Bicycle Safety Rodeo, Financial/Health Fair this weekend

Budd Park (St. John Avenue and Brighton Avenue), April 25th, 11:00 am - 3:00 pm.

This is an annual tradition that keeps getting better each year. Originally billed as a bicycle safety event for Northeast KC, this year, the annual bicycle safety rodeo will also be offering a health and financial fair for adults. My buddy JR has played a vital role in this event for the last 4 years. Also, I believe Lorin and his daughter Bailey will be volunteering. The Consulate of Mexico plays a big role in this event every year as well as they try to reach out to the Hispanic community in northeast. Several sponsors from the bicycling, financial and healthcare community are also represented.

Join the Consulate of Mexico and various other sponsors in celebrating "Dia del Niño" at the 4th annual Bike Safety Rodeo/Health and Financial Fair. Kids ages 3 to 11 and their parents are invited to attend. Kids bring your bikes! If you don't have a bike, loaner bikes will be available, and during the event refurbished and new bikes will be raffled. The first 500 registered participants, will received a bike helmet and T-shirt. This free, family focused event will feature not only a bike safety rodeo for the kids, but financial and health education for the entire family.

Here are some photos from last year's event:

Helmet Give-Away


Consul Jacob Prado with rodeo participants


Vice-Consul Justiniano Menchaca helps with the bicycle raffle.


These bicycles were raffled off. Some were purchased at a discount, others donated. They were all checked out and refurbished (if needed) before hand.

Job Hunt

I'm still on the prowl for work. As some of you know, I didn't get the "Information Security Incident Handler" (a.k.a. "hunting bad guys") dream job I was initially holding out for. I made it very far into the interview process, but was edged out by someone with more computer forensics experience. The entire time, I've been applying for pretty much anything I qualify for here in Kansas City, and even a few gigs outside the area.

Things have been looking up this last week, though. There's a job similar to my "dream" job that's starting to look very promising. Unfortunately, it's near a Detroit suburb named Romulus -- which, by the way, is basically the best name for a town, ever. There are also a few other potential jobs NOT related to information security which seem to be progressing quite well, and they're still right here in the Greater Kansas City area. One of them would send me to Wisconsin for a month of training. No solid job offers yet, but like I said, things are looking up for a change.

In the mean time, I've been keeping my skills sharp, learning new things and keeping stress at bay with some great bike rides. I've been bartering skilled labor to make ends meet: Tuning up bicycles, fixing cars (replacing clutches and starter solenoid type stuff), fixing office phone systems, and fixing... well... pretty much anything that's broken in exchange for the things we need. It's a shame I don't have any "on the job" experience for many of the cool things I've learned how to do in my lifetime, not that "Auto Technician" or "Lineman" would pay the bills around here.

Security is still one of my biggest passions in life, right up there with bicycling. If you know of any local companies that could use an Information Security guy, let me know. There's still time to hire me.

p.s. I know you guys gave me hell for turning down a job a while ago. I am still, to this day, glad I did what I did. No regrets there. It simply would not have worked for me, or for them.

Photo Above:
Crate full of BrickArms ordnance by Dunechaser

Random Tunage:
Burn In Noise - Transparent
Setherian - Patch This
(Yes, I've been on a Goa/PsyTrance kick lately)

Impromptu Dark-Side-Ride

I tried to rally some troops together for a night ride. Things are stressful and I just needed to get out and decompress. The sun was already setting when I decided I had to get out and ride. I had one taker: Chris. We decided to ride out to Mill Creek Trail and head out to Kaw River and back. Distance was ~24 Miles. A little shorter than most "official" Dark-Side-Rides. The trail was pitch black in most spots, with nothing visible outside the glow of our lights.











Random Tunage:
K's Choice - Not An Addict
Primitive Radio Gods - Standing Outside a Broken Phone Booth with Money in My Hand

Paint

I woke up at 5-something this morning. That used to be part of my routine, but it's highly unusual these days. Eggs, an apple and a few slices of turkey bacon for breakfast. Filled the water bottle. Go through the old routine, kind of like waking up to do my old commute. I got out a few minutes after 6 and rode to the corner. I waited, eying the southern horizon at daybreak. A few minutes later, the familiar, conspicuous flashing pattern of a DiNotte headlight crested the viaduct, quickly distinguishing a distant bicycle from within a small swarm of silhouetted motor vehicles.

