Monday, September 29, 2008
Daisy Bell, 1892
Remember that song? It’s a nice one to ride to. It tends to slow down its rhythm a bit as you go up a hill and starts sounding a bit more like HAL’s version, but mostly it provides for some nice leisurely bike time…
Saturday, September 27, 2008
never let ‘em see you sweat
I’m sure you remember that ad campaign from a while back. I’ve been thinking about that phrase lately and how it’s probably had a really big negative impact on our lives. Not allowing ourselves to sweat means not allowing ourselves to be active which means allowing ourselves to be unhealthy and miss out on other benefits of an active lifestyle like seeing the sun set over the red ocean from the top of Brown mountain.
Today I went out for a ride in search of a new burrito. On the way, I ran into Joseph. I joined his ride out to a bike shop to pick a few parts. It was a rather warm day. Probably in the nineties somewhere and this was about midday. It was actually quite a pleasant day to ride. Keeping the pace up keeps you cool. By the time we dismounted a walked into the bike shop, though, we were about as drenched as you can get. Of all the places in the life where it is certainly okay to let them see you sweat, a bike store should be high on the list – it should maybe even be a badge of accomplishment there. Still, though, I had that thought in my mind that I was sweating way too much to be in a public area.
But if we can’t sweat in public then it makes it pretty hard to ride your bike to work or the grocer or the library or the pub. But these are places that we need to be riding to. So we need to break this whole misplaced psychological phobia by sweating it out. We really ought to be more wary of those people around us that show up cool and dry and smelling lovely. Maybe the saying should be reworked to go a little more something like this: Never let ’em see you coifed. That just might help to solve some of our energy/transportation challenges (by my precise calculations an ounce of sweat equals 4 ounces of gasoline.)
On a happy note, we did end up continuing on to a great new burrito place followed by several rounds of afternoon beers at the pub.
Today I went out for a ride in search of a new burrito. On the way, I ran into Joseph. I joined his ride out to a bike shop to pick a few parts. It was a rather warm day. Probably in the nineties somewhere and this was about midday. It was actually quite a pleasant day to ride. Keeping the pace up keeps you cool. By the time we dismounted a walked into the bike shop, though, we were about as drenched as you can get. Of all the places in the life where it is certainly okay to let them see you sweat, a bike store should be high on the list – it should maybe even be a badge of accomplishment there. Still, though, I had that thought in my mind that I was sweating way too much to be in a public area.
But if we can’t sweat in public then it makes it pretty hard to ride your bike to work or the grocer or the library or the pub. But these are places that we need to be riding to. So we need to break this whole misplaced psychological phobia by sweating it out. We really ought to be more wary of those people around us that show up cool and dry and smelling lovely. Maybe the saying should be reworked to go a little more something like this: Never let ’em see you coifed. That just might help to solve some of our energy/transportation challenges (by my precise calculations an ounce of sweat equals 4 ounces of gasoline.)
On a happy note, we did end up continuing on to a great new burrito place followed by several rounds of afternoon beers at the pub.
Monday, September 22, 2008
wheels!
The old cassette got a deep tooth brushing – look at all that plaque! Needed a spacer to put old seven-speed cassette on 9-speed hub.
These wheels are solid – and they spin for-ev-er…
Mindful Mule - ready to ride around the earth… some more...
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
HAL is back
What's an inverter? I don't know but my computer's (HAL) got a new one now and it's up and running... whew. It's nice to be back on a normal size keyboard - as opposed to the tiny little laptop pad for which you need chopsticks to type.
The following text is related to the photos in the post directly below:
This started out as a small project – rotate the tires. The rear tire was getting a lot more wear (as usual) so I figured I’d flip them and extend their lifespan.
However, when I removed the rear tire, things changed. Remember when I was wondering how long a rim will last once it’s started to get concave? Well, I still don’t know for sure, but I think the best advice is to replace the rim when you start to wonder about it.
Removing the rear tire put just enough stress on the rim to reveal/open this crack. Believe it or not, it goes almost all the way around the circumference of the rim – on both sides!
So, Mindful’s out of commission for a while, but new wheels are in the works...
The following text is related to the photos in the post directly below:
This started out as a small project – rotate the tires. The rear tire was getting a lot more wear (as usual) so I figured I’d flip them and extend their lifespan.
However, when I removed the rear tire, things changed. Remember when I was wondering how long a rim will last once it’s started to get concave? Well, I still don’t know for sure, but I think the best advice is to replace the rim when you start to wonder about it.
Removing the rear tire put just enough stress on the rim to reveal/open this crack. Believe it or not, it goes almost all the way around the circumference of the rim – on both sides!
