RIP Palpal

My grandpa died last week. He was a great man.



Two purple hearts in WWII. Firefighter. Got caught in multiple fires. One time burned the majority of his body. Another time had to leap out the window of multi-story building breaking his hip. He walked with a limp, but he still lived to the ripe old age of 83.

I will miss him, but I know he lived more than most.

Multi modal adventure

I went to the Banff Film Festival last night at the Roxy hosted by REI. They showed a mix of climbing, paddling, and mountain biking films. I really enjoyed it.

I hate driving downtown so I wanted to see if I could make it to the Roxy without using my car. I busted out of meeting early and got out of the office about a quarter to five. I pedaled my ugliest bike in the world as fast as it's little gear would take me. I chose this bike since I figured no one would steal it if I locked it up in a public location. At about twenty minutes after five I was about eight miles further south sitting in the parking lot of the Mansell park and ride. Soon after the bus showed up.

I boarded the packed bus and tried to jam too many quarter into the little slot. The bus driver barked at me to slow down and insert them one at a time. I obliged and found a place to stand halfway down the aisle. Riding down four hundred standing up was a treat. I thought about what would happen if we wrecked for awhile, but eventually just decided there was nothing I could do about it now.

We made it to the North Springs Station unharmed. I got off the bus and found out I couldn't get in the gate to the train station. Seems like if you pay for a bus fare you should be able to get right on the train where the bus stops right? Maybe I did something wrong, but after a short conversation with the marta breeze pass checker dude, I was told I had to buy another ticket. Oh well.

I got my ticket, and the train showed up soon enough. Being the northern most stop, I was treated to an empty train and a vacant seat. I quickly realized I picked the wrong car though. The couple next me decided this was a great place to make out even though they were traveling with the friends which included a three and four year old. It was a quite a scene. The couple taking their clothes off. The friends yelling at them to stop. The children crying. A group of five or six people getting up and moving to another section of the train. The naked lady saying "I ain't harmin no body. Shit.". The old man and woman who boarded later and set directly across from them pretending not to notice the DD bare breasts.

I was happy when we arrived at the Buckhead Station. I climbed up the stairs out the station and realized I didn't know which to go. I knew I needed to go south on Peachtree, but I wasn't sure which direction was south. I guessed based on the direction of the high rises and after a walking a short distance quickly determined I guessed right. The Roxy is probably only a mile from the station, but luckily Amy was driving down Peachtree and stopped to give me a ride.

We found a good place to park. I ate a sandwich Amy bought for me, and we still made it with a plenty of time to spare for the seven pm start time.

The movies were definitely worth the adventure. I can't decide whether it was easier than driving. If the train went all the way to Mansell it would be a no brainer. The bus muddies the waters a bit though. More buses would help.

Bicycles and Commercials

Cool New Belgium Commercials


Still My Favorite

Chicopee Redux

Amy and I rode Chicopee again today. Our last trip was about 9 months ago. It was really hot that day, and it was Amy's longest ride to date. She did amazing that day and finished like a champ, but I could tell she was giving maximum effort.

Today's ride was much more relaxed. The cooler weather made it easier. Plus I think the long rides we have been doing together on our x2cyle has improved the endurance of both of us. Amy was smiling all day long and seemed full of energy. I think we both really enjoyed ourselves.

Gainesville SORBA has been working hard on the trails. There were several new re-routes since our last ride. I will miss a couple of those sections, but the new stuff was fun and looks like it was very well built. I have heard rumors of some new trail being built were the inner loop used to be. I can't wait to see what they do.

Montgomery Creek

Amy and I did the Montgomery Creek ride together this Saturday. The trail is an old forest road about 8.5 miles long with a couple of pedal deep creek crossings. Apparently there is a pretty cool waterfall there named Black Branch Falls. Here is a pic from Waterfalls of North Georgia.



Unfortunately we were not able to find the right trail to get there. One of the rangers showed us approximately where it was on his topo map so maybe next time we will be able to find it.

