Kindred Cycles

the other day I was taking a beautiful Saturday  and was riding down Penn in the district when I noticed what I thought was a new bike shop called Kindred Cycles, so I stopped to check it out. Let me give you my first thoughts before we get into any details. The shop is beautiful if a little small, still it is a well thought out space and I managed to find everything you might need in a glance. I also liked that the mechanical area is right in the middle of the shop. Part of my favorite thing when I go to a bike shop is to watch and talk to the bike mechanics. (you can learn a lot that way)

You can see when I was there there were still unpacking and getting set up. The two who were there when I came in Aaron and Katharine were happy to talk to me and proud to show off the shop (Rightly so). This is a great local shop in a good location. Penn Ave through the strip district is main artery for cyclist.

So now lets get down to the nuts and bolts of the shop.

Bikes an’at
Kindred Cycles offers a varied selection of bikes:

• Kona
• Fairdale
• Breezer bikes
• Brompton
• Tern folding cycles

I for one have already fallen in love with the “Fairdale Parser” in Blood Orange (of course). The selection is very good for a shop this size and I would be surprised if you couldn't find a bike that fits your needs here. They also stock a full range of accessories from Brooks Saddles to helmets, gloves, chains, tubes and just about everything you could need. From their Facebook page I see they also have DZR shoes and Ortleib Outdoor equipment.  I also have no doubt that they can get you whatever you need as well.  With the growth in cycling in pittsburgh I believe that a shop like kindred cycles is just what the Strip district needs.

Events
The event page on their website says simply “Just you wait... We’re gonna do lots of fun stuff. Keep Posted.” I’m very excited about this. I feel that the local bike shops should be the epicenter of group rides.

Read this as EPIC Center (but that is a thought for another day)

So I hope that Kindred Cycles organizes some great group rides. I don’t know how many rides I will be able to get to but the more rides there are in and around town the better chance I have of making it to some of them. As I have said many times before Pittsburgh has an exceptional bike community and I have no doubt that all the group rides are one of the main reasons that our bike community is as awesome as it is.

Service
What’s a bike shop with out a wall of park tools and the lingering scent of chain lube?

Sad, Very Sad.

Kindred Cycles is not a sad shop. In fact one of things I like the best about the shop is that the service area is right in the middle of the shop so you can watch the work as it is happening. From what I saw as I watched Katharine work on a bike, and what little I know of bike mechanics. It is clear to me that I was watching experience in action. I’m no schlub when it comes to fixing my bike, and I can usually manage most tasks. What I can’t do it is make it look easy.

She made it look easy.

It is about now that I would talk about Aaron and Katharine and what great people they are and how the shop has a great vibe and a friendly environment. Do I really need to do that? Its a local Bike shop, Of course Aaron and Katharine (and everybody else there) Love bicycles and love riding.

They opened a Local Bike Shop!

And as far as the great vibe and friendly environment... Its a Local Bike Shop! Maybe I have been lucky in my experiences with Local Bike Shops in and around Pittsburgh but I have yet to be at one that wasn't run by people who loved bikes and deeply believed that this world would be a better place if everyone rode a bicycle. So yes I found the people at Kindred Cycles to be friendly and I found the shop to be a welcoming place.

I’m sure you will as well. If you’re down in the strip stop by and welcome them. Tell them “Fatguy Sent you”.

New Cyclists

Yesterday I took my bike to work so that I could go riding after work and so that maybe, just maybe it would improve my mood. Even the guys at work tell me that I am a nicer person when I bring my bike in.

This is a Good Thing.

As I rode through station square, southside, hot metal bridge, jail trail, smithfield st bridge, and back to the south side via station square I began to notice something. There were a lot of what I took to be “New Cyclists” on the trails. Now before I go on allow me to define “New Cyclists”. What we are talking about here is usually a new bike and new looking gear (shiny helmet) and an intense look of uncomfortable concentration on their faces. Couple this with a slightly (or not so slightly) wobbly riding style and I think all of you reading this know just what I am talking about. Having introduce several of my friends to cycling I have seen these looks. I know them all to well.

Again, This is a Good Thing.

I can even be pretty sure that these “New Cyclists” are the very reason that many of you would rather take the street instead of the Bike Trail. I know I have done just that especially the station square to 18th section of the South Side Trail. As I passed some of these people on the Jail Trail I began to think to myself how much happier I was with them behind me where I didn’t have to worry about them than in front of me where I had to try and guess what they were going to do next.

