I love to spread it on my toast like it’s f@#%in’ Nutella!

Bronwyn and I are nearly done putting together invitations for the wedding. While we sent out the Save the Dates to a printer, we opted to handle the invitations ourselves with a paper cutter and our inkjet so I managed to get a taste of the joy this guy feels:

St. Patrick’s Day?

I’m confused. When is St. Patrick’s day this year. The usual date is March 17th, but the Vatican says it’s on the 15th, which is convenient as it gives Sunday as a recovery night. Then again, all the St. Patrick’s day celebrations around the city that I’m seeing are happening on Monday, and I’d hate to miss out on those. I guess the answer is to celebrate Saturday and Monday.

Velo Geekery: Dream Bikes

Unfortunately, I didn’t win the ebay auction for the Rivendell frame I posted about last week. Kind of bummed about it because I had gotten my hopes up, as it was essentially my dream bike. Basically, what I wanted was an upgrade from my RB-2 frame with same geometry, but a little bit more room for bigger tires and fenders. Seeing as Rivendell is the high-class reincarnation of Bridgestone, the bike had everything going for it. But ah well. It’s probably for the best as there is a wedding to pay for.

This has me now thinking about my “dream bike”, or “bikes” rather because I’d need more than one. Dream Bike #1 would be the upgraded Bridgestone. This one would be for going fast, light touring, and brevet riding. I have everything else on the bike just right; it’s the frame at this point that needs tweeking as I’d like to roll on 700×28 or 700×32 tires, maybe even 38mm 650b tires, with fenders. If I were to go with a Rivendell, I’d want a Rambouillet, but if I’m going to be spending that kind of cash, I’d be interested in getting a custom built one from Ira Ryan or Coast Cycles.

However, I’ve been looking at the Soma Speedster which is also a pretty attractive option for much less scratch, since it’s made in Taiwan. The geometry pretty closely matches that of my Bridgestone, has more generous tire clearances (someone out there’s already done a nice build using 650b wheels), plus it has sexy chromed lugs, which is the one aesthetic detail I’d have been sure to add on a custom build (that and I’d want it to be a deep purple like this Kalavinka). The only downside is it uses a threadless headset, but that’s something I could live with. It’s something for me to consider, though no rush at this point. Since it’s a production bike, there’s no urgency here for me to jump on the deal like the Rivendell I bid on. Again, there’s a wedding to pay for.

Dream Bike #2 would be a track bike. Luckily I already have exactly what I want in that department. The frame is by Coast Cycles and is absolutely fantastic. It’s the reason I’d consider Coast Cycles as a custom builder for Dream Bike #1. I didn’t have the track bike custom built for me. I had seen it a couple of years ago on Coast’s site and lusted over it, so when I saw it on the eBay auction block a year later I had to pounce on it. Luckily, that auction ended in my favor.

Dream Bike #3 would be the heavy-duty loaded touring, commuting, fire roads, and all-around rough stuff bike. This one I have spec’d out in my head and is something I’d love to put together whenever finances and time permit. The frame would be a Rawland Sogn done up with plush 650b tires, a Sugino compact triple crankset with wide Shimano mountain bike gearing in the back, Paul Neo-Retro brakes, mustache bars with bar-end shifters, Tubus racks when necessary, and the usual Brooks accouterments.

In addition to those three bikes, I’d want a mountain bike. I don’t know enough about that aspect of cycling to have an idea of what a dream mountain bike would be, but the titanium GT I have now is pretty sweet and does me just fine.

Further Rivendell Rationalization

As soon as I finished that last entry about possibly trying to finangle the Rivendell frame off of eBay, I checked Crooks and Liars for a politics fix, and what should I see but a post featuring this photo:

Ah, the joys of not driving. And not only am I not paying for gas, insurance, or maintenance, but thanks to the California Parking Cash-Out Law I get paid an extra $125 a month at work because I don’t use a parking space in the garage.

Maybe I have earned myself that bike.

Unexpected Intimidation, Unexpected Temptation

The PCH Randonneurs announced their routes for the 400km and 600km brevets. When I had written about the 300km brevet I did in February, I said that while I didn’t have the easiest of times on the ride, I’d still love to do the rest of the series. And you know, physically I was totally fine doing the 300km ride. Keeping my morale up was the problem. So if I could get through that, tacking on another 60 miles on top of the 300km mileage didn’t seem so bad.

However, looking at the map for the 400km route puts things into a whole new context that honestly kind of scares me. I mean damn. It starts in Ventura, goes down the PCH to Malibu, turns around and goes back to Point Mugu, up and over the Santa Monica mountains to Simi Valley then out to Ventura. But that’s not all of it. The ride continues north past Santa Barbara to Goleta, turns around and heads back to end in Ventura. Maybe it’s all the out-and-back bits, but that just seems so insanely long. Insane in a good way? I don’t even know anymore.

