More on flat pedals

I was eating an omelet this morning, so I was thinking about pedals. The skillet I use the most often is this large Lodge cast iron one. Upon googling that, I learned that there's a 12" one that's the same price. It would be cool to have an even larger skillet, but I don't think it would fit on the stove. This 10" already prevents me putting anything but the smallest sauce pan behind it. When you put beaten eggs into a large skillet they really spread out. In making an omelet on a large surface like that, I find that if there is a lot of filling in your omelet, it requires a second fold. Instead of having a half circle omelet you get a pie wedge omelet. It's a different eating experience, because you get three layers of egg (sort of four, but two of the layers are touching each other) and two layers of filling. In today's case, it was a cheddar cheese and turnip greens.

The foregoing paragraph was a metaphor: a metaphor for pedals. I think that my cleats are slightly too far forward in my shoes and after the big ride this weekend my ankles hurt. Going running did not make them feel better. You know what did make them feel better? Going for a ride with flat pedals. Instead of putting pressure further forward on my foot like I do with clipless pedals, I slid my feet forward and pedaled from the arch. By the end of the ride I went on yesterday, I had worked out a lot of the stiffness in my ankles.

Also, I saw the Skull Trailer:

Read more!

Critical Mass July 2008 and afterparty

I think there were somewhere around 35 people with a good mix of new faces and regulars as well as everyone in between. Two tandems! One bride with veil. And no flats this time! I really like riding in the parks, though the streets have been fine lately; very few cars beeping horns, no death threats etc. We have been much better about corking intersections by talking to the drivers while blocking side traffic. A smile and explanation works wonders and 99.99% of cars are mad cool with the bicycles riding by in our mass. Critical Mass isn’t a protest…it’s a celebration!

Please y’all, please stay stopped at red lights when we arrive as a group and have to stop! It’s a great chance to regroup the ride and keep the mass together for safety and traffic. Let everyone catch up and redensify the group; no stragglers trying to pass cars to get back to everyone. We all seem to understand keeping the group together when the light turns in the middle, but don’t take off on a red! We have to be responsible for each other and look out for each other as a group. Taking off from a red light during a slow section of traffic will only split the group when the traffic picks up in a few seconds. Please think about this and remember, just because a few take off, you can make a better decision and stay!

Check karma’s post from a few days ago for the play by play. I’m just soapboxing this one and posting lots of eye candy.

By the way, why is it that teenagers in the South End seem to yell much more foul shit at us than any other neighborhood? Why? What is the appropriate response to a porch of kids yelling, “White Power!!!” That happens like every single ride down that way.

Well, here's a few photos to get started. I think I tend to take photos of people I know cuz I am horrible with names and spelling; so gimme a hollerrrr if i butchered yer name or got it wrong or something like that.

There's a crapload more if ya click on READ MORE!


Carole, AmyZ and Lindsey chillin' in the park before the ride.


Franklin Avenue.


I love this photo! ChillWill (me!), my 40 and the always fashionable Mary Lynn! So classy.


Krash felt comfortable leaving his Bianci unlocked in the friendly crowd of bikers. Sucka! About 40 minutes later he had to turn his back and go inside to pee and we quickly moved into action and relocated his bike someplace much safer. It took him a bit to find it, even though it was the shortest tree on the block!


I wish we did this twice a month. Mid-month ice cream ride anyone? yeah baby!

click below for many more photos:





More Franklin Avenue


Ben, brakeless and ahead of the pack in Cedar Hill Cemetary


Critical Wedding!


Find the beer!


Bianca is very safe. She drinks with a helmet. After what happened to Krash's Bianci, i don't blame Bianca for playing it safe!


Cheers mates!


Robin and Steve discussing his warm 40!?!?


Rich is like, "No Fair! i don't smoke!"


We know how to dress in The Beat.








Read more!

I got baggage!

Its Wednesday! Delivery day! ARRGG! i wanna go back to sleep. My kayaking trip got rained out yesterday, so i got to drive into work this morning since i still had my van with me. otherwise, it would have been another early morning at Dunkin' Donuts trying to fit all this stuff in my bag. Anywho, here's an older photo showing my typical Wednesday morning cargo carrying commute! Read more!

Weekend

The Aetna Viaduct is boring and lame, so I'm glad that's over.

This weekend that just happened was neither boring, nor lame. In fact, it probably had the nicest weather of the year so far and the trees were starting to bud. I was so strongly moved by this that I had to start my weekend early by leaving work at 1 on Friday.

As you can see, mountain biking made me very happy. I tried to get a picture of my bike smiling, but you can't really tell from that picture. However, the picture does show that I indeed have a bicycle that is in the woods and that it has lame bar ends. I'm supposed to be in a race next Sunday with those bar ends. I'm sure they're one of the reasons that other people I see in the woods ridicule me.

Since the nice weather continued, Johanna and I rode out to Simsbury to figure out how long it would take her to ride to work if she wanted and to see how much more of that Farmington Valley greenway had been completed. It takes about 50 minutes for her to ride to her job. However, she decided that she would be too hungry in the evening to ride her bike home. So, she will not begin riding her bike to work. The greenway had a similar problem. It was nicely paved and connects the Granby part now. Well, "connects" should used used loosely, because there's an incomplete bridge over the Salmon Brook that allows someone in Simsbury to wave to the Granby side, but not actually go there. I read somewhere that the DOT forgot to build it last year, but might do it this year. I hope they do. It would allow a bike path riding person to go all the way from Unionville to Massachusetts. At some point, I heard that in Massachusetts, they'll have something that goes all the way to Northampton.

On Sunday, I went to this thing at Keney Park and a kid tried to steal my helmet. The thing was trying to raise money for blood testing kits to be sent to Africa, but I really wish that kid hadn't tried to steal my helmet. It cast a pall over the whole thing for me.

I didn't take any good pictures of Saturday or Sunday. But here's a picture of what my feet looked like:
I also went to Stew Leonards yesterday!
Read more!