Wormslayer

I headed out for the weekly Hiawatha ride this morning in a light drizzle. As I rode up Highway 13 I was amazed at the number of worms on the shoulder. Apparently we got more rain last night than I thought. We made a couple of coffee stops and escorted Ray home. I bought a water bottle cage for the Kuwahara and headed home myself. This afternoon I was adjusting a fender on the bike that was rubbing, and found that the bike was littered with worm corpses. It was kinda disgusting.

One on the quick release and one in the sprockets (you can't see it well because it's covered in chain lube)

The front fender:

The rear fender:

The rear quick release:

Rear wheel:


Another one covered in chain lube, this time on the front sprocket:

And finally, the crank:



Date: April 9
Mileage: 26
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Kuwahara
April mileage: 145
Year to date mileage: 1024

Date: April 10
Mileage: 12
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Kuwahara
April mileage: 157
Year to date mileage: 1036

Date: April 14
Mileage: 24
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Kuwahara
April mileage: 181
Year to date mileage: 1060

Date: April 15
Mileage: 26
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Kuwahara
April mileage: 207
Year to date mileage: 1086

Date: April 15
Mileage: 26
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Kuwahara
April mileage: 233
Year to date mileage: 1112

Date: April 16
Mileage: 26
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Kuwahara
April mileage: 259
Year to date mileage: 1138

Date: April 17
Mileage: 26
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Kuwahara
April mileage: 285
Year to date mileage: 1164

Date: April 18
Mileage: 26
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Kuwahara
April mileage: 311
Year to date mileage: 1190

Date: April 19
Mileage: 25
Ride type/Bike: Hiawatha/Kuwahara
April mileage: 336
Year to date mileage: 1215

Peach pie, oh my

I had a lovely slice of peach pie on the Hiawatha ride Saturday morning. I'm not kidding, probably the best peach pie I've ever had. Check out Firefly Bistro if you're in the neighborhood. They've got great pie, and slices of cake big enough to choke a lunatic.

I broke the Suburban out of mothballs for the ride on Saturday, as I still had some cookies to deliver and needed the jumbo basket. Snakey took a picture of me arriving. I was clearly amused by something he or Ray said. My wife said she likes this picture of me.

I've been riding the newly built Kuwahara since the snow was gone, and I'm really digging the way it rides. I'm still dialing in the little things like seat and handlebar height, but I'm amazed at how well it rides right from the get go. I'm a half-assed bike mechanic and was pleasantly surprised by how well the bizarro component mixture works. It's not perfect, but much better than I was expecting. When mixing newer Shimano and vintage Suntour you never know what's going to work and what's not, but shifting in friction mode will cover a lot of sins. I am going to have to replace the rear Suntour AR derailleur, as it doesn't seem to have enough reach to get to the largest and smallest rear cogs. So I'm riding the bike as a 12 speed currently. Once I get the derailleur figured out it will be a 16 speed. No rush.


Date: April 4
Mileage: 24
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Kuwahara
April mileage: 60
Year to date mileage: 939

Date: April 5
Mileage: 23
Ride type/Bike: Hiawatha/Suburban
April mileage: 83
Year to date mileage: 962

Date: April 7
Mileage: 18
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Kuwahara
April mileage: 101
Year to date mileage: 980

Date: April 8
Mileage: 18
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Kuwahara
April mileage: 119
Year to date mileage: 998

Bipolar weather

The weather has been nothing but strange here in MSP. Keeps us on our toes, I guess.

Monday's commute:


Tuesday's commute:



The funny thing is, they were both enjoyable. Monday I had a gusty wind at my back and I was flying through the snow and slush as fast as I would have on dry pavement. Tuesday was enjoyable just because it was such a beautiful day, made even more so by the contrast to the previous day.

I rode sans studs today for the first time since November. It was awesome. Here's a preview of what I rode from my strangely lit basement workshop:


Date: March 29
Mileage: 29
Ride type/Bike: Hiawatha/Triumph
March mileage: 313
Year to date mileage: 861

Date: March 31
Mileage: 18
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Triumph
March mileage: 331
Year to date mileage: 879

Date: April 1
Mileage: 18
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Triumph
March mileage: 349
Year to date mileage: 897

Date: April 2
Mileage: 18
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Kuwahara
March mileage: 367
Year to date mileage: 915

It's raining McCain

I try not to get too political on this blog, mainly because I don't usually know what I'm talking about. But this was something I just couldn't pass by.

If McCain can't win with this kind of support, I don't know what it would take.

Cookie Monster!

That will be me tomorrow. I'm planning on hitting the Hiawatha ride tomorrow morning fully laden with a basket full of cookies. Let me know if you're not planning on attending, as I'm not sure I'll be able to fit everything in one load. Thanks to the generosity of the HC crew, I might need to hitch up the Burley...

