Driver2165

Recently Is Kirby Pucket Overrated? I'm arguing yes. Nobody else is, apparantly.

One last note: I apologize if anybody's comments didn't go through. I turned off the comment moderating system, so it should go through now if you put the 'D' in there.

I was searching the internet for a clock like the one in the Singapore shophouse on page 163 of the June '06 issue of July.

I'm totally in love with my bike now. The plan is to learn wheelbuilding so I can fix the geard and build Bethany some new wheels, but it's great fun as a singlespeed for now anyway. 48/18 gear ratio for 72 gear inches. It might be a little bit slow for me in flat Minneapolis, so I might change the chainring to a 50 or 52, but it's good enough for now.

I had a long conversation with a guy who recently moved to Minneapolis from L.A. We agreed on one thing -- that Minneapolis is a better city than Los Angeles -- but disagreed on his notion that either city is halfway decent. He did note the general lack of an ability to drive by most of Minneapolis' drivers, but said he takes the bus so it doesn't bother him. He lives in a quiet part of uptown, so that might be where he got the idea that there's no crime in this city. Dude on Arabs: "They may be terrorists, but boy, can they cook." I had falafel on Independence Day.

Another guy looked at my bag (a generic military replica with a red star on it [and a space invader that I added]) and told me I was a traitor and that I'm going to prison. I need a new bag anyway, that one digs into my collarbone when I ride.

I'm not going to work this week, Bethany's having a minor surgery and I need to take care of the Eligator while she recovers.

I'm always complaining about the way people drive in general, and specifically in Minnesota. I was telling somebody who has lived in Los Angeles for the last sixty years that it's gotten awful around here, and when she started to give me the yeah-well-in-California, I mentioned that specifically, a new habit I've seen beginning this summer was that when people stop at a red light, they'll run right through it if there's nobody coming as if it's a stop sign [As of today, I've counted nine in my last five workdays]. She quickly changed her look to one of disbelief. A few months ago I complained about a guy trying to run me down on Lyndale while I was crossing with the kid in a stroller. On tuesday, I was crossing First Street at First Avenue to go to Origami, and some guy in a Buick decided it would be much funnier to run right through the stop sign and cut me off by a matter of inches than to stop and wait five seconds.

Finally, today at about 12:30, while riding my bike to work, I was hit by a car. I was stopped at a light at Franklin in the turn lane on Nicollet, ready to turn left. The light was about to change, so I looked left first to make sure no cars were coming. I looked right, and there was a retired squad car, a '97 Crown Victoria turning right into me. I had enough time to jump up off my bike, she rammed my bike into my left shin, I landed on her hood, and my bike ended up under her bumper. Five hours in the ER later and it turns out I have a fracture in my leg and a bunch of bruises. Yikes. Won't be cycling for a while. Or driving for that matter. The bike didn't fare so well either. I just bought brand new wheels about three weeks ago and new handlebars last weekend. So that's where we stand. I'm still a little foggy, so I'm going to bed.

Suddenly beer gives me serious heartburn. Anybody know what's going on there?

C'mon, fixie kids. Forget lopping the ends off your old road drop bars. Bullhorn is out: roadkill is in. This is Minnesota after all. Represent, etc.

Design: Jenny Nordberg

[Via Pan-Dan]

When that car hit me last month, I only broke my leg and got a concussion because I jumped straight up off my bike when I saw her coming, landing on her hood, instead of getting run over like my bike did. Her insurance sent a check for a replacement bike. Last sunday, I went to the Twin Cities Bike Swap.

I loved the swap. I picked up a Black Osell custom track frame from a guy sharing a table with Super Rookie, a guy I happened to meet a few months back while our ladyfolk were having tattoos done. The frame is just beautiful. Lugged steel, black, aggressive track geometry, fits me like a glove. I love it times three. I got a real cool black quill stem by Specialized and a pretty Ritchey seat post to go with an old-yet-comfortable Fizik saddle. Now all I need to do is rebuild my wheels and I'll be ready to go. The leg is almost healed enough to ride it. I took my comfort bike out the other day and had no problems.

The only thing is: with a black frame, stem, chainring, cranks, bag, and work uniform (and now helmet), I'm going to look like a ninja. I'd better get another light.

Cannot wait for weather to get back above 30° F.

Jon from Bikescape was on Resonance FM's The Bike Show this week. That would be the bicycle radio equivalent of having Santana and Liriano in your rotation. Speaking of bicycles, I'm just waiting for my new handlebars to arrive in the mail and for my new matching cranks to be installed and I'll finally take a picture of it so people can recognize me (it happened twice with the last one!).

The kid has had sippy cups from three different brands of sippy cup for at least six months, and she's never figured out how to use a single one. She has no idea what to do with a straw. She's mainly just been drinking out of a glass, which she can usually do without dropping by now. We've taken to just asking for an adult glass at restaurants for her (another reason is they're glass and kids cups are almost always chewed up off-gassing death traps of low-grade plastic).

Enter the new Camelbak bike bottle. I bought one on Tuesday at Boehm's (I had a coupon and we wanted to explore St. Paul for it's relative awesomeness) for starting my training this spring. Bethany let Eliot try it. She figured it out immediately. Now she just walks around all day in pigtails with my Camelbak helping herself to water and juice whenever she feels like it. She honestly looks liberated.

I got tagged again on saturday on my way home from work, four blocks from home. That's not actually a taco in the photo, it's my rear wheel (bad joke). If you've been wondering why any email correspondence has been brief, late, lowercase, and misspelled, its because my right wrist has been hurt. When I went to the ER that evening, it was mainly just scrapes and bruises, and a sore wrist. They called it a contusion and sent me home. Four days later, it's more swollen, it's not purple like the rest of me, and I still can't move it. I went to a specialist today, more x-rays were taken, and it turns out I've got a broken hand. Funcidentally, I was hit this time only three days after I settled over the first one.

So here we are again with me being useless for 1-3 months (I'm a righty).

Previously: The first one and More of a road rage assault, really

I'm back at work, after almost three months. You might be able to find me on Lake St most days.

I'm not quite back on the bike. I am getting a junker (with clearance for a brake and fenders) ready for winter and as soon as my wrist can support my weight.