This past weekend I finally got out on the bike. TWICE, if you can believe it. Saturday was a beautiful day for a bike ride -- cool but not windy or rainy. It was a truly gorgeous day. Sunday was a bit ickier, with more wind and less warmth, but still a good day for a ride out to the mountain. I felt it was important to get two rides in because
1. I'm going to be doing that, anyway, come February
2. I want to have a good base so that I can focus on the participants once training gets going
3. I am woefully out of shape
This need to ride coincided (unfortunately?) with my determination to start running, so I had run twice earlier in the week. I don't think that helped.
Saturday (Brookhaven) Stats:
Maximum speed: 28.8 mph
Average speed: 14.2 mph
Distance: 15.31 mi
Time: 1.04.01
Sunday (KSR) Stats:
Maximum speed: 32.5 mph
Average speed: 13.1 mph
Distance: 27.73 mi
Time: 2.05.49
I felt tired and sore after each, and my left knee (tendons, really) hurt yesterday and today, but it still felt really good being on the bike. It was nice to see the KSR folks again, and though I was the slowest both days, I think I have a good season ahead of me.
Monday, January 9, 2012
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
2011 Quilt Complete!
Just in time to start a new raffle project for 2012!
As you can see, it came out quite nicely. Special thanks to ARA for doing a great job with the long-arm quilter and doing the actual quilting for me. It's great (it's butterflies!)
There was a bit of drama, wherein I realized that I didn't have enough fabric for the border (at least, not enough of stuff that I wanted to keep), and ARA came through again. This is the Sticks and Stones pattern from Black Cat Creations--a fat quarter quilt that went together easily (once I got the cutting right-measure twice, cut once and all that). I had a good time making this quilt, and I think I'll use the pattern again: you don't have to get the same quilt twice! You can rotate and place the sticks and stones blocks wherever you like in relation to each other (a challenge using neutrals) until you get the finished size. It's great!
Check back here for more incentive updates!
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| Congratulations, Curtis! |
As you can see, it came out quite nicely. Special thanks to ARA for doing a great job with the long-arm quilter and doing the actual quilting for me. It's great (it's butterflies!)
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| You're a lucky son-of-a-gun. |
Check back here for more incentive updates!
Sunday, January 1, 2012
An Urban Cyclist's Resolution
Dear Readers, this year your friendly Urban Cyclist is taking the easy way out, costing only what some of you would consider a small amount of money and a slightly more sizeable amount of time. I am going to continue the fight against blood cancers and, by extension, all cancers by mentoring a growing Tahoe team on 3 June. To do this, I will raise more money than either of the previous two seasons. I am also going to participate in at least one olympic-distance triathlon (in May), and this is going to cost me only the price of registration and a new pair of running shoes.
What can I say? I want to make the world a better place, for me and for everyone else.
You can help, too, by hitting the little "donate now" button there on the right of my blog. Get in on the ground floor, that's what I say. There will be another raffle this year, and a really cool event will come together for those more local to me.Get in on the action early and there just may be a benefit to you for doing so, before the non-tax-related incentives kick in.
I start riding again (building my own base) this week, so also keep an eye here for training progress, per usual.
Happy New Year! Let's make it a great one!
What can I say? I want to make the world a better place, for me and for everyone else.
You can help, too, by hitting the little "donate now" button there on the right of my blog. Get in on the ground floor, that's what I say. There will be another raffle this year, and a really cool event will come together for those more local to me.Get in on the action early and there just may be a benefit to you for doing so, before the non-tax-related incentives kick in.
I start riding again (building my own base) this week, so also keep an eye here for training progress, per usual.
Happy New Year! Let's make it a great one!
Saturday, December 17, 2011
TNT 2012 - It's ON!
That's right, folks! The cycling season is fast approaching, bringing with it another challenge to you, dear readers: support me in my training and blood cancer patients and families. The fundraising website is now available here, and you can also donate via the widget at the right of this post (the one that says "Donate Now!")
