ComputerCyclist.com

I have been known to like vintage bikes.  I have been riding my ‘68 Norman all around Idaho Falls.  In fact today I met up with an English three speed aficionado at the grocery store bike rack.  I have not seen many 40-50 year old three speeds in Idaho Falls but I have seen a few bikes that are even more rare.

The first was to my complete and utter amazement.  I had only seen one previously in my life…. my friend Mike Rowell had one.  The bike I am talking about is the 1994  Cannondale Delta V 1000 full suspension mountain bike.  On Wednesday evening I saw one being ridden down West 25th in Idaho Falls.

The Delta V is from the early days of full suspension mountain bikes.  I am sure if you went to the mountain bike hall of fame it would be on record as the one of the largest pieces of crap ever on two wheels.  Mike totally bought into the hype and road this thing for a season and a half before he could find a buyer… Mike is a Salesman through and through.

Mike followed up the Delta V with a very respectable Franklin Custom MTB…. Live and Learn.

The other Bike I saw this week was a Proflex 756.  Unlike the Delta V the Proflex has a loyal following.  Proflex was purchased by K2 about 12 years ago or so but they are the only company I know of that started things off with Full Suspension.  I think the first Proflex Bikes came out in the mid 80s not so different from the one pictured here.

I also had the pleasure of tuning up a colleague’s Cannondale M800 Beast of the East not too long ago. Wow seek and yee shall find… the bikes are getting dusted off and I see more and more people on my morning commutes.

ride on…

I have been too busy enjoying summer to sit at my computer when not at work….  the result is few posts to this blog.  Despite all the sage wisdom on the net that says increase blog traffic by posting, posting, posting…  This month is on track to be my best blog month in terms of visitors.   Why you ask?  The whole world is finding my blog when they conduct searched for Ford F-650 pick-up trucks.

Here is my advice… if you want traffic lead into your discussions about bikes with a web picture of a car and then take the month off from posting and have fun.

Life>>

I have been having fun at work getting back into the swing of things.  I guess I have been gone a while, yesterday my dear friend Roelof gave me a breif on one of our programs as if I was an intern.  I was actually there to assist him and assure he was on the right path…  Roelof is not the only one treating me as if I am a new guy… David has done such a good job in my abscence that there are a number of folks in support positions that know of me only by name…. that gives me a power similar to the Dread Pirate Robert’s… I can walk in unassuming into a meeting and unleash a perspective of having developed the technology over the years….

Thats all… I am having fun at work and at play…..   My next post will be a link to all the pictures of our San Juan river trip…. I promise.

To all you folks in StL we miss it there… perhaps I will return when the heat dies down.

I am back in Idaho Falls…. There is so much to write about my most fabulous vacation I do not know what to say other than…

mosquitoes, sunburn, near drownings, sprained wrist, bruised elbow, lost sunglasses, reptiles, 100 degree heat, and I still managed to have the time of my life.

I am sure Wendy will be writing extensively on her blog (link in sidebar) so check it out.

In the mean time I am calculating how I can possibly afford a raft and another trip to the Utah desert.

cheers.

I am off to Telluride, The San Jaun River, and Moab…. back in a week or so.

dafew

I got word from Telluride that Clay, Jenny, Wendy and Owen went climbing yesterday.  Let me rephrase, they went crack climbing.  Crack climbing adds significance to the story.  Even through Owen has spent 99% of his time climbing indoors… mostly as a member of St Louis’ Upper Limits Climbing Gym’s climbing team,  he has watched Parallelojams countless times and has talked of crack climbing for real.  Yesterday afforded him his first opportunity to try crack climbing out for real.  He answered the opportunity by climbing his first 5 10 route ever.

For those not familiar with the climbing rating scale, I view 5 10 as the  level that separates the climbers from the rest of us.  Wendy and I can climb  5 9s  Owen at 8 has now surpassed us and officially entered the realm reserved for true climbers.

When he finished the route he said “that [crack climbing] is my new favorite thing”.

Clay, our family’s expert climber said “that is crazy”.

Good Job Owen.

