Where is the exuberance?

Vista and bikes

2008-03-16T10:41:00.000-07:00

Been out of the posting realm for a while.

My trusty old laptop went tits up a couple of weeks ago. The power cable wouldn't stay in place. After some discussion with my wife, we decided that it was time to replace it rather than pay more money to keep it hobbling along for a little while longer. Note that the list of problems included:

About a third of my RAM doesn't work.
Two of the three USB ports doesn't work
Cooling fan is on constantly
CD drive died about a year ago

Note: My neighbor says the power cable problem was probably easy to fix, but wasn't sure what to do about the rest.

So. Here I am.
Apart from gobs of RAM, 4 USB ports and enough hard drive space to back up the Library of Congress, the big change has been the new 'puter runs Vista.

At some level, I should be appalled with myself for allowing Windows Vista in my life. It's been called everything from the work of the devil to a thinly veiled re-work of XP.

But it's working out pretty well for me. The lesson here is I should probably quit reading Slashdot.

Ok. On to bikes.

I'm pretty happy to say that my attempts at not driving much have been working out pretty well for me. The car has been parked since I got home from drill last Sunday night and looks to remain so for the next week.

This week was mostly the usual trips down to the store for food, beer etc. Although a couple of weeks ago, I did load up Soo's old Terry and haul it down to Recycled. A bike hauling a bike. It's funny no matter how you think about it.

Friday night I rode into Seattle to have a couple of beers with Aaron and Greg. 20 hilly miles each way. Pretty satisfying. More so because I knew there was a pretty high probability that I would be drinking and WSP is doing enforcement patrols in North King County.

Yesterday I decided to take the kids to McDonald's. The rule in our house is that McDonald's is a once-in-a-while thing. Once every other week or so at most. The original plan was to load up Bree, ride down and pick up the food, then return home. However, Chris decided he wanted to go. This provided the perfect chance for me to see how they would both handle riding on the Xtracycle at once.

Worked out pretty well. I'm not going anywhere fast with 80 pounds of kids on the back, but if I'm riding the Xtracycle, fast probably isn't my concern.

Bonus Post

2008-02-28T12:48:00.000-08:00

Here's a site from a family that's striving toward minimizing their use of cars. I think I've met this couple once somewhere, but I can't quite remember.

It's a really good read. Lots of good tips like how to keep kids awake on rides after dark (sour candies).

I want to be like these people.

Carfreedays

Kids, grocery stores and cargo bikes

2008-02-28T12:26:00.000-08:00

Took Bree down to Central Market on the Xtracycle today.

I wasn't sure how well she would handle the trip, being an energetic three-year-old and all. Any concerns I had were of no account. She did great.

It wasn't a fast trip. Riding a cargo bike with a kid and groceries isn't conducive to going fast. But it was a fun trip. For kids, a little bit of adventure everyday is a good thing.

Which gets me to my next point. For most trips, bicycles are a superior form of transportation. If we had just gotten in the van or the car and driven, it would've been just another trip in the car or the van. Where is the fun in that? How does it make that little bit of my life more memorable? Five years from now, will she remember a single car trip or the time we rode the xtracycle down to the store?

We definitely need to become a two-Xtracycle family.

Back to the Xtracycle

2008-02-26T19:33:00.000-08:00

Borrowed Aaron's xtracycle for a little while. He's changed out the frame since I last rode it. Now it's a smallish step through frame. Aaron's not exactly a smallish guy but it seems to work out ok.

It's nice having a cargo bike again.
After my usual stroll through the job boards (to find a job so I can buy my own cargo bike). I decided what I really needed was a ride on the cargo bike, preferably carrying lots of shit. Soo sent me down to Costco to buy 36 rolls of TP and a couple gallons of milk. So I rode the 5 or 7 miles down to Costco and retrieved said items. Felt pretty happy riding home.

Once everyone got home, we decided to ride bikes down to the pizza place for dinner. Since I had ascertained this morning that Bree really likes riding on the deck of the xtracycle, she rode with me. Chris rode his own bike. We had fun, although we did ride on the sidewalk rather than muck around with the traffic on 527. I'm comfortable in traffic, even with a passenger, but I wasn't quite ready to introduce Chris to traffic yet.

Cycling as addiction

2008-02-21T18:07:00.000-08:00

This thought can't be original.

I ended up going riding after my whiny post yesterday. About 35 miles in the general direction of and around Redmond. Meh was no longer the word of the day. Legs felt snappy. Life was good.

Soo took the kids riding today. She towed Bree in the trailer while Chris rode his new used bike. He got a schwinn bmx thingy with gears and brakes. Scared the shit out of him until he got used to the brakes. Today he wanted to go ride bikes.

Brainwashing. Start early.

My riding today consisted of a beer run down to central market. Praise the Carradice Super C and pass the beer. But after yesterday's ride, a little recovery was good. I spent part of today following up on job interviews and trying to find more.

Then I ogled pictures of Xtracycles. Still don't have one yet. But the Dear Wife now believes it is an important piece of gear for me to have. Now all I need is the money...

So I'm riding back with a large saddle bag full of beer and Adam Ant in the headphones and I got to thinking.

I remember back when I got my license. That was cool, but it doesn't quite match up to the feeling of that first time you grasp how cool it is to have a bike and all the freedom that comes with it. It might be that the bike generally comes before the bike becomes before the DL, so you are younger and all that.

However, I also remember how Soo acted when she first brought her Rodriguez home and commenced to riding a bike that fit her properly. A minor life altering moment, but a mind altering moment nonetheless.

Drug addicts talk about the virgin high. Maybe there is such a thing in cycling.

meh. Just fucking meh

2008-02-20T15:13:00.000-08:00

Meh.

That's about the limit of my emotional response to anything today.
Maybe a bit better than the general black funk of late, but not I'm not exactly exuberant right now.

Once the wife gets back, maybe a bike ride will make me feel better.

Plus ca change... plus ca change

2008-02-15T23:20:00.000-08:00

According to my posty thingy, the last time I wrote anything in here was July 2, 2007.

So. where am I now?
Sort of where I was the last time I wrote anything. Unemployed. Again.
But things are a little different now.

I'd been having some questions about whether the ways that I made my livelihood were really all that good. High stress job with lots of conflict. Very money centered. The situation sort of resolved itself by my getting fired. During the whole "sorry sean, you just aren't a good fit..." talk, I found myself being remarkably calm.

I wasn't able to do a repeat of last time and find a new gig in 17 days. I'm hoping to get an offer next week sometime. Going on six weeks now.

But, I've been put in another situation. Move back to oregon (one of my potential jobs is in Oregon) or leave the Guard. Why? My long-suffering wife wants to go back to school. Very few day care options, particularly when I have drill weekends, get mob'd, etc.

I was pondering all this tonight and I realized that a big part of my identity has or may be aken from me. Life is always right in the end so we'll see how that goes.

Let's see if Jill reads this

2007-07-02T22:12:00.001-07:00

I was browsing Jill's blog today. She was talking about her new cat named Momo.

My son (the younger boy spawn) is a big fan of Avatar the Last Airbender on Nick. So, I know about these things. Also, I'm a damn grown-ass mangeek who still watches cartoons.

Aang (the aforementioned avatar) has a pet winged lemur named Momo, comme ca:

so that, ma petite jillita, is what you named your cat after.

AT this year. 'splosions. gobs of rounds. 900 105mm rounds in about 36 hours of shooting. sun burn. burned hummvees (note: that's eight inches wide and two increments deep, not a shitload of increments deep and a shitload of increments wide).

work. dig holes. put dirt and concrete in holes.

Mmmm. Employment

2007-06-09T09:20:00.001-07:00

I think I set some sort of record. Fully employed, unemployed and back in 18 days.

This requires some explanation.
When we last saw our hero, he had just been given der stiefel from my last company. My new daily routine became get up, eat breakfast, read e-mail, do my daily scan of the job boards, submit resumes as necessary. Make phone calls as necessary to ensure people are still thinking about me. Start drinking.

Thoughts? For all the annoying ads, Monster remains my favorite job board. I got two interviews off Monster this time around. I'm pretty sure one of them were going to make me an offer.

However, I had something this time that I didn't really have before. Industry contacts.
See, when I worked at Clear Water, I dealt with a lot of people and I was religious about keeping business cards.

Once I got laid off, I started working my way through my business cards. Part of it was notifying former clients that I would no longer be associated with the project. This was both a professional courtesy and protecting my image. Part of it was saying "I'm available, how would you like to hire me?" This generated three interviews, two offers, one of which I accepted.

So. I'm now a Project Engineer with Northwest Construction in Bellevue. I'm assigned to the Brightwater Wastewater Treatment Plant Project. That sounds a little more lofty than it actually is. I handle Erosion Control and other such daily business. I make sure the Super and the foreman can do their jobs relatively unfettered without spending shitloads of money, which would make the PM shit kittens.

Today is the first day of the rest of your life...

