Dave's Good Stuff

Tomorrow morning, if the weather forecast proves true, I’m going to take the Dew Drop out for a spin. Probably only 30-40 miles or so. 2-3 hours, tops. It’s a heavier bike, and so will go slower, but that’s not a bad thing as it builds endurance and strength that much more quickly. I’ll be leaving from my house at around 9:30 or so, and probably running the standard Shawnee to Lenexa to Johnson Drive and back route as seen here. Or something very similar to it.

I’ve thought about taking her out on the trails, but I’m still a little leary of those for some reason…

I’d take advantage of the best weather of the day for a ride, but that’s reserved for walking the Plaza with a Very Special Person (henceforth to be known as VSP). I’ll brave the cooler morning temperatures to make room for that.

I’ve gotten pretty good at the rollers^*. Every day I ride a little longer and a little harder. There’s no doubt that it’s good preparation, even if it’s neither ideal, nor as enjoyable as actual outdoor riding.

Still, I miss my new bike. It’s hanging on the wall in the little bike alcove I made last year, and hasn’t seen any action in weeks. I console it every day as I pass by, knowing that at my approach, it’s gears start to vibrate and it’s chain starts to glisten, but I continue on my way, and it’s left hanging. Poor thing. I’m a bad bikefriend.

But it’s just too cold out for me. I proved I could do it last year, and realized that it just wasn’t any fun at all. Furthermore, I don’t have any way to have a car both at work and at home when I commute by bike these days. I could feasibly stop with the wussing, and deal with the cold, but the logistics of needing a car here and there, and only having the one for both places are, at least for the moment, prohibitively difficult to overcome.

When it warms up, I may find a way to commute a couple two or three times a week into work, but I think, at least until I find myself with either two cars, or a roommate with a car I have evening access to, cycling to work full time is so very 2008. The latter may happen this summer. That would be cool.

At least, when it warms up, I’ll be able to take her out for evening and weekend spins. I know she’d enjoy it, and I know I would too. She really is quite pretty, and deserves the attention. She may not be able to see it now, but she’ll get it. Of that I have no doubt whatsoever.

^* Some notes on the roller activities on motionbased.com… The mileage, while accurate in terms of GPS data, doesn’t reflect the equivalent miles, given the amount of time, and speed while on the saddle. The moving time, similarly, doesn’t appear to be accurate at all, leaving the total time as a better guage of actual saddle time. Elevation schmelevation. The Edge 705 is fantastic for outdoor riding statistics… not so hot for indoor stats.

WEST BURLINGTON, Iowa – A man faces up to [a mere] 60 days in jail in connection with a November 2007 accident that killed a West Burlington man who was riding a bicycle.

A judge found Marvin Oberly guilty last week of driving on the wrong side of a two-way highway and passing a vehicle on the wrong side. Douglas Kenney died of [the tragic and needless] injuries he suffered in the accident on Nov. 9, 2007 [due to Oberly’s utterly irresponsible and reckless actions].

Oberly is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 30. He faces [a paltry] 30 days in jail for each of the counts and up to a year suspension [rather than the far more just complete and permanent revocation] of his drivers license. [It is left as an exercise for the reader to rationalize how 60 days in jail and a year's suspension balances out the irresponsibility and recklessness that resulted in Kenney's death.]

Prosecutors argued that Oberly drove up behind Kenney in his pickup and collided with the bicycle Kenney, who was riding his bicycle in a manner consistent with safety and law.

Oberly testified provided the lame and weak excuse during his trial that glare from the sun prevented him from seeing Kenney[, which would have been inconsequential had be been driving on the correct side of the road and not passed another vehicle on the shoulder].

Original here.

I rode for a little over an hour this afternoon, with a single break around the 34 minute mark. That’s my best so far in terms of roller endurance. I’ve not been able to go over 30 minutes before, and that only once. Prior to that, I had to break after 20 minutes on a good day, or 10 to 15 minutes on an average day.

The secret? Motivation.

For me, I use two primary forms of motivation, also known as "distractions."

The first is television. Like The Fat Cyclist, I will typically throw in a couple episodes of my favorite-show-of-the-month and ride while the plot thickens and the bike goes nowhere.

The second is music. Today, this is the motivation/distraction method I used, and at least today, it worked better for me. First, I chose exciting tunes out of my music library with tempos between 85 and 105bpm (determined using MixMeister BPM Analyzer), and set them up on a Nano playlist so that they started off slowish at 85bpm, slowly sped up to 105bpm, and then relaxed back down to an easy 85bpm. Setting them up this way allowed me to easily maintain my own rpm, as it is my natural tendency to spin at a tempo that matches whatever song I’m listening to.

One might use headphones in order to transfer the music from the mp3 player to the ears if one wishes. I prefer portable iPod compatible speakers, myself.