This is not a Good Thing.

You see I had forgotten what it was like back in 2006 when I first started riding my bike in order to lose some weight and not die. For weeks I could only do laps in my neighborhood. my first ride was less than a mile and I thought I was going to die on the machine I had bought to save my life. Oh the Irony. But I didn’t die and after a few weeks of riding around my neighborhood I decided to take a longer trip. From East Pittsburgh to the Beehive in the Southside.

This is a Good Thing?

I was prepared. I had a backpack with 5 extra inner tubes a toolkit, energy bars, two bottles of water on my bike, Headlights, tail lights, bike lock, map, satellite photo of bike trail, and a fully charge cell phone. Just in case. The ride down took my two hours (stop laughing) and as I was walking my bike next to the train tracks (oh yeah no complete bike trail for me) I was sure I had just made the biggest mistake of my life. Still I pressed on, riding down the South Side Trail with everyone else on a warm Saturday. Every Time someone passed me I was sure I was going to wreck. Everytime I passed someone (not that often) I felt stupid yelling “ON YOUR LEFT!” as loud as I could, cause you know, that’s what you’re suppose to do.

I eventually made it to the Beehive and had a pot of tea while thinking how amazing it was that I could just hop on my bike and actually go somewhere instead of just riding around my neighborhood. It was the first of several pivotal moments in my cycling life.  That was the day I fell in love with cycling. Even after the ride home, which included several hills I enjoyed riding down on the way out but were less than fun on the way back. I can still remember how it felt to have my eyes opened like that.

It was a Good Thing.

And I want to share that Good thing, I want everyone to feel what I felt that day. I did something I was afraid to do, something I wasn’t sure I could achieve, and in doing it I found out that I can do so much more than the world says a fat guy can do, I can do more than my friends and family thought I could do. Most importantly I learned that I can do more than I ever thought I could do. So when I see a “New Cyclist” I try to give them a little extra room, a lot of extra encouragement, and I hope they see the wonder I see every time I climb into the saddle.

And that is a Very Good Thing.

Freedom again

I sit here and wonder why I feel so melancholy? Why my weight loss has has come to screeching halt. Why I rush home instead of hanging around in town for the express purpose of seeing my friend and getting my steps in (only around 7000 today). I come home and sit at my desk and wish I had something write about since it seems clear that I’m not going to be riding today. (GRRRR)

So I did the only thing I could think of. I put the Mandolin away and decided to write about the fact that I’m not only not doing two of my favorite things but I’m all upset about not doing them and clueless as to why I am mad about it.

Yes Virginia I really can be that clueless at times.

I mean I know why I feel this way. I need to get out and go riding. I need to start raising money for the ms150 that I am really starting to have doubts about being able to complete. (like I need that hanging over my head)

I just don’t know what to do about how I feel, other than take my bike out tomorrow and ride until I feel my mind clearing.

Then ride some more.

Then we will see how I feel.

First Ride of the Year

Its been a rough winter.

How rough I hadn't realized until I took my first ride of the year on Saturday. Before I get all deep and philosophical let me say a couple things. This was the first day out for my Goggles That I built and I got to say they were a hit. Check out the video on Instagram. (and follow me while you're there) This is only phase one. My goal is to add lights to the helmet as well. (more on that in a future post.) Next I want to talk about the gaping holes in the road that I was afraid of even on B.O.B my bigass mountain bike.

These are not potholes. You can’t pay to ride a donkey to the bottom on a pothole! Just saying

On my ride I met old friends and new ones. As I was riding across the hot metal bridge (one of my favorite views of town) I met up with Marko (Old Friend) and Rusty Red (New Friend and so happy about it) and we rode around stopped at thick bikes where the southside soup crawl was in full swing. Again it was so good to connect with friends I have missed. I could feel my soul beginning to unwind. That was when I began to realize just how hard this winter was for me. The Poet part of me would talk about how hungry my eyes had become, how I didn't realize I was starving until I feasted on the company of my cycling friends.

Don’t get me wrong, I am very lucky to have the friends I do have. At church, at work, and my family. I am surrounded by people who care. It is just that I had lost a huge group of people I cared about and all the time I was missing them I was thinking it’s OK

when it wasn’t

My mind knew, My body knew, I was the only one who didn’t figure it out. I can look back on my Facebook posts and find those times when I felt alone, and angry.  I can remember the many many posts I deleted before they got posted because I felt they were too negative. When I was riding into town to go to Wingharts (great pizza, great cocktails) I had what I’m calling a moment of clarity. It wasn't that trumpets in the sky, the clouds parting, and angels coming down from on high. It was someone I know riding the trail in the other direction. I wanted to turn around and head the other way.

