BigMatt's BigBlog(tm)

Le Tour Challenge Final

2010-07-26T12:12:00.000-05:00

As the Tour de France comes to an end so does the Versus/MapMyRide Le Tour Challenge. I managed to meet my goal of riding every day that the tour riders did and finished 214th out of 4,752 riders that submitted a ride for at least one stage. Starting July 3rd I logged 21 rides (including the Prologue) covering 589.24 miles in 23 days.

All in all it was a great experience and it's helped me make some dramatic steps toward my goal of riding a century before the summer is over. Almost all of the Tour de France riders have my utmost admiration for completing what I believe is the most physically challenging sporting event in the world.

Ride Reports

2010-07-24T10:08:00.000-05:00

As you may have noticed I haven't posted a ride report in a while. It's not that I'm not riding - quite the opposite in fact. I've been riding so much for the Le Tour Challenge that it made it too easy to be lazy and not post. In the future I'll still be writing ride reports just not as often. In the meantime here's a screenshot of my July ride calendar from MapMyRide.

Ride Report 7/17/2010

2010-07-17T20:13:00.001-05:00

Went out with Addie to see if it was hot this afternoon. Found out it was.

Distance: 13.10 Miles
Bike: Windsor Cyclo
Riders: Me, Adrienne

Ride Report 7/17/2010

2010-07-17T00:26:00.001-05:00

Dave and I headed out on the highways to Sprague today and it turned out to be quite an adventure. It seemed like Dave had just commented that we were about halfway through our 40 mile ride when my rear tire started hissing like a pissed off snake. I carry a spare tube, levers and a pump so I figured it was just a minor pain in the rear and we'd be back on the road in no time. That is until I noticed that the damn tire had a huge hole in it!

I didn't have anything to put in between the tire and the new tube and as I pumped it up the tube started creeping out of the tire. I thought there was a remote possibility that I could limp it at least to the bike shop but in about 2 miles I heard that familiar hiss again and we were done. After a couple calls I managed to get in touch with Adrienne and she headed out to pick me up while we started the long walk into town.

It all worked out in the end and it only cost a little pride. Big thanks to Adrienne for picking me up and Dave for walking with me and ending "our" ride on his own!

Distance: 27 Miles (Approximate)
Bike: Trek 5000 OCLV120
Riders: Me, Dave

Ride Report 7/15/2010

2010-07-15T22:23:00.000-05:00

Headed out for a late evening ride with Adrienne tonight and ran into Dave and Michelle on the trail! Always nice to see them and Dave and I ended up setting up a ride for tomorrow. Weather was nice and it was a good, chill ride downtown on Boosalis-Rock Island-Antelope Valley then back out to 84th on the Mopac.

Distance: 20.53 Miles
Bike: Trek 5000 OCLV120
Riders: Me, Adrienne

Ride Report 7/14/2010

2010-07-15T09:19:00.001-05:00

It was a hot one out there today, The Weather Channel showed we were in some kind of heat advisory and I read on another cycling blog that the heat index was over 120! Of course I'm way too bull headed to let something simple like that stop me from going for a ride so I headed out to Bennet and back on Highway 2 then decided I'd ride some of the trails too. I refilled my water bottles once at Holmes Lake and once at my parents' house and still ended up wishing I had some more at the end of my ride. It got pretty difficult at the end, I remember passing a jogger on a flat spot and thinking that he would probably pass me on the next hill. In the end I made it home and all is well. I think I'll take it easy tomorrow though...

Distance: 44.09 Miles
Bike: Trek 5000 OCLV120
Riders: Me

Ride Report 7/13/2010

2010-07-13T23:46:00.000-05:00

Rode downtown with Adrienne tonight and then added a quick sprint out to Mahoney and back. The humidity, heat, bugs and a strong wind on 84th made the last 4 miles a real pain in the rear but other than that it was a pretty nice ride.

Distance: 21.05 Miles
Bike: Windsor Cyclo
Riders: Me, Adrienne

Ride Report 7/11/2010

2010-07-11T21:35:00.001-05:00

Tried out my HRM for the first time today despite me having had it for about a year now. I have to say I wish I would have busted it out a lot sooner! It integrates with my GPS so I can look down on the display at any time and see where I'm at. I took it easy today so I could get some kind of baseline and it looks like my average was 134bpm over the 30 mile ride. The weather was nice but due to the rain from last night the tunnels were pretty much flooded and the underpasses and low spots on the trail had plenty of mud to ride through.

Distance: 30.03 Miles
Bike: Windsor Cyclo
Riders: Me

Ride Report 7/10/2010 - 170 Miles This Week!

2010-07-10T21:54:00.000-05:00

I'm not sure if I would describe today's ride as hot and windy or windy and hot but it had plenty of both. When I got to Haymarket Park the flags in the parking lot were flying straight out like whoever did the laundry used a bit too much starch on them. I'm getting better at making use of the small chainring in front to help pace myself and not use up all my energy early in the ride. I also had a small crash about 27 miles in but aside from some scrapes on my elbow and knee I'm pretty much OK. Hopefully my bike is OK too... This bike seems to get crashed a lot on the pavement!

