Another 30
Today was day 2 of my second official #30daysofbiking. This time around, I’m doing at least 10 miles a day. With longer rides on the weekend, I’m hoping for about 500 miles or so in the month. We’ll see how it goes. I’m starting stronger than last time by a long shot. Some of those early rides were pretty dire, and the rides the day after that were even more pathetic. But I got through, and I can safely say that I rode more days than I didn’t over the last 6 months or so. That’s got to count for something on the old health-o-meter, right?
As I think back on the previous #30 (which turned into 105), I find myself thinking about the power of the social network. It was a chance encounter with a post by somebody I hadn’t seen since high school that piqued my curiosity and got me back on my bike again for so much of the summer. What a cool coincidence, and what a cool time we live in that this sort of thing can and does happen. Before #30daysofbiking, I didn’t really even follow twitter much, and didn’t really get what the big deal was about. Now I get it.
The funny thing is, this isn’t the first time that this has happened to me. Nearly 5 years ago, I found Crossfit, and I can safely say it’s changed my life for the better. This was an early example of the power of social media and open-source thinking to change lives. I much prefer Crossfit’s approach (free, social, interactive) to Tony Horton’s expensive, overly-produced P90x and their variants.
Think about how you stay informed these days. I still listen to the radio (MPR, contributing member, thankyouverymuch), and I occasionally turn on the TV, but most of my information is delivered to me on my terms, in little previews that I can explore in greater depth if I choose, when it’s convenient for me. I have the whole internet in my pocket *ALL THE TIME.* Such connectivity was science fiction 10 years ago. Now it’s like breathing.
Now that the technology is here, look at how fast we’re learning to use it. Read your facebook feed and see how much news has crept in, and how much other information is improving the signal to noise ratio (provided you are good at hiding apps like FarmVille and Mafia Wars. ) Links to Pandora, news sites, and other media are the next wave of connectedness. Say what you like about Jobs and Zuckerberg and the like, those guys at least have a vision for a future where you can do more and see more and stay more connected with people who matter to you.
Sure, there are problems, and there’s abuse, but that’s nothing new. The Ponzi schemers and patent medicine hucksters from the past are no different than the phishing, 419 scamming scumbags we have to deal with today. Set up a system and a small but visible minority of the population will try to take advantage of it in not-nice ways. Doesn’t mean that the system isn’t worthwhile.
Think about the rate of change in the last 5 years, then think about what’s going to happen to news, marketing, sales, and politics over the next 5 years. What will top Old Spice Guy? You can bet there are legions of very smart people working on that right now.
More importantly, when will we reach the next tipping point, and what will that be? What’s after the iPhone generation?
After a couple of weeks off for travel, Sturgis, and other miscellaneous work duties, I’m getting back in the saddle for another 30. I’m hoping to do 300 miles in the month.
Go here for more info:
http://30daysofbiking.com/bike/
I highly recommend that you join us on this! It’s a refreshing, fun, and rewarding way to reconnect with your two-wheeled past. Why do I say past? Well, I used to ride a lot, back in grad school. Yearly pilgrimages to Moab, mountain bike races, and a longish but doable commute got quite a few miles on my legs. Moving to California in 2000 probably put me at the most miles I’ve ever done in a single year, though I’ve never kept much track of the actual miles ridden.
But work, life, and kids sort of intervened. I’d still pick up the occasional issue of a bike magazine, and go for a spin once in a while, but it always felt harder than I remember, and I never managed to stick with it. I’d go to watch the bike race in downtown Stillwater, and feel vaguely bad about myself that I had this tremendous love for bikes, but hadn’t made actually riding them that often a priority. My actions weren’t in line with my core values.
When I saw a Facebook posting (thanks Bob Amaden!) alluding to #30daysofbiking I perked up and paid attention. I got to the party a little late (April 16th) , but made up for it by not stopping until work-related travel absolutely forced me to. It ended up being 105 days straight of more than 5 miles on the bike. The longest ride was a nice hilly 56-miler down to Afton and other places in the St. Croix river valley.
