Tuesday, September 2, 2008
My Knee, The Traitor
I attempted the usual 10 mile commute to work today and after only about 4 miles, I could tell that I wasn't ready for it. My knee started it's damned aching pain again. By mile 8, I was in a lot more pain and just trying to make it to work at all. By the time I got there, my knee felt like it did the day after the century. Throbbing with pain. So basically, I feel like I just set the healing process back two weeks, and now I have to start all over again. And yes, I knew this was a possible outcome of riding too soon. And yes, I'm an idiot.
So it's back to square one. Stretching, R.I.C.E., and as little cycling as possible. Like pretty much none except for to and from the train. I'm going to try some new physical therapy ideas and some Glucosamine & Chondroitin supplements as well. Supposedly, they can help lubricate joints and help rebuild cartilage.
At this point, I'm willing to try standing on my head and praying to Kneebu, god of the knees.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Girl On The Loose
Here's a shot of "The Land Yacht" parked on the streets of West Hollywood where she works.
I'm usually not a big fan of chain / cord locks, but she works about 10 yards away from this spot and can see the bike through a giant window of the schmancy hair salon where she works the whole time. No need to break out the Kryptonite here.
Friday, August 22, 2008
Major Douche
His name is Rob Anderson, and he is...a major douche. He has spearheaded efforts to kill implementation of a massive pro-bike plan San Francisco, claiming that more bike lanes and bicycle related infrastructure = more traffic jams, more idling and more pollution. The sad part is that instead of him being recognized as a major douche and roundly ignored, his efforts have been successful so far, and San Francisco has been forced to put their plans on hold indefinitely.
You can read more about this story here.
One thing to note about Mr. Anderson. He is exactly the kind of person who I would expect to engage in this sort of crap. Check it out:
"That year Mr. Anderson, who mostly lives off a small government stipend he receives for caring for his 92-year-old mother, also started a blog, digging into local politics with gusto. One of his first targets: the city's most ambitious bike plan to date."
What?? He mooches off the taxpayers and has WAY too much time on his hands? SHOCKER!!!
He also likes to drop craptastic little nuggets like this:
"The behavior of the bike people on city streets is always annoying," he says. "This 'Get out of my way, I'm not burning fossil fuels.' "
...and this...
"Regardless of the obvious dangers, some people will ride bikes in San Francisco for the same reason Islamic fanatics will engage in suicide bombings -- because they are politically motivated to do so,"
Well, he has a point after all. I mean, I don't ride my bike because it's healthy, cheap, good for the environments, fun, and the best thing to happen to me since The Dodgers won the pennant. I do it because I love jihad. Oh yes. Sweet, sweet jihad.
I also noticed, MUCH to my chagrin, that Mr. Anderson's blog had the exact same Blogger template as mine!!!!! I immediately changed it, on the off chance that someone might mistake me for what appears to be, you guessed it...a MAJOR DOUCHE!!!
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
I Forgot All About You Mr. Knee
The smirk is appropriate, as I feel it represents my arrogance and general stupidity in not taking the time to get a proper bike fit before this ride, which would have likely prevented a rather painful injury that I didn't foresee. The caption here should read, "Bike fit??? Puh-lease!! Does it look like I need to waste my time with that? I mean, look at these super-rad sunglasses, this hot Italian road bike and this form fitting spandex clown suit. Can't you tell that I clearly know what I'm doing here? OK, let's ride people!! Out of my way!!!"
So while three body part friends that I was most concerned about did in fact rebel somewhat on Saturday, it turns out the one I needed to be worried about was my damned knee all along. It looks like due to the long distance, and more importantly, my laziness in getting a proper bike fit, I have injured my knee. I'm not sure of the severity, I just know it hurts. Well, I suppose it could be worse, but I consider the fact that I can't ride my bike now without pretty excruciating pain in my right knee, to be pretty bad.
I'm rocking the R.I.C.E. + ibuprofen regiment, but there's one element to recorvery that I'm trying to figure out just how in the hell I'm going to be able to execute. Not riding my bike. Being that it's become my sole means of transportation, not to mention one of the few really enjoyable things that I do on a regular basis, I just don't see how I'm going to pull this one off. And yet, I don't really see how I can't either. The pain is bad. And obviosuly I don't want it to stay this way.
