Just to ride. No destination. No point a to point b. No group plans were involved either.
I just put on my cycling clothes and hit the Keystone for an hour. I did some sprints. It felt awesome. Well the first few did. The last few, not so much. I haven't really done a solo ride for quite some time. It was very refreshing.
I'm also going to try something different, or rather, retry something old. I've been using Shimano touring shoes for about a year or so now and I love that you can walk around semi-normally and not sound like a lady in high heels. They are not the stiffest shoes and I got them a size too big so I could wear them in the winter with a few wool socks for warmth.
I went old school this morning. I dug out my old 2002(3?) Sidi Genius shoes. These things fit like a glove and are stiff enough for racing. They are kinda snug on my feet since I bought them before I knew what I was doing in cycling, but snug is not such a bad thing when you're sprinting. The other noticeable difference between these and my Shimanos is the cleat is a bit more forward, even though it's as far back as it can go on the shoe. On my Shimano's I have the cleat pretty far back - like almost a centimeter behind my forefoot. I did this as a result of reading various places that doing so might alleviate toe numbness. I've always had toe numbness problems, so I gave it a try. It felt like a completely different, more powerful pedaling position, so I stuck with it.
Well, after this morning's jaunt with cleats more forward, I'm switching back to that position. I don't know if I was using very different muscles because of the change, but I felt snappier with my pedaling. It's hard to explain, but I'll give this a try for a while and if it doesn't work out, I'll switch shoes again.
So what the heck am I even blabbering about? Uh, I don't know. I guess sometimes you gotta go backwards to go forwards.
Edit: After watching the rides of these guys, I have new motivation to get out there. Watch all the short videos along the right hand side to get some amazing views of our country. And you may recognize from this vid a couple guys who ride/blog locally.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Monday, March 29, 2010
Oh, how the mighty have fallen.
I kept repeating that phrase in my head as I watched all but 1 other guy from our Sunday ride pedal away from me. Multiple times.
I was never really that mighty, but in my hay day, I was usually top 10 at the races in our state. Sunday, I was utterly done after just an hour and a half. Problem was, we still had 3 hours to go. My legs had no more "go" halfway through the ride.
I know it's a lack of consistent riding and the extra 15-20 lbs I'm carrying around. It still doesn't sit well with me. Speaking of weight, you ever notice that you don't really acknowledge the pounds you need to lose until you see a picture of yourself wearing not very flattering clothing? This picture taken by Mod made my mind blurt out - "Damn, I got a fat ass!!"(I'm in the middle wearing a white/orange jersey) So, I need to work on that. I mean, 15-20 lbs is basically a 2nd bike. So I'm riding while carrying a 2nd bike on my back. Not very helpful when trying to go fast.
I guess I shouldn't be sipping on this soda then.... DOH!!
I was never really that mighty, but in my hay day, I was usually top 10 at the races in our state. Sunday, I was utterly done after just an hour and a half. Problem was, we still had 3 hours to go. My legs had no more "go" halfway through the ride.
I know it's a lack of consistent riding and the extra 15-20 lbs I'm carrying around. It still doesn't sit well with me. Speaking of weight, you ever notice that you don't really acknowledge the pounds you need to lose until you see a picture of yourself wearing not very flattering clothing? This picture taken by Mod made my mind blurt out - "Damn, I got a fat ass!!"(I'm in the middle wearing a white/orange jersey) So, I need to work on that. I mean, 15-20 lbs is basically a 2nd bike. So I'm riding while carrying a 2nd bike on my back. Not very helpful when trying to go fast.
I guess I shouldn't be sipping on this soda then.... DOH!!
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Yay commuter intervals
I'd never experienced the "bike ninja" scare before this morning. As I was groggily riding in the dark near the old Chili Greens golf course (simmer down, Fred), I could barely focus on what my light was illuminating 10 feet in front of me.
I looked to my left at the first signs of the sun undarkening the horizon and WHOOSH, some person on a bike with no lights flies right by me in the opposite direction. That woke me up better than most cups of coffee.
