I'm doing my last trip before I get back home to the twin towns. I think I'm tired. I'm tired of: excess stress, anger, fear, stupid punks, apathetic consumers, too much unknown and not enough solidness...
I want a new book from my fave Scottish author to escape into. I haven't picked up a great book in months. I got one for Christmas that I'm looking fwd to.
I ate way too much tonight. It was Italian and it was gooood. The holidays have added some girth to my frame. I can't wait to work it off on my rollers.

Some punk honked at me when I was walking on the sidewalk next to his passing mini-van. I'm a biker, I'm used to it. But this idiot didn't look ahead to see that he was about to stop at a red light. I walked up to his stopped van and just stared at him and his embarrassed girlfriend. What do women see in boobs like that? I didn't do anything but stare at him. Was I taunting him? Maybe.

I'm in Kingsport TN on 12/ 8 and it's Bill Bryson's birthday! It's also not quite 20F! He is my favorite travel writer and the only author who can consistently make me laugh out loud in public. His book a Walk in the Woods reminds me of this pix of Neillsville WI (great book). I also loved his book on the origin of American words/ slang and phrases. He's brilliant.

I recently read a list complied of the best innovations of the 20th century and Minnesota got on there for the honey-crisp apple. An apple? Really? There are so many things that top that. How about ALVIN? I mean without ALVIN we would never know where the current resting place of the Titanic is! And without that, we wouldn't have had the movie Titanic and just how could one be expected to go on without that life-changing 3 hour carthisis (sp?)?

Frame is Black

I just had my road bike repainted...BLACK! I considered red, but why not stick with the original color? Interesting that Colnago did not care to imprint any kind of serial number other than a 9. The steel frame got rusty after being ridden inside on a set of rollers by a novice who didn't figure out to cover the frame to protect it from nasty rust inducing sweat. I'm really looking fwd to putting it all back together and riding it on those rollers now that it's too cold to buzz around outside in this Minnesota weather. I also have my MTB all ready to go for the first snow, because I just have to give it a try. I kind of want to assemble a fixed gear road or a single speed MTB, but that will have to wait to see how the finances go, ya know?

BORAT
Do not see this movie!! This was the worst movie I've seen all year (including all my netflix!). I wanted to see it because it is popular, my finacee was hesitant. It's mean humor. I'm good with that, but it's the same jokes that we see EVERYWHERE!! The exception being the anti-Jewish humor. Just because he's Jewish doesn't give him the right to bash Jews for two hours. I don't mind art making me uncomfortable, but this did so for no reason, I took nothing from it. I also don't buy the premise that the people in the movie didn't know they were being filmed. Too many camera angles and too good of lighting to pull that off. Nuts!

The PRESSURE

I've been MTBing for a few years, and these past couple have gotten more serious about it. I've started entering a few races and joined a couple organizations which help maintain trails in my area: CAMBA and MORC.
One of the fun things for me is learning something new. Like today: I had always scoffed at lowering ones tire pressure to the 35-40psi range for MTBing. Pinch flats, it will make me slower I thought. A friend finally got me to try it today and instead of my usual 55psi I went at 40psi. The difference was amazing and immediately apparent. My tires used to bounce off of rocks as if my tire was a giant ball bearing. Now at the lower psi my tires can actually grip the rock! Cornering is also better, but I didn't want to push that one too hard.
Biking in MN at 68F in November: it doesn't get much better than today.

I got to ride my MTB today after installing a new, lighter, better crankset. It started to rain, so I decided to just leave right from home instead of packing up and heading for a MORC trail. I hit a trail that I can usually only see in the fall when the flora has died off a bit for the year. I'd call it a secret trail, but there were a couple of dogs being run off leash by a pedestrian. The trail is one of the first I've been on in St. Paul and I really enjoyed getting back on it. My problem of dropping the chain when switching from the middle to smallest cog (front) is still there. But I'd like to think it improved somewhat (that's what my emotions are telling the part of my brain that hates spending money).

Night rider
Last week I got to do my first off road , bicycle, night ride. I met up with some other MORC bikers at a trail we've worked on this summer (they much more than I) and one of them had an extra light setup for me. It is a very different experience. I think it would have been more fun at an easier pace, but these guys practically live on these trails and know every obstacle where I was kind of: ride it as I see it...in the dark. It was pretty cool when I could keep up with the guy in front of me because I could use his light to see ahead. When I was on my own I kept tilting my light up and down trying to find the perfect distance of what I wanted to see (I think it was falling as I took some bumps also). I didn't wipe, and was able to keep up with the other night virgin (even though he was MUCH better at obstacles I kind of had him in the hilly cardio stuff). I'll do it again, I just have to resign myself to not trying to keep up with the big boys.