September 28, 2007

My new track bike was ready yesterday. I had asked the shop to put road bike bars on it and take the track bars off (I'll switch them out when I go to the velodrome), and they installed a front brake and put hoods on the road bars for resting my hands. Last night I took my new toy out for its first spin. The first 3 or 4 times I clipped out of a pedal at a stop light, I had a hard time clipping back in because when the wheels are moving, the crankset is also moving. So I had to chase the pedal around and around until my foot caught it. Then I figured out that if I clip in as fast as possible, I can catch the pedal before it starts moving.

Then I did what every newbie does on a track bike - I tried to stop pedaling when I rolled over some bumpy pavement. This is what I do on my road bike. The pedals kept moving and I had to react quickly. I also learned how to keep pedaling over railroad tracks.

I realized after half an hour that my legs were not going to have a chance to rest during this ride.

Going down the first steep hill, I had to pedal at a cadence around 130 rpm, and that got me laughing at how goofy it felt.

By the time the ride was over, I had quickly improved at slowing the bike down without using the brakes (by putting backward pressure on the pedals).

My goal is to be strong enough on this bike to hang with a regular road bike group ride without getting dropped.

And maybe I can learn how to do a real track stand!

Posted by megabeth at 07:55 AM | Comments (2)

September 27, 2007

Someone asked me the other day how I afforded the cost of laser eye surgery. Well, let's see.

I haven't had a land line for five years. $40 x 12 x 5 = $2400
I dropped internet access two years ago (thank God for wifi). $50 x 12 x 2 = $1200
No extended cable for 10 years. $50 x 12 x 10 = $6000
And in June, my employer started paying my cell phone bills. ($600/year)
And no car payments for 10 years (but let's count it as 5 years and assume I paid off the loan). $300 x 12 x 5 = $18000.

That's where I got the money to pay for lasik. And a few other sundry items.

The telecom companies hate people like me.

Posted by megabeth at 01:01 PM | Comments (2)

September 26, 2007

I've been on the quest to find the best pizza in Birmingham. So far, I haven't found it. The search has become difficult, like I'm trying to find the Holy Grail. I concluded that the pizza in Birmingham, overall, must suck. There is no Pizzeria Uno to raise the bar for competition. Like most people in Birmingham, I prefer the independents over the chains, but in this case, I'm close to declaring Papa John's the winner. Sad, yes.

New York Pizza - This is an average pizza, sometimes above average. They have a few good specialty pizzas like the Southampton. Toppings for a large are too expensive to order more than a few, because a lot of their toppings are "doubles". So, theoretically, with about 5 or 6 toppings you can have yourself a large $40 pizza.

DaVinci's - They put their toppings under the cheese. Instead of calling them toppings, I'd call them "soggy hidden surprises", aka SHS. Still, you get the best bang for your buck at DaVinci's. Their pizzas are loaded with SHS and cheese. After one or two pieces, I'm full.

Salvatore's - This place smells like a cornucopia of delicious, hot Italian food. Everything on the menu is good. Pizza is above average especially when right out of the oven. However, don't save any for leftovers. The cheese becomes hard and rubbery, and consistency doesn't change when reheated.

Rocky's - Located in the university area, that should have been the warning for me to stay away. Worst pizza in B'ham, hands down. Canned sauce, tasteless crust, and no cheese or toppings on the outside 6" of the pizza.

Baker's Famous - I've given them one chance. They put this garlic sauce on their pizza (you can omit it by request), which made the pizza taste, um, not so good.

Davenports - Really good, thin crust pizza, but rather expensive for what you get. Profit margins must be around 500,000%.

Dave's - I've tried Dave's several times and just can't get into it. Some pizzas are better than others.

Cosmo's - The problem I have with Cosmos is getting accosted by a few shady characters after spending half an hour looking for a parking spot. Scratch. (Speaking of this, I'm wondering why there are any businesses in Southside left? Since the police have all but abandoned the area?)

Tortugas, Bettola - Haven't tried either yet. Tortugas due to distance. I am pretty sure Bettola is going to be very good, but being a gourmet restaurant they aren't the traditional pizzeria where you choose your pie size and toppings.

Papa Johns, Dominos, Pizza Hut, Little Ceasars - Papa John's is the best of the chain deliveries. I do think it's better to spend $10 on mediocrity than $20.

