Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
What a Mess!
On my way to meet Rolle for lunch I ran into this mess.
A fuel tanker, tipped over and spilling its load at 100 gallons / $305 per minute. All I knew at the time was traffic sucked. I was diverted off of Westbound I-94 because the Lowry tunnel had been closed. Sitting on Lyndale Aveune (on top of the Lowry tunnel) I made a couple of calls to find out what was going on. The tunnel I was sitting on top of was closed due to the explosivity of the gas in the air. I was about two blocks from the tanker and heading towards it. Great.
Lunch postponed.
Saturday, January 5, 2008
Where are my legs?
If anyone finds my legs, please return them.
Rode with fellow Loons Tim and Jens. Headed West on the Greenway to Hopkins, St. Louis Park, Minnetonka. They hurt me. I know its only Jan. 5th, but I need to find some fitness soon. Thanks for the wake-up call.
33 miles
2008 Miles: 78
Rode with fellow Loons Tim and Jens. Headed West on the Greenway to Hopkins, St. Louis Park, Minnetonka. They hurt me. I know its only Jan. 5th, but I need to find some fitness soon. Thanks for the wake-up call.
33 miles
2008 Miles: 78
Friday, January 4, 2008
Bad Boys, Bad Boys...
This mornings ride with Koach Kris turned into a scene from COPS.
Just as we reach the intersection of Minnehaha Pkwy and Lake Harriet, we start hearing police sirens and then see the fleet of Edina and Mpls squad cars from both directions, against traffic, lights on and sirens blazing. Kris used his detective skills from his former days as a cop to observe, "It's a Pursuit!"
Sure enough, the good guys were chasing a bad guy. Turns out, seconds before we arrived on the scene, the bad guy took a short cut ACROSS Lake Harriet in his pick-up, hopped the curb and took off towards 50th Street.
We stood and watched as the cops swung around the lake and fanned out into the quiet SW Minneapolis neighborhood. Kris noted they were running "like chickens with heads cut off" a technical criminal justice term.
We even got in on the action. One squad car overshot the corner and got stuck in a snow bank. We ditched our bikes and along with a motorist and a couple of soccer moms walking the lake we were able to set him free.
No word on if they caught the bad guy, but my guess is no. When are the cops going to start driving All Wheel drive cars? The inability to drive across lakes and getting stuck in 8 inches of snow has gotta be embarrassing. Obviously more funding is needed for our boys in blue.
Rest of the ride was much less exciting. Stopped at CRC for coffee and cookie. I'll miss this when I start my "real" job.
2008 Cumulative miles: 45
Just as we reach the intersection of Minnehaha Pkwy and Lake Harriet, we start hearing police sirens and then see the fleet of Edina and Mpls squad cars from both directions, against traffic, lights on and sirens blazing. Kris used his detective skills from his former days as a cop to observe, "It's a Pursuit!"
Sure enough, the good guys were chasing a bad guy. Turns out, seconds before we arrived on the scene, the bad guy took a short cut ACROSS Lake Harriet in his pick-up, hopped the curb and took off towards 50th Street.
We stood and watched as the cops swung around the lake and fanned out into the quiet SW Minneapolis neighborhood. Kris noted they were running "like chickens with heads cut off" a technical criminal justice term.
We even got in on the action. One squad car overshot the corner and got stuck in a snow bank. We ditched our bikes and along with a motorist and a couple of soccer moms walking the lake we were able to set him free.
No word on if they caught the bad guy, but my guess is no. When are the cops going to start driving All Wheel drive cars? The inability to drive across lakes and getting stuck in 8 inches of snow has gotta be embarrassing. Obviously more funding is needed for our boys in blue.
Rest of the ride was much less exciting. Stopped at CRC for coffee and cookie. I'll miss this when I start my "real" job.
2008 Cumulative miles: 45
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Brisk
A chilly ride this morning.
Air temp: -3F
Wind chill: -20F
Layers of clothing: 4
Cumulative miles for 2008: 28
Air temp: -3F
Wind chill: -20F
Layers of clothing: 4
Cumulative miles for 2008: 28
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
New Year's Day Ride
The first miles of ’08 are in the books. I headed out this afternoon for a cruise around the lakes.
Minneapolis is well known for its lakes and parks and the recreation opportunities they provide. I’ve decided that winter in MN is really just like summer.....with more clothes.
When I left the house, air temp was about 2F (wind chill -13F). Cold.
Along Minnehaha Parkway, there were the usual joggers and dog walkers. I came across a New Year’s Day game of touch football. Around Lake Harriet, more dog walkers and three guys on Pugsleys. Kelly wants one. The west wind provided great conditions for kite boarding on Lake Calhoun, some were on skis others on boards. That looks fun, summer or winter. At Thomas Beach there was even a game of Beach Volleyball.
I’ve never been one to keep a running total of my annual mileage. Some of my bikes have computers, others don't.....I've never bothered to keep track. Maybe this year I’ll pay more attention.
2008 cumulative miles: 16.
Minneapolis is well known for its lakes and parks and the recreation opportunities they provide. I’ve decided that winter in MN is really just like summer.....with more clothes.
When I left the house, air temp was about 2F (wind chill -13F). Cold.
