Forgot to post the last travel update, excuse me while I backdate this entry a bit.
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Monday, August 31, 2009
Twin Falls to Glendive
Pop Quiz: What has 6 legs, can fly, and is sexually attracted to my windshield? If you answered "every single bug in the state of Montana" you'd be wrong. The correct answer is "every single bug in the states of Montana and Idaho".
I couldn't even make it 30 kilometers with a clean windshield.
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I couldn't even make it 30 kilometers with a clean windshield.
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Saturday, August 29, 2009
Sunnyvale to Twin Falls
Pretty much the same as last year. Nevada was very hazy though, I wonder what was up with that. I also saw a nice flashy thunderstorm in the distance when I turned north from Nevada to Idaho. That was kind of neat.
I had a Monte Cristo for lunch in Roseville. I think I have possibly found the most fattening sandwich ever invented.
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I had a Monte Cristo for lunch in Roseville. I think I have possibly found the most fattening sandwich ever invented.
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Monday, August 24, 2009
A Sense of Scale
If you took a hydrogen atom and scaled it up so that the proton was the size of a golf ball, you'd find the electron about 2.22 kilometers away.
People tend to have a much more compact mental image of atoms.
People tend to have a much more compact mental image of atoms.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
9 Cereal Boxtops
I got my Star Trek tee in the mail yesterday. I do believe this is the first time I've actually sent in breakfast cereal tokens in exchange for a prize of some sort.
It only took 30 years.
It only took 30 years.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Oh Bother...
So last weekend while I was out on my epic ride I had a bit of excitement. I was coming down Montevina, just taking my time not in any hurry; I was riding the rear brake to keep my speed down on the straights, then using my front to slow for the corners.
Unfortunately, as I was braking for a hairpin corner I didn't let up on the rear brake enough and I locked it up, causing the rear to start skidding sideways. I quickly recovered by letting off both brakes and then grabbing just the front, which caused the rear to gain traction again and snap back into line with a fair bit of force. I was able to make the corner without running off the road or in any way injuring myself, so all's well that ends well.
When I got to the bottom of the hill, though, I noticed that the hard jolt to the rear wheel had managed to put a bit of a bend in the rim. It wasn't bad enough that I couldn't continue on my ride, so I carried on for the rest of the uneventful journey.
Once I got back to my apartment I trued up the wheel, gave everything else a once-over, and figured everything should be just fine.
Fast forward to this morning, and I decide it's a lovely day to go out cycling. I bring my bike in from the patio and decide that I'll give the rear wheel another quick truing to make sure it hasn't pulled itself back out of shape during the week. It turns out it had grown a bit of a wobble, so I went about adjusting the spoke tensions to correct it.
Unfortunately, after 7 years of hard riding, it turned out to be just a bit too much, and I broke one of the spoke nipples. Bummer.
So, now I have to get my wheel rebuilt (which I kind of suspected I'd need when I first bent it). I tried one bike shop over by San Antonio but they wouldn't be able to do it before the end of the month, which is just crazy. I phoned a different bike shop and they said they'd be able to do it in a few days, which hopefully translates into "before next weekend", and I also emailed a co-worker who does a lot of bicycle work to see if he might want to do it for me.
But no matter which option I take, it looks like I won't be able to get out cycling this weekend.
Unfortunately, as I was braking for a hairpin corner I didn't let up on the rear brake enough and I locked it up, causing the rear to start skidding sideways. I quickly recovered by letting off both brakes and then grabbing just the front, which caused the rear to gain traction again and snap back into line with a fair bit of force. I was able to make the corner without running off the road or in any way injuring myself, so all's well that ends well.
When I got to the bottom of the hill, though, I noticed that the hard jolt to the rear wheel had managed to put a bit of a bend in the rim. It wasn't bad enough that I couldn't continue on my ride, so I carried on for the rest of the uneventful journey.
Once I got back to my apartment I trued up the wheel, gave everything else a once-over, and figured everything should be just fine.
Fast forward to this morning, and I decide it's a lovely day to go out cycling. I bring my bike in from the patio and decide that I'll give the rear wheel another quick truing to make sure it hasn't pulled itself back out of shape during the week. It turns out it had grown a bit of a wobble, so I went about adjusting the spoke tensions to correct it.
Unfortunately, after 7 years of hard riding, it turned out to be just a bit too much, and I broke one of the spoke nipples. Bummer.
So, now I have to get my wheel rebuilt (which I kind of suspected I'd need when I first bent it). I tried one bike shop over by San Antonio but they wouldn't be able to do it before the end of the month, which is just crazy. I phoned a different bike shop and they said they'd be able to do it in a few days, which hopefully translates into "before next weekend", and I also emailed a co-worker who does a lot of bicycle work to see if he might want to do it for me.
But no matter which option I take, it looks like I won't be able to get out cycling this weekend.
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