Distance: 31.08 Miles
Bike: Windsor Cyclo
Riders: Me

Ride Report 7/9/2010

2010-07-10T21:12:00.000-05:00

Took a pre-party quick ride on the Mopac west of 84th Street today. It's a fairly uneventful route but a nice one nevertheless. I've been pretty tired and a bit sore lately so I thought I'd try an easier pace and it turned out to be a nice ride.

Distance: 23.05 Miles
Bike: Windsor Cyclo
Riders: Me

Ride Report 7/8/2010

2010-07-08T21:55:00.000-05:00

Rode downtown with Adrienne today when she got home from work and when we got back we split up and I rode down to 84th and Highway 2 then over to Fireworks and took the (mostly dry) trails back home. It was a good ride and nice to get out on a ride with my cool biker chick. (Plus she got to try out her new shorts and they totally kick butt.)

Distance: 22.6 Miles
Bike: Trek 5000 OCLV120
Riders: Me, Adrienne

Ride Report 7/7/2010

2010-07-08T21:33:00.000-05:00

Today's ride felt like a grind, it seemed like I was never going to make it to 20 miles. Luckily that feeling went away about 18 miles in. Still a bad day on my bike is considerably better than many of my best days at the office before I got canned.

Distance: 20.02 Miles
Bike: Windsor Cyclo
Riders: Me

Ride Report 7/6/2010

2010-07-06T22:18:00.000-05:00

Rode out to the Bennet Corner Stop tonight. It was late, I had a flashing light, it worked out.

Distance: 21.59 Miles
Bike: Trek 5000 OCLV120
Riders: Me

Ride Report 7/5/2010

2010-07-06T00:37:00.001-05:00

Today was the 3rd day of the Le Tour Challenge and rain was in the forecast again. After the rain ride yesterday I figured no matter what the weather unless it was dropping ice from the sky or throwing cows around I'd get some kind of ride in. Unfortunately it wasn't a great ride, I felt like I was fighting the bike most of the way and that's not a feeling I have ever had with the Cannondale. I think the drivetrain is due for some maintenance and the water aggravated it to the point where it's noisy and irritating now.

Still a lot more water than usual running through the creeks, spillways, sewers, etc. The two tunnels near Antelope Park are probably passable but I chose to cross ahead anyway.

This lovely bench at Holmes lake has a slightly different view than it was intended to have.

And one last thought... Just because you choose to blow your fireworks off on the bike path instead of on your own property does not exempt you from the responsibility of cleaning up after yourself. Seriously people, it's not a contest to see who can be more lame. Just pick up your damn fireworks, dog poop, diapers or whatever the hell else you leave on the trail. Is it really that tough to just pick up your mess?

Distance: 24 Miles
Bike: Cannondale F6
Riders: Me

Ride Report 7/4/2010 - Rain Ride

2010-07-04T16:50:00.001-05:00

Decided I would head out for a ride today despite the water falling from the sky. It was warm enough that it actually wasn't too bad and I enjoyed having most of the trails to myself and also the "what the heck is that guy doing?" looks I was getting. The mountain bike performed flawlessly and reminded me how much I love that little red bike. One piece of advice if you're considering doing a rain ride of your own on the trails is to avoid the tunnels...

Distance: 27 Miles
Bike: Cannondale F6
Riders: Me

Ride Report 7/3/2010 - Le Tour Challenge Day 1

2010-07-04T16:44:00.000-05:00

Started off the Versus Le Tour Challenge on the right foot today with a decent length ride and a return home to watch part of the TdF Prologue before heading over to Rob's for burgers. I'm not riding to compete as much to see if I can manage to ride every day that the riders in France do so I'm not too disappointed in my placing (1,480th place out of 1,958 people participating so far) but I'll see what I can do about bumping that up a bit.

Distance: 40.53 Miles
Bike: Windsor Cyclo
Riders: Me

Ride Report 6/30/2010 Part Deux!

2010-07-01T10:41:00.000-05:00

Adrienne wanted to go for a ride tonight after she got home from work and who was I to say no? We battled the bugs and rode out to "O" Street on the Mopac. It was nice to get in another ride today and the cool weather was a pleasant contrast to my earlier ride. Four dusty white tires and two pooped out peeps later we arrived at home happy and ready to crash on the couch. Counting both rides I'm at almost 65 miles for the day - a new record for me!

And yes, for those who are keeping tabs Addie's new BLUE SHOES worked out just fine.

Distance: 19.5 Miles
Bike: Cannondale F6
Riders: Me, Addie

Ride Report 6/30/2010

2010-06-30T17:53:00.000-05:00

Not my longest ride today but one of the most satisfying so far. I found Sprague! For most this is not much of an accomplishment but considering the last time I went down 77 I rode past it and didn't realize it... Well, let's just say I was pleased. Might go for a short ride with Addie later on tonight - we'll see how the new blue shoes work for her!

