Hadron Collider

Ever wonder how scientists get around in the Large Hadron Collider? The LHC is a 17 mile underground tunnel in Switzerland where scientists are planning on smacking atoms into one another, with a very low risk of creating black holes here on earth. This picture shows that they rely, at least in part, on the humble bicycle. Pretty cool.

This picture is from a series on Boston.com's The Big Picture, an always wonderful photo blog. Check it out.

Rain rain, go away

Today: A chance of drizzle between noon and 3pm, then a chance of rain after 3pm. Cloudy, with a high near 53. Southeast wind between 3 and 11 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%.

 

Whoops.  Shouldn't have ridden the fenderless fixie today, I guess.  But I didn't have a ton of choice, as the rain commuter of choice is missing a bolt on the B67.  It's the bolt that connects one of the springs to the lower support rod, and it gives the saddle a lopsided feel.  I noticed it on Wednesday, but haven't had time to do anything about it.  I wonder if there's a special Brooks bolt I need, or if any old nut/bolt combo will work.

If you give a man a fish

It's said that if you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day.

If you teach a man to fish, you feed him for a lifetime.

 

But if you give a man a fishing pole, tackle box, instruct them on how to use all the equipment, show them a good spot to fish and they're too lazy or stupid to pick up the pole don't they deserve to starve to death? Just maybe?

Wheel desks

Makes me wonder how many nitwits will try using this when they're driving...

Velocipede? That sounds vaguely familiar...

marriedtothesea.com
Another Married to the Sea winner.

Fashionista

Rachael Ray says it's OK for men to wear scarves as a fashion accessory.

Cyclist Appreciation

From the always excellent Married to the Sea comic.

Zappa plays the bicycle

I fully expect that after Jim views this video, my next visit to South Minneapolis will include a trip to Hiawatha Cyclery and Musical Instruments.

Ticket to Ride

I visited the doctor yesterday afternoon and was pronounced Healed! Or mostly, anyhow. The Doc said it will probably take another 6 months to get full strength and flexibility back. But I've been officially cleared for any and all activities, including cycling. I find that my hand feels good for most day to day activities, but it still twinges and is painful when doing activities involving heavy lifting or sharp impacts. I wrote last August about not wearing cycling gloves, but a short ride on Tuesday reminded me of how much one's hands act as shock absorbers when riding. So I paid the boys at Hiawatha a visit this afternoon and purchased a new set of cycling gloves. First pair of gloves I've purchased since October 2005 in Sausalito. Now that I've got padding for my hands, it's time to start losing some of the padding I've accumulated around my middle...

Remembering 9/11

This made me cry today.

Testing the Waters

I spent some quality time in the garage this afternoon, aimlessly moving things from one place to another without really accomplishing much. I did dust off a couple of bikes I hadn't touched for quite some time and reacquainted myself with them. One, my Schwinn Premis, has really been neglected these past several years. I bought this bike from an employee of Twin City Outboard while I was looking for parts for my ancient Johnson Sea Horse in about 2002. A little off topic here, but that's a great shop if you are a boat nut. They've got everything.

Anyway, the Premis was quite a step up from the Raleigh Eclipse I had been commuting on. Light and fast, this was the first true "go fast" bike I'd ever owned. While I think it's just a hair too tall for me (about 25" frame), I rode it for several years and it treated me very well. But as I became more of a commuter, the bike's lack of any cargo carrying or ability to fit fenders became more and more of a liability.

After I got my Jamis, the Premis became superfluous and hung in the garage full time. It deserves to be ridden. It's a great bike. I kept it around for a while thinking it would make a good fixie conversion. But the white components which scream 80s (along with the fade paint job) are still such a nice matched set I never had the heart to tear the bike apart. White components include: Dia-Compe Aero-Compe Brakes, Sakae cranks, Suntour Cyclone shifters and derailleurs.

I upgraded the handlebars to a set of Modolos with an anatomic bend that are wider than the original bars, but kept the white on white bar tape to match the hoods.

I also replaced the rear freewheel with a Shimano one after the original self destructed.

So if you're a taller fellow who is in the need of a classic steel ride, let me know. I want it to go to a good home.

