Salty Dogs

When I got home from the Hiawatha ride today I stashed my Schwinn next to my Raleigh in their appointed corner of the garage. I puttered around the garage a bit and as I was walking past the bikes I noticed just how salty they've become. It's a sign that we haven't had a huge amount of snow here and I've put a lot of miles on the dry salt covered streets. It might be warm enough tomorrow to actually give these two a bath.

The ride today was gorgeous, with the exception of a brisk north wind. The wind kept the ride pretty short, and as I left the shop I found myself wanting to get a few more miles in. I headed north into Minnehaha Park, but only made it about a mile before the wind convinced me to head home.

Date: February 16
Mileage: 20
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Schwinn
February mileage: 141
Year to date mileage: 460

Date: February 17
Mileage: 25
Ride type/Bike: Hiawatha/Schwinn
February mileage: 166
Year to date mileage: 485

It's like a frightened turtle

Everybody's all excited by the long range forecast. Mid 30s by the beginning of next week! Phooey. To be honest, I'd rather stay in the low 20s. Why? Winter's not over just yet. This mini-heat wave is just going to make me soft, so when it gets cold again I'll be shivering. It's much like riding my Schwinn in the winter. I've ridden the Schwinn to work the last two Mondays in a row. Monday the 5th it was negative 16 and I didn't even notice what bike I was riding, I was so busy trying to keep feeling in my extremities. Then we got snow that night and I was back to pushing the studs on the Raleigh.

Fast forward one week. I rode the Schwinn Monday and was amazed at how fast 14 miles per hour can seem. It just drives home how slow I really am on the Raleigh. It's a 50+ pound ride, and coupled with 60psi studded tires I could get passed by a kid on a 20" Magna. Fortunately there's not many of them out in January. But I don't really notice it because I'm used to it. Much like the weather. We were supposed to get snow on Tuesday, but it never happened. I'm hoping that we've reached the part of winter where I can ride the Schwinn more often than the Raleigh. But March is always a bastard to the bike commuter.

The plague has hit my house, so not much riding this week. Tuesday I stayed home with daughter M who had a horrible fever/stomach bug. Today I chauffered daughter E to school with the 6 dozen valentines cookies we made and decorated last night. And I brought my computer home tonight, anticipating another day spent home with daughter M. The Mrs. even got in on the action and stayed home sick today. I feel so left out...

Date: February 12
Mileage: 20
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Schwinn
February mileage: 121
Year to date mileage: 440

Chuck E.'s in love

That's right, a swinging Saturday night spent at the Chuck E. Cheese. Jealous? You should be...

Never trust a man with a butt broom on his face

Even though it was sub-zero in the morning yesterday, it didn't seem that bad. I must be acclimating. We're having overnight housepests tonight, so we spent yesterday evening and this morning cleaning all those nooks and crannies that you only clean when you have overnight housepests coming. I'm hoping to make it over to the Bike Swap for a bit tomorrow. Why yes, I am interested in that complete Suntour drivetrain. Who wouldn't be?

Date: February 9
Mileage: 21
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Raleigh
February mileage: 101
Year to date mileage: 420

Weather Update: It's still cold

Yesterday turned out to be a giant-pain-in-the-butt kind of day. After my chilling commute on Monday I still had two red patches on my cheeks. I think I might have gotten a slight touch of frostbite in those two spots between the goggles and my neck gaiter. So I went to REI and picked up a new balaclava. The balaclava seems to be the bright point of yesterday. I wore it as I rode to the train station and it was keeping me pretty darn toasty.

When I got to the train station at Ft Snelling there was a pretty good crowd. I figured that people were scared after the scores of traffic accidents on Tuesday. As I waited a southbound train came and went. Then another. When the third southbound train came I'd been waiting at the platform for nearly 25 minutes without seeing a northbound train. I finally got fed up and headed to work on my bike. I did finally see a train, but this was close to the Lake St/Midtown station, and it seemed pointless to catch it there. So in all I was almost 40 minutes late getting in.

Work was unusually annoying, and then I got roped into a last minute urgent project that kept me at work until after 7:30. So it was after 9 by the time I finally got home. I had a late dinner, read for a bit and went to bed. What a day. Today I'm working from home, for my own sanity. But the new balaclava is nice.

