Domestic blissification and plastic warmth

February 27, 2013

So what is it that you are shaking, movie and shake-makers?  Hmmm.  Yes.

I have observed that having a child will often cause changes in a person's behavior.  I now stay home even more than usual.  I glue my shoe soles with Seam Grip.

I used to love me some Seam Grip, but now I hate it.  They only had the big bottle at my local specialty outsidey shop.  It cost me $21.50 worth of my gift certificate.  And it only lasted 2 or 3 small mending parties?!  It solidifies.  Maybe I could have melted it back into it's supple, flowy goopiness if I'd taken the time to set it in a pot of hot water.  But instead I reamed it with a screwdriver and punctured the side of the tube!  Ach!  Now you've done it, sport-o, now ye've stuck yer tube where ye shouldn'ta!  Ach!  The shame!  The vapory, sticky shame!   I hear Shoe Goo works just as good and is way cheaper.

I stopped by my bicycling friends' place after working for a day or so at the mutual fund raising campaign office.  I gave them a cheap cigar to celebrate/brag about the birth of our baby son awhile back.

It was there that I scored this fat bag of used baby threads.

Cha-ching!  Chris said, "It looks like you!" as he handed me a plastic bag for my sweet haul of baby power suits.  I didn't know what he was talking about.  But then he explained that with my clear plastic rain coat I looked a lot like the bag of clothes.

I was also informed that Olympia Cycles is having a chili feed on Saturday.   So much fun out there, so little time!  Better make the most of it.  Might wanna fix up them shoes and score some sweet-ass baby clothes!  Now this is living!

Slushy snow day fun!

February 25, 2013

Do you ever go out for a bicycle ride and discover that you are having even more fun than you anticipated?  Yeah, I know!  Me too!  Today I came out of my place of working and began propelling myself homewards.  My departure was delayed somewhat by a zipper blowout on my trusty Illuminite jacket.

Damn.  Well that replacement zipper only cost me $20 and lasted 3 years, so I'd say that was money well spent that I will spend again as soon as I can make it over to the tailor's.

My ride home felt nice and warm.  I got to a multi-use path entrance from a street and popped a wheelie and rode happily through the fluffy, slushy snow.

Ahhh!  So nice!  This was an enjoyable interaction with the occasionally treacherous entity we here in Mexico's fluffy snow-capped umbrella of USiness call "snow."  I knew it was a magical moment and I think this faerie or nymph that appeared to be returning to its tree-home was an exclamation point to the sentence of transcendence I had received.

Onward I slowly sped with renewed vigor.  I enjoyed the squishy sound the tyre and slushy snow combo produced as I rolled carefreely yonwards.  Now this is living!  Not sure how long these fantastic snow conditions will last, but it's a lot cheaper than skiing!  Yaaa-ho!  Yes I am sure that I am not the first to compare bicycling on snow to skiing on snow.  And just like skiing, there are many ways to approach bicycling on snow.  You've got your finesse riders.  They might bunny hop or portage from time to time (kind of like moguls?).  Completely unabashedly, I might and will add.  But that ain't me and the fat Old Bastard.  We plunge heavily forwards with a substantial quantity of momentum.  Measured in Fat figgin' Newton minutes.  Like a short round kid on skis that are taller than him.

So I hear there is a bicycle-oriented movie called Reveal the Path that will be shown at Aksarben Cinema on February 28 (social hour at 6, flim-flamming at 7).  Sponsored by Omaha Pedalers.  I will plan on attending and meeting you there.  Always fun to get out and relate with other bicyclers.  I might even bring a slushy snowball to playfully pelt someone with before pointing innocently at my neighbor!  Yay!  Let's get bikey!

Cheap shots and cheap single speeds

February 24, 2013

A friend of mine recently inquired of me as to what type of bicycle I would recommend for him for "less than $300."  This is not an easy question for me, since I don't usually keep track of the latest types of bicycles available.  My first thought, since my friend lives in the Wichita area, was a  single speed.  Not many hills around.  Usually a little better bang for your buck in this genre.  Now I am going to check some reviews and see what I come up with.