Distance: 45 Miles
Bike: Trek 5000 OCLV120
Riders: Me

Ride Report 6/28/2010

2010-06-29T09:44:00.000-05:00

I find that I'm posting a lot of blog entries that contain the phrase "nice ride" and I've decided it's probably because it's been a really great riding season so far. Even when it's been hot and windy it's still resulted in some good time with 2 human powered wheels underneath me. I was going to rest today but the sunshine was just too tempting so I decided to at least get out and do a short ride. Toward the end of my ride I was passed by a gentleman in full JoyRide kit on the Rock Island trail and he was setting a good pace so I decided I'd keep up with him. Turns out he was headed to the ChitChat Ride and asked me if I'd like to tag along! It was tempting but I was "taking it easy" and was already at 20 miles for the day so I declined. I'll probably go ride with them next week though!

Distance: 31 Miles
Bike: Windsor Cyclo
Riders: Me

Ride Report 6/27/2010 - First 50 Miler!

2010-06-27T14:22:00.000-05:00

Perfect weather and a great time riding with Tim and Michelle on the Trail Trek today. I even found a little trail that I hadn't been on before! Check out our photo gallery on Ride Nebraska here. I decided to add some more miles on to the end and got my first 50 mile day.

Distance: 51.06 Miles
Bike: Windsor Cyclo
Riders: Me, Tim, Michelle

Ride Report 6/26/2010

2010-06-26T22:41:00.001-05:00

Had a nice ride with Adrienne tonight after it started to cool off a bit. (You would never know it cooled off by the color of her cheeks but that is another story...) Rode down to Holmes Lake, turboed down the path by the side of the dam and freaked out a dude and his little white dog then headed downtown and out to Oak Lake. The ride home was a quick one since it was getting dark fast - a straight shot East on the Mopac and through the neighborhood to home. Still hurting from moving day on Thursday but I think I'll be fine for the ride tomorrow.

Distance: 17.04 Miles
Bike: Windsor Cyclo
Riders: Me, Adrienne

Ride Report 6/25/2010

2010-06-25T22:21:00.001-05:00

Took a pre-Trail Trek jaunt today out to Oak Lake on the Mopac then South on the gravel to the Jamaica North and then Rock Island, Boosails and 70th Street home. I was going to add on a leg by the dog walk but the part of the bike path that is under 70th was also UNDER WATER so I decided I'd just head home. It was windy and that part sucked.

Distance: 25 Miles
Bike: Windsor Cyclo
Riders: Me

Ride Report 6/22/2010

2010-06-22T18:40:00.000-05:00

Braved the wind and the heat and took a harder than usual ride out to Bennet and back. I stopped at Mamasitas to turn around but didn't sample their chips and salsa like I would have wanted to - maybe some other time!

View 2010-06-22 Ride in a larger map

Distance: 26 Miles
Bike: Trek 5000 OCLV120
Riders: Me

Ride Report 6/18/2010

2010-06-18T21:34:00.000-05:00

Went for a later than usual and rare Friday solo ride tonight. I met up with a nice guy downtown who was looking for the Rock Island trail so he could head to a party down south and since my route-explaining skills aren't the greatest and I was heading that way I offered to show him where to go. Turns out he's trying to lose some weight and has already lost 10 pounds since he started riding his bike! Unfortunately I don't remember his name but if you're out there I hope you made it to your destination OK and maybe we'll see each other on the trails again!

View 2010-06-18 Ride in a larger map

Distance: 26 Miles
Bike: Windsor Cyclo
Riders: Me (plus the dude for a few miles)

Ride Report 6/17/2010

2010-06-17T16:21:00.000-05:00

Had a windy and tough ride today but it was nice to be able to get it in earlier on in the day so I can get some errands done this afternoon. The new bike (made up of used parts) just rocks the Casbah.

View 2010-06-17 Ride in a larger map

Distance: 33.5 Miles
Bike: Trek 5000 OCLV120
Riders: Me

Ride Report 6/15/2010 - 47 Miles!

2010-06-15T19:34:00.000-05:00

I decided I would try out the "Sprague Loop" this afternoon. I wasn't sure how far it would be from my place to Joyride but I was figuring on about a 35 mile ride today. Now anyone that knows me knows I'm not a terribly good navigator and despite my post-it note with carefully written directions and street names I managed to miss the turn to head into Sprague and blissfully rode all the way to Firth Road before I figured I'd better turn back. Once again my legs felt great and I didn't feel anywhere near like I was out of energy but my back was killing me. Despite that and my navigational error it felt good to get out on the highway again.

Distance: 47 Miles
Bike: Trek 5000 OCLV120
Riders: Me

Ride Report 6/13/2010

2010-06-14T09:50:00.001-05:00

We managed to get a ride in before the scheduled rain on Sunday. (Of course the real rain didn't come until much later but we didn't know that!) 70th to Highway 2 to 27th to Densmore then through Tierra-Williamsburg back to Highway 2 and home. Mental note: in the future make sure to tighten cleat bolts from time to time so that one doesn't fall off on the trail... Thankfully Addie has watched enough Dog the Bounty Hunter to hone her senses to a razors edge and she was able to locate the missing piece.

Distance: 21 Miles
Bike: Trek 5000 OCLV120
Riders: Me, Addie

Ride Report 6/10/2010

2010-06-12T11:30:00.000-05:00

Adrienne and I went on an adventure ride tonight and covered some new ground for her AND me! We did a "Lincoln Loop" and rode north on 84th Street then West at Mahoney to downtown then to Homes Lake. I love new trails so it was a great ride for me.

