A Creative Lapse?

I feel like posting to my blog has become real work lately. Not that I don't enjoy it...but, that I just don't find myself with tons of things to say. So, I'm often waiting for a topic that sufficiently motivates me to start typing.

It occurred to me, just now, that life has been pretty good lately. Knee hurts, I'm fat, and I'd like to be faster on the bike. But, other than that, I'm feeling pretty content with life. And, as I was thinking on my relative bliss I managed to create a loose association between my relative happiness and my productivity on this blog.

It seems, based purely on conjecture and my own attempts to grasp at some reasoning, that the happier I am the less productive I become on his blog. So, does that mean my creativity or motivation comes from my level of unhappiness?

I'm not speculating that "life is misery" or that without pain I can't be creative or any other cliche' of the indie artiste. I'm just saying that I seem to become less motivated to spew my useless opinion when I'm happy. What's with that?

I generally use this blog as a forum to rant about the weather, rant about my commute to work, rant about bonking on the bike, rant about how frightened I am of Grattan, etc.

Perhaps I should spend more time focusing on the positive things in my life...good rides, good days, good friends...you know, the "feel good" stuff.

I'm beginning to question whether I'm really in touch with my own emotions. Perhaps I need to tap in to my inner-child a bit more. Maybe I need more introspection. Maybe I should start watching Oprah...and try harder not to vomit while she's doing her spiel.

Suddenly, I feel like I need a hug. I mean...can't we all just get along?

I think I'll try to concentrate on the positives a bit more.

Speaking of which...in the editorial section of the Grand Rapids Press today someone had written a letter regarding the recently discovered (the GR Press is a little behind the times) heated topic of driver vs. cyclist relations on our streets. This has been an ongoing topic in the press for the past couple weeks. And, so far, the conversation has remained cordial and only hinted at the real animosity that lies beneath our "friendly disagreement".

Today's letter, though, was interesting in so far as it was the opinion of someone who was willing to generalize ALL cyclists based on her relatively narrow commuting experience. She stated that she didn't have any trouble commuting to work on her bicycle using sidewalks to the whole way. All THREE miles of it. Yes, 3 (three) miles of it...down a lightly traveled street with good sidewalks. After all, she rarely encountered other people on the sidewalk during her epic ride to work. And, by her reckoning, she just couldn't understand why ALL bicyclists didn't just ride on the sidewalk. She also made sure to state that it only made sense to use the sidewalks since it just wasn't practical to expect the government to pay to add additional bike lanes all over the place. Especially since there won't be enough room once the mass transit systems are added.

I read the letter and was immediately perplexed by a few tidbits.

1. Why assume that her side-walked commute was representative of all commutes by bike? Especially when she is covering only 3 miles. Isn't it possible that there are as many different commuting circumstances as there are commuters? Grouping everyone on a bike in to one category seems a bit silly to me.
2. Why assume that a sidewalk is available to everyone? I still wouldn't use it...but, most of my commute doesn't have a sidewalk available to me. Residential streets in West Michigan typically don't feature sidewalks. And, many secondary roads don't have sidewalks either. Many that do have sidewalks are in such a state of disrepair that I wouldn't be willing to risk my life on the cracked and crumbling cement. And, sidewalks are not routinely maintained during the winter months. What sidewalks I can find probably won't accessible once the snow falls.
3. Sidewalks might be acceptable for use by someone traveling 10mph...though I don't think so. But, surely someone who would actually like to get to work in a reasonable amount of time will be travelling faster. My 18-19mph average on the way to work makes using the sidewalk not only impractical but dangerous to myself and others.
4. Why assume that the only alternative to riding on the sidewalk is riding in a designated bike only lane? I don't need or want bike lanes. I'm very content travelling with traffic on a street with a reasonable speed limit (under 40mph) and moderately sized shoulder that affords me the opportunity to create room when cars are passing. I agree...I don't want the government taxing me for bike lanes either. I do want the government to protect cyclists from aggressive drivers through proper policing. And, I'd like the government to hold cyclists accountable for obeying traffic laws through proper policing. For all the complaining I read on various cycling blogs about the insanity of the young "fixxies" (or similar) guys blowing through stop signs, red lights, hopping on sidewalks, circumventing intersections, etc...I have rarely witnessed such behavior. The vast majority of the time I see idiocy on a bike is not done on the part of a "cyclist". It is generally on the part of some schmuck who is pedaling his meijer Mt. Bike at 5 mph the wrong way up a one way street. Or, some 12 year old kid dodging traffic on his bmx bike as he tries to cross the street. There is never a helmet on either person, and I am quite certain that neither of them have any idea that they are supposed to be following traffic laws.

