Reflection, Reparation, Repentation, Rejuvination, and Recreation

Reflection, Reparation, Repentation, Rejuvination, and Recreation
Having fun on the Midnight Beast

Saturday, December 26, 2009

psssst!

Just tryin to counter all the calories taken in the past few days...hopped on the trainer for a spin, got a flat tire! How's THAT happen? I managed to re-air and get a 25 min workout before it was too low again for any resistance on the roller, then  pulled the tube out to find a hole on the tread side, but no evidence in the tire itself. The hole seems to be on a seam, so it could've been a defect. Anyhow, patched it with a Speedpatch(read: bicycle-specific scotch tape).
Note to self: Replace tube before pumping past 100psi and hitting the road again!

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Time to rebuild

Winter started a couple days ago, right? With a foot of powder  everywhere we look around here, it's time to think of alternate forms of trail experiences. The new snowshoes are ready. I have a good stockpile of toe warmers. I do need gaiters, which I promised myself I'd invest in this year. All I need is the time to get out there. Christmas is less than two days away, so there are more 'important' things to do right now. But with any luck, I'll get a SS hike in with friends on saturday.
Jan/February is a time to cleanup, organize, catch up, and rebuild. I'll likely strip my bike down to the frame, inspect it and touch-up the dings and scratches, maybe install a new BB. I'll clean up my bike room in the cellar, try to keep a workout regimen on the trainer, finish the drywall projects, do some painting around the house, all that stuff that gets put off....maybe try to READ, rebuild the mind.....

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Kundalini

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Another day in the Blue Hills, sans the snow. Frozen ground with half-frozen mud puddles full of horseshoe-holes. Lots of trail garbage from recent weather. Below freezing temps clogging up the mucus and burning my lungs. Sun shining. Wind blowing.
Below me is the SJ 29er again.
I flipped the stem, that seems to help my stance, but still need either risers or a Mary Bar. I'm seeing less and less need for the Big Ring, and not real confident at speed yet anyways.
I'm thinking about centering myself on this bike. Having trouble while standing and powering uphill brings this to my attention. My center on this 29er is obviously different than on my 26er. Originally I thought it was the more minimal knobbiness of the rear tire. Now I know that's not really it, at least not in itself. More study must be done on this theory/concept. Must find that inner liquid fire. Must ride more.

Friday, December 11, 2009

Not sure what happened to my links. When the old blog was being eaten alive by phony pharmaceutical spam, I renamed the address and supposedly the blog was transferred in its entirety, but a few details are missing...
So, I have to rebuild my links, one at a time...

Like a Hamster

Spinning on the trainer. When it's raining, too cold, or just too snowy, it's a good option. It's also good for a quick workout without getting all suited up. No dirt, ticks, no cleanup after. Just a workout. Oh I've got it down to a little more interesting than that--crank up my favorite tunes, mute the tv.....
My 50 minute workout
I do 5 min warmup in a fairly easy gear, then go right into intervals. Every 5 min, 2 min of a higher gear. At about 35 min, I continue the higher gear for 3 more minutes, then switch to Big/Small(high) for a few more minutes, then proceed to warm down so that the last 5 minutes are back to the easy(middle/middle) gear.
I use a HRM for 'future reference'....and log all my workout info, inside or out....
If I do this workout consistently all winter, at least 3x/week, I'm feeling real good by opening day....of course, weather permitting, a ride/hike/snowshoe/xc ski outside is always better..

