Tonight I finished Jennifer's Bamboo road bike. I have but two words to describe how I feel about the thing: Supreme Satisfaction.



The project has been ongoing much of the summer, I started in late May by harvesting some bamboo growing north of here along the Schuylkill River. I then dried the bamboo for about a month and a half out in the back. By the time the bamboo was bleached a pleasant tan, I was ready to begin the bike.

Stage one involved plotting out the geometry, along with about 6 hours of relearning trigonometry as well as drafting on the kitchen table to get things right. Then I built the jig, mitered the bamboo tubes and glued them together with epoxy.

Next I began the process of laying up carbon fiber sheets around the joints. I've got no pictures of this because my hands tended to be covered with epoxy at that time















After probably close to 100 hours off and on over the course of the summer, I finally finished the frame and then began the lengthy process of acquiring parts. I opted for Campagnolo, because really, it's the best. That, and I had a number of spare parts floating around from my various Campy bikes.

And here is the finished ride. The kanji on the down tube and seat tube read, Ichi go, Ichi e, which is a Japanese saying that translates roughly into, "you have one chance in life, so make it your best," or alternately, "every instance is unique and valuable." Honestly, it sounds a lot less corny in Japanese. I first heard this term on a sake brewery tour when we were in Nagano in which our host's actions truly exemplified the idea of ichi go ichi e.
As for the bike, I put it together at Trophy Bikes and took it for a quick test ride earlier today. The ride quality is TOTALLY SWEET! I realize that I have a bit of a bias, but truthfully I have ridden very few bikes that felt nicer. The bike seems to float over bumpy road surfaces, almost as if it were on giant baloon tires, but nope, they are just 700x23 clinchers pumped hard as rocks. My big worry was that I had not gotten the frame alignment right, but that seems dead on too; riding no-handed is no problem. Oh yeah, and it corners like a fricking roller coaster and it accelerates as fast as anything I've ever ridden. Maybe that's due to the fact that it weighs only 16.5 pounds! I had no idea that it was going to be so light and honestly did a full on "YESSSS!" complete with double fist pump when I hung it on the scale.

Despite my bias, I think that my claims are somewhat well founded. I had as many people as I could test ride it earlier today, mostly to show off, but everyone was suitably impressed, and I don't think that they were just doing it to be nice. I am SUPER PSYCHED, as was Jennifer. She insisted that I take pictures of the bike and post them as soon as I could, and then proceeded to put the bike in the bedroom so that she could take pictures of it. I think that she likes it.

Here are some shots:

I honestly don't give a crap about baseball. I remember one summer being cajoled by Jude and Alf to drag myself to a Twins game. It sucked. All I wanted to do was escape and I think I bitched the whole time about how slow and boring the game was. Shitty shitty baseball.

But, on the other hand, THE PHILLIES ARE THE 2008 WORLD CHAMPIONS!!!!!
There's something pretty awesome about the collective joy and catharsis of a winning sports club in a city like Philadelphia. People here are pretty up front about their emotions and those emotions overflowed last night as people were honking, screaming and apparently throwing rocks late into the night to celebrate. I even found myself cheering a little when Brad Lidge struck the last guy out in the top of the 9th inning. Yes, I even know some of the players names now. I even know what some of the plays are called. The apocalypse has come.

Here are some pics from my latest cross endeavour.

I'm well into the third fall here in Philadelphia. It's been nice not to have school to contend with, but honestly, I'm getting a little buggy without fulltime employment. I have been assured that there are jobs out there, but damned if I can find them. I have thus far been able to occupy myself with small tasks around the house, building Jennifer's bike and various other things. Now I'm just antsy. At least I have a bike to ride.

I was cross examined this weekend, in a big, painful way. Result: Pass, but just barely.

The Granogue race was on saturday. The race course is laid out in a segment of the DuPont family estate, and has a wide variety of hills, dales and rooty trails to negotiate. Overall the course was on the technical side with those riders who could get out in front quickly and stay away in the following melee at a distinct
advantage. I, without the virtue of preregistration, found myself squarely starting in 108th position at the line. Not the ideal place to be on a course in which crashes and ugly conglomerations of riders make moving up relatively difficult over the long haul. I felt pretty decent, had no real mechanical failures and eventually found myself in no-man's-land toward the middle of the race. This is not quite as bad a place to be as in a road race, but it still no easy feat to bridge
up to riders further along the course. With one lap to go, I managed to get a side stitch and lost 3 or 4 places to various other folks and ended up in 49th.

Wissihickon on Sunday. Got there plenty early and the wide open course was great for spectating but also great for whipping any last trace of heat from a person's body. I'd raced the course in past years and had a bit better idea of what to expect, plus the wider trails allowed me a bit more chance to pass people. I also preregistered (a must for a big cyclocross race) and was a few spots ahead of last this at the start line. The race went pretty well, and except for my general weakness in the tighter technical spots, I did a decent job of making up ground
against other guys. I ended the day in 30th spot. Another Pass.

