April Recap

Commute Miles: 219
Errand Miles: 87
Recreation Miles: 23
Driving Days: 0
Full Bike-Only Commutes: 2
One-way bike-only commutes: 6
Bus-assisted commutes: 17

April: 329 Miles
2008: 993 miles

I decided it was time to fix my Trek 1200 myself today. Over lunch, I went to the City Market. This part of town is steeped in history. Near a river and railway port, merchants have been peddling their wares here for ages. These days, it's an urban hot-spot near lofts, with lots of shops and dining establishments. On the weekend, farmers come in and take it by storm. This is a great Farmer's Market.


Nearby, lots of old building are still in use.




I swung by River Market Cyclery to pick up some tools. I also found what I'm sure will be my next set of panniers, but I'll need to save up for them.


The Steamboat Arabia museum in the City Market. This gem of history doesn't get much acclaim what with the Liberty Memorial WWI Museum, Nelson Atkins Museum of Art and various other attractions in KC. Do yourself a favor and pay this place a visit if you get a chance.


Chinese. Nom Nom Nom.


Framed by classical midwest architecture, the Federal Court House looks sleek, shiny and modern... and completely out of place.


More Spring.






I saw the Bike There/Walk There bus. Eric Captured the other side.



After I got home, it was time to dig into my spoke woes with my new tools. Looking at it (and some other spokes) it appears that my panniers have managed to sneak into my spokes a few times too many. Not sure any wheel would survive that. I have a plan, though.




I'm re-building the PVC tubes that used to hold my panniers out of the spokes. It looks like the Axiom ones I want won't be so bad, if I go for it.

Random Tunage:
Madonna - Frozen
808 State - In Yer Face

Feeling more like spring

I took Hybridzilla out this morning for ride all the way in to work. This is 'zilla's first ride downtown in several months. She offers a bit of a softer ride, but the more upright seating position combined with more weight on my upper body from wearing a backpack means that Mr. Perineum is not amused. It wasn't a bad ride. It just wasn't as comfy as The Twelve. I'm sure a proper frame rack and panniers would have made it much more enjoyable.

As far as speed goes, I maintain that Hybridzilla is not much slower than The Twelve, if at all. The Twelve is going to be more efficient for longer rides, and capable of sustaining higher speeds. The fact is, I don't often shoot for a personal best when I'm commuting. Given my usual moderate effort, the two bikes average about the same speed. My top speed today on 'Zilla? 41.1 MPH, and I wasn't spinning out. The upgraded rear cog (11t-24t) combined with an ample 28t/38t/48t chainring reduced the effectiveness of the granny gear by a bit, but gave a serious boost in top speed vs the OEM 14t small cog.



This morning, I held a solid average between 17.0 and 17.3 for almost my entire trip. Once I hit Nieman at 75th, my average slowly crept up to 17.3 until I started climbing up Merriam Lane to Antioch, where it had dropped to 16.9. A few hundred yards later, I was back at 17.0. My average volleyed like this, staying mostly at 17.1 until I started the slog-o-rama into Downtown KCMO. Then, I dropped off. Until this point, the average speed is about par for the course compared with The Twelve.

The slog was a different story. By this time, pain was starting to manifest itself no thanks to my increased cadence combined with the backpack's weight. Fortunately, this leg of my commute is pretty short.



Temperatures were a bit nippy this morning, in the high 40s. Just warm enough for a short sleeve shirt but not warm enough for uncovered knees. I did the goofy thermal pants under denim shorts thing. Supposedly, we're looking at 80°F this afternoon. My warm mocha was still welcome this morning, as Lorin, JR and I drank and discussed the lack of free WiFi in City Center Square.

Assuming winds aren't too bad, it should be a great ride all the way home, and tomorrow should also be pleasant. It's a good thing, too. I can ride in almost anything but I'm pretty sick of temperatures in the 30's in the morning.

I guess I'm not the only one who thought it was a nice day for a ride today. As usual, I was the only one who thought it was a nice day for a human-powered ride.


Random Tunage:
Garbage - Stupid Girl
Plumb - Cut (Bronleewe & Bose Radio Edit)

Have I mentioned how awesome Plumb is? Plumb was a group, but the name kind of got commandeered by their front woman (Tiffany Arbuckle) who now basically uses it as her solo moniker. Regardless, both Plumb's old incarnation and Tiffany's new work under the Plumb brand name is moving -- a fusion of alt-rock and electronic dance music, often with inspirational lyrics. Worth a listen if you haven't heard it before.

So nice this afternoon

As bitter cold as it got overnight, it sure turned out to be a great day. It felt like Mid-60's. I didn't even bother looking. I had to bus it back today, as I had some errands to run.





God Bless America. And Beef.




I sooo want to explore this thing one of these days (and yes, I'll be careful). It's right along my full commute route.


Noah Delivers food from Mickey's Irish Pub. Nom nom nom.


Grocery run. Gotta love the bananas bungeed to the rack.




Blossoms




Crikey! I think it's a hippy! They're not all this ugly, but they're usually harmless. (I'm not a hippy but I play one on the Internet.)


Random Tunage:
Real McCoy - Another Night
Nine Inch Nails - Sunspots

Ah. Bikeness.

I forgot to mention this last week, but I actually broke another spoke last Friday on my way home. Of course, it has to be a drive-side spoke. The Twelve is out of order for the time being. I am just gonna buy a real chain whip (unlike the 'rigged one I have) and a cassette locknut tool. I have a ton of spare spokes laying around from various 700c wheels I've destroyed, and my bike shop seems to do more harm than good when it comes to fixing wheels.

