Addiction L8
05-25-16, 07:14 AM
#3776
Mostly Harmless
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Chittenango, NY
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Bikes: Have two wheels
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Usually, it's crazy windy on Saturday then rains on Sunday before turning lovely and calm on Monday when I'm back at work and this has discouraged my bike riding. This last Saturday it was windy again and I thought we were in for a repeat of the pattern. But Sunday it was not windy and not raining and LoP suggested we ride to IHOP for breakfast. I said "No way I'm going to make it all the way to IHOP on the other side of town." He said we should at least ride to Denny's. My plan had been to ride the half mile to the Kum & Go, buy a hot dog, rent a Redbox movie and come home but I agreed to go to Denny's even though I was sure there was no way I was going to be able to ride the whole 1.6 miles each way. But I did want to test out the new cheetah-printed Vans so off we went. I rode about a half-mile and had to stop because I was panting and my heart was thundering and, of course, I hadn't eaten anything before we left because I'm a slow learner. LoP had ridden pretty far ahead and came back to see what was up. I told him I was waiting for my heart to slow down and that I was going to put a bottle cage back on my bike so when I stopped, people would just assume I was drinking as opposed to being too puny to go on. I sent him off again and had a little talk with myself. "If you want there to be any bacon, you'd better get moving. Do you want to get to Denny's and have them tell you that they already sold all the bacon to people who got there earlier? If you don't want LoP to eat all the bacon before you arrive, you'd better get your butt in gear and start pedaling this bike." And it worked. I rode about another mile and only had to stop one more time. I walked the bike the last quarter of a block and across the busy street because I was just beat and because traffic made up of giant trucks farting diesel clouds.
We both had grits and cheese. LoP had hash browns and sausage; I had the new jalapeno honey bacon and yogurt. And we had some fairly decent coffee.
After we were done, we started talking to the couple at the next table and it turns out the woman is in charge of the historical museum here in Rock Springs. She invited us to come down and take a look around.
The ride home was much better than the ride out and I give a lot of credit to my having eaten breakfast. (Gee, ingesting calories in order to having something to burn while you exercise. What a concept?!) I rode through a number of puddles and got both me and the bike dirty, which is something I'd like to do more of, and even had the urge to turn off onto a road I passed just to see where it went. (I should do that this weekend especially because they're predicting it will be decent weather.) The Vans are excellent as expected and because I was able to fit into a size 6 I saved $15. I guess I should thank LoP for pushing me to go further than I thought I'd be able to even though when we got home we still didn't have a movie.
We both had grits and cheese. LoP had hash browns and sausage; I had the new jalapeno honey bacon and yogurt. And we had some fairly decent coffee.
After we were done, we started talking to the couple at the next table and it turns out the woman is in charge of the historical museum here in Rock Springs. She invited us to come down and take a look around.
The ride home was much better than the ride out and I give a lot of credit to my having eaten breakfast. (Gee, ingesting calories in order to having something to burn while you exercise. What a concept?!) I rode through a number of puddles and got both me and the bike dirty, which is something I'd like to do more of, and even had the urge to turn off onto a road I passed just to see where it went. (I should do that this weekend especially because they're predicting it will be decent weather.) The Vans are excellent as expected and because I was able to fit into a size 6 I saved $15. I guess I should thank LoP for pushing me to go further than I thought I'd be able to even though when we got home we still didn't have a movie.
05-25-16, 07:25 AM
#3777
Vain, But Lacking Talent
So yeah, mission "get-off-of-your-ass-and-ride-a-bike-in-regular-clothes" was a success this morning. I almost wussed out because it was really humid. I just had to keep the pace down.
Unfortunately, the brake pads I used are absolute doodooo. I can't get them to be quiet. Setting the toe-in on the pads does nothing. They are LOUD. Like people with their stereos blasting probably turn it down to be sure they aren't hearing the severe weather warning sirens. I'll have to pick some up.
EDIT: Dammit, no. I'm an idiot. I was just thinking about it and I set the brakes toe out instead of toe in. I don't know why I immediately forget how to do that every time I'm done working on canti or v-brakes.
Unfortunately, the brake pads I used are absolute doodooo. I can't get them to be quiet. Setting the toe-in on the pads does nothing. They are LOUD. Like people with their stereos blasting probably turn it down to be sure they aren't hearing the severe weather warning sirens. I'll have to pick some up.
EDIT: Dammit, no. I'm an idiot. I was just thinking about it and I set the brakes toe out instead of toe in. I don't know why I immediately forget how to do that every time I'm done working on canti or v-brakes.
Last edited by WalksOn2Wheels; 05-25-16 at 07:36 AM.