So now I'm in mad self-diagnosis mode now. I think it's patellar tendinitis, but I'm far from positive. So it's not the end of the world, but it still sucks big time. Hopefully my knee will cooperate and heal quickly.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
An Offer They Can't Refuse
I'm a little nervous about tomorrow. Mostly because I've just never been in the saddle for 100 miles in one day before. I think I'm going to be fine in terms of endurance, but if anything will be my proverbial Achilles Heel, it will be pain. My three friends mr. hands, mr. back and mr. neck like to let me know that they are NOT happy whenever I go on longer rides. I'll try to have a civil discussion with these gentlemen ahead of time to explain that it will all be over after the finish line, and if they just cooperate with me, they will be rewarded with many hours of rest and possibly even a Thai Massage from the ladies over at Pho Siam. That's got to be an offer they can't refuse, right? Riiiight.
Friday, August 1, 2008
Dawn Of A New Century
The picture above is of a fellow cyclist named Mauricio, who besides being the original owner of "The Toothpaste Special," is also somewhat of a badass in the saddle. We did Bicykillers last Thursday and rode from Hollywood to the beach and back on Saturday. It was a great ride for me. That's the first time I've ventured that far west (as far west as I can go on my bike). It was kind of weird seeing sand on my tires for the first time. One un-fun part of the ride was realizing what horrible shape Venice Blvd. is in. I've driven on it countless times but of course, riding on it is something else entirely. Lots of fun potholes, cracks and rough asphalt that had my hands singing with pain. We took Washington back up through Culver City on the way back, which was much kinder to us.
So with just two weeks until the Cool Breeze, I'm going to try and log as many miles as I can, especially since Tam and I will be up in Sonoma this weekend. Great bike riding country up there. Too bad the bike stable isn't portable...yet.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Vive La France!
Friday, June 20, 2008
Bike Snob Does It Again
Get Over It: Surmounting The Obstacles To Cycling
Favorite line: Hey, you will get hurt, I promise. But you can also get hurt eating a bagel, watching “Night Court” reruns, or masturbating. (Especially if you attempt all three at once.) It doesn't mean you shouldn't do them.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Lets Have A Look At His Chart Doctor...
Symptom #1: Dramatic Change in Diet
It's becoming hard to mentally reconcile the old intake with the new. I used to drink every day (not with complete reckless abandon..most of the time). I used to smoke. I used to eat...pretty much anything I wanted, and more importantly in any quantity I desired. I'm not a hardcore calorie counter, and I'm not good at completely cutting out anything that I really love to eat, but I just eat less of it now. This can be directly linked to the "Bike Disease" because I was cycling my heart out and having virtually nothing to show for it in terms of weight loss. I was just putting back all of those calories I was burning off. Q: How can I be all smug about riding a bike everywhere if I'm still sporting a "muffin top?" A: I can't.
As a result, my regular breakfast has changed from this:
To this:
I think that's pretty self explanatory.
Symptom #2: Alarming Increase in Number of Bicycles in Apartment
Thanks to a very understanding girlfriend, I have managed to store a borderline...OK maybe not so borderline number of bikes in and near the apartment over the last year. Right now, the "Stable" includes 6 bikes. With the help of Craig and his "list," that will hopefully soon drop to 4.
Let's a have a look at the specimens:
Bianchi Campione Del Mondo aka "The Toothpaste Special"
This is a beautiful Italian steel frame from the mid-nineties. Now my daily commuter and someday touring bike.
Pinarello SurpriseMy "go fast and pretend you know what you're doing" bike.
IRO Mark V (pictured here when one could still have a reasonable amount of space in a Red Line car)The bike that has been identified as the origin of the Bike Disease. Soon to be retired due to financial / space concerns (and the fact that my knees are pissed at me).
Flying Pigeon
Don't get me started.
Unfortunately "The Grocery Getter" and "The Frog" are not making an appearance in this post. The former is..well...ugly and prefers to sleep out behind the apartment, and the latter is under construction (I swear).
Symptom #3: Strange Change In Clothing
Apparently, 20 miles of bike commuting M-F isn't enough for me. So I've been taking to extra rides where I don't really have a destination. Consequently, I've been spotted getting on my bike with only the following items:
No backpack? No U-lock? Wait, you mean you're just riding...to ride? I thought the day would never come. Not to mention the whole spandex thing. But that's for another post.
