Back from Nowhere

Where have I been? Here. I just haven't taken a few minutes to write. Nothing especially exciting has been going on. The Seattle Bike Expo was last weekend. Nothing much new there. It was good to see so many of my friends. In the last few years that seems to be my biggest motivation for going, aside from work requirements. I skipped the Swap entirely. First time in 10 years I've missed it. From what I heard, I didn't miss a whole lot. I'm sure there were some deals to be had and discoveries made. I guess I've gotten to the enviable point where I don't really need much stuff. Just the things that need replacing once in a while. I truly feel Ebay has wrecked the Swap. Just like it wrecked Recycled Cycles. So that's where I usually look for rare stuff anymore. Things I'm interested in show up pretty regularly. Ahh, the Global Marketplace! I still get out-bid most of the time. So, back to the show.... We at TiCycles try hard to have products you don't see in every bike shop in town. For example, we had the Independent Fabrication XS on display in our booth. Retail value approximately $10,000. The bike belongs to the CFO of IF. Really nice of him to loan it to us. We also had some interesting parts. There is a company called PowerCordz out of the Salt Lake City area. They make shift and brake cables that are amazingly light. One steel brake cable weighs as much as all four cables from PowerCordz. I know this smacks of weight weenieism but, it's the cumulative effect that we're shooting for here. Cost is around $160.00, yowza! We also had a set of Lightweight wheels. Yes, the name is Lightweight. Incredibly light, the rear was 900 grams! Incredibly expensive as well, at $5500.00 per set. There doesn't seem to be an end in sight when it comes to performance applications for carbon fiber. A pretty high wow factor for sure. So, consumerism seems to be alive and well here in Seattle Bicycle Land. You can see it at the shop. People coming in looking for their new bike or getting their old one tuned up. Today was quite busy. I'm glad we had 3 guys on. I'm also glad Spring is almost here. Winter is getting to be a real drag. Our recent cold and damp weather makes my back hurt. An Arizona vacation sounds nice to me. Maybe next year.

A Nice Bike Ride

It was a beautiful day here in Seattle. Sunny, 60 degrees. I was off. It couldn't be better. I rode about 45 miles in one of my favorite loops. Saw a few friends along the way, stopped in and visited Kent Peterson at his new gig, generally had a nice ride. Seattle on a nice day is really hard to beat. Even in February. I got home around 4:30 and my wife suggested we try to hit Happy Hour at one of our favorite pubs. By the time we got there the place was packed. So we tried another place. Also packed. By this time I was bonking, having skipped lunch. We finally found a place to go and had a nice dinner. But, I'll tell ya, driving around here at 6PM on a Friday night is an exercise in futility. Places I can ride to in minutes suddenly become unreachable. I hate driving in town. The cartoon above very effectively expresses my feelings on this subject. It's by an artist named Andy Singer. He does a lot of great cartoons , mostly of the social commentary variety. Here is a link if you want to know more:

www.andysinger.com

Check it out.

Seattle is considered one of the places where cyclists and pedestrians are accorded some degree of respect. Maybe I just wasn't seeing it tonight.

Super Blow

Well, the Rolling Stones were good. I think the Seahawks were taken down by a couple of bad calls. Spring Training starts in a couple of weeks.
Woo Hoo! Go Mariners!

Windy Day

Boy, it was incredibly windy here today. Wind gusts of up to 60 miles an hour! We walked around in our neighborhood and generally enjoyed the wind. Got coffee, browsed in book and antique stores, lunch and a beer at a local pub. I also won $24.00 at Lotto. Pretty cool. Then on the way home, Karla finds $5.00! Talk about luck! After we were done with our neighborhood walk, we went down to Golden Gardens and walked on the beach.
The wind was ever fiercer at the beach. You could lean way into it. A little more velocity and I could've gotten some air, I know it! With the high wind there was no recreational activity on the water. I've never seen that before. The only marine traffic we saw was the Edmonds ferry and a tug boat probably headed to a job. It was almost like the lack of air traffic after 9/11. Kinda strange. The spray in the air gave the opposite shores a really distant look. I tried to get pictues but, I don't think our camera is up to the job. Maybe with a telephoto lens. The picture above is one of the nicer ones I did get. The sun and clouds were quite spectacular. Next time we get winds like this I'm going to spend more time at the beach. With any luck, I'll have developed a little more technique with the camera.
We didn't see one cyclist all day long. I think that's another first. The street in front of my house has a bike lane. If there were riders I would have seen them.
Well, I'm riding to work tomorrow. The winds are supposed to calm by morning. We'll be closing the shop at 3 tomorrow. I should get home in time to see the Stones at halftime. According to an ESPN poll, only the States of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Alaska are picking the Seahawks to win. Talk about no national identity. I predict a 'Hawks win. Today's wind felt like it had good news on it. All in all, a really fun day with my wife.

Bike Content

I've noticed a lack of bicycle content the last few weeks. Here is a quickie.