I got home in time to make it to my Monday Night ride last night. I rode Hybridzilla to Casa Paloma with a bunch of science equipment strapped down to the rack and in my backpack. It was a brisky 54°F at the beginning of the ride, and 48°F for the ride back home after chowing down a carne asada quesadilla. Much data was gathered on my ride. For those in the know, my "science equipment" was basically WarCycle 1.1, seeking out 802.11 with high-gain antennae and GPS goodness. If you don't know what I'm talking about, don't worry. You're not missing out on much. I'm just a nerd. Oddly, I didn't get any pictures worth sharing yesterday or this morning. I did forget to share this gem with you all in my last post:



I woke up to light frost and near-freezing temperatures. So much for spring. I made a quick jaunt to the bus stop. I may ride Hybridzilla all the way in tomorrow morning, but I don't think I'm riding home tonight.

Random Tunage:
Erlend Øye - The Black Keys Work
Lisa Loeb - Stay (Acoustic)

Stranded in Springfield - Cows and a Bike

... not that kind of bike.

Some friends of my family live just outside of Springfield and offered to put my wife and I up for a night. My wife's been crocheting with Cindy, and I've been helping Ray install a cruise control module on his Vulcan 2000.



You know you're having fun when you need the electrical diagram.


Cows in Ray and Cindy's back yard.




Put back together (sans panniers)


Looks like I'll have a windshield around noon, so I should be back in KC this evening. Then, back to your regularly scheduled human-powered adventures.

Random Tunage:
Alphaville - Forever Young
Underworld - Juanita

What a weekend...

My wife and I decided to take a little weekend vacation to hang out with some friends in Springfield, MO. Springfield's about 170 miles from home.

About 9 miles away from our destination, we saw a low-flying Canadian Goose cross the highway right in front of our car. It was an awesome sight to behold. What sucked was the fact that there was a goose following that one. Traveling at highway speeds, I couldn't avoid it.





Looks like no auto glass places are open today, either. So, I'm stranded in southwestern Missouri until tomorrow.

I still got into town and got to hang out with my friends. One thing I noticed was the pedicab service. There weren't many of them, but they were around.



We played video games at a retro-fantastic arcade, chowed down some sandwiches at Jimmy John's and knocked back a few beers while playing pool. We were just a few blocks from campus (where they are staying), but my hotel room was a mile away, so I didn't feel like making them drive. I snagged a pedicab!



Anyhow, I don't think I'll make the Commuter Convoy this Monday, either. We've all but given up on finding an auto glass place that's open today.

Another Bike/Bus Day

I had to go to corporate HQ last night after work to pick up my corporate credit card. Something about some training seminars in San Francisco. Not until September. I think I might need to save up for a folding bike.

Anyhow, I saw this piece of abstract art while waiting in the lobby for my card. It didn't have a plaque, so I don't know who created it or what the name of the piece is, so I'm going to christen it "Balls To The Wall"


Storms approaching this morning, but it would have been yet another great ride because of a seriously insane tailwind. Alas, it's another bus day. I rode straight into 30+ MPH gusts AND up the Quivira viaduct. The sky was on fire when I left.



The sunrise quickly surrendered to a gloomy blanket of stormy cloud cover just a few minutes later.



People file onto the bus.



I somehow left my good headphones at home again today. I leave these crufty tin cans here just in case. They sound horrible, but worth every penny of the $6 I paid for them when compared to the horror of not having tunage at work.


Random Tunage:
Orbital - Halcyon & On & On
Bryan Adams - Heaven

Caved

I just don't have it in me. Not yet. Two days, back to back. A mere 63 miles between them. That's all it takes to knock this wimp out. I crashed as soon as my wife left for work and was asleep well before 11PM. I woke up at 5:00 sharp. This might not sound like much, but to me, 6 hours of sleep is like going into a coma. I just don't usually need that much. I'm often awake till after midnight geeking out and/or talking to my wife while she's at work orchestrating the lockdown of campus.

Lo and behold, though, my coma was restful and much recovery was done, but I was still really tired and sore. The roads are soggy from the storms last night, but no significant rain was falling. By all calculations, this morning was probably the best morning of the week for me to ride in, with a stiff south wind and temps in the low 60s and upper 50s throughout the region. But, as I said, I just don't have it in me. I rode (oddly enough) into the wind and to the bus, racking up a massive 2.5 miles this morning. But I took it easy and now my legs actually feel better than they did when I woke up.

This completely vacant building at 11th and Baltimore makes me sad. The lower level has the remnants of several interesting shops (two pizzerias, a japanese restaurant, optometrist among other things) and there are tens of thousands of square feet of floor space, all neatly stacked in an interesting looking piece of downtown KCMO architecture. Sure, it may be as drab and faceless as the building I occupy, but when it's sitting in the heart of the city doing nothing but rotting, it kind of breaks my heart.


Barely more than one city block away sits the Lyric Opera House -- an unwavering central figure of culture that's somehow survived the ebbs and flows of blight downtown. It's likely as busy as ever with the recent gentrification of the area.


Random Tunage:
Lisa Loeb - I Do
Orbital - Dŵr Budr

Morning Photos. Evening Storm Racing.

This morning's commute in photos


























Jon! Look! I got Megan's Fortune at lunch today!


With an isolated cell making its way toward downtown and a more powerful storm looming to the west, I decided hammering it on the way home would be a good idea. Ed might like to chase Kansas City Weather on occasion. I'd rather race the storms, if you will. But only if the odds are somewhat stacked in my favor. I'm zealous, not retarded.


Karen and I did encounter some rain, but mostly just sprinkles and wet pavement.


Random Tunage:
Pacific Link - Once Upon A Time
Dave Matthews Band - Crash

Forgot my phone

I'm publishing this via e-mail since I forgot my phone (which also
lets me access the 'net from work), so pardon any weirdness that
happens with this post. As you may recall, I'm trying to build up to
avoiding the bus all together except for inclement weather. I've only
had a few full round-trip bike commutes. One in January, One in
February and one yesterday. I didn't get one in March. I rode all
the way in again this morning. A moderate headwind (9-13MPH out of
the Northeast) really put the hurt on me. I'm weak, but trying.

