Le Tour

This year I have the Vs. channel so I get anywhere between 3-6 hours of coverage of Le Tour every day. The route chosen this year definitely ranks up there as one of the most picturesque and also the most physically demanding I have ever seen. I cannot convey to you in words how much these riders are absolute beasts. They are so far above and beyond the level of even the serious club rider that it's ridiculous.

Take yesterday's stage for example from Cuneo to Jausiers in the Alps. Just in case the first mountain wasn't enough, they finish on the Col de la Bonette, the highest pass in Europe at over 2800 metres. When you watch these crazy bastards go up the mountains, take a note of what gear they are spinning in, and how long they spin it for. Yesterday the final stages of the Col looked like gutwrenching, agonising pain until you notice they are still going up at about 15 mph on a 10% gradient after climbing solidly for the past 90 minutes. Then you realise that agonising pain doesn't even cut it and that if the laws of nature were to be obeyed these people should have been pronounced clinically dead 20 minutes ago.

Un. real. Un. bloody. real. Yes, scandals. Yes, EPO doping. Yes disgraced certain riders and teams. But come on this shit is for real. I don't know any other sport which day after day brutalises the human body in such a fashion. At least, I was trying to think of one and couldn't..

Pandora

I love how Pandora categorises most of my song choices for station seeds. Take, for example a typical example from my 'Depressed Rock Star' station.. The descriptions are hilarious.

I don't know what extensive vamping is but I am quite certain that I need more of it in my life.

Fwoor get a load of her eh

Frankenbike's about to die.

There's only so much you can do to keep a 10 year old bike in perfect running order without spending too much on fresh new parts, especially when you tinker with them as much as I do. Initially I solved the problem by simplifying, and kept taking bits off the bike :)

Converting to a single speed before the abysmal derailleurs exploded was the best thing I did both for the bike's lifespan and for sheer fun of riding. It's a hoot - more on single gear in another post.

I grow increasingly concerned (or at least, my subconscious keeps trying to make me so) that the crank set and bottom bracket are about to explode. Replacing these with even half decent new components is probably a couple of hundred dollars. That's not great when compared to the cost of a completely new bike for which you get a lot more.

Applying Smith logic, may as well get a new bike.
Plus, I could get a new bike!

Being the ever-vigilant researcher, I had already picked out the 20 or 30 favourite bikes to choose from. All I had to do was narrow it down to a list of 10, and then subject that list to an extremely vigorous points awarding procedure followed by a triple review process and a lengthy debate before closing arguments.

Which is to say, I'm having a hard time deciding.

Cost is a major factor - I don't want to cry if I fall off the bike and break a component. Which I do. Frequently. I'm a freaking liability. Also, the bike will be a commuter and needs to be able to take some shit.

Current list in order of preference:

Pearson Touche (gunmetal): Gorgeous bike by UK bike builder. Budget buster, plus import tax = sigh.

Cannondale Capo (black): Feel like this bike would fly. Bit expensive, but yummy.

Trek T1: Pretty ruthless track bike that would destroy the roads, and yet get destroyed in turn. Who cares about comfort when you're averaging 25mph? Swoosh!

KHS Flite 100: Great price for a solid looking bike. Somehow feels like the Diet Coke of singlespeeding though.

Specialized Langster: Like the build but WTF London scheme? Whoark.

Surly Steamroller: It is what it is. Nothing moving in my nether regions when I think of this bike.

We want the funk

You can smell it when you can smell it. It's in every cyclist's cupboard.

There's simply no way to cycle over 5 miles in this DC summer without ending up smelling like something which just crawled out of the local brackish pond replete with rotting vegetation.

While I'm fortunate enough to have a gym across the road from work such that I can shower after cycling in, there remains the question of what to do with the funk. I place all my clothes in a plastic bag, seal it, and lock it in a drawer until the cycle ride home (ew) but after a couple of months of cycling 100m+ per week my office retains a certain, how you say, odeur.

While this is brilliant for minimising time people want to spend in my office during meetings, I'm wondering if there may be a better way to control the Empire of Bacteria in my lower office drawer. As a secondary brain teaser, I'm wondering if there's a way to dry my stuff out without paralysing the entire office space with Eau du Smythe.

Answers on a postcard please!

Macro City

Kim's beginning to get jiggy with the new camera

Aldric grins evilly.

