The result of flipping over my bars after hitting an obstruction in the road. I actually landed on my head. My helmet prevented any visible damage although I’m fairly sure I suffered a concussion.
Archive for the 'Cycling' Category
I rode 101.34 miles on a fixed gear bicycle today.
Another instance of boredom and loneliness yielding positive results.
http://www.vimeo.com/418094
Ah, more memories. Well, not exactly. This was all shot after I left town but many of my friends are featured in this.
I posted a few months ago about a two-line blurb I had read in the Christian Science Monitor regarding the proposed embracing of cycling by the City of Dallas. According to this story that ran in the Dallas Morning News on November 19, these plans are no myth. Alright! Good for us!
But bigger problems persist.
- Trails not lit.
- No racks anywhere to lock to.
- Broken glass on every street. The worst is downtown & in South Dallas.
- A noticeable percentage of motorists who are either drunk, retarded, or on the phone while driving. It is often difficult to distinguish the nature of their impairment.
- Also, when I hear urban rednecks yell, “Git th’ f**k owt th’ road,” to me it demonstrates ignorant hostility toward cyclists which I can’t help but think may be caused by…
- The fact that I hardly ever see any adults riding in the city.
There are so many places to ride, yet most everyone restricts their riding to White Rock Lake because of its uninterrupted loop. Unfortunately, when people don’t ride anywhere else, it does nothing to enrich cycling culture in Dallas.
I suppose I’m hoping for a day when people start using their bikes to run simple errands or to commute to work/school. Hey guess what: You don’t have to be a racer or a triathlete to be a cyclist. Just look at places like Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Portland, New York, San Francisco, Chicago, even Austin, and you can see that thousands of people have discovered how riding a bike is a viable mode of transportation.
On Saturday I raced against approximately 20 other people in an alleycat. In Dallas! I couldn’t believe it either. The checkpoints were all historic locations related to the Kennedy assassination. Fun and educational. I never, ever got a tour like this the whole time I went to elementary/middle/high school as a young lad in Big D.
I didn’t do very well in the race. I still don’t know the streets and I got lost pretty quickly. It was no surprise when I came in last place (my first DFL ever). A few of the checkpoint workers had even abandoned their posts before I arrived. For this unremarkable feat I received a brand new pair of wool socks for my unremarkable feet. I also got a cyclocomputer to tell me how slow and not far I’m going. It has a clock too, so I can stop staring at the sun to determine when I need to turn around to get home in time for Dancing With The Stars.
I asked around and gathered that unfortunately these events only happen 2 or 3 times a year in Dallas. It seems that all the elaborate planning (execution was a different issue) and all the money spent on prizes would factor into preventing more races like this from occurring here. If I had my way, there would be more short distance, low entry fee, low production value alleycats between the bigger races like this one. I talked to some folks about this later that night but no one seemed very enthusiastic. Oh well. I wouldn’t be excited either if some kid from out of town showed up and began suggesting good ideas.
…because I’m living here now and I think it might be a lie.
Cities build new bike paths. Will cyclists come?
(Christian Science Monitor - June 19, 2007)
•Dallas/Fort Worth has $900 million in bike trails planned. “Texas is reaching out to embrace biking like never before,” says Robin Stallins of the Texas Bicycle Coalition. “That says a lot about a shift of cultural values.”
What? Why is there no mention of this anywhere else on the internet? Wait. I’m not living in Bicycle City, am I?
If this is a real plan, I will need some more concrete evidence than a two line blurb on csmonitor.com. I moved back here for school but if North Texas can become some sort of cycling mecca during this time, I will be thrilled.
I wrecked my bike again on Saturday. I’m beginning to detect a trend. The trend: I wreck my bike. I collided with a dude’s hand while he was hailing a cab and I tumbled onto the pavement. No broken bones or major lacerations but I am really sore and bruised. My fork and front wheel are toast.
I took the bike to Cycle Smithy to get fitted with a new fork. As for the front wheel, I’ve been rolling on my old piece-of-shit road wheel but I just scored a great deal on a used Formula/Velocity DeepV wheelset from a guy I sort of know from internet cybersex.
Here’s a close approximation of how things will look once I set it up with the new wheels.
I’ll post an actual photo when I’m done but damn… it won’t be nearly as cool as this bike.
