"surprise pour l'architecte. Sa jolie rembarde projette des ombres inattendues à un certain moment de la course du soleil... c'est fin et printanier, j'adore ;)"
when in Poland the city of Krakow had bike share... I scoped it out but when our window of opportunity appeared... bike rentals made more sense
had I had more time I would have loved to gotten a feel for the city and the placement of their bike share stations... but... I would have desparately needed the Polish version of SPOTCYCLE!
tonight my seven year old son asked me, "what if they had Camel Zones ON THE AIRPLANE?" to that I simply responded... "that would make some people very happy" just threw some of my Krakow Cycling Chic images on the Gwadzilla Facebook Page Gwadzilla on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/ also on TWITTER @Gwadzilla then there is Tumbler.... but then we would be getting repetitive
I thouroughly enjoy my trip to Krakow Poland i had a great time... my family had a great time
while there I enjoyed documenting the some of the cycling culture that too was enjoyable I have yet to even try to sort through all the images hopefully there are as more good ones then the ones I have already shared
I will add more images to the GWADZILLA FACEBOOK page this weekend
Bike Polo is not my thing... honestly... I have plenty of room to improve with my mountain bike handling if I were to try and improve my touch on the bike it would be on log obstacles rather than swinging a croquet mallet with one hand and grasping the the handlebars with the other yet... I do have an appreciation for the game and the culture that surrounds it
Bike Polo is Hardcourt!
here is a posting on some ideas for building a better Bike Polo Goal League of Bike Polo http://leagueofbikepolo.com
earlier this season I gave some old ski poles to Cargo Mike which he quickly converted into Polo Mallets!
The Purple Line WABA believes that "The Purple Line is GOOD for the Capital Crescent Trail" www.waba.org
is the placement of the Purple Line on the current CCT the only and best option? what about putting this light rail line down East West Highway aka 410?
East West Highway moves like a HIGHWAY! when actually... the Speed Limit is not set to highway speed even if people roll that way
someone take the measurements... is this road wide enough to put a "light rail" or streetcar down the middle? the more narrow roadway would slow traffic to a rational level and the light rail or streetcar would have a more direct route and potential more rational stopping points
tomorrow my wife is taking the kids to work for a "take your kid to work day"
should be fun... she is going to make it fun Lisa is fun for a mom... I know this because one of the neighbor's kids told me this one time when we were sledding at Klingle Manson when the boys were just wee ones
not sure what she has going on... but I know that she has been doing some serious plotting and planning quizzing friends and searching the internet and me... well... I think that I will do some plotting and planning meself
tomorrow I am headed out to meet Lisa and the boys for lunch where I will then take them home but maybe not directly home if I could take a photo of how I would like the future to look tomorrow I would want it to look something like this only.... no beard and maybe different bikes
me and the boys at Laurel Hill I think I will load the bikes on the car and go for a spin with the fellas at Laurel Hill
put that song on in an effort to bridge the gap between myself and my seven year old he was angry... displaying a great deal of anger dad made a mistake... when dad when to Chipolte he ate in with his older son bringing home a burrito for his younger son only one issue... dad did not buy an Izzy soda for carry out
not good
not sure... but it may have been an hour long battle red face... tears... hard stairs... and an assortment of words that hurt
tough... but dad was able to roll with the punches
peace was made it is agreed seven year old Grant is "owed" ONE Izzy Soda... not the five or five million he demanded not him getting a soda and his brother getting nothing but one Izzy Soda... at a later date yet to be determined
this whole May 21st Judgment Day is a tad alarming... if you really believe this what do you do in the days, weeks, months leading up to this? well... other than go to confession and pretend you were that good all along
do you run up your credit card bills? ignore paying your mortgage?
