Neil’s Blog

Magnificent Nose

2010-12-17T13:43:00.000-05:00

The blog has been up and running at the new address for a while now. The neilfein.com address will get you there for now, but the new url is magnificantnose.com. I've been updating it on Mondays and Wednesdays,and haven't missed a day yet. Check it out!

Moving the site soon

2010-10-13T16:47:00.000-04:00

I'm moving this blog to WordPress soon. I have an upcoming project I need to learn WP for, so I'm testing it out here on a low-traffic site. If I find I prefer Blogger, I may switch it back. Everything will be at neilfein.com, as it is now -- (I hope).

You'll notice that the site looks a little different, and any google-specific stuff may not work (following, et cetera). Links within the site may also break; WP and Blogger use different systems for generating URLs.

If you see anything weird, let me know.

Tours

2010-07-24T10:18:00.001-04:00

I'm having my morning coffee, and in a few minutes, I'll pack and leave on a 4-day bike tour. This seems like a good time to mention that, yesterday, I finished the journal of my previous tour:

From the Charles River to the East River

Boston to New York City, with a stop in West Hartford
332 miles (534 km) over 8 days from May 22, 2010 to May 29, 2010

Please, have a look and let me know what you think!

Click on the pictures for a larger version and more information.

Sunny camping

2010-04-08T22:20:00.001-04:00

I love this picture!

Cooking dinner at the Chisel Branch campsite, near the Goose Creek River Lock on the Chesapeake and Ohio rail trail.

Click on the pictures for a larger version and more information.

Martha and Neil ride again!

2010-04-03T13:18:00.008-04:00

We're planning to ride a 3-day tour out of Martha's parents' house. We're still deciding on the route (although it will likely involve part of the C&O Canal trail), but we're planning to camp. We did some of the packing before leaving home, and Martha's bike looks weird loaded with a tent and cooking gear:

Click on the picture for a larger version and more information.

The net is series of magical tubes

2010-04-02T07:15:00.004-04:00

Despite all attempts to the contrary, neilfein.com remains online. My hopefully-soon-to-be-ex registrar has been sending me emails for months, now, warning me that YOUR DOMAIN IS ABOUT TO EXPIRE, etc, etc. Well: The domain has expired; the transfer to the new registrar still hasn't gone through (pending the domain being pried from the cold, dead fingers of register.com); and yet somehow, through all this, the site and domain remain, as if by magic, online.

Salutations!

2010-03-26T17:14:00.003-04:00

This domain maybe down for a few days. I'm changing registrars, and there's a snag with the transfer.

I haven't been posting here lately; I've been putting content I used to write for the blog on several other sites. Bike touring stuff goes up on crazyguy, personal stuff on Facebook where I can lock it, and book reviews go up on goodreads. I'll try to post here once in a while, though.

Click on the pictures for a larger version and more information.

Birdies

2009-08-23T19:23:00.004-04:00

While meeting Carol today at the shore, for some reason, i was finding myself fascinated by birds. Two in particular. This one was hanging out in a puddle:

...and this fellow was sitting on a pile of sand as if laying an egg:

Click on the pictures for a larger version and more information.

Weekend tour?

2009-08-21T06:00:00.001-04:00

If the weather looks good (no thunder and lightning), George and I will be riding up to Round Valley Reservoir (or Voorhees State Park if they don't have campsites left) this weekend for a weekend camping trip. 30-35 miles, and hills, hills, hills!

View Larger Map

Edit: We moved this to next weekend, but the forecast doesn't look good for then either.

Click on the pictures for a larger version and more information.

Holy crap, the filming is all done

2009-08-19T06:00:00.000-04:00

Principal photography is complete. Now begins the long wait while the post-production team edits, builds special effects, loops, scores, and in general makes a movie out of the chaos.

After the last shot was shot, we all made a toast in Bruce's kitchen. (There was a wrap party that I had to miss.) There's an awesome teaser trailer up, take a look!

It was fun to work on, and I never, ever want to feel film makeup against my skin again. (Unfortunately, I say that after every film.)

