Author: Daniel

Daniel https://turnings.phrasewise.com/ In the 4th grade Daniel was asked to step in into the hall because he was coaching fellow students on a similarity assignment he provided the class. Since then, Daniel’s passion for helping people has propelled him to be a creative developer of software and systems, and a team coach who excels at successfully delivering business value. Daniel founded QuietlyHelping in 2009 in order to have a direct hand in helping families with the struggles of debilitating disease. QuietlyHelping is an organization of compassion and empathy that brings ease, comfort, smiles, laughter, healing, and love to people battling cancer and other diseases. Spare time activities include cycling, occasional work as a musician, woodworking, photography, and reading books he never got around to in school. Unsurprisingly, Daniel is able to cook minute rice in just under thirty seconds.
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Father’s day ride

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I got up a little after 5 a.m. and splashed some water on my hands and face then checked my email. I took some dried fruit from the kitchen and munched for a minute while I read before going to the bathroom to put on my cycling clothes. I didn’t want to disturb Lisa and now Noah who was, as is his style, sleeping distributed all over the bed. The price for caring this morning was paid by absolutely nailing my left knee into the edge of the bathroom vanity. Our bathrooms are really too small for dressing. Other than the nearly stifled curse, I didn’t give it much thought although it did, I noticed later, leave quite a goose egg (and now a bruise). I came back into the kitchen and poured lots water in a glass that has a bike etched into its side, then sat quietly for a few minutes munching and drinking. I opened Noah’s father’s day present, a snake that had a clothes pin set into to the top “to hold all my papers” that had been hand painted and formed by The Kid. I pumped up the replacement rear wheel and all seemed good. I rolled down my hill right around 6:30 and pedaled through Wesley Hills then north toward the hills and Harriman.

I had skipped the outer layers and was chilly going down the hill, but it seemed prudent. It would be warm later and I didn’t want to carry all that stuff.

I told myself what a great morning it was and turned onto Camp Hill Road thinking about the wisdom of long sleeves, the sand and gravel on the road and where I wanted to ride. I thought about Noah and Lisa, the architecture of the houses beside me, and the rapidly fading morning sun, and friends, and people and places of a long time ago. The clouds looked ever more threatening but I was not to be intimidated.

My hands on the top of the bar, the sun no longer displayed my shadow on the road. I hit the first small climb, and felt my left knee complain. Look at that. “That hurts” I thought as I gently rubbed my hand past the spot where I had driven the vanity into my knee. I wondered how long my knee would hold up.

Some cyclists blew by on a down hill and after some brief morning banter I turned off to continue. I briefly thought about hanging with them as long as I could, but I wasn’t in the mood to work that hard just yet.

As I climbed the first real hill the woods exploded with bird song. Lots of species I didn’t recognize raucously cheering on my climbing. My own personal Alpe D’huez like cheering squad. A deer on the side of the road couldn’t even be bothered to step away from me though we could have brushed shoulders. So much for exuding power and ferociously attacking the climb.

33.26 miles and 2575 feet of climbing later my knee held up fine. But my bike once again was not. My rear tire was flat I realized climbing the last significant bit of hill as I neared home. “Meh”, I said to myself, “it must be a slow leak, and I only have a few miles left”. I took out a cartridge and poured CO2 into the tire. Nice and solid. Then I hear the hissing… Sad. I was hoping to avoid changing a rear tire this close to home, but I guess not. Tube? Check. Levers? Check. Someplace to sit while I do this that’s not in the middle of the road? Check. Second CO2 cartridge? uh, Second CO2 cartridge? Oh bother.

So for the second time in two weeks I called the “Team Car” to come and get me. Fortunately, Lisa and Noah were just about to go out, and I was just a few miles from home. So lickety split they were there. Some nice cyclist stopped to help, but I explained that there was no need and I’d be fine in just a few minutes. As a bonus since I rode from home, Lisa was able to take the car with the rack on it to make things even simpler all around.

For solo riding I’m now adding a mini-pump to the kit bag. And hopefully this will change my current ride karma and I can make it all the way home on the next ride.

