Damn Illness on Vacation

No, my illness isn't on vacation, but I'm supposed to be! Being sick while on vacation isn't any fun. But that said, I'm having a great time. I think I mentioned before, I was like a kid in a candy store. Well again today, that held true.

Yesterday I was able to get a photo with Gilberto Simoni, the two time Giro winner. Today I got a picture with another two time Giro winner, Paulo Salvodelli. As well, I also got a picture with one of my favorite riders, Saul Raisin. Best part about this picture was that Saul's Mom was the photographer. It's obvious why Saul is such a great guy, it comes from his parents! It reminds me of my family back when we were traveling around playing soccer.

I saw myself on ESPN2 many times over. If you watched the Tour of California show on ESPN2, you could see me right as the riders came off the ramp. I'm the one in the red along the barrier.


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Tour of California

I was like a kid in a candy store! I was running around, taking pictures, grabbing schwag, drooling over bikes, and believe it or not, riding! Obviously not in the race or even around the race, but at the Herbalife tent.

They had a two bike training simulator with flat screens for fans to watch where riders would challenge each other to a 1/4 mile race. I was a little nervious doing this infront of so many people, but happily surprised myself by winner my race. I should say that the other guy was originally wearing cycling shoes but took them off due to the flat pedals.

In the end I think I averaged about 25 miles per hour and had the second fastest time on the day. More impressive, IMHO, was the 576 average watts I put out, even though I'm pretty sick.

But, now, tonight, I'm kind of paying for my effort and not feeling so well. It was worth it as after they announced my run the second fastest, I was able to show-boat by fake zipping up my jersey and saluting the crowd to many applause.

Woot woot! Hey check out my post over at TourofCalifornia.net, sign up for my RSS feed or email updates, please?! I'm trying to get some readers. <--selfserving plug

Here is some San Francisco signage from last weekends trip into the city. I never got close enough to see what Cheap Thrills had to offer.



Frank's, on the other hand, had liquid pain killer. Much needed after the car crash earlier in the day.

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My wife's shoe left mud on the floor. Normally I'd be upset but the mud came off her shoe in a smiley face.

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Great Tool...

If you have a Flickr.com account and download this tool you can take screen shots and upload them directly to your flickr page. Most excellent!

To Good Not To Post

The picture says it all!

[VIA]

Since my car is smashed, I'll need a rental for my trip aroung California following the Tour of California. Do you think insurance will cover this truck?

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Maybe My Cat....

Is on to something when it drinks it's water out of the toilet. After reading this article, I might begin doing the same when I head for fast food, or maybe I just won't order drinks with that fast food. Nevermind, I don't eat fast food.

But about this article. You can read it here, on MSNBC. It's about a 12-year-old who compared the ice used in the drinks with the water from toilet bowls in the same restaurants. The student, Jasmine Roberts, found that in four of the five restaurants, the ice that came from the self-serve machines had more bacteria than the toilet water.

Yucky! Read the article, it talks about acceptable levels of bacteria.

Trucks Need Better Drivers...

I'm not sure what it is about trucks but their drivers don't pay enough attention to where they are going or what might be around them.

The reason for this post is because I was involved in another accident where a truck hit my car. Six months ago a full size Dodge truck backed onto/over the front of my car. Dealing with getting an adaquate car rental was tough and I foresee this being an issue again. You see, last time I was about to go on vacation and needed a vehicle I could put my bike rack on, since no vacation is complete unless you bring at least one of your bikes, I brought two.

So, this time around, I was heading to SF to meet friends to go see Damian Marley at the Warfield. I wasn't but 15 minutes away from home out on the back roads from Chico heading to Hwy 5.

There was a full sized truck in front of me and one behind me as we approached a narrow bridge on Dayton Hwy doing about 55 MPH. The front truck slowed because a motor home was coming across the bridge and the truck didn't think it could make it on the bridge with the motor home. So, as this person realized both vehicles wouldn't fit on the bridge, he began to slow, as did I. Then right before the bridge, he stopped. I barely had time to stop without hitting him and actually came within about 6 inches of hitting his bumper.

Just as I was coming to a stop, I recalled the truck behind me and shifted my body to look up toward the mirror. I was able to glimps the truck just as it rammed into the back of my recently washed and waxed Lexus. Whammo! Truck smashed, lights smashed, bumper pushed in, and me in neck and back pain.

The first thing this guys says to me... "why did that guy stop in front of you?" Who cares! It's your job not to hit me!

So, after swaping info and checking my rear lights, I was back on my way, just now in pain and pissed about my car being wrecked.

