I tried to squeeze in a little pre-work ride. There's a 16-18 mile loop from my doorstep that starts with rolling hills and peaks in the middle with a 0.9 mile climb. After the climb you roll around the top of the lollipop, more rollers and climb home.
Well, at the base of the climb, I downshift and the right shifter feels a little funny. As I am looking down my rear derailleur is slowly working its way down the cog stack...something was broken. First I thought is was something in the shifter (it is getting old) but after further inspection it was the shift cable. Somehow the cable frayed inside of the shifter leaving the little head in the shifter and the cable dangling on the bike. This also left me with only two gears, a hard one and a really hard one. I wasn't going to be making the 0.9 mile climb to the top. I turned around and was able to get home okay but it's just part of my streak of breaking things over the last few days. I don't really understand...my Karma points should be positive, maybe I'm just having a bad run.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Thursday, May 24, 2007
GoPro??
I saw these guys at Sea Otter last month but never got around to actually checking out the camera. The website has some really nice photos and video but I don't know how legit this thing really is. For $140 it's a lot cheaper than the separate helmet cam options. Also, you don't have to drag a video camera around in a camelbak. I don't know if the videos are any good but it would be pretty sweet to carry around and get some awesome downhill footage!
The pictures are supposed to be 3 MPixls and the video resolution is 640x480. It won't be the same quality as The Collective...but neither is the riding!
The pictures are supposed to be 3 MPixls and the video resolution is 640x480. It won't be the same quality as The Collective...but neither is the riding!
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
My Good Deed for the Day
I was driving in to work today when I saw a guy walking a road bike. I see kids walking bikes all of the time but this guy looked like a commuter, backpack and all. After a quick glance I saw that his rear tire was flat, so I ran through the options in my head...
Do I have a spare tube (nope, I haven't even ridden a road bike in a while)
Floor pump (nope, I took it out of the car last weekend during the MTB race, it's sitting on my porch)
Then I realized that I had a roof rack. I was almost at work, but I figured the least I could do was see if this guy needed a ride. I pulled over into the turning lane and walked back down the sidewalk and asked him if he needed a ride. He was going to walk the last mile to his job but when he saw I had a roof rack I think he felt comfortable taking me up on the ride. I put his Cannondale on the roof, took him about a mile down the road to work, then I was on my way.
It's funny how I consider myself a "rider" but I rarely ride to work. This guy rides to work 7.5 miles one-way spring, summer and fall. I like to think I am hard-core but I always find excuses to not ride. Maybe I'll ride in tomorrow...and maybe I'll see that guy on the road!
Do I have a spare tube (nope, I haven't even ridden a road bike in a while)
Floor pump (nope, I took it out of the car last weekend during the MTB race, it's sitting on my porch)
Then I realized that I had a roof rack. I was almost at work, but I figured the least I could do was see if this guy needed a ride. I pulled over into the turning lane and walked back down the sidewalk and asked him if he needed a ride. He was going to walk the last mile to his job but when he saw I had a roof rack I think he felt comfortable taking me up on the ride. I put his Cannondale on the roof, took him about a mile down the road to work, then I was on my way.
It's funny how I consider myself a "rider" but I rarely ride to work. This guy rides to work 7.5 miles one-way spring, summer and fall. I like to think I am hard-core but I always find excuses to not ride. Maybe I'll ride in tomorrow...and maybe I'll see that guy on the road!
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Poker with the big boys
It seems that all you have to do is look. I play poker very recreationally with a few people from work and a couple of friends. I have done a little reading but it's very hard to get all of the subtle nuances of poker when you only play a dozen times a year. There's so many things to consider...starting hands, position, playing styles, table image...I think there could easily be a college course or two on playing tournament Texas Hold 'Em.
So...about the looking. It turns out that Charlottesville has a huge poker contingent. There are games on just about every night all around town. I knew I would be in over my head but I thought I would check it out.
I showed up at the Biltmore Grill last night for the Wednesday game and there were 20 people already signed up and ready to play. Fenton and I put our names on the list and were directed to a table. It quickly became evident how much of a rookie I actually am. I held my own for a while and made it to the final two tables. We started with four full tables (8 players) and after about two hours there were about twelve players left. Somewhere around then is when I busted out. Fenton was busted a little earlier after going head to head with an experienced player that bet just enough (but not too much) to make Fenton believe that he had a hand. Not only did Fenton have to believe that he had a hand, he had to believe that the guy knew what Fenton was holding and could beat that hand. The guy didn't have it but it was a little too much money for Fenton to take that chance.