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Noah wanted to stay with me, so we watched parts of the most recent Star Trek movie (he likes the space parts, no exposition, please, and is very sensitive to the feelings of the heros, so we edit as we go). We then went ice skating at the local rink, met the lovely and helpful Jill, who was willing to watch and play with Noah both on and off the ice while I helped Lisa get her bearings, and then we came home made dinner, and “picnicked” in the family room watching the end of the Tour de Suisse.

All in all it was a great father’s day.

Tech and design links

Bespoke later, for now, it spoke no more

bespoke_at_MAD

On Thursday, Mark Z. and I took a moment to see the “bespoke” exhibit of hand made bicycles at MAD. It’s a nice display of some of the finest bikes made by hand today. The irony of the bike rental business on the corner, while just inside were wheelsets that cost more than several rentals was not lost on us. Another irony was the mud covered Richard Sachs ‘cross bike which the guard would shoo people away from if they even tried to touch it… something tells me Richard would just shake his head, atmo.

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As I’ve said before I’ve yet to commit to a “bespoke” cycle… but one day.

However in the world of cycling ignominy is never far away—at least for me. Lloyd and John posted this nice ride they do up to Cold Spring and beyond. In need of nice long ride I planned to go despite having to wake up early on the one day when I don’t have to… 5am came early as it were.

Six of us started out from Rockland Lake heading north up the rollers of 9W, dropped into Haverstraw, and met up with three others. We climbed up toward Bear Mountain bridge and crossed over continuing up 9D. As I get nearly as far away from home as I’m going to get, I hear the loudest “bang” I’ve ever heard come from my bike. I thought I had flatted, so I slowed and stopped carefully, but it didn’t look like it, and once stopped, it was clearly not the problem, and yet the wheel was not really turning. And then I saw it.

There was a spoke unattached at the hub end. “That’s gonna be a hassle.” I thought. I knew that I didn’t have a spoke wrench on my multi tool. And while I opened the brake and tried to re-orient the wheel in the frame enough to limp home, it was a no go. The wheel was significantly out of true.

Just then Lloyd and (the other) John came riding by (I’m not sure why they were that far behind me) and the stopped to help. Lloyd broke off the dangling spoke, but without a spoke wrench we were kinda stuck. They didn’t have anything on their tools either. There’d be no limping home. All that was left was calling Lisa and asking to be picked up. Luckily she had a morning of chores planned, and was home and could quickly throw The Kid in the car and made her way to me… but still… I’m almost as far away from home as I planned to be that day. (Darn you Murphy!) Nor was I close to any of the bike shops in the area that would have come and picked me up (because they’re awesome around here.)

Phone call made, I sent Lloyd and (the other) John on their way and tried not to go stir crazy waiting… now of course, all of this could have been worse. It could have started raining for example. But even then, I happened to stop by Hudson Highlands State Park, so there was a little covered message board that I could have hidden under. And while it was cool, I did have rain jacket with me… and food and water. All in all… not the worst conditions in which to wait. I only called Lisa three times…

I’ve taken away some thoughts for the future.

  1. I put a spoke wrench in my seat bag. Already. As in I already got one of the right size and put it in the bag.
  2. I could have salvaged the ride home if I had a spare set of wheels pumped up and ready to go in every way sitting where Lisa would know she had the right wheels. This is a bit more complicated, but I took the steps I could today. I need to get a set of wheels with matching rims to really make this pain free… but in the meantime I’ve prepped a set and made a spot for them to live. When I check the pressure on the bike set, I check those too. I’d move them into Lisa’s car, but that’ll get in her way most of the time, so I’ll leave them in the newly created spot.
  3. Lastly, I need to put *all* the phone numbers I need into my cell phone. As long as I have a cell connection I can look up the phone numbers I need. But what if I don’t? I might be able to borrow a cup of phone, but internet access? Lots harder ’round the state parks. I can’t run up 411 access fees on someone’s phone either… it would make it harder for the next person who needs their help to get it (regardless of whether I pay for it or not. Just my feeling, but still.)

