Middle->Bairdford->Saxonburg
A fine day for a ride. Middle Road Extension is in fine shape, I tell you. Very easy to imagine you’re cruising along some cow path in Northern Belgium. Bairdford Road is less than pleasant between Bairdford and Saxonburg–huge potholes and no shoulder. Saxonburg was headwind-packed, as usual. Good training for Sunday, I suppose.
It’s also amazing what a new chain will do for you. It’s like I have a new bike.
Today begins what must now be an annual rite–Find a Ride to Mingo. My team mates, who apparently melt in the rain, are waffling on going out (hi guys!), meaning I will spend the next two days wheeling and dealing to find a ride. I could ride out, but I’m not exactly excited by the idea of riding 20+ miles to the park in the cold rain.
Posted on 27 March 2009
Tom Vilsack as Secretary of Agriculture v. a White House garden “to educate children about healthful, locally grown fruit and vegetables at time when obesity has become a national concern.”
Posted on 20 March 2009
Today, the boys and I met Joe Rush, owner and keeper of Rush Acres Farm. Via the Eating Local Pittsburgh mailing list, I discovered that Joe (who raises cows, chickens, turkeys, pigs, and sheep) makes deliveries to the city twice a month. I contacted him (via email and everything!), and after a nice chat, I order 5 pounds of beef, a broiler (that’s chicken), and a dozen eggs. From what I could tell from Joe’s website, he seemed to be about as close as we have to Joel Salatin’s Polyface Farm in Western Pennsylvania.
So, we met him in Squirrel Hill. He was sitting in his van on the corner of Darlington and Deniston, waiting for myself and a few other to get their orders. If you saw Joe on the street, you would think “farmer.” I asked him more about the farm and it’s history, and he told me about the relationships he has with the Amish and Mennonite farmers in Somerset County and the butter, milk, and cheese they produce. He talked about how amazed he is at what the government suggests we eat, and that he is very happy that more folks have wised up and sought out local farmers like himself. From my perspective, it was quite nice to do business face to face, and be able to ask about the farm, the animals, and his methods. I can see why Salatin makes this the cornerstone of his farm.
Posted on 19 March 2009
Team Caffeine
Rode with the Tazza d’Oro bunch this evening, since I worked from home and spent the afternoon at the park with the boys. A fine loop. Marzolf Road wasn’t too bad, but Geyer felt horrible. Thank goodness Mingo only has 500 feet of climbing per lap. I managed to stay on Stuart’s wheel, desire to vomit notwithstanding. Flying down Spring Garden was good fun (my first trip down that road), and Stanton was just fine.
Posted on 19 March 2009
I am currently in bug fix mode for our current project, which involves, in part, one device communicating with another device via a WiFi connection. One test case involves moving the client device out of range of the “server” device’s WLAN radio while data is being transferred. Execution of this test includes initiating a connection and a data transfer, then RUNNING out of my house and roughly halfway down the block to get the device out of range.
Posted on 18 March 2009
I couldn’t sit idly while the weather was so good, so I went out for a lunch time Dirty Dozen hills ride with a few folks. Sycamore, Welsh, Berry/Holt/Eleanor.
Sycamore felt fine. I tried to keep the effort manageable, and did okay, though I did stall a bit on the ramp before the hairpin. Welsh was Welsh–short, hard. It’s hard to judge my efforts on that one. Berry/Holt/Eleanor–well, that one hurt. I was definitely pretty pokey on Eleanor, and thankful that I hadn’t scaled down my cassette yet.
Posted on 17 March 2009
Middle Road and North
A fine day for a ride–mid 40s, sunny, headwinds. The bike is in desperate need of maintenance–the bottom bracket creaks, the chain is getting a fine coating of rust, and my rear derailleur pulleys sound like I have a nest of baby birds sitting on the rear wheel. If all goes as planned, I’ll have a “racing” wheelset in a week or two–I’m getting a Bontrager front wheel from Dave, and I’ll tune up the Velo-Max Ascent sitting in my basement. Those, coupled with narrower tires, should made the bike feel like a rocket, or something.
I’m also consider switching back to MTB shoes and pedals. I have a pair very nice Adidas adiStar Ultras, but they are a bit uncomfortable, and I don’t dig waddling around with Shimano cleats (which are, by the way, better than waddling around in Speedplay cleats). Perhaps I can find a trading partner…..
Posted on 13 March 2009
is upon us.
The Mingo Creek series (site of my auspicious entry into the world of bicycle racing) begins on 29 March. The series runs on 5 and 19 April as well. The Morgantown Road Race (which is run in Pennsylvania, but, whatever) is 11 April, and racing at the Oval begins on 8 April. Oh, and the Aliquippa crit series will run during the month of May. So many opportunities to get dropped, so little time….
I will be at least one of the Mingo races, and possibly the Morgantown race. The latter is nearly 50 hilly miles, which is more than I’ve ridden in one sitting since last fall. I’m sure the course, which is a single loop, will be awesome, but 50 miles? Really? In April? I’m cat 4, not PRO (nor am I a randonneur).
Posted on 12 March 2009
After nearly seven months on the Novara commuter, I decided it wasn’t for me. Primarily, because of the drum brakes and nutted axles, it is profoundly difficult to get the bike on the rack of the car. Most of the time, this isn’t even a concern, but once a month (or even two months), when I have to ride home from Jen’s parents’, or the climbing gym, at 9:00 PM in the cold, it is a bit of a problem. So, enter the Kona Smoke 2-9 (note: I have the 2008 model, not this guy). $325, plus a new rear rack, from Trek of Pittsburgh. Hard to pass up.
Yes, it’s, well, cheap. But, this bike will be ridden 15 miles a day, between Morningside and the South Side, with occasional trips to Wilkinsburg and Point Breeze thrown in for good measure. The wider gear range will make for easier trailer toting once spring arrives. I rode it from TOP to the climbing gym this afternoon (after installing the rack in the parking lot, because I’m too cheap, err, self-reliant to have the shop do it. It’s comfortable, lighter than the Novara (this is a fairly low bar to clear), and even with 47mm tires, reasonably spry. The MTB risers are a bit odd after riding drops and swept-back bars for so long, but I’ll get over it (or repalce them with something more interesting). The fenders provide good coverage, and with the 47mm wide stock tires, fitting the studs next winter (or, umm, this winter) shouldn’t be a problem.
I’ll be curious to see how I deal with a proper rear derailleur on a commuter, after riding fixed and/or an internally geared hub for so long. I don’t care much for the indexed shifting on it, and any part of the drivetrain dies, it only gives me a good excuse to get an Albatross bar and some Suntour Power Ratchet shifters. I suspect the bottom bracket will go first, as it is of very low quality, but a mudflap on the front fender may help with longevity. Oh, and the seat, which has more padding that our couch (again, perhaps a low bar to clear), will promptly be replaced by the old Selle Italia in the basement (for which I still owe Mayhew half a pound of coffee).
A full review will be forthcoming.
Posted on 7 March 2009