Blog / 2011

I secretly love having a fever...

2011-12-29

...lying in bed shivering and insensible, fingers white and numb, beyond discomfort or pain, chasing psychedelic butterflies along the edge of consciousness. But then it...

Burn your ships

2011-12-21

Last week I wrote, in reference to the lousy bus service at our new house: Just as Cortés burned his ships, I’ve burned my buses,...

Fifteen years ago today

2011-12-20

I miss that Real Grownups (like Johnny Carson!) took seriously a gentle man in a turtleneck who spoke about “star stuff.”I miss that science was...

Never ask me what I think, Internet

2011-12-18

TriMet asked what I think about their budget shortfall so I told ’em. Using their tool I balanced their budget with only a 25¢ fare...

There’s a “war on Christmas” in the same sense that Tyler Durden and Jack the Narrator had a “fistfight”

2011-12-16

Consider: every time a non-Christian is exhorted to have a “Merry Christmas,” the holiday itself becomes less about Christ and more about something else. Presents...

A short rant: let’s downsize roads

2011-12-09

The ongoing fracas about the ongoing budget stupidity of the Columbia River Crossing prompted me to write an awesome little rant. As a comment on...

Fast and faster

2011-12-06

Dave Moulton wants a bumper sticker: “I’m retired: Just go around me.” The whole thing is worth a read, it totally gets at the zen...

Clearance (Race Report: Kruger’s Crossing, 11/20/2011)

2011-11-21

Once upon a time I made fun of people who spent their hard-earned money on boutique canti brakes with excessively wide “clearance.” The physics of...

Beat that climb back

2011-11-15

sufferfaces:Beat that Climb Back Just across the border from Washington, in Portland, at PIR, the Suffer Faces are on full display like this one full...

Unintended Consequences

2011-11-14

As I mentally drafted a typical (read: long) report for yesterday’s race, I realized that I was actually meditating on the unintended consequences of my...

My Three-Year-Old Races Cyclocross (Race Report: Cross Crusade #8 PIR Pro Paddock)

2011-11-14

Perfect ’cross weather (spitting rain and cool, not cold), wheel-devouring mud, moderately technical, long sprints, great crowd, great venue, staged last, finished 55th of 191:...

Barton

2011-11-06

Race Report: Cross Crusade #7 (Barton Park)We’re finally getting some mud in our ’cross races. Barton was my favorite race last year. There were no...

I will brag about this race all week (Race Report: Pedalers at the Poor Farm, McMenamin’s Edgefield, 11/4/2011)

2011-11-05

I was dubious about this race. A new venue, an unfamiliar promoter, same day as the Apple Core, poorly promoted. It seemed kinda ... slapped...

Not fun (Race Report: Cross Crusade #5 & #6, Old Mill District, Bend)

2011-10-31

Fourth consecutive week of dry racing. The fun quotient is evaporating rapidly. I wish I could say the Halloweeniness this week compensated but nah, not...

Oregon Field Guide — Cyclocross

2011-10-28

View this on OPB.org: the CCX segment starts around 19:00. Filmed last year at Barton near Estacada. You can catch a glimpse of Orion and...

Vampire

2011-10-27

So while I’m backing up my personal photos on a new computer, iPhoto is replaying my life in reverse chronological order, and all the good...

Halloween costumes

2011-10-25

I am the laziest costume thinker-upper in the world.One year in college I wrote “SUPERMAN” on my chest in blue marker and went topless to...

Jake the Snake

2011-10-25

Just heard back from Kona on the 2004 frame that snapped clean through at Rainier. Warranty expired in 2008. I can buy a "crash replacement"...

Scary fast, brutal and unforgiving (Race Report: Cross Crusade #4, Washington Co. Fairgrounds, 10/23/2011)

2011-10-24

This course should be a Dogawful slopfest, pancake flat and routed through stables and manure. It should be all about who can power through the...

This weekend

2011-10-21

This weekend: Cross Crusade #4 at Washington Co. Fairgrounds, Hillsboro. In 2009, I took Orion here to spectate; my first taste-test of the ’cross scene....

I feel stupid, and contagious

2011-10-18

So right now I’m listening to the excessive 4-disc reissue of NevermindNevermind is very much Of My Generation — I was just barely 20 when...

Fast and annoying (Race Report: Cross Crusade #3, PIR Heron Lakes)

2011-10-17

I worked insanely hard for 81st place. My hips are wrenched from all the dis/remounts. I could barely walk yesterday afternoon, let alone carry the...

Your first cyclocross race

2011-10-14

My friend Thom posted a longish and helpful blog post called Cyclocross for Beginners. BikePortland contributor Tori Bortman has written several primers about cyclocross. I’m...

Race Report: Blind Date at the Dairy #3, 10/12/2011

2011-10-13

I had a pretty fantastic race. The conditions were nearly perfect for my strengths: chaos and ceaseless pedaling. The week’s rain had squished the dairy...

Blind Date at the Dairy

2011-10-12

Feeling good about tonight's Blind Date. I finished on the leader's lap and passed a mess of Cat C riders. Messy slippery chaotic 30min redline...

Challengers

2011-10-10

There happened a particular moment in my life, about a decade ago, so unlike my life before or since that it feels more like a...

DFL Before DNF (Race Report: Cross Crusade #2, Rainier High School)

2011-10-09

So about two minutes into the first lap my seat stay broke. Of course I didn’t bring a pit bike. (FFR: always bring a pit...