Date: March 20
Mileage: 18
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Triumph
March mileage: 153
Year to date mileage: 701

Date: March 21
Mileage: 18
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Triumph
March mileage: 171
Year to date mileage: 719

Date: March 22
Mileage: 21
Ride type/Bike: Hiawatha/Triumph
March mileage: 192
Year to date mileage: 740

Date: March 24
Mileage: 18
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Triumph
March mileage: 210
Year to date mileage: 758

Date: March 25
Mileage: 18
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Triumph
March mileage: 228
Year to date mileage: 776

Date: March 26
Mileage: 18
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Triumph
March mileage: 246
Year to date mileage: 794

Date: March 27
Mileage: 18
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Triumph
March mileage: 264
Year to date mileage: 812


Date: March 28
Mileage: 20
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Triumph
March mileage: 284
Year to date mileage: 832

Mmmmm....

A weeklong photo summary

Last weekend we changed from CST to DST. This changed my morning commute from riding in with the sunrise to riding in the pitch black. This sign is lit by both my camera flash and my 10w headlight.

Tuesday I scored a deal on a new rear wheel from the local craigslist. Since I was biking I needed to haul it home via bike. I'm really loving this rear basket. I didn't have any bungee cords but the nylon webbing from my messenger bag made a handy substitute.

Friday I worked from home. I took the opportunity to escort my girls to school via bicycle. The previous day they had dinked around enough in the AM that they missed the bus. Their mean old mom made them walk (with her) to school rather than bailing them out via car. They were not happy. So by comparison, biking to school was great. For the record, it's a mile from our house to the school Oh, the cruelty!

Just like the Three Speed Tour, there's no shame in walking hills when riding your bike to school.

I rode back to school at noon with mean old mom to see the girls recite poetry with the rest of their class.

This may be one of the most under-utilized bike racks ever. Even when it's gorgeous in the spring and fall there are never any bikes there.

Because it was Saturday I got to go in to work later than usual. The one good thing about this day was I got to see a nice sunrise while waiting for the train.


Date: March 11
Mileage: 21
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Triumph
March mileage: 75
Year to date mileage: 623

Date: March 12
Mileage: 18
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Triumph
March mileage: 93
Year to date mileage: 641

Date: March 13
Mileage: 18
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Triumph
March mileage: 111
Year to date mileage: 659

Date: March 14
Mileage: 6
Ride type/Bike: School Escort/Triumph
March mileage: 117
Year to date mileage: 665

Date: March 15
Mileage: 18
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Triumph
March mileage: 135
Year to date mileage: 683

Everything I do, I do it for you

Today was officially it. The first true signs of spring. It's some magical combination of air temp, which hovered around the freezing mark, combined with a bright sunshiny day. Sure, we've had warmer days here this winter, but today is different. And everybody knows it. It's nothing I can objectively point to and say "That's why" but it's there. And the dog walkers who meandered all across the path knew. I hadn't had to dodge a distracted dog walker since probably November. The 3 guys running in shorts when it's clearly too cold for shorts, knew. This winter has expired. We're just waiting for somebody to notice that it's starting to smell and huck it into the trash.

I have an unshakable urge to take the studded tires off and remind myself what riding feels like. But to do this would be an affront to the weather gods. As punishment, they would send an 18 inch snowstorm down upon the MSP metro area. So I'm going to keep grinding out the studs on the (mainly) dry pavement. At least until the weekend. You're welcome.

Date: March 5
Mileage: 18
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Triumph
March mileage: 18
Year to date mileage: 566

Date: March 7
Mileage: 18
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Triumph
March mileage: 36
Year to date mileage: 584

Date: March 10
Mileage: 18
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Triumph
March mileage: 54
Year to date mileage: 602

Hoodoo, who do you think you're fooling?

Last spring I wrote a little something about E85 on ye olde blog.  Now I realize this is a bike related blog and one of the more tangible benefits of commuting to work via bike is that I don't have to buy nearly as much gas as the average schmoe.  I drive a big tank of a station wagon that I can haul kids, dogs and building supplies in.  But I can't remember the last time I put gas in it.  But I consider this a secondary motivation.  In reality, I just like riding my bike.  Perhaps it's the daily challenge of doing something that requires forethought and adapting to the ever changing world outside instead of encapsulating myself in a series of boxes (home to car to work to car to home, lather rinse repeat) that makes me enjoy it.  I don't really know why I like it.  I don't really care.

 

Now, back to ethanol.  Because saving the planet isn't my primary objective for biking, I don't have a lot of strong feelings about alternative fuels and hybrid cars and whatnot.  Unless it's stupid.  And ethanol is looking more and more stupid.  And the interesting thing is that more and more people are realizing it.  In March of 2007 Jon Birger wrote the following for Fortune magazine:

[In the summer of 2006] when corn was $2 a bushel and oil was $70 a barrel, ethanol plants were minting money. They averaged $1.06 in profit for every gallon of ethanol sold, according to Credit Suisse. Today, with oil at $60 and corn at $4, ethanol producers typically net an average of only 3 cents...

