It’s the little things

I bought a Surly Long Haul Trucker a couple of months ago, my first real, “serious” bike. I bought the complete bike, and I have been really happy with it. Well, with everything except the brake pads.

You take brake pads for granted. They make you stop. It isn’t really that glamorous, at least not as glamorous as gears and cranks and things that make you go fast. On my old bike (which I still have and have plans for, by the way), I had some Kool-stop Supra 2s that worked pretty damn well. They held up in the Seattle rains, stopped well on hills, and, wish some care, didn’t tend to get that glaze on them that brake pads get when the rims heat up.

Well, after riding a few times on the LHT, I noticed that the stock Oryx pads got that glaze on them. Like, pretty much every time I rode. Resurfacing those pads after every ride was getting pretty annoying, and made me not want to ride. Obviously that was unacceptable, so I make a stop by my LBS over lunch one day and picked up some Kool-Stop V-type brake holders for the front brake to give them a whirl. They were $20, and include a holder and a set of replaceable pads. The holder takes a lot of the set-up out of changing brake pads. Basically you set them up once and you’re done (unless you change rims or something). And you can buy different replacement pads for various road conditions.

So, in theory they seemed great once I set them up. This past week I had my first real commute on them, and I’m very glad I bought these. I did my long commute (instead of my multi-modal commute on the bus) which involves long downhill sections with a lot of potholes and occasional (enevitable) emergency braking. I made it to work and no glaze. A couple of commutes later and… still no glaze! Awesome! You don’t realize how brake pads can affect your ride until you change them. Changing these out really made my commute more fun, because I wasn’t annoyed by hearing that glaze grate on my rims, or worried about being able to brake in time to avoid a car that swerved in front of me. Now I stop effortlessly and I don’t have nearly as much maintenance to worry about.

So, uh, I guess the lesson is, if you’re buying a new LHT, Cross-Check, or other Oryx cantilever-equipped complete bike, you might want to consider replacing the pads immediately with some Kool-Stops.

Next (and probably last for awhile) on the list of parts to upgrade on the LHT: tires. I’ve been getting way too many flats. Granted, I ride across some pretty epic and brutal potholes, and some of the most glass/metal/debris-strewn roads in Seattle. But still, I like to make it to meetings on time and preferably with time to spare for caffeinating and eating. I’m thinking some variety of Schwalbe marathons, or possibly Panaracer Pasela TGs. Stay tuned…

Fucking Hills Race

Sunday I had my first real ride with the new bike. I rode down to the waterfront and met some crazy bike bastards for the FHR or Fucking Hills Race. Actually I also was riding another ride called the Chilly Hilly, but under the banners of the FHR. The easy way to explain it is the FHR is pirates sacking the Chilly Hilly. It is a 33-mile ride around the quite hilly Bainbridge Island in February (hence the “Chilly Hilly”).

Actually I should back up a little. It was fairly cold and rainy on my way down to the waterfront. I figured it was a sign that the rest of the day would be similar. Turns out I was wrong…

Anyway, I also met up with my friends Laura and Sasha at the ferry. The ferry ride was nice, we were all very excited to get in the saddle. When we got off the ferry, the weather was great. Cool, but not cold. Probably in the upper 40s or low 50s, no rain, and mostly cloudy. Beautiful cycling weather. The beginning of the ride was fairly easy. Rolling hills and the climbs weren’t that steep or long. A good warm-up. We could really bomb down some of the hills, which made it a lot of fun to ride. About 1/3 of the way through the ride, I got a flat, which was also my first flat with the LHT. Unfortunately, I didn’t bring a spare tube, so it took a little finangling and remembering how to patch a tube. I was high on endorphins, too, so I wasn’t exactly thinking clearly. Anyway, a roadie came by and helped me out lickety-split while Laura and Sasha waited patiently and snacked.

