Tag: Biking

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Vital Statistics

Got the verdict from my mechanic last night: 400 dollars if he only has to replace one valve. Add another hundred if I want to get my heater fixed. Tina and I already decided that we wouldn’t put more than 400 into it, so it’s sayonara to my old truck. I tried to give it to my mechanic, but he said he’s already got too many “projects” sitting around at his house. I’ll probably try Craigslist or I may donate it. I’ve considered taking the sucker apart and trying to fix it myself, but I’d probably have to pay to have it towed then.

Yesterday I spotted a replacement candidate on my ride to work. It’s a four-wheel drive, late 70’s/early 80’s old Ford. The sign in the window says $1800, I think. I wrote down the phone number this morning and will have more info about it soon. A sign in the passenger window claimed it had a recently rebuilt engine and a new clutch and something else I don’t remember. I think older cars are simpler to maintain but I could be wrong. Let me know what you think.

For the second day in a row, there was a FedEx truck blocking the bike lane outside my office. This time the guy was inside, so I stopped and politely asked him to please park closer to the curb so as not to block the bike lane. He said he would try but it’s hard when it’s a tight squeeze. I thanked him and left.

Bike odometer: 5983 miles
Current reading: Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing, 9-11 by Noam Chomsky
McCartney Trivia: “I like writing sad songs, it’s a good bag to get into because you can actually acknowledge some deeper feelings of your own and put them in it. It’s a good vehicle, it saves having to go to a psychiatrist.” – Paul
Recent listening: Lifted or The Story Is In The Soil, Keep Your Ear To The Ground, De-Loused in the Comatorium, Throw Down Your Arms, Has Been, Science Friday, KBOO Bike Show
Recent viewing: Countdown, Sportscenter, CSI: Miami
Recent playing: Poker Room
Recently Accomplished: Got most of the tax materials together, dropped van off for repair
Imperative To Do: Taxes, lube bike, fix bike fender, fix bike pedal, buy a truck
Cool link: Rate My Professors: Every school in America is listed. Find your favorite prof and rate them.

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Vital Statistics

Bike odometer: 5966 miles
Current reading: Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now by Barry Miles, 9-11 by Noam Chomsky
McCartney Trivia: Most Lennon/McCartney songs were composed before going into the studio. One exception to that rule is “Birthday”, which started with Paul jamming at an upright piano. It was not written for anybody in particular.
Recent listening: NPR Story of the Day, DrugMusic, Throw Down Your Arms
Recent viewing: The Henry Rollins Show, Saturday Night Live, World Poker Tour, Nova
Recent playing: Poker Room
Recently Accomplished: Sunday To Do
Imperative To Do: Call John Mechanic, gather tax materials, lube bike
Cool link: LaLa: CD trading website with a great UI. Each trade costs $1 plus shipping which is about 60 cents with the free envelopes they send you.

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Sunday To Do

    Completed 

  1. Finished entering CDs into LaLa
  2. Called John the Mechanic (quote not ready)
  3. Send CDs for LaLa trades
  4. iTunes maintenance
  5. Grocery shopping
  6. Fix a computer for Thomas
  7. Haircut
    Not done 

  1. Get all tax materials together
  2. Quicken: pay bills and put receipts in
  3. Coordinate weed pulling with Thomas
  4. Clean bike
  5. Put 24 on a DVD
  6. Buy lug nut wrench
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Vital Statistics

Bike odometer: 5953 miles
Current reading: Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now by Barry Miles, 9-11 by Noam Chomsky
McCartney Trivia: Ringo “quit” the Beatles for two weeks during the making of the White Album. While Ringo mulled his future on Peter Sellers’ yacht, the other Beatles continued recording “Back in the USSR” and “Dear Prudence” with Paul on drums. When Ringo returned, he found his drum kit wreathed in flowers with a large “Welcome Back” sign.
Recent listening: Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me, Science Friday, NPR Story of the Day
Recent viewing: Suns vs. Clippers, Mean Girls, Saw, Final Four
Recent playing: Poker Room
Recently Accomplished: cleaned and lubed bike, vacuumed house, entertained the Bartons, started taxes
Imperative To Do: Buy lug nut wrench and jack for van, finish taxes, figure out what to do about the truck
Cool link: Boot Camp: Apple released beta software to let you boot Windows on your Intel Mac. It will be included in their next OS version which is code-named “Leopard”.

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Parallel Parker in the Bike Lane

What a great day for riding Friday! No rain and sunny. I even took off my long sleeve shirt for the second part of the ride. Unfortunately, my perfect ride was ruined by a perfect asshole driver. As I made my way uphill on Broadway towards Alder (the very last block of my ride to work), a car cut into the bike lane and stopped directly in front of me. The driver signalled to parallel park and there was a spot immediately to my right. Traffic was dense to my left and there was not enough room for me to pass her on the right. Also, in downtown Portland, it is illegal to ride on the sidewalk. I stopped and considered the situation.