Click on the pictures for a larger version and more information.

Modern Healthcare

2009-07-31T16:28:00.001-04:00

Modern Healthcare, originally uploaded by neilfein.

The doctor was running a little late earlier this week so I doodled this. It occurred to me when I got home that it's a bit of a commentary on modern healthcare. (Okay, that's a bit of a stretch, but I still think it came out as very cool.)

Pine Barrens

2009-07-13T22:09:00.003-04:00

We met George in Batsto Village and we rode for a few hours, covering perhaps 25 miles. Martha and I used the ride as training for next week's tour. Martha started getting tired a few miles from the end, but otherwise did very well. I got a good workout pulling the trailer.

The eternal question (one of them) is whether to tour with panniers or a trailer. To help us make that decision, we took the trailer on Sunday see how it handles over this kind of distance. I'm pleased to report there were no problems, at least with the light load I had. I've carried heavy loads of groceries in the trailer, but for no more than the five or six miles from Shop-Rite.

Along with lunch, extra water, and tubes, I brought along a floor pump. I figured, why not? A few miles into the ride, George pulled over with a flat tire - his first flat, ever. He didn't find anything sharp inside the tire, but Martha found a pinhole leak in the tube. He put in the new tire and we got back on the road.

10 miles later, we were pulling out from our shady roadside lunch spot, and I noticed that Martha's rear tire was flat. That one had a small shard of glass speared through the 26" tire, and we had to dig a bit to get it out. We installed a makeshift patch and moved along. I was wondering if I was next to get a flat. George pointed out, "the day is still young."

My right shoulder started hurting perhaps half an hour after Martha's flat. With the help of two allen wrenches, Martha, and George, I raised my handlebars a bit. It did actually help my shoulder a little.

On the way home, we got fresh white NJ corn, and had it for dinner with butter and lots of garlic.

Click on the pictures for a larger version and more information.

Star-Ledger article

2009-06-28T16:04:00.002-04:00

Hey! Words Pictures Movies made the Sunday Star-Ledger!

With a Little Budget, Trio Chase Big Screen Dreams

Eric Vitner, a budding filmmaker, has spent the last month shuttling across the state, logging 18-hour workdays and managing a dozen or so people working for free.

He's lost about 18 pounds.

"People want a great diet?" the 34-year-old former Edison resident says. "They should go out and make an independent film."

The film is "Everything Fred Tells Me Is True," the first feature by Words Pictures Movies, a company Vitner founded with screenwriter Adam Dickinson and production designer Bruce Meyers, friends he met at Rutgers a decade ago. They're filming parts of it around New Jersey: apartments and houses in Edison, Piscataway, Paterson, the Bagel Dish cafe in Highland Park.

Photos from NYC

2009-06-22T18:00:00.001-04:00

I have no idea who this woman is, but there's gotta be an interesting story in this photo.

Martha and I coming home from a party.

Ghost Bike, seen in the East Village in NYC. The placard reads: "Andrew Morgan, 25 years old, killed by truck, June 22, 2005. Rest in peace." More information here. There's a link on that web page to a New Yorker article about ghost bikes. (Take a look at the comments.)

Click on the pictures for a larger version and more information.

2009-06-18T15:06:00.003-04:00

This past weekend, I met a fellow touring cyclist. We got along well, and traded tips with each other. Unlike my weekend trip, he's attempting to cross the country, to see as much of it as he can.

He seems to have made a good start. He picked up a steel touring bike, and been through New York, Newtown, Philadelphia, and is now headed for Lancaster. He also started a blog to write about his adventures. Road and Blanket.

Here we are, at Typer Park Hostel:

So go read and comment on his blog - it's an understated, bi-lingual, and is documenting quite an adventure!

Click on the pictures for a larger version and more information.

Rain in the Woods

2009-06-15T20:14:00.002-04:00

I had a great time! Despite torrential rain on Saturday, I found Pennypack bike trail to be wonderfully scenic, twisty, and steep. Sunday was lots of fun, if a more ordinary day touring. More to come, when I get a journal written up.