If corn spikes to $5 -- a real possibility, says A.G. Edwards commodities analyst Dan Vaught -- or oil declines to $50, ethanol's once-fantastic margins would turn negative. That possibility is creating tensions between ethanol producers and corn growers, two groups whose lobbyists are normally attached at the hip.

And here we are in spring of 2008 with corn over $5.25 a bushel.  If these prices are sustained, or increase, ethanol producers will lose money.  And they know it.  Earlier this week Cargill abandoned their plan to build a new ethanol plant in Kansas.  And in Canton, Illinois an unfinished ethanol plant was just sold in bankrupcy court.  Gee, didn't Congress just mandate that we use 36 billions gallons of biofuel by 2022?  Who's going to be able to afford to refine it?

Date: February 27
Mileage: 18
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Triumph
February mileage: 209
Year to date mileage: 518

Date: February 28
Mileage: 12
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Triumph
February mileage: 221
Year to date mileage: 530

Date: February 29
Mileage: 18
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Triumph
February mileage: 239
Year to date mileage: 548

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

Avuncular

When I wrote last week that it was a good week, it was a bt of an understatement. I'd forgotten about two upcoming events in the week that I was looking forward to with great anticipation. The first I've already written about, that being the Hiawatha soiree. The second, and more important event, is that my brother and his wife had their first baby on Saturday night.

Sunday evening we made our pilgrimage to the hospital to see our new niece (to me and Mrs.) and the first First Cousin for E&M. So for the first time in my life, somebody can call me Uncle Pete! It will be added to the other family titles of honor that I wear (dad, son, Lord and Master, brother, etc.). And I couldn't be more thrilled.

Date: February 25
Mileage: 12
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Triumph
February mileage: 191
Year to date mileage: 500

Happy Anniversary!

I stopped off at Hiawatha Cyclery World HQ last night for their big Second Anniversary celebration. The boys at HC pulled out all the stops and made a great event. I got to ride Karl's new Big Dummy and saw maybe the only Big Dummy being built up with a Rohloff hub. I ended up staying for nearly 3 hours because every time I would think about leaving somebody else I knew walked through the door. Folks I hadn't seen for months, and folks I see nearly every time I go to HC. I'm not a very outgoing person by nature, and I don't normally put myself into situations where I don't know anybody. I usually feel uncomfortable making conversation with strangers. I had second thoughts about going on my first Hiawatha Ride two years ago for those very reasons. But two years and several friends later, I'm glad I did.

I threw a couple of pictures up on my flickr page, but this video was my favorite from the evening.

Here's to the continued success of Hiawatha. Thanks for everything, gentlemen.

Date: February 22
Mileage: 18
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Triumph
February mileage: 179
Year to date mileage: 488

Good week

Even though work has been crazy, it's been a good week on the home front for me. First off, MN/Dot finally got off their butts and plowed the Mendota Bridge. It doesn't take much to make me happy, and this works. What a huge difference in my commute that one mile can make.

On the way home from work on Tuesday, I saw a big group (flock?) of turkeys on the side of the road. I always like these little nature encounters, and these guys were nice enough to stand still so I could get a picture (best viewed large). I was pushing the limits of the new little Canon, as I know these point and shoots don't do so well in low light and the daylight was fading fast. The pictures turned out better than I expected, lighting wise. I still suck ass when it comes to composition. But I'd rather just whip out the camera and half-ass it and get OK shots than spend a whole lot of time and effort studying photography only to still suck. It's good to know ones limitations.

And in other news, the Mrs. and I celebrated our 14 year wedding anniversary on Tuesday. To commemorate such an occasion we put an ungodly portion of my bonus into orthodontic treatment for the girls, had a home cooked dinner and crashed early. Romance, thy name is us. 14 years. That's over 5,000 days of wedded bliss. As I said to the Mrs. early in our relationship, "I know we've only known each other four weeks and three days, but to me it seems like nine weeks and five days. The first day seemed like a week and the second day seemed like five days. And the third day seemed like a week again and the fourth day seemed like eight days. And the fifth day you went to see your mother and that seemed just like a day, and then you came back and later on the sixth day, in the evening, when we saw each other, that started seeming like two days, so in the evening it seemed like two days spilling over into the next day and that started seeming like four days, so at the end of the sixth day on into the seventh day, it seemed like a total of five days. And the sixth day seemed like a week and a half. I have it written down, but I can show it to you tomorrow if you want to see it." Here's to another 5,000 with me, darlin'.


Date: February 19
Mileage: 18
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Triumph
February mileage: 149
Year to date mileage: 458

Date: February 21
Mileage: 12
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Triumph
February mileage: 161
Year to date mileage: 470

Trudge, trudge, trudge

MN/Dot may have done it. Finally broken my spirit, that is. I sent the following tongue in cheek email yesterday afternoon, thinking it might bring a smile to somebody's face and maybe some results.

