Dave’s Good Stuff

Please, take some time and let Elden and his family know you’re thinking about them. He’s had a very hard night.

The Dew Drop is about a week away, and I’m chomping at the bit. I’ve hardly ridden at all this month. Looking back, it’s been almost as slow as February, and I was sick and out of town for much of that month.

And perhaps most distressing is that somewhere in there, I missed Fall. When I tore down the Fire Mountain (pics), it was warm. I was wearing shorts. When I pick up the Dew Drop, it’ll be cold, and I’ll be wearing long layers. That’s really only a shame for my fan club here at work that likes to watch me ride off… they’ll have to wait until Spring for the Good Stuff again. Back to the point at hand, what happened to it? Where’d Fall go? Granted, I’ve been a little bit preoccupied with personal stuffs around here, but still… I thought I’d notice when Fall stepped aside for Winter. One day it was nice, the next it was freezing at night, and barely hitting 60 at the height of the day. And here I was, completely oblivious. I mentioned to a friend, aghast, that it had hit 27°F the night before. She looked at me, clearly bored, and told me it’d done so for the last several nights.

I missed the first freeze of the year! I just wasn’t paying attention. I didn’t have to. That makes me sad.

I can’t wait for the Dew Drop to get here so I can start paying attention again. After all, I really can’t until it arrives, can I? I mean, what would be the point?

And now another thought occurs to me… I wonder how the Dew Drop’s smoother tires will handle the harsher weather that those of us around here know that Kansas can deliver? Should I invest in another set of wheels on which to put knobbies for the harsher days? Or should I just buy new tires and swap them out? New wheels would cost some cash, what with the wheels, and the tires, and the freewheels, and the mech brakes, but would it be worth it? Tell you what. I’ll figure out the cost and post another one of them survey things. I’ll let you decide what I should do.

Speaking of surveys, the last one got quite the response (considering the back woods corner of the web I occupy here), with an overwhelmingly positive slant towards “Yes, he can, so long as he has either George Clooney or Marky Mark’s help, or that he enlist Jack Knoff and Drew Peacock as wing men.” It was an interesting survey. I’d post a fancy chart, but it would be one big block of color. Boring.

Ok. Ok… here you go…

I think the answers are too long for Google to handle them well, so those miniscule, too small to read words say: “Yes, of course he can!” and “Needs George Clooney’s Help. (Marky Mark is optional).”

So, there you have it.

Random Musings…

I can’t help but appreciate this.

And I’m not the only one that found this one particularly moving. I misted up a little myself…

My 5,000 mile goal for 2008 is looking… dicey. Cold weather approaches. A couple of trips out of town coming up. A certain lack of a commuting bike at the moment. It’s a perfect storm standing between me and safe harbor. Perhaps worst of all, Noah is slated to pass me TODAY! Gah!

And I love that windbreaker too, btw… it’s brilliant!

Tell me…

So, by way of clearing my head and getting some miles, I took off last night on a quickie 33 miler over some of the best hills that Johnson County has to offer. At least, insofar as I know. If you know of others that aren’t on this route, please… do let me know.

Due to some aforementioned chaos, I wanted to get out and clear my head some. Unfortunately, before I could clear my head, I first had to fix (yet another damn) flat. They’ve been plaguing me lately. It seems every time I want to get out and ride these days, it’s either one tire or another, on one bike or another. It’s tiresome. Last night, it was last-straw sort of frustrating. I found the hole, didn’t find anything in the tire, replaced the tube and admittedly amidst a small amount of cursing, finally got out the door.

It didn’t take long for my mind to turn away from flats to the issues at hand, and turn it did. Over the course of the 33 miles, I did exactly what I set out to do…

1) Get miles in. Not many, but every little bit counts.
2) Confront my current personal demons. Again, not many, but they’re mean and they have spiky forearms and big horns.
3) Deal with those demons and claw my way out of the dark place I’d found myself in.

All three goals accomplished, insofar as one can over the course of a couple hours, I rolled slowly into the driveway, tired from pushing the hills and in a much better place.

The rest of the evening was relaxed. I had dinner, watched Heroes, and played with my online spreadsheets a while before heading to bed. For some reason, I went downstairs again and looked at the tires to make sure they were still pressurized. Nope. The previous flat had returned.

You have got to be kidding me. Again?! Another?!

That was it. I was done with it. I wasn’t going to stop until I find the culprit.

Filled up the sink with water. Aired up the tire and spun it in the sink until I saw air bubbles. I found the hole, stripped out the tube, and *very* closely examined the tire this time for little poking things. I was in a rush before and didn’t notice, but sure enough, there it was… a *tiny* little metal fragment buried in the tire. The pressure of the tube was enough to cause a puncture, but otherwise, it was all-but-invisible.

I got that little demon out. It took a while and I had to dig deep to get it, but I got it out.

It used to bother me that I could look back at who I was 4, 5, or 6 years previously, and would constantly ask myself “Who the hell was that? What an idiot!”

