fixed impressions

Last nite I basically got kicked off the railroad right-of-way for behavior that could result in injury on private property:

I was just practicing loops and roll-backs in the nice and smooth (and deserted) parking lot of the railway depot near the Burlington waterfront. I saw the rent-a-cop roll up slowly in his SUV. I knew what was coming….there’s no reason for anyone to be in that lot at night.

Anyway, as far as rent-a-cops go, this guy was cool. He actually parked and watched me nail a 1080. Figgering I was about to get the boot, I backed up to his rig and started talking. He was floored by the weird looking backwards stuff. He cautioned me as his employer would expect, but kind o’ gave me that knowing look like … “As long as you are careful and don’t get hurt….keep at it….looks great!” Well, we proceeded to talk fishing and boating for a half-hour. Hell, sometimes just talking to people nicely gets the job done. He was cool. I learned a ton about Lake Champlain, where certain fish are, where the deep and shallow parts of the lake are, and a bunch of cool history. Knowledge and experience are where you find them….and you find them sometimes when you aren’t looking. Keep an open mind.

* * *

I’m at about a 270 right now with the no-hands reverse. I bet I get it this week. Then, I have to stick it on film. It’s the final clip before I go to “post-production” and link all my silly clips together for Fixed Impressions. I’ve got a reverse-only trailer with wrecks that should be done in about 2 weeks. Keep it tuned here for that.

* * *

I have all new FIX Radio shows, and the 3rd gen. Tuner is almost done….I’d install it, but it doesn’t work right on that dumb Internet Explorer app. And these days I have a Windows-Free home, so I can’t debug. With some regret I’m going to have to build up a test box for IE. Please folks, if you must use Windows, use Firefox.

I was even thinking about adding a “This site optimized for Firefox” with an automatic re-direct to the Firefox download page for those who load the site in IE… That would be funny (though a little discriminatory.) It’s actually pretty easy to block loading by any browser you want with javascript. But that’s not my plan….just an idea that pops up every time I have to use IE to test.

* * *

More nonsense later.

G

Lots of scorching. I’ve been riding the Uniscorcher everywhere while the Subi hangs in “pre-legal” limbo…

I’m shooting some how-to video clips. “Advanced Training :: Reverse”. I can almost ride in a straight line now, and can 360 in both directions, often in the dirt. For those of you who’ve been working on their reverse, I can say now that the three point turn works, it works on trails….and really gets peoples attention. Oh, and it’s actually really useful. At this point, using myself as the proverbial guinea-pig, I can say that learning reverse is just slightly harder than learning to ride fakie (on a skate board or snowboard.) It’s also great training for trackstanding too.

I’ve been getting some funny looks, out there on the Uniscorcher with my red flower surf-jams! Ha. It’s so fun.

I promise a little how-to vid here.

Campy front hub converted to fixed axle. Bearings recalcitrant and not setting up well, keep having to re-tension the cones. Patience.

Quicklist:

Next monday: pass Mac OS X Essentials Exam.

This week: complete new show request form for WRUV. Looking for a “daylight” show this time.

40th b-day gig on the 1200’s coming up June 2. Get paid to play my favorites. One of our Guards F-16 pilot will be the man of the hour. He’s in Iraq on duty!

Working on 2 new websites for your enjoyment. More on that soon.

Put off registering the green hornet for another week and will ride/carpool all week this week.

Miles driven last week: 8.
Miles ridden last week: 90.
Miles ridden backward last week: 0.5 (guess)
Reverse 900 to “fakie” reverse 540 stuck last week: 2.0.
Number of empty SUV’s seen on way to work last week: 58. (ok, I started counting again for a week.)
Number of bikemuters seen on way to work last week: 7.5 (bob-trailer with toddler counts +0.5)
Longest no-handed trackstand last week: 2:45 (min.,sec….goal 10 min.)
Expected number of days ’til I nail the no-handed reverse 360 (chocolate side)…:7.0
Number of falls taken trying to learn this silly trick last week: 2.5.
Number of front wheels that need re-truing because of the reverse obsession last week: 2.0
Number of front wheels that fit the scorcher in good condition at the moment: 0.0.

…

(drool drool)

New frame is expected any day….oh!

(for those old enuff to remember….Heinz Ketchup commercial from the 70’s….background theme song….”…anticipation….antissss—-ip—payy—-ayy—-shun……is making me wait.” music is by Carly Simon)….

Ready to build. Knock on wood. I should be able to build it up only having (well, choosing) to buy new cables, housing and chain. I know I should never say anything about what will work ahead of time….Murphy’s Law and all….but I said it, so let’s see how it goes.

Time to go make the donuts.

G

OK, this is moot. But funny.

“I”m a head-case.”

My most recent rant didn’t generate anywhere near the number of comments I expected. (blogger-depression-rant deleted here:)

Yes, it’s true, I’m 42, no alimony, no child support (no children), no ex-wife, no serious girlfriend these days. My mostly married-with-two-point-five-kids co-workers consider me the “catch of a lifetime.” It’s embarassing.

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I parted with a pair of older (and admittedly lighter) tele boots this winter. I sort of forgot about dropping them off for consignment. Heavy VT rains finally urged me to take advantage of my consignment store credit to hook up a new rain shell. Commuted in harmony with the deluge this week. We had a steady VT style rain squall for my (almost all downhill) shred home on Tuesday. I even remembered my “Flandrian” set-up with the faded-not-TOO-smelly-Syncros short bill cycling cap looking very euro-wannabe-dork and functioning brilliantly at keeping my eyeglasses from becoming a rain and mud Pollock. I think the cycling cap under the helmet with (not sunglasses but) eyeglasses is the coolest uber-geek commuter-shredder look. That was supreme fun. Riding in the rain with the right gear is, for me…ummm umm good!

OK. Annoyingly excessive vernacular-implying-hyphenation.

Vulture is shipped. Full Pavlov.

Can’t wait to build….

(Jaw’s theme….)

Anyone have a shark-fin that’ll fit on m’helmet? Even to borrow for a few photos?

Aight.

G

Caught up in the excitement, I boggled the math. At least I caught it before someone else. In my Civic v. Forerunner theory, I applied the cost of the vehicles (payments) and insurance in my numbers, but not in my description. Otherwise, the analysis is reasonably fair.

I’m guilty of the same sensationalism as any other pundit, But I at least have some facts to back up my story.

What about those minis? There’s some hope for us in America, yet.

G