Busy Sunday

I rode to church Sunday morning, and encouraged others to do the same. We usually meet in a high school auditorium, but graduation was yesterday and the school was unavailable. Occasionally, we can't use the school for other reasons. This happens a few times per year. Instead, we end up going to our community center. It's not big enough for all of us, but we just meet outdoors (weather permitting). This was a beautiful day for church outdoors, not to mention the ride there (11 miles)



Assistant Pastor Kurt and his wife Emily roll up on their bikes.


Abbey (pastor Kevin's daughter) rolls up. They live just across the street.


Whee! Bikes! (a few more are parked elsewhere)


About as laid back as you can be and still calling it worship. I love this church, the people that make it, and all the stuff that goes along with it. I won't bore you with doctrine, though.






Pastor Kevin will use any excuse to inflate the slide for the kids. They love it.


Mike cooks pancakes. Also in the brunch spread: Bagles, parfait, pudding (???) and juices.


After church, I had about a 15 mile ride to my birthday party at Antioch Park. I took about 1/2 the trip on the road, and in the middle of the trip, I used Indian Creek Trail (Warren's Fave)

Sneaking up on some walkers. Cue the "Jaws" theme.


Kids at the sandlot. Hardly a cloud in the sky yesterday. Just airliner contrails.


Maybe I took a little Singletrack with The Twelve. Contrary to belief, road bikes can go off road. Just gotta be careful. It's fun, though.


The freshly opened section of Indian Creek Trail that has Warren all excited. It was nice not having to use the blighted walking path through Corporate Woods.


Some family members at the shelter at Antioch Park.


... Mating Crickets??? Not sure what was up with this, but they were clinging upside down to the ceiling of the shelter.



After the party, my wife and I went fishing at Shawnee Mission Park.

The geese were flocking. Sheesh.





They swam right through where we were fishing. Notice the red bobber halfway up and a bit left of center in the photo. Somehow they avoided tangling in the fishing line.


FAIL! This guy spent about 5 minutes trying to cram this overloaded bag into this trash bin. Eventually he gave up and just put the lid on top of this bag.


How to have fun at the lake!

Let's see, you can toke on a hookah... ???


Or kick a ball around... These little heathens kicked the ball into the lake. Their dad (the one who's toking above) and the kids were both too chicken to go get the ball. I took a swim and rescued it. I bruised my feet up pretty badly on the rocks while getting out of the lake, though.


Go Kayaking...


Or just go fishing. Hi, Hunni.


This is the only fish we saw. He was too tiny and still refused to take our bait.



This was my sister's B-Day present to me. Those are full of beer. Lots of beer.


The ride in was nice this morning with the exception of my bruised and tattered feet. Chris and Karen joined in for yet another convoy.

Tomorrow is my Friday. I'm on vacation off and on for the next 2 weeks. I've been blogging and photographing like mad here, especially in the face of Bike Week. I'm going to be scarce but not completely absent for the next 2 weeks. For the time being, check out Dave's Good Stuff, as he bike commutes during the week and packs on the weekend training miles. What initially started as a brotherly challenge training for the Triple By-Pass turned into a lifestyle change and a heck of a good read that's mostly cycling related but always interesting and frequently updated. No pressure, Dave!

Random Tunage:
Chicane - Offshore
Hybrid - True To Form

The Twelve is ALIVE

When I took Hybridzilla to JR, he hooked me up with the 8-notch tool I needed to take The Twelve apart. I wasn't sure what was going to happen with my bottom bracket, but I tore into it last night.

It turns out that a good cleaning and my usual application of waterproof boat-trailer axle grease did the trick. The bottom bracket is smooth as butter. This is what the Trek Store was going to charge me $15 for. With the right tool and some ingenuity getting my square-taper crank puller to work for my ISIS-drive splined cranks, I got the bike apart, fixed, and put back together very quickly.

Today, I rode to the KC PHP User's Group meeting (a.k.a. "The Pug"), where half a dozen web development geeks descend on a monthly basis to discuss current projects, get advice, and trade knowledge.

On my way to the meeting, I had an interaction with a motorist who saw fit to come from around me, then cut a few feet in front of me with a nice double-lane-change to get in the right turn lane, when he could basically have just changed lanes to the right. He did it just to be an ass.

So, now stuck at a stop light behind others waiting to turn right, he is directly next to me. I look. His passenger window is down, but driver side is up. I motion to roll it down. He flips me off. I laugh. I knock on the window. He looks ahead. I knock again. He looks at me and says something. I can't hear it. I shake my head.

People are all sorts of big and strong when they're driving their cars that can bully cyclists around and get away at speeds approaching 100 miles per hour. They're a bunch of cowards when their car is helpless, powerless, and stranded in traffic. I wasn't going to read this guy the riot act or get in his face. I would have just told him to watch out for cyclists, and that he cut it kind of close. I was having a nice ride, and my road rage was at a minimum.




Two other KCPUG attendees ride the Lenexa Midnight Ride every summer. I think we might try to get sequential numbers, or perhaps ride together. Who knows? Computer nerds seem to like bicycles. I like to tell myself it's because we're smart. Haha.

I took the back way home, and I took it really, really easy. I actually made a point to ride in such a way that I didn't have to breathe through my mouth. The weather was perfect and I just felt like cruising. I rode through some construction zones -- new streets that aren't open yet, which run adjacent to some big arterials. I took the MUP adjacent to the road for a while, up the big hills. I'd usually stay on the road but I was really more of a pedestrian on my ride home. It was nice, relaxing, and fun. Here are the pics.





















