The Langster gets a tune up and I get a Cold Weather Ride in

I dropped the my Specialized Langster off at Bike Haven in Fairhaven, New Jersey last Saturday. The weather was miserable and I knew I need to have my bike tuned up. The chain was sagging and I did not have any more room on the drop out to tighten it up. I have also noticed an annoying creak in the bottom bracket. I had been putting the work off because I did not want to miss a single riding opportunity. Of course Sunday morning turned out to be a good riding day (the tempurature dropped quickly later in the day as a storm moved into the area).

Garrett is the wrench turner at Bike Haven and he has done some work on my bike before. I stopped into the shop over the summer and I had him install a new computer. He also did a small tune up with the bike was on the rack. This time I want the whole thing. My goal was to fix some of the issues that I have been having. I knew that I need a new chain and I was thinking that I might have to replace the bottom bracket. The lights in the repair shop showed that the rear tire was well worn. Garrett suggested buying a new Continental Grand Prix 4000 for the front and moving the much new Contintental Grand Prix 4000S from the front to the back. As much as I would like to have matching tires on my bike I could not see spending an extra $60 and replacing a perfectly good tire. I will get it next time.

Since I have been traveling during the week I knew that I would would not be able to pick the bike up until the weekend. I just made it into Bike Haven before they closed a 6 PM on Friday. I was impressed with the look of the bike. It actually looked better then new. The new chain and cog shined (I am still using the freewheel side) . The rear hub now rests at the front of the dropout. I could not wait until I could get my next ride in. The weather report for Saturday said that it was not going to be much warmer than freezing but I was hopeful that it would at least be sunny.

I woke up at 7:30 am this morning (Saturday) with the sun shining. I could tell it was cold (around 20 F). I bought some wool socks and a pair of thermal tights at Performance Bicycle in Richmond, Virginia last week. I have not yet got a set of booties but I was hoping that these two items would be an improvement over the lighter tights and cotton SIDI socks I have been using.

I was not able to get out on the road until arount 1 PM since I spent the morning running errands. While it was cold I felt pretty good and I took off on my usual route. As I was heading through Colts Neck I was thinking I might head out through Little Silver and Rumson. I was thinking that I might come back via Navesink River Road but my right toes started freeze up and I could not them to warm up. When I got to Laird Road I made the left hand turn that made it a 28 mile ride rather than the right hand turn that would have been much longer.

While I saw a group of riders on Holland Road while I was running errands I did not see any other riders while I was out on my ride. There are a couple of group rides scheduled for 8 AM on Sunday morning. Since it is supposed to be nasty in the afternoon I am going to get up early and get another ride in. I have Monday off so I am hoping I can get 3 days of riding in. Otherwise I will be heading to the gym. Three days of riding in February would be a nice treat. I am willing to settle for two.

WHTG - GROCK Radio Morning Show Changes Yet Again

After less than a year on the air the Morning Show on G-ROCK has changed again. Since I have been traveling I have only been listening to the show on Monday mornings while driving to the airport. A couple of weeks ago Kramer was complaining that the management was upset with him for not talking about the Giants' Super Bowl win. Matt Murray will be taking over the show for now. Matt was the temporary replacement when Brian and Jen left the air.

I found out this morning when I heard Matt and Erin do a promo for their show. I am still not sure about Erin but Matt is an extreme sports fan from Vernon, NJ so I have to like to that.

Here is a release that I found.

Press Makes NJ Radio Changes - 2/14 - From Radio And Records: A couple of notable changes at Press Communications alternative WHTG/WBBO (G Rock 106.3/106.5), AC WBHX/ WWZY, country WKMK (K98.5), and oldies WHTG-AM (1410)/Monmouth-Ocean this week, as GM Wes Matejka exits. No replacement has been named. Matejka joined the company in February 2007 from the director of sales position at Entercom/Memphis. In addition, G Rock morning host Kramer also exits. Night personality/MD Matt Murray slides into mornings, joined by "Morning G" co-host Erin Vogt. Nights are being filled by part-timers

Judging by the traffic that my original post got it was probably a mistake to get rid of Brian & Jen.

Wonderful Tonight: George Harrison, Eric Clapton and Me by Patti Boyd (Another Review)

I finished the Pattie Boyd book to complete the 70s guitarist trilogy. I read Clapton by Eric Clapton, Ronnie by Ronnie Wood and now Wonderful Tonight: George Harrison, Eric Clapton and Me by Pattie Boyd. All three of these books tell the same story from a different prospective. In most cases the overlaps confirm each story.

After reading the the Clapton and Wood books I was sure that I would want to read the Pattie Boyd book. I was a little skeptical at first. In fact I put the book back at least once before I finally purchased it. I have to say that was rewarded for my faith since I found Wonderful Tonight to be the best read out of all of the books.

Ms. Boyd's childhood plays a big part in the adult that she became and the first couple of chapters deal with life in both England and Africa. Even though I wanted to read about George Harrison, Eric Clapton and all of the other musicians that Ms. Boyd befriended the story of her childhood is interesting and worth the read. Obviously it was important to address the home life that caused Ms. Boyd to want to be on her own as soon as possible which contributed to meeting George Harrison at an early age.

While the story is a little slow at first it really starts to steamroll once Pattie Boyd meets the Beatles on the set of A Hard Day's Night. Life with George Harrison is just a prelude to the turbulent Eric Clapton years. This is the story of Layla and is the one that most music fans are probably familiar with.

I was not sure what to expect from this book but I was pleasantly surprised. It is well written and organized. I really enjoyed it and may even read it a second time.

