Highs and Lows

The low greeted me for the morning commute. For those not familiar, it is a lovely crust formed by laying down sleet followed by snow then covered in freezing rain.

What little common sense saw fit to raise a voice in protest. As usual, the ride continued anyway.

The high came with cruising Rockesha with Ronsta and his merry band. If you missed out, I highly recommend making it next time.

Out and In

On nights light this, take the long way home. And if you have some good company, take the really long way.









It was just too tempting to ditch the tights today. Don't worry, there is some road sludge left for the rest of you.


By the way... SOCIAL!

Does Anybody Remember Summer?

Summer may not be my favoritest of seasons, but this was good day by any standard.  It started out by finishing the morning coffee on the bike, involved many miles of raining fear and chaos on the western regions of the Sha with this motley crew, and ended with a fine beverage in the laboratory.

NAHBS, frittes, and Thank You Russell

So, NAHBS was all you would expect and more. My highlights went something like this... The fine details of an Ellis. Sweet samurai astethic from Cherubim. Lust worthy commuters and grocery getters from the likes of Map and Bilenky. Many fine finishes and good words with the folks at Spectrum Powderworks. And love for the wheel coming from Rapha/Embrocation. Sights and possibly sounds follow. I am sure there are photos a plenty to be found elsewhere. Although, I have to say that cyclingnews.com missed the good stuff.

No, I did not forget the band of rapscallions who made the trip fun. And the cobblestone crits. And making fun of frat boys... and hipsters.

As a welcome back, work provided the privilege to put in some extra effort. Does anyone need a mechanical engineer with a passion for bikes? I will likely go cheap.

How do you improve that sort of day? That's right. Head down to the local cafe for a big plate of mussels and frittes with a fine beverage on the side.

Finally, this morning I got something more than "get off the road!" during my commute.  A fellow commuter gave me a hearty "Go Cupcake!"  Just when I thought my 15 minutes was up... Thanks Russell.

First Tracks, Yet Again

Bike lane by Brookfield. Sountrack by Radiohead

Frank the Tank

Everyone this is Frank. Frank this is everyone. As seen in recent press, Frank garnered top honors in the best commuter bike category at the recent Bike Fed event. This struck me as ironic since Frank has gears, brakes, and a proper handlebar for daily trip to the 'sha. As Russell was quick to point out, Frank also lots of reflective bits. About as far as you can get from hipster.

Frank and I have a dislike/hate relationship. Perhaps it is what Frank represents... the daily grind. Perhaps it is Frank's short comings such as the lack of proper rack mounts and the crappy wheels that Trek saw fit to equip Frank with. The count is up to 5 rims gone to crap in less than 2 years. Perhaps there it's just not fun to ride.

At any rate, Frank has gotten his 15 minutes. I am fairly certain that he brags to the stablemates endlessly.

Pour One Out For a Homey

Lux Interior 1946 - 2009