Chilly March 07 2012, 0 Comments
The week' s first break came this afternoon, and we took the scenic route home.
It was gorgeous out, howling wind and cold, and she did not care. It was perfect.
Ocean Air Cycles
Commitment February 27 2012, 0 Comments
There is nothing like a monetary commitment, skin in the game, to keep you focused on the target. Aside from the myriad of bureaucratic and general business expenses there are the specific costs, engineering, prototypes, testing etc. Each new cost is another step to the center of the ring. Today I signed up for my first Expo,Philly Bike Expo October 27 & 28 to be exact. The check is in the envelope and on the way, locked in, I need to get busy so I have something to show.
My post office rides seem to always fall on stormy days. Today is supposed to be a rain day according to the weather man, but it looks like a miss. I am not sure there is going to be any rain this year, the hills never turned green and things are all brown and crispy before spring has even shown up. It is going to be an interesting year in the coastal desert, where easy access to fresh water is often taken for granted.
It was good to get outside for a break though, and a quick trip to roll past the ocean.
As a side note, I am loving the new/old pedals. I need to get a deeper set of half clips fabbed up, but outside of that, they are sublime for riding around town, even in Birkenstocks.
Video From Last Week February 22 2012, 0 Comments
As promised I put together a quick video from my ride last week. I am using IMovie on my wife's IMac to edit and post process. While intuitive, it is a double learning curve for a lifetime PC guy like me. I learned a bunch just making this short clip, from the importance of really thinking out for each shot to the need to have the camera perfectly plumb and level. I am working on adding music and refining my editing skills, for now it was time to quit editing and move on from my first pass at video. There will be better ones to follow for sure, this was fun. Any tips you out there can provide are welcome, Thanks for taking a look.Making Time to Ride February 16 2012, 0 Comments
Just for fun. Today was too nice outside not to go for a ride, not errands, just a ride for the sake of riding. A recent saddle acquisition motivates me to take out the Eisentraut. What a fun riding bike. The tire clearance is the only limitation that bike imposes, the rest is up to the motor. I have a set of vintage NOS Specialized Touring tires on it at the moment, labeled 32mm, but measure at 23mm. Not sure if it is the overstated tire size trend of the era, or dyslexia. For super skinny tires they ride pretty well.
I was out for a few hours, and about 30 miles before the wind came up too bad. I shot more video than pictures on this ride. Something else I will be teaching myself as part of the Ocean Air Cycles project. Some of it actually came out OK. I learned that video takes a different level of planning than pictures. Lots of scouting and thinking about timing and angles of view, and how to get it done solo. Next up is post production, I will see what is usable and hopefully have a short movie by next week.
Winter is Still Here February 15 2012, 0 Comments
The weather as you all are likely aware has been a bit nuts this year. We are starting into out second winter storm this week. I headed out between the drops, 45 deg and damp, to run some errands.
There was a rainbow for a moment in the storm clouds closing in, bu the GoPro was not able to grab it. I almost made it home dry. By this afternoon we should be back to 40 mph winds and snow down to 4000 ft or so in the mountains out back. Never a dull moment this year, although it keeps me inside and busy.
Daddy Days February 10 2012, 0 Comments
Fridays are daddy days now that the first four days of the week are child care days. At this point it is still just a recovery day for the both of us. Today was a quick ride to dump off the compost, take a look at the ocean and then home for the rest of the book marathon.
And yes our jackets now match, she has made it to a point where such things really make her day.
The Masu / Bike project hit a turning point today where I think we are about to make a big jump to the next step. Monday is going to be a busy day, and the week to follow is going to fill up fast.
Timing and Surf February 08 2012, 0 Comments
I have spent over two-thirds of my life as a surfer, and never thought that life would get to busy to make time to get into the water. The last few years have proven that wrong in a big way. Looking back it is hard to figure out exactly what changed. The biggest thing with surfing is the need to be completely flexible in timing so that when the swell, wind, tide and free time all converge it becomes the obvious choice. It seems that finding that convergence, or making it happen, is harder than it used to be for some reason, even living about two blocks from the beach. At least there has been a bit of a replacement with the bike. I get the glide, and the benefit of transportation, and the convenience of the bike being there when I want. I still miss getting in the water.
Today the swell was good, really good, but the wind was howling, and the choice of getting out for a bit at lunch fell back to the bike, not a bad thing at all in the big picture.
Family Ride Home February 06 2012, 0 Comments
Winter weather is coming soon. The roller coaster weather continues, it was hot and sunny all weekend, and the rain and snow are on their way back
Dark and gloomy for now, but at least it is dry.
Radio Silence Ending January 31 2012, 0 Comments
It has been a long 10 days or so in the household. One of the widely known fringe benefits of childcare, the germs, hit hard. We have been adapting to the low level persisting cold bug over the last couple of months, but this one wiped us all out. Fevers all around, like dominoes we all had are turn, I even got my chance twice. We are all on the upswing now and finally am catching up on last week, getting this week going and working in a few surprise developments. I wrapped up the day with a trip to the post office,
Then it was off to get the munchikin, who brought the party home and was first to feel better.
We headed off to meet mommy at the beach before heading home.
Really a fantastic way to cap off the day. We are all looking forward to a more productive week.
Regular posting and bike news to follow.
Vintage Silver Economy Vehicles January 22 2012, 0 Comments
Only mine is powered by kale, eggs and dates. Made it out between winter storms to grab some veggies at the farmer's market. Great weather considering we had an inch of rain yesterday, and there is more on the way tonight. I ran into some friends, there was a tailwind on the way home and got to check out some giant surf at the harbors en route. All in all a fun mid day ride.
Hope you all were able to squeeze in some winter miles too.