So, I have to be honest and say that it has been one doozy of a week.
I am infuriated with the response our government has had to the hurricane; I am angered at Barbra Bush’s announcement that for many of these persons, living in the Astrodome was a step up (thus losing their homes is probably not that big of a deal). “Let them eat cake indeed.” My sister lives in Mississippi, in one of the most affected spots and I feel just horrible for her. She spent the week not knowing if she still had a home, not knowing if her friends or the parents of her friends were okay, losing her job, and not knowing if she would be able to attend college this semester. Sadly, she was lucky as compared to the thousands dead, stranded, attempting to find clean food and water. I cannot help imagining what would have happened if this hurricane had been heading to Jeb Bush’s state of Florida, if the federal response would have vaguely resembled something adequate.
My mother and sister and sister’s boyfriend drove down to MS this past weekend and took gasoline, food, water, and other items. They co-ordinate this with a local sheriff and had a lot of help from police officers and members of the National Guard down there. Even though the FEMA and federal government response has been ridiculous, my mother reported that the highways were filled with people like her who had organized with their businesses and communities to bring donations to New Orleans and Mississippi. I was very very proud of my family and am pretty actively encouraging people to donate any amount you can to people down there.
And not to be a horribly callous debater about it, but if the democrats can not use this in the 2008 election to condemn the Republicans for sending more and more to Iraq while people were suffering here, utilizing some of the more conservative values of nativism and a slight isolationism to their advantage, then they are dumb. We sent more and more person-power and money to fight a fruitless war, while allowing the poorest Americans to suffer. For the love of all things good and holy, Democrats please get your persuasive act together.
I have been sick all weekend and was really looking forward to getting some riding in, since the boy had been sick for a week. To make up for being sick, I bought a CO2 cartridge to carry on my road bike, since I can not really get the tires up high enough with the hand pump (and yes, that makes me feel wimpy, but I don’t have much of that upper body strength going on) and have been looking at the engagement photos of the boy and me that includes our bikes (yes, we are that couple, I know).
Eric asks what bike he should buy. I am a big fan of the Trek 7000 series. I like Trek’s a lot; there is a lifetime warranty on the frames, I think the hybrid bikes are designed to be incredibly comfortable, while not being complete tanks. I would start looking on . This month’s Bicycling magazine offers the Kona Smoke, the Specialized Hardrock Sport Disk, and the Bianchi Rollo. I have absolutely nothing worthwhile to say about Konas; I have never ridden one and know very few people who ride them. I know they tend to be more popular out west, so maybe they are more popular in AZ. I don’t ride Specialized, but the boy had an old rigid fork Specialized bike that was from 1995. He rode it up through this year commuting in the winter and taking it on some fairly rough terrain. In June, he took it too Lebannon Hill’s XX loop and cracked the frame. Specialized replaced the frame for free, which I think is pretty awesome. This does not however stop it from occassionally being called the Special-Ed bike. I have a Bianchi that I have been working on, but I am guessing that they have changed a few things in the past 30 years. The magazine does point out that the Bianchi has a horn, which I guess is good.
Thinking of other comments from the past post, I agree that bike shop employees should say what a product is or includes, so as to avoid the “this has a shiny shifter set” problem, but should not just leave it at that. If people know why Dura-Ace is better than Ultegra in terms that explain how the rider will feel or recognize a difference in bike feel or speed or weight or whatever, they will be able to make a choice concerning their needs and preferences. I also want to emphasize that I know for many consumers, the drop through bar for women’s bikes are important; my frustration is more on the “this is silly” front.