Another Slap at Big Cults

So, I've been seeing this around lately. I'm not big on religion. Mostly, I think the Big 3 are just causing a lot of trouble for the rest of us. The recent Muslim outrage over Danish editorial cartoons is an excellent example. Freedom of speech is a human right. We are here, we exist. God, on the other hand, is unproven. There is not one piece of empirical, incontrovertible evidence, that any deity exists. NONE. And yet, untold millions have fought and died, to this very day, for an invisible being in the sky. In Islam you are not allowed to portray God in any form. This is blasphemy in their eyes. So the Danish cartoons have sparked riots and threats by outraged Muslims. My take on this? Hey Muslim extremists, get over yourselves! You are not in charge here! A lot of people don't believe in any sort of God, let alone your version. Lest you think I am anti-Islam, I feel the same way regarding Christianity, Judaism, and any other cult that espouses their right to rule over others by divine right. I do think of all religions, big and little, as cults. We will never have peace as long as there are conflicting religions. In the film "Kundun" there was a scene in which the Dalai Lama and Mao Zedong were meeting. During their conversation, Mao leans into the Dalai Lama's ear and hisses "Religion is poison." I couldn't agree more. You can call me an agnostic treehugger. Just don't call me late for dinner.

GW Bush is a Christian puppet moron.

GO SEAHAWKS!

Commercial Content

So, if you scroll down and look to the right you'll see a thing from Amazon "What is it?" you may ask. It's a place for you to give me money. Just click it and give until it hurts. You can get one for your blog too. Since hardly anyone visits this blog, I don't expect this to allow my early retirement. I think it's kind of funny, actually. The commercialization of everything is so relentless. You probably heard about the British student that sold individual pixels on his website and raised over $1,000,000.00 for his tuition. I'm amazed by stuff like that. Selling pixels. Amazing. Anyway, I hope you get a laugh out of it.

I missed the State of the Union Address. I completely forgot about it. I really hate President Smirking Monkey but, I really hate missing this particular speech. I'm sure it was inspirational yet, cautionary. Optimistic yet, grave. Mostly, I'm sure it was pie-in-the-sky earwash. I'll read all about it in the morning.

In yesterday's posting I railed against Texas A&M regarding the 12TH Man thing. I mentioned "stupid cowboys". Oddly enough, I raved about a cowboy in the post previous to that. Let me just say, Yodeling Cowboys Good, Texas A&M Cowboys Bad! I apologize if I worried any of you into thinking I could be schizo.

The rain here has been relentless. I'm pretty damned tired of riding in the rain. But, nothing I can do about it. I'll just wait it out like everyone else.

GO SEAHAWKS!!

GW Bush is a Moron!!

Texas A&M, Kiss the Seattle 12TH Man's Ass!

Well, I guess everyone in Seattle has heard about the restraining order handed down by a Texas judge prohibiting the Seahawks from using the 12th Man thing commercially. So Texas A&M owns this and they don't want the Seahawks profiting from it. How incredibly fucking petulant! They've known about this for years but choose the week before the Superbowl to pull this shit! I think it's payback for being a liberal majority state! Stupid cowboy assholes! With any luck, a 9th Circuit Court judge will kill this off tomorrow. Stupid Texans!

Smoke Free Bars

Last Saturday night, January 21st, Me and Karla went to the Tractor to see Wylie and the Wild West. If you don't know who he is, hit the link below:

www.wylieww.com

He's a yodeling cowboy, the real thing. Has a horse ranch in southeastern Washington. He did the Yahoo! yodel. We've seen him 3 or 4 times. It's always a lot of fun. But, the best part was the lack of smoke. This was our first time out since the statewide indoor smoking ban took effect. It was so great! No noxious clouds of secondhand smoke, no need to shower after we got home, no stinking pile of clothes, no headache, no sore throat. We had cut way back on our live music at the clubs because it was so bad. No more! I just hope some of the bands we've missed will be coming around soon. Yahoo Hoooo!

GO SEAHAWKS!

Time to kick some Steeler Ass!

The Bridgestone Posters

Here they are, in all of their crappily photographed glory. Photos by me.

Unbelieveable

If you scroll down a bit you'll see me standing in front of the Bridgestone posters from the mid-90's. A couple of days ago, someone sold the "Horses" poster, that is obscured by my head, for $2025.00 on eBay. Incredible! I own valuable art! I never thought I'd see the day. I'll get pix of these posters on here soon.

Does the City of Seattle hate bicycles?

