Longest 5 Miles of my Life

Photo Credit: joiseyshowaa

Dear God in heaven,
  I know you are there, I can hear the chuckling. Just so you know I think it is kind of funny as well. just a little less since I am the one who for some reason thought a nice 5 mile ride would be good today. Even as I knew that a 5 Mile ride would not be good.

Still it was what I needed  --  And you knew that. I guess that is just one of the perks of being God.

So the truth is I'm sore, I'm tired, and my butt hurts. I am also feeling much better than I was when I forced myself to go out riding. FORCED is the right word for it. I had to go and get my bike twice, since the first time I talked myself out of it. I told myself that the walk to the bank and back at lunch was enough. Thankfully I talked myself out of it and went riding anyway.

There is something magical about going out for a ride, even if it is just to ride in circles. You see I have things going on in my head. All the time. Nothing spooky like voices telling me do things, just thoughts, worries, daydreams. that kind of stuff, it is always there, clamoring for attention. A lot of the time those thoughts are less than pleasant. They are thoughts about being out of shape, being alone, worries about work, and worries about money. Still when I'm on the bike and riding those thoughts all stop..

it

is

silent

and the silence

is wonderful.

Yet, not everything about the ride was all sunbeams and lolipops. At first the plan was to ride 10 miles (what the hell was I thinking?) but as I rode the laps around the School by my house I soon saw that while 10 miles was a pipe dream I figured 5 miles was a good start. I might not have made it that far if it wasn't for the woman walking her dog who was just way to cute (the woman not the dog) and I kept going around just one more time to get another look.

I may be a dirty old man but I'm a dirty old man who takes his inspiration where I can.

Starting Odometer: 285.10
Odometer reading: 290.23
Total Miles for the Year: 21

Make Live - All about Bikes

Make: Live airs tonight! Don’t miss our bikes episode where guests Nick Normal and William Thomas Porter join us with pedal-powered projects. We’ll also be giving away some tools from Digi-Key to one lucky member of the chat. Giveaway prizes:

A Big Fat Fail of a Weekend

Yep, that was pretty much me this weekend. Try as I might I just could not get organized enough to actually get ANYTHING done.

No Biking
No Brewing
No Writing

It is a rare that I manage to Fail so completely. So I have decided that I am going to AT THE VERY LEAST write a list of things I want to accomplish so that at least then I will be able to define just what I have managed to fail at.

Here is my list (in no specific order)
1. Ride in the 2011 Keg ride
2. make it to at least 5 flock of cycle rides
3. Put 400 miles on my Bike
4. Brew Something (beer mead wine) every 2 weeks
5. Write 2 poems a week
6. Write 2 short stories a month
7. Post here 3-5 times a week

I am sure I will add more to this as the weeks go on, but it seems that right now i have some serious work to do.

Been A while

Yeah I know, its been awhile, and the truth is that i found it hard to write a blog about biking when I wasnt doing any - Biking that is.

Here it is April and it FREAKING Snowed Yesterday! I did get to go on the Viking Spring Ride.

you can see pics of the ride here

So im still waiting for the weather to improve before I get back on the road, Im just to much of a sissy to go riding in that much wet cold weather.

I have decided however to write about more than just my bike here. so you can expect more posts in the future.
(I hope)

Going Crazy

Photo Credit: Jiuck

Yep this is pretty much how I feel. I guess I could best describe it as "less than Stable" while I think others might describe it as "Smoldering powder keg of violence". I have always thought that the others are a bit over dramatic.

I haven't ridden my bike since November, and it shows both in my state of mind and my state of belly. Which is well on its way to declaring it's own statehood. I'm down to 3 days a week for work (which is at least one day a week less than what I really need to live on) So lots of happiness there and I am seriously considering taking up alcoholism as my new hobby.

There are few other things that I just don't feel like talking about here on the interwebs but I do see at least a little light ahead (with my luck they are Headlights)

The weather is getting better, well to the point that I should be getting the bike out soon. If I can find time to ride it (Please please please) I am sure it will help at least a little. if not....

I never had much use for sanity anyway.

Homebrew

Photo Credit: Anders Adermark

Well this winter has been a tough one. I will admit that I am not one of those who ride all year. while I did enjoy riding much later into the winter than I usually do I just am not all about the wind chill and frostbite. So I have had to find other things to occupy my time.

Relax, Have a Homebrew

That is just what I have been doing. I like 2 million other people got a MR. Beer for Christmas, and if you are one of those people who turn up their nose at Mr. Beer, that's fine the world needs narrow minded stuck up a$$holes. Im not sure what the world needs them for but then that is neither here nor there. So i have spent the last month and half with something in the MR. beer constantly. and I have gotten to drink a surprisingly small amount of beer.

This must be remedied.

After all I have standards to maintain.

Still what got me thinking about this is just how similar this hobby is to my cycling hobby, and perhaps this is a common factor in most hobbies but it seems like all spring, summer and fall I always had that one more thing I needed to buy. just one more tool, one more part. one more brake cable/innertube/bottle of lube. I kept telling myself that I would eventually achieve a critical mass of sorts where I wouldn't have to run out to the LBS everytime I wanted to do anything with my bike.

That Never happened.

Still now as I go about switching watt output and gear ratios for Specific gravities and IBUs I find myself facing the same creeping problem. Just like in the summer when I couldn't walk past kraynicks without being sucked in and spending about 20$ more than I had planned, 'discovering' that i just had to get that left handed penny farthing spoke tightener 'just in case'. I now find that my new cash flow nemesis is South Hills Brewing Supply. Bottle capper, bottles, oak chips, yeast energizer (think red bull for a fungus) hydrometer refractometer eleventy dozen little bits of plastic can upon can of sticky stuff (I think you get the picture)

Of course after reading what I just wrote I'm not sure if this a common factor of the hobbies or is it just me?

Fixed Gear Fun

FIXED GEAR FUN from Sipakorn Kungsapishart on Vimeo.

Found this over at Urbanvelo.org and I know I haven't posted anything in quite a while so enjoy. I loved the music on this.