After I shook off the fear that the bike ninja was coming around for another buzz, I decided to put in some effort - ie do what they call an "interval." I picked up the pace till I was breathing faster than normal and held that effort till I hit an area that had many stops/starts. I pedaled lightly for a while, then on the next notable climb, I raised my effort again and continued after the climb for a while.
After the easy spin into the part time job and the subsequent bike builds, I had a formidable headwind to deal with on my way toward my full time job. The wind had a pretty chilly bite to it, so I used the direct headwind sections as recovery and went fast on the crosswind lengths. Nothing feels worse than going all out at 15mph into a headwind. It seriously messes with your mind.
I am happy to report after the longer ride this weekend and the harder efforts in commuting I've lost 5 lbs in a mere week. I imagine some of that is probably water weight, but at least I know now that if I put in the work, I can turn things around.
This weekend is looking iffy-ish. At least Saturday is not ride-worthy, in my opinion. Sunday will be cool with a Northish wind, so back up to Blair/Arlington/Canada we go. Of course I'll always agree to starting out at Wohlners at 10am, but if we want to meet somewhere else, I'm cool with that too.
I looked to my left at the first signs of the sun undarkening the horizon and WHOOSH, some person on a bike with no lights flies right by me in the opposite direction. That woke me up better than most cups of coffee.
After I shook off the fear that the bike ninja was coming around for another buzz, I decided to put in some effort - ie do what they call an "interval." I picked up the pace till I was breathing faster than normal and held that effort till I hit an area that had many stops/starts. I pedaled lightly for a while, then on the next notable climb, I raised my effort again and continued after the climb for a while.
After the easy spin into the part time job and the subsequent bike builds, I had a formidable headwind to deal with on my way toward my full time job. The wind had a pretty chilly bite to it, so I used the direct headwind sections as recovery and went fast on the crosswind lengths. Nothing feels worse than going all out at 15mph into a headwind. It seriously messes with your mind.
I am happy to report after the longer ride this weekend and the harder efforts in commuting I've lost 5 lbs in a mere week. I imagine some of that is probably water weight, but at least I know now that if I put in the work, I can turn things around.
This weekend is looking iffy-ish. At least Saturday is not ride-worthy, in my opinion. Sunday will be cool with a Northish wind, so back up to Blair/Arlington/Canada we go. Of course I'll always agree to starting out at Wohlners at 10am, but if we want to meet somewhere else, I'm cool with that too.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Do the Cranky Leg...
So apparently there's a newish dance craze called the Stanky Legg(watch at own risk of bad music).
After today's 65 miler I have my own dance - the Cranky Leg. Basically, you hobble around since your leg muscles are twitching and continuously threatening to cramp up.
Met Mr. Miles, Jeremy, Mod, and Rafal at Wohlners to start the day. Rode North on the trail to meet up with Bryan. We took the hilliest route available to the NorthWest. Thanks Bryan.
Mod and Bryan were pushing the pace and feeling good while Miles and Jeremy had previous day's workouts hindering their freshness. Rafal kept up great when he wanted to. You can never tell when he's feeling bad since it has to get epically serious before he looses his cheerfulness. Always a great riding comrade. I have no excuse. I haven't been riding and that's my own fault. But my one goal for the year is in August so I have plenty of time to work up to it. And I've already gone almost have that distance and I didn't die, surprisingly. And knowing is half the battle - G I Joe!!!
So I plan to become a more frequent attendee on the weekend rides. That and the mad 30 minute dashes between my 2 jobs should get me in decent enough shape.
After today's 65 miler I have my own dance - the Cranky Leg. Basically, you hobble around since your leg muscles are twitching and continuously threatening to cramp up.
Met Mr. Miles, Jeremy, Mod, and Rafal at Wohlners to start the day. Rode North on the trail to meet up with Bryan. We took the hilliest route available to the NorthWest. Thanks Bryan.