Good afternoon,
In the calm before the upcoming snowstorm I would like to remind the good folks at MN/Dot that the Mendota Bridge has a bicycle and pedestrian path on the north side of the bridge. I only bring it up because in the past several months there has been no effort made to clear the pathway after a snowfall. Being a daily user of this pathway, I can only assume this is due to a minor oversight. I'm sure it's not possible that the path was left unplowed intentionally.

According to my records, the sidepath has not been plowed since December 7, 2007. Earlier unplowed snowfalls have been compacted down by repeated use and the path is currently slippery and dangerous, but passable. However past experience tells me that a snowfall of the predicted 4-5 inches coupled with the snow thrown from the automobile roadway by the full size plows will make this pathway unusable. Many, like myself, will resort to driving in situations like this. This will increase the amount of congestion on the roads which nobody is in favor of. Others who don't own cars will leave the pathway and ride or walk on the shoulder of the highway. A dangerous situation for both the biker/walker and the passing auto traffic. Especially dangerous when the walker or biker is forced to travel from west to east and use the shoulder while travelling against traffic.

Thanks in advance for your prompt attention to this matter.

It did snow, but not as much as predicted. Even though the shoulders weren't plowed when I was going to work it was still easy going to cut through all the fresh soft powder. Until I got to the bridge, that is. I rode probably the first 1/4 mile over the bridge and kept going slower and slower. I finally had to stop and walk. I was pretty upbeat about it, and only was 20 minutes late to work.

The way home was the same, but I couldn't even get the momentum for 1/4 of the bridge. I walked the whole thing. I saw several other bike tracks that got to the bridge, slipped and slid and then crossed over the barrier onto the shoulder of the highway. For some reason I couldn't bring myself to throw my bike over this time. Maybe I was feeling especially cowardly. Maybe I needed to be a bit of a martyr. Maybe I needed to feel sorry for myself. But I walked. And tomorrow, I'll drive.

Date: February 14
Mileage: 12
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Triumph
February mileage: 131
Year to date mileage: 440

Local Point of Interest

There are things I see every day on my commute that I take for granted. Things I like, but I've seen them so many times that I almost ignore them. I'm going to try to start noticing them again.

First example.

This house is on Minnehaha Ave in Minneapolis. I ride by it most every day. I really like the way the roof is set up. It's sort of a double gambrel arrangement that I find to be very pleasing. There are 4 or 5 houses along Minnehaha with the exact same structure, but this one is the nicest looking in my opinion. I like the combination of the red shingles on the upper portion, the yellow siding on the lower portion and the white pillars. If I remember correctly this is the only one with pillars. Somebody cares about this house, and takes care of it. Which it deserves. I'm very curious about the floor plan inside, but I'm not the type to just go knocking on a strangers door to ask questions. This house is around the 3800 block of Minnehaha on the east side of the road. Take a gander if you're in the area.

Date: February 11
Mileage: 18
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Triumph
February mileage: 83
Year to date mileage: 392

Date: February 12
Mileage: 18
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Triumph
February mileage: 101
Year to date mileage: 410

Date: February 13
Mileage: 18
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Triumph
February mileage: 119
Year to date mileage: 428

Couldn't stand the weather

After a couple of uneventful commutes I went on the Hiawatha ride Saturday morning. Even though Jim and Kevin are in Portland for the NAHMB show four of us still showed up for the ride. Temps were in the mid 20s with the forecast calling for them to plummet. For comparison, this morning it was -16 with wind chill factors of -40+. No, I'm not talking celsius. We rode up to CRC and chatted with B Rose a bit before riding back to the shop. The shop was closed and there was really no reason to go back there, but it felt like the right thing to do. On the way home I pulled out my new camera. It's an upgraded version of the old Canon I've been lugging around for about 6 years. The new one is a Canon PowerShot SD870. It's a little better zoom, but the real difference is moving from 3.2 megapixel to 8.0.
Though it was actually a pretty nice morning I look cold, don't I?

I didn't feel cold, and actually rode about 1/2 a mile with only one glove so I could get this panda shot.

I really like this shot for some reason. It's now my new desktop background.

The Mendota Bridge was plenty snowy. The greyness of the day comes through in all these shots.

This shot of Ft. Snelling really captures how fat the snowflakes really were.

Here's a shot of the new 3 speed rear wheel. I know Rob has been having trouble with broken spokes on his, but so far so good for me. I'm going to take a wait and see attitude.

With the new wheel came new equipment up front. I added an old Suntour barcon to run the SA hub and a set of new grips from Hiawatha. Both are mounted on an old set of bars from a Schwinn Suburban. The Weinmann brakes are from the Suburban, as is the stem. I just pulled the entire assembly out and relocated it to the Triumph.

Not much of a snowtongue.

While the snow couldn't form a good tongue on the fender, it did a bang up job of obscuring both my light and my reflector.


Today was incredibly sunny. The kind of sunshine you only get in the northern states when it's butt cold. I drove up to Blaine and wandered around the Bike Swap, but didn't make any purchases. Nothing motivated me. I did see some beautiful bikes (not in my size or price range). And the National Sports Center got some of my $5 admission, so it's all good.

