A "Moving" Experience...

Wow.  It's hard to believe it's been 4 months since the last post here.  At the same time, when I think about then and now, and the changes that have taken place in that time period, it's hard to believe it's been ONLY 4 months.  Needless to say, life has gotten in the way of writing.  My apologies to anyone who's checked in during my absence only to find nothing new here.  I've heard a rumor that there's one or two people out there who read this thing once in a while ... I may be mistaken, though, and it may only be the blog-bots.

I could tell you all about the past four months in such great detail that you'd bookmark the page for whenever you have a bout of insomnia ... but rather than put forth such effort where it would be certainly wasted, I'll TRY to make it brief ... and then get on with the business of returning to bicycle-themed word stuff.

Okay ... back in March, while in the midst of the 8-day weeks and 28-hour days of preparation for the annual mega-spectacular business event of the year for my Better-And-More-Attractive-Half (BAMAH), we discovered a major problem with the house we were then living in.  Although we loved the convenient location and "vintage charm" of the house, it had many issues.  And although we chose to be content and accept those issues, this new problem was the moldy dripping frosting on the insect-covered cupcake ... and thus we had to move ... but only after the afore-mentioned annual mega-spectacular business event of the year.

So ... in April, we searched for a new place that had no issues.  We found just such an issue-less place.  We put in our application and were accepted.  We gave notice to move.  We furiously packed and moved our stuff.  We purged other stuff that we wanted to neither pack nor move. (By the way, if you're about to move a box that you never unpacked from the previous move, I recommend NOT taking it to your new destination ... you'll never miss it, I promise!)  We fought with the previous landlord over deposit return ... and mostly won.  I completed two large client projects in the middle of the moving process.  By the end of May, we were done with the move.

The month of June consisted of recovery and unpacking (where in the world did I put that box with my favorite coffee mug?), along with finding our way around the new digs (only 6 miles south of where we were before, but still a new town for us) and developing the strategic plan for the daily routine (where to take the dogs for walks, drive time for work, where to get food, groceries, and so on).  Once the basic daily necessities were handled, I was then able to begin exploring the new and different bicycle-riding amenities offered within our new community.

And that brings me to the here and now ... and back to the notion that I may actually have something to say about bikes and stuff.

It's interesting how life places you in different positions, forcing you to view the world around you from a new perspective, both mentally and physically.  Riding from point A to point B over a period of time builds a certain image in one's mind.  When you then suddenly start riding from point C to point A, the whole landscape looks very different.  And point B, which you've seen hundreds of times from the previous perspective at the end of the ride, but is now crossed in the middle, looks absolutely alien and quite insignificant. (More on that in an upcoming post)  If you'd told me 5 months ago that today I'd be walking down and then climbing back up a set of 109 stairs twice a day just to take the dogs out for their "business" trips, I would have said you were crazy ... and yet, that's what I now do (more on that later, too!).  By the way, these are good things ... just to be clear!

As a creature who appreciates a certain degree of routine in order to feel "normal", it can be difficult for me to accept large changes that affect how I do everything in the course of a "normal" day.  I do always adapt, however, and everything works out in the end.  This time, though ...I have to say there's something different ... it just feels a whole lot more "right" to me after having a little time to settle into the new environment and daily process here.  Almost everything feels better here ... more "normal", despite the many changes and life modifications that were required to make the move.  It's not ALL perfect ... but then the world around us never is ... which is why we continue to seek balance with the imperfections on a daily basis.

I hope all is well in your world!  Summer is here ... enjoy the ride!  More news and reviews coming very soon ...

Happy February!!

This year is already moving fast. It's difficult to believe we've already entered the second month of 2012 ... and even more difficult to think that it's the year 2012. Wow. Aren't we supposed to be driving cars that fly and perform self-navigation so we simply sit and await arrival at our destination like the Jetsons? Maybe that's still a bit down the road.

