Mathematical Oddity?

Okay, so we biked 26 miles on both Saturday and Sunday with no problems as far as stupid drivers. That's 52 miles and no issues.

Tonight we went for a quick 9 miler and had 3 idiots.

Total score so far in my experiment for idiot drivers:

In God We Trust License plates: 3

Regular Indiana License plates: 1

Beercycling Denmark 2010 is being plotted. Want to take part?

Having returned from my first visit to Copenhagen in a decade, I’m suitably pumped. The Danish contingent of Kim & Kim are doing reconnaissance, and we’re in the initial planning stages of what is hoped to be Beercycling 2010 in Denmark, a ten or so day festival of bicycles and beer.

Why Denmark? We haven’t done it there previously. It’s a bike-friendly country. The past ten years have witnessed a remarkable flowering of Danish beer culture. We know people there. And, the country is filled to the brim with wonderful herring.

Consequently, Kim “Big Kim” Andersen is researching three or four beer- and brewing-related itineraries, including Copenhagen and the countryside. These would be daytrip-style arrangements, using a hub and using rental bikes to sightsee and visit breweries, perhaps with light touring in between, or trains used if necessary. If possible, the sag wagon/support vehicle notion will be incorporated, so those interested in the trip but not in cycling are very much welcomed so long as some one is willing to drive. We’ll all divide the costs.

Considering the climate, we feel that late June or early July would be the best time even though it’s high season. There is sentiment for a Bamberg side trip at the end. Finally, know that this trip will be expensive because Denmark itself is expensive. We’ll do what we can to cut costs, but understand that budget travel isn’t really an option.

If this interests you, please let me know via the usual channels. I will begin building an e-mail list and considering options. Of course, there is no obligation.

My butt hurts big time.

Okay, campers: I'm back from non-biking holiday, following my usual post-holiday program of alcohol rehab and weight loss, and finally eager to get my lazy butt back in the saddle and get something done.

It isn't much compared to what I'm capable of doing, but I made it onto the street the past three days, roughly 15 km each day. You gotta start somewhere, and I've fallen fairly far, so the plan is to use the first part of June to work back into some semblance of shape before clipping off too much.

Translation: Kindergarten saddle time, then upwards.

Finally No Rain To Get In the Way

Did 15 miles today. Nice to be out in the sun rolling on two wheels. One car honked at us today but they did it as they were making a right turn on another road so we couldn't see the license plate.

Why would they give an irritated honk when we weren't even in their way at that point at all? Strange.

Should Bicyclists Trust God? An Experiment

Hey, is anyone out there? Been out on the bike a handful of times so far this year and yesterday went 20 miles and today I plan to head out for 15. I know I'm a fair weather biker so I don't really think of blogging much until the weather gets nicer and I'm actually out on my bike, but I still think it's fun to blog about biking once in a while.

I thought I'd see if anyone's still reading by posting about a personal project, an experiment if you will, I'm doing this year in relation to biking.

If you do any amount of biking on the roads, you will eventually experience a car horn from behind.

Now of course, there are the drivers who give what my husband and I consider a nice warning beep of their horn. You know, the kind where they lightly tap at their horn and their only intent is to make sure we know they are behind us and are about to pass us. And they usually wave when passing.

But then there are the drivers who blast their horn and speed past and sometimes accompany this with foul gestures and comments. Last year, I started trying to see if I could make any assumptions about the people who are nasty about it by noticing things about them and at one point I was taking a look at the type of car. For example, were people who drove SUV's more likely to be rude?

But after my experience last year, I want to use something else as my experimental variable. I want to test and see if the rude people are more likely or less likely to have an "In God We Trust" license plate.

Now, I'm not making any particular judgement of anyone, I just think it would be interesting data to collect. No matter how it turns out, that doesn't mean I can truly correlate it with anything scientifically.

Hell, I'm just thinking it will be fun, that's all.

As of today, the score is 1-1, with two nasty car horn blasts so far this riding season, one without the religious license plate and one with the plate.

If you would like to participate in my experiment, feel free to join in.

Videos!

http://www.go211.com/videos/3308 35-39 Expert Day 1
http://www.go211.com/videos/3310 35-39 Cruiser Day 1

Video links to the Christmas Classic in Columbus Ohio last weekend.

