Bike Porn

The Surly Crosscheck is now in my possession! Its even nicer than I thought it would be. I highly recommend Excel Sports for anyone looking at a new bike. The philosophy is to build the bike around you, not make you fit on a already built bike. If you know what you want, this makes a lot of sense, since you don't have to deal with a bike that doesn't quite fit you.







I can't wait to go on a ride up in the hills, this weekend is looking promising.

Bike Repair Weekend

This weekend I was productive, but not with respect to school. I spent most of the day Saturday getting the ghetto Schwinn World Sport of Pete's. It was insanely dirty, I have never seen a drivetrain so covered with grit, it must have been 20 years worth. I used a ton of degreaser, but still needed to use a screwdriver to get the majority of the dirt off. It now looks like this:



Look how spotless it is! The Schwinn also doesn't make the horrible grinding noise it used to, probably a good thing. I did notice the frame was rather rusty in spots, so I think this bike is not worth putting any money into it. However, its in much better shape than my pos GT, so I'm planning on using it for my commuting from here on out. At least until I get a fixie!

Innertube water polo victory today, albeit by forfeit. Playoff start next week.

My new tool in the fight against the steel, gas powered beasts of death.

Today is a glorious day, I sold my mountain bike and decided to use the money my grandmother left to me in her passing to buy a new bike, a Surly Crosscheck. It is supposed to be built this coming Tuesday around 5, so I'll head in for my fit and then take it to its new home.

In celebration of my new purchase and the fact that there is a storm blowing in tonight, I went on a bike ride. My route is shown below, I went counterclockwise:



I do not recommend this route to anyone unless you have a love of small shoulders and heavy traffic. Highway 72 has a big shoulder, but Highway 93 and Indiana are horrible! Also, it was pretty windy and I had to deal with a strong crosswind the entire time, which was not pleasant.

People in cars are assholes, its unbelievable. I was riding along, minding my own business and some high schooler in an SUV coming the other way decided to honk his horn the entire time he drove by. Its bad enough dealing with people hugging the edge of the road with their special trailer mirrors that extend four feet past their car door. It is amazing to me the shear number of cars on the road, where are these people going? As you can see, the roads I was riding don't really go anywhere! They service ranches and whatnot. Its very bizarre.

I hope Barak Obama likes bikes.

February

February is a good month, I have not appreciated it in the past but this year is different. Perhaps I had ill will towards it since it is like the seventh month of nonstop rain in Oregon, but things are different in Colorado. It could be that February finally brought an end to the ridiculous amount of snow cover we had, although my backyard is still hA several inches covering it.

Mostly, I like that its getting warmer so I can get a bike ride in during the morning and not freeze my cojones off. Possibly the best Christmas gift I have ever received, my Pearl Izumi wool bike jersey, is amazing at keeping me warm enough to be comfortable while letting the sweat through. I recommend that everyone buy one. Today, I rode the rocky flats loop, but in counterclockwise which I had never done. This is a way better route, you don't have cars screaming by you as you come back into Boulder. If you are unfamiliar with this route, see below:



Its a quick ride, but has some decent climbing and overall is a good workout. It was also my first ride in trying out my new Brooks Swift leather saddle. I originally had it angled slightly down, but after 10 seconds of riding I realized it was crushing my prostate and took the advice of others that have Brooks and angled it slightly backwards. A drastic improvement! For about half the ride it felt great, but towards the end it got a little uncomfortable. Hopefully after about five rides it'll be somewhat broken in and ready for hours of fun.

The Arcade Fire

Although it pains me greatly to say it, my roommate has once again led me to an excellent band, this one is The Arcade Fire. They have one cd out called Funeral and it is excellent. Somehow, he got his hands on a prerelease of their new album Neon Bible, which I haven't heard much of but it seems excellent. They're sort of indie/epic rock. Furthermore, the band looks like this:



Ten people in a band? Awesome! They all look like they're really enjoying themselves, especially the guy with the drums up front. I want to see them live, if you hear about them coming to Denver let me know.

I think I did pretty well on my midterm today, although I still hate analysis above all other things. We will see how it went an a week or so.

My mountain bike that I'm selling on Ebay has a ton of people "watching" it, so I'm hoping to get a good price. Then, I will immediately go to Excel Sports and buy my Surly Crosscheck! I also am supposed to get my new Brooks saddle tomorrow, so I'll start carving it into the shape of my ass this week! It is looking to be nice all week, so epic rides are in my near future.