Mod and Bryan were pushing the pace and feeling good while Miles and Jeremy had previous day's workouts hindering their freshness. Rafal kept up great when he wanted to. You can never tell when he's feeling bad since it has to get epically serious before he looses his cheerfulness. Always a great riding comrade. I have no excuse. I haven't been riding and that's my own fault. But my one goal for the year is in August so I have plenty of time to work up to it. And I've already gone almost have that distance and I didn't die, surprisingly. And knowing is half the battle - G I Joe!!!
So I plan to become a more frequent attendee on the weekend rides. That and the mad 30 minute dashes between my 2 jobs should get me in decent enough shape.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
With this forecast...
...I'm glad I'm a little fat right now.
I think I'll need the insulation come the weekend. Snow/Rain on Saturday and pretty dismal temps forecast for Sunday.
Who's racing Saturday (if its raining, not me) and who wants to put in a nice ride Sunday. Don't think I am wanting to do another 100 with Mod, but I'd probably be game for 3-4 hours. Maybe we can plan it so there's a coffee stop in the middle. We'll likely need it. I don't necessarily mean its gotta be a chill, recovery ride type of thing, just something in the middle that has decent coffee and maybe a pastry.
Post up any thoughts. I'll do some figuring and try to come up with some kind of route myself. Maybe something different... I'd like to say we can go to Iowa for the hills but I'm not sure we can fill the coffee requirement in that scenario.
Mod had talked about starting a firm ride start time/loc on Sat or Sat and Sun so maybe he can chime in here.
I think I'll need the insulation come the weekend. Snow/Rain on Saturday and pretty dismal temps forecast for Sunday.
Who's racing Saturday (if its raining, not me) and who wants to put in a nice ride Sunday. Don't think I am wanting to do another 100 with Mod, but I'd probably be game for 3-4 hours. Maybe we can plan it so there's a coffee stop in the middle. We'll likely need it. I don't necessarily mean its gotta be a chill, recovery ride type of thing, just something in the middle that has decent coffee and maybe a pastry.
Post up any thoughts. I'll do some figuring and try to come up with some kind of route myself. Maybe something different... I'd like to say we can go to Iowa for the hills but I'm not sure we can fill the coffee requirement in that scenario.
Mod had talked about starting a firm ride start time/loc on Sat or Sat and Sun so maybe he can chime in here.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Alas, I won't be yelling at any of you this season.
With working full time at UNMC and doing part time at the bike shop building bikes, I need some me time. So this year, I won't be at the races officiating. No more yelling at riders to respect the yellow line, and no more frantic race results postings.
I'd recommend giving officiating a try, but expect to have an experience like this one:
It happens, trust me.
Instead, this year I hope to actually ride some weekends and maybe participate (unofficially) in the GLGA. But I have plenty of building up to do just so I can finish the event. Should be fun though.
I'd recommend giving officiating a try, but expect to have an experience like this one:
It happens, trust me.
Instead, this year I hope to actually ride some weekends and maybe participate (unofficially) in the GLGA. But I have plenty of building up to do just so I can finish the event. Should be fun though.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Missing the PCL today
But I've got my own plan for Sunday.
The Route:
http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/ne/omaha/172126822930294091
100 miles with one opt out in Missouri Valley if your legs are cranky. Be prepared for a 100 yards of gravel into Ft. Calhoun, 23c's will be fine.
The Start:
Wohlners, Aksarben Village, 10am
The Conditions:
As of 7:30am Saturday...Areas of drizzle before noon. Areas of fog before noon. Otherwise, cloudy, with a high near 45. North northwest wind between 10 and 14 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
The Route:
http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/ne/omaha/172126822930294091
100 miles with one opt out in Missouri Valley if your legs are cranky. Be prepared for a 100 yards of gravel into Ft. Calhoun, 23c's will be fine.
The Start:
Wohlners, Aksarben Village, 10am
The Conditions:
As of 7:30am Saturday...Areas of drizzle before noon. Areas of fog before noon. Otherwise, cloudy, with a high near 45. North northwest wind between 10 and 14 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Tuesday, March 09, 2010
Monday, March 08, 2010
I rode with people instead of cars
This weekend was my first group ride since the beginning of January. I think that was my last really long day in the saddle too. The result - a nice saddle sore for my efforts.
