up she asked me "What day is it?" When I told her it was Wednesday she practically squealed with joy "Show and tell!" Any kid that happy about show and tell is well enough to go to school.
Unfortunately, I may have been hasty. The school nurse called my wife around 11:30 and said the fever was back up. Nancy went and picked up the feverish one (who wanted McDonald's for lunch). The feverish one remained sick for all of 1 1/2 hours, and then became well again. But I'll be home with her tomorrow morning, because the Nazi school nurse told us that a kid with a fever can't come back until she's fever free for 24 hours. And She's Putting Us On The List. Maybe the kid and I will find something fun to do tomorrow morning.
The ride today was pretty uneventful. It was a huge change from Friday's ride with no jacket, but still nice. The city of Minneapolis does a kick ass job of clearing the bike path, but they've got a way to go on the bike lanes. The bike lanes in downtown were still completely full of snow tonight. With an additional dump coming tonight if the weather gets a few degrees colder they will be unrideable. The cynic in me says that the city is subtly trying to herd the cyclists off the city streets and onto the bike paths. But the realist in me says that the guys who plow downtown don't care, whereas the guys who plow the parks and trails are more outdoorsy types and make more of an effort. Oh, and somebody better have a talk with the guy who was plowing down in the northern part of Minnehaha Park. They plowed a whole section of trail that really isn't trail, but just grass. Rookie.
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Monday, March 13, 2006
Snow Day!
My daughter Morgan woke me up at 6:30 this morning and told me that my other daughter was sick. I could hear Emma coughing, but it didn't sound too bad. While I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and brain, Morgan went into the kitchen and got the thermometer from the cupboard. She then went and took Emma's temperature. 101.9 degrees. OK kid, you're staying home. Then Nancy called and told me that school was closed. OK kids, you're both staying home.
This is the view from my living room. Welcome to March in Minnesota. Friday it was near 60, today we've got a snowstorm that's closing the schools. This would be your regularly scheduled snowstorm, just arriving a few days late. This weekend was the Minnesota Boys High School Hockey Tournament. All of this stuff normally blows in during tourney weekend and screws up travel for everybody. With the mild winter we're having I can see how management would slip up and forget about a thing like that, then have to scramble at the last minute to push a product out the door for a delayed delivery. I suppose it's too much to hope that somebody will go out and plow the Highway 55 bridge. Good thing I'm lazy and haven't taken the studded tires off yet. Memo to the boys at storm central: Nice work, job well done, now lay off the snow.
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This is the view from my living room. Welcome to March in Minnesota. Friday it was near 60, today we've got a snowstorm that's closing the schools. This would be your regularly scheduled snowstorm, just arriving a few days late. This weekend was the Minnesota Boys High School Hockey Tournament. All of this stuff normally blows in during tourney weekend and screws up travel for everybody. With the mild winter we're having I can see how management would slip up and forget about a thing like that, then have to scramble at the last minute to push a product out the door for a delayed delivery. I suppose it's too much to hope that somebody will go out and plow the Highway 55 bridge. Good thing I'm lazy and haven't taken the studded tires off yet. Memo to the boys at storm central: Nice work, job well done, now lay off the snow.
[to Del.icio.us]
Sunday, March 12, 2006
Public Nudity!
Date: March 9
Mileage: 20
Ride type: Commute
March mileage: 106
Year to date mileage: 555
I feel like things have been rolling along at a breakneck pace lately. Thursday I rode to work on the Raleigh. It was a beautiful ride home, and I could tell it was warm by the number of runners wearing shorts. Normally I see a few guys wearing shorts even whenever it gets above 35 or so. But Thursday's public nudity was remarkable in that 3 of the 5 people I saw in shorts were women. No matter what the internet has let you to believe, men are still more likely to take off their clothes in public (women who want to disprove this claim are encouraged to e-mail photos). So when the shorts wearing women outnumber the men I know it's a nice spring day in Minnesota. My wife called me when I was in Minnehaha Park and said that she and the girls were out for a ride. So I kicked it up into high gear (both on the bike and in my legs) and met them at the Big Rivers Regional Trail trailhead overlook. The kids were thrilled to see me ride up unexpectedly. After we fooled around for a while I "raced" them home. It's only about a mile, and I left while they were still buckling seat belts but they still beat me. Not by a lot, because I pulled into the driveway while they were all piling out of the van.
