today was a great...

day to get out and catch a ride. so i did. just a small road ride around town. nothing big. i had a head wind the whole way, except going north on twenty-one. the dog on hillside road did not give chase. it was out. and so was its owner. i was waiting. i've come to the realization that it's more about my heart rate and cadence than my miles per hour going up hill. i'd rather have a good cadence and heart rate, than a quicker mph going up hill. just a note.

so i've been reading "bicycle" by david v. herlihy. it's the history of the bicycle. i'm looking and reading about its evolution, and a couple of things have come to mind. first, i believe that the cyclist is still an outcast just like the riders of the velocipede back in the early eighteen hundreds. second, a question comes to mind: how has the bicycle changed since its first inception? two wheels in a straight line. it took over fifty years for inventors to figure out a rear-drive. thus moving from the velocipede to the bicycle. so how has it really changed? what defines a bicycle? two wheels. check. rear-drive. check. sure there have been advancements, i.e. suspension, frame material. but what really has changed?

i want to know in your view: what is the greatest advancement of the bicycle, and why? i encourage you to send this blog to everyone you know that rides. i think this is a very interesting question, and i would love to know what people think. respond. leave comments.

so, on...

national slaughter turkey day it was our annual ride. myself, randy, and edmund headed out. i really don't want to get into this ride too deep. the first half of the ride was great. sliding all over the trail. trying to brake going down hill. i think my sweet disc brakes were actually frozen. i knew that couldn't be good. there was a lot of slipping and sliding, not due to lack of skills, but the quantity of snow. it became a "livewrong" moment when we thought that it would be a good idea to "get miles in." i'll stop there. nothing good after that.

what i do want to speak to is the time of season that it is. as i sit here on my day off i contemplate the weather. and what a better way to warm up than baileys in your coffee. yes. tis the season to spice up your morning cup of joe, and it doesn't even need to be in the morning. right now i'm enjoying my normal cup of joe, but later i will make a new pot and top it off with bailyes irish cream. i only do this during this season. no other time do i have a taste for baileys and coffee. another possibility is to add some frangelico with your coffee, even with baileys. frangelico is a hazelnut liqueur from italy. what better way to bring three cultures together? frangelico-italians. baileys-irish. coffee-where ever your bean is from.

i also want to speak about the art of drinking. particularly hard liquor. i enjoy my scotch. my bourbon. my whiskey. but there is an art. first know what you are drinking and the difference.

whiskey: notice where your whiskey comes from. whisky is distilled in scotland, cananda, and japan. whiskey is from ireland and the u.s.; however kentucky spells it whisky. the words etymology comes from the welsh wysgi; which means "water of life." it is typically distilled three times from a mash of several grains.

scotch, or scotch whisky: to legally be called scotch whisky the spirit must conform to the standards of the scotch whisky act 1988:
one: Must be distilled at a Scottish distillery from water and malted barley, to which only other whole grains may be added, have been processed at that distillery into a mash, converted to a fermentable substrate only by endogenous enzyme systems, and fermented only by the addition of yeast,
two: Must have an alcoholic strength of less than 94.8% by volume so that it retains the flavor of the raw materials used in its production,
three: Must be matured in Scotland in oak casks for not less than three years, and
four: Must not contain any added substance other than water and caramel colour.
typically distilled twice; either from barley malt alone (single malt whisky), or barley malts and other grains malts.

bourbon: distilled once.

the whiskey of the u.s. is often aged in charred oak barrels. your really good whiskey companies use these barrels once, and then get rid of them. often selling them to other companies that will use the barrels over and over again. there is a problem with reusing the barrels. you don't receive the "pure" taste of the whiskey. there are many types. all of which i will not get into here. but to mention one...blended whisky. i only mention this, because it is quite popular. it is part of the aboved mentioned mixed with a similar grain whiskey; which are much less expensive to produce. so then you are mixing good stuff with bad stuff to make less than good stuff.

so there is some knowledge for you. also, i mentioned the art of drinking. if you get a good whiskey, much time has been put in to the creation of it. enjoy that creation. don't just "slam" a shot. sip. taste. enjoy. really savor the flavor. i have had a four dollar shot of jameson, and a twenty-three dollar shot of jameson. the difference was dramatic. a good whiskey is like a good woman. if you get a good woman, and you know when you have a good woman, you just don't slam her down and have another. first, that is not how you treat a good woman. second, if you take your time and enjoy, she will enjoy you, and treat you good. this is the same with whiskey. sip her. enjoy her. savor her. take your time with her. your not going anywhere, and neither is she. i've often gone to bars and have gotten shots with friends. they slam theirs and they are done. i'm still sipping. people look at me like i'm nuts, but i appreciate the whiskey. the art. the flavor.