back to life... back to reality spring break is now over back from Poland now it is time to get back into the routine
just dropped the boys off at school without asking the boys if they wanted to bike I loaded the bikes to give young Grant the feeling that he has a say I offered him the opportunity to select the bicycle he wanted to ride a good effort by the dad... Grant selected the "skinny tire" bike
offer options... but only options that are pleasing to the parent not yes or no... but this or that
morning madness although it is Tuesday... it played out like Monday as yesterday was another day off from school for the boys so today... today was the first day of the week the first day back at school
the bikes were only part of the morning routine lunches needed to be packed and backpacks needed to be found then... then as I loaded the bikes in the car I learned that Dean wanted some photos to go along with his discussion with the class about his trip to Krakow, Poland
well... some things are more easily said then done all of the images are still on various SD and CF cards then... when I went to go print some random images I learned that the laptop I selected did not have the print driver... so I swapped machines... only to learn that this machine also lacked the appropriate driver so... I had to download and install the print driver for this photo printer
with the printer was finally installed I selected some random images a few images of St Mary's Church in the main square something with the towers... and then the knife that goes with the legend of the towers Dean packed the book that tells the tale of the Bugler of Krakow and then also some salt since Dean had salt from the salt mines... I had to print out some images of the salt mines
then we were pretty much out of time sure I wanted to print out some images of bicycles and streetcars it would have been cool to contain some mountain shots from Zakopane but no... there was not time once again the lesson is learned... plan ahead... do not wait until the last minute but really... I did not see the email from his teacher about him having time to talk to the class today more than likely Dean did not know that he would be talking to his class until word was relayed to him from mom this morning
that email must have come late in the night
well... I printed something hopefully it is enough for Dean to give a solid presentation to his class if nothing else... I think everyone is going to get a piece of rock salt from the mine
a few more characters of text to this post and I too need to get back into my routine
lots happening here need to get my focus time to start knocking a few things off this "things to do" list gotta move forward instead of spinning my wheels
not much time before I pick up the boys gotta make what is gonna happen happen now so... enough words for now time to start my day
Check Out the SportsTagID Web Page! they have a short film that spreads the message... crashes happened... having your information readily available on your wrist can be helpful in the time of an emergency rather than having to have someone try to dig through your jersey pocket... it is all right there on your wrist... with all your vital information
ride safe... ride smart... ride with your contact information readily available "just in case!" SportsTagID http://www.sportstagid.com/
SportsTagID supports Drug Free Cycling by pairing themselves with BIKE PURE! http://www.bike-pure.org/
previous review on the Gwadzilla Page in that review there was only slight mention of the materials used in the wrist bands just as the clasps are similar but different so are the bands themselves it seems that the Road ID is made of rubber... while the SportsTagID is make of a supple silicone there is a distinct different feel to each of the wrist bands the SportsTagID is softer and more supple
I am not a linguist but I am guessing that Ergon took its name from Ergonomics I am thinking this because this company makes products with great consideration of ergonomics from their variety of grips to their variety of back packs you can see great care and consideration taken into account when they approach design
as mentioned in a previous post I got hooked up with a few products from Dave Wiens who races for Ergon Dave was good enough to send me a set of grips with a built in bar end and also two different Ergon backpacks
today the boys were home from school... the last day of Spring Break in the quest to make the most of this day I asked the kids what they wanted to do seven year old Grant suggested a personal favorite... The Billy Goat Trail it was a solid suggestion the weather is perfect for a hike and weekday is preferred over weekend for such a popular spot http://gwadzilla.blogspot.com/search?q=billy+goat
we left out of the house around 10 AM timing things perfectly that the boys would be hungry on the trail knowing this... I gathered several bottles of water, a few Capri Suns, Granola Bars, a few cheeses, some liver wurst (or something similar), and then some potato rolls
again being excited by the arrival of the gear from Ergon I decided to use my newly acquired Ergon BX2 Backpack a smaller pack than the pack I tested the day prior
before loading the pack I gave a glance at the instructions and worked to set the pack up for my body type again... Ergon has taken much into account when they designed these packs the primary notion is that ONE SIZE DOES NOT FIT ALL! for this pack to properly distribute the weight it needs to be set up to match the user's body type
in a matter of minutes the pack was set up and filled with all that I felt we would need for our assault on the rocks on The Billy Goat Trail
we made the short drive out of the Mount Pleasant here in Washington DC to Potomac, Maryland with my boys and then also one of the kids from down the block it is always more fun for my boys to hang with their friends rather than their lame old dad as cool as their dad may think he is... he is really just another old guy
we arrived at Old Angler's Inn and had to loop the parking lot a few times before a spot opened up once we found a space we took to hiking out of the car and onto the service road we started the march to the trailhead
the Ergon Pack was awesome again... I did not fill it with bricks to test its weight capacity I was traveling with what I needed the pack worked perfectly
in short... it was as if I did not know the pack was there really... that is the most that one can ask for it was hot... and my body felt it with or without the pack I would have broken a sweat the pack fit nicely allowing me to hop from rock to rock without even knowing I had a pack full of food and drink
nothing was rubbing wrong... nothing was bouncing around... the straps adjusted and held things tightly to my body
sure enough... the timing was perfect the boys were showing their hunger as we hit the rocks along side the canyon that is the Potomac we found a nice spot in the shade that over looked the river there I opened the pack and assembled sandwiches and handed out cheese water and Capri Suns were consumed
the pack was then filled with our trash and all of the boys' shirts the pack was slightly lighter after the four of us devoured its edible contents
the camera stayed in the bag not every event is about dad and his camera but the times without the camera... those moments tend to be times for the iPhone Ergon Backpack BX2 www.ergon-bike.com I think both of those photos were taken with one of my favorite iPhone Apps Instagram http://instagr.am/ it is sick... it is awesome also took some Pin Hole App shots... then an Old Time Photo app that took some amazing images not sure if I am into the double exposure results for the Pin Hole App... but I can see that it has some serious fun potential
just created a Pandora station for Terence Trent Darby the station played one song... Wishing Well... then stopped claiming to have no more songs or any matches for Terence Trent Darby
ah... a package arrived in the mail while I was away with the family over Spring Break this package had my name on it not many packages arrive with my name on them which makes the ones that do arrive all that much more exciting
this package... well... I had anticipated the arrival of this package
at the National Bike Summit I met off road machine Dave Wiens it was nice making the connection when we parted ways and exchanged matching business cards Dave said... if you want a set of Ergon Grips drop me an email
well... when I went on the Ergon site I saw these commuter backpacks so... I emailed Dave and asked if he could hook me up with one of these packs
well... when I got the package I was beyond stoked! the oversized package from Colorado with the return address with the names of one of the top US woman mountain bikers or all time and one of the greatest off road hundred milers of all time contained a set of grips and two packs!
