Princeton Freewheelers Event Day

The Princeton Freewheelers Bicycle Club Event was today. This Event consists of a choice of rides: 13, 26, 50, 65, and 100 mile rides that are mostly flat with some rolling hills, and a 65 mile "almost hilly" ride with enough uphills to be a challenge. My partner and I rode the 65-mile "flat" ride. We went off the route a couple of times, and added about 3-3½ miles to the route... and we rode faster together than either of us would have done alone. I think this is because each of us is trying to be sure that the other doesn't think he's a wimp, so when one of us gets ahead (even if it's to break the headwind), the other thinks he's gotta keep up. Whatever the reason, I would have expected my average speed for the 70-or-so miles to have been about 17 mph, not the almost 18.5 that we actually did.

The Freewheelers do the event well. There's a rest area every 20-25 miles, with water, Gatorade, snacks, and a toilet. Routes are well-marked (if you're paying attention), and cue sheets are provided. Pre-ride snacks, and post ride lunch, and a tee-shirt come with the fee, and there are vendors at the end. Some of the local bike shops have mechanics available to look at your bike, and there's "sag wagon" service if either the bike, or the rider, isn't going to make it.

This ride partner is a new experience for me, and, I think, for him; we're still being tender with each other, in the way of new acquaintances that are trying to work out the parameters of the contract. We don't know what to talk about with each other yet, nor what kinds of offers or demands we can make. He's not a native English speaker, and I'm a typical American with only one language (and more than a little bit of hearing loss), so I only get about 80% of what he's saying. I don't miss enough to get in too much trouble (I hope), but I suspect there's some frustration from both of us.

He's talking about doing a 100-mile ride next week. I had initially refused, but, if we're going to do a 100-mile ride, this is probably the way to do it: there will be a ride leader, who will maintain the pace (at about 16 mph) and make at least two stops. I'm afraid that if it were just my partner and I, we'd get that competitive thing going, and do the whole thing at about 18 mph... and I'd be crippled for a month.

After the ride (and a nap), my wife and I went out to the high-school graduation party of the son of a friend. This party is about the son, of course, and not about us (or even the graduate's parents); still, we had to put in an appearance. Parties where I don't know a lot of the people are hard for me; I find them enervating (as I'm typing this, the room is mostly dark so I can psychically refuel a bit) - and, of course, I was still tired from the ride (despite the nap). However, since an episode before we got married, I never ask to leave a social engagement, but wait for her to be ready. She hinted at an escape, but then got involved in a conversation with a couple she sees less than she would like, and by the time she was ready to leave, I had grown unacceptably cranky. We had A Discussion on the way home about my unsociability, and how it's reducing the number of our friends and invitations. I think we've worked out a solution for now, but there is still some rough water in the house, and more ahead on this issue.

My bike's frame is back

Got the frame back for my own bike from Habanero. They ground off the offending seatpost binder bits, and sent along a seatpost clamp. I built it up the other night. With the new wheels, it is fast & responsive. I'm still afraid the seatpost is going to wind up sinking into the seat tube again (although it didn't tonight in about 40 minutes of not-too-strenuous riding). I've scouted out the Problem Solvers Double Seatpost Klamp in case the current clamp doesn't work... but that's probably overkill.

Where the seat stuff was ground off, there is some roughness in the finish. That will need some attention with the right grades of steel wool. I may make a non-riding-time project out of cleaning that up; I'd like to get the whole bike back to that brushed finish.

It is very cool, though, to have a bike with no looseness or play in the steerer. I love the way this bike feels. I just wish I wasn't worried about the seat tube. (My trusty Sigma BC1600 bike computer died when I was putting the bike back together, and I replaced it with a basic-basic Sigma BC509; just speed, trip distance, ride time, odometer, and clock. I'm trying to tell myself that I really don't need to know my maximum speed on any ride, and I really didn't use the stopwatch or the total ride time... but I hate giving up features I had, even if I didn't use 'em.)

Wrenches without Borders?

I've written about my volunteering at the adopt-a-shelf program at the North Brunswick Library. I've got another volunteer spot: on Tuesday nights, I zip down to Olden Avenue in Ewing, and rehabilitate donated bicycles for the Trenton Boys & Girls Club Bike Exchange. It's an activity of the Princeton Freewheelers Bicycle Club, with whom I ride regularly.

