Early morning, despite late night...

doh...I didn't sleep well last night but I still woke around my 0700 time. You better believe I was a mess. If you know me, you know my first waking minutes are filled with confusion, hillucinations and imbalance. Incoherent really describes my first few minutes. This lasted today for a good ten! Anyways, after regaining my person I thought it befitting to go riding today even though yesterday I got swamped.

So I went. Here is my adventure. You can click on the links near the photo to see a larger one.

Photo 1 On the way out of town.

Photo 2 Corn :DPhoto 3 So, this...yah. Definately had to look twice.
Photo 4 My bike on the dam.
Photo 5 Tuttle Creek Dam.

Photo 6 Doesn't even look like Kansas.

Photo 7 The road up to this observation point hurt, bad.

Photo 8 The linked photo is a larger one. I think it was just about 11miles or to this point from my house. A much more enjoyable ride than my previous days. Had more hills but at least it wasn't all grass like usual.

I have some panarama shots of the dam but it might take me a few days to find the software for it. Hopefully it turned out!

Derek

Finally it's the weekend

Ok, so it's early Saturday morning and I am excited. This was a long week but somewhat productive. Finance course is still awesome but again my MIS class just drags me down. I ended up taking a day off from that class on Thursday as it was just too much. The last class I missed I think was in January so that's my excuse to legitimize my truancy.

No real big plans for these next few days but I might clean up my room a bit. The landlord had a few workers over here this week to replace the fuse box and ended up throwing sheet rock all over my bedding. Where they worked is still completely trashed. At least the AC is still working.

When I went riding this afternoon it was fairly muggy and very hot. There was much cloud cover which worked to my advantage but the prevailing wind from the east, with huge gusts, made the first half of my ride a huge struggle. I averaged probably around 13mph with an azimuth of east but going back west with the wind at my back it was easily over 20mph. That is until 4mi from my house, rain started to pour. The sweat and sunscreen in my eyes sure made me know I was alive. Overall it was a great ride even with the rain.

Anyway, here is a photo I took a few days ago after a mid-afternoon ride.

Some Reviews

Past few months have seen the release of new flicks, dubbed the "Summer of Three" for all the movies which have their third in a series debut. Yes, I've seen them all and no they're not all good. I'll just do a brief recap of the good, the bad, the ok and the yet to come. Bad news first!

Bad movie #1: Spiderman 3. Sad really to see so much hype be displayed for this flick and equally disappointing to see it gross so much money. This was one of the biggest upsets in recent memory of a movie. What happened Peter? Parker has gone through so many shifts of 'who am I?' it's a wonder his grandma knows who he is. Basically, good graphics, bad story, horrible acting, silly sequences and more the same cry baby Parker. Don't see it if you have seen and like the first two. Hopefully there are no others in the works.

Ok movie #1: Pirates @ World's End. Enjoyable but a bit long to watch in one sitting. I wished they would have had more of the Singapore story built up and more with the Asian pirates. It seemed rushed and incomplete. And more of the pirate ship city too! How cool was that? The artists did a real nice job though in this flick of displaying everything so life like, super impressive. Some dialogue could have been cut and shortened some scenes of Jack in the underworld. But hey, it's better than the second of the series for sure.

Ok movie #2: Harry & Order of the Phoenix. Saw this just last night actually. My friends and I watched all the previous movies last month(lol) just so we could watch this with some knowledge. It was worth it but this one lacks severely in the 'movement' department. So much dialogue with little substance and little progress of the plot. These sequences might be translated from the book directly(never read them) but it did seem a bit slow. If you're a Harry nut(haha) you should still see it!

Good movie #1: Die Hard 4. McClane is back, and at his age he still knows how to rock the screen. This one gives us a taste of everything, and comes close to matching the first Die Hard. Fast paced, witty humor(<----correct spelling you 'nadiens!), awesome action with sweet graphics makes this film a must see.

Good movie #2: Transformers. Wow, completely awesome. Everyone I've told about this movie starts off as, "It's not just a movie. It's more of a complete entertainment experience." This film will quench any thirst you have for awesome movie making. Michael Bay with his team completed a film which will be the favorite among favorites for so many people. Not only just males. Hearing and watching the reaction of the ladies out there was just the same: complete awesomeness. Don't miss this please. Go to the theater by yourself if you must(Carl!) and enjoy an entertainment experience which really is more than meets the eye.

Incoming films to lookout for. I'll just draw a few up from what I can remember. Rush Hour 3, The Bourne Ultimatum, I Am Legend, 10,000 BC, 1-18-08 and Sunshine.

Let me know what you all think. Can Transformers cap my favorite movie, The Last of the Mohicans? Hard to say....

Derek

Fast = Good

Ok, so I know to many 31mph on a bike is just an every ride occurance but hey, I haven't ever gone that fast out of a vehicle and it was awesome. But around here, going downhill means going uphill just shortly after lol. My quads are killing me as the roads just out of town just go in an up and down fashion as far as I could see. Going for any distance in that type of environment hurts but I have yet to find a road less traveled which is paved. Here are some more photos, full size click on the links: Photo 1 Photo 2

First impressions

Few things today. My first Finance test is tomorrow. Should be fun solving for different solvency ratios and differentiating financial statements. This here is my real interest in business. The accounting course was much different; I think that's where people get the disgust from when you mention finance, they think of accounting which is to me, disgusting haha. I know I'll be doing both but hey, t-accounts don't scare me.

I did my first ride yesterday on the new bike and I loved it. I see why though most who ride distances, and just for comfort, wear biking shorts which are made with chamois. Not only does it absorb some moisture but it complements the bottom with some padding. And on my stock saddle, I need all the help I can get. I know, I know, spandex looks silly(aka nut huggers, grape smugglers etc lol). I'll continue to wear my running shorts for the time being ha!

Found an awesome link today while searching BikeForums. Michal Brichacek is a college student who is cycling from Alaska to Panama over a 120 day period. Read all about it here: http://www.cyclingforacause.com/ He is into day 69 and is somewhere in Mexico at the moment. He is sponsored by a few organizations with the intent of donating the proceeds to the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Read all about it on the website; it is filled with a daily journal and many photographs. I'm sure his intentions are not all altruistic but with the kind of commitment being put forth, it is certainly humbling.

Derek

Got the Bike!

Greetings. Surprised to receive my bike today as UPS site said it was still in Lenexa. Any rate, fortunate for sure. Took me about 1.5hrs to complete the setup; including a computer which shows me my cadence, time, distance etc. But alas, my roommate's tire pump doesn't have the attachment I need. Always something else I need to get. Tomorrow will be a good time though! I'll post some photos of that ride for sure in the coming days. Here is a photo of the completed work! Full pic: http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/1650/ventnoirgl1.jpg

Started to Cycle Again

It has been a long time since I've ridden a bicycle. To be frank, I believe it was in the summer of 2000 when I crashed which ended up in a broken collar bone, which sealed my passion for biking until now. Yes, I was defeated by fate and did not have the courage to ride until now! My history of bike accidents though goes back to when I was just a child. A broken elbow, a concussion, two lost bikes, one bike ran over, a concussion from a motorbike and finally my collar fracture. See how I missed it so much? :)

Anyrate, I bought a Motobecane: Vent Noir. It's a road sport bike. On the cheaper side but hey, it will do what I need for a long time until this bum can get a job after college! Here is a larger picture of the bike but not mine. Full site picture http://stupidhurts.org/gallery/albums/userpics/10001/ventnoir.jpg

You can bet your bottom I'll post a photo of it when I get it next week sometime. Downside is now I have to do some shopping for other items. Bah. At least I can get a few days out of the gym now!

Derek