I.Viddy » Commuting

Day 139: Fareless Commute

Mister Viddy — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 14:51:44 +0000

I am posting on the westbound MAX and I have not paid my fare to ride. I am a criminal but also a victim. A victim of poor maintenance and dated technology.

Day 89: Oregon, MAX and the Rain

Mister Viddy — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 04:16:02 +0000

If it’s March and it’s Oregon it must mean, (gasp!) rain. Don’t get me wrong, I love the rain and I love Oregon but this entire week has been hellish at work so when I ended up staying late tonight I was not entirely pleased to find myself standing in the rain getting soaked. But it is what it is. If nothing else, I have another photograph to add to my collection. Fellow Oregonians, remember, summer is a mere 4 months away. Maybe.

Day 88: One Headlight

Mister Viddy — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 04:38:44 +0000

I feel good. Today was an absolutely shitty day at work and I almost threw my computer through the window but once 6pm rolled around and I was out the door things improved tremendously. The bike ride home from work was so enjoyable now that I have a proper headlight to light my path. I’m speaking of course of the Cygolite Pace 135 headlight that I recently scored on sale at Performance Bike. Seriously, this single light kicks ass. I no longer feel like I am risking life and limb when I ride through the near pitch black sections of my route home. As I said once before, I now look forward to riding at night. I don’t know why I waited so long to get a serious headlight for my bicycle.

And as an added bonus, Google added a new biking tool to their already awesome map!

Day 83: Yet Another Bikeless Day

Mister Viddy — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 16:30:23 +0000

Bicycle withdrawal is starting to settle in. I was almost certain that I had a spare tube sitting at home but when I looked I realized that I’m still going to have to wait until tomorrow to get my rear tube replace. This has been the worst year on record for me when it comes to getting flats while riding. It’s insane, especially this last instance because it was a brand new tube and it was supposed to be puncture resistant. I cannot handle not riding my bike on a daily basis. So my Lemond is now sitting at home on its back awaiting repair.

Adding insult to injury is the fact that the last few days have been ideal cycling weather and I’ve been relegated to riding the train to and from work. So I’m a bit depressed but holding out for tomorrow.

I will look at it this way, spring is just around the corner and I am looking forward to many months of beautiful bicycle riding. I really want to pull the fenders off of my Lemond Fillmore, they are functional and necessary but also ugly as shit. So there it is, now you know the rest of the story…

Day 81: The Flat Tire Saga Continues

Mister Viddy — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 15:51:49 +0000

Nothing unusual. I packed my gear and headed out the door. I’m three blocks from home and then, flat tire. So naturally I go into pissed off mode. I just bought puncture resistant tubes so this shit shouldn’t be happening to me anymore. Right. So here I am, posting on the train to work. I’ll deal with the flat later.

Pressed from Android

Day 78: Bike Maintenance and Rest

Mister Viddy — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 00:26:42 +0000

I Am Viddy!

Sunday. A day of rest. Perhaps. But not for this kid, at least not yet. I was up early and piddled around the house for a bit and then I headed over to Performance Bicycle and was hit with a couple of surprises. The first surprise was the fact that on Sunday they don’t open until noon and I got there at 11:11am. Anyhoo, I ran some other errands and then circled back and boy was I glad that I did. The second surprise was the kick ass sale they were having that just happened to end today. Everything in the store was on sale, and on top of that, there was another 10% off the lowest price. Fuck me. When faced with an opportunity like that you couldn’t very well expect Mister Viddy to simply buy a patch kit or something cheap. No sir, I got a killer headlight (see below), two new puncture resistant tubes and some new Adidas rain covers for my shoes. Believe me, I was ready to spend every dime in my bank account but I took the best deals on some things I really needed and then bounced.

Now I can’t wait for the sun to go down so I can go and test my new headlight. Sheehah! Ride to live, live to ride.

Day 76: (Flat Tire, False Alarm)

Mister Viddy — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 04:40:28 +0000

The rain has returned to Oregon. I wake up this morning, put on my rain gear and get on my bike. I head down Baseline towards my office, loving the cool weather and rain, not a care in the world. I make a quick stop into Plaid Pantry to get some supplies and then continue my ride into work. I’m about a mile away from my office now and I feel the unmistakable vibrations coming from my rear tire. I glance down at what appears to be, you guessed it, a flat tire. Not wanting to damage my tire and/or wheel I dismount and begin to walk my bike the rest of the way into work. Don’t ask me why but after a couple of blocks I decide to reach down and squeeze the tire to see just how flat it is. Imagine my surprise when it turns out to be full and hard. Doh! I still don’t know why I thought I had a flat tire. Other than the fact that I have had so many flats this past 30 days that now I just assume that my rear tire is always flat.

Anyhoo. Once I realize that nothing was wrong with my tire I got back on my bike and pedaled into work. Crisis averted.

On a side note. My rain gear is starting to show its age. Although I escaped having a flat tire I ended up with wet feet and a wet crotch because both my shoe covers and rain pants are no longer waterproof.

Day 62: A Post A Day (Miss Saucy Brown)

Mister Viddy — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 05:00:36 +0000

I’m standing there on the eastbound MAX on my way home this evening when she steps onto the train, loudly announcing that she ain’t having none of that. That what? I don’t know what that is but whatever it is she apparently is having nothing to do with it. Miss Saucy Brown folks. In all her BBW splendor. I don’t even recall that anyone got onto the train with her, she simply announced to the world that she was having nothing to do with that. Or this? I don’t know. Had I been a bit bolder I might have approached the saucy Miss Brown and asked her to clarify what that was and why it is she wants nothing to do with it. But I admit it, I was frightened. She was large and loud and I just went back to listening to my music and stared out the window until we reached my stop. So here’s to you Miss Saucy Brown, may you continue to live your live free from that.

Day 58: A Post A Day (Foggy Commute + Flat Tire)

Mister Viddy — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 04:45:52 +0000

The morning commute was great. It was super foggy and by the time I rolled into work my hair was soaked. In general, this was an excellent morning ride and I was feeling pretty good.

And then, less than a mile from the office, my rear tire goes flat. And the first thing that comes to mind is the last time I had to deal with recurring flats across several different days. I ended up walking my bicycle the remainder of the trip into work. Still, I had a good ride.

Hee, hee, hee. I had to sneak in some pictures of my bike. A 2008 Lemond Fillmore. So sue me, shah!

On The Train

Mister Viddy — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 15:51:12 +0000

Here I am, pressing this post from my BlackBerry on a crowded MAX train heading into Hillsboro. The crowd is well mannered and everyone is doing a good job at avoiding eye contact. I’m only four stops away from my final destination so let me bid you a warm farewell.