Avoidance

Today I rode home from work slowly. I took turns I don't normally take and I stopped at all the lights.
I didn't want to go home.
I watched my feet turn circles on the pedals. I looked at clouds in the sky and I saw this funny sign for a yard sale. I'm not sure what the sheep has to do with selling used junk on your lawn, but it made me laugh anyway.
I needed the laugh.

You see, I knew that at my house a celebration dinner was being prepared and people would be arriving. It is my birthday. The only thing I hate more than it being my birthday... is celebrating that it's my birthday.
Things just never go right on my birthday.
This morning, for instance, I got a flat tire on the way to work. It's the first one I've had in almost a year. Why today?

I don't like getting older and, normally I do a pretty good job of fighting off the years... I excersise, eat well and keep a very kid-like attitude but the last few weeks have been tough. Hell, the last few years have been tough! and its starting to catch up with me. I just feel OLD today and it's bumming me out.

Anyway, the party went OK. Although the dinner I was really looking forward to didn't turn out quite right. But, I sort of knew it wouldn't...

is it stupid to think a cargo bike is cool?

Oh man, I really don't have the money right now, and even if i did my wife would surely kill me for buying another bike, but I would LOVE to go pick up one of these awesome cargo bikes that someone is selling not too far from my house. Heck, for the price I should just buy both.

What a sweet machine for going grocery shopping on!
(That really is a stupid statement, isnt it?)

rivendell bumper sticker

Funny. Saw this old looking sticker on a car in a parking lot the other day.
'Wear Wool, Sit on Leather, Ride Lugged Steel'
The small print at the bottom says 'www.rivendellbicycles.com'

god bless Grant for changing the world.

Is this too dangerous?

Crap! It happened.
I started thinking about things.

Lately, I've read way too many stories about bicyclists killed on city streets and its got me a little scared.

Now, I firmly believe that most bicyle deaths happen to cyclists who were not being smart.
You know... No lights at night, unattentiveness, riding unpredictably and violation of traffic flow. (This DOES NOT mean it was the cyclists fault but, sadly, many of these fatalities are preventable)

Sometimes however, a good cyclist, a cyclist who was alert, riding defensively and doing everything right gets killed anyway.

Everyone has the internal dialogue that says "It won't happen to me". Its a survival mechanism thats millions of years old. It's the only way we can get out of bed in the morning and walk out into the world. "Sure there are big carnivores out there and they're gonna eat one of us... but not me. It won't happen to me"

Steve Irwin no doubt thought that same thing on the day he went swimming with the stingrays. And why shouldn't he think like that? He arguably had more experience dealing with dangerous animals than any other person on the planet.

I certainly have better bike handling skills than most mortals. I have years of experience riding a bicycle in traffic. I am physically fit and hyper alert.
It won't happen to me.

But then I start remembering all the close-calls I've had over the years, and how they could have turned out.

I have a wife I love very much, and we want to have children someday soon. I don't really want to leave this world for a very, very long time. Sure, I might be better, smarter and faster than every other cyclists out there but, drunk drivers never seem to pay attention to those fine traits and can ruin everything in a second.

Should I choose safer routes to work? Should I wear safety vests and cover every inch of my person with reflective material? Should I get rid of the fixed gear bike?

Should I take the bus and not ride at all?

the urban machine

Well, after commuting on my Bridgestone 550 fixed conversion for a while I was pretty much hooked. The bike is one of my favorites. Not just because it is fixed, but because this is a really great frame! it is light, comfortable and handles amazing! better than many other bikes I've owned (and I've owned some really top-end road bikes!)

But, I decided I wanted to give it an even leaner and meaner urban look.

Step 1. Apply torch to braze ons and remove them from frame.
Step 2. Sand down pink finish.
Step 3. Apply black semi-gloss spray paint.

I was really worried about putting heat to the frame to remove the braze-ons. I don't know much about metallurgy and metal working, but I do know that too much heat is always bad and I didn't know how to tell if I was approaching "too much".
So, I started heating the shifter braze-ons and as soon as it started to get a little red and glowy near the seam, I grabbed it with the pliers and gave a little tug. *pop* off it came. Nice! The tubes don't seem any worse off after the heating.













Ok, it's ready for the paint!
Updates to follow...

