cycling.finial.com

I guess. But today’s horoscope says:

Your work activities get in the way of your real purpose today. It’s not that you are a bad employee; it’s just that right now your mind is not on pleasing your boss. You are ready for a real vacation or, at least, for a quick getaway to take your mind off the same old mundane tasks that prevent you from living out your fantasies.

I’m not exactly sure what that means: “real purpose”. But it doesn’t really help that I have absolutely no idea what I was working on before I left.

Anyway, I’m back. I still haven’t cleaned the bike or even unpacked. I slept most of Saturday and went to a friend’s to watch the thunderstorm yesterday. The fridge is still empty.

I’ll write more about the trip and post a few pictures as soon as I get my thank-you letter finished, in the next week or so. Or maybe today if I can’t bring myself to actually, you know, work. In the mean time, I got the route maps and elevation profiles finished for the NEC site, so you can see those there.

I’m pooped.

More later.

Haven’t been able to find a terminal to update anything until now. And now it’s time for dinner, so must dash.

Made it, had some trouble, but nothing major.

More later.

The NEC site has been updated.

All is well STOP Left Maine at 8:15 STOP Got rained on at 10:00 STOP Rode all day with wet feet STOP Arrived Attitash 3:00 STOP Very long day tomorrow STOP Massage tonight STOP Very tired STOP

and in Biddeford, Maine at the end of day 2.

I’m on a public terminal and the place is about to close, so can’t write more unless I find a WiFi spot.

But I’m here.

We’re gpoing to get wet tomorrow.

In the push to get things done before I leave, I fucked up. Enough that it’s going to take some pretty fancy footwork to set it right and even in that case, there’s a chance some work will be lost. And I have to be on a train at 2;30.

gawd.

[MBLN] [amazon]

A brief(ish) history of which species of plants and animals were chosen (or were happened upon) by biologists for use in understanding natural selection, the discovery of genes and chromosomes, genetic engineering, and so on. Basically, which plants and animals have quick reproduction times, are easily manipulated through breeding and later by gene manipulation, or which have other unique characteristics (like the transparency of zebra fish) that make them conducive to study.

Along the way, brief biographies of some of the main players give an insight into how the field developed and the power plays and political intrigue that goes along with any “controversial” scientific study. It’s readable and entertaining, but I took too long to read it which made it seem a little scattered.

There is, however, a very good discussion of genetic engineering in the final chapter that’s worth publishing as an article in any magazine of general readership.

Actually, I don’t have anything to say (yet). It’s just that I’m afraid the transcript might disappear.

on this subject, at least for now.

LAPD arrests motorist for assault with a deadly weapon (his car) that sent two to the hospital. [LA Times]

There are two things interesting about this. First is that a motorist was actually arrested. It’s far more common for the police to view it as an unavoidable accident, cluck their teeth and say “what a shame”. Except that in this case there was severe bodily injury.

“head crashed through the car window, suffered broken teeth and serious cuts on his face, including one that left his broken nose dangling… The other cyclist … suffered a shoulder separation that would require surgery.”

The police can’t send someone to the hospital without making a report, but it’s interesting that the motorist was charged. We’ll see whether the district attorney pursues it, but it’s a start.

The second interesting but thoroughly expected thing is the comments on the article, many of which say the cyclists “deserved it” and so on. Some of these a trolls, but some are not.

Northboro woman killed in DC [Globe]

This is, by far, the most common collision. Again, no claims that she (the cyclist) was doing anything wrong. She was “right crossed” by the truck. The driver of the truck “apparently did not see her” and “no charges have been filed”. The Globe does not allow comments on its articles, but I have no doubt what comments would appear there if they were.

And lastly, today at 1:00 is an online chat with Bella English, the woman who wrote the Globe Green Blog entry that (so far) has generated over 400 comments, most of them caustic straw man arguments or completely irrelevant to the post. Unfortunately, I have a meeting at 1:00 and will not be able to see what happens. I’ll have to settle for reading the transcript. Globe chats are moderated, so it’s unlikely to get out of control, but I’m interested to see what will happen.