If you’re anything like I was, you used to ride more than you do now. Maybe you didn’t, but you probably bought a bike at some point, and when that bike was shiny and new you put on more miles than you do now. Well, that can be fixed in short order, and you won’t believe how quickly it takes to feel that wonderful feeling of motoring under your own power again. The small triumphs of hills conquered without downshifting (or the fixie equivalent: motoring up hills seated with higher gearing than you used at the start of the season), and the sureness of knowing that you are indeed fitter than you were the week before are still there waiting for you. The mellow relaxation of a post-ride endorphine high is still just as pleasant.
Think about it this way: your life is probably a lot more complicated than it was when you last put on any serious miles. You need those miles now more than ever to put everything into perspective.
I’m looking forward to a nice way to round out the summer. It’s already feeling a little chillier out there (in the 50′s the other night made it wonderfully brisk.) Soon all the rides will be in the dark, and there will be some weather to worry about. Bring it on, I say!
Life got busy there…
Nothing like a month of bouncing back and forth across the continent to put your “I”m going to ride my bicycle every day” thing on hold for a while.
First, I got to go down to Grand Junction, Colorado and ride with the motorcycle press and talk about the new 2011 Victorys. It was a hoot, and well worth the 1200 miles of interstate it took to get there. Got to see some friends (though not all of them… bummer!) in Boulder on the way down, which broke the trip up nicely.
The area we were in (Gateway Canyon) is being turned into a resort by its owner, John Hendricks, the founder of Discovery Channel. He’s got a bunch of land, and is quickly building a very nice conference center/resort in the middle of the desert. It’s beautiful. Everything is built very well- so much so that I half expected to see velociraptors running around the grounds.
http://www.gatewaycanyons.com/
The riding through the canyons was most satisfactory. Roads were in good condition, and nicely twisty without being ridiculously technical. Perfect for my Vision, which allowed lots of fun at extralegal velocities without sacrificing comfort. Why we don’t market the bike as a sport-tourer, I don’t know.
I took the following photo gear:
Olympus E-P1 with 17mm F/2.8 lens. This lives around my neck while I ride, and allows rolling photography. I try to keep this to a minimum, and only on straight roads. I tend to take this photo a lot:
From the “what the F@#* is that rolling down the road?” file:
And a couple of entries in the “Classy things seen at gas stations” contest:
Finally…
See, I told you I take that photo a lot.
Nikon D300 with
-Sigma 24-70 F/2.8 lens. This used to be my standard carry lens, until it died. Again. About 3 months after being allegedly repaired (thankfully under warranty) by Sigma USA. Now it’s out of warranty, and it’s got the same mechanical problem with the zoom and focus mechanism. Do not buy one of these. They die, in short order. Mine is about 15 months old now. I’ll see what it costs to get repaired, then probably sell it. Don’t trust it any more.
-Nikkor 35mm f/1.8 – I like this lens a lot. The image quality is good, but sometimes it won’t… quite… focus… at all. Not sure if this is technique or the lens itself. When it works, it’s great, as it works out to about a 50mm lens on an FX body like the D300.
-Nikkor 50mm f/1.8- Love this lens. It’s a $100 plastic bodied cheap POS that takes images far far better than what you would expect. Magic things happen when you put this baby on the camera… and it’s cheap!!! Did I mention it didn’t cost much?
-Tamron 11-18. I use this for most of my architectural stuff, and in close quarters at rallies and the like to document cool motorcycles. As long as you keep the camera relatively level, and don’t mind a bit of lateral color fringing in the corners, it works great. I’ve looked at sample images of other wide angles in this class, and they all seem to get a bit funky in the corners.
-Samyang 8mm fisheye. I love this lens for making stuff look exaggerated. It’s great for self portraits (at 8mm, almost everything is in focus all the time), and for making cars and bikes look funky. Good fun. Not technically a very good lens, I still love it for the wow factor you get with it:
After the press thing, we rode with a bunch of journalists through the rockies and up to Sturgis. Epicness happened, including about 20 miles of twisty dirt road (we were all on Visions, Cross Countrys, and Cross Roads, not dirt bikes). Much fun was had. Twisty roads aplenty, savvy?
Sturgis was the usual. I didn’t stick around long- worked my day in the store then headed home. Two young kids at home, missed my wife, etc. Plus, fun things are happening at work.
…and that’s all I’m going to say about that.
Day 90 of #30daysofbiking
Woohoo! Today was day 90 of riding at least 5 miles per day.