Getting better all the time

The kids were away at Spanish Camp last week. When they returned, one brought home a virus and the other brought home tales of a crush on a young lad named Ethan. I wasn't super excited about either, but now that I've caught the bug and feel like crap, I can for certain say that's the greater of the two evils.

Saw the hand guy last week, surgery is not in my immediate future. I have a follow up for 30 days out, but he was optimistic about the signs of healing noted in my CT scan and newest x-ray. He did note that the break was all the way across the bone, not just the little chip I'd initially highlighted. I'm too lazy to go back and retouch the x-rays I posted earlier. You'll have to use your imagination.

I'll leave you with this gem:

The ride continues

Quick update: 

I went and saw The Hand Guy this morning.  Quick in, quick out, no real resolution.  He looked at the x-rays and feels the bone is definitely broken.  He was non-committal about it, but I got the feeling he felt the break was more severe than the previous doctor had.  Options, they are three:

1.  Do nothing.  Advantages:  free, easy.  Disadvantages:  Potential for decreased mobility of joint, strong possibility of severe arthritis in 10-15 years.

2.  Cast, for up to 12 more weeks.  Advantages:  Cheap, not too invasive.  Disadvantages:  12 freaking weeks in a cast?  Kill me now.  Oh, and it may not actually accomplish anything.

3.  Surgery.  Advantages:  Probably the best prognosis for full recovery.  Disadvantages:  Well, it's surgery.  Never a fun or risk free proposition.

 

He sent me away with orders to get a CT scan and chew on my options.  I managed to get the CT scan taken care of this afternoon.  I scheduled a follow up with The Hand Guy for Thursday the 26th.  Once we can look at some higher resolution images of the break, we'll choose a plan and run with it.

Every picture tells a story, don't it

I managed to talk my clinic into giving me copies of my x-rays on disc yesterday. Something like this "normally takes two to three days" I was told, but they grudgingly did it. In the first picture I outlined the broken piece of bone in red, and circled the area in yellow. In subsequent pics, the area is outlined in yellow only. So here's a picture of the original x-ray, taken back on July 2, about 10 days after my fall (click to embiggen).

And the same picture without the red, so the gap is more visible. This is the x-ray that the radiologist said was not a fracture.

Then we have the x-ray from two weeks later, on July 21. Pretty much the same from this angle.

This one shows a strange bump than neither my doc or I remarked on.

At this point I was put in a cast, because both doc and radiologist agreed it was a non-displaced fracture. After 4 weeks in the case, I had a third set of x-rays taken, on 8/19. Now I'm no doctor or radiologist, but it doesn't look like anything has changed. This is the shot that made my doctor say, "That looks like a non-union." and refer me to the hand guy.

I was showing these pictures to my daughters tonight, and Morgan said, "Dad, that's a pretty small piece of bone that's broken off. Do you need that?" And I thought, probably not. I'm sure the hand guy will totally agree.

Well ain't that a kick in the niblets?

2009 is shaping up to be the summer that never was.  It was 59 this morning when I got up.  59 in the dog days of August!  People will be wearing long pants and sweatshirts at the State Fair at this rate.  It's also been the summer of no fun for me on a personal level.  I started the spring with a lovely case of bursitis in my knee, which hampered my ability to walk around and, to a lesser extent, bike.  After multiple physical therapy sessions I started to get back on the bike, only to fall and break one of the bones in my hand, the scaphoid bone.  Long time readers are already bored with this story arc.

 

So, fast forward a bit.  Broke the bone in June, got a splint in early July, got a cast in mid July, and they took the cast off this morning.  Getting the cast off was more fantastic than I could believe.  I'm still thrilled with the simple act of washing my hands.  But it's not all peaches and cream just yet.  We looked at the newest xrays, and I was surprised at how visible the break was.  So was the doc.  So long story just a little bit longer, I have an appointment with a hand specialist on Friday.  My doc said it looks like a non union (nothing to do with Jimmy Hoffa), but he wasn't sure.

 

So, best case scenario is the hand guy says "No big deal, it's a small piece of bone, don't worry about it."  Worst case scenario is hand surgery, pin or screw, and maybe even a bone graft!  Nothing I can do about it one way or the other, so for now I'm going to chill, enjoy being able to type with two hands, and see what Friday brings.

