Tuesday, March 31, 2009

3/31/09 From Work

After riding past the youth baseball fields in the Olmos Basin tonight, I find it hard to believe that Detroit can't sell enough SUV's to pay the bills.  That's all there was.  I couldn't count the number of black Tahoes* and Suburbans if I used all my digits (that's 21), much less all the other colors/makes/models that I saw.  And if the driving skills of those parents are any indication, they'll be wrecking the current ones and having to buy new ones at a steady pace.  The embarassing thing about it was that I recognized a lot of those people as friends from high school.  Then again, I remember how they drove when we were in school together, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised when they do their best to run me over.  Or maybe they just recognized me and wanted to take care of some unfinished business.

*I was counting black Tahoe's because my sister and my cousin each have one, so I can't point any fingers here. They're (basically) good people.

3/31/09 To Work

If every day in California was like today, I'd move there in a heartbeat, cost be damned.  This weather is wonderful!

Monday, March 30, 2009

3/30/09 From Work

I passed three non-poor people commuting on their bikes this afternoon.  It's not unusual to see people on bikes who can't afford cars, but I rarely see the well-heeled riding to and from work, and never three in the same day. 

The first guy was leaving the TV station as I passed it.  He blew past me on his fancy-shmancy 'cross bike with the rack on back.  He tried to say something to me, but I was way too cool to reply (ok, just way too slow to formulate an intelligent reply). 

The next guy was riding an old turquois Trek Y-bike in the opposite direction from me.  I wasn't sure whether to be happy for him that he was riding, or sad that his bike has the worst suspension design ever.

The third guy was riding with a jogger the wrong way down the street.  He may not have been commuting, but he certainly didn't have to be riding the bike.

3/30/09 To Work

A mini-van pulled out right in front of me this morning.  The old lady and her old passenger weren't paying attention where they were going.  It wasn't really close, but it did kind of irritate me.  The car was covered in bird shit; obviously I'm not the first thing it's irritated.  I'm sure it has nothing to do with it, but the car had a Minnesota license plate.  That dang snow-bird with bird-shit should watch where she's going.  Strangely, I didn't flip her the bird, though it may have been appropriate.

Sunday, March 29, 2009

3/29/09 McAllister Park

I wish I had something interesting to say, but I basically just vegetated for an hour and a half on the back of my mountain bike.  I finished the ride and couldn't really remember anything that happened.  Sometimes I do that when I'm in the car; arrive at a place and not remember driving there.  I hope I didn't run anyone over, but I'm pretty sure I would remember if I did.

Saturday, March 28, 2009

The Poo Chronicles, Part 3

The problem with bib shorts is that you have to practically strip naked to do your business.  This can sometimes be a challenge when you're riding your bicycle and have to tend to things in out-of-the-ordinary surroundings.  Porta-Potties are the worst.

Picture this.  I'm about 20 miles into an organized ride.  It's a nice ride, and they have porta-johns at the rest stops.  This is actually kinda rare, and is really appreciated.  Anyway, I had a quick breakfast on the way to the ride, and now it wants out.  I see a rest stop ahead.  I pull over, get in line, and clinch up tight until I can get into the "stall".  Once in there, I do a juggling act involving taking off my helmet and glasses, emptying my jersey pockets, and finally taking the jersey off, all while making sure nothing touches the ground.  That's not easy.

When I'm done, I decide that there's no way I can put it all back on in that stall and not have some sort of major dunking accident.  So, I toss open the door and exit with my jersey in one hand and my helmet and other stuff in the other.  It is totally obvious to all looking what I've been up to.  Couple that with the fact that it took me quite a while to do all I neaded to do, and you begin to get the picture.

Standing in the front of the line to get in next are three cute girls.  They take one look at me, assess the situation, and immediately switch lines to the next john.  I then look up and notice several of my friends who have come along behind me and stopped at the rest stop as well.  They've witnessed the whole thing and are sitting there laughing at me and making jokes at my expense.

Sometimes it's hard to have any dignity.

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

The Poo Chronicles, Part 2

Scott: "Hey, guys, I need to take a dump."

Me: "Dude, we're in the middle of nowhere.  There isn't a bathroom anywhere near here."

Scott: "No problem, I'll just go in the woods."

We all stop, and Scott goes tromping off into the bushes and trees.

Shawn: "Does anyone have a camera?"

Rob: "Yeah, I do."

Shawn goes tromping off into the bushes, carrying the camera.

Scott (in the distance, yelling): "Hey, get away from me you pervert!!!"

Shawn comes walking back, grinning.

Scott comes back a few minutes later, griping about how his friends don't respect him.

