Just a quick list of what I’ve been listening to lately. “All My Friends” – LCD Soundsystem “Someone Great” – LCD Soundsystem “You and the Father” – Radar Brothers “Still Evil” – Radar Brothers “Cheese and Onions” – Galaxie 500 “Ceremony” – Galaxie 500

Posted on November 5th, 2007 by admin
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Family cruising. Sorry, no map. Last week, we purchased a Burley D’Lite Trailer, which we assumed would perform double-duty as a bike trailer and a jogger stroller for Jen. We actually won an eBay auction for it, and got a very good deal. Once it arrived, we purchased the stroller adapter from REI and we […]

Posted on November 3rd, 2007 by admin
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A few months ago, I picked up a Patagonia Figure Four soft shell jacket during one of their web sales. Over the last year or so, I ame to the conclusion that using a hard shell on the bike was unnecessary. Yes, a hard shell would keep the rain or snow off of me, but […]

Posted on November 2nd, 2007 by admin
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This is a dumb post by a pretty smart guy. Speaking about “peak oil” and what James Kunstler calls “the long emergency,” Yglesias writes: Obviously, this would result in some economic hardship for many families, but it’s hardly an “epochal shift.” Indeed, even current gasoline prices are actually quite low as a share of household […]

Posted on October 30th, 2007 by admin
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Pittsburgh’s L’Alpe D’Heuz I didn’t pick the route, but rode with two friends. I had read about this climb, in a cemetery, in Braddock, but had never ventured out to it. It wasn’t as hard as expected–it gets its name from the numerous switchbacks, a rarity in these parts–though I couldn’t hold Stuart’s wheel (in […]

Posted on October 27th, 2007 by admin
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Orion Magazine has a fine essay by Rebecca Solnit, “Finding Time.” The problem is partly one of language. The language of commerce has been engineered to describe the overt purpose of a thing, but cannot encompass fringe benefits or peripheral pleasures. It weighs the obvious against what in its terms are incomprehensible. When I drive […]

Posted on October 23rd, 2007 by admin
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Well, that was quick. I didn’t mind carrying the single pannier with my clothes and various sundries, but the laptop was too much, due in part, I think, to the lack of proper rack braze-ons. I just couldn’t get the p-clamps adjusted well enough to keep the loads from swaying. And while it was nice […]

Posted on October 21st, 2007 by admin
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Mount Troy Loop Listed in Oscar Swan’s book at 35 miles, but in reality, only 24. Still, a very fine ride. Very windy, especially heading west, though I had a rare tailwind coming home through the Strip District. A new (to me) rear wheel did not cure all the ticks in my drivetrain, though. I […]

Posted on October 20th, 2007 by admin
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So I was asked to attend the monthly board of directors breakfast by my manager (this month’s topic was product development so the executives wanted to introduce some of the hired help). Okay, I said, figuring the meeting would take place somewhere near the office. I soon find out the breakfast would be held at […]

Posted on October 20th, 2007 by admin
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Two days later. Monday’s ride in was a comedy of errors. I had both bags, with the laptop, mounted, and I didn’t shake down the setup over the weekend, which would have found that my heel clipped the bag with the laptop. In the course of the first few miles, I knocked the bag off […]

Posted on October 10th, 2007 by admin
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