Tomorrow's the big race day

My Triathlon is tomorrow. My friend asked me what I had been doing to train for the running portion. I told her that I had run 4 miles about a week ago, but that was about it. I have a feeling I'm not going to win the race. Overall, though, I feel pretty good and I think I'm definitely going to finish the race, which is all I'm trying to do at this point.

In other news...there was a dead Sasquatch found in Georgia. This sparked a debate in my office. Real or hoax? The people who found it took the body in to have its DNA tested. This makes no sense to me. How do you test DNA for something like that? "Well you see here, this chromosome means that the fucker will have big ass feet." If you don't have any DNA to which to compare it, how do you know what you're looking at? Anyway, it all seems like bullshit to me. There's a press conference today at noon, the truth will come out.

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Military SS...not the bad kind.

My singlespeed is coming along nicely. Just to keep everyone updated. I have gotten it running, then torn it down and just painted it olive drab. Now, all I have to do, is put it back together, throw some ammo cans on a rear rack for panniers, attach some bottle rocket launchers, and I'm good to roam the streets. The next mod will be to attach a child's bike for a side car. But that is a little far off.


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I have made a functioning S/S

My singlespeed conversion is mostly complete. The chain/cog issue was resolved by putting on a wider BMX chain as the cog was wider than I thought. Not a big deal. The chain tension is perfect without a tensioner or a derailer...kinda lucky, but it required a slight modification; I had to file the rear droupouts back to account for the chain slack. Now it's operating like a well-oiled machine...and it actually is one. I put some Shimano SPD clipless pedals on, because they were lying around, and now I'm just getting new shoes to clip in them. I think the S/S will require the clipless pedals when I hit the hills. I also attached a bottle opener to the down tube where a water bottle cage would go. As luck would have it, the bottle opener fit perfectly using the cage screws, sweet. Now my bike's set up to carry and open beer bottles on the go, just what every man needs. When I get some new paint on it and some bar tape and finish it, I'll put some pics up.




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The unfixable fixie...

So, in an effort to keep everyone posted about my trials and tribulations modifying my GT Ricochet MTB to a fixed gear, here goes. I am mostly done the process. I couldn’t cheaply do a fixed gear as I am running a freehub with a cassette so opted to go for the S/S. A $25 investment in a spacer kit and 16T cog as well as a new crank that my neighbor gave me provided me everything I needed to convert to singlespeed. I ran into a foreseen problem when the chain was too slack and the vertical dropouts prevented me from compensating for that. An eccentric hub would cost about $150 and that’s about $100 more than it’s worth to me. None of my area bike shops had any half links in stock, so I opted for a more drastic solution. I filed the dropouts back a few centimeters so I could slide the rear hub to where it needed to be. I still have a few more cm to go, but I think it’s passable for now. I need to put the brakes back on it now and some pedals and it should be mostly finished. I’m having more chain issues though. As the chain engages the rear cog, it gets stuck and has difficulty releasing the teeth of the cog. I don’t know why this is happening or how to fix it, but I’ll see what I can do and keep you updated as I progress. Hopefully it’ll be roadworthy by this weekend!




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Cranky Driver

So as I was riding to work the other day, I had an experience with an
impatient driver. I would say about 99% of drivers are tolerant of my
breakneck speed of about 17mph in the road, but every now and then you get
someone who just can't slow down and go around you when it's safe.

I was on a 40mph road and, for a while, traffic was stacked up behind me
until most of them were able to pass me when traffic from the other
direction cleared up. I was acting completely within my rights as a driver
on the road and as safe as possible making myself visible, but of course
someone was displeased traveling below the limit, which I can understand but
hey, that's life. Anyway, a woman in an SUV passed me and shouted something
to the effect of, "Get out of the road a**hole!" and mashed the gas angrily.
What happened next is funny to me because I'm sure she had this picture in
her mind of shouting at me and then speeding off just leaving a cloud of CO2
for me to choke on and feeling pleased with herself the rest of the
day...but that didn't happen. She shouted at me and gunned it (presumably
to show her anger and smoke me out) and immediately hit a red-light. HA! I
cruised up, right next to her car and nodded for her to roll down the
window. I have to imagine this wasn't in her plan and she got flustered at
the confrontation and sputtered out that the guy in front of her almost hit
me as if she were trying to help out by yelling at me. I laughed at her and
mentioned that he wasn't close and I appreciated her concern. Then I rode
off past the other cars waiting at the red-light which I guess was the best
equivalent of speeding off that I could think of. I felt pretty good about
the way things went down. I didn't flick her off or yell or anything, but I
think I made my point. To sweeten the whole experience, I noticed that
about one minute after that confrontation she found herself stuck behind me
again, HA!

Anyway, it was a minor altercation, but I got a kick out of it.


