2008 Lake Pepin 3-Speed Tour Photos on Flickr

I uploaded a few photos from this year's Lake Pepin 3-Speed Tour to my flickr account. Have a look: http://flickr.com/photos/3speedblog/?saved=1

Plant Activity

The bleeding hearts are out in our backyard.

The ferns have taken over the front yard. Primitive bastards!

The rhododendrons are storing their energy for an explosion. They don't look so hot now, but they will in a couple weeks.

These photos look better if you click on them to get the large version.

Crowded Trails

Do you think gas prices are effecting people's transportation choices?

The bike trails are crowded in some places. The other day, I rode home at rush hour instead of my usual earlier time. I had to follow a group of about seven cyclists going up the Martin Sabo Bicycle Bridge. It was a real eye opener. Things are changing.

Lots of causes have led to this change and it's just the beginning. I don't attribute this solely to gas prices. Lots of people are trying to pollute less and the weather is perfect right now in Minnesota. If you're not going to ride in weather like this, you never will. We have lots of useful local bike trails too -- a few of them are crap, but most are the kind that get people away from cars. I think that's what most riders want.

The point of this post is not trails though. My point is lots more people are riding bikes now and we're going to experience growing pains. More cyclists will be hit by cars. More car drivers will hate cyclists, because they have to share the road with slow moving vehicles.

What other "growing pains" do you foresee with the increase in bicycle commuting?

Weightlifter Quote

"This is the life, being men and lifting weights."

My 11 year-old son said this last night when we were lifting weights together. When he said it, I cracked up.

Lake Pepin 3-Speed Tour (part 1)

I rode the Lake Pepin 3-Speed Tour again this year. That's four years in a row. I won a mud flap in a drawing.

I have lots of photos. I'll take some time tonight to look at them a post the interesting ones (interesting to me, that is).

Lots of riders wear costumes that are supposed to represent what English people wore in the '30s. That's not me. I don't feel comfortable in costumes and yet I feel a little left out. I'll think about that for next year.




I didn't get into the Chequamegon Fat Tire 40 this year. I'll make the best of it and find another event. I'll take the disappointment like an adult without resorting to something extreme like signing up for a running marathon. One guy I know rode it 11 years straight, then was rejected for 4 years in a row, then got in this year. They use a lottery-style drawing and it can be cruel.

SPAM/Not SPAM

In the past week, I've received a couple of work-related emails that are so out of left field I initially thought they were a clever, new spam technique. They weren't spam, just poorly written business communication.

With that in mind, I'd say if you send out messages that people think might be spam, then you need to brush up on your writing skills.

I mentioned this to another guy at work and he decided to use the following subject line in all his messages for today:

Subject: Your wife will be a happier

So let's join him and pick a favorite spam subject line, then use it as the subject line in your messages. Let me know how it goes.

Smuggness

I'm a smug bicyclist. I'm not smug because of the bicycle in the photo. I'm just smug.

This bike is my Raleigh Tourist. It's from the late 70s. It is heavy and it kicked my butt on the way to work this morning riding into the wind. I'm not sure why I own it. I have a few suspicions about why I own it, but during the 10 mile ride to work, they all seemed like bullshit.

2008 Minneapolis May Day Parade

My family and I watched the 2008 May Day Parade in Minneapolis. The parade had lots of things to focus on. To simplify things, I chose bikes and politics. Today, I uploaded the notable bike photos. Before the parade came through, the bicyclists rode up and down Bloomington Avenue.

When this was taken, this bike was moving from left to right.


Lots of tall bikes

A bicycle in disguise as an H2




This one is probably a great winter machine



This is my favorite bike photo of the day. Click on it to see a larger version.

New Term: Vista Nap

I invented a new term today. When Vista goes bad and shows "Not responding," I lay my head down and take a nap. This is from now on known as the Vista Nap.

It's not a bad thing unless you expect to get some work done. If that's the case, I can't help you.

Vista Shortcut

My coworker discovered this really cool Vista shortcut.

When using the file manager or whatever it is really called (file explorer), hold down the Ctrl key and then use the mouse scroll wheel to change the view type (thumbnails, details, etc.). This is a time saver, because Vista seems to assign a random view to my files and I regularly have to change the file view. I think there's a way to reliably control the view, but I haven't found it.

Keven in a Backpack

Last night, I saw this note taped to the ceiling in my daughter's room above her bed. It was a reminder.

... a reminder to put a stuffed bear, named Keven, in her backpack for school tomorrow. She received this bear at a Timberwolves game a couple years ago. Because the stuffed bear wasn't wearing the basketball jersey, I was lost as to why it was named Keven. Yes, I know that's not how his name is spelled, but that's OK in this case. Besides, the real KG is in Boston now and won't care.
I taught her to put reminder notes in helpful places like pinned to her backpack, but the ceiling is a better place.

Skyline of Minneapolis

Here's a CreepyCam photo of the Minneapolis skyline taken on my ride to work this morning. The sun was rising and illuminated the downtown buildings.

