Xtracycle Hackage (The Long Vehicle)
Victoria got her Xtracycle on Monday, and since today was her birthday, I thought I should get started on the conversion. We started with a simple (ha) plan to add two seats on top of the snapdeck. That turned out to be just plain impossible. The legs of the seats just wouldn’t fit over the snapdeck. Not a big deal, since attaching the seats to the snap deck was going to be a seriously daunting task anyway.
Next I looked at the option of installing the bike racks that came with the seats inside the xtracycle’s freeloader. This was a daunting task, made only slightly less daunting by the realization that I could remove the freeloader to do the work.
I installed the forward seat first, which was a pretty straight forward following of the directions type activity. Then I started looking at the rear seat, trying to figure out how the heck I was going to get it stable. The two feet had a logical resting point about 2” behind the rear axel, but there was (seemingly) nowhere to secure it up top to keep it from pivoting back and forth.
After a bit of head scratching, I realized that I was going to have a lot of extra hardware, and the bars that attached the forward seat to the bike, had the same size holes as the bike racks used for attaching the feet.
So I was back in business. I attached the forward rack to the rear rack using the supplied hardware, and got down to the business of tightening everything down. As it turns out, this was the real work. Tight quarters, and odd angles combined with sprockets and bike frame, caused me no end of bruised and bloodied knuckles. In the end though, I was victorious!!
I took the bike for a spin around the block, just to see if it was going to be stable, and noticed that it had a bit of lateral flex. This, I worried, was not good. I decided to wait until we had it loaded to make my call.
Fast forward to today…..
I came home at lunch time and we started right in on the tests. Vick took it for a spin and felt that it was weird, but probably doable. Then we loaded up Ruby in the front seat, and Vick took her for a spin. She reported the it was a little wobbly around corners but she could get used to it.
Then we loaded Anika up, and I took them for a spin. I almost dumped the bike on takeoff, and after rounding my first corner, I was pretty certain that this was suicidal. Its not that the bike couldn’t carry the weight. Vertically, the bike is incredibly strong, but laterally, with weight behind the rear axle, its pretty sketchy when anything but forward pressure is exerted.
Coming around corners and fast breaks caused the tail of the bike to bow, laterally, and then slowly come back into alignment with the front of the bike. This could be mitigated in normal riding, but if Vick needed to swerve to avoid an obstacle or, heaven forbid, swerve and brake at the same time, the bike would definitely dump, and probably break in half.
I returned to the runway, and broke the bad news to the throwers. Lucky for all of us, I wasn’t out of ideas. I took the rear seat off and removed the rack. Then I hauled out the bike trailer, and hooked it up. It fit like a charm, and my test flight yielded very positive results. The bike still doesn’t like to be leaned way over at low speed, but handles the curves and shakes with something approaching grace. Its long, oh yes it is, but its not slow, and not completely unwieldy.
I can see many trips to the park and Whole Foods on this bad ass ride. I dub it, The Long Vehicle (after a fun song by Black Cat White Cat).
Ruby Turns 4
Today is Ruby’s Birthday. I am taking the day off and joining her on her Tiny Treks, then we’re all going down to Santa Cruz to the boardwalk for some rides and possibly something sweet. Then back home for dinner and a cake.
Ruby has requested that her cake have chocolate and flour, and sugar, and “some other things”, and real flowers on top. Of course, she will be obliged.
For my part, I made her a collage.
Happy Birthday Ruby!
The Rose Parade
Tonight was the Rose Parade in Portland. This is a huge parade (which is currently going on outside my window (at 10:10pm). We grabbed dinner at the Deschuetes Pub, and then headed over to S.W Park to catch the warm up of the parade. As the even got underway, we realized that we were about a block too far West, and decided to migrate East a bit so that we wouldn’t miss all the marching bands. The marching bands were especially important because just yesterday Ruby was telling us that she wanted one… at her birthday party. Staying up until 10pm and watching them out on the street seemed to be an acceptable consolation for her (thank goodness). Unfortunately, Miles doesn’t deal well with over stimulation and sleep deprivation, so its looking like another long bedtime for him and Vick.
Portland, OR. I Love This Town
Our first night here, and already I’m in love. We had to go to Whole Foods to get some diapers (see my last post for details). On the way back we decided to meander through the Pearl district. We ran into what looked like a street fair, except for that there was a man on a stage giving a pretty elaborate toast.
We asked some nearby standers-by what was up, and they gave us the full lowdown. It seems that this was a dedication for the smallest park in history. To the casual eye, this park looked like a sidewalk, but it did have a neat water feature.
In any case this momentous event was enough of an excuse for Portlandites to celebrate. And celebrate they did, in grand style. Free beer style. After our new friends got done explaining the why, and the what, I headed over to the free beer table to order up what turned out to be a very tasty local beer (name forthcoming).
I enjoyed that, while Ruby enjoyed holding her complementary Izzy (I didn’t want her getting all sugared up), and then we darted back to the car to move it.
G diapers... what's the point?
G diapers are a tragic hybrid between the inconvenience of cloth and the ecological impact of disposable. In this aboration, the disposable bit is a ”flushable” liner, while the reusable bit is a cloth covered shower cap.