I had a great day.  It is my Friday off… for you working stiffs that aren’t on 9 hour days with every other Friday off I am sorry for your misfortune.  Today I woke up not so early as I would have liked, I loaded my Kayak on the rack I just completed building for my 1991 Toyota Pickup  (by the way, the rack is a certified work of art… ask my neighbor Herm he will vouch for my architectural genius).  With everything loaded Nellie and I headed to Palisades… after a stop at Los Albertos for a Breakfast Burrito.

The rack held up no problems whatsoever… I paddled for a few hours while Nellie relaxed on shore (admiring my kayak rack I am sure).  I am always amazed at the effect Palisades has on me… it is certainly one of the nicest areas in the country if not the world.  It has mountains, streams, the reservoir, hiking trails, all topped off with unsurpassed views of the Teton Mountains.   After my paddle Nellie and I hiked 6ish miles along Bear Creek.  It was a lot of fun too.  We had 4 knee high stream crossings that had my feet screaming in icy cold pain.  The good news is I did not loose my flip-flops.

I would have loved to have taken pictures but Wendy has hijacked my Nikon L2 camera and doesn’t show any signs of giving it back…  The Artist inside me can’t be so easily subjugated.  I made the following for all you folks in middle America to get a sense of the grandness of the kayaking at the base of the Teton Mountains.

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^      ^^
^    /   \   /       \   ^
/   \  /     \ /         \/     \
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~ ~~~~ _ __  ~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~<_()_> ~~~~~~~~~~~
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thats all.

In St Louis I rode my 1968 Norman the 1 mile to campus and back everyday… Since arriving back in Idaho I have been riding my new Lemond Poprad.  Don’t get me wrong, I am very happy with the Lemond but after two years of my morning coffee (second cup) in the saddle I longed for the leasurly ride once more.

This morning I could resist the yearning no longer.  I hopped onto the Norman for my 5 mile morning commute.  It was a nice slow ride with a stop at Harvest Bread for a cup of java (and a free slice of Pumpkin Chocolate Chip bread).  The slow ride with a stop for coffee only took 10 extra minutes… I think I found my new routine.

I love bike culture. I love the slow life.  I love the summer mornings.  I love coffee with the wind in my face. I love my old friend Norman.

D’Anjou Pears :

I went on a 43 mile ride on Sunday. You can find the route here. So I would have a couple little treats during the ride I took a couple of food items. One that went down especially well was a D’Anjou pear. Man are they yummie. The provide plenty of simple carbohydrates for boosting energy. The only tick mark in the negative column is they do not travel well. If ripened to perfection they tend to bruise quite easily. Regardless, a bruised pear beats the crap out of a PowerBar.

Speaking of bars here is my next item…

Pearson’s Nut Roll

Last summer on our ride from Durango to Moab I discovered Pearson Nut Roles. They are technically a candy bar but have plenty of carbohydrates, protien, and electrolytes (if you count sodium). Here is the nutritional information click. Unlike candy bars or more recent introduction into the granola and energy bar markets Pearson Nut Rolls do not melt… Yes they travel way better than the D’Anjou Pears. They offer the perfect combination of salt and sweetness when on a long ride. I love them, but only on long rides.

Wendy’s Rustic Loaf

I took the last 1/4 loaf of Wendy’s homemade bread… it was the best especially following the pear.

Lemond Poprad

I am still loving the bike. I have several days commuting and a few rides in on it. The ride linked above was perfect for my current fitness level. I finished just about the time I was ready to die from physical exhaustion. The Poprad climbed the 3500ish vertical feet without a problem. That is pretty good considering its lowest gear is 38 gear inches where as my mountain bike has a low gear of 27 gear inches in the middle chainring. I have been doing so much climbing that I really am debating getting a road triple chainring to compensate for my poor form. Regardless, I love the bike… my initial assessment has not changed.

Steve as wheeliebiscuit has converted his Poprad into a utility bike…. check it out
All for now…

I can’t remember what I have posted and what I have not. I found this post in my drafts folder…. It was written in mid-May from St Louis. Here you go.

