why all the posts? you may be wondering. well, for the past two nights we've been staying in Hands On headquarters in Biloxi, and one of the amenities in this awesome place is the internet. whoo! there are 5 communal computers, plus wireless. not to mention an incredible atmosphere with tons of cool people. jeff describes it a bit in the bike & build blog. this is definitely a welcome change from our previous digs at the ant-infested camp christian--i actually woke up in the middle of the night because i felt ants crawling on me. eeeew.
but alas, it is late and i must get to bed soon--5 a.m. wake-up tomorrow! and then 90 miles to n'awlins. i wanted to take this chance, though, to share a link to some other blogs, and also briefly discuss ass lube.
here, matthew shares a hilarious story about his ass lube. ass lube?! (or, to be more family-friendly, butt cream?!) i know, it seems gross, but when your ass is in sweaty bike shorts on a saddle for hours on end, it helps to have something that prevents chafing. also instructive is t.c.'s discussion of it here, in the post where he documents his 600km ride (that's 343 miles! and i was nervous about 106...) to qualify him for the paris-brest-paris. first, i must explain that the chamois (pronounced "shammy") is the padded, slightly diaper-like part on actual bike shorts. it's super-sexy, trust me. and now to quote t.c.:
Saturday June 9. Up at 4:45. Showered. Sunscreen and ointments. Registration. Breakfast. Chatted. Stretched. At 6am the 16 or so of us were off.
[...]
I reapplied the ointment… Ok. I have been less than forward with you until this point, but we must discuss the reality of the leather chamois. It is mandatory that the padding in my shorts be greased in some fashion, to prevent chaffing, so I apply petroleum jelly to them as well as my ‘sit bones’ and other sensitive parts. Hey, if slathering my ass with Vaseline makes me less of a red blooded hetero male, then… uh, well… well it just DOSEN’T ok?
and here is the comment i left for t.c.:
oh, tc, as soon as you said "sunscreen and ointments," i knew you were talking about ass lube.
bike & build recommends against vaseline, actually, since it's harder to wash off youself and your chamois. (i have an inappropriate comment that i'm dying, just dying to add, but i don't want to tarnish your blog. maybe i'll put it on mine someday.) most of our riders use Chamois Butt'r, which has a downright adorable logo.
oh, oh, and lest you think i'm only here to talk about ass lube, congratulations!
my inappropriate comment, of course, is that vaseline is oil-based. so beware: during any post-ride victory butt-fucking that may occur, the condom is more likely to break. < /public service announcement>
i would also like to note that, though i typically only apply in the morning, i applied ass lube on four separate occasions during our 106-mile ride. one of these happened on the side of route 90: i spied an alabama license plate, stopped to pick it up, and decided to reapply. as i stood a few feet from the shoulder with my hand down the back of my pants, a passing motorist honked, i can only assume out of sheer joy. the same thing happened two days ago, when i removed my raincoat while riding. (have i told you i finally mastered hands-free riding on sancho? WELL I HAVE!) i think that driver was hoping for more stripping...
Monday, June 25, 2007
Sunday, June 24, 2007
baby's first century
so my throat was sore for most of our stay in jacksonville, and i kept waking up with congestion and aches. i did the first three 60-mile days, and the following two 50-mile days, but i woke up miserable on the following day and decided to ride in the van. getting better instead of getting worse just seemed like a nice idea, and i figured some rest would help me achieve that.
we ended my van day in defuniak springs, FL, and i, hopped up on sudafed, was feeling much better by late afternoon. that was our first night of camping (we have more! mostly out west, though, in the middle of nowhere), and we stayed in an RV park. most of us went for a swim, where we played some games including marco polo. this is especially amusing because one of the riders is named marco. he, alas, was not present for the game.
the next day brought a 60-miler into milton. and THEN. THEN. 106 miles from milton, FL to mobile, AL. what what. my longest ride before the trip was 45 miles, ok, and i was pleasantly surprised when i did sucessive 60-mile rides with no problems. but a century? OVER a century?
i tried not to be nervous. i tried to think, hey, this is just like all those other rides! i'll just be on my bike for another few hours! it'll be great fun; i love being on my bike!! but then the creeping doubt: yeah, it's just like those other rides... except twice as long! ack!
