Filed under: Uncategorized
no costume = no excitement
that is a lie. I am fairly certain that I would not be excited about halloween regardless of costume. In fact, if I were not already going back to Charlottesville next week to vote, I might be on the road right now. I am bummed about being bummed.
Recently, I have been shifting my waking hours back to get an earlier start to my days. This is my own form of daylight savings, which will only be helped out this sunday when the real one kicks in. I find myself filling my free morning time with proofs and tea, which, despite how it sounds, is enjoyable. I am currently taking a break from a seemingly easy linear algebra-type proof from my Partial Differential Equations class; it is giving me troubles.
Hopefully I will find some time this afternoon to get my hands dirty and glue my tubulars onto my new wheels. I am putting all of my trust in the Park Tool how-to site. After these are set, I just need to wait for my brake pads to come in before I take my first spin. In addition to the pads, I dropped a fair amount of dough on wheel bags and a Bell Volt yesterday. Cycling Christmas in November!
BARR/Brendan Fowler is the latest musician to get his/her 15 minutes of fame in my fickle spotlight. I was not impressed at first; I was expecting conventional music, in my sense of the term. You must listen to his lyrics to appreciate any of it.
Plus, he has some sweet shirts. The girl on the left is the lead singer of High Places, another band that is a little strange but definitely earns my seal of approval (I am a sucker for animal puns). Not to mention that they have an awesome blog, Flickr photostream, and she’sacutebrooklynhipstergirl. I think that Panda Bear of Animal Collective also has one of these BARR shirts.
Back to the proofs.
Filed under: Uncategorized
Initially, I intended to update roughly every other day. My inability to post more than with bimonthly frequency should be considered a failure. Several drafts have gone unfinished, including one outlining my trip to New York a few weeks back (in brief: drove up with my friend jason, navigated into and across Manhattan on a Friday night using just my iphone, saw Man Man, bribed a bouncer to see the Elephant 6 Holiday Surprise concert where Jeff Mangum of Neutral Milk Hotel made an appearance, and spent the last day getting the car out of the NYPD Brooklyn pound for a fee of $320). I have been lying to myself by saying that my posting and cycling involvement should be proportional, but in actuality, as Sam Froelich pointed out yesterday, I know that people really do not want to read about training and intervals. Moreover, I do not want to exclusively write about these things.
The real reason I have not been able to post this month is school work. It is as though my declaration of intent to become a math professor was met with a test, in the form of piles of bullshit MATLAB programming from one of my senior math classes. The projects for this class, Math 4414 – Issues in Scientific Computing, are not conceptually difficult but they take a hell of a long time to complete correctly (~12-20 hours). Fuck it, I busted my ass and now I am hopefully out of the worst. No bad taste remains; I still want to go to grad school for Applied Math, even if it means that I will have no life for four years. I think I am cut out for it. After all, I am learning LaTeX just for fun…
My training, along with everyone else’s, for the ‘09 collegiate season starts next week. I had been lacking the necessary motivation, but it is slowly returning (is it wrong that I automatically try to model my feelings with functions? An exponential would fit nicely…); my new wheels (see post below–carbon. is. sexy.) helped out with that. I have no idea how I got into road cycling last fall with the weather getting so cold and windy around now, but I am certainly finding it to be a deterrent this year. Gotta man up and keep next year’s goals in mind:
- Finish top 15 in collegiate B’s
- Upgrade to Cat 3–get the last of my needed points at the Settler’s Life Omnium, i.e. Roan Groan
- Finish top 15 at the Mill Mountain Time Trial
- Earn X upgrade points (TBD)
To be honest, the top 15 at Mill Mountain is not very ambitious considering that I placed 22nd this year while I was a bit out of shape and my shoe came unclipped at the top of the first hill. I would not consider that to be worth mentioning, except that five seconds separated 17th from 22nd place.
Things that are good:
- Andrew Bird – Live in Montreal
- Avett Brothers – Mignonette
- My Wu Tang pumpkin (picture coming)
- Taking the GREs a year early
- Finding my knee warmers after an exhausting search
- Belle and Sebastian – BBC Sessions
- True Blood
- Easton EC90 Aeros
- Knowing where I want to go (except for thanksgiving–ideas?)
I will fall asleep easier having made this list. It is funny how love-induced problems can make you forget small joys. Things are never that bad.
Goodnight
Filed under: cycling
I had all but given up on this blog but what the hell, things change. I now claim this blog as my own as I never see my roommates using it, especially since John won’t be racing next year.
This semester has been a cf of school work which has rendered me socially inept. Someone suggested that this is how college is really supposed to be and I had just bullshitted my way through the first few years, but I refuse to accept that. Something they don’t tell you before you here: mechanical engineering is actually an insatiable parasite which feeds on your hopes, dreams, happiness, and creativity. This is exactly why I will not continue studying ME in grad school. My sights are currently set on this pipe dream, although I would also be happy in any other general Applied Math program.