2007-05-14T08:05:00.000-07:00

I've added another experience to the list of semi-common things I've never really wanted (like divorce, having my driver's license suspended). I got laid off on Friday.

No rumors, no hints, nothing. One minute you're working along, the next minute you realize you just wandered into the Big Shit Sandwich Shop.

But I'm nothing if not resilient. Normally it takes a few weeks to get the job search machinery rolling. It's not quite up to speed yet but it's definitely moving.

In the meantime, I'm working at Aaron's. Four days a week, eight or so hours a day. I'm not sure whether I'd have made more doing that or on unemployment. But hopefully it'll keep me from getting burned out in the lag between sending out all those resumes but before the interviews start happening. I've only ever interviewed for one job I didn't get offered. Once the interviews start, I know I'm in the home stretch.

We'll see how this goes. For the moment, I need to get ready for work. Aaron says I can wear my Utilikilt. Sweet.

More about cargo bikes

2007-05-08T20:35:00.000-07:00

That thing I was rambling about last night is a bakfiets. Since I don't speak Dutch, I can't even begin to guess about what that means.

But, here's a photo (and a couple of sites of course)

clevercycles.com

They are a hoot to ride. Plus Christopher loves it. He seemed to prefer the Xtracycle more.

Aaron rode me around California way in the box thingy for a while. It was fun.

I don't know that cargo bikes will change the world. Well, not very much anyway. For one reson or other, most people won't ride a bike let alone a cargo bike. I don't know why and I won't try to offer a reason.

But maybe they can change a few little corners of the world at a time.

joy and cargo bikes

2007-05-07T23:29:00.000-07:00

More joy in bikes.

Hanging out at Aaron's tonight. I rode an assortment of bikes. First was just a general city-type bike. I was running around trying to find some stuff that one of Aaron's customers had left on his car and driven off with.

What made it a little funnier was that bike had a step through frame and I was wearing a kilt.

Then there was this tank:

Then there was another couple of cargo bikes.

As always, I had a good time. Took Chris around the block. He loved riding on the back of the big yellow tank.

In fact, Aaron has consented to let me ride the cargo bike for a few weeks. I need to get my bad self down to Aaron's shop, then I can ride the bike home. It'll be fun.

Cuz really, that's what bikes are for. Apart from cheap transport, riding a bike has to be one of the simplest, most joyful acts in the world. I say that alot.

six months in blogger limbo

2007-05-05T19:26:00.000-07:00

I'm back onto writing posts. Fuck me if people don't actually read this thing.

Where to start?
Soo's got a smoking Rodriguez. Mostly Veloce, wheels built by yours truly. It's green, really goddamn green. And it fits properly. Seeing her on her terry was a sight to behold and not in a good way. It's like this. Terry makes their top tubes short because typical women have shorter torsos than typical men of the same height. To get around toe overlap problems on their smallest bikes, they use a 24" wheel.

The 24" wheel was an abomination. Soo doesn't have a short upper body. I'm 5'9" she's 5'1". Standing she comes up to my chin. Sitting she comes to my eyebrow. Mind you, I have a short torso for a man.

The guys at rodriguez built her up a sweet bike. She likes it and looks much more comfortable. Plus she's actually riding the fucking thing.

Tomorrow, she's seeing how far she can ride on her own. She rarely has the chance to ride without me or the spawn.

I've stripped my bike down a bit. No fenders (of course it rained the first day I rode without fenders) and no racks. 700x28c tires. It's still not a light, nimble racing machine but it feels pretty good.

I've finally got the fit right again. For some reason I'll get things dialed in, then I'll start fucking with things. At some point in the past, I decided to loosen the tensioning nut on my leather saddle. I almost replaced the saddle it hurt my gooch so badly. But I got things back to where they should be. Bike fit happiness.

I also put a new stem on. I think it's a Specialized Team Flip Flop. It claims four positions but I can only find two. Regardless. It's the right size and has the right amount of rise. I shoulda done that years ago.

Soo and I are riding the STP together. This is going to be interesting.

Not much to do with bikes...

2006-11-14T20:54:00.000-08:00

Got a new job today. For a few days there it was looking like I would have to change my blog address to portlandcyclist. Had a job lined up in PDX. I was kind of looking forward to moving back.

Soo, however, is quite happy up here. I truly believe "If mama's not happy, no one's happy." So, I didn't take it. She has made so much progress as a person since we've been up here that I was loathe to fuck with it.

A job came through that paid rather nicely. Not rolling naked in cash nicely, but it's an extra few hundred bucks a month. Plus, I get to work outside once in a while and I will be able to contribute to cleaning up the environment a bit.

I'll be a Project Manager for Clear Water Compliance Services which means I'll be managing 3 or 4 construction sites at a time, ensuring the water that drains off isn't loaded with sediment or some other such funk.

So that's good. The commute to work is a little shorter, about 8 or 9 miles vs. 13 to 15. No more riding down Lake City Way. The BGT is a non-option because I don't work that direction anymore. Hell, I won't even leave Snohomish County. From what I've heard about riding in the Eastside, I'll be happier.

This is why I came to Seattle in the first place. Career-wise, Oregon in general and Portland specifically is a dead-end for me right now. I don't program the right languages well enough, just barely know my way around a server.

Seattle's a bit different. I got a gig programming just long enough to realize that I need to find another gig. No science, no programming. Computers are just tools, not my reason for working.

With the help of some great people who totally contradict the image of Seattlites being cold, distant and self-absorbed, I did a major overhaul of my career goals, played to my strengths and reworked my resume. I don't know these people, no chance they'll hire me but they took the time to help me anyway. I'll not mention their names here because they may not want their names associated with some of my antics and lunatic ravings.

I don't want to boast, but I've been the person helping people just to help them. Hopefully, I'll get a chance to pass on the kindness I've received. If there is a god and she is just, I will.

The weather. Rainy. Windy. Gorgeous late-fall storms. The Aleutian Low is driving one storm after another ashore. The latest is a fat, wet juicy one. A little bit of tropical influence, but not enough to make it a Pineapple Express. Forecast is for 26 mph winds and a couple of inches of rain.

I was pretty happy this time last year, but I was still a bit bitchy about the rain. Come January, I may be singing a different tune. But maybe not.

a fine form of perambulation

2006-11-10T19:01:00.000-08:00

Pointy-three ride last night. Long night. Started at the Whiskey pre-funking by myself. Headed over to Westlake and linked up with people there. We rode around the Magnolia/Ballard/Freemont area. I'm not really familiar with that area so I can only guess where we were. I remember a park, a Taco Time, People's Pub and the Fremont fire pit.

Rode around with Bama on my rack for a while. Finn is 150 pounds of self-avowed one-armed bayou trash. One arm because he's done something or other to himself and his right arm is in a sling. Anyway, the Co-motion and I were his taxi last night. The rack handled it ok. I think he bent the support a little.

Rode around on a Catrike. One of these:

Gotta admit, the thing is a hoot. Might be a little spooky riding it in heavy traffic and I'm not seeing much cargo carrying capacity. But it's fast and stable.

Somehow I managed to get my bearings all catawumpus on the ride home. Not sure how. I was rolling along doing fine. In my happy place and all. Happened to look at a street sign and noticed it said NW something or other. Wrong side of town. Eventually got my self straighted out and rolled in around 0400. Rode something like 60 miles yesterday. Got 4 and a half hours of sleep. Guess who isn't on his A-game today.

As much as I liked riding the trike, my next bike will be an XtraCycle. This seems like a damn useful thing to have, particularly given my habit lately of getting drunk and hauling people around on my bike.

I'm thinking of riding the STP on one of these next year. Don't know how I would get it from Portland to Seattle. But my vision is having a cooler full of pop and beer strapped to the back. Maybe find a way to put a palm tree on it too. I'll need to think about clipless pedals. More efficient and all, but this thing won't be about efficiency. I may go with clips and straps. Maybe even dig up a set of Alfredo Bindas somewhere.

Poncho and the Pineapple Express.

2006-11-06T19:47:00.000-08:00

Finally had a chance to test the poncho.

We have a particular type of storm system on the west coast called a pineapple express. Basically, it's when we get warm, humid air coming up from the general vicinity of Hawaii. The result is it rains like hell and is very windy.

We've been under one of those for the past few days. It was raining like a mofo this morning. So I tossed on the poncho and went for it.

I can see why speed-conscious people wouldn't like them. Wearing a poncho you don't steer so much as tack. But I don't go very fast so I don't give a rat's ass.

Happy things about poncho:
-At least as dry as a gore tex jacket, but cheaper because you don't have to make the fabric breathable.
-Better ventilation. On warm rainy days, that's a plus.
-Cheaper. Mine sat in Aaron and Gypsie's shop for so long Gypsie was willing to let me have it wicked cheap. Even at normal price, it still would've been cheaper than a decent rain jacket
-covers my backpack too
-increases my visibility a tad
-keeps legs a little drier
-good coverage when you are off the bike too.
-a little retro

Sad things about poncho
- you are a sail
- a little goofy

I'll be curious to see how this thing compares in cold weather.