Fascinating observations in light of the previous post.

As it’s Tuesday, after I got home from my client’s office, I walked over to Copley Square Farmer’s Market. On the way home, I was waiting for the light (on foot) at a particularly bad intersection in my neighborhood. It’s especially bad because it’s a big, wide street onto which the high speed turnpike exits. A bunch of people started crossing against the light as is common there.

One particularly oblivious girl, complete with iPod, paying no attention whatever, stepped right out in front of a bike. He yelled “Red Light!”, but being iPod impaired, she did nothing and got slammed and thrown to the ground pretty hard. There was no way he could have avoided her. If it had been a car, she’d be dead.

She was dazed and bleeding a bit from the chin. People were there right away to help her up and asking if she was okay. No one asked him even though he went down just ask hard and was bleeding from the knee. Who knows what shape his bike was in. He did ask her how she was, several times. She said she was okay, but clearly she was dazed (you could almost feel the hit). I handed her her sunglasses and she took off for the T. I asked if he was okay, he said yes, so i left.

The basic fact is: She stepped off the curb, against the light, right into oncoming traffic and got hit. Had this been a car, it would have been a “tragic accident” and the driver would receive sympathy and possibly counselling for the psychological trauma he sustained. But as it was a bike, he’s automatically judged at fault and vilified before it’s even known if he’s broken a bone. (Broken collarbones are common in an accident like this.)

What’s interesting is this:

• Everyone assumed immediately that the bike was at fault whether they saw what happened or not. The looks of hatred were palpable.
• Not a single person (aside from me) asked how he was or whether he was hurt.
• Before he even got off the ground, three people were yelling at him that he should have been wearing a helmet. (And exactly how would that have averted this accident? It seems to me if the girl is going to walk out into traffic paying no attention, it is she that should wear the helmet.)
• Two people started literally screaming at him for running a light. He had not. She crossed against the light. I know because I was there beside her waiting for the light to change when she stepped off the curb. The people yelling at him had also crossed against the light, so it’s particularly telling that they would be yelling the way they were.

So, clearly, where bikes are concerned, people see what they want to see, not what actually happened. I have to admit I was a little taken aback by the visceral hatred displayed there. It really opened my eyes. I honestly thought the haters were just the Howie Carr sort of people who hate everything. I was wrong. Little old ladies with Free Tibet bumper stickers on their Priuses are just as likely to display this behaviour.

What does it all mean? I’m not sure. What I saw makes it much less likely that I’ll listen to any anti bike complaints, since it’s now crystal clear that people see what they want to, and not what actually is.

Column: If only drivers shared the road, cyclists would be safer

A column that reflects my own experience. Expect the haters to pounce on this.

The comments to this are entirely predictable.

“Bikes don’t come to a complete stop at stop signs”
I’ll plead guilty to this sometimes. But I’m willing to wager that I come to a stop far more often that cars.

“Bikes weave through traffic”
I’ll plead guilty to this occasionally too. But only in the city, and it’s far safer for me to do that than to sit there inhaling some bus exhaust pipe, or wait for the guy behind me to start leaning on the horn and deliberately run me down (which, by the way, has happened).

“Bikes don’t ride the right”
I won’t cop to to this. I follow the law here. I ride as far right as I safely can, which is what the law calls for. It does not require that I ride through potholes that will upend me, it does require that I ride through sand, glass or other debris, nor does it require that I ride through the lethal door lane. It allows me to take the lane if I feel it is necessary to preserve my safety.

and my favorite: “The Lance wannabe clothes are stupid”
This is barely worth comment, but it probably comes from someone who wears sweats to watch TV and wouldn’t think of stepping onto the ball diamond without full kit. Go to the gym in a suit and tie, do you? Do you know what cycling kit is all about?

The bottom line is cars and trucks are 2000 pounds of lethal steel. Bikes are about 20-30 pounds. Add the rider, and it might reach 200, with most of the that being very exposed flesh and bone. The piloting of that one ton missile comes with a responsibility of manouvering it safely. Cycling comes with its responsibility too, but crashing a bike into car isn’t likely to kill the driver, while the reverse is all too common.