What's...happening..to me??!!
More updates as the disease evolves...
Friday, May 30, 2008
The Bike Disease
Friday, May 9, 2008
C.I.C.L.E. - Explore the Urban Forest
CICLE Urban Forest Expedition by James OToole is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
Rising Gas you Say? Bring It On!
Thursday, April 17, 2008
A Day Inside The Concrete Crater
Yes, it was a scorcher that day. Temps were at least in the upper nineties, and without a whole lot of shade to go around at the Encino Velodrome, it felt even hotter most of the time. But what am I complaining about? The racers are the ones who actually had to compete in that furnace!
Once the races started, I was glued to the track. The speed, the power, the blistering heat. It was a lot of fun to watch, and I found myself saying, "I gotta do this!" So I'm going to try to make it to one of the open training sessions at the Velodrome, which are held every Wednesday.
You can check out all of the pics here. I'll post some video soon too.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Did someone say more rides?
So it looks like the preferred Friday ticket should be: Blade Runner Alleycat at 7:30pm, followed by the Glo-Ride at 10:00 pm.
It's only Thursday and this weekend is already ruling big-time.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Bikesplosion Weekend!!
Friday night is the Blade Runner Alleycat downtown. I'm going to head down there and cover as much as humanly possible with my camera(s).
Saturday is the Velocity Tour track races at the Encino Velorome. Once again, I'll soaking it all up and promise to share it all here.
Sunday is the Heliotrope Village Block Party and I'm going to try to be there, schedule be damned!
Get more details on times, fees and adult beverage related inquiries at Swarm.
Hope to see lots of cyclists out there doing our thing. No, not THAT thing. You know, the other thing.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Goose Xing
I've seen all kinds of wildlife IN the river, but rarely if ever, do I see any critters actually venture up ON to the bike path. Of course, being a photo dork, I had to stop and snap some pics. Little did I know that these jaded little Goose celebs were NOT into any paparazzi action. I received a few hisses, followed by some lunges, which was all I needed to just get back on my bike and be on my way.
I'd like to take this opportunity to apologize for offending the the local goose population along the river, and promise that next time I come across any fine feathered friends in my bicycle travels, I'll just ring the damn bell and keep on pedalling.
Monday, March 31, 2008
"Um...My Hands Are Glowing. Is That Normal?"
For now though...
Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the Glo-Glove!!
I don't own a pair of these (yet), but they are most definitely on my never ending list of "bike stuff I MUST have as soon as I can scrape more of those damn nickels together." I'm not sure how comfortable they'd be for everyday riding but at the very least, they would be good for a night ride in high traffic.
According to the specs, they're visible up to 1 mile with a "search light" (I'm guessing we can substitute headlights here) AND up to 4 miles with Night Vision Goggles!!! Finally!!!! I can't tell you how many times I've wished those people driving with their stupid night vision goggles on could see me when I indicate a vehicular left turn in front of them! Now, thanks to Blumenthal Uniform Company Inc., THEY CAN!!!
Because this clearly a law enforcement / civil service type website, there is no mention whatsoever of these possibly being of use to a cyclist. But the upside is, while you visit the site you can browse for your favorite brands of body armor, drug tests, handcuffs & restraints and defense spray!!
Friday, March 28, 2008
Do The Test
Welcome To Fantasy Island...Michigan?
Thursday, March 27, 2008
My Bike Picks For This Weekend
On Saturday, C.I.C.L.E. is hosting another of it's Beginning Bike Handling Skills Workshops. This is a great way to hone your bike riding skills (and get some if you don't have them to begin with!) from friendly and more importantly, certified instructors.
On Sunday, join the T-Bone Tony Benefitz Ride (he broke his arm on a group ride recently) in the LBC.
Go To Hell...mets!!!!
An article in the most recent issue of Urban Velo mentioned a cool site with a good mission. H.E.L.L. (helping people live longer) is a group (well, two guys at least ) that's raising money to purchase and distribute free helmets to anyone who wants one. You can donate to their cause, request a helmet or purchase one at cost for a mere 25 clams at their site. I think this is GREAT IDEA!
And by the way...Don't you think it's time to get over how cool you think you are and just wear a friggin' helmet already?
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
I'll Show You Mine...
Nuts At The Wheel
Click on the Reports tab if you want to call someone out!