On WSD design bikes, I have some general agreements with Jim and disagreements. First, I agree with him that WSD bikes work for some guys and do not for some women. At 5ft 10, this is something that I am pretty sure of. The WSD geometry doesn’t work well for me; even the 56 cm ones still feel too small (though if someone wanted to throw me a 56 cm WSD Trek 5000, I think I could make an exception). However, there are frustrations on the guy designed bikes. The first is the saddle. Oh the pain of not riding on a WSD saddle. THE AGONY!! (I will stop here before I start going into a way TMI zone). Suffice to say, after riding for less than 30 minutes on one of these, I have the feeling that I would prefer to spend the rest of my life celibate. Now, many here will respond that saddles tend to be very individual and that it is common for people to have to try many seats. (Which reminds me, NGS, I hope the saddle I brought over is working well). However, the WSD bikes start out from a better place (with a WSD saddle). The other issue for me is on the shifters. I have already whined extensively about the saga of the shifters (the WSD bikes include the adjustable Ultegra shifters, my non WSD had the regular Ultegra ones, and the replacement cost was about $250). I am going to say that this one is pretty universal simply because I know very few women who have longer and larger hands than I do, and I have obviously met all of the women in the world and compared hands. Perhaps, what I think would be the best response is to allow more original customization from the start. Many bike shops are pretty good with this, fiddling around with stems, allowing people to return saddles, etc. However, a lot of time this seems to be pushed on the expensive bikes and less on the cheaper bikes.
A lot of this applies to guys who might better fit on a WSD bike. However, I never had much luck getting many guys to ride a “girl’s bike.” This leads to the question of whether or not these bikes should be labeled “WSD” or if different frame geometries should be introduced. I am pretty pro the directed advertising that “WSD” does to women in a lot of ways actually. I like that they are doing research into what women are looking for in bikes and changing designs specifically for that. I will be honest here and say I also like having a butterfly on my saddle, but the fact that the saddle doesn’t make me run screaming in pain is even better.
For MaxieB, yes, please feel free to rant. Obviously, you are supposed to put the Camelbak on your handlebars! (though if you are carrying 3 liters of water and doing that, I really strongly urge you to not just apply the front brake… though I guess it could work like a water balloon/airbag… this sounds like something one of the boy’s friends would do…). The only other thing I have to add is on the joy of women’s bike shorts. Yes, I realize almost all of this post is about things that either hurt or help my crotch, and I am sorry. I do love good bike shorts though.
Finally, I went and bought the boy’s birthday present’s today and would post them, but he reads this. Also, I was very very excited to be reading a blog I have liked for awhile, First and Last and Always and recognized my blog linked off of it. It pretty much made my day. Also, if you are an iTunes user, they now have bicycling related free podcasts. Bike Talk out of California is really good, though I have been incessantly listening to the one about biking related songs while I have been paying bills. I also bought the ugliest pair of shoes on sale at R.E.I. and wore them to school today just so I would laugh everytime I looked down. They are ankle-boot Ugg style boots with the wonderful shearling inside. They are also pink. Ridiculously, bizzarely pink. In my defense, they were 75% off and very soft and comfortable. I almost feel like putting rhinestones or something on them though…
I went to the bike shop today with a friend who is looking to get a bike after not having had one for awhile. He fits the demographic of people who come into bike shops around here quite well; he isn't a racer or Mt. biker, but is looking for a comfort/hybrid bike to ride a bit and have some fun on. After the bike shop gig this Spring and my own fanatacism, I offered to go along and help suggest stuff and because, I generally like going to bike shops.
Caveat #1: The bike shop I am discussing has several employees who have made really great suggestions, are really helpful to work with, and are great in general.
However, I am coming to be really frustrated with the way a lot of people are being treated in bike shops now and frustrated with the way bike shop employees are trained to respond to customers (I myself went through the training).
Rant #1: The treatment of girls at bike shops is often horrifying. Salesguys have talked to me about what color of bike to buy, I have seen hardcore male bikers go in with their girlfriends who want to ride a bike and the girlfriend is never talked to by the salesperson attempting to sell her a bike, and preferences that are expressed are often deemed to be "silly," while certain products designed for women are pushed. Trek's WSD bikes are a great idea, the difference in geometry and componentry are noticable and they are better bikes. The different Men's and Women's (i.e. drop headtube) comfort bikes are ridiculous. I understand from Trek (and the bike stores’) perspective – a lot of people are convinced that a bike for women should be reminiscent of the girl’s bike they started out on. However, I don’t believe there is any useful benefit of this on an adult bike, unless you are wearing skirts while riding. Women are also not assumed to be serious riders, or our riding is deemed “cute” or it is assumed that by riding, it really means we go along with the group and hold them back and try to pick up biker guys. It is also generally assumed that women bike because their partner bikes. In my case, that started out truthfully and I never would have started riding if it wasn’t for the boy. However, that doesn’t mean that I was stop riding now that I am hooked if I was no longer with the boy (not that I really see that happening). So, girl’s get teased for using bike related slang (and I don’t mean words like “endo,” but rather words like “componentry”), we are told about group rides that are easy, and there is shock and disbelief that I own the mountain bike I do (all of these happened today). It is also assumed that I don’t know what I am talking about, that I have not researched different bike options, that I do not know general bike maintenance, that I pick gear based on its general cuteness (true in sock and jersey selection, not true in pretty much everything else). None of these assumptions are true.
Part of these fall within the cultures of some bike shops which definitely seem to be boys clubs with no teacher supervision. However, I think a lot of that is also the training. Doing the traning material that several of vendors provide, I learned a few key points.
-Men buy mountain bikes and road bikes; women buy comfort
bikes with big seats.
-Women will buy a cruiser bike as an impulse purchase if it is
cute enough (because really, who doesn’t want bike-shaped art?).
-If a couple rides a bike and are looking for a tandem, it is because the guy is a hard core rider and the woman has little riding experience. The suggested protocol when a couple are purchasing a tandem is to let the guy do the test ride, then take the woman out without the guy and help her to not be scared, and then take the guy out on the stoker seat so he can “know what it feels like for the woman.”
Rant #2: We need to think about who we are trying to get into biking. My friend fits the demographic of people we are trying to lure into biking; he thinks that biking is fun and wants to do it, might use it to go some places, is willing to spend some money on it, and is looking to do it safely and responsibly. When a person like that, who goes into this not knowing tons about biking or bikes, who might not care about SRAM versus Shimano or whether or not to use SPDs or Eggbeaters (Eggbeaters are phenomenal). The phrase “this bike has a Shimano Sora derailler” means ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. The salesguy today was overly aggressive, used tons of lingo, and didn’t listen to what my friend said he was looking for and seemed to be pushing for bikes that were obviously not good choices. When my friend test rode a bike, the salesguy put the seat at the proper position for a road bike, but it was so high that my friend was uncomfortable and said so. The guy told him that it was fine. I know the seat needs to be at a proper height to ensure that one’s knees are hurt. But, the reason given was for the maximization of muscle power. This is ridiculous; someone tooling around on bike paths is not looking for the maximization of gluteal power. I was tempted to engage in gluteal kicking. This is why more people aren’t biking or going to bike shops. The get intimidated by people acting like used car sales agents, upset by people talking down to them, and annoyed when people talk over their head.
So, I have been trying to get my road bike tuned in. The first step was to drop a chunk of, WAY too big. Thus, Shimano has ensured that most women buying a road bike (who do not purchase a women's specific design bike) have to immediately put $300 into the bike to make it rideable. It is not terribly difficult apparently to make the brake levers adjustable, since they do it on their cheaper levers.
So, I have realized that there is not too much different between very active people and very inactive folks; for instance, both tend to sleep and eat more then the general population. Today, I rode 14 miles and averaged 13 mph (a bit less then normal, demonstrating that I need to ride more) and have come back and collapsed with cereal and pudding. I am watching "Everyday Italian" on the Food Network and the host is showing the best looking food ever. The Italian version of smores is a slice of baguette, brushed with butter and waith granulated sugar, heated, and topped with a piece of bitersweet chocolate and a toasted marshmallow. I might die fromdrooling too much.
I just finished off the milk in the carton rather then get up and take it to the fridge. Wow.