Now it bothers me that I look back at who I was 4, 5, or 6 years ago and pretty much see the same person.

Ok, it doesn’t look like the Dew will be here until the first week of November. Bah. So, it’s either ride the Torelli to work, or drive, and make up the miles after work on recreational/training rides.

I think I’m opting for the latter.

I may not make my goal of 150 commute days this year, but I’m damn sure going to make my goal of 5,000 miles this year. 750(ish) to go.

Friday night we went to BB ’s Lawnside Bar-B-Que, where we saw the Bill Lupkin Blues Band. I prefer southern blues, specifically the Stevie Ray Vaughn style of blues/rock, over the Chicago/KC jazz imbued blues, but that said, I’ll take live over recorded any day, and Mr. Lupkin delivered.

Cafe Casbah, at 8609 College Blvd, Overland Park, KS 66210 just east of Quivira on the south side of 119th is a fantastic little restaurant. It doesn’t look like much on the outside, but the food is phenomenal. Saturday night, I had a seafood stuffed pastry in a lobster sauce. I sopped every last bit up with bread.

I wasn’t that impressed with Dungeon Siege 2 at first, but it’s grown on me. I know, I know… I’m a bit late to the game, but I’ve hardly played any in the last 4 years.

That is all.

The Dew Drop isn’t in yet… not sure when it will be. That means I’m stuck in the car indefinitely. Bah. I made it this far, only to be stymied by ancient components and delayed shipping.

I could ride the Torelli, but… no. It’s been through a couple of hard crashes, and I’m not interested in providing any more opportunity for the same than necessary. I’m saving it for rides that are not commutes… the daily wear is not what those expensive components are destined for, at least not on my watch.

So… it’ll be evening and weekend rides for me until the Drop gets in.

*sigh*

Due to some serious upheaval in my personal life, and the fact that my regular commuter bike has been reduced to a component-free frame hanging on a nail in my garage, I’ve had very little in the way of saddle time recently.

I hope to see the arrival of the Dew Drop here very soon… today or tomorrow, or at the latest, Friday, but we’ll see.

That is all. Just a placeholder today.

I just joined a fellow Defined Fitness Training LLC member, and two others for a quick out and back between Shawnee, KS and Lawrence, KS. It was a last minute invite yesterday, and since I was planning (and needed) to get out for a ride, it fit the plan perfectly.

Now… when I mean quick, I mean just that. We rode hard and fast nearly the whole way. I was hard pressed to keep up… in fact, I didn’t. Had they not slowed the pace a bit, taking mercy on my lack of riding lately, it would have changed from a group ride, to a solo ride for me.

I’m a little confused by the stats reported on motionbased.com… my Garmin shows a moving time of 3:54:18 and an average speed of 18.82mph vs. the 4:53:35 time and 15.6mph average the site recorded. I’m going to go with what’s on the Garmin itself, thank you very much. ;)

Normally when I make the trek to Lawrence from my house, I’ll stop a couple times… typically once on the way out, and once on the way back. Not so much this time. It was hard spinning from our rendezvous point at 47th and K-7 to Wheatfields Bakery?, where we (finally) took a break and had breakfast. Their English Breakfast is pretty good, as are their cafe mochas.

The new Dew Drop should be here next week… I’ll pick my riding back up again when it arrives, and all will be right in the world. I drove to work all last week… it was nice not having to plan ahead with the clothes, and being able to get home more quickly, but losing the stamina really isn’t that hot, nor is not having the extra time to myself.

Well, I’m going to have to call it. Time of death: 06:58.

Now, a few words…

You were a good bike, and carried myself, as well as several others, through some lean times, some fantastic trails, and finally back into the wonderful world of commuting by bicycle. But, as with all things, both good and bad, it’s time to lay you to rest.

It’s for the best. You’re simply not safe to ride. I’m sorry, but it’s true. Every full stop is a moment of fear… will your chain slip again this time, throwing both feet, undignified and sloppy, to the ground? Will your cables finally snap with this change of gear? You’ve been fantastic, but your rings are shot, and your cogs are squeaky. Your cables frayed and your headset shows signs of rust.

But I don’t blame you. It’s not all your fault. I’ve been woefully lacking in taking care of you. I’ve not held up my end of the deal. You’ve given more than I ever had any right to ask of you, and only recently have you started complaining. I understand. You’re old. You’re tired. You’ve never asked for anything, and to my discredit, I’ve given you far less, for all your wonderful years of faithful service, than you deserve.

You’ve had a good run. Over 15 years and you’re still the same girl you were when I first bought you. New tires, a new seat and new bar ends are the only things I’ve changed. You’ve held up damn well, and I thank you.

But worry not. Like a Phoenix, you shall return. This weekend I will remove all those things that ail you, and take you down to your most essential… all that will remain is your frame. From there, I will rebuild you. I have the technology. I can make you better than you were. Better… stronger… faster.

Fear not, you will not be replaced. You will have your place. You won’t be discarded.

Rest in Peace, Oh Fire Mountain. You’ve lived well, and deserve a rest.