Random photos from my phone

Fourth day in a row that I saddled up.  Feeling alright.  In the spirit of the coming weekend, I decided to share some photos from my phone.  Most will be bike related.  This phone has the worst built in camera ever!

First up, a bicycle rack I found outside Chipotle’s in Bridgewater, NJ. (if you haven’t tried Chipotle’s, do yourself a favor):

Old New England minted coins:

My excuse for not riding on some mornings:

My top secret hiding place at work:

A monkey could steal it.  Most people never notice it.

But seriously, they are the reason I ride too:

Groovy!

Phantom Photo (or the inside of my bag or pocket):

I’m not a meth addict, but I spotted this at the self-checkout line at my local A&P:

(PS: Mouse over the pics for extra stuff).

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So I’ve been cruising.

I feel like I have been on a roll this week.  The past few weeks have been filled with an overall inconsistency when commuting.  Some days I’d do half commutes, some days none, and about once a week, a full round trip.  Needless to say, I was in a funk.

Sure, I had some valid excuses.  We just had a baby, and so were going through the usual night time events required of when raising a newborn.  And I was busy with vacation time.  Unfortunately, there were some days that I had no reason not to ride.  Those days were my lazy days.  Some of those days were nice and warm with the sun shinning down just perfectly.

There were days I would be driving and wondering why.  Why am I doing this to myself?  I am not the most patient of drivers, so anytime I get stuck in traffic, and someone does something stupid, it sets my blood to a boiling point.  My cure is to bike commute.  Even when I encounter those same stupid drivers while on the bike, I find myself less hassled.

I’ve been known to ride with a goofy grin on my face while it is pouring rain.  I think I am starting to reach a turning point.  We’ll see how this pans out when the weather becomes a challenge.  Despite my larger-than-average frame size, I am not a big fan of cold weather.  Sure, it feels good when stepping outside for a few minutes, but how does it feel when the wind is cutting like razor blades while gliding down a hill with low visibility because your eyes are tearing up from the frigid weather?

Well, here’s hoping for some good riding the rest of the year.

Time for some weather adjustments

So it seems as if my days of riding in shorts and tee shirts are numbered.  It took me most of my commute to warm up this morning.  It is a fine balance between accounting for body warmth and air temp.  I think I’ll switch to long sleeves tomorrow if it is just as chilly.

My bag was extra heavy and bulky this morning:

– My work clothes
– Shoes
– Toiletry Bag
– Windows XP Professional Training Kit for 70-270 (MCSE)
– Lunch
– Towel (sure, not heavy, but big).

So it appears my small bottle of Head and Shoulders exploded.  My toiletry kit was covered with shampoo!  Kind of gross.  I must have looked strange emptying out the bag with my razors, deoderant, soap, and other necessities while cleaning out the shampoo.  Standing at the sink this morning, this was an unnecessary annoyance.

Head and Shoulders, you ask?  Yes, my head is prone to dryness.  There, I admit it.  I have dandruff!  You should see me if I let the mane really grow.  Actually, my hair hasn’t been so flaky lately.

No weekend riding.  I’ll be at a men’s retreat with my church in a couple weeks, so I am going to pack the Hardrock and check out the Deleware Water Gap.  This is a beautiful and underappreciated area of America.  I hate these stayovers, but they do more good than harm in the long run.

Be Honest…

…Have you ever ridden while listening to your iPod or MP3 player?  I haven’t but it is a huge temptation.

And I’m Back

We had a nice time on vacation.  The rental car we were using overheated on the last day, so we had some issues getting a replacement, but the family is safe and sound back home in NJ.

I really had no time to ride, and as mentioned, no way of carting my bicycle up to New England.  I did stop in at a small bicycle shop in Amherst, MA.  Amherst is a pretty little college town (well, big, I believe there are 2 colleges, and Umass represented in Amherst) with a ton of boutique shops, restaurants, and a sweet town green to hang out on.  When we stopped over, they were just tearing down their farmer’s market, so I didn’t get a chance to taste the local produce.

I supported the bicycle shop by purchasing a much needed rear rack.  I almost pulled the trigger on panniers, but decided the $200.00 would be best spent elsewhere.

The rack is now installed but unused.  This morning’s ride was spent like usual, with a huge backpack on my shoulders.  Since we just received our homesteader’s rebate (this is a government waste program that spends money to give you back money if you own property and pay property taxes – why can’t they just cut the taxes in the first place?  I digress), I plan on going to a local shop and getting me some panniers.  Preferably the kind that can be thrown over the shoulders.

Anyway, it is good to be back and on the road.  My monthly mileage accumulation is down lower than average at this point, so I have a ton of catching up to do.

