My thanks to Kris Jensen, Attorney At Law, who saw me walking along 1st Ave. in Sodo today with bike slung over shoulder, and gave me a ride all the way into work. Turns out Kris works down the block from me, and in the past, he'd commute from Burien to downtown.
So, how did I come to be walking instead of riding? Last Sunday, I put finished putting together an old wheel for which I'd ordered a freehub replacement (the old freehub pawls weren't catching). As I was putting the wheel together, I noticed one of the axle cones was very pitted. "Oh well," I thought to myself, not wanting to wait til I obtained a replacement cone, "now I'll see how far I can get with a pitted cone."
Now I know. Not far. Fourth day in, the bearings seized.
My thanks again to Kris for his act of kindness. I hope to encounter him on the road again, this time with me, at least, on a bike.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Crew Needed for Race Across Oregon
My teammates and I are in search of a 1-3 more crew for the 2008 Race Across Oregon (RAO). A positive attitude when sleep deprived is what we are looking for.
The basic plan is that we will have 2 full-sized vans with 2 racers and ideally 3 crew in each. Crew responsibilities are relatively minor at this point (we already have a "manager" and a wrench). We need people to help drive, help the racers when they start and stop their shifts, and make sure drivers are wide awake.
In addition to the race weekend below, we are going to do a team ride this weekend (June 21) to recon the course and practice riding relay style. Crew are welcome to join us this weekend for some fun in warm, dry eastern Oregon.
Our team is called the RAOd Warriors. We have yet to fully implement the Mad Max theme, but we do have jerseys that feature a nuclear explosion and a skull and crossbones. The other teams will no doubt shiver in fear.
I've ridden a bunch with Mike Stafford and Vic Stueber from Eugene, and Mark Mirante is Mike's brother in law and lives on the east side of Lake WA.
The racing plan is 40 minutes on, 2 hours rest. Repeat until baked 535 miles later at TImberline Lodge.
Here is the schedule:
The basic plan is that we will have 2 full-sized vans with 2 racers and ideally 3 crew in each. Crew responsibilities are relatively minor at this point (we already have a "manager" and a wrench). We need people to help drive, help the racers when they start and stop their shifts, and make sure drivers are wide awake.
In addition to the race weekend below, we are going to do a team ride this weekend (June 21) to recon the course and practice riding relay style. Crew are welcome to join us this weekend for some fun in warm, dry eastern Oregon.
Our team is called the RAOd Warriors. We have yet to fully implement the Mad Max theme, but we do have jerseys that feature a nuclear explosion and a skull and crossbones. The other teams will no doubt shiver in fear.
I've ridden a bunch with Mike Stafford and Vic Stueber from Eugene, and Mark Mirante is Mike's brother in law and lives on the east side of Lake WA.
The racing plan is 40 minutes on, 2 hours rest. Repeat until baked 535 miles later at TImberline Lodge.
Here is the schedule:
Friday July 18, 2008
12:00 – 5:30 p.m. – Vehicle and Bicycle Inspection
6:00 – 6:30 p.m. – Meeting for solo riders
6:30 – 6:35 p.m. – Extended meeting time for Rookie Solo riders — you'll see who you're up against for RQ.
7:00 – 8:00 p.m. – Special Guest Speaker
8:00 – 8:30 p.m. – Meeting for 2 & 4 person relay teams
Saturday July 19, 2008
5 a.m. – Solo and tandem racers start. Please assemble at starting area by 4:45 a.m.
7 a.m. – Two and Four Person Relay racers start. Please assemble at starting area by 6:45 a.m. Note new starting time for Four Person Teams
Monday July 21, 2008
(Not sure we'll go to this) Post Race Banquet. The event after the event! Please join us for our special awards ceremony. 6:00 PM at the Portland Airport Holiday Inn.
