GreenComotion

Approval Granted!

2013-05-15T21:42:00.000-05:00

I now officially have the permission from the building manager at work to take my Brompton into work, to my office. While it didn't take too much work, it is a good outcome. A small victory!

Hope you're having fun!

Paz :)

Great Atlanta Bicycle Parade

2013-05-09T18:43:00.002-05:00

I have been busy for a week or so. Visited family and friends last weekend, so not much riding. Next event I am looking forward to the Great Atlanta Bicycle Parade, May 19th, 2013.

Will you be there?

Peace :)

PS. Image courtesy of Great Atlanta Bicycle Parade

Exploring Atlanta

2013-04-28T22:34:00.002-05:00

Details of a 25 mile trip around various parts of Atlanta.

Peace :)

2013 Great Atlanta Bicycle Expedition

2013-04-21T20:40:00.003-05:00

Since I used Brahma to participate in the 2013 Great Atlanta Bicycle Expedition, I posted about it on my iBrompton blog. Please click on the image below to read all about the ride.

Peace :)

Lim n->(1/0) {T+n}

2013-04-18T20:53:00.001-05:00

I have been living in Atlanta, Georgia, for the past week or so. My last post was at time point t-5. We have come a long way since then.

I came to Atlanta in the peak of the allergy season - if you are allergy prone, tough stuff. However, everything is so verdant and pretty. It is not humid (yet).

I see lots of big, green, live trees. Lots and lots of them.

I brought Brahma with me, but I haven't ridden yet. Yes, guilty as charged, but it is a big city and I haven't gotten my bearings down yet. Not to worry though; plan to ride over the weekend and keep going from then on.

I have enjoyed walking roughly 4 miles to work and other places, since last Saturday. My feet protested a bit, initially, but they are both game now.

Hope all is well in your world!

Peace :)

PS. The Chevy came on a big truck today. May be time to go to the levee and ...

T-5

2013-03-31T21:54:00.000-05:00

I am on the verge of a new beginning. It will be begin this Friday.
More to come once I am in my new digs.

Be well and take good care. I hope to talk to y'all real soon.

Peace :)

Deep Reflections

2013-03-07T15:48:00.000-06:00

I have been slow on the commuting, as I have been busy running errands during the course of the day. I have also had the pleasure of traveling to a couple of new places; not on business and I would not categorize these as "pleasure" either.

But, on the bright side, I have had quite a few opportunities to ride my fat-tire bike along some trails in Irving. The beauty of a fat tire bike, combined with a slow ride, is that you get to reflect on a lot of things.

Reflections, whether or not the skies are azure, are definitely a fun way to spend time. Who wouldn't want to ride the bike and think of a whole bunch of fun things, right?

Peace :)

Re-purposing an old friend

2013-02-15T10:48:00.000-06:00

I stopped using my Road ID, a couple of years ago, as I simply did not want to wear anything on my body. I always carry some form of idenitfication on me, such as my Driver's License.Now, that I don't use the Road ID, I decided I will re-purpose the wrist-band. Of course, it was cycling related.

Paz :)

Kickstand for the Thorn

2013-02-12T16:34:00.001-06:00

Since buying the Thorn Nomad, I didn't put a kickstand. As long as i was willing to use the Click-Stand or was willing to lean it against a wall or a tree or a fence, parking the bike was no biggie.

However, if i had my cargo trailer attached to the Thorn, it wasn't always easy parking the bike, by leaning it against a stationary object. For instance, it was always tricky loading the trailer without the bike falling.

So, after lunch contemplation, I put an Esge center kickstand on the Thorn Nomad.

Since then shopping has been a breeze on the Thorn with the trailer attached.

Now, I need to find a way to pay for "all" the shopping I do!

Paz :)

Picture Perfect

2013-01-21T13:41:00.005-06:00

Finally managed to frame the two postcard versions of the posters, which I bought at the Posters of Paris exhibit at the Dallas Museum of Art.

Now, I have find a nice spot for these two framed pieces of art in the CMA (Chandra Museum of Art) :)

Peace :)

Posters of Paris

2013-01-08T22:54:00.001-06:00

I had the fortune of visiting the Dallas Museum of Art over the holidays. In particular, we saw the Posters of Paris exhibit, which was a great treat; from many points of view, including art, print making and cycling.

Below are a couple of snaps from the collection. There were many cycling memorabilia for the velo-curious.

I noticed that I had most, if not all, of the good cycling books that the museum store was selling. I got a chuckle out of that!

I bought myself a couple of printed postcards.