First official flat whilst bike commuting

While riding in this morning, the first half was pleasant and easy.  About 2/3rds of the way towards work, I started feeling sluggish.  Looking at my speed, I wondered why I wasn’t moving my average MPHs up and down the same hills, and around the same corners.

As I coasted into the parking lot of my place of business, I felt the rear tire squish left when I turned right.  It was then I realized I had a leak.  Instead of heading to the work entrance, I pointed my bike towards my car.  While loading it into the trunk, I noticed a small split in the middle of the tread.  The rear tire is pretty bald too.  I guess I’ll make a visit to Marty’s during lunch to pick up some supplies.  I need a new tube, and a patch kit would be in order too.

I love learning things the hard way.

UPDATE, HOURS LATER:  Ok, I believe I was able to repair the tube.  I actually do have a patch kit contrary to my previous statement.  However, my tire is definitely on its last mile.  I’m surprised I haven’t blown the tube considering how worn the tread is.  Hopefully the air will still be in the tire when I leave for home.  A quick spin around the parking lot proved fine for the time being.

On a side note, I was embarrased to see how filthy the underside of the down tube is on my bicycle.  I am going to be doing some serious maintenance and cleaning this weekend.  Some of the components might be beyond cleaning!

Nice long ride today!

Yes, my wife permitted a nice long ride.  Well, 24 miles is long for me right now.  I rode from my neighborhood through Morristown to the South Street Park (sorry can’t remember the actual name, but it connects with the Loantanka Trail).  Rode through the park system and ended up on Woodland toward my old stomping grounds of Madison.

I love Madison but I decided to cut back onto 124 towards Morristown and eventually Denville.

Stupid Driver Warnings:

1.  While heading east on South Street, I had a car nonchalantly cut around me then turn right onto a side street (Madison St?) as if I didn’t exist.  It took some awesomely stupid skills as I was outside the door zone, so this driver needed to cut into oncoming traffic and quickly back in front of me whilst completing a hard right.

2.  On 53 North back towards home, a truck pulls out of the road well ahead of me, but slows down and places his right blinker on (ok, the blinker was a good thing).  I slow down and he continues to slow down, so we both end up confused.  I’m not about to let a truck have me for lunch.  He then starts to speed up while hanging his hand out the window waving me forward.  Year right.  I just climbed Tabor hill, and my legs are shot from the longer than usual ride.  I wave him on, but this minor adventure with the truck took away some needed momentum.

Other than that, it was fun mixing in some city and country driving.  At the halfway point, I rested at a favorite duck pond.  We used to hang out there all the time.  Thank God for water fountains.  By the time I reached home, I was parched!

Well, we have some fine company coming over tonight, so I’ll be busy cleaning and preparing for tonight’s dinner.

A rather disappointing week.

I really haven’t used my bike that much this week to get to work.  Looking at my stats, it is embarrassing to see that my mileage total so far is at a lowly 30 miles.  Yes, it has been really wet each morning, and for the most part, it has been a struggle to get up on time (newborn baby).

I was fine for the first few weeks, but I forgot about that “new parent energy” that tends to carry you for the first few weeks, but then the energy crashes around week four.  Well, I’ll try my best to make up for lost miles next week.  I’m hoping to get an epic ride in this weekend (an epic ride for myself is over 20 miles).

Have a nice weekend, and ride safe.

Night Rider

Dun-da-du-da-dun…

KITT: “Hello, MetalCommuter, where would you like to go?”

How about a night ride?  I did last night and it was a thrill even with the sprinkling of rain.  My wife could tell the restlessness was getting the best of me by Sunday evening, so she practically begged me to get out into the fresh air to ride around a bit.

I had my front lamp on with my blinking reflector in the rear so I felt confident in my visibility for the passing vehicles.  I decided to head down 53 and then detour around some of the cul-de-sac neighborhoods in the Beacon Hill area of Denville eventually crossing into McMansion glory in Parsippany.  I found a neat trail with a couple pedestrian bridges that intersected two deadend streets.  Finally I crossed route 10 and climbed up a hill.  When I coasted down, I realized I was in the neighborhood I take to go home from time-to-time to challenge my legs with the hill.  Well, this was in the opposite direction and I was ready for the huge hill that would get me into Morris Plains.

35 mph was my top speed, and this is because I would feather my brakes around the corners slowing because I had minimum visibility with my rain splattered glasses on.  It was fun.  I felt like I was roaring along at a 100 miles per hour!  I will try this road out during a quiet part of a sunny day.

The ride left me in good spirits.  I’m not going to make a habit out of riding in the dark, but it can be good caffeine for the bored soul.

The Hills, they kill!

Oh man, I am sore today.  I took the hilly route, and phew, I’m done.  Recovery day today, though I may get in a few miles tonight.  Even the soles of my feet hurt today.