http://www.ridefetish.com/ Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:09:21 GMT RideFetish.com - wch759's Blog http://www.ridefetish.com/blog/1204/wch759/3/20/2009/new-addition Hello. Sorry for the silence again, but I finally got caught up reading some of the more recent posts. Sounds like everyone is doing alright in their endeavors. I got a new addition this past week. I got inked at a studio in Chicago, and I am pleased. The idea is a bonsai tree that I can fill in as time goes on: a new blossom/leaves for a milestone in my life such as turning a certain age, a promotion, getting hitched, having a kid, etc. On the flipside - a dead or wilting leave on the ground for each tragedy in my life: someone dying and the sort. It's on the back of my left calf; I'd say that the rumors of pain are exaggerated, but maybe it's because I got it on a place that isn't traditionally too unbearable. Fri, 20 Mar 2009 09:27:56 GMT http://www.ridefetish.com/blog/show/1204 wch759@hotmail.com http://www.ridefetish.com/blog/1191/wch759/3/6/2009/new-bikes-new-job-new-home Pardon my late entry to the re-opening of RideFetish, err…Ride Your Bike. Briefly looking at the posts, it seems that very few of us actually ride Fetish brand cycles anymore. Very briefly, here is a rundown of the biking-related activities that have taken place since last year. I sold all Fetish brand bicycles that I had. I remember mentioning that I sold the Position (now Attack), but I also ended up selling the Inizio to some kid who went to UIC. He probably got it promptly stolen, and had no idea what the “little springs” were for on the pedals. As for the presta valves, he was completely befuddled and kept asking, “How would I put air in my tires?” Since it was a local sell, I dropped it off at his home in Bridgeport; the good news out of all of it is that I got to see my old haunts, and he paid above my BIN price on Ebay, which was fine with me. After ridding myself of the entire Fetish line, I built up the Rocky Mountain Solo 70 ST. I put up pictures and specs, but the final build is truly beautiful. I wish I could have used that in the bike buildoff instead of the Tarmac Pro. Speaking of the Tarmac Pro, I sold that last month on Ebay. Part of it was due to the fact that I knew I would be moving in June, and I mean…I had an awesome bike in the RM already that I can race, and most of my riding had been shifting to the cyclocross bike as it is. So I’m down to two bikes now in the stable, which is actually quite adequate. I’ll use this as a segue to get into the current work situation. Cyclocross season was a bust for me in 2008. I wanted to start the beginning of the season and see it to the end, but unfortunately my job at the time made it difficult because I had to work weekends to finish up the current project. I was constantly angry during the summer because of my job at Northwestern. I should clarify: working at NU was enjoyable and I had great support from my supervisor, but the nature of the job that was dictated by the coordinating center in Seattle became asinine to say the least. They demanded a lot, gave little, and in the end lost/will lose more technicians who have been working on the project since day 1. If you recall, my original job consisted of setting up air samplers around the Chicagoland area with a regular schedule of setting up/taking down 5 – 6 homes every other week plus maintaining 5 fixed sites. For the project that pushed me over the edge, they wanted me to set up 35 homes in the course of two weeks. Of course they put the cart before the horse and didn’t think anything about how it would logistically work. And why should have they? They weren’t the ones doing any of the real work, and most of them hadn’t even seen the field in years. Anyway, over the course of the project I accumulated around 40 weeks of credit time which I used later. When I was taking down the samplers for the project, they finally sent someone to help me, which made things easier. After my complaints, they sent 2 people to help in the next city that did the project, and I heard it was much smoother. But you know what? It was too late because all they had to do was use their brain for 8 seconds before pushing all that crap on me and it was a lost cause in my eyes. I started looking earnestly for new jobs in late September of 2008. It’s not to say that I hadn’t looked earnestly before. My scope and focus were just a little misaligned during those times. In the times prior to September, I really just was looking for a way out, no matter what it was. But I narrowed my scope this time around, and made a promise to myself that I’d only take a job that was the right fit. I mean, I could sell stuff at CDW for a few years, and get out of there, but why even bother? I put in applications to a few private firms that had needs for environmental scientists and engineers, and somewhere along in that process it occurred to me that there were also government