personal

No more space

Articles like this about the “Battle for Central Park”, where joggers and runners are forever aggravated at cyclists and vice versa, and everyone hates the car folks and vice versa, don’t speak to anything but extreme crowding.

The resources (open space, clear of “traffic” (defined as anything that interrupts *your* activity)) are too scarce. We are constantly jostling each other in our attempt to simply move about. Of course everyone is annoyed! Sadly though, there is a strong sense of entitlement and greed that runs as an undercurrent to the interactions.

I have no answers here, except for my personal one of making a choice to find more space for my family as quickly as possible.

Subway

photo_token.jpgI haven’t been on a Subway in a while… every few months it seems there’s something that causes me to take one, but I don’t ride the subway on a regular basis.

Going to meet a friend for lunch the other day it seemed to make sense to grab one, so I (and my boss) did. We got some unrequested help from the platform guy, who in years past would’ve been stuck in a booth handing out tokens, but now is amongst the people walking then through the steps of putting value into Metrocards.

As we swipe our way through the turnstiles, someone cuts in front of us and jumps the turnstile. He then proceeds to walk down the platform and pees into a corner. He now hears from the platform guy who warns him that the cops are on the way.

The not a joyous member of society saunters off down the platform knowing that a train is going to pull in any second, long before even a close by cop could respond.

All entirely too matter of fact.

Makes wonder about tourism in the City, which I now see daily, as I pass through Times Square.

Jack Brown Green’s… a little Hampsten for my commute

jack_brown_green.jpgAmongst my other chores today was replacing the skinny, fast, tires on the fixie with something a bit more plush. Now there’s lot’s more cush and they’re smooth rolling. It’s a commute, not a race (mostly :~)

I love that the tire dimensions are listed on the package as 622 x 33.33333… you can see the continuation line on the tire itself (below). They make a “Brown” version that is slightly heavier and reinforced.

On the right is my Salsa Casserole in it’s current minimalist config, now with the JB Greens. I got mine through Rivendell, a bastion of practical cycling.

Below is Andy Hampsten’s Strada Bianca Ti. Same tires… but I’ve never won the Giro. Make of that what you will. Credit for the picture of Andy’s bike credit goes to the irrepressible James Huang of Cyclingnews.com.

Andy_Hampstens_Hampsten_Strada_Bianca_Ti_tire.jpg

[Update: I did 15 miles on this setup. As nice as I could hope for. Onward!]

Snowy Mountains

There’ll come a time when the pictures friends send me from their epic vacations (mountain climbing, skiing, frozen biking) will once again appeal. Their crisp blue skies, the carapaces and undulations of the mountain wearing a mantle of whitest snow, the gray, almost smoky clouds hovering low over a brilliant orange or yellow tent, bike wheels packed with snow, and water bottles frozen solid all meant to inspire a longing for a road less traveled. But for now even the notion of cold is entirely lacking in merit in my eyes.

Seriously. I get up fairly early every day. Generally 5AM somethin’. And all autumn, winter and through most of spring that means it’s at least chilly outside if not cold as a witches elbow. It makes it hard to get up, hard to get out, and it’s really demotivating when what you have to do is not fun. Getting up that early in the cold to go skiing? Doable. Getting up that early to get ready for work and take out the garbage? An effort of will. I rode my bike throughout the winter regardless of temperature or precipitation. I hustled my little family out the door t the ridiculous hour we leave for jobs and school. But I’ve kinda had it with the cold for now.

So for the time being, if you live in Alaska, or climb in the Himalayas, or are running some program in the Arctic, or Antarctica, please spare the snowy, cold pictures. No matter how beautiful. Wait ’till maybe the end of August or September when the oppressing humidity of a New York summer has kicked in with sufficient strength to cause even the staunchest of summer folks to wilt. By then I’ll be toast. Then bring them on!

As always your support is appreciated. (wink)

Taking Things Apart

Taking Things Apart:

John August, asked by a working screenwriter how he can keep improving throughout his career:

My advice for you is to dedicate one day a week to disassembling good movies. Take existing films (and one-hour dramas) and break them down to cards. Think of yourself as an ordinary mechanic given the task of reverse-engineering a spaceship. Figure out what the pieces do, and why they were put together in that way.

I think this true for any craft.

[It’s a great way to hone one’s touch and grow new skills. I especially like doing it as a group exercise to learn what others see in something that I don’t.]
Source: Daring Fireball

Winning Sweetwood

Winning Sweetwood: There was a climb up Fifth Street last year when I nearly cracked the Animal then blew up and finished fifty feet behind him, and that means more to me than any of the times I’ve finished ahead of everyone else. [I know exactly how he feels. Last Sunday on the short and steep opening climb I passed a friend who says she’s not a fast climber, but certainly climbs better than I in general, and nearly caught someone else whom I never have caught, and may never catch, on a climb. It meant more to me to almost latch onto his wheel than a lot of other cycling related things. I don’t finish climbs ahead of everyone else, but it’s nice to think that one day, with continued perseverance, I might. Head for the hills!]
Source: Sitting In

A short story: AJ, the cyclist, and a large brown dog

A short story: AJ, the cyclist, and a large brown dog: He noticed when there were no cars coming towards him, cars would swing over to the other side to pass. However, when there was traffic in both directions, they passed by a 60 mph with no thought of slowing down, often missing him by inches.

At one time, a large eighteen-wheeler went by, and although it missed him by at least two feet, its shear size, and those huge wheels, gave AJ the scare of his life. And the back draft almost blew him off his feet [If more folks would have to get out of their cars and trucks, and for that matter, lived with fewer bits of insulation between each of us the world would be a better place.]
Source: Dave Moulton’s Bike Blog