Distance: 18 Miles
Bike: Cannondale F6
Riders: Me, Addie

View 2010-06-10 Ride in a larger map

Ride Report 6/9/2010 - First 40+ Miler!

2010-06-09T16:51:00.001-05:00

I hit the highway today - literally! Took Highway 2 out of town in an Easternly direction and enjoyed the nice wide shoulder for a bit. Initially I was planning on turning around at the Bennet corner but I skipped the exit and trekked on. My brilliant plan was to ride until I finished my first water bottle then turn around so I'd have enough water for the way home. This plan would have probably been OK if my second water bottle wasn't smaller than the first... But thanks to Cindy at Blue Mountain I was able to get a refill at 84th and Highway 2 on my way back.

Distance: 41.5 Miles
Bike: Trek 5000 OCLV120
Riders: Me

View 2010-06-09 Ride in a larger map

Ride Report 6/5/2010

2010-06-05T21:37:00.000-05:00

Took the new steed out with Adrienne down the Mopac and back out to Holmes Lake. It's definitely a go fast bike, I love it!

Distance: 13.13 Miles
Bike: Trek 5000 OCLV120
Riders: Adrienne, Me

Ride Report 6/3/2010

2010-06-03T21:35:00.000-05:00

Put some slick tires on Addie's mountain bike and we both headed out on the Mopac to try 'em out. They must roll a lot better than the knobbies because we ended up doubling what I thought we would ride tonight!

Distance: 20.65 Miles
Bike: Windsor Cyclo
Riders: Adrienne, Me

Ride Report 6/2/2010

2010-06-02T16:18:00.000-05:00

After my ride was rained out yesterday I decided I'd see how far I could push it today. I'm happy to say that it was the first 30+ mile ride of the season and it was great! Took the Mopac downtown then the Rock Island by Joyride and out to Densmore fields then down by SouthPointe through Tierra down Highway 2 to 70th then by the dog walk and out to the end of the trail east and back into town and home on 84th street.

Distance: 33 miles
Bike: Windsor Cyclo
Riders: Just Me

View 2010-06-02 Ride in a larger map

Ride Report 5/30/2010

2010-05-30T16:56:00.000-05:00

Adrienne, Jason and I took a chance on the weather and rode the crushed limestone today. We had a great ride and managed to get back before any rain fell on us. It's always nice to have good company on a ride! Today's trek was 20.8 miles.

View 2010-05-30 Ride in a larger map

Ride Report 5/28/2010

2010-05-28T17:53:00.001-05:00

Went on an adventure ride today! I've been South on 84th Street to Highway 2 but I've really never been too far North of O Street so I thought I'd give it a go. Took the cross bike out to the Event Center and by Mahoney then took the trail to East Campus and headed back. Today's ride 26.26 miles.

View 2010-05-28 Ride in a larger map

Ride Report 5/27/2010

2010-05-28T17:39:00.001-05:00

Adrienne and I took a short ride today to try out the heat. The result? Yep, it was pretty darn warm out. I still managed to keep up out long enough to make us late for dinner with Jim and Diane though! Today's ride 10 miles.

Ride Report 5/26/2010

2010-05-26T21:01:00.000-05:00

I'm going to get spoiled by this great riding weather! Headed down Highway 2 to 27th then out past Joyride, around South Pointe Mall and home via 70th. The new tires on the Cross bike are performing in a most awesome way. Today's mileage 21.4.

View 2010-05-26 Ride in a larger map

Ride Report 5/25/2010

2010-05-25T22:15:00.000-05:00

If I have had better weather for a bike ride than what we had tonight I don't remember it. Adrienne and I rode downtown and over to K&M's place for a brief stop then down to Highway 2 and home. Great weather, great company, great ride! Tonight's distance 17.3 miles.

Ride Report 5/23/2010 - Tour de Cure!

2010-05-23T16:46:00.000-05:00

Today was the Tour de Cure in Springfield and it turned out to be a great day for a ride! Our team did great in fund raising and on the ride itself. Big Thanks to Sean, Adrienne, Jason, Tim, Michael and Sonya for coming out to ride today! Today's mileage about 22.

Ride Report 5/22/2010

2010-05-22T15:55:00.000-05:00

The word for today is W-I-N-D! Check out the speed graph below - can you tell when I turned around and the wind was at my back? Today's ride 11 miles (felt like 21.)

Ride Report 5/21/2010

2010-05-21T21:03:00.000-05:00

Out and back with Adrienne on the Mopac East tonight! We timed it just perfectly so we could have a face full of setting sun the whole way into town too! Tonight's ride 16.4 miles.

Ride Report 5/18/2010

2010-05-18T21:36:00.000-05:00

Had a really nice late day ride with Adrienne tonight. We got started late so instead of riding the mountain bikes like we have been I decided we should ride the road bikes. Our team of 2 zoomed downtown and managed to make it home before it got too dark. Adrienne wore her Tour de Cure jersey from 2003 for the first time and it looked sweet. Today's ride was approximately 12 miles.