I must admit I was a bit flummoxed when I realized that this half-wit was representing me, a cyclist, to the readership of the Grand Rapids Press. Her views didn't represent my views. In fact, her views were entirely to the contrary of mine. Luckily, with a readership of about...I don't know...8 people, I don't think her opinion was overly exposed to the general public.

Happy, happy, joy, joy. Happy thoughts.

Since I'm trying something new and focusing on the positive in my blog...

I'm positive this person was an idiot. ;-)

Twas a nice day

I'm tired and I've had a great day...so, this is going to be a short post.  But, as I'm basking in the afterglow of a lovely day at home I feel like I should make some effort to document it.

Took the day off work so that I might enjoy some time with my family on my Birthday.  So, no work for me...it was nice...I haven't taken a full day off of work in a couple weeks.

Slept in a little bit...eventually I rolled out of bed (about 7:30 or so) and made my way out to VCC in Holland.  I wanted to do the Bagel Ride...and, I'm glad I did.  It was a fun ride.  Lots of great people, as usual, a good route, a good pace and a couple sprints to keep things spicey.  Had the chance to relive The Incident from the race on Wednesday Night at Grattan (see MC's post on his blog).  Lots of trading stories with the gang...and, listening to Aaron and MC tell their tale.  Since they actually landed in the pile, their recollection of the events was somewhat more interesting than mine.

After the ride we went to The Good Earth for some breakfast.  I had the usual, we traded more stories, I got to hang out with Berger for a while...and we got rained on a little.

Went back to VCC, bought myself a Gift Certificate (don't ask), and hung out for a little bit.  Hanging out at VCC is always a fun time...I like to wander and dream about what I would spend my money on if I actually had any.  Since I don't have any...I generally have to spend massive amounts of time scrutinizing every detail of every minute purchase; feeling that if I make a mistake I might have wasted a valuable opportunity to spend my money on something better.

After VCC I went home, hopped in the hot tub for a few minutes and hit the showers.  Got dressed, got the family packed up the van, and went out to lunch with my parents.  They took us out for Olga's...so, I had a Snackers attack.  Yummy.  Ate enough Snackers to tide me over for about a year.

After lunch I indulged in a nap and a small amount of Olympic coverage.  Followed that up with some time in the pool with Davis.  Score.

Finally, Karin decided we should go out for a birthday dinner.  So, we went back out to Holland and had dinner at 8th st. Grill.  And, since I'd already blown any chance of being healthy while at Olga's...I decided to abondon all sense of concern for my health.  Oreo Milk Shake? Yep.  Olive burger?  Don't mind if I do!  A couple bowls of Corn Chowder?  Yes, please.  French fries?  Uh huh.  It was the whole fat-guy fun pack.  I left feeling very happy, and exceptionally fat.

So, how does one follow up a meal like that?  Well, we stopped by The Peanut Store.  I wanted to buy MC a bag of chocolate covered peanuts...in the hopes that I might make myself feel better about my self indulgence by fattening him up a little too.  ;-)

After that, it was time to head home.  And, finally...the couch, the olympics, and the end of a great day.

Ahhhhhhhh.  That was a nice.

New Look...same stupid blog

I decided to update the look of my blog a bit.  The other one felt a bit dark and a bit busy to me.  So, I tried to got with a bit more of a minimalist approach.  I like it...Karin didn't seem thrilled.  Your thoughts?

