I just realized I missed out on the tour. where is my mind?

I registered on bikeforums.net...

scrapping the airwing OS's and putting drops/hoods on the bike tonight.

Welcome! We tend to be elitist jerks, but you'll get used to it.

pics or gtfo

I saw a bro riding fixed, brakeless, with no foot retention, and he was wearing flip-flops. No helmet, no shirt, riding on very busy road. I cried.

Also today I found two fledglings that had fallen out of their nest. One landed on a metal picnic table and essentially cooked its underside and organs. It was alive when I found it; I gave it water and took it to the shade but it passed away shortly after. Its nestmate had landed in the grass, unharmed, so I brought it to the bird rescue center. I'm bummed that the one didn't make it, but at least I get to keep its body. I'm going to deflesh the skull and mummify the legs and wings.

Yesterday my mean dog killed a finch by pouncing on it and crushing it in her mouth. There are no wounds on the skin so I put it in the freezer for defleshing/mummification. It's been a pretty good weekend.

Do you have photos of other animals you have done?

Finished it. Trimmed about an inch off the bars. Bought a freewheel for $15 and a 4 prong remover as mine has gone missing. Everything else was in my garage. Going to swap some parts around and wind up with black calipers, crankarms and a chain that isn't white. Some bar tape that isn't just stretched and faded take off would be nice and maybe a front wheel that isn't QR while I'm at it.

brought the pads fairly high up in the arms, angled down toward the braking surface. then used a rubber band (type for lobster claws) on the rear of the pad to set the toe in (approx 1mm). cleaned both braking surfaces with Simple Green. back has been silent since. front gave a little squeal the first use, nothing since. can now lock both up without a sound....

I haven't done any others. I've never been fortunate enough to find such fresh corpses with intact skulls and limbs. I'll post a photoblog of the whole process on my Wordpress and then give you a link. It might be a week or two before I get started. Still trying to decide exactly what I wanna do.

Today I discovered after my 40 mile road ride, that I had chords showing on the rear tire. So I'm going to see if it's true that the thickslicks are going to last despite the ugly lower sidewall.

buddy just emailed me and said he's dropping off an "old" lugged steel Raleigh he grabbed at a yard sale because he thought i might like it.

it's "too big" for him, and he takes a 55cm. so here's hoping. i usually go 57-58...

Woo!

I forgot to mention, I blew past my neighbor while on my ride today, didn't even recognize him until he caught up 2 miles later while at a traffic light. Must have gotten a new bike and kit over the last couple of days.

Today I did a lot of research on cutting edge cancer treatments, and now I'm increasingly paranoid about this popped blood vessel bulge thing I have in my eye.

I wouldn't worry about it.

sniped out of two very nice steel quill stems, Salsa and Ritchey Force, today in the last few seconds. Both ended around the same time so it feels like an extra large let down. But I am an eBay newb and I need to find a new strategy. At least I won some Campy shifters earlier.

Went for a night ride.

I don't even bid anymore, I just spend hours scouting the best Buy-It-Nows. I feel like I've been outbid by robots before, because seconds after I place a bid I get one-upped by some anonymous. Too aggravating.

Today I went to a flea market and bought a 3/4 size classical guitar for $40. After I tuned it I went and got drunk at a neighborhood bar where I met a very nice, very tattooed, very busty bartender who comped 1 1/2 of my beers.

Pics or didn't happen

I was up before dawn and spent the morning beating the heat and overhauled my shed to serve as an extra storage area for bikes and this evening went for an excellent ride on my friend's Catrike which he is lending me for the next week...



Also sold my daughter's extra road bicycle to a very nice lady which covers the cost of her new road bicycle and spent a few hours making sure this bike was gleaming and perfect for it's new home.

Challenge accepted:



I'll try to snap a creepy stalker pic of the lady in action next time.

Today I stuck to my newly imposed diet pretty well. High protein, leafy greens, and not a lot of starch/sugar. Only had one beer before switching to whiskey neat, and for snacks I'm eating roasted nuts. Also, cut my cigarette intake by half. I currently weigh 225, and I'll have measurements soon. I'm completely serious about this. The way I see it, even if I don't end up as a semi-pro or higher racer, I'll still be in terrific shape.

Good stuff Bryan. I was drinking whiskey neat last night too. I needed it after having a run-in with a real winner in a Cadillac. Lic plate H35-8345, newer silver/grey Cadillac (not sure of the model).

