Dear Shimano

Photo courtesy of Velo News. Only they don't know it.

Dear Shimano:

I'm a huge fan. Huge. As such, I wanted to let you know how much I am looking forward to paying significantly more for my bicycle components once your new 11-speed Dura-Ace "groop-oh" hits the market. I am also looking forward to having to replace the soon-to-be more-expensive chains and cassettes more often than I did with the 10-speed stuff. Which of course, was more expensive and much less durable than the 9-speed stuff. (9-speed DA: the Apex of modern drive train performance, in my opinion.)  I'm sure all the extra money I spend on maintenance and parts with be worth the imperceptible improvement in my cycling performance. 

Actually I'm kidding. You almost had me with Ultegra Di2, but I'm sticking with Sram. 

Best

-sean b.

 

F'n Craigslist Nazis

I can fix a bicycle. I have lots of experience. 15 years, in fact. So, I thought I'd offer services to people who need tune ups. A fun side job for me, and I can save people a few bucks on labor, and I offer conveniences such as pick-up and delivery.

Well what better place to advertise my services than Craigslist? Well of course, no sooner than I put up an ad in the "Bikes" section, some ass-hat flags my ad and it gets removed.

Why?

I understand that you're not supposed to offer services in the "For Sale" section of Craigslist. I get that. But for many other services that might apply to things in the "For Sale" section, there are other options for people to offer such services. For instance, there is indeed, the "Services" section. But there is no "Bicycle" option in said "Services" section, as there is for, say, "Financial Services," or services for "Cycles."

"Cycles," as in motorcycles.

So what's the big fuckin' deal? I offered a tune up for your bike in the "Bikes for Sale" section. Well, thanks for setting me straight, Craigslist Nazi. Lesson learned. You win.

USPS Selle San Marco Era Saddles Are With $70 On Ebay, I Guess

Earlier I noted I was selling a NOS Selle San Marco United States Postal Service Era saddle on the Ebay. Well, it sold. For $71.00, U.S. + shipping. Not bad. I put a buy-it-now price of $100.00, seeing, but not expecting, if there'd be any takers at that price. I figured with what used Selle Italia Flite saddles are going for these days, I might get a similar deal on the Era, which I did. Sweet. So, if you're looking for something along these lines, I wouldn't pay much more than $75.00 for a NOS, or slightly-used Era saddle. Flite saddles are another story. They're worth their weight in gold, in my opinion. Though I guess I still wouldn't pay more than $75 for one. But that's just me.

Tasties at Azul Tequila

The wife and I are quite lucky to have excellent neighbors. When we moved here last August, one neighbor brought a list of things to do and places to eat and drink in Eau Claire. We've slowly been ticking eating and drinking places off that list ever since. We're able to get out about once a week for a couple hours sans children, so we try to hit up a local happy hour, or dining establishment. This week, it was Azul Tequila over on London Road. Being fans, as many folks are, of Margaritas, and being that there's a lot of Margarita weather these days, we decided it was time.

First off, they have a BO-GO (buy one, get one) on the Margaritas, which I think runs Monday through Thursday during their happy hours. Awesome, right? The wife and I could each have one, for the price of one. We both ordered basic lime Margs, on the rocks. We're somewhat traditionalists in that sense. The drinks were well-made, if not a bit too sweet for our tastes, but certainly up-to-par with, if not tastier, than most restaurant mix-made margaritas.

To the complementary chips and salsa, we added a side of guacamole and tried a couple things off the a la carte menu: a tostada with shredded chicken, and a tamale. I was a little disappointed that the tamale didn't come still wrapped in a corn husk, but it was nonetheless tasty. The tostada was also basic, fresh and tasty. No frills, but none were needed. The chicken was tender and flavorful, the tortilla and lettuce were crisp. Each a la carte item was $2.50, and with the BO-GO margs, our bill was only $12.50. Pretty decent deal, if you ask me, especially considering the a la carte items are pretty sizable. Along with the chips and salsa, we more than got our fill. 

The service was very friendly, and though it may take a while as there are still a lot of other places for us to sample, we'll get back there for more margaritas soon.

Tuesday Night Spring Street Sports Ride

Tuesday I ventured up to Spring Street Sports to check out their Tuesday night ride. I'd heard this was a sprint ride, so I mentally prepared myself for pain. Turns out, the ride wasn't that difficult. Of course, any ride like this is only as hard on yourself as you make it. I kind of just took my pulls in the pace line, followed some wheels, and relied on couple riders who were very friendly and helped me out by letting me know when and where sprints were coming. But I'm still not in very good shape. At least not in shape enough to compete with the faster riders on this particular ride.