Some hand-pumped air later, we were on our way, and hit the first of the Fucking Hills. Some pretty steep ascents (and descents, too) that left me huffing and puffing. Did I mention that I haven’t been riding much lately and was totally out of shape? Yeah, I was doing this ride pretty much totally unprepared, physically. By the time I hit the final hill just before the halfway point/rest area, I was not in a good way. My blood sugar levels were reallly now (despite my enormous breakfast of 3 scrambled eggs, a whole wheat bagel with peanut butter, orange, and coffee), and my front tube was under-inflated. I had to walk the last 50 feet or so up that hill, and I felt really bad about it. At the rest area, I was able to use a floor pump to get the front tire up to a good pressure. Also we got some food and a lot of water in our systems. Then we headed off again.

At one point I passed a lady who was talking with her friends about forgetting her albuterol [asthma inhaler] at home. Of course I had mine, and I said so. We pulled over and I let her take a couple puffs to get her lungs working again. They took a picture. It was funny.

Again, some good rolling hills, but there were also some steep ones. It was tough. I typically want to go balls-out when climbing steep hills, because in Seattle, most steep hills are also pretty short. This works out pretty well for me in those situations. But on long, steep climbs… I’m just not that experienced. I was going too fast and accomplishing nothing but getting my heart rate up too high and wearing myself out. So I started using someone else to keep pace- anyone who was going way slower than I would have wanted. That worked like a charm. Those hills were still very hard, but at least they were doable. Very glad that I had the granny gear on the LHT, I really needed it!

Then there was the Panultimate Motherfucker of all hills on the ride, Baker Hill. It’s the hill that Bainbridge cyclists use to train for hills- much higher than any other on the ride. I guess it is an 8.5% grade and about 305 ft. high. I don’t know if that’s right, I just know it sucked. I considered walking it partway, but it was a pretty long hill, which would have taken forever to walk up. Plus I had my pride. I eventually made it to the top, and Sasha and I bought a brownie from some enterprising people at the top of the hill (there were people along the way selling treats to benefit various Bainbridge Island charities and organizations). Laura made it a little later, she took it slow and steady. After drinking some water and catching our breath, we found that we had a descent, at about 8.5% and 305 ft. down, pretty much to sea-level. I wish I had a cyclocomputer so I knew how fast we went down that hill. At least 40 mph I would say.

The last portion of the ride was the worst. There were a few steep hills and I was exhausted. But we all powered through it and finished. I only walked 50 feet, and we only stopped a few times. Though I guess those added up, because we pretty much missed the .83 afterparty. Ah, well. Next year I will be stronger and faster.

The ride was gorgeous. Most of the route is through forests and along the waterfront. There are some great views of Seattle from the eastern shore. A really fun ride.

We grabbed some much-needed lunch and a beer at a brewpub, and headed back to the ferry. I took the bus home, took a shower and chilled out for the evening. I slept for 10 hours straight, best night of sleep in recent memory.

Autumn

Autumn has hit with full-force here in Seattle. It’s funny how the seasons here seem to match the calendar exactly. September 20th hits and summer is over, autumn is here. Weird.

Skies are grey and the weather is chilly. Seattle cold is different from the bitter, frozen Midwestern cold that I grew up with. It is an insidious chill that crawls under your skin and remains there. When the temperature freezes, the cold is on your skin. When it drizzles and hovers just above freezing, as it does in winter here, the cold gets into your soul. Coffee helps, and/or tea in copious quantities.

Along with the cold weather is a desire, no, a need for all that which is epic. As with most years, I gravitate towards The Lord of the Rings once autumn hits. I started reading The Fellowship of the Ring again recently. Some years I don’t make it all the way through the 1000+ page story (though I’ve read the entire book probably five or six times now), but every year I at least get a taste of it. This year I’m really wanting to finish it, as it’s been a few since I made it all the way through the Scouring of the Shire.

