We have ridden our bikes a bit on the Southbay expressway and got busted once. Well your chance to ride (or walk) a bit of it leagally is coming up (and will probably never happen again).
Here is the link for info. http://www.southbayexpressway.com/fun/
I signed us up for the bike ride.
Hopefully we will be in Korea, but if we aren't then you'll find us here.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Monday, September 24, 2007
I need my bike
Ahhhh.
My road bike has been in the shop for 3 weeks now. My rear rims has some hairline cracks in it, so I took it in to get checked out. The good doctors at Trek confirmed that Thunder needs rear rim replacement (and it's covered, yea!), but they are having a problem getting the rim from Trek.
So I have been without my favorite bike for quite a while now. I have riden my mntn bike a few times with Lotus and that is fun and a good workout, but Thunder is like my ferrari, where Lightning is like my mustang.
Damn I miss my ferrari.
My road bike has been in the shop for 3 weeks now. My rear rims has some hairline cracks in it, so I took it in to get checked out. The good doctors at Trek confirmed that Thunder needs rear rim replacement (and it's covered, yea!), but they are having a problem getting the rim from Trek.
So I have been without my favorite bike for quite a while now. I have riden my mntn bike a few times with Lotus and that is fun and a good workout, but Thunder is like my ferrari, where Lightning is like my mustang.
Damn I miss my ferrari.
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Midnight Madness Bike Ride
Lotus and I rode in the 34th Annual Midnight Madness Bike ride last Saturday. It is a 20 mile bike ride that goes from Downtown to Harbor and Shelter Islands, through Old Town and back through Downtown. It starts at midnight and ends when you get back (it took us 2 hours, but we were not going that hard).
I had trouble taking pictures becuase it was at night and everything was moving. After a while I figured out that the movie feature on on camera was my best bet for the night, but unfortuneatly I only had a small memory card with me, so I did not take much video.
Here are pics of Lotus and me at the start line.
This ride is consider a Fun ride, which means it is not timed and so it is more about having a good time, then racing. There were two actual contests, a costume contest and a "Light up the bike" contest. The winner of the costume contest got 2 tickets to anywhere Alaska Airlines flys, and the other received a new bike from REI (at least a $300 value). The lady in the picture behind me entered the costume contest, something about Star Trek...
Here is video of the costume contest. Their entry was called Don and his Hoes... They were blowing bubbles and I think they had music too.
There was another guy dressed up as Captiain Jack Sparrow, but I'm too lazy to go through the effort to post that video. Here is a pic of the Fire Man with the ladder and his co-pilot that I liked a lot though.
Here is the winner of the light up your bike contest. They had a siren, a horn, the works. I saw another bike that night that had a car stereo hooked up to it and they were pumping the jams (or whatever the kids say today).
Here is a picture at the start of the ride. There were about 200 of us at a stop light.
Here is the last video clip. It's from near the end of the ride. You can see the Star of India in the background at the end. The loud voice you hear is the harbor police passing us on the left.
I had trouble taking pictures becuase it was at night and everything was moving. After a while I figured out that the movie feature on on camera was my best bet for the night, but unfortuneatly I only had a small memory card with me, so I did not take much video.
Here are pics of Lotus and me at the start line.
This ride is consider a Fun ride, which means it is not timed and so it is more about having a good time, then racing. There were two actual contests, a costume contest and a "Light up the bike" contest. The winner of the costume contest got 2 tickets to anywhere Alaska Airlines flys, and the other received a new bike from REI (at least a $300 value). The lady in the picture behind me entered the costume contest, something about Star Trek...
Here is video of the costume contest. Their entry was called Don and his Hoes... They were blowing bubbles and I think they had music too.
There was another guy dressed up as Captiain Jack Sparrow, but I'm too lazy to go through the effort to post that video. Here is a pic of the Fire Man with the ladder and his co-pilot that I liked a lot though.
Here is the winner of the light up your bike contest. They had a siren, a horn, the works. I saw another bike that night that had a car stereo hooked up to it and they were pumping the jams (or whatever the kids say today).
Here is a picture at the start of the ride. There were about 200 of us at a stop light.
Here is the last video clip. It's from near the end of the ride. You can see the Star of India in the background at the end. The loud voice you hear is the harbor police passing us on the left.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Thor's Website
I was looking on the web for a lightning sound that I could use on my blog. I remember that Thor had a lightning sound somewhere on his website. I found the sound I remember, but I don't think I can import just the sound.
BUT the reason I mention it, is becuase they changed the intro.
It's pretty funny/cheesy. You gotta see it
click for Thor's website
Sorry Thor, your my boy, but that's just kind of ......
BUT the reason I mention it, is becuase they changed the intro.
It's pretty funny/cheesy. You gotta see it
click for Thor's website
Sorry Thor, your my boy, but that's just kind of ......
THOR WINS!!! THOR WINS!!!
The God of Thunder wins stage 4 of the Tour de France!!!
It was the first real old school sprint of the tour (long wide approach) and the God of Thunder put the Hammer down and showed em how it's done!!!
GO THOR!!!!