my father went to the woodford reserve distillery a while ago in kentucky. well the story goes that the distillery closed back in the 70's and left many barrels full. they reopened about ten years ago, i think. anyway he was able to bring home a couple of bottles of their whiskey that had been aged about twenty something years. the greatest whiskey that has ever passed my lips. even those barrels are long gone, it is still a favorite of mine.

so take the time to find a really good whiskey. know what you are buying. enjoy it. sip it. i can't stress this enough. sip. enjoy the taste. the flavor. the smell. don't add water. don't add ice. that's not the point. straight. neat. that is how you enjoy whiskey. enjoy. raise a glass. make a toast with friends. sip...smell...enjoy...the water of life.

a question...

that everyone should ask themselves at some point in their lives at the very least. i find myself asking it more often than not. who am i?

getting past the obvious. human being. having reason, or having a higher factuality than beasts. getting past all these "givens" that we know about ourselves. i don't want to play games of linguistics here. but what makes you, you?

i used to answer this question in the way that moses maimonides answered the question of god in his guide to the perplexed. you can't define god in terms of what he is, but rather what he is not. the short of it being your mind is a limited thing, and it can't conceive an unlimited thing. also, you are putting restrictions on a unlimited things. how can you do that? this is the same line of reasoning that i used to answer "who am i?" i answered by stating what i was not. not what i am.

i was called once over the summer a cyclist. i said that i wasn't. there was surprise. just because i have a couple of bikes. i ride. often. but did that make me a cyclist? so begs the question...what does it take to be considered a cyclist? let me make this parallel...we all do mathematical computations? simple addition. subtraction. figuring out sales tax. a tip at the end of a meal. square foot of an area. does this make you a mathematician? no. in the same way i didn't consider myself a cyclist. i own. i ride. do some minor repairs. as this summer progressed i've noticed something. where my mind was going. if i wasn't on a bike i was thinking about the next time i would be. magazines liter the house. more bikes have been acquired. things need to be done to them. everything that i am able to do in my power i will do. becoming self sufficient. doing it myself. this also brings up a notion that my father has often said. just because you drive a hot rod doesn't make you a hot rodder. (i'm not sure this term is correct). my father builds and works on his cars. for my father one of the keys to being a hot rodder is that you build, and work on them. you don't pay someone to build and take care of, and just drive it around. it becomes a part of you.

i am able to say that cycling has become a part of me. i am a cyclist. it has infected my life. i'm constantly thinking about it. reading about it. being involved in it. (secret plans to come) when did i admit this to myself? my recent trip to a book store. i picked up a cycling mag., and a book called bicycle by david v. herlihy. it is a book on the history of the cycle. the clerk asked if i was a cyclist. i said with pride, yes. which in turn made me realize that i am. not so much saying 'yes' to just move on and get out of the store, but how and the feeling that i said it with made me understand. i am a cyclist. i am so involved in it. i'm getting out of my racingness, because that's not why i began to ride in the first place. i admit that i don't have the racing streak in me. but that doesn't make me less of a cyclist. again going back to one of my other spots...we all specialize in our things.

however this all brings up another question...why didn't the clerk ask if i was a philosopher? i also picked up a book on mathematical logic, and rudy rucker's book "the lifebox, the seashell, and the soul." a couple of weeks ago i picked up a couple of philosophy books, so why not ask that question of me? well, i think that becomes obvious. many people don't know what to make of that. i take no offense.

i am a philosopher. in the most strict sense. in the greek; philosophy means "lover of wisdom." i do. keep in mind though the difference between wisdom and knowledge. plato made this distinction. however, this is another wave for another ocean. see where you surf.

speaking of books...i just finished yann martel's "life of pi." great book. highly recommended. about a boy who finds himself on a lifeboat with a bengal tiger. good read.

to recap...i am a philosopher. i am a cyclist. you are what you are when it takes hold of you. it becomes a part of you. your existence. more than just a hobby.

happy national slaughter turkey day...

i'm in love again...

with my single speed. it's an old missed love. old, meaning that i used to do it. missed, that i should have never stopped doing it. i took the single speed to west branch to go mountain bike riding. the moots was m.i.a. (well it's not missing, i know where it's at). anyway "here we go." i say to myself. one speed. hardtail. let's do it.

