Spock sings The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins

You've got to be in a special mood to stand the length of this one, but if you're there, turn it up!



Now get on with your lives:

Hey there little buddy!



I've got the concert stub for the Joshua Tree tour around here someplace...

Goodbye Walgreens, though I never did like you.

About a week and a half ago, while at work, I feel a bit of nose tingling, ear ache, and head compression; the beginnings of the common cold. I decide it best to make a visit to the nearest drugstore to get some zinc lozenges in the hopes it will minimize the illness over the then upcoming T-day weekend.

So the nearest place is Walgreens, definitely not my favorite place to visit, but it's close and I want something fast.  Walking into the door over the past several years I've noticed they have more candy on display than products to improve your  health.  This visit was no exception, with over abundant displays of chocolate and other candy filling the aisles, even spilling out between the aisles, blocking what would otherwise be space to walk more than one abreast.  I scurry past 'value packs' and bulk packages of candy, past a few aisle dividers with more of the same, get my lozenges, and head to the counter.

There is a line of four people in front of me and within 15-seconds I have three more people behind me with only the single register open - this is a big issue for me, but if I can cut the length of this cold by a few days, I'm staying put.  The petite young woman directly before me in line is checking out and I can hear but not see the clerk asking her if she wants to purchase any candy, I shit you not, like that's the main reason this woman came to the store and thanks so much for reminding her or she would have clearly forgotten and had to make the trip again.  The clerk then asks the woman if she wants to donate to the cure for diabetes.  The woman kindly declines both offers.

It's now my turn, I step up and can now see around the candy shelf on the counter that the clerk is indeed a morbidly obese woman who has to be at least 350, possibly pushing 400-pounds.  The clerk first and foremost asks me if I want any Reese's or Hershey's candy bars, as they are on sale, pointing to the display that was previously hiding her from my view.  I decline her offer of candy and say the lozenges are all I need.  The clerk then asks me if I want to donate a dollar to help find a cure for diabetes.  I sarcastically ask the woman if she sees the irony of the Walgreens corporation requiring her to push candy bars while at the same time trying to find a cure for diabetes, more than arguably caused by the saturation of sugar in our diets.  She isn't in a playful mood, not that I would be either, and our conversation is already over.  I don't blame the clerk, it's part of her job requirement and is surely "happy to have a job," which should be the slogan for the decade.

Shame on you Walgreens - seriously; you are sleazy, unethical, and just plain disrespectful of the human race.  Like I have any other choice anymore, after Walgreens has gone through and killed what was left of the locally owned drugstores, but I hold grudges, and this grudge says I'm not going back.

As far as the cold goes, I'm in the post-nasal drip induced coughing stage, which is doing a hell of a job keeping me up at night.

Schneider drug near the channel 5 tower is still open, hopefully for some time.

I've been sick, give me a break here.

Eye opening photoset showing the US in the 70's.  The Atlantic does it again.  We've made some progress, but for some unexplainable reason I didn't see any obese people in the entire set of 46 photos.  Now excuse me while I eat a few Big-Mac's.

DOCUMERICA: Images of America in Crisis in the 1970s:

MN CX Championships - now with video!

It's snowed for two-years in a row now for the MN CX championship race up in Crystal.  Last year saw much thicker snow, while this year brought the cold wind and icy snow that felt like needles hitting your eyes - very hard to see even with glasses.

Warming up, Hollywood style:

Or Lady Hollywood style:

Lots of action:

Lots of burning thighs:

You have a permit for that fire, son?

Read about the race here, if you are so inclined.

Video one - beware of motion sickness:

Video dos, complete with drum corps and ass slapping action:

That's all I got.

Anyway, full set of photos here.

rage against the machine

After the recent move, my clothing is mostly stuffed in various boxes laying around the house, but I think I chose a good combination for the ride in this morning.  It's important to keep an extra pair of gloves, hat, and socks in the backpack this time of year as you never know what's in store around the corner.

I never got too far into the cassette format, sure I made a mix tape or two, but I've always preferred to listed to entire albums; I made the jump from LP to CD back to LP and have no regrets.  This one should take a few of us back to the day, depending on how young you are inside:

In other news, what's the best way to break up a non-violent protest?  Why, violence and rage, of course!  With every 84-year old woman the police pepper spray, the movement gets stronger.

Veterans Day Tribute

I first posted this video of Pearn jumping his Suzuki three and a half years ago.  It's fitting we revisit this landmark jump on Veterans day.

Turn the volume up comrade, way up!

Also, the Bottle CX race on Sunday has no limits.  Not sure what that means, but it can't be bad.