Peace :)

Pump Upgrade - Topeak JoeBlow Sprint Floor Pump

2012-12-24T00:40:00.000-06:00

I recently upgraded to a Topeak JoeBlow Sprint floor pump with an easily-to-read pressure gauge. This model has the pressure gauge at the top, where I don't have to squint to read the dial. I am starting to enjoy such refined features, especially when I don't have my glasses on.

My former pump was also a Topeak JoeBlow, but an older model; and a free one at that. You can read more about why it was free here. Now, my old pump sits in my friend's garage.

The new pump has some other desirable features, such as a Handle Lock, Air Pressure Release button, and a hook to hang it on the wall. I enjoy the last feature very much, as I am pressed for floor space in my work area.

Here is that big analog pressure gauge. So much easier to read.

For another $30, I could have bought the Pro pump, which has the Smart Head technology; which means you can use it on a Presta or a Schrader value, without changing anything at all. The head will automatically adjust itself for the type of valve you use it on. For me personally, it isn't worth it, at this point in time. I got more time than money.

Hope all is well with you.

Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy & Healthy New Year.

Peace :)

Diversification

2012-11-30T18:33:00.001-06:00

Since my return from St. Louis, early this month, I have been busy doing other fun things; not just cycling. I am reading a couple of books, spending more time with the family, etc. My beloved wife has started riding again. We ride together, hike a bit, etc.

It is good to have multiple interests, especially for me; given, I ain't no King of nuttin'.
Below is evidence of me branching out, shall we say?

Not sure where this particular new interest will take me. But definitely, it will keep me away from a "keyboard", at least for a while.

I will post whenever I have good/fun/interesting things to share AND I will read the posts from my favorite bloggers.

Here is someone who could not just think of Physics, but also play the Bongos quite well.

Have a Great Weekend!

Paz :)

Happy Thanksgiving

2012-11-21T22:50:00.000-06:00

Have a Very Happy Thanksgiving.
I am planning to chill tomorrow!

Paz :)

Valuable Lesson!

2012-11-08T21:36:00.000-06:00

I was reading some works of Tolstoy, while on the plane to St. Louis, early last week. I came across the following that struck a chord in me.

It may not have anything to do with cycling. But, I still want to share it with those of you who might care to know.

"Remember that there is only one important time and is Now.
The present moment is the only time over which we have dominion.
The most important person is always the person with whom you are, who is right before you, for who knows if you will have dealings with any other person in the future.
The most important pursuit is making that person, the one standing at your side, happy, for that alone is the pursuit of life."

From Three Questions by Leo Tolstoy.

Peace :)

Travels

2012-11-08T21:27:00.000-06:00

I have been extremely busy with some personal business that needed my complete attention. So, given that I haven't written here, in a long while.

I think I am back. I know I am back in DFW; but I think I mean my head is back where I like for it to be.

Pictured below: A street artist's gear that I saw on Delmar Loop in St. Louis, MO; last week. This particular chap used a bicycle to get around and played pretty good music. I chatted with him a bit; and, he noticed that I too was traveling.

I suppose we all are; in some sense.

Peace :)

Mystery, Helmet-Cam Head and non-sensical road rules!

2012-10-01T21:55:00.003-05:00

Yes, I know the title is rather long. The original title was: Mystery, Helmet-Cam Head and annoying bicycle races where commuters are pushed off the road! I shortened it subsequently. I have, of late, been remembering many of the stories I read to my daughter; and, that has influenced the titles of my posts, shall we say? :)

I think it was two weeks or so ago, that I went to REI. I took the Campion Trail from my home to get the Valley View Road. Just before I got to Valley View, I saw a bunch of Police Officers on the trail. Needless to say, I was curious. I asked one of the officers if everything was okay. His response was rather terse. "Did you see anything?", asks the officer. I said I saw absolutely nothing, which I did not. I did not see anything suspicious or out of the ordinary. In fact, I rode the trail with my buddy Ron, earlier that morning and all was well. It later occurred to me that the Policeman could have wondered if I had recorded any footage of anything suspicious using my helmet camera. Rats!

Next, I saw a few Police vehicles and a Fire Engine parked on Valley View and I saw a TV Camera Crew on the trail. I immediately knew something was up. However, I pushed on to go to REI, on Valley View. I had a wheel to get trued! BTW, if you look closely, you can see a police boat on the trailer in the picture below.

As though the first part wasn't exciting enough, the second part of my journey had its own surprises in store for me. Valley View is a divided thoroughfare. On this particular day, however, the east side was closed off.

