Fresh Start

Things have been warming up around here, so last weekend I jumped on the bike for a weekend ride and noticed that my bike computer wasn't working. Turns out the battery was completely dead so I replaced it, but it wiped out my mileage history. It's definitely a punch in the gut to the accounting nerd in my that gets some joy out of tallying up the miles, but at least this way I'll have a clean canvas to track my 2012 miles, starting with the 50 I rode this weekend. Sometimes starting fresh can be a good thing, I guess.

Busy Season Soundtrack 2011 Edition: Relevant?

FASB Statement of Financial Accounting Concepts No. 2:

Timeliness, that is, having information available to decision makers before it loses its capacity to influence decisions, is an ancillary aspect of relevance. If information is not available when it is needed or becomes available so long after the reported events that it has no value for future action, it lacks relevance and is of little or no use. Timeliness alone cannot make information relevant, but a lack of timeliness can rob information of relevance it might otherwise have had.

Considering the text above, this post hardly appears relevant considering I have flipped the calendar page and am about to kick-off busy season 2012. But even though these songs reach back eight to twelve months, I assert that they are relevant since my musical tastes have not diverged significantly from this time.

I fully acknowledge this should have been posted sooner, but a benefit to the timing of the post is that it is giving me something exciting to think about: new tunes I'll be rocking out to in 2012 are on their way.

Without further ado, I present the 2011 Busy Season Soundtrack (direct link and Grooveshark widget) along with comments on selected tracks:

Busy Season Soundtrack 2011



"Animal" by Neon Trees - I actually don't remember if they played this on the Current or not, but it was more or less the audio equivalent of taking four shots of espresso with two five-hour energy drink chasers.

"Second Chance" by Peter, Bjorn, and John - Peter Bjorn? Or Pete Yorn? This won't help clear things up:


"Wait So Long" by Trampled by Turtles - I'm guessing Mumford and Sons paved the Current's airwaves for these.

"Walking Far from Home" by Iron and Wine - This song lulled me into an hypnotic state and forced me to add it to the list.

Helplessness Blues by Fleet Foxes - I wonder how many millenials heard this song, threw all their participation trophies and 10th place medals into the trash, and had a "what does it all mean" crisis?

"I Want the World to Stop" by Belle and Sebastian - I've heard them be described as "sad bastard music," but these guys are pretty good.

What awesome songs of 2011 did I miss?

Cycle Count

As 2011 came to a close, I did what most accountants do before ringing in the new year: take stock of my (bicycle) inventory.

Perhaps it's surprising that I had 11 bicycles in my possession on December 31, 2011.

Yes, eleven.

But I assure you there are perfectly good reasons for me to hoard bicycles like the proverbial cat lady. If I were clever, I would rattle off 22 lines about 11 bicycles a la The Nails, but alas I am not:

#1 - Giant TCR: Every cyclist needs a good road bike.

#2 - Surly Long Haul Trucker: Cycling isn't all fun and games. I still need a commuter bike and a grocery getter to take care of business.

#3 - Pati's bike: Only makes sense that a cyclist's wife would have one, too.

#4 - Raleigh SC-30: For year-round cycling, a beater bike is a must to soak up the punishment of Minnesota winters.

#5 - Sears bike (Greenspeed): A fixed-gear conversion with drop bars just waiting to be flopped and chopped. How can any self-respecting Minneapolis cyclist NOT have a fixie?

#6 - Dunelt 3-Speed: The perfect bike for a Sunday ride with Pati.

#7 - Raleigh Superbe 3-Speed: Um....It's always good to have a spare 3-speed?

#8 - Raleigh Sports 3-Speed: There's got to be a legitimate reason to have three 3-speeds...Hmm...Wait, I've got it! This one is a women's bike, so I'm just avoiding gender bias here. That's valid, right?

#9 - Diamond Back MTB: So...Just like I need a spare 3-speed, I also need a spare winter beater bike.

#10 - Raleigh Hybrid: A third-string winter bike. This is no different than NFL teams that carry three quarterbacks on their roster. You really never know what could happen and it's important to be prepared.

#11 - Diamond Back Hybrid: This one is earmarked for a friend. Seriously.

Now that I've thought about it, is 11 really enough?

From the Minne-Apple to the Big Apple

In my last post I mentioned spending some time in New York this summer. Other than an overnight at a hostel in Manhattan en route to New Hampshire via Amtrak, I had never had a chance to experience the city.

While my first trip this summer was brief, it occurred smack in the middle of the Weinergate saga and made me feel like I was at the center of the universe. I checked in to my hotel, turned on the tv, and saw this:

I marveled realizing the press conference being broadcast around the world was happening just across town. (I guess I'm still hayseed enough to say, "Look who's in the big town.")

