Andy Laub they call me "The Solution"

Last year I introduced the new year by participating in what had to have been one of the lamest questionnaires ever. This year I feel the need to again look back on the year that has just passed, but I want to do something that’s a little more original. Instead of a bunch of arbitrary questions, I’m choosing one event or experience from each month that has held the most significance in my mind.

The year started strong. January didn’t bring the same drama this year that it brought in 2008 (thankfully). Instead, I get to point out that that was the birth of the current iteration of this website.

February was relatively uneventful as well, aside from preparing for shows. But I did put together some awesome LEGO.

I spent a lot of time complaining about the weather this year, as I was already raring to get back on two wheels when March rolled around. That was only exacerbated by the new toy. The day trip to Minneapolis to pick it up was awfully fun too.

In April I put new wheels on my car. No, I mean I put them on. By myself.

May brought the first of a number of shows last year: The Last 5 Years, in which I was approximately 50% of the cast. It was a great experience and the theatrical accomplishment that I continue to be most proud of.

Then Godspell happened in June, and that was awesome too! Great cast, great technical staff, great venue, and a great show. Probably one of WCT’s best, ever.

Things wound down a bit in July, but we had the official Godspell reunion / cast party up in Tomahawk. AKA Real World: Godspell. TEXT MESSAGES!

August was a quiet month, so I spent a lot of time on the bike, and did my first (and second!) 40-mile ride(s).

After years of planning and months of labor, Citizen Wausau 2.0 was finally launched in September, much to the excitement of those involved.

In October, I ran.

The only potentially negative item on the list happened in November, when I passed out on stage. Even then, it’s just something that happened, but I don’t think of it as being decidedly “bad”.

I had such a great vacation in December, you guys. Seriously, it was wonderful. Plus it was my birthday!

I’ve made it no secret that I’m a huge bike nerd. I’ve spent countless hours poring over cycling websites and forums, reading about new gear, and just generally obsessing about things that a normal person wouldn’t give a second glance to. I have brand preferences, and I can list off the parts that I would put on my dream bike at any given time, from memory. I’ve cleared well over 3000 miles this year on a bike I’ve only had since March. So why have I only broken 100 miles (nearly all of them indoors) this month? There are a few reasons:

Weather

It’s October, and apparently it’s been decided that good weather is done for the year. It’s cool at best; windy and rainy at worst. I feel bad for not riding to work, but I don’t miss the hassles that it brings in terms of clothing and preparation. I’ll admit it – when you’re used to getting places under your own power, driving becomes one of those guilty pleasures.

Reliability

I’ve been constantly afflicted by a flat rear tire in the past two months. I couldn’t figure out what was causing it, but I was going through a tube every few rides or so. For that reason biking was no longer a reliable mode of transportation for me. I couldn’t justify trying to squeeze in 15 or 20 miles if I knew I’d have to spend a portion of it on foot, hoofing it to a gas station.

Time

I was trying to average 20-25 miles a day when I was riding during the summer. It wasn’t terribly difficult when I was going to and from work twice a day, but no matter how you slice it that ends up being nearly 90 minutes of riding, which is a time commitment that I’m just not interested in making when reason number one comes into play.

Disinterest

When all the reasons above combine it makes for an experience that’s just not enjoyable anymore. One alternative is to train indoors (I picked up a set of rollers earlier this year), but it is seriously boring, and not something I want to do everyday (if at all).

A Solution

With all this in mind, I thought it would be a good idea to start running.

Here’s the funny thing about that. I suck at running… or at least, I did. I couldn’t run a mile to save my life, and if by some miracle I did manage, my lungs would be on the verge of exploding so it may have been a self-defeating act. My very first run (in recent history, at least) consisted of a distance of about 1.5 miles, half of which were walked.

I paid for it dearly. My major mistake was opting to wear the Nike Free’s that I used for Wii Fit. While they were fine for a more aerobic use, they were terribly unsuccessful at dealing with the foot-to-pavement interaction, and my hips were out of whack for two days afterwards.