jobs available. After doing some research and asking around, I sucked it up and went to a government job fair in November specifically to speak with the US EPA. I came back for an interview in December, and accepted an offer in February. The new job is treating me well, and it’s in the Air and Radiation Division. My job in a nutshell is to help states in Region 5 (IL, IN, MI, MN, OH, WI) make sure that their air pollution emissions are within the federal standards. It’s busy so I don’t mentally atrophy any more than I have been already for the last year or so. In the three weeks that I’ve been here, I’ve worked on responding to letters from the public, approving revisions to states’ rules in regards to consumer products with volatile organic compounds in them, compiling a rule book for Ohio, and working a presentation for the new 2008 lead standards for airborne lead concentrations. I consider myself extremely lucky given the economy to have found a new job. The last time that my section hired someone new was 6 years ago, so that guy was happy to rid himself of the ‘FNG’ moniker. As expected, the EPA is full of cyclists who commute to work. I have ridden with a guy who commutes on an old Lemond Zurich, and my supervisor has a Gunnar Crosshairs that he’ll ride in on. They have much longer commutes than my current 2.65 mile ride in from the near west side. The federal building I work in has adequate storage space and showers/lockers, so I lucked out there too. Come mid June my commute will be cut down to 6 blocks. At that point I will probably not even ride in anymore, but just walk. Yep, after 2 years in the “hood” with urban sprawl/gentrification/etc. I’m moving to the south loop in Chicago. I wanted a change in scenery, and to move back into one of the nice apartment buildings again. Of course I’ll be paying for it too. My current situation of 3 bedrooms/2 baths will be shrunk to 1 bed/1 bath with a little more than half the space that I have now. And I’ll be paying more too, but it’ll be ok. I’m looking forward to being in the midst of things and within walking distance to the grocery stores, Target, PetsMart, etc. This is the building I’ll be moving into: www.amli900.com My dog might be disappointed by the smaller space, but at least he’ll have access to a bigger dog run with a private park just for the apartment residents. Jennifer is excited too – she’s never lived in a place with a doorman. Ha. So that’s what I’ve been up to – it’s good to see that most of you are still around. Take care, we’ll talk soon. Fri, 06 Mar 2009 12:41:29 GMT http://www.ridefetish.com/blog/show/1191 wch759@hotmail.com http://www.ridefetish.com/blog/1178/wch759/2/20/2009/pardon-the-delay pardon the delay at posting something. i will have some fodder up soon. Fri, 20 Feb 2009 07:36:56 GMT http://www.ridefetish.com/blog/show/1178 wch759@hotmail.com http://www.ridefetish.com/blog/1167/wch759/8/16/2008/the-rumour-is-out the roth twins are getting old...just kidding. happy birthday, guys. Sat, 16 Aug 2008 11:44:32 GMT http://www.ridefetish.com/blog/show/1167 wch759@hotmail.com http://www.ridefetish.com/blog/1164/wch759/7/20/2008/where-is-everyone Hi Everyone, I know that I am as much to blame as the next person, but where is everyone these days? I'd like an update on what people are doing. We used to come onto this site and blog and comment, but seems like that has died down maybe due to our schedules or other bike networking sites. Just drop a few lines and let us know what you're riding these days, where you are, what you're doing, etc. Sun, 20 Jul 2008 10:54:49 GMT http://www.ridefetish.com/blog/show/1164 wch759@hotmail.com http://www.ridefetish.com/blog/1126/wch759/3/17/2008/seasonal-affective-disorder-springtime-riding-shop-and-a-respite-from-the-hipster-bike-competiti When I really sat down and looked at how much riding I did this past fall, it was somewhat of an embarrassment. Save for the daily commutes, and sometimes not even daily commutes, I didn't really get myself out there on the path in the prime time when recreational riders are non-existent. I think sometime last month I finally decided to get myself out of the slump. Although I am no psychologist or psychiatrist by nature, I do somewhat understand that in the bitter winter, cold, and wind of Chicago winters, being seasonally depressed is actually QUITE common. With our string of snowstorms, -20 windchill days, and blustery winds, having Seasonal Affective Disorder seemed to be on the plate. Of course with me I don't get so much as sad thoughts as I just become sluggish, and have no interest in anything besides sleeping. And since I don't have therapy lamps, nor do I take the quasi-placebo cocktails including but not limited to fish oil, vitamins, etc. etc. etc. I rode it out for awhile before I realized what was really happening. At the precise moment when the revelation of being literally and scientifically SAD hit me, I immediately made it a priority to finish