We decided to try out this unlikely setup for our Oregon trip. Our first observation was that normal nethersweat started the biodegredation, thereby limiting its use on our little EC boy.
Later when the diaper had been put through it’s paces, we saw the golden flaw of this atrocious concept. We removed the stinky thing to find that the showercap was also covered in poo… so much for the reusable part. Then upon flushage the real magic began. This biodelight backed up the toilet in a way that I never would have thought possible.
My vote, in case I haven’t been plain, skip the G
P.S. This is my first ever post via PDA
Packin' the bags
We’re packing up for Portland now. We’ll be there through Monday. I’ll be attending the RailsConf and the family will be wandering around Portland looking for fun and excitement. Expected side trips (for them at least) include the Zoo, the Children’s Museum, and at least a few local coffee houses. More, I’m sure, as the trip unfolds.
Good Ride, at Great Cost
I had a good ride today. Tom P. (my boss), and Adrian B (new SETI PI) started out the ride with me from HP in Palo Alto. We made good (but not good enough) time over to Woodside where we met up with Carl P (who graciously waited 30 minutes for us to arrive). We rode Canada road to Skyline, and up Polhemus. Adrian left us at the bottom of the Polhemus loop, and Carl left 8 miles later at Woodside. Tom and I raced back to the cars at HP in what seemed like record time. Now that I’ve done the whole course, I feel quite a bit more comfortable with the upcoming ride. Here are the stats:
- Distance 43.29
- Time 3:35:31
- Avg Speed 12:05
- Max Speed 38.21
- Trip Climb 2,299’
Now for the cost. As I mentioned in the last article, Ruby was not pleased with my night on the town. She was also quite upset about my going on a ride, and wasn’t shy about showing her displeasure in the most creative ways. At Woodside, I called Vick to check in, and things were distinctly not okay. I didn’t really have space to talk, and she didn’t have time, so I pedaled onward, hoping for the best. At the half way point I called again and Vick was in tears. Apparently Ruby had been acting out in every demonic way possible, at one point intentionally smashing her brothers fingers in our bathroom trashcan.
When I finally arrived home, Ruby was peacefully drawing on the workroom floor, and Vick was standing on the other side of the sliding glass door. Apparently, when Ruby heard I was coming home, everything was fine. We had a very calm and loving talk about how her choices impacted our family, and then headed out to Whole Foods to pickup lunch and dinner.
By the time I arrived at Whole Foods, both kids were sleeping. I loaded Miles up on my back (still sleeping) and got Ru into a conveniently discarded cart, and did the shopping. Miles transfered back into the carseat (still sleeping, a small miracle) and then back onto my back at home (still sleeping, a large miracle).
Ruby was back to herself, though quite tired, and fell asleep by 7:30. Unfortunately, our day was not over then. Miles pretty much refused to sleep until 10:30, and Ruby woke twice with night terrors.
Thankfully by 10:45 all of us were in bed and sleeping. I don’t believe that I’ve ever been so glad to have a day behind me. Today is a new day, and we are all looking forward to some family time.
A Night on the Town
Last year, around my birthday, Wes and I hatched a plan to go out for burgers and beer, and then catch a movie. It didn’t come together until Saturday night, and even then, the plan had to be modified. I left the house at 6:45 in order to meet Wes at Thirsty Bear by 7:30. Ruby had a total meltdown about my going out. I tried to remind her that she wanted to leave me for a sleepover the next night, but I don’t think her sense of empathy is developed enough to really appreciate the comparison. After what I thought was a successful negotiation with her, I was out the door.
At 3rd and Howard (half a block from Thirsty Bear) Wes called to get directions. As he was only a block away, I hung out on the corner to wait. Perhaps the highlight of the night was when I saw Wes barreling down the sidewalk on his unicycle. He had a big old grin on his face as he wound his way through the crowd.
We had an IPA (which was fantastic) and headed over to the garage to drop off the unicycle in my trunk. We made it into the theater moments before the movie started (Iron Man) and got pretty great seats. Wes pulled out two beers from his jacket, and the movie was on. I got through about the neck of my bottle before I realized that a two hour movie and two beers were not a good combination.
Iron Man was a fantastic slugfest. If you’re in the mood for a super-action movie with great [mechanical]hand to hand fighting, this is the flick for you.
We got out of the theater around 11 and I was feeling pretty tired, so we decided, in the interest of safety, to get an espresso. Bad idea! I made it home safely, but didn’t get to sleep until 4:30am. Unfortunately Ruby and Miles (who also had a late night) didn’t want to sleep in, and at 6:30 I was up and at em.
I sucked it up and dealt, since it was my bad choice, but at 9:30 when my bike ride started, I was not sure if I was going to be able to finish.
…Continued in the next article.
Fire on the Mountain
We woke up to the smell of wood smoke this morning. A wild fire has been raging in the Santa Cruz mountains (where my weekend ride ends). So far its burned over 3000 acres. The ride in to work this morning was a little less pleasant than usual. The thin veil of smoke achieved maximum effect on my lungs as I huffed my way up the hills. I’m not sure if this is going to cause me to cancel my ride this weekend or not.
As soon as we told Ruby what it was, she started singing the Banana Slug’s Fire song. I’m always impressed with how quickly she relates things.