(insert cow bell and thunder sounds here)
Oh ya, and with the stage win Thor is now in 2nd place overall!!! He has a shot at getting the yellow jersey if he can win another stage in the next day or two!!!
But after that, forget a bout it. Saturday is the first real mountain stage, and it's all over for the sprinters after that.
This is the best TDF since 2003. This year rocks so far.
It was the first real old school sprint of the tour (long wide approach) and the God of Thunder put the Hammer down and showed em how it's done!!!
GO THOR!!!!
(insert cow bell and thunder sounds here)
Oh ya, and with the stage win Thor is now in 2nd place overall!!! He has a shot at getting the yellow jersey if he can win another stage in the next day or two!!!
But after that, forget a bout it. Saturday is the first real mountain stage, and it's all over for the sprinters after that.
This is the best TDF since 2003. This year rocks so far.
Saturday, July 7, 2007
About the Bike
Here are some pics of my road bike (aka Thunder) and some accessories to Thunder.
First here is Thunder.
Thunder is a 2005 Trek Pilot 2.1. The frame is made of ZR9000 Custom Alloy Aluminum (very light, very strong). The fork and Seat Stays (the black parts) are carbon fiber (probably in the 100 strands per inch range). Carbon Fiber is very light, very strong and absorbs road noise more than Aluminum does (it's also much more expensive). I opted for this set up because an entire carbon fiber frame can break under a lot of stress, and I can put a lot of stress on a bike. Once I lose more weight, my next bike will probably be all carbon fiber (I can dream...).
Thunder weighs in at 21.6 lbs as you see it (incl pedal, bottle cages and bag). For comparison, Lightning (my mntn bike) weighs in at 30.8 lbs and my old steel Roadmaster mntn bike pushes the scales at 36.0 lbs. The lighter the bike, the quicker you will go in the long run. A pro, full carbon bike will usually run about 15 lbs equiped.
Currently Thunder runs a full Shimano 105 triple ring set up, which means it has 3 chain rings in the front (52-42-30 teeth per ring) and 9 in the back (11-25). "105" is also brand name for Shimano, it is their medium grade set-up. Ultegra and Dura-Ace are the step ups from 105, and each step would add about $500 to the price of the bike (I know...). They usually do not offer 3 front chain rings in Ultegra and Dura-Ace, because the smallest one is called a granny gear, and if you need to use it, you don't need to be spending the money on the good stuff (Yes, I still need it).
Here is a picture of my dashboard:
I have 2 computers on board. The one on the left is a Garmin Edge 305. It's a GPS system that tracks practically anything I want it to. If you click on the picture and zoom in you can really see the display well. I currently have this screen showing me my current heart rate, my avg heart rate for the entire ride, the % grade I am going up or down, my elevation (I live at 330ft, Ronin and HF are at 600ft), calories burned for the ride, how long I've been riding and time of day.
But the main thing I like about the Garmin is that I can download all the data to my computer and it will print a map on Google Earth showing me where I went, my heart rate at any time on my ride, I can compare lots and examine a ton of data about my ride. It's really cool. I also have a mount for it on Lightning, so I can do the same for my rides on that bike. See I told you it was cool...
The other computer on the left my basic cycle-computer, which has a sensor on my wheel that can tell me my speed, miles covered this trip, avg speed, max speed, total miles covered, etc. This one is a little more precise than the garmin, because it measures via actual wheel rotation, vs satelite. I find the old school computer is just a bit more accurate, so I have the Garmin measure other stuff that the old school computer can't do. Plus 2 screens give me more info than 1.
Ok, Now to get silly. Here is a pic of one of my cycling shoes.
These are Shimano SPD's (SPD is just a brand name for Shimano's shoes). I like Shimano shoes because they are fairly wide in the toe box. These shoes have a carbon fiber sole, which makes them very stiff. You do not want flex in your cycling shoe because that takes away from your power.
Here is the bottom of my right shoe.
You can tell it's my right shoe becuase the bottom of the cleat is all scratched up. When I come to a stop, I unclick my right foot and set that on ground to steady myself. My left cleat still looks almost new. My pedals are Speedplay X2's (same brand that Fabian Cancellara uses (he won the stage at the TDF today) mine are steel, his are titanium). They have unlimited float, which means I can rotate my foot sideways a lot. Most pedals do not allow you to rotate your foot much on the pedal, these do.
Here is a better pic of my pedals.
Here is a pic of my helmet (it was on sale when I got my bike, nothing noteable about it besides that)
Here is my new workstand.
Workstands are surprisingly expensive. They usually run $150-$250 (tell me about it). I got this one at Performance bike in Bonita for $39. It definitely has it's limits, but it will be serviceable into the foreseeable future. A few weekends back I was washing and working on all 3 of the bikes and I about died afterwords. I am getting too old to be on my knees, or squatting for a few hours. My legs were sore for about a week afterwards. So I got this to help aleviate that.
Here is a pic of the stand in action...
Ok, that's it for now. I could get real crazy and post a pic of my gloves, or my cycling clothes, but I'll save that for another time...
First here is Thunder.
