step back let's go pop

warning; skewed and potentially hypocritical social commentary enclosed!

so... on wed and thursday i had alot of profound insight on life, bikes and the pursuit of happiness floating around in my head. i had read a magazine @ the eye doctor that had an article about pop culture's reflection on the end of society; AKA the apocalypse. it's painfully obvious to me that our society -- american??? -- really does not think. i would venture to say that they tend to fixate more on irrelevance than anything else. it also pains me to have to be part of a population that shoots (not just guns) first and asks questions later. when i ride to work i see it dozens of times -- someone pulls out in front of cross traffic making it everyone else's responsibility to deal w/ them. said drivers may be all caught up in what they saw britnery spears do on the news last night or they may, simply, be fixated on their notion of how they need to get wherever their going and f**k everybody else their way. regardless, that kind of thinking abounds and happens to really depress me. when all people see and hear is gossip, drivel and other assorted junk that makes them tend to focus on the wrong things, it leads to bad sh*t.

this occurs in the otherwise, to me, benign land of bikes too. i ride on damen through wicker park. it's fast. you all know what i'm going to say next... i have a hard time going along with the mentality of 'so what that they're riding a fashion contraption that somewhat resembles a bicycle; at least they're riding and not driving.' it is also borderline hypocritical of me to get riled up because i once rode a fixed gear conversion and a track bike on the street. a byproduct of the current fixed gear 'culture' seems to be having something to prove to someone or something. if in trying to prove this intangible you endanger yourself or others, that is f**ked up. first of all, i don't know how a bianchi pista concept handles w/ a brand new, bright orange 650c wheel on the front, but i can imagine it's even more unstable than an normal track bike. you might want to hone some abilities before you wheel one brakelessly into the intersection of damen/N/MKE. but!!! you don't think about that! you just FIXate on the fact that you have the 'hottest sh*t' on the scene, you can't be bothered by looking out for people on bicycles, you got to be seen on ur fixie!

there is often a lady who stands some mornings on the NE corner of MKE/california w/ a sing that says 'peace be with you.' every time i see her i think. i think about: why i got pissed @ the kids in WP who almost fixied right into me; why i told that driver who sped around me @ 45mph only to slam on their brakes at the stop sign right in front of me to go fuc# themselves; i think about what peace really means and, if i keep thinking everyone else is incapable of thought, that i'll never find it. regardless, i usually say '& also w/ you.' force of habit from an f---ed up catholic; can you tell? oh well... i heard britney's getting aerospokes on her wheelchair for when she leaves her rehab facility.

moving on up; born a ramblin man; the gambler

i have to move soon. i'm not looking forward to it. it will, most likely, cut down my commute. most people would like that. not me. my current commute is an automatic 150 miles a week. i do it w/o blinking. i want to do it. it's very hard for me to get motivated to ride sometimes, especially when the weather is as such and i don't know what the neighbor/bike on a loud-ass trainer relationship is going to be. i have it really good right now. it could become a challenge to keep up my fitness. i'm gonna try to stay in the same 'hood, but probably can't afford to w/o a roommate -- of which i have 0 prospects.

i like walking too. it's a nice break sometimes. you get to enjoy all the little nuances that faster transportation denies you. as speed decreases, awareness increases. i really like my walk to the train. i'm going to miss it. i get to cut through my alma mater's campus. go through greektown. see tumbleweave. if i move to where i think i will be moving to, i'm not gonna get to enjoy the same things, and, i'm gonna have a harder time utilizing metra -- which my job pays for.

i'm going to las vegas. a friend's bachelor party is the last weekend of may. i was against going from the start, but i bent. the last bachelor party i went to was in new orleans (pre-katrina, fwiw). thank god i had a non-partisan friend living there @ the time. the 2nd nite of the debacle a guy got beat up so bad he went to the hospital and had to have surgery there. also, the friend i drove down w/ ended up in jail (you can pretty much do whateverthefu8kyouwant in the quarter, seriously, EXCEPT PEE). despite having to spend xtra time there so he could go to court, it ended up being one of the best trips i ever went on, because i had a friend there who was local and into cool sh*t and didn't want to do stupid partying either... going to vegas is going to be different. i don't gamble. losing money is not fun for me and i hate numbers so i don't have any 'advantage' that could help me win $. i've passed on a vegas bachelor party before on the grounds that i would be all alone the whole time while everybody else was playing poker. well, that still may be the case this time, but i feel like i should experience the place -- it's only a weekend -- and he's been a good friend for a long time. i would have just been sailing or riding that weekend anyway...