This bike isn’t for me though.
It’s for my Simpsons character below.
Rep. Patrick McHenry (R - North Carolina) suggests a brilliant plan. Unfortunately his tone is sarcastic & condescending and the plan is actually not his, but “a major component of the Democrats’ energy legislation.” Not that Democrats are always right, but as a cyclist I genuinely believe this is a splendid idea. Promoting the use of bicycles isn’t the sole answer to our “crisis at the pumps,” but on an individual level the benefits are numerous.
I haven’t bought gas in the last 3 years. My health has improved tremendously. I have lost weight while developing my calf & thigh muscles into sculpted works of art. I’m much happier in general and my wallet remains closed as I pedal past the pumps. If you live in a town where cycling is a viable option for commuting, you should take advantage.
In Chicago I can ride from one side of the city to the other in about the same amount of time as a car and I don’t have to spend an additional 20 minutes looking for a parking space nor do I have to pay for a city sticker, registration fees, insurance, traffic tickets, etc. And seriously, I don’t think I need to spell out the advantages cycling holds over using the Chicago Transit Authority.
A mode of transportation that is efficient, cost-effective, better for the environment than an automobile, reduces dependence on oil to some extent and combats America’s obesity problem isn’t absurd and shouldn’t be mocked or treated as an archaic notion. Even though McHenry is only 31, I have come to expect this kind of attitude from conservative, oil-drunk old men who seem content being narrow-minded, petulant and ungraciously stubborn.
Above all, owning and operating a vehicle contributes a considerable amount of stress to one’s life. Simplification, particularly if you’re only transporting yourself, is a good thing. I don’t see what’s wrong with spreading awareness among the populace regarding an inexpensive, healthy and fun way they can improve their own lives. The way I see it: happier people = more pleasant society. Call me naive.
Plus I must say if this catches on (which is not likely) I’d put money on McHenry finally being able to work off that gut by getting a moderate amount of exercise during his daily commute.
Oh, and I love how the graphic he used is not a bicycle but an 1886-model rhombus quadracycle for two.
“Stop driving. Ride a bike.” - Rep. Patrick McHenry
At the end of last week I developed a saddle sore between my right ass cheek and my thigh. For those unfamiliar, I offer Wikipedia’s entry on saddle sores:
A saddle sore is a skin ailment in the nether region due to, or exacerbated by, riding on a bicycle saddle. It often develops in three stages: skin abrasion, folliculitis (which looks like a small, reddish acne), and finally abscess. Because it most commonly starts with skin abrasion, it is desirable to reduce the factors which lead to skin abrasion.
Basically it’s a boil on my ass and it has made sitting down an awful chore. I believe this began with a 20-plus mile race i participated in last Wednesday. Over the weekend it grew and became extremely painful. I have been doing everything in my power to destroy this pesky little visitor. Hot salt water compresses, ointments, rest, tea tree oil, squeezing, etc.
I contemplated doing a photo essay to track its progress but have decided that it is far too gross to share images of. It began draining today and, seriously, I dare anyone to find something more disgusting than what I have been seeing all day long. Ugh. Check back for progress reports and, ultimately, an obituary for this boil.
Yesterday afternoon I had a bicycle mishap.
A large family was standing on a corner close to where I live. As I was about to pass through the intersection, a small boy, about 4 or 5 years old, lept from the curb and into my direct path.
I had no time to swerve around him so I slammed on my brakes. In doing so, I flew over my bars & landed mostly on my hands & stomach. The injury tally stands at:
- 1 sprained right wrist (2nd time in 3 months / possible hairline fracture)
- 6 nasty cuts on the left hand
- 2 cuts on the right
- 8″ of road rash on the right thigh
- 4″ of road rash on the left shin
The boy was unharmed. I missed him by a hair. As I stood up covered in blood, the large family looked at me briefly, grabbed the kid, said nothing, and then proceeded to walk in the opposite direction.
That’s my town. You sacrifice yourself to avoid harming someone else who made a mistake and all you get in return is the silent treatment and an inexplicable lack of compassion. However, I do understand they may have perceived me as the bad guy, endangering their child etc.
On a related note, I had Chinese takeout for lunch today and my fortune cookie said… nothing. There was no message. It was empty.