The question above is a legitimate one. Things keep happening that cause it to be asked. First, there is the re-routing of the Burke-Gilman Trail to accommodate construction going on around the Fremont Bridge. I understand the need to keep people out of the construction area. I sure don't want bricks or whatever falling on me. My problem is the detour we have been given. N 34th St is an extremely busy arterial, as any road leading to a bridge would be. The cars are jockeying for position, making turns, looking for parking, and generally people are careful and aware of the cyclists presence . Part of the problem is the road surface itself. The bike lane has many seams, potholes, and cracks in it. Lots of times you will see the riders swerve to avoid these obstacles. Sometimes the swerve will put the rider out into the street. Not good. The stretch from Stone Way to Phinney Ave is pretty well pock-marked by hazards for cyclists. These are almost all problems that wouldn't even cause a motorist to notice. Plenty of problems for people on bikes, though. Second, the City has decided, unilaterally, to have the Summer Nights concert series at Gasworks Park this year. I guess it wasn't unilaterally. A meeting was held, with 2 days notice, on Friday December 23rd. Sneaky, huh? What the hell are they smoking? There isn't much parking down there, access is not good even under normal conditions, any summer evening is crowded with cyclists, walkers, joggers, and skaters. Off the trail, on Northlake Ave., there are the boaters that moor their boats at the marinas that dot the waters edge. Now add to this 3500 people (and their cars) that aren't familiar with the Trail or it's users and you have a recipe for trouble. What makes the City think 20 or so concerts will have little to no impact here? I predict cyclist/concert-goer collisions at each show. The concerns I give here are based only on my admittedly narrow focus as a cyclist that rides this stretch of trail on an almost daily basis. Other groups, like the neighborhood associations in the area, are already in an uproar about this and are making their concerns known. This is a bad idea that will be proven out if it goes ahead. Third, the City will be selling a piece of Metro property to developers along this now crazy stretch of of the BGT. I speak of the Metro Yard located at the corner of Northlake Place and Densmore Ave North. Neighborhood groups have expressed desire to use this space as a community center. But no, the Mayor has stated more than once this land is too valuable to remain in public hands. So... on the block it goes. Now, we will have additional construction going on here. Any guesses where the construction people will want to park their equipment? How about where the concert goers want to park. They will likely also want to close that part of the Trail to create a buffer zone. The cyclists will once again be detoured. Northlake Way is a real mess at this particular spot. Choppy pavement, railroad tracks, dirt, glass, and all of the other usual debris. I'm sure this will be the designated detour for trail users. Great. I know this all seems very pessimistic. It's just that every time these projects begin, the first ones to feel the impact are cyclists. How many times have the bikes lanes around town become parking for construction? Every time it's handy, that's how many. I don't get this. The City creates these trails and bike lanes to keep cyclists out of the way and then, closes the most popular and prettiest stretches for years at a time. Is it any wonder so many riders disregard traffic law? But all is not lost. We cyclists do have a voice in city government. His name is Pauh Wang. He's the Seattle Dept. of Transportation Liaison to Seattle Bicycle Advisory Board. Follow this link to see the kind of work he does on our behalf. http://www.ci.seattle.wa.us/sbab/about.asp I've known Pauh for about 5 years. He's a real cyclist, not some chairborne policy maker. Late last year I rode a stretch of the BGT pointing out some problems and potential problems. Pauh was very interested in what he was seeing and, in some cases, took on the spot action. Really impressive. Don't hesitate to get in touch with him with your concerns. www.pauh.wang.seattle.gov Hopefully this all won't turn out to be as bleak as it looks here. I guess we'll see.

A Touring Bike is not a Cyclocross Bike is not a Touring Bike

Cyclocross racing is quite popular here in the PNW. Lots of people see it as an ideal way to finish their racing season. After 'cross is over they use their race bike to commute on. 'Cross bikes are great short hop commuters. Fat tires, quick handling, burly frames, it makes sense. What doesn't make sense is to try and turn a 'cross bike into a serious touring rig. 'Cross races are, at most, an hour plus one lap. Not a whole lot of consideration goes into long distance comfort or stability with a load on these bikes. A touring bike has a lower bottom bracket (for stability), longer chainstays for greater heel clearance, a slew of frame fittings, and a more upright posture for the rider. Tourers are usually a bit heavier as well. Obviously, you can ride whatever you want. Just know that 'cross and touring are not the same thing.

Republican Criminals and their Christian Right Allies

The Hammer gets nailed! Tom Delay quits! More exclamation points!!!!! I hope this is the beginning of a Great Awakening. It appears the Reds are in full damage control mode. I just hope our boys and girls have the talent and courage to press the advantage. I mean, really go for the throats of the bullies and criminals that have taken over America. If things go the way I hope they will, the next President wil have to pardon Bush. I know, I know. But that's the way it is. My most fervent hope is that all of this will be remembered in November. Unfortunately, the Republicans run the media and I'm sure they'll find some other really important issue to divert the soft-headed members of the voting public. Why are there so many of these people, anyway? And who are they? Oh yeah, "Christians". Go forth and be fruitful. Can't these people see what's happening? Do they even care? Oh yeah, "The Afterlife". Intelligent design, my ass! It's okay to destroy the earth and every living thing on it because all of the "saved" people are going to heaven. I know that there are genuinely good people doing "God's work" I'm glad they're out there. It's the ones that twist the Bible to suit themselves that really piss me off. Pat Robertson, you are a sick, sick man. Please take yourself out. The sooner, the better. This is making my stomach hurt. Good night.March 3 2021. I am no longer an anti-Christian zealot. They were right all along and the Left is turning America into a Communist cesspool.

Behind me are the rare and beautiful Bridgestone posters from the mid-90's. They have spurred my interest in Japanese woodblock art. You should see the Hokusai calendar on the side of our 'fridge!

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.

A Dumb Guy On A Bike

Now this here's a bike!

A Smart Guy On A Bike