The Exchange takes donated bikes, in a range of styles and conditions, gets 'em into working order, and sells 'em. Some, especially little kids' bikes, are really inexpensive; almost all of them are real bargains. There are a few that are collector's items, and those are premium-priced – but I don't remember seeing any over $300.

Some of the donated bikes are rusted wrecks, barely useful for a few salvageable parts. Many, though, are in good shape, having only the few bike ailments common to most neglected bikes: dust, dirt, and bug casings (clean up with soap and water); flat tires (tubes are cheap – and porous; many times, all the tires need is some air); squeaky chain (oil it!).

I've worked on a bunch of kid's bikes; they usually shape up quickly, and it's a good return for a small amount of work (although getting those small tires on and off the wheels is sometimes a challenge). I remember a mountain-style bike I worked on; I don't know why it was donated. The gears shifted as smooth as pudding, the brakes were tight and responsive, the tires and tubes were good. It looked like it had barely been ridden (and perhaps that was true). My favorite, though, was a 26” girls beach cruiser, with chrome and fenders. It only needed some straightening of the front fork, air in the tires, and a cleaning. My fantasy is that it was bought by some ol' gal who's going to put a basket on the front, and maybe some plastic flowers, and use it for her grocery shopping and to deliver lunches to some of the sick people in her church. (But I've also had a geared bike that was a bit more than I bargained for; I was quietly proud of getting that one ready to sell, although I would never have admitted what a challenge it turned out to be... except I guess I just did.)

They're open Thursday nights and Saturdays... but I go on Tuesdays because it's wrenching only; no customers to get in the way. There's another mechanic about my age who's a regular, and a bunch of younger guys who could be my kids. There's a fellow who drops by who deals antique and collectible bikes, who gives us mechanical pointers and the lore of the bicycles of thirty and a hundred years ago (he has the most excellent moustache!). We have a range of knowledge and experience. There's one young guy who gets so focused that it's a bit alarming. Another appears to be having so much fun putting the bikes together that he might be paying for the privilege.

I get weekly emails about the progress of the program; they've sold over a thousand bikes this year, if I remember, and given tens of thousands of dollars to the Boys & Girls Club of Trenton. Local Trenton residents buy the bikes for their kids, or themselves, and there are also arrangements for sales of bikes to Princeton University students.

Every week, I see one that I'd like to take home and REALLY work on. But if I brought them all home, there wouldn't be enough room in the house for me, the bikes, and my wife... and I'm most eager to hang onto her. So I'll be going back to Ewing on Tuesday.

About some weight loss

Since April 2009 (so over the course of almost a year and a half, as I write this), I have shed almost fifty lbs. People have asked how I did it, and invariably appear either disappointed or awed when I tell them. There's no secret; it's the stuff you already know:

• Exercise hard six days per week;
• Don't eat crap;
• Keep track of your progress.

I'd like to elaborate on each of these three factors, and then I'll add a fourth, which I've come to think is the most important.

Exercise hard six days a week.

In Younger Next Year (from which I got most of these ideas), Chris Crowley makes an argument that you've got to do at least an hour each day, and you should mix up what you do. I don't do an hour a day, and I'll admit, I only started mixing it up three months ago; prior to that I was doing the same exercises each time, viz:
Rowing machine for 25 minutes, at a fairly high rate. I started at about 800-850 strokes in 25 minutes; now I'm up to a little over 1000.
85 pushups. (I started with 30 and added five at a time as I could).
45 “plank” flexes on each side. I lie on my side, spread my legs so that the lower leg is forward and the upper leg is back, support myself on one arm, then raise my waist so my torso-legs-waist are straight, then lower my waist. Turn over and do 45 more on the other side.
150 “sit-up crunches”. Instead of a full sit-up, I raise my shoulders until my upper body is about 40-45 degrees from the floor, and relax.
80 “back crunches”. I lie on my stomach, put my hands behind my head, and raise my shoulders and my feet off the floor 80 times. I find it helps to turn my head a little.
150 (not-quite-straightarm) lifts of two 25-lb. dumbbells.
When I start to tell people about my exercise routine, they generally stop me after the rowing, and I'm left with the impression that they think that's all I do. It's true I spend the most time with that, but the routine is all of it.

Don't eat crap.

You know what crap is. Don't eat it.