no news is good news

i had long weekend. in retrospect, its highs balanced its lows. it began on thursday w/ an amazing show @ beat kitchen that capped a day of no riding.

friday i slept an extra hour (had the day off of work), ate alot, putzed around the house, rode to performance and back on the LFP, rode to PMI for a benefit, rode home in the dramatically coldER air, passed out...

saturday ended up being pretty epic. first, i overslept on the xxx ride, so i decided to REALLY oversleep. then, at about 1, i went out for a good 30 miler. rode down to 95th and ave. o; caught a wicked tailwind on the way back N. got some good intervals in on LFP. later that evening i had an epic meal of italian food w/ my family. afterwards, i was somewhat 'dressed up' and i wasn't tired, so i decided i'd call a friend i don't see too often. we went out -- at 10. i would have otherwise been in bed. we went to some places. they varied in quality of life. at one point i was totally getting 'checked out' by a very attractive girl who may or may not have been on LSD. she told me i reminded her of john lennon. either myself, a friend, or a combination of the two then 'freaked her out.' then i ran into kirk heinrich. just another rainy day.

sunday was a recovery day -- from a horrible diet and too much beer. i don't even remember what i did besides sleep past noon. i watched the tour of cali on the trainer, and i almost puked after a pretty intense couple of hours. i have no problem, mentally, w/ puking. my body on the other hand, fights it to the death. whatever.

coming soon: i decide whether or not to go to vegas.

post, post script: if you click the mac link in my last post and look reeeeeeeally closely you may see yours truly.

john lennon -- OUT

there's a reason

i'm getting nervous about sailing season. it's probably the large coffee and 3 diet pops talking, but i'm struggling with my commitment. i'll do the mac for sure and i'll show up as much as necessary in order to retain my welscome on the mac, but lately i've been thinking about just how dedicated i want to be to sailing. i can, with 99% certainty, say that the first time out on the line with 25 other boats rubbin' spreaders and yelling and heeled over hiking like a bee-otch pointing like a mother(*^#er my mindset will change, but right now it's BIKES BIKES BIKES BIKES ....

i'm also SUPER hyped to see a a bondy tomorrow. this guy... this is the guy... don't sleep on this album: american hearts. the title track is the anti-war anthem of our generation. soul crushingly amazing.

spandex?

bike snob's post today really got me thinking as to why i do what i do cycling-wise. driving in from downtown to o'hare-ish this morning was an amazing reinforcement of my choice to ride.* i always wanted to ride really fast or really 'different.' i guess it began w/ big-wheel skids on the neighbor's driveway. then breaking BMX bikes and myself. BMX stuck w/ me the longest -- both racing and 'freestyle.' next thing i know i'm 21 years old and riding a bike with 20" wheels and a 21" top tube 15miles on a semi-regular basis. that hurts. i found myself doing it mainly for the sense of freedom i got. i'd hop on the bike sans cell-phone (didn't have one till i was about 24), with less than $5, w/o tools or tire repair kit, etc. i just let the ride develop and would see what happened. sometimes that meant i ended up in a really bad neighborhood calling people collect to come pick me up, sometimes it meant nothing more than a horribly sore body from contorting myself on a tiny bike for so long.

about 3 or 4 years ago i caught the 'fixed gear fever.' someone had inquired about my BMXing and whatnot by asking: "why can't you ride a bike like a normal person?" i asked back: 'why would i want to?' at that time i was extremely intrigued by the concept of track bikes, etc...

it was like a bmx bike but an appropriate size and you had to do abnormal tings to operate them for daily transport. i was sold. several years prior i had given MTB a shot and, upon "hating all the gears and crap" i pledged my allegiance to BMX. when i got real old... like 30... i was just gonna get a 24" cruiser.

well, one doesn't catch the fever w/o dreaming of being the coolest thing possible: a bike messenger. luckily after about .5 yrs of being the road riding rebel, i conveniently found myself in conditions perfect for courierdom. little did i know that companies aren't bending over backwards for part-time riders who ride in from their parents' house in the suburbs. well i got a part time posenger gig delivering food. i still met a lot of dudes who would end up being 'big-time' in the chicago messenger community. they quit working w/ me and went full-time w/ real companies. i got an internship. i stayed in touch w/ some of them and they eventually got me into the alleycat thing.

after some more dabbling in getting paid to ride, i noticed that it was more uncommon to NOT have a fixed gear bike than to do so. i remembered back to when i professed that i don't want to ride like everyone else. merry x-mas 2k6 to me. i have a cyclocross bike.

now i also have a sweet road bike and a craving to ride MTB as much as possible. i wear lycra w/o self-consciousness and i shave my legs. i'm on an actual cycling team. i ride up to milwaukee 2-3 times a year. i'm entering a stage race in feburary! i never thought i'd do any of that at all, but i got a taste of the freedom that not confining yourself to one type of or reason to ride a bike can bring, and it's f*%king sweet.