I'd give this ride a solid B. Though I appreciated the rest between sprints due to my out-of-shapeness, there was still a little too much lolly-gagging for my tastes. Especially for a Tuesday night ride. But everyone was very friendly, and really seemed to know how to handle themselves in a group ride setting, which is always nice. There was a nice mix of ages, too, which is also always nice. Plenty of savvy vets, like myself, and some newer, younger riders, too. Always nice to see young'ns out at the group rides.

I think this will end up being my once-weekly group ride for the rest of the season. Wednesday's ride is equally as fun, but it's demeanor is different. It's more slow and social, which is excellent; I love those kinds of rides. But I'm looking for a bit more of a workout than I get on that ride. Plus, riding from Eau Claire to Chippewa and back to do this ride gives me an extra hour and a half of pedaling. Which for me, and my limited weekly ride time is an added bonus.

Cue Sheets

Stems: They're not just for holding together the front of your bike anymore. I've been doing this a lot for my bicycle explorations around Eau Claire. I write up a little cue sheet and tape it to my stem. It's a simple way to keep track of where you're going if you don't know your way around. Every once in a while I get lost due to lack of a street sign, or a non bicycle-friendly dirt road, but that's what smart phones are for. You just have to hope you get reception when you do get lost.

If You Can't Ride Your Bike Maybe You Should Drive One of These

This past weekend the in-laws came to visit. Fortunately for me, I'm one of the lucky husbands who actually enjoys a visit from the in-laws. Plus, the twins really love their mom's parents. It's amazing, in fact, how much they seem to love being around them. What are me and the wife, chopped liver? Anyway, the father-in-law is the proud new owner of a new Chevy Volt Electric Car, and let me tell you, these things are frickin' cool.

As you can see, it's really a sporty little vehicle, and it rides nice, too. I was perhaps most surprised by how quickly the car was able to accelerate. I've heard electric motors can generate more torque than gas motors of similar size, and they don't have to shift gears, either. It's a little odd when you stomp on the gas and the car just keeps accelerating without the usual dips from shifting. Of course, it's silent, too. You can barely hear the thing pull into the driveway.

They actually run on just electricity in the city, and they have a range of about 35 miles on the battery. Then, if you need it to, the car automatically switches to a gasoline motor. We charged it during their visit by simply plugging the charger into a standard wall outlet in my garage. Very convenient.

The interior was totally plush, and more roomy than I thought, too. Anyway, it was a pretty fun little car. I came away very impressed.

Now back to your regularly scheduled bike/dad/Eau Claire bloggings.

For Sale: Selle San Marco Era USPS Saddle

Over on Ebay, we've got a nice saddle that's never been ridden. It's a Selle San Marco Era saddle that came new on a 2001 Trek USPS replica 5200. It could be a collectible item for the right person, or some one else just may happen to like Era saddles and be in need  of a blue one. I always say that if you can't be fast, you should look fast, and maybe all you need at this moment to look just a little bit faster, is a nice blue saddle. It matches your frame. And your eyes, I'm sure. Did I mention it's never been ridden?

If you're local and you want to buy it, let me know. I'll cut you a deal. Or you can join the excitement of the bidding process. It's up to you. Whichever the case may be, check out the saddle, here. Oh, and it has magnesium (or is it "manganese?" I don't know.) rails.

Bicycling in Eau Claire is Awesome. Period.

I really enjoy riding my bicycle, in case you couldn't tell. And since moving to Eau Claire last fall, I'm astounded by the quality of the road riding here. I'm also astounded that I never see anyone else riding when I head out for a ride. I know that people here ride, as evidenced by the 30-or-so people who showed up for the Wednesday evening ride I did last week. But of all the riding I've been doing since early March, there have been very few instances during which I've seen other cyclists out enjoying the great network of back roads available to them around Eau Claire.

Back in Appleton, I almost never did a ride during which I didn't see at least one other solo rider or group of riders. Day or time doesn't matter over there, people are always out riding. And the roads aren't half as interesting there. (Sorry Fox Valley...) Though, maybe all that riding they do over there explains why they're so damn fast. (Sorry Chippewa Valley...)