Freschetta, Tombstone - I can do a pretty good job with a frozen grocery store cheese pizza by adding my own toppings and seasonings. Some of my creations have been very good.

Posted by megabeth at 11:04 AM | Comments (4)

September 24, 2007

The newest member of my bike family has arrived at the bike shop. It is a dark blue Bianchi Pista fixed gear/track bike. I decided to get this as a present to myself for finishing my MBA. It's a little early since I graduate in December, but the new 2008 bikes were being ordered already.

With a fixie, there are no gears to shift, so you don't have to think about anything other than pedaling. The fixie guru Sheldon Brown can explain it better than I could. There is a lot of beauty to be found in simplicity. Also, bikes without gearing are inexpensive. Sometime this fall I will head over to the Dick Lane Velodrome in Atlanta and get certified for track racing. I'm not sure how often I'll want to go to Atlanta to use the track, but track racing does sound like fun.

New toys are fun!

Posted by megabeth at 10:02 AM | Comments (2)

September 20, 2007

Being in business school, I hear a lot of companies talking about their "world class solutions" for xyz. It sounds to me like a bunch of bullshit. What company would ever say, "Well, our product is only good enough for this state"? Maybe I might assume that 'world class' means China-quality, which means it is often defective. 'World class' is one of those meaningless terms that politicians use to fill the air with sound.

Posted by megabeth at 09:29 AM | Comments (1)

September 19, 2007

There was a mayoral forum last night at Workplay, and I caught it on CBS after getting home from class. I hope to God every day that anyone in my peer group who lives in Birmingham will vote on October 9th. I pay more in city occupational taxes than some people pay in homeowners taxes in the city of Birmingham, and I can't vote. All I can do is sit around and b*tch about the pathetic city council situation, since I am getting screwed big time.

The mayoral forum sounds on the surface like a real sleeper, but this is Birmingham. There was a diverse (and I am understating that term) group of around ten candidates, including some incumbents - city council members Abbott and Smitherman, the current mayor Bernard Kincaid, the former mayor's little puppet, William Bell, and extreme overspender and county commission member Larry Langford. Chances are good that one of those people will win the upcoming October 9 election.

The format was that the moderator asked a question and each candidate had a minute to answer it. There was one old fart who was totally crazy and couldn't speak an intellegible sentence. He claimed he has worked every type of job that ever existed on the planet (so therefore knows a lot about everything). His answers usually elicited peals of laugher from the audience. Kincaid's answers were indicative of his inability (or unwillingness) to get ANYTHING done during his current term. Langford's answers were indicative that he is going to spend every penny of the city's money on useless, overblown projects and then raise taxes for everyone so that he can spend some more.

I can pretty much assume that the most idiotic candidate (other than the confused old guy) is going to win this election because the voters in the city of Birmingham actually PREFER to vote for idiots. I am baffled, but willing to accept the fact that a lot of people don't want progress in this city.

However, if I could vote (and I could probably pay someone $20 to vote for me, which would be a lot better spent than the occupational taxes that come out of my salary), I would vote for Patrick Cooper. The guy has all of his marbles and seems to understand that laziness, selfishness and corruption do NOT benefit a city.

Posted by megabeth at 08:07 AM | Comments (6)

September 17, 2007

I went clothes shopping this weekend, wanting to pick up some fall business separates for work. First of all, I will never complain again that cycling clothing is expensive. If I spend $100 on a pair of cycling shorts, be assured that I will wear them once a week for at least three years. Women's clothing is designed nowadays to be so trendy that you cannot wear something for more than three months before it goes out of style. And it's also expensive.

I shopped for clothes at Macy's. In other words, I shopped at Muu-Muu Land. I was not aware that muu-muus were back in style, but apparently they are, since Macy's has at least 2,000 different muu-muu styles, in every color of the techni-color rainbow. In fact, there is little else at Macy's right now except for muu-muus, so if you are looking for something in a solid color, don't waste your time there. If you do not know what a muu-muu is, check out this photo at a nursing home clothing website. It is a very large, roomy dress with loud floral prints, originating in Hawaii. It looks very similar to a nightgown. Which is the first problem I have with this 'fashion' trend. I just don't think it is okay for people to wear nightgowns out in public.