Date: March 10
Mileage: 20
Ride type: Commute
March mileage: 126
Year to date mileage: 575
Because it was so ungodly nice I couldn't resist taking the Schwinn out on Friday. Repacked bearing be damned! And it was totally worth it. On the ride home I managed to stuff my jacket into my pannier and rode wearing a jersey with a long sleeved shirt over it on top, and bike shorts with tights over them on the bottom. Perfect. The Schwinn is so much faster than the Raleigh! I had a fairly decent headwind on the way home, but still made it home faster than normal. And it was a joy. It was also nice to have a computer to see how many actual miles this new route was. I was a little mistrustful of my google maps estimate, but the computer clocked in at 19.97 miles, so that's close enough to 20 for me.
Nancy called me from the Y when I was on the Highway 55 bridge. She and the kids were swimming and she wanted to meet me at Granite City for dinner. I was home early enough that I was able to shower and change before heading over. I had their Smothered Beef sandwich and a nice glass of their MaiBock. After riding 5 consecutive days, a glass of beer and a good, heavy meal I was out like a light. I spent the rest of the weekend either working or doing homework, far from enjoyable but you gotta do what you gotta do.
[to Del.icio.us]
Mileage: 20
Ride type: Commute
March mileage: 106
Year to date mileage: 555
I feel like things have been rolling along at a breakneck pace lately. Thursday I rode to work on the Raleigh. It was a beautiful ride home, and I could tell it was warm by the number of runners wearing shorts. Normally I see a few guys wearing shorts even whenever it gets above 35 or so. But Thursday's public nudity was remarkable in that 3 of the 5 people I saw in shorts were women. No matter what the internet has let you to believe, men are still more likely to take off their clothes in public (women who want to disprove this claim are encouraged to e-mail photos). So when the shorts wearing women outnumber the men I know it's a nice spring day in Minnesota. My wife called me when I was in Minnehaha Park and said that she and the girls were out for a ride. So I kicked it up into high gear (both on the bike and in my legs) and met them at the Big Rivers Regional Trail trailhead overlook. The kids were thrilled to see me ride up unexpectedly. After we fooled around for a while I "raced" them home. It's only about a mile, and I left while they were still buckling seat belts but they still beat me. Not by a lot, because I pulled into the driveway while they were all piling out of the van.
Date: March 10
Mileage: 20
Ride type: Commute
March mileage: 126
Year to date mileage: 575
Because it was so ungodly nice I couldn't resist taking the Schwinn out on Friday. Repacked bearing be damned! And it was totally worth it. On the ride home I managed to stuff my jacket into my pannier and rode wearing a jersey with a long sleeved shirt over it on top, and bike shorts with tights over them on the bottom. Perfect. The Schwinn is so much faster than the Raleigh! I had a fairly decent headwind on the way home, but still made it home faster than normal. And it was a joy. It was also nice to have a computer to see how many actual miles this new route was. I was a little mistrustful of my google maps estimate, but the computer clocked in at 19.97 miles, so that's close enough to 20 for me.
Nancy called me from the Y when I was on the Highway 55 bridge. She and the kids were swimming and she wanted to meet me at Granite City for dinner. I was home early enough that I was able to shower and change before heading over. I had their Smothered Beef sandwich and a nice glass of their MaiBock. After riding 5 consecutive days, a glass of beer and a good, heavy meal I was out like a light. I spent the rest of the weekend either working or doing homework, far from enjoyable but you gotta do what you gotta do.