More irresponsibility less pain

2006-10-30T19:33:00.000-08:00

Here is more photographic evidence from the Great Wrench Party/Beer Drinking/Tall Bike Night.

Still have the beer in my hand. It may be a fresh one. Can't remember (BTW, I didn't drive anywhere that night). Still no helmet. The bike is still almost six feet tall (the seat comes up to my eye level). But now I've added Jill to the back.

So, I'm drinking (but no more than half drunk), helmetless, riding in the dark with a passenger who may have also been drinking (Jill doesn't drink beer anymore so I don't think she was) and had no helmt.

The Bicycle Safety Nazis have a warrant out for me. Terminate immediately.

Ribs are coming along nicely. I think there is some bruising to the muscle but I rode in today with no major ill effects. It was cold as hell but that was about it. And, well, that has nothing to do with my injuries. Supposed to rain this week, starting Thursday-ish. Kinda sucks because I wanted to check out the poncho. All I've been getting is clear weather.

Ok, that's psycho. I want to ride in the rain.
I also added an extender to my fenders. They came with mud flaps, but the fenders and mudflaps are WAY too short. So, one of my water bottles gave up it's life to become mudflaps.

Cycling is still cooler than driving. I'm reaching a point where I get whiny if I have to drive.

A bit of a scare

2006-10-27T10:26:00.000-07:00

So. Tuesday I rode my bike down to the store feeling all exuberant-like. It had been a little rainy during the day so I was trying to be careful. When I took the turn into the parking lot, I went a little wide so I could hit the lip more straight-on. Did that pretty well, but for some reason my trajectory caused me to graze a curb and crash.

So much for caution.

At first, I thought I had re-broken my freshly healed ribs because I went down on my left side. And, well, my ribs hurt like hell. They still hurt a little but not as much as they would've had I rebroken them. And more importantly, they are getting noticeably better by the day.

So, I'll be back on the bike Monday.

The rains haven't settled in yet, but I'm trying something sort of different this year. More retro really.

I picked up a Jackson and Gibbens Rain cape from Aaron.

Here's my rationale. Most cycling rain gear doesn't work well for me, or costs more than I'm willing to pay. If it works well enough to keep the rain out, I'm wet due to sweat.

I've tried unzipping the front of my jacket to keep air circulating. It sort of works. But water coming in the wrists means my arms are usually wet.

So, I'll see how the poncho works. I'm guessing this with my wool covering should work pretty well. I only see two problems with it. First off, wind. Will it be very effective on a rainy day? Secondly, I can't see the mirror on my left handlebar. This is more of a nuisance thing.

More on this once I've tested it.

Just a non-cycling related plug. I'm using Firefox 2.0 with Adblocker Plus. It rocks.

2006-10-24T00:04:00.000-07:00

So Aaron's been getting a lot of shit about this picture.

One of these things is not like the other. Aaron is the dude in the middle of the picture. Tallbike, no helmet. That thing in his hand is a cool, frosty can of PBR. I believe this is the CM ride in July or August. This photo was on the cover of the weekly news magazine put out by the Seattle Times.

So of course, that caused a ruckus. Viz:

Yes, that is me. Riding the very same tall bike. That thing in my hand is a bottle of Black Hawk Stout. That slightly cock-eyed thing on my head is not a helmet, it's my red Campy hat.

In fact, I left my helmet at Aaron's and rode my bike back to bothell, slightly under the influence sans helmet. And lived.

2006-10-22T21:01:00.000-07:00

The Times has a cool picture of Aaron on his tall bike that I so love riding. This is from a Critical Mass ride. Not exactly sure when since I've never actually been on a CM ride. Although now that I actually want to, I've been hard put to make it to one. Wanted to ride the tall bike in last month's CM, but I ende up not going due to the rib injuries plus some other things that required my attention.

It might be cool to ride CM down in Portland on some weekend when I'm down for drill, but looking at this FY, we don't have drill on the last weekend of any month.

Maybe I can get a ride in this month. It's gonna make for a long day though. Ride to work, get drunk, ride to CM, ride home drunk at 2 a.m. after the greenlake race.

Privates say the darndest things

2006-10-17T22:55:00.000-07:00

Took my bike to drill this weekend.
I say this a lot but I shoulda done that a while ago.

Got down to Forest Grove. Dropped the car at the Armory and rode to Curt's House. It was a nice ride. Then I got my ass out of bed at 0530 and rode back. It was cold. The wool jersey wasn't quite enough. Wind cut through it a bit.

After I released everyone on Saturday, I rode my bike down to a restaurant, had a nice dinner (well, chinese buffet) and rode back to the armory. Somehow more relaxing than my usual go to the hotel, go to the Grand Lodge eat too much and drink beer. Then go back to the hotel and crash. Just didn't want to this time. Glad I did.

One of my privates said the coolest thing this weekend. He favors two wheeled modes of transport too. He said "Sir, something about two wheels just brings you closer to your soul."

Kinda geeky, but true.

2006-10-10T20:30:00.000-07:00

So, it's been a couple of weeks on the new, improved bike.

I should've done the gear thing years ago. Losing my big gear didn't prove to be as much of a nuisance as I thought. I can get the 50x12 going pretty well down hills.

The real stunner has been the 30 tooth chain ring. I find that I routinely use all 10 cogs in the rear with my 30. I know, the 30x12 and probably the 30x13 should be off limits because of the massive chain deflection. But I don't listen very well.

My favorite climbing gears amazed me. Going up Lake City Way, I'm generally in my 30x16 or so. Ditto coming up 527. And it's pretty smooth spinning.

I'm thinkin that the dinky gears I had before and particularly the 28 tooth chain ring was hurting me more than helping me. I'd get into that little ring and just get stuck creeping up the hill.

On to something completely different. Well, sort of.

People here are still pussies. I've taken to riding Lake City Way vice the Burke Gilman to work. Why? First off, I'm just fucking sick of the BGT. Secondly, I am constantly hearing how dangerous it is with the Bus Lanes. Finally, it's hillier and therefore, better exercise.

The bus drivers here are about like drivers anywhere. Act predictably, give them room when you can and they'll give you room when they can. I have no complaints.

The motorists are about the same. Jill and I suspect I just have lower expectations. Maybe. But I'm not the one giving up on perfectly fun bike routes because I just don't trust the drivers.

Here's my latest theory. People up here are basically nice. A few assholes like anywhere else but that's about it. However, people around here don't seem to trust easily so they sit around and bitch about how dangerous everything is rather than just digging the ride.

2006-09-25T20:19:00.000-07:00

And the bike is done. Complete. A working unit. All that good shit.

As promised, Aaron replaced the front mech with the proper one (triple vice double) and made the shifting damn near perfect. My only real issue now is sometimes I get retarded and forget to trim up the front derailleur so it doesn't hit the chain. And sometimes you have to make the shift from the small ring to the big one in two steps to make sure you take all the slack out of the cable.

Aww. Poor me.

The whole system is great. All smooth and silky.

And now the bike weighs 34 pounds. That included my pump, a half full water bottle and my tool kit still strapped to the seat. The thing is a freaking tank. Very smooth, very stable, but a freaking tank.

With the new gearing, going fast is less of an option. running my biggest gear (50x12) I can usually hit around 35 on a good descent, not 40+ anymore. I don't have all the sweet spots in the gears worked out yet. But, I have found that I'm bringing a lot more combinations into the picture than I used to. With the 28 tooth chainring, I used my 34, 30 and maybe the next one down because I only used that little monkey climbing. Coming up Sand Point Way, I dropped into my 30 and stayed in it for a while. Toodling happily along (yes, I toodle on my bike) I looked down and realized I was running my 30x14 or somewhere thereabouts.

One of the reasons I switched to the new gearing was precisely that, to expand the range of gears I actually use. Sounds stupid but it seems to be working for me.

Now I just have to deal with the fact that I'm all fat and out of shape...

Whole again

2006-09-16T16:16:00.000-07:00

Finally.
I haven't ridden my bike since the beginning of August. Two weeks of AT, five weeks of waiting for two broken ribs to heal. The ribs are pretty much healed up and I've finished the Campy upgrade to the bike.

Time to ride the bike again.

The upgrade isn't quite 100% done yet. I have all the parts, they are all installed and more or less work. Campy Centaur triple crank (50/40/30), Phil Wood Bottom bracket and a Campy Centaur front derailluer. But the shifting isn't quite as precise as I would like.

Here's what I think.
The spacing on the shimano BB wasn't quite right. When Aaron set the chainline, he set it to Shimano standard. If I set the derailleur stop the way it's supposed to, shifting into the small ring is sloppy when it happens at all. At the upper limit, I'm running up against the extreme right limit of the derailleur travel so shifting in the front isn't as crisp as I would like. It's a long, hard throw up against that right limit to get the chain to engage the big ring. The upper limit screw never even touches the derailleur body. And the autoshifting thing. I think that's because of the high cable tension at the right limit.