Then there’s the 600km route which is just… crazy. It’s essentially Ventura to Cambria and bike, but taking the scenic route on the way up. Though oddly enough it almost doesn’t seem as bad as the 400km because it’s more of a loop.

If a challenge of will was the problem in the 300km ride, maybe it’s not a good thing that I’m already psyching myself out over the 400km and 600km ones. Regardless, there is a very strong part of me that wants to see the series through, so I’m definitely planning on doing the 400km brevet, which happens April 19. In the meantime, I think I want to do a nice long century on my own one of these weekends in March just to stay conditioned. Bronwyn and I were considering doing the Solvang Century that happens this upcoming Saturday, but we slept on the registration date.

As for the 600km, I’d like to do it, though let’s see how the 400km one turns out first. Also, it’s held May 17 (and 18) and that’s only a couple of weeks before my wedding, so my weekends might be booked during the preparations.

In other bike-related news, over the past few days I’ve been watching and lusting over a custom Rivendell frame on eBay. This thing is essentially my dream bike, in my size, and is what I would use to replace my Bridgestone RB-2, moving all my parts from the Bridgestone frame over to the Riv. Financially, a new bike hasn’t been an option (what with the wedding), BUT today at work I just got a raise and will be receiving a nice and unexpected bonus with my next paycheck. The smart thing to do would be to put that money into the wedding fund (which is what I likely will do), but since the bonus is beyond what I’ve been budgeting, part of me is very tempted to indulge myself. I guess I’ll just wait and see how high the bidding gets…

I’m Gonna Keep It Real, My Friends. R-E-A-L

Folks, don’t miss this Friday at the Echoplex.

I <3 Alyson Hannigan

From the Onion:

FCC Okays Nudity On TV If It�s Alyson Hannigan

Curse you, Leap Day!

My watch reads March 1st right now, and I tried to fix that, but February 29th won’t even register as an available option. Curse you, February 29th! You truly are the trickiest of all days!

New Obama Video

Another Obama video from will.i.am.

Goings On

A lot has been going on lately, so this is just a broad update. A couple of weeks ago for President’s Day Weekend, Bronwyn and I went with a bunch of friends up to Santa Barbara wine country (as in where they filmed Sideways). We stayed in Buelton, and hit up a number of wineries around Solvang, Santa Ynez, and Lompoc. In the process, we spent far too much money, but at least now I have a closet full of great wines and more souvenir glasses than I know what to do with. I’m by no means a connoisseur, but some of the spots I was really impressed with were Ampelos in Lompoc, Artiste in Santa Ynez, Trio in Solvang, and Clos Pepe and Foley in… somewhere between Buelton and Lompoc. The days of tasting expensive wines were balanced out by nights of drinking cheap beers in a hotel room while dancing to “Quemados” and other jams. I regrettably have no photos to report as I haven’t gotten around to uploading anything on my Flickr.

Last weekend, I successfully conquered all ten hills of the “Feel My Legs, I’m a Racer” race. I think I even managed to snag 6th or 7th place overall, with a second place finish on the first hill. Not bad, if I do say so myself. An official write-up hasn’t been posted anywhere, and I’m still scouring the interwebs for photos, but here’s one someone snapped of me. Note the angle of the horizon in the background. That was the first hill, Eldred St., the one this article talks about. While going up the hills was agony (sweet, sweet agony), going down them scared the crap out of me. I had to walk down Eldred St. and a few others, and I think I wore out my brake pads slowly riding my way down the rest. Indeed my fears weren’t unfounded as one rider crashed going down Baxter at 40mph. He hit an unexpected bump at the bottom of the hill, flew off, and slid some 20 feet up the next hill, winding up with a fractured collarbone and a couple of broken ribs, as well as several patches of road rash. But to show you what kind of a manimal this guy was, he still placed fourth overall even though he only did five out of ten of the hills AND he showed up for the after-party at Pure Luck once he was done at the hospital. Insanity.

On Sunday, Bronwyn and I had our engagement shoot with our wedding photographer, Allana of Ars Magna Studio. We spent a few hours wondering around downtown in the Grand Central Market, the Bradbury Building, the Biltmore Hotel, Pershing Square, and a bit of Echo Park. She posted the results yesterday and they’re absolutely fantastic!Check out her blog or the online gallery to see more.

Finally, in completely unrelated news to anything, other than the fact that I’m Filipino, watch this video: