OTB (Off The Bike).
December 1st, 2009
Confession. I have not biked in just under two months.
I miss it, but not as much as I should.
Back in early October, I hiked a little over in North Georgia. It was very near the Appalachian Trail, but I didn’t actually make it to the AT itself. Here are some pictures from the trip.
I ended up hiking about 12 miles the first day, and my knees completely gave out. The next day, after having camped by a forest service road, I bailed, and called a “hiker shuttle” and got out of there. It was not the way I wanted to go, but it’s what it is.
In any case, whatever the problem was (believed to be problems with the iliotibial bands) needs time to get rid of the inflammation. I have given it time (minimum one month completely off the bike, since IBS is a typical bike injury) and now keep thinking I’d like to bike again. I just never pull the trigger. I have walked some, and intend to “get back in shape” by walking more.
I welcome ideas on how to get back to biking, and also (more importantly) how to not have this problem any more.
Sidenote about the two dogs in the photos above. The black one is my hiking buddy Seth’s. The white one was a random campsite dog that took to me, at least through the night when it was raining. She got under my rainfly when it was raining, and then stayed right outside my tent for the remainder of the night. I would love to have picked her up and kept her, but for various reason (none of which are compelling, in retrospect) I didn’t.
Filed under: Photography, appalachian trail, commuting, mountain biking, road biking | 2 Comments »
25 Random Things.
February 13th, 2009
- Being married is pretty fun. It’s amazing to know I have someone on whom I can always depend. I hope she can feel the same about me.
- I’m a big kid when it comes to toys. I often sell a year old model of something (Canon SD800, for example) just to buy the new model (Canon SD870). Interestingly in that case, the day after I got the 870 in the mail, the 880 was announced.
- To further #2, I have two jobs so that my toys will be affordable. It’s been this way since I had any jobs, and I’ve had 2 jobs for about 13 years now, and this is the only reason, really.
- I own my own snowboard. I have never lived anywhere except Mississippi. (This is not two random things, it’s a tandem.) I have never actually used that snowboard.
- I consider myself a google guru (gooru? [you heard it here first folks]. I also want to strangle people when they ask me to do things that can as easily be done with a google search (and sometimes reply with http://lmgtfy.com/ .
- I have a way with words…
- That way with words frustrates nearly everyone…
- I collect stickers (among other things). I put the stickers on my “sticker box.” I keep hiking (and more recently, some biking) gear in those sticker boxes (yes, multiple boxes, at this point). In our bedroom. (One is my night stand).
- I also have a collection of wide mouth Nalgene bottles, the 32 oz kind. Unfortunately it was recently understood that when used to hold hot substances, these bottles can leech Bisphenol A. Now I consider most of my collection a museum, and am going about collecting the new Tritan “Everyday” type bottle.
(Oh and the opaque bottles were always and are of course still ok to use.) The Bisphenol A thing actually doesn’t bother me all that much, so I still use my bottles anyway. (Never used them for hot, in any case.) - I hate the way the period goes within the quote marks.
- I don’t care much about watching tv (only a few shows interest me, including The Office). That being said, I could easily spend days in front of a computer, including watching tv on my computer. Not surprisingly, I dislike tv commercials enough that I will watch a movie that I hate on HBO, just to avoid commercials.
- Also, I almost never care at what point I pick up a movie on tv. If the part I happen to see is marginally interesting, I’ll watch, even if it’s 3/4 through.
- If I get the feeling that someone is “attention-seeking” me, I’ll actively give no attention to that person. This is both good and bad… This plays into why I so deeply hate watching commercials.
- I can not take a compliment.
- And while we’re on the topic of what I can’t do… I can not NOT take it personally. I don’t care what the Four Agreements say. And I agree with that one, know it’s right, and want to practice it. But it just never seems right.
- I go out of my way to follow the path of the sidewalk, and I generally try to give my walking companion the same option. (Which is to say, I don’t cut corners, and I won’t walk in a way to cause you to, either.)
- I have a man-purse like collection of messenger bags and backpacks. And jackets.
- Clutter is what will make me go insane.
- I built my own computer, about 4 years ago. I’m still using the same computer. I have about 1.5TB of storage space on the computer.
- I am a terrible creator, but an extremely talented and gifted editor. From English papers to Science journal papers to resumes…
- I use, overuse, and probably often misuse the ellipsis. (#20 above proves at least 2 of these.) No in fact it proves them all.
