Thursday, November 20, 2008
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Follow Up
So after that little fiasco of motivation a week ago I should provide an update:
I finally hauled all my mountain bike crap out and drove up to Lincoln Woods. By the time I arrived it had gotten considerably colder than I was expecting, but I managed to stay warm by riding uphill. The really scary part was riding downhill thanks to all the fallen leaves. There's always a part of the fall season after the leaves have dropped but before the trails pack out again. Well, not really pack out, but the leaves break down under tires, feet, etc. until traction is somewhat restored. As of Tuesday, November 11th, traction had not been restored. There was a 6" accumulation of nice, dry, slippery leaves on all the trails. This made it impossible to see baby heads, slick rock, mud, roots, or really anything other than leaves. Simply discerning the trail was tough most of the time. The only option was to just go with the flow, braking where possible and riding it out the rest of the time. I could tell when I was off trail by the softness of the ground. I rode a couple of my favorite trails and while I didn't fall I was really sketched out. Sad to say I decided to call it after only 45 minutes or so.
And now it's practically winter. The road rig is set up on the trainer, this year with a pad underneath the whole works. Much quieter. The mountain bike needs to go into the shop for some work on the rear brake. I've got a kinked brake line and the lever feels squishy. There might be a couple more mountain bike rides before the snow flies and the mud returns, but it's touch and go at this point. Time to get fat... er.
I finally hauled all my mountain bike crap out and drove up to Lincoln Woods. By the time I arrived it had gotten considerably colder than I was expecting, but I managed to stay warm by riding uphill. The really scary part was riding downhill thanks to all the fallen leaves. There's always a part of the fall season after the leaves have dropped but before the trails pack out again. Well, not really pack out, but the leaves break down under tires, feet, etc. until traction is somewhat restored. As of Tuesday, November 11th, traction had not been restored. There was a 6" accumulation of nice, dry, slippery leaves on all the trails. This made it impossible to see baby heads, slick rock, mud, roots, or really anything other than leaves. Simply discerning the trail was tough most of the time. The only option was to just go with the flow, braking where possible and riding it out the rest of the time. I could tell when I was off trail by the softness of the ground. I rode a couple of my favorite trails and while I didn't fall I was really sketched out. Sad to say I decided to call it after only 45 minutes or so.
And now it's practically winter. The road rig is set up on the trainer, this year with a pad underneath the whole works. Much quieter. The mountain bike needs to go into the shop for some work on the rear brake. I've got a kinked brake line and the lever feels squishy. There might be a couple more mountain bike rides before the snow flies and the mud returns, but it's touch and go at this point. Time to get fat... er.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Lazy Days
Today is Veteran's Day but shouldn't it be Veterans' Day? I mean, there were (and are) a whole bunch of vets and we should be thankful for all of 'em, not just one.
As an employee of the State of Rhode Island (at least for now...) I have the day off. I have been catching up on chores and trying to shake off the final, lingering effects of the Great International Beer Festival. I am also trying to motivate to go mountain biking but thus far I haven't been able to get out of the house. I should go. The days are short now so there's no time to ride outside after work. A day off is a gift, an opportunity to actually participate in cycling as nature intended instead of inside on a trainer. But it's cold. The leaves are down so the trails are super slick. I think I might be getting sick. Waaaaaaaaaa.
Get it together, man! I rode in Groton a week ago and had a grand old time despite getting my first flat of the season. I think that might be a record. I don't remember the last time I got a flat tire. That's neither here nor there. Point is, I went for a ride and it was fun. Today can also be fun if I could only get off the couch. Bah.
Thursday, November 06, 2008
And one more election related thing...
Out there in California (say it like the Governator does... come on...) the voters passed Proposition 8, which defines marriage as between a man and a woman. In so doing, it deprives gay people a basic right enjoyed by heterosexual people, namely the right to get married.
Will somebody please explain to me how "The Institution of Marriage" is threatened by gay people wanting to get in on it? Look, Mr. & Mrs. Hetero Redneck, your marriage sucks because you're stupid and because you procreated when you shouldn't have, not because of a bunch of gay people getting married somewhere. Get over it. But maybe there's some semantic argument that I don't understand.
The closest I've been able to get to understanding this asinine situation is something like this: When I got my Masters Degree I was proud of it. But then I thought, "You know, that girl Elizabeth also got a Master's Degree from the same program. She's an idiot. I wonder if that cheapens my own degree?" And for a moment I was sad. But then I realized that the world will quickly figure out that Elizabeth is dumb and it will take care of itself. She'll get elected governor of Alaska or something. Anyway, I decided that my degree, and along with it my own personality and intelligence, stands on its own. Just because an idiot has the same degree I have doesn't make me an idiot. So I stopped worrying. Hetero rednecks should stop worrying. Gay people getting married doesn't make anybody else gay or cheapen anybody else's marriage. Everybody is free to either succeed or fail in whatever they try and it'll all work out.
Will somebody please explain to me how "The Institution of Marriage" is threatened by gay people wanting to get in on it? Look, Mr. & Mrs. Hetero Redneck, your marriage sucks because you're stupid and because you procreated when you shouldn't have, not because of a bunch of gay people getting married somewhere. Get over it. But maybe there's some semantic argument that I don't understand.
The closest I've been able to get to understanding this asinine situation is something like this: When I got my Masters Degree I was proud of it. But then I thought, "You know, that girl Elizabeth also got a Master's Degree from the same program. She's an idiot. I wonder if that cheapens my own degree?" And for a moment I was sad. But then I realized that the world will quickly figure out that Elizabeth is dumb and it will take care of itself. She'll get elected governor of Alaska or something. Anyway, I decided that my degree, and along with it my own personality and intelligence, stands on its own. Just because an idiot has the same degree I have doesn't make me an idiot. So I stopped worrying. Hetero rednecks should stop worrying. Gay people getting married doesn't make anybody else gay or cheapen anybody else's marriage. Everybody is free to either succeed or fail in whatever they try and it'll all work out.
Keith Olberman doesn't like Prop 8 either...
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
At last!
In keeping with the theme of good things happening at long last: Barack Obama will become the 44th President of the United States! It feels good knowing that I will no longer have to cringe every time our President opens his mouth...On the local level, things are a little shaken up but it remains to be seen what the implications will be. We did, however, pass both the Transportation Bond and the Open Space Bond proposals. In tough times it's hard to sell the idea of taking on more debt but these are both necessary bonds as they are local match for federal dollars. The Transportation Bond, in particular, is important because it will allow the construction of the commuter rail station down at TF Green (pic from Projo, although this is more a rendering of the skybridge connecting the parking lot/station in the bottom left to the terminal in the upper right):
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