On Saturday I met up with a few folks at Bike Masters to test my legs. And tested they were. I kept up ok at the beginning, but by the end I was keeping a slow tempo in hopes to save myself the the next days ride and to ride with another fellow struggler. We were off the back of Puma, Ryan F, and Mr. Miles (who has a new blog - YAY!!). We chatted and just limped home, but that was fine.
I was planning on doing a Sunday ride, but the aforementioned saddle sore and other house work kept me away.
It's in the Fricken Forties this week Mr. Bigglesworth!! After so much time spent in the 20s, the warm weather just feels weird. I have to figure out how to dress while riding all over again. Mod had some interesting perspective on embrocation. I think it sounds like a great idea, but I believe that stuff is purdy expensive. So if I can find some cheap stuff, I might have to give that a try. On the hands and feet sounds most interesting. Just need to remember to apply chamois cream before embrocation, unless I want to ride really fast.
On Saturday I met up with a few folks at Bike Masters to test my legs. And tested they were. I kept up ok at the beginning, but by the end I was keeping a slow tempo in hopes to save myself the the next days ride and to ride with another fellow struggler. We were off the back of Puma, Ryan F, and Mr. Miles (who has a new blog - YAY!!). We chatted and just limped home, but that was fine.
I was planning on doing a Sunday ride, but the aforementioned saddle sore and other house work kept me away.
It's in the Fricken Forties this week Mr. Bigglesworth!! After so much time spent in the 20s, the warm weather just feels weird. I have to figure out how to dress while riding all over again. Mod had some interesting perspective on embrocation. I think it sounds like a great idea, but I believe that stuff is purdy expensive. So if I can find some cheap stuff, I might have to give that a try. On the hands and feet sounds most interesting. Just need to remember to apply chamois cream before embrocation, unless I want to ride really fast.
Thursday, March 04, 2010
Weekend
So someday, maybe I'll sign up for a Twitter account but really I don't want to...
Anyhow for now I'll stick to IM's, emails, and blog posts.
Plans for the weekend? Post up lets get something going. Its going to feel like Florida this weekend.
Anyhow for now I'll stick to IM's, emails, and blog posts.
Plans for the weekend? Post up lets get something going. Its going to feel like Florida this weekend.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Winter says, "With my last breath..."
"I stab at thee."
And then I yell, "Cry "Havoc", and let slip the dogs of war!!!"
Anyone else in a Star Trek mood? I don't think I've ever been in a Shakespeare mood, but I guess that could count as well.
I swear it was colder this morning than yesterday. My face and legs were so much more frosted than yesterday's record breaking low. How does that happen?
On a related note, I'm not riding my winterized beater anymore. I'm riding my Lemond race bike and IT IS AWESOME!!!! Man how I missed the light stiff ride of my 28C tired, aluminum frame, 5 year old bike. I have no reason at all to get a newer bike. Want would be a reason, but then I'd risk not feeling right on a new bike. My Lemond is the only bike I've felt "just right" on. Ok, enough of me gushing over my old bike. Brady's got his Old Yeller and I have my Old Blue. You're my boy, Blue!!!
Man, I'm just full of movie quotes today.
Low 30s for the highs this weekend. But with low wind and the weather we've been having, it'll feel really good. Any ride plans? At that temp point, my guess is gravel is going to be way too sloppy, so mellow road rides would be nice. If anyone knows of a route that's safe to ride in relation to snow/snow melt/salt/sand and traffic, I'd like to hear it.
"KAAAAAAAAHHHHHHNNNNNN!!!!!"
And then I yell, "Cry "Havoc", and let slip the dogs of war!!!"
Anyone else in a Star Trek mood? I don't think I've ever been in a Shakespeare mood, but I guess that could count as well.
I swear it was colder this morning than yesterday. My face and legs were so much more frosted than yesterday's record breaking low. How does that happen?
