Al's Blog-o-Sphere

Last June, a fellow decided to ride a bike across America to lose weight, get his life together, and impress his estranged wife that he loved her.

Eric Hites – Fat Guy on a Bike

I heard about it very early on and followed him on Facebook and his website. It was an interesting idea and I wanted to cheer him on. After all, doing something like that has been one of my ambitions as well.

I checked daily to see how he was doing at first. I expected updates to see where he was and where he was headed. Initially, his plan was to begin in Massachusetts and travel west across the country. I wanted to know where he might pass by here and maybe go out and ride with him for a day. His plans were not very organized, but he initially thought he would pass through Pennsylvania. Okay, I could travel that far. Continue Reading…

I recently spent a week on vacation in Washington DC. I am fortunate to have an Aunt who lives there and my wife and I were her guests for the week. We did all the usual touristy things, museums, the Zoo, monuments and restaurants. But I had one day where my wife wanted to go shopping and that gave me an opportunity to do something else that she didn’t want to do.

She was shopping at Union Station and there happens to be a bicycle tour and rental place there called Bike and Roll. I used the opportunity to rent a bike and ride around the Mall area of DC.

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I have a Nexus 7, the original, old one. It’s gotten pretty sluggish for some reason unknown to me. I thought it might be bloated with too many apps, but even after a factory-reset, it’s slow and irritating to use. It may be that the latest version of Android that is on it, is just too much for it.

All I use it for, since I have a Surface Pro 3, is to lay in bed and play a few games, or check Facebook.

But, I got to thinking a while ago, that it would be a great size for a mobile navigation screen. Continue Reading…

I recently went on a group ride called “Slow Roll” in Buffalo. It’s a weekly ride that begins at a different point each week and goes through varying parts of the city. The Buffalo ride goes on Monday evenings.

I heard about the rides earlier this summer, but it didn’t hold a lot of appeal to me. I was surprised to read later that one of the rides had attracted over 1300 riders. Hard to keep something that big quiet.

This is what their website says they are about:

Founded in Detroit, Slow Roll is a group bicycle ride that meets every Monday night and has expanded into a Global network of community rides. Each week we meet at different venues and take a unique route throughout the city, including all the major and minor neighborhoods that we are so proud of. Slow Roll is for everyone; all ages, all skill levels and every type of bike is welcome. Bicycle through Buffalo with 500 of your new best friends! Our slow pace keeps the group safe and gives riders a unique perspective of our great city and its neighborhoods. Minors under 18 must be accompanied by a parent/guardian.

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