Innertube Waterpolo Comeback

So my innertube waterpolo team got its first W in the A league today, beating the team that defeated us in the semifinals last year, 16-14. We were down 1-9 after the first quarter, but I made some adjustments and we came back and dominated these dirty ass players. A few members of the team were punched in the face, but this goes to show that good conquers evil!

One more regular season game left, hopefully we'll get the win and finish .500, ready to blow some people away in the playoffs.

Back to studying for my midterm on the analysis of the infinite.

A True Boulderite

Right now, I'm at a coffee shop in downtown Boulder, wearing my hipster glasses and drinking a latte. A woman just walked by wearing a sunny dress and carrying a Whole Foods canvas grocery bag. I am blogging on my MacBook, and and surrounded by other people using their Apple labtops. This is the quintessential life of a Boulderite. The only thing that could make it more over the top is if my roommate showed up after he had ran a triathlon or whatever he was doing this morning to work on his public defending caseload as I listened to Elliott Smith and read Ulysses while pretending to understand it. Maybe next Saturday.

In other news, my roommate found out that his internship this summer is in Colorado Springs.



As you can see, Colorado Springs is not that close to Boulder, about 100 miles away. He'll be staying with his aunt and uncle and their three kids during the week this summer, which ought to be interesting for him. I see this as both a good and a bad for me, as I will be able to walk around in my underwear during the week, but won't have anyone to play Madden with. Furthermore, I may end up doing insane from being forced into conversation with our semi-retarded upstairs neighbors Mindy and Rich. I have a terrible feeling that they plan on living the summer Dre style, no living hard (hence the 3 foot bong in their livingroom) and BBQs everyday in the backyard with their equally retarded friends. The one benefit of all this snow is that they haven't been outside much, letting me reduce our contact to notes about how much money they owe me for bills. This convenience will most likely be ruined once it warms up. On the plus side, I think I'll try to hitch a ride down with Adam some morning when he goes back and then ride my bike back from Colorado Springs, which will be some good training for the Triple Bypass this summer and to my general domination of the cycling world.

The Shins

Last night after my complex analysis tutorial I headed off to Denver with Pete, Mary, and Erin to see The Shins. After some discussion on what direction is in fact east and passing the majestic castle that houses The Mattress King, we arrived in Denver and proceeded to get some food at the City Grille on Colfax. This place is pretty great, and Thursday is $3 microbrew/import night to make it even better. I highly recommend this place, not only was the food really good, but after 9 PM you can get mini burgers (White Castle style) for $1!

After eating and talking about different glands we'd have clogged up at one time or another resulting in large discharges of fluids, we left for the show. The Shins were playing at the Fillmore, which is just up Colfax a few blocks from the restaurant. I almost had to unleash the rage after the ticket lady informed me that 3 of the 4 tickets we had were showing up as refunded. Some manager came over, took the tickets and my ID, pretended to do something in the back, and then let us in.

There are two shitty things about the Fillmore. First, it is gigantic. As Pete said, it seems like you're standing in a high school gymnasium. Second, beer there is $7, very lame indeed. Anyways, The Shins turned out not to suck as I feared they might. I had seen them on Saturday Night Live a few weeks ago and they really blew, but I think they're much more comfortable in front of an audience instead of on TV. On the other hand, I doubt I'd see them again, at least not in that venue.

Future concerts to attend include The Cold War Kids at the High-Dive. I have heard they rock live. Also Adam has gotten, through means he refused to explain, tickets to see The Killers at Redrocks in May. I can't wait to join the hordes of anguished 17 year olds!

Spectacles

Check out my new glasses:



I feel more like a mathematician then ever before. I get dizzy now that everything is so sharp looking.

Observations

Exciting times for me lately. First, my one and only sibling Erin has gotten engaged to Luis, her boyfriend for some time now. I find this especially exciting because it will force me to buy a suit, which being a 23 year old man is something I should probably have. Furthermore, I feel like any pressure from the parents to have kids is now all on Erin, so I'm free and clear to stay with my true love for the foreseeable future, my Bianchi Vigorelli.

