Grey skies, Wet leaves, runny noses, and Moe's Burritos

I have been feeling very much "under the weather" last two days, have not ridden. The transition phase between warm and dry , then cold and wet just kicks my ass.

I have a borderline head-cold, the kind that you know if you push yourself just a little harder you will succumb, and get truly sick. I hate being right on the edge,
the suspense kills me.

I did a very intense yoga series the other day, and my legs were quite sore the next day. This may have been the catalyst. I have been pounding tank-loads of "Emergen-C", a fizzy orange drink with some non-typical minerals added. Like Manganese. Potassium. (???) The stuff works. 14 bucks at CVS. I was impressed the first time I tried it, I had a borderline swollen gland, it was gone five minutes later , and I felt perfect.

Toward the darker side, Pseudoephedrine is an amazing over-the counter cold remedy drug, I can see why Hell's Angels types mess with it, you can only get one box at a time in the store, and you have to sign a sheet saying you're not a crack-head. As a kid of the 1960's you popped a pill. Back then it was Ny-Quil and Chlor- Trimeton, which would send me into a coma for days. This stuff is so way better.

It stops my runny nose, and makes you feel almost normal. Mix it with a cup of coffee and you can blog all night. When I worked in Telecom in a high pressure setting, I took it double-dose, ignoring the label, for three straight weeks with a bad case of the flu and fever. I could still function at work. Amazing!

Three weeks is a long time to have the flu. I still have a tape of our band playing. I think I did three before plugging in and going onstage. Aside from my nose running into the microphone and sniffing/snarking, we sounded great.

I plan to start taking ice baths again soon. I used to do this in the winter. It's great for the immune system, combats winter blues, and helps with my body pain. The best part about becoming accustomed to a regular regimen of it is
apparent when you are in a cold place. Your body "accepts" the cold
sensation, you don't "fight" it. I thought about this on my way to get my coffee, which I sip as I write this.

My body was just spazzing out, fighting the cold and damp and depression. The convenience store across the street got burned out, which added to the blehs. Hope nobody got hurt.

But today is not an ice bath day, you have to do it when you are feeling strong, and a bit stressed out. Stretching afterwards is absolutely amazing, as your circulation to your tendons and ligaments increases tenfold. This is an ancient Tibetan Yoga thing, but never mind.

So, after tinkering with some bike building, I decided to blog more on cycling, but got tired of the Mapmyride site, with the glaring Lance Ads for FRS sports drinks. The guys' face is everywhere on the 'net. His expression looks like a doe-in-the-headlights. Startled. I wonder if that stuff is like Red Bull?

I finally read Armstrong's "It's not about the bike". Great book! Right now, I'm also reading "Lance Armstrong's war" , a biography, which is okay.

And no problems with his ads, really, it's how he gets paid. I liked the part where Sheryl Crow shows up and they go riding on her new custom Trek he bought her, inscribed "Juanita Cuervo" on the top tube.

On a more humble note, my Canadian built 1983 Peugeot Corbier is finally coming along, almost there. This is not a jewelry-bike in any sense, but I am falling madly in love with it, because the geometry is superb. It fits me perfectly. The Peugeot frames use wierd proprietary tubing with strange alloy combinations. "Haute Limite Elastique". High Limit Elastic. Okayyy. I'll buy it.

With the swapped Rigida wheels, the bike corners, dives, swoops, and attacks. I've never ridden a steel frame like this one. I cannot imagine what their nice ones are (were) like. They also had a lot of models, with confusing numbers. The px-10, which was sought after, could actually be a be a px-10A , px-10S, etc. To this day, no one really knows exactly what the differences were, and many of these fine bikes are still hidden in garages and basemements across America.
I still don't have a clue what Carbolite 103 tubing really is. Peugeot used that in their forks. It's probably nothing fancy, just the fact that it's different is why I like it. Effective, mysterious tube- marketing.

Also, unless you are a competitive racer, and constantly climb steep hills (more than 7% grade), having a super-lightweight frame is unneccesary, in my opinion. A solid, comfortable bike, weighing 25 pounds (or even more) is just fine for training. The bike will also be easier to control in vehicular traffic. There is something to be said for having some weight under you, especially on a fast descent. Fine, go out and buy that 13 lb. trophy bike, but save it for the big race. I am also a big fan of riding bikes that I can afford to crash.

French engineering is nothing to sneeze at by the way, they did figure out how to fly pretty quickly, making a decent bi-plane right after the Wright Bros. caught that wind draft.

I got this bike for free from a cranky old landlord, it was in pretty bad shape, but it was worth the 35 hours of restoration time. It came very close to being chucked in a landfill.

Working on French bikes is also like learning to speak the language. the componentry is a bit wierd, and of course, not compatible to swap with a lot of other MFG's. But if you put in the time to understand, for example, the workings of the mysterious Sachs Huret derailleur system, it all begins to make perfect sense.

