I'm in the library presently. I really should be finishing the ten page paper that I haven't researched for and have only written two bad pages for. But I'm not going to. It'll get done, and reflection is good for the soul. I know this isn't really bicycle related. There's not much going on there at the moment, what with finals and my procrastination. I'm very much looking forward to getting home and being able to spend all my weekends and as much of my weekdays as possible in the saddle.
It's hard to believe that in a few short weeks, I'll be heading up to Providence. Thinking about it makes me realize how much work I still need to do. There's my fundraising to top off, my presentation to prepare, and all the odds and ends with the bicycle and gear like re-instaling my cyclocomputer and buying biking socks. It's somehow exactly how I envisioned the last few weeks being and not at all what I'd hoped for. The stress is still motivating, however, and that's a comfort. The second it gets to be more hindrance than help is when I start freaking out. Stress seems to be the order of the week though, with the end of the year at my front door. The sobering fact that I'm coming up on my last year of university life makes the prospect of biking monotony and sublime scenery and fellowship with young people all the sweeter. Reflecting on how the summers following this one will be indelibly different from all the summers I've experienced in my life so far also makes it special. Bike and Build is, really, the death knell of my young, carefree summertimes. But what a glorious end it will be.
Peace Out Hombres!
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Monday, April 21, 2008
Obligatory Rant Post: Helmets
I'm afraid I don't have any real spectacular news to report of late, but I did want to update. For anyone out there that might get some sort of amusement from my sardonic humor, you might do better to wait for another post, because this one is mostly housekeeping, and then a dash of indignation. We'll start with the housekeeping.
I'm pretty much there, on all fronts. That's pretty cool to be able to say. At the moment I have about four hundred dollars left to raise for the trip. I still have a few people that I need to solicit, and I chose the word solicit intentionally, from like Jake and his parents and my Brother and possibly his girlfriend. And I have at least two donations that're heading towards the mail as I write this. That said, with those donations, I'll either be all the way to four thousand dollars or so close that I don't mind dipping into my own wallet to close the deal. So that's pretty cool, although it'd be wicked cooler to be able to say that I was done with fundraising.
I also scheduled a physical for the fourteenth of May, probably the last time I'll see my family physician before he moves his practice out west. I'll miss you Dr. Mugol! The only thing left besides buying a few more necesities is to get crackalacking on my presentation for the trip, which is on government housing. I know next to nothing about them, except that they haven't really worked. Now onto the long part of the post... the angry.
I don't understand why people don't wear helmets. Not only on my college campus, but in the world at large. My cyclist roommate doesn't even wear his helmet unless he's out on the road. A lot of girls tell me that they don't want to ruin their hair. I get the feeling that people feel... ehh, dorky, unfashionable, etc. wearing helmets. Well, I can tell you, there's nothing uglier than a head split open on the pavement. I've seen it. For me the trade-off isn't worth it.
I started really thinking about this whole issue when I went on a ride with Jamie out onto 33, and she had no helmet on. We were going like thirty miles an hour down a hill. I'm no physicist, but I get the feeling that your skull would break if it hit concrete at that speed. She told me later that she doesn't wear a helmet because that way I won't ride too far ahead of her when we go on rides. It's true, I don't. Because I don't want to have to call 911 while I'm out on the road. The fact of the matter is, helmet or not, I'll probably have to make that call or have that call made for me at least once if I continue road cycling.
Cycling is inherently dangerous. Most sports are. Then again, most sports don't involve cars. The argument that wearing a helmet still doesn't guarantee you'll survive a wreck is a valid one. There are plenty of other things that can kill you during a bicycle wreck than just head trauma. But it's the exact same thing to say that even if you wear a seatbelt you could still die in an automobile accident. Yet everyone I know wears a seatbelt in the car, but I almost never see a bicyclist wearing a helmet. So where's the disconnect? I'll chance a guess and say that it's because there's a law in Virginia against not wearing a seatbelt. It took me seeing a neighbor hospitalized for spilling his brains out on my pipestem to keep me in a helmet every time I got on a bike.
So, long story short, seeing a cyclist without a helmet on really grinds my gears. Cause you're pretty much asking for brain damage. If that's what it takes, that's what it takes.
Peace out Hombres!