While I was riding my trainer this morning, I came across what may be the most ridiculous thing I have ever seen. If you're not familiar with MTV's The Hills, its the heart wrenching story of Lauren, a girl from Laguna Beach and her trials and tribulations as she tries to rise up the ranks of Teen Vogue. In the most recent episode, an intern from New York comes in to town. Here is a picture of the two of them driving in Lauren's car:



Do you see anything that is out of proportion in this picture? Those are perhaps the largest sunglasses I have ever seen in my life. I am curious as to what was gong through her head when she bought them. "Hey, these really make my face look small and awkward." I hope she was wearing Uggs as well.

Tonight I'm going to see The Shins in Denver, hopefully they don't suck. I have a feeling they might. I also get my new glasses tomorrow, so it looks like the next 24 hours will be action packed!

Obligatory Valentine's Day Post

Today is Valentine's Day, and keeping with the status quo of the past few February 14ths, I am single. This does not bother me in the least, mainly because there is a new episode of Lost on tonight.

I did receive one Valentine's Day gift, from my parents. They gave me the largest bag of dried fruit and nuts ever manufactured along with a similarly sized bag of almonds. I found these to be delicious, and I've managed to put a sizable dent in the dried fruit. They also sent me one more thing, a Oregon State winter hat. It looks like this:



This is a great gift, as I am always in need of more Beaver paraphernalia, except I think my parents must have gotten it for free at a Beaver basketball game because the back of the hat has this on it:



Now I know I have a friend in the diamond business, but I am not yet prepared to advertise this fact to the world. In the words of one of the great philosophers of our time, "Disco Stu doesn't advertise."

This Valentine's Day has got me thinking about how I am growing older, and how much more of an adult I have become. Evidence of this includes the following:

1. I go to bed at 11 every night and wake up before 8
2. I need glasses
3. I regularly watch shows like Lost
4. I listen to public radio in my office
5. I enjoy the taste of coffee, beer, and wine
6. I am growing a garden for the summer
7. I have a subscription to National Geographic
8. I buy organic food
9. I have friend who have/are getting married

However, there are many things holding me back, such as:

1. I am still in school, albeit graduate school
2. I have no car, just a few bikes
3. I dated a 20 year old this past summer
4. I have no money or career to speak of
5. I am not in any serious relationship

Where I actually stand in the realm of adulthood I have no idea, some sort of purgatory-like middle ground where I float in relative apathy. As to which side (that being adulthood or adolescence) bares a closer resemblance to heaven or hell remains to be seen.

In regards to my future relationships, I have always found that when I am in one, I usually want to be out of it. When I'm not in one, I often times think it would be nice to be in one. Is this just my mind, or some sort of ancient male instinct to help keep the gene pool diverse? I guess the grass is always greener on the other side. For a time I believed that the ideal woman for me would be one that was into biking, but this is probably not true, as it would probably be frustrating to feel like I had to ride with them every time I went or feel obliged to stay at their pace. I now believe its more important to have someone who appreciates your hobbies, but doesn't necessarily feel the need to do them with you. For now, I'm going to wait and see what comes my way, I have a feeling that this year may yield something spectacular, although that might turn out to be a new cyclocross bike for myself. Regardless, I think I'll be happy with it.

Glasses Aquired!

My dreams have finally come true and I have a pair of hipster prescription glasses to pick up on Friday from the optometrist. Eye exams are pretty exciting. When he tested me for cataracts, I about broke the machine from jumping up when the puff of air hit my eye. I didn't realize how bad my vision had gotten at distance. When he moved the lens thing away after figuring out my prescription, I couldn't even read the letters that had been so clear before!

So the glasses I got are black Paul Smith framed ones. I look like a super genius when I wear them and I'm excited to wear them in class. Should make a drastic difference. I also stuck the insurance with at least a $300 bill, that'll teach them to cancel me!

Pictures to follow on Friday.

Shuffle Board For All!

The snow is melting away finally, so yesterday I went on a bike ride with Pete and James down to Lyons and back to Boulder via some country roads. All the time I've put in to the trainer lately has definitely paid some dividends, as I felt like I was flying down the road and up the hills. For Christmas, I got this ridiculously cool wool bike jersey that kept me warm and made me look badass, yes! Working on my cadence is also working out pretty well for me, definitely much more efficient than grinding away at a hard gear. Thanks Lance!

