Saturday Stuff
I got my bike back from the shop last night - sans computer :( It's like it's naked or something! (not that being naked is a bad thing mind you). Sunday promises to be a warm day so hope to get out and crank a few miles.

As winter closes in here in New England and I am unable to get out on the road and do my thang, you're going to start seeing more geek/life related posts and less cycling related posts..hope you don't mind (seeing as the winter is going to be something like ....."Rode 45 minutes on the trainer again today. This time I listened to Tool instead of Incubus!!!". Not all that exciting.)

This weeks Punk Ass Poll is up, go vote - It's good practice !!
 
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Posted by PunkAss at 8:12 AM

  Me Too
As a Bostonian, I would be remiss if I didn't say OMFG!!!! The Red Sox won the World Series!!?
The Moon will now explode and the Earth will be enveloped in Jello.......
 
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Posted by PunkAss at 8:52 AM

  Stuck
What's brown and sticky...............................................................................................A stick!! That's my favorite bad joke of all time (thx Buzz !). This is what happens to me when I'm unable to ride ...pretty frickin' sad. Here's the thing, my bike got damaged in transit to California. Something happened to the Computer so that it will display all of the various modes but will not register speed or mileage...errrrrrr. Two different mechanics on the MS ride concluded that it was the wiring harness. So, A week ago Saturday I put it in the shop to get it fixed. I heard from them last Friday and was told that they tried everything to get it working but couldn't; so they're going to have to ship the whole thing back to Shimano for a warranty repair and it should take a couple of weeks. Well, this now becomes a "Good news - Bad News" scenario. Good news: I don't have to pay for the repair (yay!) Bad news: I'm now without a computer on my bike for what may be the rest of the riding season (booo!). The reason this is particularly bad timing is that I only have 143 miles left to go to reach my 2000 mile goal for the year and no easy way to track any mileage that I do. Sure I can go drive the route after I ride it, but that can be a major pain in the butt. Plus it's starting to get really sucky out; call me a wuss for only riding down to 45 degrees but I like to actually enjoy my rides, not have them be a chore. I know I'm just putting an awful lot of pressure on my self , but I'm just soooo close to my goal.

The results from last weeks poll: A tie between Shimano and Campy for best bike components.

This weeks poll: Call on your inner geek and vote for your favorite Star Trek Captain!!
 
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Posted by PunkAss at 10:05 AM

  New Stuff
I just added a nifty new feature over to the right - The Punk Ass Poll !! I'll put up a new one every Friday. If there's anything you'd like to poll people about let me know and I'll put it on the list!! Topics don't have to be cycling related.

BTW - Thx to Rougeslayer Lawstudent for the idea :)
 
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Posted by PunkAss at 9:13 AM

  Return from the Land of Awesome Smoothies
California. Where to start...It would be so easy so be a great cyclist living in San Diego; there's miles and miles of straight flat roads if you want them, hills and mountains to climb if that's you thing, bike lanes everywhere, tons of other cyclists to ride with and plenty of bike shops to keep you going (the one I really liked was Nytro in Encinitas).

The MS Bay to Bay 150 went.... pretty well. The first day, 102 miles, was unfortunately plagued with mechanical problems: The wise and mysterious Ass Master Guinass' rear derailleur broke, Buzz got two flats and between miles 58 and 80 I got three, count'em, THREE FLATS - more than I've had in the past two years!! The general consensus about that was that in California, there must be large crabs that live at the roads edge that have a sort of chameleon ability to blend in with the pavement (a la the Predator) and love snapping at valve stems...strange but true...ok, what ever. In the department of famous last words, at the mile 60 rest stop Buzz said something to the effect of "hey this route's pretty flat, there's not as many hills as I thought". Like I said, famous last words; after that it was ALL hills. Nice of them to save all the serious climbing for the end of the route, but hey, I like a good challenge :) Speaking of challenges, the best climb came at the beginning of day two, the climb up from Torrey Pines beach up onto the mesa. This is about a two mile climb with about a 7% grade. I haven't done a hill like this since Bear Mountain NY 3 years ago! It felt good though. It was nice to see that all the training I've done this year payed off. When I reached the top I thought to myself "this is why I ride".

Since I got back, people have asked me what I thought of California. Here is my list of observations:
1. It's much cleaner than Massachusetts. There's very little litter by the side of the roads; the city streets are clean; the barley any graffiti.
2. Everything is far more landscaped.
3. Drivers have alot more respect for cyclists and are in general more layed back.
4. Streets and roads are very well labeled which makes it so much easier to get around.
5. A cliche but true - the people seem less angry; especially those in service or retail jobs.
6. There was far, far less road kill (Mass has been a blood bath this year for some reason)
7. It seem, at least in San Diego, that restaurants have fewer vegetarian choices. (yes, I am vegetarian..not vegan..just vegetarian)
8. There's a Starbucks on every corner...This absolutely ROCKS!!
9. Bedspreads taste the same here as in Massachusetts (see photo).

Well, it was great to get away for a couple of weeks, but, its nice to be home. As, I said to D, I think I would fit in really well in Cali , but I don't think it would fit well with me.

Oh ya, almost forgot, new pics should be up shortly, check'em out!

 
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Posted by PunkAss at 10:37 AM