Agonotheta

Z-Team Uniform

Last summer, the captain of my cycling team told me that our team would be getting new uniforms and would need a design. Since he knows I'm a designer, he asked me if I wanted to help with it. I, of course, jumped at the chance since I have never designed a uniform, but have plenty of opinions on what looks good and what doesn't.

Over the summer and early fall, we had a "committee" that met a few times (usually over pints of the frothy stuff) and came up with several ideas. The one we decided upon is below.

My ideas were having argyle, having it be on only one sleeve and I came up with the large chainring that goes from the back to the front and also in the logo.

I'm really excited. I had a blast and I think they are going to look great. At the very least, I know they are going to be miles and miles ahead of the old uniforms.

I'll be sure to post a picture of the actual uniform when I get it in a few weeks.

Project: Complete

This is my 1978 Peugeot that I became my commuter (and project) bike last spring. I really wish I would have taken a before picture because you'd be blown away by the difference.

My favorite part was shellacing the handlebars to match the color of the leather Brooks saddle.

Spam Redux

You know it's bad when your post about spam gets spammed.

Cyclelicious

Here are some great sites I've found recently featuring amazing photography set in a beautiful city with a great cycle culture.

http://cycleliciousness.blogspot.com/

http://copenhagengirlsonbikes.blogspot.com/

Here's the flickr page with just the photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/16nine/

"I still feel that variable gears are only for people over forty-five. Isn't it better to triumph by the strength of your muscles than by the artifice of a derailer? We are getting soft... As for me, give me a fixed gear!" -- Henri Desgrange

Sayings About The Irish

"To be Irish is to know that in the end the world will break your heart."
Daniel Patrick Moynihan

�The Irish don't know what they want and are prepared to fight to the death to get it�
Sidney Littlewood

�When anyone asks me about the Irish character, I say look at the trees. Maimed, stark and misshapen, but ferociously tenacious.�
Edna O'Brien

�"Being Irish, he had an abiding sense of tragedy, which sustained him through temporary periods of joy.'�
William Butler Yeats

"All my best friends are black, gay, Irish or criminals.�
Johnny Rotten

�Irish Alzheimer's: you forget everything except the grudges�
Judy Collins

�Ninety percent I'll spend on good times, women and Irish Whiskey. The other ten percent I'll probably waste.�

�Too long a sacrifice can make a stone of the heart.�
W.B. Yeats

San Fran

Tomorrow I head off to San Fran to watch a couple stages of the Tour of California and visit my friend who got married last summer. Should be a lot of fun. Also, I should have some sweet pics to post.

Le Grand Content

http://www.clemenskogler.net/film/grandcontent.htm

My Year In Cities, 2006

Salt Lake City, UT (home)
Sacramento, CA*
San Francisco, CA*
Vancouver, BC, Canada
Philadelphia, PA
Pittsburgh, PA
Atlanta, GA
Youngstown, OH
Kihei, Maui, HI

Those cities marked with an * were visited multiple times on non-consecutive days.

Big Beach, Maui

Taken 12/3/06 in Maui.

Triple Threat

I'm pretty excited today. A few friends and I bought a 12 game package for the Jazz and tonight is opening night versus the Houston Rockets, which means T-Mac, Yao Ming, and apparently "country legend" Billy Ray Cyrus.

Autumn In Vancouver

Taken 10/14/06 in Vancouver, BC, Canada.

Mercer, PA

Taken 10/24/06 in Mercer, PA.

Fixed on a Fixie

My mom thinks I'm obsessed. My sister says I'm crazy. But for the last couple months I've been looking for a third bike. Yeah, that's right, a third bike. A fixed gear or fixie. Why? I want something besides my nice, expensive road bike to commute on. But beyond that, a fixed gear is very simple mechanically. Since it only has one gear that is attached to the rear wheel you must continue pedaling while in motion even when slowing down. Oh yeah, slowing down. It typically won't have both front and rear brakes. Sometimes it will have a front brake, but not always. If you have to slow, you do so by using your body weight. This provides many advantages such as aiding in pedaling technique and strength, since you cannot shift on hills. I may end up building my own since I know exactly what I want, but I'm having a hard time finding it.

Here are some cycling links I've found recently that I wanted to remember:

http://www.shaundeller.com/ - fashionable cycling hats that don't have advertisements all over them...and they're made from recycled clothing. I ordered an 8 panel wool hat.

1 Less Car Clothing - "a couple of guys (and a girl or two) in the back of a tattoo shop with a screen printing kit and some pretty damn good ideas." I'm going to order the Crown shirt.

http://www.fixedgeargallery.com/ - fixie paradise

http://www.reloadbags.com/ - messenger bags and hip cycling gear

In Floyd We Trust

Sorry for the lack of posting. Once again I've been doing a lot of riding and not much else. But I found this cool site that has some awesome quotes about Floyd Landis after his Stage 17 ass-whooping he delivered to the pro peloton. Just in case you've been living under a rock for the last three weeks, I'll fill you in on his situation. Apparently, he tested positive for (not a high testosterone level) but a low epitestosterone level which upset his T:E ratio. You may not believe him that he didn't dope, but I do.

My favorite quote would be from his wife, Amber:

�He�s in every aspect the toughest man, ever,� Amber says seriously. �Physically tough, mentally tough, he�s just one tough bitch.�

Ouch!

Wow. It has been a very busy summer. Thus, my lack of writing. Last month I rode almost 400 miles on my bike which included the Utah MS150. I also had a girlfriend for a short time before we decided that we were better friends and broke it off. But the biggest news is that on July 3, I got in a pretty bad crash on my bike. Besides the usual scrapes and bruises I had a grade two tear of the AC ligament in my shoulder. It didn't require surgery, but it incapacitated my right arm for about six days. It was only on Tuesday of this week that I was able to even brush my teeth with my right arm. There's still a lot of pain and I can't lift much weight with that arm, but at least I can go to work. I'm happy though, because today I got a raise and tomorrow will be my first day back on a bike since the accident. Also, next week I'm heading to San Francisco to be in a friend's wedding and spend a few extra days exploring the city.