Apparently, there was some "important" bicycle race, or an organized ride. The Police told me not to ride there, even though there were 3 lanes wide open there. There weren't any other bicyclists riding there. In fact, during the 30 minutes or so that I rode on Valley View, I think I saw a total of 3 bicyclists riding on the east side. 3 cyclists, for Pete's sake and they tell a commuting cyclist not to ride there. I felt it was highly uncalled for! Even if there was a race, the riders would not have been handicapped by one lone commuting cyclist on the road. Grrrrrrr!

I wasn't gonna let this balderdash get me down. So, after I got my wheel fixed at REI, I got myself a nice little treat, to cool off.

When I returned home, I got on the internet and searched for incidents around the Campion Trail. Lo and behold, there was an incident. Rather a sad one. A teenage girl's body was found in the Trinity River :(

I thought I was living in a rather safe place. Am I? Really??

Peace :)

ABC-CYS Quick Check?

2012-09-21T19:01:00.001-05:00

Ever since I got a wheel with the dynamo hub built for the Americano, the stock wheel that came with the original build has been hanging in my shop. It has hanged there for quite a while, as I seldom ride the Americano without the dynamo wheel. It wouldn't make sense to ride it without the lighting. So, the spare wheel built on a Velocity Dyad has been resting.

All was well, until, 3 months ago, when I heard a strange voice coming from the front wheel. At first I thought the SON was acting out, but it wasn't the dynamo. I wouldn't expect any trouble from such a high quality piece of equipment like SON anyways. It was too dark to see anything clearly. So, I rolled the bike around a bit and the noise went away. Alas, I didn't bother to do a thorough investigation.

Two weeks ago, I decided I would the Americano on a Saturday morning ride. So, I got all excited about the prospect, aired-up the tires and got on it and BAM. The crazy noises started again. I thought the wheel was out of true, but that was only the secondary failure; I saw one spoke had popped out of the rim. I checked some more and there was more than one spoke in despair.

So, I took the dynamo wheel off and put the stock wheel on and carried the spare on the Americano, to REI Dallas.

When I got to the shop at REI, Jerry pointed out that there were a total of 5 spokes out of the rim. What was crazier was that there was some kind of nasty smelly liquid inside the wheel. I have a suspicion that the cats of the house are messing with my bicycles. Now, cats, if y'all are reading this post, please note: THIS AIN'T COOL :(

Jerry was nice enough to accommodate my repair into his busy schedule. After I got done in the bike shop, I browsed a bit and then headed back home, with the dynamo wheel back on the bike.

So, I learned a new lesson. It is not just enough to do the ABC Quick Check, but it is important to do the ABC-CYS Quick Check; CYS = Check Your Spokes! Better yet, don't think anything for granted!

Happy Friday!

Peace :)

Next book in line

2012-09-19T23:08:00.001-05:00

The next book I will be reading is "Just Ride", by Grant Petersen of Rivendell Bicycles.

Back in the day, I read lots of fiction and non-fiction; books on a variety of topics; authors such as Ayn Rand, Richard Bach, Asimov, Tolstoy, Toffler, Heller, etc. Now a days, I can hardly read anything other than bicycling related material, for entertainment. I still read technical articles for work.

I am almost done with my the Sanders book.

I am eagerly looking forward to reading "Just Ride".

Peace :)

Eye candy: Terra Ferma

2012-09-06T23:53:00.000-05:00

I befriended Ron a few months ago. Ron and I have ridden once so far, mainly because of our fairly busy schedules.

Ron is a passionate cyclist, who has very fine taste in bicycles.

Below are some pictures of his Terra Ferma, steel racing bike. It is very light. Even I could lift it with just one hand. Not much commentary, in this post; just some pictures of a fine bicycle!

Campy and nicely color coordinated bicycle!

Really nice head badge!

Wild Hogs, I believe is my buddy's team in school!

These pictures were taken in a hurry. I will try to post some more in the future.

It is almost Friday, eh?

Peace :)

Learning the Fundamentals is very important

2012-09-01T00:51:00.001-05:00

My nephew is on deputation to Palo Alto for a few months. He is here to teach his extraordinary software skills to the developers at his company's HQ here. Very brilliant young man. Knows his fundamentals in Computer Science very well.

My nephew wants to ride a bicycle in Palo Alto. He called for some pointers. I referred him the BikeEd website, which has good information.

I am a big believer in learning the fundamentals right. Especially now that I know where I should have paid more attention in school :) How does that song go? "Wish I knew what I know now, when I was younger..."

While I have played around with theory during my quasi-applied years, I believe it is very important to put theory to work. Text book examples alone don't cut it for me anymore! I want my nephew to be safe and ride vesicularly, just as I attempt to do.