the tarmac build, and to just really really try in earnest to be out on the streets, trainer, and even gym. So far, all three of the modes seem to be not only picking up my mood, but also my general well-being. Instead of just doing my usual 4 mile one way commute, I will ride to work in the morning, do a 12 mile loop during lunch, and then take a 6 mile detour back home. I probably adhere to this riding schedule twice a week. On the other 3 workdays, I ride my obligatory 8 miles per day to and from work, but hit the gym for around an hour during lunch time. Adam has given some very useful tips on how/what to lift, and although I don't know if I am actually getting stronger just yet, I will be optimistic that as the weeks progress, I will be able to add more weight/do more reps per exercise. The trainer, of course - is a last resort in the cases of inclement weather, or a weekend "relaxer." Sadly, the tarmac hasn't seen the streets just yet. The weather has warmed up in the past few weeks; however, because of the massive snow that we got this year, the quality of the lakefront path has suffered immensely, and the city is now trying to patch/repave certain sections of it. Riding my armadillos on the white fetish isn't such an issue; however, since I don't necessarily enjoy riding with any gear or spare parts, riding over loose gravel, residual salt, and the occasional construction equipment scrap metal isn't as attractive on my Tarmac, which now sports the Michelin Krylions. My 'tenure' as a sales associate will resume in the next two weekends, with a possibility of my return later this week. Luckily most of the 2008 bikes were released in late 2007, so I have seen most of the new rides, clothing, equipment, gear, etc. I plan to do group rides this year with the shop's roadies, and even race as well. Our jerseys are hideous: black with a pink logo that says "Johnny Sprockets." There is also a man looking fierce on a single speed bike. I'm really not quite sure this is the message we want to be sending out to any other riders, but hey - it's a free jersey, so I'll wear it. My early predictions for this season are that the Giant Cypress will still be a high selling bike at the shop. Although they are by far the least expensive bikes we carry, they are a popular item among older riders, riders on a budget, or people who are new to riding. However, I feel that Gary Fisher can be a dark horse this year with the revamped performance hybrids, and continued production of bikes such as the wingra, monona, and utopia. High end road frames haven't changed that much from 2007 - 2008. I am, however - interested in more of these models sporting the SRAM red group. Our shop manager has the group on his ted w. bike, and I think that the entire group comes in at a full 1/2 pound lighter than Durace. Electronic Durace will most likely (duh) not be available to consumers this season, but I feel like the 2008 Shimano 105 group is leaps and bounds above what it used to be, and MAYBE even objectively better than a similar Campy group in the same price range. My knowledge of mountain bikes is still shallow, but it IS exciting that Adam got the GT, although I wish he would go ahead and splurge for the newly designed softride mountain/rode hybrid that I saw for sale. It looked like this: http://ridefetish.com/image/f/4627/large/Picture_8.png Ideally we would see the sales of special edition Langsters decrease this year, because honest to baby Krishna if I see one more hipster wanting to ride the new york edition, I will lose my mind. I will now refer you all back to the hipster bike competition... I've also decided that my next racing bike will be one made by either Blue Competition Cycles or custom Ti by Roark. Of course, all this costs $, which I am running low on right now. Vintage Bianchi update: Crankset, derailleurs, brakes levers, brakes, downtube SIS shifters all Shimano 600. The rest will be decided upon soon. Mon, 17 Mar 2008 11:16:32 GMT http://www.ridefetish.com/blog/show/1126 wch759@hotmail.com http://www.ridefetish.com/blog/1118/wch759/3/9/2008/vintage-bianchi-road-frameset Won this one on Ebay the 'old fashioned' way, aka not sniping. Sat around on the computer and waited until 9 seconds left before entering in my bid. Final bid of an archaic 238.74 sealed the win at 202.50. From what I have read, this frameset was produced in the 80's and into the 90's from Tange Infinity Tubing. Italian design, most likely Japanese manufacturing. I will mostly likely take some parts off of the white Fetish, or maybe even order a complete tiagra set. Did not expect to make another bike purchase so soon, but it's very rare to find something this nice in my size. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=270216253877&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=017 Sun, 09 Mar 2008 22:35:18 GMT http://www.ridefetish.com/blog/show/1118 wch759@hotmail.com http://www.ridefetish.com/blog/1103/wch759/2/16/2008/bike-is-done Kac3la is done...check out the bikes page, and be sure to copy and paste the facebook link for more pictures. Sat, 16 Feb 2008 20:52:45 GMT http://www.ridefetish.com/blog/show/1103 wch759@hotmail.com http://www.ridefetish.com/blog/1092/wch759/1/21/2008/goodbye-fetish-position so i sold the fetish position on ebay this past week. i mean, i didn't sell it at a great price, but then again we know that these frames often times can be seen new for just 150, so i'm not going to sit and complain. the guy i sold it to actually has 3 other fetishes, and this one will be for his wife to race on the drome when summer comes. in addition to money payment for the cycle, i also got three bottles of wine from him (he works for a vineyard based in california). bottle of 2003 merlot, and a 2004 Cab Sauvignon, and also a tawny port from portugal. not sure where he got that, but needless to say i'm sure that someone in my apartment - mainly the girlfriend will partake in opening up the bottles. oh, so back to the bike. i actually knew the guy who ended up winning, but he didn't realize it was my bike until i saw the name and addy on ebay. i guess the nice part is that i actually know him and i know he'll take care of it. i am certain that i'll miss bits and pieces of having a fixed gear. since i never really learned any hipster tricks, i won't miss the oohs and ahhhs of moronic 20 - 40 year olds who live with 6 other people and all work as baristas. i think the part about it i will miss the most is just being able to use it on the trainer and pedal backwards. still prepping for biker buildoff... Mon, 21 Jan 2008 09:52:14 GMT http://www.ridefetish.com/blog/show/1092 wch759@hotmail.com http://www.ridefetish.com/blog/1090/wch759/1/17/2008/winter-itch i'm talking about a real physical winter itch right now. fortunately for some of you folks out west, you probably never have to deal with this unless you're skiing or riding down a snowy mountainside at tahoe or something similar. i'm not sure what happened - this year in chicago it seems to be drier than usual, and it's causing my skin to go crazy. i saw on some health clip that when choosing a moisturizer, it's important to choose one that has the moisturizing quality as well as a sealing quality to keep the moisture in. my only qualm with this is that if moisture is being sealed in in some type of water resistant way, does that prevent me from sweating the way i should? when i shave my head, i'll put on the neutrogena norwegian formula really thick lotion, and if i ride right afterwards, sweat doesn't trickle down - instead it forms little pools on the lotion. i guess i don't want to overheat while i ride, but at the same time i want to not itch so badly. sorry for such a lame post, but does anyone else have experiences with this? Thu, 17 Jan 2008 08:58:13 GMT http://www.ridefetish.com/blog/show/1090 wch759@hotmail.com http://www.ridefetish.com/blog/1088/wch759/1/12/2008/for-realtoo-many-bikes-now Too many bikes, not enough riders. Tell your friends. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=290197874656&ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT&ih=019 Sat, 12 Jan 2008 19:50:41 GMT http://www.ridefetish.com/blog/show/1088 wch759@hotmail.com http://www.ridefetish.com/blog/1081/wch759/12/26/2007/not-dead-yet haven't been on the site in a REALLY REALLY long time. nothing new on the cycling front until early next year with the tarmac pro gets built up. hope you all had a nice holiday season, and have a great new year!!!! Wed, 26 Dec 2007 15:04:40 GMT http://www.ridefetish.com/blog/show/1081 wch759@hotmail.com http://www.ridefetish.com/blog/1068/wch759/11/12/2007/almost-time-for-trainer-season weather can be a funny thing sometimes. last week we had a few days when it was in the upper 30's, and a few nights when water froze in a cup on the porch. but this week we're back in the 50's. regardless, i decided that it was time to get back into trainer mode again. i actually found a perfect home for the fetish track bike on the trainer. with the fixed gear, i can pedal both backwards and frontwards and work on different muscle groups. the one thing that did change was the type of trainer i'm riding on now. last year when money was more scarce and i wasn't working at the bike shop, i had to settle for this cheap 5 speed adjustable magnetic trainer from performance. not a terrible product if you're on a fixie, but it was loud, and unstable on uneven surfaces. i wouldn't say that i splurged this year, but i did upgrade to the cyclops fluid 2 trainer. not able to sit there and dilly dally as much with this trainer, because even at its 'lowest setting', it's still necessary to use a modest amount of effort to actually get going. it's actually louder at low rpm's than at high ones - not really quite sure why, and it's not really that important to me...i guess i just have to ride harder to not wake up jennifer in the mornings. i've delayed the tarmac pro build