Posted On Thursday, January 6th, 2011 By David Veatch
I wear contacts. That means it’s important that my eyeballss are protected from the dust and wind that’s all but unavoidable on long rides. If they aren’t protected, then by the time the ride is over, my vision is either so clouded and hazy I can’t see at all, or my contacts so dust-ridden that it feels like I’m sporting twin Rocks of Gibraltar in my eyeballs… or more likely, both. There are several things I’ve been unable to completely conquer in my years of riding: Cold hands in weather below 10°F, cold feet in weather below 0°:F, and crusty contacts after long rides. This is about the last item on that thankfully short list. I’ve tried various protective eye gear, from basic sunglasses, to over-sized reading glasses, to cycling sunglasses and now, I’m trying a pair of 7Eye Capes with “AirShield” and “PhotoChromic NXT” technologies. They’re a little different than other things I’ve tried in that they’re actually motorcycle glasses, and being so, are just shy of being actual goggles. The Glasses The glasses come with a hard case, a microfiber cleaning cloth, and a neck strap (called a leash) that slides on the arms like a sock. I more »
Posted On Tuesday, January 4th, 2011 By David Veatch
Last autumn, I picked up a Lazer Helium helmet to replace my aging Giro Atmos. I’d had the Atmos for about 4 years, and many thousands of miles, and it was starting to show signs of age. Also, it’s recommended that bike helmets be replaced every few years anyway, so I decided to try something new. I got a good deal on the Helium, too. After pricing it out and trying it on at my LBS, I found the same helmet online for about $100 less than retail. Yes. I contributed to globalization to the detriment of my LBS by buying online. Feel free to stop reading now if that’s a sensitive subject for you. If you’re still here, then here it is: a fancy helmet for fancy people, the Lazer Helium. Fit I opted for the Medium/Large helmet, because I wanted a helmet with room for head coverings during the colder winter months, but with sufficiently effective internal tightening apparatus such that it would still fit snug during the warmer summer months. Because it’s a larger helmet, it has a bit bigger headprint than my Atmos. That is so say, it probably looks a little goofy on my head. more »
Posted On Monday, January 3rd, 2011 By David Veatch
I’ve decided that I’m going to return to my 2008 habit of getting to work on my own power, sans internal combustion engine, as much as possible. There will be days when I have to resort to the relative warmth of a car cabin, due to meetings in another building, but I think I’ll be able to make it happen again with the same commitment I had back then, barring compelling spousal objection or injury, of course. It looks like I picked a decent week to start: Monday – Mostly sunny. High: ~41°F Tuesday – Mostly sunny. High: ~38°F Wednesday – Mostly sunny. High: ~44°F Thursday – Partly cloudy. High: ~42°F Friday – Partly cloudy. High: ~43°F So I’ll have some things cycling related things to write about again. Tomorrow, I’m going to talk about my new helmet, a Lazer Helium. Wednesday, I’m going to talk about my new cycling glasses, the 7eye Cape with Airshield. Today, I’m going to go over my rig and gear. The Rig I’m riding a nearly stock ’09 Kona Dew Drop. The details are given below on the off-chance you’re interested, and b/c I’m not sure how long they’ll be available on the Kona more »
Posted On Wednesday, October 13th, 2010 By David Veatch
Wherein 80 miles over Kansas highways and back roads is discussed briefly. There are pictures.
Posted On Saturday, October 2nd, 2010 By David Veatch
All in all, not a bad weekend. I’d fixed our printing issues with Samba/Cups/HPLIP before 11, and I’d slept in until 9:30 (yes, I clearly needed sleep). It was, I think, a permissions issue, but it was a confusing issue. Brokey: lrw-rw—- 1 root cups 9 Sep 24 17:04 ugen0.2 -> usb/0.2.0 crw-rw-rw- 1 root cups 0, 128 Sep 24 17:01 0.2.0 Workey: lrw-rw—- 1 root cups 9 Sep 24 17:04 ugen0.2 -> usb/0.2.0 crw-rw-rw- 1 root cups 0, 128 Sep 24 17:01 0.2.0 Yeah. I don’t see a difference either. Still, I was getting the following errors: prnt/backend/hp.c 745: ERROR: open device failed stat=12: hp:/usb/photosmart_7350?serial=XXXXXXXXXXXXX and printer-state=5(stopped) printer-state-message=”/usr/local/libexec/cups/backend/hp failed” printer-state-reasons=paused whenever I tried to print (not the real serial number). Then I chown root:lp both ugen0.2 and usb/0.2.0, and printing was magically working again. And yet, they still show as being root:cups. Go figure. Please. Go figure, because aside from some weird corruption in some place I don’t yet know exists, I can’t figure it out myself. So, that done, I moved myself downtown to the KC Public Library for the first of two League of American Cyclists Smart Cycling KC: Traffic Skills 101 classes. Though there wasn’t anything more »
Posted On Wednesday, September 22nd, 2010 By David Veatch
Sometimes people don’t yell at you. That’s nice.
Posted On Friday, September 17th, 2010 By David Veatch
Wherein I recall improvements in last nights ride, and laugh at teenage boys who yell at me to “Get on the f*cking sidewalk, a**hole!” Ah, the wisdom of youth.
Posted On Sunday, September 12th, 2010 By David Veatch
Wherein my latest hill “training ride” is discussed, and red-light running drivers are gently sent to time-out. Also, bad pictures of Kansas hills.
Posted On Wednesday, August 25th, 2010 By David Veatch
Wherein the virtues of skinny tires and skinny cues is discussed. Also, chaos, knives, fire and Michael Scott.
Posted On Thursday, April 22nd, 2010 By David Veatch
We've recently started up a Thursday Night Ride at the Wheeler Airport just northwest of downtown KC. It's a 4.3 mile loop around the limited access road that surrounds the airport. It's popular due to the lack of traffic, the relatively flat course, and the fact that you're never more than 2 miles from you car (in case things go south one way or another). If you're into training, it's a good location to gauge progress over time, and between rides. If you want to join us, we meet at 5:30pm every Thursday night at the Wheeler Airport, just off the Broadway Bridge, north of downtown KC. Last week we rode for an hour or so, at a 18-22mph pace. There are two main parking lots to set off from, and we'll make it a habit to meet near Hanger 3. Today, however, on only our second go around, it's raining steady and may not lighten up by tonight. – Keep Ridin'