On the drive up Amy and I had a really good talk and settled some stuff that had been bothering us for awhile. Afterwards Amy put on the "Not Played" list on my iPod for the rest of the drive. The music turned out to be some weird super chill stuff my friend Cory gave me. For some reason, I was totally relaxed and ready to hear that type of music. Maybe it was because I didn't sleep much on Friday night or maybe I was just feeling good after our talk. Normally I would be too antsy to sit still and listen to something really slow and new.

I got to trail in really good mood, and I felt great the rest of the day. Amy and I ended up having the best time together. I slept like a baby on Saturday night. Couldn't have asked for a better day.

I understand her apprehension

Jill posted an excellent blog post about her apprehension of an upcoming epic adventure in Alaska. While I have never done anything near as adventurous as her, I could relate to what she felt before the start of a race. These feelings of dread and fear are one of the things that made me quit doing endurance races. I just felt like if I wasn't going to enjoy it then why bother. She didn't talk about why she races in spite of the fear before the race. I can only guess she either enjoys herself during the race or maybe even after the race. I definitely got something out of it, but I can't put it in words.

On a completely unrelated note here is a commuter tip. When it is really freaking cold and you are scared to open your garage door and head out, put on all your cold weather clothes then inflate your bicycle tires. The more days you wait between re-inflating your tires the better this technique works. It had been weeks since my last inflation, and I was toasty as I headed out on my ride this morning. As a bonus, I felt like a speed racer with an extra 50 psi in my tires. It is amazing how much better your tires roll when they are inflated.

Happy Valentine's Day

my present

first day back

I must have set some kind of record for sleeping this weekend. 15 hours on Thursday, 13 hours on Friday, and 11 hours on Saturday. The flu really kicked my butt, and I needed every minute of that sleep.

Saturday I cleaned up my old Sugar and gave it to a friend of Amy's. Felt good to pass it on to someone who can get some use out it. Other than the chain suck it was a great bike. I loved the way the suspension felt on the downhills.

Sunday I saw the movie "Juno". It was kinda quirky. The main character was as cute as she could be though, and I enjoyed watching her story.

I rode today for the first time since I got the flu. I just did my normal commute to and from work, but it felt almost epic at times. Funny how you can lose fitness so much faster than you can gain it.

I am a doper

I have been loading up on Tamiflu, Tussionex, Advil, and MucinexD. I am pretty sure I could win the Tour de France now.

I saw another cool commuter bike this weekend.

Electra Bikes

getting old

Over a week ago my elbow started hurting while standing up on my ride to work. So instead of taking a couple days off, I decided to keep riding but not to stand up. I also tried to do as much stuff as I could with my right hand. After about a week my elbow was still hurting so I looked up my elbow problem on the internet.

Turns out it is my medial epicondyle that is hurting. If you punch this into google you will find many articles about what is called golfer's elbow or medial epicondylitis. Strangely enough you can get this even if you don't play golf. I got mine by tugging really hard on my handlebars as I stand up to pedal.

Treatment involves rest and ice. Ice is easy, but I don't like the rest part. Some sites say 4-6 weeks. Whatever. So anyways I started my ice regimen and things seemed like they were actually getting better.

Then all of sudden my wrist starts hurting on my other arm. It doesn't just hurt when I ride but all the time. I have no idea what caused this. Maybe my right wrist hurts because I was putting all my weight on my right arm while my left arm was hurt. I don't know.

Anyways I bagged all my rides this weekend. Then I wrapped up my wrist with an ace bandage. So guess which arm I had to use to do everything this weekend? And guess which wrist is now hurting the most?

So I have decided to just stop worrying about it. No more bandages. No more favoring. Let the best wrist win. I will stay off my bike till Wednesday, but after that my wrists are just going to have to deal with it.

If my wrists ever stop hurting I will start adding in some upper body workouts to my exercise routines. I don't see myself joining a gym. I am thinking more about channeling Hershel Walker or Stallone in Rocky IV. Pushups, pullups, carrying large pieces of wood on my shoulders, having my friends punch me in the stomach, letting secret service agents chase me up a snow covered mountain. You know just the simple stuff.

bike lust

No riding for me this weekend. The cold scared me off.