When I finally did recover (read: when I could walk without being in pain), I decided to give it another go, this time in a pair of borrowed Nike Shox. While I didn’t much care for the feel of them (Shox in general seem relatively heavy) they did a much better job of absorbing the impact and left me feeling much less damaged the second time around.

The fact that I committed to a second run at all is something of a miracle, as I don’t think I’ve ever reached that phase before. Apparently, that’s all it took. I lucked out and found a pair of Nike Zoom Start +, and the deal was sealed.

Nike +

It was no accident that I ended up with a pair of shoes that are Nike + compatible; that was basically one of my only requirements when searching. When it comes to exercise, stats have worked in my favor in the past, so I had no doubt they would work their magic again.

I was right. When base your distance on landmarks instead of hard data, it’s easy convince yourself you’ve gone farther than you actually have, and to feel more entitled to a break. The little voice in my ear told me otherwise, which made the little voice in my brain say “Keep going! You can do it!”

As it turns out, I can do it. In spite of the extremely temperamental weather (which fades to the background once warmed up) and the sporadic pain (which is assuaged by time on the rollers) I’ve found that I actually do love to run. It’s such a simple activity, and that’s why I was always frustrated that it always seemed to escape me before. It carries a lot of the same traits that I enjoy about cycling without the drawbacks. I’ll openly acknowledge that it’s harder on the body, but I’m getting more done in less time (in terms of exercise) and I don’t have to worry about random equipment failures.

And I can listen to music while exercising, which is basically a deathwish on a bike when you’re on public roads.

First, a confession: I haven’t picked up Wii Fit since April, if that. Instead, I’ve been biking. Riding. Cycling. I think I like that last term the most; it sounds so official. I never felt comfortable calling it that when I just rode my mountain bike(s) around town; you need drop bars and skinny tires first.

I’m pretty much smitten with the LeMond in spite of the combined efforts of the weather and mechanical gremlins trying to make me hate riding. I mentioned after picking it up that my goal was to reach 1100 miles on it this season – equal to the cost of the bike. I figured it was doable, but what I didn’t know was how quickly that milestone would be reached.

Not quite three months later, I had my answer – I reached that goal on June 11th. Then came 1500 miles, and yesterday I hit 2000. I’m finding that 500 miles or more a month is pretty easily attained, especially now that I don’t have constant after-work commitments.

Furthermore, weather this year has been awfully strange; it seriously feels like everything is delayed by 1-2 months. If this trend keeps up, the great biking weather could continue well into November. In the meantime, I’ll ride outside as much as I can until the snow falls, and then I have to figure out what kind of routine I want to use to keep the exercise up – Wii Fit again? Rollers? Some other ridiculous Wii game?

Time will tell. For now, I bike.

I like to save money on stuff. Not that that’s unusual – but between places like Amazon and just general sales on things, I have a hard time convincing myself to shell out a bunch of money if I don’t feel like I’m getting a good deal. Oftentimes this involves a little extra shopping around, but it’s worth it.

But then sometimes, stuff just basically ends up right under your nose.

Anecdote #1

With a Best Buy gift card burning a hole in my pocket, I finally decided to pick up Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars for the DS. I don’t generally enjoy buying games for the DS as I feel that $35 is an awful lot of money for such a tiny cartridge; but the gift card dampened the impact, if only a tiny bit.

And then they picked the next day to knock $15 off. It’s still on sale – definitely pick it up if you’ve been on the fence. It really is amazing what they’ve been able to accomplish on the DS platform.

Anecdote #2

I’ve long thought that the Keen Newport H2 would be the perfect sandal if they’d just add a cleated option for us bikers – there’s just no way I can justify that kind of money if I can’t use it for biking, as my typical summer footwear rarely breaks the $10 mark.