Date: February 6
Mileage: 18
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Triumph
February mileage: 18
Year to date mileage: 327

Date: February 7
Mileage: 12
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Triumph
February mileage: 30
Year to date mileage: 339

Date: February 8
Mileage: 12
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Triumph
February mileage: 42
Year to date mileage: 351

Date: February 8
Mileage: 23
Ride type/Bike: Hiawatha/Triumph
February mileage: 65
Year to date mileage: 374

It's a big old goofy world

Sheldon Brown died. It's nearly impossible to read a bike themed blog today without finding this out. He was a goofy guy who worked in a bike shop on the east coast, and yet I would bet that anybody who has ever turned a wrench on their own bike has consulted his site at least once. I did frequently, most recently when I decided to build my first wheel. His instructions were clear and got me through the process with no fuss and no muss. I found myself quite saddened today to learn he was gone, even though I'd never met him or sent him an email. But all the same, he made my bicycling life richer.

Of course, that's not the only story of the day. Another blogger Michale proposed to his girlfriend Sarah and she said yes! More people I don't know, but at the same time I was cheered by their excitement and the thought of their future together. And over the weekend another cyclist prepared to welcome another child into the world. While I was riding the train home, I saw a woman riding her bike with her 7-8 year old son pedaling behind on a tag-along bike. He was wearing a nice winter shell and a balaclava and his helmet had some sort of monster head affixed to it. Call it personal style, or panache, or whatever you choose. Sheldon would have approved.

As I continued to ride the train I realized I'd pretty much seen the gamut of life through the wheel of a bike today. The celebration of the beginning of a new life. A young child making his way in the world, learning there is more to life than what lies in his backyard. A couple pledging to spend their lives together. And the death of a cycling legend. The wheel in the sky keeps on turning.

Sorels: Accept No Substitute

What I did last Saturday:

Pictures

I decided that discretion was the better part of valor (and the better part of keeping ones toes) and deliberately skipped riding in the -40 windchill on Tuesday and Wednesday. Thursday I was ready to go, but came out to a flat tire on my beautiful new wheel. I considered taking a bike with non-studded tires, but the thought of moving all the lights and associated winter crap only to fall on my ass was too much to bear. So I drove again. I'm working from home today due to a sick kid, so that pretty much shoots the week. Hockey tonight with my brother, and then more work this weekend. Whee.

On a brighter note, I managed to figure out how to get the photos out of the new camera, so here are a bunch of pictures from the recent Knowledge Ride. Abandon hope, all ye dial-up users who enter here.

We visited Coffee Benè, a nice enough place with cute barristas and a nice atmosphere. We should go back.

They gave us the private room. Probably something about keeping the riff-raff from mingling with the regular customers.

A few familiar faces.

More cheerful muffin eaters.

A scenic view of the gas station. Unleaded was only $2.82!

Still need a little work figuring out the flash setting. Boris isn't quite this deathly pale in real life.

And the remainder of the jolly crew.

The Blogger Formerly Known as a Single Speeder

Dear Geared Bicycles,
I know we've had our differences over the past few years. I've taken you for granted, and even neglected you. Especially during the winter months when you really need me most. I can hardly blame you for becoming disfunctional and nearly inoperable with no love for two winters. I can't help that I became frustrated with you and cast you off this winter with nary a thought. I haven't shifted since November.

But yesterday we rode together again, and I remembered all the good times we used to have. The easy spinning going uphill. The ability to not spin out going downhill. All available with the simple flick of a lever. Geared bicycles, let's never fight again!

Date: January 28
Mileage: 16
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Triumph (with new 3 speed rear hub)
January mileage: 309
Year to date mileage: 309

Velocipete, Wheelsmith

Apparently it's true, there's no such thing as a stupid question. Last week I asked the internets why Jana Ireton wasn't sending me notes signed "kisses" and then she goes and leaves a comment on my blog. Signed "many thanks"! Ah, well, it would never last anyway.

I managed to get my Triumph converted over from a single speed to a three speed this afternoon. I had built the wheel last weekend and spent some time here and there doing final truing over the last week. I'm one of those people who will continue to fiddle with something until it gets broken so this afternoon I finally took the wheel out of the stand and mounted it on the bike. To take advantage of the extra gearing I had to replace the grips, run a new shift cable and housing and mount an old bar end shifter I had lying around. I took it for a quick spin in the neighborhood and everything tested out fine. However I'm packing a 15mm wrench for tomorrow's commute, just in case any post-installation issues should arise. I'm hoping it's fine, but I'm always nervous after making a major configuration change like this until I've got a ride or two under my belt. But my knees haven't been enjoying the hills here in Eagan on the singlespeed, so this was a good way to find a better method.

