Statrix Redux

Yes, I’ll admit it – I didn’t ride my bicycle again today. Do keep in mind, gentle reader, that biking isn’t supposed to be torture, and even if my government seems to think it’s peachy-keen, I don’t – most especially when it’s applied to me. I do have my reasons (read “excuses”) and for today, they sufficed…
1. My knee is still problematic and I wanted to rest it another day
2. My rear wheel still needs to be trued. I had no time yesterday, seriously
3. I wanted another hour of sleep which truing the wheel and riding would have precluded
4. I have a haircut scheduled shortly after work and don’t want to be all sweaty
I’m hoping that the extra day off will allow me to ride tomorrow, even if I don’t put in my now normal 20+ miles on a weekend day.
Interestingly though my knee does bother me a bit, riding is easier than walking, especially when I remember to keep the gearing such that I put very little pressure on my knee. The late Sheldon Brown says this:

A principal cause of knee problems is over-stress as the result of using too high a gear.

It’s possible that I’ve been guilty, especially in a couple places on the road that I’ve got to go through to get home and want to get through quickly because I hate the traffic there. The worst for me is corner of Punahou and Bingham where traffic is heavy, there is a freeway off ramp coming into the mix, there’s no shoulder, and folks don’t seem to give the leeway they do even a block or two away.

View Larger Map
If I could avoid this intersection easily, I would, but it’s the main freeway crossing near my home. The next closest isn’t really any better and has the disadvantage of being even longer. I can keep my passage through here to just a couple of blocks before turning off, either to Clark St. or by…Ouch…riding on the sidewalk through Punahou Square before getting back on the road.
Mostly I suspect this is all in my head, no one has come close to hitting me except one kid in his hopped up Toyota and he probably would have come that close were the only vehicles on an 8 lane highway – he got some pleasure out of seeing how close he could come as far as I could tell.
All of that just to say I didn’t ride to work today. Hmmmm…. 🙂
The bike plan for the rest of the day is pretty simple. After I get back from my hair appointment I’ll try truing the rear wheel and go from there. I may try a couple of miles to a meeting tonight just to move a bit, but I’ll keep it very low key.
Tomorrow will be a different story. I’ve got to decide if I’m going to ride at all and if so, how far do I go? I’d hate to go out Sand Island and discover I can’t ride back. On the other hand, I don’t want to ride around my block 200 hundred times. 🙂
I guess I’ll just have to play it by ear though it’s clear I do not have perfect pitch!
Still this article from today’s New York Times really, really, really makes me want hop on my bike.

Thanks to Drunk and in Charge of a Bicycle where I first saw a note about the article!
Aloha!

Lately I’d been having a lot of trouble with my iPhone 3G and it appears I’m not alone!

The problem is that the backup portion of the sync process takes hours. Essentially for me this means forever because I need my phone and someone would generally call during the process aborting the whole thing. I could, of course, have put the phone in airplane mode, but being out of touch for hours isn’t generally an option for me.
I tried a bunch of different “fixes” for the problem I found on the web, but nothing really worked. Ultimately I had to do a number of things, mostly reinstalling the software after dumping my apps. It seems too many apps are a problem (more than 10?) and it’s possible that some of the apps themselves may be causing the problem.
I ended up having to pretty much start over with the whole mess to clean up the mess I was. I’m not happy because it caused me to lose my notes, settings, and other stuff, but what are ya gonna do?
Here’s what I did. This may be overkill, but it did work.
1. Set backups off:
defaults write com.apple.iTunes DeviceBackupsDisabled -bool true
2. Turned off syncing of apps in iTunes
3. Deleted all iPhone apps from my iMac so they couldn’t accidentally show up again
4. Deleted all backups of the iPhone from iTunes preferences (they all claimed to be corrupt anyway)
4. Turned off syncing altogether
5. Reinstalled iPhone software 2.01
6. Turned back on syncing and loaded my tunes and such, but no apps
7. Set up my email and such on the iPhone
At this point I had a fresh iPhone with no apps. I then synced a couple of times to make sure it worked. Then I turned on the backup function again:
defaults write com.apple.iTunes DeviceBackupsDisabled -bool false
I then backed up my “clean” iPhone. This didn’t take more than a minute or two so I knew I was on the right track.
Finally I used iTunes to load just the few apps that I was really using. Yes the Light Sabre stuff is fun, but I only used once to show off – I didn’t need it or a number of other things. I did keep:
Tap Tap Revenge
eReader
Wordpress
iGoogle
Remote
Once those were loaded I did another backup and was pleased to see it only took about a minute.
So I’m back to “normal.” I did lose a few things like my notes (which I can recreate, but what a pain) however I can function normally without having to wait hours for the phone to do its backups.
I’m really not happy about any of this and am hoping that Apple can sort all of this out pronto!
Aloha!
At this point I basically had a fresh iPhone

…tearing at this wheel of mine.
Rats.
This morning I rode again after a one day break to rest my knee. Just after I left I discovered that my bike seemed to have the same wobble that it did when I was experiencing ripped sidewalls on the rear tire. I cut my ride shorts a bit, not just because of that, but also to spare my knee which felt a bit stiff and at one point did have a bit of pain (not bad, just a warning).
When I did get to work I discovered that, thankfully, my tire wasn’t ripping apart at the seems again. This time it seems the rear wheel is definitely out of true. I guess it’s time to get out the old…