05-25-16, 07:39 AM
#3778
serious cyclist
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Austin
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Bikes: S1, R2, P2
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05-25-16, 07:46 AM
#3779
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: TC, MN
Posts: 39,520
Bikes: R3 Disc, Haanjo
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05-25-16, 07:49 AM
#3780
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: TC, MN
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I know, I was giving you a hard time. Isn't giving each other a hard time the actual subject of Addiction? In any event, I like words that come off the tongue in interesting ways, too. For years, now, my personal favorite in that regard has been 'rhododendron.'
05-25-16, 07:50 AM
#3781
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Houston, TX
Posts: 28,682
Bikes: 1990 Romic Reynolds 531 custom build, Merlin Works CR Ti custom build, super light Workswell 066 custom build
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That's why I liked my trunk lid rack that was the same design as a roof rack. Carried the bike the same, but lower down so that there was no danger of hitting overhead stuff. Also they were more aerodynamic than the roof rack because the bike was tucked behind the rear window. It became obsolete when trunk lids became too short from front to back to support the rack properly.
05-25-16, 07:57 AM
#3782
Vain, But Lacking Talent
That's why I liked my trunk lid rack that was the same design as a roof rack. Carried the bike the same, but lower down so that there was no danger of hitting overhead stuff. Also they were more aerodynamic than the roof rack because the bike was tucked behind the rear window. It became obsolete when trunk lids became too short from front to back to support the rack properly.
05-25-16, 08:12 AM
#3783
Administrator
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Hudson Valley, NY
Posts: 32,989
Bikes: Merlin Cyrene '04; Bridgestone RB-1 '92
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See, this is why we can't have nice things. - - smarkinson
Where else but the internet can a bunch of cyclists go and be the tough guy? - - jdon
05-25-16, 08:16 AM
#3784
Serious Cyclist
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: RVA
Posts: 9,308
Bikes: Emonda SL6
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So yeah, mission "get-off-of-your-ass-and-ride-a-bike-in-regular-clothes" was a success this morning. I almost wussed out because it was really humid. I just had to keep the pace down.
Unfortunately, the brake pads I used are absolute doodooo. I can't get them to be quiet. Setting the toe-in on the pads does nothing. They are LOUD. Like people with their stereos blasting probably turn it down to be sure they aren't hearing the severe weather warning sirens. I'll have to pick some up.
EDIT: Dammit, no. I'm an idiot. I was just thinking about it and I set the brakes toe out instead of toe in. I don't know why I immediately forget how to do that every time I'm done working on canti or v-brakes.
Unfortunately, the brake pads I used are absolute doodooo. I can't get them to be quiet. Setting the toe-in on the pads does nothing. They are LOUD. Like people with their stereos blasting probably turn it down to be sure they aren't hearing the severe weather warning sirens. I'll have to pick some up.
EDIT: Dammit, no. I'm an idiot. I was just thinking about it and I set the brakes toe out instead of toe in. I don't know why I immediately forget how to do that every time I'm done working on canti or v-brakes.
05-25-16, 08:18 AM
#3785
Serious Cyclist
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: RVA
Posts: 9,308
Bikes: Emonda SL6
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On bike racks- Roof racks look nifty and clean and allow access to your trunk while the bike is mounted, but I don't see any reason why I'd need anything more than the trunk-mounted Saris rack I've used for the last few years. Holds 2 bikes, seems perfectly secure even when I've "accidentally" found myself going 90 mph with the bike mounted, and it's easy to mount/unmount and store. It's also a hell of a lot cheaper than any actual roof rack system, but I guess the costs get closer if you already have a car with cross bars.
05-25-16, 08:29 AM
#3786
Speechless
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Central NY
Posts: 8,842
Bikes: Felt Brougham, Lotus Prestige, Cinelli Xperience,
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For me, the wedding ring eliminated any use for a garage door opener. My roof mounted bikes have a 0% chance of garage collision at home.
05-25-16, 08:30 AM
#3787
Super Modest
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Central Illinois
Posts: 23,466
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Keep the chain tight!
05-25-16, 08:38 AM
#3788
Serious Cyclist
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: RVA
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I complained a couple weeks (and probably ~50 addiction pages) ago about my driver's side door rattling in my new-ish Jetta and how the dealership refused to help me without first trying to get me to pay $150 to have the door panel pulled.
I did some more reading on it, and apparently there's a quirk in the design of the felt/rubber seals between the door and the car frame that causes them to rub and creak when the window is fully up, but not when it's down just a touch.