I didn't. I’m still angry with myself.

The truth is I battle this all the time. I know I have talked about it before and I will, no doubt, talk about it again. It is strange to be surrounded by so many people who really care about me and at the same time feel so alone and end up focusing on that hole in my life. While my cycling friends don’t fill that hole, they do help.

They help a lot.

This post has gotten a little uncomfortable for me and the truth is part of me wants to just delete the whole thing and start over, or at least edit out the parts that make me uncomfortable. I promised myself yesterday when I had my Moment of clarity that I would be honest with myself, and with all of you. So as this winter finally begins to loosen its grip and I face up to some of the foolish choices I have made I can only look toward the coming months with excitement and determination.

Next time I’m turning around.

Thanks Guys You mean the world to me.

Planet Bike Cascadia Fenders

Question:
What do you get when you start with might just be the greatest bike ever made (that would be the All-City Macho Man Disc) and you add some slick white fenders?

Answer:
Eventually you get big bag of Awesome wrapped and a bag made from baby unicorns!

Did you catch it. "Eventually" I'll get to that but first lets get to the data, since I'm all about the Data.
 bought the Planet Bike Cascadia Fenders in White from Thick Bikes for 50.99 (Minus my Bike Pittsburgh discount ) I got the fenders as well as instructions and all the mounting hardware I would need. I figured it would be a breeze.

I had two issues while putting the front fender on. First the geometry of the Macho Man meant when I got the fender on and adjusted the metal support posts where so long as to need an inch cut off of each to keep them from hitting the frame.

The Posts after I removed about 1 1/4" off of each. Of all the tools I thought I would need to install a fender on my bike, a hack saw wasn't on that list. I will say that as difficult as the posts were to cut I got give it to them for quality.  The other  item that I found annoying was the Disc brake on the front tire was / is in the way of the support posts and I had to work around it. It worked fine so I'm happy but I did have to try it several times to get it right

The rear fender went on without much fuss and I have to just say this again  "DAMN THAT'S SEXY!!!" There is one thing I am currently wondering about. With the front fender I wont to see where the J-bar from the bike racks on our buses end up. A fender is no good if it means I can't put my bike on the bus. If it is a problem I am pretty sure I can figure something out.

It took about an hour for me to put the Fenders on the bike, and if I had to do it again I might make it simple on myself and take the Bike to Thick and get the fenders put on. Right now I'm pretty sure I have the fenders on right but I would of let them do I would be Completely Sure the fenders are on right.

Treasure Your Love

This post isn't bike related but I have been going through a lot in the past few months and I have to do something while it is single digit degrees out there.

(Come on warmer weather!)

Today was writers group at the library by my house and after a long break we are back with a vengeance (4 people suck on that!) We had a valentine's prompt and I was not looking forward to it but it worked out well. It seems the inside me knew more about what was going on with me the outside me. I was expecting the usual "love sucks" to come flowing out of me. What I got instead made me realize that just maybe I've started liking myself just a little. Enjoy

Treasure your love
You only get so much
and when it’s gone
It’s Gone

Don’t ask
Don’t Tell
Don’t feel
Don’t care
Just act

Just reach out
Just take a Freaking chance

A chance to smile
A chance to cry
A chance to change
Take a Freaking Chance
Any Chance

To take this day after day
of so called life
and make it your Bitch
Or better yet
Trade Life for living
Trade safety for Uncertainty

You know that feeling
“That everything is OK”
Dead people feel that
Smile for no reason
Love without Question
Stare into the Sun

Treasure your Love
Wonder where you’ll sleep tonight?
Or better yet with who?
Go hungry
Get drunk
Find a pretty Girl so out of your class it hurts
and Kiss her.

That’s right
all bets are off now

This is real
180 proof
It burns going down
But it keeps me warm
Life

No nets
No waivers
No backup plans
Just the idea that life’s worth living

Just the idea that life is worth living
Is so foreign as to cause palpitations
And
“Could you hand me my inhaler, thanks”

Treasure your love
Become a memory
Create a story
That one time when
you did that thing that was really stupid
and you have no idea why you're still alive and out of jail
Yeah
Do it again.

