Empathy Test

Worth your while.

2008-05-08T20:37:00.001-05:00

Cycling writing at it's finest. Give it a read.

Commuter Clinic - May 12

2008-05-07T09:40:00.002-05:00

Bike to Work Day is coming up on Friday, May 16th. If you are in the Frederick area and interested in riding your bike to work, but hesitant or unsure about what's involved in bike commuting, come out to The Bicycle Escape at 6:30 pm on Monday, May 12th, and find out. Tips and tricks of transportational cycling, and the good scoop on local conditions. Hope to see you there.

Clipper City

2008-05-01T09:04:00.002-05:00

One of the SSOFT sponsors is Clipper City Brewery, located locally in Baltimore. The other day some of the Outlaws and friends got together and rode over to do a tour. I have been neglecting the Fixed Quickbeam lately, so I took it. Gears have made me weak. That's all I have to say about that. The tour was very interesting. I kind of knew the general steps involved in making beer, and have helped homebrewing friends in making a batch or two, but it was really cool to see it on a larger scale. It was even better to have the tour given by the boss, Hugh Sisson, who shared his extensive knowledge and love of the craft with us. Test tastings to prime the pump before the production floor walk through, and more tasting after were excellent. I enjoyed hearing about what steps were needed to achieve a specific taste, and a short discussion about which elements went better with which foods. After the tour we rode back to out starting point and enjoyed Jay's hospitality with more beer (Clipper City, of course) and some excellent pizzas. I was coming back closest to Frederick, so I gave SSO a lift part way back home, since his lovely bride was heading to a riding event over on the Eastern Shore. I dropped him in New Market, where we both remarked that the forecast thunderstorms had not shown up. Once he was on his way and I was heading towards Libertytown, I could of course see those clouds moving in from the west. I'm pretty sure that he beat the rain home. Whoops.

I took a couple of pics. So did Joe and Steve.

Leesburg Bakers Dozen

2008-04-23T10:51:00.003-05:00

20 years ago I was living in Houston, TX, going to trade school to become a commercial diver. One day I came across an article in a cycling magazine about these guys with fat tired bikes riding off road. I had to get one, and after a false start with a quickly disintegrating department store brand, I got to a bike shop and picked up a Diamondback Ascent. Riding a lot in Memorial Park, I met some folks who were racing and got involved in a couple of bike races. I came in last in all of them.

That was my last racing experience until last weekend. Several of the Outlaws were planning on doing the Leesburg Baker's Dozen 13 hour endurance race. Kevin was looking for a couple of partners for a 3 person team and I told him that as long as he didn't expect to be competitive, I'd like to take part. Tony R. stepped up as well. So the three of us became Team Mostly SSOFT.

The course promised to be very good. Not any "real" climbing, but enough short steep ups to make me hurt. Roots, logs, rocky ledges and a couple of drop offs in the woods, combined with rutted tracks in the fields made for a harsh time on the rigid riders hands and wrists. I geared from my usual 32x22 to 32x18 on my 29"er Monocog and hoped for the best.

I took last Friday off from work and met several Outlaws at the Farm where the race was to be held. We established our hole in the wall headquarters near several groups of friends. Kevin, Joe, Jon S. and I took a pre-ride of the course and I had a spectacular endo where I landed dead on the top of my head. That made two pre-rides and three crashes. I wasn't very encouraged. Friday night was quiet. Just Brian J. and his barbecued chicken, and me and my keg of Peg Leg Stout, provided by outlaw sponsor Clipper City. It worked out OK.

Saturday morning was spent getting ready. I made myself a nice breakfast of sausage and eggs while everyone started to arrive and get prepped. Since Tony wasn't yet there on Friday, Kevin and I had voted him as the lead off man. He took it well. 11 AM came and the race started. Tony rocked his lap and Kevin headed out. Then he was back and it was my turn. I was a little nervous. How embarrassing would my performance be? I was tense and getting jarred all over the course, but riding OK. Down by the river I hooked a root with a pedal and was jolted off the bike onto the toptube, narrowly missing the jewels. Yikes! That made me cautious on several of the drops and rocky ledges, but I plugged away. Passing riders were almost all really cool, announcing their presence and asking to pass. I tried to accommodate them as soon as I could. Soon I was around.

Lap 2 was a lot better. I knew what to expect and just rode away. I was still psyched out about the two real drops, walking them both, but happy with the rest of the course. My times were nothing to brag about, but I was having a good time.