On a related note, I'm not riding my winterized beater anymore. I'm riding my Lemond race bike and IT IS AWESOME!!!! Man how I missed the light stiff ride of my 28C tired, aluminum frame, 5 year old bike. I have no reason at all to get a newer bike. Want would be a reason, but then I'd risk not feeling right on a new bike. My Lemond is the only bike I've felt "just right" on. Ok, enough of me gushing over my old bike. Brady's got his Old Yeller and I have my Old Blue. You're my boy, Blue!!!
Man, I'm just full of movie quotes today.
Low 30s for the highs this weekend. But with low wind and the weather we've been having, it'll feel really good. Any ride plans? At that temp point, my guess is gravel is going to be way too sloppy, so mellow road rides would be nice. If anyone knows of a route that's safe to ride in relation to snow/snow melt/salt/sand and traffic, I'd like to hear it.
"KAAAAAAAAHHHHHHNNNNNN!!!!!"
Monday, February 22, 2010
Mike Miles's Crazy 2010 Nebraska Time Trial Challenge
So, I was looking @ pictures from the Tour of Oman and I really dug the fact that everybody was TT'ing on regular road bikes without crazy aero equipment. Personally, I think such a move should be made in local/regional time trials for everyone outside of the P,1,2 (and maybe 3) ranks. It levels the playing field a lot. I don't think you could advocate folks going back to 32 hole box section rims, but no aerobars, disc wheels, etc could go a long way towards ensuring those in the lower categories have a level playing field without the need for a TT bike and several thousand dollars in wheels, accessories. The article I've linked below kind of quantifies what I'm talking about. 300W for same speed as 230W on a full out TT bike. That's not what I'd call inconsequential.
Article
I'm going to up the ante and say that I'll show up on a regular road bike, with regular wheels and a regular helmet to every Nebraska Time Trial in 2010. Right now the calendar shows 3 of them... I'll also contribute $100.00 to a pot that will given to the top 3 of the best 3 time trials completed in such a fashion. Winner will be chosen based on combined time of the 3 time trials. To be part of the pool you too must throw in $100, though if you think you are a real bad ass you aren't throwing in $100, you are only stealing my (and hopefully others) money. I look @ it like this, if I put this challenge out there it costs me exactly $100, if I do not it costs me 4-6k. Seems like a fairly easy trade even for me. I do love bikes, but I love bikes that have more than limited practical function.
Why do this? Because its awesome, and a lot more fun than going down to the bike store and ordering up $5,000 of speed.
Why $100? Well $100 is enough that it makes this attractive to enter yet at the same time isn't going to make you choose between entering or eating dinner this month. It's also enough that you will break your back (no pun at you Mr. Redemske) to put in good times at the 3 TT's to win it.
Who is this open to? Well I guess anybody that will compete in TT's in Nebraska in 2010... If you are PRO, sure come steal our money if you want, but I'd reckon that most PRO's that will be in Nebraska for 3 TT's will just go for the regular TT category wins and not some wild category that Mike Miles has constructed. If we get more than 10 entrants I'll reconfigure the payouts to go a bit deeper than 3. (Think 30% of the field will get payback).
Rules:
#1)Regular road bike with drop bars
#2) No wheels deeper than 30mm
#3)No Skinsuits
#4) Regular road bike helmets
#5)Entry to the pool requires $100, that will be split among the top 3 (50% to 1st place, 30% to 2nd place, 20% to 3rd place) if there are less than 10 entrants, if more than 10 enter I'll reconfigure the breakout.
#6) Reply to this blog post, email me, or tell me prior to the first time trial of your intention.
#7) There's a bit of gentlemanly honor in this, I'm not going to measure your wheel depth or anything stupid but you'll know if you try to circumvent the rules and when time comes for me to hand out money are you really going to take $ from your friends in a dishonest fashion? If you're that hard up for a little cash, lets talk outside of the challenge.
That's it.
Article
I'm going to up the ante and say that I'll show up on a regular road bike, with regular wheels and a regular helmet to every Nebraska Time Trial in 2010. Right now the calendar shows 3 of them... I'll also contribute $100.00 to a pot that will given to the top 3 of the best 3 time trials completed in such a fashion. Winner will be chosen based on combined time of the 3 time trials. To be part of the pool you too must throw in $100, though if you think you are a real bad ass you aren't throwing in $100, you are only stealing my (and hopefully others) money. I look @ it like this, if I put this challenge out there it costs me exactly $100, if I do not it costs me 4-6k. Seems like a fairly easy trade even for me. I do love bikes, but I love bikes that have more than limited practical function.
