Na-na-Nashbar, good-bye!

February 21, 2020

Dear Friend(s) and Family,

I hope that you are loving life.  Although it is a tumultuous time in many parts of the world, hopefully you are having some good rest, relaxation, and/or recreation.  Or maybe figuring out who to support in your local/regional/national elections and/or coups.  

I recently noticed that there was a hole in my pannier, dear Willie, you silly!  It is probably going to get bigger.  

I also recently stitched up the ripped part along the inside of the pannier by using an awl to jab through the plastic reinforcement on that side.  And I have had those panniers for approximately 11 years. They are the best!  I will definitely purchase some more.  What insane, altruistic scofflaw goes about making panniers that last approximately 11 years!  Why the Nashbarians, of course!  Here are the best panniers – oh wait!  I guess Nashbar is part of Advanced Sports Enterprises(ASE) and has filed for bankruptcy, much like Price Point and Shopko before them!?  Well, I guess you know who wasn’t paying attention/supporting one of his favorite bicycle supplies suppliers!  The shame and sadness are with me now.  But the new panniers are elusive.  Let us have a moment of silence for the glory that once was Bike Nashbar.

The website is still operational under new and unnamed ownership.  Hmm.  This pannier special doesn’t look too bad.  May have to pull the trigger on that one before I lose one of my bottles of beer from ye olde panniers before I get a chance to pass it around.

And now, I think I will grab a beer to assuage my current sorrow and perhaps imbue tomorrow with a bit more sorrow.  

The name of the beer is Snowsuit and it was a gift for my belated axe-throwing birthday from my friend Nick.  Thank you, Nick.  I won’t need a snowsuit around here this weekend because temps are supposed to be in the 50s.  However, I am planning on zipping out to sunny Colorado for a ski trip in the near future!  Yes, I hope to have some fun and avoid serious injury since I have only recently felt fully recovered since my self-diagnosed medial condial ligament (MCL) (or somesuch) strain I suffered approximately one year ago.  So that should be fun, and hopefully not too painful. I’ll be sure to give you a long-winded update ASAP.  I will probably also take some video with the high-quality, but slightly awkward to attach and use, Sony ActionCam (GoPro knock-off).  To prepare for my trip, I am thinking about watching a ski-related movie, perhaps one of these?  I don’t know, Ski Party is hard to beat (I think.  The only part I've ever seen was when James Brown stops by in a comfy sweater to get down).

Well, it hasn’t been a bad winter for bicycling.  Just a few missed weeks here and there.  I have thus far only biffed it once (at slow speed on a quiet street) due to some unwelcome black ice.  How has your bicycling habit been?  Oh really!? Please tell me more!  You can always send me a postcard.

I recently went to a film sponsored by the likable Omaha Pedalers Bike Club.  It was Le Ride avec accente sil vous plais.  It is a very good movie, although I appreciated it more the first time I saw it back in November of 2017, I think it was.  The likable Phil Keoghan follows in the skinny tyre tracks of fellow Kiwi Harry Watson who was part of the first small group of English-speaking individuals to participate in the Tour de France back in 1928.  There is allegedly also a book about this event.  It was at this event that I learned about a town famous for its absinthe (maybe Pontarlier

?) and that the annual Omaha bike swap meet will be taking place at the College of Saint Mary on March 8, as noted here.  

Now that those brief introductory paragraphs are behind us allow me to fill you in on some of my latest activities.

1. 1.    In the past I may have mentioned that some of the tight-fitting, sporty boxer briefs are a conspiracy to cause impotence in those who succumb to their comfortable-looking charms.  My first inkling that this was taking place was when I donned these.  Butt my fears have been reinforced by the maiden voyage of these good-looking skivvies.  No wait, I meant these.  
2. 
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4. They were toasty.  
5. 2.    I had a flat tyre so I elected to ride the speedy WYR bike to and from work.  It was, in general, kind of fun.  But it is geared pretty high, which seemed to threaten to cause another bout of hernia, so I good-naturedly hiked my way back up the hill on my way home.  There was a dried leaf on the water bottle holder that seemed to represent the ethereal nature of the seasons and life in general.  
6. 
7. 
   
8. 3.    The geese are back and appear to be eating dried leaves?  Maybe some grass?
9. 
   