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Friday, March 10, 2006
Confessions of a Teenaged Bike
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
Sunrise, Sunset
Date: March 8
Mileage: 18
Ride type: Commute
March mileage: 86
Year to date mileage: 535
This morning I went past the Franklin Ave stop that I usually exit on, and stayed on the train. I instead got off at the Downtown East/Metrodome station. I rode past the Kirby memorial that had appeared outside the main ticket window. I saw Bob Sansavere (pictured in black) talking to folks and taking notes for his next story. I didn't want to talk to him so I just slowly cruised past the site. I'm not sure what compels people to take their treasured memorabilia and leave it out on the street when a celebrity dies.
There were homer hankies, Wheaties boxes, hats, t-shirts and jerseys. Obviously these people cared about Kirby in the way only a fan can. But I would think they would want to hang on to that stuff now that the celebrity is gone. I don't get it. Of course I'm not sure why I felt compelled to go look, so who am I to judge.
On the way home I stopped and took a photo of yet another sign that spring is nearly here. This shot is what I believe to be the U of M rowing club getting their shells out of storage and into a rack by the river. Soon we'll see rowers going up and down the river getting ready for the season.
I'm getting the itch to take the Schwinn out. But I really shouldn't. There's too many puddles. And it could still snow at any time. But I'm getting really tired of riding the Raleigh. So here's my promise to you, interweb: I will not ride the Schwinn until I have repacked the bearings in the front and rear hubs and the bottom bracket. It's the least I should do before I start riding it. Keep me honest, interweb.
[to Del.icio.us]
Mileage: 18
Ride type: Commute
March mileage: 86
Year to date mileage: 535
This morning I went past the Franklin Ave stop that I usually exit on, and stayed on the train. I instead got off at the Downtown East/Metrodome station. I rode past the Kirby memorial that had appeared outside the main ticket window. I saw Bob Sansavere (pictured in black) talking to folks and taking notes for his next story. I didn't want to talk to him so I just slowly cruised past the site. I'm not sure what compels people to take their treasured memorabilia and leave it out on the street when a celebrity dies.
There were homer hankies, Wheaties boxes, hats, t-shirts and jerseys. Obviously these people cared about Kirby in the way only a fan can. But I would think they would want to hang on to that stuff now that the celebrity is gone. I don't get it. Of course I'm not sure why I felt compelled to go look, so who am I to judge.On the way home I stopped and took a photo of yet another sign that spring is nearly here. This shot is what I believe to be the U of M rowing club getting their shells out of storage and into a rack by the river. Soon we'll see rowers going up and down the river getting ready for the season.
I'm getting the itch to take the Schwinn out. But I really shouldn't. There's too many puddles. And it could still snow at any time. But I'm getting really tired of riding the Raleigh. So here's my promise to you, interweb: I will not ride the Schwinn until I have repacked the bearings in the front and rear hubs and the bottom bracket. It's the least I should do before I start riding it. Keep me honest, interweb.
[to Del.icio.us]
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
Just keep dragging on
Date: March 7
Mileage: 18
Ride type: Commute
March mileage: 68
Year to date mileage: 517
It was a brutal one tonight. My first clue was that on the ride in I was able to switch up to the high gear, and pretty much had to to keep my ass from bouncing on the seat while spinning. That's a tailwind. Which means on the way home, that's a headwind. Reading that back, I'm not sure the term "high gear" is entirely appropriate. I'm riding the Raleigh this winter, and the salt has been taking it's toll on the components. When this bike originally began life it had 21 speeds. 21 seemed like an overabundance at the time, and it probably is. Though with the new bikes it's middle of the road. Anyway, the shiftig was sort of out of whack before winter began and the front derailleur would only go to the smallest two of the three chainrings. Not a big deal, since I rarely used the big one and didn't plan to increase that usage in the winter. Then as the grime piled on and the rust rusted further the rear derailleur started to malfunction. So now it's to the point where it doesn't shift at all. So I can move from the "low" gear, which is really #7, to the "high" gear, which is really #14. And for this bike, with the studded tires and all 50 glorious pounds, that's about all I need. It would be nice to be able to downshift a bit on the hills, but beggars can't be choosers. Anyway, back to the ride.