Oh, now she is making a pasta salad with orzo, garbanzo beans, red onion, basil, mint, and grape tomatoes. Why am I watching the Food Network, because all I want to do is eat everything I see?! However, the background music is horrible; it sounds like something from a film starring Ron Jeremy.
The big agenda for today is doing the dishes. Right now this seems like a monumental task.
There seems to be a vast conspiricacy to ensure that I do not get onto my bike. Last Sunday we did a 20 mile ride that was pretty fast (averaging about 15mph). I have not been riding since then, with the rain and a sinus infection. I was also stupid and went to the midnight showing of "Revenge of the Sith" and then had to work at 6:30 the next morning. This was not smart.
Many,many people have written about that movie. I had never been to one of the "Star Wars" on opening night. I want with the boy and a good friend, both self-avowed Star Wars geeks. We arrived by 9:30 and sat in the first theater that opened. There, I got my first taste of the true devotion of many SW fans. There were a lot of people dressed up, lightsaber fights, etc. At one point the boy looked at me and stated that he guessed that the vast majority of women who were there wrote fan fic.
It has been eminently kinda busy over here. I have gotten permission to take a Leave of Absence from grad schoo. The afternoon after I learned this I was perhaps more relaxed then I have been in 3 years (though the beer with Underblog) could have greatly helped that. My work at the bike shop has been going well and today consisted of learning about road bikes, and "having to" test ride a fes, including a Trek 5000, with a carbon frame, a Giant OCR bike, and a Lemond Steel frame bike. They were all pretty amazing, though the Carbon bike was, well, too nice for me -- it required more control and competence on a road bike then I have. However, my Demon Monster bike might have to become accustomed to a little brother -- a lower end road bike. However, I have tried to pre-bribe him with a new Bontrager XX Lite riser bar, shorter stem, and eggbeater petals. Hopefully, this will help him welcome his sibling.
I now understand why the boy wants a bike room. I was feeling excessive until I learned that some people I work with have 5-6 bikes. However, I have just realized that previous paragraph is probably interesting to no one. Sadly, I have to talk about what I am doing to my bike, since last week I went on my longest ride ever and fell on my knee. The scab and scrapes are really hideous, though apparently the boy and his friends think girls with scars are cool.
Hilarious quote from the boy just now "Hon, I have thought many things about you, but never have I thought of you as breeding stock."
We are watching the new, musical version of Reefer Madness and it is painfully, painfully funny. I am very excited to go see "Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy" tomorrow, though I am insisting (much to my geek's chagrin), that we are not allowed to bring towels.
Katie, here is the bike for you; it is BRIGHT pink in actuality: The Bonnie Cruiser.
So, when the bike first came into the apartment, Dae was not a fan. There was hissing, anytime I moved the bike, she looked shocked and horrified, and was generally unhappy about the large imposter. I think part of it had to do with the various smells of the bike -- the oils and lubes, combined with the smells the tires picked upfrom riding on the trails and roads. However, something has now changed -- I leave the bike there for a little while, and somehow the cat has determined that she loves the bike. She uses the big chainring as a back scratcher (a process I should probably stop), twists her tail in and out of the spokes,and rubs her head against the tires. Either this proves the seductive power of my bike, or the cat is crazy.
Today was my first day at the bike shop and it was pretty fun. I also found some bright pink streamers and bell. If Katie ever gets a bike, I will get them and send them to her.
I am so excited -- yesterday I rode over a log pile successfully for the first time ever. I jumped up and down and felt significantly better (especially since earlier I had run into a tree and skinned both of my knees). Today has been pretty mellow. I got up, walked to French Meadow, read the new Citypages and had a croissant, walked back, went to the gym and sat in the hot tub to help get the aches out, went to Barnes and Noble, and am now substitute teaching. My big idea for the day is to go and see a nutritionist at the U. My eating is really screwed up right now and I am not sure what I need to be eating for the amount of biking that I am doing and I get ravenously hungry and after a few bites, I feel ridiculously full, only to be ravenous in a couple of hours. And, it is free. If anyone is looking for girly beach-reading type books (i.e. Katie), I recommend Bergdorf Blondes, it is funny and light. Right now fluffy is good.
