Another Sunday... Another Trench...

Another rainstorm.... another broken limb on the black cherry tree.

Another trench: this time around the new garage. Spent all day yesterday cleaning up the mud and mold, etc. from last Sunday's rain. This morning, the garage leaked again, so now it has a trench all around it. This should divert water away from the garage until a permanent solution is found.

THe black cherry tree lost some more limbs. Learned this because neighbors called the police (why ?) after the limbs hit the electric line and knocked out their power. Had to explain that the tree company is trying to work with the power company so that they can take the tree down. Wonder where this will lead ?

So, no biking today, and waiting to see if the do-it-yourself trenches can keep the garage dry !

Mountain Bike... Converted

This bike started out as a Schwinn Essence.... sometime in the mid- to late-1980's, Schwinn made the "Essence" as a women-specific mountain bike. It was never very comfortable, and I never did any serious mountain-biking - just off-road and trails. So, I converted it sometime around 2003-2004. I didn't ride it much, but after the bike room was flooded slightly last weekend, and I had to clean off a lot of stuff, I decided to clean it up and ride it around to the store, post office, etc. I might use it for commuting, but I'm not sure about the wear-and-tear on my laptop


I can't find any pictures of the original bike, but here are the changes:

1. replaced the 2 1/2" knobby tires with skinny slick tires.

2. replaced the straight mountain handlebars with the "albatross" model from Rivendell Bike Works. Added cork hand grips - no more gloves !



3. replaced the seat with a leather Brooks saddle.


So, now it has mountain bike gearing, but the ride is as close to an old 3-speed as I could get it....


Another retro feature: it still has the "BIOPACE" chainring - this was a slightly oval (rather than round) chain ring that was the height of bike technology in the 80's.



Original pink paint, with some updates.

What Makes a Good Rider ?

I've been thinking a lot about this as I ride the bike path, and watch other riders, runners, skaters, dog walkers, etc. on the path at night and on the weekends. I've come to the conclusion that SPEED, while highly desireable, is not the same as GOOD.

My Personal GOOD BIKER MANIFESTO:

1. Have agility on the bike. They can use their weight to make small moves, can ride in a very straight line, etc. When small children ride, their bike follows their eyes as they look around. By the time you have your first "real" bike, you should be past this stage.

2. Have awareness. They know where other riders are, they are looking at the road ahead to identify obstacles before they have to SLAM on their brakes, they anticipate the actions of others on the road/ bike path.

3. Good riders can FIX their own bikes. That means that they have a patch kit, spare tubes, etc. IF people can fix their own bike, they're more likely to pay attention to it, check it out before and after a ride, etc. And, since this might be time-consuming, they have a LIGHT in case it gets dark while they're fixing two flats in 1 ride.

4. It would be nice if everyone "out there" had basic manners and courtesy. It's not always easy. There's a lot of hostility on the path and it's hard not to let it escalate.

I was riding behind a runner on Saturday. He was running in the MIDDLE of the path - not anywhere near the right SIDE. So, since I was riding in a straight line, i started to overtake him on the right. Just as I did, he starts to veer on to the right. So, who's at fault ? Yes, he was right that I should have "Passed on the left". But what about the rule that "slow traffic on the right" ? Should I have had to move fro the far right into the left lane just to pass him, because he's in the middle ?

It's not easy out there, even if you start out with the best intentions.

The Trench ... or... How I Spend Sundays

This is a picture of the trench that I'm slowly digging in an effort to rid the back yard of excess rainwater. A rain garden is in the works, but it won't be enough. The trench is running down the middle of a berm, which we had to put in as part of the garage effort. It has never worked, so I'm going to level out the berm, put the trench in and channel the water out to the street. Like all of our neighbors.
If I keep going at this rate, I MIGHT have it done by August.



We have clay soil, so rainwater doesn't sink into the soil.... it just runs off. So, during the summer we have flash floods..... I took this picture last week during a storm that lasted about 1/2 hour.

Ride Your Bike to Work - Blame ZIPCAR

Entered the ZIPCAR Low Car Diet competition. Get away from your car - bikes, transit passes, etc.

Geek Award of the Day

An email with this headline floated across my in-box today.
SIM President says Worst of Recession Over

Imagine my disappointment when I read the text and learned that this is NOT a new release/ community of THE SIMS - The SIMS as Economists, but is, instead, just the President of the Society for Information Management (SIM).

I had visions of creating little economists with graphs and statistics.

Once an Economics major, always an Economics major !

Sunscreen...... A Whiter Shade of Pale

Best = Bull Frog SPF 36 SPRAY. Dries ammost instantly and doesn't seem to rub off. Drawbacks: you can TASTE it as it soaks into your skin, and you really can't spray it, because you'll end up breathing it.
Worst = Bull Frog SPF 50 lotion. Unless you're at a Halloween party as Bela Lugosi, skip this. It goes on white, doesn't soak in, rubs off, and just sits on your skin like some white grease. Might as well use zinc oxide, which at least comes in colors.
OK = Neutragena Sport Face SPF 70+. Not sure if an SPD 70+ is even possible, but at least it doesn't melt into your eyes or rub off.

Le Grand Bleu

Le Grand Bleu was in New York today. 371' long (plus or minus a foot). Launched in 2000; owned by Roman Abramovich. Depending on the reference, it's somewhere around the 17th largest yacht in the world. According to yacht blogs it's been in New York since Tuesday (2 days ago). Quite impressive - check out the tiny boats in the 2nd picture.

Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island

Took the day off and went to New Jersey/ New York to see Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty.


Both are impressive in so many ways. High points: old photos at Ellis Island, especially the ones taken in the 1980's before any restoration work was done.




Wish we could walk around the whole island(s), even if we can't go inside the buildings.


An excellent trip back in time: hard to walk outside into the sunlight and 2009.

Rain ! Hail ! No riding !

Still not riding - it has rained every day, usually right after work, for the last two weeks. Yesterday we had hail for about 20 minutes - at 5:45pm, which is exactly when I would have been on the bike trail.

On the positive side, it appears that the police have some sort of patrols (motorcycle) in Norristown, which is good. I'm just trying to find a way to keep riding and be able to deal with the security situation, without having to always ride with someone else.