Along with epic literature is the need for epic music. My epic, melancholic band of choice for these purposes and at this time of year is Summoning, the Austrian band comprised of Protector (also of Die Verbannten Kinder Evas and Ice Ages). So vast and majestic, like armies marching across the Pelennor. Expansive metal with orchestral execution. Perfect.

Tonight my partner and I carved our pumpkins and put them out on the step. The rains are here, but tomorrow we get a respite. I’m looking forward to the cool ride in to work.

Namárië.

Carcass live

I never got a chance to post about seeing Carcass a few weeks ago. Life has been too hectic. Or maybe I just haven’t felt like writing. Either way…

Despite some fairly serious technical mishaps (I was at the Seattle show, and Bill Steer’s guitar pedal kept fucking up, also there were some visual blunders), the show was great. Everyone had fun, and seeing some of my favorite songs ever played live was a real treat. Although not one of my favoritest Carcass songs, I have to say that the highlight of the set for me was probably “Incarnated Solvent Abuse” which just killed live. “Heartwork,” “Corproreal Jigsore Quandray” and “Exhume to Consume” were also great of course, and the ending with them playing the last bit from “Carneous Cacoffiny” was the perfect way to end the set.

I really can’t give much more in the way of impressions of their set as I just felt like the 14-15 year old me for a lot of the time (I got into Carcass around 1995) and it was just really… special for me to see. I’m really glad they did this tour, now I’m happy if they never do anything Carcass-related again. I always wanted to see them live but never got the chance until now. I got my badass “Tools of the Trade” t-shirt and everything (strange that they didn’t play that song…). Man, what a great night.

1349 played a great, albeit very short, set, too. I hadn’t seen them  before, but now the next time they roll through town I’ll definitely go.

Next show I go to… maybe Asunder? Not sure.

At the Gates

I saw At the Gates a couple of days ago. It was a great show. It’s been a really long week for me so I’m not going to say too much about the show, other than it was everything I was hoping that it would be.

All of the best songs were played (they were the same as on the setlist announced on Babbermouth awhile ago- no link for the moment because Blabbermouth appears to be down), the band was really tight and the energy from the band and the crowd was high and intense. Everyone was having a great time (except for the guy I saw pulled down from crowd-surfing by security). My only disappointment was Tomas’ vocals, which were a little more hardcore/screamy than his really grim screams from back in the day, but he delivered a very exuberant performance with good showmanship, so I can’t speak too harshly of his vocals, which he has obviously evolved over the last decade or so.

Aside from ATG themselves, I had perfect timing going to the show. I arrived just as the previous band ended and I scored an awesome place to stand to watch the show. Also, I got the news that motherfucking Carcass, the Gods of Grind themselves, are going to be playing in Seattle on September 21st. To prepare, I’ve already started going through the discography repeatedly. Seeing Suffocation for the first time in 11 years and 1349 will be great, too.

A cautionary tale. Plus, a bit of personal news

Take care when handling new metadata from large academic publishers.

Made an appointment to speak with a guy at my bank about getting a mortgage. Yep, looking to buy my first house. Awesome.

Arckanum – Antikosmos

I listened to the latest Arckanum album today, and was completely surprised that I would like it as much as I did. For those not in-the-know, Arckanum is a one-man black metal band from Sweden, the sole product of the troll/man known as Shamaatae since 1992. His first recordings were thrash-influenced, occasionally folkish black metal. Raw and untamed like the forests of Scandinavia, catchy as brutal as hell.

Well, Antikosmos is just like that, only much more musically mature and refined in its purpose. There are a lot of atmospheric, darkwave-y moments in between the metal mayhem, like punctuation to the black metal rituals. And, those atmospheric moments are very ritual-driven, with titles like Blóta Lóka (“Rite of Lóki”).

This is the first full-length Arckanum record in ten years. I have to say it was worth the wait.

Arckanum on MySpace
Arckanum Official Homepage

Samples available on both. Full-length found on torrent networks, p2p, etc. Since I saw Shamaatae on OiNK’s Pink Palace, I pretty much assume that he probably released the work on torrent sites. Please correct me if I’m wrong. I’ll definitely be buying this one.

Carcass

Honestly, I don’t really care about George Carlin being dead. He lived a fairly long time and had an awesome career. Everybody loved him. Let’s move on, shall we?

Well, that was easy, because MOTHERFUCKING Carcass is coming to the U.S.! Dear sweet Jeebus, it finally happened. Ever since Carcass’ reunion was announced, I’ve been obsessively checking the entire intarwebs to see if they were coming over here. Since I blew my overseas metal excursion budget last year on Hole in the Sky (which Carcass is playing this year), I couldn’t justify it this year, but it’s happening. They’re coming here. I feel like a kid waiting for Carcassmas or something.

They’re only confirmed as playing New York right now on Sept. 6th, but “more dates will be announced” according to Blabbermouth. This is just too cool for words.

As the almighty Beavis would say “Thank God! Heh hmm.”

For those of you who either don’t like metal, or who like metal but have lived under a planet-sized stone for the last 20 years, Carcass were one of the most influential and early contributors to the grindcore genre, and later became the very bestest melodic death metal band of all time END OF STORY.

Sunday ride

I had a pretty awesome ride today. I rode a little over six miles, on a completely new route, to my supervisor’s house for his “going-away” barbecue (although he’s not going to leave for a few weeks yet).

It was a nice ride, except that I actually rode a little over seven miles because I got lost, sort of, on the way there. Ha! So, a little over 12 miles today… and I barely even felt it. I could have done another 12 no problem, I think. Provided I did have a break halfway through… but I’m feeling more comfortable and confident in my riding ability. I think the fact that I climb a long, semi-steep hill every day on my commute has really helped me in my “training.” Which is also weird because I never think about “training” as a cyclist or anything like that.

To me, cycling is something that I do not because of some goal- be it getting in shape or riding a certain speed, or doing some big event. It’s something I do to save myself from getting inside a car. It’s just what I like to do.

That said, I don’t ride 20 miles a day or anything. I pretty much stay within a neighborhood or two of where I live, and everything is pretty compact and convenient. Which is great, because it doesn’t take me very long to get anywhere. But it’s also bad, because it means I’m not in the saddle as long as I could be. Because I do want to be a strong cyclist. What if I want to visit the Red Hook Brewery? Or somewhere like that. I wouldn’t want to drive my car to get there, with all the crazies out there on the highway. Also, riding is fun and I’d just like to do more of it.

On the plus side, it looks like we’re probably going to be buying a home sometime in the next 6 months plus, which will probably be much farther away from work. That will naturally get me used to riding for longer periods of time.

I heart bikes.

It was a great day on Sunday to be on my bike. My partner and I decided to make the most of a beautiful day and jumped on our bikes to ride around Seattle for the first long ride of the season. Now, I won’t pretend like I ride hundreds of miles a week or anything, because I don’t. At least not yet. But the last couple of years I’ve discovered the joy of bicycling as a primary means of transportation.

Currently I bike to work and back every day. It’s a short ride, but there’s a pretty long hill on my ride back home. I ride to get groceries, pick up a video game to rent, or (quite often) to go out with friends (get a drink, go to a movie, or whatever).

I think one of the reasons why I enjoy riding is because it feels like freedom. I don’t have to worry about rising gas prices (even though I own a car) because I rarely drive. Too late to take the bus home? No need to call a taxi, just hop on the bike and ride home in the cool nighttime air. My own energy and muscles are what is taking me from point A to point B, not some rapidly-diminishing fossil fuel. It’s better for the environment than driving or even taking public transit, better for my health, better for my sanity, better for my checking account, and better for my appetite. =)

In other words, it’s all about being Free.

Bicycles. Metal. Libraries. Freedom.

More on this later… I’m looking forward to the next ride that isn’t to work or anywhere in particular.