I spent most of time looking at commuter bicycles online. I have a nice road bike that I commute on. I don't need really need a new bike. There is no hurt in looking though.

Here are some of the ones I found.

ANT bikes

This guy is an artist who happens to build custom bikes. He has some serious style. I have his flickr stream in my rss reader. Daily art delivered to my door.



Civia cycles

These guys make some pretty cool looking production bikes. Same owner as Surly and Salsa so the quality is probably pretty good.



Batavus

Cool Dutch bikes available with a Nuvinci hub



Breezer bikes

I like all the features on this bike (chain case, internal gear hub, dynamo with front and rear lights, fenders, etc ...) except for the 26" wheels. I guess they did that to run bigger tires. I would rather have 700cc wheels though.




I would really like a bike with a shaft drive, because I hate oiling my chain. Sheldon Brown's website says they don't work very well though. I could probably live with a good chain case.

Maybe I will get lucky and someone will steal my road bike so I can buy one of these bad boys. It is a nasty addiction.

Noontootla

Pic taken by Duckman.More Here

Weather was rainy last week so I decided to ride some forest service roads and avoid the mud. Since Amy was out of town, I posted my ride idea on the sorba website's rides forum. I have tried this a couple times before and have never gotten any takers. The stars must have aligned this week though because there were probably twenty people that show up on Saturday. I couldn't believe it.

I had a great time meeting a bunch of new riders and chatting with some old friends. It is so much fun to share a ride with others. Combined with the ride I did last week I can't remember when I have enjoyed riding my bike more.

The route I chose was new to me. I saw it a long time ago in Alex Nutt's book Mountain Biking Georgia, but I never got around to riding it. I have been missing out.

We started our ride from the church on Doublehead Gap Rd and rode south on FR 58 up to Winding Stair Gap. The climb followed Noontootla Creek where the ride gets its name. The climb is slow and easy. The views of the creek are spectacular. This climb is so much easier then coming up FR 77 from the other side.

Once at Winding Stair Gap, we headed east on FR 42 to Hightower Gap. Most of this part of the ride was downhill. I was in my biggest gear pedaling with all I had to try and keep up with the group. For a little while I was able to ride behind mama and try to copy her line. It was very educational.

Once we hit Hightower Gap we took FR 69 north. We traveled past a beautiful lake, a recreation area with bathrooms, a fish hatchery, and another church. The lake was beautiful. I would love to spend a day sitting on it's banks with a cane pole and a cooler of beer. The fish hatchery also looked pretty cool. I need to find out if I can get a tour of that place.

Finally we turned west on FR 248/ FR 333 back to DoubleHead Gap Rd. This part of the route was a little muddy but not too bad. There was one real big mud pit right before we got back on the road. I should have carried my bike like others did. It was so much fun trying to stay upright while my tire spun around that I couldn't resist.

Once we got back on the road the sun was out and it felt really good. There was a little climb back to the car and my legs ached. I guess I got my money's worth.

reward for getting out of bed

alarm shrieks violently
body springs to silence it
cold air invades my cocoon
burrow deeper under covers

it is too cold
been sick all week
eleven days since last ride
wastes too much gas

hardly know any of the people
too slow to keep up
gained too much weight
stop stop stop stop

check the weather
throw on some clothes
grab water, food
load bike, helmet, shoes

crank up the tunes
sing like you know the words
smile starts to come
great way to start the day

beautiful ride
shared with amazing people
funny jokes, stories
reward for getting out of bed

more here

Best XMAS present ever

Merry Christmas

Anger Management Problems

Flew off my rocker too many times today.

The day started off with me using a really bad analogy when trying to help my girlfriend. I was trying to help, but what I said was insulting and wrong. I quickly realized my mistake, but the damage was done. I left the house pretty frustrated with myself.

I rode a couple hundred yards from my house and then stopped at a light. There were two lanes in the road. One is a right turn only lane and one lane is either for going straight or for turning left. I was in the left lane planning to go straight. This guys pulls up next to me half in the right hand lane half in my lane. I try to get his attention, but he pulls up further so we can't make eye contact. So I pull up further and get right in his driver side window. At first he won't roll his window down. He is talking on the phone and pretending not to notice me. So I start waving my hands and yelling at him.

