Blog / 2011

dec

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...

Heavily filtered riverscape, orange sky and rising sun reflected in the Willamette river

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...

Bicycle leaning against a dock railing on the Willamette River, with the Steel Bridge in the background. Filtered to appear like a faded slide

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...

Road sign on Hwy 101 reading “slow”

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...

nov

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...

Closeup of an extremely muddy derailleur pulley and chain

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...

oct

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...

Empty bench in front of a colorfully-painted wooden barn, sign reads “Coffee mill workshop, Holualoa”

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...

A toddler in a monkey costume and a man in a yellow hat, for Halloween

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"...

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...

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...

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...

sep

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...

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...

aug

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...

jul
A cornfield that fills the frame to the horizon, about waist high to a young woman facing away from the camera about 10' distant

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....

jun

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...

may
Extreme closeup of the dropouts of a bicycle, with a custom “V” stamped or cut into them

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...

Motion blur: a foot pedaling a steel road racing bicycle

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...

apr

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...

mar
Lincoln memorial

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...

feb
jan