I'm pretty much there, on all fronts. That's pretty cool to be able to say. At the moment I have about four hundred dollars left to raise for the trip. I still have a few people that I need to solicit, and I chose the word solicit intentionally, from like Jake and his parents and my Brother and possibly his girlfriend. And I have at least two donations that're heading towards the mail as I write this. That said, with those donations, I'll either be all the way to four thousand dollars or so close that I don't mind dipping into my own wallet to close the deal. So that's pretty cool, although it'd be wicked cooler to be able to say that I was done with fundraising.
I also scheduled a physical for the fourteenth of May, probably the last time I'll see my family physician before he moves his practice out west. I'll miss you Dr. Mugol! The only thing left besides buying a few more necesities is to get crackalacking on my presentation for the trip, which is on government housing. I know next to nothing about them, except that they haven't really worked. Now onto the long part of the post... the angry.
I don't understand why people don't wear helmets. Not only on my college campus, but in the world at large. My cyclist roommate doesn't even wear his helmet unless he's out on the road. A lot of girls tell me that they don't want to ruin their hair. I get the feeling that people feel... ehh, dorky, unfashionable, etc. wearing helmets. Well, I can tell you, there's nothing uglier than a head split open on the pavement. I've seen it. For me the trade-off isn't worth it.
I started really thinking about this whole issue when I went on a ride with Jamie out onto 33, and she had no helmet on. We were going like thirty miles an hour down a hill. I'm no physicist, but I get the feeling that your skull would break if it hit concrete at that speed. She told me later that she doesn't wear a helmet because that way I won't ride too far ahead of her when we go on rides. It's true, I don't. Because I don't want to have to call 911 while I'm out on the road. The fact of the matter is, helmet or not, I'll probably have to make that call or have that call made for me at least once if I continue road cycling.
Cycling is inherently dangerous. Most sports are. Then again, most sports don't involve cars. The argument that wearing a helmet still doesn't guarantee you'll survive a wreck is a valid one. There are plenty of other things that can kill you during a bicycle wreck than just head trauma. But it's the exact same thing to say that even if you wear a seatbelt you could still die in an automobile accident. Yet everyone I know wears a seatbelt in the car, but I almost never see a bicyclist wearing a helmet. So where's the disconnect? I'll chance a guess and say that it's because there's a law in Virginia against not wearing a seatbelt. It took me seeing a neighbor hospitalized for spilling his brains out on my pipestem to keep me in a helmet every time I got on a bike.
So, long story short, seeing a cyclist without a helmet on really grinds my gears. Cause you're pretty much asking for brain damage. If that's what it takes, that's what it takes.
Peace out Hombres!
Monday, April 14, 2008
Parts Paranoia
While I was climbing a hill today I noticed something disquieting. My bike's making weird noises. At least when I steer it does, and sometimes when I pedal. It's probably not a bad sound; no gears grinding, not the sound of something breaking. At least not yet. Right now it's just sort of squeaking with an eerie musical quality when I turn my handlebars and when I pedal. But like any new parent, I worry often, even over the small stuff.
I've been meaning to have the biked tuned up because at the very least the wheels need to be trued by now. You can tell that I've done most of my bike riding on a mountain bike by the way that I hop down curbs and hit bumps without even trying to dodge; sorry Jonas, for probably killing your wheels slowly! Somehow I haven't gotten a flat on this bike yet... but with my luck, I'll get one on the way home from class today. But on the tuneup, it's a great time for it. It seems like all of the local bike shops are doing cheap tune-ups for the Spring, and that's exactly what I want. Might as well, since the trip's only *gasp* less than two months away. Ohhh, and on the bye and bye, an old childhood friend donated today and told me that she'd sent the website to her mom so she might donate as well. Turns out her friend John's on the Northern Route and when she went to donate to him, she noticed I was on the trip and donated to me too! So thanks Laura for your donation, and thanks John as well. Because if you hadn't been on the trip, I might not have gotten any money either!
I've been meaning to have the biked tuned up because at the very least the wheels need to be trued by now. You can tell that I've done most of my bike riding on a mountain bike by the way that I hop down curbs and hit bumps without even trying to dodge; sorry Jonas, for probably killing your wheels slowly! Somehow I haven't gotten a flat on this bike yet... but with my luck, I'll get one on the way home from class today. But on the tuneup, it's a great time for it. It seems like all of the local bike shops are doing cheap tune-ups for the Spring, and that's exactly what I want. Might as well, since the trip's only *gasp* less than two months away. Ohhh, and on the bye and bye, an old childhood friend donated today and told me that she'd sent the website to her mom so she might donate as well. Turns out her friend John's on the Northern Route and when she went to donate to him, she noticed I was on the trip and donated to me too! So thanks Laura for your donation, and thanks John as well. Because if you hadn't been on the trip, I might not have gotten any money either!