New Drive-by Truckers and new to me Jason Isbell

I wanted to be more timely about reviewing "Brighter Than Creations Dark" by the Drive-by Truckers. It was released on January 22 but I did not get around to downloading it until later in the week. However, I was further delayed in writing the review because I also downloaded "Sirens of the Ditch" by former Drive-by Truckers guitarist Jason Isbell.

I listened to all 19 songs on "Brighter Than Creations Dark" and I was planning on listening to it again before writing the review but I wanted listened to "Sirens of the Ditch". I liked Mr. Isbell's release so much I just got back to the Drive-by Truckers today.

When I read on Paterson Hood's blog that Jason Isbell had left DBT I was a little disapointed since my favorite DBT songs have been written and sung by Mr. Isbell. Turns out I did not have to worry. "Sirens of the Ditch" is a real good showcase for Jason Isbell's talent and was produced by DBT's Paterson Hood and guest appearances by other Truckers like Shonna Tucker.

Since this is his solo disc Jason Hood sings every song and most of the songs are guitar based. I downloaded the album from iTunes and I do not have a track by track listing of the musicians but I think that Mr Isbell plays piano on Chicago Promenade. If you are a fan of the Drive-by Truckers you probably have already picked this record up. If you are a fan of well crafted music then you should get this as soon as possible. This is a whole CD filled with songs like "Outfit" and "Declaration Day"

Which brings us to the Drive-by Truckers "Brighter than Creations Dark". I have been waiting for the DBT to put out something that moves me as much as "Southern Rock Opera". While I have liked some songs on the albums that followed none of them have not grabbed me the the "Southern Rock Opera" did the first time I heard it. In fact "Let there be Rock" has the highest play count on my iPod.

For the new recording Jason Isbell has been replaced by steel player John Neff and Muscle Shoals keyboardist Spooner Oldham. John Neff has played lots of DBT songs and Spooner Oldham has played with just about everyone. I saw Mr. Oldham play with Bob Dylan in 1980 on the Slow Train Coming/Saved tour which is probably my all time favorite show. Shonna Tucker has also stepped up and has written 4 songs that she also sings on.

Brighter than Creations Dark is probably the closest that DBT has come to recreating the magic of Southern Rock Opera. The new release is more consistent and has a fuller sound. As always Patterson Hood provides the autobiographical songs while Mike Cooley provides the Springsteen like character songs. I will have to listen to Ms. Tuckers songs more before I can properly define them.

The Drive-by Truckers have 3 song writers and singers so it make sense that Brighter than Creations Dark has 19 songs. The addition of Mr. Neff and Oldham insures a strong performace on all the songs. The Drive-by Truckers have a sound that could be described as an American South version of the Rolling Stones. They can rock hard with a twangy edge but can move into the sound of Merle Haggard. I hate to categorize any music but DBT is alt-americana.

I was counting the days for this release and I was not disappointed. I may have listened to Jason Isbell's solo album more but I am sure the Drive-by Truckers will catch up. I have a lot of other new stuff on my iPod but it is going to have to wait a couple more days before I listen to it.

Patriot's Coach Belichick wearing a Rutger's Lacrosse Jacket

The New England Patriots coach was seen wearing a Rutgers Lacrosse jacket (I tried to find an online store that carried this jacket but I could not find one.) at his press conference on January 30. This was a great way to support his son and pander to the Giants faithful at the same time.

I am looking forward to the Rutgers Lacrosse season. It is funny to listen to the players parents critizing Coach Stagnitta even when the team is winning. I am wonder if Mr. Belichick will be a helicopter parent as well.

Ronnie by Ronnie Wood - Another Review

I recently read the Eric Clapton autobiography Clapton and I decided to read Ronnie Wood's autobiography immediately following. Both cover the same time period but Mr. Wood's is a little bit younger and his career did not begin to take off until the late 60s when he became the bass player for the Led Zepplin prototype The Jeff Beck Group.

The two books read completely different from each other. The Clapton book is very organized and somewhat sanitized. The Ronnie Wood book is all over the place and completely mirrors his book. It would really be scary if this were in fact the sanitized version. The randomness of Ronnie can at times be frustrating it is also part of the charm. The same can often be said for the two bands that Mr. Wood is most famous for: The Faces and The Rolling Stones.

While Clapton details the life of a guitar god front man Ronnie details the life of a guitar god side man. Like many sidemen Mr. Wood has a formal musical background and is proficient on many instruments. Ronnie details Mr. Wood's post World War II upbringing in a large extended family made up of both blood relatives and neighbors. Two older brothers provided the musical and artistic influence.

Ronnie Wood's life has been one big party. From the after parties that his father had when Mr. Lane was young to the parties that he threw as he was living the rock star life style. Mr. Wood makes and spends several fortunes. It is amazing the he finds any time to make as much music and art as he has.

The rehab story does not come until the end of the book and is not nearly as detailed as Mr. Clapton's. I was wondering what took him so long. However, it must have been hard keeping up with Keith Richards.

I have always been a fan of Ronnie Wood. Especially after getting good seats at a Rolling Stones concert at Giants Stadium in the early 90s. That was when I first noticed how important Mr. Wood was to the Rolling Stones live sound. James Honeyman Scott of the Pretenders listed Ronnie Wood as one of his biggest influences. The Rod Stewart's Album Every Picture Tells a Story probably showcases Ronnie Wood as much as Mr. Stewart.

The only real disappointment is that the book does not have a lot of Jeff Beck stories. Mr. Beck is one of my favorite guitarists but I have heard that he protects his image. In fact his performance was the highlight of the Eric Clapton's Crossroads Festival but it was left off of the DVD.

I do want to read the Patti Boyd autobiography next. Three versions of the same story should give me a good approximation of the truth.