Be reckless
Live life
Because you only get so much
And when its gone
Its Gone

Go Red Event

Last night (Friday Feb 7th 2014) was the Go Red Event held yet again at OTB. The goal is to raise money to fight heart disease. I have a strong belief that you should always be looking for ways to reach outside of yourself and do things to help others. Plus you get to help kick heart disease in the balls.

Anytime I get the chance to kick Heart disease in the balls, well I’m going to take that chance.

Let me take a moment to tell you about the organizer Meg. 2 years ago she had to have open heart surgery. Which isn’t something a wonderful woman in her 20’s should have to face. A thing like this could have broken the spirit of anyone. Spirit is something Meg has in abundance. I am honored to know and humbled to be able to help make the night a success in whatever small way I could. FGOB provided one of the prices for the raffles and I showed up, had fun and bought more than my share of Jello Shots

Or as I call them “My Kryptonite”

I don’t know how much money was raised and the truth is the money isn’t as important as what else I saw. Spirit, lots of spirit. People coming together not just to drink and have fun and hang out with friends after a long cold winter. These people came to support Meg and make a statement

(for some of the drunker ones that statement was F*** CANCER!!)

People can be so Amazing and Wonderful! This is something I have come to believe more and more over the past few years. Over and over again I have watched as someone steps up and does the unbelievable. So when I left the Party (far too early) I left with the feeling that I had been a part of something that was in a word

Wonderful.

Open letter to walgreens

This would be the sidewalk infront of the walgreens by my house Saltsburg Road Penn Hills.

The one I walk past twice a day. Notice if you will that that everything is clear of snow and ice except the sidewalk. The road, the parking lot, the handicapped ramp. But not the sidewalk it empties onto. I know they are capable of clearing said sidewalk, the last four times I complained this year the side walk was cleared. That means they are able to do it. It also means they are Unwilling To do it.

This is insulting.

Here is a copy of the email I sent Walgreens, and at this point I am kind of hoping some manager loses his or her job.

"The sidewalk in front of your store is snow covered and icy. please explain to me why you think it is ok to remove the snow from the handicapped ramp only to have said ramp empty onto a snow covered, icy sidewalk. I have seen from the other times I have written to alert you to this that the sidewalk is them cleared of snow. 

This shows me that you are capable of acting properly just unwilling to do so.

This is the Fourth or Fifth time I have written and I find it seriously upsetting that you would so boldly flaunt your lack of respect for the people of your neighborhood with your unwillingness to keep your sidewalk clear of snow and ice. At this point it has become little more than an insult that you so easily disregard the safety of those who live and shop in this area.

Two things before I finish

1 Rite Aid across the street was out at 6am salting their sidewalk (I noticed on my way to work)

2. You can find a copy of this letter on my blog at fatguyorangebike.com Just look for post titled Open Letter to Walgreens.

Do the responsible thing and take care of your sidewalk.

Terry Bruce "

Nothing is going to change unless you are willing to stand up and demand change.

Walgreens

Here are some pics of the uncleared sidewalk and handicapped ramp of my local walgreens

FitBit Review

55,875 125,831
That's how many steps I have taken in the week I have been wearing the Fitbit Flex. I picked it up last Friday Jan 10, 2014 and here it is the following Saturday Jan 24, 2014. I feel that I have worn it long enough to give it a fair review. Before I get into the review lets just give you a few stats and information on the device.

Fitbit Flex
Cost: 99$
Colors: Black/Slate/Lime/Pink (standard)
Bands also available in Teal/Tangerine/Navy
Purchased at: Best Buy but widely available
http://www.fitbit.com/store

Of course I Got the Tangerine Band so add 30$ to my bill for the extra pack of bands. (I could of ordered just the band I wanted online for 15 bucks but I'm just an instant gratification kind of person.)

Note:
I also linked my FitBit Account with an App/website called MyFitnesspal. This is an App/Website that makes tracking the foods you eat really simple to do. It also helped to educate me as to what I’m actually putting in my cake hole. (is cake hole one word or two?) Also like the fitbit I found that knowing that I was going to record everything helped me to make some changes (I still went to Quaker Steak Buffet but I know I ate much less than I would usually. Between the fitbit and the App I feel like I am making a conscious change for what might be the first time. If you have a smartphone and are even a little serious about making a real change in your eating habits I would recommend giving Myfittnesspal a try.