So, there you have it. Please give me a call when you get this if you have time for a chat.  Otherwise I’ll be sure to see you at the next soiree avec absinthe, oui?

Ou revoir la revolucion!

Le BSO

Get back! Get close! Get wheel!

January 10, 2020

Hey peeps!

I hope you are better than ever!  Would you like to hear a story of redemption and finding a new home?  I thought so!  Here’s what happened yesterday:

As I was bicycling along, once again I encountered a skittery obstruction.  I say “once again” because I have noticed a few of these lately, generally when I’m in an intersection and/or turning.  Here’s a photographic breakdown:

CC was ready for her close-up, Mr. Demille.

Source of Concrete Chunk (CC)

CC's new place

As you can see, some chunks of concrete have abandoned their former residence in the street and were now to be found on the street.  I snapped a few photos and then I was about to ride off.  Hmmm.  I thought. This is kind of like that time when Peter Parker could have stopped that guy from running off with the money he stole from the pro wrestling promoters who had just paid Peter his prize money for using his unfair radioactive spider-bestowed powers to beat up on big wrestlers who might not have enough skills to hold down any real job, even a job as lowly and humble as a freelance photographer for the Daily Bugle!  Oh Peter. Well, with great two-wheeling freedom come two big wheels of responsibility.  The first wheel stays on the ground and the second wheel in the sky keeps on turning!?  So I picked up that chunk of concrete and transported it to a place that I thought would be better for all.  And that really got the wheels turning.  For example, Paul McCartney and the Wings’ “Get Back”:  Georgin’ left Tucson and bought some California grass.  But (spoiler alert), per Sir Paul’s direction, he went back to where he once belonged.  Similarly, the concrete chunk was returned to an unpaved lot where it can be back to where it once belonged (i.e., closer to its ancestral home of the earth).   

Well, I guess that is where we are all headed eventually.  But, in the meantime, there’s a lot to enjoy, fight, ponder, ignore and/or run away from.  Our Public Works Department and mayor do not seem particularly interested in providing parking spaces for those not motorly-inclined.  Well, I guess I can lock my bike to a tree or a pole or something. No rolling out the welcome mat for the human-powered 2-wheelers. At least the article I read today mentioned that there is an Active Living Advisory Committee (that was not consulted about the bike rack removal) that presumably will advocate for bicyclers and/or pedestrians when they are consulted.  Well, I guess someone’s automobile can now get back to where it once belonged. Enjoy your new resting place.

Love,

BSO

Axe me about the rat

January 4, 2020

Since I wanted to stay off my ass, I figured I should quit my bitching, pick my axe up and get it a flyin’!  And if you are groaning about that bad pun, I hope that you can take my word - it’s not as bad as hemorrhoids!  Oy!  

Well, I had a few friends show up for some axe-tronomically entertaining flings.  

My bro-in-law even scored 3 bulls-eyes in a row.  Each worth 6 points.  Now, if you like, you may please enjoy this video in its entirety.

And now it is the end of that holiday season.  I will always remember it as the year that Snot Jr. made Go-go the Reindeer for our Christmas tree.  

For anyone concerned, you may now rest more easily knowing that my first hemorrhoid flare-up has subsided and I may again focus on more enjoyable concerns.  For example, the Year of the Metal Rat will be here in about 3 weeks!  The metal of Ratt is not my favorite kind of metal; however, this metal rat bikes thread is my favorite!  So what do you think the Year of the Metal Rat holds in store?  I will tell you – it is a year of new beginnings and everyone showing determination in their undertakings.  

So there you have a quick recap of the current situation.  I hope you will enjoy 2020 and use your determination wisely.  Now let’s roll forwards with determination!