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Fixxer Upper

So I’ve been on a fixed gear bike kick recently, I hope to convert one of my old MTN bikes this weekend. I've never ridden one, but from what I hear, it can be an I think there’s something really alluring about the fixed gear design. It’s so sleek and simple. I’m excited about this, as it will be my first real attempt at a major bike overhaul. I have a feeling that given my brake debacle, this will prove to be a more daunting task than I anticipate, but I will have the spirit of Sheldon Brown (www.sheldonbrown.com) helping me along the way. I’ll let you know how it turns out!

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Replacing my brakes came to a halt

I'll start by saying that I feel ridiculous and defeated. I went to a local bike swap Saturday to get a new helmet or at least see what was there. For those who don't know, a bike swap works like a yard sale where the bike shop hosting the event gets a percentage, in this case 15%, of the sale. For example, if I sold a $100 bike at the swap, I would take home $85 and the shop would get $15. In the end I determined that buying a used helmet would be stupid but not before I determined that I needed new brakes for my late 80s road bike. I should mention that I've never had any problems stopping and have never felt unsafe on my current setup, so it makes this all the more humiliating. I asked a mechanic at the shop if brakes were universal and he told me that they were for the most part. I don't have an unusual bike, so I got a set of Ultegras for $25 and an obnoxious yellow Tinker Juarez saddle because it was $3 (how can you pass that up...you can't). I set off home to install my new brakes. Several hours and a few beers later, I am the proud owner of a late 80s road bike with no brakes and an obnoxious yellow Tinker Juarez saddle. It seemed easy enough...just remember what the brakes looked like before you took them off and get them to look the same, but with new brakes. Not so easy. It turns out that they are not compatible at all with my bike and I had to go back to the old ones, so at least it wasn't completely my fault, however I am stuck with a pair of brakes that I can't use.
On a different note, the bike shop wouldn't take them back, which I kinda understand because, being a bike swap, they didn't actually own the brakes they sold and they had already posted the sale. At that point, I just figured I'd sell them on Craigslist.com or something and hopefully even turn a profit, though I was a bit miffed at the bad advice that got me into the mess in the first place. The guy at the shop had a better idea and suggested that I try to sell them at the swap which still had one day left. I made sure to clarify before I assumed he had just made the most ridiculous suggestion ever and asked if they were going to waive the 15% commission for the sale. He said, "No, we would still have to take the standard 15%." My clarification process was complete, he had just made the most ridiculous suggestion ever. He wanted to take 15% of a sale that should never happened in the first place and turn it into 30% by trying to take two commissions off the same product...bastards. Anyway, if you're looking for some new nice ultegra brakes for your road bike, I'm selling them for $270. Actually it doesn't matter what kind of bike you have, they should fit your mountain bike too, in fact you can even use them on your car as long as it's not a Datsun, so just send me an email if you're interested.

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The Triathlon

So, I’ve decided to compete in a triathlon. This, like most things in my life, happened due to overconfidence and undermoderation. I had a few drinks a couple nights ago and got talking with a friend who is running the 5k portion of a sprint distance triathlon with her sister and father swimming and biking respectively. I should mention that the topic was brought up because she said something like, “I hurt my foot training for a triathlon” so, of course, I thought she was competing in all three of the events (swimming, biking, running). When I found out that it was just the footrace, I felt slighted and called said friend out.
“What? You’re just running the 5K?”
“Yeah, why?”
“Then you’re not doing a triathlon.”
“Yes I am!”
“No you’re not! You’re running a 5K against a lot other people who have just finished 2/3 of a triathlon.”
“Yeah, but I’m in the triathlon.”
“No, you’re in a footrace…just one athlon”

The details at this point are unclear, but at some point that I told her that I could finish the triathlon faster by myself than her whole family together. This may have been a mistake as I am not in really great shape and can barely dog paddle. The race isn’t for a few months, so I have some time to prepare, but this definitely wasn’t the best idea I’ve had.


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I got my bike out of the garage...now what?

Do you drive your car to the gym for spinning classes? Do you feel really stupid and guilty for that? Well, you probably should. Sorry, I didn't mean that. Maybe you're even too busy to get to the gym for spinning. I have a simple solution to these problems. Bike everywhere you can! When I first decided to commute most reasonable places on my bike it occurred to me that I didn’t really know how to ride safely in traffic, nor did I really know how to manage all the crap that I liked to take along with me. As a result, I thought it might be nice for my readers to have a list of items to get or strategies for bike travel so they can begin their personal journey of bike commuting.

Gear: What will you need to bike everywhere locally?
1. Helmet: It’s your call by law, but it seems silly to me not to wear one.
2. Rear rack: This is to put stuff that you want to haul with you.
3. Emergency roadside toolkit for obvious reasons, note: Some auto associations will help you out on your bike. I suggest http://www.betterworldclub.com/
4. Rain gear: I’ve heard rain capes prevent you from getting wet from rain and ventilate you enough to prevent crazy sweat buildup. These only work if you have fenders.
5. Lights: At least a front and rear LED light set to keep you highly visible at night. These are inexpensive and can save your life.

Biking to work/the store: Excuses: I don’t want to get to work all sweaty and gross. I need to take my laptop home with me every night. It’s too boring to ride a bike and I’ll miss Davey and The Crockett’s Morning Show Jamboree. I’m a mason and need to haul a cement mixer everywhere. I’m a taxi driver.