Finally he rolls his window down. He says "What".

I say "What are you doing?" in a very annoyed and confrontational tone.

He says "What do you mean?"

I say "Are you turning left?" (again in a very smart ass way)

He says "I was planning to."

I say "Do you normally pull up on the right hand side of a car in a right hand turn only lane and turn left in front of other cars?"

He gives me a look like fuck you and rolls his window back up.

The light turns green and we both take off but I beat him into the intersection. I cut in front of him and glare at him. Then pedal on my way.

I am proud I stood up for myself, but I wish I could have been less confrontational about it. He is probably just waiting to run over some poor roadie now.

After I got to work, I sent off some shit-o-grams to the customer service people at batteryspace.com.

I ordered some rechargeable batteries from them a couple weeks ago for my commuter lights. The day I got them I tried to charge four of the AAA batteries in the charger I got from them. After about an hour or so the light went from red to green so I went to take the batteries out of the charger. They were much hotter than I would have expected. I would expect that they would be a little warm but they were very hot. I thought this was weird but I assumed since they were brand new it must be okay. I double checked the polarity of the batteries in the charger and tried another set. Again in about an hour or so they light changed and I took the batteries off. The batteries were not quite as hot but i thought a felt some kind of slick liquid on the batteries. I had just finished dinner so I thought maybe my fingers were just greasy. I put a third set of batteries in the charger. When the light went green on the third set the batteries were cold and covered in liquid. There was also liquid in the charger. I was pretty sure this was not normal so I sent an email that day to battery space people.

They wrote back pointing me to their warranty/return page. After reading the page I got a really bad feeling like I wasn't getting any money back. So I wrote them back and told them I would be sending the stuff I bought back.

The guy wrote me back and said he would refund the AAA batteries, but he would charge a 20% restocking fee for the charger and AA batteries I ordered. Also I would have to ship him the defective batteries at my own expense.

I basically sent him a nasty email telling him I thought what he was doing was not fair. I have no safe way of knowing if the AA batteries or the charger are not defective. I also asked if he knew the AAA batteries were defective then why did he ship them to me?

I think paying $7 in shipping to return a $10 set of batteries is not fair.

Anyways I am sure as a customer service person he has to take shit all day so what I did doesn't help anyone. I guess I have too high a level of expectations for customer service from a discount online store. If I want customer service I would be better off buying from a local store and paying full price.

maintenance

unload the bike from rack
feel something not quite right
grab the wheel give it a spin
hear rubbing on the frame

anger yelling frustration
why must i fix you again
i clean you, i oil you
i keep your tires full of air

i have fixed your broken cable
i have fixed your broken fork
now your gears are no longer indexed
and your brakes are no longer aligned

maintenance is a constant
no purpose anger serves
might as well complain about pedaling
or even breathing in and out

flip the bike over
wiggle the offending wheel
grab an allen key
re-tighten the loose slider

swing a leg over the bike
pedal fast around the car
lean hard in the turns
listen careful for the rub

call it good enough
pray the bolts hold till the ride is over
remember on any future slider adjustments
reapply your blue loc-tite


is everything like bike maintenance
can you choose to not get frustrated
should you just accept the inevitable
or accept the challenge as part of the fun

the ride was worth the challenge
the problems faded away
the time spent with my baby
the joy of a beautiful day

Human

a crowd gathers at the trailhead
lights grow bright
pedals click like thunder
positioning riders fight

the pace is risen
the line is blown
quick speed reduction
the flock has flown

click goes the gears
pedal with all your might
bring back the rider
escaping into the night

slam into a rock
slide across a root
skid through a corner
heart rate through the roof

saved by the climb
where my skills are their best
rider's light dead ahead
stringing out the rest

the climb has leveled out
the lead riders have been caught
better get a handle on your breathing
or your effort will be for naught

the trail points back down the hill
the flock again pulls away
stop staring at your front wheel stupid
it is here to stay

now i can see much better
i'm starting to get the feel
a few hard pedals
now i am on your wheel

Turkey Turkey Turkey

Went to Virginia for a week but didn't ride much. Did a fun ride at O-Hill and a quick road ride but mostly sat around on my butt. Had a delicious Thanksgiving meal at the Boar's Head Inn. Finally fixed the driver side mirror on my Subaru. Taking the door panel off was tricky. Glad I don't have to use duct tape or hold it on with my hand any more. My nephew is getting possessed this weekend. Hopefully I will get to sneak in a ride some time.