Kenilworth Bottle CX - Sunday!

Our own good man Hurl himself has put on a bit of a race.  Be there.  Bring a bottle.  Hell, who is he kidding, bring a few!

Oak Indoor Bicycle Rack for sale

Buy this indoor bicycle rack, it's wood, oak even!  Like new, holds two bikes, but has an option for 4.  $100 takes it home.

It packs a punch

I missed Halloween this year, but after this photo was forwarded to me I believe this may be the first good reason I've seen to have a kid.  I'm thinking Beam and Camel straights would be my preference.

House hunting in Faridabad - not really

A brief video taken while traveling a few kilometers across a relatively low population dense region of Faridabad, never mind the comments by my colleague regarding the touchy subject of welfare later in the video.

Highlights include a shit-ton of cargo bikes, though none too loaded down here, a cargo bike being pushed by the left food of a scooter driver (left frame at about 0:45), slums, pollution, a few bicycle repair stations, and well, just take a look-see:

I saw a well worn older man on the side of the road wearing a t-shirt with the phrase "6-pack: coming soon" written across it along with fake ab muscles.  It's little things like this that allow you to laugh a bit under the circumstances.

BMFCT - aka ???

This weekend is the HFF, or the Homie Fall Fest for those of you that fear acronyms.  Or is it synonyms, I always confused.  Since there has been little (none) mention of this event until I just manually checked the Surly Blog, we can now say there is mention of it.  It seems like it's being called the Blow Me Fall Colors Tour now, so disregard that first line up there.  Something about meating (sic(k)) at the Town Hall Tap at 11-ish, though I was told noon-ish earlier; you can never tell with this bunch.  If you miss the start, just look for group of homeless looking folks down in a nearby woods close to a body of water - even if it's not the intended crowd, try and make the most of it.  One rule of thumb to remember for those new to the event: if you don't sin, Jesus died for nothing.

This week I move on Friday, try to hit the BMFCT on Saturday for a bit, get groped by the TSA, then jump on a plane for 16-hours bound for India for a week of sleep deprivation and putting in more hours than I care to admit on the job.

Good times.  That's all I got.

Chris Hedges: "This one could take them all down." #OWS

Chris Hedges is interviewed in NYC regarding the OWS movement - worth the watch.

Theo Wirth CX - 2011 ed.

High action at the 2011 Theo Wirth Cyclo-Cross race a week ago Sunday, October ninth.

This isn't the most efficient method of dismounting, but it's great for getting attention:

Check out that air:

Ted is one of the first riders to take a shot of Jameson, tended by Sister Nate, as always:

A lot of action was seen down on the trail bottom at the winding descent and log obstacles.

Until the next event, Ben, Anna, and Randall give their best:

Whole gash darn set of photos here.

CX racing at the height of fall

Photo #1 from the Theo Wirth CX race this past Sunday - hell of a race, hell of a great day.  Here's visiting Christof posing with Melissa and Kmac down on the trail bottom.  Prost!

Phone photos from the past week or so

I picked up a 1L can of Paulaner Wiesn last night; it came packaged in a 1L stein, which made me happy. That it was not pre-chilled turned me slightly less happy, but not too much so.

Here's a shot of Roscoe (P Coltrane,) the shop dog at Hollywood Cycles.  He enjoys playing fetch with various toys, though this striped one seems to be one of his favorites.

Found this pre-packaged pack of limes at Lunds a few days ago titled 'Beer Lime.'  There are directions on the side for how to cut a lime into a wedge shape so it will fit in your bottle of beer.  Two things: you don't know how to slice a lime into a wedge, and why the hell do you want a lime in your beer?  Packaging something that grows naturally with it

This is one of my preferred non-beer beverages, the hecho en Mexico orange Fanta - this one in particular reminds me of my childhood when I cold get a soda-pop made in the USA that taste like the ones I now have to get imported. #progress

Again at Hollywood Cycles; this used to be a 54-tooth Dura-Ace chainring, which is really not useful at all in its original form.  Now this expensive piece of aluminum is acting as a chain and bash guard on this Masi.  I approve.

Here's a photo of how grease ejects out of the end of a hex nut; I'm nearly positive this was more impressive in person or with a non-cellphone camera:

Sunset on a non-frozen lake - get out there and take advantage of it!

Finally, it turns out there are a few drivers remaining that don't absolutely hate cyclists; this movie should turn the tide:

27, rail rider

It looks like Deuce Seven is out riding the rails once again, though this time on a pedal-powered railcar - looks like a blast!  There are related photos on his flickr site, so go take a look.