On the recommendation of some car forum folks, I went and got a bottle of silicone lubricant for $2, liberally applied all over the rubber sealing strips that contact the frame, and the rattle is now completely gone.
Love a simple fix.
Now to figure out why my wife's 2011 Jetta no longer has functional windshield washers. Fingers crossed that it's just a blown fuse, since she's definitely out of warranty.
I did some more reading on it, and apparently there's a quirk in the design of the felt/rubber seals between the door and the car frame that causes them to rub and creak when the window is fully up, but not when it's down just a touch.
On the recommendation of some car forum folks, I went and got a bottle of silicone lubricant for $2, liberally applied all over the rubber sealing strips that contact the frame, and the rattle is now completely gone.
Love a simple fix.
Now to figure out why my wife's 2011 Jetta no longer has functional windshield washers. Fingers crossed that it's just a blown fuse, since she's definitely out of warranty.
05-25-16, 08:46 AM
#3789
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2015
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Negotiation time for new jobby soon. Offer is anemic @ $40k salary and 2% commission (with approx 150k in biz accounts out the gate so $3000) so $43k total.
Currently at 52k- told them I was currently at 58k in interview.. Going to barter for $50-52k , 3% commission, relocation money of ~$1000-1500?
Expected first year commission earning of something like $6000-$7000 additional probably.
Advice from seasoned veterans? No, I can't ask my family, they are grocery baggers.
I understand bargaining for straight salary, but working in the commission element is a slight curve ball for what I'm used to.
Currently at 52k- told them I was currently at 58k in interview.. Going to barter for $50-52k , 3% commission, relocation money of ~$1000-1500?
Expected first year commission earning of something like $6000-$7000 additional probably.
Advice from seasoned veterans? No, I can't ask my family, they are grocery baggers.
I understand bargaining for straight salary, but working in the commission element is a slight curve ball for what I'm used to.
Last edited by topslop1; 05-25-16 at 08:50 AM.
05-25-16, 08:51 AM
#3790
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2015
Posts: 3,466
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I complained a couple weeks (and probably ~50 addiction pages) ago about my driver's side door rattling in my new-ish Jetta and how the dealership refused to help me without first trying to get me to pay $150 to have the door panel pulled.
I did some more reading on it, and apparently there's a quirk in the design of the felt/rubber seals between the door and the car frame that causes them to rub and creak when the window is fully up, but not when it's down just a touch.
On the recommendation of some car forum folks, I went and got a bottle of silicone lubricant for $2, liberally applied all over the rubber sealing strips that contact the frame, and the rattle is now completely gone.
Love a simple fix.
Now to figure out why my wife's 2011 Jetta no longer has functional windshield washers. Fingers crossed that it's just a blown fuse, since she's definitely out of warranty.
I did some more reading on it, and apparently there's a quirk in the design of the felt/rubber seals between the door and the car frame that causes them to rub and creak when the window is fully up, but not when it's down just a touch.
On the recommendation of some car forum folks, I went and got a bottle of silicone lubricant for $2, liberally applied all over the rubber sealing strips that contact the frame, and the rattle is now completely gone.
Love a simple fix.
Now to figure out why my wife's 2011 Jetta no longer has functional windshield washers. Fingers crossed that it's just a blown fuse, since she's definitely out of warranty.
05-25-16, 09:10 AM
#3791
Vain, But Lacking Talent
Did you sand the pads down a bit and/or scrub the braking surface with a degreaser and then wipe the rim down with a wet cloth? I occasionally get squeaky braking but it's always silenced immediately by doing those 2 things. If the pads are just old and sanding does nothing then yea, time for new pads.
05-25-16, 09:17 AM
#3792
serious cyclist
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Austin
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Yup, that helps. Every year at IMTX, though, someone drives into one of the parking garages with their megabuck bike on top, and the garage trick won't help with that...
05-25-16, 09:18 AM
#3793
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Houston, TX
Posts: 28,682
Bikes: 1990 Romic Reynolds 531 custom build, Merlin Works CR Ti custom build, super light Workswell 066 custom build
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Negotiation time for new jobby soon. Offer is anemic @ $40k salary and 2% commission (with approx 150k in biz accounts out the gate so $3000) so $43k total.
Currently at 52k- told them I was currently at 58k in interview.. Going to barter for $50-52k , 3% commission, relocation money of ~$1000-1500?
Expected first year commission earning of something like $6000-$7000 additional probably.
Advice from seasoned veterans? No, I can't ask my family, they are grocery baggers.
I understand bargaining for straight salary, but working in the commission element is a slight curve ball for what I'm used to.