I played the role of pack mule as I brought two laptops into work. I put one in a pannier and the other in a backpak. One of them has a unique hardware configuration that I can't recreate on the other laptop. So I'm forced to use two of them on occasion.There are snowflakes in this photo, although you can't see them because of the poor resolution of CreepyCam. I also ran into ice on a trail that is covered by water runoff. I'm not complaining -- I'm bragging! My standards are low when it comes to weather. Any weather that doesn't hurt is good enough. Sometimes I see weather is mostly entertainment. Right now, I'm very entertained.

Welcome to Indiana

I'm staying in South Bend, Indiana for work. Here's a local story:

GOP candidate Zirkle addresses Nazi gathering

The people I'm working with here are sure this photo will ruin this candidate's election chances. I hope that's true.

Saturday HC Ride (or Lots of Coffee)

Tour da Coffee Shop: We visited two coffee shops on the Saturday HC ride. I spent most of the afternoon in the restroom.

Riverview Cafe


CRC: This place sells one of the best chocolate chip cookies around. Who makes them?


Train station stop to tighten slipping rear wheel (before ride)

Pedro the Squash Part 2

Back in the fall of last year, I posted about a squash my son adopted. He named it Pedro.

It's in good shape and has turned bright orange all over. At least the outside is in good shape.

Menanced by a Goose: Epilog

The goose disappeared.

We suspect a critter had him/her for a meal, because the goose had become too weak from chasing cars and occasional bicyclists. Perhaps the goose came to his/her senses and moved on to a safer location.

Hey Steve, did you get the goose video working?

I've wanted to photograph a Minneapolis man-hole cover for a long time. So I took this photo while standing in the middle of the street and was killed by a speeding car in the next moment.

I have nine lives.

Click on the photo to see a larger version. The covers are impressive. Many of them have been paved over and that's too bad. They remind me of giant coins -- lots of interesting details to examine, but when you take the time to examine a man-hole cover, you get run over. That's too bad. The wind was so bad yesterday that I discovered small rocks in my hair when I showered after my ride home. It was steady at 30 mph with much higher-speed gusts. It was fun except for the rocks. Wind is good and we don't get much of it in Minneapolis compared to other places I've lived.

To the mustache wielding idiot in the black Navigator: I hope your gasoline bill doesn't hurt too much. I bet you have to golf at a cheaper course these days. That's too bad.

It's Rhododendron Time Again

My wife took our kids to see "Horton Hears a Who." Her review, "It was funny when I was awake."

High praise.

I know you've all been eagerly awaiting my rhododendron photos. Here's the first of an ongoing series of the rhododendrons that live in my front yard.

The leaves stay somewhat green throughout the winter, for those who don't know.

I like 'em.

Menanced by a Goose

My coworker has been attacked by a goose on his last couple of rides into work. The goose guards the entrance to the parking lot and he/she swoops down on him. He says it feels like someone swatting him in the head with a newspaper.

Yesterday, at lunch time, we went in the parking lot to video an attack. My coworker rode his bike near the goose. Another guy used his cell phone to video it. The video didn't turn out good enough for showing, but we laughed for a long time watching a goose trying to get my coworker. Even the smokers on the smoking balcony were laughing. We'll try again with a better camera.

Today, was my first bike ride to work this week. I forgot about the goose and as I entered the parking lot, I heard flapping wings and turned to see a goose flying about 10 feet behind me. I dodged and sprinted. The next time I looked over my shoulder it was closer -- huge wings, red mouth, hissing.

The goose let me go when I reached the door at the far end of the parking lot. I really want a video of this. I took this photo later with my cell phone camera. It does not have video.

SPAM Subjects

I have to check my spam folder, because I occasionally receive important, or at least useful, messages that get chucked in the Junk Mail folder -- false positives.

So I scan the list of subject lines and then scan the sender names before I flush them. This process keeps me in touch with the latest tactics of the spammers and keeps me amused while performing a task that really ticks me off. If it weren't for occasional false positive and the humor, it would be a waste of time.

Your neighbour naked!! watch
Before I watch this one, I want to know which neighbor they're talking about.

Your high school teacher nude!!
Again, I want to know which one.

Sender: metaforic neudigate, Subject: voruaan
WTF? This is either the result of a very creative mind or a clever, random word creator.

3-Speed Thoughts

I've ridden my three-speed bikes exclusively this winter and this has given me enough experience to comment on the gear ratios of the Sturmey Archer AW (both of mine are AWs). The AW has a direct drive gear and then a gear that is 25% lower and another that is 33% higher than the direct drive.

The 25% reduction gear is great. I use it when starting from a stop, especially with a loaded pannier or a load in the basket. As I accelerate, I get into the direct drive gear quickly and remain in that gear most of the time. When I need a higher gear for downhills and tailwinds, I don't use the 33% increase gear, because it's usually too much of a jump. I'd like a 25% increase instead. That would be great.

I know Sturmey used to sell a mid-range hub (the AM) that had smaller differences between the gears. I think it's called the AM. Correct me if I'm wrong. Does anyone know if the guts of these
two hubs are interchangeable?
I also have a Shimano 333 hub that I'd like to build up. I can't find the ratios for it. Do any of you know? I've read that Shimano 3-speed hubs are less durable than the SAs. Any opinions on that? I bet the parts are difficult to find for old Shimano hubs.