- Even though most of my face has hair, I do maintain my brow (I use Tweezerman, you probably should too). (no I mean you probably should.)
- I have an unusual obsession with the Appalachian Trail. I intend to hike it’s full length one day (approximately 2200 miles) but don’t know when, and worse, don’t know if I’m capable.
- I did not know how to spell “definitely” until somewhere around Firefox 2. It was right around then, also, that I learned that I’m a pretty terrible speller.
- I’m not generally “socially comfortable”… By that I mean I almost never know how close friends I am with someone. It’s pretty frustrating.
Filed under: Photography, Reviews, logic | No Comments »
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 »
Bike bag contents (& stuff “on” me).
January 10th, 2009
I figured it’d be fun (for me, probably not for anyone else) to see what all I carry in my bag when I ride to work (and increasingly, wherever I go). It’s a bit of a “goal” and not something I always do, just yet. In any case, the following is a list of what I generally carry, or generally intend to carry. Remind me to go back through the list before I fly anywhere. O_o
I carry a Crumpler Considerable Embarrassment (too small to put shoes and anything else) Osprey Resource Elroy (1/2/2009), and this stuff in it:
- Fenix PD20 (1/5/2009)
- Leatherman CX Skeletool (1/10/2009) [pre-review: the blade on this thing is incredible. in. cred. uh. ble.]
- Leatherman Bit Kit (1/5/2009)
- Moleskine Soft Cover Pocket Ruled Notebook (3.5 x 5.5)
- Pigma Micron 01 (0.25mm) #1 Archival Ink Pen, Black
- Sharpie Pen, black (testing)
- Shure IC2-MP Sound isolating earphones (11/5/2008)
- Granite Gear Air Tote (1/2/2009)
- Canon PowerShot SD870 IS (and three 4GB SD cards so I can take a hundred bajillion pictures if I need to (9/12/2008)
- Lowepro Ridge 10
- Joby Gorillapod Go-Go! (1/2/2009)
- Sandisk SD Extreme III 4GB – for my portable apps – it’s like a computer in my pocket (because I also carry a usb reader)
- Sigg Metro Thermos 13oz Dark Blue (6/17/2008)
- iPhone 3G 16gb of course, in black (7/12/2008) (in a Griffin Elan Form case)
- Topeak Master Blaster DX Pump (rei.com link since Topeak doesn’t make it anymore)
- Gore Bike Wear Signature Cap
- WhiBal G6 Pocket Kit (1/10/2009)
Pocket:
Gerber Paraframe IICRKT P.E.C.K. Knife (a “money clip” knife) (9/22/2008)- Chapstick Moisturizer
- Kavu Wally Wallet in Khaki of course (I love this thing)
Over the course of … something … I’ll probably review each of these items. I’ll try to annotate here when I’ve done the review.
Need to add:
- medical stuff (bandaids at the very least)
- spare tube
- multi-tool (one in the mail to me, now, actually [that I won!!!]) (and actually the Leatherman Bit Kit I already carry has a hex set)
- HP Mini 2140 netbook (no link yet because they haven’t been released [but I can't wait to get one])
This brings up a fair few important and interesting points. I have a love for messenger bags, and before it was messenger bags, it was backpacks and hip bags in general. I have had more than my fair share of them. In fact still have most of them. And there is one more on it’s way to me now (to fill a gap in my bag lineup that I created just for it to fill) [sidenote: I listed things on ebay just today to "make room" for the new item(s)].
It also exaggerates the point of my interest in gadgetry (for example, the Leatherman). And my firm commitment to things I’m used to and comfortable with (ChapStick).
I try to keep only items I will use, but at the same time, try to always have items I need. It’s a fine line, and one that an expanding bag size and diminutive bike commute has allowed me to push dramatically. I was never a Boy Scout, but my preparedness (at least in this one case, which is carrying stuff I might need ["Be Prepared"]) is clear. Yes, all this stuff is easily overkill. But, it’s good practice. Plus it’s fun. It’s like a man-purse. Full of gadgetry.
If you read that all intently you’ll notice that at pretty much all times I have thirty-two gigabytes of storage on my person. I hadn’t realized that until just now. That’s heavy.
Also, I am interested in suggestions on items I have left out. I know there’s something obvious that I need to have but just hasn’t happened to come up on my list just yet. Ok if I haven’t needed it, do I really need it? Maybe not. But there could be that one thing…
Filed under: Canon SD870, Photography, Reviews, commuting, gadgets | No Comments »