*no matter how many times i do it, i can not accept the fact that it takes as long as it does to drive on the kennedy from my place to my parent's during rush hour. i know riding is faster -- i do it 95% of the time, but having to get up markedly earlier to drive still blows my mind. and the fact that people are OK w/ doing that 5 or more days a week -- INSANE! i can safely say that in the 1.25 hours i spent in the car this morning i could have ridden to work turned right around and been more than half way home. wtf?

opposite king midas

preface.

some facts: the chicago yacht club brews their coffee w/ water straight from the lake... at least it tastes like they do; 30mph of the worst cold-ass wind ever right in your face while you are riding your bike as fast as you can makes for some interesting physical reactions (tunnel vision); sails are airfoils and bikes, unfortunately, are as well; riding a brakeless track bike in traffic can be fun and i was somewhat unaware of how physically demanding it is on your legs (it had been a while); yacht club bathrooms are really nice when there's not a regatta going on.

###

today i have bikes that work! my poor track bike has had to donate a lot of tires, but a resuscitation is expected sometime soon. so... once upon a time...

7:30am wednesday: upon deciding not to ride in bad weather i jump on the trainer. 15min in i hear a weird flapping sound. roughly two-decade old tubular -- ruined. 'twas inevitable. i'm glad 140psi didn't wake up my roommate.



8:30pm thursday: got home and went to work tuning the derailleur on my jamis nova. decided re-lubing the cable would be the ultimate solution to it's woes. managed to ruin the cable.

no sweat... my roommate won't be riding his bike anytime soon so i'll borrow his. i'll end up re-tuning it for him before we move anyway. derailleur cable # 2 ruined.



9:30pm: no bike shops are open and i'm out of derailleur cables. maybe next time i'll ask a neighbor to borrow one???

9:31: F*&%(#(*(&)*!Q&&(*$#)$#%_#%_%&_$&%%%(*)#(_(*__(*_!*()*(K

9:32: my steelman stage race is still on the no salt diet and is mid pre-race tune for schabobele/mentor. my track bike has no tires. oh yeah, i have that awful wire bead tire i bought in an emergency. i've put clincher wheels on my track bike.

10:30: why is everything so tediously difficult to dis and reassemble?



10:31: rear tire on track bike -- flat.

11:00: give up in frustration and pass out from exhaustion.



later: derailleur is tuned. proper bicycle for riding on the street is fully functional. track bike again has flat rear tire.

even later: remedy for throwing chain acquired. logical solution for problem regarding compatibility purchased. FAIL!



the end: B&D knock-off dremel tools suck but i am a patient man... right...

dont let the cloud get you... or: don't tease me bro

favorite BMX 'lifestyle' company of all time: shitluck.

i rode my track bike to work today. first time i rode it on the street in probably a year-ish.

tomorrow i'm going to learn how to avoid further yacht collisions.

i've got a doozy of a post up my sleeve for the weekend; look for the photo essay of the decade some time before monday... or monday.

PEACE out

damn it feels good to be a gangster

i almost took the train again today, but i am really glad i didn't. i woke up on time, despite a 2:30am snow removal awakening. i ate breakfast while watching the weather (daily habit). i finished my cereal and banana. then... i crawled back in bed. i've done it before, regardless of season -- got back in bed for an extra .5 hr only then to take the train. the forecast killed my spirit and i spent a long evening last night doing bike maintenance largely for naught. well, today i fought the urge to pass on riding and it paid off.

the ride was far from perfect too. i only made it to lake and elizabeth before i got threatened by a truck. my derailleur has had the sh*t knocked out of it from potholes, so it acted up the whole ride. and i got absolutely filthy. BUT! i didn't care. i was so happy to be out there once i made up my mind to do so. i let all the distractions go. (i do need to get my drivetrain repaired really soon though).