And then, thanks to BSNYC I discovered the Commuter. At $115, it’s at the higher end of what I’d be willing to pay for such a product, I figured I’d think more about it when (if?) biking-in-sandals weather returns. But that same afternoon, REI sent us a catalog and was all like “we’re having a sale!” (it started today). $85 is still a lot for sandals, but that’s about what I paid for my (well-worn) Shimanos and I expect these to be even more useful when off the bike.

Here in Wausau, the bike shop of choice is Rib Mountain Cycles. They’ve established themselves as having the most knowledgeable staff and some of the best product. I feel like I have a decent rapport with them, which is not something I can say about any of the other shops in town.

And that’s why I felt so guilty when I bought my Bianchi in 2007 – a bike I chose to buy over the interweb even though it was available locally. As is often the case, the bike as it was online was still hundreds of dollars less than RMC’s price, even after shipping and tuning. And being as the Bianchi was a niche bike, and one I didn’t particularly need, my reasoning was this: it wasn’t a tossup between buying the bike online and buying it locally; it was between buying it online or not buying it at all.

As a penance I resolved (again) that my next bike would be a local purchase, and assuming I won the lottery, it would say “Specialized” on it – a brand I’ve always liked sold by a shop I’ve always liked.

Well, I lied. All of the joy that accompanies getting a new bike turns to sheepishness when you walk it through the door of the shop you didn’t buy it from. At least with the LeMond it’s an easy excuse: RMC doesn’t sell the brand; RMC doesn’t sell a cross bike with disc brakes at all, much less one that I could afford. They even complimented it (that still makes me smile, even nearly two weeks later)!

I feel singled out in this experience, but it’s unrealistic to assume that the crew there doesn’t deal with this sort of thing on a daily basis. Cyclists are a finicky bunch, and a single shop can’t reasonably hope to be everything to everyone. So instead, Rib Mountain Cycles finds success in being a bike shop that is fun to go to; one where the staff is so nice and helpful that I want to spend my money there. And considering it’s biking that we’re talking about, there’s always an excuse.

My friend Gary bought a cyclocross bike. This is not news, because it happened nearly two years ago. It’s a Bianchi Roger, a single-speed road frame with beefed up components (and disc brakes!) perfect for traversing muddy trails and grassy knolls. But equipped with a set of slicks it became a formidable commuter bike – light, strong, and fast. But while there was a lot to like, certain bits left me wanting. Most of what it did (albeit with less weight) was matched by my own single speed; the two were simply too similar to ever logically share a garage.

It was last summer that I started to be more and more enticed by road riding. I looked at plenty of road bikes, but none really stood out as “the one”. These would be ideal for commuting but also for longer ventures that just weren’t practical on my Bianchi. Or at least, that’s what I told myself. At the same time, I’m not denying that I’m rough on my bikes, and I feared for the safety of a road bike under my ownership – which is why I started looking at cyclocross bikes again. Then I found the Trek Portland – basically the Roger with gears. But I wasn’t a fan of the Shimano Tiagra components on paper, and the price was higher than I was comfortable with. Still though, it was about 90% there, and I was tempted.

At first sight…

One day I wandered over to LeMond’s site (a subsidiary of Trek, focused solely on road bikes) to admire them as I often do. It was then that I discovered the LeMond Poprad, and I was smitten. While the Portland is billed as a commuter bike, the Poprad is a CX bike through and through. Many of the components are similar (Avid BB7’s, again!), but the Poprad uses Shimano 105 throughout the drivetrain (with the exception of the Bontrager crank). Instead of aluminum, the frame is steel, which means the tubes are skinnier and the whole frame is more classically proportioned than the Portland and Roger. And the graphics were timeless.

So the Poprad became my dream bike (which is not doing too badly considering it’s not the same price as a car), but alas, the price was similar to the Portland’s, and still more than I was willing to part with for a bike I wasn’t sure I needed. And then the colder weather set in, and my love of all things two-wheeled went into its annual hibernation.

