Stupid Hurts

No sooner than the stage manager said this as if on cue.

RING! Rinnng!

SInce I have moved to [tag]Atlanta[/tag], the past few weeks have definitely lacked casual socialization. That plus my recent trip to the hospital and the fact I almost passed out at work the next day, my friends suggested I cancel the race I was throwing Friday night. Surprisingly I listened for a change, most people who know me, know I just would have called a spotter to peel me off the sidewalk and raced anyway.

So I moved some plans around and spent a quiet night watching [tag]Moby[/tag]-[tag]Dick[/tag] on stage at Kennesaw State with Anna. I really enjoyed myself, it was nice to just sit back and consume the performances of the actors in an environment a little quieter than a bar for a change. I am kinda glad I wasn’t allowed to take my camera. I found when I have it I sometimes zone out everything else and start focusing on composition and light and that sorta thing and I would not have been able to enjoy the show as much.

After eating lunch earlier that day with one of Atlanta’s more interesting social groups. I have learned, that thanks in part to the internet, there is a group that meets somewhere for everything. Some are a little more insular than others, and I probably won’t get accepted by most of them since I don’t dress like any of them, but I am surprisingly ok with that. The dues for the furry bowling league are surprisingly high.

Lastly, before I left work on thursday, A guy walked in with a busted unicycle. He was in from out of state, and only in town for the week representing his college for a robotics competition. Somehow he had managed to strip the threads on one of his crank arms. Not being a common issue, it isn’t the the sort of part we keep in stock or can order on short notice. But I have a spare set on a [tag]unicycle[/tag] at the bike co-op I plan on picking up to polish and swap out for mine when I get time So I tried to send him there to pick those up, I also tried to give him directions the local jugglers guild (yeah there is one) but I don’t think that worked out to well. It is just wild to see someone walk in with a unicycle. I really want to meet the person whose uni has been hanging up behind my work bench for a new tire for the past week and a half.
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It is one to wake up, not recognize the ceiling, and then look over and see a cute girl wrapped around your arm. It is completely different to wake up, not recognize the ceiling and have a blood pressure cuff wrapped around your arm……again.

I was on my [tag]fixed[/tag] [tag]gear[/tag] chasing one of my co-workers home from work when I had another [tag]seizure[/tag] while riding and passed out. I am not sure how long I was out for or what happened really, but when I regained consciousness I was surrounded by EMT’s and firefighters…….again

The [tag]firefighters[/tag] kept my bicycle due to the fact there was no space in the [tag]ambulance[/tag] for it so I have to go pick it up at some point soon. While filling out paperwork on the side of the ride I had to explain.
“Yes, I ride with no brakes.”
“Yes, it stops.”

Actually, one of the coolest parts when I answered the phone while en-route to the hospital and it was one of the local bike messengers calling to see if I was ok because he had already heard what happened.

After three hours in the hospital I got the same thing I always get.
“You seem fine, give us money, go home.”
I didn’t pay, but I did leave.

News of what happened got back to family fairly quickly. Several of my family members want me to give up cycling until my medical issues are sorted out. Considering that it has been 8-9 months at this point with no resolution, and I value what little personal freedom I have. I didn’t take the request all that well. I am more than a little depressed right now and I have had a very long day.

I got commissioned to make a [tag]messenger[/tag] [tag]bag[/tag] next month for an upcoming Earth day raffle!

To make it even more interesting I was also given full creative control.

I also have the idea for my next personal bag out in my head which means I may be giving one of my bags away soon.

It will probably be the Star bag
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Since I haven’t been sleeping lately, I have had some free time on my hands. I took the time to make myself another bag since my winged bag was wrecked by my trip to California. I have since patched that bag up, but it is nice to have an excuse to make a new [tag]messenger[/tag] [tag]bag[/tag]. The new bag is actually made from part of several older bags I [tag]salvaged[/tag] and cut up so it went together a lot faster since I didn’t have to make straps. The stars where interesting to [tag]embroider[/tag] and I had fun making them.
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The next [tag]alley[/tag] [tag]cat[/tag] [tag]race[/tag] on my list is Fixed Fight In Fl.

I am hoping to ride down with a crew of [tag]Atlanta[/tag] people. We will see how it goes.