Macy's sells these muu-muus as both dresses and tops. I am going to post some photos I found on their website. However, these examples are a big disappointing because Macy's tries to lure the buyer in with photos of more attractive clothing, then when you get there, you find clothing that Macy's probably bought from KMart. Most of the muu-muu prints I saw looked like something my grandmother used to wear in the 70s.

No.


No.


And no.

I predict the fall 2008 trend: A la The Sound of Music, all tops and dresses will be made of heavy drapery material, with an 80s twist: the fabric will turn into neon colors when activated by heat.

Posted by megabeth at 01:18 PM | Comments (6)

September 14, 2007

It's been a while. Somebody mailed me some salsa this week, so I wrote it up.

Posted by megabeth at 03:47 PM | Comments (0)

September 13, 2007

My race season is over, so I can focus on school and ride for pure enjoyment for a while. I made some mistakes with training this year, but am learning a lot from them. Probably the most important thing I learned was that I am not a pro and thus can't train like one. The issue is not about available time, but more about pushing too hard during training and not resting enough. I have only one full season of racing experience, so my body is still acclimating to training adaptations. Last winter I rode a lot and got a lot of base miles, but then I was off the bike for two months due to the mystery disc problem, so I can't say whether that the winter training was a major benefit or not.

Speaking of the problems I had with my neck and back earlier this year, I am STILL in physical therapy for it and just now it is getting better to the point where I can say, "I don't feel any pain today." I still have a bad day every now and then.

Another valuable lesson I learned was that Friel wasn't kidding about periodization. I thought I was superhuman this summer since I had the long break, and I found out otherwise when I had symptoms of burnout in August. I am going to stick closely to the three weeks on/one week off training cycle from now on. It is clear that my body needs good rest. This doesn't necessarily mean staying off the bike entirely, but rather doing some very easy recovery spins during the rest week. Since it's fairly hilly here, I have a hard time sticking to a recovery spin unless I'm on my trainer indoors.

I learned about the importance of focused training sessions as well. I did some focused training this summer, but not on a regular basis. I had avoided structuring my training because I was just happy to be back on the bike. Then I thought that race intensity riding during the week was going to help me get stronger, and that theory proved wrong as it is better to save race intensity for races (aside from a structured interval training plan).

The mental struggles I have with racing I haven't figured out a solution for. Hopefully periodization will solve some of the burnout, but I've also been dealing with some personal family issues all summre that have really zapped my confidence. And there are other factors outside of my control that have to do with how women's cycling is treated like an afterthought. With the increase in participation this year, I am optimistic that things are going to get better and morale will improve. I also struggle with having a consistent level of aggressiveness throughout the race season. Sometimes when I line up for a race start, I feel like cuddling with my teddy bear instead of feeling the desire to ride hard and beat other people. Not wanting to chase after the breakway rider in this weekend's race is a good example of the occasional complacence I feel while racing. Maybe I should take up knitting instead. ;)

Posted by megabeth at 09:28 AM | Comments (0)

September 12, 2007

From now on, if I put up a post about buying a certain security, then you should go out immediately and sell it short or buy a put option on it. Vice versa: if I tell you that I am selling something, then go out immediately and buy it or buy a call option.

This spring I bought some shares in the Gold ETF (GLD) and it proceeded, immediately, to go down in value. Damn, I am good. Then a few weeks ago, after the market recovered from the dip, I sold my GLD shares for the same price I bought them: a wash sale. IMMEDIATELY the price of GLD shot upwards $5 a share. I am so good at this, I should do it for a living. The extra sting? I get to do the paperwork on my tax forms for a sale in which I made nothing, and can't claim a loss either.

The timing was impeccable.

I should become a mattress investor.

Posted by megabeth at 09:37 AM | Comments (2)

September 11, 2007

The last two winters, 2005-06 and 2006-07, were two of the five warmest winters from 1949 to present (in the United States). What are the odds of having another warm winter this year? I was really cold last winter. I am having difficulty acknowledging that it was not a cold winter. I rode my bike several days in sub-freezing temperatures, and my house doesn't stay warm regardless of how much heat is pumped into it, so it was around 63 degrees inside, for 3 or 4 months. We had a few streaks of 70+ temps. We also had a few streaks of sub-freezing temps, and anything under 60 is freezing cold to me, anyway.