Now, I've got 16 one-way bike-only trips under my belt on top of those
3 full round trips, and I'm (finally!) approaching 1,000 miles for the
year. It's not like I haven't been riding. I just haven't been
riding as much as I wish I were. I'm pretty sure I'll ride all the
way home this evening as well. That would make this my first 2
back-to-back bike-only commutes this year. It's too bad that weather
is looking crappy for the last part of this week. With fenders, I
don't mind wet roads too much, as long as it's not raining too hard at
the times I need to be on the road. Of course, I'm still fighting my
aversion to headwind. I'll get there someday. Hopefully that someday
is soon.

I've got pictures to upload, but those need to wait until tonight.
Also, I can't publish any comments until I get back home. Have a
happy Hump Day, folks!

Random Tunage:
EPO - Popcorn (Trance cover of the 1970's song by Hot Butter)
Real McCoy - Run Away

A convoy of three and a bike bath

I met Lorin at 13th and Broadway on my way out of Downtown. Karen also emailed me today and said she wanted to convoy, so we waited by the brewery. I saw this guy doing the crosswalk button trick.


Southwest Boulevard just north of the brewery is still flooded.


Goooosh! Lorin and I took the left part of the right lane (too much traffic in the left lane) and it got me wet even with fenders. There's just no protecting yourself in 8" deep water.


Lorin's Commuter. It's at least 59cm if not 62. Ye Gods.


Karen (left) and Lorin (right) hogging the lane. Good commuters. There are 2 more lanes and light enough traffic.


Random Southwest Boulevard stuff




Karen pulls ahead to conquer the mighty 67th street hill. That's Part 1. There's a shorter, steeper section after that.


My bike was a complete disaster when I got home. It looked like I'd been mountain biking in the mud with it. One thing I love about my apartment complex is they provide outdoor hose hookups on every building. I picked up a hose and some simple green and got to scrubbing. I waxed it, too. Does that make me an OCP?





Just being goofy.






These pedals have seen many miles and better days but they still click like new.


Random Tunage:
DJ Hell - Buttersaure
White Zombie - More Human Than Human

Back to the grind

There are few woes that can't be made better by a nice bicycle ride -- a sucking center-of-mass bullet wound and whooping cough aside, of course. When the woe of the day is simply dreading the return to the 8' x 8' sliver of the faceless bastille that takes up 1/4 of my life, a bicycle ride is actually quite therapeutic.

Unfortunately, a powerful but relatively isolated storm decided to throw fierce hail at my bedroom window amid ominous thunder and blinding lightning. My slumber is seldom interrupted by thunder, but the din of hailstones agitating windows almost always rouses me. The storm woke me at 2:30 AM and it took about an hour for me to get back to sleep. By the time 5:00 hit, I was sufficiently rested despite the disturbance.

The roads were obviously wet, but with overcast skies and no falling rain, I decided to ride the distance this morning. The fenders did an excellent job of keeping me dry. Winds were light (a head/crosswind), temperatures in the lower 60's. It was a good morning.

Once I hit Wyandotte County, I noticed that there was a lot of flooding. This is the lowest elevation of my commute route. Particularly between Mission road and state line, Kansas City, KS was downright disgusting with flooded gutters and storm drains. Covering the road was a 1/4" thick milkshake-esque fusion of grime and dirt washed downhill from KCMO mixed with what I could only guess was overflow sewage and lawn debris.

As I started my ascent into KCMO, the roads started to dry out and due to either the higher elevation or falling clouds, the KCMO skyline was visibly enshrouded in a murky, misty haze.





We had four bike commuters for coffee this morning. Lorin, Bob, JR and myself. JR's bike is locked up out of frame (but he's visible through the window)


North wind and mid-70s are predicted for this afternoon. Lorin said he might be interested in riding all the way back home with me.

Random Tunage:
Nine Inch Nails - La Mer
Future Sound Of London - We Have Explosive

7th Wedding Anniversary

Holding true to tradition, I took our wedding anniversary as a vacation day from work.  I treated my wife to a membership to a professional massage therapist (I'm not all that good at giving therapeutic massages) and shortly we'll be heading off to a nice dinner.  I was sitting here tinkering with geeky stuff when my neighbor (a florist and a fellow cyclist whom I have helped a few times) dropped off my wife's flowers. 

I've been completely disconnected from work for four whole days now and with the exception of Friday morning, the weather's been great for a long weekend.  I'm not ready to go back to work, but our beautiful Kansas City Weather streak is coming to a temporary end.

Random Tunage:

Armin van Buuren & DH Shah - Going All Wrong  (AvB Extended Remix)

Sasha - Who Killed Sparky (Exclusive emFire Edit)

Both of these are newish progressive tracks that are simply amazing with mind-blowing riffs, hooks and builds.  Check them out, even if you don't like electronic music.  They're on iTunes.

Weekend so far

Yesterday: Rode to the DMV. Short line, I was #350. It was a little more than 19 miles round trip, but I didn't take the shortest route. It was chilly and misty.



Today, I rode to Daily Dose for the KC PHP User's Group. More than 14 miles round trip, and a somewhat enjoyable ride. Quite a bit of traffic, but beautiful weather.


Just messing around.




Nice day for a game of Golf, apparently.


I was trying to snap the epic hill in the background, but autofocus chose my dashboard instead.


Welcome to old-town Lenexa, KS. I just live around the bend from here.

Bringing home bike parts... on a bike!

Stormy, stormy weather this afternoon. I am still drenched.

I went to check out JR's shop. Here are our (soaked) bikes in a freight elevator as we ride up to the place where the bikes are.


I picked up some wheels from him, here's one of his bike closets. It's hard to believe how much stuff he's got, I couldn't even begin to capture it all, and this was just one of the rooms.


Here's how I ended up carting the wheels home. These are some low-end double-wall Weinmann wheels. Nothing fancy but better than the original crap that came on The Goat. I'll swap knobby tires onto these wheels, as they'll be used mostly for singletrack/cross country duty.