Why should you donate? A few, non-exhaustive, reasons:
1. It'll improve the lives of the estimated 137,300 people who developed leukemia, lymphoma, or myeloma in the last year, and the lives of their families.
2. You personally know of and care for someone who fought or is fighting cancer.
3. It's the holiday season and you're feeling generous.
4. The current tax cycle is almost up -- donate now and get a 100% deduction on this year's taxes (and then donate again next month and get THAT deduction, too!).
5. You know I'm good on my word and really WILL ride 100 miles on 3 June with Team in Training, because I've done it before.
6. The warm feeling you get when you know you've done a right thing.
Thank you, all, for your continued support, and keep checking back here for fundraising and training progress! I'm excited to share my journey again with you, and hope that you find this process as fun and rewarding as I do!
Why should you donate? A few, non-exhaustive, reasons:
1. It'll improve the lives of the estimated 137,300 people who developed leukemia, lymphoma, or myeloma in the last year, and the lives of their families.
2. You personally know of and care for someone who fought or is fighting cancer.
3. It's the holiday season and you're feeling generous.
4. The current tax cycle is almost up -- donate now and get a 100% deduction on this year's taxes (and then donate again next month and get THAT deduction, too!).
5. You know I'm good on my word and really WILL ride 100 miles on 3 June with Team in Training, because I've done it before.
6. The warm feeling you get when you know you've done a right thing.
Thank you, all, for your continued support, and keep checking back here for fundraising and training progress! I'm excited to share my journey again with you, and hope that you find this process as fun and rewarding as I do!
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Hokies - Keep it Together
Today, 8 December, two more lives were lost to a lone gunman on Virginia Tech's campus. The campus is on lockdown, the nutbar (at this point in time) is at large, and they are securing students in safe rooms in the Student Center, where there has been "activity".
The feeling of helplessness is so familiar. It is not a friend.
The feeling of helplessness is so familiar. It is not a friend.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Love thy neighbor...
This isn't related to cycling, not really, but given that I currently live in Atlanta, and that Atlanta has a large LGBT community, this UrbanCyclist feels the need to relate the tail of one person's comment to a blog post, http://www.danoah.com/2011/11/im-christian-unless-youre-gay.html
That person's response was well-reasoned, and closed with "To say you are made wrong would be saying God made you wrong and He doesn't make mistakes."
I think that sums it up about right. Conversation over.
That person's response was well-reasoned, and closed with "To say you are made wrong would be saying God made you wrong and He doesn't make mistakes."
I think that sums it up about right. Conversation over.
Monday, November 14, 2011
I've said it all before...
Below is my response to a question on a survey administered by a Tech student, about commuting in Atlanta. The question asked what were my concerns about commuting in Atlanta. I've said these things before, and I haven't edited what's below, but I feel that it's true and, what's more, universal to American cities that are home to anyone that calls himself a cyclist.
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Ignorance on three sides of the traffic issue: motorists/drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians. It is easy to point fingers and say drivers are all menaces or cyclists are all entitled hipsters or pedestrians are all clueless, but each group also needs to look within itself and recognize that, at the same time they are painting another with the same brush, they are doing so within their ranks.
1. Motorists need to realize that bikes do have a place in traffic and on the road, and that cyclists ride defensively in part because of those motorists who are unaware of or indifferent to that place, and by doing so are often making the way safer for all involved. Motorists need to realize that a momentary inconvenience for them (such as waiting until passing through a 4-way stop before going around a cyclist, as opposed to speeding up to pass a cyclist before the intersection, only to abruptly stop immediately in front of said cyclist) may well cause a cyclist injury or cost him his life. As a law-abiding cyclist, I am weary of being yelled at by passing motorists with an axe to grind, getting buzzed by inattentive or indifferent motorists, and of being told to do something incredibly illegal and demonstrably less safe than my current behavior for the convenience and due to the ignorance of the law of motorists.