Why do this? Because its awesome, and a lot more fun than going down to the bike store and ordering up $5,000 of speed.
Why $100? Well $100 is enough that it makes this attractive to enter yet at the same time isn't going to make you choose between entering or eating dinner this month. It's also enough that you will break your back (no pun at you Mr. Redemske) to put in good times at the 3 TT's to win it.
Who is this open to? Well I guess anybody that will compete in TT's in Nebraska in 2010... If you are PRO, sure come steal our money if you want, but I'd reckon that most PRO's that will be in Nebraska for 3 TT's will just go for the regular TT category wins and not some wild category that Mike Miles has constructed. If we get more than 10 entrants I'll reconfigure the payouts to go a bit deeper than 3. (Think 30% of the field will get payback).
Rules:
#1)Regular road bike with drop bars
#2) No wheels deeper than 30mm
#3)No Skinsuits
#4) Regular road bike helmets
#5)Entry to the pool requires $100, that will be split among the top 3 (50% to 1st place, 30% to 2nd place, 20% to 3rd place) if there are less than 10 entrants, if more than 10 enter I'll reconfigure the breakout.
#6) Reply to this blog post, email me, or tell me prior to the first time trial of your intention.
#7) There's a bit of gentlemanly honor in this, I'm not going to measure your wheel depth or anything stupid but you'll know if you try to circumvent the rules and when time comes for me to hand out money are you really going to take $ from your friends in a dishonest fashion? If you're that hard up for a little cash, lets talk outside of the challenge.
That's it.
Friday, February 19, 2010
Saturday Gravel ( how did he get access)
First Shim, then MOD then me they let anyone post here... oh well
Anyone up for some gravel Saturday morning? Gravel might be a bit better shape than road conditions. Modified bacon route going to linoma beach light house and maybe stop at springfield gas station on way back. Meet around 10 am at wolhner's parking lot. that should be about 50-60 miles or so. I'm open to other suggestion as well....
Anyone up for some gravel Saturday morning? Gravel might be a bit better shape than road conditions. Modified bacon route going to linoma beach light house and maybe stop at springfield gas station on way back. Meet around 10 am at wolhner's parking lot. that should be about 50-60 miles or so. I'm open to other suggestion as well....
Friday, February 12, 2010
So in Summerization
Rides this weekend:
Saturday - Aksarben Village's Wohlners at 10am for a ride to the Loess Hills.
OR - Shim's road route on hwy 66 to Ashland (?) at noon.
Sunday - 1pm gravel ride from Shim's house. (I'll be impressed if this one happens.)
I'm off the bike for the weekend with a tweaked knee. I highly recommend not aging. Not knowing how you injured yourself is more than a little scary.
Saturday - Aksarben Village's Wohlners at 10am for a ride to the Loess Hills.
OR - Shim's road route on hwy 66 to Ashland (?) at noon.
Sunday - 1pm gravel ride from Shim's house. (I'll be impressed if this one happens.)
I'm off the bike for the weekend with a tweaked knee. I highly recommend not aging. Not knowing how you injured yourself is more than a little scary.
Tuesday, February 09, 2010
Oh Snap!
I'm on MITMON!
Is too early to start talking about the weekend? Saturday or Shabbos or whatever you call it here, is looking pretty 'normal'. High of 30, north wind of 10, anyone want to go big on the road? Blair? MoValley? Loess Hills? Let me hear it.
Is too early to start talking about the weekend? Saturday or Shabbos or whatever you call it here, is looking pretty 'normal'. High of 30, north wind of 10, anyone want to go big on the road? Blair? MoValley? Loess Hills? Let me hear it.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Next Weekend
So it looks like when I go out of town the weekend plans die. I'll be back next weekend and would like to ride. Maybe we can get something set up? Forecast looks iffy but the 7 day's always subject to change. So let's post up any thoughts, dreams, aspirations to carry us through the weekend of 2/6-2/7?