The best part was sitting in the sun afterwords, drinking some Victory beer and watching the OTHER guys suffer. That's what cyclocross is really all about.

Ahh, I just had a true hankering for the home country, the midwest. My sister, Leah, recently wrote an article for Minnesota 2020 about locally produced beer from Minnesota. Beer brewing has always been an autumnal hobby for me, mostly because summer is too goddam hot to boil up a kettle of boiling wort. Fall days though, bring me the desire for hoppy, malty goodness.

For some reason fall always produces ueber strong feelings of nostalgia in me. I don't know what the deal is, but the crisp, cool mornings and the smell of drying and decaying leaves suck me back in time to previous years. Fall rolls around and suddenly I can think of nothing more than bike touring through Europe, or hiking through the mountains above Nagano, or running in cross country meets across the upper Midwest. Why, it was just about 8 years ago to the day that I ran my best 8k time at Lacrosse, Wisconsin. 26:24 I believe.

This fall has been occupied with thoughts of job getting and bike riding. Jennifer's bamboo bike frame is complete, I just need to get some components and build the thing up. I'll post pictures of it when I get things all settled. I had a great time at Interbike with my dad; we totally got overexposed to bicycles but somehow I still want more. Part of it is that the show is like candy for me. I just can't bear to let the sugar high go, and so I want to purchase all of the stuff that I saw there. Maybe when I get a real job I'll be able to afford all of these goodies.

Though it may seem obvious to some, a couple of beers is not a good prerequisite to an evening of sharpening knives. As per usual, I learn through trail and error. Mostly error.

Monday I head out to Las Vegas to meet up with my dad for a father-son-bike-geek-out at Interbike, the largest bicycle industry trade show in North America. It should be a blast. I have rarely had an overload of bicycle stuff, but this may be a chance for me to do just that.

Yet again, far too long since my last post.

Projects underway as of September 1st:
-Home carbonation techniques have been refined. I have made my first batch of tonic water and have perfected my recipe for carbonated coffee. It surprisingly delicious.
-Jennifer's bamboo bike project has come into the final straightaway. I merely have nto sand away the excess epoxy and give it a final finish. I've already got the head tube badge logo figured out. It should be pretty classy
-Tomatoes are delicious, even if they have managed to get the goddamn blight for two years running. At least it seems to only affect the leaves. I've eaten little but BLTs for the past three days.
-Sourdough starter is finally up to snuff. I have discovered the joys of the sourdough. It's not difficult, and need not be all that sour. My biggest problem lies in following a recipe, so I end up with a lot of different breads coming from the same general list of ingredients.
-Job Hunt is on. I recently interviewed with the Montgomery County Planning Commission and found the job to be much to my liking, though the commute wouldn't be. It would require a 10 minute bike to a 40 minute train followed by a 5 minute walk. Given my current spoiled state in which I can roll out of the door 18 minutes before I need to be at school or at the bike shop, this would simply not do. I came to Philadelphia for the walkability and convenience of living in a city, and this would be a sidestep at best.
The second interview was with an outfit called the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia. In addition to sounding important, they actually produce a great deal of good work; primarily in the form of policy documents and reports on issues affecting livability and economic vitality of the Philadelphia region. Given my firm belief in regionalism and in the fact that the fellow with whom I interviewed was a bike nerd of similar caliber to myself, I think it would be a good fit. We shall see what the second interview will hold.

I'm finally getting the hang of this bike racing thing again this year. It always takes me a few races before I start to see any of the front of the pack. Last weekend 5 of the other Smurfs (Quaker City Wheelmen have an amazingly smurfy kit) and I lined up in Mount Holly NJ for an action packed race complete with hill, tight corners and fun fun fun. I ended up missing the key breakaway by just a few meters. Two riders had gotten away early in the race, and I had gotten into a group of guys who were briding up to the leaders at about 15 miles to go. Unfortunately for me, the hill came up at just the wrong time and something, no everything started hurting really badly on the short climb. I got gapped and never caught back on. The picture above is my last view of the winning move. Maybe next time.

I've been meaning to fill in on the rest of our California trip with some photos of Pete and some insights on why the Bay Area is so ridiculously expensive. But instead I will grace you with the South Park version of myself. I think that it's reasonably accurate as a representation.

 
Time to do a little updating about our recent vacation to California. Jennifer had a conference, so I flew out as well and we had a SPLENDID time. We saw the sights of San Francisco and then met up with Pete Dillon in Berkely. I hope that people have half as good a feeling when they leave my house as we did upon leaving Pete's. That guy just rocks!

The picture above is from our overnight hike into Yosemite. The peak in the background is called Cloud's Rest and is a pretty scenic slab o' granite, it sits right north of Half Dome. I'll post more pictures on the blog in a bit, but the address of the web album will allow anyone who's interested to check out my pictures en masse.

http://picasaweb.google.com/aaronritz/YOSemite

Yes, I actually graduated my program, and have the pictures to prove it. I actually just got a card from my grandmother today, "Congratulations on your Master's Degree" it said. I didn't even know that they made Congratulations on your Master's Degree cards. In it she wrote, "Here's $10, I guess that's enough for 2 gallons of gas. Maybe you'd better stay put. You finally have done something that you can be really proud of yourself for. I know I am."