Along Minnehaha Parkway, there were the usual joggers and dog walkers. I came across a New Year’s Day game of touch football. Around Lake Harriet, more dog walkers and three guys on Pugsleys. Kelly wants one. The west wind provided great conditions for kite boarding on Lake Calhoun, some were on skis others on boards. That looks fun, summer or winter. At Thomas Beach there was even a game of Beach Volleyball.
I’ve never been one to keep a running total of my annual mileage. Some of my bikes have computers, others don't.....I've never bothered to keep track. Maybe this year I’ll pay more attention.
2008 cumulative miles: 16.
New Year. New Job.
First off, "New Year, New You." has to be the lamest, most-overused, laziest cliche cover title for a magazine and yet it still gets used every freakin' year. I think Runner's World and Bicycling are the biggest offenders. I'm sure the articles are just recycled from one year to the next....it's all the same crap, eat better, spend 10 minutes a day on your "core", take a yoga class, drink green tea...blah blah blah.
Besides, what's wrong with the old me? (don't answer).
So, the Real Estate market has been.....how do you say....soft..slow..dead. The last six months or so have been a little on the stressful side. In November, I decided it was time.....write a resume and look for a J. O. B.
Having been self-employed for the past 7 years, finding the right job, with the right employer would be tough. What started out as a "I just need something temporary and part-time for now" kind of search quickly turned into a "If I'm going to make this move, it needs to be the right one" search.
Turns out that the whole "Who you know vs. What you know" thing really pays off. I only sent resumes to a handful of places. The only places I received call backs from were where I had a personal connection. My goal was to have something in place by the end of the year.
I got the call on Friday.
I am super excited, relieved and a little nervous about starting with my new employer in two weeks.
With the new job will come some lifestyle changes. First, I'll actually have regular hours. I'll have to account to someone. There'll be some travel. Let's see, what else .... my employer will deposit money into my bank account every two weeks, and pay for part of my health insurance and taxes. They call it a paycheck. Weird!
In addition to the work itself, I am really looking forward to is bike commuting, about 14 miles each way. Household goal for the year is downsize to a one car family.
Besides, what's wrong with the old me? (don't answer).
So, the Real Estate market has been.....how do you say....soft..slow..dead. The last six months or so have been a little on the stressful side. In November, I decided it was time.....write a resume and look for a J. O. B.
Having been self-employed for the past 7 years, finding the right job, with the right employer would be tough. What started out as a "I just need something temporary and part-time for now" kind of search quickly turned into a "If I'm going to make this move, it needs to be the right one" search.
Turns out that the whole "Who you know vs. What you know" thing really pays off. I only sent resumes to a handful of places. The only places I received call backs from were where I had a personal connection. My goal was to have something in place by the end of the year.
I got the call on Friday.
I am super excited, relieved and a little nervous about starting with my new employer in two weeks.
With the new job will come some lifestyle changes. First, I'll actually have regular hours. I'll have to account to someone. There'll be some travel. Let's see, what else .... my employer will deposit money into my bank account every two weeks, and pay for part of my health insurance and taxes. They call it a paycheck. Weird!
In addition to the work itself, I am really looking forward to is bike commuting, about 14 miles each way. Household goal for the year is downsize to a one car family.
Friday, December 28, 2007
Sights. Sounds. Smells.
Riding a bike around town makes me much more aware of my surroundings than in a car.
Three examples from this morning's ride:
Last nights cold temps turned slush into crispy deposits of road muck that crackled under my tires.
On Lyndale Avenune, I could tell the direction of the wind, not from feeling it on my face but from the smell of the cooking at Sunnyside Up.
At the stop light on Franklin, from the corner of my eye I noticed two guys inside Mortimers. It was dark inside, except for the light from the arcade game they were staring at. Beers and smokes in hand, they were having a great time slamming the roller-ball controller. It must have been that stupid golf game. The bar closed hours ago, but here they were at 5:45 getting a headstart on NYE 2008 festivities.
Three examples from this morning's ride:
Last nights cold temps turned slush into crispy deposits of road muck that crackled under my tires.
On Lyndale Avenune, I could tell the direction of the wind, not from feeling it on my face but from the smell of the cooking at Sunnyside Up.
At the stop light on Franklin, from the corner of my eye I noticed two guys inside Mortimers. It was dark inside, except for the light from the arcade game they were staring at. Beers and smokes in hand, they were having a great time slamming the roller-ball controller. It must have been that stupid golf game. The bar closed hours ago, but here they were at 5:45 getting a headstart on NYE 2008 festivities.
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Boxing Day Commute
First, wet and slushy, then white and fluffy.
Rode into The Firm this morning on wet roads. The plows had been out clearing much of last night's snow. There was hardly a soul on the street at 5:30. I saw a few cars on Lyndale, but much lighter traffic than normal.
By the time I headed for home, it must have snowed an inch or more of the light fluffy stuff. I love riding in this. The snow has a noise-dampening effect on everything. Very peaceful.
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Soul Asylum @ 1st Ave
When I first moved to Minneapolis in 1988, the first album I purchased from a local band was Soul Asylum's Hang Time. Between '89 and '92 I saw many a Soul Asylum show at First Ave and The Whole. It's been at least 15 years since I've seen them live.
Last night, they did not disappoint. They opened with Easy Street and I felt my hair grow 12 inches in length. Sure they, like most of the crowd that was at First Ave, have aged but they put on a great show.
Ears were ringing this morning.
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