Now spring is (almost) here and I’m in better shape than I ever have been, and I’m itching for some longer rides. The first ride out on the Bianchi, while nice, wasn’t as satisfying as it could’ve been. I just had that nagging feeling that I was using the wrong tool for the job. After obsessing over the new offerings for 2009 on the various manufacturer sites, I was left wanting. Some were close, but nobody – not even LeMond – was making the bike that I wanted.

Google delivers

So it was purely happenstance, then, that I was searching for the Poprad on Google, with very low expectations. The odds of finding one seemed relatively hopeless – there are no local LeMond dealers, and Trek/LeMond have an agreement with resellers that while the bikes may be purchased online, they may not be shipped; only picked up at the store. Plus it would have to be a good price, and most importantly, it would have to be my size.

But somehow the stars aligned, and I found a shop selling a brand new 2007 Poprad (which actually is slightly more attractive than the ‘08 in that it only has a 9-speed cassette instead of a 10-speed and can accommodate a wider, more durable chain) for a great price. I almost fell out of my chair when I saw they were located in Minneapolis. Okay, maybe not – but I’m pretty sure I swore. A barrage of emails later, and they were holding the bike for me so I could make the trip over and check it out.

Less than a day later I was driving home from Minneapolis, my new Poprad tucked safely in the back of the car (on top of the dining table from IKEA – I love hatchbacks, by the way). The shop I bought from, Freewheel Bike, was nothing but helpful, and I highly recommend them for anyone in the area.

How is it?

I think it’s great. Unfortunately Wisconsin has felt the need to assert that it’s not spring just yet and given my aversion to cold, I am off to a slow start in terms of mileage. But the rule of thumb I’ve adopted is that I need to put at least a mile on for every dollar that was spent, and I’m committed to that. In the meantime, I’ll sit and stare at my bike on Flickr (or glare at weather.com); it will have to do.

I guess April is Earth Month (is that an official thing?). When I first found that out, my response was “screw that, it’s still too cold for bike riding.” But then we went a brief (and I mean brief) ride over the weekend to check out Abe’s new bike, and it felt so good to be back.

So I toughed it out, and I’ve been riding to work. Forty degrees is not as bad as you think. Fifty is gorgeous. It’s supposed to be 55 today and that makes me happy. Spring makes me happy. It apparently also makes me write in sentence fragments.

But what I’m trying to say is: biking is awesome and I love it. Spring is awesome, and I love that too. I saw a robin this morning, and that was a sign that today is a good day.

I have been riding bikes in some form or another for over 20 years, and yet during those times, it was only in my formative years that I enjoyed biking at its simplest: coaster, brakes, one speed, get on and go. After that it was a ten-speed “jack of all trades” mountain bike with skinny road tires and terrible brakes. Then it was a mountain bike, then a full-suspension mountain bike, then finally a real mountain bike. And I thought I was done evolving; I was content in my little 27-speed front-suspended aluminum-framed niche.

But then I was bitten by the single speed bug. Hard. So I bought one. And except for 2 outings at the local singletrack, It’s all I’ve been riding. I estimate that I’ve put about 250 miles on it in the past two months, and while it hasn’t all been fun and games (like the times I smacked my knees against the top tube or last Friday when my crankarm fell off), I love it.

It started off being a bit painful, considering my normal riding style. I’m used to riding in the largest chainring and one of the smaller cogs and only downshifting when I need to. This is fantastic for my efficiency and I can haul ass relatively easily, but it’s not getting me any exercise, and my bike’s drivetrain made all kinds of noise. So trading efficiency for simplicity has been a win-win in my opinion. I’m able to maintain a higher cadence than I would’ve on my other bike, because I’m spinning a lot more to go the same speed and I’m getting used to it.