Thursday, December 10, 2009

29er test #2--BH doubleheader


The next good test of the SJ 29er was at the Blue Hills Toys Ride. As has been strangley traditional(coincidental?), almost every year happens to be a snow-ride. Rain the day before turned to snow overnight and the 3-4" powder on the trail was just the right consistency for traction. The wet stuff underneath didn't have a chance to ice up. Perfect!
I brought the bike over in the Jeep, with the rear bench seat down and the front wheel off the bike. I inserted a disc-brake wedge in the caliper so I wouldn't have to worry about accidentally squeezing the lever and all that.....
Specialized has this new axle/QR system that I was unfamiliar with, but I was able to figure it out on the spot and get the wheel off and back on just as easily as the old-school QR.. the only thing I miss is the little springs that center the QR on my old wheels, but my guess is there's a good reason for leaving them out of the new design. The fast guys that I met in the parking lot were chomping at the bit to get going, so I had to catch up with them, but had no trouble with that. The crew was a good eclectic mix of older riders on an equally eclectic quivver of Titanium, steel, and aluminum hardtails, and lightweight fullies.
We had a good romp in and around Tucker Hill, only about 40 minutes of riding, but enough to get a feel for the bike, and the snow. The bike really picks up quick when I want it to. I still miss my sus. seatpost, so that will be the next ride. But the stock post/seat didn't cause me any pain later in the day...
The bike climbs as good and better than most 26" hardtails. Downhills I will have to report on drier trails, as I was very tentative, not wanting to re-injure my wrist or anything else. And most of the downhill shots were fairly tech, which I usually shy away from anyways. We cruised back to the VC in style and prepared for the next ride...
The next ride was with the middleschool bike club. I led them around a mostly doubletrack 8-mile loop. Gotta love those disc brakes! Every other snow ride I have ever been on I've had to deal with v's or canti's and the fact that neither work in snow slush and ice.
This ride was a slower pace based on safety and the fact that some of the adults on the ride weren't as experienced, so we took our time. I had a few chances to drag it up to speed, but one thing I noticed was that it felt like I was hydroplaning anytime I really hit the gas. One downhill shot on a very familiar trail I almost careened out of control, but the bike magically righted itself just as I thought I was done. The stronger gyroscopicity of the bigger wheels, perhaps? My theory is that the stock Specialized tires, being kinda minimally knobbed, fill up with snow and, at speed, considering the stickyness of that particular snow, didn't shed quickly enough to keep any traction. At slower speeds, no problem, with the psi of the tubeless setup at around 25. I still would try a slightly wider, knobbier version.
The ghost-shifting to granny was still an issue. Maybe my thumb's too big...

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

29er test #1

one sexy-ass bike


Had the good fortune of being offered a 'test ride'--a period of about two weeks in which to 'demo' a 2010 Specialized 29er hardtail from Bike Barn. Not sure whether I can afford one right now--well I' sure I can't, but maybe it'll snow alot this winter and my son and I can make bank on shovellin'....
Anyhow, I figure I'll tack two more weeks of riding onto my 'season' and make the best of it.
My first ride on the bike was on my real local trails, the ones right out my back door, a 3.5-mile marsh-loop, with an eclectic mix of dirt road, rooty woods, rock steps, quick steep climbs, squishy mud spots, grassy knolls, singletrack, with a tiny bit of pavement and curb-hopping thrown in. Home to Osprey, Cormorants, Red Tail Hawks, Great Blue Heron, lots of Crow and Starling, Coyote, and too many Squirrel, there's plenty wildlife.......It's a fast loop, best done twice for a base workout.
I rode like I usually do, as fast as is comfortable, while babying my 'arthritic' wrist. My first impression was that it rolls FAST!! When I hit my first curb it practically rolled right up itself, with less 'wheelie' input. When I tried the granite steps, I hardly had to try, save for the tires being wet, which made me try harder not to let slip.....
The fastest section, an arc through a gravelly parking lot, was a breeze. The singletrack bench trail above the marsh was nice, but the quick turns on and off that section showed me how the big wheels need more space to turn, and I'd need to anticipate earlier....
The true test was of the quick climbs. If there are any aspects of a bike that I really want it to excel at, it's climbing and short bursts of speed. This bike had me climbing like a goat and has no trouble drag-racing.
The things I didn't like about the bike were:
  • the SRAM thumb-shifters, which I would knock accidentally with my left thumb, dropping me into granny real quick. I could probably get used to better hand placement. I've only ever had gripshift....
  • the Specialized tires, not knobby enough for my tastes. While I wouldnt want to pile on much more weight to this lean 25 pound machine, I like my traction all-around.
The only other things I'd change right now would be to throw on my thudbuster and maybe riser bars. But I'll flip the stem first to see if I get high enough with that....