This is the first time I'd built a wheel from scratch. The wheel itself is built around a Sturmey-Archer three speed hub from 1976. It's a 36 hole hub which I'm told means it most likely was manufactured for Schwinn. Kevin was clearing out some parts and made me a deal on it. I got a Salsa Delgado rim and the spokes from Hiawatha. The wheelbuilding portion was actually quite straightforward. As long as you pay attention and don't miss a hole it's not too hard. It got a little more interesting when I started thinking about dish and roundness and lateral trueness and spoke tension and all those finer points, but I think I built a decent wheel. Time is the revelator, as they say. Either way, I'm glad to have built it. Yet another mechanical item that, while I'm not a master of, I feel much more comfortable with.

Date: January 23
Mileage: 18
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Triumph
January mileage: 264
Year to date mileage: 264

Date: January 24
Mileage: 10
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Triumph
January mileage: 274
Year to date mileage: 274

Date: January 26
Mileage: 19
Ride type/Bike: Hiawatha/Triumph
January mileage: 293
Year to date mileage: 293

Can it really be true?

From the South Metro Crime Report section of the Strib:

 

DEC. 1

Suspicious person.

"While on routine patrol, police stopped to check on the welfare of a woman parked on the side of a road. The woman, a California resident, told police that she had been sitting in her car on the side of the road for 15 minutes because it was snowing and her windows were iced over. Police assisted the woman by turning on the defrost to clear her windows."

Innovate or Die

Every once in a great while I get a random comment on a really old blog post. It's always a bit puzzling, and even disconcerting. Since I rarely go back and re-read my blog entries I often forget that they're out there and other people might be reading them. I got a comment today on a post that I originally made nearly a year ago, February 20, 2007 to be precise. And in this case, it's bad news. From alert poster Bob, who seems to have some sort of special connection to the Angel:

Hello Bob,

Happy 2008! I hope all is well with you. Another great year of cycling is among us and TOC is less than a month away.

I was hoping to share the good news of my return as the Specialized Angel for the 3rd year, but Specialized did not ask for my return. I was heart-broken when they gave me the news that they decided to have another girl from Spain be the Angel at TOC this year. They thanked me for all I've done to make the Angel iconic and to not take it personal, but it was the majority opinion of having this someone be the Angel who spoke multiple languages and keeping it fresh for the press.

It was very difficult for me to imagine someone else in my wings. After all, I was the first Specialized Angel who the cycling industry was so taken with and I was so taken with them. Being that there has been one Devil (Didi Senft) in Europe for many years, I was dreaming whole-heartily of being the one Angel for the U.S. I do respect Specialized's decision for whomever they choose to be their Angel - I'm just disheartened that it will not be me.

I have to say as I told Specialized that I am truly grateful to have been the Specialized Angel all this time and will remember this amazing experience for the rest of my life. I've been able to embrace the cycling phenomenon like never before. I absolutely loved being at the KOMs, starts, & finishes blowing my signature kisses to all the riders, team cars, motorcades, police squad cars, caravan, and of course the fantastic fans. So a special thanks to you and Pez Cycling for featuring me these past 2 years and although you will not see me in my glorious wings, I will be along the sidelines cheering on the riders at various stages of TOC and enjoying every moment as I have always done. And yes, "I am Specialized"!

Kisses,
Jana Ireton

Anyway, it seems clear that Specialized is planning to kick Jana to the curb in favor of some fresh faced girl who can speak more than one language. We'll have to just remember her as she was.


P.S. Why isn't Jana Ireton sending me notes signed "Kisses"?

Date: January 22
Mileage: 20
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Triumph
January mileage: 246
Year to date mileage: 246

I need a long winter's nap

First update: The principal survived. From all accounts he enjoyed his evening outdoors. However none of the kids have seen him without his shoes on, so we cannot verify that he still has the same number of toes he had when he began the night. Frostbite can be sneaky.

Last night I was a bad husband. My wife left me a voicemail at work letting me know she was taking the kids to the Y and that they might not be home when I got home. I took this as a good opportunity to run an errand. I swung over into St. Paul to pick up some brewing supplies at Northern Brewer, but severely underestimated how long the detour and the shopping would take me. So they were all home when I got home, and had been worried that something happened to me, since I was about 45 minutes behind my normal arrival time. And of course, I had forgotten my cell phone yesterday. Note to self: Even if you think the errand will be quick, let the family know about it so they don't worry.

While at the brew store I picked up ingredients to make Mead. I've never made it before, but the instructions don't seem to hard and it's similar to making beer. My brother in law is a big Renaissance Fair guy and wants to try mead-making. So he and a buddy are coming over Saturday afternoon around 1:00 to do a batch. If you're interested, you're more than welcome to join us. Note to self #2: 12 pounds of honey is a really heavy thing to carry in a messenger bag for 9 miles.

After biking 25 miles yesterday in single digits and another 18 today with (negative) double digit windchill, I don't have a strong desire to leave the house until June or so. Plus, the forecast for tomorrow told me not to leave the house:

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL AND
SOUTHERN MINNESOTA...AND WEST CENTRAL WISCONSIN.