My plans for grad school have large implications for the future of my cycling career. I love riding in the mountains; I despise flat areas and heavy traffic; and my top schools are Columbia, NYU, and Chicago: shiiiit. Given that I should only be a Cat 3 by the time I leave Virginia Tech, no one needs to tell me that the quality of my academics needs to take precedence over cycling, but it is still a bummer. Sure, there are other wonderful schools located in cycling friendly areas but I am feeling a strong urge to relocate to a large city. Hopefully some of the living expenses will be covered by the sale of my SuperSix 6.9 Madone or S-Works SL2 Tarmac. Which new bike I will be purchasing changes by the week, thanks to ongoing sponsorship negotiations for both VT and Rogues.
I planned to finish this entry after I returned from Fall Break on Sunday, but I am waiting for my iPhone to finish charging before departing to Charlottesville. Friday, my friend Jason and I will be driving up to New York for the weekend and I will force myself to take pictures. The agenda of things to do includes seeing a Man Man concert, visiting Princeton, Columbia and NYU, and recovering from a few weeks of reclusiveness; i.e. mingling with hipsters.
“Engineers are the oompa loompas of science”
Filed under: Uncategorized
During the summer I repeatedly asked myself, and others, if I should get a iphone and almost every time the answer came back “no”. Well, sometimes you must go against your better judgement.
screaming child:ice cream :: colin after first week of the semester:8GB iPhone 3G
Cecil’s new nickname for me: iSnob (he’s jealous)
I know just how easy it is to brush off these things when you don’t own one but they really are impressively intuitive and now feature packed, thanks to the App Store. I know that I have yet to wipe the drool from my chin and shake myself from this geeked-out state of awe, but useful applications like Apple’s Remote and WordPress make it difficult. The odds that I will switch over to Mac have now increased — I may have already put an Apple sticker on the back of laptop, over the Toshiba emblem :)
The end of this week will bring another party at Ben’s and a drive home to Charlottesville for a Wobble Naught bike fit, so I am hoping that these next few days will pass quickly with few bumps along the way. I cannot say that last week went by in this fashion, but I think things have improved and I have come to accept my horrendous assortment of classes. I am still struggling to accept my place in the world of mechanical engineering.
-Colin
Filed under: cycling
With the new semester about to start, my once relaxed attitude has all but disappeared. Consequently, I have neglected the blog; now I understand why neither Cecil nor Scott made posts while they were taking summer classes. I attempted to write “Rankings, pt. 2″ a week ago, this time discussing recent music leaks, but lacked the required motivation to finish it. Indie music snobbery loses its appeal from time to time.
Speaking of which, I finally told WUVT that I would not take my new time slot of 9am-12pm on Tuesdays after they moved me from my 3:30-5pm slot. Instead of being brushed off with a “that figures” sort of response, I was momentarily offered the 3:30-5pm slot on Mondays which, only moments later, fell through. Ah well, I will probably pounce on a time slot after the first week of classes, when people realize that they do not have time for a show. Hell, even I do not have time for a show since I am working, training, entertaining the idea of pickin’ up a research project, etc. Radio’s a dying medium anyway.
Back to snobbery
Cycling snobbery has not lost its appeal. Cecil, John, Tim and I graced Ben W’s party last night, and while John had magic tricks to keep himself occupied before wandering back to another apartment, the rest of us fell back into the not-so-surprising routine of discussing cycling with general disregard for the social exclusivity of such a conversation. I sometimes wonder if living with three other cyclists has affected my ability to discuss anything else. At least girls always seem pseudo-eager to find out if we have any tips for shaving their legs. Tim, in his own words, was entertaining the hell out of himself, and was all the comic relief I needed in an otherwise drab party. Oh yeah, and there was also that kid singing Bright Eyes to himself, all alone in the corner, ripe for ridicule. I am not sure why I thought that hitting up parties would be more fun than heading downtown, but I probably will not be making that mistake again any time soon.
On the bike, I just started to find my form again and so I rewarded myself with a nice set of Easton EC90 Aero carbon tubulars. Hopefully, I will also soon be ordering a set of EA90 SL clinchers to use as all around wheels. Not sure if it was a smart decision to spend this much money, but what can I say? I had an insatiable hunger to end my streak of frugality. I have not been riding as much as I have wanted– in fact, recently I have not done anything as much as I have wanted to. Hopefully this will all change soon and I will be able to pull myself together to race on Sept. 6th and 7th at the Oak Ridge Omnium.
I could go on and on about how much I dislike Blacksburg now that everyone is back, but that really is not the point of this blog. One of the few positive aspects is that VT teammates are back and we will have some epic group rides.