Riding Buddies

I went on three rides (other than my daily commute) last week and the best part of all three rides was getting to ride with other people.

Wednesday was the first Big Creek Night Ride. 24 guys (unfortunately no women) showed up for a couple of laps around the Big Creek trails. All kinds of riders showed up including first time night riders, a pair of 9 year olds, pro roadies, and plain ole weekend warriors like me.

Once we rolled out of the parking lot, I tried to settle in to what I thought was the social pack. I still ended up riding pretty much at my limit all night though. Even at my limit I was the last one in line. I tried to tell myself that I was doing everyone a favor by making sure no one got lost. I stopped several times to give people moral support while they fixed their chain or shed some clothes. :)

Saturday Amy and I rode our tandem link around Bull Mountain. We started in the Jake mountain parking lot and rode the connector trail to 28, went up 83, stayed straight on the forest road past the turn off to Bull Mountain and Jones Ridge. We took the single track connector to the end of the Whoop-De-Doo trail. Then rode 77-A to 77 back to 28. From 28 we took the pavement back to the Jake Mountain Lot. Our loop was around 11.5 miles.

The leaves were really colorful on Saturday. I wished I would have remembered to bring my camera. We saw also lots of beautiful horses. We were careful to get off our bikes and let them pass, however one of them got a little spooked when the rider stopped and asked me for directions. Maybe the horse was just itchin to get riding again. Amy rode strong all day. I barely got to do any pulling.

Sunday I rode with Amy and Bubba. We went to a new park the city of Kennesaw is building right across from Bubba's house. I think the name of the park is Swift-Cantrell. Right now there is a 1 mile paved loop with a couple of connector paths as well. We rode the loop in a bunch of different variations.

While Bubba was taking a nature break, he found an old basketball in a ditch in the woods. We ended up using the basketball to play hide and seek. One person would go off on their bicycle with the basketball and hide the ball somewhere. Then the other people would ride their bikes around and try to find it. It was a lot of fun.

This week I thought a lot about my training last year and how I would ride 6 hours at a time by myself on trails I have ridden a hundred times. I think I have decided for me it is so much better to ride with other people. Even being the slowest guy in the pack is still much better than riding every ride by myself. I was very lucky to share those rides last week with other people.

Tanasi

Amy and I decided to go camping at Tanasi last weekend. We spent most of the day Saturday driving around doing the tourist thing. We checked out the overlook and civil war historic site at the Chilhowee Recreation Area. We watched some boaters playing around in the Ocoee River. Then we drove down a long forest service road to our campsite.

We wanted to stay at the Thunder Rock Campground since you can ride your bicycle from your campsite to the trails. Unfortunately the campground was closed while the TVA makes repairs to the power lines.

Instead we stayed at the Tumbling Creek campground which was nice. There are probably 10 campsites there. Each campsite offers a picnic table, a fire ring, a lantern post, and access to a vault toilet. Here is a picture from our picnic table.



Sunday we headed to the Ocoee Whitewater Center. The center is beautiful. I think anyone that lives anywhere near this place should drive over and check it out. You can sit on the back porch and watch the boaters play in the water.



Or you can walk around on some of the concrete paths and get a closer look at the river.



Amy and I rode our bikes along Old Copper Road. This trail is relatively flat and wide, and it runs a long the river for almost it's entire length. We found some rocks and roots to play with on our ride.



After we rode together, I did a solo ride called Thunder Rock Express in the Parham Eastern Tennessee book. This may be my new favorite ride. Lots of tight fast single track descents. There was definitely some climbing involved, but it felt like you got back twice as much as you put in.