I won't even get in to how awesome the mountain biking is in Eau Claire. At least not yet.

Moving on...

Today I chose another route via The Googley Mappings and like last weekend, was unsuccessful in completing my intended ride. But also like last weekend, it didn't really matter. The weather was too beautiful to not enjoy running out of time and getting a little bit lost, as you can see from the photo above. Plus, I learned some new roads.

I headed pretty much straight east this time because I thought that's where the wind was coming from. Turns out, I was wrong. The wind was coming from the south-east-ish. It was a light wind though, so it didn't really matter too much. I rode along Lake Altoona's North Shore Drive and several times I thought I was back in Bellingham, Washington, riding along Lake Whatcom's North Shore Drive. In a lot of ways, the riding here reminds me of the riding I did in Washington. There are no mountains, of course, but there are a lot of evergreens; waterways and lakes; quiet, but bumpy roads; and it's hilly here, too; I always seem to be crossing over a ridge. I do miss seeing the mountains, but I'll take not having to ride in the rain as a trade-off.

They Forgot Reason Number 10 To Not Ride Your Bike to Work

There's a  superfun article currently being passed around on the interwebbings entitled 9 Reasons Why You Shouldn't Ride to Work. It's pretty gol-dang funny and it lets you know in a satyrical way that you really shouldn't worry about all those things you worry about that keep you from riding your bike to work. But I must point out that they left off a tenth, and to me, most obvious reason to not ride your bike to work.

Reason number 1o to not ride your bike to work: A huge tree will fall on your car and crush it.

True story: When I lived in Seattle, I worked in a bikeshop that featured two locations. One of which was in Seattle's Montlake neighborhood, the other of which was on the other side of Lake Washington in a ritzy little town called Kirkland. I lived in the U-District and worked at the Kirkland location. Not long after I landed the gig, I scoped out a commuting route that took me around the top end of Lake Washington and dropped me right smack-dab into downtown Kirkland. It was a 20-miles-each-way commute, but I loved it. I was a "bike racer" then, and I never had to "train." I just rode to work and back each day. There was a shower at the shop, so I just made sure to show up a half-hour early so I could get cleaned up and perform proper maintaintance before we opened.

One particularly windy day I made it home after a tough, wet commute, and my girlfriend-at-the-time-since-turned-wife-since-turned-mother-of-my-children was quite upset. After some consoling from me, and some down-calming on her part, she revealed to me the source of her troubles: the wind had blown down a tree. This particular tree happened to be rooted in the ground directly behind where I had parked my Honda Accord several days before. She was quite upset and worried about my car's transportive capabilities regarding it getting me to work and back.

To me, aside from having to get the car towed and deal with the insurance company, it wasn't really a problem. In fact, I thought is was funny in an I-can't-believe-this-actually-happened sort of way. No one was injured, I had insurance, my girlfriend-at-the-time-since-turned-wife-since-turned-mother-of-my-children also had a Honda Accord, and we both hardly ever drove anyway. 

Several weeks later, after the car was fixed, I found a Seattle police officer's card stuffed in a crease in the back seat. There was a note on the back that said, matter-of-factly, in neat hand-writing, "A tree fell on your car." She'd tossed it in through the busted rear window, apparently. And apparently her promotion to Captain Obvious was right around the corner.

Of all the things I miss about living in Seattle, I can honestly say that my bicycle commute is tops on the list. Even though it caused a tree to fall on my car.

So, despite the high likelihood of a tree falling on your car, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend that you commute to work on your bicycle. It's fun and invigorating, and these days, it'll save you a heckuva lot of greenbacks. 

Do it. 

Wedsenday Night Overdrive Cycling Club Ride in Eau Claire

Tonight I checked out the Wednesday night Overdrive Cycling Club ride. I had looked on their website and seen someone had posted a 5:30 departure from Fairfax Park. So I showed up on time and ready to ride, but there were only two older gentlemen there. I got this erie vibe -- I thought for sure that it was only a matter of minutes befor someone showed up on a recumbent. I wanted to go home. I was scared.
Not that there's anything wrong with old dudes -- I'm no spring chicken myself -- but I just got a troubling sensation in my chamois. It should be noted, though, there is something wrong with recumbents.

Anyway, I digress.