So, I reached out to some LCIs in Palo Alto. Lo and behold, I found at least three that were willing to give my nephew some riding lessons, in traffic, riding alongside with him and teaching him the ropes. You know - the real good instruction and insight.

My nephew has decided he is going to rent a bike from Stanford. Great idea!
Once he gets the bike, he is gonna pay one of the LCIs and take some lessons. I say great!

Oh Yes - It is important to learn the fundamentals correctly! There ain't no two ways about it.

Have a Great Labor Day weekend!

Peace :)

PS. I am a happy uncle today! I haven't had an opportunity to teach a nephew something about cycling in a long time!

I am unable leave a comment on any blog except mine!

2012-08-23T21:55:00.001-05:00

Folks:
I haven't been able to leave a comment on any blog except my own.
I can not get past the robot test.
I type the letters I see, but it simply doesn't go anywhere past that.

I hope when I become human again, which may be a day or two or three, I get to leave comments on blogs.

Until then...

Peace :)

Pleasant day, great ride

2012-08-20T18:43:00.000-05:00

It rained again yesterday and today's high was sub-100, which made for an unbelievably pleasant day in DFW. I had originally planned to ride my usual Royal Lane loop with my friend. However, my friend had to stay behind as something unexpected came up. So, I didn't leave the house until later, around noon. However, it was a sunny and very pleasant day to ride.

I went up Campion Trail and saw my friend Mr. Heron, who was patiently waiting for some breakfast. You know it is going to be a great day, when you see Mr. H.

Next, I rode by the river to see if it was still swollen. There was plenty of water flowing. The rain did some good I suppose.

The path to the riverfront where I like to hang out, to meditate, was very muddy. I got a bunch of mud on the Americano's tires and I didn't feel like risking falling down and hurting myself. So, I got out of there in a hurry. The path in the picture above less muddy just a couple of days ago.

Further up the trail, near Northwest Highway, there was a portion that was flooded. I took my chances and rode through it. The water was deeper than I had anticipated, so my feet got wet, but the mud came off the tires and the mudguards. I saw a couple of mountain bikers, walking their bikes up on the grassy ramp. Not a bad idea to do that!

There was signs of rain everywhere. Here you can see it!

And, here too. You can see the water gushing into the pond from the other side (pictured above). This particular area is a favorite of mine, where lots of big birds congregate. Great for photographing herons and cormorants, if you are patient.

As I didn't have any place I had to be, I took a detour and rode up Riverside Boulevard, by Las Colinas Boulevard, by the spiffy condos.

Eventually, got back on the trail, just in time to meet my friend, Mr. Turtle! I stopped by to take a photo, but the visiting hours were over with. Mr. T simply went in and shut the door.

In all, I got close to 20 miles, not a long distance, but better than couch surfing. The best part was that I hardly felt it.

Hope you had a great weekend also!

Peace :)

Rain - Finally!

2012-08-15T21:55:00.002-05:00

Yes, it really rained. Yes, it really happened. It was not a dream!

It really did rain last night. While it wasn't a whole lot, given how little rain we have gotten this summer, it still wasn't too bad.

I swung by the river viewing area on the Campion Trail, near Valley Ranch, to check out the river. The river appeared swollen from the rain. However, no part of my usual ride on Campion Trail was flooded.

I wasn't sure how muddy the trail would be. So, I drove the Nomad to work today. The Nomad is my all terrain bicycle. It plows through most stuff without any difficulty. You need a good engine, that's all :)

It was not a very hot day. I took my time enjoying the scenery on the way back. The ducks seemed happy, basking in the sun. So, I decided that I would do the same and hung out with them for a short bit.

The forecast for tomorrow is a 100, Friday 102. Saturday and Sunday are forecasted to be in the 90s with a high probability of rain. If it doesn't pour all day on Sunday, I might ride with my buddy Arjun. Enjoy the rest of your week!

Peace :)

STOP sign means STOP!

2012-08-13T22:29:00.001-05:00

I am a vehicular cyclist. I obey traffic laws. I stop at STOP signs, red STOP lights and use caution when the light is yellow.

I shot this video on Saturday, last weekend. I am not going to call anyone out in the video, but you can hopefully appreciate my sentiment.

It is my opinion that everyone should follow traffic laws. Cyclists are not exempt. Not obeying traffic laws can cause accidents to a cyclist, which can be very expensive. Plus, you are breaking the law if you don't follow traffic laws.

It worries me to see people running red lights and not stopping at STOP signs, intentionally.

There are certain exceptions, such as a defective traffic light, when one might use caution and cross the road, even if the light is red. But that is not what I am talking about when I talk about breaking traffic laws.

Peace :)