Here are my picks in order of preference/preferance (avec accentes):

1. Nashbar Single Speed Cyclocross Bike (currently $349) - I know it's not technically less than $300, but hey, that's a pretty low cut-off point.  Kind of scary to mail order a bike, but I've been pretty happy with all of the stuff I've purchased from the big N.
2. Nekkid 4 Road Bike (currently $299.99) - same comments as above, except actually is less than $300.
3. Redline Monocog 26 Singlespeed  (MSRP of $419.99) - Yep, way above the price range.  But you might actually be able to find one of these bad boys and take it out for a test ride.  Plus it looks bomb proof.  Or at least bomb resistant.
4. SE Bikes Draft Single Speed Road Bike 12 (currently $199.99) - Crazy cheap, yo!  Might be alright?
5. SE 29" Big Style ($299) - Cruiser?  Maybe, if you don't wanna go too far.  I'm guessing it would get kinda uncomfy for longer sojourns...
6. Check Craig's Listing of Deals (CLOD) for some deals.  I think my buddy paid around $300 for a Trek Soho S (single speed, chain drive) that seems pretty okay.  
7. Got some time, bike tools and an urge to tinker?  Get a cheap ass steel frame from a used bike shop/garage sale and convert it to a single speed with one of the many single speed conversion type kits.

On the opposite side of things, I heard the big handmade bicycle convention/jerk-off took place this past weekend.  I hope it was a blast... in yer face!  Yukkity yuk.  I know, I shouldn't make fun of cool-ass shit that I can't begin to appreciate with my cretinly tendencies.  But I'm snotty like that.

On the local scene I have recently been informed by my wife (a non-cyclist who is generally better-informed about local bicycle-related events than I), that there is a bikeswap occurring in Benson this upcoming weekend 11 a.m.-4 p.m. March 3 at the Bancroft Street Market near Lauritzen Gardens.  Sounds fantastic!  And a little less snooty than the handmade handjobbering hoe-down.  But I'll be wearing my safety glasses just in case.  See you there!

Oh, and I saw Premium Rush a few days ago.  Fun flick.  But, as usual, I have one gripe - where the F are the safety glasses!  I have never ridden a bicycle in NYC, but I imagine it's gritty and fumey.  I was very nervous throughout most of the film because I was worried about the actors eyeballs.  Also I would have liked someone to consummate some kind of sexual relationship in some sort of way.  Preferably while riding bicycles.  But I guess that's a different sub-genre of bicycle flim-flams.  The only time I tend to rush is close to bedtime.  Speaking of which... sweet dreams and see you next time!   Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. 

Winter of my content

February 21, 2013

Well I'm glad to be back home.  I went away for awhile to find my place in the sun.  My place in the sun turned out to be sunny, but also dusty, as shown here.

Hotel window sill/shelf, closed yet dusty.

I also saw this sweet-ass chariot of the gods lounging nonchalantly in the lobby of the gas station near the airport in Amarillo.

The blade attachment for mowing your lawn is optional, but highly recommended.

While in this part of the world, I of course made it a point to stop by the Blackwater Draw Museum, where I observed some of the Clovis points fashioned by the Clovis people around 9,500 years before present (B.P.).  Although the Clovis people did not use bicycles (as far as we know), they were supplanted by the fierce Folsom people who rode about on what may have been primitive roller skates.

Times have changed in the area formerly inhabited by the Clovis people.  A forested area is now a desert.  So, also, do times change for we, the USian, et al, peoples.  Returning from a sojourn often makes me even more sentimental than usual.  I rode past a place that had recently changed from this

to this.

Yes, the times, they are, ch-ch-changing.

And then on my way home the same place looked like this!

I'll give you a hint.  It's a restaurant.  Down under-styley, mate!  Crikey, it's the Outback!

Whoa!

I noticed it was snowy, but I just had to get out for a spin.

My time on a pair of Folsom roller skates had just not quite been as satisfying as my trusty time aboard the Old Bastard.  While cautiously navigating the slopey suburban streets, I heard someone say, "Why is someone riding their bicycle?"  I looked about curiously for this moron, only to realize it was possible that I was the subject of this tirade!  I would have responded, "Why are you talking about someone riding their bicycle instead of riding your bicycle?" or something equally bland, but I was too busy keeping my wheels underneath me.  Plus snappy retorts are not my forte.  Lengthy rambling, as you may already have gathered, is.  So grab yourself a nice toddy and peruse, or not, as you wish.  It is kind of wintery now, but I hear there are some springy events coming up.