.DAY ONE...TONIGHT
BITTERLY COLD AIR WILL CONTINUE TO POUR ACROSS THE UPPER MIDWEST
TONIGHT. BY DAYBREAK...TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED TO BOTTOM OUT IN
THE TEENS AND LOWER 20S BELOW ZERO. THESE COLD TEMPERATURES
COMBINED WITH NORTHWEST WINDS OF 10 TO 20 MPH WILL PRODUCE WIND
CHILL VALUES BETWEEN 25 TO 45 BELOW ZERO. WIND CHILL ADVISORIES
AND WARNINGS HAVE BEEN POSTED FOR MUCH OF THE AREA. DO NOT VENTURE
OUTDOORS...UNLESS YOU WELL PROTECTED FROM THESE DANGEROUS COLD
TEMPERATURES.

I think I'm going to skip the Hiawatha ride, stay warm and get things ready for the mead fest. I did bring my computer home, so theoretically I could work from home until June but I know it's not going to work out that way. So perhaps I'll just stay inside until Tuesday. I've got a wheel to build and mead to make, so that should keep me plenty busy.

Date: January 16
Mileage: 18
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Triumph
January mileage: 183
Year to date mileage: 183

Date: January 17
Mileage: 20
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Triumph
January mileage: 203
Year to date mileage: 203

Date: January 17
Mileage: 5
Ride type/Bike: Errand/Triumph
January mileage: 208
Year to date mileage: 208

Date: January 18
Mileage: 18
Ride type/Bike: Errand/Triumph
January mileage: 226
Year to date mileage: 226

Cold-sicle

It's been plenty cold here in the Twin Cities, and the forecast calls for more of the same. Yesterday on my way home I was able to create a mighty chin-sicle. My kids thought it was one of the funniest things they'd ever seen. So did my wife.

But then the boys over at Surly went and topped that feat, quite handily.

There's also a fellow out there in the metro who goes by nanobiker. He's sporting the beard-sicle:

This morning it was below zero, but I couldn't get the chin-sicle cooking, or on the way home. Even the dog is cold. Cold enough that she wore her sweater. I think the pathetic look on her face is because she knows I'm going to embarrass her on the internet in front of all the other dogs.

Tonight after dinner we loaded up the fam into the car and drove to the kids' elementary school. All the kids completed their January reading assignments, and their reward was that their principal promised to spend the night outside in his fish house in front of the school. Here's a photo of him earlier in the afternoon, getting his read on.

He's a big time biker, and I'm tempted to swing by on my way to work tomorrow to see if he survived or if he turned into a principal-sicle.

Date: January 10
Mileage: 10
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Triumph
January mileage: 111
Year to date mileage: 111

Date: January 11
Mileage: 18
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Triumph
January mileage: 129
Year to date mileage: 129

Date: January 14
Mileage: 18
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Triumph
January mileage: 147
Year to date mileage: 147

Date: January 15
Mileage: 18
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Triumph
January mileage: 165
Year to date mileage: 165

Carry that Weight

The news is bad. Rachel Dow was found in the Mississippi river on Saturday. I didn't know her, but it hardly seems to matter. It's a sad day here in the Twin Cities. If you know any details about this, please come forward and share what you know. It may help.

Golden slumbers fill your eyes
Smiles awake you when you rise
Sleep pretty darling do not cry
And I will sing a lullabye

R.I.P. Rachel

Spread the word

Rachel Dow, 29, has not been seen or heard of since Thursday night - missing work in the process - not like her. She would have been on this blue Bianchi fixed gear bicycle in Uptown Minneapolis, possibly heading towards the river for a solo ride (edit - she was seen biking alone from Uptown Bar). It was relatively warm Thursday night, making for good weather to go outside.

If you have seen Rachel or her bicycle, call Mark (***.***.****), Erika (***.***.****), B Rose (***.***.****) or the Minneapolis Police at 612-348-2345 or 911.

3 Speed Tour 2008

Image from Radio3


I had an idle moment yesterday at work and thought, "Perhaps the internet can entertain me!" I ended up at the 3 Speed Tour website through some aimless bike link surfing, and wondered when registration opened. The site didn't say specifically, but it sort of seemed as though they were accepting reservations. I emailed the Mrs. and asked if she would be interested in a long slow bike ride. To my surprise, she said yes. So I emailed the tour organizer and we got the last two available spots. So we shall be an English Gentleman and Gentlewoman for one weekend this upcoming May. I'm quite thrilled.

Date: January 8
Mileage: 18
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Raleigh Triumph
January mileage: 91
Year to date mileage: 91

Date: January 9
Mileage: 10
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Raleigh Triumph
January mileage: 101
Year to date mileage: 101

Numb3rs

I had a discrepancy between my mileage as stated on the blog and my mileage on the Excel spreadsheet that I use. It took until the last day of my nearly two week vacation, but I sorted it out. Excel was right, I missed a number on the addition somewhere along the line. My official total for 2007 was 3836 miles. But what I found more interesting was the breakdown of how often I rode each different bike and how many miles each bike had for the year.