Thunder is a 2005 Trek Pilot 2.1. The frame is made of ZR9000 Custom Alloy Aluminum (very light, very strong). The fork and Seat Stays (the black parts) are carbon fiber (probably in the 100 strands per inch range). Carbon Fiber is very light, very strong and absorbs road noise more than Aluminum does (it's also much more expensive). I opted for this set up because an entire carbon fiber frame can break under a lot of stress, and I can put a lot of stress on a bike. Once I lose more weight, my next bike will probably be all carbon fiber (I can dream...).
Thunder weighs in at 21.6 lbs as you see it (incl pedal, bottle cages and bag). For comparison, Lightning (my mntn bike) weighs in at 30.8 lbs and my old steel Roadmaster mntn bike pushes the scales at 36.0 lbs. The lighter the bike, the quicker you will go in the long run. A pro, full carbon bike will usually run about 15 lbs equiped.
Currently Thunder runs a full Shimano 105 triple ring set up, which means it has 3 chain rings in the front (52-42-30 teeth per ring) and 9 in the back (11-25). "105" is also brand name for Shimano, it is their medium grade set-up. Ultegra and Dura-Ace are the step ups from 105, and each step would add about $500 to the price of the bike (I know...). They usually do not offer 3 front chain rings in Ultegra and Dura-Ace, because the smallest one is called a granny gear, and if you need to use it, you don't need to be spending the money on the good stuff (Yes, I still need it).
Here is a picture of my dashboard:
I have 2 computers on board. The one on the left is a Garmin Edge 305. It's a GPS system that tracks practically anything I want it to. If you click on the picture and zoom in you can really see the display well. I currently have this screen showing me my current heart rate, my avg heart rate for the entire ride, the % grade I am going up or down, my elevation (I live at 330ft, Ronin and HF are at 600ft), calories burned for the ride, how long I've been riding and time of day.
But the main thing I like about the Garmin is that I can download all the data to my computer and it will print a map on Google Earth showing me where I went, my heart rate at any time on my ride, I can compare lots and examine a ton of data about my ride. It's really cool. I also have a mount for it on Lightning, so I can do the same for my rides on that bike. See I told you it was cool...
The other computer on the left my basic cycle-computer, which has a sensor on my wheel that can tell me my speed, miles covered this trip, avg speed, max speed, total miles covered, etc. This one is a little more precise than the garmin, because it measures via actual wheel rotation, vs satelite. I find the old school computer is just a bit more accurate, so I have the Garmin measure other stuff that the old school computer can't do. Plus 2 screens give me more info than 1.
Ok, Now to get silly. Here is a pic of one of my cycling shoes.
These are Shimano SPD's (SPD is just a brand name for Shimano's shoes). I like Shimano shoes because they are fairly wide in the toe box. These shoes have a carbon fiber sole, which makes them very stiff. You do not want flex in your cycling shoe because that takes away from your power.
Here is the bottom of my right shoe.
You can tell it's my right shoe becuase the bottom of the cleat is all scratched up. When I come to a stop, I unclick my right foot and set that on ground to steady myself. My left cleat still looks almost new. My pedals are Speedplay X2's (same brand that Fabian Cancellara uses (he won the stage at the TDF today) mine are steel, his are titanium). They have unlimited float, which means I can rotate my foot sideways a lot. Most pedals do not allow you to rotate your foot much on the pedal, these do.
Here is a better pic of my pedals.
Here is a pic of my helmet (it was on sale when I got my bike, nothing noteable about it besides that)
Here is my new workstand.
Workstands are surprisingly expensive. They usually run $150-$250 (tell me about it). I got this one at Performance bike in Bonita for $39. It definitely has it's limits, but it will be serviceable into the foreseeable future. A few weekends back I was washing and working on all 3 of the bikes and I about died afterwords. I am getting too old to be on my knees, or squatting for a few hours. My legs were sore for about a week afterwards. So I got this to help aleviate that.
Here is a pic of the stand in action...
Ok, that's it for now. I could get real crazy and post a pic of my gloves, or my cycling clothes, but I'll save that for another time...
Its's that time again!!!!
The most wonderful time of the year!!!
Yes, the Tour de France started today!!!
It's on, pretty much throughout the day on versus (channel 65 on cox south).
I can't believe I was actually excited to watch the prologue today. It was the first time the TDF has ever started in London. The started just north of Big Ben/Westminster Abbey, zoomed by Buckingham Palace, did a loop through Hyde park, zoomed back by Buckingham Palace and ended in St James Park.
There was a lot of hype around starting in London, because a lot of the specialist in the prologue type events (short time trials), were British, so they were supposed to give the real pros a run for their money, because of the adrenaline of being in front of home town fans.
But alas Fabian Cancellara put them all in their place (he is the world time trial champion don't cha know).
Thor did not look very good, he doesn't seem to be on form yet, unless he is sandbagging it to try and trick some people later on.
My pick for the race is Andreas Kloden of Astana. I think their uniforms are butt ugly, and his team mate Alexandre Vinokourov (Vino for short, gotta love that) is the actual race favorite, but I think Andreas will come up with the goods. Astana is sponsored by a few of the major industrial giants of Khazacstan (Astana is the Capital of the Country, ahh you learned something today...).
