Commute Friday 08/14/2009

No cycle commute. Pretty hot in my unairconditioned home last night and I just didn't sleep so swell. So I used the extra hour in the morning I'd use to commute to sleep. Then I drove. The other reason to drive was I knew my pals at Hiwatha Cyclery had a part they procured for me. Its a tool to help separate the "Quick Link" on a chain. Most chains don't require you to open a link using a press tool, but have a link that in theory you can break apart with ordinary tools or even your fingers. Yet once they get a little dirty it just doesn't work that way. I have tried to spray cleaning them with WD-40 (it ain't a lubricant, but it cleans reasonably okay), but I can't break the link on my Bleriot. I think it really got worse when I rode in the rain last Friday. Nothing like a little surface rust to make things tighter. At any rate Jim at HC let me know there is a nifty tool from those fine local folks at Park Tool which makes opening that link much easier.

Commute Thursday 08/13/2009

Pretty hot day. I didn't need any arm warmers or leg warmers in the morning. It ws nice and mildlly warm on the way in.

It was warm on the way home. But I was prepared and I've acclimated. I had plenty of water and didn't even really think about stopping at any of the three Dairy Queen's on my commute route.

I did get pretty angry at the plus sized woman in the Mercury SUV (like a Ford Escapee) parked the middle of the cross walk near the DQ by the intersection of Hwy 49 and Hwy 96. She was busy shoveling down a Blizzard and was clueless to her vehicle position. Then she topped it off by briefly letting off her brake and stomping on it again while I was passing. Nothing like a vehicle lurching toward you briefly to piss me off. So I let her verbally have it. I think it was "Jackass". When the light was green she came after me yelling four letter terms and showing her ability to count to one. Gratefully I didn't catch her at the next light to escalate nor see where she lived along the route.

I did imagine Yehuda style retribution using four ball bearings as I rode the uneventful rest of the ride home.

Commute Tuesday 08/11/2009

Uneventful cycle commute. Time is still around 2:10 for the round trip. I think its going to take a lot of riding to get under the 2:05 or two hour for a round trip.

Okay, I lied it wasn't uneventful. I got up early (don't ask) and got on the bike by 4:30 AM. I made it to Al's Breakfast in Dinkytown at six bells to meet some friends for breakfast. One pal made it and it was a good thing too. I was so sleepy packing things up, I forgot my cash or my checkbook. So thanks to TM, I got a short stack of the venerable blueberry walnut whole wheat pancakes. Otherwise known as two WW Wally Blues. Or blue Wallies. I get confused at that hour.

Round trip time was close to 2:30 with the extra mileage. Still don't know what is wrong with the odometer. I've even adjusted the thing to the right setting using measured rollout with me on the saddle. (that was the tires sighing "Oy!")

The ride to work and the ride home was uneventful. Okay except for the redneck in the black Chevy pickup who decided that my taking a lane offended him. There was two lanes and little traffic so he was harrassing me for no reason other than his own angst toward white guys (okay he was white too), guys on bicycles, humans, or people having fun. Hope he survives that heart attack.

Commute Monday 08/10/2009

No cycling today. I'm picking up a bicycle from a friend. I'll put a new saddle and rear rack for her. If I find I have the right battery for it, I'll fix her cycle computer for her too. So I drove the elephant to pick her bike up.