Later, we develop the picture.  It is very blurry, but if you know what you're looking for, you can see Scott, without shorts, squatting down and holding onto a tree branch.  If you don't know what to look for, it could just as well be a picture of Sasquatch, or space aliens. Luckily for Scott, Shawn wasn't taking very good pictures that day.

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

The Poo Chronicles, Part 1

Shawn: "Dude, is there is a stain on the ass of my shorts?"

Me: "Yep"

Shawn: "Dammit, I sharted!"

Now picture one very skinny dude buck naked with his ass in a stream in a canyon in the heart of the Texas hill country. Scrubbing his crack with a hand full of stream gravel. With a group of his friends standing around taunting him. He finally gets out, puts his clothes back on, and gets back on his bicycle.

Me: "How's it now?"

Shawn: "My shorts are wet and my crack is chafing."

Me: "At least we only have 30 miles left in the ride..."

Monday, March 23, 2009

3/23/09 From Work

I passed a guy jogging down St. Mary's street today.  He was either very bow-legged, or he had just shit his pants and didn't want to squish it around in his shorts.  I'm still debating which it was.

3/23/09 To Work

I got my computer back from being repaired.  Garmin really did a good job (they better have for $100).  Among other things, some of the buttons had been sticking before and they all work well now.  Not to mention the fact that it doesn't automagically turn off during a ride.  While I was setting this one back up, I was really impressed by how much info you can get from the thing.  I didn't realize that it would do sunrise/sunset times for your locale.

Still, I've gotten very used to not staring at a computer during a ride.  It feels very liberating.  Luckily, the Garmin works just fine in your back pocket.  I've gone ahead and removed the computer mounts from all my bikes.  Now I'm just going to pop it in the pocket and have it to look at after the ride or when I stop.

Sunday, March 22, 2009

3/22/09 Rebecca Creak

There's a stop light at the corner of Smithson Valley Road and 46 that doesn't detect bicycles at all.  There's a button on the pole to push to cross if you're a pedestrian.  We pushed the heck out of that button today, but the light never changed.  We went ahead and ran it.  This isn't the first time I've had that problem.  I'm convinced those buttons are never hooked to anything; they're just there to calm people.  It gives them the illusion of control, but I guess sometimes that's enough.  We're all just sheep.

Thursday, March 19, 2009

3/19/09 Fredericksburg

Today was the perfect day.  Light to no winds.  Temperatures starting in the 60's and topping out in the 70's.  Sunny.  Perfection.

We rode in the direction of Doss, without actually going all the way to Doss.  Those roads are the best that I know of anywhere.  We connected a bunch of roads I knew with a few that I had never ridden on before (but had seen on the map).

We saw deer and turkeys, as well as plenty of dogs.  Even a few other cyclists.

3/18/09 Mission Trail

Tonight was confusion.  We started off by leaving without Steve because there was a misunderstanding and we thought he wasn't riding tonight.  He called about 15 minutes into the ride wanting to know where we were.  He was going to catch up with us, but we never saw him.  Strike one.

Then, Scott Chapman got dropped about the time we got near Mission San Jose, and we never saw him again.  Strike two.

Two guys we met along the road were with us for a while, but when we went around the gate at Espada, they got confused and turned back.  We never saw them again.  Strike three.

After that, Shawn got confused at the ghost tracks and thought that I was back.  He went back to look for me.  I was actually up the road riding slow waiting for him to catch.  He finally figured this out and caught up.  Strike four.

Finally, on the way back Shawn and Dan took off trying to beat each other up.  Shawn finally dropped Dan, who waited up for us, but we never saw Shawn again.  Strike five.

It kind of reminded me of a monkey trying to fuck a football.

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

3/18/09 To Work

I sent my bike computer in to get it worked on, so I've been riding without one for a week or so now.  I'm surprised to find that I enjoy the rides more not knowing how far I've gone, how long it's taken, and how hard my heart is beating.  I think I'll just leave it off for the time being.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

3/17/09 From Work

When I had my flat yesterday, I left the valve cap and the valve screw sitting on the sidewalk.  As I rode home today, I decided to pull over and put the valve screw on.  That must have looked really strange if anyone happened to be watching.  I just stopped, picked something up off the sidewalk, screwed it on my wheel, and rode away.

Yeah, you're right. I guess you had to be there.

3/17/09 To Work

I almost made all the lights going down St. Mary's street today.  I finally got caught at the McCullough light.  It was yellow and I probably could have made it, but I couldn't see the cross traffic so I decided to stop.  Not that I mind running lights (I don't), I just mind getting run over.  Once is enough.

3/16/09 From Work

I almost ran over a cat tonight.  Well, not really almost, but it could have happened.  He (why do I assume this?) was walking out of a yard into the street.  He didn't hear me coming.  I hissed at him, he looked up and saw me, then turn around and ran off.  I guess cats don't expect bicycles to be coming down the street, and certainly don't expect them to be (relatively) quiet.  People don't expect cyclists either.  I guess we are kind of like the Spanish Inquisition in that respect.