Tomorrow's stage goes from London to Canterbury. The route would seem to favor a bit of a breakaway if he can build up enough of a lead, or it could be a sprint since the last 20k is pretty flat. My choice for the day is Robbie McEwen, of Predictor-Lotto. But of course it would be cool if Thor won...
Yes, the Tour de France started today!!!
It's on, pretty much throughout the day on versus (channel 65 on cox south).
I can't believe I was actually excited to watch the prologue today. It was the first time the TDF has ever started in London. The started just north of Big Ben/Westminster Abbey, zoomed by Buckingham Palace, did a loop through Hyde park, zoomed back by Buckingham Palace and ended in St James Park.
There was a lot of hype around starting in London, because a lot of the specialist in the prologue type events (short time trials), were British, so they were supposed to give the real pros a run for their money, because of the adrenaline of being in front of home town fans.
But alas Fabian Cancellara put them all in their place (he is the world time trial champion don't cha know).
Thor did not look very good, he doesn't seem to be on form yet, unless he is sandbagging it to try and trick some people later on.
My pick for the race is Andreas Kloden of Astana. I think their uniforms are butt ugly, and his team mate Alexandre Vinokourov (Vino for short, gotta love that) is the actual race favorite, but I think Andreas will come up with the goods. Astana is sponsored by a few of the major industrial giants of Khazacstan (Astana is the Capital of the Country, ahh you learned something today...).
Tomorrow's stage goes from London to Canterbury. The route would seem to favor a bit of a breakaway if he can build up enough of a lead, or it could be a sprint since the last 20k is pretty flat. My choice for the day is Robbie McEwen, of Predictor-Lotto. But of course it would be cool if Thor won...
Monday, July 2, 2007
1202 Miles o Fun
It took us 3 days and we barely made it (really).
It started as a trip to get Matilda, but on the way we got a patio unmbrella, 7 cupcakes, killer deep fried ice cream, a mess of ice cream sandwiches, cycling shorts, grits and finished it off with some good spaghetti and spumoni.
It was a real good trip. We also saw some sea lions, went to a bike store in a quaint little town and saw a bunch of touring cyclists. Here are pics of those.
If you click on the sea lion pic you can see that one of the lions flipping sand on himself. It was pretty cute watching them flip sand on themselves. Then you can see the hard core touring cyclists. If you can imagine, they are cycling with all that gear on the PCH south of Monterey. Those are some pretty killer hills. I couldn't do it right now...
Oh wait, here is a pic of one of those hills. We were literally in the clouds.
Here is another pic from the PCH.
It started as a trip to get Matilda, but on the way we got a patio unmbrella, 7 cupcakes, killer deep fried ice cream, a mess of ice cream sandwiches, cycling shorts, grits and finished it off with some good spaghetti and spumoni.
It was a real good trip. We also saw some sea lions, went to a bike store in a quaint little town and saw a bunch of touring cyclists. Here are pics of those.
If you click on the sea lion pic you can see that one of the lions flipping sand on himself. It was pretty cute watching them flip sand on themselves. Then you can see the hard core touring cyclists. If you can imagine, they are cycling with all that gear on the PCH south of Monterey. Those are some pretty killer hills. I couldn't do it right now...
Oh wait, here is a pic of one of those hills. We were literally in the clouds.
Here is another pic from the PCH.
Sunday, June 24, 2007
An Active Weekend
Man I can't wait to go back to work tomorrow...
NOT.....
We were quite busy organizing, cleaning, shopping and bike riding though.
Lotus got her compost bins first thing Saturday morning. When she got back she made breakfast, then was out in the back yard building her new "machines" and tending to her children (all 30 or so of them, (don't tell the others, but I think her favorite is the zucchini)). While she was doing that I was doing bike maintenance. The mountain bikes where just crazy dirty. So I had to wash them, clean the chains and then re-lube the chains (it sounds easy, but it takes quite a while). While going over the bikes I noticed that Lotus's rear wheel was a bit wobbly (more on that later).
Oh ya, before that I put together our new patio table/fire pit (it rocks). I think I mentioned on someone else's blog that we got new patio furniture. It's a set from Target (love seat, 2 chairs, 2 ottomans and a table/fire pit). So after I put together the stuff, of course you have to clean it up. Target packed it very well and this thing is huge, so clean up took a while too (lots of cardboard to cut up, etc).
THEN we went for a bike ride (normal course, "Chilis, Rancho Paseo, Telegraph, Fwy, Olympic, Home") on the way home we stopped by Ralphs to get a few things for dinner (Lotus made sushi, which we ate on our new Patio.... I know....)
Dishes, then the Lost season finale on Tivo, then bed.
Day 2 (Sunday)
Woke up at 9:30am which I have not done in maybe a year. 9:30 is crazy late for me. I got up and my Hamstrings were just killing me. I think it was from bending a lot from working on the bikes. But I got dressed and we were on our way. First stop was Performance bikes on Bonita Road. They had a few things on sale that I wanted to look at (and bought all of), Gu 24pks, chain lube, and a bike stand (so my freaking hammys won't hurt as much). Then we went to Trek in Kearny Mesa to get Lotus bike worked on. One of the reasons I bought Trek bikes is that they will take care of anyting minor for free for the life of the bike. Their policy is adjustments, but they have done much more than that for me. The frames are also guaranteed for life, so the only thing I would ever pay for is worn out parts, etc.