Click on the pictures for a larger version and more information.

The last-minute tour

2009-06-11T00:07:00.006-04:00

Martha's working on Sunday, so I may as well go on a tour! I've got a weekend tour planned, and only 3 days to go.

Saturday, 27 miles: Take the train to Philadelphia, ride along the Delaware River to Mayfair, then head North through Pennypack Park. I understand there's a bike path there... somewhere. Should be interesting trying to find it.

Continue north through Lorimer Park, then take Huntington Pike 10 miles to Richboro, and Tyler State Park. I have a reservation at a hostel in the park, and a trail map to help me find it.

Sunday, 34 miles: Washington Crossing Road will lead me to a metal bridge between two parks linked by a road that's the namesake of both parks. (Yes, this is where George Washington posed for a painting in a boat.) I'll take one of my regular routes to Princeton from there.

Martha's work is 9 miles from the towpath's Kingston access point. I hope to be there at the end of her workday.

2009-06-09T07:47:00.001-04:00

Rain, rain, go away, come again... this afternoon. I loue riding in the rain, when I don't need to worry about my business casual getting soaked through.

Splashity splash splash

2009-06-05T09:52:00.003-04:00

No blog entry today, so here is a picture of a fountain in City Island Park in Harrisburg.

2009-06-04T09:11:00.002-04:00

Missed the 7:20 out of New Brunswick; running an hour late this morning.

Whose bright idea was it for the Raritan line to run only once an hour during rush hour? I know all about supply and demand, but might more frequent trains stimulate ridership?

The Abandoned Highway

2009-06-01T10:17:00.004-04:00

We went to Harrisburg for the weekend, and went to ride on the Pike2Bike. It's an abandoned section of the Pennsylvania Turnpike. (There's some history on the Pike2Bike.com site.) The ride was organized by a poster on bikeforums.net, and there were about a dozen people.

Judy, Martha and I all hung back, and kept a slow pace and spent time chatting.

There are abandoned tunnels as well, and we went through one of them before turning around. The tunnels are long, cold, and damn are they dark! We were told to bring lights, and we did.

Click on the pictures for a larger version and more information.

Eternity Road, by Jack McDevitt

2009-05-29T06:00:00.004-04:00

All that's left of civilization is ruins - roads, bridges, buildings, and a very few surviving books to help us make sense of the roadmakers' culture. There was an expedition to Haven that returned not only empty-handed, but with all the expedition members save one dead.

That's the scenario of Eternity Road. Against this background, a party of explorers seeks out "Haven", the mythical site of a cache of Roadmaker artifacts. The characters are memorable, likeable (mostly), and the story stayed with me. My favorite book my Mr. McDevitt so far.

Weekend plans, past and future

2009-05-27T06:00:00.002-04:00

We cancelled the camping trip when the weather forecast remained crappy; all that work packing was, let's call it "premature".

Turns out there's a short hiking trail here in Highland Park, starting behind Adelaide Gardens. It takes you to an old boat launch on the Raritan River, now in disrepair and covered with mud. Grazina told us that it extends all the way to the route 1 bridge, but it's pretty overgrown this time of year.

The wind was pretty low, not fast enough to get a kite to fly for more than a few seconds. That's a shame, because there's a decent-sized field down by the river.

We're planning to go to Harrisburg this weekend, and meet some folks to ride on a section of abandoned Pennsylvania Turnpike. This should be fun!

Getting ready for the weekend

2009-05-22T06:00:00.002-04:00

We spent a couple of hours getting the camping stuff ready on Wednesday night. I think we'll be able to carry everything on my bike - we couldn't fit a rack on Martha's bike. We picked up more stuff sacks and camping straps (the ones we have are lost).

A large annoyance - as it was during last summer's tour - is the large Thermarest (self-inflating air mattress). It makes my bike not quite two feet longer and unbalances it when strapped to the top of the rear rack. Also, one of the sleeping bags burst out of its stuff sack, and we had to use a compression rig and some straps to keep it rolled up and compressed. We'll pack food at the last minute, clothes at the same time. Martha will be wearing a backpack with food and stuff for the train.