Lap 3 was my best lap from a riding perspective. I hit all the obstacles and when I got to the drops I was tired and just pissed enough to go for it. Scary, but I rolled them both. I wasn't the only one getting tired. Lots of the folks passing seemed to be in short temper. Screw 'em.

I started lap 4 well, but one the way around started to feel a lot different. I was wearing out quickly. I walked a couple of the steep climbs because I couldn't keep the momentum to roll them. I still rode the drop offs though. I'm pretty pleased about that. The pine plantation sections were very cool and kind of creepy as dusk was approaching. I got back to the staging area and passed off the timer chip to Tony.

I fully planned to go out again for at least one night lap, but sitting there food and beer were calling. Ricky and Jo brought a ton of good food, and Tom and Danielle were in camp for a visit as well. While sitting there pondering both hamstrings cramped up, so I decided I'd had enough.

I cleaned up a bit and changed while Tony rode a lap, then Kevin and then Tony twice more! But we were all done by 9:30, even with two and a half hours more available to race. Hanging around with the outlaws and company was just a blast, watching the riders still out on the course passing by in the dark, drinking beer, talking bikes, eating good food. Even though things were clouding up abd a few showers passed over, it was a great time. Midnight came and went and the last riders out on the course were finishing up their laps, the bonfires were lit and the band was playing, so we all wandered over to the fire. I was feeling pretty toasted by the miles and the beer, so I only hung around a little while before heading back to my tent and crashing. I missed the awards for the winning riders. Team Mostly SSOFT came in at 37th place out of 48 teams in the 3 male category.

Sunday came in gray and dismal. I woke about 6:30 am and was up and about packing to beat the downpours. I got my stuff away, but the rain hit hard while bringing in the team gear. Everyone got a little wet, but it was still a good time. On the way home in a hard rain, some semi along Rt 15 just before I got to the Maryland line, kicked up a rock and cracked my windshield.

If you are reluctant about racing, find a good group of friends to make it a great experience, and give it a shot. It's not about winning.

My photos are here.
Other photos are:
Official Race Photos
Jay D.
Gary R, who took the above photo and actually made me look good!
SSO
Jon S.
Tony R.
Ricky D
Todd B

So true. Sigh.

2008-04-09T14:11:00.003-05:00

Why I love the interwebs

2008-04-07T13:42:00.003-05:00

View Larger Map
Maybe I'm easily amused by the little things, but sometimes I love the interwebs. I get to surf over to cool places like riding forums in different languages. And when I come across a photo that looks interesting, even though it's about a place I've never been (and probably never will, though I can dream), I can track it down on a map and check it out, even look at an aerial photo of the building in question, and have some fun at guessing of the exact location of the photographer when they took the picture. Now, pre-internet days I could do much the same with magazines and atlases (and they retain their own particular charm), but there is something pretty cool about having it at your fingertips.

Like I said easily amused. Why do you love the interwebs?

Pump Track Update

2008-03-31T10:32:00.003-05:00

So Jake was walking by on our shared driveway when he saw me feebly scratching at the track. Next thing I know he was over with his Bobcat, and we really pushed some dirt around. The whole thing is much closer to level, and we can work some more on drainage and sculpting the berms now. Thanks Jake!!!

Went to ride the Leesburg Baker's Dozen course preride too. It is a lovely course. Wooded singletrack with not too much elevation change, lots of cool rock outcroppings and logs. I'm signed up on a three person team for the April 19 race. Hope I don't die. I had a slight mishap on my first lap, so sat the second lap out while my riding buddies had more fun.

Number One Son turned 13 this weekend! He is now a surly teen. Woo Hoo!

Trailwork and other stuff

2008-03-17T10:58:00.002-05:00

You know, for someone as lazy and shiftless as me, I sure keep busy. Had relatives in town last week, and every evening had something. How am I to get my 12 hours sleep? Saturday was errands and beginning to get the yard maintenance started. Spring is close. Sunday I did yard maintenance at Gambrill State Park. Hence the alluring photo of a water bar above. Trek was having a demo day up there and I took a moment fro m trash picking to check out the Hi-fi. Nice. But pricey. Maybe sometime.

After I left the park I took my son to get his basketball team's trophies. Divisional champs. Also nice. Go Ian!

