Five down, seven to go, with a friend

By John Straffin | Published: 16 May 2009

May’s Year-Rounder ride was the “Biking with the Band” charity ride put on by the Middle Creek High School Marching Band in Apex, NC. I was joined by my good friend Dave Lennon for his first “real” bike ride and we rode the 32-mile loop. What’s that you say? How can a 32-mile loop possibly count towards the YR? Well… Middle Creek High School is 35 miles from my house. :)
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Bike-to-Work Week, Day Five - I’m All Wet

By John Straffin | Published: 15 May 2009

On the final day of the bike-to-work experiment, I expected no big changes: wore jeans, socks, t-shirt, bike shoes; carried work shirt & sneakers on my back; rode the road bike again on the same route as the day before (so no maps necessary again). It was a little misty as I left the house though.

Turns out that it was no mist, however… Read More »

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Bike-to-Work Week, Days Four - A Little Faster

By John Straffin | Published: 14 May 2009

Took the same routes as yesterday (so won’t bother with maps), but on my road bike this time. I gained a little speed, and could carry a little less weight as I had the extra shirt waiting for me at the office. No other real differences to mention… still sucks to be on Roxboro Road for any distance at that time of morning.

Also, for the second time this week, as soon as I got home, I hopped into the car and drove almost all the way back to the office to pick up my eldest daughter from her dance lessons. Again, I would have picked her up on my way home had I driven to work so, for the day, net emissions difference is near zero. Oh well…

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Bike-to-Work Week, Day Three - Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

By John Straffin | Published: 13 May 2009

Anticipating the exact same ride down the exact same streets, I wanted to mix things up a bit… to truly make this week a study in the feasibility of riding my bike to work on a more regular basis (though, I’d likely max out at just once a week anyway, seeing as I have to pick up one or the other of my daughters from dance or swimming after work four days a week).

 

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Bike-to-Work Week, Day Two - I Have Words

By John Straffin | Published: 12 May 2009

On the way to and from work today, I had a few words come to mind. On the way to work:


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  • Elsewhere in the `tubes...

    • Heh.... through no fault of my own (I swear!), I now have *this* song stuck in my head: http://bit.ly/1BDHb (Again, a good song... funny.) [#]
      — 7:54am via Twitter
    • To clarify, she did nothing to warrant such a response from me... she was singing it... :) [#]
      — 7:37am via Twitter
    • Thanks to my wife, I've had this song running through my head all morning: http://twurl.nl/p5gwua (Not that it's a bad song, mind you...) [#]
      — 7:35am via Twitter
    • Classic... just installed the newly released Mozilla Firefox 3.5 and the first launch page (i.e. "What's New") gets a 404 error. #fx35 #fail [#]
      — 9:13am via Twitter
    • I'm having an "I can't believe I ate the whole thing" afternoon... lunch was "1.2 QT" of red beans & rice (according to RubberMaid, anyway). [#]
      — 12:52pm via Twitter
    • Best ad of the *day*? Try *EVAR*!!! RT @iconmaster: RT @ejacqui: Best ad of the day. Like @aurich, I clicked like crazy. http://bit.ly/Cy9SI [#]
      — 1:42pm via Twitter
    • John Icing by back/neck has helped more than I thought it would... cool! (Hah! Get it? "Cool"?)
      — 8:28am via Facebook
    • Wow... my online communications are all new-fangled-y today: updates to both @digsby *and* @tweetdeck!! Huzzah!! [#]
      — 1:05pm via Twitter
    • That felt good... just banned The Go-Gos from my Slacker Radio "I Remember the 80s" station. Next up: Devo! http://is.gd/1ce2P [#]
      — 12:52pm via Twitter
    • John Saw chiro this AM, feeling somewhat better, but overall prognosis is worse (not a "rib joint" issue as I thought, doc used the phrase "bulging disc" in my neck affecting a nerve root that reaches to my painful spots). Thanks to everyone who asked!
      — 12:04pm via Facebook
    • (1) Watch http://bit.ly/mv2Yo , (2) Watch http://bit.ly/lLgnS , (3) Smile (Good on ya, EA!) [#]
      — 9:32am via Twitter
    • John is going home anyway...
      — 11:18am via Facebook
    • John is still wincing and gasping at work after calling his chiropractor first and finding that he's now only in MWFs. :(.
      — 10:43am via Facebook
    • John is wincing and gasping his way to the chiropractor and likely to home after that...
      — 10:42am via Facebook
    • Wow... #squarespace just changed their "Free daily iPhone give-away" to allow one entry to enter you for the next 15 days... very cool! [#]
      — 9:35am via Twitter
    • Imagine a world where the hokey pokey *is* what it’s all about. (RT @TheFoolRushesIn) [#]
      — 8:58am via Twitter
    • (98 miles ridden, according to the cyclometer, if you're curious...) [#]
      — 1:33pm via Twitter
    • With only two (hilly, traffic-ridden) miles left, I'm waving the white flag to the oppressive over-the-road heat and having Shan come get me [#]
      — 1:32pm via Twitter
    • Rest time over, heading home (18 miles away). Boy, is it warm out... [#]
      — 12:08pm via Twitter
    • Well, as this is the MS150 training "Ice Cream Ride" event, and as I am now done (18 miles left to home), it's now time for ICE CREAM!! :) [#]
      — 11:29am via Twitter