Just got done with the Tuesday Night Ride and it was great, as usual.  Ride went well, pace was good, company was outstanding.  Lots of good conversation...got to talk conditioning, cycling, and olympics with Aaron.  Talked kids, school, new bikes, etc with Amy Yarde.  Chatted about the upcoming 'cross season with TOM (Mike).  And, a little chit chat about literature with Dennis...which seems like a recuring theme with he and I.

Had the chance to hang out in the great weather on the grass after the ride  Chatted with friends, swapped some strories and had some laughs.  Heather helped me stretch...which means she put the hurtin' on me.  Obviously I have some work to do in my attempt to limber up.  I expect Heather to make it look easy...she's a yoga instructor.  But, Brian makes it look easy too...so, I feel like a real wuss.

Anyway.  Fun ride.  Quick post (I know.  This is like a minor miracle for me, the king of long winded bloggers).

Gymlympics

Let me start by saying that I love the Olympics. LOVE them. Every 4 years I get the chance to witness the most spectacular display of athletics that can be found anywhere.

There is nothing in professional sports that compares with Olympic athletics at its highest level.

There is nothing like watching an athlete represent their country.

There is nothing like watching an athlete compete with national pride on the line.

I mean this in the most earnest way possible....the stories found at the Olympics, I believe, are inherently more compelling than in any other form of sports.

Sadly, in spite of the stage being set for some of the most dramatic sports viewing possible, I'm generally disappointed every 4 years. The ingredients are all there...yet, I'm NEVER satisfied. Why? American television coverage.

Rarely does the competition itself disappoint me. In fact, at every Olympics there are heart wrenching, nail biting, inspirational, uplifting stories of accomplishment or failure. Stories that should be told. Unfortunately, we don't get to see any of them. We will receive in-depth coverage of 3 sports.

Gymnastics
Swimming
Track

That's it. If you are able to catch some coverage of another sport...it's because you got lucky. And, I absolutely hate that.

The Olympics represent a rare opportunity to see some of the best drama sports has to offer. And, better yet, offer that drama in a bunch of exotic sports that we rarely get to see. This is a genuine opportunity to watch something fresh, invigorating, exciting, and different. Yet, we don't watch it...because we aren't offered the option.

When NBC announced that it would be filming every single moment of every single event at the Olympics, and that they would be offering that coverage across their full line of channels (NBC, CNBC, MSNBC, Oxygen, TNT, USA, and 3 dedicated HD networks) I was thrilled. "Finally!", I thought to myself.

Sadly, NBC has failed to deliver.

Let me be clear...I love gymnastics, swimming, and track. I desperately want to watch all 3 of these sports. I just don't want to watch ONLY these 3 sports. This is a rare chance to witness drama of athletic endeavor at a world class level in some really cool sports.

Let's discuss what is theoretically available...
Archery - I saw about 5 minutes of coverage of the women's finals at about 2AM on the Oxygen network. The intensity of concentration and level of execution in this sport is mind boggling. I'd certainly have been willing to watch more of it...if there was any.

Badminton - Silly little back yard sport? Yes. But, at the Olympics they are FAST. You've probably never seen it...the only reason I have is because I looked up some coverage on the website. This is a really cool sport at this level.

Baseball - one of the few sports I don't want to watch. We have the rare privilege to watch baseball being played at the highest level in the world for about 9 months out of the year at home. And, I don't even watch that...I sure don't need to watch it at the Olympics. Luckily, it won't be at the Olympics next year.

Basketball - ditto to above. Yet, this sport has an ENTIRE channel dedicated to it in HD. Why?

Beach Volleyball - this does get some occasional coverage. And, boy am I glad. First, its a great sport. Second, girls in bikinis are ALWAYS a good option for TV coverage. Sadly, NBC has been forced to show some men's coverage in an attempt to appear as though their coverage of the women's tournament had something to do with an appreciation of the sport rather than the uniforms.

Boxing - I like Olympic boxing. Its faster and somewhat less violent than standard boxing. For some reason NBC has opted to show nearly non-stop coverage of early round matches on CNBC. Why this sport? Why not mix in some coverage of some other sports too?