The only thing I’m going to say about Steve Jobs

2011-10-06

I’m a loooong time Apple fanboy — I have never owned another kind of computer, since my first Mac LC in 1991, and the first...

So on Saturday night on Lopez Island...

2011-10-05

...after putting the kids to bed I sat on the porch in my shorts under a wool blanket with a beer and watched the sun...

Race Report: Battle at Barlow

2011-09-26

Chris and I switched (downgraded?) to Master’s C. The Good: we are now racing against Guys Like Us (i.e. old men). The Bad: I don’t...

This bike is a platform (thoughts for the Oregon Manifest)

2011-09-23

In 2007, I bought this Soma Double Cross — notionally a cyclocross racing bike — for commuting. I fitted it with racks, full fenders, 32c...

Race Report: Hood River Valley HS Double Cross (GPMC #2), Saturday only, 9/17/2011

2011-09-19

At Hood River on Saturday it was spitting rain but not enough to wet the ground. So the conditions were dusty and gritty. I’m beginning...

Electro Pace for Great Justice

2011-09-14

I discovered a new training regimen for my usual commute (along Terwilliger): outpace electric bikes. This is hard. They accelerate uphill.I’m seeing more and more...

Dreaming of Cowbells

2011-09-13

Dreaming of cowbells. Literally: I had a dream last night with cowbells in it. Man oh man.

Saltzman Rd.

2011-09-08

Mini Ride Report I did this after work. Three repeats up Saltzman, it was brutal. My legs are nuked from all the sprinting lately, so...

Another post where I brag about my commute

2011-09-07

Jenny and I have lived in SW Portland for eight-plus years now because of the exceptional commute. We certainly chose our first house for this...

Race Report: David Douglas Cyclocross (GPMC #1) 9/3/2011

2011-09-03

The race was a minor sideshow to my fortieth fricking birthday. Last night Jenny and Karl and my bestest friends completely surprised me. On my...

Kruger’s Kermesse Race Report 8/28/2011

2011-08-29

Let’s just get this out of the way: I hate excuses. I have no shortage of excuses for my performance yesterday, and I thought of...

Golf to work♥

2011-08-17

I like my commute so much I make it longer, and do it on the weekends

Love Love Love

2011-08-03

Yesterday I worked late and missed Orion’s bedtime. Jenny promised him I would spend some alone time with him this morning before work. I resented...

PIR Short Track MTB Race Report 8/2/2011

2011-08-02

Let’s get these three important data points out of the way:I finished 35 of 90 (!) despite staging in the back third I staged right...

PIR Short Track MTB Race Report 7/25/2011

2011-07-28

Yikes! I forgot Monday’s ride report! Here’s a quickie: To a certain degree, you could copy and paste my last STMTB report and that would...

Rounding the bend

2011-07-13

The last three weeks have provided a lot of drama for my inner life. In no order: At work we are launching yet. Another. Redesign....

PIR Short Track MTB Race Report 6/13/2011

2011-06-14

Reporting on my first ever Short Track MTB race challenges me a little.About five minutes after the race I tweeted: #STXC race report: I almost...

PIR Race Report 6/6/2011

2011-06-07

A rather different week than previous outings. My family picked me up at the office early (before 5:00) so Orion could ride in the Kiddie...

PIR Race Report 5/9/2011

2011-05-10

I started last night’s race in a highly unorthodox fashion. Without a watch, I had no idea when the start was coming and it snuck...

PIR Ride Report 5/2/2011

2011-05-03

The ride from my office (Old Town) to PIR (7mi) was a good warmup.The weather behaved itself. No rain, maybe 55°. We had mostly sun...

The hazards of pinning your two-year-old race number to your messenger bag

2011-04-20

So yesterday I was homebound riding south up SW Broadway. Just before the complex intersection where Broadway crosses I-405 another cyclist passed me. There was...

Four variables

2011-04-08

My life is a rather simple zero-sum equation with four variables.I play with my family. I work. I ride or fix my bicycles. I sleep...

Like P.J. O’Rourke I too wish bicyclists would “pay their way”

2011-04-04

Sigh.The late, great P.J. O’Rourke took on bike lanes (after a 24-year hiatus), thus affirming his continuing slide into Andy Rooney-grade irrelevance.Seriously, it’s not even...

The one hour DC Tour

2011-03-19

I’ve visited the capital cities of at least nine foreign countries but it took me 40 years to visit my own. I feared that between...

Driver’s tests should indicate an ability to drive

2011-03-03

About a month ago, a woman driving through my neighborhood turned to check on her dog in the backseat of her car, and hit a...

I just packed 15 depressing events into 90 minutes

2011-02-16

Macy’s watch repair finally, after six months, called to inform me that they once again had in their possession my beloved Seiko watch I bought...

I wish I’d have learned more about work from my paper route

2011-02-04

Tom Vanderbilt writes, in “The Rise and Fall of the American Paperboy” Ask a former paperboy about the job and you’re likely to summon a...

Grocery Ads Still Live in the 1950s

2011-01-18

The hed on this Ad Age post is Survey Finds 51% of Men Are Primary Grocery Shoppers, but Few Believe Advertising Speaks to Them Can...

LEGO: Builders of Tomorrow

2011-01-06

These are all over the Internet right now, but of uncertain parentage. They are AWESOME.