After this ride, we were all pretty famished so we went to Pasta Jay's in our licra-spandex tights and florescent yellow jackets to eat food and drink wine. After a bottle of chianti, a trip to Denver was planned to meet up with one of James' friends from high school. I came to the realization that I need a high definition TV immediately once we got to his apartment, but I think I'm going to have to wait a while to achieve this dream, at least until after I get the Surly Crosscheck. Adam, I expect to you take up the slack in this department.

Going out on the town, we went first to this bar called Andrews. FYI it sucks. Lots of pool tables though. The one observation I did pick up is that people in Denver are not in as good as shape as people in Boulder, there was definitely some large cabooses in the place. Then my wishes came true when we heard of a bar on Colfax called The Squire that has free shuffle board. Insane! We immediately left Andrews to check it out.

The Squire is a serious dive, reminiscent of The Hutch in the Hollywood district in Portland except you can't smoke in Denver. The shuffle board was a little inconsistent, but it was free and more than adequate for Pete and I to destroy James and his friend in three games. Plus they have a jukebox there, so immediately some Wolfmother was played. On top of all this, all the bottled beer was $2 including Guinness! The only downer, besides being in Denver, was that the place was pretty dead for a Saturday night. Can't wait till I get my hipster glasses, then I'll really fit in at that place.

Today was a little less exciting, the innertube waterpolo team lost by one point. On the plus side, I did get to go to Costco and see a can of tuna that was no joke, the size of a gallon of milk. I can't imagine what that much tuna could be used for in one sitting, nor do I ever want to find out.

The Exploitation Of My Mother's Insurance

My birthday is coming up, April 7th for those of you who cannot remember. The health insurance company that currently covers me has decided to give me an early birthday gift, the cancellation of my coverage come April 30th. Apparently, being 24 and still under your parents coverage is no longer acceptable in today's society. What happened to the good ol' days of living on the farm as a family and growing crops and raising livestock until you died before you were 50 from being overworked or getting caught in some sort of farm implement? To shame America!

I've decided to stick it to the man and take maximum advantage of my benefits why I still have them, hence the dentist appointment described previously. This coming Monday, I am having my first eye exam ever! I'm fairly certain I need glasses, as I have a hard time seeing chalk boards when I sit in the back of a classroom, or faces from far away. Luckily, my other insanely acute senses have more than made up for this.

I see this as my opportunity to begin the rehipsterfication of Boulder. This town has grown into a yuppie paradise with %50 of the population either ultra marathoners or triathletes who only wear Arcter'x or Monte Bell jackets. Without a doubt, under these jackets is some sort of collard button down shirt and possibly an argyle sweater (100% probability if its CU Law night at the Republic of Boulder). It disgusts me and it's time for a change. How will this change begin? With me getting a set of hipster glasses. Then my acquisition of a fixed gear bike this summer. From this small change, the revolution will begin, just like a butterfly's wings starting a hurricane.

Either that, or I'll be able to see the board again in class and have a cool new bike.

A Trip To The Dentist

As some of you may know, I have two bridges in my mouth. A bridge spans a space in your mouth were you do not have a tooth. For me, I was blessed without two molars on my bottom jaw, hence the bridges.

Some time ago I was enjoying a delicious Starburst candy. These are particularly sticky candies, and I managed to loosen my left side bridge while enjoying a particularly tasty cherry chew.

Having a loose bridge is no fun, so I (here I mean my Mom) made an appointment to get it fixed during my Christmas break. What happened to that appointment? About three feet of snow and a canceled flight.

Anyways, I finally got around to fixing it today after it completely came out last week and I found out my medical insurance is running out at the end of April (this reminds me that I need to go get an eye appointment before then). Thanks to Google Maps, I chose an office just up the street from my house.

So my morning was spent getting this thing glued back in to my mouth. The dentist thought it would be a good idea to really poke around and started some bleeding, which I guess makes it hard for the cement to set. To stop the bleeding, they used this rope-like sponge thing soaked with anti-collagulent and literally shoved it between my tooth and gums. I have no idea how far he shoved it down there, but I do know that it hurt like a motha. One of these days I'm going to fulfill my dream of becoming a bionic man by having all my teeth pulled out and replaced with titanium implants. Ohh, they'll look like normal teeth, but I will be able to bite through a car door. Yes!

The moral of the story? Either get good and liquored up before going to the dentist, or don't eat Starbursts (as if this is possible).