Setup
Setup was a breeze. The Flex comes with a wireless Dongle that allows your computer to read the sensors in the wrist band. I also Got a small use charging cable that so far I have only had to use to charge the sensor when I took it out of the box and after a week I am at half a charge (so far the charge has lasted about 10 days). After it was fully charged I followed the setup on the fitbit site and after 10 min I was good to go. The website says the fitbit is waterproof and you can shower with it. Which I have done with no problem.

The fitbit dashboard sets up some starting goals and since I signed up with Facebook it let me know who of my friends were also Fitbit users. This added a social side of the fitness tracking that I did not expect but I found very helpful. Seeing how many steps my friends had taken over the week helped me to know I wasn't alone in this, it also added a bit of competition. I would be lying if I didn't admit to finding myself trying to get extra walking in knowing that my friends were going to see how much or how little I walked each day.

10,000 Steps
That's the goal that Fitbit starts you out at. You can easily change that goal but I decided before I went changing things I would see just how reasonable of a goal this would be for me.  Lets see:

• Saturday 3604 steps
• Sunday 6561 steps
• Monday 10236 steps
• Tuesday 8534 steps
• Wednesday 9358 steps
• Thurdays 9555 steps
• Friday 8027 steps

You can find my FitBit Profile here:
http://www.fitbit.com/user/2C4LRC
You can find Myfitnesspal profile here:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/user/terryb953/status

I have made almost all of my information public to everyone. I don't have much to hide. You should be able to see how far I have walked each day, what I ate, and when the weather improves, I will add my other outdoor activities (biking and whatnot)

So for me I think that 10,000 steps is a good starting goal, My day isn't particularly active and the one day I managed to get over 10,000 steps was one that I had to do a bit of extra walking around but I could also see that I could have easily gotten to my goal with just a little bit of extra work. When I can make this goal for a week straight I will up it by 2500 steps and see what happens. I have noticed that I have been more active since I started wearing the Flex. and just after a week of wearing I have noticed that I am moving around easier. After trying to take 10,000 steps on Monday I was sore and my knees ached, but by Friday I found that I was able to walk around easily and felt more comfortable walking than I had in the past. I am hoping this continues.

Readout
I purchased the Flex instead of the Force for a couple of reasons. First was price, the Flex was 99$ and the Force was 129$. For the extra 30 bucks you got a nice OLED readout that acted as a watch as well as giving you all kinds of nifty information. As much as I am a closet watch whore I didn't really want another watch. I have a watch I really like and several times I have not bought a new watch because I wasn't gonna stop wearing my Black and Orange G-Shock. I knew that the Flex used a line of 5 lights as a readout and I was a little leery about what kind of information I could get with just 5 little lights. Turns out the answer is “A lot” I know how close I am to my goal (each light is 1/5 of your goal and the lights blink faster as you approach each level.), and I can see about how many steps I have taken. I can see if the band is in Sleep mode or not and if the tracker needs recharged. For a row of 5 little lights I’m calling that one a win. Also something I found out that I must of somehow missed the first time. When you reach your goal the FitBit goes just a little crazy. lighting up, blinking and buzzing. It’s a nice feeling.

Sleep Tracking
One of the other things the Flex offers is Sleep tracking. You tell it (with a series of Taps on the tracker) when you go to bed and when you get up. (it has an alarm function but more on that later) the Flex will track how many times you get up during the night and how many restless periods you have while you are sleeping. While I don’t know about the restless periods I found the number of times you were awake to be accurate. at least twice it knew I was awake at night even when I didn't actually get out of bed, just woke up and stayed in bed before falling back asleep. Being a data junkie I love this kind of data. I don’t know what would happen if you don’t put the Flex into sleep mode at night. (I do know you can log your sleep manually on the fitbit site.)

Silent alarm
You can set up alarms on your flex through the website that will cause your band to vibrate until you tap it off. I was doubtful that it would be able to wake me in the mornings but it worked well enough that I am going to turn off the alarm I have on my phone and rely on the Flex to get me moving in the morning.  This is probably the one function of the Wristband I found most surprising and the one function I think I like the best.

Online Dashboard
Everything has a social aspect anymore. Sometimes I agree with this, sometimes I don’t agree or find the social side just a little silly. In this case I agree wholeheartedly. When you first sign up over at Fitbit.com you can sign up with Facebook and it will tell you which of your friends are also using the FitBit. I only had a couple but it was enough to get me moving and see how I stacked up against the others I knew. It didn't take long for me to find a few other people on the fitbit forums to friend.