I’ve seen a lot. Bugs, rain, dark, light. One flat, one loose crankarm, one seriously creaking crankset, a couple of broken spokes, and a couple of different configurations of fixie.
I’m slated to travel for about 2 weeks at the end of July/early August. By motorcycle. Which means bringing a bicycle will be difficult. I’m tempted to rig up a carrier (the motorcycle is a Vision, which has more than enough capability to carry a bicycle) and bring the fixie. Something about rolling through Sturgis like that appeals to me.
Here’s the
Lots of fun was had by all. There was some great riding being done out there, and it was cool to see people learn their tracks and bikes as the day progressed. I had a couple of brain-fart moments, though nothing serious. I even got the back sliding a couple of times, which felt really cool because it was on purpose. When it’s not on purpose, it’s a pucker-inducer. When you try to do it and succeed, it’s a thrill.
Gus and Eric did some one-on-one with people, which appeared to really help. The riders got smoother and more confident as the day progressed.
Ducatis are beautiful machines. It’s nice being on the track with them- they just please visually and aurally. I love the old school look of the 998, the newer 999 (a design that has really grown on me) and the newer 1098s and 848s. My friend Shannon brought his brand new 848, and can be seen scraping knee in a few of the shots. What an awesome bike.
Want!
Maybe my wife will take a hint from his wife, who got him the bike for his 40th birthday. How about it, honey? The kids can get loans for college if they need them… 
I took some video with the GoPro from aboard my humble SV. I have found the camera likes the PNY SD cards (Class 4) better than the Class 6 Transcend cards. Weird. Whatever works. Here’s the first video. I have another that I still have to edit.
Holga .d
I’m not usually one to fawn over concepts. Usually, they are the over-hyped, under-thought product of student industrial designers who are convinced that they can ignore basic laws… like physics, usability, etc.
But this one has me thoroughly smitten because it’s so right:
http://www.saikatbiswas.com/web/Projects/Holga_D.htm
The only criticism I can level is that it looks too nice. It’s very Leica. In fact, this with old Leica glass would be pretty cool too.
If somebody were to make this, and do it right (cheaply), I wouldn’t be able to resist.
There’ some serious fun to be had out there…
Wow. This looks like a lot of pai… er, fun:
http://www.chequamegon100.com/
The normal 40 feels like a long way. 100? Yes! Yes! Yes! It hurts!
Then there’s the westside dirty benjamin- 100 miles on gravel Let’s hope they do it again in 2011. No way was I going to survive that far this year, but if I keep this up next year should be doable.
I think I might ride around Lake Pepin soon. It’s about 70 miles, nicely scenic, and I have a place to crash in Lake City. A cursory search reveals that I’m not the only one, or the silliest one, to have this idea. These silly bu… er, recreationists? Have been doing a 3-speed tour around the lake since 2006. In period garb. All I have to say is: CHAFING!
http://momentumplanet.com/articles/the-2010-lake-pepin-three-speed-tour
I guess that’s what do when you’re into re-enactments, bicycles, and you live nowhere near anything that has a relationship to the Civil War… More power to ‘em.
Anyway, I’ll probably take the road bike. Or set up the fixie with a gear (42-24?) that might let me scale the precipice south of Maiden Rock with quads intact. Need to get this one done in July though. August looks pretty crazy right now. Holler at me if you’re in- there’s room to sleep about 3 people on the boat in Lake City (more if there are couples.)
Nice day for a ride
I say that every day, though. Last night at about 11pm I went for a ride in a thunderstorm on the fixie. It was awesome. I got soaked. The lighting was unbelievable. Hardest part was seeing where I was going- it had been quite a warm day, and the rain was steaming as it hit the road. Throw a headlight on and you get some pretty good fog reflection. Happily, even though this was at prime drunk time in Wisconsin on a Saturday night, everybody gave me a wide berth.
Today’s two-wheeled self-motivated hijinks started out as a simple spin to get my legs unkinked from hammering on the new TT bike, and a vicious Crossfit workout that made it hard to get out of bed this morning. I didn’t really have an idea of where I was going, except that I wanted to start into the wind so I didn’t have to fight a headwind on the way home. I didn’t really have an idea of how far I wanted to go, either. I just wanted to see some white lines whizzing by and let my thoughts wander.