Yesterday was a solid 4 hour slog thru the rain and today's road race was 45 degrees , overcast, with a 20 mph N/NE wind today with 60-70 other like minded cat 4's. Kind of reminded me of Norfolk '09 without the fog/rain but similar temp and wind. So don't think I got off with perfect weather with my temporary escape...
Yesterday was a solid 4 hour slog thru the rain and today's road race was 45 degrees , overcast, with a 20 mph N/NE wind today with 60-70 other like minded cat 4's. Kind of reminded me of Norfolk '09 without the fog/rain but similar temp and wind. So don't think I got off with perfect weather with my temporary escape...
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Now I could consider a Mac product.
The new Apple iPad sounds like it's made for me. If I had the expendable money for it. Anywho...
At $500 for the 16 gig model, it fills a gap that has never been successfully done. It's not overkill/way more portable than a laptop, it's not too dinky/annoying like an iPod or iTouch, and it's not an aweful compromise like a netbook. I can see this thing taking out the netbook sales real quick. It's a little more than netbooks for the performance, but that's the way Apple's always been. And it works if the price reflects the usefulness.
Personally, I could never see spending twice as much for an Apple laptop than a Windows based laptop. I did start to change my tune on that when I found out about the Trackpad of the Macbook Pros. Again, a feature that made it worth the extra money.
So anyway, I think this little gizmo is going to do big things. It's a product that makes sense for the common computer user. No wires and it's way more "hands-on" than a keyboard and mouse.
I think I need to get a 3rd job.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Moving and shaking.
I didn't touch the bike this weekend. I take that back - I touched one of my hanging bikes to move it out of the way. I had a 2 stage process of cleaning over the weekend that sort of got done.
Stage 1 - clean out my closets and either throw away/recycle old stuff and then reorganize the remaining stuff for better space savings. I've gone through and found a few things I'd like to sell. Here's the list so far:
-1 Camelback hydration pack similar to this. It's dusty, but fully functional and ready for use.
-1 Platypus Typhoon hydration pack with a 70 oz. Camelback reservoir.
-2 pairs of Shimano bike sandals size 44-ish(I tried real hard to find a matching recumbent)
-1 book - Simon Burney's Cyclocross
-1 bag o' bike clothes - old High Gear jerseys and thermal jersey(medium size), a couple base layers, a hi-viz yellow Pearl Izumi Jacket, etc.
If you or anyone you know is interested in anything listed, let me know. The prices are going to be ridiculously cheap since I mainly want to get rid of it.
The 2nd stage of my cleaning process was to dig out the stuff from the garage that's been stored since we moved into the place. I got through most of it and threw away/donated lots of stuff. I still have to figure out what else I can get rid of or use otherwise.
My main goal is to turn the back of my garage into my bike workshop. Currently, I have bikes hanging in the back next to my stored stuff, my workbench along one wall and my wheels, currently used bike along the other wall. How the wife and I get our CR-V in there without dinging anything, I'll never know. So with enough shuffling(and hopefully selling of stuff), I should be able to fit most everything bike related along the back and part of 1 wall. That would be ideal. I still need to get rid of a couple frames, and figure out if I can make due with just 1 road bike and 1 mountain bike. That would really give me a ton of space. Then I'll just need to figure out how I can sort out my workspace to let me work more efficiently. I need to find some cheap dressers or something like that on craigslist so I can organize all the crap I've gathered over the years.
I guess you could say I'm already yearning for Spring as I'm starting the cleaning thing early.
Stage 1 - clean out my closets and either throw away/recycle old stuff and then reorganize the remaining stuff for better space savings. I've gone through and found a few things I'd like to sell. Here's the list so far:
-1 Camelback hydration pack similar to this. It's dusty, but fully functional and ready for use.
-1 Platypus Typhoon hydration pack with a 70 oz. Camelback reservoir.