It was so ghetto, but it worked just fine.


Random Tunage:
God Lives Underwater - Rearrange
Moonman (a.k.a. Ferry Corsten) - Galaxia

Galaxia is such a spine-tingler. Although it's probably a decade old, this song stands on a very short list of my favorites of all time.

Nice morning, but not enough time for a full commute

61 Degrees, south winds. It would have been nice.









It'll likely be storming this evening. I guess it's a bus day. I'm off until Tuesday, so no commuting for a while. Maybe I'll find myself on an interesting ride or two this weekend.

Random Tunage:
Marilyn Manson - The Beautiful People
Steve Winwood - Back In The High Life Again

Evidentally, entropy emerges via my tunage this morning.

Announcement: Return of Monday Commuter Convoys!

No more excuses, folks.

The weather is (kind of) getting nicer. It's time for the Monday Commuter Convoy to start back up.

Who runs this thing anyways?
Noah (that's me!) does. Well, I don't run anything, but I'll be one of the people to lead you, and I'm herding cats for this loosely organized phenomenon. My Monday Convoy is the same Lenexa-Downtown commuter convoy schedule and route that will be featured on May 12 as part of Bike Week in Kansas City. There are other volunteers hosting other routes for Bike Week, but if you're interested in hosting your own weekly commuter convoy, let me know and I'll start getting things in motion.

What is a bike commuter convoy?
A convoy is a group of vehicles traveling together for mutual support. A bike commuter convoy is a somewhat social no-drop ride at a pace determined by the slowest rider. Think of it as a group ride on your way to and from work!

Why ride in a convoy?
The Convoy allows those who are new to bike commuting (or new to bicycling!) to team up with experienced bicycle commuters who don't mind taking it easy and helping others out. By riding together, we are seen as traffic. By riding with experienced commuters, newer riders can gain knowledge of bike-friendly routes, traffic patterns and on-road confidence. It is our goal to help others get comfortable using their bikes for all kinds of trips.

When:
Every Monday through September, weather permitting. We will depart at 5:40 AM and head toward Downtown KCMO.

Where:
Ride or drive to the strip mall on the west side of Quivira between 87th and 85th. There's plenty of parking if you need it. For reference, there's a Conoco gas station and a (currently out-of-business) restaurant that we usually meet between. [Street View]

If you're up north of 85th and Quivira, you can meet us at QuikTrip on the Northeast corner of 67th and Nieman, usually betwen 5:50 and 6:00 AM depending on the riders. Parking is limited, and I wouldn't rely on QT's parking lot unless you want your car towed.

The riders that have been participating lately have been holding an average speed of about 14 MPH in the morning. At this pace, we pass Boulevard Brewery between 6:20 and 6:30 AM. It's entirely possible to get to work in the downtown loop well before 7:00 if there are no mechanical problems.

The return convoy will meet at Boulevard Brewery, usually between 3:45 and 4:00PM. The ride back to Lenexa takes approximately an hour.

[Checkpoint Map] [Lenexa-To-Downtown Route] [Return Route]

Extra Stuff you might want to bring along

• As the weather gets warmer, you'll likely want a water bottle. Getting dehydrated isn't fun.
• It's wise to carry flat tire repair stuff (patches and/or spare tubes and a way to inflate them)
• $1.75 will buy you a ride on the JO from downtown back to the convoy start point if weather gets bad or you don't feel up to the full length ride home.
• I consider a helmet and a tail light essential, and at least a cheap LED headlight a VERY wise idea. Please think of using them for this ride.

Questions?
Just use the form on the right side to contact me, or leave your comments here!

Took a walk over lunch

Not much worth mentioning for the homeward commute (aside from the swanky new Bike Week poster I saw on the bus)



Other than that, I had a nice lunch, went for a walk.

I committed a crime against photography (I think)


If these were further from the building, I think people might mistake these for bike racks.


It's spring time.


Another mediocre coffee shop in the downtown loop


In the colder months, this alley is home to the homeless. Lots of warm air coming from various vents, as there's a hotel kitchen right on the other side of the wall. In the warmer months, it smells of rotting kitchen waste and is writhing with maggots. In a few weeks, I will have to hold my nose to walk past it. I like this alley more in the winter.


I tried to go to the bank to deposit our MO Tax Refund (small enough to spend in one place, easily) only to find out that since it is written to me AND my wife (not me OR my wife) we both have to sign it. Freaking red tape. Someone get me a blowtorch.

Random Tunage:
The Killers - Mr. Brightside (Jacques Lu Cont's Thin White Duke Remix)
Desree - Dreams Can Come True

Great morning for a ride

First, Some pictures from last night's commute.

Two Bees (Downtown District staff) and a bike


Fun with shadows (and iPhoto effects)


Helmet Storage. One less (sweaty) thing to take on the bus with me and it isn't going anywhere latched this way.


This morning, we had crazy south winds with gusts well into 30 MPH territory.

Lenexa, KS near 79th and Quivira. The bank thermometer and clock are both inaccurate. It was about 53°F upon departure this morning.






I saw this on the road at 25th and Southwest. I'll leave the reader to identify this device (lol) I'll just tell you that it's NOT a LASER pointer. It's about 1.5" long.


Skyline at sunrise. Check out the epic debris field along the right side of the road. Someone get a street sweeper out here!


Downtown Daybreak (sorry it's crooked)


Blossoms obscure the Power & Light District


Sprint Center and a road pylon (covering exposed wires from a fallen light post)


This light post. Obviously struck by a vehicle. Gotta love KC motorists.


Obligatory lightpost abstractness


You can thank Deb Ridgway for getting these awesome replacements for some of the wheel-killing storm drains around town.


Transamerica building A.k.a. Town Pavilion.