I’d take a few hours of riding on a wobbly wheel over dragging my wife (or anyone else) out on the road to help me while I wait. And a little preparation could’ve rescued the ride. She even could’ve grabbed another bike, but the rack isn’t on her car and putting a bike in the car is not easy (to say the least)… so wheels it would be.

I thought about bringing extra wheels to the Battenkill ride, but because I didn’t think of it until the last minute I was, again, unprepared. I’ll do better next time. Seems a shame to lose a day to something that a minute wheel change could save. Especially in that case where we really did have a “team” car.

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The week in links

Wheel hotness: Mad Fiber carbon fiber wheelset

Tech Update: Ric Hjertberg launches Mad Fiber carbon fiber wheelset:

The set

Ric Hjertberg and his new company Mad Fiber is bringing out a wild-looking carbon wheelset with a claimed weight of just 1085 grams and aerodynamics claimed to be on par with the best in the industry.

If Hjertberg’s name sounds familiar, it’s because he’s been associated with wheelbuilding, since founding Wheelsmith Fabrications in 1980. Now, a few years after ending his stint as New Technology Manager with Full Speed Ahead, he’s back on the scene with the new venture.

Hjertberg said he set out to make a wheel light enough for the steepest climbs, aero enough for the worst crosswinds, and durable enough for riders of every build.

Hjertberg points to several distinct aspects of the new wheel:

Flanges and spokes

  • Instead of building the carbon rim to mimic the shape and properties of an extruded aluminum rim, Mad Fiber builds the rim by joining three separately constructed pieces (two sidewalls and the tire seat). Hjertberg says it’s lighter and stronger this way.
  • Instead of drilling the rim to accommodate metal spokes, Mad Fiber bonds wide carbon spokes to both the rim walls and hub flanges. Again, this preserves the integrity of the rim and makes it stronger at a lower weight.
  • To tension the wheel, the carbon spokes are assembled to length and fixed to the flanges at the hub center. Then a fixture precisely moves the flanges to their correct position on the hub shell before they’re affixed in place. Spreading the flanges with the spokes already attached to both the flanges and rim creates spoke tension.
  • The wheels are handmade in Seattle and carry no rider weight restrictions.
  • The company says they meet and exceed multiple fatigue and durability tests, including DIN and CEN standardized tests plus a battery of tests of their own invention. They carry a four-year warranty and crash replacement program. The titanium freehub body is made by White Industries and sports three-pawl/24-tooth engagement and a 15mm chromoly axle.

The wheels will be available this summer. They will retail for $2600, and ship with lightweight quick release skewers, cork brake pads, wheel bags, and valve extenders.

[Badass]
Source: VeloNews

My take on “Women as Outcasts In Cycling Industry”

First, go read Women as Outcasts In Cycling Industry including the comments. (As always, I’ll wait).

My disclaimer here is that I know both David and Abby and have some passing familiarity with the problems Abby has faced finding a bike that fits (or that doesn’t cause her to throw fits).

If you work around people who wear suits you’ll see very few who are wearing clothes that truly fit. Why is that? Pants legs and jacket sleeves that are too long, or extreme bagginess (Must one be able to store a family of marmosets in there? I think not.) Never mind clothes that are wrong for the person on possibly many levels. The fix for these problems is not expensive. So why?

I see lots of ill fitting bikes. Too small, too big, and less often I see people on the wrong type of bike. So why?

There’s a problem created by the need to stock products. Your local store stocks stuff. They want to sell what they stock. People want to buy stuff that’s available (I want it now!). Ordering and waiting has to have a significant payoff, and often doesn’t.

The bike industry and the clothing industry take a similar approach. They make a range of sizes heavily influenced by their “professional” work. Clothing trends follow “designer” or “couture” trends. Bike industry development is influenced by racing and the needs of the pros. And like all systems there’s some failure there. Much as most of us are not an exact and properly fitting size medium (whatever that is), we’re are also not (as a collective) small male bike racers. And yet in both cases, we enjoy pretending that we are and making some bad choices along the way.