well... like most gear junkies I was excited to get to try out this new pack so... when my family drove off to my father's house for an informal Easter celebration I got on the bike and rather than putting a bag in my wife's car with a change of clothes... I loaded up the Ergon pack with some tools, a spare tube, my camera, and a change of clothes
before putting the pack on I could already see that this pack is not like any pack I have ever owned before the Ergon pack has it "motion system" go to the website for a technical explanation in short... the shoulder straps rotate on an axis moving with the body while there is a waist strap that puts the majority of the weight on the hips
AMAZING!
with the pack on my back and on the bike I started to roll a few pedal strokes down the alley and I synched down the straps and adjusted the waist strap on my hip bones there it was... THE SWEET SPOT! as soon as I got the waist strap right I could feel the effectiveness of this pack design
my ride was not that intense and the weight of the pack was not so grand but really... I could feel the effectiveness of this design my back was breathing and the weight was well distributed the weight was off my shoulders and back and on my hips
when I arrived I snapped a few shots of the pack... my bike... and my dad's backyard sure there was some sweat... but that is gonna happen but there was no soreness to my back... it was as if I had not been wearing a backpack!
when my brother arrived I showed him my new pack my brother is an avid cyclist and a hardcore commuter similar to me... he is always ready to see who is out there building the better mouse trap excited about the pack I had him try it on and try it out again... the weight was slight but the basic idea could be achieved through taking the basic riding position on the invisible bicycle
next test... the SIX PACK TEST the six pack is something that often causes some pain and discomfort on the back the pack is large enough... in fact I think it could hold two six packs or a six pack, two bottles of wine, and a baggette
we will see how this pack does with a little more weight my guess... it will feel as weightless with more weight as it did with slight weight!
Dave... thanks for the Ergon Hook Up! thanks ERGON for the HOOK UP! Dave-Have a strong season on the bike! Good Luck at the Whiskey 50 this weekend!
Sunday was a perfect day for a family bike ride ran into some friends in the park involved in a family bike ride snapped a few shots as I loaned my allen set to them so they could adjust one of the seats
Friday we were just back from Poland travel fatigue and jet lag had us feeling lazy so when Saturday came along... I had the boys go to Karate in the AM and then not much more
when I asked them what they wanted to do young Grant was clear... "this is what we want to do!" there are times when nothing is something there are times when nothing is enough
I was able to get on the Road Bike in Rock Creek Park left out the door as the boys went down the block to have breakfast with some of their Karate classmates was able to sneak in 2 hours on the bike arriving home at pretty much the same time as the boys
RIDE WHEN YOU CAN! this is a decent mantra to live by especially for moms and dads as our time is not entirely our own Saturday started rainy... I left off on the bike rolling in the rain... mid ride the rain stopped... by the time the bike was back in the stable the sky had cleared and it was a beautiful day a day that was spent pretty much indoors so... when Sunday arrived... I wanted to offer a little more
Sunday was Easter Sunday there was a noon meet up time at my dad's house for Easter Egg Hunt and a classic Polish Feast... which would top off our week long adventure that was filled with day upon day of Polish Feasts
Sunday came and the boys were up with the sun the travel to Poland has really thrown off their schedule they are up and active by 5am so... when I got out of bed I knew that I had to get them out of the house before them made me crazy there seemed to be time for a morning ride before the adventure at my dad's
Lisa cooked up a pancake breakfast as I got bikes and soccer balls ready I proposed the options... there was the standard objection from my younger son while there was the usual acceptance from my older son I gave them options
the options included an assortment of soccer and bike options we called a few of their friends to increase the size of our trips but had no luck making contact it would be the boys and dad
on the bikes we took a short ride to the neighborhood school with its freshly renovated playground we had the astroturf to ourselves
Grant was not so interested in soccer... he did some heading and passing and a shooting game but then left off for the bike on the track which involved a race between the boys... Dean on foot... Grant on bike Dean and I played soccer enough that I robbed Dean of his ambition for the long bike ride so... after our time in the school playground we did a short ride around Mount Pleasant into Columbia Heights
it was nice to see the trees turning green and the flowers in bloom when I got home the boys settled in on a classic game of WAR with the cards while I suited up and rode to my dad's while the boys would get in the car a few minutes later and drive across town
good to get on the bike good to get the boys on the bike
the gathering at my dad's was festive there were eggs to hunt and much food to be eaten a day well spent luckily I had the ride home to try and burn off some of the calories consumed at the Easter Feast!