I have a google alert for Bicycle Commuting. Normally I get an e-mail a day where there is a news story or google finds a blog regarding bicycle commuting. A recent example was Lance Armstrong’s bicycle commuting bike shop in downtown Austin, TX. (the website could use some work)

This month, and particularly this week I have been getting bombarded with e-mails from my google alert. May is Bicycle Month, and last week was Bike to work week. Links to a lot of stories, tips, how-tos, and equipment reviews have been included in the google alert e-mails. None of the 100’s of e-mails I received included the reason why I like commuting by bike. I like commuting by bike because it has an intimacy that is not available to people driving by car.

During the year here in St Louis, Owen and Wendy have commuted daily by bike and train. I get join there commuting world when Wendy needs a hand or as recently, my schedule lightened up enough to tag along with the two of them. I learned there are a number of people we see everyday. The our favorites include the white car going up Yale ave that is the barometer for our timeliness, the Big Bend U City Metrolink morning security guard, and Latonia the 11 year veteran crossing guard at Marshal and E. Kirkham. There are also the not-so-favorites, particularly the grumpy lady in the front of the second rail car on the 8:51 westbound train.

Aside from the people, commuting by bike puts us in tune with the weather, the sunrise and sunset, as well as the changing of seasons. Additionally, when on bicycle we can experience the gifts of nature (even in an urban setting)… just last week I passed a duck bathing in a puddle, and we saw a school of fish in Deer Creek.

The reason I like bicycle commuting is it puts me in a more intimate relationship with my surroundings. It takes me off the egocentric rush rush rush timescale of automobile travel and rewards me with personal relationships , it shows me that natural beauty still exists in urban surrounding, and it gives me a true appreciation for a sunny day.

enjoy bike to work: week, month, year, life…

I have been back in Idaho Falls for 10 days… I have already had 3 altercations with motorists. This mornings was the most puzzling. I was on my 1968 Norman 3 Speed. I had my flip-flops on, Nellie was trotting beside me on a leash, and I was in a bike lane. There was an a mini-van traveling in my direction of travel using the automobile lane (which I feel I need to point out in Idaho Falls since many motorists view the bike lane as a passing lane… I trailed the mini-van to a stop sign at a 4-way stop intersection. We both were headed straight through the intersection. As I coasted to a near stop… so close to actually being stopped that I had to put my foot down to keep balanced… the mini-van started to go straight (just like me) and then slammed on the brakes. I traveled through the intersection only to be honked at and yelled at by the passing mini-van moments later. Perhaps I surprised the driver? I don’t know but I tell you this I could not have been more casual or predictable on a bicycle…. this town is crazy… why the need to yell and scream at bike rider

Idaho Falls has a population of about 50K people. The St Louis area has about 1M people. I can’t figure out why in 10 days I am confronted with more angry motorists here than i was in 2 years in St Louis? Here is what I think…. Having been born and raised in the Midwest, when I got to St Louis I thought “these are my kind of people”. That is not saying I want to live in St Louis or the Midwest but it is saying I related to the vibe of the city… there are crazy motorist that do not yield to pedestrians in crosswalks but they are not the kind that get violent at the idea of someone riding a bike or walking.

In Idaho a Ford F150 is considered a compact vehicle. I have actually seen a Ford F-650 (as pictured) pick-up driving around town. It is no joke.
People here are so locked into driving that I can only imagine they are getting frustrated and angry at the prices of oil as well as the unbelievable traffic (Idaho falls is splitting at the seams… traffic here is worse than St Louis). It appears nobody told the Idahoans about things like Peak Oil, Environmental Impact, or how fucking absurd it is to drive a GIGANTIC truck to WalMart.

Oh, well. Midwesterners are my kind of people. I should say Missourians, Kansasites, Iowans, Wisconsinites, Minnesotans and the Illini are my kind of people… Ohio and Indiana voted for Hillary… and that is not me.

Cheers… be safe and watch my back I think and excavator is bearing down on me.

(for wendy… “Right Town” is tongue and cheek, I share you opinion of Right Town.)