Unbeknownst to me the ride was actually set to leave at 6:00, and after while a couple people showed that I knew and I felt a whole-lot better. We headed out south of town on County F and meandered out to II ("Double Eye"), then to County B, and kind of back and forth over whatever ridge that is right there. For the first three-fourths of the ride, it was your basic Sluggo ride, except squirrelly.  No matter, it was still fun. Maybe "squirrelly" isn't the right word. The ride just required a bit more attention to one's fellow riders than I might have expected. Perhaps it was the hills. They tend to bunch people on the way up, and encourage free-wheeling shenanigans on the way down. Who can blame anyone for such tom-foolery?

That last quarter of the ride was balls out. A sweet pace line, during which my crotchety, paceline-loving, groupride-snobby self only had to yell at one person for not pulling through. Seriously. Just pull through, and someone will pull through for you.

I give the ride a solid B. We could've used a little more discipline while cruising, perhaps a bit more rotation at the front, for example, and I could've done without having to yell at a dude for not pulling through. But it was still a heckuva ride. I will do it again. I will say this, though: it lacked a beer swill at the end, and yes, I shaved off some points for that. Though that may have been my own fault, as I hear tell folks sometimes gather at a nearby watering hole after the ride. Next time.

One last note-worthy item was the dude riding the Trek 4300(?) with a clapped out suspension fork, the size sticker still on the seat tube, and full-on nobbies, pulling through time and again during the last balls-out quarter of the ride. What a bad-ass! There are some who call him, "Tim?" I hear. What an inspiration! Come to think of it, this one whom some call, "Tim?" was on the front when the guy I yelled at wouldn't pull through! Awesome!! This one whom there are some that call,"Tim?" is my new hero.

Tim?, here's to you:

The Albany Roads Southwest of Eau Claire

Was it Google's fault, or my own?

Last Saturday, I mapped out a ride on El Olde Googley Machine. This is always a crapping shoot for me because, despite the presence of a scale in the bottom right corner of a Googley map, I always pick rides that are too long for the amount of time I have. Last weekend was no different. What I'd hope to be a nice big three-hour loop on my new Maveek Ksyrium SR's was instead a two hour, forty-five-minute, out-and-back. No problem, it was a beautiful day.

Well, one problem.

I headed southwest to the Albany roads. I had noted that I wanted to turn on Albany N. Or was it M? My writing was pretty unclear. Well, as it turns out, Albany M from County H ends in a sand alley. Way too mushy for road bike tires. So I turned back to H, figuring what I meant to write was "N," not, "M." Or maybe I had actually written "N" sloppily and it just sort of looked like an "M." Who knows. I made the right onto Albany N and was rewarded with an awesome climb up into some woodsey-type areas. Alas, by the time I made it to the top, I was an hour and a half from home. I had to turn back, leaving the rest of my planned route for another day.

Where is my sense of adventure, you ask? With 21-month old twins at home, when a man says he'll be gone for three hours, he'd better be gone three hours. Or less. Certainly not more. So, I turned back, heading northeast to Eau Claire, and since I was smart and had chosen the southwest route due to where the wind was coming from, I rode a tailwind all the way home. Hence the 15-minutes shorter return trip along the same route. That, and I also knew where I was going on the way in.
Oh, and it was all my fault, not knowing where I was going. Not the Googley's. Obviously.

The Googley never makes mistakes.

Never.

Ever.

(Originally Posted by me elsewhere on 4/18/12)

New Fancy-pants Maveek Wheels

Got some new wheels a few days ago from a friend of mine at The Ye Olde Maveek Bicycling Wheels Company. Ksyrium SR's. Very nice-looking on the Mattioli RR, which is produced by a friend of mine at The Ye Olde Mattioli Push Bicycles Company. These SR's have the R-sys spokes on the rear wheel, which actually smoothes out the ride quite a bit. Most importantly, though, they look sweet.

(Originally posted elsewheres by me on 4/12/12)

Sold The Raleigh One Way

This evening I sold my Raleigh One Way, of 2007 vintage. A great little single-speed made of 4130 chro-mo featuring cantilever brakes and a flip-flop rear hub so the bike can be run as a fixxie if the new owner so desires. My favorite part on this bike, for some reason, was the Vittoria Randonneur tires with the reflective sidewall. 700 x 38's they are. A great tire for commuting and just bumming around town. A great bike, in fact, for those same purposes. And superfun to ride, to boot. I will miss this bike. (Originally posted on ecbikemedic on 4/11/12)