Rutgers Lacrosse with a Super Bowl Connection

The Rutgers Lacrosse season is starting up. Here is an article that was in the Home News today. I am looking forward to the season.

Patriotic Knight:
Bill Belichick's son Steve making name for himself at Rutgers

Home News Tribune Online 01/27/08

At 1 a.m. last Monday, less than seven hours after watching his father's New England Patriots defeat San Diego in the AFC Championship Game from the sideline, Steve Belichick arrived back at his Rutgers University dorm room and crashed for the night. Five hours later, Bill Belichick's son was back on a field, just an ordinary freshman practicing for the Rutgers men's lacrosse team.

"No one's treated differently around here," Rutgers lacrosse coach Jim Stagnitta said, offering a preemptive response for anyone wanting to question whether the younger Belichick gets preferential treatment on his team. "The only perk he's going to get is I'm going to let him attend the Super Bowl. I don't even let him miss a study hall."

Still, Stagnitta knows the circumstances are a tad different for this promising long-stick defenseman. "Probably the biggest challenge he's faced as a first-semester freshman," the coach said, "is the Patriots have had an unbelievable year. The kid's obviously been around it all of his life, so he's used to it. But — and he admitted this — it's been a little bit of a distraction that they're going through this unbeaten season.

"We can't allow him to go to every game, but this is a unique thing. It's not like many kids have a father who's coaching in the Super Bowl." And so Steve Belichick will be excused again this Saturday, shortly after Rutgers' alumni game, and he'll travel to Glendale, Ariz., to catch Super Bowl XLII. "It's exciting what the Patriots are doing this year," Belichick said following a recent practice. "But I'm looking forward to being able to focus on lacrosse. I'm excited for the season to start."

Lacrosse in his blood

Nick Fillipone was sitting in the Rutgers lacrosse locker room last November, hanging out with a few teammates when the New England Patriots coach walked in. "You see him on TV all the time, but we were kind of taken aback when he just walked into our locker room," Fillipone said. It was the first week of November and Belichick was visiting his son during the Patriots' bye week. "We all stood up," Fillipone recalled, "and were like: "Hey, Coach Belichick. How are you doing?' "

Fillipone's first impression of the three-time Super Bowl winning coach? "He was kind of quiet, selective with his words, kind of like you see him on TV," Rutgers' senior defenseman said. "But then we saw him at practice, throwing the ball around with us, and he's smiling and laughing and he's just one of the guys."

It's not surprising that Steve Belichick said he learned how to play from his father, who was a lacrosse star at Annapolis (Md.) High and Phillips Andover (Mass.) Academy before captaining Wesleyan University's team in the early 1970s. "That was probably his sport, even more than football," Stagnitta said. "And I think it rubbed off on Stephen."

Stagnitta sees plenty of potential in Belichick, who began spring practice third on the depth chart at his long-pole position. But with the season less than a month away, beginning Feb. 23 against the University of Maryland-Baltimore County, Stagnitta expects Belichick to contribute early in his career. "We didn't bring him here because of his name, I'll tell you that," Rutgers' seventh-year coach said. "When you only have 38 players on your team, you don't have the luxury of keeping guys you don't feel can make a difference."

Fillipone says the 5-foot-10, 185-pound Belichick has "all the fundamentals you need as a Division I player." Stagnitta agrees, adding Belichick's physical skills are matched by his mental toughness. "You can tell Steve's had the stick in his hands for a long time, but what's really impressed us is the mental aspect of his game," Stagnitta said. "One of the biggest challenges as a freshman is the cerebral part. You have to think more, where as in high school you're just sort of reacting. We felt like Stephen had that coach's mentality, like the quarterback who can direct and lead the guys on the field. "I have a feeling that's what Stephen's going to be."

Recruiting Belichick

In recruiting, Stagnitta said coaches often sell their program to parents as much as they do their desired student-athlete. So when it came to pitching Rutgers to Bill Belichick, a man who projects a no nonsense image, Stagnitta offered no nonsense himself. "Was it different? Not the way I approached it and certainly not the way he approached it," Stagnitta said. "In a lot of ways it was helpful because since he's involved in athletics, he has an understanding not just how the recruiting process works, but he probably understands more than the average parent what the expectations are and the standard you're held to here."

Perhaps it's because Stagnitta had experience in recruiting a player with a famous father when he served as head man at Washington & Lee, a Division III school in Northern Virginia, in the early 1990s. Back then it was the son of Vice President Day Quayle and to this day Stagnitta believes he would have landed him had it not been for a veto from Washington & Lee's admissions department. "We couldn't get him in," he said.

All "p-o-t-a-t-o" jokes aside, Stagnitta said Belichick's public persona is far different than the father who simply wanted what was best for his son. "No. 1, he's not the person you see on TV. That's first and foremost," Stagnitta said. "He's supportive and just the kind of person you can talk sports with. And I think there will be times when I can use his experiences to help me."
Sure, of Rutgers' 38 lacrosse players, only Steve Belichick has a father destined for the coaches' wing of the NFL Hall of Fame. And wouldn't Stagnitta be foolish not to pick Bill Belichick's brain every now and then?

"Coaching's coaching," Stagnitta said. "There's a lot more than what you see on the field. Bill does have a lacrosse background, but his philosophy — how you handle people, how you handle certain situations — certainly speaks for itself. As a coach and someone who's trying to get better every day, certainly it's nice to have access to someone like Bill. And he's been very accessible and very open."

Jersey roots

Even before he arrived in Piscataway last August after graduating from The Rivers School in Weston, Mass., Steve Belichick was a New Jersey boy at heart. Born in Chatham Township, Morris County, he chose Rutgers, in part, because of his familiarity with the area.
"I changed schools five or six times and moved around a lot," said Belichick, sporting spiked blond hair and a No. 23 lacrosse jersey.