View 2010-05-18 Ride in a larger map

Ride Report 5/17/2010

2010-05-17T18:02:00.000-05:00

Had a great ride today, the weather was a bit chilly but it didn't rain and I had a good time stringing together a couple of familiar trails for a new ride. I rode downtown then back out to Holmes and out to Fireworks then back home. Today's ride was 20 miles.

View 2010-05-17 Ride in a larger map

Ride Report 5/15/2010

2010-05-17T15:24:00.000-05:00

Adrienne and I took a near dusk ride out to the shopping center at 84th and Highway 2 tonight. Made it to the parking lot of the old Bennigan's and turned around due to the soon-to-be lack of illumination. Nice ride except for the people on 84th Street that seemed to have an uncontrollable desire to hang out of the car window and yell nonsense at the top of their lungs. Tonight's ride 10 miles.

Ride Report 5/13/2010

2010-05-13T15:23:00.001-05:00

Thought I'd head out for a short ride today and the weather actually got BETTER while I was out so I decided I'd extend it a bit. Rode by Blue Mountain and out to the Kelvin's new development at 91st and Highway 2 then back through Holmes and down to the Teacher's Fountain. Today's ride 21.5 miles.

Ride Report 5/8/2010

2010-05-08T16:44:00.000-05:00

Today's ride was the first of what hopefully will become my regular Saturday ride. I met Keil at the bench on 27th and Highway 2 and we headed over through Van Dorn Park and out on the Bison trail. We ended up exploring the old paths at Pioneer's Park and despite some challenging hills and annoying wind it was quite a nice ride. Today's ride 26 miles.

Ride Report 5/7/2010

2010-05-07T10:41:00.000-05:00

Chilly, windy and brief ride this morning. Despite the fact that I was outfitted with tights, bike shorts, long sleeved jersey and windbreaker it was still quite brisk. It was nice to get out on the mountain bike and cruise through the mud that was on the trail from last night's rain. I rode east past the dog run on 70th to see how far the trail went and checked out some of the new houses near the shopping center on 84th and Highway 2. Concrete trails are wet with some puddles and mud but overall good condition. This morning's ride 13 miles.

Give GoodReader a Try!

2010-05-05T10:11:00.000-05:00

GoodReader is an document viewer app for the iPhone/iPod Touch or iPad. It reads all kinds of documents.

That's cool enough on it's own and well worth a buck but when you add on the ability to read from "the cloud" it ventures firmly into awesomeland.

The Google Docs functionality is what I've been using the most. (They also support DropBox.) On the iPhone version of the app Google Docs is an extra buck but all of the "paid add-ons" are included in the iPad version.)

Go get GoodReader guys!

Ride Report 5/4/2010

2010-05-04T16:43:00.002-05:00

One word: WINDY. I wasn't going to ride at all today but my afternoon opened up a bit so I decided to go for a short ride. I took a loop around Holmes Lake then headed downtown to look at the new trails. Decided to shortcut the return route and made it home early. Today's mileage 14.25.

Ride Report 5/3/2010

2010-05-03T16:42:00.002-05:00

Made some progress with Kelvin's camera project this morning (remote pan/tilt working and all cams running at 640x480 now!) so I thought I'd see if I could sneak a solo afternoon ride in. I broke out the cross bike, aired up the tires and zoomed down past Joyride and out to Densmore field. I managed to make it through a couple of minor rain showers without any wrecks and by the time I got home I was dried out. 20.1 Miles today.

Ride Report 5/2/2010

2010-05-02T17:26:00.003-05:00

Kick *bleep* ride today! Adrienne and I rode out on the Mopac west intending to hit Eagle and then ride back in but unfortunately the mother nature had other ideas. About 7 miles out we stopped for a break and to check the weather channel and it became clear in about 0.7 minutes that we should head back into town before the ominous clouds were right on top of us. We did get a little bit wet but thankfully the closer we got to town the nicer it was and we ended up with a dry ride at the end. All in all it was a nice adventure weather and all. Today's mileage 15.0.

Ride Report 4/27/2010

2010-04-27T20:20:00.002-05:00

Great night for a ride! It was a little chilly starting out but we warmed up quickly and were able to enjoy the almost total lack of wind. The Mopac East was nice and dry for the most part and there were quite a few bikers, joggers and walkers out enjoying the outdoors. Total miles 14.5.

Ride Report 4/11/2010

2010-04-11T15:19:00.002-05:00

Took advantage of the great weather and went for a ride this afternoon. Aside from a bit of wind on the way back from K&M's along Highway 2 (and an incredible, ignorant a**hole driving an H2 who almost ran me over despite me wildly waving my hand and yelling as loud as I could to get him to notice me) it was a very nice ride. Harder than it should have been but it's early in the season (for me at least!) 17 Solo miles today.

Ride Report 3/22/2010

2010-03-22T19:01:00.003-05:00

I went for what I thought would be a quickie ride today to test out the new (old) pedals on my cross bike. (They're red which is cool but what's cooler is that they're double sided so I don't have to worry about trying to clip into the non-clippy side.) Rode down to Antelope Park and was well on my way back home when I realized that my keys had fallen out of my seat bag. (This is why I have rules about not taking my keys on bike rides...) I doubled back and didn't find them so I rode on home and about 20 minutes later the Russ's on Washington called and said they had my keys! I normally hate that customer loyalty card crap but from now on I will never disparage the damn thing again. Today's ride was approximately 13 miles.

Desperate times for Palm

2010-03-20T10:02:00.002-05:00

cNet has some thoughts about Palm after a single day drop in their stock value of 30%.

Link

Ride Report 3/18/2010

2010-03-18T15:40:00.002-05:00

Took advantage of the wonderful weather and got in another ride today. The Mopac trail is mostly dry and still very scenic despite the lack of green. Only rode 12.3 miles today but my rear end feels like 23.

Ride Report 3/17/2010

2010-03-17T17:03:00.003-05:00

Today was my first ride of 2010 - in fact now that I think of it this is my first solo ride since I got serious about selling the house last year. Unfortunately I'm rather out of shape which made it somewhat unpleasant at times. The cross bike was great (no crashes at all) and overall a very nice day and a decent trip.

Scorecard:

Miles: 16.6
Times passed by biker: 1
Times pass by jogger: 0
Times I felt like puking: 3
Times I puked: 0
Times I was offered a ride home by Keith: 3
Times I accepted: 0

Thoughts after Today's Ride

2009-08-16T19:53:00.001-05:00

A few things that are on my mind after today's ride...

To the drivers: Please, please, please look both ways before you turn. Next time it might not be someone like me who is trying desperately to be smart enough for both of us who you almost run over.

To my fellow trail peeps: I realize it's a multi-use trail. How about you just just use HALF of it?

To myself: When slowing down to give the jerkoff who blocks the whole crosswalk and makes you ride around a dirty look please don't get so focused that you don't see the next car over just in case they try to jump the stoplight.

ZP Reviews Wii Sports Resort

2009-07-30T10:36:00.003-05:00

Augmented Reality Video Demo

2009-07-27T13:49:00.001-05:00

Too bad we'll have to wait until September to see this type of app on iPhone 3.1.

Bike Karma or Just Another Idiot?

2009-07-22T21:39:00.002-05:00

I seem to be stuck in a bad bike experience rut. First the injury out at Wilderness, then the profanity spewing redneck jerkwad and now tonight my first physical contact with a moving vehicle.

Seth and I were cruising downhill on the trail that goes on the side of Old Cheney when a minivan pulled into the intersection and blocked the path. This isn't abnormal and it's something that I watch for (of course) but the good part of this was that I hit the brakes and came to a stop with my front tire just out into the street a bit. The lady didn't look right when she turned and she cut the corner so tightly that she actually hit my tire with the already-caved-in side of her frickin' minivan!

As near as I can tell she didn't do any damage but seriously... What the f**k lady? I'm beginning to think that I must have done some bad cycling stuff earlier this summer. It's got to be either Bike Karma or... Well, or just more ignorant drivers. Or both.

Either way I'm considering taking Chris's advice and riding with a pocket full of "attention getters" like lug nuts or old batteries...

Dr. Strangebike (or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Shoulder)

2009-07-20T18:15:00.003-05:00

I decided to take a different route on my bike ride tonight (I'm "taking it easy" remember?) so I rode down 14th Street over to Highway 77 then back into town over by Culvers and down to the SouthPointe trail. It was a 15 mile ride that I managed to make feel like it was 30+ miles (I'm good at that when I ride alone.) Of course the rain may have had something to do with it...

To those 4 wheelers that changed lanes so as not to drench me in spray and make me even more damp than I already was I say, "Thank you."

To the 4 wheeler that seemed to go out of his way to get close to me - to the point of having both right side tires on the white line I say another two word phrase that ends in "you."

And to the dude that blocked the cross walk on the trail then pulled out without even looking my direction who I admonished and waved at - the dude that chased me down and yelled he was going to "beat the f**k out of...[me]" and "kick...[my]....f**king ass" I say this:

The worst punishment any individual, government or deity could possibly visit on your person is that every morning you have to wake up and be YOU. That sucks, I almost feel bad for you.

Seriously Microsoft - I mean really?

2009-07-14T11:36:00.002-05:00

Am I the only one that seems to not be able to figure out the new Microsoft commercials where they say "If you can find feature X in a laptop for under $Y we'll give it to you" thing?

Matt: "Sure dude, I want a laptop that aaahh.... has a screen, yeah. Oh, I have to get it for under $1,000? Ok."

Matt goes to Best Buy, finds laptop for $999, buys it, takes cash, lists stupid Windows based machine on eBay before it contracts whatever the latest worm/virus/whatever is and pockets the cash.

What the f**k, over?

VBScript Function IsArrayValid()

2009-06-25T14:27:00.002-05:00

I see a lot of people still stuck in VBS-land that are frustrated by the lack of array handling functions. One of the biggest questions is how to deal with uninitialized dynamic arrays. You can't depend on ubound() = 0 because by default VBS arrays are zero-based and if you try to do a ubound() on an array that hasn't been Dim/Redim-ed it will throw an error. IsArray() returns true and isNull() or isEmpty() return false regardless of whether the array has been initialized or not. For anyone who's interested I put together this very simple function you can use to deal with it. Like it, use it, or don't - it's up to you.