Accuracy
I have wondered just how accurate the Fitbit (and all the other Fitness Trackers) is and over the last week I have had time to look at the data and think long and hard about this.

Is the Fitbit accurate? I have no idea,
Is the Fitbit consistent? I believe so.

What I mean by this is I have no idea if I have taken 10,000 steps when it says I have. What I do believe is that I have been twice as active on days when it reads 10,000 than on the days when it read 5,000. I also believe that knowing how active I am is more important than knowing how many steps I have taken. Looking at each days readout I can see when my active times are (heading to work and heading home) and when my inactive times are (after lunch and from 7pm to bed). I'm not sure what I’m going to do with this information but observing will change the outcome.

again I point you to the Hawthorne effect

*** One of things I believe is that things like this will help you lose weight and get into better shape if you are looking to lose weight and get into better shape. They are NOT some kind of magical item that will change you without work. What they do is to make you more aware of how active you are and encourage you to become more active. They act as a reminder when you are going out to lunch, so that maybe you want to skip the buffet or at least hold back a little.

I am reminded of my rules for cycling, Rule 9 You can do so much more than you think you can.

So if you’re trying to shed those pounds, get out and be a little more active or just want to see how active you are during the day then the Fitbit Flex, Force or any of the other Fitness Trackers out there is something to consider.

Or just pick up a 5$ Pedometer, I have had my share and perhaps its just my Gadget love but they never really did for me.

Bikes as Music

Found this on Google+ (yes im on +Google) an Article about a guy who uses his bike to make music. Check out the Video and listen to the music. It is all made with the Bicycle.

Read the Article at Treehugger.com

Fitbit Flex

So last night I picked up a Fitbit Flex and an Orange band for it (of course) and after letting it get a full charge I have placed it on my wrist. I find that I am very interested in what this little piece of gadgetry will tell me about my days (and nights with the sleep tracker)

You can expect a full review after I have had time to actually use it. So far there is somethings I can tell you about it. The set up was easy. I expected to have to answer a lot of personal questions (and I did) but when you are talking about a fitness tracker you are going to have to provide the information needed to make tracking your fitness as accurate as possible. So I answered the questions and it took about 15 min to get everything set up and running. I then let it charge overnight so that I was sure it would have a full charge. Not much else to say about it yet other than when went to the fitbit site it automatically read the information from my fitbit and told me how many steps I had taken since I put it on (113) it also let me know how many more steps my friends had taken.

So if you want to friend me on Fitbit my profile is http://www.fitbit.com/user/2C4LRC I figure the more the merrier. I have also gotten to the point where I have posted so much information on-line that is just a little silly for me to try and hide things like my weight. I am also hoping for some accountability as well. I know that you guys out there will know when my weight goes up (it will) and when my weight goes down (I hope it will) Just knowing that is sure to play a part in the choices I make.

See the Hawthorne Effect

Already while I'm writing this I am thinking "I should be doing something for the fitbit to record."

Snow

I really do not like the cold. Which had made the past few days just a little annoying. I am trying.

Well sort of.

I've started dreaming about being out riding, and I know that it is only a matter of time before I can get back out there. So far however I haven't ridden once this year. One of my goals for the year is to ride at least 100 days of the year and so far I'm doing pretty horrible about it.

I would like to say that I really want to be out there riding. You have no idea how badly I want to be able to say that. But I can't

It would be a lie.

And that's not what I'm all about. The truth is if I really wanted to be out riding I could do it right now. Nothing is stopping me. B.O.B is more than ready to go for a spin. I have enough winter gear that the weather really isn't an issue. The real issue is I don't like being cold, and going out in the cold is something I only do when I have to or if I have a really special reason for it. Like the Reverse Keg Ride. And the bragging points don't hurt either. So there is the Truth. I am hoping to go out this Saturday and ride. The weather looks warm enough (if wet)

So if you see me out there, Stop me and say hi. Chances are ill be more than happy to find someplace dry and share a drink with you.

Poor Man Transportation

Found this over at Copenhagenize.com

"Me no want no bus, no car, me no want no blasted minivan
Me no want no bus, no car, me no want no basted minivan
Jussa wanna ride upon me bicycle for transportation"

As they said the Copenhagenize Anthem and I couldn't agree more.  I remember when my bicycle switched from being an object of recreation to an object of transportation.