Interested folks can email me at: cascade.cyclist@gmail.com, or call: 541.514.1502
Thanks!Monday, June 2, 2008
Local Boy Matt Makes the Big Time
Matt Mikul is a local randonneur how has just achieved a bit of notoriety for having his mapping website veloroutes.org featured in the Washington Post. In his own words...
Friday, May 30, 2008
Great News
I'm sorry to hijack the blog for personal news, but then again, Carol is my bike-mate, so it's sort of on-topic.
Carol had her mastectomy on Wednesday. The prognosis is good. Her surgeon said the sentinel nodes were clear, indicating there was no evidence that the cancer had spread to the lymphatic system. If the sentinel nodes had not been clear, they would have had to take a further biopsy of the lymphatic system. This further biopsy -- ancillary node biopsy -- has side effects of chronic swelling and infection. This was the main thing Carol was worried about just before the surgery.
We'll know for sure when the pathology report on the sentinel nodes comes back next week, but at this point, it appears Carol is now free of cancer, and won't need chemo.
The morning after surgery, Carol was up, walking, and fully alert. She was herself again. She was recovering so well that her docs released her from the hospital that day, a day ahead of schedule.
We're at home now. Her company, boss, and co-workers were exceedingly generous, and chipped in for a food service - we just got the first delivery. Later today, we're thinking of taking a walk down on the beach.
Full recovery will take awhile. She can't lift her arms or bear any weight. But I look forward to her being back on the bike, so we can start riding again.
I feel a great weight has lifted from our shoulders. We are the most optimistic we have been in a long, long time.
Thanks to all of you who have expressed concern and given us your good thoughts and wishes. I am very, very grateful. I will "redirect" your wishes and thoughts to those in our situation who are not so fortunate. In the waiting room, Nick, Chloe, and I overheard some very heartbreaking stories.
Carol had her mastectomy on Wednesday. The prognosis is good. Her surgeon said the sentinel nodes were clear, indicating there was no evidence that the cancer had spread to the lymphatic system. If the sentinel nodes had not been clear, they would have had to take a further biopsy of the lymphatic system. This further biopsy -- ancillary node biopsy -- has side effects of chronic swelling and infection. This was the main thing Carol was worried about just before the surgery.
We'll know for sure when the pathology report on the sentinel nodes comes back next week, but at this point, it appears Carol is now free of cancer, and won't need chemo.
The morning after surgery, Carol was up, walking, and fully alert. She was herself again. She was recovering so well that her docs released her from the hospital that day, a day ahead of schedule.
We're at home now. Her company, boss, and co-workers were exceedingly generous, and chipped in for a food service - we just got the first delivery. Later today, we're thinking of taking a walk down on the beach.
Full recovery will take awhile. She can't lift her arms or bear any weight. But I look forward to her being back on the bike, so we can start riding again.
I feel a great weight has lifted from our shoulders. We are the most optimistic we have been in a long, long time.
Thanks to all of you who have expressed concern and given us your good thoughts and wishes. I am very, very grateful. I will "redirect" your wishes and thoughts to those in our situation who are not so fortunate. In the waiting room, Nick, Chloe, and I overheard some very heartbreaking stories.
Monday, May 12, 2008
Cyclist attacked in I-90 bike tunnel
FYI...
Date: May 9, 2008 3:57:00 PM PDT
Subject: Cyclist attacked in I-90 bike tunnel
Word of this is just getting around. It happened in broad daylight. Many of us commute and ride through this area so please be aware of brazen youths looking for an easy target!
"While riding home from work on his bike, one of my Seattle U colleagues was mugged late yesterday afternoon by three teenagers in the I-90 tunnel (eastbound). One of them jumped in front of him as he approached, so he slowed down, and then the guy slammed him into the wall. Once he toppled, the other two proceeded to beat and kick him repeatedly while demanding he turn over his wallet. He just told them, over and over, to leave him be and take his bike bag from the back rack. So they did and then ran.