This doesn't mean you never eat anything you like. It means you eat healthily, most of the time. It means that there will be times when you're going to want to eat stuff that you know isn't healthy... and when you do, plan it into your food budget. I found I needed to plan some junk or treats into my food schedule several times per week, or I wouldn't stick with the food plan. It does mean that I don't eat stuff that's full of sugars and fats and artificial initials just because it's there, or for any other reason than I really want to, and I've either planned for it, or I'm going to allow for it later (or both). It also means, frankly, that there are times when I'm hungry. Tough. I'm 55 years old; I'm not a baby who has to get everything he wants all the time anymore.

(I don't talk about “diets”. It wasn't what the word meant originally, but “a diet” has come to mean something like, “I'll eat this way for a while, but I'm goin' back to the daily brownies and fried chicken as soon as this phase is over.” I had to change the way I eat all the time, for the long haul. It's not “a diet”, it's how I eat.)

Keep track of your progress.

I weigh myself every day, and keep daily track of my weight. I use the Hacker's Diet tracking website (there's also an excellent program by Jon Thysell for OpenOffice.Org that is almost as good, if your internet access is questionable). I like the Hacker's Diet stuff because, in addition to keeping track of your daily weight, this system also looks at your trend – so if you ate at your mother-in-law's one day, and your weight is up because you're full of salt and retaining water, you don't get disappointed and quit the whole thing. Or, on the other hand, if you visit your health-food-only friends, and your weight is down because you've ingested nothing but radishes and onion grass for a day, you won't finish a whole pecan pie the next afternoon just because the scale was friendly that morning; the trend tells you where you really are.

But I've come to see that there's another factor. I think it's more important than the other three. I didn't number them, because I don't know which of them is most important (and because it's not easy to start an ordered list in HTML with “2”), but I'll number this one “1”, because it's so important that you'll never do any of the others without it:

1. You've gotta really want to do it.

I really didn't want to go on medication. I really didn't want to go on medication; I don't like what it means to be on medication that's not for an acute, short-term condition – it means that I have a body with systems that aren't completely intact anymore, that I need special help, and maybe that I'm starting to show the condition that's eventually going to be responsible for my death. And two-years-or-so-ago, my doctor was making the most unpleasant noises about stuff like blood pressure and blood sugar. And my wife (who's really much more into this stuff than I am) thought that we might be able to control these guys by getting my weight down and exercising regularly.

That's when I started doing the other three things (after moping around for a few months).

It turned out I had to start medication anyway (Atenolol). I'm sticking with the routine, because I'm in the habit now, and because I don't want to give up the gains I've made... and because I genuinely feel better, and because about every two hours, I find another article that talks about how exercise is the one thing that's going to keep me from becoming a peeing-my-pants, doddering oldster. (But I did make an angry, too-expensive purchase after I got the prescription. Bought new wheels for my bike. Oh, yeah, starting about three months ago, I added bicycling to the exercise mix; I cranked out 80+ miles over the past two days.)

I think the people who ask me how I lost the weight are looking for the easy way. I don't think there is an easy way. But I think you're more likely to stick to the stuff that works if you really want it. More than you want the crap food, or the sociability of eating what everybody else is eating, or to avoid the boredom and pain of exercise and eating right and keeping track.

One last thing: I've had all the breaks in this. My wife buys food and makes meals that support this kind of life, and we keep good exercise equipment in the house (and she winks at my expensive bicycle toy purchases); we don't have kids to worry about sugar and cereal and stuff; we have both money and time enough to shop, eat, and exercise like this, and I'm nerdy enough to do the internet research and the recordkeeping. These may not be available to everybody; I understand that. Each of us lives his or her own life.

Goodbye, John

I didn't know John Callahan's name, but I sure knew his work, primarily from Funny Times. He was a paraplegic cartoonist, and, perhaps because he was a paraplegic, felt free to lampoon pretty much everybody (including paraplegics). His work was hugely funny, and upset all the right people.

In articles about him, I see that it appears that many of the people who complained about his insensitivity were not, themselves, members of the groups who were the targets of his barbs. I have a suspicion that this is frequently true of those who rush to the rescue of the offended.

Callahan apparently held a pen in one hand, then held that with the other, and used his shoulders to move the pen around. In addition to being a paraplegic at age 21, he stopped drinking about age 26. (I gotta learn to stop whining.)