Damn this looks like fun:

Daddy Long Legs, Who Did Name You?

This guy had me chuckling for a bit.

His name is DJ Flula and he's funny like Neil Hamburger.  Well, maybe not that funny.

The clavicle is mending up nicely.  The bone isn't quite set-up, but I've made noticeable mending progress in the past few days.  It's going to be a while before I can get rad again, but no worries, it's all part of the process.

This Pugsley on log rollers video was posted back in 2007, just sayin':

Cirque du SoGAY III (3, three)

This one is a lot of fun, so you should do it!

Cirque du SoGAY is Queer Bike Gang (QBG)'s annual bicycle tour of the hottest Queer establishments in the Twin Cities. Cirque du SoGay was created to celebrate Queer culture while connecting people to LGBTQ resources in the community, and is followed by an awards ceremony, performances, and a big gay dance party.

Visit their page, race the race.

Monday Calls for Video

Joey goes down over the barricades:

Hope he's okay.  Thanks to BikeHugger for their link.

And in other news, I need to get down to Lincoln at some point; Star Wars themed parties, I mean come on!  Video by Elisabeth:

My Week #126 (September 12 - 18) from nocoastfilms on Vimeo.


That's all for now.  Get to work!

October is Rideshare to Work Month!

I'm just gonna throw this out there as I've got a broken bone and feel like I need to do something positive:

==============================================================

October is Rideshare to Work Month!

Please partner with us to promote Rideshare to Work Month aimed at encouraging employees to share the ride to work, saving money, reducing stress and helping the environment.  If your employees carpool just one day during the month of October, we enter them into our prize drawing to win a $500 Gas Gift Card or Garmin GPS! 

We offer FREE ride matching assistance to help people find someone to carpool with.

Schedule a Commuter Fair with us, or simply forward this Rideshare to Work Month flier to your co-workers.

It is time to Nominate yourself or your company for a regional Commuter Choice Award!

Every year the region acknowledges companies and individuals who promote commuting options. Awards recognize outreach efforts, achievements and programs designed to reduce drive-alone traffic that were completed between October 2010 and September 2011.

Last year’s awards included:

Progressive Organization

Corporate Responsibility

Civic Champion

Outstanding Employee Support

Technology Excellence

Sustained Commitment to Transportation Options

Outstanding Regional Leader

Workplace Leadership

Please reply to this email to receive a nomination form. Nominations are due by October 10. Click here for more information.

2011 Work/Life & Flexibility Expo

October 11, 2011
Minneapolis Marriott Southwest (Hwy 169 & Londonderry Road) 
8:30 - 9:00 am -- Registration
9:00 am - 4:00 pm -- Conference

The 2011 Work/Life & Flexibility Expo was designed to offer an interactive and cost-effective way to tackle an organization's challenges with new ideas and shared experiences. The event will feature the largest number of practitioners, researchers and business leaders ever. In addition, conference attendees will have the opportunity to earn HRCI credit, build new relationships with peers and discover practical business tools they can begin to use immediately.

For more information on speakers and breakout sessions or to register for the Expo click here.

Extending the Season – Bike to Work this Fall

Encourage your employees to think about extending their bicycle commuting season past late summer/early fall, they can attend our free Winter Biking Class to learn tips on biking in the dark, what to wear, how to stay warm, etc. Click here to view the Winter Bike Class Flier.

Saturday, October 8

10:30 - 11:30 am

Edina High School

6754 Valley View Road

Edina, MN 55439

in Community Room #333

RSVP to Melissa: melissa@494corridor.org or 952-848-4947

Commuter Services staff are happy to schedule an onsite commuter fair at your workplace to promote Rideshare to Work Month and extending the bicycle commuting season. We also encourage you to forward the Rideshare to Work Month flier to your co-workers.

Everyone’s effort adds up to faster flowing traffic and cleaner air!

Thanks for partnering with us!

Melissa Madison               Kate Meredith               Robin Nelson

Stolen Surly 1x1 - Uptown

This in from Sascha:


My son's bike was stolen out of a garage in Uptown on Sunday 9/11. It's a black Surly 1x1, size small (16"). Silver Thomson seatpost, silver Thomson stem and silver Paul brake levers.

Please keep an eye out for his bike. Thanks for your help!

Sascha

Here, check out the view from Harney Peak, the highest peak in the US east of the Rockies - quite worth the hike.

Not going to Interbike this year as I have to heal up my clavicle and give the liver a break.