Miles per bike, from greatest to least:
Schwinn Premis: 2010
Jamis Satellite: 960
Raleigh Eclipse: 317
Sun EZ-Tad Trike: 159
Schwinn Suburban: 151
Raleigh Triumph: 143
Raleigh Robin Hood: 66
Miyata Shredder: 30
Total: 3836

Number of rides per bike, from greatest to least:
Schwinn Premis: 85
Jamis Satellite: 35
Raleigh Eclipse: 16
Raleigh Triumph: 9
Schwinn Suburban: 7
Sun EZ-Tad Trike: 6
Raleigh Robin Hood: 4
Miyata Shredder: 1
Total: 163

Here the really interesting thing, to me at least. I either didn't own all of the bikes listed all of the year. The Suburban was acquired in May and wasn't road worthy until July. The first ride on my Triumph wasn't until December 5. Yet both of those bikes got more miles that a couple that I owned the entire year.

I also broke my riding down by the types of ride I did. Those were fairly predictable results, at least in the commuting department:
Commute: 3263
Hiawatha: 420
Ironman: 104
Family ride: 30
Errands: 10
Exploring: 9
Total: 3836

I also broke this down by number of rides:
Commute: 142
Hiawatha: 15
Family ride: 3
Ironman: 1
Errands: 1
Exploring: 1
Total: 163

I was a bit surprised at only having 3 rides labeled as "Family" but since the girls just learned how to ride without training wheels this year, that's not bad. I spent a whole lot of time with them on bikes, but I was usually running along side them rather than riding. I also didn't count the times when I would ride back and forth on the street behind our house with them, only when we went somewhere. I'm hoping this number will go up quite a bit in 2008.

The last trivial statistic I can bring myself to talk about is my month over month mileage. This one's pretty self explanatory:
January: 309
February: 282
March: 308
April: 379
May: 332
June: 265
July: 472
August: 389
September: 395
October: 386
November: 176
December: 143

No point or conclusions to draw from this, but I made a graph.


That's a lot of data. I think I've even bored myself.

Date: January 3
Mileage: 18
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Raleigh Triumph
January mileage: 34
Year to date mileage: 34

Date: January 4
Mileage: 14
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Raleigh Triumph
January mileage: 48
Year to date mileage: 48

Date: January 5
Mileage: 25
Ride type/Bike: Hiawatha/Raleigh Triumph
January mileage: 73
Year to date mileage: 73

Is that fahrenheit or celsius?

A commenter on a previous post (Hi Heidi!) asked how one dresses for winter cycling. This is a question I get a lot. And while I didn't really plan this out, my lovely wife was so amused by my get-up today that she asked if she could take a photo of me before I left. I obliged, and she took this photo as she snickered and made snide comments about my ability to rob a bank:

It was 1 degree (fahrenheit) above zero when I left the house today. I was wearing, from bottom to top:

Feet
Hi-Tec hiking boots
one pair thin plastic socks (made from recycled soda bottles or something like that)
one pair medium weight merino wool socks

This winter I've switched from clipless pedals (and my SPD sandle/wool sock/neoprene bootie combo) to regular platform pedals and regular boots. And I'm loving it. If it gets really cold, I could even wear my Sorels. How wonderful. My toes got a little cold standing around waiting for the ride to start, but they were fine while I was riding.

Legs
one pair midweight tights
one pair homemade knickers
one pair underwear

There's about a 3 inch gap between where my socks end and my knickers start and the tights are my only layer. This part of my legs was a little cold heading in to the wind, but not bad once I warmed up.

Torso
Craft long sleeved base layer
cheap cotton henley-style long sleeved shirt
Canari cycling jacket

My torso was fine, no problems at all. This is the combo I've been using the last few years, and I don't plan on making any changes here. It ain't broke, why fix it?

Head and hands
Pearl Izumi balaclava
Old school ski goggles
Ultra cheep army surplus "trigger finger" mittens

A couple of changes here this year. Last spring I lost one of my Craft lobster mittens I'd been wearing the last few years. I was bummed out, because they were great gloves. And if they didn't cost $50 I would replace them without hesitation. But I was at Fleet Farm this fall and saw the trigger finger mitts for $8 and decided to give them a whirl. So far, they have been just as good as the Craft gloves. Today was about as cold as I've ridden with them, and they did great.

Of course, after the ride I was getting caught up on my blog reading. When I got to the Copenhagen Cycling Chic blog I saw a picture of another ride from New Year's Eve. Coincidentally it was 1 degree in Copenhagen. After seeing this, I feel that I may have overdressed a bit.


Ray took a lovely photo of me, Rob and Boone's Farm on the ride today:

Good thing I showered before the ride today. I'd hate to be on the internets in all my unwashed glory.

Finally, I received this comic in my email today:

Rob will understand.

Date: January 1
Mileage: 16
Ride type/Bike: Hiawatha/Raleigh Triumph
January mileage: 16
Year to date mileage: 16