Function isArrayValid(varArray)
  Dim varResult
  Dim intTemp

  varResult = False
  intTemp = -1

  On Error Resume Next
  intTemp = ubound(varArray)
  On Error Goto 0

  If intTemp > -1 then
      varResult = True
  End If

  isArrayValid = varResult
End Function

Best Buy Palm Pre Case

2009-06-25T10:20:00.002-05:00

iPod sold separately. I love it!

iJustine's Palm Pre Purchase Paradox

2009-06-08T14:29:00.000-05:00

Leo Drops the F-Bomb On Mike Arrington

2009-06-08T11:42:00.001-05:00

Could this kick any more ass? Leo Laporte gets pissed. I love it. GO LEO!

Han Solo, P.I.

2009-06-04T12:42:00.001-05:00

The Tonight Show Twitter Tracker

2009-06-04T11:40:00.000-05:00

You just can't beat that tweet.

Leo's Evil Exercise Ball Has It's Revenge

2009-06-03T08:26:00.001-05:00

If you like Leo, watch this video. If you don't like Leo, watch this video.

Lincoln Trails Map (PDF, 2008)

2009-05-28T13:15:00.003-05:00

Dell Vostro A90 + OS X = MacBook Nano!

2009-05-24T14:26:00.003-05:00

Thanks to mechdrew's EXCELLENT guide I now have OS X running on my Dell Vostro A90 netbook. Aside from upgrading to 2 Gig of RAM the 'book is stock and so far it's running great. This is a neat little computer and it's going to be great to throw in the bag when I'm riding my bike. Not bad for a $199 computer!

The only real bummer about the A90 is the keyboard. It doesn't feel quite as comfortable as the keyboard on the Acer Aspire One and the arrangement is completely whacked out... But it's workable.

The "Big Daddy" MacBook Pro unibody in the background, Vostro A90 running OS X on the left and Acer Aspire One running Windows 7 RC on the right.

Windows 7 RC on Acer Aspire One

2009-05-14T09:33:00.003-05:00

I recently picked up an Acer Aspire One netbook to see if Windows 7 really runs as well on a miniputer as everyone says it does. Walmart had the 1G/160G configuration on sale for $250 so I thought I'd give it a shot. I have avoided the Acer netbook in the past because it is somewhat difficult to upgrade the RAM (you have to take the thing down to the point where you can remove the mainboard from the case to get access to the memory slot) but for this test I felt I could live with the 1 Gig of RAM.

After downloading the RC from Microsoft and getting my trial key I plugged in an external USB DVD drive to the Acer and started the install. Many minutes later I had a working copy of Windows 7 running on the miniputer. Everything seemed to be working fine but I still had 4 entries in the device manager that didn't have drivers installed. A quick visit to my old friend Google turned up this Vista driver for the card reader. The touchpad worked but it didn't have all the nice extras so I snagged this driver from the Synaptics web site.

The good news is that Windows 7 seems to run just fine on the Aspire One. Aero works fine and it seems fairly snappy even with only 1 Gig of RAM. I installed Notes 8.5, Office 2007, Mesh and some of the other Windows Live apps and I still have plenty of space left thanks to the fact that my configuration was equipped with the 160 Gig drive instead of a tiny 4 or 8 Gig SSD. The Windows 7 RC is available for free from Microsoft until "at least July" and it doesn't expire until June 2010 (although it will become annoying and start shutting down every 2 hours beginning March 1, 2010) so feel free to give it a try. It's no OS X but it's a damn sight better than the stinky piece of Redmond crap that is Windows Vista.

Facebook Mobile App Comparison

2009-05-13T11:14:00.004-05:00

I actually feel bad for people that are stuck with Windows Mobile based phones. Check out these screen caps of the WinMo based Facebook app and then the iPhone one...

I guess it could be worse, the WinMo peeps could be stuck with a BlackBerry.

Star Trek: TNG Rap

2009-05-08T13:46:00.001-05:00

Star Trek TNG Rap (WARNING - EXPLICIT LYRICS) -- powered by Cracked.com

Best Office 2010 Quotes

2009-05-07T13:31:00.003-05:00

My apologies for not having the correct attribution. Numero uno...

"This is impenetrable. It’s UI salad. I realize this is not (yet) shipping software, but my god. If you sat me down in front of this, I wouldn’t have the slightest idea where to begin."

And the 2nd best...

"Keep rocking that floppy disk icon, Microsoft."

You suck Microsoft.

Totally.

Suck.

iPhoto '09 is of God

2009-04-07T11:07:00.002-05:00

FireFly DVD Set $19.99

2009-04-01T09:51:00.001-05:00

Worth owning... Buy 2 so you can loan one out!

Link @ Amazon

Jamie Want Big Boom.

2009-03-27T15:03:00.002-05:00

Who would have thought that setting off 500 pounds of ammonium nitrate would break windows? I mean c'mon... The Esparato Fire Department was there and everything...