Sudbury keeps roads safe for SUVs.

Suburban peace vs. pedal power

I just love the “Let Them Eat Cake” quote at the end.

“My whole theory is: Go to the gym that you got the membership for and that you know you are not using,” she said.

Because, you know, nobody should actually enjoy the out doors. And people living on trust funds don’t realize that people actually commute to something called “work”.

And cyclists, skaters, joggers, and strollers are so much louder and annoying than the trains that used to use the way. And we all know that the Minuteman and Nashua River trails are a hotbeds of crime and villainy.

Marianne Maurer is making a fool of herself.

So I went to get on the Orange Line on Saturday. My Charlie Card had 65¢ on it, so I pumped in another $5.00. (Total: $5.65.) I go over to the gate, tap my card and it says See Agent. That’s a total laugh because, there’s never an “agent” in sight. Once in a while there’s a couple of Transit Police at the Dunkin Donuts, but there’s never an “agent”, unless it’s Agent Smith who’s taken on the shape of a hapless commuter. So I moved to another gate, tapped the card and the doors opened. It also said “Remaining balance: $2.25″.

They double charged me.

I think I found how they’re going to reach profitability.

The Tour starts today and I find I really don’t care. The scandals of sucked all the interest I might have had away. It’s not just the dopers, it’s the way the whole thing is being handled by everyone. Valverde wins stage 1. Maybe I’ll get excited later, but for now: Meh.

But of more interest to me, NEC starts one week from today! I don’t feel really ready for the ride, but I certainly feel ready for some time off.

Today I also bought four tickets for “Futures at Fenway” on Aug 9, a double header with the Lowell Spinners (Redsox “A” farm team) vs. Hudson Valley, and Pawtucket Redsox (”AAA” farm team) vs. Charlotte. Don’t have takers for two of the tickets, but it shouldn’t be hard to find some. Since the Redsox have jacked the prices up beyond all reason, it’s unlikely I’ll ever go to another Redsox game, so it’s a good way to get inside Fenway again. The tickets seem pretty good, grandstand seats just to the third base side of home plate. Hopefully they’re not obstructed.

&c

Today was really the only day I had available to work on the bike before leaving next Friday. (Is it really next Friday? Why, yes. Yes, it is.) So I took it over to Broadway Bike School to get a stand to work on it. The place was hopping, in spite of them saying it was the slowest day of the week. If it is, then business is pretty good.

I needed to true the wheels, change tires and tubes, and remove, clean, and reassemble the bottom bracket. The BB developed an ear piercing squeal when it’s under load, and if I have to climb the mountains with that, I’ll be insane by the end of the week.

Got there, took off the wheels, tires and bus, trued up the wheels, then asked for soem help. The really cool thing about the place is that while you can do the work yourself (they have all the tools), for an extra charge they’ll walk you through things you’re unfamiliar with. I’ve never disassembled one of these newfangled BBs before. My antique Peugeot is very old school axle, cups and races type thing.

So he helped me getting it apart (he’s very good by the way - explains everything, no attitude, friendly, non threatening), but then we find that my BB isn’t in very good shape. Chalk another one up for inept ATA assembly (they’ve managed to botch every ball bearing surface on the bike). Best of Boston. Feh. The BB felt overtightened and bound (how can you overtighten a BB?)

So we decided to replace it. They had a 105 BB that would fit. Or so we thought. When trying to remove the right side (the part that removes the entire assembly) I couldn’t get it to budge. Then when it did, if felt like it was tightening. So he double checked the book again, and noticed that for a double, there’s a different Italian threading. Not so for the triple. So I guess the triple is no longer made? But it did mean the thread went the other way (CW rather than the regular CCW), and the BB he had would not fit. Then again, they seem to be available online, so I don’t know why their catalog didn’t have one. But in any case, they didn’t have a replacement so I had no choice but to reinstall the old one (which was the original plan anyway).