Lament.

There's absolutely no reason apart from sheer %&^$# laziness for me not to ride my bike to work today.

Fortunately, it's enough reason.

phase II

two more turns to build. mother nature is watering and getting the dirt to pack. i'm shooting for a november 5th finish date. looking for more dirt though, so if anyone knows of a place looking to get rid of some, please let me know!

Phase I Complete

I started work on the pump track in the backyard this week. So far, I have the layout and jumps marked. I'm hoping to add dirt after our next round of rain, so that it packs well. Here are some shots of the layout...oh yeah and my daughter will be monitoring heart rate levels and if anyone falls below 80% of the MHr, they will be delt several bashing with a wiffle ball bat! lol...kidding...

man.....

i know this platform is for bicycle stuff, however there are ties with bicycles and the unfortunate closing of a couple of businesses that have occurred over the last month. RIP Fitness Zone and soon the Finish Line.

i loved the fitness zone, because it WAS NOT a phoo phoo, stand around and look pretty gym. i loved it for the fact you went there to sweat and hurt!!! sad to see it go.

the Finish Line is a bummer because there had been times when i was in a pinch and they were able to bail me out with goggles, or something that transferred over from MX to BMX...

well, i've been sick for 3 weeks now. don't know what in the world is wrong with me, but i'm about to go nuts, because i haven't been able to smell or taste anything for about a week now. you just don't know how much you love the smell of things, until it's taken away. definitely an under rated sense.....lol....

have a good week!!!

2x4

Pump Track!

Got the approval to put in a pump track in the backyard today! Psyched!!!

ugh!

Upper Respiratory Infection is killing me! The weather is amazing today! Make the most of it!

Photo: Tucked and rollin' during the NBL Grands. HRP Photo

NBL Grands Photos

My team mate Jeremy Thompson and I during the 30 and over open motos. JT went on to capture the #1 35 and over expert title...

You can view more of the photos at http://www.idcbmx2.com/

2007 NBL Grands

The 2007 NBL Grands are in the books and I had a decent weekend. Saturday started off well, but then later in the 2nd round, my gate start became an issue. I made it through both rounds and then started off suckin’ in the gate again Sunday morning. Once I made it through the motos, I had a long talk with myself and said, “Dude, this is it, pull your head out of your butt and let’s take care of business.” So I go up for my 1/4 final in class and complete unclipped down the first straight. I try getting back in and make up points, but it was way too late for me. Down to 2 classes now, cruiser and 30 and over open. I hit the cruiser and FINALLY my gate is back and I scoot on into the semis. I was thinking of skipping my open moto and just save it all for cruiser, but I was like, “what the hell?!” and gave it a go. Gate drops and I destroy the gate and take the lead down the first straight. Mind you I have the current world champ and #1 Vet Pro in the moto. I finish that lap and that did wonders for my confidence! In the semi of the open moto I get another killer start and fall in behind Jason Carnes. Into the 2nd turn, big Shawn Diprite rolls by me, so I’m chillin’ in third. Down the last straight, Big Daddy Eric Rupe gets by us, then Shawn is slowing down and on our out side, we get passed by Domingos Lamogllia!!! 3rd to 5th….done in open.
Cruiser was left and I made the main for this one. 4 people are up for the title. Myself included. Gates drops….and I’m on the gas. Lead into the 2nd turn and all of the sudden I see blue and yellow! It scarred the crap out of me! So I follow Scott Moreland and try to make the move down the last straight, but didn’t have anything for him. So I end up 2nd and ranked #2 in the U.S. for the season.
Scott won the title and I’m glad it was him that beat me for it. Nothing against the other riders, because they are deserving too, but Scott has been almost like a big brother of sorts to me and I have the utmost respect for him.
Heard there were some roadies out there checking it out. Hoped they enjoyed it. Other locals jammed too and we have several young me and women that deserve a big pat on the back for their hard work.
The volunteers of Derby City BMX. Amazing!!! Absolutely the best team of volunteers that I have encountered in my 25 years of racing there! Not enough can be said of their work!
I hope to get some photos and maybe a link to some vids….
2×4

NBL Grand National

This weekend is the National Bicycle League's Grand National. Tons of people will be decending on Louisville from all over the world. They will be going on out at E.P. "Tom" Saywer State Park all weekend long. Friday night will be the UCI Pro Spectacular.