So we took the bike in and I told them the rear wheel had a wobble and he said he would take a look at it right then and took it into the back. 5 minutes later we were walking out the front door with a bike that was as good as new!!! I of course still spent 40 bucks on other stuff though (degreaser, tire levers for the mtnt bikes, patch kit, tubes for the mntn bikes and a new bag for Lotus's bike) I had a coupon which Trek sends from time to time, plus their prices are good, so what's not to love. Now if they had shorter top tubes... But that's another story.
Then we went to Carls Jr for lunch, then to 1.5 Targets (the one next to Trek doesn't have a garden shop, so we did not go in) we still need an umbrella for our set. Then I went for a bike ride on Thunder (yes I named my road bike today, my mntn bike is now named lightning)(you would think my road bike would be lightning since it is actually faster, but no, for some reason it is Thunder, just feels right to me and that's all that really matters since it's my bike (and if you don't like it you can just get your goonie-goo-goo ass out of my house)).
So todays ride was pretty good, I did 31 miles and cranked my 2,500th mile on Thunder. I also got to try 2 new flavors of Gu, since I bought a variety pack of them at Performance Bike earlier today. The Strawberry Banana was ok, I just wish it actually had caffeine, but I did not care for the Tri berry. Something about it just did not taste appealing to me.
I also came back down Telegraph from the Target shopping center for the first time in about a year. Since they have been working on the fwy they closed the bike lanes under the fwy, so it was not safe to go that way. Well I have not been missing much. The road is vary bumpy (like the rest of telegraph until you get to Hunte Pkwy). I'm glad they are going to be resurfacing it this month, that should make it smoother in the future (although with Chula Vista you never know) my street was awesome when they first built it, then the resurfaced it and it is worse than before (less smooth and lots of grooves and rough spots).
Took a shower, then mowed the front lawn, aerated it and worked in the garage organizing a bit. Thank goodness Lotus mowed the back yard while I was riding, I don't know that I had the energy left to do that too.
Typed up this massively long and rambling post and now it's off to bed...
NOT.....
We were quite busy organizing, cleaning, shopping and bike riding though.
Lotus got her compost bins first thing Saturday morning. When she got back she made breakfast, then was out in the back yard building her new "machines" and tending to her children (all 30 or so of them, (don't tell the others, but I think her favorite is the zucchini)). While she was doing that I was doing bike maintenance. The mountain bikes where just crazy dirty. So I had to wash them, clean the chains and then re-lube the chains (it sounds easy, but it takes quite a while). While going over the bikes I noticed that Lotus's rear wheel was a bit wobbly (more on that later).
Oh ya, before that I put together our new patio table/fire pit (it rocks). I think I mentioned on someone else's blog that we got new patio furniture. It's a set from Target (love seat, 2 chairs, 2 ottomans and a table/fire pit). So after I put together the stuff, of course you have to clean it up. Target packed it very well and this thing is huge, so clean up took a while too (lots of cardboard to cut up, etc).
THEN we went for a bike ride (normal course, "Chilis, Rancho Paseo, Telegraph, Fwy, Olympic, Home") on the way home we stopped by Ralphs to get a few things for dinner (Lotus made sushi, which we ate on our new Patio.... I know....)
Dishes, then the Lost season finale on Tivo, then bed.
Day 2 (Sunday)
Woke up at 9:30am which I have not done in maybe a year. 9:30 is crazy late for me. I got up and my Hamstrings were just killing me. I think it was from bending a lot from working on the bikes. But I got dressed and we were on our way. First stop was Performance bikes on Bonita Road. They had a few things on sale that I wanted to look at (and bought all of), Gu 24pks, chain lube, and a bike stand (so my freaking hammys won't hurt as much). Then we went to Trek in Kearny Mesa to get Lotus bike worked on. One of the reasons I bought Trek bikes is that they will take care of anyting minor for free for the life of the bike. Their policy is adjustments, but they have done much more than that for me. The frames are also guaranteed for life, so the only thing I would ever pay for is worn out parts, etc.
So we took the bike in and I told them the rear wheel had a wobble and he said he would take a look at it right then and took it into the back. 5 minutes later we were walking out the front door with a bike that was as good as new!!! I of course still spent 40 bucks on other stuff though (degreaser, tire levers for the mtnt bikes, patch kit, tubes for the mntn bikes and a new bag for Lotus's bike) I had a coupon which Trek sends from time to time, plus their prices are good, so what's not to love. Now if they had shorter top tubes... But that's another story.
Then we went to Carls Jr for lunch, then to 1.5 Targets (the one next to Trek doesn't have a garden shop, so we did not go in) we still need an umbrella for our set. Then I went for a bike ride on Thunder (yes I named my road bike today, my mntn bike is now named lightning)(you would think my road bike would be lightning since it is actually faster, but no, for some reason it is Thunder, just feels right to me and that's all that really matters since it's my bike (and if you don't like it you can just get your goonie-goo-goo ass out of my house)).