The other three warmest winters since 1949 were 1952-53, 1999-2000, and 2001-02. I don't think this is enough data to prove that global warming is real, but it seems to indicate a warming trend in this decade. Just to throw us off the trend, though, 2000-2001 was the fourth coldest winter from 1949 to present.

Posted by megabeth at 08:37 AM | Comments (0)

September 09, 2007

I was a little disappointed in my 6th place finish in my race yesterday for a couple of reasons - I wasn't giving it 100% during the race because I'm still a bit burned out on racing. I went for a couple of primes and won $50 (later they told me that they didn't have me down for winning a prime, so I was told that I was "fortunate" that they were willing to "give" me $25 plus a $25 gift certificate. My teammate was also told she won one less prime than she did, and they gave one prime to a woman who did not win one at all. This is the last year I will go for a prime in this race.)

On the final stretch I felt good for sprinting to the finish, but got boxed in by two cyclists on either side and couldn't go anywhere, and by the time I could it was a little too late. The other tactical error I made was that I could have caught the breakaway rider in front after the $100 prime sprint, and I rationalized letting her go because I didn't want to endure any pain and suffering during the chase. Moreso than anything else, I'm just frustrated because after all this racing I've done this season, I still don't have any idea what decisions to make during a race. That's because women of all abilities usually have to race together, and my race strategy has been "hold on for dear life until I pop". Once I do have the chance to try something offensively, I can't make up my mind to decide what would work and what doesn't. And that, in a nutshell, is why most women don't stick with racing, because after getting annihilated three or four times, it is completely human for someone to give up on it.

Next year I will try to prioritize races that split up the women's fields, and may have to travel longer distances to participate in races that allow me a chance to get some racing experience with women of similar ability.

In a few years of training I'll probably become competitive with the stronger women in the field, but that is a long time to wait. I tend to give up on things if they aren't working out, so I have a real fear that I may quit this altogether if I have another season full of races of suffering through getting brutalized by some Cat 1 and 2 women. I don't think a lot of men would stick with this sport if the beginners had to race with the pros.

This race was fun, though I am hard on myself and wnted a better result. I had a good time despite my tactical errors. I would have not sprinted for primes had I known they were gift certificates instead of cash. (My team chose to share primes before the race, and gift certificates can't be split.)

Posted by megabeth at 11:07 AM | Comments (1)

September 07, 2007

My last race of the season is tomorrow afternoon at 3 pm, at Pepper Place here in town. I am glad that my season is almost done because I'd like to take it easy and ride my bike for purposeless fun for a while. Sometime last week, I strained a quad muscle and it still isn't better, despite lots of massage and ice. This is Murphy's law. And typical of my idiocy, because I usually overdo it and then have to scale back. It's good that I have the willpower to be motivated and suffer much pain during training, but my body does not comply with that at this point in my 'racing career'.

I'm not in the mood for a criterium right now, so hopefully I can get into that frame of mind by tomorrow. I find endurance races to be less mentally stressful than criteriums (but more physically stressful) because riders drop off due to attrition instead of aggressive attacks. I'll have to find something to be mad about since that seems to help me to race better.

Posted by megabeth at 11:21 AM | Comments (0)

September 06, 2007

I take issue with the federal government wanting to bail out homeowners who can't meet their mortgage payments. Five years ago, when I bought a house, I had the option of financing with an adjustable rate mortgage. I could have purchased a nicer, bigger house if I had used an ARM at 5%. Instead, I made the responsible choice with a fixed 30-year mortgage rate on a house that I could afford (at an already low fixed rate of 6%). As a first-time home buyer, it was not difficult to understand that the ARM would not be a good situation in the event that I kept the house more than 5 or 7 years. And not knowing my earnings or the housing market in the future, I thought it would be prudent to protect myself from the uncertainty.

However, those people who chose to buy houses and increased their debt-to-income ratio to something on the brink of unmanageable are entitled to being saved by the government. I've read several BusinessWeek articles about the subprime fiasco, and several homeowners interviewed said they "weren't aware" of the consequences of an adjustable-rate or interest-only mortgage. This is one of the most important financial decisions you will make in your lifetime. How could you fail to educate yourself on the details of the loan? It is not anyone's responsibility other than one's own to be informed.