His father's coaching stops included the Giants, Cleveland, New England and the Jets before he started his legendary time with the Patriots in 2000. "Everywhere I've been people ask me about him," Belichick said. "It's something you get used to. I learned to deal with it, but I've just tried to be my own person."

To that end, Rutgers was just the fresh start he was looking for. He knew he'd have to answer questions about his famous dad, even take some ribbing from Jets and Giants fans on his team in the beginning. "Of course," Belichick said, smiling when asked if his teammates have made it clear which team they're supporting in the Super Bowl. "There are a lot of Giants fans on the team."

Count Fillipone among that group, and Rutgers' defensive captain says the team has done its best to verbally barrage Belichick with some good-natured ribbing. "It's been tough," Fillipone conceded, "because you can't really make fun of the Patriots this year."

The Jersey boy in Belichick understands why so many Giants fans are coming out of the woodwork — in this case, the locker room — these days. "You have to go with the hometown team," the 20-year-old Belichick said. "The Giants haven't won it in a while, but I don't have a bone in my body rooting for them."

Keith Sargeant: ksargeant@gannett.com

Clapton: An Autobiography (A Review)

There have been a bunch of musical autobiographical books on the market lately. This one by Eric Clapton and Ronnie by Ronnie Wood are probably the two that I was most interested in reading. I was actually planning on reading the Ronnie Wood book first but last week I was walking through Target and I noticed the Eric Clapton book on the shelves and I decided to pick it up so that I would have something to read at the airport or in the hotel.

I have always had mixed feelings about Eric Clapton. When I was in middle school my friends and I used to hang out at Gerber Music in the Shoppingtown Mall. This was a large store that sold both musical instruments and records (pre Compact Disc days). The store was jam back with guitars, drums, keyboards and amplifiers. They were a Music Man dealer and Eric Clapton was a Music Man spokesman. There was big poster of Eric playing a Gibson Explorer in front of a stack of Music Man amps and underneath someone had written "Roar like Clapton used to with Music Man". Even though I really was to young to remember Cream it did make me laugh since this was the 70s and Eric Clapton was perfecting his laid back style.

I spent a lot of my high school years looking for the original John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers featuring Eric Clapton and I also owned the import Blind Faith album with the original art work. When I shoot the Sheriff was a hit the local library had 461 Ocean Blvd available for loan and this recording remains one of my favorite albums. When I first heard Layla on the radio I thought it was one of the most powerful songs I had ever heard. I have always had the feeling the George Harrison was Duane Allman to Eric Clapton's Dickie Betts. After leaving the Beatles George Harrison developed the most unique slide guitar style outside of Lowell George.

The life story of Eric Clapton starts out with the similar story that seems to be common in all successful people that feel the need to write their autobiography. Eric was raised by his grandparents and thought his mother was his sister. He never knew his father and never developed a healthy rationship with his mom even after learning the truth. While the story leaves the reader feeling sympathetic to Mr. Clapton it is the other people that come into his life that you truly feel sorry for.

The woman with Eric Clapton in the picture above is Alice Ormsby-Gore who comes into Eric's life as a teenage school girl and is with him during the 3 years he spent as a heroin addict. Her story is reflective of a pattern that seems to echo throughout the book. Mr. Clapton yearns for the things he does not have while mistreating the things he does have. Ms. Ormsby-Gore's ending is one of the more tragic stories in the book but not the only one. Girlfriends, wives and band members gain notoriety and fame but often paying a high price.

There are some things that are definitely missing from the book. While Jim Gordon's name is mentioned his story is not expanded on. Also, missing is any mention of Sheryl Crow. However, a lot of models and backup singers are. The relationships do make for a great story. Especially the lengendary love triangle between George Harrison, Eric Clapton and Pattie Boyd.

The fact that Mr. Clapton was able to survive while many of his fellow musicians and hangers on did not is a fantastic story. Once the story hits the Yardbird years it is hard to put the book down. On several occasions I found myself reading late into the night even though I knew I had to get up early for work.

The book even has a mention about track bike culture. One of Eric Clapton's Japanese artist friends arrives on a Cinelli Vigorelli. It turns out that Mr. Clapton is also a collector of vintage road bikes even though he does not ride them. In fact it turns out the Eric is collector of lots of things.

Now I have to read Patti Boyd's book.

A Sunday Ride before the Storm

It is cold out there. At least that is what I thought until I was coming down the hill on Holmdel Road and I passed a runner wearing shorts, a Florida sweatshirt with the sleeves rolled up, no gloves and no hat. Until that moment I thought I was pretty tough but this guy must have had nails for breakfast.

My new thought is that if the sun is out and I am at home I am going for a ride. I might draw the line if the temperature gets below freezing. I did not have time to go on Saturday but I was bound and determined to get one in today. I could only get 28 miles since I had promised my daughter that I would drop her and her friend off at the Clearview Theater in Red Bank to catch Juno. I checked the air in my tires and go on the road at about 10:15 AM.

I wanted to be back before noon so I knew I had to stay in the Holmdel - Marlboro - Colts Neck area. Once I got over the Holland Road - Telegraph Hill I started to feel good. Even though it was cold the sun was bright and it gave the feeling of warmth. The ride was easy until I got to Phalanx Road in Colts Neck. The wind was in my face until I turned off on to Laird for the trip back home.

I expected the ride to be just over 20 miles. It was actually just short of 28. Not too bad for the first ride in about 2 weeks.

I still have not made the investment in a trainer. I am thinking of getting a trainer and the 54 Langster Comp. This way I can have the bike setup to ride indoors but my Langster will be ready to go whenever there is an oportunity.