2. Cyclists need to recognize that not everyone on two wheels has been educated about their rights on the road, how to intelligently share the road, or what they may *not* legally or safely do (e.g., make left turns in front of stopped traffic from the right lane at a light). Not all cyclists are angels, just as not all motorists are demons, and cyclists must realize that motorists may drive too closely or express frustration or rage (however dangerous or illegal it is) because of previous experience with cyclists who behave erratically and ride as if they are above the law (whether deliberately doing so or simply due to aforementioned ignorance of their rights and responsibilities). Cyclists must realize that, though they have the right to the road, so do the motorists, and that a peaceful coexistence is possible. As a motorist and a cyclist, I am tired of cyclists running red lights *in the presence of traffic*, hopping between the streets and sidewalks to avoid traffic, and going the wrong way on one-way roads.
3. Pedestrians must realize that vehicles (motorists and cyclists) have a right to intersections, and that there are traffic signals that they, too, must obey for a city's infrastructure to be successful and safe for all commuters. As a pedestrian, motorist, and cyclist, I am weary of pedestrians behaving like the proverbial lemming and following the other pedestrians en masse across a road (regardless of the presence of a cross-walk) in the midst of traffic, using bike lanes for running or walking dogs when a readily available and serviceable sidewalk is not two feet away, and ignoring traffic signals at their own convenience.
The biggest thing is to remember that the person behind the wheel, walking across the street, or riding a bike is just that: a person, a fellow human-being.
====
Ignorance on three sides of the traffic issue: motorists/drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians. It is easy to point fingers and say drivers are all menaces or cyclists are all entitled hipsters or pedestrians are all clueless, but each group also needs to look within itself and recognize that, at the same time they are painting another with the same brush, they are doing so within their ranks.
1. Motorists need to realize that bikes do have a place in traffic and on the road, and that cyclists ride defensively in part because of those motorists who are unaware of or indifferent to that place, and by doing so are often making the way safer for all involved. Motorists need to realize that a momentary inconvenience for them (such as waiting until passing through a 4-way stop before going around a cyclist, as opposed to speeding up to pass a cyclist before the intersection, only to abruptly stop immediately in front of said cyclist) may well cause a cyclist injury or cost him his life. As a law-abiding cyclist, I am weary of being yelled at by passing motorists with an axe to grind, getting buzzed by inattentive or indifferent motorists, and of being told to do something incredibly illegal and demonstrably less safe than my current behavior for the convenience and due to the ignorance of the law of motorists.
2. Cyclists need to recognize that not everyone on two wheels has been educated about their rights on the road, how to intelligently share the road, or what they may *not* legally or safely do (e.g., make left turns in front of stopped traffic from the right lane at a light). Not all cyclists are angels, just as not all motorists are demons, and cyclists must realize that motorists may drive too closely or express frustration or rage (however dangerous or illegal it is) because of previous experience with cyclists who behave erratically and ride as if they are above the law (whether deliberately doing so or simply due to aforementioned ignorance of their rights and responsibilities). Cyclists must realize that, though they have the right to the road, so do the motorists, and that a peaceful coexistence is possible. As a motorist and a cyclist, I am tired of cyclists running red lights *in the presence of traffic*, hopping between the streets and sidewalks to avoid traffic, and going the wrong way on one-way roads.
3. Pedestrians must realize that vehicles (motorists and cyclists) have a right to intersections, and that there are traffic signals that they, too, must obey for a city's infrastructure to be successful and safe for all commuters. As a pedestrian, motorist, and cyclist, I am weary of pedestrians behaving like the proverbial lemming and following the other pedestrians en masse across a road (regardless of the presence of a cross-walk) in the midst of traffic, using bike lanes for running or walking dogs when a readily available and serviceable sidewalk is not two feet away, and ignoring traffic signals at their own convenience.
The biggest thing is to remember that the person behind the wheel, walking across the street, or riding a bike is just that: a person, a fellow human-being.
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