Posted On Friday, May 30th, 2008 By David Veatch
You know what would be teh coolness? A bike database that would allow you to find a bike based on very specific criteria. Say, for example, I was looking for a new commuter, and I wanted it to be based around a roady frame, with drop handle bars, mechanical disc brakes (specifically, Avid BB-7 Roads), have a triple crank, and have braze ons for a rear rack with front rack points optional. This database, perhaps hosted at something like bikedb.com (which currently resolves to an “under construction” page – seriously, uc pages are stupid), or bikedatabase.com, or meatyfetus.com, would have to be limited to stock bikes from major manufacturers, given the crazy variety of custom jobs available. You could search for parts individually, or built out frames. You could limit to a price range if you wanted, or brands, or online retailers. It would be seriously cool, and be a fantastic tool in searching for that next bike. Maybe it would be hosted at velodb.com. Maybe if it were, it wouldn’t currently be serving a “500 Servlet Exception” when queried.
Posted On Friday, May 30th, 2008 By David Veatch
I’ve been noticed, and the gauntlet thrown. As I commented on his post, competition is the whetstone on which we hone ourselves. I have absolutely no doubt that we’ll both meet our goals. The motivation of friendly competition will only make it easier and more fun. In the end, he’s right. The competition is really with ourselves, but it helps to have someone out there striving just as hard, even if the root motivation is different. Now there are at least three of us out there watching each other closely. Randy has left me behind on bikejournal.com, with a 150 mile spread. I may not be able to catch up with him, but I can certainly keep trying! Anyone else?
Posted On Friday, May 30th, 2008 By David Veatch
The 2008 Lone Star Century route is out, and I’ve converted it over on MapMyRide.com. This route covers a lot of familiar ground, plus quite a few miles I’ve never set rubber to. If previous years are any indication, I have no doubt whatsoever that this route will be phenomenal, the SAGs fantastic, and the lunch incredible. There’s still time to sign up if you’re in the mood to spend 8 or so hours on your bike on Sunday.
Posted On Friday, May 30th, 2008 By David Veatch
She teased me this morning until I was almost there, and then finally, when there was just a little bit left to go, she let me have it. I woke to damp pavement and the tiniest spritzing of rain, which actually stung on my arms and face due to a brutal headwind from the south. I made it all the way to College and Lamar before she finally sent the rain down with everything she had. I was soaked in less than a 10th of a mile. What was intended to be a recovery ride after last nights hammerfest on the long way home, turned into a soggy fight just to keep going forward against the wind. It was the same wind I had last night, but it was playing on my team then. It hindered me a bit as I rode east or west, but when I turned north, it was a boon I simply couldn’t ignore. Even going up the hills between 83rd and 67th on Lackman were uncharacteristically fast. Not that it was my phenomenal athleticism, or any other extraordinary trait on my part, but I easily overtook the biker on the sidewalk as she fought the more »
Posted On Thursday, May 29th, 2008 By David Veatch
Last night we won 4 of 6 rounds. That’s pretty good, and far better than winning 2 of 6 rounds like last week. However, while I had a perfect night (5 out of 5 games – can I get a “Hell yeah!”), everyone else on the team got only 1 game out of five. That makes for 9 games out of 25, giving the other team 16 games, nearly twice what we got. However, we still won over half the rounds. Odd. This can be explained by two things… We got 4 points a round in handicap. Take the handicap out and we still won 3 of 6 games, so the handicap only accounts for one round by itself. When my teammates did lose, they lost by a close margin, with 5, 6 and 7 points to the opponents 10. This accounts for some games, but there were some 10-1 and 10-2 games as well. On the other hand, when we won, we won well, keeping the opponents to 10-2 through 10-5. Still, even understanding the math, it’s just weird. That makes for two weird nights in a row. Two nights that really felt like we were going to come more »
Posted On Thursday, May 29th, 2008 By David Veatch
And by “fantastic” I mean fast. I averaged 17.61mph by the time I rolled into the driveway. That’s pretty good for a 45-50lbs commuter with 2.1″ city slicks. Or rather, that’s pretty good for a 45-50lbs commuter with 2.1″ city slicks ridden by *me*. Especially when you factor in the average HR of 176bpm and a max of 192. I was a little beat when I got home. I did hammer it nearly the whole way, after all, but I wasn’t too bad. A shower, some brats with chips and cottage cheese, and I was ready for pool. First thing’s first, though. We stopped by the Trek store to pick up some new cleats. I was tiring of the constant squeaking and squawking my shoes were throwing at me every revolution, and I hoped that new cleats would fix it. Turns out, if this morning’s ride is any indication, that it worked like a champ. Most. Excellent. However, while at the Trek store I got a gander at the ’08 Portland. Um. Pretty. Too pretty. Maybe pretty enough to be post-Triple-Bypass-present-for-myself pretty. It’d need full cover fenders, and possibly a carbon seat post at some point, but aside from that, more »
Posted On Wednesday, May 28th, 2008 By David Veatch
… barely. Last night at the Clarette Club in Shawnee, my Tuesday night pool team Deep Pockets, through judicious application of luck, managed to score 4 rounds of 5. The round we didn’t take was… best left forgotten. Two 0-10 games, one of which was an 8 ball snap, made it a nearly impossible round to take. The whole night felt off, honestly, and when we got to the end, it was with some surprise that we realized the outcome. Mike sat out, letting the GF step in and get on the books for the session. He’d jumped up to a 9, so it also allowed us to give up one less point in the handicap scheme. Turns out one point wouldn’t have made a difference, but it’s a nice option to have. Chris had 2 wins with 26/40 points. Linda had 2 wins 27/40 points. GF had 3 wins 37/40 points. I had 3 wins 37/40 points. Chris should have had at least one more win, and I should have had one less. He’s been having a hard time adjusting to the tables. They’re a lot faster, and moving to a brand new environment can affect a player a more »
Posted On Wednesday, May 28th, 2008 By David Veatch
It’s amazing how truly adaptable we are. You know, as animals. 55°F three months ago in the depths of February would have been a dream. It would have been cause for mass migrations of two-wheeled travelers to the open roads. There would have been rejoicing. Puppies and kitties everywhere would have gotten treats. This morning, it was just chilly. I hammered it all the way in so that I could get back where it’s warm as quickly as possible. Even so, with the headwind, I only broke a 16.2 average speed.
Posted On Tuesday, May 27th, 2008 By David Veatch
With no inspiration to write this morning, I set about my normal task of catching up on my daily blogs. There are the cycling blogs, the mockery blogs, the security blogs, and the comics. I came across this in my perusals, and remembered a near encounter I had (almost had?) this morning. It was a very slow ride in, on account of having slightly too much fun yesterday for Memorial Day… at least up until the very last minute, but we’ll get to that later. As I was approaching 91st and Lowell, I noticed another commuter heading north on Lowell. He blew right through the stop sign, with cars entering the intersection from all 5 directions. He didn’t slow for the sign, and he made no signals that I could see. He just rode through as if neither the intersection nor the cars were there. I briefly considered chasing him down, as Joe started to do, but came to the same conclusion. Going out of my way like that just wasn’t in the cards this morning. So as he sped off heading north, surely to run more stop signs, and disregard more stop lights, scofflaw that he is, I turned more »
Posted On Saturday, May 24th, 2008 By David Veatch
… again. So it looks like I won’t be getting out for a long ride today. It’s rollers again in front of the television.