So todays ride was pretty good, I did 31 miles and cranked my 2,500th mile on Thunder. I also got to try 2 new flavors of Gu, since I bought a variety pack of them at Performance Bike earlier today. The Strawberry Banana was ok, I just wish it actually had caffeine, but I did not care for the Tri berry. Something about it just did not taste appealing to me.
I also came back down Telegraph from the Target shopping center for the first time in about a year. Since they have been working on the fwy they closed the bike lanes under the fwy, so it was not safe to go that way. Well I have not been missing much. The road is vary bumpy (like the rest of telegraph until you get to Hunte Pkwy). I'm glad they are going to be resurfacing it this month, that should make it smoother in the future (although with Chula Vista you never know) my street was awesome when they first built it, then the resurfaced it and it is worse than before (less smooth and lots of grooves and rough spots).
Took a shower, then mowed the front lawn, aerated it and worked in the garage organizing a bit. Thank goodness Lotus mowed the back yard while I was riding, I don't know that I had the energy left to do that too.
Typed up this massively long and rambling post and now it's off to bed...
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Fuel???
Here are a few pics from our trip to Chicago/Milwaukee.
This is a picture from Lou Malnati's, which is supposed to be one of the best places in Chicago to get a real Chicago Deep Dish Pizza.
We had quite the trip getting to Lou's. They are only open until 11pm and we got there at about 10:15pm. Normally, that is no problem, but the pizza takes 30 minutes to cook, so we were up against the clock. When we arrived in Chicago it was kind of tense, becuase we forgot our TomTom, so I was not sure how to get there. Luckily Hertz gaveaway my car to someone else (initally tense), but they upgraded me to another car and that car had a GPS device in it (and much nicer), otherwise we may not have made it.
The Pizza was just ok. I did not think it was much better (or worse) than a pizza you would get at Uno's. I know Uno's is a derivative of the first real Chicago deep dish, but I guess I thought once you went national, you would lose some of that origial quality and character. So we wanted an authentic Chicago Deep dish, from Chi town. Oh well.
These are pictures from Moody's Pub in Chicago. Lotus looked on a few Chicago blogs and a few of them said this place made a mean burger. The indoor part was very dark, the outside patio was pretty cool.
The weather was very nice that day. About 72 degrees and a nice breeze. It was just a beautiful day for a burger. And this was a good burger. It was called a Moody Blue burger (of course). Lotus had a regular cheese burger and the rings were pretty good too. But if you go, stick with the Moody Bleu, it's a keeper.
We barely made our flight home that day though. There was a lot of traffic in Chicago that day becuase it was so nice out. We flew Southwest and walked straight on the plane since it was already boarding. Luckily we checked in on line the night before, so we were still in group A. Oh that would have sucked if we would have got there 5 minutes later, we would have ended up in the last group and probably would have each been sitting in between 2 other people.
This is a picture from Lou Malnati's, which is supposed to be one of the best places in Chicago to get a real Chicago Deep Dish Pizza.
We had quite the trip getting to Lou's. They are only open until 11pm and we got there at about 10:15pm. Normally, that is no problem, but the pizza takes 30 minutes to cook, so we were up against the clock. When we arrived in Chicago it was kind of tense, becuase we forgot our TomTom, so I was not sure how to get there. Luckily Hertz gaveaway my car to someone else (initally tense), but they upgraded me to another car and that car had a GPS device in it (and much nicer), otherwise we may not have made it.
The Pizza was just ok. I did not think it was much better (or worse) than a pizza you would get at Uno's. I know Uno's is a derivative of the first real Chicago deep dish, but I guess I thought once you went national, you would lose some of that origial quality and character. So we wanted an authentic Chicago Deep dish, from Chi town. Oh well.
These are pictures from Moody's Pub in Chicago. Lotus looked on a few Chicago blogs and a few of them said this place made a mean burger. The indoor part was very dark, the outside patio was pretty cool.
The weather was very nice that day. About 72 degrees and a nice breeze. It was just a beautiful day for a burger. And this was a good burger. It was called a Moody Blue burger (of course). Lotus had a regular cheese burger and the rings were pretty good too. But if you go, stick with the Moody Bleu, it's a keeper.
We barely made our flight home that day though. There was a lot of traffic in Chicago that day becuase it was so nice out. We flew Southwest and walked straight on the plane since it was already boarding. Luckily we checked in on line the night before, so we were still in group A. Oh that would have sucked if we would have got there 5 minutes later, we would have ended up in the last group and probably would have each been sitting in between 2 other people.
Shiny New Bikes
Here are pics of our shiny new bikes. It kind of freaked me out how shiny the rear cogs actually WERE.
They are still pretty clean looking, but not so shiny anymore.
Thursday, May 31, 2007
I have a problem
I wasn't sure if I wanted to call this, "I have a problem", or "Traffic Jam". We currently have 6 bikes in our garage for 2 people...
One I was borrowing from my brother, so only 5 are actually ours.
Lotus and I have discovered Mountain Biking. I did not think I was going to really like it, but I do. I always thought I was a die hard "roadie", but there is something to this off road stuff.