Canoe/Kayak - I'd love to see some. We won't.

Cycling - Some passing coverage of the men's road race and the men's Time Trial. Essentially no coverage of the velodrome. Certainly not the level of coverage I would appreciate.

Diving - even though this sport is related to swimming coverage, it still gets very little coverage.

Equestrian - almost no coverage at all, which is too bad. Some of this stuff is pretty cool.

Fencing - One of the coolest sports in the world to watch...gets almost no coverage at all.

Field Hockey - I'd watch this...but, there won't be any coverage.

Gymnastics - umm...all the coverage you could want plus a whole bunch you don't

Handball - another cool sport that won't get any coverage.

Judo - I would love to watch tons of coverage. I bet I won't see a single bout.

Modern Pentathlon - Another really cool sport...the modern adaptation of the original Olympic ideal. Using all the sports that would serve one best in a military setting. Swimming, running, shooting, equestrian...

Rhythmic Gymnastics - I am still a little astonished that this is an Olympic sport. It's not that I don't appreciate the athleticism of it....but, I'm always a bit weary of any "sport" that relies on judges to determine a winner (figure skating, gymnastics, diving). This one, though, seems to have taken the concept to a level that is a little beyond my ability to tolerate. There won't be much coverage of it...but, based on the fact that I don't enjoy watching it I imagine that the 2012 coverage from London will be almost non-stop coverage of this sport.

Rowing - incredibly difficult endurance sport...we'll see almost none of it. I'd watch it all if I could.

Sailing - interesting...I find the whole sailing thing fascinating if only because I know so little about it. So, again, I'd love to watch it. There won't be any coverage.

Shooting - no coverage. I'd watch it...the level of concentration is ridiculous.

Soccer - the worlds most popular sport should get a lot of coverage. I know almost nothing about soccer, but would love to learn. Luckily, one of the 3 dedicated HD channels is a "soccer only" channel. So, I can watch tons of this if I want to.

Softball - see baseball from above.

Swimming - I love swimming...I love Michael Phelps. I love the coverage. But, let's skip televising the preliminary races and use that air time to show some of the sports that get zero coverage.

Synchronized Swimming - see rhythmic gymnastics above

Table Tennis - good old ping-pong. At this level it is so fast and the athletes react so quickly that the human eye can only barely keep up with it. In fact, a few years ago, they IOC changed the size of the ball and made it bigger in an attempt to make it more visible on TV and to slow down the ball a bit. Logic being that they would get longer rallies, people would be able to see it more, and therefore would appreciate it more. Unfortunately, whether we appreciate it or not won't matter...there will be about 5 minutes of coverage at 2 in the morning.

Taekwondo - See Judo above.

Tennis - another of the worlds most popular spectator sports. We will only see the matches that Federer is involved in...and, even that is unlikely.

Track & Field - Track will get an unduly large amount of coverage while field will get almost none. I love watching the races...but, like swimming, lets skip the prelims and use that time to show some Table Tennis or Taekwondo.

Trampoline - Highly under appreciated....Olympic level trampoline is basically like watching the diving competition....except that the dives go on for about 5 minutes. Where as diving you spend 5 minutes listening to announcers drone on about how little Susy from France first got started in diving followed by 2 seconds of actual diving...in Trampoline, the twisting, flipping, insanity goes on and on without stop for whole minutes. Too bad you won't see any of it.

Triathlon - I'd love to watch it. There will be about 2 minutes of coverage...just the last 1/2 mile of the run...and probably only the women's race because they are in bikinis.

Volleyball - Used to see some coverage of this...until beach volleyball came around. You won't see any of this unless you get really lucky.

Water Polo - another really cool sport that will not get any coverage. Sad, really. I love watching these guys...its like a swim meet, hockey game, and wrestling match all rolled in to one and stuck in a really big pool.

Weightlifting - well, this one doesn't do much for me. But, I can still appreciate the athleticism. Sadly, these behemoths will have spent 4 years to prep to win a medal that only 3 people in the world will see on TV.

