I'm inspired to write this after spending too much time mowing the lawn when I should have been riding.
Dont fight moss. Its green, right? A perfectly manicured lawn is for golfers. Clover looks okay after you mow it, and the bees really like it. Same can be said for a lot of other weeds. If dandelions were unknown and a botanist suddenly discovered them in a remote area, people would go apeshit over them. They are edible. If your neighbors complain, tell them they are not weeds, they are salad greens. If you must wage war on dandelions, just ask your kids to make a bouquet out of them. That will sort of slow them down.
Use native plants when possible. Flowering currant is one of my favorites. Birds and beneficial insects like them, they fit in nicely, and you don't have to waste time watering them or nursing them to health because they are native and like to live here. Sword ferns: my wife thinks they are ugly. I disagree, and besides, what else are you going to grow on that north facing slope that is wet and dark 9 months of the year?
Ivy is evil and only rats enjoy it. Its probably worth it to yank it and plant something nice in its place.
That about covers it. Now get out and ride, its spring!
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Paris Roubaix
I was excited to see Spartacus, Vanmarcke, and former cyclocross superstar Zdenek Stybar in a break with less than 20 km to go. Then heartbroken to see Stybar clip a spectator, nearly crash, and lose contact with the break. 10 seconds might as well be 10 minutes when faced with regaining contact with Cancellara inside of 20 km to go in Paris-Roubaix. On the crappy live internet feed I could see Stybar get suddenly knocked clear over to the other side of the path, collide with another spectator, but amazingly stay upright. Those are cyclocross bike handling skills for sure. Lars Boom was in the mix earlier in the race too. It would be fun to see some cyclocrossers win a spring classic and follow the path of the legendary Roger De Vlaeminck.
Friday, February 8, 2013
The tunnel
I found this article rather interesting. Could it have been that maybe McSchwinn was right about the big tunnel? Remember that in the upcoming mayoral election please. Our original toll forecast, from the people ramming this project down our throats, has now been downgraded more than 50 percent. This is going to cost someone a lot of money. Probably me, come to think of it. Remind me again how much of the bicycle master plan is unfunded at this point? Why is it that traffic forecasts concerning auto use are always this optimistic? And why is it always the opposite concerning bicycles?
Sunday, February 3, 2013
World Cyclocross Championships- the aftermath
The main impression I have after watching these races is how much it looked like a World Cup on TV. Which is impressive- USA cycling, the city of Louisville, and everyone else involved pulled off a coup to produce a race of this caliber. No easy task given the weather conditions and having to make the painful decision to reschedule the races at the last minute in order to not have the whole event cancelled due to flooding. The course, the crowds, the number and quality of racers- all looked like a world championship or World Cup race in Europe. The only difference was hearing Richard Fries call the race in a language I can understand.
Another similarity to a European World Cup was, unfortunately, the lack of Americans at the front of the race. The exception being Katie Compton's silver medal and Logan Owen's gutsy ride to being about 40 meters short of a bronze. I don't think there was any catching little van der Poel but a small mechanical cost him a podium spot. He was quickly reeling everyone in but van der Poel at the end of the race. Page probably had the form for a good result, if not a podium, but suffered numerous mechanical problems.
It was demonstrative to see a train of orange and blue at the front, just like in Europe. And demonstrative to see Nys and Vantornout start flying like deranged poltergeists around the course in the last couple of laps when everyone else was starting to show signs of fatigue.
Another similarity to a European World Cup was, unfortunately, the lack of Americans at the front of the race. The exception being Katie Compton's silver medal and Logan Owen's gutsy ride to being about 40 meters short of a bronze. I don't think there was any catching little van der Poel but a small mechanical cost him a podium spot. He was quickly reeling everyone in but van der Poel at the end of the race. Page probably had the form for a good result, if not a podium, but suffered numerous mechanical problems.
It was demonstrative to see a train of orange and blue at the front, just like in Europe. And demonstrative to see Nys and Vantornout start flying like deranged poltergeists around the course in the last couple of laps when everyone else was starting to show signs of fatigue.
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
cyclocross world championships
in Louisville this weekend! This is a big deal: the first time a world championship cyclocross race has been held in the U.S., and the first time that the top Euro talent such as Niels Albert and Sven Nys will be racing here.
This will be the best chance ever for U.S. riders to earn a rainbow jersey, as we have the home turf advantage for once. And not only U.S. riders- local riders!
I really like Logan Owen's chances for a win. Right now there are only a couple of Belgians that can beat him in his age group. This is the kid that I try not to get lapped by in local races. I used to beat him when he was 15 and racing as a Cat 3....
Zach McDonald, another local, recently decided to race the National Championships as an elite and not U23- and still took third place. His form is perfect right now and he is a contender in the U23 race.
With the very best from Europe here, an American world cyclocross champion is a bit of a long shot- but the chances are better now than they were when Page got his silver medal. Jeremy Powers will get a second row start I think- if there is a dry course and Powers has a great race, he could win.
Can't wait to see how this unfolds!
This will be the best chance ever for U.S. riders to earn a rainbow jersey, as we have the home turf advantage for once. And not only U.S. riders- local riders!
I really like Logan Owen's chances for a win. Right now there are only a couple of Belgians that can beat him in his age group. This is the kid that I try not to get lapped by in local races. I used to beat him when he was 15 and racing as a Cat 3....