We recently got new Mountain Bikes, since the ones we were using are about 10 years old and really rusty. The front brakes on the one I was using lock up from time to time, and that can be a bit harrowing when you are going down hill really fast. I either need to fix them up a bit in case Sailor Moon and Junglicious want to use them, or just give them to Goodwill (I guess I should still fix the brakes before I give them to them too).
Our new bikes are pretty cool. I'll post about them later. We both got the same model, with the same paint scheme, so we will be the cutest.... gag....
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
I Hate Bees
Sorry to be hating on you bees, but ya'll are just ticking me off.
Here is a recap of my last ride.
Rode 10 miles, minding my own business, passing the old jogger guy with the big Gilligan hat, then BAM!!! a bee flys INTO my helmet. I pull over quickly, take off my helmet and as I am shaking it, the bee falls out to the ground. I should go back and look at my heart rate on my Garmin, I bet it was real high.
I take a deep breath, put my helmet back on, click in and I'm off to enjoy the rest of my ride.
About 5 miles later, almost exactly where I got stung the week before, ANOTHER F...ing bee flys into my F...ing helmet. Now I'm pissed. Give me a F...ing break, what did I ever do to you.
I'm pissed..., so I just turn around and decide to head home, then another F...ing bee flys into my chest and bounces off of me as soon as I started to head back.
Did I mention I now really hate bees.
Here is a recap of my last ride.
Rode 10 miles, minding my own business, passing the old jogger guy with the big Gilligan hat, then BAM!!! a bee flys INTO my helmet. I pull over quickly, take off my helmet and as I am shaking it, the bee falls out to the ground. I should go back and look at my heart rate on my Garmin, I bet it was real high.
I take a deep breath, put my helmet back on, click in and I'm off to enjoy the rest of my ride.
About 5 miles later, almost exactly where I got stung the week before, ANOTHER F...ing bee flys into my F...ing helmet. Now I'm pissed. Give me a F...ing break, what did I ever do to you.
I'm pissed..., so I just turn around and decide to head home, then another F...ing bee flys into my chest and bounces off of me as soon as I started to head back.
Did I mention I now really hate bees.
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
At least I'm not allergic
I was riding on Saturday and I was stung by a bee out near the lake. This is the second time I've been stung while cycling. The first wasn't bad at all, the bee stung me on the top of my left quad. I pulled over real quick, pulled it out, felt like everything was ok and continued on.
This most recent attack was much worse. I was out on Otay Lakes road about about a mile east of where the road splits to go to the dam. There is not a curb or real shoulder there, so I can't just stop right away, it takes a gradual slowing, or you will crash.
The bee was still attached to the stinger when I stopped and he did not seem to want to give it up. I think I flicked at him three times before he fell off. I then pulled out the stinger and everything seemed like it would be fine. But this one seemed to hurt more. I did not know why at the time, I just knew it hurt more.
When I got home I looked at the area and it was already a bit red and puffy. Since the bee was in longer, I'm guessig he was pumping the venom a bit longer than the first time. Then I read that you are supposed to scrape away at the stinger from the side (not pull it out, like I did). If you pull at it, you are likely to actually push more of the venom in the wound.
Well the puffyness is gone now, but there is still a big red mark (it looks like a bruise now). Hopefully it will clear it by the weekend.
Did I mention the bee looked real mean too???
This most recent attack was much worse. I was out on Otay Lakes road about about a mile east of where the road splits to go to the dam. There is not a curb or real shoulder there, so I can't just stop right away, it takes a gradual slowing, or you will crash.
The bee was still attached to the stinger when I stopped and he did not seem to want to give it up. I think I flicked at him three times before he fell off. I then pulled out the stinger and everything seemed like it would be fine. But this one seemed to hurt more. I did not know why at the time, I just knew it hurt more.
When I got home I looked at the area and it was already a bit red and puffy. Since the bee was in longer, I'm guessig he was pumping the venom a bit longer than the first time. Then I read that you are supposed to scrape away at the stinger from the side (not pull it out, like I did). If you pull at it, you are likely to actually push more of the venom in the wound.
Well the puffyness is gone now, but there is still a big red mark (it looks like a bruise now). Hopefully it will clear it by the weekend.
Did I mention the bee looked real mean too???
Friday, May 4, 2007
They are finally gone Part 1
This month has really sucked since we got back from NYC. I have not put in so many hours in quite a long time. I have only really had Sundays off this month, and when I say off, that just means I got to work at home instead of in the stores.
This week was really tough, in that about 5 people who are above me in my company were out here doing stuff, so that adds a lot of stress to my daily grind and a lot of extra hours.
They are all gone now, but most of them are coming back in two weeks, so hopefully after that, it will all be good. I'm going to try to get in at least 2 rides a week to get my weight back down to where it was before they got here.
When they are here, there are always larger lunches and dinners eaten by all, thus a need to get my weight back to where it was, before they got here.
This week was really tough, in that about 5 people who are above me in my company were out here doing stuff, so that adds a lot of stress to my daily grind and a lot of extra hours.
They are all gone now, but most of them are coming back in two weeks, so hopefully after that, it will all be good. I'm going to try to get in at least 2 rides a week to get my weight back down to where it was before they got here.