Wrestling - See Judo, Taekwondo. I'd watch every second of both Greco-Roman and Freestyle if I could. And, that shouldn't be tough to do since there will only be about 30 seconds of coverage.

Small bikes, stupid trails, injuries and rides with J2

It's been a while since I've posted up...not due to a lack of things to discuss...just because I'm lazy. Or, busy. Or, stupid. You take your pick.


Small bikes:
I was leaving work the other day. I'd hopped on the Cannondale to ride home...was leaving my parking lot at work, and had just pulled out in to traffic at Lake Eastbrook Dr and 28th St. This is generally one of the more dicey portions of my commute as there is lots of traffic coming from many different directions...most of which are just as happy to run me over as look at me. On this particular day, though, something other than the traffic caught my attention.

There was a man riding a bike from one parking lot to another in roughly the same area I was riding. Sadly, the traffic prevented me from hauling out my camera and snapping off a picture...as it assuredly would have been an amusing one. But, in the interests of expressing the situation to you, my loyal reader, I will paint as vibrant a picture as I may using my semi limited vocabulary.

This man was on a bike...a bright purple bike with yellow and white daisies painted on it. There was a white faux-wicker basket on the front, and it had white tires that appeared to be approaching the end of their life cycle. What was particularly interesting about this fairly large man on this fairly feminine bike was that it was exactly that...a feminine bike. It was a 16" barbie bike of the type sold at Wal-Mart or Target. No. Seriously. My first impression was that this a-hole had stolen some 7 year olds Barbie bike and was riding it to make his get-away. Where are the police when you need them? Probably too busy staging SWAT raids on MC's street in a veiled attempt to obtain further evidence of our subversive cycling activities.

After another 2 seconds of inspection of this mans bicycle I realized that he couldn't have stolen it. In an astonishing fete of bicycle engineering, this man had fit himself to a little girls bike. He had attached a seat post that was easily 2' in length...possibly more. And, had replaced the handlebars with a set of old-school 70's style ape hangers. The kind where you would normally be grabbing on the the grips at about ear level. Except, since this bike was so short, his ape hangers really only came up to about his waste. What I found particularly interesting was that he had replaced the original pedals. Pedals which were designed to fit a 7 year old foot, with standard platform pedals from an adult bike. However, the crank arms and drive train remained completely stock. Thus, he was pedaling like mad to go about 10mph. I believe he was pushing a cadence in the 110-115 range in order to "hurry" across the busy section of the bank parking lot.

As I stared with what must have been a fairly amusing slack-jawed, stupefied look upon my face, this 'cyclist' of sorts looked over and made eye contact with me. His reaction?

"Nice day for a ride!" he stated cheerfully.

I didn't reply...I just was lost for words. What would have been an appropriate response?

Riding with J2:
Last Sunday I had the privilege of riding with J2. While all the Asheville portion of the JDRF team was in recovery and slowly making the journey back to West Michigan, J2 and I had simultaneously concluded that there was not Sunday ride planned. And, that simply would not do.

John and I met at my house at Noon-ish and set out for a 60-ish mile trip to Grand Haven and back. And, I had a blast!

We had a few exciting moments as we dodged through traffic at the US31 interchange in Spring Lake and then hopped on the Draw Bridge to make our way South in the Grand Haven. But, other than that, the ride went really smoothly.

The wind was pretty heavy out of the Northwest, which meant the ride on the way out was a bit tough. But, it meant that we got to go check out the big rolling waves on the lake...and, they were HUGE.

Wind helped us out on the way home and we made pretty good time...the total route finished in the 65 mile range...and we hustled for a good portion of it.

All-in-all, it was a ton of fun. J2 rocks!

Injuries:
So, my knee has been screwed up for about 10 days now. It took a little time fo the Dr. to figure out what the issue was...but, now I'm pretty sure we've got it nailed.

