Fat Guy Cycling

Journey to Bicyclopolis

2005-04-29T15:01:00.000-04:00

The Car Busters site has a work of fiction set in the post-oil future of 2076, called "Journey to Bicyclopolis". It is from a graphic novel in progress by Ken Avidor.

This bike shop mechanic in Bicyclopolis even has a cat. At least this fictional future isn't all bad.

Seat Post Problem Solved

2005-04-19T18:32:00.000-04:00

I took my seat post to B&E Cycles for analysis. Erik looked at it and determined the problem was the seat post was put on backwards. Just to be safe, he ground out the grooves where the swivel part of the seat post meets the post part for a better grip. I got it back tonight, only $9.15 for labor.

Peak Oil

2005-04-18T22:23:00.000-04:00

I've been thinking a lot about Peak Oil recently. I'm reading David Goodstein's book Out of Gas. There is even a Peak Oil blog now.

The more I read about Peak Oil, the more I think bicycle commuters are freakin' geniuses. It is a shame that suburbia is set up around cars.

Armstrong will retire

2005-04-18T16:04:00.000-04:00

This just in from CNN/SI, Armstrong says his next TdF will be his last Tour.

Lawyer Cyclist Falls Off Bike - Sues Everyone

2005-04-18T06:26:00.000-04:00

"James Leone is suing the Toronto Outing Club and its Kolapore Uplands Wilderness Ski Trails Committee as well as the Town of The Blue Mountains, the Grey-Bruce Trails Network and the province for an accident he had while mountain biking last August."

First ride of the season

2005-04-17T10:24:00.000-04:00

So I rode the bike today. It was sunny, and I figured I could get out early enough so that not many people would not see the Fat Guy cycling.

After about 0.5 miles, I had pain in the balls. I got off and checked my saddle, and it had pitched up from horizontal. I whipped out the Target hex key set, made it vertical, and off I went. Same thing about 0.5 miles later. I adjusted it back to horizontal, and banged the saddle a little forward. Seemed OK, but at the end of my ride, it still was pitched up a little. Any other large bike riders have saddle experiences to share?

Engineers love data:

Distance: 1.61 Mi
Time: 11:40
Avg Speed: 8.3 MPH
Max Speed: 14.2 MPH
HR (Before/After): 90/137 BPM, still 102 after 0.5 hours

Not a terrible ride, even if I spent more time getting geared up, getting the bike out past the cats, and down/up the stairs than I did riding.

Note: I would have ridden further, except for the extreme PAIN IN MY BALLS from having saddle pitch up after every half mile. My legs and lungs were fine, the boys weren't.

Athletics is mental

2005-04-12T21:56:00.000-04:00

This might come as a shock, but all through elementary school, junior high, and high school, I was never very good in gym. I wish I could climb the rope, and someday I'd like to do a pull-up.

Until recently, I've always though that I had a physical limitation, but now I realize it is indeed mental. I got a bike that I rode 5 miles last year because I think I am pretty bad at cycling. I joined the Y the first of the month, and I haven't gone yet because I think I will be out of place.

I need to clear that mental block.

Relapse

2005-04-12T21:50:00.000-04:00

I relapsed pretty hard today. So far I've smoked 10 cigarettes in 3 hours. One of my friends did something to piss me off, and I needed the "comfort" of cigarettes. The funny thing was earlier today I had the concious thought that I did not want a cigarette, the first time I had that thought in a while.

Oh well, guess I'll have to try quitting again.

Weave a Bike

2005-04-12T21:30:00.000-04:00

The NY Times had an article today about the Extreme Texiles exhibit at the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum. The article talked about fibers being woven into bicycle frames, but all I could find the Cooper-Hewitt site was some carbon fiber wheels.

If a woven fiber bicycle frame ever becomes available commercially, my bro will be one of the first to have one.

Warmer weather causing more people to hit the streets, paths

2005-04-12T06:52:00.000-04:00

From the Penn State student newspaper, here is an article about people biking more because the weather has turned nicer. Insert comment about Fat Guy being a slacker here.

New Seat Post

2005-04-05T23:39:00.000-04:00

Is it seat post or seatpost? I can never remember.

I hated my seatpost shock, so fixedgear hooked me up with a conventional seatpost. Actually, he hooked me up with the complete seatpost hop-up kit, consisting of a Solo cup of grease, a latex glove, and a handy plastic bag to carry it all in! It took me a while, but I had to install the new seatpost since he went to so much trouble. I learned a little grease goes a long way.

I decided on 1.09 x inseam as the distance between my pedal at the top of the seat, and I used my torpedo level to level the seat. I just eyeballed the seatpost yaw.