Yesterday was a prime example of the type of ride I love; a nice ride around town, punctuated by some moderately technical off-road tomfoolery. My other bike sits neglected and I’m not getting the technical workout that I would at a place like 9 Mile, but I’m having fun and that’s the important thing.

Before you click on the link, have you ever heard of Pacific Cycle? If your answer is yes, chances are it’s because you’ve seen them at Target, or perhaps even bought one. But regardless, a Pacific bike is a department store bike, which in the eyes of an enthusiast is not really a good thing. No problem so far; enthusiasts and recreational riders tend to move in different retail circles.

But if you look at Pacific, you’ll see that they also own Schwinn, Mongoose, and GT, among others. All three of these brands have generally been regarded as makers of decently nice bikes, and the fact that they’re all under the same umbrella isn’t a dealbreaker in my eyes. What bothers me is that Pacific’s acquisition of these brands led to the Schwinn and Mongoose names finding their ways onto the bikes sold at Target and Wal-Mart, and that’s the issue. As soon as people see those brands in the sports department of their local discount stores, much of the brand equity, the engineering, the history, and the time spent to promote the brands as real bike manufacturers becomes for naught.

The thing is, if you’re into bikes, you’re inclined to spend a lot of money on a bike. When you spend a lot of money on a bike, maybe a little more than you initially planned, you want to feel good about your purchase. So if you’ve just spent $1800 on a Mongoose then the last thing you want to see is a bike by the same company sitting on the Wal-Mart rack.

So it comes to my attention that my site is looking notoriously run-down, as though the occupant has moved on and left nothing but memories. I can assure you this is not the case. Spring is here, finally, and that means more and more distractions, but hey, what’s a journal for if you can’t make excuses for slacking off?

First of all, my Xbox: still dead. Well, maybe not. It’s somewhere in Louisville, Kentucky according to UPS, but get this: it’s on the return trip. I sent it to them last Friday, they got it Wednesday and it was reshipped on Thursday. So I should be seeing it Tuesday and we’ll find out if it’s really fixed.

In the meantime, Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door (not the new one) continues to entertain. In fact, you’re lucky I’m here writing this at all, since I’d much rather be playing that.

We are all moved in, pretty much, mostly. There are some still-packed boxes, but who cares? The garage is clean.

Last year I mentioned a niggling desire to own a single speed bike, and so instead of spending billions of money to buy some kind of deathtrap car or motorcycle, I decided instead to make good on that. Oddly enough, the bike I chose is the one mentioned in that post: a 2006 Bianchi M.U.S.S. that was stupid cheap. It too is going to be here soon, as I ordered it online instead of going through the local shop, a decision I’ll elaborate on later.

Speaking of biking, the ride to work is obviously farther than it used to be, but I can still make it in about 10 minutes. So suck it, Grand Ave.

Finally, this site looks like crap, I know. I’m working on a new one, which may be what you’re seeing right now or it may not. It looks bad regardless because one site is decaying and the other isn’t done.

Warm(ish) weather is starting to show up again, which makes me happy. Of course, that means the last couple of days have been spent thinking of open air motoring, either in the form of a convertible or a motorcycle.

At the top of the list is a Honda Civic Del Sol. I have loved this car ever since its debut when I was still in middle school. I really like Honda’s practical approach to open motoring; rather than offer a traditional ragtop, they use a panel that unlatches and stores in the trunk. Combine this with the Honda drivability that I love so much, and it’s a definite winner. Why don’t I have one? Because a) there’s still nowhere to store it and b) I can’t freaking find one.

Both of those problems are solved with option #2: a motorcycle. I really, really like the Suzuki SV650. It’s got the looks, the powerplant (not too crazy) and most importantly, it’s almost ridiculously easy to find a great deal on a lightly used one from a dealer. I’ve seen last year’s models going for under $5K which is a steal for a basically new bike. Why don’t I have one? Because I still can’t convince myself that a motorcycle is a good idea. I had one (non-serious) mishap on the scooter when I owned it that kind of turned me off of the whole 2-wheels thing. I was into it last year when I got my motorcycle license, but the interest and novelty faded and left me glad that I didn’t buy anything.