New Drive-by Truckers Album set to Release on 1/22/2008

I am looking forward to this album. This will be the first CD to come out since guitarist/song writer Jason Isbell left the band last summer. Pedal Steel Guitar great John Neff has been become a full member and Muscle Shoals' keyboard player has been touring with them. I am still waiting for DBT to recreate the excitement I felt when I first heard Southern Rock Opera.

Searching for The Hoosiers

As I was getting ready to watch the NY Giants play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers my daughter asked me if I would take her to Best Buy. She had a gift card from Best Buy and wanted to see if they a CD from an indie band. She was kind of sketchy about the details but the Giants were not off to a great start and I figured we would be back half time so why not.

Best Buy does not really have a deep music section. Not a bad place to buy current music but they do not carry deep catalogs and the probability of them having an indie release was very slim. I was hoping for a surprised. Making the story short Best Buy did not have the CD so I suggested that we head into Red Bank and check out Jack's Music.

Jack's is a good place for finding hard to track down CDs. They will usually order it for you if they do not have it in stock. My daughter by now had told me that the band's name was The Hoosiers. The staff at Jack's are knowledgeable music buffs but they have the kind of personalities that you often find in comic stores and bike shops. They like to be helpful but they want to feel superior as well. As we were walking in one of the fine gentlemen at work at Jack's asked us if we needed any help. My daughter told him she was looking for the new CD by the Hoosiers. The grimace on his face when he said "I have never heard of them" was priceless. He walked back to his computer and looked it up.

"The Hoosiers right?" he said. H -O -O -S - I - E - R - S. I was waiting for him to tell us either he had 2 on the way or he could order it for us. The response was actually unexpected "It is available as an import only.". As he was walking away I mention that I used to one the David Grisman Quintet LP that was lying on the desk. I was thinking he was going to start talking about the beauty of jazz played by bluegrass musicians. Instead he looked at me like I was chewing gum on his shoes and walked away.

This whole scene reminded me of the movie Hi Fidelity. I told me daughter about the movie and we walked over to the DVD section to see if Jack's had it in stock. It was not in the drama section but they did have it in the comedy section. My daughter asked me to get it so she could watch it.

As we were driving home I told my daughter that we could go to Bleeker Street in the Village and stop at Bleeker Bob's to see if they had it. We are going into New York on Saturday.

When I got home I did some research. I found the MySpace page and I looked to see where I could find the CD. It is available on the UK version of iTunes but not on the US version. Our US iTune accounts will not work on the UK site. Amazon had the CD but only through a sub. I told my daughter that I could get it but I would have to order it. I expected her to say that she wanted to check out the music shops in Greenwich Village. However, she told me to order through Amazon.com. It will probably be here around the weekend.

The name of the CD is Trick to Life. I listened to some of the songs on the MySpace page. It sounds cool. I am probably just as excited to get the CD. It is so much fun to discover new music. Maybe I will live up to the name of this blog and actually review music.

After I watched the Giants pull out a win over the Bucs we watched Hi Fidelity. It turned out to be fun afternoon.

Happy New Year - Welcome to 2008

Finished off 2007 with a great ride and I even completed one of my must does for the year which was riding Navesink River Road from the bottom up. I am not really much for making New Years resolutions or reflecting back at the year just completed but this post is going to do both.

There were a lot of highlights to the year 2007 for me.

1. Spent January and February 2007 working and living in San Francisco. I was working on a project at Wells Fargo Bank and it was not really practical to commute back and forth on the weekends. Even though I was living in the Cartwright Hotel it still felt like I was a resident of the city. I have been to San Francisco multiple times but this was the first time I really got to explore the city as more than a businessman in town on work for a few days. I can see why people fall in love with this city. In many ways it is a smaller version of NYC.
2. Skied in Lake Tahoe on 4 of the weekends that I was in California. Once I knew that I was going to be in San Francisco long term I made plans to go skiing. I have never skied outside of Central New York (although I have been cross country skiing in Vermont) so I was really excited to experience skiing on the West Coast. Especially since the snow in the east was not so great in the early part of the year. I skied every time at Heavenly which is owned by Vail Resorts. Heavenly is a large, well run but expensive ski resort. My only regret is that I did not branch out and try one of the other ski resorts such as Kirkwood. In fact my first weekend in Tahoe would have been a great opportunity to do this since Heavenly did not open completely on Sunday because of high winds. I ended up getting a refund and heading back to San Francisco early.
3. Rented a carbon Fuji Road bike and rode across the Golden Gate bridge and up into Marin county. I ran into one of my high school classmates in the breakfast room of the Cartwright Hotel. She was in San Francisco on business but she brought her husband and they were making a vacation out of it as well. She mentioned that they had gone for a run across the Golden Gate bridge and it was one of the highlights of the trip. Since I cannot run anymore I decided I would rent a bike and ride over the bridge. Blazing Saddles rents road bikes so I decided to get one for the weekend that I did not go skiing. I rode 50 miles each day. After the first trip over the bridge it actually becomes more of an obstacle. This is the weekend that I really came to appreciate the San Francisco/Northern California lifestyle.
4. Attended almost every home game of the Rutgers University Lacrosse Team. One of my high school classmates is the head coach of Rutgers Lacrosse team. I had attended a couple of games in 2006 but I think I attended every game but maybe one in 2007. It was fun watching the team improve as the season progressed. I am looking forward to this season. My second blog post was about Rutgers Lacrosse.
5. Purchased my Specialized Langster. After renting the road bike in California I realized how much I liked bike riding. When I was living in Charlotte I was using my Trek Mountain Bike as a road bike but I had not really used it that much since I had moved back to New Jersey. I started looking at full road bikes but for some reason the single gear/fixie bikes started to catch my eye. At one point I started to think about buying two bikes. However, I figured that only one of the bikes would have been rode a lot so I decided to go with a single gear bike. Originally I was going to get a Bianchi Fremont but I noticed the Langster on the wall at the Peddler. The frame was too big for me but I tried it out anyways. I realised that I liked the bike. As I was getting ready to leave I was told that there was a 52 that needed to be put together. I really thought I needed a 54 but it turned out that the 52 was the right bike for me. The folks at the bike shop originally were skeptical that this was the bike for me but I bought it anyways. Probably one of the best moves I made. I ended up riding over 3000 miles since I brought the Langster home in June.
6. There were lots of other things that happened and many of them have been posted in my blog. I went back to California and got to check out the Hellyer Velodrome in San Jose. I went to Hyderabad, India. I spent several weeks in Boston over the summer. I completed one project and started another in Richmond, Virginia. These are just some of the highlights.