I was coming home from Rogers Park so I was heading south on California, just before Lawrence, it was very residential with a stop sign every block, and this Cadillac was going the same way I was - so I never caused him any harm or caused him to stop or anything. He apparently just got really pissed off that I wasn't stopping for 3 seconds at every stop sign... because I hear a couple toots of his horn (and at this point I have no idea anything is even going on, just a nice Sunday afternoon bike ride)... so I hear the horn and I turn to look back and he guns it and swerves at me while yelling things. He came within an inch or less of hitting me, pretty scary, some older (60's) white guy with white hair and white beard.
So he hits the red light at Lawrence and we're both turning right so I make the turn with him and I'm looking into his passenger window while we're rolling and I'm just smiling and waving him to pull over, and he's waving his fist and yelling but his windows are up so I have no clue what he's even mad about but we pull over and I lean my bike against a pole and walk over to his door before he even opens it, he steps out and I'm at least a foot taller than him (plus I have my bike lock in my belt, ready to be swung if need be).

Me: what the **** is your problem man?
Him: you didn't stop at those stop signs!!!
Me: so you're going to run me over?? that's going to make you feel better??
Him: well you didn't stop at any of those signs!!
Me: so what? you never speed or run red lights? you don't roll through stop signs? you don't turn right on red when you're not supposed to?
Him: ... [silence and stuttering]
Me: that's what I thought. [walking away back to my bike]
Him: you have no rights!!! [yes plural, and this while I'm walking away]

I wanted to explain to him that yes cyclists actually do have rights and ask what he thought about those white bike lanes - you know, the ones with the pretty white bicycles painted on the road... but what's the use.

It gets better.

So we are still going the same way unfortunately and he makes the left onto Manor (as do I) and now I'm behind him and he is purposely slamming on his brakes hard at every stop sign, to show me that he does stop or maybe to demonstrate how one would stop at a stop sign, or possibly to try to get me to crash into his car... but eventually he ends up going slight right at a fork and I go slight left and I think PHEW! it's over with. Nope.
He must have turned left onto Montrose because I turned right onto Montrose and here he comes at me in the oncoming lane. I check back to see if I can take the lane, no cars, so I do take the lane because I'm turning left at California, and this god damn maniac swerves at me - comes across the yellow lines and is yelling stuff and almost hits me head-on.

So then I flip him the bird while avoiding his car, pull over and promptly call 311 police non-emergency. I had his plate number and description and location and they took all the info and seemed concerned and said they would have someone pull him over.

I doubt he got pulled over but I'm hoping there may be some kind of note somewhere so if he does this again and hits someone they can see that he has a history of violence and irrational wreckless behavior. Hopefully then they won't blame the cyclist involved.

Sorry for the long story but yeah, crappy afternoon ride with a psychopath. So once I got back to the crib I went out with the wife for some drinks. All's well that ends well I guess but it's crazy that this guy was that riled up and I honestly did not cut him off or cause him to have to slow or stop or anything. We were going the exact same direction and I really was just cruising along minding my own business. Not that I never make any mistakes or wrong moves out there, sometimes I do and I usually wave and/or apologize.

*funny thing happened just after he went right at the fork and I went left, I came to a 4-way stop and there was a woman stopped there to my left and it was her turn to go so I stopped, and waited, and she just sat there looking at me and waved for me to go, but I had already stopped completely because it was clearly her turn to go (she had been stopped there before I got to the intersection). But no, she was nervous and just waved for me to go - meanwhile other cars had reached the stop lines at various parts of this 4-way stop so I went but then it was all jacked up and people thought she was parked or stopped or waiting so they tried to go and then everyone was stopped in the middle of the intersection... total cluster****. Exactly the point of why cyclists don't always stop at stop signs, it depends on the situation and whose turn it is to stop. If we can roll through without causing anyone else to alter their course - it's all good.

Wow, that blows man. Glad you're ok though. What were you up to in RP? Next time you're up this way, hit me up. If I'm not busy we can do something.

My friend just bought a house up near Western and Lunt. I cruised up there to hang out with him and check out his newly purchased home.

Do you eat meat? There's a RIGHTEOUS bbq joint on Lunt just west of Western. I forget the name but it's quite good. They have several sauces, I dug the one with a "C" on it, which I think was for "chipotle". The pulled pork was damn good and the "meaty beans" were awesome too.
I'd be down to hit that up sometime or just ride bikes or whatever. I don't get up that way often but I'll try to holler next time I do.