When they are here, there are always larger lunches and dinners eaten by all, thus a need to get my weight back to where it was, before they got here.
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
New York
We ate soo much in New York. Luckily we walked a ton too, so the damage will not be that great. Unfortuneatly I have people in town for work, so I won't get to ride until this weekend :(
I never thought I would hear Lotus say this, but on the last day she said, "please don't make me eat anymore..."
Then we went and had 4 desserts that day (coconut pyramid in the morning, Eileens cheesecake followed by gelato (laboratorio de gelato) in the afternoon (since they were only about 6 blocks apart)(we were in the neighborhood) and then red velvet cake after dinner).
I think we covered at least 30 miles total on foot for the 5 days. I had my garmin with me, but I kept forgetting to turn it on and off during the day, so most of my readings were really askew. If I did not turn it off before we went in the subway, once we emerged it had a fit trying to plot our course and I don't think the tall buildings helped much either.
I have not even tried to use the plotting software for the garmin yet. Maybe by next weekend. Hopefully I can plot a day, map it and import it here as an image. That would be cool.
I never thought I would hear Lotus say this, but on the last day she said, "please don't make me eat anymore..."
Then we went and had 4 desserts that day (coconut pyramid in the morning, Eileens cheesecake followed by gelato (laboratorio de gelato) in the afternoon (since they were only about 6 blocks apart)(we were in the neighborhood) and then red velvet cake after dinner).
I think we covered at least 30 miles total on foot for the 5 days. I had my garmin with me, but I kept forgetting to turn it on and off during the day, so most of my readings were really askew. If I did not turn it off before we went in the subway, once we emerged it had a fit trying to plot our course and I don't think the tall buildings helped much either.
I have not even tried to use the plotting software for the garmin yet. Maybe by next weekend. Hopefully I can plot a day, map it and import it here as an image. That would be cool.
Monday, March 26, 2007
Thunder
If anyone in the south bay heard Thunder today, don't worry about it.
IT WAS JUST ME!!! THE GOD OF THUNDER KICKING SOME ASS!!!
Have a nice day :)
IT WAS JUST ME!!! THE GOD OF THUNDER KICKING SOME ASS!!!
Have a nice day :)
Monday, March 19, 2007
The Fredcast
I just want to give a big Thank You to Supe for turning me onto the Fredcast. It rocks...
I've become a huge Fredcast junkie to the point that I actually have a Fredcast licence plate frame.
Thanks again Supe, you rock!!!
I've become a huge Fredcast junkie to the point that I actually have a Fredcast licence plate frame.
Thanks again Supe, you rock!!!
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
A freakin fox
I went riding out east way past the lake on Otay Lakes Road today. I just wanted to see what was out there (actually haven't driven out there in a while) and I wanted to see if the road continued to be sucky past the skydiving place (it is).
Did you know there is a campground just about 2.5 miles east of the lake (a Thousand Trails RV park). I remember driving past it as a kid and I think we went to a chili cookoff or something there. I remember thinking that it was waaaayy out there.
Anyway, I digress.
A little past the campgound is just a big valley. As I was cycling east I noticed a fox just trotting along parallel to my path. He was kinda cute (looked a lot like Khyber) but much smaller (maybe 15-20 lbs).
He did not seem to care much that I was there, he was just cruising it. If it wasn't that he was a wild animal with teeth, I would have stopped to take a picture.
Then on the way back I passed him again. He had crossed the road and now was on my side again, but approaching me at his same "crusing it" pace. As I got fairly close, he ducked under the wire on the side of the road and headed off into the valley.
It's just weird to think that larger wild animals are that close to where we live.
Did you know there is a campground just about 2.5 miles east of the lake (a Thousand Trails RV park). I remember driving past it as a kid and I think we went to a chili cookoff or something there. I remember thinking that it was waaaayy out there.
Anyway, I digress.
A little past the campgound is just a big valley. As I was cycling east I noticed a fox just trotting along parallel to my path. He was kinda cute (looked a lot like Khyber) but much smaller (maybe 15-20 lbs).
He did not seem to care much that I was there, he was just cruising it. If it wasn't that he was a wild animal with teeth, I would have stopped to take a picture.
Then on the way back I passed him again. He had crossed the road and now was on my side again, but approaching me at his same "crusing it" pace. As I got fairly close, he ducked under the wire on the side of the road and headed off into the valley.
It's just weird to think that larger wild animals are that close to where we live.
Monday, March 12, 2007
2000 Miles!!!!
I pedaled my 2,000th mile on my current bike today!!!
During the ride I was talking with this older guy (I would guess in his 60's) who was from Seattle. He had riden here from there.
I wonder how many miles he has logged.
During the ride I was talking with this older guy (I would guess in his 60's) who was from Seattle. He had riden here from there.
I wonder how many miles he has logged.
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Step up County of SD
I was riding on Saturday and I went out east on Otay Lakes Road. It's paved well out towards the end of the lake, but after you pass the skydiving place the road turns into crap. Very bumpy, a very low grade surface. Come on County of San Diego, step up.
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
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