Saturday's road ride

Saturday morning I took the road bike out for a wet 26 mile ride. I rode across the George Washington Bridge, into NJ and then turned south down to Hoboken. My friend Dave just got a new road bike and he was eager to get out on a real road ride but the weather foiled our plans. After meeting Dave and heading north out of Hoboken, the rain let loose. Twice we took cover under overpasses and debated between continuing the ride and finding a bistro or cafe in which to eat brunch. We had just agreed to head back to Hoboken to find some breakfast when Dave's rear tire went flat. We were so close to his place that we just bagged the ride. All in all I had a great ride. I stayed dry all the way back to Manhattan. The rain held until I reached my place and I was surprised at how good I felt on the road bike. All that time spent on the fixie lately has really given me some power down in my legs. I can't wait to get out in the woods on the mountain bike!

Getting cooler

I'm not getting any cooler. I am what I am. The weather sure is though, and it's been great. Albeit rainy, this week has been pretty comfortable with temperatures dropping down into the 60's at night and maxing out in the mid 80's during the day. Not a lot planned for this weekend though I do hope to get out and put some miles on the road bike. Wouldn't mind riding a little dirt as well, but we shall see.

Not so fixed gear

Friday at last and I feel great after another week or riding to work. I have an ideal seven mile commute. Not too short, not too long: juuuust riiiight. (that's what she said?)

With the onset of cooler temperatures I am really excited for fall to come. I enjoy commuting during the fall and winter much more than during the summer. I like the warrior aspect of it. I'm out there in the elements, completely comfortable, pedaling around the city.

I did have a mechanical issue this week. The lockring came loose on my fixed gear causing the gear (16T cog) to become not so fixed. It was a quick five minute fix to remove the wheel and honk down on the lockring, but it definitely scared the sh!t out of me. Aside from that I haven't had a mechanical issue in almost a year. Sweet. I must say, this is the first time I have used the Pedro's multi-tool for anything other than removing my wheels to fix flats. Worked great.

Fabric Horse U-Lock Holster

I've been carrying my current U-lock for nine years now, and in those nine years it's home, while in transit, has been my back pocket. That's where it lives. Location is everything: From my back right pocket its easy to pull out when I need to shake it in a threatening manner or retrieve it to lock up my ride. My lock is my friend; my protector. I've depended on it for many years now and it's never let me down. When I stumble out of the bodega with my Red Bull, hoagie, Bike magazine and canned ham, I'm always relieved to see my bike safe and secure. Thank you my little steel friend.

While my lock does fit nicely in the back pocket of my shorts, pants and shants, last month I discovered a new product from Fabric Horse which piqued my interest: The U-lock Holster. My initial reaction to the holster was one of disinterest and snobbery. With a head-shake, a single "tsssssssss" escaped my lips. What's wrong with the back pocket? I grumbled.

Flash forward a month. It's August 29th and I'm standing at the counter at Mod Squad Cycles in Harlem. I'm wrestling a new mustache bar into my messenger bag and joking with one of the shop workers about shanking unsuspecting pedestrians on the way home with this oddly shaped piece of aluminum protruding from my bag. I'm about to leave when I spot a pile of these holsters on the counter marked: $9.99. So I buy one. What the hell I say. Living in a city of hipsters ensures a respectable resale value if I don't end up using this thing. Thank you Craigslist.

Now flash backward one day. It's August 30th, 6:15am. I'm rubbing a crusty eye-booger from my face while slipping my belt through the loops in my shorts. It is then that I spot the holster draped over the back of a chair. Oh yeah, time to use that ten dollar piece of seat-belt. Positioning the holster in the back, just right of center, I drop my lock in. As my elevator takes me to the ground floor I'm going over things I wasn't supposed to forget: dress shoes, dress shirt, khakis, a couple of slices of pizza from the fridge... then the door opens and I roll down the hall and out on to the street.

As soon as I throw a leg over my bike I realized, perhaps the single most important benefit of the holster, which is: ass pressure reduction. When you shove a U-lock in your back pocket it really presses against your ass. That pressure is now gone because the lock, no longer fights the curvature of your badonkadonk. It simply hangs straight down "off the back" (a position I am quite used to from my road racing daze). So, to the two Phillies at Fabric Horse; thank you, I dig it, nicely done!

Super Commuter Man

This morning's ride in to work was fantastic. I left phattire headquarters at 6:25am and stepped out in to a cool 60° morning. Not a cloud in the sky; a bit of dew on the grass. I zipped off on the fixed gear taking Broadway north out of Manhattan, through the Bronx and into Yonkers. I'm really loving the new mustache bars. I was totally flying up Broadway this morning. I stopped for a quick moment to snap a couple of photos of the morning fog rising off of Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx (pictured above & below). 7 miles later I rolled through the gate at Kawasaki. At work, while I was passing my U-lock through my frame, a production worker approached my bike and I asking "Fixed gear?" which led to a quick conversation about messaging. Turns out, this guy used to be a messenger here in NYC. We talked for a quick moment before I went inside to find a conference room to change in. Now changed out of my commuting clothes, I am no longer Super Commuter Man but instead; a mild mannered QA Engineer.

Today's Yehuda Moon

I rode to work this morning. I can relate to this Yehuda Moon comic. Though I don't usually fight traffic on the ride in to work; the ride home is a different story.

Mustache bars

I picked up a no-name aluminum mustache bar from Mod Squad Cycles in Harlem today. I was actually looking for a Jeff Jones style Hbar or a set of Mary bars for my singlespeed mountainbike but ended up throwing these bars on a few blocks from the bike shop and really like the way they feel on the fixed gear.

They're much wider than my old sawed-off riser and they also position my hands a good two or three inches farther forward; changing my riding position a bit, but it feels really comfortable. I have the bars flipped upwards which puts me in a slightly more upright position and yet still feels aggressive and comfortable for applying a lot of torque in a sprint. I was able to chug right up Broadway coming north under the bridge at 125th.

Video: Rolling Clouds

Though Hurricane Irene wasn't quite as exciting as I had hoped, she did send a bunch of rolling clouds through the city yesterday. It rained on and off but was also sunny here and there. The film below is one hour of footage shot from my window and sped up 32X.

Camera protection

I made a quick rain cover for my Nikon this morning before heading out in the weather for some street photos. All you need is a one-gallon Ziploc freezer bag and some electrical tape. First I cut a corner off of the freezer bag, making a hole slightly smaller than the hood on my lens. Then I squeezed the hood through the hole and gave it a few wraps with the electrical tape. Lastly, I applied the same technique to the eye piece area on the back of the body. That's all there is to it. It worked like a charm and was comfortable. Plenty of room in the bag to change camera settings etc. I'll be keeping this bag and a roll of tape with my camera gear.

You call that a hurricane?

Wow. What a let down. I suppose it's good that Irene didn't completely level and flood the Big Apple but I really was looking forward to fleeing to safety. Who knows what kind of adventures could have ensued. Instead. I awoke to a fairly bright morning sky with light wind and rain. No flying debris. No rooftops peeled back like sardine lids. No upside down cars. I grabbed the camera and set off for a little recon. No major damage. Lots of upside-down trash cans and small fallen limbs here and there.