New Gear

Well, it has been a couple months with the gear I got for my birthday and everything seems to be working out great.

On my road bikes in the past I have always carried CO2 canisters for flats. For my fixie I decided to go with this Topeak Master Blaster pump.

It mounts directly to the frame along with the bottle cage. It has a very low profile so it does not interfere with peddling.

Next is Avenir’s basic bike rack. I thought about a Blackburn rack that also holds your u-lock but it was three times the cost.

I got the rack to carry this, the Timbuk2 Shift Pannier/Messenger Bag.

It has the standard strap for carrying across your body but also these hooks that deploy to latch onto the rack.

The wall of the bag with the hooks is solid, it keeps the bag rigid while riding on the rack.

I lost my old saddle bag back in October so I got the medium Avenir Bigmouth bag.

It holds my spare tubes and this, my new multi-tool.

It’s from Crank Brothers and has all the tools I need, even a chain breaker.

Next is my coffee cup holder from Portland Design Works. Leave it to someone from Portland to figure out a way to take your Joe with you on your bike.

Finally, I got a set of SKS Raceblades.

SKS is a German manufacturer and these lightweight and high quality fenders are made come on and off your bike as you need them. I had to get the straps sized in but now I’m good to go.

Burpees to Pull Ups Suck

Here is today’s WOD at Universal Crossfit:
5 Rounds
400 meter Run
10 GHD Situps
10 Burpee Pull Ups
10 Box Jumps
10 GHD Back Extensions
10 Handstand Push Ups

I can only do one or two handstand push ups at the time so I had to do the scaled exercise to make it to a total of 50. Also, no one likes burpees; let alone leaping up from the push up position to a pull up. Felt pretty strong until the last round and then I was just ready to get it over with.

Well, time to get fit and start riding more

I want the 2012 year to be my best year cycling yet so I’ve decided to start documenting my training on the blog. I started today with the WOD at Universal Crossfit as follows:

5 Rounds

Turkish Getups X 5 L+R (45/25)

Deadlift X 10 (225/155)

GHD Back Extensions X 15

Double Unders X 20

Turkish getups are a great complete body exercise and the deadlifts/back extensions work the lower back and hamstrings (perfect for keeping good form over long rides on the bike). The double unders are only there for cardio – they keep the heart rate pegged at the redline. I finished in 29:51; not first but not last in my  group.

It has been about a month since my birthday and I bought a load of new stuff for my ride. Most of it is commuting gear and my next post will be about the new stuff and what I think about it.

Also, I plan to start riding more – either on the road or on my trainer. Hopefully I can log some good mileage over the winter before the big rides begin again in the spring.

Street Art

On West Dallas, they recently razed some sort of school building and exposed the side of the neighboring body shop. This was already there or new – either way I like it.

Street Art

Spotted this guy on the way to work a few days ago. It’s very similar to the cupcake stencil I went after that was already painted over a few months ago.

Street Art

Spied this piece on the way to work and stopped on Friday to snap a shot. It’s just down the street from my office near some new construction. I love dinosaurs and Coolidge’s work, so this is a win-win.

Early Cretaceous Dunce by Coolidge

People for Bikes Petition and New Gear

Please consider following this link to email a letter to your Senators to defend Federal funding for bicycle infrastructure. I have been meaning to write a post about People for Bikes for while but that will have to wait. This campaign to contact Senators seems pretty urgent, so we can get into more details later.

After my post a few weeks ago about riding home in the dark, I had several comments in the vein of ‘Please get some lights. Please.’. Well, I got a set of lights and a new helmet too.

The helmet is a Giro Surface; a multi-sport helmet that looks more urban and commuter than my road bike helmet. The pros for the helmet are the matte black finish, its comfortable fit and stylish brim. The cons are that it is heavy and hot.

The lights are Knog Skinks; they are 4-led lights in a silicone wrap around piece that can easily attach to many different segments of the bike. The lights come with multiple settings; I have found that I like the constant on for the headlight and the steady blink for the taillight.

The lights and helmet have worked really well so far and my ride feels complete. There a few other items that would be nice to have but nothing is pressing. Here’s hoping that 100 degree days are almost over!