There’s a backlash to this amongst the bike builders. It’s sometimes discussed as bike “fit”. In other cases its discussed as what you want out of the experience of riding a bike. Listen to the narration of this cool little film with Jeff Jones and Sacha White (two incredible builders). And while you can (and should) parse the difference between how a bike fits you physically and the type of bike and the influence that has on the experience of riding it the two are far more closely tied than one would think. And the “custom” bike builders can build a bike that takes into account not just the measurements of your body, but what you tell them about your riding. Assuming you’re honest in the process, you’ll most likely get a bike that “fits” not just anatomically but stylistically as well. Like I said, it’s more important than people think.

The “woman as outcasts” issue is far larger than just the bike industry. As a software developer and someone who builds teams to do that kind of work I can assure you that the software industry does a horrible job of sustaining the interest of woman drawn to technology.

So yeah, there’s fewer choices for woman in terms of cycling clothes and fewer parts choices that extend the size range, and as I mentioned above style of riding and the weight range of riders also comes into play. All of which seems to be improving at least a little bit. And the industry is at least becoming aware of the issue of fit as more of us ride. It’s not just the racer or wannabe crowds who are buying bikes. Companies are offering bikes in more sizes and trying new ideas about what makes things work (well size symmetry and head tube sizing anyway), and for many of us changing seatposts, stems, handlebars, and cranks, even within the industry limits, can produce a fit that works. But that’s the equivalent of shortening cuffs and the like… it’s not the same as having clothing or a bike made for you.

I wouldn’t be at all surprised to find that Natalie’s Lust line size medium fits me nicely (I could be wrong, I’m kinda in the border between medium and large the irony of which is not lost on me). I wish I could try one. I’d be curious to see how a bike design that is the sum of what Natalie has found works for many of her mostly female customers feels like. Will it leave me with the hard to describe complaint I’ve heard from many of female bike friends about things “not being comfortable”? Could be a great way to gain some insight into their problems.

Anyway, I’m glad the my female bike friends are finding bikes that are comfortable for them and custom built with them in mind. One day, I hope to do the same for myself.

Comfortable clothes

When I say that about clothes I wear it means that I don’t notice the clothes as I wear them. They fit in such a way as not to need adjustment—certainly not near constant adjustment.

Fashion is a complex subject because it is so subjective. While I have learned to understand that fashion doesn’t have to be comfortable for some folks, I found a line today that I wish more folks wouldn’t cross.

It was a very warm day out for spring in New York. 90F. More like summer than spring around here. As I ran an errand today in the heart of midtown NYC I saw lots of folks from all walks of life, countries, and origins. The melting pot was on full display. As was a great deal of skin. In some cases, way too much in my opinion. In other cases, while folks were still technically dressed, they weren’t really covered. And a joy to behold. But that’s not the point really.

One woman in particular aimed to walk down the street alternately tugging and lifting her dress. First tugging it down in the back, then lifting it higher in the front. Then tugging, then lifting. All while trying to walk and carry shopping bags.

I’m not sure what herd instinct caused her to put that dress on when she was clearly uncomfortable with what it revealed. And while some would argue fashion, I would say that it becomes a “fashion don’t” when you can’t walk down the street without adjusting coverage with every step. It’s just ridiculous.

So ladies and gentlemen, if you can’t wear something revealing without being able to ignore or feel comfortable with the amount of you revealed, consider wearing something that does make you comfortable… and to hell with fashion and what others are wearing. This public service announcement has been brought to you by the letter C and the number 4.

64.4

I play a silly game in the car on my morning commute: Without making a traffic hazard of myself, how far up can I push the gas mileage? (3 minute minimum duration.)

64.4 mpg on the commute this morning…

#ifIcantbeonabike

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Noah learns to skate

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And it looks a little like this. Added in this case Bartelby, the class bear, who is given to the child of the day to take home. The accompanying journal entry is left as an exercise for the parents, or in our case, Mommy. I don’t need no stinkin’ homework.

As I mentioned not that long ago I remember learning how to skate. So seeing this picture, and that pose, brought back that whole scene again.

I’m hoping to catch a little ice time this Friday. But it’s the heart of the Memorial Day weekend getaway, so I may chicken out for another week. We’ll see.