Toward another disequilibrium?

In a perfect world, my commuting miles would match my work hours:

4 miles to the office + 4 miles from the office = 8 miles/day

8 miles/day x 5 days = 40 = 40 hour work week

I have spent the past few months working a lot more than 40 hours, and riding a lot fewer than 40 miles each week. Hopefully that starts to flip very soon since busy season is over, and the weather is making for more ideal riding conditions. I don't think I'll be having much of a problem getting closer to a 1:1 ratio as long as the weather cooperates, and hopefully I"m closer to 2:1 or 3:1.

I did keep the "consecutive months with at least one bike commute" streak going by riding to the office on a Saturday, plus to the client site last Monday the 25th.

In other news, the NiceRideMN bikeshare is operational again, and I've already logged a few rides. Through May you can score an annual membership at a reduced price ($40) and they also throw in two vouchers for 24 hour passes you can use to let a friend tag along. Get yours here!

March Madness

It's almost over. One more game to see if the Huskies or Bulldogs reign as champs this year in NCAA basketball. I'm pulling for Butler, though I admit I was too busy this year to even complete a bracket since my own (January through) March madness overwhelmed me. Thankfully, it's also coming to an end soon.

Looking back at March, I did have one good week of riding (March 14 - 18) when I covered half of the week's commutes on bicycle. Since then, the weather has been spotty and I haven't wanted to ride the the Long Haul Trucker until conditions improve a bit, but the coming week looks good, especially if rain washes the winter sand and grime off the streets and trails.

Saturday was one of the first truly bike-able days of the year, and it marked two milestones: the first time I have broken two chains in one day, and the first ride on the Drifter in 2011. I rode my Dunelt 3-speed to the closest bike shop (the Hub) to grab a new chain for the Trucker, but the chain snapped only blocks from my destination. This was caused more by the significant corrosion that had accumulated on the chain than my massive leg strength overpowering the steel rivets. To add to the irony, the shop was out of the size of chain I needed for the Dunelt so I "scootered" home on the bike.

After a few botched attempts to install the new chain on the Drifter (more on that later), I met up with a friend to wheel over to the opening of 2011 Minneapolis Artcrank, and break in the Drifter. This was my second time checking out the Artcrank event, and I actually thought this year featured a stronger selection of posters than the 2009 event. I walked away empty handed, yet again, primarily a function of the posters I liked not fitting any color schemes in our house. Here are my top three:

"Neighborhoods" - Adam Turman

"Twin Cities Cycling: Stone Arch Bridge" - Tim Kramer

"Twinfinite Cities" - Todd Zerger

Don't worry if you wanted to check out Artcrank but couldn't make it to opening night, it continues through May 22 but moves on to One on One Bike and then Art-a-Whirl. Check the website for details.

So how did the other chain break? On the return leg of the ride, the chain snapped right as I crossed Lake Street on Minnehaha Avenue, this time only one block from the Hub (which had been closed for an hour). As I mentioned before, I experienced a few mishaps installing it initially and forgot to properly weave it through both the front and rear derailleurs (not once, but twice). The final time breaking and reconnecting the chain was a little sloppy, and I wondered how well it would hold up. Not well it turns out. Two bikes, two rides, two broken chains.

I figured I needed a few minutes to simmer down, so I walked the bike home.

Beware the Ides of March

This morning had me itching to get on the bike since it's been warming up here and I haven't ridden to work for a few weeks. In my excitement I didn't bother to check the calendar. I doubt Julius Caesar realized he was halfway through March, either.

A soothsayer's warning had even come to me over the weekend as I cracked open the latest edition of Adventure Cyclist magazine:

Nevertheless, I wasn't the least bit concerned with applying too much front break or going over the handlebars this morning. I mainly focused on spotting areas of refreeze since I had recently swapped out the studded tires in favor of normal tread. Perhaps this distraction, or my blinding ambition to get to work as quickly as possible, kept me from exercising proper braking form.

To be honest, I don't know what caused me to fly over the handlebars, but it was likely more than neglecting to lock my elbows. All I remember is riding upright one second, and being catapulted face-first to the ground the next.

As I shook off the confusion, I sensed a looming threat: my bicycle, a trusted traveling companion, hovered above me ready to strike, moved to act by gravitational force. I didn't even have time to muster an "Et tu, Brute?" before it came crashing down on my back and sent me crumpling to the ground.

Thankfully, nothing was seriously injured on me or the bike and I got back in the saddle and completed my commute, which is more than Julius Caesar can say.

Will it ever stop? Snow? I don't know...

But I will be excited when it does stop. I will also be very excited when le weekend no longer means spending a day in the office and only one day at home.

I've always fancied myself a youthful looking chap, but after six busy seasons, I'm finally starting to look my age. I got home last night and tried rubbing the exhaustion out of my eyes, but all I saw was a tired old man with dark circles under his eyes staring back at me in the mirror.

As you can imagine, the "counting" to "cyling" ratio has been extremely high for the first two months of 2011. Even though I started off the busy season with a client downtown, I only logged three bike commutes in January. I was out of town for 2 1/2 weeks in February and only added one in that month. But after November's lack of bicycle commutes, the current streak sits at three straight months, and if a we get some decent snow melt, there's no reason to think I can't keep it going in March.

