Friday, October 30, 2009

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Fu@%ing ticket for blowing through a stop sign on the SW Corridor Trail

Three Rivers Park District cops are now sitting in an SUV by the intersection at Wooddale and SW Corridor Trail and chasing violators of blowing through the trail stop sign.

How this came about:
Some dude and his buddy were riding their bikes drunk late at night a few weeks ago. They were going home to St. Paul from drinking in Hopkins and blew through the stop sign in the dark and one of the guys ran into the side of a lady's car and died.

Now because this ignorant biker got killed through stupidity, we all have to pay for his ignorance and of course the ignorance of the St. Louis Park PD because they probably pushed Three Rivers into ticketing, and for Three Rivers because they are assanine enough to follow through.

Why am I upset. Not because I recieved a ticket, but because I am a commuter who was riding in misty rain running an errand to Uptown, dressed properly with safety gear, a blinky light in the front and a blinky light in the rear fully fulfilling my personal standards of safety.

In this process I was keeping a car off the busy streets at a busy time of the day. There were no cars coming in either direction in my line of full sight in both directions when i blew through the stop sign.

This is a problem, because of:
1. MOMENTUM - There is a reason bikes don't fully stop at stop signs. Momentum is the key. Lazy auto drivers can simply push their foot down slightly on an accelerator and off they go. We have to utulize our full energy potential to speedily get ourselves and our bikes back up to cruising speed. Every time I stop I have to utilize vital energy to get myself going again. It is time consuming and frustrating.
2. FREEDOM - I ride my bike to feel the freedom of the road at full potential. I ride so that I do not have to deal with bullshit speeding tickets, road rage, stoplight/signs, etc... Biking is a very free way to get around, in more ways than one. After the ticket, I felt Big Brother breathing down my neck - I was looking around at every intersection, looking behind me incessantly, and I felt the rage I have experienced many many times at the wheel of a car.

Ticketing bikes interferes with the good kharma of riding a bike. If I have to worry about tickets
and rage, I might as well park my lazy stupid ignorant American ass behind the wheel of my Saturn wagon permenantly!

12 miles - Fu%#ing stop sign ticket!!!! Errand/Rainbow Foods Uptown - 10/28/09

12 miles

Gary Fisher winterbike

Monday, October 26, 2009

Sunday, October 25, 2009

Thursday, October 22, 2009

8 miles - Commute - 10/22/09

8 miles

1997 Trek 520

First ride on the "new" 520. I like the ride and the STI shifters - I wish my 1993 520 had them, but this one is unfortunately on the chopping block. I don't need two nearly identical bikes.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

35.7 miles - Ridgedale Mall/Taste of India/Dunn Bros in Loring Park/U of MN/Greenway/Trader Joe's - 10/19/09

35.7 miles
17.1 avg
30.6 max
2:05:06
Vintage Trek road bike

I took the old Trek out of winter storage and installed the pedals from the Burley puller to go for this ride today. The Poprad needs a new chain and cassette, so I didn't ride it. It was a good ride in spite of the older bike. It may be geometry that slows me down in the old Trek vs. the Poprad. It could've been the windy conditions, knee pain and tiredness also....good ride though.
PS: Although I thoroughly enjoyed the Indian buffet, I don't recommend it before a 2 hour ride.

Monday, October 19, 2009

23.2 miles - Commute/HW101/Minnetonka Blvd Extension - 45/60 degrees - 10/18/09

23.2 miles
1:19:33
27.9 max
17.5 avg
Poprad

Sluggish and winnndy - knees hurt, especially the left one. But overall a pleasant ride. I have close to 3000 miles on thee Poprad and finally the gears are starting to get skippy. I am going to swap the sweet 10 speed ones on the old Trek. I may just swap wheelsets. Then the Popard would have Race Lite's instead of Race.

Saturday, October 17, 2009

24 miles - Commute/DowntownMPLS/UofMN/Greenway/Trader Joe's - 47 degrees - 10/17/09

24 miles

1993 Trek 520

Felt good to get something in over 20 miles and get on the bike for an hour or so...its been very bad weather lately and the kids have been need. At least I rounded 2700 miles so far this year. Underr 300 more to hit my yearly goal. Last year I nearly hit 3400, but I didn't have a baby either. Still lovin' the 520. I decied I am going to invest in a Salsa Cromoto stem that is a bit shorter. Down the road the 520 is going to have to get a bar with less reach to the drops. I can really only ride this one on tthe hoods or top. If I raise the stem I will be too high on top, but with reachable drops. One step at a time.

Friday, October 16, 2009

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

13 miles - Commute/Errand - 10/13/09

5 miles
Gary Fisher Winterbike
Took a wintery ride to Trader Joe's....

8 miles
Trek 520
Commute to work.

Saturday, October 10, 2009

8 miles - Commute - 10/9/09

8 miles
Poprad

Very tired for some reason....

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Miles to the new twins Stadium

6.5 miles exactly from my doorstep to the Twins Stadium doorstep taking only paved bike trails.

27.7 miles - Greenway/Kenwood Tr/Downtown/UofMN/Ford Bridge/W River Pkway/Greenway - 45 degrees/sunny/variable winds - 10/07/09

27.7 miles
27.1 max
18.4 avg
1:30:07
Poprad

It was nice to get back on the Poprad for a decent, albeit quick, ride....felt good, but every late fall ride keeps you thinking it may be the last decent ride until spring....
Toes were chilly and had my usual layers and was prretty comfy and snug...

8 mmiles - Commute - 40 degrees/rainy - 10/06/09

8 miles

Gary Fisher Winterbike

Chilly and rainy, but fun...

8 mmiles - Commute - 40 degrees/rainy - 10/06/09

Monday, October 5, 2009

8 miles - Commute - 45 degrees/rain - 5/10/09

8 Miles

Gary Fisher Winterbike

Cyclops Niterider light worked fantastic. It was a rainy ride in both directions...so far so good on the winterbike...

Sunday, October 4, 2009

19 miles - Commute/Ridgedale YMCA/Groceries - 10/4/09

19 miles

Gary Fisher Tassahara Winterbike

Changed the rear cog over to an 18t last night and viola, we have a bike that can climb hills - with some effort - and can descend at a reasonable speed. Most of all I can actually get a workout....weee!

12 miles - Commute/Baker Rd Extension - 10/03/09












12 miles

Fisher Tassahara Winter Bike
First ride on the winterbike....

This bike was a combination of new parts, parts laying around, garage sale finds and Craigslist finds. It turned out great in my opinion. The single speed is set at 50/20 for this ride. I am trying out 50/18 for the next ride. The 50/20 really spun out and I had a hard time descending hills without much top end. The bike originally cost $50 at a yard sale. I installed new chain tensioner, tires, tubes, and it needed a bottom bracket. I also went the extra mile and stuck a new seat and seat post on the bike.
The great finds were the yard sale fenders (brand new) for $3 and the Craigslist lighting system, which is a NiteRider Cyclops for $20....
...very excited for a fun winter bike that rides well, is a single speed and has a low center of gravity...I reinstalled the rack today with better hardware, changed the rear cog to a 18t, installed the new seat post and dropped the handlebars about 1.5"...