I'm betting if we move the chainline a couple of millimeters to the left, that'll fix things.

The gearing is a big chance. I gave up my tiny climbing gear. 28x34 for a ratio of 0.82. When I moved to the 12-27, I went dropped to a 1.04 small ratio. Now with the 30T small ring, my smallest ratio is 1.11. I decided I didn't need the tiny gears anymore. As Aaron said, sometimes you just gotta man up and climb the damn hill.

All dressed up and no place to go

2006-08-27T08:28:00.000-07:00

So, I'm back from AT now.

That's the good news. The bad news is I broke two ribs playing ultimate frisbee so I can't ride for a while. That's not quite true. I broke one rib playing ultimate frisbee. The other one is an old injury that cut loose about a week later. None of the medics or the PA seemed disturbed by this, so I'm guessing there is nothing freakish about it.

Actually feeling it happen is a little creepy. Sharp pain in the side, some weird popping and grinding, then more weird pain.

But, I did manage to do AT this way and even qualified sharpshooter (31 of 40) on my M-16. Shooting pop-ups. At the surface this may not seem great. In the cosmic scheme of things it isn't. But the last time I shot my weapon was 2003 and the last time I shot pop ups was 1998. Not too freaking bad.

Probably added a bit to my personal myth. Not a bad thing for an Army officer to have.

The ribs are healing slowly. Aleve is great stuff.
More campy upgrades to follow.

More on Campyno.

2006-07-26T22:48:00.000-07:00

Still pretty damn happy with the mix. It took far less tweaking to get the shifter position right.

The rear shifting was a little wonky. I wasn't surprised about this but I still wanted to try and fix it. It'll be a while before I get the ten speed cassette on yet.

For shits and grins, I tried a slight mod of the cable hack. If you look at the derailleur pictures on my last post, you can just barely see a little hook on the outside of the derailleur clamp. I ran the cable between the bolt and the clamp. I've only tested it on the stand, but it seems to be better.

I'm not 100% happy with the front shifting yet. Maybe 98%. I'm wondering if the chainring spacing is just a bit wrong. I can trim up most of the slop, but there is still a bit of drag on the derailleur cage. I'm sure it doesn't help that my chain rings are quite a bit out of true.

Campyno

2006-07-20T16:45:00.000-07:00

More changes in the wind for my bike.
Campy Veloce

Rear Mech

and shifters:

At the moment I'm still running a hybrid campy-shimano system.

John at R+E told me that the Campy and Shimano 10 speed systems have pretty damn close to the same spacing and if I wanted, I could run a Campy 10 speed shifter on a shimano 9 speed cassette without too much trauma. All I would have to do is adjust the shifter such that it had two clicks for either the top or bottom gears. Sweetness.

They went together pretty well. Getting the indexing just right takes a little bit of doing but well worth it.

The issue was the front. I'm running an Ultegra Triple mech and crankset. For some damn reason or other, it was auto shifting when I was standing up in the big gear. John changed the cable run just a little bit. Instead of running it under the hook on the front, he sort of ran it around the hook. Same idea as this hack for making the rear work.

The difference was amazing. Everything is all smooth.
Eventually, I'll be converting the rest of the drive train to campy. Except the casette because I'm not giving up my phil wood hubs. Phil Wood doesn't make squat compatible with campy and doesn't intend to. All that doesn't really mean much to me now though.

So. Does it make a difference? Do the Campy shifters perform better than Shimano? Was it worth the $460 I spent on that project?

Performance. How do they match up?

The shifting feels lighter and more precise, particularly in the front. Shifting from the middle to the big chain ring is almost effortless. Plus, being able to trim up the front derailleur reduces rub.

When I first held the things, I thought the downshift lever would feel a little bit awkward being on the side and all. Different that the STI but still good.

Also, the Campy system has a few features that Shimano doesn't. There is a button on the brake lever you can push to hold the brakes open wide (good for cantis). The cable adjustment screws on the downtubes and at the derailleur is easier.

The Campy equivalent of B Adjustment screw is a little weird. I actually had to read the instructions to figure out what they did. But I don't use that much so it's not a show stopper.

Overall, I like the Campy Stuff better.

Are they wimps or am I barking mad?

2006-05-27T13:58:00.000-07:00

I was reading the CBC forums today (Cascade Bicycle Club Forums for those outside of Seattle). There was a thread there from someone asking about a good route in the vicinity of my usual commute. I had been watching (and posting) to that thread for a while. People were vetoing several options because they involved a supposedly scary interchange (527/405), side roads where people are afraid of "hicks in full-size pick-ups" and other such terrors.

I've ridden all the options presented. None of them are really bad. Some are faster, some are more fun. None of them scare me.

As I looked between the lines, I noticed a couple of things and, as I am wont to do, came up with a theory.

I went through a few options first.
1) They are just being cautious because you can't be too careful (work with me here).
2) I'm a nutter who engages in reckless behavior (possible).
3) A combination of callousness and luck on my part has kept me from ever getting hit by a car.
4) A good portion of the Seattle cycling community are pussies.

Some of these ideas have a little merit, but just don't seem quite right.

My psych 101 idea is that riding a bike surrounded by cars makes people feel small and vulnerable. Insignificant.

Due to some defect in my psyche, I've never felt this way. Not in the middle of the ocean, not in the mountains, not in traffic. People who are more balanced than I might though. Where I just see cars and can assert myself in traffic, others see threats everywhere.

The hick in the pickup, the yuppie in the Lexus and the soccer mom in her van are all threats. Who knows when the ol' boy in the pick up will decide to fuck with you, or the hyper-aggro self-absorbed yuppie will force you off the road or the soccer mom will turn to smack her kids in the back seat, lose control of her vehicle and kill you.

Something about this whole situation seems so primal. Motorists are "them." They are unknowns. They are enemies.

Not me.

2006-05-21T00:58:00.000-07:00

I googled seattlecyclist.
I am not the pervert fucker who posts on USAsexguide.

She has a name.

2006-05-20T23:42:00.000-07:00

Two posts in the same 24-hour period. Damn.

My wife made a comment the other night that she was amazed I hadn't named my bike yet.
She has a gender and a personality, I suppose it's about time.

Kira. Her name is Kira.
No reason other than I like the name. I originally discovered it in an Ayn Rand novel (Yes, I used to read that shit. I think the book was "We The Living" but I could be wrong). At one point, I wanted my daughter's name to be Kira. The Soviets had a Kira-Class cruiser. Pretty boats. Makes it pretty fucking Russian to me. However, a friend of my wife said it was Persian.

Kira got some new parts tonight. Vittoria Radonneur Cross tires (700x32c) and some fizzix tape. She got cleaned and oiled. Rode down to the bar to have a beer tonight (three actually) and she felt SOOOOOOO sweet. The tires have some center tread which makes the ride a little buzzier. But the fat, softer tires make up for it. I've taped a handlebar or two in my time, but the fizzix tape requires a little skill. I hasten to add that it almost covers my 48 cm bars. Since I have my light mount on one side and computer mount on the other, not an issue.

For the two of you who read this blog on a regular basis, here are the products I endorse (no compensation here, these are things I use and really like):

Phil Wood Hubs

Not for the weight-concious. Aside from the fact they are Phil-fucking-Wood, you can pull the ratchet off with two 6mm allen wrenches. Good for lubricating the ratchets, but also means you can replace broken drive-side spokes without pulling the cassette.

Co-motion Frames:

My Americano was custom built. They measured me, talked to me about what I wanted and did their best to give it to me. I fucked with their normal logo scheme a bit and asked for pump and chain pegs. They were totally cool with it.

In addition to relatively big feet (size 10.5 for a 5'9" man) and long legs (33 inch inseam) I use long cranks (175mm). I also have a short body. Basically, I'm built like a woman with big feet, narrow hips and no tits.
They couldn't eliminate all the toe overlap, but after a few years of use, I don't care. The fucking thing is dead stable at 50mph fully loaded and comfortable as hell. The only improvement would be if it had lugs.

Brooks Saddles (B-17 Champion Special is shown)

All the shit you hear about painful break-in periods with Brooks saddles is just that. I rode mine without padded shorts just after I bought it. I still do quite a bit. This is what the honey color looks like after several years of use and lots of Proofide. It actually looks prettier in person.

I put a B-66 on my wife's bike. She totally digs it.

Vittoria Radonneur tires (got over 5000 miles off my last pair without a single flat)

A note on these. I was using 700x37c tires. Maybe that makes a difference, maybe not. Over 18 months without a single flat is a lot. Over 18 months on a single tire is a lot. That includes a loaded tour up HWY 97 in Oregon, shitloads of commuting in Portland, and some riding in and around Fort Sill, OK.
Once I log some more miles on the Radonneur Crosses, I'll say more. My first impression was favorable.