As I mentioned I am not much for New Years resolutions. If I was not willing to do something on December 31 there is no reason to think that I will be willing to do it on January 1. However, there are some things I would like to accomplish in 2008.

1. Ride some different areas and hit some challenging climbs on the Langster. I have had the March 2007 edition of Bicycling Magazine on the floor of my bedroom because it has the top 100 climbs in the United States. There two climbs in New Jersey and a couple are right over the border in New York. In 2008 I am going to invest in a bike rack for my car so I can expand my riding.
2. Ride a velodrome. While I got to visit the Hellyer Velodrome I did not get to ride it because my schedule would not permit it. In 2008 I am going to ride at least one velodrome. This should help me with #3.
3. Decide if I want to purchase a dedicated track bike. I have had some much fun riding the Langster that I have ruled out purchasing a full road bike (I reserve the right to change my mind at a later date) but I am thinking of getting a fixed gear bike like a Langster Comp to use when I visit the velodromes. The only thing that is holding me back is I do not want to spend money on something I will never use. I am thinking of buying a trainer and using the fixie as the trainer bike.

That is pretty much it for me. I hope everyone has a good and productive 2008.

The Langster's Last Ride of 2007

It was sunny and above freezing today so I decided to take a bike ride. By the time I got my clothes on and checked the pressure in my tires it was around 10:30 AM. The temperature was in the mid 30s. Originally I was only going to go out for 20 miles but as soon as I got over the Holland - Telegraph Hill Ridge I decided I would go further. The only decision was how far should I go.

The sun was shining and I was feeling good so once I got to Colts Neck I decided I would head over to Rumson and Sea Bright. I figured the ride would be around 45 miles maybe more. The traffic was good since I think most people took today off from work. It was the usual route through Holmdel, Marlboro, Colts Neck, Shrewsbury and Little Silver. I took RT 520 through Rumson and I turned off on Ward Ave and started to make the trip back home.

As I was getting closer to Oceanic Bridge I realised that one of my goals for the year was to ride Navesink River Road from the Oceanic Bridge back to Rt 35. I rode Navesink River Road on the maiden voyage of the Langster from RT 35 to the Oceanic. For some reason I had in my mind that the reverse would be much harder.

The wind was pretty strong today. I had felt the head wind at several points on the ride but once I turned to make the return trip I really felt it. Crossing the Oceanic Bridge was a challenge. I usually ignore the sign at the drawbridge telling me to walk my bike across the steel mesh decking but today I decided it was not worth the risk of be blown over and slipping on the roadway. Even on the paved/concrete part of the bridge I was had to fight not to get pushed into the traffic coming up behind me.

The real challenge of riding Navesink River Road back to RT 35 is that the off ramp of the Oceanic Bridge has a slight grade up with a stop sign where it meets Navesink River Road. Once the left hand turn is made onto Navesink River Road it immediately starts a long steep climb. There is no opportunity to get some momentum going. There is also a switch back that creates a blind spot for the cars coming from behind (I was a little worried since the shoulder is very narrow does not allow any place to bail). While this was the climb I was worried about most it actually turned out to kind of fun. The bonus is that once you get to the top there is a nice down hill drop that shoots by the entrance to the Huber Woods County Park.

My favorite part of riding Navesink River Road from RT 35 is what I like to call the Jon Bon Jovi Drop. This is a really nice down hill section with several S turns that are really fun to hit if the traffic will allow me to get into the middle of the lane. Jon Bon Jovi is rumored to live somewhere on Navesink River Road.

Riding this hill from the other direction is fun but for a different reason. It is the second most challenging climb on the road. Since I really like to climb this is fun for me. Once you get to the top is another nice down hill followed by a shallow but steady climb up to RT 35.

Once I crossed RT 35 it was over the NJ Transit tracks and back to Nut Swamp Road. I have to make a detour back to my house because there is construction by Garden State Parkway Exit 114 which messes up the road the evenually turns into Laurel Ave.

I ended up riding 50 miles. Actually when I got back to my house I had 48.5 miles on the computer so I decided to do six sprints around the lake (~1/4 mile each lap).

Tomorrow I am going get a short ride in during the morning just to kick off the New Year.

Skiing Song Mountain Resort

I drove up to Syracuse, NY this past weekend to visit my parents and get some skiing in. Last year I went up on the same weekend and there was no snow but Central New York had got several inches over the past couple of weeks so I was hopeful. Unfortunately, there had been several warm days as well.

I arrived in Syracuse around 8 PM on Friday. As I was visiting with my parents it started to rain. Since my parents house is on one of the higher elevations in the area this was not good news for the skiing.