adding to my fear was a time limit: we were taking a ferry for three miles, making our journey a total of 109 miles. but the ferry left every hour-and-a-half, and we had to make the 2:45 ferry. oh, did i forget to mention that the ferry was 80 miles away? well, um, the ferry was 80 miles away, and the 4:15 would put us at the host location, 26 miles after the ferry, too late. the group had to decide when to wake up so that everyone could make it by 2:45. it had been taking us about 2 hours to hit the road in the mornings, after packing, cleaning up the host location, loading the trailer, eating breakfast, having the route meeting, etc., and so we decided to wake up at 4. gross.
i think it was joe who said a century is all in your head. which is right on. and nothing beats 25 riding buddies, there for moral support and drafting. the route meeting included a group hug that turned into an impromptu singing/swaying of "lean on me." so choice.
and we were off. i stayed with the fastest riders in the front of the pack for 15 miles before they dropped me on some hills. hills, what? i ride in chicago, thank you very much, and i'm not down with this elevation business. i was alone for 10ish miles until another pack overtook me, so i joined in their loose paceline.
this is some beautiful riding that's happening here, by the way. we were on a scenic highway with lovely views of the gulf. perhaps more beautiful than lake michigan, which i do miss dearly.
lunch was on a beach around mile 44. we had a special treat of cheese and lunchmeat, which was a welcome change from the usual pb&j (and often, banana). mile 48 was "welcome to alabama!" -- a sign that sliced some of my bar tape, boo, fortunately just down in the drops where i don't grip often.
i mostly rode alone after that, since the group i was with was pushing harder than i wanted to. nothing was particularly notable except some gorgeous greenery on a delightful curving road. ah, and the final road to the ferry, which was somewhere between 5 and 10 miles, seemed to go on foooorrrrever.
i made it in time for the 1:15 ferry, as did about a dozen others. we were allowed to go ahead over, and we all, minus the two leaders who had made it, decided to go ahead. on the ferry i texted most of my biker friends to update them on my century status, and thanks to those who sent love back!
i rode the last 26 miles with emily. we stopped at a chevron for snacks and powerade (since we decided to go on the earlier ferry, we missed a second lunch break--carried by the van--on the ferry). the thing about gas stations in the south is that you can buy beer there. beer. and even more exciting, you can buy one at a time. no need to lug a six-pack around. the selection leaves something to be desired, though. my choices were piss beers, girly bacardi shits, corona, or heineken. confident i would make the next 20-something miles, i obviously bought myself a victory heineken. we ate snacks, headed across the street to a tie-dye t-shirt shop, chatted with the shopkeepers for a bit, and bought shirts before heading off.
now, i was a little worried about my beer staying cool. i had wrapped it in my raincoat to try to insulate it, but it was still in a black cargo bag on my rear rack. but then. then. about a half-mile into our resumed ride, what do i see on the side of the road but a koozie. a koozie! is that how it's spelled? you know, those little things you put your drink into to keep it cold. this was clearly a sign from god that he gave my century his blessing, and he wanted it to end with cold beer. i pulled over and picked up the koozie. groundscore.
my cyclometer was slightly off from emily's, so we made two additional stops to take pictures of our smiling faces next to our screens, displaying 100.0 miles. another stop at a fruit stand for peaches, strawberries, plums, and blueberries. the final miles to our resting place in Camp Christian (you can't make this shit up) went so so soooo slowly, but before long we made it. it was 4:30, maybe 5.
drinking in host locations is verboten, so i went on a little walk. called the 'rents to tell them i survived. ate the rest of my gas-station snacks, a pop-tart and some mixed nuts. and drank my cold, delicious beer.
we ended my van day in defuniak springs, FL, and i, hopped up on sudafed, was feeling much better by late afternoon. that was our first night of camping (we have more! mostly out west, though, in the middle of nowhere), and we stayed in an RV park. most of us went for a swim, where we played some games including marco polo. this is especially amusing because one of the riders is named marco. he, alas, was not present for the game.
the next day brought a 60-miler into milton. and THEN. THEN. 106 miles from milton, FL to mobile, AL. what what. my longest ride before the trip was 45 miles, ok, and i was pleasantly surprised when i did sucessive 60-mile rides with no problems. but a century? OVER a century?
i tried not to be nervous. i tried to think, hey, this is just like all those other rides! i'll just be on my bike for another few hours! it'll be great fun; i love being on my bike!! but then the creeping doubt: yeah, it's just like those other rides... except twice as long! ack!
adding to my fear was a time limit: we were taking a ferry for three miles, making our journey a total of 109 miles. but the ferry left every hour-and-a-half, and we had to make the 2:45 ferry. oh, did i forget to mention that the ferry was 80 miles away? well, um, the ferry was 80 miles away, and the 4:15 would put us at the host location, 26 miles after the ferry, too late. the group had to decide when to wake up so that everyone could make it by 2:45. it had been taking us about 2 hours to hit the road in the mornings, after packing, cleaning up the host location, loading the trailer, eating breakfast, having the route meeting, etc., and so we decided to wake up at 4. gross.
i think it was joe who said a century is all in your head. which is right on. and nothing beats 25 riding buddies, there for moral support and drafting. the route meeting included a group hug that turned into an impromptu singing/swaying of "lean on me." so choice.
and we were off. i stayed with the fastest riders in the front of the pack for 15 miles before they dropped me on some hills. hills, what? i ride in chicago, thank you very much, and i'm not down with this elevation business. i was alone for 10ish miles until another pack overtook me, so i joined in their loose paceline.
this is some beautiful riding that's happening here, by the way. we were on a scenic highway with lovely views of the gulf. perhaps more beautiful than lake michigan, which i do miss dearly.
lunch was on a beach around mile 44. we had a special treat of cheese and lunchmeat, which was a welcome change from the usual pb&j (and often, banana). mile 48 was "welcome to alabama!" -- a sign that sliced some of my bar tape, boo, fortunately just down in the drops where i don't grip often.
i mostly rode alone after that, since the group i was with was pushing harder than i wanted to. nothing was particularly notable except some gorgeous greenery on a delightful curving road. ah, and the final road to the ferry, which was somewhere between 5 and 10 miles, seemed to go on foooorrrrever.
i made it in time for the 1:15 ferry, as did about a dozen others. we were allowed to go ahead over, and we all, minus the two leaders who had made it, decided to go ahead. on the ferry i texted most of my biker friends to update them on my century status, and thanks to those who sent love back!
i rode the last 26 miles with emily. we stopped at a chevron for snacks and powerade (since we decided to go on the earlier ferry, we missed a second lunch break--carried by the van--on the ferry). the thing about gas stations in the south is that you can buy beer there. beer. and even more exciting, you can buy one at a time. no need to lug a six-pack around. the selection leaves something to be desired, though. my choices were piss beers, girly bacardi shits, corona, or heineken. confident i would make the next 20-something miles, i obviously bought myself a victory heineken. we ate snacks, headed across the street to a tie-dye t-shirt shop, chatted with the shopkeepers for a bit, and bought shirts before heading off.
now, i was a little worried about my beer staying cool. i had wrapped it in my raincoat to try to insulate it, but it was still in a black cargo bag on my rear rack. but then. then. about a half-mile into our resumed ride, what do i see on the side of the road but a koozie. a koozie! is that how it's spelled? you know, those little things you put your drink into to keep it cold. this was clearly a sign from god that he gave my century his blessing, and he wanted it to end with cold beer. i pulled over and picked up the koozie. groundscore.
my cyclometer was slightly off from emily's, so we made two additional stops to take pictures of our smiling faces next to our screens, displaying 100.0 miles. another stop at a fruit stand for peaches, strawberries, plums, and blueberries. the final miles to our resting place in Camp Christian (you can't make this shit up) went so so soooo slowly, but before long we made it. it was 4:30, maybe 5.
drinking in host locations is verboten, so i went on a little walk. called the 'rents to tell them i survived. ate the rest of my gas-station snacks, a pop-tart and some mixed nuts. and drank my cold, delicious beer.
Monday, June 18, 2007
coast to coast on two wheels
sadly, i will have to take a hiatus from chicago rides this summer. gladly, it's because i'm busy riding my bike across the country! i'm riding with bike & build, a nonprofit that raises money and awareness for affordable housing causes across the nation. i'm on the southern route, riding from jacksonville, FL to san francisco. you can follow my trip on our blog, updated by a different rider each day. (well, until we run out of riders; then we start over again.)
though i'm obviously sad to miss CCM, especially june's rumored jaunt up sheridan road, i'll be doing my best to mass from the road. for june's CM, we'll be in new orleans! so i have declared that i am totally going, and that everyone else should go, too. it seems they meet in jackson square at the usual time of 5:30. (we're in n'awlins for a while doing build days and whatnot, so getting a bike map of the city will be high on my to-do list). for july we'll be in kayenta, AZ, though, and i'm just guessing that they don't have a critical mass up and running. alas. we arrive in san francisco on august 16, and i'm going to couch-surf until the SFCM on the 31st. and of COURSE i'll be in chicago for the 10-year anniversary mass in september.