Your friend,

BSO

Things seem a bit different

December 24, 2019

Happy Christmas Eve to one and all!  I hope you are enjoying or have escaped some type of festivity.  Things here are fine, thank you for your concern.  I am currently rocking out to the latest Of Monsters and Men CD – Fever Dream.  Of Monsters and Men are a great band and, as you can read here, 

https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/of-monsters-and-men-interview-fever-dream-album-tracklist-tour-dates-a9017221.html

 they just wanted to do something a little different for their 3^rdalbum (I haven't listened to the whole thing yet, but so far I don't like it as much as their first two).  I am doing things a bit differently these days too because I have experienced a few elements that often accompany the aging process, most noticeably to me – hemorrhoids.  So I’ve been staying on my feet as much as possible and, unfortunately, avoiding the bicycle.  Quite a blow to my self-image, forsooth!  Without my bicycling avocation, what do I really stand for?!  Well, now I stand for standing up more than I used to in order to avoid pressure on my anus!  Standing is okay, but not quite as enjoyable as bicycling.  So, Saint Goncalo willing, hopefully I’ll get better soon and get back in the saddle, but I don’t really feel like pushing it right now.  Instead, I am presently content to type bitterly about various events, such as follows:

1. To get my bicycle-related fix without actually bicycling, I went to a local bike shop yesterday and was informed that they didn’t have any single speed bicycles.  They also only had two internal hub bicycles and they were both cruiser type bikes.  I guess there’s not much of a market for a single-speed commuter-type bike here in Homaha! Well, I guess we Omahans are a pretty soft sort who like to take the easy way!?  What have we become!?  Let’s get it together crème puffs!  Time to get competitive and make our fair to middlin’ city more bike friendly!  
2. There has also been a bit of a kerfuffle related to the city of Omaha’s idea to remove a bike rack that had been put in a past and current automobile parking space.  It apparently could contain 12 bikes or 1 motor vehicle, but not both.  Well, it has been said that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, but that is a statement that is subject to interpretation and nuance.  In this case, there are certainly more automobilers than bicyclers moving about Omaha at any given time.  However, up to 12 bicyclers could use a space that is now only able to handle one automobile that, in many instances, carries a single individual.  If the city wants to provide transportation options now and in the future that are not exclusively based on inefficient fossil-fuel-powered motor vehicles, they should stop defaulting to installing as many motor vehicle parking spaces as possible.  It is like the monocultured, stereotypical all-American lawn that is unhealthily filled with Kentucky blue grass and perhaps some fescue – needs a lot of water, fertilizer, and herbicides and is generally expensive to maintain.  The manicured lawn does not promote a healthy ecosystem, nor do streets that are exclusively automobile-centered make safe, healthy neighborhoods.  It is time to come to terms with the reality that auto-centric cities are eventually a dead end.  We should be building healthier neighborhoods and cities that encourage more sustainable transportation choices. Here are some cities that have done a good job of providing transportation options:  https://www.wired.com/story/most-bike-friendly-cities-2019-copenhagenize-design-index/  Oftentimes, articles cite technological development as promising progress in the realm of sustainable transportation.  However, it is also possible to improve sustainable transportation by relying on the classic technology of bicycles.  Or even the absence of technology by walking.  

Well, I will cease my grouchy rambling for now and hopefully I’ll be in a better mood next year when I’m back on the bike!  

Let’s get together soon. Missing you,

BSO

Fixing the Bastard

November 26, 2019

I hope you are enjoying some mild and/or wild weather/activities.  I have had a few repairs to make on ye olde Bastarde.  I was experiencing some unconscionable chain skipping both before and after replacing my drive train.  So, I took a pretty close gander at the chain tensioner and noticed it had some lateral slop that I felt might be contributing to several occasions of the chain falling off the sprocket.  I was not enjoying unpleasantly anticipating the jarring sensation of a chain toss whilst striving mightily to reach the peak of some of the hills that constitute my 500 total feet of climbing that I endure on a daily basis!  Egads! Egads, indeed!  So I easily removed the semi-circular lock washer needed to fiddle with the chain tensioner attachment bolt and slapped on an outer washer to limit lateral slop.  

Then I struggled to reattach the lock washer and managed to launch it off into a corner of the garage somewhere where it landed clinkily.  I am guessing it’s not really necessary, I might just have to tighten up the bolt every so often.   Then I took out a link on the chain to keep it taut like a tiger wrapped around the tensioner and sprocket.  And thus far it seems to be keeping things in-line!?  Yes!?  Update:  mostly great, one minor chain skip on a climb after several days of riding, so it's certainly much improved but not as perfect as it used to be.... maybe I'll invest in a Surly Singleator one of these days to see if they're any better.