The closest ski resort to my parents' house is Song Mountain Resort in Tully, NY. It is not a huge ski resort but it is usually not crowded. Most of the people there are local to the Syracuse area and ski almost every weekend in the winter time. Lots of good skiers but everyone is friendly and there are trails for just about every ability. The ski school is also very good.

After reading the Song Mountain ski report I decided to head over the resort. I have found that the person who writes the ski report is very optomistic. When I got to the mountain I noticed that the coverage was much less than what was reported in the report. Instead of taking out my skis and getting a ticket I decided to walk up to the front of the lodge and get a better view. The first decision was to call it a day and go back to spend the rest of the day with my parents. I called my dad who convinced me to give it a try. I was going to only purchase a 4 hour ticket but and 8 hour ticket is only $3 more for a total of $39 (this is cheap compared to many other places). I was probably one of the few who purchased a ticket since I call these kind of days Season Pass days.

I had been planning on taking a lesson to work on my mogul skiing technique but the trails and snow cover would not support this. I made my first couple of runs on Bali Hai which did not seem too bad. A little icy but not bad for the first day out of the season. Unfortunately, after about the 3rd or 4th run I started to notice that a race course was being setup on Bali Hai. I took a couple more runs but it was obvious that I was going to have to try another trail if I was going to continue skiing.

I decided to give Chopsticks a try. I was a little sceptical since I had only seen a couple of people go down it. I quickly found out why. The trail was very icy. The first run down was a cautious and slow run. However, as I tell my friend "If you want to ski you have to be able to ski on ice" so I decided to try again. The second run was much better. I adjusted to the ice and I started to have fun with it. I like the sound that skis make when carving turns into an icy trail. I spent the rest of the day skiing Chopsticks. It got better as the day when by. The biggest problem was a large smooth icy patch at the bottom of the hill as the run returns to the bottom of the chair. The first time I hit it was not expect the ice and went to turn right toward the chair and my skis came out from underneath me and I ended up sliding down on my rear end.

There was some room between the chair and the race course on Bali Hai so I decided to give it a try. From the chair it looked nice and soft but when I skied it I noticed that it was really slushy crud that was pushed over from the race course. I hurt myself in January skiing in crud at Heavenly in Lake Tahoe skiing in crud so I am still a little apprehensive about skiing these kinds of conditions. In fact I prefer ice to crud.

I ended up skiing till about 2:30 PM. I had been on the slopes since 9:30 AM. I was getting tired and I decided it was time to pack it in before I got hurt.

My parents went to meet some old friends who were in from California at Riley's. I was thinking of trying to make it there but I would have had to go in my ski clothes. I ended up hanging around the house for a couple of hours. I a fell asleep watching The Replacements . We ended up going out for pizza at Twin Trees.

The original plan was to ski Sunday as well but I decided the day would be better spent with my parents so I had a casual day visiting with them. My dad and I watched the Syracuse University Orangemen beat Northeastern on TV and then I packed up my car and got on the road for the trip back to New Jersey.

I was trying to beat the snow. As much as I like skiing I do not like driving down the interstate in a snow storm. The weather was fine until I hit Scranton. It was snowing hard along I380. The merge at I380 and I80 was challenging. I was thinking of taking I80 all the way back to New Jersey but I decided it would be better to follow my usual route of taking RT 33 to I78.

I ended up getting home at about 7:30 PM. It was good weekend.

Merry Christmas

After all the buildup Christmas finally arrived and is now over with. I think that the Christmas season is officially over once the last plate is in the dishwasher. For us it was just a quiet day with a good meal in the afternoon.

I did get a good ride in today. I rode 28 miles. It was a little on the cold side but the traffic was extremely light. In fact there were stretches of quiet that kind of reminded me of cross country skiing the long trains at Highland Forest in Central New York. Since I am fighting a cold and did not get much sleep last night I hit a wall at the 20 mile mark and it was a struggle all the way back. If I had been with a group I would have been getting dropped but I was by myself so it was all good. This time of year you have to take advantage of any riding opportunity.

Even though I am not vacation until January 2 I have a busy week planned. Wednesday is going to be my catch up day. I still have expenses from last week that need to be submitted. I need to get them in before the end of the year. I am planning a trip into New York on Thursday. I am going to try and visit TrackstarNYC. Maybe I can get some ideas for opening a similar shop in Red Bank. I am planning on going to Syracuse to visit my parents. Hopefully I can get some skiing in as well. While I will mostly likely be Alpine skiing I am getting the itch to do some Nordic skiing.

I do not have any good pictures. So I decide to go with the 1977 Schwinn Paramount Track bike. I found this on the internet. The Schwinn Paramount was my Red Ryder BB Gun. I think the Motorola Team or its predessor Seven Eleven Tean rode Paramounts. Here is a really nice picture of a road version.

Birthday Ride in December

Today is my birthday and I have been checking the weather report to see if it would be possible for me to get in a ride. Yesterday was one of the worse days for weather we have had in a long time. While the temps were in the low 50s we had high wind and heavy rain. Today while we still had some of the wind the sun was out and the temps were in the high 30s and low 40s.

I originally wanted to get a 46 mile ride in (1 mile for each year) but my daughter wanted to take me shopping today. We wanted to get the mall early before the crowds so I was not able to get out before the early afternoon.

I rode the same ride that I have described several times. I ended up with 36 miles all together. It turned into a fun ride and I was able to stay warm. My toes got a little bit cold at the end but I think I could have got in 46 if I had enough time. I used my new long gloves for the first time.

I am not sure if I am going to be able to get a Christmas day ride in. Maybe a short one before dinner.