When I got home my neighbor made a comment about how it "must have been a wet one" coming home. I told him that I would have gladly traded a little more wet for a little less wind. It really wasn't raining that hard for most of the way, but the wind was killing me. Instead of taking the river road home I took Franklin to Minnehaha Ave. I did this for a couple of reasons:
1. The wind. Minnehaha is a lot more sheltered than the River Road. It may not make much of a difference, but any little bit helps.
2. Distance. The Minnehaha route is about 2 miles shorter. Again, not much of a difference but any port in a storm.
3. The wind. Did I mention that it was windy out? Cripes amighty.
One good thing about the rain, it washed away a lot of the crap that's been collecting around my bottom bracket. And I found out tonight that my neoprene booties are pretty darn water resistant. I wouldn't want to go wading in them, but they did a good job keeping some larger than expected puddle splashes off and keeping my toes dry. Before this winter booties weren't real high on my list of priorities but now I'm a fan. Though the way they get torn up I'll probably go with the cheap $20 ones from Performance in the future. They got a pretty decent review on bike forums too.
Ride on, y'all.
[to Del.icio.us]
Mileage: 18
Ride type: Commute
March mileage: 68
Year to date mileage: 517
It was a brutal one tonight. My first clue was that on the ride in I was able to switch up to the high gear, and pretty much had to to keep my ass from bouncing on the seat while spinning. That's a tailwind. Which means on the way home, that's a headwind. Reading that back, I'm not sure the term "high gear" is entirely appropriate. I'm riding the Raleigh this winter, and the salt has been taking it's toll on the components. When this bike originally began life it had 21 speeds. 21 seemed like an overabundance at the time, and it probably is. Though with the new bikes it's middle of the road. Anyway, the shiftig was sort of out of whack before winter began and the front derailleur would only go to the smallest two of the three chainrings. Not a big deal, since I rarely used the big one and didn't plan to increase that usage in the winter. Then as the grime piled on and the rust rusted further the rear derailleur started to malfunction. So now it's to the point where it doesn't shift at all. So I can move from the "low" gear, which is really #7, to the "high" gear, which is really #14. And for this bike, with the studded tires and all 50 glorious pounds, that's about all I need. It would be nice to be able to downshift a bit on the hills, but beggars can't be choosers. Anyway, back to the ride.
When I got home my neighbor made a comment about how it "must have been a wet one" coming home. I told him that I would have gladly traded a little more wet for a little less wind. It really wasn't raining that hard for most of the way, but the wind was killing me. Instead of taking the river road home I took Franklin to Minnehaha Ave. I did this for a couple of reasons:
1. The wind. Minnehaha is a lot more sheltered than the River Road. It may not make much of a difference, but any little bit helps.
2. Distance. The Minnehaha route is about 2 miles shorter. Again, not much of a difference but any port in a storm.
3. The wind. Did I mention that it was windy out? Cripes amighty.
One good thing about the rain, it washed away a lot of the crap that's been collecting around my bottom bracket. And I found out tonight that my neoprene booties are pretty darn water resistant. I wouldn't want to go wading in them, but they did a good job keeping some larger than expected puddle splashes off and keeping my toes dry. Before this winter booties weren't real high on my list of priorities but now I'm a fan. Though the way they get torn up I'll probably go with the cheap $20 ones from Performance in the future. They got a pretty decent review on bike forums too.
Ride on, y'all.