Day 4 not smoking

2005-04-05T23:32:00.000-04:00

I had a relapse about 4 days ago. I broke down and bought a pack of smokes and had some. To be fair, I reset my quit clock on my PC. I didn't smoke the whole pack, I flushed about 7 smokes down the toilet.

I've discovered (again) that even 1 smoke causes you to need to begin the withdrawl process over again. I'm jonesing now for a smoke, but 10 days into my previous quit I wasn't.

How not to be hit by cars

2005-04-03T22:30:00.000-04:00

From Fark, here is a list of 10 ways not to be hit by cars. Some of the comments about the article in the Fark forum are funny.

Yeah, you could be like me and let your bike gather dust and call that way number 11 not to be hit by a car.

Cycling Psychology

2005-03-16T22:38:00.000-05:00

This is from Part 5 of the rec.bicycles FAQ. I thought this was interesting. "Motivation, the last frontier. With enough of it any ordinary person can become a world class athlete. Without it the same person could end up begging for change downtown. Even a tremendously talented rider will go nowhere without motivation. How do some riders always seem to be so motivated? What are the sources of their motivation?"

BMW versus BMW

2005-03-16T22:19:00.000-05:00

This site compares and contrasts the Bavarian Motor Werks and the Brooklyn Machine Works.

The BMW link on the BMW vs BMW site is caput, so I provided an appropriate BMW link.

Die-Cast Bicycles!

2005-03-16T22:15:00.000-05:00

You can never be too rich, too thin, or if you're a serious cyclist, have too much bicycle schwag. Here are some nice die-cast BMW bicycles, and some lesser brands of bicycles also. The John Deere bike is $79.99?!

This guy's bicycle is faster than my BMW!

2005-03-16T21:59:00.000-05:00

From exbyte, here is a video of "SwissRocketman" and his bicycle. His rocket-powered bicycle reaches a speed of 236 km/hr (about 147 MPH). According to the manual, my Bimmer is electronically limited to 128 MPH.

To the Fatmobile!

2005-03-11T12:42:00.000-05:00

I just bought a car that has a steptronic transmission. I used my google-fu on steptronic to learn a little more about it. I came across this post: "Weekend ride: Audi A4, Daily Ride: 90 Pansonic Fixed Gear."

Fixedgears on Fark

2005-03-05T23:47:00.000-05:00

Fark has a link to a story about those "throwback" fixed gear bicycles and the nutty folks that ride them.

Podcasting

2005-03-04T22:08:00.000-05:00

Get yourself a copy of iPodder, and then listen Endurance Radio on your iPod.

One Less Car

2005-03-04T18:53:00.000-05:00

Not to be confused with this admirable group, this post relates to my car, the Sat-Urn. It has given up the ghost. It is not turning over, I hate it, so it is time for a new car.

Yes, I flirted with the idea of going bicycle only.

First Week Smoke-Free

2005-03-04T18:48:00.000-05:00

The combination of cold turkey and Wellbutrin seems to be working. I just passed a week without smoking. Sometimes I feel like a cigarette. Just one. But I know from my previous attempts that just one becomes just one pack, the just a couple packs, then a few years. So I just deal.

I've been walking to work becuase of car problems. I wore a heart rate monitor the past couple of days, and I've noticed a drop in my BPM. I do feel better, I didn't feel as winded on the walk to work.

Le Tour de France for the Playstation 2

2005-03-04T13:36:00.000-05:00

I was doing a GIS for "Bicycling 101" to see if I could pick up some tips, and I came across a link for bicycling video games, including this TDF game for the PS2. I've only seen the PAL version, so it might not be available in the States.

Day 3 smoke-free

2005-02-28T18:30:00.000-05:00

I just passed day 3 smoke-free of my most current quit. 3 days is significant because that is how long it takes the nicotine to leave your system. Also significant was that today was my first work day smoke-free.

I haven't told my cow-orkers that I've quit yet. I want to get a few days under my belt before I say something to them. Some people might have cow-orkers that would supportive of them, mine would have a pool of when I would relapse.

A special shout out to "Beer Bob", my college roommate. When he quit, I knew it was time for me to quit as well. We once had 13 ashtrays in a one-bedroom apartment. None were ever empty.

Day 1 Smoke-Free

2005-02-26T20:47:00.000-05:00

I just completed my first day without smoking. Yeah, one day is no big deal, but it is significant for me as the first few days of a quit are the worst. This time (attempt number 12 since 1999), I am trying a combination of cold turkey, wellbutrin, and medical advice.

Aside from losing weight, I think that quitting smoking is the best improvement to my health I can make. I hit 170 BPM on a test ride of a bike, and I routinely hit 130 BPM walking. I'm hoping to realize a cardio improvement by not smoking.

It got to the point where I was smoking nearly constantly. Honestly, the only way I could have smoke more was to have smoked in my sleep.