In any case, being that it's now the beginning of February, this is the time of year when the holidays are all over, but it's still not yet Spring. And, although this Winter has been awfully mild here in the good ol' USA, the sun still sets early, and we aren't getting quite enough of the natural vitamin D we need to feel good. In addition, the bills from our extravagant holiday expenditures have now arrived, we're looking at the decorations that still haven't been put away, and  that overgrown chipmunk in that famous town has apparently seen his own shadow and given us the royal groundhog middle finger of a longer winter ahead as he crawls back into his den, where he has a comfortable supply of pizza and beer. So, with all of that happening, unless you live for the Super Bowl (did I mention pizza and beer?), this week can be downright "blah". FYI, I do turn on the Super Bowl, but my watching may be a bit blasphemous. You see, I watch ONLY the commercials, which are the very best part of the whole thing, and go about my normal day in between. I do, however, have pizza and beer ... to celebrate those incredibly clever and extremely expensive commercials.

Back to the point ... February, especially the first week of it, can sometimes leave us (and by "us", I basically mean "me") feeling a little bit "gray" ... like this little fellow I saw a few days ago:

Don't be sad ... your chubby cousin said it would only be six more weeks of Winter!

I don't like feeling gray ... which is why I like to ride a bike. Heck, just looking at my Hunqapillar begins to bring a little color into my otherwise gray day:

Bring on the color ... Bring on the Funq(apillar)!!

Although it might be tempting to go sit at the bar ... what makes me feel better is the view from my "bars":

This winter thing isn't so bad after all ... in fact, it's pretty nice today!

It always works, and I always feel better after a good ride. I come home with the energy to do the things I didn't want to do earlier, like the major office and house cleaning at the top of my list ... and putting away the last of the holiday decorations. And it seems that while I'm riding, the plan comes together in my head for getting done what I thought impossible before I left the house.

Maybe riding a bike does the same for you? If not, just get outside for a bit. Since the weather has been so mild, there are plenty of things you could do:

You could go surfing!!!

If you don't want to get wet, you could just go and watch the waves!

You could even learn to fly ... (or maybe just watch the birds)

Okay ... maybe you don't live near a large body of water. The point is ... get some fresh air. It will do good things for your spirit!

Back with more soon, including some reviews of stuff. But first ... I have to finish the cleaning and organizing of the house and office. Good thing I went for a nice ride this morning ...

What Does Your Dog Do While You're Out Riding?

If you love dogs like I do, and have one or more at home, you sometimes feel sad that they miss out on the interesting things you see while you're out exploring on the bike. Photos just don't cut it for dogs ... and, although they pretend to be interested, I'm confident they don't truly understand what I'm saying when I tell them about the horses I saw.

Some people actually take their dogs out on the bike ... in a special basket equipped with a dog bed ... or running along the side on a leash. I've even seen some very clever contraptions that attach to a bike with a safety-release mechanism on a short pole that keeps your dog at the right distance from the wheels but breaks free in the event an accident occurs.

That sounds like good fun, and I've thought about trying some of those methods of dog/bike accompaniment ... but the truth is, my little dog whines even in the comfy car, so she probably would freak out in a bike basket. And my bigger dog ... well, let's face it, I'd just slow him down. So ... I take them out for walks a few times each day ... and, sadly, let them stay home when I ride.

But I often wonder what they do while I'm out riding. Yesterday, my return home offered a clue, at least for my smaller dog, Libby:

"Back so soon?  I was having such a nice dream ...."

It appears she jumps into our bed, rearranges the pillows to suit her needs, and then lounges among them for a nice nap. For some silly reason, I thought my leaving was a sad time for them ... but apparently I was mistaken. I have to admit, though ... it was kinda nice to (even mistakenly) think they might be missing me ... at least a little bit. Oh, well ... I guess that just means I don't have to worry about them when I take an extra long ride ... as long as I make it back in time for their dinner ... now THAT would be a problem!

What does your dog do while you're out riding?

WTF? Or... When Balance Shifts to the Dark Side

Zen (and much of this here blogular posting) is about the pursuit of balance, which by definition, is an even distribution of forces to create equilibrium. Yeah, okay. Since yesterday's post portrayed a most beautiful, nearly perfect day of weather and riding (rather heavy on the NICE side of the scale), I should have expected today's ride would include some not-so-perfect attributes (the NOT NICE side of the scale).

I did not prepare myself.

