Cycle 9

This is a quick shot from Wednesday after work. I could jam it all into 1 post but I'll leave it separate.

Cycle 9

On the way home from work Wednesday evening, the normal 4:50 out of NYPS. I'm actually off to Morris Plains to meet Nat and then the in-laws for dinner. Calvin and family go back to Taiwan tonight. We're all glad. When I get off the train - now mind you they've had 6 hours to get ready for this - they're not ready and they don't know where they're going. Now, waking up at 4:45 this morning after going to sleep at 11:30, I'm dead tired. I'm ready to get this day over with. Nat says it's only 1 more day, and she's right. But you know, sometimes that's no consolation. And of course they pick a restaurant in exactly the opposite direction of where we live. I'll sure be glad, that's all I can say. At least the food was decent.

Victim: Nobody. Not even all the triples have 2 people today so this is a super light train. Strange.

Assessment: I enjoy nobody but it makes for boring copy. So for the duration of this experiment we need meat!

Comments: FatCat wrote today that, "I find myself fascinated by this train experiment but I'm equally mystified as to its point. I think I missed a blog along the way that explained its point. OTOH, maybe its whole point is its pointlessness. Either way, keep up the good work. And maybe another pic of the pole vaulter at some point or some other POA."

Awesome! There really is no point though it did start with the politics of seat choosing on the day the big fat guy sat in the middle of the 3 seater (link here). It kinda just went from there. Really there is no "outcome" because I'm not doing anything different on a daily basis to attract a certain kind of seat mate. In the end it's entertainment for me and you as well. I guess the next step will be interviewing the people who sit next to me but that's a little premature at this point.

Just for you...

Back to Tubeless

On Monday's ride at Lewis Morris I flatted 20 minutes into the ride which ushered in the 29er tubeless era for me. I wanted tubeless from the door but the tires weren't available and we were looking to get the bike on the trails sooner than later. So we went with tubes and they lasted all of 5 rides. Well, not even 5 rides as the 5th was hardly a full ride at all. So about 55 miles for $50 of tires.

I made my way down to the shop and inevitably spent 90 minutes there, which is probably an all-time low for a trip there. My wife thinks it's a good thing that the shop isn't in town because it would be way too easy for me to fall into a time warp. The way I see it I could bring Julia there and we could spend all sorts of time destroying things.

For all the bad things I've said about other bike shops, this shop is the complete opposite. I love this shop. Jay and Chris not only know their stuff, I enjoy just blowing time there. Not that any of you don't know what I'm talking about but I might as well mention that it's Halter's Cycles. If you don't go there, go there. All other shops suck in comparison.

Bike

Back to Indiana Jones and the Trainer of Doom this morning. It's warm enough now to ride outside in the morning but I don't have lights on and with only an hour to ride I'm going to keep pounding the intervals and stick with the plan. Maybe mid-June I can start piling up some serious saddle time and go out for 2 hours before work once I'm back in the mode of losing weight and building a bigger base for the second half of the season, as well as prepping for the Darkhorse 40 which is probably replacing the 24 hour race this year.

Jake says, "dude, this is great stuff. keep up the good work on the train experiment. by the way, whatever your FGI is, you're flying, so throw it out the window. maybe two (three?) years on the bike consistently is the magic number."

I'm thinking a few things here. On the road I have the new bike fit which makes me faster. Off road I have a new and much better bike which makes me faster. But I think the key is the constant riding. Since Julia was born I've basically ridden 4-5 times every week. That's 100+ weeks of continuous riding. This year I've really focused myself better to get the most out of my workouts and I think the 2 year baseline is really helping me maintain that. I do feel pretty solid on the bike these days. Just keep at it.

Cycle 8

Wednesday morning. I was thinking of just having 1 post a week with all the accumulated numbers from the week but decided that tacking it on the end of my daily crap is better.

Victim: White, woman, 19-29, not married, regular, Murray Hill, not fat, long blonde hair. Possibly the most attractive "victim" yet. But to be honest it's hard to tell when someone is sitting right next to you. It's kinda rude to turn and look right at someone as they sit an inch away. She's reading Jodi Picoult's My Sister's Keeper. I thought I smelled cigarette smoke when she sat down but now I think it may be the guy in front of us. Oh! Oh! It's the smoker from yesterday in front of us. Goddamn smoking is gross. Anyway, granola bar and water, then to the book. Strokes her hair with her left hand while she reads.

Assessment: All in all a good co-rider. Even though we were delayed (what a surprise, NJ Transit delays) she was quiet, kept her space, and just read her book. No phone, no makeup, no space violations. Score another one for the Murray Hill women.

Cycles and Recaps

I don't have much to add about the weekend. I rode my bike, ate, drank a few beers, generally had a good time of it. Not unhappy the week is here because we're not eating well. It's ok. I have a race this weekend which I'm looking forward to.

Cycle 6

Penn Station Friday after work. Long weekend so this train should be packed with people leaving work early. This is our last run of the week. So far we have 3 women, 2 nobody, and 0 men.

Victim: Male, 50+ but barely, married, not fat, white, not regular, going to Summit. He whipped out a pad of paper and is doing complex math equations. He is right-handed. He has a large-faced watch on his left wrist. He is gray and balding. His name might be Felix. That's a guess. He occasionally pulls out a book of mathematical equations for reference.

Assessment: Meh, not bad.

Overall Summary

Sex
3 women
2 nobody
1 man

Married
4 married, out of 4

Age
1 30-39
2 40-49
1 50+

Regulars
Nobody with a monthly/weekly pass

Ethnicity
4 white

Fat
0 fat

Station
Murray Hill - 1
New Providence - 1
Morris Plains - 1
Summit - 1

Cycle 7

Tuesday morning after the long weekend. Cars are back to almost normal but we're now in vacation season so the train will be slightly less full on a regular basis.

Victim: Murray Hill, man, white, 40-49, not married, not fat, regular? Reeks of fucking cigarette smoke. End it all right there.

Assessment: He stunk of cigarettes. Cannot be any worse. Oh, oh, and he had on a puffy jacket which violated my space and rubbed against my arm the whole time. So cigarette smoke and space violator. Double whammy. Worst Victim yet