i felt so good when i finally stopped for coffee. i got to keep a really good pace for most of the ride. got in some good sprints and hard(er) prolonged efforts. i really focused on breathing and pedal stroke at times. etc. i f^(%ing made the most of it. at this point i'll take what i can get. thankfully, after all my waffling and fretting, the fitness seems fine -- today at least. i think @ this point i have to worry more about maintaining a positive attitude than staying in shape.

low key me

this week(end) i plan to do nothing; if at all possible. i will still ride; either outside or on the trainer... possibly both. i will most likely do stage II of the TDC, despite incessant attempts at convincing myself otherwise. but other than that, i'm gonna watch movies, eat some fruit and vegetables -- maybe some PBJ, drink lost of water, read, write, play guitar, listen to music, take naps, etc. maybe i'll venture out in public to get some good coffee, but that is all. i will probably have to do some bike maintenance, so i'm gonna want to have alot of zen accumulated so i can do so w/out breaking stuff. maybe late saturday evening i'll be @ peece enough w/ the world...

...yes, music. i know alot of folks are going nuts thanks to the season. the following artists usually help me find some solace in the lack of sunshine:

the exploding hearts. IMO, the 3rd worst tragedy in rock 'n roll history. i was first blessed w/ the discovery of this band in the spring of '06, so i always associate them w/ great weather.

aesop rock: if you think you're actually crazy, he's got you beat and lived to write amazing accounts of it. one of his albums really helped me through a tough fall around '03-'04.

the figgs: goodtime music, f**king 'a right. 'nuff said.

josh martinez: canada's best white rapper (the people's champ) -- summer jams for days. i relate to this dude so much it's scary.

endless winter

i'm even getting sick of writing about it, so this will be my last post about weather. i took the train again today. walking around in this crap is annoying as hell too. when i was younger i really liked winter. i could look forward to plenty of fun activities like; sledding, going to SCRAP, snowmobiling, skiing, etc.

well... i no longer have a BMX bike, i haven't skied in over a decade, and i'm not friends w/ any people who have snowmobiles any more. the gray and the wetness and the cold is opressively miserable. i've seriously been pondering an out-of-state move lately. i eventually want to go back to school for something, so maybe i can do so in a locale sans snow? unfortunately though, i have a strong disdain for college towns and the state of florida (no offense if you're from there). i would never move to california either... that's definitely not my scene. i haven't been to new orleans post-katrina, but i could live there for sure. maybe austin, tx?

i think i heard thunder outside!?!? that, or really loud snowplows... either way it sucks. i know i saw something on the news his morning about this being an above average year for precipitation, maybe even a foot over average(?), but it is 'effing obnoxious. it's time to tune it out.

i've recently resorted doing kinda stupid stuff (riding in traffic w/ an ipod on; taking new routes through 'interesting' places -- helps keep the speed up) to try to get motivated. bah. i will ride tomorrow, regardless. it will be easier anyway with voting in the morning. fog horn.

emotional < hardcore

so, for the past week i've let my emotions get the best of me. i usually do. it's something i've been privy to for many years. i am conscious of the fact that most things i find bothersome are really trivial, but i have a hard time 'letting them go.' on top of all that, i'm currently feeling like a wuss because of it. i know most people, dedicated cyclists especially, would consider riding today downright stupid... but it can be done and it has been done. i had not been out the door for more than 5 minutes this morning before seeing a cyclist.

i see alot of riders for chicago messenger service, as their base is just a little south of where i live, and the first cyclist i saw this morning was sporting the CMS red. 'ok... a messenger' i thought... 'that's his job.' i gave him a 'hell yeah' regardless.

when i walk to the train i take halsted. it has a pretty good bike lane on it. there i saw another guy on what looked to be a fixed gear 'cross bike. he had on day-glow yellow so he may have also been a messenger (for Arrow), but it was unclear.

the third cyclist i saw just barley south of madison... trudging helmetlessly on a 3-SPEED, 20+ YR. OLD CRUISER TYPE BIKE. i was crushed. this man, while not a 'racing cyclist' or 'cycle courier' was simply riding somewhere. sure, i can be certain that he was cursed at by drivers, likely threatened by them, and maybe even had his safety purposefully endangered... but he didn't care. as far as i'm concerned, this is the guy who's truly the hardcore cyclist.

on another note: i'm also now regretting not trying to get tickets for a show this weekend. sure, i don't like the band anymore, but it may have been fun to see them again and it would have taken my mind off of bikes for sure. oh well...

PS: does anyone know if they have protest hearings for remote controlled regattas? i feel like crashing some plastic yachts or, at least, yelling STARBOARD @ some little kid w/ a controller in his hand.