Having been a victim of the right hook before (numerous times but I last wrote about it here), I made a decision to try to inform this driver of her illegal actions. Thus, I waited for the bike lane to become unobstructed or for the driver to get out to discuss the situation. Of course, I was preventing her from completing her parking maneuver, but I thought I had the right of way, so I waited.

Soon the passenger opened her door, got out and walked past me to survey the parking spot. Evidently satisfied with its suitability, she approached me and proceeded to yell at me for being in the way. I ignored her until she asked if I would move, to which I replied that I was waiting for them to do precisely the same thing. Furthermore, I explained that she was illegally blocking the bike lane creating a hazardous traffic situation. This made her madder and she yelled some more.

Soon, a meter maid happened by and queried the passenger about the situation. She complained about the presence of a biker in the bike lane and requested that the meter maid do something about it. She asked me my side of the story and I gave it to her, adding that I was just waiting for them and would she be writing them a ticket for illegally stopping in a bike lane? “No, she wouldn’t,” she said, “because they have a right to cross the bike lane in order to get to the parking spot.” I pointed out that they had gone beyond that and were actually stopped in the bike lane and blocking bike traffic. She requested that I back up to which I asked if she would make the same request of a car in the street. She said yes, but her eyes said no. My requests for what exactly the law had to say on the matter fell on deaf ears and soon she walked away and started muttering into the radio she carried with her. This was a bit alarming.

Since I was starting to doubt whether I was on the right side of the law, when I noticed that another car had tried to pull into the disputed parking space, I took the opportunity to take my leave on foot via the sidewalk. As I walked away, the meter maid had some more choice words to which my response was to get her identification number.

When I got to my office, I looked out the window to the scene below where it had happened (yes, right underneath my window). The two women were still talking to the meter maid but there was no sign of the cops. The meter maid was writing something down as the ladies talked, but I have no idea what it was. The cops never did show.

Out of curiousity, I checked my handbook of Oregon biking laws. It is quite unequivocal about the fact that cars must always yield to bicycles in the bike lane. Always.

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Vital Statistics

I love The West Wing. I love being able to have an hour where I can be inspired by what can be great about our country and get away from what is wrong with it now. I love the intelligence and the incredible competence demonstrated by the characters on the show. I love the thoughtfulness and depth which are given to the issues. I love the complexity and the shades of gray that show even though we all want it to be black and white. I love the humanity. I’m going to be sad to see it end in a few weeks because there’s really no other place I can get that.

Bad news on the vehicle front: it “only” cost $200 to replace the motor mounts, but the engine is still jiggling like crazy. It seems that one of the valves is “burnt” (according to the mechanic who fixed the motor mounts) and causing the engine to vibrate violently, which is what broke the mounts. One of the guys in the shop (not the mechanic) gave me an estimate of $500-600 to fix the valve. I’m pretty sure I now regret getting the head gasket fixed last year. Although I instructed them to specifically to fix the mounts, it miffs me a bit that they fixed them knowing that the root problem was still there. Am I unreasonable to think that they should have warned me about this before expending my $200?

Update: Stopped at the shop on my way to work to discuss the burnt valve repair with a mechanic. The guy last night did the estimate wrong: it will be $738 at a minimum and more if they have to replace any valves. I’ll call our regular mechanic tonight and see what he says, but it looks like we’ll be getting a new truck soon.

Bike odometer: 5886 miles
Current reading: Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now by Barry Miles, 9-11 by Noam Chomsky
McCartney Trivia: While they were at the Maharishi’s, John wrote “Dear Prudence” for Mia Farrow’s sister, Prudence, who had locked herself in her cabin. Evidently, she had meditated for too long and was in a near catatonic state and refused to come out. John sang the song with his guitar outside her door and she eventually came out.
Recent listening: KBOO Bike Show
Recent viewing: The West Wing, Brainiac, Conviction, The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, World Poker Tour
Recently Accomplished: Motor mounts fixed, Quicken receipts
Recent playing: Frogger Adventure (on GameBoy Advanced SP)
Imperative To Do: Buy lug nut wrench and jack for van, start taxes, figure out what to do about the truck
Cool link: John Lennon Playboy Interview (1981)

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Vital Statistics

Did you catch the latest episode of South Park? Hilarious, symbolic and powerful. Sophomoric humor with an intelligent message buried underneath. The perfect smackdown to both Isaac Hayes and Scientology. South Park-2, Scientology-0.

