Sunday, February 23, 2014

My Birthday sucked!

Well, probably not in the sense you're thinking of, although I probably tried to do too much. First, I went to church, and them to Cracker Barrel:

and then, I rode my bike. I've been looking for rack that fits my Fiat, and the internet lead me to the Seasucker Talon. I saw where several folks who have 500 Abarths have been using them with great success, and since I have the same rear wing(Part of Mr. Marchionne's edict to make it get 40 mpg or else), I ordered one:


And yes, I was a bit weary of trusting my prized steeds to suction cups. Only they're vacuum cups, and each one is rated at two hundred fifty pounds, which means I have a half-ton of suck (there's that word again) holding the bike on the car. It took a bit of fiddling to find the right spot, particularly the rear bumper, which is different in the Pop than the Abarth. The only hard part was the quick release, which may because it does not have the self centering springs. I did transport it across the Frozen Hudson:

And who needs a kickstand when you have a snowbank?

I ended the day with a hockey, but I need to some more writing, so the day isn't really over. I'll report back on the seasucker when I have some experience with it.

Monday, February 17, 2014

Another Day at the Museum

Well, I had another holiday with un-bicycle like weather It was so cold, I had frost on the inside

A photo for my auto journalism career

And after a few laps of crossgates, I was off to Norwich, NY and the Northeast Classic Car Museum. Here's a 1941 Buick SUV:

One of the nice things they did was have various mannequins in period clothing:

There's almost too many cars to cover in a short blog post. They have the largest collection of Franklins, a car made in Syracuse

You can sit in this one:

A 1958 Packard with four(!) tailfins

Another Playboy

and a camper made in Norwich as well

A wonderful day in a small town in winter. A little out of the way, but worth it.

Sunday, February 16, 2014

Hey buddy, want to buy a recumbent bike?

Well, it's been six month since Spumoni the Fiat came into my life:

and I really like it. What grown less fond of is my recumbent bike. It doesn't work all that well for an urban area with lots of tight spaces and hills. So, I took my tax refund money and ordered a 2013 Trek Lexa SL:

image from trekbikes.com
and since I have a now have a tiny apartment to go along with a tiny car, I've decided to pass it on to a new owner.

Do I regret it? No, It was necessary to have some long term to get an idea of its strength. I'd also like to add that the Strada was the bike I've had for the second longest period of time after the Cannondale that I randonneured with (seven years versus five), and maybe one day when life changes again(you know it will, you just don't know when or how), I'll be laid and loving it once again. Its looks sad without pedals:

and you can't I've pampered it by the looks of the crank. A brief look at bikejournal says I've logged 10,000 miles. The really cool recumbent stuff comes with it, too - the Bent up Cycles bag, Adem headrest, Ventisit pad, 'bent specfic hydration pack.

Miss Pansy's doll has found a new home, so you can't have it. Now, I've got find those recumbent forums and see if I'm still banned for saying that they all seem to have tinfoil helmet liners. And yes, I've started another journey.

Sunday, February 09, 2014

Your'e not a real author...

So said the email from a member of my writer's circle who is obviously not enamored with my work.
My response: It took that long to figure it out? If you figure writing in terms of having a big fat advance and all the word gorgeously curated, then you need to find a different URL, partner. I'm just a schmo(schmo-ette?) who takes the time every Sunday to type out what's transpired in her world that past week.
Which leads to the question of whether  blogs  are publishing. My answer is yes.
It used to be that being self published was the scarlet letter of publishing, a sign  that your work was not deemed good enough and you would be forever tainted with that stain and left with several cases of unsold books for your heirs to dispose of. Well, the world has changed. Much like software, we have a case of the Cathedral and the Bazaar . The Cathedral says that there is only  one source of righteousness, and woe be to those who stray. The Bazaar says come in and find what you like. To my mind, that's a better model - to give everyone an even field, and them let market have at it. It is harder to achieve an 'epic' success? yes, but more folks will have little taste of it, giving us a wider culture. Besides which, 'They' didn't think he could sing (Actually, they still do)


and yes, they are changes coming to my cycling habits. If you don't believe it, just see what I found at the curbside.

Sunday, February 02, 2014

The classic at the Curbside

I wrote an article for another blog: 1948 Playboy. I wanted to spend some time here watching the comments flow in, fearing that some would post 'No Gurls Allowed'. That didn't happen, and I took a small step into the publishing world.
I took another step by going over to the Downtube and talked about getting a new bike, along with  the needs of some people I've run across at the prayer table -good on both sides!
Lastly, I had a sinus infection today, so I tried the traditional recipe: The hot toddy. It went OK, except for the fact that I wanted to get the whiskey that Mark Twain drank. I thought it was Marker's Mark, and that was what I came home with. Then I hit Wikipedia, and found out he liked Old Crow. oh, well/