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Mono Scare!
No, I didn't think that I had it. But when one of my roommates had a fever and a sore throat and achiness and lethargy, and the health center thought it might have been infectious mononucleosis... I flipped. "Sure," I told myself, "it's probably strep. I shouldn't even worry about it because our health center is dumb." But then I got into the what-if thinking. What if it is mono? What if I catch it? What if, after raising four thousand dollars and putting in the training and doing all the freaking work... I don't get to bike across the country? I turned into a germ nazi for twenty four-ish hours. I wouldn't breathe near him, I wouldn't touch half the stuff in the apartment because I knew that he might have touched it or coughed on it or thought sick thoughts on it or something. It was probably a little extreme, and he probably wanted to kill me since he was sick and all I really cared about was not getting sick myself.
So I'm selfish. Any strangers reading this blog now know this to be a fact. At least my selfishness was completely unfounded, because he has strep. And I can handle strep. Strep doesn't put you out of commision for like a year. I think I've got some apologizing in the form of chicken soup and roommately concern to do for my roommate Will. But at least this cloud has a silver lining. Which is more than I can say for the rainclouds outside.
Peace Out, Hombres!
So I'm selfish. Any strangers reading this blog now know this to be a fact. At least my selfishness was completely unfounded, because he has strep. And I can handle strep. Strep doesn't put you out of commision for like a year. I think I've got some apologizing in the form of chicken soup and roommately concern to do for my roommate Will. But at least this cloud has a silver lining. Which is more than I can say for the rainclouds outside.
Peace Out, Hombres!
Monday, March 31, 2008
Adventures on the Metro
I'm no stranger to the Metro at all. I've grown up taking it into and out of the city, and usually it's a very enjoyable ride. This past weekend was not one of those time. Let me paint the scene for you. A million tourists who aren't familiar with the Metro, that's a million screaming kids and families, stressed out city-dwellers, and angry sports fans. And me, with a bike in tow. See, I don't think anyone had realized that the day of our training ride was also the opening day for the Nationals, the Marathon, and the Cherry Blossom festival. Needless to say that there were a million stares of white hot hatred all aimed at me and my bike when I pushed my way into the train at the Vienna Metro stop. I tried to stay optimistic, to ignore all the angry grunts and glowers. I figured, 'Hell, I'm allowed to bring this bike on the train, and all of you chose to come in on the Metro today. Tough'. But that still didn't make getting off the orange any less tricky. It was sort of like giving birth, with all of these people trying to push into the train while I was exiting. The red line was far more enjoyable, with a pair of nice ladies who let me block them into their seats with my bike because they were riding to the end of the line. Thanks strangers!
Through some act of God I managed to get to Bethesda on time, relatively. I had to call Josh, an alum who helped plan the ride, and meet him on the Capital Crescent Trail. We didn't remember to describe each other, so he passed me before doubling back. Needless to say, I was only ten minutes late to the house to start the ride. The ride itself was fun; I was very impressed by how cyclist friendly the area was. Lots of "Share the Road" signs all over the place. I missed a turn during the ride, so I lost my spot as the lead. Thankfully, the road dead-ended pretty quickly and I was able to get back on the right road just as Josh was pulling onto it. The route was fun, no horrible climbs, except at the end. Josh asked Roger, a cyclist on the Southern Route, and I if we were up to a last challenge. I should have said no, 'cause it killed me. The hill didn't have a bad grade, but it was a long one. I barely made it up.
Afterwards we had a barbeque, which was legendary, compliments of Eleni. We beat the girls back home by a good half hour, partly because Eleni had never been on a roadbike, had platform pedals, and was stuck in her highest gear in the casette. Essentially, she had a lot going against her. I was incredibly impressed that she finished the ride at all, and in great spirits. I doubt that I would have fared so well. I heard some great stories, met some cool riders, and learned a few things about cycling. Then I got back in the Metro.
