a million cars can ruin your whole day

This has happened to me a number of times lately - and I feel it's just getting worse - I've just come out of the mountains and/or some secret winding, rolling road and/or path under a dark canopy of trees only to emerge into such a steady stream of cars I can hardly believe or understand. My feelings of fatigue induced euphoria are quickly stomped on by the speed and rush and hurry and the cold steel feel of a car unthoughtfully buzzing by. And so sometimes I just pull over and wait. It's a long wait. But I figure it might save my life. And I wonder if car drivers ever do the same - wait - for anyone… I hope I do when I'm behind the wheel but I've got a different perspective - after so much time on bike and foot - so, I try - and I do see other car drivers trying and I greatly appreciate it - but, still, I get confused - a bicycle is not an anomaly - I know cars pass bicycles all the time - but each time a car driver passes me I feel like it's the first time they've ever done it - too much uncertainty - or worse, too much disregard… we are humans, all - traveling humans… 

clean bottle found

I found this Clean Bottle in the gutter - at the bottom of a hill - actually my hill - or, at least, the one I ride down nearly every day - there are some bumps in the road - thank goodness - they slow the cars - so probably some bicyclist hit those downhill bumps just forcefully enough that their bottle popped out of their cage, never to be seen again - I suppose I could have left it there - or propped it up on the sidewalk where it may have been more visible and refindable, but I really had no way of knowing how much time had passed since the bottle popping out incident occurred - although, the water was warm - and so I selfishly and/or riskily grabbed the bottle and made it my own - and, anyway, it's a Clean Bottle so I shouldn't be concerned about being able to wash out a little spittle and foam… And anyway, it reminded me of my friend who has become quite famous on a certain popular afternoon television talk show, I guess you call it. He's like what I would call a sidekick - let's call him Sideshow Andy for now - he often dresses up in costumes and dances around on stage - and if you're interested in cycling - you've no doubt seen the Clean Bottle costumed man trotting alongside the peloton in Tour of Cal and perhaps others… That Clean Bottle muppet always reminded me of Sideshow Andy and so I just had to snatch up that Clean Bottle - and it's insulated! 

currently reading

Murder in the High Himalaya: loyalty, tragedy, and escape from Tibet.
by Jonathan Green, 2010.
Intense and upsetting but a story that must be told, read - and current events, no less!

p.s. - for those of you who haven't been in a while, that's the library in the photo… get there.

cool breeze

a cool breeze blowing in as the sun goes down 
ushers in our first cool weekend of fall
windows opened to pull it inside 

summer's not gone
supposed to be a hundred again next weekend
but only eighty tomorrow 
for a run up Brown Mountain

the last hot day is the best hot day

Sycamore Skye

We've made it through the summer. A hundred degrees today. A few rain drops on the back porch for happy hour. This Sycamore might not make it to next summer. But she likes today. A beautiful hot goodnight summer day, evening. Goodnight Sycamore, goodnight…













p.s. - maybe the mule is ready for a revamp…

the hems

typical friday night

wine and inner tubes

Had to move the operation to the laundry/garage due to lack of light (I like this photo) (the crayon marks the spot of the puncture!)

And… for the record: it's goathead season! Look it up if you must. Or imagine a spiky seedpod that penetrates all and everything. It was a goathead that popped BOB's tire that you see pictured above.

And… I know you won't believe this, but my shoe picked up at least a dozen goatheads on this morning's run - on one shoe!

family portrait

Ceramics by Hugh Watts

trimming the hems

After another summer of running with drenched clothing that gets lower and heavier with every drop of sweat that won't or can't evaporate quickly enough I've begun to consider some options and take on a few experiments. 

One item of clothing which could be helpful is the running singlet, aka a tank top. But I somehow feel like I'm too old to wear those now - although I used to. Also, I've developed some killer cycling/farmer tan lines and it would take quite a while to recolor the bare spots. 

Shorter running shorts: same as above - but I might just try it again anyway.

What I have been able to agree on for the present moment is to trim off the hems on my running shirts. Now it may not seem like that would really make much difference but because they double over on themselves they actually represent a fair amount of water holding, weight adding fabric.

So far I've experimented only with my least favorite running shirt, of course. I used scissors to trim off the hems on the sleeves and around the waist. I left the stitching of the hem, though, to maintain some amount of form to the garment. So far I've left the one around the neck but depending on the shirt I may trim those off, too. 

Next up I suppose will be to trim off any hems on shorts and their linings. 

things found in the road

A neat threaded linky thingy

currently reading

Eat & Run: my unlikely journey to ultra marathon greatness
by Scott Jurek, 2012

and
(in transit from Glendale)

Flow: the psychology of optimal experience
by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, 1990/2008

wet vs. dry lube

Chain oil. It's the one bike maintenance thing we all know about and know how to use. But when you start to think about it too much it can really leave you uncertain about which of several available bottles of lube one should buy and apply. 