I rolled out, and a minute or so later, Chris pulled up alongside me on the very same bike he'd flogged when we hit the singletrack at Shawnee Mission Park last weekend. I still have a really soft spot in my heart for the Long Haul Trucker. Or at least the frame. Chris' Ultegra Hollowtech triple crank is a drool-worthy piece of flair as well. I'm not sure I'd ever get used to bar-ends. I'm in love with my brifters, thank you very much.

For those who don't know, Chris is returning to full-route bike commuting, at least some days. I told him that this route is his baby now, and let him blaze the trail. We headed out, mostly the old route I used to take every day, except we stayed on Quivira all the way to 67th. The last time I rode that way, I was en-route to the Cave Ride.

I didn't bother to check my pace at all, but I felt like I was slower than normal, and I know I was lagging behind a bit. I really need to get out and ride more, although part of it was that I was still feeling yesterday's surprise mile-fest as well.

I got to hang out with Lorin and JR over coffee, then rode around KCMO waiting until 9 to take care of some paper work, and then it was slow going homeward bound into a stiff and gusty headwind. All in all, another beautiful day for a ride.

Directly adjacent to where I took the picture above, I saw something else that made me chuckle just a little.


Random Tunage:
Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit
Green Day - Longview

Fools' errands

I had some errands to run today. I had an appointment with someone at the library. I showed up right as they opened and there were no other bikes on the rack. Just an old razor scooter that looks like it's been locked up and forgotten for the past 5 years. It turns out my appointment wouldn't likely be until after noon, so I snagged a bite to eat on the ride home.

I went back around noon, only to be told that I needed some paperwork from home. It'd have been nice if I'd been told this the first time. I went home. I couldn't find some of the paperwork I needed. So I rode to a government office to get that paperwork, which involved a half-hour wait, not too bad. Then, I finally got back to the library, confident I had everything I needed, at around 2:00 PM. And there were STILL 4 people ahead of me. So I renewed my library card, poked around a bit, and waited for my appointment. But hey, I got good news out of the deal. Still, it felt like I was being sent on a wild goose chase for a while.

Most of the bikes I was locked up with were of the toy-store variety. The "nicest" bike aside from my Trek 1200 was an e-Zip battery assisted bike. Still, all of them looked like they were well used for getting around town, including decent locks and a few equipped with headlights. On my way to the government office, I ran across an older gentleman who also seemed to be getting around town more than just out for a ride, as well as a recumbent rider. Who could blame anyone for riding on a beautiful day like this?!




Tomorrow, it sounds like my buddy Chris is going to start biking the whole way in to work (downtown) again, so I'll probably join him in the morning, with whomever else he decides to rally for the convoy. I have some paperwork to drop off downtown in the next few days, anyway. I mean, I could fax or snail-mail it, but why bother, when it'll be a great morning for a 30 or 40 mile ride?

Random Tunage:
Sixpence None The Richer - Breathe
Jimmy Eat World - The Middle

Trails

A few weeks ago, I got rejected when I rode to the mountain bike trails at Shawnee Mission Park. Well, I guess the parks department finally decided the trails were dry enough to let people loose on the singletrack this weekend. I can say that the trails were far from dry in many places, though. I did my best not to rut the trail out too badly, going around the mud where I could.

Shortly after I arrived, Chris showed up with his Long Haul Trucker. It must have looked somewhat interesting. A big, heavy urban bike and a steel road touring bike, tooling around on the mountain bike trails. I believe the term for this is "underbiking."


Mostly, I just wanted to wring the Urbana out one last time before I write my final review. The huge tires almost act like a suspension fork. I even managed to get a little air in a few spots.


I haven't ridden singletrack in a very long time. I had forgotten the serene beauty of the trails, and how much work it is to constantly maneuver the bike around obstacles and tackle hills. I'll probably feel the burn in the morning.



Random Tunage:
Amber - Anyway (Steve Porter Remix)
B-Movie - Nowhere Girl (Adam Freeland Remix)

Grass is supposed to be purple.

Sorry, I just figured I would partake in "Quick, everyone tell a lie on the Internet"-Day before April 2nd.