Saturday Saturday Saturday

6pm is the 5th annual Babes In Bikeland race starting at The Soap Factory.  If you are a lady of any riding level, I really can't encourage this more - you will not regret this, you'll likely win some swag, and there's no way you won't make new friends

At 7pm is the Handsome Cycles 2012 launch party at One On One:


If riding a klunker clad in denim and listening to Led Zeppelin is more your style, perhaps the Denim Derby Clunk Fest is right for you.

No matter your choice, you had best not stay home on Saturday.

2011 Dakota Five-Oh

So we took a trip out to the Black Hills to ride the Dakota Five-Oh, a 50-miler with 7500-feet of ± elevation on singletrack starting and finishing in Spearfish.  Map of the course here.

Keeping this short, as I'm typing with one hand:

I started in the second wave of riders at 0730, those expecting to take longer than six-hours. I've never ridden this course, and not that experienced in off road riding, so I hung off the back at the start. The first few miles are all up and on gravel roads, winding through a neighborhood and past some houses outside of town. I found a cadence that felt right on my 34x21 singlespeed and pressed on, passing about two-thirds of the riders in the second wave before the turn onto singletrack.

My ride, which performed flawlessly all day:

The leg up until the first aid station was a lot of fun, crossing several times over muddy creeks with no visibility of your line, over a few cattle guards at fences, and a lot of climbing - to the point where the biggest frustration was the congestion - I kept my cool and told myself that riding slow was going to pay off later, just pace myself. There were too many riders that I simply could not ride behind though, and got my singletrack passing skills on quite a few times.

The first aid station came up pretty quick at the 10-mile point and I was looking forward to getting rid of my long sleeve layer, which was welcome during the cold start, but the day was warming. Melissa and Casey were there to grab my layer and provide encouragement. I topped off my water bladder, got a pack of gel shots, and moved on, stopping for maybe 90-seconds, the longest of my aid stops for the day.

The run between the first and second aid stops was much more spread out, so I got a lot more alone time, usually catching up to others on the climbs. Not far up I ran into Kelly Mac, who had flatted and was having trouble holding air in her rear tire. She was also regretting her 36x21 gear. We walked up a hill together, catching up on the day, but I was feeling too chipper, so threw my leg over the frame and kept pushing on.

The second stop at mile-22 was a sight to see, what with the spectators cheering and cowbells clanging - a sure motivational boost. Again I topped off the CamelBak, grabbed a few Fig Newtons for my jersey pocket, and moved along, stopping less than a minute.

The third stop came up at mile-28, which felt like no distance at all from the second, so I rolled through it.

Here is a shot Showen got during a pre-ride, though I have no idea on the trail where it was taken:

I believe it was this next stretch that had some amazing downhill sections - just bombing down a wide valley path, winding left to right in the rocks and grass for the best line, nobody in front or behind me. This is the sort of riding where that front suspension fork came in very useful - there's no way I could have kept these speeds riding fully rigid. My whole body was one huge smile and I couldn't believe how much fun I was having.

The fourth stop at mile-35 was situated at the base of a big climb to the left. This is the first time I didn't recognize any of the spectators, but I at least had to encourage the choice of Michael Jackson to the DJ while I took a final top off of water and grabbed half of a peanut butter sandwich - I asked for Billy Jean but got Thriller, which I could hear as I begun walking up the hill and eating my sandwich to save a bit of time.

There were some more amazing downhills in this next section, a lot of climbs I couldn't believe I was clearing, and a couple that I had no choice but to walk.

The bacon station came up with about 10-12 miles to go; you could hear voices and music in the distance for quite a while before a sign announcing the donator of the bacon at the top of a small climb before a descent into the stop. Melissa and Casey were there, so I stopped, slug down a bit of PBR, asked how much further to go, and moved along again. I'll have time to celebrate at the end.

Just feet from the bacon stop introduced probably the most technical section of the day: a lot of ridge riding, slaloming through rocks and trees, mixed with lots of ups and downs.  At the top of one climb was a simple note stating "look behind you."  The view was really incredible, spanning over several hills and down to the plains - I moved on with just a quick glance.

I didn't see too many riders past this point, passing a handful one or two at a time, but riding fast and alone otherwise.  I recognized the point where the trail end overlapped the start, and knew the final road couldn't be too far away, though it took longer than I had anticipated.  Upon getting to the final S-turn with a left off the single track down onto a road filled with large gravel then a turn to the right on the gravel road I knew I was home-free.  There was a man and a woman standing on the road, shouting encouragement while keeping an eye out for cars.