Speedplay Frogs (haven't tried the others speedplay pedals)

Another witness: I put a set of these on my wife's bike. One ride and she loved them. She feels that this is how pedals should feel. The foot-pedal interface becomes pretty blurry.

These shoes are worth a shot:

Specialized Sonoma Body Geometry.
Here's why I'm bringing these up. Brooke at Gregg's Greenlake talked me into a set of these. I threw in a set of Superfeet insoles and DAMN. Also, someone else at PMEL has these shoes and occasionally wears them all day. The Body Geometry refers to some weird shit they do with the insoles. I'm not impressed with that part. Replaced the insoles on both pairs of BG shoes I've owned. But Specialized shoes are tall which makes my high-ass arches and insteps happy.

I bought a pair of these pants.

Columbia Silver Ridge Capris. Rocking pants for commuting. It takes some man-sack to wear capris, but it's totally worth it. Add a pair of padded skivvies and you are golden. Just like cycling shorts but more comfortable.

Bike to Work week

2006-05-20T08:33:00.000-07:00

It was Bike to Work Day in Seattle yesterday. Of course I rode. I saw a lot of things that made me happy and a few things that made me shake my head.

Let's start with the bad stuff so I can finish on a good note.

I'm starting to believe that at least one of the barriers to more people riding their bikes is some of the elitest snob attitudes one finds in habitual cyclists. Squids bitching at and about other squids. People who think if you aren't riding a $3000 carbon fiber wonder and dressed like a cheap billboard in Tijuana, you aren't a real cyclist.

Someone over on the .83 board said that someone was drafting him on the BGT one day. When he dodged to avoid a pedestrian, the squid drafting him bitched about him not being able to hold a straight line.

There was also a good deal of bitching over there about the new people riding their bikes and how they don't know what they are doing.

Fuck you all. For perhaps one day of these people's lives, they got off their asses and rode their bikes to work. These people should be fucking applauded for giving it a shot. Maybe, just maybe other cyclists acting pleasantly would make them think that riding a bike is better than driving to work.
Ok, that was the rant. Here come the raves.

I got a flat yesterday. I can fix a flat in under 10 minutes in any conditions. In the brief time I was alongside the trail swapping the tube out, six or seven people checked to make sure I was ok and had everything I needed. I can fix almost anything on my bike with the tools I carry, but they didn't know that. This is what I'm talking about.

My mantra about bicycles is get what suits your needs. Some people like the racing bikes. I ride a heavy touring rig. But a lot of the newbies I saw yesterday were riding bikes that just made sense for what they were doing. Some of them are comfort bikes, some are mountain bikes with a few modifications, some of them were the generic flat-bar road bikes become popular.

Kudos go three ways for this one.
First to the manufacturers for building bikes like this and making them affordable. I think Joe Breeze started this trend, but Bianchi, Novara (REI house brand) all make good solid bikes of this sort.

The second salute goes out to the people who sold them the bikes. In days gone by, it was common for salespeople to sell either a sport-touring bike or a mountain bike. General purpose bikes were unknown. When they first started coming on the market, new buyers were often steered away from them. Now they are considered a viable option.

The final salute goes to the people riding the bikes. It was probably a wise choice. Enjoy.

It rained a bit yesterday evening. Not a cold, windy rain. It was a warm and fairly light rain. Riding in these conditions is one of the subtle joys of cycling. Fuck rain gear.

I rode alongside an older (and somewhat, uh, rubenesque) lady for a while yesterday. She admitted that she rarely rode her bike to work but decided bike to work day was a good day to start. She seemed a little concerned about all the traffic on the BGT (it was heavier than usual) but I told her that on most days, it's considerably lighter. She just seemed happy to be riding. I hope this lady grasps the joy she felt riding to work and keeps on doing it.

Spring is here

2006-05-02T20:56:00.000-07:00

About a month back (shortly after my last post in fact), I got pretty fucking annoyed with it all. Tired of cyclists. Tired of being around cyclists talking about their bikes. Tired of hearing cyclists bitching about traffic, cops, people in cars, all of it.
I didn't want to ride, I didn't want to associate with those people. None of it. I was probably a bitch to deal with too.

So, I didn't ride for a month or so (and gained almost 5 pounds in the process).

About two or three weeks ago, I got back on my bike. She'd been sitting in my office at home, looking forlorn as neglected ladies of her breeding are wont to do. I swung my leg over and rode to work. Unused muscles notified me of their atrophy levels.

I was facing a ride home. It was a nice day and I didn't want to fuck with putting my cycling clothes on. Rolled up the pant legs and rode home.
Epiphany. Satori on the Burke Gilman. Call it what you want.

I realized that cycling had become more of a way to identify myself as an individual than, well, whatever it was.

Riding my bike along in an unhurried fashion made me think back to when I was a 14 year old kid pedaling my silver Schwinn Le Tour around Clackamas county. This was before I knew about cycling. Before I knew about proper kit, good parts and careful maintenance. I just rode to ride.

I thought about the old men I see riding their bikes down the BGT in the mornings. They didn't drop $100 on their jersey. They might have dropped $100 on their bikes. But they are happy to be there. I see one guy every few days who pedals along at 6 mph with a huge grin on his face. The man is happy to be alive, never mind riding his bike.

A long time ago, I read a story in Bicycling (when you could still find stories to read in Bicycling). The title was "Just Cycling." Sounded like hippy drivel to me. Still sort of does. But I get the point now.

I thought about the squids and poseur squids I see on the road. Head down and hammering. There isn't a huge difference between that and driving. The only interaction is between you and your transportation. The people and the scenery are glimpses taken a short intervals. Once in a while that level of mental focus is refreshing, but not all the time. The squids probably know this.
So there I am. Mostly given up on the cycling clothes. Rain jacket, gloves and shoes. Whatever I happen to be riding otherwise. Look at the other people, the weather, things going by. Think. Exult. Return of the exuberence.

Can't think of a snappy ending. Will call it good here.

what the hell are people thinking????

2006-03-22T19:11:00.001-08:00

Seems like there has been a spate of bicycle accidents in Seattle this week.

Gypsie was hit last week. Gets out of the hospital tomorrow. The guy that hit her turned out to be an "undocumented alien" who had no license or insurance. He tried to run and hit another car. The bystanders got pissed (YEAH!) and took his keys. He got booked for felony hit and run. A little justice is nice, but it doesn't change the fact that my friend is lying at Harborview Medical Center with a newly-rebuilt hip.

Another person got hit in the vicinity of the West Seattle Bridge. Some punk blew a turn at 80, jumped the curb and killed a person riding their bike. Fucker.

Then, fellow Point 83 member Brooke got hit by some shit stain in an SUV on her way to work. Guy didn't stop. Since her glasses got knocked off in the crash, she couldn't see well enough to get a plate number. A couple of motorists stopped to help her and called the police. The cops got pissed at her but did give her a ride home.

Three people fucked up in a week and that's just stuff I knew about.

People fucking suck.

I keep asking myself what I can do about this. Others have suggested that it's just a part of society, like war and stupidly expensive housing prices.

The only good idea I came up with is putting together a web site where people can post plate numbers for people that hit them and ran rather than standing up to what they did. Then posting signs on their lawns and putting stickers on their cars proclaiming to the world what fucking cowards they are.

It would be a little satisfying but probably counter-productive.

what the hell are people thinking????

2006-03-22T19:11:00.000-08:00

Some nice new stuff

2006-02-19T21:02:00.000-08:00

So, the taxes came back. After Soo paid off a wad of bills (fuck you BofA), she decided there was enough left for us to stash some money and for me to buy some new stuff. $400 worth.

Does life get any better? Officially sanctioned bike lust...

Now it just so happens that I had been in Aaron's Bike Shop and found a pair of Nitto Mod 177 48 cm bars. Sort of like the picture at the left, but not on a Rivendell.

Anywho, I like wide bars. One of Aaron's mechanics has some 53cm bars, but 48's were the largest I've seen. Any they are some purty bars. Nice finish.

So, I did what any rational person would do. Bought them. Also got a new set of Frogs. Add in some tape and a pair of Pearl Izumi Juice's on sale at REI for $43.

As it turned out, making the jump from 42cm bars to 48 cm bars was enough to fuck up my cable runs. Housings were just too short. You wouldn't think that 3cm on either side would make that big of a difference. It does. I had seen this as a possibility so I had saved enough to replace the housings and cables. Made the shifting a little sweeter.

I did find out that I have different straddles on my brakes. I ended up with one long and one medium sized one. The long one is pretty sweet. I put that one on the front. Need to buy another long one. It gives just enough extra mechanical advantage to make braking a little bit sweeter.

The one problem I had was with the tape. Mike at Aaron's said I probably wouldn't be able to stretch the regular Cinelli cork ribbon enough to cover those long ass bars. Went with the slightly stretchier Cinelli gel. I had to stretch the living shit out it and could have still used another couple of turns.