Some sort of an issue with how tight the muscles and tendons are in my left leg. Basically, it is so tight and out of place that the tendon that runs on the front, inside of my knee is causing my kneecap to track incorrectly. That incorrect tracking means that the cartilage is inflamed and is sensitive, plus the bones around the knee area are clipping the edge of my knee cap as it passes over the bones when I bend my knee.

In short, it hurts a lot every time I move it.

Doc put me on a 10 day regimen of 2400 mg of Ibuprofen. 30 minutes of icing it daily. And, solid routine of stretching.

The stretching made an immediate and sustained difference...my knee feels MUCH better after I started stretching in the last couple days.

I should be back in action on Sunday. Provided I don't do something stupid to injure myself in the meantime.

Stupid Trails:
So, I thought it would be a good idea to take my kids out for a bike ride today. And, in the interests of giving them a bit more freedom from traffic, I thought we'd just head over to Kent Trails for a ride. My thought was that the kids would enjoy being able to ride on a trail were they essentially "owned the road".

Well...I still think they might have. If we could have found the trail.

My plan was to give the new-ish section of Kent Trails along M6 a try. I knew that it connected to the old section of Kent Trails as it heads south of 60th St. Unfortunately, there are no good places to park and hop on Kent trails as it moves south through the residential area in Grandville. I didn't want to park in some guys yard and then hop on the trail. So, I decided we would just go park at the new Metro hospital along M6 and just catch the trail from there.

The problem?

You can't get to the trail from anywhere along there. Seriously...the hospital? No access. The new Hyatt Place hotel being built? No access to the trail. The City of Wyoming kids park? No access. The newly built ITT Technical School? No access.

Ok, ok. We'll just ride back toward Byron Center road and catch the sidewalk heading south. From there we'll hop on the trail from where it crosses Byron Center. Sadly...there is no sidewalk. And, there is no place to connect with the trail unless you are willing to hop out in to traffic.

In short, this is a trail with no access. You can't actually get on to the trail from anywhere...at least, no where near the most populous area the trail passes through.

Now, forgive me if I am just being a bit dense. I assure you I'm not being willful. I legitimately am failing to understand. Why in the world would we have built a trail that doesn't actually allow anyone to use to get from anywhere to anywhere that is actually on the trail?

I've always viewed "bike trails" as being great for recreational purposes or for commuting in the very narrow circumstance in which you live and work along the trail. But, they've never really seemed useful to me...partly because they don't appear to be terribly safe if you're planning to ride at speed, and partly because they just aren't practical as a route for my commute. I don't live along the trail. I don't work along the trail. And, the trails in my area don't actually go in a direction that I ever need to go. So, I just have no need for them.

But, I've generally been willing to defend the expense to build them because I understand that they may have a use for some people.

Out for a ride with your kids? Use a trail. Nice Sunday ride on your cruiser bike? Use a trail. Rollerblading? Use a trail. Out for a walk? Use a trail. Out for a run/jog? Use a trail.

There are all kinds of people who might use a trail for plenty of valuable reasons.

But, if our community is going to build a trail that runs along a highway, passing through some of the most populous areas on the South-West side of town...you'd think that we'd want to make that trail accessible to the people in that area. There is a huge new hospital right there. How many of the staff working at that hospital, whose parking lot has Kent Trails pass directly through it, would ride their bikes to work? Well, none right now...because, in spite of the fact that the trail passes with 5' of their parking lot...there is no way to get from the trail to the parking lot. The whole trail is fenced off...on both sides. What's the point? How many people are going to stay in that Hyatt Place hotel who might want to use the trail for a jog or a ride? Too bad...you can't get there from here.

I'm failing...completely and utterly...to understand the purpose of this trail.

And, to be quite honest...this isn't the prettiest section of trail in history. It's along a highway...not known for its sublime beauty or breathtaking scenery. And, the whole thing is fenced in on both sides to within 6" of edge of the pavement. The combined effect of lots of pavement, cement, inaccessible buildings, and fences leaves one with the impression of a prison yard.

So...if you'd like to know what it would be like to spend time in the clink...check out the new section of trail along M6.

If you're looking for a place to take the kids for a bike ride...probably better look someplace else.