I was coming down pretty fast, though not uncomfortably so.  I looked up a bit and saw a large and somewhat hidden flat rock ahead, angled a bit too steeply towards the left with gravel sprinkled on it.  I didn't want to hit that rock but I was already committed to my line and went for it - this was nothing compared to what I just finished!  My front wheel hit the flat rock, somehow flinging straight out to the right as if the rock was polished ice - I must have been leaning left through the turn.  I hit the rocks going about 20mph, landing on my left shoulder and thigh, my helmet hitting last.  I immediately got into a sitting position with my knees up and feet down in front of me.  The man came running up, got my bike out of the way of oncoming riders and started asking about how I was doing.  "Just give me a second, my head seems okay."  I felt the slap of the ground on my femur and thought the worst, though I quickly ruled that out - something wasn't right though.  Feeling up to my left shoulder with my right hand quickly confirmed the fractured clavicle, bone sticking out but not penetrating the skin.  Shit.  

The man said he could drive me to town, but I wanted to stand up first.  It took me a few tries, but I got up unassisted, right when Lance flies by screaming out my name and asking if I'm okay.  "Collarbone," I replied.  He's riding for time and rightfully doesn't slow, and I was in plenty good hands.

The woman at the corner stated to me that there have been lots of riders crashing at this spot, to which I did everything inside me to keep my mouth shut.  Going down was entirely my fault, but if it were me standing there I would have at least cautioned riders to slow down a bit if there had been repeated crashes.

The kind man got my bike up for me and I slowly walked it across the cattle guard on the road.  He had told me that he would watch me go down the hill and would come for me if there was any sign of trouble.  I thanked him and slowly put my leg across the top tube, formed a sling with my left arm, and rode on, hugging the right brake hard, squealing the last few miles into town.  Hitting the washboard sections of gravel was the worst, as the bike is shaking up and down, out of sync with the wheels.  The climb up through the neighborhood was no fun, but I kept upright and kept cranking away.  

I rode through the several blocks of cheering spectators, which was a boost in spirits.  Crossing the finish line I turned towards the left where a rider saw me and asked if I needed help to the medical tent - damn that sounded like a good idea.  Soon Squirrel came up and the two of them helped me off the bike and across the street to the tent.  

Long story short:

6:05 with #38 in men's singlespeed, lost about 20-minutes to the crash and snail's ride to the finish.

Sitting here on a Tuesday with the bone still overlapping, spreading my shoulders back as far as I can.  The ER confirmed with a pretty picture that my bone was snapped, but really didn't do much more than that.  Getting into a specialist takes 2-weeks - what's the point?

This is one of those rides I've wanted to do for years, but kept pushing it off each time; I'm already looking forward to 2012!

Looks like I'm out of the upcoming Gentlemen's ride as well as the Heck of the North; I was looking forward to both of these gravel grinders.

Thanks to Perry, all the volunteers, spectators, and riders.  Made a lot of new friends and have nothing but love for Spearfish!

Hey, not bad for one hand.


-----
update - more photos:


Replaced the rear tube two days prior to the race while camping in Custer State Park - check out that red squirrel:

Wave 1 racers just prior to their 0715 start, 15-minutes before I went out.  The majority of the riders were in wave 1.  Passing someone from this group felt good, because I was 15-minutes ahead of someone.

At the ER; I got the best-dressed award for the waiting room - bloody half-dressed bib shorts and a sling:

working at the car wash

Was it worth the ten quarters? Yes, yes it was. Just be careful not to spray directly into any bearings and you should be fine. Bring along a friend as there is plenty of time for several cleanings.

bicycle maintenance 101

I was wondering why my headset was feeling sticky. Then I took my fork off for inspection. Oh yeah, several winters of usage will do that. Sprayed a bit of lube in there, which helped out considerably.

To do list: buy new headset bearings.

I think the fork will last a few more seasons, but the dropouts are fairly rusty as well...

Friday night at the bicycle races

Friday night at the bicycle races - just clean good fun:

Cops kicked us out - we have too many lawyers out there:

Tall John takes 2nd - here with SK, who eventually scored 4th:

Charlotte takes first women:

Trevor takes first men's, twice in a row, at least:

More photos here.

The rest of the weekend is a blur, but it involved urban camping, swimming, more races, a freeride, and pizza.

Bicycle Weekend in MPLS

Big weekend ahead of us.

Thursday night at 7 is Bandit Cross down at Hobo Camp.

Friday is match sprints starting at 9pm at One On One.

Saturday is the All City Championships Alley Cat race, meet at 4pm, race at 5. After party at Peacock Groove.

Keep up on the Bikejerks site for updates on the above.

There's also a party Saturday night at Kitsune Cycles, which I love the location of.

Sunday is the Freeride. Thanks again to Roger Lootine for the newly colored artwork!