I think the thinking is part of what is so appealing about bicycling and motorcycling- you have en excuse not to be doing anything else for the duration of the ride. I think of it as rolling meditation. Oddly, in my mental model of “cool things to do of an afternoon,” I ascribe similar levels of effort to riding a motorcycle as I do riding a bicycle. Sure, the motorcycle moves you along, but the wind at highway speeds beats you up more, and the risk is probably a lot greater, so you have to be a little more “signed in” if you want to keep the rubber side down. My legs come back more tired from a bicycle ride, but the rest of me gets more of a workout on the motorcycle.
Anyway, I went out for a good meditate just after 1pm. Can’t tell you what I thought about, really. Well, I can a bit- I broke a spoke and my newly reassembled bottom bracket has resumed its creaky ways, so those got some attention. But the rest of it is through and gone. I pondered some deep questions, but I didn’t really think about anything in a manner that allows me to remember what I thought. It was very refreshing.
Here’s the route I took:
Once I got to about the 22 mile point, I stopped by my favorite cafe/bike shop: The Bikery . What a great combination- carbs, caffeine, and bicycles. They have an Eddy Merckx track frame hanging in the window, along with some local artists’ work. I have some photos from the Stillwater Criterium hanging there, including in the Ladies’ loo (or so my wife tells me.) A mocha and a cookie (Shhh! don’t tell anyone) later, and I was feeling refreshed. I drooled over some high end road bikes (the Argon 18s are beautiful and surprisingly reasonable), chatted with the gentleman in the bike shop, and then set off again.
22 miles, 4 miles from home, big nasty awful hill that I abhor (more for traffic reasons than because it’s steep), and I didn’t think 26 miles was going to be enough after last weekend’s 51 mile Houlton-Hudson-Prescott and back adventure (avoid county road F. They mean it… it’s ucking Fawful.) So I headed south through town, past the OPH prison (always feel vaguely guilty riding past there, in case any incarcerated cyclists get twitchy legs watching me go by) and south to Afton. My idea was to ride the Afton hill then head home. It was a bit of a grind, but I made it. Then I went down one of my favorite hills, and along the St. Croix past some amazing houses on my way back north.
Lakeland and Lakeland shores are unremarkable, and the road isn’t much to write home about, but it has roundabouts, and I love roundabouts. There are three of them, right in a row. Wheee!
Once across the 94 bridge and into Hudson, I felt compelled to make a short detour to ride one of my other favorite roads- Trout Brook Road. It’s a Rustic Road, and it winds along for a few miles before climbing out of the little river valley that it crosses. It’s a nasty little climb, with a false summit about 2/3 of the way up. At this point, I had about 45 miles in my legs, and really suffered. But it was good suffering, the kind that allows you to think things and then completely forget them.
It probably wasn’t that remarkable a ride in many respects, apart from being my longest since I left California in late 2000. I certainly didn’t cover it with any great speed (16.3 MPH), but I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Today was day 75 of #30daysofbiking. Proof that I’m not very good with directions.
Oh, and I took some pictures with the Olympus XA, but it’ll be a while before I finish the roll.
Ducati Minneapolis Track Day at DCTC
Yesterday, I got the chance to help out, ride, and take photos at the first track day put on by the new Ducati Minneapolis dealership. Talk about a day that scratched all of my itches… This one pretty much nailed it.
What a hoot; Attendance was pretty light, but there was some beautiful machinery rolling around. Everybody looked to have a good time, and it was fun to watch the riders gain confidence on the very difficult surface. This is definitely a track that rewards smoothness and composure. With 18 or so turns in about a mile, you definitely get a chance to practice your transitions and work on your body positioning.
The track was a little bumpy and needed a lot of sweeping to get it serviceable. Weather was perfect- temperatures in the 80s and low 90s with low humidity.
Here’s the gallery.
Mark Z proves that farm implements can go around corners. Note the PTO close to scraping the ground. After this lap he hitched up the brush hog and mowed the infield.
Here’s a video of my second session. Went cautiously on this one, took a couple of laps to warm up the tires. I used the GoPro motorsports hero suction cup mount for this one. It was a bit wobbly, and loosened up during the session. I’d like to build a better version that gets the camera up and back. I’d also like to get the camera in front of the bike and really low.