The second trip to NYC was for an entire week, and my assignment finished up early granting me a full day to spend at my leisure. A recent copy of Momentum Magazine featured NYC biking resources, including the address of a shop with reasonable rental rates. I decided to spend the morning on two wheels, so I took the subway from midtown to Greenwich Village and had no trouble finding the shop.

Hudson Urban Bicycles features a combination of vintage three speeds and cruisers for sale, decked out in full fenders and Brooks saddles, as well as their contemporary counterparts (think Batavus and Linus). While their rental stock wasn't quite as fabulous, I did find a Batavus three speed to help me navigate through overcast Manhattan and Brooklyn, with full fenders giving me insurance against a chance of showers.

I worked my way across the southern tip of Manhattan, following signs for the Brooklyn Bridge. I crossed into Brooklyn, explored the space, and started to make my way back when I suddenly heard the "pop!" and "gussssssssssh" of an inner tube's life being cut tragically short. Perfect timing.

Amazingly, it didn't take long for the situation to be remedied. In rare fashion, the Google map application on my Blackberry actually worked, and I located a bike shop just blocks away. R&A Cycles fixed me up in no time flat, and I was back on my merry way. I changed my plans to cross the Williamsburg bridge, opting for a more direct route via the utilitarian Manhattan Bridge.

I made the mistake of spending the last bit of time in lower Manhattan. While it was cool to see Soho and the financial district, it left a lot to be desired in terms of bicycle infrastructure. The cobbled streets and pedestrian traffic in Soho made it very difficult to get around. The sheer volume of vehicles and pedestrians combined with fewer bicycle lanes made the financial district almost impossible to navigate. I admitted defeat, locked the bike up, and hoofed it over to Ground Zero, Wall Street, and Charging Bull at Bowling Green Park. I was pleasantly surprised that the bike was still there when I returned.

Once leaving the financial district, I had no trouble making it back to Hudson to return the bike. What's more, they even cut my rental bill in half to compensate me for my troubles and reimbursed me for the flat. How's that for Minnesota NYC nice?

The rest of the city appeared to be quite easy to navigate on bike. Separated bike trails flank the island, there are a generous number of bike lanes in Brooklyn, and Central Park has huge amounts of space dedicated to bikes. I wouldn't say it is quite on par with Minneapolis, but it is still a great bike city and I'd love to ride there again.

Gone 'til November...

No posting since June? Wow, I didn't anticipate that or else I would have sung a Wyclef Jean song earlier. Since June there has been a lot of accounting. And a lot of cycling. But more accounting...

To give the 30,000 ft summary, here's what happened:

Work
New York
Work
Cycling in New York
Work
Seattle/Montana
Work
Cycling in Iowa
Work
Work
Work
Work
Work

If you mix in some Minnesota cycling through there you pretty much have the summary.

And now a word from our sponsors...

Thank you, generous cashier at Au Bon Pain (Capella Tower) for providing me with two plastic bags with which to cover my beloved sneakers. The skies opened up on Wednesday right as I prepared to ride the bike home, and I didn't want to ruin a perfectly good pair of Adidas. I promise I will patronize your skyway level pastries and/or coffee soon.

Twin Cities Bike Walk Week came and went (June 4-12) without much fanfare here. After two years of setting up a work team, I've learned that most people in public accounting aren't interested in these kinds of activities, so I didn't even bother signing us up. I did participate in Bike-Walk Day (Thursday the 9th) but arrived somewhat late so most of the excitement had faded by that time.

If anyone hasn't heard of the Nature Valley Grand Prix, it's a great freebie spectator event to take in. I made it to the Crit races in both St. Paul and Minneapolis this year and enjoyed every second of it. You can check out some video highlights at the website, and here are a few teaser pics from St. Paul and Uptown, respectively:

Watching this race almost makes me want to drop a few grand on a high end racing bike, some tight fitting expensive clothes, and some clipless pedals. Almost.

Whoomp! (There it isn't)

I wanted to title this post in the present tense when I rode past the Ace of Base themed pillar this morning. But by the evening commute, the graffiti police had already cleaned it up:

I'm continuing to tack on the miles from commuting and other rides. Last week was pretty good:

Monday - No commute (Memorial Day)
Tuesday & Thursday - Bicycle
Wednesday & Friday - Carpool

On Thursday after work I rode almost 20 miles, then logged a 55 miler on Sunday morning to finish the week right at 95 miles.

YTD Mileage
The last confirmed reading I have on my odometer is 613 miles at 11/1/2010 which was about the time I switched over to the winter steed. So my estimate for year to date mileage is 483 miles.