I went huge with the shoes. The Brannock device (who but me remembers the Kinney ads from the 70's talking about that thing?) said I'm a 10.5 us or 44 european. I went with 46's/11.5. I did this to give the dogs plenty of space to move. Should keep my toes warmer, allow me to use inserts and generally improve circulation in the toe region. Plus, they are mountain shoes so I can walk in them. Unfortunately, my shoe covers won't fit. Warm sock and gore-tex liners...

Took the bike for a ride today. Nothing long. Mostly around Sandpoint way, up to the Fiddler's Inn with Orion and Steven (Orion and eternal ignorance on Point 83) and back. The handlebars were pleasantly wide and comfortable. One thing worth mentioning is the Nittos don't have as much drop from the flats to the hooks. Gives me a nice, big flat spot. The big clown shoes didn't seem to negatively affect my climbing and positively affected my ability to walk around a bar with wooden floors with a few pints in me.

The Frogs. Well. They are still fucking outstanding pedals. Felt a little different when they are new. There's a little plastic riser thingy that limits your inward motion that was worn down on the ones I bought from Aaron. Also, they just weren't as worn down.

I'm just all sweetness here. With that much new kit, how could one not be? The only things that are really left are new cranks and a new cassette. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with the cranks. I can get a new set of Ultegras and keep the 28 tooth inner chain wheel (my secret weapon on hills...) or I can figure out whether the campy record triple (ooohhh. campy...) would be compatible with the hyperglide chain and the ultegra front derailleur. The latter case would mean I new a new bottom bracket. I could drop some more money and put the phil wood BB in. More money all the way around. The question is would this give me better reliability? If so, I might go that route.

Enough yammering about gear.

Weather in seattle is fucking cold. Like doing PT at fort sill in the winter cold. Sunny though.
Supposed to start raining this week. That's what I'm talking about, variety.

2006-02-03T21:11:00.000-08:00

Today was one of those days when I was just happy to be riding a bike.

I spent last night giving the Co-motion some serious wrench-and-grease love. Cleaned and oiled the chain. Greased the pedals. Greased the ratchet mechanism on the rear hub. Greased the hub.

She was SOOOOOOOO smooth this morning. Like buttah.

Also, I found a killer new way to work. A little bit shorter, a little more climbing. But ohhhh, the descending. A good two or three miles down hill. Not as much traffic. Joy.

After work, I hooked up with Jill.
We went up to Fiddler's Inn and met some other friends. Beer, fried stuff with cheese and lots of good talk. Rode home. A little rain, but otherwise life was good.

Times like this I pity all those poor bastards stuck in their cars.

Jill did bring up an interesting point, which my wife seconded. Riding like a shithead in traffic a la Critical Mass doesn't make people want to give up their SUV's and ride a bike. It just pisses them off more. Makes them hostile. I understand a good part of CM is a demonstration of the sheer exuberance that comes with riding a bike. I'm all about exuberance. But I think things have gotten a little out of hand.

Cars have a right to use the road. Cyclists have a right to use the road. Cyclists don't like it when motorists act like shit heads. Motorists don't like it when cyclists act like shit heads.

Here's how my wife put it.
It's like two racist groups. They have a sense of community, but there is a sense of "otherness." One group sees themselves as unfairly put upon (justified or not) and so exclude the "others", treating them with outright contempt.

For every asshole motorist out there, there has to be hundreds, if not thousands of motorists who are courteous. Even if courtesy just means letting the cyclist go about their business unmolested by horn honking or unsolicited traffic advice.

I do not ride with CM. I don't approve of what they do. Unfortunate because I approve of why they do it. If they switch tactics, I will certainly rethink my attitude.

If you drive, give the cat on the bicycle a break. They don't need to hear your fucking horn, they probably know you are there. They don't belong on the sidewalk or where ever you think they belong other than on the road.

If you are a cyclist, don't be a dick. Don't take more of the road than you need. If a motorist is courteous, acknowledge their courtesy. And if you live in Seattle, clean your chain. It probably needs it.

2006-02-02T07:59:00.000-08:00

Must apologize for all my previous bitching about the rainy weather. Chemical imbalance or something. I'm all back to normal now.

Going through my recent rain-hatred did bring two things to light:
1) I can be whiney little bitch
2) I don't mind being cold/wet. It's the transition from warm/dry to cold/wet I don't like.

Also, I don't like any kind of weather if it lasts long. Pleasantly warm and sunny gets on my nerves if I don't have a rain break once in a while.

Last night I crossed some sort of line. Here's how my commute went last night:

Sean rolls bike out of office building. It's not raining but Sean looks across Lake Washington. Visibility is about a half mile. Sean thinks "Cool. I get to ride through that." Light to medium rain all the way into bothell.
Then, all hell breaks loose. It starts coming down. Fucking hard. I felt like the flat rock under the horse. It was raining so hard that I could hear the rain drops pinging off my top tube. The perspective fucked with my head a little.
And I had an absolute blast.

The good thing about rain storms in this area is it causes the winds to come from a generally southwesterly direction. Right at my back when I'm riding home.

I was riding down 527 doing 20 miles an hour (JOY!) and there was no wind in my face.

I don't know how that ride could have been any better. I really don't.

2006-01-29T13:34:00.000-08:00

Seems like the people at the NWS in Seattle are starting to get creative:

Today's forecast: Rain
Tonight's forecast: Widespread rain
Monday's forecast: Numerous rain showers

Sean's forecast: Same as it's been all winter. Minor variations on a theme is the best you can hope for.

This is telling. This is a post from my friend Aaron on the Point 83 website:

"I am kind of sick of riding long distance in the rain. Commuting is fine. Can somebody please get me some cheese and crackers to go with my whine?"

Aaron is one of the most hardcore cyclists I know.

Bitching aside, we perservere. I spent a good part of my evening last night preparing my bike for another week of riding in the rain. Carefully repacked the pedal bearings and sealed the pedals with silicone. Cleaned and lubed the chain with Phil's Tenacious Oil.

It's just become easier to take my bike down to the car wash and hose it down with the pressure washer. Someone is probably saying "Sean, that is really bad for your bike. What about your bearings?"

All the bearings on my bike are sealed. Washer gets the road funk off my bike. I shit you not, I had road grit piled up a quarter inch thick around my brakes.

Next year, I resolve to approach winter more well prepared for the rain, cold and yuck. I will find and purchase a set of good winter gloves (PI AmFib's looking like the best bet). Proper shoe covers. Shoes that fit better so numb doesn't become the default state for my feet. I have plenty of warm socks, waterproof socks, etc. but that doesn't matter much when your shoes are tight on your feets.

I suppose I rant so much about weather because for an urban cyclist, the two biggest factors in cycling enjoyment are weather and traffic. Traffic doesn't bother me too much. They do their thing, I do mine. The occasional aggro knucklehead but by and large people in my part of the world are fairly polite if a little clueless.

On to other cycling news of no importance. I made a couple of new commuting playlists on my MP3 player. One is all techno, one is all non-techno. Techno is good music for commuting, but you have to choose carefully.

I'm also considering buying some noise-cancelling headphones. My hearing isn't that great to begin with. Combination of too much loud music and several years in the Field Artillery. I play my tunes just loud enough to hear over traffic noise, but not so loud that I can't hear what's going on around me. One day I turned my MP3 player on, not realizing I hadn't reduced the volume from commute levels. Ouch. Irony is, I don't much like loud noises.

Beyond that, I'm just starting to feel sort of fit again. Getting some hill climbing form back. I'm rarely sore from my commutes unless I totally hammer. Time to climb more hills. Plus, windy days are good for climbing because you are going slow anyway.

The cycling gods are just

2006-01-26T20:27:00.000-08:00

I was riding to work this morning, nose into a serious wind. I don't know how damn fast it actually was, but there were some serious swells on Lake Washington and wet leaves were blowing across the BGT from time to time.

Average speed for my ride to work, about 13.5 mph. On a normal day, it's around 16-ish and since I haven't ridden much in the past week, 16.5 would still be reasonable. But it wasn't.

As I'm riding along, I think "now, if the gods are just, that wind won't change direction or weaken between now and my ride home." It didn't. It did rain a little bit but remained pleasantly windy. I demonstrated my gratitude to the cycling gods by giving them a sacrifice of pain and sweat. I freaking hammered all the way home.

Now, my legs feel pleasantly empty. I had some protein (pork loin), complex carbohydrates (couscous) and simple carbohydrates (yogurt-covered raisins) when I got home. Plus shit loads of water. Hopefully, I'm well recovered by tomorrow morning.

For the record. There are certain phrases you will not see here. I will never call it a carb. I mean I used to, back when mutant endurance athletes were the only ones that cared. But when it became a buzz-word, I swore off it. If it needs to be abbreviated, it's a CHO. Which, I guess, could also include alcohol.

Anywho.
I also will not use the word extreme (as in extreme sports). That word is used by journalists and the silly fucks who write mountain dew ads. Ditto adrenaline junkie.