[to Del.icio.us]
Monday, March 06, 2006
RIP Kirby
I've never been a huge baseball fan. I usually catch a few games on the television during the season, and every couple of years I go to the ballpark. But it's to see the Saints more than the Twins. The Twins are playing some great ball these days, and any year it feels like they could make a run at the Series. But it's not something I obsess over. I can't keep track of stats for sports. I just don't have the head for it. You can get away with that with many sports, but not baseball. To be a true baseball fan, you've got to be a numbers person. Batting averages, box scores, Earned Run Averages. It's like a statistics class with athletes.
Yesterday I heard that Kirby Puckett had a stroke and had been taken to the hospital. This morning when I checked the news there was little more information. But one thing caught my eye. An employee of the hospital he was admitted to anonymously stated that Puckett was in critical condition. Call it a premonition, call it a feeling; I was sure he was going to die after reading that. And he did.
The Vikings went to the Superbowl four times and always came home as losers. The North Stars made some admirable attempts, but their names never went on Lord Stanley's cup. Neither has the young Wild team, yet. Wolves, nope. The Twins are one of the few hometown teams we have here in Minnesota that got it done. They went to the big dance and came home a winner. Not once, but twice. And a huge part of that was thanks to Kirby Puckett. Thanks for the memories, Kirby.
Date: March 6
Mileage: 20
Ride type: Commute
March mileage: 50
Year to date mileage: 499
[to Del.icio.us]
Yesterday I heard that Kirby Puckett had a stroke and had been taken to the hospital. This morning when I checked the news there was little more information. But one thing caught my eye. An employee of the hospital he was admitted to anonymously stated that Puckett was in critical condition. Call it a premonition, call it a feeling; I was sure he was going to die after reading that. And he did.
The Vikings went to the Superbowl four times and always came home as losers. The North Stars made some admirable attempts, but their names never went on Lord Stanley's cup. Neither has the young Wild team, yet. Wolves, nope. The Twins are one of the few hometown teams we have here in Minnesota that got it done. They went to the big dance and came home a winner. Not once, but twice. And a huge part of that was thanks to Kirby Puckett. Thanks for the memories, Kirby.
Date: March 6
Mileage: 20
Ride type: Commute
March mileage: 50
Year to date mileage: 499
[to Del.icio.us]
Friday, March 03, 2006
Non Sequitur
Date: March 3
Mileage: 10
Ride type: Commute
March mileage: 30
Year to date mileage: 479
I cut my ride short today because the school nurse called and said my girls were sick. So I rode 6 miles in the morning by riding from home to the Ft Snelling light rail, then getting off at the Franklin station and riding the additional 2 miles into work. When I left work I took the LRT from downtown to Ft Snelling and then booked it home, got my truck and picked up the girls. They laid on the couch for a couple of hours and then, like a miracle, they recovered. Grrrr.
I saw this bumper sticker the other day near the Franklin Ave LRT station. I'm not sure who Bertha is, or why I should be eating her mussels. My brother-in-law used to have a Volkswagen Golf with a bumper sticker that read "Eat My Fish" We were never sure whose fish it referred to or how to find out. For some reason people in this area are compelled to give seafood recommendations from the back of their car. I'm not even going to try to understand. But Bertha, if you're out there, give me a holla' and I'll try your mussels.
[to Del.icio.us]
Mileage: 10
Ride type: Commute
March mileage: 30
Year to date mileage: 479
I cut my ride short today because the school nurse called and said my girls were sick. So I rode 6 miles in the morning by riding from home to the Ft Snelling light rail, then getting off at the Franklin station and riding the additional 2 miles into work. When I left work I took the LRT from downtown to Ft Snelling and then booked it home, got my truck and picked up the girls. They laid on the couch for a couple of hours and then, like a miracle, they recovered. Grrrr.
I saw this bumper sticker the other day near the Franklin Ave LRT station. I'm not sure who Bertha is, or why I should be eating her mussels. My brother-in-law used to have a Volkswagen Golf with a bumper sticker that read "Eat My Fish" We were never sure whose fish it referred to or how to find out. For some reason people in this area are compelled to give seafood recommendations from the back of their car. I'm not even going to try to understand. But Bertha, if you're out there, give me a holla' and I'll try your mussels.