Drawn last summer, on the way to Fallingwater.

We decided not to bring cooking implements on this tour - we'll eat cold food, saving space and weight on the stove and fuel and so on.

Of course, all this assumes that we actually go on the trip. Weather looks lousy, my knees are bothering me, and Martha's getting over a cold and hasn't been able to ride in over a week. One option is to leave a day later, on Sunday.

Click on the pictures for a larger version and more information.

Halo gig

2009-05-20T06:00:00.003-04:00

The gig playing guitar for A Halo Called Fred went very well. What I didn't expect was that it was so much damn fun! I haven't played with a full band in years, since Ten to Nine disbanded in the late nineties.

A Halo Called Fred playing at Entech in Metuchen, NJ. Brushwood Thicket Farmer on drums, Me on guitar, Geverend Dee on vocals and guitar, Tiny on bass.

Arranging is always a compromise. When I'm going to perform on my own, I have the option of vocals and guitar, and that's about it. The Route One Orchestra allows me to take advantage of two singers and percussion, opening things up a lot.

The Route 1 Orchestra at the Highland Park Street Fair. PhonePic by Siva Prasad.

Working for a band is very different. Between the four of us, we had three singers, two guitar players, sax, flute, bass guitar, and all manner of percussion. Nearly as important, it was much easier to keep the audience interested between songs, a skill I'm lacking. I'd love to get back into playing with a band, but coordinating more than two people's schedules seems pretty daunting.

Click on the pictures for a larger version and more information.

H.G. Wells goes Quantum

2009-05-18T06:00:00.002-04:00

The Time Ships, by Stephen Baxter

An authorized sequel to The Time Machine, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It picks up where H.G. Wells' story left off, as the time traveler hurtles to the future to rescue Weena.

Mr. Baxter manages to retain the style of the original without turning it into a slavish copy. The simplistic, linear view of time in the original book is expanded to include current physics, keeping the book recognizably a Stephen Baxter tale as well as a pastiche of H.G. Wells.

I enjoyed the book thoroughly, and I was sorry to get to the last page. More 19th century time travel books, please!

Getting ready for Saturday

2009-05-15T18:01:00.002-04:00

Just a reminder that the Words Pictures Movies party is ~~tomorrow~~ today. (click on the link for more information.)

To clarify: There is no cover charge. People keep asking me this.

Bruce and I have rehearsed for the Halo set, some Route 1 Orchestra songs, and I've got my own set. On Saturday, I'll be setting up the PA, rehearsing with all of Halo around 2pm. I'm sure I'll be plenty busy that day!

Please come on by and support quality independent cinema! Even if you can't contribute, come by and cheer the musicians. (I have a slight interest in that!)

Edit: The Highland Park Street Fairis this weekend, and there's going to be a major festival at a Greek church in Piscataway, so allow extra time for travel.

To-do for the Cheesequake tour

2009-05-15T18:00:00.000-04:00

We still have some stuff to do to prepare for next week's tour.

Reserve the campsite - done.
My knees have been bothering me, and I'm worried about making it up hills with a fully loaded touring bike. We're not going to take all that much along, but we'll be hauling camping gear. The route I have planned works out to 35 miles over two days, with only two hugeantic hills. I hope.
We need to get a rear rack on Martha's bike. We were going to wait until Martha started hauling anything, but taking a little weight off my bike will help my knees. We have the rack, but getting it on Martha's Navigator will be a little tricky. The bike shop should be getting special, longer rack stays in a shipment today.
Tents: We're taking the 2-person tent, so we'll be cramped. The other option is a larger, heavy tent we use for car camping. Five times heavier than the backpacking tent.
This'll be our first time hauling a camping load for two people. I'd like to pack the bikes a little in advance of the night before we leave, so we'll have time to address any problems.