Date: February 7
Mileage: 26
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Raleigh
February mileage: 80
Year to date mileage: 399

Not getting any smarter...

A post from last year, on February 16:

This morning's checklist:
Windpants
Tights
Bike shorts
polypropelyne shirt
second warmer shirt
lobster gloves
balaclava
goggles
jacket

Check the weather on the internet:

A WIND CHILL ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 5 PM CST THIS
AFTERNOON.

NORTHWEST WINDS OF 15 TO 25 MPH WILL COMBINE WITH ARCTIC AIR TO
CREATE WIND CHILL READINGS OF MINUS 30 TO MINUS 45 TODAY.

A WIND CHILL ADVISORY MEANS THAT COLD AIR AND STRONG WINDS WILL
COMBINE TO GENERATE VERY LOW WIND CHILLS. WEATHER CONDITIONS
TODAY WILL RESULT IN FROST BITE AND COULD LEAD TO HYPOTHERMIA IF
PRECAUTIONS ARE NOT TAKEN.

Screw this. Drive.

Similar conditions this morning. Actual air temp of -16. I rode. Froze my ass.

Date: February 5
Mileage: 18
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Schwinn
February mileage: 54
Year to date mileage: 373

Too early for flapjacks?

The forecast here in the Twin Cities is that it's gonna be cold, it's gonna be gray, and it's gonna last you the rest of your life. Of course, I'm not here to bitch about the cold. Not when I saw a woman on Tuesday riding her bike wearing a skirt. And this morning I saw a guy collapse face down on the side of the road. He went down like a bag of hammers. He was running with a military unit by Ft. Snelling. His drill sargent (a small woman) came back and shouted at him until he got up and started running again.

What I am gonna bitch about is flat tires. After building up some karma, I spent Wednesday evening patching tubes and fixed the flat tire on my Schwinn. I put the newly repaired tire back on the bike that night, but haven't ridden it since. When I got home from tonight's commute and went to put the Raleigh away, I noticed that the tire on the Schwinn was flat. Again. Without a single ride. I think I'm going to have to sacrifice a chicken or a virgin to get rid of this juju.

Date: February 1
Mileage: 18
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Raleigh
February mileage: 18
Year to date mileage: 327

Date: February 2
Mileage: 18
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Raleigh
February mileage: 36
Year to date mileage: 355

My Name is Pete

I'm a big believer in karma. Not that I believe that karma is going to cause me to come back in the next life as a dung beetle or anything like that. But more along the lines of what goes around comes around. If I do something nice for somebody, it makes them happy. This makes the world a better place. The end. I've apparently done something to get my bike karma out of whack, as I've had three flat tires since the first of the year. Prior to that, I think the last flat I had was last summer. It's weird.

So last night as I left work there was another fellow suiting up to do bike battle with the elements. We chatted for a bit and he asked me if I thought the downtown Target would have inner tubes for his skinny tires (he's riding 700/23s in the winter, brave or crazy). I told him I didn't think so. As we talked I noticed his tire was completely flat. I pulled out my frame pump and we pumped his tire up. It seemed to be holding air quite well, and he rode off with enough air to get home. In an effort to fully appease the god(s) of flat tires, I spent the evening last night patching up all my tubes and finally fixed the flat on my Schwinn. Just in time for snow.

Date: January 31
Mileage: 20
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Raleigh
January mileage: 309
Year to date mileage: 309

Two Minutes for Hooking

Somebody out in San Fran managed to get some video of a cyclist getting hooked by a car, and of course now it's on youtube. Pretty quick reaction time by the cyclist, if you ask me.


Date: January 29
Mileage: 20
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Raleigh
January mileage: 269
Year to date mileage: 269

Date: January 30
Mileage: 20
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Raleigh
January mileage: 289
Year to date mileage: 289

Feel better, ya bastard!

So much for my plans. Shortly after laying out my grand scheme for today my body decided to have an impromptu evacuation drill of my entire digestive system. I spent Thursday curled into a ball on the couch in the basement, hoping I'd die soon. I went in to work on Friday because I had to facilitate a meeting. (insert sarcasm here) That went well. Last night I slept for approximately 13 1/2 hours and today I'm feeling somewhat human again. Just in time for mexican food tonight at Boca Chica. Yum. I think.