Ha!! I just noticed something.
After I popped off the first shifter boss, I dropped it onto the tray on my workstand and went to work on the second shifter braze-on. A few seconds later, out of the corner of my eye, I see the first boss fall from the tool tray and hit the ground. "That was weird" I thought, because I hadn't bumped to stand or the tray. I didnt give it much though because I was busy with a flaming hot torch in my hand.
When I was cleaning up I realized that the scorching-hot braze on had melted its way right through the tool tray! The second one melted halfway through before cooling and embedding itself permanently in the plastic!

Seattle?

The future of my current job is a little shaky these days... the result of corporate restructuring after a big merger. My position may remain, or it may move to another part of the country. I would have the choice to move with it if I so wanted...

Out of the two new HQ locations I could relocate to, there is only one I would even consider. Seattle, WA.

Aside from leaving friends and family behind, another major drawback would be the weather. I've heard horror stories about the continual rain and grey skies but, there seems to be a huge bicycle commuter population in Seattle? So, what gives? Are the horror stories just blown out of proportion, or does everyone just ride with fenders and raingear daily?

I'd like to hear some of the Pacific Northwest Pro's and Con's from any Seattle/Bothell/Redmond folks.

my new fashion accessory!

Ok, its not really bicycle related, but, I'm soooo excited about this that I just had to post it here...

Last night I got my blue belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu!!!

To get this belt took 14 months of hard workouts, 1 broken nose, 1 cracked sternum, 1 broken toe, 2 popped elbows, several sprained fingers and countless bruises, mat-rashes and muscle aches.

Throughout my adult life I've practiced a LOT of different martial arts and I've earned a lot of different belts but none of them compare to this one.

back to it

I didn't ride much during February or March because... well, I just wussied-out when the worst of the winter weather came rolling in (I worked from home a lot during that time), but now I'm back in the saddle.
The legs are very weak and rusty and I'm still not super confident on the fixed gear so, the commutes are going slow.

frostbite

crap.
On Sunday I got minor frostbite on my nose. It's swollen and the skin looks kinda funny. I didn't do it on the bicycle though, we went snowboarding at Jay Peak VT this weekend and the low temps and windchill were just crazy. Temps at the base were around 0 degrees and the wind chill knocked that down to around -20.
Now, I'm probably always going to have to be extra cautious in cold weather to avoid more damage, which might mean wearing a balaclava or face mask. I hate both of those options.
crap.

thoughts on fixed gear bikes

I have been running little errands on the fixed-gear bike but I was nervous about commuting through the city on it. Today I jumped on and went for it.
Not so bad. I had to use my front brake only once, and that was at the bottom of the hill at the end of my street.

Here's what I learned on my fixed commute.

• 99% of the time it's no different than any other bike. I guess I don't coast much.
• The remaining 1% of the time is 'exciting'. Some would call it scary.
• 'Sudden stop' is deprecated, and is replaced by 'swerve' or 'crash'. You decide.
• My commute time was significantly slower because I was being so cautious.
• My legs are sore. Riding fixed uses different muscles, especially when going down hills and trying to slow down.
• My lockring needs to be tighter.

mind numbing

Ok. first off. I don't like golf, never have, probably never will, too boring and the thought of watching it on TV is mind-numbing.
Well, I've found something even more boring... watching people doing trackstands. Youtube is filled with video's of people doing trackstands. There's even a trackstand contest that goes on for about 8 minutes. Boring! Watching grass grow is more exciting.
Sure, a trackstand is a slightly nifty trick and it impresses non-bicyclists for about one minute, but c'mon... really.

don't believe the widget

Since the Northeast is experiencing an arctic cold blast, I havent been bike commuting much lately. I've been opting to work from home instead.
This morning though, I check my Dashboard Weather Widget and it says it's currently 40 degrees in Providence. Sweet!
I dress for an above-freezing commute and head out the door.
Within 2 minutes I'm thinking "This sure doesn't feel like 40" so, I stop and put on my vest. By the time I'm halfway to work it's obvious I've made a mistake... my hands, feet and face are frozen and the wind is whipping through my wool sweater, making my arms cold.

I get to work, go to weather.com and check the current conditions for Providence, RI... 21 degrees, with windchill it feels like 10 degrees. Nice. I make a mental note to never use the weather widget again.
At lunchtime I walk over to the Walmart (*blech*) they just built near my office and I buy a pair of thin dress socks to wear under my regular socks, and some glove liners to augment the thin knit gloves I wore today. I'll also wear my work shirt under my sweater for the ride home, that should help block some wind.

The ride home was not so bad. The temperature was actually a little colder than my morning commute but the wind had stopped so I was able to cruise a little faster and, just having warmer hands and feet made everything ok.