Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Bike Race?
Huh, maybe I'll do a bike race this Sunday. I have been on my bike 5 or 6 times in 2007(including three in California just after the New Year), so it should be a piece of cake. Marathon-trained Kevin talked me into it. Katie did one last weekend and did well (after Kevin and I goaded her into it). Last year I did this exact race and worked hard, but not so smart. I led a lot of the race and got left in the dust on the last lap. We'll see if I've learned anything.
The Busy Season
The busy season in my line of work is the springtime, and I have been quite busy. I have been out of town a lot, and busy playing catchup when I have been in town. We went out of town to New Jersey. and had one nice day of weather there before a huge storm came, flooding roads and causing our flight back home to be late. Nothing like getting in at 2:00 am monday morning to start the week off right!
Really the reason I'm posting is to do some more complaining about the weather. I said that Springtime is my busiest time of year, but it has been more like winter here. Last week my bro and his family came to town for spring break and it was cold. We even had a blizzard! I think next year they'll probably go back to Mexico. They got to drive the 855, which was a lot of fun for his family, I'm sure (Uk's Volvo!) but has now left me with a new noise to chase down, this one coming from the left rear spring on my ever-satisfying suspension. Do you think I should take it to the local Volvo-eria? I don't think so. Fortunately, I get to stay in town for a little while, and hopefully get caught up and maybe I'll try to learn the guitar again.
Really the reason I'm posting is to do some more complaining about the weather. I said that Springtime is my busiest time of year, but it has been more like winter here. Last week my bro and his family came to town for spring break and it was cold. We even had a blizzard! I think next year they'll probably go back to Mexico. They got to drive the 855, which was a lot of fun for his family, I'm sure (Uk's Volvo!) but has now left me with a new noise to chase down, this one coming from the left rear spring on my ever-satisfying suspension. Do you think I should take it to the local Volvo-eria? I don't think so. Fortunately, I get to stay in town for a little while, and hopefully get caught up and maybe I'll try to learn the guitar again.
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Arrgg!!! Don't go to Fields Auto Group!!!
Never a good sign...Work to be done.
So the local Volvo had been Smart Volvo Toyota. They got rid of the Volvo part of the dealership and decided to sell only to Toyota customers. I guess they didn't want the high-end business brought in by the Volvo customers. They sold it to Fields Auto group. Smart was so-so about service. They only liked working on Toyotas, but it seemed like maybe they had some decent techs who at least knew their stuff about Volvos. Fields just opened up in Madison with a Jag/Land Rover/Volvo place. Volvo is sort of displayed in the Janitor's closet. There is definitly no independent Volvo shop in Madison.
Anywho, to get to the point of the story, I've been chasing down a mystery rattle/clunk sound that sounds like it has been coming from the right rear of the car. It has been driving me crazy. I took the whole back end of the car apart when I was replacing the tailgate strut to see if I could track it down. So today I had Katie drive while we were going to the store so I could try to get a better handle on where it is coming from. On the way home I sat in the back seat. It was less pronounced while I was there. So then I moved to the rear, driver's side. I could hear it again. It sounded like it was coming from under the carpet. So we got home and I looked under the car at the suspension. The very same suspension that was removed from the car and had some new parts put on in December.
The bolt holding the end of the "delta-link" suspension was nearly half an inch out and loose!! These fools didn't tighten the bolt all the way! This is besides the fact that they were supposed to replace the bolts with new ones. So this rattle that I have been chasing for the last 2-3 months has been this damn loose bolt. I guess I'm lucky that the suspension didn't just rip off of the car... Pictures shortly...
So the local Volvo had been Smart Volvo Toyota. They got rid of the Volvo part of the dealership and decided to sell only to Toyota customers. I guess they didn't want the high-end business brought in by the Volvo customers. They sold it to Fields Auto group. Smart was so-so about service. They only liked working on Toyotas, but it seemed like maybe they had some decent techs who at least knew their stuff about Volvos. Fields just opened up in Madison with a Jag/Land Rover/Volvo place. Volvo is sort of displayed in the Janitor's closet. There is definitly no independent Volvo shop in Madison.Anywho, to get to the point of the story, I've been chasing down a mystery rattle/clunk sound that sounds like it has been coming from the right rear of the car. It has been driving me crazy. I took the whole back end of the car apart when I was replacing the tailgate strut to see if I could track it down. So today I had Katie drive while we were going to the store so I could try to get a better handle on where it is coming from. On the way home I sat in the back seat. It was less pronounced while I was there. So then I moved to the rear, driver's side. I could hear it again. It sounded like it was coming from under the carpet. So we got home and I looked under the car at the suspension. The very same suspension that was removed from the car and had some new parts put on in December.