I hope somebody made it to the ice races today and posts some photos. At least Jim got a flat on the Hiawatha ride today. I flatted on the way home from last week's ride proving Jim's theorem of "they come in threes."

Son, you got a panty on your head

Sheesh, almost missed the 2007 Ice Races. This Saturday at 10am on Rogers Lake, near my neck of the woods. I'm thinking I'll get up early and hit the Hiawatha ride (two weeks in a row, that's some kinda record!) and then peel off and head for the lake. Or, if I'm tired and/or cold I can head for home to get the car. We'll see how late I stay out on Friday.

Date: January 23
Mileage: 20
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Raleigh
January mileage: 229
Year to date mileage: 229

Date: January 24
Mileage: 20
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Raleigh
January mileage: 249
Year to date mileage: 249

Hello, I Love You

The trails were in dismal shape tonight, almost as bad as the bike lanes. I feel so betrayed. Minneapolis Parks, how can you let me down like this? Even the Greenway, normally the Gold Star Standard of bike trail maintainance, was covered with icy sheets. While I was slowly heading down a hill on the River Road bike trail a woman on a bike called out "Coming by on your left!" and totally blew past me. I shouldn't even admit that I had studded tires on.

Date: January 22
Mileage: 20
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Raleigh
January mileage: 209
Year to date mileage: 209

Camera phone not acceptable substitute for real camera

I had this sweet picture of my Schwinn with the snow buildup from this morning's ride. I was going to say that it makes me more aero and faster. But for some reason the photo from my phone won't enlarge more than this. So I'll have to go with this lame photo of Ray instead.




Date: January 20
Mileage: 23
Ride type/Bike: Hiawatha/Schwinn
January mileage: 189
Year to date mileage: 189

Titles often Elude Me

So we finally got some snow here in Mpls/St Paul. I decided to be adventureous and ride the trike today instead of toddling along on the studded tires. I haven't ridden the trike in quite a while, and when my thighs were screaming Uncle! after about 10 miles I kind of remembered why. Damn, that thing's heavy. And slow. Probably almost as slow as the Raleigh with it's studs on.

But, it's a whole lot of fun. I was chugging along up some of the Eagan hills, cursing the heaviness and lack of plowing on the shoulders. When I hit the Highway 55 bridge I was pleasantly surprised to find it was plowed. But for some reason the plow left little piles of snow every 100 yards or so. When I hit the first one the trike slid sideways. There's nothing quite like sliding at about a 30 degree angle to the bridge pavement. But that's when it hit me. If I was on an upright, I would have been down. Sliding sideways on a bicycle is a unique feeling. I did it several more times on the way to and from work. There's a feeling of impending doom coupled with an endorphin rush, but no real danger. When I was flying down a hill on the river road that wasn't plowed well and started to shimmy, twist and vibrate, I actually giggled.

So it's heavy. That just means stronger leg muscles eventually, right?

Date: January 17
Mileage: 28
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Trike
January mileage: 166
Year to date mileage: 166

Stuff I Ate

We went to Chicago this weekend. Spent some time visiting with family and friends, and also some time being total tourists. And we spent a lot of time eating.

We ate lunch at the airport on Saturday, because our morning flight was cancelled and we were rebooked. I was super hungry and ate my entire cuban sandwich from Axel's before I could photograph it.


When we met our friends, they took us to the local mexican eatery, El Cid. I had the fish tacos. Best fish tacos I've ever had.


I also had an avacado tostada on the side.


Sunday morning we had a pretty darn good brunch that I forgot to photograph. Between our kids and the relations there was way too much going on. But Sunday evening we had a killer thai meal. I can't even remember what everything was, but everything I tried was good.


Since we were in Chicago, pizza seemed appropriate. But we couldn't get Chicago style delivered. We settled for this.


We made a pretty good dent, considering the girls were asleep and didn't help.


English didn't seem to be the pizza guy's first language, and when we placed the order we weren't sure they would be able to find us or get the correct order. They succeded on both counts, even though this seems to be all that was written down.


I ate other stuff too, but most of it was too unremarkable to photograph.

Frigid Bits

I felt pretty good all the way home tonight, despite the single digit temps. But with about two miles to go, I realized that I need to improve my layering technique for "my boys." They was cold, they was.

