Link of the Day [12.09.08]

broderic on December 9, 2008

I link to the New York Times more than any other site in my daily links.
I wonder if it's because I am lazy or if I find there stories and
articles good. Most likely, it's because it is one of the first stops
in the morning to read, and if you don't have the daily link already
pre-loaded a post, then you'll post almost anything looking for
something interesting. I haven't pre-loaded posts in a week, so I'm
scrambling to find you, my dear readers, something interesting to read.It's been cold this past weekend, and only is it supposed to warm up
again. So, with the cold and with some snow, we turn our ideas to
winter sports namely snowboarding. I haven't been in the last two
seasons. Two winters ago was the warmest that it has ever been; I think
I rode my bike one warm January day. I wasn't even thinking about
snowboarding that winter. Last year, it was more of the same except
that the final weeks in January and February were cold enough, but I was
too lazy to want to go ride.Maybe, if we had a late season like they do at Riksgransen I would've
ridden more. Not until the end did I want to carve some s-turns over
freshly groomed slopes.http://travel.nytimes.com/2008/12/07/travel/07arctic.html?partner=permal
ink&exprod=permalink

“Wait a minute, you didn’t know rap had words?”

broderic on September 3, 2008

Link of the Day [9.03.08]

Well, August passed by, and I’m still stuck just short of 500 miles for the year. This is worst than last year. I rode about 45 minute per outing then, but a whole lot more of them. This year, the number of times I rode is less, but I put more time in per ride. And again, like last year, my August has been a disappointment. I can only blame myself and lack of motivation caused by the fact that long rides alone suck.

So reading this excerpt of Jonathon Vaughter’s, the manager for Garmin-Chipotle (nee Team Slipstream), ride with Senator Kerry (D-Mass) during last weeks DNC, I just want to go out and cruise. It’s pretty amazing that a sitting Senator can keep up with a former pro cyclists. What’s he do and when does he get the time to ride like that? And if he’s fearless screaming down hair pin descents in the Rockies, what happened in 2004?

I know one thing: I’m in that 12mph lolly-gagging group. I have to get back to the 15 mph.

http://www.slipstreamsports.com/2008/08/29/my-un-conventional-ride

Link of the Day [8.22.08]

broderic on August 22, 2008

The relentless march of links of the day is overwhelming and time consuming. I can’t find things fast enough to link to, so I default to whatever was the last site I thought was interesting.

Here we have a blog about the sport of cycling. Not so much the doing, but the what and whys of things. I like reading about the sport, but sometimes I just have to go out and ride. Lately, I haven’t been doing that. I need 100 miles to make it a decent month of riding. Instead of reading about it, I should be doing it. Yet, thphtt. ;__;

http://www.podiumcafe.com/

Point A to Point B

broderic on August 8, 2008

Here’s an interesting article from the Washington Post highlighting the new bicyling paradigm in the Capitol. It seems that more and more people are not riding their bicycles for sport or for exercise, but as a tansportation. It’s getting to be downright Copenhagenized.

People just get on their bikes and ride to the store. To the cinema. To the restaurant to meet some friends. To school. To work. To places cars had taken us.

The price of gas going up has made sensible people get out of the car and onto a bike. You don’t really need to drive to the corner store. Put your groceries in your bike’s basket. You don’t need to drive to work. Cruise in style on two wheels. Pretty soon we may find out this is good for us and the planet.

Now, to find the quickest route to work.

Link of the Day [7.30.08]

broderic on July 30, 2008

The Fat War may be over, but there’s still some mopping up to do.

It’s been about four months since the end of that. And we’ve probably regressed and gained back the weight lost. I keep on cycling, and eating summer salads, but don’t gain any muscle.

This plan sounds intriguing. Sounds it any way. Maybe. But if you do 25 pushups a minute, this will take 4 minutes to do in the end. That’s gotta hurt.

http://hundredpushups.com/

Cycling With No Safety Net

broderic on July 13, 2008

You know I bought a couple of new rides this year. I had to pick up the old one at my mom’s. Since my main bike is illin’ with a broken spoke, I had to go on a ride with the single speed PaddyWagon. One gear. And I think there were some slight hills from my home to my mom’s.

I thought about it yesterday and was slightly apprehensive. Can I climb the hills without my granny/low gear? The route is releatively flat, but the only one that would’ve been scary was the hill on Walnut. I think it’s about 0.2 miles but probably a good 6-8% grade.

So, I get on the road with the PaddyWagon, and it takes a while to warm up. It’s a slight uphill on Pleasant and I’m panting a little bit. Hmmm. Nothing bad for a bit. Once I get on Gwynnbrook, it’s a steady climb, but I keep a nice tempo and speed of about 13 mph. I get to the hill on Walnut, and grind up it, out of the saddle, and feeling it, but I make it through. Not bad without any lower gearing.

Maybe, I should ride my normal ride without the low gear safety net? I’ll see…