The Mistress

I bought a new bike a couple of months ago. My wife dubbed her The Mistress

Flying and Frying

After weeks of absence I've done double duty for 52 Projects. This past week I knocked two things off my "Things I want to do someday" list; riding in a hot air balloon...





And eating fried Oreos. I ate fried Oreos, fried Snickers, and fried Twinkies. More on that decadence later.



Here's the deal with the hot air balloon; several months ago I stumbled across a most interesting adventure opportunity, a Bicycle Balloon race. Balloons take off with a bike strapped to the outside and a cyclist in the basket. The pilot flies a certain distance, lands the balloon, and the cyclist must race back to the starting area. The team with the shortest elapsed time wins $600.

This was all part of the New Jersey Balloon Festival at the Warren County Framers Fair. Although my team didn't win (winning times was 38 minutes, our time was 57 minutes) I had an awesome time. Being up in the balloon was like floating through the air. It was quiet and peaceful, except when the burner kicked in. Wow! That was hot and loud.

It was fascinating to see the whole process. The balloon and basket get pulled off the truck


The balloon gets rolled out

A fan fills the balloon with air to get it slightly inflated



Then the burners kick in to fill it with hot air



The balloon needs to be held open to allow all the air to get in. I got to help




Did I mentioned these things are pretty damn big?



Bike gets strapped on



Cyclist climbs in


And away we go!!




A birds eye view




We had to fly outside a 3 mile radius then find a place to land. As you can probably see from the pictures, my camera wasn't behaving too well and it was very hazy out so I didn't get too many good aerial shots.

Once we landed I hauled ass back to the fairgrounds. I didn't know the roads that well and ended up taking a longer route than I needed to and added a mile to the bike leg. Still, that would have only cut our time by4 minutes or so. Winners or not I had a fantastic time and would do it again. It would be nice if it wasn't an hour and a half away :)


The whole day was a ton of fun. Jane, the kids, and her parents came and we got to enjoy some family time at the fair, including eating the aforementioned fried treats. I've seen fried sweet things on the boardwalk at the shore and at other fairs but never took the plunge. I'm glad I did because they were sinfully delicious, especially the fried Snickers. Wow. I rationalized it as a post race recovery jolt of calories and protein (hey, Snickers have peanuts). I have no idea what other people used as an excuse. I know we have other pictures to post of those treats, but I'll treat you to some of our family fun.

Bless me Blogger for I have sinned

It's been a month and a half since my last 52 Projects post. It's not that I haven't been doing stuff, I just haven't been focused on posting about them. Here's one thing I did;

As some of you know I am a triathlete. I swim, bike, and run, one right after the other for hours on end. Sounds like a blast, right? Such a good time! My main focus is Ironman Lake Placid next July but I do have some other races planned. One race is coming up in mid September; it's a half iron distance race called Savageman. Sounds pretty rough and apparently it is. It is in the mountains of western Maryland and the bike course is very hilly. I've been working really hard on my training and think I'm going to do well. In fact, I have my sights sets on a podium finish for my age group (that means 1st, 2nd, or 3rd). It's a pretty aggressive goal but based on previous year's finish times I think it's doable.




Another great thing about this race is that it's a charity fundraiser for The Joanna Nicolay Melanoma Foundation. I am not required to raise any money beyo0nd my entry fee but have decided to set up a fund raising page and set a goal to raise $1000. That's sort of where 52 Projects comes in. This is something I've never done but this time I felt like giving it a shot. I even set up a Facebook event and invited all my FB friends to support me. I think most of them thought I was inviting them to the actual race, but I'm really just inviting them to donate money. I am also extending that invitation to anyone reading this. It's easy to do, you can remain anonymous, and it's 100% tax deductible. Search your heart, then if you're so moved just surf on over to this link and make your donation.

Thanks!!!

I'm in!!

I have officially registered for Ironman Lake Placid. Jane and I drove up for the race this past weekend to volunteer and so I could register on site for next year. It was a uniquely rewarding experience adn I am aalready in rcae mode for next year. I intended to blog more about my training and my experiences on the road to becoming an Ironman!

I'm still here

It's been quite a while since I've posted, but you knew that. I have been derelict in my duties as a member of the 52 Projects gang. I beg your forgiveness. I will pick up this week where I left off.