ok, this public library closes soon so i best wrap it up. um, biking all day is fun! our first ride, 60 miles, was the longest i had done to date. but i did it! and i did another 60 miles the next day, and another 60 the next. today we had an easy day of a mere 50 miles. oh my legs will be so mighty, and my brooks will be so broken in.
though i'm obviously sad to miss CCM, especially june's rumored jaunt up sheridan road, i'll be doing my best to mass from the road. for june's CM, we'll be in new orleans! so i have declared that i am totally going, and that everyone else should go, too. it seems they meet in jackson square at the usual time of 5:30. (we're in n'awlins for a while doing build days and whatnot, so getting a bike map of the city will be high on my to-do list). for july we'll be in kayenta, AZ, though, and i'm just guessing that they don't have a critical mass up and running. alas. we arrive in san francisco on august 16, and i'm going to couch-surf until the SFCM on the 31st. and of COURSE i'll be in chicago for the 10-year anniversary mass in september.
ok, this public library closes soon so i best wrap it up. um, biking all day is fun! our first ride, 60 miles, was the longest i had done to date. but i did it! and i did another 60 miles the next day, and another 60 the next. today we had an easy day of a mere 50 miles. oh my legs will be so mighty, and my brooks will be so broken in.
Monday, June 11, 2007
i rear-ended a car.
oh yes, yes i did. and i got bruises, bruises so epic that johnny payphone commented on them after saturday's wnbr. (man has an eljay! this pleases me greatly.)
the left side of my face slammed against the car's trunk. amusingly enough, a resulting bruise under my eye made half of me, just half, look really sleepy for a couple days. i got a nice welt on my left thigh and banged up my right knee. i chipped a tooth and nearly bit through my lip—turns out it's scary to spit blood! but the most painful thing is that i killed pierre, at least for now.
a beautiful thing ended that night. more than one.
why yes, i can show you pictures, at least of pierre and my chipped tooth. maybe i will post them when i'm older.
the left side of my face slammed against the car's trunk. amusingly enough, a resulting bruise under my eye made half of me, just half, look really sleepy for a couple days. i got a nice welt on my left thigh and banged up my right knee. i chipped a tooth and nearly bit through my lip—turns out it's scary to spit blood! but the most painful thing is that i killed pierre, at least for now.
a beautiful thing ended that night. more than one.
why yes, i can show you pictures, at least of pierre and my chipped tooth. maybe i will post them when i'm older.
Saturday, June 2, 2007
r.i.p. pierre
the frame is bent. just behind the headset, on both of the "top" tubes and on the bottom tube.
the front wheel is trapped to the right of the frame. this bike will only be ridden again if the front wheel is replaced with a much smaller one. or if the rider only wants to go in counter-clockwise circles.
look at how i detach from it. a week ago, i would have talked about pierre and his headset; now it's "the"s and "it"s and "this bike"s.
so, pierre. has some tight components. his french-threaded bottom bracket is hard to find, so i could sell it or, in the event of future peugeots, hang onto it. the saddle, handlebars, pedals, and rack will likely be transferred to the bicycle of my future. the fork and seat tube are probably fine, but not necessarily worth saving. the wheels seem fine, the brake is fine, all the drive train shit is fine; the derailleur is all of three weeks old.
i cannot believe this. i am stripping down and piecing out pierre, undressing him with my mind. (i would do it with my eyes, but to see him i'd have to move to the other side of the couch.)
rest in... piece?
the front wheel is trapped to the right of the frame. this bike will only be ridden again if the front wheel is replaced with a much smaller one. or if the rider only wants to go in counter-clockwise circles.
look at how i detach from it. a week ago, i would have talked about pierre and his headset; now it's "the"s and "it"s and "this bike"s.
so, pierre. has some tight components. his french-threaded bottom bracket is hard to find, so i could sell it or, in the event of future peugeots, hang onto it. the saddle, handlebars, pedals, and rack will likely be transferred to the bicycle of my future. the fork and seat tube are probably fine, but not necessarily worth saving. the wheels seem fine, the brake is fine, all the drive train shit is fine; the derailleur is all of three weeks old.
i cannot believe this. i am stripping down and piecing out pierre, undressing him with my mind. (i would do it with my eyes, but to see him i'd have to move to the other side of the couch.)
rest in... piece?
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