Monday, March 16, 2009

3/16/09 To Work

Beautiful.  It's just beautiful outside this morning.

I had a flat on the way in this morning.  Not the good kind of flat (is there really a good kind?), but the scary kind.  The kind where the tire just pops off the bead, starts making funny noises, then pops before you can do anything about it.  The kind you're always afraid of getting when you're going down a fast hill.  The kind that isn't from running over something bad, but from putting the tire on the rim wrong in the first place.  Luckily I was going slow.  Note to self: be more careful the next time you put your tire on.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

3/10/09 From Work

Threatening rain, but not carrying through on the threat.

I saw a guy riding down St. Mary's on a nice looking Bianchi road bike.  He was wearing shorts, flip flops, a t-shirt, and was un-shaved.  He didn't look like your typical road rider.  I wonder if that was his bike?

When I was going through the basin, a lady walking her dog stepped out into the street right in front of me without looking. Good thing I wasn't a car. I'm always amazed at people that don't respect the damage a vehicle can do to a human body. Needless to say, I missed.

3/10/09 To Work

Headwind.  Almost hot, but still pleasant.

There used to be a Porsche Spider sitting inside a small bar on St. Mary's street, right across from Tycoon Flats.  That's the kind of car that James Dean was killed in.  It doesn't look anything like the 356/Speedster/911/etc... body style we associate with Porsche.  It's probably a kit car, because a real one would be worth a fortune.  Anyway, it's gone now.  I hope someone is out driving it and having fun.

http://www.cliffreuter.com/porsche.htm

Sunday, March 8, 2009

3/8/09 Bracken

My headset has made loud creaking noises for years now.  The other day I put a washer in that I found out was missing.  This helped a bunch, but it still creaks a little.  I think the next thing to try is a carbon headset spacer, so that there won't be metal to rub together.


Also, my bike computer has now started to flake out. It randomly turns off during the ride and sometimes forgets the stats it has gathered so far. It took me about 5 or 6 starts today before it stayed on. I'll have to look into fixing or replacing it.

3/7/09 Government Canyon

Jay Burton and I rode our mountain bikes at Government Canyon State Natural Area.  The only reason I mention him is that he had a flat tire today.  That wouldn't normally happen since he runs tubeless tires with sealant in them.  It would seem, though, that he hasn't replaced the sealant in a while.  The sealant is usually only good for a few months.  Today, when he pulled the tire off to put a tube in it, the old sealant was in a mass that looked like a red and white sponge from the deepest depths of the ocean.  Very weird.  We left it sitting on the side of the trail, wondering if some hiker or biker would come along and find it and totally wonder what the heck it is and where it came from.  It was a good thing I had an extra tube with me, because he didn't have one (since there was no way his tires could go flat). This reminds me that I need to check my tires to make sure this doesn't happen to me.

Friday, March 6, 2009

3/6/09 From Work

 I rode from work back to the house.

When you can hear the wind blowing, and you can see things being blown around, but you can't feel it, you're riding with the wind.  That's a good thing.  When you can't even feel the slightest puff, then you are riding exactly with the wind at it's speed.  It really feels eerie.  Needless to say, it was a nice, relatively effortless ride home.

3/6/09 To Work

I rode from my house to work.

On the way down St. Mary's street, there was a homeless-looking guy sitting at a bus stop.  As I went past, he yelled out to me, "Armstrong's up the road from you!"  I'm still surprised when a non-cyclist knows the name of a rider, even The Lance.  Of course, I had no quick and witty reply.  I just grunted and rode on. It's not the first time someone has said something similar to me on my commute. I need to come up with a good reply for next time.

Thursday, March 5, 2009

3/4/09 Mission Trail

I rode from work and met everyone at the police station. We rode down and did the Mission trail, then I finished up by riding home after dropping everyone off.

The wind was blowing hard on the way out, but it was worth it to get blown all the way home.  It was almost directly in our faces, then directly on our backs.  No cross winds.  You don't get that very often.

Coming through town, Ricky was standing at the curb holding my backpack.  I didn't have to stop; I just snatched it like a musette bag as I went past.  I stopped a few blocks later and put it on.  It's not often I get curbside service.

While I was stopped at a light, a young couple came up to me and asked for directions to the Riverwalk.  I gave them some hasty directions, then rode on.  Of course, the second they were gone, I realized that although my directions were accurate, they really weren't the best way to go for what they were looking for.  I'm just not a fast thinker.  I hope they figured it out and had a good time.

The only downside of the evening was that my rear flasher ran out of batteries.  I didn't have any problems, though, so it was OK.