Finally? Well, I guess that Grandma must have high expectations of us, since the bachelor's degree apparently wasn't enough.

Pictures located here: http://picasaweb.google.com/aaronritz/Graduation

99 degrees in the air, 120 on the pavement. It was a hot day for the Philadelphia Classic. This is the longest running and longest course of any professional bicycle race in the US. 200 riders started and only about 80 finished after 156 miles. Needless to say, I was stoked just to be there. The video shows the second to last of the small finishing circuits, with Svein Tuft, former Canadian Time Trial champion making one final bid for victory as he solos off the front. Badismo.

 

Among my other projects, is the one that you see here. These parts, along with a little epoxy and some natural fibers (ie bamboo) are going to help me complete a life long dream! I'm in the process of creating a bamboo bicycle for jennifer. It's going to be SUPER SWEET! I'll post pics of the progress as it comes.

Just goes to show that there is a benefit to being unemployed.

Holy shit it's been a long time since I posted. Fear not, all is well. Items to update include:

Graduation Status: Yes, Graduated
Job Status: No, no job (yet)
Relaxation Status: Relaxed, very relaxed
Vacation Quotient: Full, but anxious for more
Home Repair Status: Work in Progress, but actually working
Side project Status: At least 3 totally awesome side projects


I'll attempt to post pictures and musings later today.

At long last, school is over.

I must say, I am relieved, but I'm going to have to learn how to relax a bit. Though the finals period were hardly as bad as they have been in the past (April/May 2007 was pretty rough) I'm still a bit edgey, and I have the sneaking paranoia that there is something hanging over my head on a daily basis. I'm sure that something will sneak up on me, like a forgotten assignment, or maybe I didn't turn in a paper or something.

Then I remember, "Aaron, chill out, you're DONE!" Then all is good again.

Now I just gotta get me a job!

When it comes right down to it, I may miss school. I will not miss homework however. I've been putting off my last take-home final until the bitter end because I can hardly bear the thought of staying indoors on days like today. Sunny, low winds and a temperature in the upper 70s make for ideal cycling weather.

I graduate from gradual school in a little over a week, and from there the world is my oyster. Kind of an accurate description when you consider that oysters are damn hard to get open without a shucking knife and some fortitude. Kind of like the job market, as well, now that I think about it. I missed out on the job opening at my current internship, my hyper-productive fellow intern took that spot. It's not enough to just be nicer and more personable, you still have to prove your worth with reams of paper and text. At least I interview well. All that time spent in front of the blank stares of Japanese school children has made me relatively impervious to the discomforts of the type awkwardness found in job interviews. Ganbattemasu ne?

Just two more weeks to go in my educational career, then I can stop learning for good. I have been stressing myself out with the various classes and things that I've got to do before the end of the year. It's not even that I honestly have that much to do, it's just that I'm already mentally checked out to a degree. That, and I'm still very much on the job market in these somewhat fiscally constrained times. In positive news, I am somewhat older than I was last week, and feeling none the worse for wear. I bought myself a bottle of mezcal and a pink bike seat for my birthday. It turns out that mezcal is kind of like the scotch version of whiskey- a taste like a fire pit and lots of kick. I like it, but it seems that most other folks don't have such a fondness. I guess I just enjoy flavors that kick me in the taste buds.

The pink bike seat completes the pink and silver bike ensemble magnificently, however it does crush my ass, so we'll just have to see who gives in first, me or the bike seat. If only there were more manly choices in pink available to a fella.

So I'm looking for jobs right? Hopefully something that I studied to do, is close by and will pay me a wage that will allow repayment of the $50,000 loans that I have hanging over my head. Something along those lines would be ideal. Jennifer said that she'd help me find a job and I saw her looking at the "employment" section of some website.

Jennifer suggested that I work at Turkey Hill Farms in Lancaster. Apparently the pay is pretty good and as a bonous, I'll be able to take home a lot of extras at the ICE CREAM FACTORY!

Maybe she wanted to ship me off because I wouldn't walk to the store and buy her a half gallon earlier tonight, maybe it's the fact that she's peeved that I spend most of my waking time in front of a computer at work or school. I don't know. I do know that I'm going to need to locate a job if I'm going to prevent myself from getting shipped off to the ice cream factory.

A quick listing of the ingredients found on my Torta Cubana at El Zarape, on the corner of Morris and Passyunk streets, about a 5 minute walk from here:

Bun
Refried Beans
Avocado
Tomato
Lettuce
Fresh mozzarella
Ham
Chorizo and potato hash
Fried Chicken Breast
Chicken-Fried Seak
Fried Egg

It was as close as I've ever been to a heart attack, and it was delicious.