All in all, a great, beautiful morning. Ran into Karen on the way in, saw lots of bikes being ridden and locked up downtown, had coffee with Lorin (who snuck up on me while taking that last photo) and JR. Winds will continue out of the South or Southwest this evening, so it looks like more bus riding for me. I'm such a slacker.

Random Tunage:
Bryan Adams - Heaven
Nine Inch Nails - 32 Ghosts IV

It's tax day. Ugh.

Photo: Cutting through this parking lot and garage saves me a few minutes of waiting for traffic lights.

Brisk this morning just a little below 40°F, and I should have worn my full-finger gloves. Yesterday's riding in fingerless gloves left me with seriously chapped fingertips. My lips are also chapped. I'm ready for this cold spell to be done with.

So, thanks to me crossing state lines between home and work to make a living, I actually owe Uncle Sam and Kansas Department of Pillaging Revenue a grand sum that is almost exactly FOUR TIMES what I originally paid for my Trek 1200. That's a lot of bike goodies I'm missing out on, folks. I definitely need to see what I need to do so this doesn't happen next year.

There should be some really strong headwinds for the ride home, so I'll probably take the L Bus back into Johnson County this evening. I'm sore and tired from yesterday's bikey adventures, but I really need to get back into the swing of things.

Random Tunage:
Hybrid - Altitude
Bakke and Ljungqvist - Fanatic

The art of pass/fail commuting

Yes, a blatant bite of BSNYC's ankles. I can't help it, he's one of the few bikosphere writers who proves on a daily basis that he has my vocabulary outclassed (but only by a little). Meanwhile, I was more than just a little outclassed by another cyclist I saw on my homeward trip. Probably another commuter because I don't think anyone would intentionally ride on Southwest Boulevard unless they really had to get from one point to another. It was one of those cyclists that's a half a mile ahead and it keeps nagging on you so you keep pushing harder until you just about die. That was me today.

It's been said that whenever two bicyclists are riding the same direction, there is probably a race going on. And thus begins my homeward commute. I finally gave up as I slogged up to Antioch on Merriam Lane. It's all I had. I was tapped. Antioch and Merriam is kind of my "safe" point. I always feel better once I get to that intersection. First and foremost, an uphill turns into a downhill, whereafter 35MPH or faster is attainable and able to be maintained for a good distance. Then, there's the fact that I finally get another lane, so cars can just go around me without waiting for oncoming traffic to clear. Also, Turkey Creek trail is very close, and from there I can kick back, relax, and all that. In BSNYC's words: I embraced my inner "meh." The one problem with BSNYC's strategy when applied to commuting by bike in Kansas City? You can't stay where the people are without hopping in a Suburban. There aren't often any cyclists around from which a peloton of mediocrity may be wrought. Just the winners. And me, the slow guy who can't even get close enough to sneak a pull from an unsuspecting sidewalk bike ninja.

So, as I'm sitting here with heart palpitations recovering from and recalling the afternoon's events, I suppose you're here for the faux toes. Err... Yeah.

Well, I didn't bother taking any while I was...well... "losing the breakaway" I finally stopped to take off a layer of clothes and get some water south of Johnson Drive.


Took a pic of Turkey Creek


Bike Path


Some ugly guy I found


I got home with enough time to cool off after my hammerfest, then turn around and head to the Monday night ride.

Mark Thomas gives the weekly bike safety speech for the new riders (5 of them tonight!)


Riders prepare for liftoff


This guy wanted to ride with us tonight but the only working bike he had put together was his E6 Tri Bike. That had to suck. I wouldn't want to ride a Tri bike on this group ride.


This TriCross is getting put into commuter duty very soon.


Down-low shot of the back part of the group


A ride through Mission Hills


zomg! Mexican food!


Some abstractness with the e6.


Riders packing it up


Riders packing it in.


My post-ride meal. Nom nom nom.


All told, I rode about 6 miles this morning, more than 14 on the return commute, about 9 miles getting to and from the group ride and 12 miles with the group. It all ended up around 40 miles. I need more days like this in my routine. Preferably without the Burger King and Mexican Food.

Random Tunage:
INOJ - Time After Time
Lisa Loeb - Do you sleep

Brisky, busy Monday morning

Miscellany: I shrunk down some of the stuff on the sidebar into a javascript menu on the right side. I was getting tired of the clutter. I may pull more of the content into there soon.

I had to pack up my old D-Link wireless card this morning to give JR while we get coffee. His laptop lacks built-in wireless and I no longer need this one.


... Sooo early. Ugh. I had errands to run, though


First Stop: Coc-- Sorry, I mean BLOCKbuster Video. Evil.


I also had to swing by the post office, then get breakfast. On my way, I noticed a new bike rack between Sports Authority and Circuit City in the Oak Park Commons shopping center.


Breakfast. I'm never going to lose weight if I keep this up. But it's sooo tasty.



Random Tunage (who needs iPods?!)

Vanessa Carlton - 1000 Miles
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Maps (live acoustic)

Relaxed Sunday

Went to church to run sound this morning. Sorry. Blurry. Low light.


The praise team. My dad's on drums.


We had a baptism today too. The sprinkle variety, since we're using a high school auditorium.


Nothing like a beer and grocery run followed by some good home cookin' to wind down a day. I locked up to a smoker since the grocery store doesn't have bike parking.




Random Tunage:

Hybrid - If I survive
Traci Lords - Control

Yes, that Traci Lords, and this track from her 1995 album "1000 Fires" is real, genuine techno [oppose: dance/trance/club] but with some of the most haunting lyrics I've ever heard.

My newest blogging buddy: Ed Roberts

I've been following Ed Roberts' KCweather.org for a while now, and it's so far one of the most accurate weather sources. Of course, this is of absolutely no use to my friends and readers outside of KC. But, this is after all a blog about using alternative transportation (but bicycle-focused) in and around KC. With both a blog feed and a nightly audio pod(fore)cast, this is a must-have resource for bike commuters in the area.