In terms of unpleasantness, I'd say the return trip won the prize. I had a very unpleasant woman scowling and snarling at me for about thirty minutes, before she yelled at me, "don't touch me with your bike", and stormed off swearing. This gleaming example of humanity was later overshadowed by someone yelling at myself and several mothers pushing strollers to "move" into an elevator. I'll just close by saying, next training ride, let's check the event calendar.
Peace out Hombres!
Through some act of God I managed to get to Bethesda on time, relatively. I had to call Josh, an alum who helped plan the ride, and meet him on the Capital Crescent Trail. We didn't remember to describe each other, so he passed me before doubling back. Needless to say, I was only ten minutes late to the house to start the ride. The ride itself was fun; I was very impressed by how cyclist friendly the area was. Lots of "Share the Road" signs all over the place. I missed a turn during the ride, so I lost my spot as the lead. Thankfully, the road dead-ended pretty quickly and I was able to get back on the right road just as Josh was pulling onto it. The route was fun, no horrible climbs, except at the end. Josh asked Roger, a cyclist on the Southern Route, and I if we were up to a last challenge. I should have said no, 'cause it killed me. The hill didn't have a bad grade, but it was a long one. I barely made it up.
Afterwards we had a barbeque, which was legendary, compliments of Eleni. We beat the girls back home by a good half hour, partly because Eleni had never been on a roadbike, had platform pedals, and was stuck in her highest gear in the casette. Essentially, she had a lot going against her. I was incredibly impressed that she finished the ride at all, and in great spirits. I doubt that I would have fared so well. I heard some great stories, met some cool riders, and learned a few things about cycling. Then I got back in the Metro.
In terms of unpleasantness, I'd say the return trip won the prize. I had a very unpleasant woman scowling and snarling at me for about thirty minutes, before she yelled at me, "don't touch me with your bike", and stormed off swearing. This gleaming example of humanity was later overshadowed by someone yelling at myself and several mothers pushing strollers to "move" into an elevator. I'll just close by saying, next training ride, let's check the event calendar.
Peace out Hombres!
Friday, March 28, 2008
Gear Nightmare
It finally happened. I literally dreamed of Bike and Build last night. It wasn't really a nightmare, but I'd hardly call it a sweet dream. Dream me was convinced that the trip started tomorrow morning, and that I didn't have all the gear necessary for the ride. Apparantly dream me had already raised the five hundred odd dollars that I haven't yet, as well as had a physical. I should do both of those things post-haste. But this blog is about the gear. I have some of it, all of it given to me by family and friends out of the kindness of their hearts. The inventory, off the top of my head, is as follows:
3 pairs of biking shorts and three jerseys given by my brother (purchased off a website whose name escapes me... siera something.com. Probably not enough panels in the shorts, honestly. I'll splurge on a really good pair closer to the trip.
1 bike and build jersey (the donor gift that someone received and GAVE to me!)
Clipless pedals/cleats/clip in shoes (The pedals are compliments of Chris, the cleats and shoes compliments of myself)
Ergonomic saddle (Christmas present from Chris... freaking awesome gift, my butt thanks you)
Hydration backpack (Christmas present from my parents, and my first Northface item ever... I feel so trendy)
1 inner tube (that's the wrong size...nice try Mom, but no cigar)
1 cyclocomputer (an old purchase of mine, that I will transfer from my mountainbike to my roadbike)
1 flasher (so people can see me in the dark... if they're approaching from behind)
1 Helmet (because I've seen a guy split his skull on my pipestem)
I think that pretty much rounds off the list of "haves". The rest of this post will comprise of a wish-list, also off the top of my head, that I hope will be small. As of right now I need:
Two water bottles and cages
A multi-tool/tire levers/etc
A good, compact pump I can attatch to my bike
A long sleeved jersey for the cold
A saddle bag to keep my junk(food) in
inner tubes that will actually fit in my tires
Wow, and I think that's it. Pretty cool. I'd also love a pair of pricey shades to make me look cool, but that's a want not a need. This post will probably be edited as I remember more stuff that I don't have. Until then.
Peace out, Hombres!
3 pairs of biking shorts and three jerseys given by my brother (purchased off a website whose name escapes me... siera something.com. Probably not enough panels in the shorts, honestly. I'll splurge on a really good pair closer to the trip.
1 bike and build jersey (the donor gift that someone received and GAVE to me!)