I had a couple of decent hands. By playing super-tight for the first hour (folding lots of hands) then slow playing a pair of jacks I built up a very conservative table image. That basically allowed me to steal one hand all night. The rest of my night can be summed up by the following..
So...about the looking. It turns out that Charlottesville has a huge poker contingent. There are games on just about every night all around town. I knew I would be in over my head but I thought I would check it out.
I showed up at the Biltmore Grill last night for the Wednesday game and there were 20 people already signed up and ready to play. Fenton and I put our names on the list and were directed to a table. It quickly became evident how much of a rookie I actually am. I held my own for a while and made it to the final two tables. We started with four full tables (8 players) and after about two hours there were about twelve players left. Somewhere around then is when I busted out. Fenton was busted a little earlier after going head to head with an experienced player that bet just enough (but not too much) to make Fenton believe that he had a hand. Not only did Fenton have to believe that he had a hand, he had to believe that the guy knew what Fenton was holding and could beat that hand. The guy didn't have it but it was a little too much money for Fenton to take that chance.
I had a couple of decent hands. By playing super-tight for the first hour (folding lots of hands) then slow playing a pair of jacks I built up a very conservative table image. That basically allowed me to steal one hand all night. The rest of my night can be summed up by the following..
- My pair of 5's loses to a pair of 6's that trip on the river.
- Marginal calls in the dealer seat get raised by the small blind, I fold.
- Pair of Jacks loses
- Pair of Jacks wins (very next hand)
- Crappy cards and I get blinded out...
- 10:00 PM, Fenton and I get some ice cream
Monday, May 07, 2007
Miscellaneous Catch -All Post
Hello readers,
Lot's of stuff going on lately. In no particular order here's the readers digest version
New Roof
We got a new roof put on our house. Even though the "old" one was put on there lss than 5 years ago. It's a bit of a bummer but now we are motivated to cut some limbs off of the big old pine that is sitting over our brand new roof. We also need to paint (inside and out), tile and build a deck. I think that's all that's on the list for now...
Bike Racing
Driving little cars is certainly not making me a faster bike rider but little cars are so much fun. Anyway, there's been a slight vaction from little cars so I can spend more time on the bike doing bike things. So far I think I've done two MTB races and I would like to do more so I am going to try and get on the bike(s) more consistently. A lot of my bike-related energy has been focused towards running a local MTB series. After May 20, the series will be over and I'll be able to ride -ride-ride! The first two races are done and the third is on it's way.
Sea Otter Classic
I will put some pictures up from this one in a new post. Sea Otter is one of the biggest bike events in the country. It included 4 days of racing (actually zero for me) and booths from just about every manufacturer in the bike business.
Well, that's the quick update. Lots of stuff has been going on. Oh, and the iPod install worked out pretty well. I think I have some pics somewhere that I'll have to put up. Sound quality is much better than the tape adaptor or the iTrip. I'll get those pics up soon too.
Lot's of stuff going on lately. In no particular order here's the readers digest version
New Roof
We got a new roof put on our house. Even though the "old" one was put on there lss than 5 years ago. It's a bit of a bummer but now we are motivated to cut some limbs off of the big old pine that is sitting over our brand new roof. We also need to paint (inside and out), tile and build a deck. I think that's all that's on the list for now...
Bike Racing
Driving little cars is certainly not making me a faster bike rider but little cars are so much fun. Anyway, there's been a slight vaction from little cars so I can spend more time on the bike doing bike things. So far I think I've done two MTB races and I would like to do more so I am going to try and get on the bike(s) more consistently. A lot of my bike-related energy has been focused towards running a local MTB series. After May 20, the series will be over and I'll be able to ride -ride-ride! The first two races are done and the third is on it's way.
Sea Otter Classic
I will put some pictures up from this one in a new post. Sea Otter is one of the biggest bike events in the country. It included 4 days of racing (actually zero for me) and booths from just about every manufacturer in the bike business.
Well, that's the quick update. Lots of stuff has been going on. Oh, and the iPod install worked out pretty well. I think I have some pics somewhere that I'll have to put up. Sound quality is much better than the tape adaptor or the iTrip. I'll get those pics up soon too.
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