So, Mindful’s out of commission for a while, but new wheels are in the works...
Monday, September 15, 2008
Saturday, September 13, 2008
cool running
This morning it was nice and cool (68 at 9am) and cloudy. It's been like this for a few days now. It's such a nice change from the mid-ninties we've had for months. Still I had a hard time getting out into the day but after just enough coffee I decided to try for at least an easy three miler. Once I was out there running, I felt pretty good so I headed toward the bridge. Then I remembered that the AC 100 started in Wrightwood this morning and that gave me the motivation to push myself a little further. I ended up running to Johnson Rock/Field where the AC 100 fininshes making it about fifteen miles roundtrip for me (an amazing one hundred miles for the AC 100 runners - go Catra!) I thought there might be some people already there setting up the finish line but it was totally empty. I guess no runner was expected for another 14 hours so there was plenty of time to set up sometime this afternoon/evening. The run felt good. The sun came out about halfway through. I haven't run that far in a long time so I was surprised that my form and strength held up pretty well. Hopefully this will lead me into a solid fall running season.
Mindful Mule's rear rim is totally destroyed - the concaving side wall cracked all the way around on both sides - overhaul coming soon - had a post all ready to go when my computer died, will post more soon, don't feel like retyping...
Mindful Mule's rear rim is totally destroyed - the concaving side wall cracked all the way around on both sides - overhaul coming soon - had a post all ready to go when my computer died, will post more soon, don't feel like retyping...
Saturday, September 6, 2008
pretty bars
“Totally Eighties” got a quick/cheap/easy makeover. I was tempted to leave the bar tape half and half, but feared it could lead to the eventual fracturing of communication pathways between the left/right hemispheres of my ocd brain. So it’s all blue. Added brake hoods, too.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
mixed frequencies
I was on my bike last night as it was starting to get dark so I flipped on the lights. A few minutes later I noticed that my odometer/speedometer had stopped counting – it was displaying 0mph. Then I noticed that one of my lights was low on power. (I have two headlights. One of my friends asked me once why I have two headlights on my bike as if it was extravagant or something. There are stupid questions.) I flipped the headlight to a different setting and the speedo started working again. Then stopped again. Then I turned the light off completely and the speedo started again. So apparently my light was interfering with the wireless signal for the speedo. But there hasn’t been a problem between these two before so I’m wondering if maybe at lower battery charge levels the headlight gives off a slightly different frequency/radiation that interrupts the speedo. Will the problem correct itself when I recharge the batteries? We’ll see…
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
getting into shape for fall
Well I finally managed to get up to Brown over the weekend. It was sunny and hot but I made it and was exhausted after the ride. I’m not used to being so exhausted after riding Brown. I guess that’s what you call “out of shape.” And, of course on the way home I was starving and every other house I passed was grilling up some kind of delicious Labor Day meal. I’m a vegetarian, but let me tell you those steaks smelled really really really good.
It was nice to get back on the suspension bike – Metamorphosis. As it turned out, she was a little out of shape as well. As I started up the climb the handlebars came loose. Luckily I brought my tools so it was simple to tighten and continue. On the way down the front brake was making some scraping noises. I couldn’t fix that on the trail but made it home okay.
Today I replaced the front brake pads. The old pads were basically down to the metal on one side – hence the scraping sounds. As I was assessing the repair I also noticed that one of the spoke nipples was broken. A guy at the bike shop tried to sell me one nipple for one dollar even though I had just spent $30 in the store for the brake pads. His coworker had way more sense and was like “dude, he’s wearing a Bike Week Pasadena t-shirt, I think we can float him a nipple.” Actually he didn’t say it in words so much as snort it out his nose while shaking his head at his coworker – enough not said.
It was nice to get back on the suspension bike – Metamorphosis. As it turned out, she was a little out of shape as well. As I started up the climb the handlebars came loose. Luckily I brought my tools so it was simple to tighten and continue. On the way down the front brake was making some scraping noises. I couldn’t fix that on the trail but made it home okay.
Today I replaced the front brake pads. The old pads were basically down to the metal on one side – hence the scraping sounds. As I was assessing the repair I also noticed that one of the spoke nipples was broken. A guy at the bike shop tried to sell me one nipple for one dollar even though I had just spent $30 in the store for the brake pads. His coworker had way more sense and was like “dude, he’s wearing a Bike Week Pasadena t-shirt, I think we can float him a nipple.” Actually he didn’t say it in words so much as snort it out his nose while shaking his head at his coworker – enough not said.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)