Atom FeedArchive of January 2008
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
How to Ride Year Round
So I mentioned previously in Riding Year Round that I'd write more about how I ride year round. The first thing one need is some good luck —at least if you live somewhere like Buffalo, by being snow-free or at least cold and dry. The problem being it's not fun to ride when it's wet and cold. One or the other is fine, but not both. Plus that kind of weather really takes its toll on your bike because of all the grit and grime. It does a really nice job of wearing out all those lightweight, expensive bits. The other problem is that wet and cold can also mean ice. Not a good thing when you're rolling along on two wheels that are only about 3/4 of an inch wide.So let's assume that it's cold, but not wet. Yeah, lets go out and play. But first you need to definitely have the proper clothes. To call good cycling clothes expensive is a huge understatement. Thus most people do like I did and buy the affordable stuff and improvise until you splurge once on the good stuff. Then you learn how much better it really is. So over the course of years you slowly build up a collection of good stuff and then start replacing it as it wears out. Oh, if you're looking to save money forget about taking up cycling as a sport. They are completely incompatible.
Anyhow, like any outdoor activity it's best to dress in layers. The colder it is, the more layers. This allows you the ability to regulate your body heat conditions change. At this point I feel I can ride down to somewhere in the mid-20's although I believe I've only actually done about 30°F…not counting wind chill. On it's own wind chill is bad enough, but on a bike you're going to generate your own because you're moving. And if you let yourself get cold the wind will quickly sap your energy…to the point you could be putting yourself at risk. This is something I'm always very careful to avoid. You can always unzip or strip off layers if you're too hot. But if you're bundled up and cold, you're asking for trouble.
So for me I have an inventory of items I typically wear when it's cold:
- cycling shorts, preferably bibs
- short-sleeved cycling jersey (with great wicking ability)
- polypro long-sleeved base layer undershirt
- long-sleeved polypro turtleneck
- long-sleeved fleece lined jersey
- fleece lined tights
- a second pair of fleece lined tights
- polypro socks
- Gor-Tex socks
- cycling shoes
- shoe covers
- neoprene/fleece hat
- polypro glove liners
- full-finger medium weight gloves
- My shiny new Sugoi Invertor jacket
It's super warm and uses Sugoi's FireWall Fabric. Basically it feels sort of like wearing a wetsuit, which was strange at first. But once I started using it was great. It's very warm and it stretches with you. This is a big improvement over my old HellyTech (Gor-Tex knockoff) jacket. That was cut for cycling, but it wasn't form fitting. Nor did it insulate at all.
The only real issue I have at this point is I have a hard time keeping my feet warm. This is problem for me off the bike in the winter, but it's worse on the bike where thin mostly plastic cycling shoes are bolted to the pedals. Which is great for pedaling efficiency, but it acts as a big heat sink on your feet. Thus the one item I'd still like to acquire is a pair of winter cycling shoes. The problem there is that there aren't that many options available and they are expensive. But it's moving up my "want" list and this might be the year…or at least one can hope. January 29, 2008 @ 12:57 pm | Category: Cycling
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
I Wanna Be Rich
I Wanna Be RichI wanna be rich — Jet set fame
I wanna impress — Upon your brain
I got that look — Makes you jealously insane
High fashion — Nice Clothes
Diamond Rings — Townhomes
Movie stars — Caviar
I wanna be rich with my stocks in trade
I'd drive a fast car — and be king of waste
Jet planes — Stereo's
A beautiful wife and a place called home
Limousines — Gold chains
A diamond chip — earring
See me on — Channel 3
I own the club with the mirrored seats
9/2/1983 January 23, 2008 @ 12:45 pm | Category: Writing
Monday, January 21, 2008
MyClient V3.2.1 Released
MyClient V3.2.1 has been released. This is release only requires file updates, there are no configuration changes to be made.Enhancements
- None
- Bad include path for session and serialize data support has been corrected.
- None
- None
Sunday, January 20, 2008
MyClient V3.2.0 (Bluefin trevally) Released
MyClient V3.2.0 (Bluefin trevally) has been released. This is release only requires file updates, there are no configuration changes to be made.Enhancements
- Updated to operate with E_STRICT error_reporting.
- Added support to display serialized and session data. When enabled, data that is stored in a session format (e.g. using a DB backed session handler) or data that is serialized will be displayed in a more readable unserialized fashion. Using this option will automatically enables the "Render HTML" option so this option displays properly.
- None
- None
- RENDER_SERIAL
Friday, January 18, 2008
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Riding Year Round
So I've ridden most of the year since I started riding seriously again in 1995. But I used to take off pretty much all of the winter. But as time has gone on I've ridden more and more in the winter months. The bulk of that being indoors as snowy and icy days like today preclude being outdoors. Thus I've always responded to "Do you ride year round?" with a "mostly".Well, not anymore! As of my ride this past Sunday I can say that "Yes, I do ride year round". As this is the first time I've ever ridden outdoors in January. And it's certainly something I intend to try to do more of in the future. Thanks to global warming it seems that it might even get easier to do.
I'm short on time today, but in another post I'll discuss what I've done that allows me to ride year round now. January 15, 2008 @ 12:55 pm | Category: Cycling
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
To meme, or not to meme
Ok, I've decided to shelve this idea for now. Instead I'm going to try to work on posting some of my writings regularly again. Then after that I might try this.—-
To meme, or not to meme, that is the question…
I've been looking around at a few meme's and I'm trying to decide if I really want to get into that or not. I'm thinking its got to be short/quick/easy or I'll fall behind and/or simply bail on it. I've found a couple that might hold my interest, but I might give it a try at least for a while. January 9, 2008 @ 12:58 pm | Category: Brainwork
