Today the wind was just right to make my spinergy sound like a helicopter
http://s3.amazonaws.com/kym-assets/e...jpg?1310883034

I got a ****ing day, Things went like this:
i may lay the bike for god for such a long time,i mean it is a long long time i hadn't even touch my bike, and just go to work by getting on the bus then debus. the so regular life is ending by the new girl coming to our company, when i try to date her, to my surprise, she date me. and we make an appointment to have a cycling on our way home, actually that is not the direction for my home. to be honest the things went smoothly.
but it suddenly got a heavy wind, and some poeple were falling down by the wind, a thoughts strike my mind is i need to hide in some place to avoid the wind, still then high sinkers hit me and i had no ideas about the things later. thanks to the girl call the ambulance and i am fine now.

I don't think I'm going. If anything I'm probably going to do a longer ride up toward Sausalito.

I feel pretty ****ing terrible about this ticket though, and I'm crazy paranoid about getting out there riding again.

Here's a funny little tidbit for y'all:

He asked me what kind of bike I was riding. I said a 'track bike.'

When I got the ticket back he had written 'TREK.'

today i went home to san diego and had a nice little package from retrogression waiting for me in the living room. :)

california cops are cracking down on everything according to the commercials. seat belts, drunk drivers, driving while on the cell phone enthusiasts, and now bicyclists.

moved my cranks and wheelset from the 725 to the soma, put on my 17t pw cog. soma feels like a completely different bike now.

Yeah.. I'm in not hurry at all. Mainly stem length that I need to figure out.

Today I registered for my first ever cyclocross race. Oct. 2. I'm terrified.

Don't worry about it... you'll survive. Just have fun!

I understood 0% of that

I mostly need to figure out the remount. I can dismount fine, but every time my brain says, "ok, run alongside the bike then just swing your leg over and leap on!" my body says "you crazy, *****" and more or less refuses. (Actually what happens is I hesitate and fall over or look stupid or just stop. Doesn't help that I had my rack on the bike -- will be taking that off soon -- and when I swing my leg over the back wheel, I smashed the inside of my ankle on it. Ouch.) Also I've never done barriers and given how short I am, they will be a challenge. I will be practicing this weekend.

It helps to watch video of it. When you remount, it's all about commitment.

Committing to bring your leg up, up, up. Make sure you bend the knee and bring your arms out

Committing to not do a little hop-jump with your left leg.

To avoid sensitive areas, try to mount on the inside of your right thigh, then square your hips out.

In other words, trust that you're bringing your leg up high enough, and the rest will follow through. First it takes a lot of commitment. Then it's practice, then it becomes natural every time.

I got my BB swapped out today. And, of course, the one I replaced it with, despite trying to measure and basing length off of most stock cranksets, it was too short. Did some moving of stuff, got the chainline back to basically-normal. And since I have longer bolts and having to swap my chainring guard to the inside, it rubs ever so slightly on my chainstay. So many problems, constant aggravation. Kind of want to throw my bike out in the road right now.

today I sold my fork

Don't throw it in the road! Ship it across the lake to me haha. But seriously... I have no advice. Where is Scrod when you need him?

Today I saw a sign that said that cyclists have to follow stop signs along my commute route put up by UC police; because of me! Seeing it I remembered that I did blow that exact stop sign (it's 3 way) while there was a female UC cop directing traffic that day and I remember vaguely that a female voice (most likely hers) called for me to stop. I feel honored and now I'm tempted to steal that sign and hang it up back home.

definitely steal the sign.

today i repacked these:

http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/...1/DSC_0005.jpg

smoothest hubs ive ever used. the bearing system on these are unlike anything ive seen before...

edit: also about to adjust my hoods because they are giving me palm issues.

...got my first paycheck at my new job!
now to see how long it lasts before it magically turns into bike parts...

Today I went to the unemployment office to see what was up. They have to call me back. Lame. Then I went to an LBS to see if they could use an unpaid, inexperienced mechanic/shop-monkey just so I have something to do during my downtime, and so that I can learn more about fixing on bikes. The shop manager wasn't in, so they have to call me back too. Double lame.

What's different about them?

Well off the bat, loose ball hubs/ BBs are much smoother than cartridge based ones.... than comes the high end ones such as the superbes with higher tolerances and workmanship, the design of the bearing system (no seal drag) and more in the case of these, proper care by longjohns and the previous owner.

That is why I say that for example, using a protype BB from ben's with 75's is taking away part of the 75 experience when you ride them.

The unemployment office is likely just verifying why you are no longer employed. If you quit voluntarily, you can't collect unemployment. If you were let go for business reasons out of your control, you are eligible. Also, there is no shame in collecting unemployment. It's YOUR MONEY. We all contribute to the system like a forced savings account. There is a ledger with your name on it that lists how much money you've contributed. They then just give you that money back at a certain rate. High earners contribute a lot and get bigger weekly checks, low earners contribute a little and get smaller weekly checks. Only when you exhaust the money that you put into the system do you start spending other people's money. Also, the money you put in "expires" after a certain time and stays in the pot without your name attached to it.

If you do get unemployment, getting a low paying job might not be a great idea. Let's say you are are due $200/week (for a round number) in unemployment compensation but make $125/week at the bike shop you are considered to be "under-employed", the unemployment people will only cut you a check for $75 ($200 - 125 = 75). This does lower the rate at which you withdraw your money from the system, but you don't have any more loot in your pocket at the end of the week. If you expect to be gainfully employed within a few weeks/months, it may be better to wait for the big job instead of taking small jobs.

EDIT: Also, unemployment compensation is considered taxable income. So, you can pay taxes on it now by having it taking out automatically or you will have to pay on it later at tax time.

So, it really depends on:
1) How long you expect to be unemployed
2) If the temp job pays more than your unemployment

Yeah, I've been through this before. I am eligible, since I was cut due to lack of funds. The bad part, is I owe the IDES (Illinois Department of Employment Security) a little bit of money. A former employer closed up shop so I got unemployment, and then he reported that all of his employees got rehired. Cue IDES saying I now owe them $300. Between that and $2000 worth of payroll bouncing, there is a lawsuit in action. My lawyer told me not to pay IDES until the suit is over, one way or the other.

its kinda like a sealed bearing with no inner race. the inner race is part of the cone on the axle.

like the one on the left.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3523/...fb2d5a.jpg?v=0