No photos this morning.

More on the photos in a moment. Temperatures were in the high 30's and falling when I woke up this morning, but there was just a few splotches on the radar and the wind was coming out of the southwest. With the road known as Southwest Boulevard making up almost 2/3 of my commute, it shouldn't surprise many that I took advantage of a nice tailwind. I might have thought twice about riding the whole way if I'd known that the patchwork of green and yellow was going to blossom and dump rain on me for more than half of the time I was riding. Rain and electronics don't mix, so no photos were taken.

Despite the rain, it was actually a really nice ride. The tailwind was appreciated and I made a significant jump in speed this morning -- 18.2 MPH average over 14 miles. It's just too bad that it's not because I'm getting stronger. It was just from the wind. Save for a few full stops, I rarely dropped to the middle ring for anything, and I obviously spent a good amount of time moving along at a pretty good clip. The fenders shone brightly, never getting more than a few drops of water on the tips of my shoes. The rain from above wasn't too bad against my "Not An Agent" windbreaker, either. Mostly, it just sucked getting hit in the face with rain, and having it sheet off of my helmet and into my eyes.

I got downtown earlier than ever before this morning and was half-finished with my Mocha before Lorin showed up. JR also arrived a bit later, sporting a laptop that should help him get his goods out on KC Craigslist a lot easier. I'll hook him up with one of my old Wi-Fi cards on Monday. There are tons of little restaurants and coffee shops around town with free wireless.

Random Tunage:
Orbital - Midnight (what can I say? I have a ton of Orbital's stuff!)
Nine Inch Nails - The Wretched

It's almost Friday!

My flickr account is over its limit. Bah. This is why I have my own server. Click any image for gallery.

Woke up to this. Ugh.


They didn't have any lights on in the bus this morning. I took a nap.


Nummy Mocha.


Nummy Orange. Jeff apparently dislikes cubicle-orange-munchers. My peers don't seem to mind. Or maybe they're afraid of crossing me.


Ah... The Dreaded Bus. 40MPH Winds and fast-approaching hail and lightning wimped me out today. Knock-you-on-your-ass wind, hail, lightning and sitting on a big chunk of aluminum didn't sound like a bright idea.


What the hail?! You can't see it in the photo, but it's hailing. My bike got a nice abrasive cleaning on the front of the Dreaded Bus.


Turkey Creek. This shot was taken from the bridge photographed here. You can see where I was on the MUP when I took that photo.


Hardware stores are ubiquitous around here.


"Downtown Shawnee" - A fountain at Shawnee Mission Parkway and Nieman.


Can't be Johnson County without a Starbucks. They're even more ubiquitous than hardware stores.


I've never tried stitching together photos manually for a panorama. I'd call this portrait of stormy skies a horribly failed first attempt.


My AirPort Express, through which much random tunage has been pumped to the sound system.

Ian Van Dahl - Castles In The Sky
Orbital - Out There (Intro) & Out There Somewhere

Scenic full commute

What part of $60/Month did this loser not comprehend? Now you know why I ride a bike.


Took a stroll through my cow-orker's "old computer stuff" museum, some of which is obviously not that old but humorous all the same.





I was thinking of catching the bus, decided to go the whole way.


Ran into Karen on SW Blvd.


Merriam, KS






I'll have a coronary with extra cheese, please.




Farmer's Market


More Merriam, KS




Wheel Killer. I hate this crossing.


I haven't seen a snapper this big since I lived in Nebraska. It was at least a foot wide.


What's in the mail today?


Holy Crap! It's a birth announcement for B-Max!


Ooof! The last 30 feet are the hardest part of my commute.


Danger, Will Robinson! My DiNotte was in battery warning mode all day, more than 90 minutes of riding. It still worked well, though.


The church's Sound Board. Well, it's pretty much mine. No one else allowed.


Random Tunage:
Orbital - Style
Madonna - The Power Of Goodbye

Frantic Morning. Trouble waking up.

Packing my lunch. Mmm. Cheddar.


Frantic


Highway traffic under the viaduct


Bus riders. It was packed this morning.


Spresso.


Bob joined us this morning


Breakfast


Random Tunage:
Regina Spektor - Fidelity
Underworld - Pearl's Girl (Live)

Chilly ride home

Ugh.


Lunch.


I hate working with mainframes. Can someone hand me an abacus?!



Let me guess, the blue fountain has nothing to do with KU's Win last night?


The Twelve likes to pretend she can go 70 on the highway.


You've Got Mail.


My Axe, slightly processed ;)

Random Tunage:
Garbage - Stupid Girl
Duran Duran - Ordinary World

Stormy, Grimy Morning.

Stormy Skies. Long Exposure with fill flash.


Kittehs.




Arc


Grime




Ghetto Dryer


Not An Agent


Cornucopia


Random Tunage:

Paul Van Dyk - White Lies
Shiny Toy Guns - Le Disko

New Poll: How Many Bike Trips Per Week?

The question is simple. How many trips do you use your bike for where many would use a car. Heck, even count walking trips if you use your feet to get you to nearby places.

As always, you have to go to KC Bike Commuting to see the poll (it's in the upper right corner of the page).

For the sake of consistency, count each round trip outing as one trip. So if you commute by bike 3 days per week and stop at the grocery store on your ride home every tuesday, we'll just call it 3. If you end up making multiple trips to and from home and on the weekends, estimate your usual number transportation bike outings.

See my world: April 7, 2008

Fresh Coffee


Expensive Mug


Hacking


Citrus Peel


Wyandotte County


Gotta race the hail storm


Farmers Market Bridge


Johnson Drive


Scofflaw


Mail Call


Random Tunage:

Future Sound Of London - We Have Explosive
Plumb - In My Arms

Mundaze

Random Tunage:
Fluke - Dirty Little Mouth
IIO - Rapture (Riva Remix)

Left work early

My wife wasn't feeling well yesterday, and there was an appointment (not medical) she needed me to go to in her place, so I had to bail from work early. On my way home, I had to stop by the Leawood Library. At least they had a bike rack.