And I think they mention James Dean’s story in the flyer

Since I ruined the [tag]handle[/tag] [tag]bar[/tag] [tag]tape[/tag] on my [tag]fixed[/tag] [tag]gear[/tag] I decided to take advantage of this opportunity to write up a how to on how to [tag]wrap[/tag] [tag]bullhorns[/tag].

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While your legs provide your main source of power while you are on your bicycle, your hands provide a crucial contact point when sprinting, climbing, and stopping. Granted some people think naked shiny bars look nice, do your hands a favor and tape your bars.
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This guide is going to cover taping up bullhorns without brake levers.
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Things you will need before hand

It is much easier to have everything in reach before you get started, because nothing sucks worse than having a nice neat job ruined because you cant find the tape to finish it.

Lets Get Started
You are going to tape from the inside towards to outside of your bars, this way when you are cranking on the bars to climb you are tightening your bar tape.
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With your handlebars in one hand take the bar tape and make a complete loop around them once with the bar tape. (The reason I do this is because it gives me a nice cushy bulge at the top of the bars)
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Continue wrapping down your bars in even passes. Each pass should should should pass over the previous one half way.[newline]

Work in slow tight even loops until you get to the middle of your handle bars near the stem. Now for the tricky part that will result in a neat looking job. You need to take your last pass and cut it at an angle even with the layer underneath it. [newline]

Make sure to keep all of this nice and tight.
Take your electrical tape and overlap it half way around your handle bar tape. Going in the direction you have been wrapping your handle bar tape.
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Loop the electrical tape around your bars once or twice making sure to cover the exposed edges of the handle bar tape neatly. Be sure to insert end plugs into the open ends of your handle bars to keep them from gouging holes out of your arms or legs.

They should look something like this when you are done.

My friend Matt has recently had the [tag]grand[/tag] [tag]opening[/tag] of his [tag]scooter[/tag] [tag]shop[/tag] “Magic City Scooters“. Since I have known him forever, and I hang around the place all the the time. I made it a point to be there for the shop’s grand opening.

Back when we first met this is what the acme building looked like.

Since then, it has come an amazingly long way. Thanks to an amazing amount of work on his part to look like this.
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It was really nice to see Matt bouncing around like a proud parent, shaking hands, and hugging people, while returning warms smiles and congratulatory handshakes.
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I started this [tag]messenger[/tag] [tag]bag[/tag] back in December. But unfortunately I was unable to find the last of the materials I needed to finish it until a few days ago. It is [tag]cotton[/tag] duck [tag]cloth[/tag] inside and out. The back is padded with 1 inch thick foam, and the bottom is 3 layers thick.
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There are two lined dividers inside and one small velcro pocket.
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In the front there are four pockets. The two center are bellows pockets, and the side are patch pockets. I also changed the strap up a little to this time to provide padding under the buckle.
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This bag took a lot longer to make than usual because I tried to pay a lot more attention to detail on the smaller stuff. On the outer flap I used spray adhesive to glue the arrows down and then used a satin [tag]stitch[/tag] and variegated thread around the edge of each one. I also glued the top and bottom parts of the flap together before binding them with the white bias tape. I learned from my last bag I absolutely hate floating liners
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Happy [tag]New[/tag] [tag]Years[/tag]!

It already feels like a old pair of pants. I may end up tearing the site down to rebuild it. I haven’t decided if i can afford the [tag]server[/tag] downtime or not, if you see a this space for rent sign you know what happened.

Thanks for another successful year and well over a [tag]million[/tag] [tag]hits[/tag]. Here is for a million more

A few months ago I built myself a [tag]fixed[/tag] [tag]gear[/tag] [tag]bicycle[/tag] , and few weeks ago I broke it. The rear wheel came apart like the back of a dress on prom night. Luckily I was able to limp on home, but it was obvious that I would be without that [tag]bike[/tag] for a bit.
Luckily for me almost all the places I needed to order parts from were throwing [tag]Christmas[/tag] sales, and I took this as a sign I should go ahead and get all of my planned upgrades out of the way. In the end I went from this

to this
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I added a new [tag]Mavic[/tag] Open pro rear wheel, a Fsa saddle, a set of pedals to replace the pair I bent, a pair of toe clips to replace the pair I stole off my dad’s bike, a new pair of handle bars which I haven’t really decided on yet, and a few other small odds and ends.