There are probably more that come to mind. Earthquakes are not 9.2 on the Richter Scale, they are magnitude 9.2 earthquakes. Again, journalists.

I will not use the phrase "The mother of all..." Before and in the early stages of Desert Storm, this was a perfectly acceptable phrase. Not common but heard in military speak.

At this time is also stupid. One hears it quite a bit on military radio nets. Don't know if this phrase existed before the Nixon Administration. Rumor has it this phrase has its roots there. "Now" works much better.

Ok, enough of that. Starting to sound like a combination of Miss Thistlebottom's Hobgoblins and E.B. White's Notes on Style. Both are good books, but they've both been written. By someone else.

A quick break from the rain

2006-01-18T08:34:00.000-08:00

It has finally happened. The gods of weather have seen fit to give us a break.

Monday morning I woke up to rain. I started getting my shit ready to go and suddenly thougth "Fuck it. I'm getting tired of riding in the rain." And I drove.

Yesterday dawned dry, if not actually clear. Didn't rain. I rode to work and gloried it in. Sort of. Several sections of the Burk Gilman are still wet. It takes a while for wet that deep to dry. But it didn't rain. Last night was, gasp, not raining and semi-warm. Actually changed out of my full finger gloves for the first time in months.

Today is a mixed bag. Weather report says rain is likely tonight and for the next few days. So, I have to take advantage of one more non-rainy ride.

The other Seattlites out there will doubtless scoff at me. This is Seattle where an umbrella is the mark of an outsider and it's nothing to see fenders on a high end racing bike. Don't care. The National Weather Service says our last run of rainy days lasted for 29 days (not a record, but close) and in those 29 days, we received 13.96 inches of rain.

It's soggy here. Even the ground is starting to bitch about the weather.

To make my whining seem a little more trivial, I've grown quite weary with having to hose down my bike every couple of days. The dirt that washes onto the sides of the roads around here is roughly like sand. Sort of fine sand. And it gets everywhere. In particular, it tends to collect around the places where my rear fender meets the frame and on my brake pads.

2006-01-11T20:36:00.000-08:00

Seattle is now sitting at rain for 24 days straight. All we have to do is make it through next friday and we will have tied the old record of 33 days.

Don't know why I'm so excited about this. It's the little things that make life more interesting.

But, I'm totally not getting anywhere on my rides this year. Little sickness here (like monday when I was pissing out my ass and running a fever), weird schedule things there and what it leads to is no progress.

I know better than this, I really do. Doesn't get me anywhere other than temporarily firming my resolve until something happens again.

I need a training partner. Someone to whoop my ass and make me lift weights, ride my bike, whatever.
Now, I'm not normally much of a poetry person, and I'll admit that I've never actually read anything by Dylan Thomas until I came across this on the Seattle International Radonneurs website, but I like it. So, here it is:

Do not go gentle into that good night,

Old age should burn and rave at close of day;

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,

Because their words had forked no lightning they

Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright

Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,

And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,

Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight

Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,

Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.

Do not go gentle into that good night.

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Liberal, Conservative or just don't give a shit?

2006-01-04T10:21:00.000-08:00

There are two words I would love to ban from political discourse.
Liberal and Conservative.

Here's why.
I'm tired of having the entire political spectrum condensed into these two simple words. And words that have become epithets at that.

It's so easy and so tempting to say that this is some symptom of a larger problem. Something about people wanting to keep things simple or their tendency to identify themselves with a group and demonizing the "other" side. But, my intellectual capacities are insufficiently developed for that level of analysis.

2006-01-03T11:10:00.000-08:00

I was pondering my mileage goals for this year.
10,000 miles. That's starting to seem a tad bit lofty. That's 192 miles every week this year.
My commute is 14.4 miles each way. I ride 4 days a week. That's 5990 miles a year assuming I don't take any weeks off from cycling or work. Not likely.

Let's just strike that goal from the record. Visions of over-use injuries and massive burnout are starting to swirl through my head. I want to ride my bike more, I don't want to end up hating cycling.

For the record, Kool-stop V-brake replacement pads will work just dandy in the shimano cantilever brake pad holders. Replaced mine last night.

And, a good trick for toeing in brake pads. Use a rubber band to set your toe-in. It'll sit there while you are making the necessary adjustments and will set the toe-in just about right.

My only concern about how they worked while dry was did they sound like a cat being sodomized? I wanted to ride in the rain. Who else but a cyclist in the Northwest WANTS to ride in the rain?

There wasn't much rain on the ride to work, but on the ride home was fairly wet. Not a full-blown deluge but enough rain to test the limits of my new binders. They work pretty much as advertised. There was some build-up of funk, but the funk of a different nature. This funk wasn't the slimy black mix of brake compound and aluminum from the rims. This funk had a vaguely more pristine look about it. I suspect it's from the sand, fir needles and sundry other biomass and nastiness that sits on the roads around here. It comes off with much less effort than the black funk and doesn't scream like the aforementioned cat.

On the ride home, I was pondering my usual panopoly of things. All sorts of deep and interesting thoughts. Don't remember most of them.
This is but a smattering of my internal babblings tonight.

- Is the "information age" really making us any smarter? The whole internet has so democratised communications that there is no real bullshit filter anymore (see "The Lexus and the Olive Tree" for a more involved discussion.) Hell, I'm throwing all kinds of thoughts out to the world with no concern whatsoever whether anyone even gives a shit. It costs me battery power for my laptop and the cost of an internet connection. But, a quick look at most forums shows that some portion of the on-line population uses the ability to assert their intellectual superiority in flame wars.
- On the same note, the left is convinced there is a vast right wing conspiracy. The right wing is convinced there is a vast left wing conspiracy. The Christians are convinced that everyone wants to shut down their religion and deny them religious rights. Everyone else is convinced that Christians want to create a world-wide Christian theocracy, denying everyone their freedom of whatever. They may all be right.
- I resent anyone trying to politicize me.
- In "Armed Conflict" the author (whose name utterly escapes me) makes the point that the media has more to do with decision to go to war than political motivation. People react to the crisis of the moment and the government response is an echo to this reaction. Also, omnipresent media has effectively reduced the time and options of diplomats, government officials and the military. A leader in the field has to account for political response to their decision because of the cameras that are nearly always there. For the record, I think most journalists are whores who write because they can't do anything useful.

Not much else comes to mind. I did ride up a steep fucking hill which has secured my right to ride down it. There are a lot of steep hills around here. Most of the short and/or not-so-steep ones I can handle in my 42x30 or 42x34. There are a few where I don't even mess around and drop straight down into the 28x30 or 28x34 and hope for the best. In this case, I knew what was coming at me, so I went straight for the 28 tooth chainwheel before I even started up it in earnest.

There are a couple I have yet to assert my rights to descend some hills around here because, well, you have to get up to the top of them somehow.

2006-01-01T21:50:00.000-08:00

New Year's Day. Wish I had something profound to say about the New Year, but the Profundity Fairy didn't pay me a visit last night.

But, as usual, I do have less than profound thoughts on the issue.

Long ago, I used to spend some time around New Year's thinking about the things I had done, should have done or wish I'd done or wish I hadn't done. Then I would work up my list for the following year.

It wasn't really a process of resolution, but I used the time to follow-up on where I was. I don't do that any more. Honestly, once a year just isn't enough. So, I quit.

But, I do always hope the New Year is better than the old. 2005 wasn't a high water mark for me in several categories. Like most people, I think I just look at 2005 and say "Fuck. I'm glad that's over."

2006 started out a little better though.
New Year's Day 2005: Woke up to my cousin's cat doing things with my toes and a slight hangover.
New Year's Day 2006. Woke up to my wife. No hang over and we did things that didn't involve toes but did require locking the bedroom door because the 5 year old was up and prowling around.

I do have some good plans for this year though. I've been notching my weekly mileage up since I moved to Seattle. I'm adding a fourth day every week cycling to work. This'll bump my weekly mileage up to around 120. By summer, I'm hoping to do 200 mile weeks on a semi-regular basis.

My goal for 2006: 10,000 miles on my bike this year. Sub-goal: Ride more miles every month than I drive.

Most weeks I already meet that goal. But since I still drill in Portland, that's 400 miles a month I have to make up. And that's going up because the 2/218th Field Artillery is moving to an Armory farther away. 40 miles or so farther.

Next Goal: Ride 400km in one day by next September (I made this goal last month so it isn't a New Year's thing either). My current daily mileage record is 120 miles (about 190 km). I did that one with a loaded touring bike over the Cascades two years ago.

An associate who does these things tells me 400 km is the worst distance because that is one long fucking day. Around 20 hours. I know I can keep the legs moving as long as I keep shovelling calories and fluids down my throat. But my longest continuous effort in any physical activity has been the 10 or 12 hours it takes to climb Mt. Hood and get back down (quit laughing, I know I'm slow).