Next stop Chi'town, Lido put the money down

Big snowstorm heading for Chicago this weekend. Coincidentally, I am also headed to Chicago this weekend. Fortunately my two flight days, Saturday and Tuesday, are the clear ones. Enjoy the leaderless Hiawatha ride, and have an extra baked good on my behalf.

Date: January 12
Mileage: 22
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Schwinn
January mileage: 138
Year to date mileage: 138

Here a flat, there a flat, everywhere a flat flat

Last Thursday I woke up to a flat front tire on the Schwinn. I was already bundled up and fortunately I have other bikes I can ride. I once read that you're a true bike commuter if you have a back-up commuting bike, just in case something happens to your primary commuter. So I fired up the Raleigh and went to work. That evening I fixed the flat and I rode the Schwinn the next day. I rode it again Monday and today.

Tonight as I left work I got flat number two on the Schwinn. It was the rear wheel this time. I knew I didn't have a spare tube, and I didn't really feel like messing with a patch because they never seem to hold when applied in cold weather. So, I rang up my lifeline. Can you come get me honey? But, I had forgotten that the piano tuner was coming. So my honey was home with the kids and a semi-tuned piano. Think fast, rabbit. I hopped onto the train. I knew I'd never make it before Hiawatha closed, so I got off at the Lake Street stop. I walked the bike the couple blocks to The Hub and bought three tubes. I fixed the flat outside the store on the sidewalk and rode home.

Before last week, I couldn't even tell you the last time I had a flat. But now, two separate tires within a week's time? Bad karma, that. I wonder what minor deity I've offended. Or, maybe I was just due.

Date: January 9
Mileage: 14
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Schwinn
January mileage: 116
Year to date mileage: 116

Let's do the time warp again

Where the heck did the weekend go? One minute I was watching Meerkat Manor with the kids and the next I was at work on Monday morning.

Thursday morning I woke up to a flat tire on the Schwinn, so I rode the Raleigh and listened to the crunch of the studded tires. I wasn't thrilled. So Thursday night I changed out the flat and rode the Schwinn on Friday. I rode it again today, though it's making me a little nervous. I don't have a spare tube for the Schwinn right now, so I'm kind of without a net. I'm sure it will be fine. I was going to grab a tube after the Saturday morning ride, but I didn't actually make the ride.

I did manage to get something done over the weekend. Saturday night I helped a friend of mine get his website up and semi-running. And Sunday I cleaned out the garage while half paying attention to the football games. I'd started a shelving project several months ago and the garage was full of various shelving crap. After yesterday, I can finally park both cars in there again. Don't worry, there's always been room for the important stuff. The bikes.

Date: January 4
Mileage: 20
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Raleigh
January mileage: 46
Year to date mileage: 46

Date: January 5
Mileage: 28
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Schwinn
January mileage: 74
Year to date mileage: 74

Date: January 8
Mileage: 28
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Schwinn
January mileage: 102
Year to date mileage: 102

A tale of two commutes

This morning I decided to take the Schwinn without the studded tires. I figured it wouldn't be too bad. It wasn't. But the ride over the Hwy 55 bridge sucked ass. I finally lifted the bike over the barrier and rode on the shoulder. When I got into Minneapolis I decided to take Minnehaha Blvd. The bike lane on Minnehaha wasn't in great shape and I spent a lot of time out in the main lane. Fortunately traffic was light. But everywhere there was snow it seemed really slippy. I was probably just paranoid, this being the first real snow of the year. No crappie flops, but I was nervous the whole way in.

On the way home I did the smart thing. I took Portland to the Greenway. The bike lane on Portland was in decent shape, which is good because traffic wasn't light. The Greenway was beautiful. The only way I could have fallen there was by wiping out in a pile of salt. When I got to the West River Parkway trail that was pretty good as well. But, it was 40 degrees out. Even when there was snow, it was really just snow-shaped slush. There was one clown coming northbound on the trail. No lights and riding on the wrong side of the trail. He was heading straight toward me, even though my 10w headlight was shining right at him. I waited until I couldn't wait any longer and then yelled at him. "Head's up!" And he followed instructions to a T. His head snapped up, he realized that he was going to have a head on collision and he nearly overcorrected right off the path. Other than that it was a great ride home. Even the bridge was rideable. All in all, I'm glad I didn't take the studded bike.

Date: January 3
Mileage: 26
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Schwinn
January mileage: 26
Year to date mileage: 26