Once I got to my friends house, it was time to deal with my pain. After a couple of doses of liquid pain killer, I was ready for dinner, more liquid pain killer, and the show.

The show was awesome. We were right up front not more then about 30 feet away from Damian Marley. I took some picture which you can see at my Flickr page, but I'll post a couple here.

Oh, you can also see pictures of the damage to my car at the above link.

Well, it's just about time to head home and see if my broken body can still turn the pedals. I hope I'm up for it. If not, it's me, the heating pad, xBox, and Soma! Sounds like a party!

Yeah, when you look at the pictures it doesn't look bad at all, but tell that to the pain in my neck and back!

Google's Got SAC

See the new Google Desktop Search features here:
http://desktop.google.com/features.html#index

But to read the part that worries me go here:
http://desktop.google.com/features.html#searchremote

Then you will read how Google has made it possible for you to access your files on any computer connected to the internet as long as both the computer you are attempting to access and the one you are accessing the files from, have the Google Desktop Search.

It's called Search Across Computers (SAC) and it works by indexing all the personal files on you machine and storing them on a Google server.

Search Across Computers makes the following files searchable from your other computers:

* Web history (from Internet Explorer, Firefox, Netscape, and Mozilla)
* Microsoft Word documents
* Microsoft Excel spreadsheets
* Microsoft PowerPoint presentations
* PDF files and Text files in My Documents

I don't and won't ever install any desktop search software on my machines as I already know how to search for file just fine without it. Not to mention, most of your files reside in a just a few folders.

Use at your own risk and be sure your google password is plenty strong.

Hanging At Jiffy Lube

Another great aspect of my job is our office location. It gives me the flexibility to get home for a quick bite and still have time to get an oil change.

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Just So Everyone Knows

I have the world's bestest boss! Which make my job the bestest job to have. I've always felt this way since coming on board back in Feb of 2001. I can't believe 5 years have gone by so quickly, but I'm sure that has alot to do with job satisfaction.

More News about Paskenta Crashes

I saw the 4 emergency vehicles out near the gravel section, but stopped for lunch in the park in Paskenta so didn't see who it was or what had happened. Well, I finally found out and here's the scoop:

I had a first row seat in on this one. There were three of us pushing
moderately hard (25-30mph) through the gravel. The two (A cat 4 rider
from SF and a rider from the Fit one team)in front of me opened a gap
of about fifty yards mid-way through the four mile section. At the
side of the road was another 'Fit one' team member who was fixing a flat.

It looked as though the front rider hit the brakes for his team member
and the following ride plowed right into him. What I saw was two bikes
up in the air and then two guys down. Both ended up being picked up by
support vehicles. The extent of injuries from there is unknown.

The take home lessons were these:
-Don't hit your brakes at 30mph without signalling or moving to the
side. Don't hit them in a pack unless absolutely necessary.
-Use a large dose of caution out there. In my estimation, both of
these guys were lucky to walk away from this accident.

Ride safely,

James

PXN8

http://pxn8.com Here is a very cool online photo editor. The feature I like is once you've altered your photo, you can upload it directly from the PXN8 website to Flickr.

Fun stuff!

Wrong tag before

Maybe it's this one

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Test Post

Just a test frem the treo to see if I can use tags and CSS to create a bolded post title.

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More coComment

OK, it doesn't work, or at least I haven't gotten it to work with Internet Explorer. It works perfect with Firefox, which is great because I use it for reading things like blogs.

After posting my test comments, I got screen shot you see to your left. I made the most recent comment and was first on the list. Anyway, tomorrow I'll try and leave some comments on blogs I normally visit to see if and how this works, somemore, and report back.

coComment

After a brief visit to their website, I had my account all set up. Moments later I have the Java script thing you see over in the right column of this page.

coComment has developed a site that will make following the conversations you might have via the comment section of someone's blog, all from one page at their site. Or whenever it kicks in, also in the thingy I mentioned before.

Totally Web2.0 and very similar to the concept behind Flickr and Del.icio.us but with a twist. Basically, it seems you are tagging comments and potentially future comments made where you posted your comments. Then you can visit coComment.com and see the links to the latest blogs which comments were made, or the most recently active user's comments, and read them. You can even post comments to their comments via a link which will redirect you to the persons blog.

They support the following blog sites:

Blogger.com
MSN Spaces
MySpaces
TypePad
Wordpress
Xanga

Ugh, myspace comments, that could cause this to blow up!