It is an absolutely beautiful day outside and hopefully I will get a ride in. I have an interview for a PT job at a bike shop, which I am very excited about. I actually want to learn how to be a bike mechanic or assemble bikes, so I am hoping that I could do that and not just do sales. I am very sore from the climbing yesterday and carrying plates, etc earlier sadly hurt. Now, I am in the middle of subbing and it is (again) fairly uneventful. Many of the students are wearing buttons in support of GLBT persons and today is the "Day of Silence," where some students are not speaking for the entire day. Sadly, it is the students who don't talk who you wish would talk and the students who are talking that you wish wouldn't, but that seems to be inevitable. I wish I had something exciting to write about. The laptop (or iBeloved or, if you are a LOTR fan, the iPrecious) being back is delightful, especially since I haven't gotten to update or play around with the iPod's playlists since February. The Apple store undercharged me and Gap was having a sale, so one transferred into another. I got very cute wide leg pants and a bright blue big bag. I think I am as antsy for this class to be done with are the kids are.
I am feeling especially anti-University right now. The graduate students are voting on Unionization this week and we have all been receiving the e-mails from the OHR department. My favorite was that the unionization process, since it was collective, would destroy the student's individual relationship with professors. I fell down laughing at this -- what individual relationship with the professors? If I wasn't going to vote before all of this, these e-mails certainly would have convinced me.
This weekend has been just wonderful. Yesterday, I got up, the boy and I went to REI, Penn Cycle for him to test ride a GF 292, grabbed a bagel and then took the bikes to the flats to do skills work. I got to practice downhills (butt off the seat and behind it), rock gardens, and balance. This ended up being really fun since we brought along the camera and took pictures and watched the geese. Then, we went out to Penn Cycle in Bloomington to get a few things on my bike adjusted and decided to go check out the River Bottoms. We rode for a bit out there, having a lot of fun and just playing around. We returned today and rode for about 7 miles and I was very very blissed out. It was just wonderful; a breeze coming off the river, beautiful scenery, nice twisting singletrack but still beginner friendly. We came back, showered, and walked over to Town Hall for sandwiches and beer (not as good of a grilled cheese as Annie's, but Annie's doesn't have beer, so a worthwhile trade-off). I fell asleep in the recliner, a very happy me.
So, things I have noticed. First, substitute teaching is not the world’s hardest job, particularly when everyone gets laptops and is researching. Secondly, something amazing and wonderful has happened to MN weather and all I want to do is be outside. Thirdly, I really, really wish that I had someone to mountain bike with, especially someone starting out. Ideally, I would find another girl, who is cool, who also wants to learn to mountain bike. Sadly, I cannot find anyone who wants to start out. However, I am very excited about getting to go rock climbing tomorrow; I have never been and am going with a group and it should be really fun and almost like mtb in the getting covered with dirt type of way. I don’t really have much to talk about. Tonight the boy and I are going to the Melting Pot since sometime around now is the 1 year anniversary of our first date. Interestingly, I wasn’t even really thinking about it and he has been the one who has pushed for having a nice date and doing stuff for it. He hasn’t ever had fondue, and we thought about going to Sapor or Alma again, since both of those places have just amazing food, but I think this will be more fun. And we can try to poke each other with the fondue forks (this pretending that I am a mature adult thing is sadly a façade). It is also nice, because the meal is really spaced out there and you have a lot of time to talk, and cooking and eating the food takes time, so it ends up being a really relaxing experience. I went to the one in Nashville for my 21st birthday with about 10 other people and it was the absolutely perfect thing to do. We got to drink good wine, take forever eating, talk, get dressed up and look great, and feel sophisticated. On the topic of dressing up (since I know one of my blog readers might care), I am going to wear this new black wrap dress that I got at the H&M in Chicago. Of course, all of this is after a ride on the West River Road and some skills work. Wow, if anyone could completely geekify mountain biking, it might be me.