Here's an article done in the Indiana Weekly..

http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070829/NEWS0201/708290731/1026

Videos of the century ride

Okay I'm going to do my first try of embedding videos into a blog. Wish me luck and cover me, I'm going in!

At 89 miles!


Debbie gets demanding. You can hear me yell at Melissa or John to please just talk and say something. Geez, I'm riding at 15 mph, looking backwards filming for gosh sakes!!!



Finally, I reach 100 miles. But there's a slight problem...

Derby City BMX Marathon Weekend

We had a barn-burner of a race for $500 buck-a-roos!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHpRk0MUEGU

Where have I been?

Why training

for my first century of course. :) Just did it today. My husband, daughter and I went up to Kokomo this weekend and did the "Sizzlin' Century" ride. Yeah, we went to Kokomo on purpose because we didn't want any killer hills! But we've been training all summer in the Southern Indiana Knobs/Louisville area so we've had plenty of hill riding. What fun. I was even able to ride my bike and take pictures and

videos with my little digital camera. I have some videos up on youtube and I'm going to see if I can put up some images. Never tried that before.

I'm putting up one of us at the start and right when we finished.

A Bicycle In Church? Go on. Yeah, This Sunday.

    Somebody asked me to put together a service and I'm bringing my bike.  

   At 11 a.m. this Sunday, August 19, I'll have the pulpit at First Unitarian Church of Louisville, 809 S. Fourth St. (Across from the Louisville Free Public Library at York Street).  

   No, I am not an ordained minister, but Unitarians are open-minded and pretty relaxed about this stuff.  I'll be using my 880-mile bike trip to Niagara Falls this Spring as a metaphor in a talk touching on journeys, pilgrimage, and some of what we learn from life when in pursuit of an ideal.

  There's also a free coffee social afterwards if you feel like coming, on your bike or not, for a service out of the ordinary.  Some great local musicians (Gary Falk, sax, Jim Schweickert and Will Plummer on piano and New Albany's Tiffany Taylor, vocals) will also perform in the service.

Entry to the church is not on Fourth St, but off Library Alley at the back. 

I would usually offer to ride back to New Albany afterwards, but this week have to stay for a youth group meeting.

"Chips" Cronin Remembered; Sharrows dedicated on 2d Street Bridge

Hot day, hot pavement, gratitude for the wind.

I joined an estimated 2,300 cyclists on the Second Street Bridge at 2 p.m. today to celebrate the new "sharrows" and signage urging motorists to share the respective north- and southbound right lanes and to yield to bicyclists. 

While the Louisville Bicycle Club had been at work with the city to improve safety on the bridge, it was the death of Cronin (by an "inattentive" driver) that clearly fast-tracked getting the new signs and lane markings up.    In half an hour of pre-ride speeches to the choir, Cronin's brother-in-law, Ed Tonini, who is also head of advocacy for the LBC, said the Federal Highway Commission is allowing the new lane markings as a "pilot" program since they are not part of the existing signage inventory.

Mayor Abramson, made only a few brief remarks, the most significant perhaps being that he wants to make Louisville as cyclist-friendly a city as Portland, and in less time than it took Portland to accomplish its current status as a national leader.

Unfortunately, today was no demonstration as the entire bridge was closed to motorized traffic for the inaugural ride.  Cycling clubs and racing teams from both sides of the river went off first to do a lycra-rich, three miler over and back.  Many others followed, including families with children, people of all abilities, etc.  I even met a couple from St. Louis who had rented neat looking adult trykes at the concession near Joe's Crab Shack (at $10/hour) to join the ride.

A similarly large group broke off on the other side, I with them, to head out to Utica for a 20 or 30 mile loop.  It was a delight getting into a nice rhythm in a long stretched out line heading east on Utica Pike.  

I split off just past the Port to head up Utica-Sellersburg Road, get on Highway 62 and book it out to Charlestown where I was meeting family and friends at a pool party.  About 20 miles, hot pavement, and a bottle each of water and Gatorade to stay hydrated.

The bridge signage is an important event on the long road to raising awareness and safety while developing a "share the road" attitude around here.  Each of us should appreciate other's efforts to make progress and do what we can to support and extend it.