right away we dive in. down and up onto the main road. down into the woods. onto the trail. the first part of the trail is up and down. back and forth. roots. rock. rock. rock. more roots. doing fine. doing great. either randy is giving me some slack or i'm kicking ass. i believe that i'm kicking ass. powering up hills. sliding the voodoo in between rocks, trees, and around corners. "god i miss my disc brakes." that was the only thing to go through my head of what i wished i had right now. going over some intense roots i kicked my rear end up and shaked it for randy. i felt like a kid again. i'm doing it. off road. on a single speed. why do i even have those other bikes? this is all i need. splash through the steam. up. up. up. down. down. down. turn. quick. go. go. these were all words that were in my head as we rode. riding the single speed was a renewed feeling. sure i thought more while i rode. but it wasn't "o.k. now shift. pedal some more." they were quick action thoughts. spin. pedal. rotation. i lost it on one big uphill. that's o.k. open field to the end. spin. spin. move. move. go. go. on our second lap, oh yes, second lap. we took the more challenging end route. through rocks. over a balance beam. did o.k. randy took off here. with my rear end kicking up all over the place. damn hardtail. my mind started jumping. like my back end. be here. be zen. be here. be zen. got through it.

beautiful day. leaves on the trail. there was a guy though with a leaf blower clearing the trail. thanks guy. are you going to be there when the trail is covered with snow?

i hate to do it, but i've got to make a political statement. as we were cooling after the second loop i noticed on a car the sticker "wal-mart sucks." do i shop there. no. that's not the point. i have to ask: "what kind of condition would the third world countries be in if we didn't buy things from them?" what would be the conditions? living standard? do they make a lot of money? no. do you? what kind of car do you drive? if it's not a honda then shut it. at west branch today there was a trek demo days. ride a trek for free. great idea on the part of the company. go where people ride, and say try this trail on one of our bikes and see what you think. where are the bulk of their bikes made? in madison wi? it's a great little warehouse. i've been there. it's still little. i recently saw one of their top end full suspension al frames. it had a sticker on it...tour de france...u.s.a....made in china. i kid you not. great u.s. company. the funny thing. the people that had this sticker on their car were riding the trek's. where they the china one's? i'm not sure. but that would have been great irony. i'm not saying that you should only buy american only. that's your choice. but think about what you are saying, and promoting. is there some sort of moral obligation here? american's constantly want cheaper stuff. and want more of it. supply and demand. i would like to remind you...we live in a capitalistic nation. i don't believe it to be a bad thing. or a good thing. it is.

be now. be zen...

pics two...

here are a couple of pics over the summer at the knob...


be safe. be well...

a quote to remember...

"each man has a choice in life.
he may approach it as a creator or critic,
a lover or hater,
a giver or a taker."
unknown author

this quote has been with me for many years. it is something that i always keep in mind. within each choice there are only two possible paths.

which do you choose?

hit the racing...

(just another pic of my fixie)

circuit this weekend, over in bay village. i was humbled last time, so i raced in the c class. the c class started 5 minutes after the b class. i did pretty well. the african god was in full effect. there was another ss rider there. nice. the course was fast. around some baseball courts, through some parking lots and down a steep hill. pictured here...



this is john coming up to the hill...



...this is michael coming down. (i'm glad i had a suspension fork)
after this it was over a "bridge" turn left, and run your ass off up a steep hill. this is what surprised me. i was able to catch anyone ahead of me here. running. me. catching people. nice. at the top turn 180 degrees and ride back down into a field. after the field there was a climb up a small paved walk way. i caught a lot of people here too. out into a parking lot and around to some barriers. remember to dismount. swing bike out to the side. climb back on bike, and put your hands on your handle bars and pedal. good. down onto the side walk and a quick ride up back onto the grass...



back and around again on the field, through to the parking lot...



...around to the finish.
i did pretty well. the leaders in the b class only lapped me once. and my pictured colleagues in racing did only a couple more laps than i. i can't help but think, "how much better could i do with a c-cross bike." with gears. but no. c-cross season is just a couple months a year. i'll just beat the hell out of my almost 10 year only ss frame.

it was a better atmosphere than my last race. better people. we spent time b.s.ing with others. the other ss rider broke his pedal. couldn't finish. saw a rider in the a class that i saw out on the road a couple of weeks ago. said hi to him. hope he did well. after the race, it was time for beers. had to go over the railroad tracks for that. yeah. we had to "slum" from bay village to westlake for a beer. don't want any taverns in bay village. stopped at the moose head tavern. good place.

friday night got my fixie up and running. took it for a nice little jaunt around the streets and was practicing my skidding. it's freaking hard, but so freaking cool. soon will come the day when the brake is there just for show.

when does a hobby stop being a hobby, and become an obsession? when does it stop being an obsession, and become a solid part of your life?

see you next ride. next race. next time...