I also swung by Barnes & Noble at Town Center Plaza, an upscale shopping center known for their intentional lack of bicycle parking, not that it's Barnes and Noble's fault. The property management company won't let them install bike racks. They're unsightly and would give punk BMX kids someplace to park. Oh, the horror.

I took a mix of Indian Creek Trail and various roadways to get home from Leawood. I opted for this separated sidepath over I-435 adjacent to Roe, as the road was pretty narrow and Friday's notorious early rush hour was in full force.

You might think that all I do is ride and write...

But sometimes I just have to get out of the saddle and geek out. Actually, I spend about the same amount of time tinkering with technology at home as I spend riding my bike any given week. I just don't write about it that often.

Yesterday's adventure was to get jlime Linux installed on an old PDA that used to run Windows CE. This is the same PDA that's visible in this post, and I also had it with me (but in the handlebar bag) the weekend before my epic face plant. Ah, technology and bicycles. Can it get any better?!

While Windows CE is probably my least-loathed operating system from Microsoft (it's quick and nimble even on computers without a lot of power, not over-bloated like XP or Vista, for example), I really felt like trying something new.

Yes, I rode home last night and to this bus this morning. There's just nothing bikey worth writing about right now.

Random Tunage:
Prodigy - Diesel Power
Orbital - P.E.T.R.O.L.

(TOTALLY RANDOM, I swear!)

Mishmash - April 3, 2008

Homeward.
Hybridzilla rocketed to 36 MPH from a dead stop. I decided to do an all-out sprint right after I got off the bus. I think she has more in her than that but I wasn't warmed up yet. The rest of the commute was quick and painless after I finished sprinting, panting, coasting and drinking water. As far as ghetto-rigged beaters go, this is a great back-up bike but I wouldn't dare trade it for my road bike. It's served me well for the last few days.

The Twelve is back.
Finally. The 105 derailleur they had picked up for me was a short cage. That's great on a racing bike, but won't work for a triple-crank bike with a touring gear range. I just went with the Tiagra-level one they had at the shop. It looked fundamentally the same as the 105 anyways, just weighed more. Who cares? Not I, if it's the difference between riding my bike now or waiting another week. The Sora Derailleur, however, looked like crap. No way I was using that one.

Chillin' With Robert.
I got home with my bike as Robert, my neighbor across the hall was getting home from work. He mentioned a wireless cyclo computer thing that he'd gotten for Christmas but hadn't installed it yet. I told him I could install his computer for him, and I got crackin'. He also mentioned that his bike shop (The KC Trek Store) offered him one free tune-up and was asking what kinds of things the tune-up involved and if it was worth it. He's one of those guys who's ridden most of his life. This is his first really nice bike, and he has always relied on shops for everything. He kept asking questions, so I kept answering them and showing him what he wanted to know. I tuned his bike up for him (only his brakes needed tightening, everything else was well adjusted and true) and showed him how to use barrel adjusters for his shifters and brakes. It was cool to talk to him for a while. I've been meaning to try to ride with him for a few months but his schedule and the weather haven't been cooperating.

More Wrenching.
The FD was out of whack on The Twelve when I got home, and the RD was acting funky, too. I kind of expected my bike to work flawlessly after a trip to the shop but it wasn't anything I didn't know how to fix. About 20 minutes spent tinkering around and The Twelve was dialed in and wired for sound. A grocery run provided the perfect opportunity to find any remaining glitches. The only thing I'm finding is that the tech adjusted the FD so it's closer to the chainring. In theory, this should result in more positive and accurate shifting. In practice, the cage brushes ever so slightly on my hammer ring if I am in the middle ring and really hammer on it. It's one of those things that absolutely will drive me bonkers the first time I ride the full trip to downtown or back home. I'll figure it out this evening.

This Morning.
Grimy. Wet. Mist turning to heavy rain with temperatures a little below 50°. It was generally unpleasant. Bah. I'm glad I was able to dry off and caffeinate this morning while the rain stopped. I spent a good amount of time explaining the Trek Lime and Shimano's "Coasting" technology to Lorin. Now he understand how it works, but still doesn't get why anyone would buy it. I tried to explain, but I don't think it worked too well.

Sorry for the verbosity. You're now in the loop. I'll leave you with these:

Quandaries and Observations.
A few days ago, a scruffy old man on the bus commented on my mirror. "What's that glass on your helmet?" When I described its purpose, he went on a terribly long-winded diatribe to the point of berating me for even owning a helmet. My reply? "You're just smarter than me." I can almost, kind of see the point in berating someone for NOT wearing a helmet, but to poke fun at someone's safety equipment simply because they haven't done a face plant after being run off the road seems paradoxical. Live and let die, I suppose?

Can anyone give me a practical reason why leaving the test pedals on a pair of double-sided SPDs is wrong? I'm not talking about how DORKY it looks. I mean a practical reason. I've read comments in forums about it being unsafe, but can't figure out why. Hybridzilla is set up this way. The cheapo test platforms don't fall off, they let me ride easily in regular shoes, they provide one more set of reflectors, and they flip to the bottom so the clipless side is ready to go. I don't get it. Any takers?

Random Tunage:
Madonna - I Love New York (Thin White Duke Remix)
White Zombie - More Human Than Human (Meet Bambi In The King's Harem Remix)

The Madonna track has absolutely NOTHING to do with the horrendously lame TV Show of the same name, featuring the psycho tramp from one of the "Flava Flave" alternate reality shows. In fact, all of those "* of Love" shows pretty much grate on my last nerve despite the fact that my wife seems to obsess over them. There are no less than three different series running on VH1 right now. How much cleavage, testosterone, cat fighting, swearing, man-whoring, woman-whoring and slavery can we throw onto a single TV Channel?!? Stop the madness.