 

This has been another installation of The Pete's Medical Woes Blog.  Thanks for your patronage, and enjoy the near perfect riding weather we're having!

R.I.P. Les Paul

Les Paul was the inventor of the electric guitar and while that is what he will be remembered for, he may have made a larger contribution to rock and roll by developing multitrack recording.  Prior to multitrack, all the artists had to perform at the same time, singing into a can, and what you heard was what you got.  Les changed all that.  Multitrack allows the drums to be recorded, then the guitar, then maybe the singer.  If the singer screws up but the guitarist was hot, just re-record the singer and pair that track with the hot guitar track.  Bands didn't even need to record on the same day or in the same studio.  And you could overdub, taking one part and making it sound like "three, six, nine, 12, as many voices as I wished," according to Les.  He finished that thought with one of the biggest understatements of all time:  "This is quite an asset."

 

Les Paul was 94 when he died.  He had 36 gold records and 11 number one hits between 1949 and 1962.  He won a grammy award when he was 90.  R.I.P., Mr. Paul.

 

 

Merchandize that corpse

I saw an ad today for authentic Michael Jackson lithographs on TV in the breakroom at work today. I guess this will be the Michael Jackson generation's version of the Velvet Elvis. I wonder how log it will take before guys are selling these out of a van in the K-Mart parking lot.

the big picture

If you don't follow The Big Picture, you should.  This edition is cycling focused, but they have consistently high quality photos on nearly every topic under the sun.  A few comments on specific photos below:

 

#4 - Egoi's got helmet hair!

#14 -  a person's wrist isn't supposed to curve that way

#20 -  great shot!

#25 - the devil has quite a vertical leap!

#27 and 32 - I never get tired of the overwhelming joy on stage winners' faces

 

But all in all, a great set.