I think the red one is the right size, but I’ll need to check. I’m afraid it’s been a while since I’ve done this, so I’ll probably screw it up, but…if I ask a pro…
Ken Kifer seems to have a decent page on truing wheels. I need to read it again, and again, but I could probably get the job done once I comprehend it.
Speaking of the incomprehensible, I can’t get the idea of bike touring out of my head. Granted it hasn’t been there all that long yet and I’ve yet to actually ride more than 20 miles at a pop, but the idea is really, really appealing to me.
I have also discovered that my sister Ulu’s place is only about 20 miles away which makes it an excellent distance for a ride. There and back again would be 40 miles over mostly flat terrain though I’ll admit I’m not overly happy with the traffice situation. I’d need a lot of water as it’s over the driest and hottest part of the island, but by timing things right, it shouldn’t really be a problem. Hmmm. If I plan for 3 hours out and 3 hours back (which is really way too much time as it will probably be much faster, even for me) I could easily spend most of a weekend day. It’s a thought.
Aloha!

Well it’s true. I didn’t bike to work today. I’m giving myself a day off for two reasons. One is that I have a lunch date at the Contemporary Museum and it’s up a big hill that in my current condition I have no hope of climbing in a reasonable amount of time while staying dry enough to be good company. The other reason is that over the last two days I’ve had just a wee bit of knee pain and thought it best not to inflame anything further.
Oddly I don’t think it was biking that started my recent problems with my knee. While I do have arthritis and have had surgeries, I was doing fine on the bike. It was walking with my camera equipment a few nights ago to photograph the night blooming cereus that started things. I was limping a bit after that and have not quite recovered. It wasn’t till the next day, on the bike, while riding out to Sand Island and back that I noted the twinge in my knee.
I’m hoping that yesterday’s very light day on the bike and no biking (or very limited biking) today will heal me up. Since it’s not very painful, definitely just a warning rather than the results of massive destruction, I expect I’ll be okay.
I found this post on The Bicycle Commuter Trials blog that got me thinking a bit about taking a break. I hope both our knees recover. Thankfully my knee seems a lot better than Pedro’s does, but then again, I’ve probably had more lifetime damage (no guarantees on that of course). Good luck big guy!
Aloha!

Today made at least 32 days in a row that I’ve ridden my bike. I rode it for the first time on 6/18 and thought I was going to die. Today, 8/12, or about 55 days later, I can ride 25 miles at a time and feel good about it. Since 7/12 I’ve pretty much ridden at least 10 miles a day, more on weekends. Conservatively I’ve put at least 500 miles on the bike since I got it.
Why all the numbers today? Because I’m pooped. Today it was drizzling in my neighborhood (often it does) and I ached a bit. In addition I had a lot of trouble with my iPhone this morning. It wouldn’t sync quickly and I ended up leaving the house about 10 minutes later than I would have liked without a full sync. I may have to restore the phone when I get home today. In fact I probably will.
What that really meant was that instead of riding my 7 mile loop, I rode a short 3 miles to work, just enough to stretch a little. I’ll ride home to do laundry and probably ride to a meeting I need to attend this evening, but those are both short distances.
Tomorrow I won’t be riding my bike to work. I’m going to have lunch with a friend up the Contemporary Museum and will need to ride my moped to get there. I will ride a bit that evening for an errand, but I’m essentially taking a couple of days off to let my body heal up a bit. Or at let the aches air out for a day or two.
Speaking of the Museum, I just discovered there’s a “membership blog” that looks to be almost brand new. It doesn’t have much yet, but I’m going to be keeping an eye on it as I am, after all, a member. 🙂 [I should note here that membership isn’t expensive so it’s not a status thing. While I love the grounds, sometimes enjoy the art, one of the best reasons for membership is a discount on the delicious food at the cafe.]
So here I am on break at work, trying not to beat myself up for riding so little today and worrying that not biking to work tomorrow will somehow cause problems.
To assuage my fears a bit I took a quick break from work and spent a couple of dollars on fingerless biking gloves by Avenir. I’d been having some trouble with callousing on the inside of my thumbs where they meet the twist shifters on my bike. I don’t mind the callous’ so much as I mind them splitting a little. Ouch. Time for gloves.

Most of the gloves at The Bike Shop didn’t work – the thumb covering was too short. The least expensive pair, those by Avenir, were fine. Go figure.
Aloha!

I was browsing a wee bit while waiting for a job to run and came across a site for the Mississippi River Trail.