date by a little bit. my rationale is that since i can't ride in the winter anyway, there's no point building it up in the winter. just like last year with the orbea. i got it in january, but didn't build till april. i'm actually excited for snow to come this year. the route that i go now to work is much better maintained than the streets that spanned from bridgeport to the city - and since i don't ride on the path anymore, all of the streets are main thoroughfares and well plowed. i'll finally be able to get in some gary fisher time too. woot! Mon, 12 Nov 2007 09:06:48 GMT http://www.ridefetish.com/blog/show/1068 wch759@hotmail.com http://www.ridefetish.com/blog/1063/wch759/10/24/2007/riding-in-the-40s-flu-more-riding the first ride of the 50 (degree) under club for me happened around two weeks ago. it was the oddest thing. on sunday for the marathon here in chicago there were record temps of 88, and by wed/thurs, temps had dropped down into the 40's. of course this is the time of year that i look forward to: no one on the recreational paths, relatively crisp air, and if the wind comes in just right, a fast easy ride to or from work. conversely if you happen to have a 15mph head wind like i did this morning, your face gets a little uncomfortable. so in preparation for the ride i had two weeks ago, i had on a reasonable amount of clothing - long sleeve spandex shirt, then a sleeve-less jersey, all followed by you know - a fleece lined light jacket. (think the inner shell of a parka...) on the ride to work i got really hot, which was fine. my mistake was stripping off the jacket the moment i locked my bike up in our bike room. although it wasn't in the 40's in the bike room, it was probably in the high 60's. but my internal sweaty temperature was probably in the mid 80's to low 90's, and the moment i took the jacket off - BAM! got REAL cold REAL fast. and i thought, "oh shit...this is gonna be bad." sure enough by noon i was cycling through fevers and chills, so i went home for half the day. the following day i was on meds the whole day, and on friday i could only stand about 2 hours of work. now i'm reluctant to say that i had the flu outright, but i think that i was experiencing flu like symptoms. and since i had been hopped up on OTC meds for the past two days, my stomach was feeling pretty bad, so i resorted to using a mixture of homeopathic, eastern, and western techniques. first up was a product from a french company called boiron. the product is called Oscillococcinum, and although i felt a little better, it still didn't cut it. which brought me to asian cupping. it perhaps has more exposure now that gwenyth paltrow showed up with little bruises on her back at some awards show. basic concept: cups create a partial vacuum against your skin, increasing blood flow, thereby increasing circulation. if done intensely enough, dead neutraphils will be brought to the surface in the form of little bubbles. so with a couple of 1 hour sessions, i was able to get out a lot of these little bubbles. and so for 4 more days, i was just really tired and weak, but it was better than being outright sick still. i took the remainder of the week off from riding, which brings us to this work week. started out with two 50 degree days, and today the "feels like" temp was 41. i actually wore knickers under my shorts today, and i went for the sleeve-less jersey with just my jacket again. THIS time - though, i didn't take my jacket off until i got into my office, and i feel just fine. so after riding the new fetish for a couple of weeks now, i like it. i discovered that for the past few years, i've been riding with my seat too low, and i've finally found the right height. my left leg is about .5cm longer than my right leg (very common, actually), but i found a height that allows me adequate extension in both legs without causing aches or pains in my knees. the surly 1x1 tensioning from below is working wonderfully - i haven't had any skipping issues, and my chain has only fallen off once when i went over some railroad tracks too hard. because the frame is smaller (and shorter lengthwise), i can corner a little faster and more aggressively as well - something i couldn't do with the fixed gear bike for fear of pedal strike or losing my balance pedaling too fast through a turn. i'm gonna hold off probably till january to start building up the tarmac pro, but there's still time. i don't plan on riding it through the snow anyway. Wed, 24 Oct 2007 08:57:25 GMT http://www.ridefetish.com/blog/show/1063 wch759@hotmail.com http://www.ridefetish.com/blog/1030/wch759/9/13/2007/kaveat-is-built named the new fetish kaveat, because buying any type of fetish bike could be a "warning" in some way form or fashion. it could be good: "get out of my way or i'll smoke you" as in adam's case with his freccia, or it could be bad. pics are up on the bike page. Fri, 14 Sep 2007 08:04:21 GMT http://www.ridefetish.com/blog/show/1030 wch759@hotmail.com