The bolt holding the end of the "delta-link" suspension was nearly half an inch out and loose!! These fools didn't tighten the bolt all the way! This is besides the fact that they were supposed to replace the bolts with new ones. So this rattle that I have been chasing for the last 2-3 months has been this damn loose bolt. I guess I'm lucky that the suspension didn't just rip off of the car... Pictures shortly...Thursday, March 22, 2007
My New Toy!!
I'd say my style is mostly Eagles/Willie Nelson/Johnny Cash/Nirvana/Metallica/two-year-old-banging-on-a-pot. 
It just got a lot harder for Katie to study...Sunday, March 18, 2007
Already a bike ride, on March 18
Today I went on a bike ride!! It was better than running or erging (it kept me entertained for a longer period of time). I rode out to Paoli. In a 10-15 mph headwind. I thought I was out of shape before, and the headwind really convinced me of that. I was going maybe 16 mph with a 160 heartrate. And then some dude on a Litespeed passed me. And I didn't care. I put up a little fight and tried to get back on his wheel, but he was gone. He pushed away until he got to the end of Fitchburg road and turned right to go up by the trailer place. I reeled him in (a crosswind now, not a head) and then just hung on the guy's wheel. The way he was going bananas before, I figured he could pull me for a mile or two. Well, after about a minute he noticed I was there, and ubruptly put on the brakes, so I went around him, and maybe a second later I heard a car horn. The guy had pulled a U-turn right in front of a car! Fortunately the Honda minivan was able to avoid him. So then the minivan pulled up to me and asked me what the guy was doing. I was able to tell the couple that I had no idea, and I was sorry for the scare the guy gave the drivers. They were happy I apologized, and I was happy to not have another run-in with an angry driver. The guy was lucky he didn't get taken out!
Eventually I arrived in Paoli (after 50 minutes of riding) and grabbed a drink of water. The way back was WAY better. I think my average on the way out was 15.3 mph, and I averaged 19.7 on the way back. On the way back I rode by some dude walking his Orbea up a hill. When I asked, he said he didn't need any help, but the hill was not that big...
All in all a good ride. It was only 45 degrees, and windy and I overdressed and sweated like crazy. But it was fun to go on a ride again. The bike is now a little dirty, but not too bad. I am definitely in worse shape than last year. I guess this is how you get old.
Eventually I arrived in Paoli (after 50 minutes of riding) and grabbed a drink of water. The way back was WAY better. I think my average on the way out was 15.3 mph, and I averaged 19.7 on the way back. On the way back I rode by some dude walking his Orbea up a hill. When I asked, he said he didn't need any help, but the hill was not that big...
All in all a good ride. It was only 45 degrees, and windy and I overdressed and sweated like crazy. But it was fun to go on a ride again. The bike is now a little dirty, but not too bad. I am definitely in worse shape than last year. I guess this is how you get old.
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Erik doesn't like running too much either...
Since I did a take-off on the Saablog, I figure a take-off on Kevin Hates Running should be next in line.
Last year I did a fair amount of working out while I was coaching, mostly due to the fact that the coach thought I could be best used as a "coach in the boat." It was fun to row with the team, and it made it pretty easy to stay in shape, since I could work out regularly with a team. Also, as I discussed with my friend Simon, there was the issue of pride. I wanted to beat as many of those guys as possible. So I had a reason to work hard. Now, I don't really seem to have a reason to work hard at any sport. I can beat my team this year quite easily, whether I work out or not. I don't find myself racing the men very often. and I really don't like erging all tht much. I have tried challenging myself to do various workouts on the erg, or at least do certain amounts of mileage, but it isn't that fun. When it is warm, I'll row some and bike some, especially during the summer when I shouldn't really have that much to do during the days. I do miss being in shape, and I don't want to "get old" because I'm not working out anymore. I don't need to be at a national-team level, but I don't want to be a couch potato.