-2 pairs of Shimano bike sandals size 44-ish(I tried real hard to find a matching recumbent)
-1 book - Simon Burney's Cyclocross
-1 bag o' bike clothes - old High Gear jerseys and thermal jersey(medium size), a couple base layers, a hi-viz yellow Pearl Izumi Jacket, etc.
If you or anyone you know is interested in anything listed, let me know. The prices are going to be ridiculously cheap since I mainly want to get rid of it.
The 2nd stage of my cleaning process was to dig out the stuff from the garage that's been stored since we moved into the place. I got through most of it and threw away/donated lots of stuff. I still have to figure out what else I can get rid of or use otherwise.
My main goal is to turn the back of my garage into my bike workshop. Currently, I have bikes hanging in the back next to my stored stuff, my workbench along one wall and my wheels, currently used bike along the other wall. How the wife and I get our CR-V in there without dinging anything, I'll never know. So with enough shuffling(and hopefully selling of stuff), I should be able to fit most everything bike related along the back and part of 1 wall. That would be ideal. I still need to get rid of a couple frames, and figure out if I can make due with just 1 road bike and 1 mountain bike. That would really give me a ton of space. Then I'll just need to figure out how I can sort out my workspace to let me work more efficiently. I need to find some cheap dressers or something like that on craigslist so I can organize all the crap I've gathered over the years.
I guess you could say I'm already yearning for Spring as I'm starting the cleaning thing early.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Fog? What fog?
Now that I'm back in the routine of commuting by bike every day, my mood is much better. When I was taking the bus or getting rides, I was mopey and just angry at the weather. Yet, after my ride in this morning, I was in a great mood and felt healthy. I was talking to my boss about the weather and realized that we've had fog and heavy cloud cover for about 5 days. I think if I wasn't riding nearly every day, I'd be one depressed soul. Yay bike commuting!
Weekend report: Saturday I met up with Sean and Vaughn to head up North for some gravel. After struggling through a couple miles with gunk caught in my fenders, making it feel like I had my brakes partially applied the whole time, I convinced the guys to head back onto asphalt. After this it was smooth sailing. We got far enough NorthWest that we saw the sun. It's out there, just past Elkhorn. So that was about 60 miles of hills and fun. I hadn't been on a long ride for almost a month, so I was kinda sore.
So of course on Sunday I helped shovel a ton of snow, cause that's what you do when you're already sore all over. I loaded up on the caffeine and Aleve and pushed on through (pun intended). It was fun and I got a great upper body workout. It was worth it once a few trail users thanked us. I'm hoping to get up early before I go into work at 11am and hit the Keystone soon. Maybe Thursday - clear some of the area around Nebraska Furniture Mart? Anyone want to join?
Upcoming weekend - I have no plans as of yet, but supposedly it's going to be 48 and rainy on Saturday. That sounds kinda miserable with the rain and all. Plus, since it's a large change in temp, it'll probably be windy, so that's a triple threat. Anyone got any plans for the weekend? Post em if ya got em!
Weekend report: Saturday I met up with Sean and Vaughn to head up North for some gravel. After struggling through a couple miles with gunk caught in my fenders, making it feel like I had my brakes partially applied the whole time, I convinced the guys to head back onto asphalt. After this it was smooth sailing. We got far enough NorthWest that we saw the sun. It's out there, just past Elkhorn. So that was about 60 miles of hills and fun. I hadn't been on a long ride for almost a month, so I was kinda sore.
So of course on Sunday I helped shovel a ton of snow, cause that's what you do when you're already sore all over. I loaded up on the caffeine and Aleve and pushed on through (pun intended). It was fun and I got a great upper body workout. It was worth it once a few trail users thanked us. I'm hoping to get up early before I go into work at 11am and hit the Keystone soon. Maybe Thursday - clear some of the area around Nebraska Furniture Mart? Anyone want to join?
Upcoming weekend - I have no plans as of yet, but supposedly it's going to be 48 and rainy on Saturday. That sounds kinda miserable with the rain and all. Plus, since it's a large change in temp, it'll probably be windy, so that's a triple threat. Anyone got any plans for the weekend? Post em if ya got em!
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