I might be swayed if I found an old Honda Nighthawk or similar bike for cheap in the area, but I don’t see myself going any other route. I really do enjoy cars more than bikes, but it’s just so impractical to have more than one and I can’t justify ditching my car for something less practical either. For now I’ll just have to settle for windows down, sunroof-open, shift-free cruising.

For the first time in what has literally been years, I took the bike out to Nine Mile yesterday for a ride. I had a good time, though it was not without its painful moments. I knew that my endurance wasn’t up there even before starting due to a late start this year and a lack of long rides, but I did about as well as can be expected in spite of various components on my bike that were openly plotting against me.

The biggest culprit was the tires (above). I bought Kenda Kross Plus tires to replace my worn out (OEM) Hutchinsons because I knew my bike would spend a lot of time on pavement and opted for a smoother ride provided by the slick center section. The knobs on the sides did an admirable job of providing traction in most off-pavement cornering situations and made this setup perfect for a commuter bike.

I knew there were going to be problems when my bike slid out from under me on the second turn of the ride. I’m not sure if that was a hint that I needed better tires or an affirmation that I should’ve indeed worn my gloves, which I had left in the car and figured I probably wouldn’t need. Honestly though, this was just some really lose, fine dirt, and no tire is going to save you from that.

Just slightly injured, I continued on in search of a good single track to start the real ride. There were no trail maps at the time, and there was a wedding going on near the chalet so I didn’t want to disturb. My philosophy at Nine Mile has generally been “let’s see where the trails go and hope we can find our way back.” Fortunately this has worked well so far as I am still here.

Back to the tires. The two situations where they really were a hinderance were:

1. Quick descents leading into sharp turns. I’ve decided that riding semislicks on single tracks is kind of like the drifting of the biking world. You’re not leaning much in these situations so you’d be relying on that center section of tire to provide stopping traction. My approach was to just modulate the brakes until I was going slow enough to make the turn, and then let the back wheel lock up a bit to slide me around. It worked pretty well, actually,
2. Ascents on smooth dirt were also an issue because in these situations I was already up and leaning forward, taking the weight off the back wheel and inducing some slippage.

If I was a serious trail rider or had another bike, I would set it up with some better off-road tires, but this honestly wasn’t so bad. I kept away from the long uphill logging trails (which in the past had wood shavings), something that absolutely would’ve killed me.

The other and more minor issue was with my pedals (PS: the Crank Brothers site is hot). This was my first time riding clipless in a full-on trail setting, and it was OK. There were no times where I was struggling to unclip, which can prove disastrous when you’re trying to abandon your bike as it’s headed for a tree (not that mine was).

The way Crank Bros’ clipless pedals work is best explained by picturing two lines crossing each other with a spring holding them in an “X” shape. When you clip in, you compress the X horizontally and it springs back around your clip. This can be done from any angle and they call it All Access.

An unexpected caveat with the All Access system was that scraping the bottom pedal against a rock pressured the springs to open and release your foot. This led to a few times where I thought I was clipped but wasn’t, which can be a problem when you’re landing off of a jump and your foot slips. Still though, for pure aesthetics and ease of use I love the All Access design.

In spite of all this, and my chain skipping once or twice and also jumping free of the chainrings completely, it was a good time. I really want to go again today.

As I mentioned earlier, I was eagerly awaiting some new components. They came yesterday, but the installation was not without its setbacks. I am apparently 0 for 2 when it comes to choosing pieces that fit my bike, and here’s why:

The Stem

So sue me. I didn’t realize there were two different diameters for handlebars, and that Titec makes both sizes. So while the stem attached to the steerer tube just fine, the bars themselves weren’t clamped in place when the front part of the stem was put on. A quick trip to my favorite bike shop (not an easy feat, considering both cars were in the shop at the time and my bike was in pieces; I ended up taking Abe’s scooter) solved my problem by giving me a shim to equalize the size of the bars. Unfortunately, the shim is intended to slide onto the handlebars. Since I didn’t feel like taking all my components off my bars, I instead bent the shim open and stuck it on that way. Success!

