Al's Blog-o-Sphere

Bandanas are indespensible.

They’re a scarf, a hat, a personal cooling device, a neck protector in hot sun. They’re a washcloth, a towel, a cleaning rag. You can wear one by itself, or under another hat.

I used to think they were not cool. Something only a hick farmer would wear. (No farmers aren’t hicks, or not cool, either. That’s just the stereotype.) So I never had any.

But this year our robotics team used them as a fashion accessory to help make our team stand out and issued us each two, one red one and one blue one, to be used to show which alliance our team was currently on. If that doesn’t mean a thing to you, that’s okay, just know that I ended up with two of them after the competitions were over.

I started carrying one with me on my bike this summer. I perspire a lot and it’s been a hot, muggy summer so far. Having it handy to wipe the sweat out of my eyes has been indispensable. Recently, on a ride, my bandana got so soaked with sweat that I decided to rinse it out in the restroom at a park we stopped in. Not only did it feel great to wipe my face with the cool cloth, when I was done and had rinsed it again, I put it around my neck. Instant air-conditioning! The more I rode, the more it cooled me!

I’ve tried sweat bands before, but they are only so effective. Once they get soaked, rinsing them leaves them yukky and they loose their elasticity. Don’t rinse them out and after a while they are disgusting. Bandanas are much better than a terry sweat band. And you don’t need to buy wrist bands either. Just wrap a bandana twice around your arm and tie. Voi-la!

They’ve been so handy, I think I’ll pick up some more. I just hope someone doesn’t think I’m in a gang or something. What color should I get so that no one thinks I’m a Crip or a Blood?

Here’s a safety question for you:

Q.: When a pickup truck cuts in front of you and stops dead in the road to make a right turn into a driveway, and you are traveling downhill at about 30mph on a bike, what is your proper response?

A.: Pass the pickup truck on the right and hope he sees you and doesn’t drive over you as he turns.
B.: Pass him on the left, and hope there isn’t any traffic in that lane that will make you a meat pancake.
C.: Crash into the rear end of the truck to let him know you don’t appreciate his cutting you off.
D.: Squeeze your brakes for all you’re worth, while yelling at the top of you lungs: “NO! You @$$#Ø13 Don’t stop here!”

Continue Reading…

Today the weather was somewhat reasonable. Compared to the past week it was cooler and less humid, although in the afternoon, the humidity seemed to inch back up.

But I took a ride anyway, rather than waste a day. I only wanted to do an easy ride, so I rode the canal towpath form Lockport to Gasport and back. It wasn’t a long ride, and didn’t take long either.

The sun was beating down on the path pretty well and it felt hot, if not as unbearable as last week. I noticed the amount of goose poop had really increased. You might say it was piling up… And at times it stank. It was impossible to avoid, no matter what you did. A lot of it was dried out and flattened out by getting run over (The Canal Tour had come through Sunday with 300 or so bikers.) and you didn’t even see it until it was flung up into the air off the tires. Continue Reading…

I went for a ride yesterday with the NFBC, a 50-miler called the Alabama Ramble. It wandered from Clarence out into the Alabama swamps, on through Akron Falls Park and back. It was a hot day, but not as hot as the past week and it felt good to get out and be riding. As usual, I kept with the group for the first half of the ride, then rode the second half with a couple who were taking it more leisurely. Only the last 5 miles or so, I rode alone. When I got back to the parking lot where we started, my vehicle was the only one there.

Somewhere along the ride, I lost my SuperFlash taillight. It was on and blinking, so it might be out there somewhere, still blinking in the grass. I probably hit a big bump and it popped loose. It’s a bad design, the batteries, electronics and lens are all in the front half of the clamshell case. The back, which fastens to the bracket on the bike, is empty. All the weight is in the front, detachable part of the light. All that weight is working to open the case with every bump. Most lights have everything in the back and only a light lens cover comes off to change batteries. Continue Reading…