Wanna know what it's like to snow-bike in Minneapolis? Check it out, you'll even see some of my south Minneapolis haunts. Enjoy the illegible winter biking tips, brought to you Star Wars style at the at end!

If I Had Done It, Here's How

Remember when I promised this write-up during the account of my first RAGBRAI experience?

Probably not, so go back and refresh your memory (see part I and part II)

In any event, I wanted to figure out how successful I would have been had I needed to slap together some make-shift fenders to keep myself free of road grease and debris.

I grabbed the supplies I had accumulated and set to work.

I found it quite easy to cut-out fender patterns from the empty 24 pack, and using the scissors I had snatched from my friend's place, I was able to trim them to size. In no time at all, I had both the front and rear fenders in place:

Front Fender

Rear Fender

While the rear fender easily held itself connected to the rack via zip ties, I found the real challenge was fashioning front stays to give the fender some support. I found some small twigs and snapped them to size to gain some clearance between the tire and front fender, and the bread ties connected the sticks to the front eyelet. I punched the other end of the twig through the cardboard fender, and voila:

I tweaked the fit after a quick spin around the block, and once I was confident everything was secure, I really put the fenders to the test. It rained the day before so puddles abounded. I spent 10 minutes sloshing through every body of water I could find in south Minneapolis to see how well they would hold up. The gleaming white t-shirt I wore remained completely unspoiled, and the fenders were a little damp, but still held their form.

Altogether, it took me right at one hour from start to finish. Although it was a fun project, I hope I don't have to do this for RAGBRAI 2011. Speaking of which, the route gets announced this month, who's riding with me this year?

100th Blog Post - Busy Season Soundtrack Gadget

Note: If you're viewing this post in Facebook, the Gadget probably won't work. You'll want to go straight to the blog to check it out:
cyclingpublicaccountant.blogspot.com


If my footing is mathematically accurate, this marks the 100th post since hitting cyberspace in November of 2008. To celebrate, I've added a Playlist.com gadget and populated a playlist with songs that I heard on the Current (89.3 FM) last year while my client's cleaning crews made their rounds. A public accountant's "busy season" typically lasts from early January to mid to late April, with mine being no exception. Listening to the Current has been a way to finish strong during those 10-12 hour days.

For many years of my life, the music I discovered and listened to served as better mile posts to mark my life's events than did birthday celebrations, or even new school years. Every time I hear a song from Weezer's blue album I remember myself sitting in my friend Jeff's Pontiac Bonneville, trekking to Des Moines the summer after we got our driver's licenses. For me, music is an effective portal to access the memory. However, somewhere in my college years the radio faded into the background, and it wasn't until we moved to Minneapolis that I started listening again.

For your listening pleasure, I've tried my best to follow Rob Gordon's (yes, THE Rob Gordon) philosophy for building a mix-tape to compile my top five (or 13) songs from the 2010 busy season, along with a little MD&A:

1) Song Away - Hockey. Probably a one-hit wonder band, but catchy

2) Fader - The Temper Trap. I still regret not grabbing $10 tickets to see them at the Varsity

3) O.N.E. - Yeasayer. I love the bizarre video for this one (see link below)

4) Little Lion Man - Mumford & Sons. These guys are good, I don't care how scraggly their beards are.

5) Strange Overtones - David Byrne & Brian Eno. That's fellow cyclist, David Byrne.

6) Flume - Bon Iver. It was the Peter Gabriel cover that I heard, but the original is better.

7) Stylo - Gorillaz. I know nothing about this band.

8) The Mystery Zone - Spoon. I was impressed by the live version, too.

9) Do-Wah-Doo - Kate Nash. Kate Nash has had a few during the years.

10) 40 Day Dream - Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeroes. Great song and band names.

11) Shark in the Water - V Brown. Could be another one-hit wonder.

12) Dominos - The Big Pink. Misogynists perhaps?

13) Girlfriend - Phoenix. I was so impressed by this band I bought the album.

There are several versions of the Yeasayer video, but here's the one I was talking about:
O.N.E. video

Any guesses as to what will be on the 2011 soundtrack?

The Streak Is Over

"What streak," you might ask. The streak of consecutive weeks without a post?  That, too.  But I meant my streak of 24 consecutive months logging at least one bicycle commute came to a halt without me realizing it was in jeopardy.  The snow came relatively early (and often) this year, and I dragged my feet preparing the winter bike.  So I guess I can empathize with old Graybeard, but at least I'll have the chance to start another one which is more than Fahv-ruh can say.

So here are the stats to bring the weekly summary up to speed:

Week 105 (Nov 22-26)
Mon-Tues: Carpool
Wed - Friday: No commute, Thanksgiving break

Week 106 (Nov 29-Dec 3)
Mon - Tues: Walk (in training in St. Louis)
Wed - Friday: Carpool

Week 107 (Dec 6 - 10)
Mon - Friday: Carpool

Week 108 (Dec 13 - 17)
Mon - Wed: Carpool
Thurs - Bicycle
Friday - Carpool

Week 109 (Dec 20 - 24)
Mon - Tues: Car
Wed - Friday: No Commute, Christmas break

Week 110 (Dec 27 - 31)
Mon - Friday: Christmas break.