Regardless, being able to just zone off to good music and let my mind wander back on a fantastic weekend was just what the doctor ordered today.

Slightly off-topic post today, but this is, or could be, a rather pressing matter, and I’d like both to record the timing of it, and submit a request for thoughts and ideas.

I took The Squanto to the vet yesterday, and found out that he’s 20lbs. On a 16lbs dog frame, that’s a lot of extra weight. It’ll dramatically increase his chances of having all manner of internal organ problems, including his heart and lungs, increase his risk of cancer, and very likely give him premature joint issues, such as arthritis, and could be the cause of his coughing as the extra weight compresses his trachea.

I’d like to keep him around for a while, and given Schipperke’s lifetimes, that could be another 8 years or so. That means he has to lose that weight

I’ve been aware of this for some time, and to maintain his weight at the healthy 15-17lbs, I’ve had him on a pretty strict diet of 1/2 cup dry dog food, given to him twice daily. In spite of that, he’s still been gaining. There is only one possible reason: The neighbors. I knew the neighbors fed him treats every now and again, but didn’t think it was more than that. Last night I found a full package, with plastic packing included, of those orange crackers with peanut butter. The plastic package. Can we say “choking hazard”?! Also, I recall the ex GF saying she found a partially eaten hoagie sandwich on the ground next to the fence sometime last summer.

So I called the female half of the neighbors last night. We’ll call her Barb, b/c she’s a spitting image of Barbara Bush. That’s not her name, but it fits. I was very friendly, but firm. I told her the vet scolded me for Squanto’s weight, and asked her to do me and him a favor and stop feeding him treats. She responded to that simple, logical, and completely reasonable request by asking what she’s supposed to do when he sits at the fence barking all the time. I allowed as to how if she stopped feeding him, he’d eventually stop barking. She didn’t believe that was true, and went on to (get this!) claim that he’d starve to death if she didn’t feed him crackers over the fence! WHAT?! I told her I feed him twice a day, to which she responded that she didn’t care what I said, that there’s no way I fed him, and it’s obvious that I don’t love my dog. “Ok Barb, this conversation is over. Goodbye.” “Yeah. Ok. Goodbye.” she said at the same time, and we hung up.

Seriously. He’ll starve if she doesn’t feed him unhealthy people food, some of it with the wrapper still present?! I have never been accused of neglect before. I was caught between being amused, dumbfounded, and furious.

Now I’m concerned that she’ll call Animal Control on me b/c she’s convinced I’m neglecting him. Because of that concern, I’ve been advised to call A.C. first and ask if they have any advice, or if I have any recourse aside from just talking with them and watching very carefully every time I let The Squanto out. At least, that way, if she does call, it’ll be on record that I called first.

If she’s allowed to accuse me of negligence b/c she believes that I’m not feeding him, and that his barking constitutes real hunger, rather than him simply learning that if he barks at the fence, he gets a treat, then I think I’m allowed to accuse her of abuse by feeding him unhealthy foods, sometimes with choking hazard wrappers still present, due to the health problems down the line it can cause.

At this point, my plan is to talk to her husband, and explain my concerns regarding the unhealthy food she’s feeding him (to say nothing of the wrappers she’s leaving behind). Depending on how that goes, I’ll either ask him to help keep his wife away from my dog, or advise him that I’m calling Animal Control for their input. I hate to have to go that route, but if there’s no reasoning with them, I will. If I have to choose between being their friend, and ensuring that The Squanto lives for many more healthy years, it’s no choice at all.

Any ideas, anyone?

I rarely disagree with Bruce Schneier, and I’m not entirely sure I do in this case, but I’m certainly not convinced that this is a good use of technology, especially when “security” can be so completely irrational…

Reporting Unruly Football Fans via Text Message

Fans still are urged to complain to an usher or call a security hotline in the stadium to report unruly behavior. But text-messaging lines — typically advertised on stadium scoreboards and on signs where fans gather — are aimed at allowing tipsters to surreptitiously alert security personnel via cellphone without getting involved with rowdies or missing part of a game.

As of this week, 29 of the NFL’s 32 teams had installed a text-message line or telephone hotline. Three clubs have neither: the New Orleans Saints, St. Louis Rams and Tennessee Titans. Ahlerich says he will “strongly urge” all clubs to have text lines in place for the 2009 season. A text line will be available at the Super Bowl for the first time when this season’s championship game is played at Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium on Feb. 1.

“If there’s someone around you that’s just really ruining your day, now you don’t have to sit there in silence,” says Jeffrey Miller, the NFL’s director of strategic security. “You can do this. It’s very easy. It’s quick. And you get an immediate response.”

• Granted: It can be difficult to impossible to reason with unruly, and sometimes drunk sports fans.
• Granted: It can be dangerous to try to reason with unruly, and sometimes drunk sports fans.
• Granted: Security personnel have the power and authority to protect us from both each other and ourselves. Ideally. They’re only human, and have lapses in judgment just as the rest of us do.