I've tried it in Internet Explorer and it's not working as well as I thought, in terms of tracking my comments. I think it will be better when I try it in Firefox.

Stupid Stuff I Say

Stupid Stuff I Say is a feature of a service I've signed up for called coComment.

I called the comment section "Stupid Stuff I Say" because I'm bound to say something stupid and the title makes for a good, up front disclaimer.

Anyway, on to the cool stuff. coComment, along with having that cool comment thingy down over there on the right (points to the bottom right of this window), also allows me to capture all the comments I make on other blogs and view them on a single webpage. I can select to capture the response from others who leave replies to my comments too, but I don't have that enabled in the thingy you see on this page. I want to test it out first and then if it seems cool, I'll enable it. You can also subscribe to the feed via RSS 2.0 or XML, wheeeeeee! That way you can't avoid my potential for stupidity. Now that I think about it, maybe I should have called it Eembarrassing Stuff I Say" but anyway.

Update to previous post

Link to article
I have an update to the accident aftermath I witnessed on the Paskenta ride. Chris Ruggle was the rider and Jordan De La Torre, 20, was the driver. You can see by the picture, Ruggle made a pretty good dent in the windshield. The officer on the scene said the driver wasn't going over 10 MPH. I'm pretty sure Ruggle was going faster than that.

Ruggle sustained two broken ribs and a broken scapula, ouchie!

Link to Paskenta Race Report...

Since I wasn't at the front here is a report from someone who was:

http://chicocyclist.blogspot.com/2006/02/john-elgarts-paskenta-race-report.html

After reading the report, it seems like there were two riders who were hit by cars on this race/ride.

Paskenta...

Great ride. I have no idea who won. I can assure you it wasn't the guy who was hit by the car less than 5 miles from the start.
Read More and seem other pictures...

So, the race started right away. The pace leaving the park was quick. I started at the way, way back with Jonathan and Tim, which was good thinking since we were not racing. About 15 later we came across the first casualty laying off the main road but in the middle of the crossroad. His bike lay about 10 feet away one direction and a black sports car about 20 feet in the other direction. I heard the cyclist and one other person went through the intersection and the car hit the front wheel of the guy who went down. He supposedly had plenty of road rash but probably no broken bones.

Another reason I was at the back was all the light running. Sure, a huge group like that can get away with it, but someone will get hit eventually. Like today! I admit I run some stop signs and blow past lights when no one else is around, but today was pretty bad. It sucked to stop, but I did it.

Basically, not riding with the large group meant we had to ride in the wind. Yeah, wind... 20 plus MPH in our face for what seemed about 40 miles. The first hour was the hardest with the constant stops and starts combined with the wind. In the first hour, I burned 650 calories and we covered less than 14 miles. I know it's bad, but I swear I was working and going nowhere.

Going slow did give us the benefit of taking in the scenery. It was a clear day and Mt Shasta stood out well. Beyond Corning, the hills were green after all the rain a few weeks ago. There were cows in the fields, but was informed by someone who had ridden out this way a couple weeks ago, there were many more cows then.

Out in Paskenta, Angie, Jonathan's wife, met us with some lunch. What a treat after getting our butts kicked by that wind. The trip back in from Paskenta was much better. The gravel section, which was pretty bad last year, was all hardpack dirt with a few pieces of gravel here and there. There was a little more wind as we were coming through the hills on our way to Black Butte Lake, but that turned to a tailwind. Then it was smooth sailing the rest of the way to Chico.

Create Your Own State of the Union speech

http://www.bushspeech.org/

Give it a try! Funny, but I was never able to get this little program to say anything nearly as ridiculous as George, himself, could so eloquently say.

Google Maps Flash Version

Here is a nice alternative to Google Maps that also has radio buttons where you can select MSN VE map with or without labels:

http://flashearth.com/

Go ahead, look for the picture of your house from space.

Paskenta Century/Race is ON!

From what I've been reading amongst other Chico rider's blogs this Sunday should be fun. Weather is looking good and there is talk of riders coming to town for this one. Last year I had been out on a couple of weekend rides with ChicoVelo prior to Paskenta and there was a bunch of smack talking and race strategy talk going on in the group. If I recall correctly, (I wasn't there to see it) but Tim took the win.

I haven't been riding with them at all this year (I really need to get out there) as 9 AM is just early this time of year, especially when it's sub 40 degrees out. But, I imagine the smack talk has been happening.

Either way, I've got nothing to add because I'd never be there at the end anyway. Hell, if I'm still with the group when we hit the gravel, I'll be happy.

George Wants $70B More???