Link

Adam Carolla on Bikers

2009-03-26T08:44:00.002-05:00

Do not listen to this if you have issues with the "F" bomb. I think he's talking about a friend of mine.

Trent Reznor on Chris Cornell's New Album

2009-03-13T13:16:00.002-05:00

Love love love it.

Link

BigMatt's Big Watchmen Review

2009-03-09T14:17:00.001-05:00

It was OK.

Jon Stewart on Twitter

2009-03-03T09:37:00.000-06:00

New Version of Exchange to Support Browsers that don't Suck

2009-02-13T11:06:00.003-06:00

Yes folks it's true! The new version of Exchange server will let you use a non security hole ridden bloated pile of stinking garbage web browser to get your mail in Outlook Web Access! (And yes, I do know you can use OWA's "lite" mode - and I also know how much it sucks.)

What they don't mention is CHA-CHING it's upgrade time peeps! So be ready to install all new hardware and software on the new servers that you're going to have to get to run the latest and "greatest" Exchange 14! Maybe you can even get them all installed and ready to go before Exchange 15 comes out. (Not likely considering the crap ton of man hours it's going to take you to do all this crap and move your mailboxes over to the new system.)

F**k you Microsoft. In over 20 years of working with computers I have never been exposed to a company that embodied the phrase "familiarity breeds contempt" more than you.

Link

She's Walkin' on Sunshine!

2009-01-30T09:52:00.002-06:00

If you've seen this episode of Intervention you will appreciate this video. If not... You won't.

The Storm Sucks? Say it ain't so!

2009-01-26T12:47:00.001-06:00

From the article at CrunchGear:

"RIM’s BlackBerry Storm, the biggest lump of crap to come out of Canada since Celine Dion, sold 500,000 units in its first month. Everyone who was everyone basically told RIM that this was a heap but did they listen? Nope."

Link

Guitar Hero Safety Tip

2009-01-25T11:25:00.001-06:00

This could happen to you! Please be careful when you are rocking out with Guitar Hero - your pants will thank you.

Jimmy Fallon Interviews Alex & Kevin!

2009-01-22T14:41:00.000-06:00

Dexter and Sis Married?

2009-01-12T11:38:00.002-06:00

I didn't think twice about Michael Hall and Jennifer Carpenter (Dexter and his sister on the show) sitting next to each other last night at the GG's. Now I see that there may be more to it than just two actors who happen to be on the same show sitting at the same table - THEY ARE MARRIED!

Weird.

Link

PS: The theatre of Dexter is still open if anyone wanted to watch it.

Fat Man, no Little Boy

2009-01-08T13:16:00.002-06:00

Are you sure you want to trust the future of desktop computing to this guy?

Get a Mac.

Best Blog Comment This Month

2008-12-30T11:21:00.001-06:00

My UUCP Map entry!

2008-12-22T17:23:00.002-06:00

How cool, somehow I managed to find my old UUCP map entry. It's not quite correct though - it says I'm using a DEC 433ST (a 486sx/33) running SCO but in reality I was using a 386/40 (rock on AMD) running Linux 0.99pl11 - at least I think it was pl11 - it's been a while...

#N midland
#S DEC 433ST; SCO 3.2.4
#O Midland Suppliers, Inc.
#C Matt C. B
#E midland!mbrinkho
#T +1 402 466 4000
#P 4400 N 48th Street, Lincoln, NE, 68504
#L 40 85 N / 96 75 W city
#R This space intentionally left blank.
#W midland!mbrinkho (Matt C. B); Fri Dec 4 16:25:00 CDT 1992
#
midland mmedia(DIRECT)

The EQ Mount is HERE!

2008-12-20T16:33:00.002-06:00

And it's totally cool!

PS: I'm still cursing you for even bringing this up Sean...

Get Yer iPhone Here - $149.99!

2008-12-17T10:50:00.002-06:00

AT&T is offering the refurbed iPhone 3G for $149.99 shipped. EOM

Link

Tesla on Top Gear

2008-12-16T10:23:00.000-06:00

Diggnation Hits the Washington Post

2008-12-15T09:10:00.002-06:00

Cool.

Link

PS: Watch it, it's groovy.

Xbox 360 Arcade Holiday Bundle $159

2008-12-12T15:18:00.002-06:00

Includes the standard disc of games that comes with the "Arcade" model as well as SEGA SuperStar Tennis. $199 - 20% coupon ZCFLR1BTX5Q1D$ = $159. Get one quick.

FatWallet Link

Please don't use Internet Explorer

2008-12-12T10:03:00.003-06:00

If there is one thing we can count on it's that every time Microsoft tells us that it's "safe" to use Internet Explorer they are wrong. Nobody should use IE any more ever unless they have a site that absolutely requires it. Firefox, Safari, Opera, Chrome, anything but IE!

3G is HERE!

2008-12-08T10:01:00.003-06:00

Amazingly enough when the AT&T salesdude told me that Lincoln would have 3G "before the end of the year" he wasn't making it up!

The Votes Are In: BlackBerry Storm Sucks

2008-12-05T08:59:00.002-06:00

I didn't say it!

Link

Overheard at Work

2008-12-03T11:26:00.002-06:00

"No wonder the American language is so hard to learn!"