[to Del.icio.us]
Thursday, March 02, 2006
Party Animal
Date: March 2
Mileage: 20
Ride type: Commute
March mileage: 40
Year to date mileage: 469
I swear to god, there was no posing. I found him, and the can, exactly like this.
Perhaps he was depressed and like his smelly brethren the skunks, he committed suicide. Perhaps after a few too many Lites he staggered in front of the wrong moving vehicle. Either way, as the weather gets warmer it's gonna get smelly riding past this party animal.
[to Del.icio.us]
Mileage: 20
Ride type: Commute
March mileage: 40
Year to date mileage: 469
I swear to god, there was no posing. I found him, and the can, exactly like this.
Perhaps he was depressed and like his smelly brethren the skunks, he committed suicide. Perhaps after a few too many Lites he staggered in front of the wrong moving vehicle. Either way, as the weather gets warmer it's gonna get smelly riding past this party animal.
[to Del.icio.us]
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
What is it with the meat theme this week?
Date: March 1
Mileage: 20
Ride type: Commute
March mileage: 20
Year to date mileage: 449
For the first day of March, not bad at all. The promised freezing rain/rain/snow never appeared and even though the day was overcast it made for a nice commute home. I did have one interesting problem getting ready to go home. I normally don't blog about work, but this is related. I've been helping another project manager out with some tasks for her project for the last few months. She keeps telling me that she's going to buy me a steak as a way of saying thanks. One day last week we were talking about brisket, and I honestly couldn't tell you why. But it inspired her. Today, she brought me a brisket.
Now this is a piece of meat. 4.12 pounds. And I'm riding my bike. The single pannier I use for commuting (the other was run over by my wife) isn't the largest bag on the market, but it usually does the job. Though in the winter I'm usually pushing maximum capacity with all the warm clothes. So quitting time rolls around and I go and get my brisket from the fridge. Huh, that's funny. It's wider than the opening of my bag. I had to squeeze it in just so. I could barely get the top closed. And while four pounds may not sound like much, coupled with a full day's worth of work clothes, a repair kit, a 3/4" socket, a spare tube and various other sundry items it makes for one heavy as hell pannier. When I attached it to the bike it caused the bike to lean so quickly I almost dropped the whole thing. I was amazed that it didn't fall off on the way home. But the brisket is now safely in my refrigerator at home. Now I need to figure out what to do with it.
As long as I'm breaking the "don't blog about work" rule, here's what else happened today. A few years ago (this is backstory, hang on) when we first moved into our new building there was a urinal in our bathroom that was out of order. It remained out of order for over 7 months. Dust settled on the thing. The people in charge had clearly forgotten all about it. My friend Tim called building services and got the thing fixed. So I nominated him for an award using our company's internal recognition program. In that nomination, I made sure used the word "urinal" as often as I could. It was a proud moment when our team leader got to read the entire nomination in front of our department. She turned several shades of red. It was beautiful.
Fast forward several years. Tim and I are now in different departments, but we've both moved from the 7th floor to the 8th floor. There was now a urinal on 8 that would flush for well over a minute every time it was used. Once finished, you zip up and walk away. Most urinals are done flushing before you're done washing your hands. This one was still flushing when you walked out of the bathroom. It has the autoflush sensor thing, so there was no avoiding this. What a waste of water. I mentioned it to my buddy Tim at work, and he had noticed it too. So he promised to call building services if I would submit another nomination. The terms were agreed to. He called, it was fixed, I nominated. We have a new recognition program so I was limited to 500 characters this time around, but I think I captured something.
The roar of rushing water. It makes one think of falls. Niagra Falls. Angel Falls. Closer to home, the sound of St. Anthony Falls. It should not, however, make one think of urinals. However for the last few months this has sadly been the case. The #1 urinal in the 8th floor men's room was showing signs of being an overachiever. Most urinals are content to flush for approximately 20 seconds. Thorough, yet not overkill. Once business had concluded at #1 it would begin a hearty flush. Not content to stop at 20 seconds it continued on, recklessly exceeding the advertised 1 gallon per flush emblazened on the top of the unit. Our #1 was clearly going above and beyond the call of duty.