The weather appeared just as nice as yesterday, dare I say, even better. Little to no wind, sunny, and very warm. Wanting more of yesterday's beautiful ride, I grabbed the camera and shot out the door.

The ride began nicely, and I headed down to the beach to get on the bike path, deciding today to head inland for a change of scenery. I hadn't gone that way for a while, focusing more on the beautiful coastline area of late. As I proceeded down the path, a bit of headwind picked up, making the pedaling slightly harder, but not enough to be unpleasant ... and I figured that would mean I'd have a tailwind for the return trip later. Remember that statement, okay?

As I got to the 5 Freeway underpass, I found this:

WTF?  Someone has a faulty calendar

I checked my cell phone to confirm that it is indeed January 5th.  According to this sign, the path should be open now, since it's AFTER December 30. But still, sadly, the path is closed ... blocked by a concrete barrier ... preventing me from pursuing my chosen route inland to see the cows and horses further up the path. It's not so much that my route was interupted, but that this bike path has had one closure or another since January 2009. It's irritating, because this path, when not closed with construction, provides a continuous 8-mile stretch of riding with no streets or traffic to contend with, and connects Dana Point and San Juan Capistrano, as well as Mission Viejo via a secondary connected path. When it's closed, getting from one town to another requires navigating some fairly busy streets with drivers who aren't aware of the no texting or talking on the cell phone laws, always in a hurry, and rather annoyed by cyclists in general. It's certainly possible, but not nearly as pleasant, nor as fun, since the ride is mostly about staying safe and avoiding obstacles, rather than enjoying the scenery.  Anyway ... here's why this part of the path is currently closed:

5 Freeway off-ramp construction and Levee reinforcement

I understand this need to be done ... but does it have to take so long?

Okay ... so I didn't get to ride where I really wanted to go. No big deal. Lots of other things to see. I turned around and headed back toward Dana Point and the beach area. Along the way, I discovered that I was riding into a headwind ... again. Yes, that's right. It shifted while I stopped to take construction photos. Headwind riding inland ... and headwind again riding to the beach. Go figure. Looks like the universe required more effort from me today, since it was so perfect and easy yesterday.

Still being positive, I stopped mid way back to the beach, remembering that one reason I wanted to head inland is to see the mountains. As beautiful as the ocean is, I never tire of seeing this:

Saddleback Mountains in the distance ... on clear days, this is breathtaking

After the mountain viewing stop, I turned around to head up the little hill out of the park where I took the photo. I hadn't downshifted from the big front chainring on the way in, so I pedaled soft and gently moved the lever ... and then something very bad happened.  Chainsuck.  What is chainsuck? It's when your chain sticks to the bigger chainring as you attempt to shift to a smaller one, and then wraps itself around the ring, jams into the chainstay and basically stops all forward motion. There are many causes for this ... shifting improperly, bad derailleur adjustment, generally being stupid about when you shift, dirty inflexible chain, or any combination. In my case, it is fair to say my chain wasn't freshly cleaned ... but it wasn't completely dirty, either ... and the bike is only 45 days old, so the chain can't be completely fouled already. However, I hadn't wiped it down from yesterday, and there was a bit of sand in some of the links. Probably more likely is that I attempted to shift with too much pressure on the pedals while going uphill with a slightly dirty chain, and in a slightly odd combination of middle front ring and small rear cog. I could also just be an idiot when it comes to shifting. In any case, freeing the chain was no big deal. However, it was after freeing the chain that my worst nightmare presented itself. When the chain jammed into my chainstay, it caused ... horror of horrors ... the first scratch on my Hunqapillar. I nearly sobbed right there on the path:

Damn you, Chainsuck!!!

GREAT!!!!! Now I have to go and get some gray touch-up paint or fingernail polish to fill the scratch. Well, there had to be a first scratch, right?  There always is ... and it's painful, but I'll get over it.