SSPBE 08

2008-03-03T11:57:00.003-05:00

Every year, after suffering through the Single Speed Punk Bike Enduro, I tell myself I'm really going to buckle down and be in better shape for the next one. Every year, I miss the boat. I did manage to pace myself a bit better this year (meaning I held everyone up), but it never gets easier. This year a couple of things did break my way. One was that the field was huge, like 50 people huge, with people of normal riding abilities scattered about. That meant I wasn't all alone at the back. Two, flat pedals. Working out very well. Three, MTB fenders. Kept a lot of gunk off.

I also saw friends that I don't see but a few times a year, and I met some folks whom I know via the internet, but had never met in person. Cool. Nice to meet you!.

Thanks to Joe, Julie and the volunteers, Clipper City Brewing, and Avalon Bikes for some swag. See you next year, and I'm really going to buckle down and be in better shape for it...

Dirt Road Database

2008-02-28T12:25:00.003-05:00

James at Ride Lugged has started a very, very cool effort to create a database of dirt roads. Blog here. Maps linked from there. Great opportunity to collaborate and leverage all this ridiculous technical potential of these interweb tubes. Get over there and add to it.

Movement

2008-02-28T09:32:00.003-05:00

I've been slowly moving my photos from Fixing Frederick over from my own limited space website to Flickr. This lets me put the full size photos up instead of a 400 pixel size. I have yet to relink all the photos on the ride reports to the new location, but I'm chipping away at it.

In the meantime, I got out on Sunday for a short ride in Jefferson.

Ups and Downs

2008-02-20T08:11:00.004-05:00

You can't slack on your riding to one or two times a month and then go out for a 30 miler and expect to have no aches and pains at the end, but at least I seem to recover quickly. Since SSPBE was postponed due to the deplorable condition of the trails, I got permission to do a road ride on Monday. Yea! I'm slowly winding up the roads in Middletown and moving south. I went up to the interesting War Correspondent's Memorial in Crampton's Gap, and followed the length of Gapland Rd. through Burkittsville and in and out of the many small stream valleys which make up the larger Middletown Valley. Good stuff. More ice and snow coming this week, so maybe the trails will be frozen enough to ride. Some Photos are here.

Nice, Snow Ride

2008-02-13T14:14:00.003-05:00

Actually, Ice, No Ride. Tuesday I was off work and going to meet up with Cory and maybe a few others to ride in the Middletown area. Snow overnight Monday would have been OK, but the weather just got worse all day, with the snow turning to sleet then freezing rain. We hemmed and hawed for a bit then bagged the ride. I ended up doing pretty much nothing all day, which is a nice change once in a while. Since I blew off riding on the weekend because I was planning to ride Tuesday, I'm behind my plans. Hopefully there will be some good riding this upcoming three day weekend, in between kids aikido, soccer and basketball and the inevitable honeydoos. This morning there was even more ice. I thought about going in to work, but once again opted for the telecommute. I like that option.

Sheldon Brown, RIP

2008-02-04T15:08:00.001-05:00

There is a notice on the Harris Cyclery site that Sheldon Brown has passed away. I didn't know him personally, but I had exchanged emails with him a couple of times, and I feel as though I've lost a good friend. My first try at converting a bike to fixed gear was made easier with information from his site. Indeed, I even used a model of bike he had converted himself. The Harris site is an amazing resource of biking information mainly due to him. He had been in declining health for some time, but this is still a heavy blow. The cycling community has lost a champion.

Reno Monument

2008-02-04T10:32:00.000-05:00

I was able to take advantage of some nice weather and a lack of kids' sports activities to get out and ride. Once more I opted to explore some of the Middletown Valley, first heading south for a bit then northwest to climb South Mountain. I saw a couple of other riders out enjoying themselves and lots of motorcyclists taking advantage of temps into the fifties. I went up to the Reno Monument, and checked out all the civil war Battle of South Mountain info there.

Since I knew I'd be doing a hard (for me) climb, I took the geared bike. I'm trying some changes on this one.

I finally got a triple back on. Low gears. Yeah baby!

I removed the front rack and have the bar bag attached to a threadless stem below the regular stem. This allows me to bring the bag down and in, which seems to me to be a better location than stuck way out off the front, or down too low like it was on the rack. I can vary the exact location with length and drop of the 2nd stem. The stub bar in the stem shifted on the ride, but a quick tightening of the faceplate bolts fixed it fine. Placement of the light is now more problematic, but I'm playing with options.

To get that all to work, I put on a pair of sidepull brakes on the front. Ta Da! No more cable hanger needed, and now my front and rear brakes match.