It got me thinking that rivers are not generally associated with wildly varying elevations (read: hills) except for the occaisonal waterfall. I could probably bike something like this, even at my really slow pace. Mostly what I’d need would be the time and a credit card for staying at motels. I’m not really into camping out for however long it would take. I’m going to give this some serious thought. I probably wouldn’t be able to do it until 2010 or 11, but it’s an idea.
It’s a 3000 mile trip which would take me at least 60 days I figure – given I wouldn’t want to push it and I’d like to stay over in at least a couple of places for more than a quick glance. At 50 miles a day I’d just make it, at 100 I’d have 30 days to spare. I’m thinking 75 a day is probably more realistic. That would make it a 40 day ride leaving 20 days for travel to and from as well as the all important Slack.
In order to research this a bit, and to have a good read (I hope), I picked up a Kindle Edition of Cycling to the Source of the Mississippi River by Barbara Mary Johnson. I’ve only just cracked it and will say that I enjoyed what I’ve read quite a bit. She journeyed from South to North with her husband and I expect I’ll learn a lot.
In other news, I was slower than usual today. Hurray for me! I just didn’t have any get up and go, but I rode anyway. I think I’m actually slower on my new road tires than on the old mountain bike tires. It isn’t really true, but that’s how I feel. I think what really happened is that I overdid it a wee bit on Saturday and have paid the price ever since. Of course that means I will be a bit stronger once everything gets back to normal.
Aloha!

Today I went out to Sand Island again, this time on my new Spec Nimbus 26×1.5’s. I had exactly zero problems, even on the couple of small patches of off-road on my route. These aren’t the Armadillos, but I don’t think I’ll have many problems. We’ll see though.

It wasn’t the best ride I ever had, but I had no flats. That’s a good deal in my book.
Aloha!

Tonight is one of the few nights of the year the Night Blooming Cereus comes out to play on the rock wall at Punahou School. I decided to take my camera and some flash equipment out about an hour ago. Here’s the first shot I’ve played with. The shots were taken with off camera flash, bounced out of a silvered umbrella reflector and, at least on some if not this one, another flash with a diffuser illuminating from below. At least a couple of the shots turned out okay.

I have more, but it’s late and I’m too tired to work on them now.
I do, however, have a quick update on my bike. After my afternoon meeting and errand I came home and decided to clean my drive train. While doing so I notice that my back tire was bulging again. Yep…the sidewall was separating a bit and would probably result in a flat sooner rather than later.
Damn.
I can’t quite figure out why, but just in case I repositioned the brake pads to make doubly sure they aren’t rubbing, then I went to get new tires.
This time instead of getting the same 26×1.95 that came with the bike, I moved to road tires after talking with the folks at The Bike Shop. Now I have 26×1.5 which are much, much different. I haven’t really ridden them yet, just enough to know they work. Tomorrow I’ll take them out for a spin and see what’s what.
That’s it for today though. I’m beat.
Aloha!

Today I decided I wanted a cup of coffee at Starbucks in Kahala. Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing special about their coffee. It’s just that it’s a nice ride and Lisa, the manager, used to work at the Starbucks next my office. I’d been out there since she moved but had never seen her. So…
I left early, not as early as work, but I wanted to be back by 10:00 a.m. I was. It’s not 3 hours for most bike riders, but I’m slow and I did spend a fair bit of time having coffee, so when I was moving I was moving at my usual just short of glacial pace.
Except for a half a block on Catherine Street near Diamond Head. I only went up a block if I recall, but the last 100 feet are at about a 90 degree angle. Well maybe not quite that bad but…I did have to walk the bike up that wee bit. Other than that I rode the whole way, slight hills and all. I should note that a hill for most people is a mountain for me, but I do okay as long as I remember to gear. Hey I even passed a guy today going slower than me if that’s actually possible. 🙂
So here’s the route…

As I passed KCC (Kapiolani Community College) I came upon their weekly farmer’s market. They have a great food program there and sure enough they had a booth, but mostly they were simply and generously allowing the space to be used. It was crowded!

I stopped (hey, I’d forgotten about that) and walked through it, but decided against buying anything as I was on the outward journey. Next time I’ll start earlier and hit them on the way back. It was actually quite nice and I did have a small cup of brewed coffee there before moving on.
KCC does have an exhibit going on I’m going to take in soon (before it goes)…

All in all it was fewer miles than I’d ridden last weekend, but had far more elevation changes so it was, I suspect, about an equal bit of energy, mayhaps even a bit more.
While researching a route for my ride (none found though, but I do live here and have biked that neighborhood 20 years ago), I came across an article in the Honolulu Advertiser about a fellow who bikes through Kaimuki on his commute to work. It would seem he does it a lot faster than I would care to ride, but whatever works.
Later today I will ride downtown and back, but that’s a “real errand” as opposed to the more or less erzatz one for this morning. After all, I can make a cup of coffee at home.
Aloha!

Well, unlike probably thousands of other people, I didn’t get married today. The Olympics opened at 8:08:08 p.m.

And me?
It was just another day at work. I biked in this morning, had trouble with locking the bike again, gosh it can be frustrating.
The fun of the day was that I used the bike for a quick run to the bank. It’s only a few blocks but I figure I’d have been still walking there while I was, in fact, back at my desk already. Go bike!
After work I ran a couple of errands and am getting ready to go back out again. I don’t know if I’ll ride though, but it is tempting, even if it’s getting dark.
Hopefully I’ll be able to get up in the morning and take a nice weekend starting jaunt, but I’ll definitely be using the bike for something. 🙂
Aloha!