The Seatpost

Okay, this one was not my fault. I ordered a 27.2mm post, a common size. I specifically checked Giant’s site before ordering to confirm it would fit.

It didn’t. Checking the numbers on the posts (something I wasn’t aware of previously) revealed that the Giant post is actually 30.8mm, which I believe to be a non-standard size. Fortunately this doesn’t seem to be a non-standard problem and Rib Mountain Cycles pulled through again with yet another shim.

The result? My project that should’ve taken half an hour took most of my evening. Whatevs though, the bike is done (for now), looks better, and is more comfortable to ride.

It just so happens that the indie designer who works in our building is way into biking, which means it’s easy for us to get lost in our hopes and dreams for future and current bikes.

I want to build a bike, some day. I always tell myself that, but I can’t really narrow down what I want. I think I’ve established so far that (currently) I want a road-warrior looking thing. Some days this is not a road bike because I worry about the damage I could do to road bike rims with the way I ride.

Some days this is a road bike though that means no more spontaneous off-road excursions when taking the long way home. There are other factors that make me doubt the logic of this route as well. Whatever it is, it’s going to have disc brakes. Mechanical disc brakes. I have them now. I love them. I need nothing more. Except for roundagon rotors.

Side note: I did not know that Avid, as well as Rock Shox and Truvativ, were part of SRAM. I’m not sure how I feel about that.

The frame, I think, will be steel. Steel frames are less rigid than aluminum, and while this sounds like a bad thing, it makes for a softer ride. This is why the bike will more than likely not even have a suspension fork. I want a white frame. Matte white. Matching fork, unless it does end up being a sprung fork – then it should be red. At this point, I’m thinking all hardware (seat post, stem, handlebar, crank, wheels, etc) should be black. The pedals will be some variation of these or these. The stem will be either a 0º rise or negative rise (meaning it gets lower as you get farther from the steering tube). Flat handlebar.

Finally, I’m becoming more and more tempted by single-speed bikes, thanks in part to the coercion of my office mate, who just picked up his second, an ‘05 Bianchi S.A.S.S. Maybe I should just get one of these, since it pretty much meets my criteria, except for that pesky color issue. I wish it came in this color.

This should be a good week:

• I’ll hopefully see my car again.
• I should have the new stuff for my bike.
• Abe will get his new toy registered.
• I maybe get to drive Abe’s new toy some more (hee!).

Good stuff, and it’s all vehicle-related (my favorite kind of stuff!).

Stuff that’s been happening:

Things I did buy

Clipless sandals. So much better than the shoes I have because there are no socks required. Considering if it’s not warm enough for me to be wearing sandals I’m not going to be going biking either, it all works out pretty well.

Also, some parts for a thing for my car.

Things I won’t buy

For the last two months I’ve been thinking pretty hard about getting a digital SLR camera, namely the Canon Digital Rebel XT. It came highly recommended from a number of people and I really think it’s a nice camera especially compared to the others in its price range. As a bonus there’s a hefty rebate going on through one of my favorite companies. That brings the price down to under $700 for the whole kit, and it comes in black:

But I don’t think I’m going to jump on it for a number of reasons. I don’t know that I’d really use it enough to justify the price, regardless of how affordable it is. I’ve also noticed that I’m not even taking my small camera with me everywhere (even though I should). And honestly, I know that if I really wanted it I’d already own it. So that’s delayed, for now. I’m still thinking a larger one would be nicer just because of how grainy everything is with this tiny lens.

Things I saw

Finally, Cars, like every Pixar film before it, was a great movie. I can’t often say this about movies I watch, but there was absolutely nothing I didn’t like about it.