Here's another modification that I recently installed:

Why would I do such a thing?  Hmmmmm.  Well, just write your answer on any unused or lightly used bike component and send it my way and I'll let you know if you're right!  Or just wait until you get to the bottom of this ramblingly incoherent piece of .... prose.  

In other tedious/exciting news, I finally replaced my rear bicycle tyre (a much beloved Maxxis Overdrive Elite with approximately 10,000 miles on it that I have been thinking about replacing for slightly less than a year) with a new Serfas Drifter 1.5-inch diameter tyre!  

So I’ve gone from a 1.75-inch diameter tyre to a 1.5-inch one and the ride feels slightly more nimble, but less cushy.  I am curious to see how it holds up during the wintery weather conditions that surely await, like the gaping maw of a sprocket-chewing Siberian tiger.  Update:  back tyre spun out a bit during some standing climbing in the slush this eve, but not too bad and probably would happen with most tyres.  Since I took the corners quite wimpily I am not sure about cornering, but no big problems.  

As you might notice, I've only installed the rear tyre thus far because my trusty olde Maxxis Overdrive Elite front tyre still has some tread left and I've been busy caulking the driveway.

In other potentially more relatable news, I’ve taken to singing loudly and/or reciting a poem quietly whilst bicycling merrily to and fro.  Here are my 3 main selections:  

Barrett’s Privateers

Lowlands

Kubla Khan

I also throw in a couple others from time to time, mostly “Blowin’ in the Wind” when it seems appropriate and the parts of “Wraggle Taggle Gypsies” that I recall, not to mention the anthemic "Waltzing Matilda."

 Now, at long last, here is the reason I applied some grip!  to my handlebar.  It's the heavy, floppy if unrestrained, Dayblazer 800.  

The strap didn't really keep this heavy piece of hardware stable.

 At first I tried the ubiquitous inner tube wrap, thusly:

But it was still prone to shifting downwards when I heedlessly unleashed the Bastard on some moderately (relatively) steep hills here in the haha.

So, there you have a summary of my activities recently.  Happy Thanksgiving and Black Friday!  Let's enjoy to whatever degree we can!

Your loving BSO-ha!

Get pumped for Octobre de futbol!

October 5, 2019

Hello again!  What is happening in your neck o’ the woods? Here in the OMA, I am on my own at the homestead with a delightful seasonal beer and a mildly celebratory mood.  

The Huskers managed a hard-fought victory against the respectable Wildcats of the Northwest in a sport we refer to here as el futbol de Estados Unidos y Canada Solamente.  As you may be reminded of by my pobre espanol con tilda, it is Hispanic Heritage month, and also Breast Cancer Awareness month, among others.  So I am hoping there are many notable and/or enjoyable things you are currently experiencing too.

One thing I noticed the other day was that something looked different on my usual commute.  

Well, it’s been a bit soggy around here lately. I also think this area may have been over-irrigated, resulting in shallow, weak roots.  

I also decided to treat my trusty old winter bicycling jacket with some unidentified, but possibly PFC-free, chemicals.  

Ye trusty olde jacket is an Illuminite jacket that is so damn good that I am wondering why they made it so good because I may never have to buy another one because it’s so damn tough!  In other product-related news, I am sorry to say that the Bontrager Flare-R I obtained a while back (fall 2017) did not completely hold up over the past couple of years of regular use. It still works, but it will only work on the flashiest of its 5 or 6 modes.  That is fine with me, since that’s the one that I use the most, but I am guessing there might be some other users out there who have different (i.e., higher) standards than I.  

I have recently noticed that ye Olde Bastarde is having a few extra quirks.  For example, even after replacing the drive train there’s an occasional chain skip.  Although I am sure it’s some problem that I introduced myself whilst replacing the components, I can’t help but think that maybe an awesome, sweet, new, affordable single-speed bicycle with plenty of clearance for some sturdy, reliable tyres might be pretty fricking great.  But, on the other hand, me and OB have some pretty deep roots that keep us up and get us around obstacles on the trail.  Maybe I’ll just order a bigger chain ring next time to keep the chain further away from the crank splines to minimize resistance. When it comes to old bikes, in my experience there’s usually a solution, although it isn’t always easy and frequently a bit humbling.  But life and el futbol de Estados Unidos y Canada Solamente, amongst other sports, can be that way too, right!?  

