Year's End

Well here we are at the end of a really crappy year. A tsunami, two hurricanes, a big earthquake, floods, fires, endless war. Tell me where God fits into this. If there is a God, he's a really big asshole. Freud said "If I met God, I would show him the bone of a child with cancer and say "Explain this, sir". That's about how I feel on the subject. Now, on to the rest of my year-end wrap-up.

I met my mileage goal for the year (5200 miles) back on the 17th of December. Yay! Riding more is something we all talk about but don't always do. It was hard reaching this goal and I'm glad to have met the challenge. I started noticing sometime in late summer that I really was faster and stronger. Hills got flatter and longer distances didn't seem quite as daunting. I guess that's the real pay-off.

I've ridden about 35 or 40 miles since then. I hadn't intended on trailing off so dramatically. The weather has been unbelieveably wet and nasty. So I did something that is a bit of a novelty for me. I drove. Almost every day. Driving really is a pain in the ass. I did get a lot of stuff done I wouldn't have if I was riding. I was able to do some Christmas shopping and general errand running. Tricky by bike even when the weather is nice. Cars are truly a necessary evil. I hope to one day expunge this evil from my life.

Here are some things I tried and liked in 2005:

Schmidt Dyno Hub & E6 headlight - Is there anything as elegant as generating your own electricity? Awesome light. How about an LED version? Better connections would be nice too. Made in Germany.

PrincetonTec Eos headlight - Helmet or handlebar mounted, incredibly bright. A new, powerful defensive weapon in the War on Careless Drivers. Made in USA.

Light & Motion Vega - Bright, compact, long life on one charge. Once they figure out how to focus the beam it's all over for Halogen and HID lights. Made in USA.

Showers Pass Rain Jacket - I wore this jacket on a 2 hour ride in constant heavy rain today. The only thing that was dry when I got home was my jersey. Good stuff! Made in Taiwan.

Limar 911 helmet - Easily the most comfortable helmet I've ever had on my head. Made in Italy. Bella!

Pedro's Road Rage Chainlube - Good wet weather protection. Keeps chains quiet, too.

The Golden Age of Handbuilt Bicycles by Jan Heine. Buy this book now! His obsession pays big dividends to anyone that cares about the history of cycling. Incredible photos, excellent backrounds on the bikes. Really nicely done.

I'll add more bike stuff as it comes to me.

The year in music wasn't especially that great for me. The Jayhawks may have broken up. Hot Club of Cowtown may have broken up. My two favorite bands, damn it!
I saw the Stooges back in September at Bumbershoot. My son shook Iggy's hand! How cool is that! I wanted to see the Stones but the ticket prices were outrageous.
The death of WinMx is a real bummer. I'm glad I used it while I could.

Happy New Year to anyone who actually reads this. I don't know if you're out there but, there you go. Drop me a line sometime.

And finally, George Bush is a lying sack of shit! And so are all of his pals!

Really Bright Lights (and their idiot users)

Now, is it just me, or are there a whole lot of stupid riders out there with really bright lights? The new generation of HID (high intensity discharge) lights are just ridiculous. They were developed for 24 hour off-road racing, not the freakin' bike trail! Now there are batallions of dumb asses out there blinding the rest of us. And they get pissed when you tell them to dim it. Freakin' morons! I don't like having them (the lights) in the shop. It's like selling bad manners. They cost too much. They probably get them mail order, anyway.

Now, on to more pleasant things. I've become obsessed with the idea of owning an Independent Fabrications Ti Club Racer. We're a dealer so I would get a pretty sweet deal. It would still be spendy but, I could sell a lot of stuff to pay for it. I could get down to 2 or 3 bikes, even. My wife's tone is "I'll believe it when I see it."

This requires much soul searching and strategizing. The IF bikes are all customs so I'd get the bike of my dreams and probably the one I'll be riding for the rest of my life. Not that I plan on dying any time soon. I'll post events as they unfold.

Oh yeah, Bush is an idiot.