The Shredded Schrader

They only accept cash. And it was a bit farther away than I imagined.

On the bright side, the laundry is only 57 (not 60) and will only require 3 trips.

Yay.

…

EVERYTHING IS WATER!

There’s about $60 in pounds of laundry at the local (half a mile) laundromat and I need to get it. This amounts to the need to transport several bags of laundry… with my bike and without a trailer. Looks like I’ll be making a few balancing act trips wish me luck!

Oh, it just started to thunder and lightening. Sweet!

The storm died down just as we hit the road, but whatever; Weather Overground WILL NOT BE DEFEATED BY GOOD WEATHER!!! We had a fantastic time beguiling the unexpecting masses with partial nudity and the majesty of song (Electric Six high voltage smashups do it better at the gay-bar, gay-bar). We finished off the night with some bloody carnage and then disbanded.

50 degrees? Lightning? High velocity winds? Rain?

Fuck. I’m stripping down to a tight pair of eHawk’s short-shorts and going for a ride.

See you on the road.

A large body of water appears to be falling from the sky. Well shit, piss, and industrial waste! It’s time for a Weather Overground Ride. Anyone who wants in give me a call before I head out.

Solidarity!
Danimal

I was riding down Mass Ave., driving legally and considerately, and (of course) getting beeped at and yelled at by motorists. Usually this isn’t a problem as I ride my peppy LeMond and for the most part keep up, but this time I was on a chopper (MegaSeth’s Stardust).

My usual battle cry is an iteration of the law; “I’m a vehicle. Two abreast or one per lane.” I’m not sure it’s effective, but… whatever. It’s better than calling them a turd monkey [citation needed]. And such was the case when a motorist, right on my ass, let out his horn.

“I wasn’t beeping at you jackass!!!! Get off the fucking rode, you fucking moron.”

In fairness, his position understandably cause confusion. Furthermore, it was fucking loud! But whatever, I was bothered enough to need to pull to the side of the road to gather my wits.

There is no friend anywhere, there is no enemy anywhere, there is no friend anywhere, there is no enemy anywhere…

What. The. Fuck.

Am I really riding that close to the edge? This bothers me immensely.

Then I had an idea. Something that would not risk taking innocent bystanders and wouldn’t escalate, but instead would act to confuse and then only later to sting and drive the point home.

Keep your eyes open for it. Keep watching.

Everyones a friend and everyone is an enemy. Everyone is watching. Especially THEM.

Later I noticed that my belt was unbuckled and my pants were partially opened in the front. I chuckled as I mused over the possibility that it was my embarrassing state that caused the other cars to beep and complain. I stopped and wished it was true.

One big union (of cyclists),
A slightly anxious and mentally disturbed Danimal.

It’s true; the laughter begins before I hit the ground and the smile doesn’t leave until long after that. My levity is not always shared by everyone in these cases, unfortunately. Such was the case when I stumbled up to the head of my department, dirty and bleeding. Some time in the sink, a trip to the first aid kit, and some scotch tape (freshly stolen from Yossi’s desk, thank you) later and I’m blogging about how truly awesome Bike Path Cyclo-Cross is.

My damage:
The back of my wrist was scraped up.
2.5 knuckles were bleeding.
2 cuts between my fingers were bleeding
My teeth hurt
A large chunk of my right palm was shredded and bleeding.
I tore my pants
My right knee is scuffed up.
General aches and pains
Subsequent problems with breathing.
A plenty of dirt lodged into my wounds.
The horrified looks of several witnesses.

Kallisti’s damage:
Chain fell off its rocker
The right hood (remember this is a road bike) is bent far inwards now
Negligible damage to the hull
Dirt, dirt, dirt.

I love this stuff. I hope I get into more crashes!

Hail Eris!
Danimal.

I recently decided to start training for Cyclo-Cross. Not the “urban-cross” of the past (this was an invention of mine that combined parkour with cycling and, uh… trespassing), but actual sanctioned Cyclo-Cross. Five problems immediately come to light;

1. I don’t have a Cyclo-Cross bike
5. I have no place to practice

The solution to number 1 is to suck it up, up my ability to repair bikes, and just use Kallisti (my LeMond). Kallisti is already a bit dinged up from the fun I’ve put her through (okay maybe abuse is a better term. ), and the prospect of more interesting repairs excites me.

The solution to number 5? Get creative. While there is (to my knowledge) no all-season track close by for me to practice on and my Kallisti doesn’t care for mud, I am rather imaginative. At last we come to the title of this blog post; Cyclo-Cross on the bike path.

Here are the rules I’ve generated so far;

1. The patches of brickwork are areas where it is infeasible to cross while on my bike.
2. The hills have to be ridden to the top and then ridden down again.
3. Don’t endanger the other travelers.

Solidarity and fun!
Danimal… grarr.

When I have a chance I’ll play with the new feature. Feel free to go ahead and play with it yourself!

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/03/biking-directions-added-to-google-maps.html

UPDATE:

The option seems to be available to everyone but me…

The following was submitted via the MBTA’s support form.

Hello,

At around 8:45am today (March 9), bus number 0199 came to an abrupt halt in the street, next to (but not in) the Dawes Island Park bus stop. The driver then negligently let the passengers off while parked in the street (again, outside the bus stop; in the middle of the lane). This caused the passengers to almost collide into several cyclists who were (legally) passing to the side of the bus as the law permits given a single lane and adequate room.

I have been assured that the MBTA cares about the safety of its passengers. I look forward to seeing this promise put into motion.

I sincerely thank you for your time. We have a mutual interest here and I am glad we can work together for it.

I hope to hear from you in regards to this incident,
[Danimal]