-Colin
Filed under: cycling
Things I Enjoy While Riding (a.k.a. Highlights of What Did Not Happen Today)
- Having all objects kept inside of Florida registered BMWs instead of thrown at cyclists
- Being genuinely impressed by the originality of fat, heckling motorists (“Pussy”? Dude, that was fuckin’ wicked-dumb-tits awesome! *air high five*)
- Snake-free roads
- Snot rockets which successfully follow their intended trajectory instead of crashing and burning, piling upon the other wreckage
- Silent, creak free bikes that let you enjoy an otherwise excellent ride
-Colin
Filed under: cycling
Today marks the opening of the Olympics and I am truly thankful; I am still working through my Tour de France withdrawal so it will be nice to see some cycling back on TV. Summer sporting events, such as TdF, World Cup, and the Olympics, tend to suck me in and consume my free time. Did you miss a day or a specific event? Feel free to ask and I will gladly recap with frightening enthusiasm, regardless of whether or not my interest for the sport piques only once every four years. These month-long endeavors suit me well because I do not have the commitment to follow entire seasons.
Both Scott and Cecil will be gone next week so I guess Beibei, Jingjing, Huanhuan, Yingying, and Nini will be my temporary roommates. I am not going to lie; Beibei is one creepy-ass looking mascot. It is what I would imagine a Chinese caricature of a dead hooker to look like if it were a character in a children’s show.
As a last hoorah of roommate love before school starts, a belated 22nd birthday activity for Scott, and a celebration for the completion of summer classes, the three of us are going mountain biking on Saturday. I am skeptical of my technical ability these days so I hope I do not ruin my life again by crashing. Hell, the last time Scott and Cecil both went mountain biking they got messed up too, Cecil roughed up his face and Scott needed to get some stitches in his knee, so I think we need to take it easy.
Only two hours back in the road bike saddle and my knees are already vocalizing their unhappiness, especially the left, necessitating some ice. Le sigh. As soon as I get my hands on my new bike I am going to take a trip to Charlottesville to get a Wobble-Naught fit to hopefully alleviate my woes.
Random bits:
- I <3 Tim for reviving the VT Cycling website
- Why did Zabriskie shave his moustache!? (yikes, that smog in the background looks awful)
- Sigh, yet another climber busted for doping. Inspiration is difficult to find in the Pro ranks.
- Why have I found myself disappointed by people (not just pro cyclists) more than just a few times in the past couple of weeks? Maybe my cynicism has been replaced by misplaced faith.
-Colin
Filed under: music
New track from Grizzly Bear’s appearance on Letterman in late July. If this and the other new song which they have been playing recently are any indication, the new album will be something worth anticipating.
———————-
…and this video just makes me happy. Man Man was first described to me as a mexican funeral procession on drugs, which is not exactly demonstrated in the above video, but you will find it in most of their live performances (be sure to check out Push The Eagle’s Stomach on the second page of song links; also, the interview is hilarious). I saw them a while ago at the late Satellite Ballroom in Charlottesville and it was the most entertaining concert I have ever seen, which is to say that it was one of the best. All I want to do is grow a sweet moustache and join their ranks, is that so much to ask?
-Colin
Filed under: cycling
Today was my first time riding in three weeks, the first time since I wrecked, and it felt all kinds of bad. Fortunately, the pain did not come from my ass-wound but rather my dormant legs and my unstable right knee, which I will be watching closely for the next couple of weeks. I do not think I could deal with another bout of tendinitis. I rode with Cecil, who has also hardly been on his bike in the past three weeks, so we were able sympathize about how much riding up Harding sucks. I might be a climber by design but that does not mean I enjoy it.
During the ride, questions of whether or not cycling is a sane sport, or if a shiny new SuperSix is truly how I should be spending several thousand dollars, popped into my mind. Getting back into shape is always met with internal dissent (common sense), which must be silenced by mighty glove-tan-lined hand of cycling (masochistic perseverance). With the summer coming to a close, there are very few road races left on the calendar so my ability to fight this dissent is waning and I was still cursing the stupid sport when I got back to our house. I opened the door to find a letter from the USAC upgrade officer in VA with my Cat 4 upgrade sticker: motivation. I might have been a Cat 4 for the past three weeks but the sticker was needed validation. Hello collegiate B team.
Blog Update: I am tweaking the banner and overall design on a daily basis but will end my indecision soon enough. Also, everyone who is currently in the house has signed up and will hopefully start contributing this week.
Sanity Update: Because they were on sale for $1.30 less than usual, I bought the remaining boxes (count: 10) of Total Cinnamon Crunch at the Kroger on South Main. In my search for a picture of this stuff, I stumbled across a post on a Body Building forum where one reviewer described it as, “nom nom nom nom,” and another responded, “x2 ftOMNOMONMONMNMOMNOM.” I could not have said it any better myself. I have been forcing myself to eat blandass normal Total for the past year, switching to Apple Jacks every other day in order to preserve my love for breakfast, and this stuff is exactly what I needed all along. 100% nutrition? 100% awesome. <3
-Colin
