PSA

My friends at Knowledge wanted me to remind you to "Drop Knowledge Not Bombs."

That is all.

Plans For Summer '08

I snagged the above image from the seminal bike nerd book "Bicycling Science" by Whitt and Wilson. If you haven't read it, see if you can find it. It will bend your mind...
The image my buddy Jay dubbed "line rider" has been bouncing around my mind for a couple of years, trying to find a place...and perhaps it has for the summer of 2008. We'll have to wait and see what the numbers say....
It is really cold today, with the temps dropping even further tonight...gonna have to break out the Lake shoes again.

Where We Live

My buddy Chris planted a bug in my ear about "earthship" a couple of weeks ago and since then, I've been thinking alot about where we live and how we build. Check out the above pic, yeah, those are tires. Earthships are built from rammed earth stacked tires. Pretty nuts. In the good ol' US of A, we live in sprawling suburbs in houses that insulate us from the natural environment. And hey, that works for most folks. I'm a happy home owner, but I still think outside the box about the house I want to spend the rest of my life in, and it would be pretty satisfying to spend it in a home I built myself.
Here is a link to a pretty interesting web site about a couple that built their own home. It is amazing stuff.

Midweek Random Bits

This is a another pretty sweet rack that Ira has built. You can't deny that. Also they say you are what you eat, and I eat Chipolte cuz it tastes good. I should really invest in it. And when you get done checking that out, check out this video that P-Lip sent to me of folks in Portland moving by bike. Nuts.

I ask you...

The Crunch Of Snow Under Tires

Riding in the winter is what you make of it. The last couple of days the temp as dropped drastically again, and riding has once again become a chore. It isn't so easy to just grab your bike and hop on to go for a ride. There is the layering of clothing, the extra lubricant for the bike. Studded tires and LED lights have become essential for survival as black ice and darkness shroud most rides. Last night the cold air burned my lungs as I headed down town for a dinner. It was one of those nights where all of a sudden, 10 minutes into the ride, I realized how quiet it was
as I floated on an inch of fresh powder. The untouched lawns were like an empty canvass...streching into the darkness. Fitness seems so far away. I long for those days when shorts and flip flops are all the clothing I need for a night spin...

Reading List

From time to time, I like to encourage folks to read certain books or magazines. Here is an older article about Fly Fishing. It is quite good. Enjoy.

Swap/cx banquet/30th birthday party

This past weekend was one of those weekends that mercifully don't happen very often. As is was, there was about 3 too many things that I tried to pack into the day on Saturday. A group of us met at Wilson's Pub for bloody marys before the swap on Saturday at 8:30 am. From there we pedaled to the swap and spent some cash on bike stuff I probably didn't need but wanted none the less. I did however pick up a sweet CETMA rack on the cheap, thanks Marko! Saw a bunch of old friends, and had some laughs.
After the swap, I headed out to watch the Packers at the Great Dane...and damn it was a pretty good game, that is unless you are a Seattle Seahawks fan. From there a bunch of us headed to Fitchburg for the cross banquet. I'm certain that the rowdieness of our combined bkb/pegasus/magnus team effort was not apprecieated by everyone that was there, but no matter it was fun. Perhaps the first time a cross banquet anywhere was superfanned...
Then a good old fashioned 30th birthday party for #9 complete with a keg of Scotch Ale and a Hot Tub left many hung over for Sunday. But you'll have that sometimes. Sundays are good for sleeping in, eating burritos, sitting by the fire and watching NFL playoffs anyways.

Rock

I don't go to live shows much anymore. Cash, time, lack of bands I like touring, age, getting my teeth kicked in, have all kept me away from live shows. "Back in the day", a phrase I say with my tounge firmly in my cheek, I used to go to live shows all the time. Recently it has come to my attention that some old freinds (Now known as Able Baker Fox) are playing a show at the Metro in Chicago with one of my all time favorites, Hot Water Music. HWM is a band I've never seen live, but always deeply enjoyed. I was on my way to a Small Brown Bike/Alkaline Trio/Hot Water Music show in November 2000 at the Shelter in Detroit when something came up...Those were good times and I saw some great shows, and sometimes I get nostalgic for the past...Today I was looking online at some stuff, when I stumbled to the Hot Water's merch page and found the above ear plugs. That is when you know you play brutal rock...in the end not going to shows is all just excuses I guess. This show also happens to fall on the same weekend as the Stupor Bowl, and sadly those events though they may rock equally as hard, are taking place 500 miles apart...

Hencho En Madison

Here is a great shot Lyle took of his 12-Pack Rack. (note the custom bar plugs I installed on New Years Eve) This rack does exactly what it claims to do, carry 12 packs. And it does it well. You can get one of your own by emailing Leah Stargardter at 12packrack@gmail.com. If you google 12 Pack Rack, you can also find some other shots on some random Flickr accounts. Leah is a pro, and she can build a sweet rack, with or without the bells and whistles. Lyle had her integrate low rider pannier racks.
Last spring when Leah and her partner Ahren Rogers were working at Revolution Cycles I stopped by and saw Ahren holding an empty Leinenkugels box over a stainless steel square he'd welded. The 12-Pack Rack had just been born...it was cool, and I ended up getting one of the first production versions. It has served me well on many a beer run.