--
     __o
 _ -\ <, _
( * ) / ( * )
~~~~~~~

That's a bummer, man

We spent a fair amount of time this past weekend hanging out with other people's parents. Saturday night we had dinner with friends Joel and Alana and Nancy's brother. Joel and I were college roommates, so I had met his folks before. But it's been a number of years since college and it was nice to get to see them again. Then on Sunday we drove up to St. Cloud for a 50th anniversary celebration. The couple celebrating are the parents-in-law of a high school friend of mine, Eric. We went up not as guests but to help with party prep and other tasks. But when the host and hostess are super organized people, and the meal is a fully catered pig roast, there's not a lot to do. Nancy did get some nice family photos, and it was nice to see both Val and Eric's folks. Eric's mom was mt 4th grade teacher.

But the entire weekend was pretty light on the physical activity, and with my time off for the wrist injury I was feeling a little antsy. So I took the lime Suburban out for a short 10 mile ramble just to see how things were feeling. After the first few miles I started feeling each bump a little bit more in the wrist than the previous one. So I probably rode 6 of the remaining 8 or so miles with my injured hand resting on my leg. But it was awfully nice to get out.

I had my follow-up appointment with the doc this morning. New x-rays confirmed that it truly is a fracture, and after a quick consult with the radiologist the doc wrapped my arm in fiberglass. I chose green, to match the Schwinn I'd most recently ridden and probably won't ride again for a while.

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Happy Bastille Day!

It's rough out there

These days it seems like the entire household is banged up. The kids have had skinned knees and elbows since the weather got warm (nothing more serious recently, thank goodness). The Mrs. has been fighting a nasty case of plantar fasciitis for the last couple of months. I broke a bone in my hand. And the dog even got into the act by somehow ripping his dewclaw off.

I talked with my doc, and he says I just cracked the bone and doesn't think a hard cast is needed. So I'm wearing this brace and will have to get it x-rayed again in two weeks.

At least I don't have to wear a cone.

In which you are invited to say 'I told you so'

I had both a dentist and a doctor appointment today.  Such is the fun of being 40.  The dental checkup went well.  The hygenist and I had our semi-annual banter:

 

Her:  How often are you flossing?

Me:  Not as often as I should be.

Both: (forced) Ha ha!

 

It's shameless how we flirt.

 

Then I got bad news at the doctors office:  I've gained 7 pounds since last year!  It's possible it has something to do with my markedly decreased mileage this year.  Here at the midway point of 2009, I'm just barely over 1100 miles.  This time last year, I was just over 2,000.  Hmmm, decreased mileage equals weight gain?  Perhaps.

 

Oh, and the doc mentioned something about a broken wrist.  Gave me a splint, and might give me a cast next week.  He's a good man, and thorough.  Summer bummer!

Sigh

Life in the corporate world:

 

We had a meeting today, and somebody used the term "vernacular."  Somebody else said "I don't know what that means."  So, in an effort to call out the closet Lebowski fans, I said it means "the parlance of our times."  Nobody laughed.

Biker beers

Every so often, Bicycling Magazine sends me an email.  And every so often, I actually read it.  Their most recent email had a subject line that pretty much ensured I would: 

 

The Best Beers for Bicyclists

 

I thought perhaps it would be beers with lots of B12 or some other chemical that will aid cyclists in recovery, or some such nonsense.  But it was just a straightforward slideshow of 12 different beers that were either inspired by cycling or were named for cycling.  I hadn't heard of many of these beers, so I may need to go search them out.  You should too.

After a Fall

About 15 years ago I bought my wife an audio recording of several Garrison Keillor short stories, recorded by the man himself. One was titled "After a Fall" and discussed what happens after you fall down:

"When you happen to step off an edge you didn't see and lurch forward into space waving you arms, it's the end of the world for a second or two, and after you do land, even if you know you're OK and no bones are broken, it may take a few seconds to decide whether this is funny or not."

Nancy and I went for a ride on Saturday, and I fell off my bike. First time I've fallen since the Hiawatha Pub Crawl. After those few seconds, I decided this was funny. We were riding through Crosby Farm in St. Paul and ended up on the wetland trail. This is a boardwalk that allows you to travel across the marshland. As we approached the end of this section of trail, the boardwalk angled up, sharply. I slowed down some and headed up. And of course, on the other side was a drop of at least a foot that I totally wasn't expecting. The front tire made the drop, and for a brief second I thought I was going to make it. But then my pedal caught on the peak of the boardwalk and I pitched over sideways. Nancy was behind me and said I fell very gracefully. I have a couple of red spots on my left palm, but didn't even break the skin. Nice! We finished out the last 5 miles of the ride, but my wrist was sore.

Later that day, I noticed that it is nicely swollen. And today, well over 24 hours later, it's still nicely swollen. But all in all, a funny experience. Even if my wrist might disagree.

A right, or a privilege?

Bob Mionski wrote a book a few years ago called Cycling and the Law.  I haven't read this book but I have wanted to.  I learned today that he also writes a blog for Bicycling magazine.  His most recent post discusses whether cycling is a basic right, or a privilege.  I have always been told that driving is a privilege, and assumed that cycling was the same.  But Bob mentions something called the "right to travel" that I was unfamiliar with.  I won't try to summarize it here, because the post does a very good job of explaining things.  The end result is that I learned a fair amount of the history of both motor and cycling law.  Is cycling a right?  I think that could be argued either way.  And as Bob points out, if we cyclists keep riding like jerks, it may be.

 