I'm just coming to the end of a bottle of White Lightning Clean Lube, I think their calling it now, and while I sort of liked it I also found it to be very messy in it's application and not very long lasting. I did like that, as a dry lube, it had a waxy coating that flakes off as you ride and presumably takes away dirt with it. So all my drivetrains are much cleaner and clearer than ever before. But it seems to only last a week or two and when it goes it goes fast - one moment you're riding along fine and the next there's a family of baby mice squeaking in your drivetrain.

It's time for me to buy some more lube and I'm not sure what to get. I like that Pedro's has biodegradable options - in both wet and dry - a little expensive, though. Pedro's has a dry lube called Ice that sounds too cool to not try - so I may get that - or go back to good old proven if gunky wet lube… which by the way is available in High Medium and Low viscosities! I'm mean, what am I - a chemist… it's a bike - give me some lube! 

toe socks!

I don't know why I ever waited so long to try these! I've completed two long runs in them now and they're great! Cozy and smooth. And they make me want to go running…

23 to 25 to 26 to 28mm

I've tried them all now - all that will fit - and I have to say that wider is better. Talking about tire width here, of course. And maybe I've just fallen too hard for the articles and research by Jan Heine but I really do think he's onto something big - BIG! None of my friends that I ride with will believe me or even try out a lower tire pressure. Suit yourself is all I can say - but know that it comes at the cost of discomfort and slower speed. And more flats! 

So, on Totally 80's I can run 28s - on Purple People Eater I can run 26s. They're both still at about the same PSI: 70/75 (front/rear) but I'd like to experiment with dropping T80s on her 28s down to 70 in the rear. 

It does feel a little different - and I can understand that someone might say that it "feels slow" however I'm more and more convinced that our brains aren't equipped to judge bicycle speed and only factor in higher vibration as higher speed which doesn't correlate to the clock. 

So just try it - drop your pressure… it's the new revolution… 

And the next question is: Should I pursue a frame that will fit even wider tires…

cycling cap fetish

I've got a bunch of cycling caps now that I've collected over the years. There's just something so sexy about a cycling cap. I can't even explain it. I hardly ever even wear them but when I find one that matches one of my bikes or from a favorite team I've just got to add it to the collection. Enter Tarik Saleh Bike Club. Tarik gets it. He knows we all want another bitchin' cycling cap. And we want to belong. He started a club. You should join. It's fun. And now I've got another cap - and buttons! Thanks, Moscaline! I love the cap! Peace&Ride 

Bishop Run Photo Sesh...

I don't normally purchase race photos - in fact this is the first one I ever have - maybe it's some sort of aging and realization of the aging and/or I just really like this race and/or this area and I want to support it - but at any rate here's a photo of me running - I should probably turn the background into a painting…

p.s. - this is at about 5-miles and my bottle shouldn't be so full!

p.p.s. - run like the wind…

currently reading

Strides; running through history with an unlikely athlete
by Benjamin Cheever, 2007

and 

Brain Training for Runners; a revolutionary new training system to improve endurance, speed, health, and results
by Matt Fitzgerald, 2007

Bishop, California

There's a little mountain town about a half day's drive to the north that has become a new annual pilgrimage for me. Bishop has actually always been on a pilgrimage route for me, but in the past it was still just a passing through spot, whereas now it's the destination. I went up there last May and last weekend for a long trail run event. Both times I chose the shortest of the four run options that are offered but still a pretty long way for me to run (fa). The run, or race as it's called, and the Sierra Nevada Mountains are the reasons for the pilgrimage - a yearly test and remembrance, of sorts. But the town of Bishop is quickly drawing more and more of my interest as well. I can't quite figure it out - like, what exactly goes on there for most of the year. But based on the title of this blog I have to say that any town with an annual festival called Mule Day's (every Memorial Day - Mindful and I just missed it, again!) has got to be of value. Of note this visit were all the "Dudes" cruising around on old mountain bikes and beach cruisers - it's a pretty flat town considering the steepness of the mountains that surround it and I guess the bike just makes sense there to a lot of folks in a way that it just doesn't to other people in other places. But these guys just cruise down to some local spot and every body knows them and they don't lock up their bikes because they'll just be a moment. Everyone else seems to be driving an old pickup truck or Subaru - but everyone treats pedestrians like royalty - it's so nice to be able to walk across a street super mellow like…. 

Sierra Nevada Mountains from Bishop, California

picking up indian food under a swelling moon

if you're going to be a cycling freak…...

…you're going to need... 

…some vintage, matching...

…toe clip shoes!!!