Clipless pedals/cleats/clip in shoes (The pedals are compliments of Chris, the cleats and shoes compliments of myself)
Ergonomic saddle (Christmas present from Chris... freaking awesome gift, my butt thanks you)
Hydration backpack (Christmas present from my parents, and my first Northface item ever... I feel so trendy)
1 inner tube (that's the wrong size...nice try Mom, but no cigar)
1 cyclocomputer (an old purchase of mine, that I will transfer from my mountainbike to my roadbike)
1 flasher (so people can see me in the dark... if they're approaching from behind)
1 Helmet (because I've seen a guy split his skull on my pipestem)
I think that pretty much rounds off the list of "haves". The rest of this post will comprise of a wish-list, also off the top of my head, that I hope will be small. As of right now I need:
Two water bottles and cages
A multi-tool/tire levers/etc
A good, compact pump I can attatch to my bike
A long sleeved jersey for the cold
A saddle bag to keep my junk(food) in
inner tubes that will actually fit in my tires
Wow, and I think that's it. Pretty cool. I'd also love a pair of pricey shades to make me look cool, but that's a want not a need. This post will probably be edited as I remember more stuff that I don't have. Until then.
Peace out, Hombres!
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Training Ride
I think that the older I get the more atuned to stress I get; this is to say that I am no longer debilitated by it, but am motivated by it. This is one of those weeks, for sure. Last weekend I thought that I was over the hump; I'd done three presentations, written a paper, and completed a midterm the week before. Well, I was wrong. My professors informed me at the start of this week that I have another paper to write by tomorrow and an exam on friday. My syllabus could have told me that too, if I was still reading it. The icing on the cake is that I needed to somehow get to Staunton and Bethesda on Friday and Saturday respectively. Those two were the worst to figure out because I am now sans-car.
I really liked the fact that I didn't have a car anymore for a while; less stress, no one piggybacking home with me, no gas to buy, the clean conscience that I wasn't killing the Earth everytime I turned the ignition. Then reality set in; I need to go see a play in Staunton on Friday night for an english class; I should have done it earlier, I know. Lacking a car is really inconvenient when neither of your friends, nor your significant other (cause I feel better about using him), have a car either. Thankfully it got taken care of. Then there was the whole deal with Saturday, which explains the title of this post.
I was contacted recently by a B and B alum who's planning a training ride and bbq on Saturday for D.C. area riders. It starts in Bethesda, and I really want to go. As luck would have it, Chris ate it on a ride through a mountainbike course and cracked his kneecap, and consequently needs to go back to Alexandria to get an x-ray on Saturday. I guess I should say, as unluck would have it. Either way, it looks like my problem there is solved because he can drop me off at the metro with my bike and I can metro in. I'm pretty excited, because this whole thing was pulled off by the skin of my teeth. Here's to hoping I don't get lost!
Therefore, I've decided that I thrive on stress, because I haven't even thought twice about any of this stuff; I just got it done. I'm now confidant that I can get through crises without skipping a beat. Now I just have to finish writing my eight page paper, which I put off in order to write this blog post.
Peace out, Hombres
I really liked the fact that I didn't have a car anymore for a while; less stress, no one piggybacking home with me, no gas to buy, the clean conscience that I wasn't killing the Earth everytime I turned the ignition. Then reality set in; I need to go see a play in Staunton on Friday night for an english class; I should have done it earlier, I know. Lacking a car is really inconvenient when neither of your friends, nor your significant other (cause I feel better about using him), have a car either. Thankfully it got taken care of. Then there was the whole deal with Saturday, which explains the title of this post.
I was contacted recently by a B and B alum who's planning a training ride and bbq on Saturday for D.C. area riders. It starts in Bethesda, and I really want to go. As luck would have it, Chris ate it on a ride through a mountainbike course and cracked his kneecap, and consequently needs to go back to Alexandria to get an x-ray on Saturday. I guess I should say, as unluck would have it. Either way, it looks like my problem there is solved because he can drop me off at the metro with my bike and I can metro in. I'm pretty excited, because this whole thing was pulled off by the skin of my teeth. Here's to hoping I don't get lost!
Therefore, I've decided that I thrive on stress, because I haven't even thought twice about any of this stuff; I just got it done. I'm now confidant that I can get through crises without skipping a beat. Now I just have to finish writing my eight page paper, which I put off in order to write this blog post.
Peace out, Hombres
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