So the Saab is out of commission this week while I await the return of my mechanic so he can check out an oiling issue. It’s for this reason that I dragged my bike out of the basement and have been taking that to work instead. I enjoy it — I’ve always enjoyed biking — but I’m realizing that I’m less and less prone to taking risks and/or showing off. I like to think this is partially a result of me biking to commute rather than for recreation, meaning I don’t make an effort. At the same time, minor things like approaching curves at acute angles and anything else vaguely technical gets me nervous, which is sad.

These are things that I used to be able to handle without issue, and now I’m not so sure. It’s boiling down to an overwhelming loss of confidence and I suppose that can be attributed toward a few things. One of the biggest factors was probably my minor mishap last year. The next largest, or maybe equal, is that I have not been on a bike for a long time for anything more than a basic ride around town. That’s what I need to change, as my bike is certainly more capable than I am right now.

…off my bike. Last week. Arm hurts. Ouch.

Perhaps sometime soon I’ll start having some words or something, ’stead of these pansy two-line carpathons.

I was thinking “you know, I shouldn’t post today because I already posted two days in a row” but then I realized this is a blog and that’s what I’m supposed to be doing. My bike got to go out today. I went with it, which is even better. Today marked the 2nd time this year that the it actually got out, which is pretty pathetic, but at lease I’ve been doing other stuff. Yeah, exercise.

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I’m at that point again where I want to do something with this site, so the next week or so I will be focused on absolutely not doing anything with it. It’s not really worth my time to go through and redo everything again if I’m not going to implement any kind of scripting, and I won’t be doing that unless I get some kind of change in hosting because I simply don’t have the space to do anything right now, and there’s no guaranee it will even work with my server.

It seems to be a fairly common sentiment that the best packaging around right now belongs to Apple’s iPod. While I agree that the iPod packaging is clever and attractive, my vote for the best goes to Crank Brothers. Never heard of them? Crank Brothers created a bike pedal known as the Egg Beater, called such because of it’s resemblance to (surprise!) an egg beater, which has now evolved into multiple lines of pedals, all of which use the same basic concept. Good things have been said about these pedals (none of which were from me, but I like them alot), and a lot of compliments have also been made about the packaging. Crank Brothers has designed a package that makes you feel that you are opening the most important pedals in the world. It’s a fairly simple design, involving an outer sleeve that slides off (similar to the iPod’s) and a box with thicker sides. The pedals are inside, surrounded by black foam, and anything else you’d need is on display for you. I had initially only seen the packaging for mine, the Candy SL, but I saw the packaging for the standard Egg Beaters last night, and it’s every bit as nice, something that can’t be said about Apple. True, my iPod came in a fantastic piece of packaging, but I can’t say the same about my Powerbook. It feels as though Crank Brothers also used higher-quality materials, as well, versus Apple’s liberal use of white styrofoam. Finally, I like that the CB packaging doesn’t use any plastic bags (it’s not necessary in this application). And you get a sticker.

So anyway, I got new pedals yesterday, which resulted in the crank arm getting stripped when I tried to put one of them on. I took it to the bike shop and he was able to put the pedal on, which is good. However, I have been kind of done with this crank since I got it so I ordered a new one, now that I finally had an excuse. As it turns out, the bottom bracket was exceptionally loose so he tightened that for me also. I like that place a lot. If they had a website I would link to it.

So, first things first – the displays have finally landed. They’re nice – enough said.

Secondly, a bus seemed to have a minor problem navigating the turn behind our apartment. Finally, shoes. I got some. For biking, and stuff. They are nice – the Nike Kato II. The thing I like so much is that they are very similar to my Tupu running shoes in many ways. It looks like they even share certain pieces. This is all well and good, but what good would biking shoes be without a bitchin’ pair of clipless pedals? I ordered those, but they’re not here yet. I’m waitin’.