All the same, this use of technology seems to be an excuse to not even try to handle things ourselves. It grants permission to tuck tail and hide behind mommy and daddy’s legs while they handle our problems for us. It makes it too easy to defer responsibility for our own feelings and actions, and hand it over to someone else, rather than buck up and stand up for ourselves… or at least try to.

Shouldn’t calling security be a last resort? This seems to make it too easy.

I welcome any and all views on this. In fact, I eagerly await them.

I really didn’t plan on it, but I’ve found myself on a third pool team. I’m now not only playing at Shooters on Monday nights, and Sharks on Wednesday nights, but at The Clarette Club on Thursday nights. This is in addition to the semi-regular tournament play on Saturday and Sunday nights. Throw in some afternoon tournaments on Sunday followed by a few hours of free pool before the Sunday night tournament, and you may start to wonder how I have time for anything other than smacking balls around with sticks! You wouldn’t be the only one.

The competition is very tough, and is guaranteed, if I pay even a smidgen of attention, to improve my game. I’ve been trying for a couple years now to get in on the Thursday league, and when I was asked to join up while on the way out Shark’s door Wednesday night, I just couldn’t pass it up, even with the already hefty time commitment. I’m “just” an alternate, which means I won’t play every week, but I’m treating that as a foot in the door, and who knows, maybe I’ll play more regularly than I imagine.

Between fighting for every point Monday night at Shooters and then Thursday night at Clarette, I should gain at least one or two balls on my average by the end of Spring!

I hope so, b/c lately, it’s been really tough to take the game seriously. It’s clear to me that I’ve lost some of that “student of the game” attitude I used to take so much pride in a few years ago. In fact, looking back, I don’t really think I’ve had that hunger for pool knowledge and expertise since I moved out here to KC from Lawrence. One of the guys on the Clarette team may be able to inspire that in me again… none of us had a good night last night, but the sideline conversation about the ins and outs of the game, both the physics and the mentality, was fantastic.

In talking with him I realized that I’ve been too complacent in what I know, and actually (horror of horrors) resistant to new ideas, methods, and knowledge. I’ve just not cared to learn anything new, or perfect/correct what I already know. That. Has. To. Change.

And there’s nothing like being on a team of better players, playing against some of the best in town, to force me out of a rut and make that change.

I should say, now that I think about it, that along with the overall, general focus on just better fitness vs. commuting goals *and* fitness, I still have a mileage goal. Since I didn’t make my 5,000 miles last year, coming shy of about 640 miles or so, I’ve just tacked that on to the mileage goal for 2009.

So, my goal for this year is 5,640 miles.

Last year, my focus was on getting as many miles in as I could. I had twin goals of increased fitness and minimizing the use of my car, at least insofar as getting to and from work.

This year, I’m simplifying a bit. Both life at work and life at home have changed, and I’m in a position where I have need of my car during the day while at work, and during the evenings while at home. That makes it difficult some days to ride in. I’m the first to admit that the frigid temperatures have something to do with it. As I said, I just don’t care for riding in the cold. Moreover, I’m still fighting a very persistent and frustrating low grade sinus infection, which I don’t want to exacerbate through exposure.

However, I’m going to maintain my goal of increased fitness. That has always been my primary goal, and was why I started commuting by bike to begin with. So.. this morning was the beginning of something a little different. Since I won’t be/can’t be riding my bike to work every day, on those days I don’t ride on the streets, I’ll roll.

You may recall I recently conquered the unassisted mounting on the rollers. I’ve rolled a few times since then, but not regularly. This morning was the first morning that I put into action my plan to roll when I don’t ride. Every day I will either roll, or I will ride. Also, for the record, I will be keeping stats, and won’t distinguish between roller training and road/trail training. I believe the miles are relatively accurate when I’m rolling, but who cares. It’s more about time and effort, speed and heart rate, than actual distance. Still… I’ll keep track.

Moreover, at least three days a week I will do some strength training in my home gym. I did such a thing this morning, for instance.

This afternoon, since I won’t be riding my bike home, I will roll again.

Every day. It’s either ride, or roll. Roll or ride. One, or the other.

Those mountain passes are looming, and my brother is training hard. I have to keep up.

Of course, I also have to rid myself of this… how did I put it… very persistent and frustrating low grade sinus infection. I’m officially tired of it. I’ll go back into the doc this morning and see what they can do. Again.

In less than 48 hours, registration for the Triple Bypass has closed. This beats the 11 days of last year by… oh… many days, or a lot of hours, depending on which makes it more dramatic for you.

I waited until the 2nd this time, which could easily have proved my undoing, apparently. It’s a good thing both myself and my brother made it through in time. We’re both in for July 11th, as are two other, as of yet to be named riders who were inspired by our participation last year. It’s going to be another great ride!!