Is cycling a right or a privilege?

Madsen

More bike lanes

I received this from the City of Minneapolis a while back, and it's been languishing in my in-box.

Bicycling Update Subscribers,

On Wednesday, June 10th, Minneapolis Public Works will host a public meeting (pdf) to present the draft proposal for new bicycle lanes on 4 street segments:

* 10th Avenue SE – Como to University Avenue (pdf)
* 19th Avenue S – University to Riverside Avenue (pdf)
* 20th Avenue S – Riverside to Minnehaha Avenue (pdf)
* Minnehaha Avenue – 20th Avenue to 31st Street (see pdf above)

The meeting will be held at 6:00 pm in Room 114 of the Oren Gateway Center at Augsburg College. A bicycle ride will also take place before the meeting at 5:15 pm to tour the proposed bike lanes. Meet at the old North Country Co-op and bring a bicycle.

For more information about the project, including project summaries and opportunities for online feedback, visit the Bicycle Operations project website.

Happy Riding,

City of Minneapolis Bicycle Program

So get thee to the meeting on Wednesday. The Pro-Parking League usually shows up in force for these types of things, so the cyclists need to balance things out.

The Big 40

Last week I turned 40 years old, Thursday to be precise. I'd thought about how to celebrate this for a while, and decided I wanted to have a party. So, have a party we did. I don't often consider myself a popular person, as most of the time I'm an introvert and don't easily insert myself into social situations. Yet ironically, I love gatherings. But I certainly felt quite popular on Saturday and was extremely pleased to be surrounded by friends and family who came from both near and also much farther than I ever would have imagined. We had a great time, spun yarns about the old days, caught up on what is happening in the current, stayed up too late and enjoyed each other's company. I'm not completely deluding myself, free food and beer is a big draw, but it was great to see every single person there even if I didn't get a chance to chat with half of you as much as I would have liked, and talked to less than half of you twice as much as you deserved. A big heartfelt thanks to everybody who came out and made this a great party!

Stillwater Marathon

We went to Stillwater on Saturday for the first Stillwater Marathon.

The gang at The Mad Capper in Stillwater sure knows how to make a guy feel welcome.

2009 3 Speed Tour

Another 3 Speed Tour is in the books. And from my vantage point, it was one for the ages. Don't get me wrong, we had a great time last year. Lots of fun and interesting people, taking in the shops and the desserts and the pie and the ride. It was all so new, and there was a sense of discovery that can't be beat. But at the same time, Nancy wasn't feeling well and hadn't been for several months. I know it was a struggle for her at times to keep up, and even to stay on the bike. In retrospect, she was a lot sicker than I realized at the time. So I have some mixed emotions looking back, knowing that while she did have fun she was suffering as well.

Fast forward a year, and what a difference. Health wise, Nancy has been doing great. And the tour, while still the same, had a very different undercurrent for me. It was much more fun knowing that she was not just dragging along, but truly enjoying herself in all aspects. The route of the tour was familiar and comforting, but we still managed to find some newness to get that sense of adventure. We also stayed at a new hotel, The Bridgewaters, which was wonderful. We got to see some familiar faces from last year and some friends from the area, plus get to know new folks. What could be better that to hang out with a bunch of people who share your same brand of crazy?

Nancy has already blogged about most of our trip, and has shamelessly stolen the cream of the photo crop (from her camera and mine, the scoundrel!). So if you want a first rate recap of the tour, check out her blog post. Below are some additional photos that she didn't already use, with my comments.


Consider the lilies of the goddamn field!

The woman who rode this bike really does have a foot issue, and every time we dismounted (or at least, when I saw her) she took her shoe off and put this boot on. Pretty amazing that she could do the tour at all.

One of the better pictures of my bike. Last year we tried to go authentic, with original cheap Brooks saddle, vintage rack and a wicker basket to carry our belongings. It was cute, but not super functional. Toward the tail end of last year's tour my bike started to make a horrible grinding noise and had sprayed gear lube all over the rear rim. I was terrified that something within the Sturmey Archer hub was about to fail and leave us 10-15 miles outside of Red Wing. I gutted it out and more or less white knuckled it back in to town, thinking the whole rig was going to come apart. Later, when I got home I realized that the rack's attachment point had come loose and lodged itself into the rear brake. The brake was askew and rubbing against the rim. The gear lube was just incidental. So this year I used a modern seat post mount rack with modern panniers. I also swapped out the crappy old Brooks for my nice one. I also added a frame pump, since I'm pretty sure we went through last year's tour without.

After our hike-a-bike adventure in Maiden Rock. This pic is easily within my top 5 favorites of all the pictures we took this year. No idea why Nancy didn't poach it.

Isn't she cute?

The oldest bicycle on the tour, 94 years old.

A super fun trinket I got from Sallie Gurth, a beer mug valve stem cover! Sallie makes these, and she and her husband Ron have a website where they sell them along with other bike themed jewelry. So here's a shameless plug. Go visit them at Velo Amore' and buy some stuff!

It's a Robin Hood sandwich! Several of us were noting the particular shade of red our bikes shared. So we put two Robin Hoods on the outside and the Dunelt in the middle for a photo op.

Nancy looking fabulous from behind, with her scarf flapping in the breeze.

That pretty much sums it up. We will definitely be back next year, unless the popularity overtakes us and we don't get registered before the cutoff!