Miles Today: 14.5
This week: 201
May: 405

Random Tunage:
Rob Zombie - Dragula
Orbital - Pants

KC Bike Week 2008 Day 5 - The Wrap Up

This week was a huge contrast to 2007 Bike To Work Week on many levels:

• The weather cooperated every day, with only a few mornings in the 40°s and no rain.
• I am in better shape now
• I live 9 miles closer, making my round trip more feasible. 30 miles instead of almost 50.
• I helped plan this one.
• I got to ride with friends every morning and most evenings. I only encountered Chris once and Karen twice last year during Bike To Work Week.

It's worth mentioning that I met both Chris and Karen during Bike To Work Week last year. Not only that, I met both of them BECAUSE of Bike To Work Week. I really have to pay homage to last year's Bike To Work Week event. It was pivotal on many levels. Not only did I meet two people would eventually come to be my favorite commuting buddies, but the event itself flipped a switch. That switch was one that made me look forward to the days when I could avoid the bus by riding my bike all the way. Prior to last year's event, I would bus to work, and seldom but occasionally ride all the way home. After that event, and after I moved, it was a frequent thing to ride the whole route. One year later, the permanent effects of that moment are still evident.

This is technically the last day for Car-Free Challenge. This is the main thing I was participating in. It's completely possible that people haven't finished logging their miles yet, but I am done with my miles for the Car-Free Challenge. Here's how things stand.

• 182 miles of bike commuting and errands
• 15 miles (7.5 mile points) worth of bus riding from my trip to waldo and back.
• 8.7 miles on a slow-paced group ride monday (not counted)
  

This puts me in 13th place for bicycle transportation, and 20th place among all alternative transportation users.

I am a wee-bit grumpy about some participants this year who seem to fail to understand the "spirit" of the Car-Free Challenge. Epic thousand-mile interstate road trips don't keep congestion off the road, even if you're car-pooling. Logging recreational rides as commuting isn't fair. Riding a mile to school with 3 kids doesn't entitle you to 4 commuting miles because there were four of you on the road. And stopping at a convenience store along that 40-mile training route you were going to ride anyways? That doesn't make the entire training ride's miles count as an errand.

In discussing the rules with other Bike Week Committee members and some of my Convoy Crew, it's apparent that some verbiage needs to be added. Care should be taken, however, to not exclude those of us who for one reason or another either already choose to or are forced to use a bicycle as a primary mode of transportation. I'd rather avoid phrases like "trips that you'd normally use a car for"

Guess what, though? I'm not in it for the competition, nor am I bitter. I just did what I'd probably have done this week anyways, and logged my miles accordingly. My commute wasn't going to score me a place in the top ten; I knew that already. I already have my rewards: increased health, money saved, and many friends made over the past year and a half thanks to bicycling. This includes finally meeting some more people this week who know me from the blogosphere and took the time to say hi. You know who you are.

Aside from the car-free challenge, I hit the following Bike Week events:

• Family Bicycles pit stop on the Trolley Track Trail
• Mayor Funkhouser's LAB/BFC Platinum press conference

What's next this weekend?

• I'll be riding my bike to the PHP User's Group meeting at Daily Dose tomorrow afternoon
• I'll ride to my place of Worship on Sunday
• I'll also ride to my Birthday party after church, at a local park.

To me, though, This pretty much wraps up Bike Week.

Here are some pics from the homeward commute this evening.

My new shifters. Thanks, JR! Compare to my old grip twisties.


Karen and Chris behind me on Turkey Creek Trail




Karen and Chris ahead of me going through the 79th St. Industrial Park


Eight braze-ons. Count them. I checked, and there are at least 8 more on the back. If you count all the eyelets on my three bikes combined, I have the same number as Chris has on this one touring bike.


Yes, I have some bike envy.


Oh yes. I'm finally a Flickr Pro. I didn't think I would take the plunge, but I simply have too many photos up there to not go for it. Of course, it will take about a year for the ads on this site to recover the $25 I spent on it. Some people collect stamps. I pay someone to host my pictures and keep them organized. Mostly (but not entirely) so that you guys can make fun of my photos. Whatever.

Soak it up, this weekend. It looks like we're in for a continuation of the nice weather.

Random Tunage:
Orbital - Lush 3-2
Fragma - You Are Alive

KC Bike Week 2008 Day 5: Lunch with Chris

JR told me he could fix up Hybridzilla while I got some lunch. I swung by his shop and watched him go to town. He installed some new RapidFire shifters and also turned my 21 speed Hybridzilla into a 24 speed. I was already running an 8-speed cassette on it, but the old shifters were only 7-speed. The 8-speed rapidfires work pretty well but I'll need to adjust them a bit.


JR Also lent me a bike. I chose the folding Land Rover bike. I don't know how ye-olde this relic is, but it behaved pretty well, although the rear fender was loose and rattling in the seat stays.


Chris' Touring bike locked up with the Folder.


Mmmm. Chef Burger.


We were joined by a fendered, racked, and front-loaded cyclocross bike. I didn't see the rider, but the bike was gone when we left.


This is the wind-powered clock tower in the Power & Light District.


This is a meal. A good meal.


Obligitory Panda Portrait of me on the Folder.


Random Tunage:
Tri Bowl Nuts - Trapped
Barenaked Ladies - One Week