So long, Johnny. I wish I had known you better. I will seek to do so through your work, now.

Hot date!

There were two art shows at the Philadelphia Museum of Art this year that we wanted to see, and the cost of the two shows was more than the cost of annual memberships, so we bought memberships to the Museum this year. We saw the Picasso show a few months ago, and today we went in for the Late Renoir show.

And y'know what? We're really not fans of late Renoir.

In his later years, he went for rosier colors, rounder figures, and softer edges. Now, they may be great paintings, but I really felt like, “It's been done. This has been done before.” And it may be that it's been done because Renoir was the one who did it; nonetheless: cup of tea, it's just not my.

(I'm reminded of a remark by one of my prof's when I was in college, and Easy Rider came up at the college film festival. And it felt like every 60's cliché was in there... and the prof said that Easy Rider was the movie that led to them all being clichés. If it was true, it still didn't change the fact that the movie felt like it was full of clichés at the time I saw it.)

There was a nifty self-portrait from, I think, 1899, which was uncharacteristic of the other work; it had the hard edges of the older man's face, and the intense look that my drawing teacher called, “the self-portrait stare” (you do see it in a lot of self-portraits). It's the look that a person gets when he or she is trying to get the details and arrange the space on the paper while drawing. That was cool... but it was also the only one.

It does make one feel just that bit of a snob to not like a show that is so well produced and publicized, though. And every time I see that membership card in my wallet, I feel like such a regular arts patron, already!

After the show, we walked (just under a mile) to the Reading Terminal Market, where we ALWAYS eat when we're in Philly. The market is full of great food; we've never eaten at the same place twice, and we're never been disappointed. If you're in Philadelphia, do the Reading; 12^th & Arch Streets.

Then we went towards South Street to drop in at Hats in the Belfry (I liked the Belfry Safari Henry, but the one they had in my ridiculously large size had a mangled ribbon) and the Kosciuszko National Memorial, because my wife is a Revolutionary War buff. "Buff" doesn't really describe it; try "screaming yellow nutball".

Traffic was evil in Philadelphia today. I think it was the retribution of the universe for my taking a day off during the same week that my coworker took her vacation. Miserere mei, already.

We had a great time. My wife is a great date.

more waiting...

Waiting...

I ordered a frame pump from Adrenaline Bikes, who emailed me that if was to be delivered today. It hasn't been delivered. I've asked for the UPS or USPS tracking number (which they said they'd send, but never did).

Five years ago, if a package was a day late, it was no big deal. Less than ten years ago, there was no way for a non-corporate customer to track a package at all.

So why am I so bent outta shape that the pump isn't here yet?

TSOFEOTB

More on the bike: since I got my new wheels, I've had more than my share of tube punctures - and all of the punctures have been on the wheel side, not the tire side (where you would expect them if road debris were causing the flats). Reviews (like the ones linked) complain of the difficulty of mounting tires (to which I can attest; I broke two tire levers, and am now the owner of several industrial-quality tire installation levers, including a steel set) and the poor quality of the rim strips (that protect the tube from the spoke ends, and sharp edges of the machined wheel).

Today I went out for a ride, and within four miles, I had four punctures in three tubes. I broke down and got replacement rim tapes and installed them. I've put in twenty miles of riding around my condo complex (boooo-RING!), and have not had a flat. The rim tapes appear to have worked. Just in case, though, I bought four more tubes and another patch kit.

Sheesh. Between this and the frame, I'm hoping that I'm just going through The Season Of Fixing Everything On The Bike... and I hope it's a season that's over soon.

waiting...

On the blog I left behind, I wrote about sending back the Habanero bike frame. They received it from UPS yesterday; I got the delivery confirmation online. Now, I wait for them to do something with it and ship it, or its replacement, back to me.

I know that it's a tiny thing compared to the problems most people have, but I'm obsessing over it. I want the frame back, and at the same time, I don't. I will never have that "beautiful, perfect thing" feeling I had when I first got it. Even though the frame will probably be a new one, it won't have the integrated seat clamp; although that is a technology that doesn't work, it will still be analogous to an amputation for me. The quibble about the bottle cage brackets being too close has become a major impediment. The pure metal grey, which initially reminded me of the stainless-steel finish of a DeLorean, now seems drab. Do I want a PedalForce carbon? Well, no - my fears of the carbon giving way (on my first fork) were what led me to look for another fork, which led to all of this (the headset on my aluminum frame couldn't be rebuilt, and it's loose). But the Masi Speciale Premio steel frame not only has a nifty paint job, but lugs, and a matching fork. Hmm...