Z100 Jingle Ball at Madison Square Garden on December 14, 2007

I took my daughter and one of her friends to Z100's Jingle Ball at Madison Square Garden in New York last night. This is the second year we have gone. Last year I had to become a ZVIP and get a password and then buy the tickets online. I would try to get the best available tickets but all that was returned in the search were "The Worst Seats in the House" that Z100 reserves for their ZVIPs. I have to say that this is truth in advertising since these are not great seats if you are interested in viewing the stage.

Last year we sat in the 400 section (I screwed up and did not take the 200 level seats that came back in the first search). The tickets turned out to be not as bad as I expected. We could see part of the stage but we were in the first row of the section so we had a great view of the back stage which was kind of interesting. The stage rotates and the band's/artist's rigs are setup and configured and then rolled around to the front. We always got to see the next act getting ready to get on. The down side was that we did not have a good view of the jumbo screens that displayed the live feed from the front.

This year we sat in the 320 section. We were right behind that left side of the stage. We had a good view of the jumbo screens but not much of anything else. We had a good time even though it made for a late night since we did not get home until 1 PM. It was an even longer day for me since my flight from Richmond on Thursday evening was cancelled and I had to catch a 7 AM flight on Friday morning.

The girls want to attend the all access lounge at the Hammerstein Ballroom on 34th Street. So we took the 1:03 PM train out of Middletown, NJ. This got us into NY's Penn Station at around 2:30 PM (it is a mid day local that stops at all stations on both the North Jersey Coast Line and the Northeast Corridor.

There is alot of graffiti along the train line. I took this picture at a stop in Linden, NJ.

The Empire State Building from the Secaucus Station. On clear days it almost appears as if everything is magnetized.

Inside the Hammerstein Ballroom and the all access lounge. This was actually the low point of the evening for me but I was trying to make the best of it. In order to get all access it was necessary to get a pass. Winning these passes were tough. My daughter and her friend spent a couple of hours trying to get Backstreet Boys and Jonas Brothers meet and greet passes but it did not really work out too well. Eventually we started looking for a place to eat and we ended up at the ESPN Zone at Times Square. The food is better than I though it would be.

This is the view from out seats. I guess it is all about the scene. The show was much better paced than last year. The acts were definitely better last year but there were some highlights of this year's show. Avril Lavigne was good. She seems to be having fun and played 6 songs which was the most by anyone all night. Most acts only play at most 4 songs. Fall Out Boy played 6 as well. Alicia Keyes was great. Great voice and a great band.

Fall Out Boy was their usual selfs. I took my daughter to the Honda Civic Center over the summer at the PNC Art Center. At list point I am not sure if I am a fan. The lead singer and the drummer (he was playing a single bass setup this time) are good. I am still trying to decide if the bass player and second guitarist add that much to the sound. They do play with a lot of energy though.

I was disappointed with Timbaland's performance. I was really expecting that this was going to be high light of the show and Timbaland would showcase some of his genius at merging genre's but it did not really happen. Timbaland had a tough time keeping the energy level up. The performance would move in that direction but before it really gained momentum it kind of died. The band OneRepublic performed with Timbaland and I kind of felt sorry for them since there big opportunity to play Madison Square Garden was marred by equipment/sound problems that did not effect the other acts. OneRepublic played the All Access lounge earlier and they sounded my better. Really a shame since from what I could tell they had the opportunity to really shine.

However, the mostly early teenage girl crowd was there for the Jonas Brothers. We stuck around for 2 songs by the Jonas Brothers but we really wanted to be on the 11:30 PM train home so we left a little early. Waiting until 12:37 AM was not really a good option.

While the music showcased is not really my type of music I am open minded enough to enjoy whatever music is being played. Just like last year there were some great drummers and I usually listen to the drummers when I listen to music.

A December Ride

December 1 would have been a good day to get a ride in but I was busy running errands so it did not work too well for me. Sunday December 2 was just not a good day for hitting the road.

December 8 was the day for me. It did not look to promising when I got off the flight back from Richmond, VA on Friday evening and it was snowing. I decided that I would take a spinning class at the gym on Saturday morning. However, I did not get to the gym until 7:45 am and the class was already full. It was very disappointing since the day was looking bleak.

Around 11 AM the sun came out and the roads started to dry up. I started to get excited. I quickly walked the dog, filled up my tires with air and cleaned/oiled my chain. By 1 PM I was out on the road. I had 4 layers on and I was comfortable with the tempurature in the high 30s. I got a good 34 miles in. I may have to invest in some heavier socks and maybe some booties or winter shoes. My toes have been taking a beating.

I am not sure if tomorrow is going to work out since it is supposed to rain. I may end up taking the 8 am spinning class.

Snow Today - Did not get to the cyclocross race

I did not make it to the Cyclocross race today. I did not bring my 4X4 and this is as close as I got. This house is on the corner of Whipperwill Valley and Bowne in Middletown. The right hand turn that I needed to make was down a steep hill. I made an attempt but I noticed the skid marks from previous vehicles so I turned around. I think I could have got down but I am not sure I could have got back up.

It did not look like it was all that well attended. The snow probably scared alot of folks away. Which is not what would be expected with cyclocrossers.

A little bit of snow usually creates havoc here in New Jersey. Unlike in Syracuse. When I moved to New Jersey after college it felt like I had moved to the tropics. I got so used to the mild winters that I had to move even further south to North Carolina. Of course I started to miss being cold (I think it is in my blood) and I moved back here to New Jersey. The trend indicates I will be back in Syracuse soon.

Walstib Cyclocross (Middletown/Red Bank NJ)

I was at the Peddler today and Mike told me about a cyclocross event in Middletown that is going to be held on December 2 (tomorrow). I might shoot over to watch and take some pictures.

Check out this article in the New York Times about cyclocross. Is it bad the the NY Times is covering it?