Another reason I choose my bike: Bumper Cars!

Believe me, I have plenty of reasons to justify using my bike downtown regardless if I ride it all the way or throw it on the front of a bus. It's not like I need any convincing.

Today, while sipping on my daily dose of fatty, caffeinated carbohydrates, I saw a car. I see plenty of them, but this one was pulling in and out of a parallel parking spot. I watched the driver take about nine tries to get her car parallel parked. Three of those attempts resulted in rear-ending a lamp post. Two of them resulted in rolling her rear tire into the curb, another try got her successfully backed ONTO the curb. I believe she probably scraped her front fender on the chrome bumper of a parked pickup truck at least one of the times, and she finally got parked. Not surprising, she was on the cell phone the entire time.

I told JR he could get rich quick if he just stood there on Main street and offered to parallel park these idiots' cars for a few bucks. This and several other snide remarks from me resulted in Lorin and JR calling me a jaded grouch that's crotchety beyond my years. I can't say I disagree with them too much. I could probably blog a few times per week posing as a curmudgeon who's got a serious bone to pick with the world. How'd Lorin word it? Something like "Observations from the rocking chair."

No sooner did the Inner City Soccer Mom (JR's Words, not mine!) finish banging her Grand Prix up on Kansas City's streetscape, a pair of nincompoops in a PT Loser start having the same problem. Four attempts and two scraped wheels later, the driver (if you can call him that) has somehow managed to park, but leaving almost a foot of room between the car and the curb. Look, pal. You already trashed your wheels. There's no need to park in the middle of the traffic lane. He made up for it by backing firmly -- and almost intentionally if I do say so myself -- into the SUV behind him when leaving.

There are other horror stories of people getting their cars damaged in the very same parking garage my bike resides in while I'm at work, too. It's pseudo-valet parking that's 3-4 cars deep. You park, then hand your keys over so the cars can be moved if someone who's boxed in needs to leave. Hard telling if it's other car owners or the "Skilled" valet drivers to blame for dings and dents in the garage. I'm just glad I park on a bike rack by the Motorcycles, where there's plenty of room. Although, now that I watched a Grand Prix successfully back over a 6" curb and into a lamp post, I'm really thinking twice about using lamp posts as improvised bike parking. In fact, I'm wondering if the bike racks that are a full 8' from the street are vulnerable to these drivers.

Random Tunage:
Masters & Nickson - Out there (5th Dimension)
Crystal Method - Blowout

This had to look like something out of a cartoon...

First things first, my wife is (finally, thankfully) out of the hospital. More diagnostics and Dr's visits to come. But she's back home. Thanks for the comments and emails.

After my ride home, I went to the bike shop to check on my Trek 1200. I didn't notice it, but my whole RD actually got destroyed in the carnage last week. Unfortunately, the RD isn't covered under the warranty, so I will have to shell out my hard-earned cash for a new one. My options were to cheap out and get a Sora RD for under $30 (no thanks) or upgrade to Ultegra for $115 (No thanks) if I wanted them to use parts they had in the shop. Or, I could get a brand new 105 RD for a more reasonable price. 105 is the stock level for this bike, but the one they have is silver instead of black. The rub? I have wait for someone to run to the other store to get the parts, which means they probably won't have time to install it until tomorrow.

So I told them to go get it. And then I goofed off in the shop for a while. And this is where it gets good. I got on a unicycle. I know what you're thinking. Noah's a retard! Well, I didn't actually even attempt that. So I tried their Indo Balance Board. Full-on. Just hopped right on it and gave it a whirl. Whoooooop - THUD. The balance board flew across the shop floor, and I landed on my (well padded) butt. No harm. Not even my ego, because I knew it would happen. The techs knew it would happen, too. It was later that they disclosed the fact that pretty much everyone's first time on the Indo board results in a butt plant. There were no surprises. They are thinking of putting a video camera up in the skateboard section just so they can youtube some of the epic failures. I don't know how well that plan would work out for them.

So, tomorrow I get the Twelve back. I hope.

Random Tunage:
T.A.T.U. - All the things she said
Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit

I can has sleep now plz?

What a night!

The Monday night ride was somewhat brutal. Cold and very windy. I guess it wasn't too bad, but it was hard to regulate my temperature without dropping everyone, and it's marketed as a slow ride.

When that was all done, I picked up some grub, packed up my things for the morning commute, then went to the hospital, where my wife has been since early Sunday morning. I spent the night there. Initially, I tried sleeping in a chair with another chair facing me to rest my legs on. That lasted until sometime around 3:00 AM with no sleep lasting more than 15 minutes or so at a time, thanks to discomfort and constant interruption of nurses for various issues with both my wife and her roommate. Back killing me, I grabbed a sheet and lay on the cold, hard tile floor, resting my upper body and head on a pillow. I finally got to sleep around 3:30, slept until 5:30 with lots of tossing and turning, then got my stuff together and got out.

Since I left the bike in the back of my wife's Explorer, I just took my old clothes and some of my wife's stuff down there, then geared up the bike. It was a little above freezing this morning, and the hospital is almost the same distance from The Maul as my apartment, so the ride took just as long. It's uphill most of the way, and there was a stiff (and cold!) headwind to fight with. Approaching 103rd, I saw a blinkie. I knew it had to be Lorin. I played catch up for a while, then succumbed to the uphill, headwind death slog. My legs just didn't have anything in them after last night.

I think my wife will finally get discharged today sometime. She's basically lived in the hospital for almost 3 days at this point. We're just waiting on some doctors to look over the diagnostics they've been doing. It's been a rough couple of months for the both of us, so hopefully this represents the apex and decrescendo of all the medical drama.

Random Tunage:
Orbital - Halcyon + On + On
Underworld - Cowgirl

Oddly enough, both of those tracks WERE really played at random from a playlist of 873 songs, but both were also featured in the movie "Hackers"