M Squared

Well it was HOT over the weekend but I couldn't have asked for a better place to be than racing on the lake in the TYC Emerald Cup Regatta against 14 other Santana 20's. The wind was exactly the way we like it… heavy. On Saturday , we sailed in steady 13 knots of wind (15 mph) in the early afternoon. There were three races were we finished in second place twice and won the other race. Both second place finishes were by less that half a boat length. The race we won was epic (an over used term for something legendary and (in the extreme) life threatening). We won the start and reached the first mark with a nice lead. Unfortunately as we approached the rounding on the starboard lay line, we were blown slightly below the mark. Gordon decided we would shoot it -- meaning we'd head up... into the stiff breeze and use our momentum to carry us up and around the mark. Well this has worked before... but not in 13 knots of wind... we stalled.. parked it right at the mark... started...

On the way home this evening (6.20), I decided to count commuters again. I was thinking it would be a good number for comparison. The last time I counted, school was in session and it was the morning ride. Starting out I counted 16 riders between work and campus. That seems consistent with previous experience. On (a very quite) campus there were only 11 bike commuters which is exactly half the number I counted previously. Now the rest of the trip is a bit longer (about a mile) since I've changed my Park & Ride location. In addition, I remain on the Fern Ridge Bike Path for all of that extra distance. Are you ready? I counted 39 cyclists on the final leg of the trip. I think it would have been in the mid twenties, if I had left the trail where I normally do. That still beats the 50 I counted last time but a grand total of 66 is impressive for a small count on campus. The count this morning (6.21) was 23, 2, 7 and my time was 38:40 which included a walk across the Autzen bike bri...

It's been a while and there have been a few changes. First of all, I was reminded of the problem with cylinder style locks on the otherwise secure U-shaped locks. Mine is from Rhode Gear but Kryptonite is more popular and was at the center of the discovery that these expensive locks could be opened with a cheap, plastic bic pen . Kryptonite has a class action settlement site . Rhode Gear... doesn't exist any more (apparently bought by Bell ). So... should I be worried? What are the chances that someone will find that my bike is secured by an old U-Lock that can be opened with a bic pen? What are the chances that such a person will possess the requisite bic pen and knowledge to defeat the security of my otherwise formitable locking system? Well, according to an article in our local paper on Thursday, Eugene ranks sixth on the list of Top Ten Worst Cities for Bicycle Theft . Yeah! We're right there behind New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Washington and Boston. Hey, this is ...

After a flat tire on Monday , I've had several very uneventful rides… thankfully. Still no problems with the flat repair… I think it'll hold. I've been thinking about the number of bike commuters I see regularly. Brandon frequently give a count of the bikers he sees during his ride. I might have an skewed environment (now that's an interesting description of Eugene...). I mean the number of bike commuters along my route is significantly influenced by the UofO . Therefore, I think it's appropriate to break up the count into three segments: before campus, on campus and after campus. So, this morning in the first three miles before campus I saw 15 other commuters pedaling to work (or school). Then over about a mile through and near campus, I saw 22* cyclists actually riding... If I were to count the number of bikes I see locked up to bike racks, I'd still be there counting! Finally, in the last four miles of the trip I saw 13 more commuters. I think this is fairly...

Only two riding days last week with the holiday at the beginning of the week and a class field trip with Trevor at the end of the week (and sailing on Thursday). This week should bring the possibility of four days on the bike. It was even more humid this morning than last Wednesday (83% vs. 72%) but a few degrees cooler (60F vs. 63F). Even though it looks to be partly cloudy all week, I'm still shopping for fenders. I was close to buying the clip-on kind but read they are only slightly better than no fenders at all. My friend Tim confirmed this and so I'm planning to get full fenders with stays and mud flaps. Should keep me and bike clean and dry (at least from the water coming off the tires). Speaking of Tim... During our bike commuting conversation, he hands me a pair of exam gloves (he's a PT at the U of O ). His philosophy is that the more you ride the less gear you find that you need. It's similar to the approach I've been taking in that I'm waiting to put...