Moments later another cyclist came by so he was able to borrow a cell phone (his was in the bag taken) to call first the cops, and then his wife to cancel his cards and phone, and to get a start on replacing all his locks (all of his keys were in his bag too). What amazed him most was their nerve. They waited for the right moment, when he was the only rider in the tunnel, and then pounced. My friend is OK, sustaining only some bruises, but he knows he got lucky, and they left him with his bike."
_______________________________________________
*** This mail was blasted by JetCityVelo ***
Our Club is built on volunteerism, have you done your part?
Date: May 9, 2008 3:57:00 PM PDT
Subject: Cyclist attacked in I-90 bike tunnel
Word of this is just getting around. It happened in broad daylight. Many of us commute and ride through this area so please be aware of brazen youths looking for an easy target!
"While riding home from work on his bike, one of my Seattle U colleagues was mugged late yesterday afternoon by three teenagers in the I-90 tunnel (eastbound). One of them jumped in front of him as he approached, so he slowed down, and then the guy slammed him into the wall. Once he toppled, the other two proceeded to beat and kick him repeatedly while demanding he turn over his wallet. He just told them, over and over, to leave him be and take his bike bag from the back rack. So they did and then ran.
Moments later another cyclist came by so he was able to borrow a cell phone (his was in the bag taken) to call first the cops, and then his wife to cancel his cards and phone, and to get a start on replacing all his locks (all of his keys were in his bag too). What amazed him most was their nerve. They waited for the right moment, when he was the only rider in the tunnel, and then pounced. My friend is OK, sustaining only some bruises, but he knows he got lucky, and they left him with his bike."
_______________________________________________
*** This mail was blasted by JetCityVelo ***
Our Club is built on volunteerism, have you done your part?
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Pink
Pink is the color of the jersey worn by Christian Vande Velde after his Slipstream-Chipotle team won the opening stage of this year's Giro d'Italia, edging out CSC and High Road. First American to wear pink since Andy Hampsten.
Pink is also the color that's on my and Carol's mind as we work through this breast cancer thing. I think the panic is gone, and now it's just waiting. We're waiting to hear when the surgery can be, since it involves coordinating the schedules of two surgeons. At the back of my mind, there is a sense of urgency: there is this thing in there, growing. It's probably not invasive, but time moves us in that direction. It's hard to wait.
Pink is also the color that's on my and Carol's mind as we work through this breast cancer thing. I think the panic is gone, and now it's just waiting. We're waiting to hear when the surgery can be, since it involves coordinating the schedules of two surgeons. At the back of my mind, there is a sense of urgency: there is this thing in there, growing. It's probably not invasive, but time moves us in that direction. It's hard to wait.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
The Doors Greatest Hits
Yesterday on my morning commute from Beacon Hill to Downtown Seattle, an unmarked Dodge Charger police car flashed his lights and pulled over a cyclist heading north on 12th Ave S about 150 yards in front of me, just past the Boren intersection.
Cop and cyclist were pulled off to the side in the parking area and as I was passing the scene, the cop shot his door quickly and fully out into the bike lane just a few feet in front of me as I approached. I said some choice expletives as I tried to avoid the door without getting mauled by a car passing me in the traffic lane. I actually barely managed to avoid hitting the door and being hit. The cop then yelled at my back "That's why you don't pass a car that's pulled to the side of the road, moron!" Wow, did this cop just try to intentionally teach me a lesson and/or seriously injure me? I was livid, but there is little to be gained from confronting an asshole cop. I'm guessing this guy has it in for cyclists and would love a chance to hand out more than a traffic ticket.
I've ridden along parked cars in traffic for 10 years, I know the dangers, and I ride carefully and assertively. Never in all those years have I come as close to being doored as yesterday, and it scares the crap out of me to think it was an intentional act by one of Seattle's police officers. I feel fortunate that I was not actually hit, and fortunate for the reminder that ANY person behind the wheel of a car could potentially be a malicious nut and to ride safely and accordingly.
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