Look, I'm a sucker for a slasher flick, ok?

Hydrocarbon Cake

I make no pretenses to understand politics, global macroeconomics and shenanigans. Usually I try my best to do my own thing and ignore all "news" completely.

Occasionally though, you read something which makes your blood boil and you can't help but pass judgement in your merry ignorance. Granted, the situation is much more complex than appears. Granted, many people are working very very hard (I hope). But reading Jubak's column this morning lead to much eye-rolling and spitting of venom, especially final few paragraphs.

Before we get to that I must say that I am an environmentalist at heart, I suppose. Not in a knitted-hemp-scarf kind of a way, more in a respect the Earth way. I cycle to work primarily because I enjoy it and it is healthy, but I do value the independance it provides me from oil even in a miniscule way. I have yet to see any arguments with merit for exactly why the buggery bollocks we aren't doing everything that we can every single minute of the day to develop a realistic and viable consumer alternative to oil.

From Jubak. The last bit is the cherry on the icing on the cake that was just taken:

Even by the dismal standards of U.S. energy policy, this is hard to believe. Congress went home for the July Fourth recess without extending the solar, wind and other alternative-energy tax credits set to expire on Dec. 31.

CEOs of alternative-energy companies say that if the tax credits aren't extended soon, they'll start to see customers delay or cancel projects. Because this is an election year, Congress has only a relatively small window for renewing the credits, which are intended to increase manufacturing volumes and bring down costs for these technologies. Congress is scheduled to meet only for another three weeks in July and three weeks in September before shutting down for the elections.

As if to underline our government's astonishing ability to do nothing as oil climbs above $140 a barrel, the U.S. Bureau of Land management, which manages millions of acres of empty, sunny land in the Southwest, has slapped a moratorium on new applications to put solar collectors on federal land. The agency says it has a backlog of 130 applications and will not accept more before it completes a regional environmental-impact study. The study would take 22 months.

Macrobe

We bought a new Canon macro lens for our Digital Rebel XSI to go along with Kim's major photography interests.. It _does_ _not_ _suck_... I don't even have a clue about what I'm doing and this shot isn't really in focus but when combined with a ring flash I was pretty happy to get this on the first evening.

My wife has wicked cool hurricane eyes that can pierce at a thousand paces.

















Canon EOS Digital Rebel XSI, f/2.8, 1/60 sec, ISO-400
Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro Lens with MR-14EX Macro Ring Flash

Quelle Horreur

Last night we watched House of 1000 Corpses by Rob Zombie.
Seriously.
I know!

I'm still not quite sure what to think. As expected it's totally, wonderfully Rob Zombie-ish, and an the one hand it was a really fun stupid creative slasher-romp. On the other it felt a bit TOO much like the Texas Chainsaw Massacre for any of it to connect at a visceral level. I really enjoyed the style but the substance was far, far away..

Never mind, there's a sequel! I'm sure it will be even better!

*rushes off to netflix queue*

Canon Digital Rebel xsi

Kim's birthday camera has arrived! She is already taking super photos with it even on her very first tryout today in full auto mode with moving subjects and no tripod yet. Well done girl!


















I thought I'd have a 3 minute dabble into all this HDR stuff. My first effort is below complete with horrible watermark because I'm not sure if we want to shell out 100 bucks on Photomatix yet. Honestly there's about 95% crud and 5% amazing HDR photography out there on the interwebs so I thought I'd have a dabble.

Forget the composition as it's all just test stuff. Really fun though.

Smith Family Insight

From my brother. If you know my Dad, this is priceless.

Showed Dad Spanish spellcheck on Word last time I was up. I mentioned, he told me not to fiddle. I offered to demonstrate, he got annoyed. I fiddled anyway, he loves it.

Crushed

Damnit!
Rejoice and then weep.

From: Kerenyi, Kornel
Subject: RE: did it :)

Good job Andy!
Next week you can do the 12x400m.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Smith, Andrew
To: Kerenyi, Kornel; Matt Anders; Vadim
Subject: did it :)

0.75 mile warm up, then 3 x 1 mile intervals @ 8 with 4 min @ 5 between.

Ouch.

Improvement, or: Inadvertently driven.