Speaking of above and beyond the call of duty, we turn to Tim (nice segue, eh?). Tim noticed the existence of a problem. Tim called building services. Order (and the promised 1 gallon per flush) was restored. Huzzah!
[to Del.icio.us]
Mileage: 20
Ride type: Commute
March mileage: 20
Year to date mileage: 449
For the first day of March, not bad at all. The promised freezing rain/rain/snow never appeared and even though the day was overcast it made for a nice commute home. I did have one interesting problem getting ready to go home. I normally don't blog about work, but this is related. I've been helping another project manager out with some tasks for her project for the last few months. She keeps telling me that she's going to buy me a steak as a way of saying thanks. One day last week we were talking about brisket, and I honestly couldn't tell you why. But it inspired her. Today, she brought me a brisket.
Now this is a piece of meat. 4.12 pounds. And I'm riding my bike. The single pannier I use for commuting (the other was run over by my wife) isn't the largest bag on the market, but it usually does the job. Though in the winter I'm usually pushing maximum capacity with all the warm clothes. So quitting time rolls around and I go and get my brisket from the fridge. Huh, that's funny. It's wider than the opening of my bag. I had to squeeze it in just so. I could barely get the top closed. And while four pounds may not sound like much, coupled with a full day's worth of work clothes, a repair kit, a 3/4" socket, a spare tube and various other sundry items it makes for one heavy as hell pannier. When I attached it to the bike it caused the bike to lean so quickly I almost dropped the whole thing. I was amazed that it didn't fall off on the way home. But the brisket is now safely in my refrigerator at home. Now I need to figure out what to do with it.
As long as I'm breaking the "don't blog about work" rule, here's what else happened today. A few years ago (this is backstory, hang on) when we first moved into our new building there was a urinal in our bathroom that was out of order. It remained out of order for over 7 months. Dust settled on the thing. The people in charge had clearly forgotten all about it. My friend Tim called building services and got the thing fixed. So I nominated him for an award using our company's internal recognition program. In that nomination, I made sure used the word "urinal" as often as I could. It was a proud moment when our team leader got to read the entire nomination in front of our department. She turned several shades of red. It was beautiful.
Fast forward several years. Tim and I are now in different departments, but we've both moved from the 7th floor to the 8th floor. There was now a urinal on 8 that would flush for well over a minute every time it was used. Once finished, you zip up and walk away. Most urinals are done flushing before you're done washing your hands. This one was still flushing when you walked out of the bathroom. It has the autoflush sensor thing, so there was no avoiding this. What a waste of water. I mentioned it to my buddy Tim at work, and he had noticed it too. So he promised to call building services if I would submit another nomination. The terms were agreed to. He called, it was fixed, I nominated. We have a new recognition program so I was limited to 500 characters this time around, but I think I captured something.
The roar of rushing water. It makes one think of falls. Niagra Falls. Angel Falls. Closer to home, the sound of St. Anthony Falls. It should not, however, make one think of urinals. However for the last few months this has sadly been the case. The #1 urinal in the 8th floor men's room was showing signs of being an overachiever. Most urinals are content to flush for approximately 20 seconds. Thorough, yet not overkill. Once business had concluded at #1 it would begin a hearty flush. Not content to stop at 20 seconds it continued on, recklessly exceeding the advertised 1 gallon per flush emblazened on the top of the unit. Our #1 was clearly going above and beyond the call of duty.
Speaking of above and beyond the call of duty, we turn to Tim (nice segue, eh?). Tim noticed the existence of a problem. Tim called building services. Order (and the promised 1 gallon per flush) was restored. Huzzah!
[to Del.icio.us]
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