So katie has been trying to get me to run. I am not too big on running. Unlike rowing or cycling (or even erging) you don't get any free run. You can't sit and rest a little while and still make progress. It is not that I am not good at running, I just don't enjoy it. Kind of like erging. So katie has been trying to get me to run with her, and for three weekends she has been successful. I went 23 minutes the first time, then 33 minutes last weekend, and today went 43. She has kept going after I have stopped each time. So it is fine. I think the pace today was maybe 6:55 or so, which is okay. Maybe one of these times I'll run with Kevin and see if I can keep up.
Today on the run we were maybe a minute from out place when Katie decided it would be a good idea to tick off some foreign guy in a Honda. This guy pulled out onto the sidewalk/driveway while leaving Whole Foods and cut off our path maybe 5-10 feet before we got there. He wasn't looking. So we ran around the back of his Accord Coupe and as we did so Katie slapped her hand on the trunk lid of the car. This guy didn't take kindly to it. He drove around the block and was irritated with "whoever hits my car." "I should hit you...But I don't...but next time I hit you." He pulled up and walked towards us on the sidewalk, and we ran around him and he was yelling "Why you hit my car?" and so I told him that we were running, and if he wanted to talk to us he should catch up to us. So he ran and caught us, and we stopped and talked. We should have kept runnning and talking, because it would have been a short conversation. But he said he was looking left at traffic and was not concerned because we should be watching out because we are on the sidewalk. We tried to convince him that he should probably look right for pedestrians, and he said that he was looking for traffic and did not hit us, so we should not be mad and be hitting his car. Whatever, dude. It is a Honda. Now whenever I run I have to look for a crazy dude tracking me down to try and hit me with his car...
Last year I did a fair amount of working out while I was coaching, mostly due to the fact that the coach thought I could be best used as a "coach in the boat." It was fun to row with the team, and it made it pretty easy to stay in shape, since I could work out regularly with a team. Also, as I discussed with my friend Simon, there was the issue of pride. I wanted to beat as many of those guys as possible. So I had a reason to work hard. Now, I don't really seem to have a reason to work hard at any sport. I can beat my team this year quite easily, whether I work out or not. I don't find myself racing the men very often. and I really don't like erging all tht much. I have tried challenging myself to do various workouts on the erg, or at least do certain amounts of mileage, but it isn't that fun. When it is warm, I'll row some and bike some, especially during the summer when I shouldn't really have that much to do during the days. I do miss being in shape, and I don't want to "get old" because I'm not working out anymore. I don't need to be at a national-team level, but I don't want to be a couch potato.
So katie has been trying to get me to run. I am not too big on running. Unlike rowing or cycling (or even erging) you don't get any free run. You can't sit and rest a little while and still make progress. It is not that I am not good at running, I just don't enjoy it. Kind of like erging. So katie has been trying to get me to run with her, and for three weekends she has been successful. I went 23 minutes the first time, then 33 minutes last weekend, and today went 43. She has kept going after I have stopped each time. So it is fine. I think the pace today was maybe 6:55 or so, which is okay. Maybe one of these times I'll run with Kevin and see if I can keep up.
Today on the run we were maybe a minute from out place when Katie decided it would be a good idea to tick off some foreign guy in a Honda. This guy pulled out onto the sidewalk/driveway while leaving Whole Foods and cut off our path maybe 5-10 feet before we got there. He wasn't looking. So we ran around the back of his Accord Coupe and as we did so Katie slapped her hand on the trunk lid of the car. This guy didn't take kindly to it. He drove around the block and was irritated with "whoever hits my car." "I should hit you...But I don't...but next time I hit you." He pulled up and walked towards us on the sidewalk, and we ran around him and he was yelling "Why you hit my car?" and so I told him that we were running, and if he wanted to talk to us he should catch up to us. So he ran and caught us, and we stopped and talked. We should have kept runnning and talking, because it would have been a short conversation. But he said he was looking left at traffic and was not concerned because we should be watching out because we are on the sidewalk. We tried to convince him that he should probably look right for pedestrians, and he said that he was looking for traffic and did not hit us, so we should not be mad and be hitting his car. Whatever, dude. It is a Honda. Now whenever I run I have to look for a crazy dude tracking me down to try and hit me with his car...
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