Sunday, December 6, 2009

Santa's Ride



Last night the temps dropped and the weather went from pouring rain torrentially to blizzard-like snow conditions. The Fells had cancelled their ride, and it didn't look good for the annual Blue Hills Toys Ride. The deck was icy, the marsh was relatively snowless, and it was below freezing...... but the sun was shining!....I broke the crust off the Thule and loaded the bikes. As I drove closer to the BH it became more obvious that more snow had fallen away from the coast. Not alot, but the 2 inches of powder on top of the ice had bent trees over the road. Driving up Wompatuck Road was that amazing winter wonderland, one that only comes once a year, that is, the first snow of the year. I tried to video the scene, which my 1.3mp phone-era really didn't translate very well, and besides I had to keep my eyes on the icy road.
Ride Part #1
I got to the parking lot in time to hook up with Howie The Plumber, Jim the CandyMan, Captain Dave, Dave P, and a couple other riders. Starting up the paved 'Picnic Loop' on the ice wasn't a wholelotta fun. But as we hit the first trail it became apparent how much fun this was gonna be. The snow was fresh, alittle crisp, and covered up many of the rocks and roots that would normally slow us down...
I just remembered also why this ride was shaping up to be fun--I was handed a StumpJumper 29er hardtail to demo last time I stopped at BikeBarn. Kevin said to 'ride it for awhile'. I had already tried it on my local marsh-loop and was real happy with the Big Wheels. They were smoothing out the trail real nicely.
Riding along, we knocked the bent trees out of the way, sending snow all over the guy behind, laughing all the way up the first hill and back down the backside 'no name' trail and back to the VC for coffee. We probably rode about 45 minutes total, but it was enough to get the spirits warmed up for the rest of the day.
Ride Part #2
Back at the VC enjoying some donut-carbo-loading and coffee with the local riding scene, another group was forming. The Silver Lake middle school mtb club had arrived, and was chomping to ride. Probably 9 13-14 year old boys, an 11-year old girl, a couple of parents, and their fearless leader, a teacher from the school, and a couple of us Yellowjackets to lead and sweep. We started our ride up the paved loop(again) and proceeded to follow the white multi-use loop, with a few diversions here and there. Traction in the snow was amazing. The kids (all of us..)were having a good time, especially when it came to going downhill. A few scary no-brake moments there. The snow cakes up quickly on the rim-brakes and renders them basically useless. But of course I was on the new disc-braked Specialized grinning all the way. We stopped to do some impromptu trail cleanup--the trails were littered with derailleur-breaking branches and some larger trees and limbs. We sessioned the log-over --always a good photo-opp. Crossing Hillside Street we bombed down the Cable Trail and behind the old zoo dump, before crossing Unquity and beginning the long grind back up to Five Corners. Finally! I didn't have to lie again with 'it's all down hill from here' It really was, and after the waterbar safety talk, we cruised down Wolcott back to HQ and the VC.
Amazingly enough, no mechanicals, injuries, and hardly a complaint! And Santa was at the VC waiting for us with hot chocolate and more pastries....
Oh Yeah! And we collected a truck-full of toys for kids in need...

Thursday, December 3, 2009

My Food Blog

My previous post about 'salt your onions' inspired me to create a separate blog for all my food-related musings.....
Hopefully, Thoughts on Food will entertain, amuse, sate, and inspire all at the same time...
Blog On!

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Salt your onions


OK here's the thing--you gotta salt your onions, ANY onions, garlic included, when you begin cooking them. You gotta lubricate them. too, with alittle oil in the pan. Actually this applies also to when you're not actually HEATING them, but when you want to soften them and take the edge off--i.e. when starting to make a vinaigrette...In that case, you don't add the oil until later. Salt the onions, and let them sit for a few minutes, then add your acid, and let it steep a few more minutes before adding the oil and other flavors. If you are making an emulisified vinaigrette with egg yolk, the yolk would be added just before the oil.
Not to say you need so much salt as to be offensive, just enough to start bringing out the moisture from the onion. Be especially careful not to use too much salt when making caramelized onions...
The only exception to this rule is when using shallots in a wine reduction(beurre blanc), add the wine directly to the cold sliced or minced shallots then turn on the heat to reduce. Add salt later on as needed. This only applies to shallots, as they are sweet and not so pungent as other onions.
DO NOT put raw onions on a pizza. Always cook at least alittle first! (with salt of course)
The smaller that you mince or slice the onion, the faster the salt will bring out the moisture and soften the onion's flavor...
IF you're one of those people who LIKES raw onion, then disregard all of this!