I picked myself up off the gravel from my fetal position, and got back out on the path, heading toward the beach and then home. I'd gone a couple of miles and started to shift down to the smallest ring in preparation for the steepest climb when I noticed I could not shift to that ring. WTF?  This is not good. Why can I not shift to the small ring? The shift lever would move all the way down until it could physically move no further, but the derailleur would not move far enough to guide the chain over the small ring.  I scratched my head for a moment as I got concerned about my new bike having issues. I thought perhaps the front derailleur got bent from the earlier chainsuck. Nope ... looks okay, and straight. And it can't possibly be the shift cable. If anything, the cable would stretch, not get shorter. I noticed there was considerable tension on the shift cable with the lever all the way down, and concluded that the only way for this to be happening is that the entire derailleur had gotten shifted up a few millimeters during the chainsuck incident, which would cause the shift cable to to be pulled tighter, which would then cause the derailleur cage to be limited in how far inward it could travel. I took a look ... and sure enough, it was sitting quite high above the chainrings. The clamp had shifted up on the seat tube.

First a huge scratch, and now THIS?  Damn you, Chainsuck! 

I got out my toolkit, loosened the clamp and re-positioned the derailleur ... then I was back on the road. Glad I always carry my toolkit ...

Riding back up through the park hills toward home, I began to relax again, and noticed how blue the sky was ... how clear the harbor view ... the cool trees in the park ... and the ride went from headwinds in both directions, path closures, chainsuck, and derailleur bumping to this:

Bright green sprawling pine

Clear sky and blue water

A wisp of clouds over a clear coastal view

Gnarly tree branches

More gnarly tree branches ... amazing, the shapes they take as they grow

And once again ... balance is restored. In the words of the great philosopher Jed, "Y'all come back, now ... y'hear?"

Zen and the Bicycle

   
According to Wikipedia, Zen “is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism notable for its emphasis on practice and experiential wisdom.”  Many people associate Zen with the pursuit of greater awareness to achieve perfect balance in their life.  This “balance” is the idea behind VeloZen … and here’s why:

Balance is essential to maintaining all life.  When things are out of balance, something must happen to restore it or else really bad things will happen.  For example, earthquakes are a result of imbalanced pressure at a fault line.  When the imbalance becomes too great, the earth moves to reset itself.  Although we don’t like earthquakes, they serve a necessary purpose, which prevents our planet from completely exploding under pressure (a really bad thing). 

The very act of riding a bicycle is a demonstration of balance.  After all, if we don’t balance, we simply fall over.  Of course, we must remember that balancing on two wheels is something we all learn through … yes, you guessed it … practice and experience … Zen!!   Do you remember how it felt the very first time you rode your two-wheeler without help or training wheels?  Nirvana, anyone?

The Zen corollaries do not end with the physical act of riding alone, though.  No, grasshopper, there is more to ponder and meditate upon.  Think about riding … and how your awareness becomes heightened … you become one with your bicycle … one with your environment … you feel the wind and sun (or rain) on your skin … you are moving under your own power, magically balanced and moving forward, experiencing the world around you.  If you’re like me, you’ve put forth a great deal of effort in selecting the perfect bike, components, clothing, shoes, socks, sunglasses, helmet, and so on.  Research can be a great help, and there are many resources of great teaching to guide one in narrowing the list.  Even so, nothing replaces the Zen principles of practice and experience in determining what is right for one’s own needs.  It hasn’t been easy, but your Zen balance of practice and experience has led you to the perfect combination to make each ride … well, perfectly balanced Nirvana.  If nothing else existed but this ride, we would live forever in this balanced state.   But, alas, we are adults, and must lead adult lives, being responsible to our jobs, families, friends, neighbors, dogs, cats, hamsters, and so on … another state of being that requires balance within itself.  Therefore, we must pursue yet another balance … the balance between our balanced-bicycle-state-of-being and our balanced-everyday-life-state-of-being.  

This is a complex pursuit of multiple balanced states.  And yet, I find that one balancing act often leads to the self-balancing of the other.  My fiancé tells me over and over that she knows when I’ve been out for a ride, because I’m more centered and productive.  She’s right about that.  Even when my ride is brief and less than spectacular, I return with a peaceful energy that makes the rest of the day easy, and I find it much easier to focus on my task list.

This blog is born out of knowing that I am not the only being in this world to experience this often convoluted path.  I hope that sharing my own observations will provide some enlightened light-hearted views of simultaneously balancing two balancing acts … of course, with a focus on the two-wheeled side of the scale!