Because I am tired of changing bike tires. This morning I set the bike outside to get ready, and just as I was about to mount it I realized the back tire had gone flat again. One failed patch and forty minutes later I was on the road with my only remaining tube. “Luckily” I made it to work without incident (with the exception of a stupid teenage girl who opened a car door from the outside, right in my path; luckily I was able to swerve out of the way).
Barb, if you can convince Allan to look at the back wheel tonight dinner is on me. I’d like to take off with the Red Rocket on Friday without any lingering doubts in my mind. As it is I’m contemplating getting a new bike computer to replace the one which is currently schizophrenic.
Well, [it’s now 9:00am] I’m now late and need to work…
Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – deflated
Current Music – silence
Website Of The Day – Here’s a neat blog about which I heard yesterday — DJ Anonymous. The only problem is that it appeared to go flat in 2007.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my bike
Exercise (b)Log – cycling, ~17 miles
Morning Weigh-In – didn’t check
Pages Of 1001 Paintings You Must See Before You Die Read – 77
Monthly
Foot Mileage – ~4 miles, Wheel Mileage – 144.2 miles
Pushups – 0, Situps – 0
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) – 7 (8)
Vegetarian Days – 1, Carnivorous Days – 23
Marta Rides To Work – 0
Bike Rides To Work – 4
August Goals
– Not to get sick for the entire month (I did it once, I can do it again!)
– Not get fired from my job
– Ride my bicycle no fewer than 200 miles
– Get the Sharpened Stone, LLC moving further
– Complete at least one iPhone application (seriously, this needs to happen)
– Completely plan out my August/September Colorado trip
2010 Goals
– Reduce my weight to 185 pounds (starting weight was 198 pounds) [update: On July 1 I’ve sadly gained weight; I’m at 203 pounds]
– Completely read the book 1001 Paintings You Must See Before You Die
– Earn at least $150 through photography sales in order to cover the cost for the renewal of the Sharpened Stone.
– Save $500 for the sole purpose of donating to charitable organizations of my choice
– Attend at least one professional photography workshop
– Enter no fewer than three photographic competitions / gallery showings
– Get the Black Sheep stats out of Excel and online
– Ride in no fewer than two 50 mile or 50K bike rides
– Complete my Taco Mac Passport requirement of 125 beers
The Unmeasurable
– Continue backing up all data, including the off-site storage
– Become a proficient programmer in PHP and CSS Objective-C
– Do not create a solution for something which is not a problem
Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]
I apologize twice today:
1) for writing such a shitty blog post.
2) for thinking that I had posted it at 9:00am only to come to the realization that I had not when I looked at 10:15am.
Come on by tonight – Allan should be home any time after 3:30 and if you stay long enough, you may get TJ’s expertise too (Allan’s parents are coming over for dinner – really, to see the garage).
Bring the bike computer too – Allan can help you get it set up.
Hey – maybe you can get our wifi Netflix Wii streaming working – you can be useful to us too.
But you will get some chicken for dinner – it just happens that I put 5 breasts in the crock pot this morning (I needed 4, but there was 3 in one pack, so lazy me, I just put all 5 in). Not sure what the sides are yet – probably some sort of rice, or maybe pasta, and probably grean beans & squash from the garden.
Go find a bottle of wine & we will be set.
Cool. I’ll stop by Total Wine at lunch and pick something up for dinner.
The bike computer is on the bike, so I’ll have it with me too.
I’ve never used a Wii, but I’ll be happy to see if I can figure out your Netflix Wii situation.
I’ll leave work around 5:30pm today and head straight to your place.
Thanks!
I thought you had a new one. If the computer is just acting up, it may need new batteries. I don’t know if we have any extra at the house, or if they’d even be the right ones. There is a Batteries Plus nearby – if we need to run out & get them.
and – you are way more geeky than we are, so I think you can figure out why it isn’t working. And we’ve got it all set up, it just doesn’t seem to want to play. We may need more DSL speed…….
No, I didn’t bring the “new old one” with me. However, given that the “new old one” is probably 9 years old I may buy a “new new one” at REI today. If I do, I’ll definitely have it with me.
I have Cat Eyes – but they doesn’t have all the extra bells & whistles – but I don’t really need to know the air temp & other things like that – you know?
My current one is a Cat Eye (Enduro 3?), it tells time, speed, and distance. That’s all I need. I wouldn’t be in such a rush to get a working computer back on the bike, but on this trip I’ll have no idea where I’m riding so I need something to keep me from riding too long and far.
Yesterday David and I were on our way to Brick Store for dinner and as we were pulling up to an intersection in Decatur, the minivan in the left lane next to us opened its side sliding door and a dude threw a pillow out and then jumped out of the vehicle, basically right in front of our on-coming vehicle in the right lane. He’s LUCKY we didn’t mow him over!
Wow, that’s nuts Jenka.
The girl this morning was weird. She ran across the street and I saw her going for the car. I spoke up and said “Don’t open that!” as I rode toward her. When she did anyway I said “C’mon on!” and swerved around her.
I have never had much luck with a patched tires. I think patches are just a temporary solution until you can get a new tube. Sort of like the spare in your car to get you to the nearest tire store. I also highly recommend kevlar lined commuter tires. You are not riding in the tour so you don’t need to worry about the few extra ounces they weigh. I have hundreds of miles with no flats on my tires.
Now computers? I got one of those fancy dancy Trek Incite computers that does everything (only because I got it at dealer cost, the retail price is insane). It’s wireless, tells you temperature, has a compass, has an altimeter that keeps track of how much you climbed and descended, etc…. I love it! And if I’m so inclined I can hook up a heart rate monitor and cadence sensor, good stuff.
New tubes and wireless bike computer purchased. I was going to go large and buy a heart monitor, but I wasn’t sure which one I wanted.
And my late friend Chris Baker used to ride on 6 or 7 patches per tube, but he was a cheap SOB! I ride a patched tube, but nothing like that. And Bob is right on the money with some kevlar- either in the tire or between the tube and tire- I can’t remember what they call those.
For those who might be interested, I have finally invested in a good test kit for the pool and it should arrive tomorrow. Since I’m normally good at pool care, I’ve never really needed the whole kit, but since this time I’m in the dark, I decided to bite the bullet. Clear pool soon, and I’ll have everybody down.
-FP
Master Mechanic Allan will undoubtedly find the source of my flats when I bring the Red Rocket and a nice botgle of wine with me tonight.
and Paulie gets to be one of the first to see the Garage Mahal……. it has shingles as of yesterday & a new electric meter – one they read with a sattelite or some crap like that. I wonder what they will be doing today – maybe some siding?
Most new meters have RFID transmitters so the they meter readers don’t even have to get out of their vehicles.