Excuses

2009-05-14T12:48:00.004-04:00

An explanation of why I haven't updated in a while:

It's been a while since I've updated regularly. What I've been up to since the fall:

Spending too much time in the hospital and at doctors' offices - there's been too much medical shit lately.
I've been four short bike tours, and there's one more coming.
We moved from Edison to Highland Park - on top of the moving, we're still unpacking, painting, hanging curtains and other such domestic fun.
Worked with Words Pictures Movies, including a upcoming fundraiser party.
Went to Florida on vacation
Four or five gigs
Also, Passover happened.

I'm gonna try to update three times a week, M-W-F. (If that's too much, I'll scale it back, but I'll start with that.)

2009-05-14T12:45:00.003-04:00

(Again testing) If this works, the post should have a title.

2009-05-14T12:43:00.001-04:00

Testing cell phone posting.

Martha and I - the next tour

2009-05-13T18:30:00.001-04:00

If the weather holds, and if my knees are in decent shape, we'll be doing this next weekend. It'll be over two days, camping in Cheesequake overnight.

Spring tour 2009 v.2

http://www.bikely.com/

The man in Saturn's moon

2009-05-08T18:00:00.001-04:00

Titan, by Stephen Baxter

This dystopian space tale was out of date shortly after it was published, but it's stull a good story with an important message - space travel is bigger than short-term interests, and politics will always nuke expensive programs. The Apollo moon landings were a freak, needed to put the commies in their place, so to speak.

In the early 21st century, the dying days of the space program are in sight. The possibility of life is discovered on Titan, one of Saturns moons. A new NASA director gets the idea to sneak in a mission to Titan before the space program is dismantled by the incoming president. (I found this one a little hard to swallow - how often is is a presidential race years in the future that certain?)

The scope of the novel is expansive, focusing on world affairs for much of it, and progressing to humanity's future in the universe. I enjoyed it, and am reading Mr. Baxter's novel The Time Ships, picked up on the strength of this book.

Movie party

2009-05-06T14:42:00.012-04:00

A movie production company I've been working with needs to scare up some funds for their upcoming feature film Everything Fred Tells Me is True. They're holding a fundraising party, with free food, drink, and entertainment. There will be movie clips shown.

When: Saturday, May 16th at 8pm
Where: 9 New Street, Metuchen, NJ.

Edit: There is no cover charge. (Several people have asked me if there is one.)

Me playing with the band at Rutgers

More information on the film is available at the Words Pictures Movies website, along with photos of the cast and short films we've made.

The exact musical lineup has yet to be determined, but the headliner will be a reunion concert of local favorite A Halo Called Fred! There will also be a Neil Fein solo set.

So we can get a feel for the final head count, please RSVP to me by May 12 if you think you'll be attending, and if you're bringing anyone along.

2009-01-02T01:08:00.000-05:00

The stairs leading up to the top of the Key West lighthouse are narrow, rickety, and are particularly dizzying when descending. The view from the top is easily worth the trip.

Click on the pictures for a larger version and more information.

I'm not dead yet

2008-12-20T12:44:00.006-05:00

The site is back, finally. It was down because of some technical crap. (I still don't have an FTP password, and I don't know if this post will even work.)

If you get a note from the American Epilepsy Foundation thanking you for your contribution in my memory, I'm probably still alive. (I can't speak to what happens after I publish this post, of course.)

We're leaving for Florida today. I'll be back on the 30th. Texting me will work better than email, since I'm not sure where or how I'll access the tubes.

Here's a picture of our pantry, for your entertainment:

Click on the pictures for a larger version and more information.

100_8476.JPG

2008-12-04T20:45:00.002-05:00

100_8476.JPG, originally uploaded by neilfein.

The Falls in Paterson, NJ. They look pretty ordinary until you're right on top of the falls themselves - then you see what all the fuss is about.

brains

2008-11-07T00:41:00.001-05:00

brains, originally uploaded by neilfein.

This is how I spent last Sunday. No, not a Halloween party, a film shoot. Jello tastes even more wretched when it's shaped like a brain. I kept almost retching while messily eating the brain during the shoot.

09_40milesoutfromdc

2008-09-23T17:31:00.001-04:00

09_40milesoutfromdc, originally uploaded by neilfein.