Finally, you realize that the japanese Shimano Corp. (who overtook the entire componentry market around 1987), did not invent the bike derailleur, and it actually worked just fine prior to that. For about 40 years.

How quickly we forget. Turns out Sachs Huret rebounded, restructured, and became SRAM, and they are making a comeback in the high end componentry market. These days, a good derailleur, brand new, is about 139.00. Ouch.

Riding these old classic bikes is like dating a divorced woman. She's all nervous and awkward, and breaks down in tears here and there. But give her your trust and support and time, and she will show you more grace than you ever thought possible. She will wait patiently for you in the next room, but peering through the open doorway.

I upgraded the lighting systems to LED's, with a Planetbike brand strobe- light on my helmet, and also found a great inexpensive LED at Home Depot. Husky makes a great aluminum- bodied light with 12 LED's . Bright as hell, 100 hours burn time. Only 5.99. I go through flashlights like socks.

I mounted it to the front reflector mount with zip-ties. Sweet. ( I am gloating here). With the new headlight- strobe and bar mount combo, I'm almost at the same visibility of the high-end systems. I have noticed the other riders with white LED strobes got my attention a lot faster from a long distance away, as they approached. I can't wait to test it out.

No wait, duh, I'm sick. Almost forgot.

Obsessive frugalness:
I figured out how to "doctor" tires that have minor cracks and dry-rot. I used Weldwood Contact Cement , a can of .99 cent gloss black spraypaint, and some light steel wool. The Weldwood cement is like high-octane rubber cement, and it gets stronger as it ages. Use proper ventilation, do not mix with
pseudoephedrine. Your buzz will be better than Keith Richards'. The fumes will rock the whole house, your houseplants will wilt.

The tires look almost new now, and I think they'll hold up. I did this once before with sucess, just not as aesthetically as this round. I saved 70.00 over buying these Continental Supra Sports new. I probably won't ride "centuries" on these, but if I can get a year out of them for local commuting, I'll be very happy. They're damn nice all-around tires, German made. If they unravel, I can probably doctor the wound with duct tape, and at least get home.

But, German tires on a French bike? Would this fly with onlookers if I took it to Paris?

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Local News:
I have been reading a lot about West Hartford's attempts to engage in "traffic calming", building barriers, islands, "speed bumps" etc., in an attempt to slow traffic around town, as people race around to and from Blueback Square, and zip on and off the highway.

Apparently, this is not working. Residents are actually reporting an increase in accidents as cars hit the low- curbed islands by accident, or encounter issues with the narrowed lanes and cross streets.

The town is trying to work out a solution. After all, there is some sort of science to all this. On the plus side, there are now excellent, well marked bike lanes on some major streets.

So yes, Virginia! Traffic in town has definitely increased, by attracting thousands of well-to-do holiday shoppers from out of town. You can buy a condo for 1.3 million in the Center now, just yards from the Gymn ,the fine restaurants, and Whole Foods Market.

The project seems to have been a resounding success, but West Hartford is now officially a city, not a sleepy New England town.

On Sept 28, 2008, a cyclist was hit by a drunk driver just around the corner from here. Another one in "The Center" last week.

I am re-thinking my bike- routes, trying to avoid Trout Brook Ave, and Main St. to get to Bishop's Corner, three miles away. I am looking at a back street route behind Uconn Social work or St. Joes' college.

I need to stay off these roads more, I have been forced to endure them on occasion, aggressively taking most of the right lane. Being fearless helps a lot, but after awhile, you start to wonder if you have used up your nine- lives.

One blogger wrote: " the WH cops need to write tickets for speeding vehicles, not stand around like idiots at construction sites. We are also getting tired of seeing them use their lights to run across intersections, they shut the siren off right afterwards." Many people have noticed this. I have asked around lately.

The cops here definitely don't do speed traps. I never, ever see one. Cars are zipping along Farmington Ave at 50-60 MPH. The 12 car pile-up is coming soon. Then they will do something. A local 9-11.

A few weeks ago, my Iraq war- vet buddy noticed an impressive vehicle parked behind the Police station at BlueBack Square. "Good God! what the hell is that?" He mumbled, with cigar stub in his mouth. This outburst was very ironic to me at the time, like he could not process it, blocking the image momentarily.

It was an armored tank/humvee with a machine gun turret on the top. painted black. To protect Blue Back from terrorists? Speeding soccer-moms?
What?

Just another day in "Black- and- Blue- Square".

On a happy note, I can report though that Moes' Southwest Grille makes excellent value burritos for just 8 bucks. And the chips are made with soybean oil, no trans fat. The owner, Matt, is a nice guy . He lets me park my bike inside.
I told him if they ever got a bike team together, I'd race for him, it's good "riding food", with the rice and beans, you don't "bonk" after you eat it, and I bet their jerseys would look cool. All the iced tea you can guzzle, too. Today the cashier said "yeah, thank God Larry and Curley don't run the place".

Happy riding and text messaging,

Rob