Anyway, tear it apart, clean it up, lube the threads, and reassemble. Put on the new tires and tubes, and I’m ready to go. Except that in the mean time, the heavens have opened up and it’s pouring with thunder and lightening. I waited as long as I could, but had to set out. Didn’t really want to get eh bit wet, but was left with no choice.

It didn’t squeak on the way home.

At least I think the bike is all ready for NEC. Ach! Forgot to check the chain wear.

Maintenance: $61.00

and it only took two years.

The Award (4mb pdf)

TBV
TdFBlog
SI
AFP

I have to admit, I’m disappointed. I had hoped he would be vindicated because, regardless of his actual guilt or innocence —a fact which we will never know for certain— the one crystal clear thing is that this process is corrupt to the core. As a result, I expect Prudhomme, Pound, McQuaid, and the rest to be crowing about the result any minute now, but they should, instead, be hanging their heads in shame. Apparently, it doesn’t matter what the process is as long as you get the result you want. Perhaps WADA should relocate to Zimbabwe, they would feel right at home. I fully expect this to result in the complete elimination of any rights to due process, or indeed any rights at all, for any rider accused of anything. An accusation is a conviction. The groundwork has already been laid.

To the riders: it’s time to grow a pair and get yourselves organized. Can you imagine this happening in football (either kind), basketball, baseball, or any other professional sport?

I’m not excited about the tour. I doubt I’ll watch any of it, and will only know the results because it will be impossible to avoid in my blogroll. I won’t shun it, but neither will I seek it out and I certainly won’t spend any time on it. The whole thing - the riders, the owners, the sponsors, ASO, WADA, USADA, UCI - not a one of them is worth my time.

A pox on them all.

Feh.

Aside: Watch or read The Flying Scotsman for an example of just how petty and spiteful the UCI can be. Double that for WADA and USADA. Then, of course, there’s Landis’ own book. But the Obree story is undisputed and long established fact.

Hybrid vehicles pose silent threat to the blind - The Boston Globe

Interesting. I’ve been surprised by hybrids overtaking me when I’m out riding. But some gas engine cars are pretty quiet too. I’m not sure how I feel about mandating increasing the noise.

My life’s chronometer ticks over one today.

One of my Imaginary Internet Friends from Edinburgh is here visiting his girlfriend who is working in Woods Hole. He took the bus up to Boston yesterday where he, me, and several other IIFs went for dinner and drinks. We went to House of Siam and the Boston Beer Works near North Station. Both were good.

The Edinburgh IIF spent the night on the sofa as it was too late to get back to Woods Hole, so I woke up the next day another year older with an extremely attractive, articulate, witty, friendly and fun house guest with a sexy accent but who, tragically, is attached and straight. Ah well.

We spent a couple of hours in the morning chatting over coffee and muffins solving most of the world’s problems. He decided he wanted to visit Martha’s Vineyard on the way back to Woods Hole so after checking out what bus schedules we could locate, found one that left South Station at 1:00. As I had some errands to run downtown and no intention of doing any work today, I decided to walk him to the station.

Why is there no Travelocity type site for busses? The MBTA (the landlord of the South Station bus depot) doesn’t even have a list of the bus companies that serve the station. If Massport can do that for their airline tenants, why can’t the MBTA?

But first we had to stop at the new Apple Store so he could pick up an iPod nano for someone back home. Apparently, they’re twice as expensive in the UK. It’s a strange place, and the Jobs Reality Distortion Field you pass through on entering the place is palpable.

Task complete, we walked down Comm Ave and got to the bus with a few minutes to spare and he was off. Errands. Home.

Tonight, a friend and my client took me out to dinner at Gaslight. Very nice place and interesting decor. In spite of the French it was written in, my dish ended up being a Portuguese Fisherman’s Stew which is one my all time favorite things. It was fantastic: cod, mussels, oysters, chorizo, zucchini in a spicy red sauce. Best meal I’ve had in a long time.

Now I just need to sleep for a few days. It was a nice day after year I am not sorry to be saying good-bye to.

I’ve been reading Yehuda Moon almost since it started. It’s very good. Today’s especially so. I had a moment like this on Saturday.

Except mine is from the bottom up

Trees in Sandwich