There are some proponents of new government regulations regarding the issuance of subprime mortgages. As much as additional regulation sucks, I think this is probably needed, since neither side of the equation (mortgage companies, mortgagees) can be responsible for themselves. The government has to come in and hold everyone's hand like little babies who still need someone to tell them what to do. Many mortgagers will allow a homebuyer's debt-to-income ratio to be upwards of 40 to 50%. This doesn't mean it is a good decision, just because a salesperson told you that you can do it.

I agree with the author of this article. I made some investing mistakes during the 2000 stock market bubble. Can I get my reimbursement check from Uncle Sam?

Posted by megabeth at 10:06 AM | Comments (5)

The other day while driving down Green Springs Highway I noticed a new store (not open yet) across the street from the Publix. It is called ALDI. ALDI is a German grocery store company and I've heard about it from a business school class. Perusing their website, I don't see anything in particular that really differentiates this store from a supermarket, Wal-Mart, or Big Lots. I'll have to visit when it opens to see if this new entry in the market is worthy of a repeat visit. Have you shopped at one before?

Posted by megabeth at 09:15 AM | Comments (2)

September 05, 2007

I had a goal for Labor Day weekend and that was to catch a fish. The lake house is near Rockford so we headed down 280 again, but this time we stopped at Penzey's Spices in Inverness first. I had assumed it was going to be some super-expensive stuff, but the prices are reasonable. I discovered Mexican Vanilla extract, which smells so good I left it on the kitchen counter so I can have a whiff every once in a while. Next, Bud's Bait Barn, where we bought some worms. Then off to the Childersburg Wal-Mart for groceries, which is quite an experience in regards to the diversity of the human species. I spotted a nice, brassy gold mullet on a guy hanging out in the parking lot (it's the place to see and be seen).

That evening on the lake, I was brave enough to put a hook through the worm. It probably doesn't take courage so much as a strong stomach. As soon as I dropped it in the water (we hadn't boarded the boat yet), a small brim fish bit the hook. And this is how it went through the weekend and I think we caught 50 or 60 brim, and threw most of them back. The following day I hooked a baby big mouth bass, but it wasn't big enough to eat so we threw it back. The other bass continue to elude us. I read through some BassMaster magazines and discovered that apparently it is much more complicated to catch a bass than I thought. Also, bass fishermen analyze their sport just as much as cyclists do.

We kept the largest of the brim, and battered and fried them up for dinner. They were good.

The funny part of this weekend is that Ruby has really taken to fishing. At first she hated being on the boat. She also hates getting wet. After a few rides, she decided the boat was okay and has been spotted driving the boat without a license. Then she discovered that we were pulling some weird slimy wiggly things out of the water with fishing poles. She started running up and down the boat every time one of us pulled a hook out of the water, even if the hook was empty. And she would lean waaaay over the boat's edge trying to bite the fish, almost falling in a few times. She did manage to jump up and bite one fish in the tail, and put another small fish entirely in her mouth. She also ate a worm. Who would have known that a little Boston Terrier could be so vicious to small creatures? I can't wait to see her reaction if we ever catch a bass that is half her size. After a day of running all over the boat and getting tangled up in fishing line, Ruby was plumb tired out. I don't have photos because the camera battery died.

We also went for a bike ride out in the country. And saw about 10 cars, compared to the usual 467,348 cars that pass me on a ride in Birmingham.

It's quiet out there. It is so nice to get away from the noise one hears in a metropolitan environment. And at night, it is truly dark. The only noises I heard were: wind, birds, and coyotes. And Ruby's snorts (of course). I would like to live out in the boonies and be closer to a natural environment and have a huge garden. However, I like conveniences like nearby stores and friends to socialize with. Also, I have to go to work.

Posted by megabeth at 03:31 PM | Comments (0)

September 04, 2007

I'm too busy to give a weekend update (coming later), so here's a brief thought. I was trying to peel an apple - one of those shiny Granny Smiths - and the peeler didn't catch the peeling, but did scrape off some wax. So I started scraping the apple and ended up with a big pile of wax. If you eat one of those shiny apples, then you are eating a lot of wax, also. That does not seem healthy, in my opinion. They are probably waxing the apples to make them look good. Or perhaps it helps to preserve their shelf life?

At the Pepper Place farmer's market, I bought a bunch of Ginger Golds and they weren't shiny. Whole Foods also sells apples in their natural state.

It's just another reason (of many) why locally grown produce is so much better.

Posted by megabeth at 12:49 PM | Comments (0)