Slower, cheaper, less useful…
Somehow I ended up at an English Beat concert. The son of a friend is playing guitar with them tonight I’m with his family and…enjoying mysel. Go figure.
The Beat were popular just after I got out high school so it’s a trip down memory lane as it were.
But I’m going to listen and stop writing now!
He’s the blur on the far left.
Aloha!
Today I attended an event put on by our local AARP chapter, the Hawaii Bicycling League, The Bus, and a number of other agencies like Vanpool Hawaii.
While I am eligible for the AARP, I’m not member. I found out about this through HBL. I am glad I attended, even if I’m not quite ready for some of benefits.
Here’s how things worked this morning. Outside at the NBC (Neal Blaisdell Center) a bus, a HandiVan, and a Vanpool Hawaii vehicle were parked. Folks were able to size things up and most fun, those with wheelchairs and other assisting devices were able to try the bus on for size. In addition there was a bike that we could take on and off the bus rack on the front of the bus. Employees of TheBus where there to assist and explain and they did a fantasic job.
Entering the event room I passed by the registration desk manned by AARP volunteers. Information about the AARP was available there as well. We were given a sheet to collect stickers from each of the station inside the room; this was very much like some of things we do at work. If you got at least three stickers you were eligible for a drawing. I didn’t win, but then I’m not on a fixed income so I’m really sort of glad I didn’t.
Booths were set up around the room featuring a number of agencies and companies:
I made the rounds, collected my stickers, and got some great swag. I should mention there was a nice free continental breakfast as well. In short, it was two hours well spent.
If that were all, it would have been a good event. But in addition a panel consisting of representatives from the League Bicycle Training, TheBus, and Vanpool Hawaii was convened and each panelist gave a good overview of their programs.
Each was interesting and geared their talk towards seniors as best they could, but just as importantly, each pointed out the Green Value and cost savings that using their mode of transportation would entail.
Though it is, of course, over, I’ve saved the flier for the event: Get Out and Ride mailer..
That was my morning. I’ll be blogging all of this at work as well where I’ve been asked to join a number of other members on our in-house “green blog.” It should be fun!
Aloha!
I came home from work and discovered that sometime this afternoon I UPS sent me the tracking number for my new Quickbeam. It is on its way! Theoretically, all things going well, I should have my bike on the 8th. That would be next Tuesday.
I’m…uhhh…well let’s just say I’m looking forward to taking delivery.
Aloha!
Jay from Riv called me again this morning to let me know that my card was accepted and they were packing my bike up for shipment. I’m not sure when it’s going out, probably tomorrow (12/4). The only hangup is that the waterbottle cage I ordered is on backorder. In fact, Jay said it might be hard to get so he suggested I take a different model. Here they are:
I’d wanted the “Hourglass” on the right but am getting the “Hooper” on the left. Hmmm…I’m undecided on that one. For a $48 cage you’d … well never mind.
Aloha!
Hah. I got a call at the end of the Rivendell day (5pm PST) saying my bike was just about finished up and it rides great.
Yipee…
It also said I should call to talk about payment as my card had been declined.
Sigh…
As it turns out it’s not my credit, it was card company protecting me against fraud. Thanks. I mean that. But just this once…now they can’t run it till tomorrow.
To be honest I’m glad they checked. I’d hate to have to go through all sorts of trouble if my card had been used illegally. And frankly, the difference between end of the day today and beginning of the day tomorrow may not be that much; provided, of course, it still ships.
It even came in cheaper than I thought. Not much, but a little.
Yipee!
Aloha!
As I recently noted, my saddle is on its way and will arrive before my Quickbeam does. This is a good thing. But that still left me wondering what to do about lighting. Low and behold, one of my favorite sites, EcoVelo gave me the answer this morning.
It’s called the Gino Light Mount and it’s from Paul Component Engineering. If you are into biking you probably recognize the name, if you aren’t, I’m told they make great stuff.
To see it in action, you really, really need to go check out the images on EcoVelo. They show theirs on an orange Hillborne which is nice, but I expect it’ll blend in even better on my soon-to-be silver Quickbeam.
Aloha!
I just called Rivendell about my Quickbeam. I wanted to see where I am on the build list. As it turns out I am #4, four, IV, fourth, and so forth.
Kevin told me my bike should go out this week or early next week.
What that means in terms of delivery is…um…well who knows. I guess the good news is my new saddle with be here before the bike so I can treat it with Obenauf’s and get it ready!!
I’ve had a love hate relationship with bicycle mirrors since I started riding again about eighteen months ago. I started with a mirror attached to the end of my handlebars.
I was never happy with that solution. I continually knocked the mirror out of alignment while doing simple things like reaching for my brakes. And, as you might imagine, vibrations from the road made accurate viewing impossible for me.
Next up was a helmet attached mirror. I’d liked the optical qualities of the Third Eye Mirror on my bars, if not the placement, so I went with their helmet mirror. This was a huge improvement.
I learned to Velcro the mirror to my helmet, providing my own Velcro, as an improvement to the provided method using two sided sticky tape. The problem I had with this mirror is that it finally wore out from adjusting the angle and the mirror would move around in the slightest breeze. Still I considered buying the same model again but ended up buying a different manufacturer’s model.
This was a mistake. While it had a better adjustment system, one that wouldn’t wear out as quickly, optically it was terrible.
So…I finally decided to try a mirror mounted to my eyeglasses…
This is the real deal. Optically it’s excellent allowing me a very clear view of traffic, or anything else, behind me. Because it’s on my eyeglasses it doesn’t move around when my helmet moves. And it stays adjusted and doesn’t appear as if it’s going to wear out anytime soon.
In fact, the only problem I can imagine is losing it. I’ll be ordering another as a spare next time I place and order at Amazon!
Aloha!
I just got back from a Richard Thompson solo concert. Wow is about all I can say. I’ve listened to his music off and on for years and have always enjoyed it. He comes to Hawaii regularly so the opportunity has been there, but until now it’s just never worked out. Now I’m hoping he returns and I can get to see him again.
Wow.
Thanks Richard!
Yesterday was an expensive day. I managed to obligate myself to the tune of several thousand dollars for three simple things.
The first two are related. I’ll be traveling to both LA and San Antonio next year and decided to buy the tickets now. That may not be the best idea in the world, but on the other hand, prices may go up again. I’ll be able to bring my BF on both trips as I’m flying United and “upgraded” myself from economy to Economy Plus. I really debated buying the annual upgrade, but given the price, $349, I’d have to take one more trip next year to make it worthwhile. As it is, the cost to upgrade the trips I know I’m taking is less than the $349.
The same goes for upgrading myself for checked luggage. For $249 you can get an annual pass for “Premier Baggage.” Since I routinely take my BF, it’s worth it for me to prepay instead of paying at the ticket desk, but with only two trips next year the $249 wasn’t worth it. If I take three trips…well I may regret the decision. For now though it’s all good.
The other big ticket item is my Rivendell Quickbeam. I’ve ordered the parts and asked for the build so…I should be getting a the bike in a week or two. Yeah!
Mine won’t quite look like this because it’ll have moustache bars and front and rear racks, but you get the idea…
I hope. 🙂