I hate running.
I hate running, because it's terrible for my screaming knees.
I hate running, because it's horrendously boring.
I hate running, because it makes me want to throw up afterwards.
I hate running.
I hate running, yet I've been consistently doing it for 3 months.
I hate running, yet I've worked real hard to take my 5k time from 33:13 to 23:58.
I hate running, yet I've solicited advice from a real runner on a 4 week training program.
I hate runnning, yet I NEED to break my current plateau and get sub-23.
I hate running.
I hate running.

I HATE running, but I seem to be addicted to slowly decreasing or increasing numbers on electronic paper and any possible mechanisms by which I can put this phenomena into effect.

Is this just part of being a man and if so why has it taken 33 years to realise? Why does it matter? Why can't I accept that it's meaningless unless you're a professional and just enjoy exercise instead?

Enjoy exercise? BWAHahahaaAHAhaahaaa! Can't tarry dear friend, I have to go bite the head off a goat, shower in the blood, eat some babies and then go do heavy squats.

Hrmph

I could have died and nobody would be any the wiser!

Go! Go! Go!

The worst appears to have just passed, and it's only simply sheeting down with rain and hail now. If I don't make it I leave my perfect face to science and my small farm of Portuguese sea monkeys to Dallas.

Great Scott

I just got changed into cycling gear and was about to get up to ride home, then I realised that it had suddenly become pitch black and that Satan and all his tortuous minions were dancing on the windows. I can't see across the street. That is, until the massive forked lightning impaled the building next to us.


Erm.. I think I'll stay in and watch the radar for a few minutes.

Shaken, not stirred

Should be a fun 11-mile ride home tonight. Let's play Tornado slalom!

From: Fairfax CEAN [mailto:XXXXXX@XXXX.fairfaxcounty.gov]
Sent: Monday, June 16, 2008 2:02 PM
To: Fairfax CEAN Users
Subject: Emergency alert from Fairfax County

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 9PM. NUMEROUS THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING ACROSS THE REGION. SOME OF THESE STORMS MAY BECOME SEVERE WITH DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL BEING THE PRIMARY THREAT

Sojourn

It's remarkable what an uplifting effect a couple of weeks spent away from it all have on your mental state. After a superb and relaxing visit from my parents to DC spent mostly outside grilling by lakes and hiking, Kim and I headed down to the beloved Outer Banks. Brian and Shannon we really can't thank you enough for all that you opened our eyes to down there, it really is just such a fantastic place.

Parents DC 2008

Most of our OBX week was spent fishing, crabbing, beachcombing, eating, crabbing, walking, crabbing with the occasional glass of poison ;-) We really loved the house which backed right on to the sound for perfect evenings spent charring dead animals and watching the sunset. Simple pleasures, maximum enjoyment. I don't think I've been crabbing since I was a wee nipper but it's amazing fun and as you can see from the snaps we did quite well! Big kids, what can I say.

OBX June 2008

From there we drove back to DC in a record 4 hours, unpacked, repacked and jumped on a plane bound for Logan for Adam and Kate's wedding in Massachusetts. The wedding was quite the liveliest, innovative, cool, joyful, trippy, wonderful clusterbomb celebration of cultures that we've ever been to, and we're thinking of you on your honeymoon in Costa Rica guys! Sorry our photos didn't come out too well as our flash was broken but hopefully you can satisfy yourselves with the 8 billion other people have taken.. Don't get eaten by badgers! It was so fantastic to see those lovebirds and meet some people I've been meaning to for a very long long time. Kate, Jenny, Chris it's well overdue and it's on you to head down to DC now. Tristan perhaps I'll see you on DC time if you can find a couple of free hours on your trip. I'll buy the fries you get the Dom Perignon mate.

Overall, tanned, sublimely happy, refreshed and ready to rock. The gym was a bit rougher than normal today running after a prolonged absence and my 5k time has definitely suffered but that's to be expected after a couple of weeks' excess. Strength doesn't seem to have suffered too badly. Viva ethanol!

36 worms

36 Worms = Crazy day's fishing at Lake Royal.

24 Bluegill some of quite a nice size
9 Black crappie
6 Large Mouth Bass
7 Catfish of increasing size up to monsters which snapped 10 lb line as I got them to the bank 3 times like it was butter. Big bad lunkers, guessing around 20-25 lb.


I'm not quite sure what was so special about yesterday, but Royal continues to be full of surprises.