Okay, maybe some of those are valid, but most people work within about 3-7 miles or so of their home, which is manageable for almost anybody with the capacity to ride at all. So here is a list of things you can do (most of which I have done myself) to make your ride enjoyable.
1. Get an iPod or similar device: I download a lot of podcasts and have the time to listen to them on my daily commute. Get your dose of news, entertainment and sports with no commercials. Did you ever want to learn a foreign language? You can subscribe to free language podcasts and learn every day while getting in shape!
2. Wear a different set of clothing on the bike and cool down outside before you change at the office (I don’t do this, but from the looks I get, probably should): If you have space at your desk, you can take 2-5 sets of clothes on Monday and take them home Friday to wash over the weekend or you can just take your clothing in a gym bag every day. (More on that later)
3. Keep extras of toiletries at the office: Deodorant, Cologne, Hair product etc: It doesn’t matter how awesome you look when you hop on your bike. I can tell you that you probably won’t look really cool when you get off it, unless you’ve just won the Tour De France. This is really simple to overcome by taking some extra time at the office. Just towel yourself off in the bathroom with a moist or wet paper towel and prepare as usual.
4. Use panniers for hauling equipment: A pannier will attach to your bike rack and the simple “grocery bag” style are usually capable of holding, grocery bags, gym bags, laptops and briefcases, small mall purchases (shoes, clothes, jewelry etc.) If you use a messenger bag or backpack you will have an unavoidable sweat mark on you back. You won’t be able to see it, but you will overhear snide remarks and sniggering. Note: If you are buying or otherwise transporting home gym equipment, lawn tractors, scaffolding or vacuums you may want to take your car or truck.
5. Map out and time your route: Please don’t just take the route you drive to work simply because you know it best. There is a chance that it’s not the fastest or safest way for you to go. If you typically take the turnpike and hop on I-283, you may need to break out the map to reconsider your route. Also, E-Z Pass isn’t available for bicycles, I checked.
6. Learn how to ride like an adult in traffic (see below): As children we all probably learned similar bicycling strategies. They usually involve staying as far to the right as possible, using the sidewalks and liberal use of prayer.

How to ride with cars: After a fair amount of research on how to ride a relatively slow vehicle amid relatively fast vehicles, I have found the following two resources. If you take just a little bit of time to review this, it could save your life, but will definitely make your rides more enjoyable as the methods are empowering.

Here is Pennsylvania’s DOT resource for cyclists in general, which is work taking a look at. If you click on the “Road Riding” heading, it will take you to a great guide on how to ride with cars:

http://www.dot.state.pa.us/BIKE/WEB/index.htm

Here is an excellent video guide to the NHTSA tips on riding on the road:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdrrxIpQpt4


If you still don’t think you can do it, just try it once or twice, or commit to just one week no matter what and then make your decision. If you need some motivation, consider this. There are few things that make me happier than riding through a bunch of gridlocked cars stuck in traffic (not advisable as it’s kind of dangerous) or riding past a jam-packed gas station knowing their patrons are losing about $50-$80 to fill their tanks (highly advisable as you will feel like you are a better person than they are, feel a little guilty about being so snooty, but get over it and enjoy it even more). Good luck on your ride!

Bicycle Lanes

The Harrisburg area needs bike lanes. Bike lanes make the communities a safer and more attractive place to live and do business. I look to Riverfront Park in Harrisburg and see cyclists and runners and rollerbladers who would happily ride to work or the store if only they felt safe doing so. I bike to work every day and I'm forced to ride on the road, competing against cars for position. Those are simply not the safest conditions for a non-motor vehicle. I really believe that bike lanes will provide the incentive that people need to get out of their cars and onto their bikes. Portland, Oregon’s bicycle network has grown from 60 to 260 miles since the early 1990s. In that time, bicycle use has quadrupled with no increase in crashes. This issue needs to be taken seriously. People are becoming more health/environmentally conscious by the minute as well as financially strained from gas prices, as any radio ad or newscast will remind you. Even for those who are uninfluenced by the environmental or even the international political implications, they will appreciate the financial relief that cycling will provide them. Imagine parents sending their children out on their bikes to go to the movies or to soccer practice or to the mall in a safe environment. This helps eliminate a number of issues including the following: Obesity, Emissions, Traffic, and Financial strain from gas prices. The time to act on this is now. As regular fill-ups become more and more unreachable for the average consumer, more and more voters will be looking for alternatives. If the groundwork is laid now and the process begins, by the time it starts forcing the consumer to look for options, we will be waiting with open arms and open bike lanes. This is an issue that will receive very little resistance from motorists or bikers alike. I am certain that the drivers will appreciate having me out of their lane and fewer motorists overall clogging the road and I know I'd appreciate some space to bike safely. I think if it's properly promoted, we could see an enormous increase in cyclists and a fitter, happier, better local community.

Please leave comments and let this act as a petition for change!