Statrix Redux

Now that Iʻve thanked everyone, let me state for the record that Iʻm still happy despite…
1. Itʻs uphill from LV. Itʻs uphill the entire way more or less. I think the total elevation gain is about 2900 ft from downtown LV to the highest point on the scenic loop (13 miles) inside the park. Iʻm not a hill person. I live, work, and play at sea level in Honolulu. This was…um…well letʻs just say there were a couple of points inside the park where I walked up shorter steeper grades. Most of you should have no trouble if you ever do this ride. I was not the only person who walked a bit though, so I donʻt feel so bad. I almost didnʻt ride the scenic loop because I really didnʻt think I could do any more climbing, but the very polite folks at the information desk at the visitor center said that if Iʻd ridden up from LV I should be able to make it. They were right.
2. It was cold. The average temperature for Nov 11-16 is about 67F. Last year the Weather Underground says it was about average, the year before it was 10F warmer. I was hoping….but to no avail. It was about 53F when I left, didnʻt warm up much, and Iʻve no idea what it was inside the park 2900ft higher. Suffice to say it was cold for a Honolulu resident.
None of that mattered. It was a great ride. I stopped a lot for images and to chat with other folks.
The route I took was great. I went from downtown LV out on the “Downtown to Red Rock Bike Trail” which runs pretty much the entire distance seem well thought out. For the most part youʻve got your own bike lane on the road with everyone else (it follows Alta all the way till you are out of town) but thereʻs enough signage to remind everyone about cyclists and I have to hand it to the local folks, they were nothing but respectful to riders. The only trouble I had was on the scenic loop inside the park. The loop in one-way the entire distance and really about two lanes wide. Most drivers went over the to the left side of the road when they passed cyclists. Since there was no traffic in the opposite direction this was fine. Some drivers (not many, but enough to note) did not. They drove as if there could be oncoming traffic at any moment and thus they passed pretty close to me and others. On the whole it was fine

I’ve decided that the Quickbeam is going to be my “mid-life crisis” bike. The Wikipedia article on the subject mentions these characteristics:

They exhibit some of these behaviors:

• abuse of alcohol
  Been there, done that…enough already…
• conspicuous consumption—acquisition of unusual or expensive items such as motorbikes, boats, clothing, sports cars, jewelry, gadgets, tattoos, piercings, etc., RIVENDELL BICYCLE
  Okay, the article didn’t really mention the bicycles
• depression
  So far I’m not the type
• blaming themself or their partner for their failures
  Yep, I’m responsible for my own failure…yours are your own
• paying special attention to physical appearance such as covering baldness, wearing “younger” designer clothes etc.
  Oh dear God no
• entering relationships with younger people
  Define younger? 45?

Seriously though, the cost of the bike has added up a bit more than I expected. Still it looks like I can get some serious bicycle. Now I just have to decide if I want to go budget or first class…you know that mid-life crisis thing…?
Aloha!

I'd wear black because…well just listen to Dr. Ian Malcom from Jurassic Park…

Actor Jeff Goldblum as Dr. Ian Malcom

“…In any case, I wear only two colors, black and gray.

Ellie was staring at him, her mouth open.

“These colors are appropriate for any occasion,” Malcom continued, “and they go well together, should I mistakenly put on a pair of gray socks with my black trousers.”

***

And if I wore black only I couldn't put on the wrong socks or trousers! Admittedly it would be more dangerous riding my bicycle at night.

I was wrong. While there wasn’t a complete 66cm Quickbeam available there was a 66cm Quickbeam frame around. I snagged it. Here’s the frame in orange, mine is, like all the last batch of QBs, silver…

Now I have to figure out just what parts to hang on the frame and remain within my budget. The $1600 figure for the complete QB was a great price and I’m not going to come in quite that low. It’s almost possible…almost, but without wheels. Since I’d planned on adding a bit here and there to the combo and swapping out some parts (which would have cost extra), I’m actually going to come out pretty close to what I expected. Still it’s not going to be cheap, nor did I expect it to be so.
I have some time to figure it out. 🙂
Aloha!

Bad luck I suppose…or engineered bad luck even. I called Rivendell this morning having decided to order the Quickbeam and…the 66cm is gone. I guess I shouldn’t have noted that there was only one left here a day or two ago. Hard to believe though as I don’t think anyone actually reads this blog besides me.
Anyway I’m waiting for a call back as there might have been a chance they got it wrong, but I guess I’m resigned to saving my money which, when you get right down to it, is a much better thing.
Nah…
Aloha!

I’m really quite taken with Rivendell Bicycles and am trying to decide what sort I should buy. Frankly I’m trying to decide if I should even buy one, but there you go.
The two I think I can manage are the Quickbeam, a lovely single speed bike. They don’t have many left and there’s actually only one in the 66cm recommended for my size (95PBH).

But there’s also the Sam Hillborne, a geared bike that can be described (by Riv folks) as a “country bike.” It’s a lovely bike too as this shot from EcoVelo will attest.

Right now they don’t have a Hillborne they’d recommend for me as their sizing only goes up to 60cm and they think I should get the 64cm due sometime in March. That will be double top tube bike much like their current Bombadil which is also a lovely bike which I got to ride when I was in Oakland last March.
I can’t afford both. In many ways I can’t afford either one by itself…but when you want a bicycle, you want a bicycle. I come closest to being able to afford the QB as is a complete bike at $1600 (sans pedals, saddle, or bar tape). Kitted out the way I’d prefer puts it up to $2000 or so, which is more or less the base price of the Sam.
What to do? What to do?
Aloha!