Zach McDonald, another local, recently decided to race the National Championships as an elite and not U23- and still took third place. His form is perfect right now and he is a contender in the U23 race.
With the very best from Europe here, an American world cyclocross champion is a bit of a long shot- but the chances are better now than they were when Page got his silver medal. Jeremy Powers will get a second row start I think- if there is a dry course and Powers has a great race, he could win.
Can't wait to see how this unfolds!
Friday, January 18, 2013
Don't give a shit about Lance Armstrong
What do you do you if you have a dark heavy secret that you have kept buried for so long? Of course, you go tell Oprah (for a lot of money I'm sure)
I honestly don't care about Lance- he is not the first and won't be the last professional athlete to cheat and then lie about it. The bigger problem is that his national and international governing body helped him do it. If Lance really did care about the sport, about the only thing he could do at this point is say: " I could only get away with this because the UCI and USA Cycling helped me." Then we could get rid of the people in charge of those organizations and we might see some real change in the sport. Right now if I want a racing license I have to mail a check to USA Cycling or the UCI if I want to race in Canada. Steve Johnson and Hein Verbruggen are still in charge and acting like nothing is wrong. If the governing body of the sport is cheating, and everyone knows it, how can anyone ever take bicycle racing seriously? Lance has not only screwed over his past competitors- he is screwing the next generation too because right now nobody is interested in sponsoring a bicycle racing team. Can't say I'm surprised.
To those that say "Lance Armstrong still won those 7 tours because all his competitors doped too..." In a way they are right- I don't care about what place Basso would up with either. What I do care about is that there was probably some poor Colombian kid that would have beaten Lance on a level playing field. Any legitimate competition needs rules. At this point its looking like a rigged game with the UCI in charge. If some people are allowed to dope and others aren't, you might as well retroactively move the finish line. Now bicycle racing is about as legit as WWF wrestling.
Screw it. Unless there is change where it counts- I'll be riding in a wool jersey in any event that doesn't require a license from USA cycling or the UCI.
I honestly don't care about Lance- he is not the first and won't be the last professional athlete to cheat and then lie about it. The bigger problem is that his national and international governing body helped him do it. If Lance really did care about the sport, about the only thing he could do at this point is say: " I could only get away with this because the UCI and USA Cycling helped me." Then we could get rid of the people in charge of those organizations and we might see some real change in the sport. Right now if I want a racing license I have to mail a check to USA Cycling or the UCI if I want to race in Canada. Steve Johnson and Hein Verbruggen are still in charge and acting like nothing is wrong. If the governing body of the sport is cheating, and everyone knows it, how can anyone ever take bicycle racing seriously? Lance has not only screwed over his past competitors- he is screwing the next generation too because right now nobody is interested in sponsoring a bicycle racing team. Can't say I'm surprised.
To those that say "Lance Armstrong still won those 7 tours because all his competitors doped too..." In a way they are right- I don't care about what place Basso would up with either. What I do care about is that there was probably some poor Colombian kid that would have beaten Lance on a level playing field. Any legitimate competition needs rules. At this point its looking like a rigged game with the UCI in charge. If some people are allowed to dope and others aren't, you might as well retroactively move the finish line. Now bicycle racing is about as legit as WWF wrestling.
Screw it. Unless there is change where it counts- I'll be riding in a wool jersey in any event that doesn't require a license from USA cycling or the UCI.
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Sandy Hook
I've been ruminating on this. I have a daughter in kindergarten; its hard not to. Then I saw in the paper this morning that NRA's answer is "a good guy with a gun" in every school. I liked McSchwinn's response the best: "they have shown that they are clearly out of ideas. Its time to stop listening to them".
"A good guy with a gun" is a good analogy, I think, for the way people view roads. There are a lot of people that feel that in order to be safe, you have to be inside a larger chunk of steel than the next guy. In a way, they are right. But that is not a game that I want to play and not a world I want to live in. Its true that I might get run over by a car, but it would be certain that I'm fat and unhappy and suffer a coronary event with the alternative. Why not design roads and vehicles in a way that looks out for the safety of everybody? I don't want a doofus with a gun in my daughters school for that added false sense of safety, and I don't want to have to rely on a two ton machine just to get to work or the grocery store in one piece.
By the way, do you know what was state of the art with respect to guns when the Second Amendment was written? Powder and loose balls. A rifle wouldn't be invented for 100 years. How many kindergartners do you think would have died if that kid had to stop and reload after every shot?
"A good guy with a gun" is a good analogy, I think, for the way people view roads. There are a lot of people that feel that in order to be safe, you have to be inside a larger chunk of steel than the next guy. In a way, they are right. But that is not a game that I want to play and not a world I want to live in. Its true that I might get run over by a car, but it would be certain that I'm fat and unhappy and suffer a coronary event with the alternative. Why not design roads and vehicles in a way that looks out for the safety of everybody? I don't want a doofus with a gun in my daughters school for that added false sense of safety, and I don't want to have to rely on a two ton machine just to get to work or the grocery store in one piece.
By the way, do you know what was state of the art with respect to guns when the Second Amendment was written? Powder and loose balls. A rifle wouldn't be invented for 100 years. How many kindergartners do you think would have died if that kid had to stop and reload after every shot?
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