Dang, when will it end?

Last time it was $50 billion approved in December, $80B before that and a $100B the time before that, I think. If only we could spend that kind of money on education, renewable energy research, healthcare, and homelessness.

All this for "war" when in fact there is not declaration of war. I guess in that case we are fighting where ever we have military folks stationed to protect whatever there is there to protect. Oh yeah, we're protecting our way of life.

With that money as stated above, Congress has approved more than $350 billion for Iraq and Afghanistan since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, including military operations, reconstruction, embassy security and foreign aid, as well as other costs related to the war on terrorism, according to the Congressional Research Service, which writes reports for Congress.

Check out the following links:

http://www.ed.gov/about/overview/fed/10facts/edlite-chart.html#2

http://www.concordmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060201/REPOSITORY/602010312/1037/NEWS04

I guess war is more important then education and our future. Either that or I'm terribly short sighted.

Del Monte Closing Hawaiian Pineapple Production

Del Monte began pineapple operations in Hawaii in 1916 when the company was called California Packing Corp. It operated pineapple fields in Wahiawa, Kunia and on Molokai. Now nearly 100 years later, they are closing down production in Hawaii.

Pineapple workers at Del Monte received word on Wednesday that they will plant their final crop this month. About 700 of Del Monte workers will be out of jobs when the crop is harvested in 2008. Many of the 700 workers have worked at Del Monte for 20, 30 or 40 years.

In Del Monte's written statement it said one key reason for closing is the difficulty in obtaining a long-term lease extension with Campbell Estate. However, Campbell Estate Vice President Bert Hatton said that's surprising because in 2001 Campbell offered Del Monte a lease extension at its current rent structure. He said, "Del Monte declined that offer."

Hatton said he feels the real reason Del Monte is shutting down the Hawaii operations is the difficult of competing with foreign production.

2 Hours in the Rain

Yesterday, after not riding since last Friday because I felt like hell, I went out into the rain to test out some new equipment.

I was trying out a pair of neoprene gloves from Performancebike along with other previously tested equipment, neoprene booties, fenders, and a rain jacket. I'd like to report, under the test conditions, they all worked well.

The gloves, while they didn't keep my hands dry, as I suspect they were not built do to such, kept my hands warm. The weather was about 50 degrees, cloudy, windy, with long sessions of rain. The last bit of rain lasted about an hour and grew steady as I returned home.

The gear kept me mostly dry and very warm, if not for the setting sun, I could have ridden another hour or two without trouble.

So, I think I'm finally geared to meet just about any weather condition available out on the road and look forward to some challenging wet rides in the near future.

Quick Cycling News

Tom Boonen, in his new World Champion jersey, has finally lost a race this year. He was 4 for 4 after winning the GP Doha and the first three stages of the Telekom Malaysia Tour de Langkawi, but only managed 3rd in yesterdays stage.

Sven Nys has a cracked hip after a crash in the Cyclocross World Championships in Zeddam. After a nearly perfect season where Sven has won nearly every race he's entered, he risks losing his position at the top of the standings, if he doesn't compete in this weekends races. The doctor has given him clearance to race with the cracked hip, but he still much be sore, which will most definitely effect his riding.

Driving January

I drove my car nearly everyday in January but still only managed to consume about 20 gallons of gas. The said part is 95% was driving around town or warming up the car while it sat in the garage. So, I was only able to clock 259.5 miles on that 20 gallons.

If you do the math for the average mileage you would think I drove a dump truck. But I don't. I believe the poor mileage is due to me warming up the car for at least 5 minutes before making the 4 minute drive to work.

I really need to start riding my bike once the weather gets a little better. I'll need to figure out how to carry my laptop though. Probably put it in a back pack, smashed in with the clothes I plan to wear.

My only concern about riding to work is missing out on some of the time I spend at home during my lunch where I do many of the chores I would normally have to do after work. Which would then cut into my real bike riding time.

Tough trade off to save $50 in gas a month. It's not like I need to get the extra miles in on the bike. While only driving 260 miles this month, I did put about 700 miles on my bike. I was getting a solid 8 to 10 hours in each week up until last Saturday when I got a little sick.

Anyway, February is going to be a driving intensive month. I've got a Marley concert in SF on the 11th, then Tour of California trip the 18th through 26th or so. I'm bound to drive 1500 miles in February, at least.

Happy Day!

Link to the Video

Hail Storm video
More forewarning, 154 mb. You can try to watch it but I couldn't get it to load. I'll probably have to break it up into more managable portions. Stay tuned.