Buenos noches y Octobre (con upsidowno exclamaciones marco)!

-El BSO (& el Bastarde con accentes)

Turkeys on the roads

September 15, 2019

Hi gang!  How are you all?  

How is the two-wheeling going?  I hope you said well, or something even better.  My own wheels are still spinning along merrily enough, I reckon.  There have been a few bicycle-related events that I’ve noted recently:

1.    The city of Bellevue is spending $20,000 to remove bike lanes

2.    A kid riding a bike across a busy intersection in Blair was hit by a person driving a semi-truck and killed

3.    Sarah Johnson closed her Omaha Bicycle Co. store

These events range from somber to tragic and it just sometimes seems that our local transportation opportunities and options are forever limited to a rather narrow rut, that of the auto-man empire.  Bike lanes were installed along Fort Crook Road in 2013.  The current mayor has apparently had enough of them.  

Despite the impending doom of the Bellevue bike lanes, there ModeShiftOmaha had an interesting post showing bike lane use of the Fort Crook corridor using a Strava heat map.  The heat map, as I understand it, does not show how fast people zoom along this corridor on their 2-wheeled carbonized zoommobiles.  Instead it illustrates volume of use over a given time.  Once I had observed this post, it made me reevaluate my lack of Strava use over the past one year or so.  I stopped using Strava awhile back because I stopped signing up for various cycling-related challenges because the one in Omaha was discontinued.  Also, activating the app right before leaving for my bike rides may have contributed to the temporary loss of my phone and/or wallet because I may have absent-mindedly ridden off without zipping the lid on my pannier after stowing the phone there?  Anyway, the simpler the better, as far as I am concerned.  Hence my penchant for single-speed bicycles and sending postcards to convey thoughts and/or ideas.  However, if pro-bicycling organizations might possibly use Strava data to support the expansion of bicycle-friendly bike infrastructure, then maybe I should re-activate!  So I did. 

The fatality in Blair happened shortly after another incident in which a child was struck by a person driving an SUV and killed while attempting to cross a street in downtown Papillion.  I hope that we can make these and other intersections safer so that these types of things don't keep happening.  I am guessing there are a few things that could be done to help.  It seems obvious to me that we can't always rely on attentive drivers avoiding collisions with small humans.  Although I would gladly defer to others who have studied these types of intersections, I have often thought that it would be nice to have a few intersections marked as pedestrian/bicycle routes with a yellow diamond sign and maybe some blinking lights.  

Sarah Johnson has been and, I am fairly confident, will continue to be an inspirational proponent for improving bicycling opportunities here in Omaha.  Although I have only met her a couple times, she is extremely personable and relatable and I am always impressed by her accurate and forthright critiques of bicycle infrastructure improvements:  often noted how these measures are mostly feel-good projects that don't substantially add to the bike-ability of our fair to middling city.  Thank you SJ.

So those are a few of the current bicycle-related events I’ve been noticing lately.  

Another thing I’ve noticed lately is that I am weaker and suckier at mountainous bicycling than ever before!  My last foray out to Tranquility Park I decided to ride from my home to my friend Rich’s home prior to hitting the dirt.  I felt kind of tired after my 6 or 7 mile ride to Rich’s place, and that may have contributed to how hard and often I hit the dirt – thrice to be specific! That might not seem like a lot to some, but my appetite for crashing has diminished quite significantly recently. I’ve got responsibilities, I recover more slowly than I used to, and I just haven't gotten out to do much mountainous bicycling lately, which makes me rightfully not-very-confident in my ability to get rad.  Fortunately no injuries to speak of, just a few scrapes and a fair bit of dirt.  

So, to summarize, the turkeys are trying to keep the bicyclers off the roads.  

But the bicyclers can use Strava (and similar apps) to push back against those turkeys and bring the auto-man empire into compliance with the Allies’ Complete Streets (and similar) programs that are attempting to prevent adding to the severity of ongoing problems with growing cities and growing numbers of automobiles.  Also, the bicycler is like the scrawny suburban fox that prowls largely unnoticed, but is able to swiftly jump over lazy brown dogs and, when the time is right, might successfully make a meal out of those delicious wild suburban turkeys!  

Or at least a goose.

Foxily yours,

BSO