Last year I enjoyed the inaugural Empyrean 5K Run at Camp Carol Joy Holling, and they are doing it again this year!  Yes, March 2 is the day for this hilly bundle of trail-running excitement/adventure.

There is also the usual Blarney Stone 5K on St. Paddy's Day, as well as the Leprechaun Chase [sold out] (or some such).  This event pits boys versus girls in the dream we all dream of - the world series of love.  Sort of.  The lithe lassies get a head start, then the wiry lads have a go at overtaking the lassies.  The triumphant gender (individual winner's gender) gets free drinks!  Ay!  Sounds like a pot a' gold ta this laddie/lassie (depending on who triumphs).  I will be prepared for either eventuality (possibly due to my tenure as a boy/girl scout as an impressionable youth/youthette).

I would ramble incoherently for quite awhile longer, but I just picked up Premium Rush from my neighborhood  video dispensing robot/friend.  Oh yes!  I think I've finally found a place in the sun (in my basement on a snowy night)!  Yabba-dabba-do-do-dooty!

Hiatus and thankfully sobering

February 2, 2013

Happy G-hogging, G-hogs and hoagies.  I hope your day has been as exhilirating as mine.  Here's what I have accomplished today - I copied and pasted a thank you letter into Pentax's customer service webform.  Thank you letters are something I had to write after every Christmas, birthday, graduation, and interview I enjoyed/endured as a wee snotty youth.  Now they are something that I occasionally e-mail out when I feel motivated/compelled to do so.

 

I am still working towards becoming a more sober bicycler, and part of being sober is being thankful for stuff.  Because if you are thankful enough for stuff, you probably won't want to risk it unneccesarily just for kicks.  As part of my gradual detoxification, I am now jumpy, incoherent and afraid of my own shadow, which I feel is a step in the right direction.  So here is my usual annual/perineal perennial posting of the lovely musical composition known as Groundhog Day.

 

 

And here's my communique to Pentax.

Dear Pentax,

I love my Optio WG-1.  I read a review of the Optio W90 in Outside magazine online (November 01, 2010) and, after damaging my previous digital camera during a bicycling event, figured the rugged WG-1 would be perfect for me.  Well it is, and its many features are useful and fun to explore.  We have had many memorable experiences together, most recently the following:

I had embarked upon my evening commute homewards amidst rapidly thickening snowfall.  I was snapping a few photos for my bicycle commuting blog (Bike Snot OMA) and generally enjoying the wintery environment.  As the snowfall increased the multi-use trail disappeared, rendered indistinguishable from the surrounding grass by a uniform blanket of snow.  I took another photo, giddy from the added challenge of safely maneuvering on the occasionally slick, ice and snow-adorned pavement.  A few more, slower than usual, cautious descents and I was nearly home.  The snowfall continued to increase, so I reached into my pocket to record some video of the fat flakes seemingly suspended in the slate gray sky.  It was then that I noticed my left pocket was turned out.  Definitely not a proper storage compartment for my trusty WG-1!

It was easy to back track for a while.  But soon my tracks were obscured and my gloves were nearly saturated as I rode into a stiff north wind.  No sign of the camera at my last photo stop, so I dug through the snow for a few minutes before turning back homewards to prepare for our trip to the hospital for the birth of our son the next day.

Three weeks later the mercury hit 52 degrees Fahrenheit, it had rained steadily for a day, and the snow cover had been mostly liquefied and absorbed by the thirsty soil.  I had switched to car commuting due to illness.  On my way home I got out to check for my camera at my last photo stop – a longshot, I figured, but I was emotionally attached to my WG-1 and I didn’t really want to have to buy a new (or used) one, what with the new kid and all.  I’d assured my wife that the camera would still work if I found it – it is water and “adventure-proof” after all!  I’d probably just have to wipe it off and recharge the battery if I recovered it. 

The camera was lying there atop a melting ridge the plow had piled alongside the trail!  I could hardly believe my luck!  I happily picked it up and joyfully walked back towards my car.  It eventually occurred to me to try the power.  The screen came to life and the battery still showed about a ¾ charge!  Some slight condensation on the lens cleared up after about 2 hours in a warm environment. 

Thanks, Pentax, for making such a reliable, versatile camera!  I would’ve bought another one, but I’m glad I didn’t have to.  My next one, if I ever need it, will be a Pentax!

                                                                                                Bike Snot OMA