Who's Your Daddy?

Happy Father's Day to me! I got presents! A bicycle repair stand and a set of bike tools. Woo Hoo!!!!



So, for 52 Projects I gave my bike the once over!!!

Ok, not just for 52 Projects. I've wanted to break down, clean & lube my bike for quite some time but didn't have the proper tools. Now I do!!!!!!!



I set up the stand and clamped my bike in




I took off the chain and soaked it in degreaser



I pulled both cranks and cleaned them up real well.


I then pulled the bottom bracket. Bottom bracket was a pain in the ass, and in the hand. Also, the camera ran out of batteries so I have no pics of the BB out but here's one of it still in with the crank off, and one of my hand after the wrench slipped. That bottom bracket was in there tight!





Then I pulled the cassette and cleaned it


And I pulled the rear axle and cleaned and regreased the bearings. Again no pic other than the "after" once I got it reassembled. I have to remember to take more pictures but it's hard to stop when I'm on a roll, plus my hands were just a tad greasy.



Here's a cool shot of the bottom bracket and drive side crank after they were reinstalled


Here's one of the cassette and rear derailleur




Here's my baby all back together and ready to ride



Here's a run down of all the work;

Pull, clean, lube, reinstall chain
Pull & clean both cranks
Pull & clean bottom bracket
Pull & clean cassette
Remove dork disc
Clean & re grease rear axle
Replace brake pads
Tighten spokes

Be-Weldered

This week I decided to break out the arc welder we picked up at Sears Hardware a few weeks ago. I've wanted to learn how to weld for years and 52 Projects is just the thing to get me moving. I've seen it done on TV and in auto repair shops, and it never looked too hard. I knew I would have to learn sooner or later because I have metal sculpture in me waiting to come out and that requires welding. Besides, if that chick from Flashdance can weld, how hard could it be? Well, I found out how hard it could be.

I decided to practice on an old beat up scooter that was in need of repair (or a trash heap). The handle was loose so it seemed like a perfect job for welding.

Arc welding is basically an electric circuit that creates an arc between the surface to be welded and an electrode rod. The arc create by the electric circuit melts the electrode rod and the melted material creates the bond. In theory anyway. The arc is very bright and the welding kit comes with all manner of safety warnings and eye damage hazards. It even comes with a very dark protective mask. Not the cool kind like you see on Monster Garage (you know, the ones that have a head band and flip down over the face when the welder knods his head) but one that requires the user to hold it in one hand. So already I'm working with only one hand. Maybe that's just as well. I wouldn't want to weld my hand to something.

Here's how it looks:



Did I mention it is dark? Very, very dark. Like this-is-what-I-see-when-I-look-through-it dark:




How the hell am I supposed to work blind and with one hand??? The instructions tell me right off that it takes a lot of practice to become proficient at welding so I figure I should be good in about 10 minutes. Well, that was before I became a one handed blind man. The trick is... well, there are a lot of tricks; the right amperage on the welder, the right size and material rod for the application, the right distance of the rod to the material, the right angle, the right motion with the arc, the right speed... What. The. Fuck? I was completely lost.



Maybe if I hold the mask real close....





Maybe if I stand up....


Maybe if I lean over and peak around the mask...


Maybe if I ask a neighbor for help....



He was actually pretty helpful and suggested I try a few things like testing it out on a small piece of metal in case the size or composition of the scooter was part of the problem......



That worked a little better but still not very good. It really is a tricky thing; you have to get the rod close enough to the object to be welded so that the arc is created and the rod melts onto the object. If you get too close the rod sticks to the object. Too far away and no arc. But if you can't see a damn thing it's pretty tough to get that right balance. I eventually traded the blackout mask for dark sunglasses and managed a better arc but could not maintain it long enough to get a good bead on the mating surfaces of metal.



I decided to pack it in when storm clouds rolled in. It had poured down rain earlier on my bike ride and was threatening again. And it did. Not too long after we got everything cleaned up the skies opened and drenched the neighborhood.

I have not given up though. I am going to do some more research on welding techniques and maybe find a class (like I really have time for that). I am also going to look into a better/different mask. I think the ability to see the actual weld would be helpful. Welding will indeed make a return visit to 52 Projects.