I'm also trying flat pedals. For the type or riding I do on this bike, the minuscule efficiency advantage afforded by clipless is outweighed by the ease of use and walking advantages of regular shoes. I like it fine after a bit of playing around to keep the wider heel of my sneakers from hitting the crank. I'll have to ride a bit in all my shoe options to see which I like best. Still using clipless on the fixies for foot retention, but I've put flats on the singlespeed as well. A recent discussion on a local board about this stuff made me realize that people get pretty religious about rationalizing their equipment decisions, so let me add: Your Mileage May Vary.

Lastly, I added new yellow bar tape. I'm going to shellac it to try to match the color of the honey Brooks saddle, but haven't yet.

Telecommuting.

2008-02-01T22:14:00.001-05:00

An ice storm just brushed my area today, enough to close schools because of the impact in the higher elevations. Since I knew it was coming, I chose to telecommute. Sometimes that can be nice. Today, with the kids around, it was a little busier. The view is out my window at about noon. The ice is mostly gone, the rain is falling and the creek is up. We had about 2 inches of rain, about half of our monthly average in one shot. Welcome to February.

Tis' the season.

2008-01-29T11:35:00.000-05:00

I'm not an accountant, but I support a bunch of them, and it's tax reporting season. So I'm pretty swamped at work and not hitting the roads or trails. Once all the forms and files get sent out, and maybe my own taxes get done, I'll be riding and writing again.
But don't let that stop you. Go ride!

Snow fun

2008-01-18T10:47:00.000-05:00

I've started spending the gift certificate I recieved for Christmas. One of the first things I wanted to do was to try a front disc on the Monocog. I got it on the bike over the weekend, but didn't take it out until last night. We've had our first snow for 2008, and it was time for some backyard snow biking fun. Nice!

Worst bike design ever.

2008-01-11T11:43:00.000-05:00

Found this on Modern Mechanics

From the clip: "It is believed the new machine will produce speeds far in excess of anyting yet accomplished."

Heh. How's that working out for you?

Monkey Love

2008-01-09T11:46:00.000-05:00

A couple of years ago, back when I was shopping for a new bike, I was seriously interested in the Surly Karate Monkey. I went to order one, and I couldn't find one around. Surly had some supply pipeline issues and they were scarce on the ground. I ended up getting my Quickbeam, which I love, but I've still had the tiniest jones for a Monkey.

Why? I'm not entirely sure, but I think because it might be the most versatile bike made.

The KM is ostensbly a 29"er Mountain Bike. But it seems to me to be so much more. Just what do you want?

Internal Geared/Geared/Single Speed/Fixed? Rigid/front suspension? Flat Bars/ Drop Bars? Disc brakes/v-brakes/cantilever brakes? Fenders and racks?

Here are a couple of shots stolen shamelessly from the interwebs to show the broad range of Monkey choices.

Geared MTB

Single Speed MTB

Fixed Gear MTB

Internal geared MTB

Expedition/Loaded Tourer.

Bombproof Commuter

Roadbike.

About the only use I haven't come across it being used in is in randonneering/brevet riding, and I suspect that someone somewhere IS out there doing that. UPDATE: Yep I was right. This blog mentions somebody doing a 300k on one.

Check out how some of the blogs whom I regularly visit use their monkeys.

Nine Mile Skid

Blasphemous Bicycler

Lockring not included

It is not a perfect bike. For example there are some front derailleur clearance issues. Also it is not sold as a complete bike, perhaps because of all the configurations you can do to it, but for the price, it just seems like a really good deal.

Now all I need is for someone to give me one.

2008

2008-01-04T12:40:00.000-05:00

Well, 2008 has arrived. We made it. The past year was harder and sadder than many past years, and although I had some wonderful times, I'm not sad to see it go. The last week of the year was busy, with Santa being good to all of us. I scored some good biking stuff which you may see more of in the coming weeks, as well as some nice non-biking stuff. On Christmas Eve I got out for a nice ride with Joe, Julie and Alex. First real ride on the fixed in months and my thighs were toast for days afterward. I could barely go up and down the stairs.

After Christmas we headed out to visit family in Ohio and had a good time there as well, except number one son had his cough turn into bronchitis while out there. We went straight to the doc when we got back and he is recovering now, but I sure hate seeing him get sick.

Friend Jake came over the other week to provide some mechanized help on the pump track. The slope of the hill was proving to be just too much for feeble pumpers like myself to overcome, and even the fit guys had trouble making it on the uphill section, so we are leveling it a bit. Then it got wet and sometimes frozen, so we will wait a bit to redo all the berms and banked turns.

After excellent festivities at sister-in-law Amy's place New Year's Eve, I slept too late to do any of the group rides planned for New Year's Day, so I went to do some more Fixing Frederick in Middletown.

I might note that I completed 955 roads in 2007, leaving just 785 (plus a few new ones not yet accounted for) to finish. So that is my ironclad 2008 goal. Finish Fixing Frederick. All the other old standbys, like save weight and loose money, are still out on the fringes, so I'll chip away at them too, but I'm wrapping up the roads project this year!

All the best for 2008!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

2007-12-24T23:03:00.000-05:00

Wishing all of my family, friends, teammates and casual visitors an warm and happy holiday season. Your support helps me ride like the wind!

I'll be back after the New Year!

Cheers!

Things I should've done, Things I had to do, and Things I shouldn't have done.

2007-12-20T10:06:00.000-05:00

A week of wrong choices. Over the weekend we had been planning to visit some very good friends who live about an hours drive away. Unfortunately the weather forecast was for a rain/sleet/ice/snow mix to move through in the afternoon and overnight Saturday. I really don't like driving in those sorts of conditions so I decided to bail. Wrong call. It didn't even start to precipitate until late in the evening, and then only rain. Serves me right for listening to to what the forecasters say. They can't even get a 6 hour storm track right, but we should believe their models about the climate in 50 years?

Tuesday night there was a beer tasting at Hard Times Cafe. Several of my friends rode over and seem to have had a pretty good time. Me? I went to my daughter's school holiday concert. The music was about what one would expect for an elementary school, but not too hard to enjoy. Those kids worked hard and deserve some props. It was everything else. You have to drop the kids off early, so you are treated to an extra half hour or more in the folding chairs. If you aren't there 60 minutes early, you get to sit in the cheap seats way in back. You know, the seats near the people who haven't taught their additional brats how to behave in public, or who just have to share their cell phone conversations with the surrounding 6 rows. The AC is overloaded 40 seconds into the performance, so the temps steadily increase through the evening. Plus the whole place is some kind of plague vector, with coughing, sniffling and sneezing all around you. Best of all was Video Dad. Now the sides of the auditorium are lined with excited parents capturing the moment on video who realize that they should not block anyone else's view. Just my luck, the brain trust member in front of me couldn't be bothered to have any consideration for those who may be behind him. He just held the camera over his head to tape. I don't think he caught the clue train until the third or fourth time I kicked his seat and gave a hearty "sorry." I hope he caught that on tape. The joys of being a parent are hard to beat. I would have been less subtle if I wasn married to a staff member at that school...

Anyways, back to the weather. Just 15 miles west of me here in Libertytown, and 900 feet higher, is where the rain did turn to ice. The Catoctin Ridge got nailed pretty good, with the whole trees down, power out, winter action. But the several days since then have been in the 40s (in Frederick anyway), so I thought it would be OK to do the night ride in Gambrill. 12 fit bikers and one fat out of shape idiot showed up for the ride. It turns out that all the ice has melted off of the trees, but then fell and covered the trail. Strangest surface I've ever ridden. Ice cubes, but with tons of broken branches and downed trees. Reasonable traction, but tons of resistance. Many of the more technical sections were actually easier with the icy fill between the rocks. The ride was listed as a moderate ride, which I can usually keep up with if I go all out, but I just couldn't cut it last night. It was the most "un-fun" I've ever had on a bike. Any slight gradient up was torture. I couldn't get moving. I was just about ready to swear off MTBs and single speeds for good. Fortunately there was a good bail out point about a third of the way through the loop. I took it. Just yesterday I was waxing enthusiastic about the Monocog, and today I'm reconsidering the whole Single Speed thing. I wish I could afford gears.

This concludes the whining, crying, and general 'pity me' portion of todays blog. Thank you for your patience.

Gambrill Trailwork

2007-12-10T09:30:00.000-05:00

Several MORE, SSO and Clyde from the Trailhouse met on a rainy and foggy Sunday morning to do some trailwork on the Catoctin Blue Trail in Gambrill State Park. We were fortunate to have the sometimes steady rain slack off to a very light drizzle and very heavy fog as we got to work. Of course as the rain left, the temps dropped, but we had work to keep us warm. Post-work lunch at Brewers Alley banished the chill from our bones. The last one of the year I think.

Large Animals

2007-12-04T09:38:00.000-05:00

You may have heard about the Trojan Horse, but have you heard about the Vasterbotten Moose?