I just returned from a lecture by Joyce Tenneson. If you don’t know the name you’ve probably seen some of her work. She’s a pretty incredible artist and quite a personable woman. I’m glad truly glad I went.
I should note that I’m not going to post any of her work here, but you can see it at her website: tenneson.com.
Her new project is “The View Project.” It’s going to be made up of submitted images of…let’s allow Joyce to explain it…

The View Project is about photographs that mirror something in the photographer’s inner life – images that are personal and powerful, yet perhaps not clearly understood, even to the viewer/photographer

Go check it out and submit your own view!
Here’s one from a while back that I played with just a bit. It’s view from the roof of my building looking into the mountains on a rainy day.

Aloha!

“Isn’t bicycling dangerous?” is the number one question I get asked by folks when they see me in the hallways with my helmet when I’m arriving at work or leaving for the day.
My answer is a pretty simple one, “Not particularly.”
And that’s true. Cycling is safe if the rider, that would be me or you, rides safely. However, as with any other form of transportation, there are risks. It would be senseless not tor recognize this fact.
Last year (2008) in Hawaii there were two bicycle fatalities. That certainly isn’t good and I don’t know all the details about the deaths, but both were killed by hit and run drivers.
Nationally there were 716 bicycle fatalities in 2008. Again, that’s not good. But looking at the numbers a bit more shows this…
“Over one-fourth (28%) of the pedalcyclists killed had a BAC of .01 g/dL or higher, and nearly one-fourth (23%) had a BAC of .08 g/dL or higher.” (NHTSA 2008 Traffic Safety Facts)
Drinking and driving kills, whether you are on a bicycle or driving a car. If those cyclist are taken out of the equation there would only have been far fewer deaths.
As for safe riding, it’s impossible to know exactly how many accidents, fatal or otherwise, are caused by improper riding, especially doings things like riding against traffic instead of with traffic or not using lights at night, but my guess is that improper riding is probaby responsible for the majority of accidents.
Route planning also plays a big part in safety. Most of the folks asking me if cycling is dangerous are imagining me riding on the roads they commute on in their cars. Generally I stick to roads with far less traffic or that are marked for bicycles, like Young St., and ride on bike paths when they are available.
Ultimately it seems to me that it is possible to ride safely and it is possible to ride unsafely, we see people do it all the time. People also drive dangerously. But for those of us who ride safely, obey the law, and cooperate with traffic instead of fighting it, cycling is a very safe and very green alternative to driving.
Further, the health benefits are enormous. I’ve lost a full 25% of my body weight in 18 months and my stamina has improved dramatically. When I first hopped back on a bike 18 months ago I had a hard time riding the 1.5 miles home from the bike shop. Today I regularly ride the 60+ miles from my home to Kailua and back.
Is it dangerous to ride a bike? For me it would be dangerous not to do so.
Aloha!

First let me say I work at HMSA (Hawaii Medical Service Association) so this is not an unbiased piece. 🙂
A lot of my friends are members of the EUTF (Hawaiʻi Employer-Union Health Benefits Trust Fund). This year OE (Open Enrollment) is far later than normal and things have changed quite a bit since last year.
In the past if you did not choose a health care plan you would receive the same plan you had in the previous period; not so this year. This year, if you are an HMSA PPO member you will be moved into the HMA plan. This may or may not be what you want. I’m admittedly biased, but most of the friends I’ve explained this to definitely wanted to stay with HMSA.
Here’s a chart (lifted from the site I mention below) showing options.

The reference guide is at: http://eutf.hawaii.gov/OE_2010/Active_Reference_Guide_2010.pdf
The EC-1 instructions are at: http://eutf.hawaii.gov/OE_2010/Form_EC-1__final_INSTRUCTIONS_Oct09_.pdf
The actual form is at: http://eutf.hawaii.gov/OE_2010/Form_EC-1__final_FORM_Oct09_.pdf
Here’s another great blog that explains all this even better…ByteMarks.Org.
As I said, I am an employee of HMSA which does, for good reason, make me a bit biased. But here’s something to chew on. HMSA is a non-profit health care plan, based in Hawaiʻi with a mission to provide quality, affordable health care to the people of Hawaiʻi. Here’s a link to HMA, you decide.
EUTF members will have to make their own choice, but I’m hoping it’s an informed choice.
Aloha!

I’m off to Vegas for a bit in November and, as I’ll be riding a bit, I thought I’d check and see what the weather will be like. One of my favorite weather resources is the Weather Underground site. I’m a paying member, all of $10 a year to get rid of the ads. For me, with all the travel, it’s a deal.

One of the best features is the historical data feature allowing one to research a location through time. Today I did Las Vegas for the month of November.
But before we go there, today I attended an O’Reilly Media webcast on data analysis…

Two Big Data Analysis Tricks for Everyone
Presented by Michael Milton, author of Head First Data Analysis

It’s over now, of course, but it was a good one. Essentially it was a look at how to work with data if you are not a statistician. I’m not, though I play one at work every so often. Michael Milton, the presenter, wrote Head First Data Analysis: A learner’s guide to big numbers, statistics, and good decisions.
I learned a lot, but was most interested in learning more about the R language or, The R Project for Statistical Computing. It’s one of the tools that Michael showed in his webcast, specifically using for historgram analysis.
Las Vegas, weather, histograms…perfect.
I went and got five years worth of November temperature data and tried to do something with it in R. In just a couple of minutes I had this histogram of the November max temperatures.

It’s pretty crude – you can do a lot better with practice – but it got the point across pretty quickly. Rather than looking at 150 points (30 days x 5 years), I can see at a glance that I probably won’t need thermal underwear biking but a jacket and sweats might be a good thing to have for this warm weather boy.
But wait a minute. High temperatures are one this…what about low? What about low and high? Can do…

Well that’s about it for now.
Aloha!