Loosenuts Kits!

Our race team (Sunshine / Loosenuts) kits have finally arrived, just in time for the second race of the season! Note the profusion of pink jackalopes.

$2,830 later, I’m home

I got an emergency root canal today and it’s finally feeling better.. got barely any sleep last night, was tripping the light fantastic on pain killers, and the best person in the world drove me to Gainsville this morning to get roto-rooted in the tooth. No pictures this time.. it wasn’t very funny unfortunately.

Put this on, I need to listen to your lungs

I was in the ER last night. It’s the first time I’ve ever been admitted to an actual hospital. A tooth of mine started hurting yesterday morning and kept getting worse and worse, despite heavy pain killers. It felt like someone was driving an icepick down through my tooth #31 (in the lingo). This is the first time I’ve ever had to put on one of those hospital gowns, the kind with that make your butt hang out. Actually though, my butt didn’t seem to hang out of this one. It took me quite a while to figure out how to put the damn thing on. Anyway, a few observations:

1. When the nurse asks whether you want a shot in the butt or the thigh, choose the butt. She doesn’t mean a normal old needle under the skin shot, she means she’s about to stab you straight down with the needle in her fist. Somehow it seems like it would be easier to take in the butt (hehe).

2. Whenever I’ve been in a doctor’s office, or dentist’s office, with a TV on during the daytime, it’s always Sponge Bob or something worse on Nickelodian. In the ER at 10pm however, we get a charming flick about domestic abuse on BET.

3. The insurance hit-man they send in to get your financial information is quite menacing, even though he’s a doughy farm boy with a flushed face.

4. I was asked my name and birthday literally 25 times. Why don’t they just print up a little sign I can wear around my neck at reception so everyone is clear what my name is and when I was born?

Enough observations, now for the photos!

You weren’t expecting that!

Facebook, no facebook

I gave in and started a new facebook account, under cover. Now I’ve deleted it again because I realized it’s stupid to be on facebook as your dog. It’s too bad that facebook is such a good organizational tool especially when one has so many friends who only check facebook and never check their email.

What alternatives are there? Start a listserve / google or yahoo group? A meetup group? Mass text messages several times a week? That seems expensive. I also feel a little guilty for being the only one not on facebook, so why should everyone adapt to my preference?

Now that my facebook is dead…

Now that my facebook is dead…

I am updating this blog, my blog, again. Posts to look forward to:

1. The academic job search (and how / why it sucks)
2. A fabulous “labor day” vacation in New Orleans
3. Faster Mustache 2009 (and how my team is going to win it) (incidentally, the last post on this blog was results from Faster Mustache 2008, the greatest urban bike relay in the world).
4. Georgia Cyclocross season 2009 (and how the Loosenuts race team is going to dominate it)
5. Go (and Go-Moku) and why I love it more than chess
6. An awesome poll (polls are a new feature on wordpress)

And since no one actually follows this blog, mostly it will be me talking to myself again, not a healthy thing.

Some detailed route and timing info

For my own planning purposes. Times are on my (new) old 3-speed in sandals. Section 1 is through campus and up a large hill, section 2 is through traffic downtown, section 3 is through mostly neighborhood with one hill at the end.

1. Office to the top of campus (Lumpkin and Broad St.): 6m 36s, 1.06 mi, 9.6 mph
2. Top of campus to Pope and Meigs (edge of “downtown”): 4m 15s, 0.69 mi, 9.7 mph
3. Edge of downtown to home: 8m 35s, 1.75 mi, 12.2 mph

FGG # 7222

Check it: FGG #7222

Collecting some links

Various fixed gear conversions, builds, and articles.

JR’s examples (in chronological order):

1. http://www.fixedgeargallery.com/2004/ratzkin.htm
2. http://www.fixedgeargallery.com/2005/nov/JesseRatzkin.htm
4. http://www.fixedgeargallery.com/2006/may/JesseRatzkin.htm
5. http://www.fixedgeargallery.com/2007/dec/3/JesseRatzkin.htm

Articles:

1. JR’s offroad: http://www.fixedgeargallery.com/articles/jesseratzkin/offroad/
2. Sheldon Brown’s fixed gear page (RIP) (complete with pictures of severed fingers!):
   http://www.sheldonbrown.com/fixed.html

Bike Pics

No words, just pictures.

New Badass Bike

I picked up my new set of wheels today (built by Ben’s Bikes in Athens), photos to follow. Here are some specs before I forget them.

• 1985 blue Reighly sportif “sport touring” frame, 53 cm (see Retro Raleigh Catologues)
• P cranks (170 cm) and narrow profile flat road pedals
• SP track chain (silver)
• Surly flip flop hub with a 17T freewheel
• 47×17 gearing (that I need to workout a bit to handle)
• compact TekTRO aero brake levers (which are actually comfortable to my diminutive hands)
• original front and rear calipers
• Mavic open sport rims
• Kenda KWEST 700×28cm tires (much kinder than the 23c’s I’ve been riding for 10 years now)
• Swobo saddle, synthetic (it was either this or a $120 Brooks saddle, but I decided to indulge my inner cheapskate vegan)

Now I need a decent lock, an 19T track cog and lockring, and some good weather. I put the first mile on it riding back from the shop. I’m planning on 50+ miles next week. The forecast is mid to high 60’s, lows around 35 all week.

update–

Here are some calculations based on the gearing:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Gear Inch & Shifting Pattern Calculator        www.jbarrm.com
     Copyright 1996-2003 Barry Masterson              jbarrm@panix.com
               Single-speed Track Bicycle Version
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 SP	Shifting Pattern
 CRxFW	Chainring x FreeWheel
 GI	Gear Inches
 MPH	Miles Per Hour

 Wheel Diameter: 27.60 inches

   GI  76.3
CRxFW 47x17
RPM:-------------------------------------------------------------------------
 80:  18.16 MPH
 85:  19.30 MPH
 90:  20.43 MPH
 95:  21.57 MPH
100:  22.70 MPH
105:  23.84 MPH
110:  24.97 MPH
115:  26.11 MPH
120:  27.24 MPH
125:  28.38 MPH
130:  29.51 MPH

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
This Form Created: March 01, 2008 : 17:26:38

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Gear Inch & Shifting Pattern Calculator      www.jbarrm.com
     Copyright 1996-2003 Barry Masterson            jbarrm@panix.com
               Single-speed Track Bicycle Version
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

 SP        Shifting Pattern
 CRxFW     ChainRing x FreeWheel
 GI        Gear Inches
 GIdf      Percentage of increase between present GI value and the
           next sequential GI value.
 DI        Distance traveled in INCHES in a single pedal rotation
 diff      Difference in INCHES between the present DI value and
           the next sequential DI value.
 DF        Distance traveled in FEET in a single pedal rotation
           displayed as FEET' INCHES.decimal_remainder"
 PRPM      Pedal Rotations Per Mile
 RT        Gear Ratios

 Wheel Diameter: 27.60 inches
 Gears: 47x17
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 SP  CRxFW    GI      GIdf      DI      diff      DF        PRPM      RT
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1>  47x17   76.31    0.00%   239.72    0.00   19'11.72"   264.31   1:2.76
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 SP  CRxFW    GI      GIdf      DI      diff      DF        PRPM      RT
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
This Form Created: March 01, 2008 : 17:26:00