My biggest concern: that's a whole new level of boredom. I may need to enlist the aid of my MP3 player.

Maybe I need to learn to meditate on a bike. One of my instructors in Officer Candidate School said he frequently hypnotised himself to deal with the long hours and insane amount of walking he did when he was going through the Special Forces Qualification School.

Here's another idea. A century on a fixie. Not a new one in any sense of the word. Maybe a nice, weird little diversion for the end of the season. By then I may have actually converted my Davidson to a fixie. Honestly, all I need is a back wheel. I've done a century on the Davidson. Not as comfortable as my Co-motion.

My Co-Motion shouldn't get jealous. Aside from all the time I spend tuning her and making her pretty, she feels that her wheels make her a little better than the other bikes. They are very strong and very smooth. Velocity Dyad Rims, 36 spoke front, 40 spoke rear, built around Phil Wood hubs with FSA QR Skewers. She's particularly vain about the high flange front hub.

Right now, she regards my Davidson as a little bit of a threat. My Davidson Stilletto is a sexy ass crit bike. Her geometry is so tight, she won't accept fenders or tires larger than 25C.

In other words, my Davidson is the exotic other woman.

However, the Co-motion's regards fixies as being perfectly charming in their own right. She doesn't seem to regard them as rivals for my affection because she likes being, uh, used, in ways fixies simply won't tolerate.

So, I may be able to settle the rivalry between the two.

My ride to work

2005-12-31T08:50:00.000-08:00

Today's Saturday so there'll be no commute stories. Just me running my suck.

I may decide to go on a ride later since riding tomorrow is out. Taking Drew down to Portland.

There have been questions already. My commute to work via the shortest route is 14.4 miles from my apartment to Building 3 at the NOAA WRC on Sandpoint Way. On my best days, I can do it in around 50 minutes. Normally it takes around 55-60 minutes. The way home takes slightly longer. This way takes me due south the Burke Gilman, then around Lake Washington to NOAA. Only one hill of any significance to deal with.
The longest variation I do on a regular basis is 15 miles and change. Takes way longer. Thrasher's Corner sits in a valley with fairly steep hills on either side. If I go anyother way, there are way more long hills to contend with.

I may get a fixie at some point in the future. Right now all my love and money is being saved for my co-motion. I love my bike and having to split money between two would be like cheating.
Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. Ditto bikes. Bikes are probably female.

The cool thing about riding my bike to work is I have, from time to time, left the house in a crappy mood. Or I just was not quite feeling right. But I always feel better when I get to work than when I left.
Velotherapy.

My secret: two cups of coffee in the morning and some days a proper sound track doesn't hurt. Say what you want about wearing headphones while riding a bike in traffic. I know it's illegal. Some claim it's stupid. I'm not going to debate that now.

Here's my current playlist:
Johnny Horton: The Battle of New Orleans
DJ Irene: Don't actually know the name of the track. Jacked it off my brother-in-law's computer
Garbage: Why Do You Love Me
The Corrs: Haste To the Wedding
Victor Sierra: The Servant's Dance
The Wise Guys: Start the Commotion
Bad Religion: Two Babies in the Dark
Sisters of Mercy: This Corrosion
Terri Clarke: I just wanna
The Who: Pinball Wizard
Dirty Vegas: Days Go By
Horace X: Mr. Simms Doesn't Like Us
Paul Van Dyk: Crush (PVD Remix)
Depeche Mode: Personal Jesus
Nicole 11:11: Hell Bound
Gary Hoey: Wipe Out
Goa Syndrome: Dubay

And that is what it sounds like in my head.

On the best days, everything flows. I spend quite a bit of time maintaining my bike because I hate creaks, weird noises and other things that don't work right.

But will someone please explain to me why I felt the need to adjust a saddle that was damn near perfect to begin with? I hadn't moved it in nearly four years, but apparently one day I felt it had been too long since I'd fucked anything up. I've almost got it back to where it should be. For a while, it felt like someone was holding a lighter to my taint.

Lights.
I have a pretty wicked light system. Light and Motion Vega.
Prior to this, I was running two Cateye Opticubes (the big boxy ones). But the Burke is really bumpy. In some places it's wicked dark and there are places where external lights (streets, etc) are killing my night vision but not helping me see the trail in front of me. Also, the people who designed the BG felt the need to throw these wooden barriers up from time to time. Almost T-boned one.
Fuck me running. What a difference a good light makes.

While looking around at lights, I came across two distinct camps. One camp (dominated by safety freaks and single trackers) think that the perfect light would be visible from space. The other camp thinks that the glow from a chem-light is all anyone should ever need. If you can't see with that, you need to slow down.

There was a bit of bitching about the L&M Vega from the former camp. They said it wasn't bright enough.

For fuck's sake people. Think about what the light was designed for.

Here's what it does well. I keep my light adjusted so the center of the beam hits about 10-15 meters in front of me. This illuminates a patch big enough so I can see to either side of the trail and far enough in front of me that I can avoid whatever I'm about to hit at 17 miles an hour. It'll light up reflective material for a good 50 meters in front of me. Good for avoiding the pedestrians on the trail. And it lets cars know I'm coming.

I haven't explored the limits of the run times. I suppose I will eventually. L&M designed it so you can just plug the charger in and get on with your life. This is important. My light will see daily use for about 6 months out of the year. The rest of the year depends on how late I'm out carousing on my bike. With other systems, I've forgotten about it and fucked up the battery.
And minus the charger, the light is self-contained.

All in all, no buyer's remorse here. I bought it from Ti cycles in the U-District. Here's a plug for small, independent bike shops. They are better because the people that work there give a shit. They'll take the time to explain things to you, answer questions and share their experience. I've met people in larger shops who might as well be selling car parts for all they know. After 24 years of cycling, and maintaining my own stuff, I'm not qualified to be a mechanic for my friend Aaron.

And here's why it makes a difference. Aaron built my wheels. I'd been dreaming about them for years. Phil Wood Hubs. Accept no substitutes. Buying wheels from Aaron means Aaron will fix and true them as long as I own them. Likewise, the cat at Ti had demo'd the Vega for a while. He waded through my barrage of questions, down to "Now, are there any little quirks about this thing that just annoyed the shit out of you?" By the time we got done talking, I felt pretty good about slapping down $190 (includes WA sales tax) for a headlight. I still feel pretty damn good about it.

Now, quit reading this and go ride your bike...

2005-12-30T20:05:00.000-08:00

It's rainy in Seattle.
My ride home from work tonight was a serious departure from last night. Last night I was all about the speed. My world was focused down to what I could see in my headlight. My body became an extension of my bike. Or my bike was an extension of my body.
When I got home last night, I was still in the full heat of exercise. My thighs felt pleasantly empty and sore.

Today, with uncharacteristic wisdom, I chose to ride at a more sedate pace. Not riding for speed, but riding to ride. I don't think I even broke a sweat.

Riding fast is for the body. The mind focuses on going faster. Keep the legs moving fast. Everything is done to maintain forward motion.

Slow days. Those are for the mind. Take in the scenery around you. Ponder the day, the ride, the act of cycling.

Maybe that's how it is for you.
My mind is a little more compartmentalized. One part focuses on the task at hand. The other part blathers on about random things. Sometimes, it's a piece of a song. A few ideas that keep rolling around in my head over and over.

I once rode most of a century with "Calypso" going through my head. Yes, John fucking Denver.
Tonight, that song was from Abba. A few snatches of "Mama mia." Over and over again. For an hour. Tried to change the song but it was persistent. Had I more sense, I would have stopped to put my headphones on and drown out the offending lyrics.

There has to be medication for this.
The Buddhists describe the mind as being like a monkey, or like the trunk of an elephant constantly reaching for things, investigating them, playing with them, then moving on to grasp for something else.

Like I said, it was raining. Cold rain. Infantry weather. Pure hypothermia fodder. My rain jacket never leaked, but did suck up against my arms and drew all the heat out of my forearms. My thumbs were cold. My feet were cold and a little wet. I own two pair of waterproof socks (a pair of gore-tex and a pair of seal-skinz), but ultimately, they are useless. My feet are gonna get cold no matter what I do. Cold enough that cold and dry is a small improvement over cold and wet. Small enough that it probably isn't worth the effort to keep them dry.

And there's a small, philosophical lesson in here.
You can put all the effort in the world into keeping yourself warm and dry. But sometimes the effort isn't worth it.
Coping with the elements is an essential part of cycling. Cold, wind, rain, hills, cars, other cyclists. If I were more hard core than I actually am, I would dispense with the "instantly scalable gear-inch mechanism" known in other circles as the derailleur (hereafter, I will go with the brits and just call the fucking thing a "mech").

Lon Haldeman set the 1979 trancontinental record on a fixie (82 inches, the entire way). Most of Point 83 ride fixies. I don't. I have gears out the wazoo. And it'll probably stay that way.

I do things most don't understand and I like it that way. But I'm not going to get silly about it.