2009.01.12 First Bike Ride of the Year.
January 16th, 2009
Almost 2 solid weeks into the year and I had not ridden my bike (recreationally) even once. Last year, at least I got out on New Year’s Day. (Though in my defense, I was not in town and with my bikes on NYD).
So I got out for a little spin on the twelfth. Finally. I didn’t have in mind a route, but I was somewhat limited in time. Being that I get done with work at 3:30 (conveniently) and it’s not dark until 5:30 or 6, I figured I could play for a while. I did. I rode sections that (to my knowledge) do not have names yet, and on to what I call “The Junkyard.”
Beavers clearly got a hold on a few trees out in this area beside the “lake” (barely a lake, but bigger than what I call a pond). It’s pretty cool seeing their work. But then, beavers, why cut a tree and leave it? I guess they’ll get around to it. Wonder why they cut 1-2 feet up off the ground, too. I put my hand in one of these for scale. Beavers are determined little creatures. I wouldn’t care to chew through a tree, thank you very much.
It was pretty uneventful. It was very fun, though. It helped me realize how out of shape I have gotten — something that needs to be fixed post haste. A secondary goal for the “first ride” was to get some good in-the-woods pictures of my bike. Which I did:
That’s a 2005 Scott Scale 10 (frame)… Technically the “10″ specifies the build as well, but in this case, I built the bike from ground up. So it’s a “10″ in a sense, but in reality, not really. Having said that, the parts I chose are at least as good as stock Scott Scale 10’s. 
I have only about 100 miles on the bike as of now, and I love it. I have been through bikes, and never got comfortable, but this is not the case with the Scale. It’s just right.
One of my goals after a pitiful performance last year (about 2500 total miles) was to do something like a Century a month. The goal was never too specific, or set in stone, or anything. And these early months of the year, an organized century might be hard to find (but we’re close enough to Florida…) Even so, training would prohibit that.
So I’ll hope to make it up later in the year. Let’s say average a century a month. Any takers (even for the trips?)? I would merely ask for help in planning.
Sidenote: I’m still getting worked out how I want to display pictures and whatnot. This is not exactly how I want it. We’ll see. And I just noted that the rss displays the images differently than the site. Will work on.
Filed under: Canon SD870, Photography, design, mountain biking | No Comments »
My toilet stall is named thejaydub.
January 6th, 2009
Let me start by saying that I took a logic “test” today (internet based, so you know… it’s probably 100% accurate [and speaking of 100%, that's also my score on the logic test]). Knowing I exercised my logical side will probably help you wade through this.
I realized something today. Unless every person who visits leaves a comment (which I don’t expect to happen), then there’s no way I will ever know who all visits here. Since I can’t know, basically what I have to do is assume that everyone will read it. Notwithstanding that once I’ve had some input here, everyone will want to read every part of it…
I say this for two reasons (and actually I’ve already jumped the gun [and ok, probably the shark too] and you can guess it all).
First, if I assume that no one will read anything I say, then I am at liberty to say anything and everything I want. Offend everyone, bash this, bash that. Like I did when I ran my “blog” just for me on 127.0.0.1 … This has clear advantages for me. I get things off my chest, I feel like I’ve said something, I get to rail on people all I want to. But then… this isn’t localhost. This is the real interwebs.
The flip side is obvious. If everyone reads everything I say, then I will temper what I say, not because my beliefs change, but because my desire to defend those beliefs isn’t always very strong, and my desire to offend someone (about something non-life-changing) is even less strong (usually).
So, I suppose it’s the writer’s conflict. Or a writer’s conflict.
O the title. This whole scenario was discovered today because of some time spent avoiding work using the restroom. Through the wall from where I sat, I could hear some ladies discussing something. I thought, they don’t know I can hear them (and don’t suspect I was dropping any eaves: they were not speaking a language I understood). Then I thought, I don’t know who can hear me here in this cozy, smelly stall. I’m just a talking head. No not a Talking Head (they stopped in 1991). Furthering that though, what I write here may as well be me talking out loud in a toilet stall. I don’t know who can hear me through the walls. So I have to assume everyone can.
That’s all, really. I had some awesome way to tie in the words of Optimus Prime dramatically, but I totally forgot how it was. I didn’t forget the quote, though.
I am Optimus Prime, and I send this message to any surviving Autobots taking refuge among the stars. We are here. We are waiting.
I guess what I write is here, and it is waiting.
I am accepting topics. I have never done this before, and I’m still trying to figure out what I want to say, to whom I’m speaking, how often to say it, and how public I want to be.
J
Filed under: design, logic | 1 Comment »
Officially Official.
January 5th, 2009
So I’ve been encouraged to write my first real really important informational single sided discussion. I am going to try to oblige.
There are a few things. First, I’m not sure what I have to say that is necessarily important for anyone to read. The fact is it’s probably more important for me to just say it, as I’m not particularly verbose.
I think mainly what I’ll talk about is bikes. Bikes, bike things, bike events, my activities on bikes. Basically bike related. So spread the word.
Having said that, with the expected continual low readership, one thing I will probably do is post some reviews here. Reviews of stuff. Mostly of stuff I have, and sometimes of stuff I get. This is great, and for a number of reasons. First, if I like something, I’m a great proponent of it. Second, I have lots of gadgetry. Third, I like to look at and want to buy lots of stuff I don’t have, often stuff that is new. So my reviews of that stuff could be helpful. To someone. But with a readership of 2, maybe not so much.
I also like to consider myself a bit of a crafter from time to time (don’t take that to mean I do more than follow someone elses project or pattern, though). Not so much as my wife, who can knit most anything that can be knitted, and fast. So I might put up pictures of projects I’m doing.
Also, there could come occasion for me to write a small piece for your perusal. A story. That will be short. And probably terrible…
A few catch up notes. If you find yourself with only a mobile device in hand, feel free to still visit my site; you will find that it’s knows your mobileness, and will format itself for your ease of use.
But mostly bikes.
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