Bike odometer: 5869 miles
Current reading: Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now by Barry Miles, 9-11 by Noam Chomsky
McCartney Trivia: “We were fed up with being the Beatles. We really hated that fucking four little mop-tops boys approach. We were not boys, we were men. It was all gone, all that boy shit, all that screaming, we didn’t want any more, plus, we’d now got turned on to pot and thought of ourselves as artists rather than just performers.” – Paul on the Beatles’ state of mind in 1966
Recent listening: Lifted or The Story Is In The Soil, Keep Your Ear To The Ground, DrugMusic,
Strange Little Girls, Mexican Standoff, KBOO Bike Show, Somebody’s Miracle
Recent viewing: NCAA regional semi-finals and finals, Brainiac, South Park
Recently Accomplished: Grocery shopping, paid bills, Metroid Prime: Level 1
Recent playing: Poker Room, Halo, Metroid Prime, Grand Turismo
Imperative To Do: Get motor mounts fixed on truck, buy lug nut wrench and jack for van, start taxes
Cool link: Lake Peigneur: The Swirling Vortex of Doom

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Vital Statistics

Despite the moderate headwind that I rode into this morning, I had an absolutely great ride to work. The sun was shining and the roads were not wet. We had a downpour a little while ago, but the sun is out again. I hope it lasts.

Bike odometer: 5862 miles
Current reading: Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now by Barry Miles, 9-11 by Noam Chomsky
McCartney Trivia: Although “Norwegian Wood” was mostly John’s idea, Paul contributed the ending to the story of infidelity. Although you might read “So, I lit a fire, isn’t it good, Norwegian Wood” as the teller just making himself at home, Paul intended it to mean that he burned the girl’s place down and left.
Recent listening: Lifted or The Story Is In The Soil, Keep Your Ear To The Ground, De-Loused in the Comatorium, Frances the Mute, Crooked Fingers
Recent viewing: Sportscenter, Gonzaga vs. UCLA, LSU vs. Duke, The Office, My Name Is Earl
Recent playing: Poker Room
Imperative To Do: Get motor mounts fixed on truck, buy lug nut wrench and jack for van, start taxes
Cool link: Not Ready To Make Nice: The Dixie Chicks kick off their new album release with a song about all the attention they got for declaring the President to be shameful. Check out the press release – Rick Rubin produced!

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Vital Statistics

I loaded all of my Beatles onto my iPod last week so I could refer directly to any song when I was reading about it in the McCartney book. Last night I was reading about “Penny Lane” and I whipped out the iPod because I couldn’t remember the first verse. How shocked I was to find that I don’t have “Penny Lane”! I ordered Magical Mystery Tour as soon as I got home. That’s a hole that has been in my CD collection much too long.

Bike odometer: 5851 miles
Current reading: Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now by Barry Miles, 9-11 by Noam Chomsky
McCartney Trivia: “Penny Lane” was written mostly by McCartney about the same time that John was writing “Strawberry Fields Forever.” Both are nostalgic reminiscences of their time together 10 years before in Liverpool. Penny Lane was the name of a bus stop where they would often wait. There was a bank and a barber shop close by. The barber shop had pictures of the different cuts they offered (not “of every head he’s had the pleasure to know”). The fire station is down the road from the Penny Lane Roundabout.
Recent listening: Revolver, Back Track, Rubber Soul
Recent viewing: CSI: Miami, Monk, Sportscenter, Brainiac
Recently Accomplished: work
Imperative To Do: Get motor mounts fixed on truck, buy lug nut wrench and jack for van, start taxes
Cool link: Apocalypse Pooh: Make sure you watch at least half of it before deciding it’s boring. It’s a little slow to start but is hilarious later. If you haven’t seen Apocalypse Now, don’t bother with this link until you have. Say by tomorrow.

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Vital Statistics

Woke up this morning to a flat tire on the van. Tina drove Thomas to school in the truck (otherwise known as “Old Shakey”) while I attempted to change the tire. After searching inside and outside the van for several minutes, I concluded that we had neither a jack nor a lug wrench. Evidently they had been burgled during one of the break-ins we’ve had. So when Tina got back with the truck, I used the jack and wrench from it. Unfortunately, the wrench was the wrong size and Tina had to call a neighbor to borrow one from them. Ten minutes later the spare is on and I’m waiting for everyone to open so I can get the tire fixed and buy a jack and lug nut wrench. While I’m at it, I suppose I’ll get an estimate on the motor mounts for the truck.
Update: Had to wait over an hour to get the tire fixed but they did it for free. No time for motor mounts or purchasing.

Bike odometer: 5818 miles
Current reading: Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now by Barry Miles, 9-11 by Noam Chomsky
Recent viewing: March Madness (all caught up)
Recent playing: Poker Room
Recently Accomplished: changed a flat
Imperative To Do: Get tire fixed on van, get motor mounts fixed on truck, buy lug nut wrench and jack for van
Cool link: Bizarre Optical Illusion