Oh, well. I expect what will really happen is that I'll get the Habanero back, and grow to love it, and five years from now I'll be a ruthless defender of Habaneros in particular, and titanium in general. Already I find I'm looking forward to the minimal prep that a titanium frame requires on set-up.

I just wish I had it back, already. I hope they send one or the other to me quickly.

Edit: At 3:30, I've gotten an email that they're sending back a frame with the seatpost binder fittings ground off. The tracking number isn't in the UPS system yet... but I'm grateful, anyway.

Library Volunteer

I'll write some other time about the West Trenton Boys & Girls Club Bike Exchange, which is the other place I'm volunteering. Right now, I want to talk about volunteering at the North Brunswick Public Library.

Libraries are way cool. First of all, they are places where knowledge and resources are shared freely, situations which are increasingly rare in this I-got-mine-Jack-eff-you, devil-take-the-hindmost time. Our library system, as I understand it, is a legacy of Benjamin Franklin, who started something of the sort in Philadelphia, and Andrew Carnegie, a robber-baron who started over 2,000 libraries (and who said, “The man who dies thus rich, dies disgraced.” Can you imagine anyone saying that in this century?). The libraries are open to anyone who does not upset or annoy other patrons. They are a monument to the informed populace on which democracy depends.

Librarians are also way cool. It's not true that librarians know everything (although many of them know an awful lot, and put a few of them together, and they know a frightening amount). It is true that they know where to find much of what they don't know, that they want to know. In my admittedly limited experience, it's also true that they are unrepentantly geeky, interested in a variety of intriguing things (some of which would bore you to tears, and others make you ask yourself why you didn't think of that), and stronger in personality than reputation would suggest. Some of them may be a bit odd... but of what profession is that not true?

I also take my hat off to librarians (and I do wear hats, when the season allows) because they were among the first and most vocal to defy the intrusive Patriot Act by not sharing information about web or book searches by their patrons. Courage is not only in the face of bullets; it is also in standing up for what is right when the mob is howling for the wrong.

How can you not want to be part of this?

In any case, in addition to donating annually to the library, several months ago, I tried to volunteer there. At the time, it turned out that all of their volunteers apparently were either high-school students seeking to improve their college applications, or probationers working off their community service requirements. The library staff didn't know what to make of a fifty-something who just wanted to volunteer some time, was willing to do the scuttiest of the scut work, but who couldn't come in during the day because he was employed.

I did get to volunteer at the book sale (right up my alley! Get there early! Set up tables! Heavy lifting!). A month or two later, when I sent my annual check, I offered volunteer services again, and got a call to visit the library to discuss such a thing.

At the end of the discussion with the chief of the library, I became the first volunteer for the North Brunswick Public Library Adopt-A-Shelf program. I'm looking after the business books, from 650 to 659.999... I make sure they're in order, look out to see that there are no books in the section that don't belong (either because the belong in another section, or in another library), keep the shelves cleaned up, take the bookmarks and other leavings out of books when I find them. I get knowing, grateful smiles from the regular staff when I sign in, I have an almost-just-like-the-real-thing nametag, and I get to walk in the back and ask questions of the staff when I have to. I've given it about two hours in the past two weeks, and I'm having a great time.

You've gotta go do this!

$39 Laptop?

India has come up with a 1500 rupee ($39) touchscreen laptop - a computing prototype it aims to make available to students from elementary schools to universities.

It runs Linux, and...

is equipped with an internet browser, video-conferencing capability and a media player, among other facilities.

What a great idea. I would definitely get one if they were for sale here.

On riding a bike forever.

Go read it (opens in new tab):

How to ride a bike forever.

Get the best bike you can afford, and grow old with it
Things we keep a long time grow in value to us, and enrich our lives every time we use them. The first objects you'd grab if your house caught fire are probably the old ones, because they can't be replaced. Grow old with the best bike you can afford.

With only sight modifications, it could be about any piece of property in your life. And with a bit of imagination, it might even be about your relationships.