Currently at 52k- told them I was currently at 58k in interview.. Going to barter for $50-52k , 3% commission, relocation money of ~$1000-1500?
Expected first year commission earning of something like $6000-$7000 additional probably.
Advice from seasoned veterans? No, I can't ask my family, they are grocery baggers.
I understand bargaining for straight salary, but working in the commission element is a slight curve ball for what I'm used to.
One can usually tell whether a job is right by the salary offered. If the salary isn't right, it is quite possible that the job isn't right either no matter what it says in the job description and recruiting advertisement. Same for the work environment. If your cube/desk/office environment doesn't meet up to your expectations, it could be a strong indicator that the job isn't really what you are wanting either. Beware. Salary and working conditions are where the rubber meets the road. These kinds of signals are important and have a lot of meaning. Don't ignore them.
Also if they believe your claim of k$58 and still offered you k$43, you don't want to work there. They are not serious about you. It is all about them. I would much rather have had them come back and say you are overqualified and not make an offer. At least that would be straight up.
05-25-16, 09:19 AM
#3794
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: NW Indiana
Posts: 7,108
Bikes: 2016 Giant Propel Advanced SL 1
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Negotiation time for new jobby soon. Offer is anemic @ $40k salary and 2% commission (with approx 150k in biz accounts out the gate so $3000) so $43k total.
Currently at 52k- told them I was currently at 58k in interview.. Going to barter for $50-52k , 3% commission, relocation money of ~$1000-1500?
Expected first year commission earning of something like $6000-$7000 additional probably.
Advice from seasoned veterans? No, I can't ask my family, they are grocery baggers.
I understand bargaining for straight salary, but working in the commission element is a slight curve ball for what I'm used to.
Currently at 52k- told them I was currently at 58k in interview.. Going to barter for $50-52k , 3% commission, relocation money of ~$1000-1500?
Expected first year commission earning of something like $6000-$7000 additional probably.
Advice from seasoned veterans? No, I can't ask my family, they are grocery baggers.
I understand bargaining for straight salary, but working in the commission element is a slight curve ball for what I'm used to.
I do have one comment though. I would not have told them that I am currently at $58k when I am actually at $52k.
05-25-16, 09:30 AM
#3795
So it is
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Westminster, CO
Posts: 21,340
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05-25-16, 09:32 AM
#3796
Casually Deliberate
Yeah, back at the bike shop we had a crabon bike that had been absolutely destroyed because someone had it on top of the car and drove into the garage. A steel bike would have come through it A-okay and everything would have been great unless it damaged the garage door.
05-25-16, 09:36 AM
#3797
Vain, But Lacking Talent
So now I'm looking at 100+ bucks for new tires and tubes on the Crockett just so I can do a 100K route that costs 45 dollars to attend.
I think I might do one more gravel ride on my current tires and really push the limits on the PSI. I want to do the event and I really don't like the way the tires ride, but I don't want to spend another chunk of change for a set of tires that will not see a whole lot of use throughout the year.
I think I might do one more gravel ride on my current tires and really push the limits on the PSI. I want to do the event and I really don't like the way the tires ride, but I don't want to spend another chunk of change for a set of tires that will not see a whole lot of use throughout the year.
05-25-16, 09:39 AM
#3798
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Tampa, FL
Posts: 1,940
Bikes: 1986 Raleigh Competition (Restored to Original), 1986 Cannonade SR400 (Updated to Dura Ace 7800)
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I've been gone for 9 months... what did I miss? 
05-25-16, 09:39 AM
#3799
Senior Member
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I have negotiated salary and compensation for a number of jobs. Unfortunately, I've never negotiated for a position involving commission. So, I can't help you much on that front.
I do have one comment though. I would not have told them that I am currently at $58k when I am actually at $52k.
I do have one comment though. I would not have told them that I am currently at $58k when I am actually at $52k.
I did hear 'you'll eclipse 58/yr here' from the folk on the other side of the table, but I don't believe much from anyone.. I know that someone there as an insider (who has been there for 3-4 years) is currently @ $85k and on the initial $40k/yr salary.
I'm in a stupid position where I have til June to re-sign on my lease here for another year, which I refuse to do. Working at my current place of employment for another year in my opinion would be a mistake.
If I can get this thing to cut even at $52-60k and I have reduced spending for housing that is a net gain towards student loan repayment, although it isn't a 'step forward' from a career point.
Thinking my best course of action is try to push, take the 'break even or slightly more after commission' salary, use home-base as unsigned/uncommitted housing, and continue to work on project management jobs in an actual target area that I'd like (Texas).
This skills vs. job market bit just kinda sucks right now I think.. I'm still too early career, bah humbug.