I drew this on the way to DC, about 40 miles out from mile zero.

Bruce and Neil

2008-09-21T21:59:00.001-04:00

Bruce and Neil, originally uploaded by neilfein.

The Route 1 Orchestra in our first performance with the new name. We had a great audience and it was tons of fun.

PhonePic by Siva Prasad, taken at the Highland Park Street Fair.

100_8008.JPG

2008-08-24T21:03:00.001-04:00

100_8008.JPG, originally uploaded by neilfein.

Seen in Trenton, NJ while biking to meet someone at the Lower Ferry Road towpath trailhead.

Park Avenue Car-Free

2008-08-17T23:32:00.002-04:00

100_7950.JPG, originally uploaded by neilfein.

Summer Streets is an experiment where NYC is blocking off just under 7 miles of streets for the use of pedestrians and bicyclists. The route includes Park Avenue from 72nd street down to the Union Square area, then taking Lafayette Street down to the Brooklyn Bridge.

I had an incredible time, and I'm planning to go back next weekend and do the whole thing in reverse.

Bruce and I parked in Weehawken and took the ferry into Manhattan. The event was very crowded indeed. The crowds are fun to watch! We saw cyclists, runners, skaters, walkers, families with strollers, wheelchairs, and a couple of horse-drawn carraiges.

At the Brooklyn Bridge, the crowding got even worse. The pedestrian/cyclist walkway is raised over the roadway, with a lane for bikes and one for pedestrians. (This concept is a bit too much for many, many people to grasp, but I digress.) The bridge itself is beautiful in a way that's hard to appreciate by car.

It Asploded

2008-08-13T00:41:00.002-04:00

100_7881.JPG, originally uploaded by neilfein.

My winter project. This box contains my old touring bike disassembled. I threw out the bent frame, front wheel and the fork after the shop gave me back this box.

I have a new frame to hang all this on - at the least, as many of the components as will fit with the used frame I bought.

Bruce has claimed this saddle already, and I know the seatpost and headset won't fit.

Big Treeless

2008-07-12T14:54:00.000-04:00

The landlord has decided to cut down the tree in front of our house. It was taller than the house and it cast shade on the picture windows, saving on energy and giving us privacy.

Their plan is to sell the house, and I suppose deforesting the property and exposing the peeling paint and cracked windows will achieve that end... somehow.

Click on the pictures for a larger version and more information.

Bikes in Burbank

2008-07-03T08:48:00.002-04:00

100_7696.JPG, originally uploaded by neilfein.

Our Warner Brothers' studio tour guide told us that, years ago, James Dean had an obnoxious habit of revving his motorcycle outside live soundstages. The perfectly measured reaction to this was to, of course, ban all motorcycles from the Warner Brothers' Burbank lot. There are countless bikes now cruising the lot.

Click on the pictures for a larger version and more information.

Goodbye to Neils on Wheels

2008-06-19T11:31:00.004-04:00

Neil Brennen and I have come to realize that we have different touring needs, and we've decided that Shake, Rattle and Roll has been our last tour together.

I'm sorry to see this happen, but I'm glad we rode together for the time that we did. It's been fun, and we learned a lot from each other over touring 700+ miles together, not to mention day rides and organized rides.

Even if not explicitly stated, NOW has always been at least somewhat about learning and improvement. "What can we do better next time?" was a standard conversation after a tour.

Packing - I tend to overpack, and I still do. I like to think that I've improved since I brought 4 paniers and a huge camp roll for a 2-day trip.
Climbing - the hills of Chester county (where Neil lives) are truly epic. Our tour to Bethlehem highlighted that there are always steeper hills.
Camping - I've now camped 4 times with NOW, the only camping experience I have to date. I'm at the point where I can set up and break down in a reasonable amount of time, and can get a decent night's sleep in a small tent.
Planning - Mapping appropriate roads, setting the length of the day to something realistic, and planning to ride in an area that's interesting to begin with are all important things to know how to do if a tour is to be successful.

100_7336.JPG

2008-06-15T09:18:00.004-04:00

100_7336.JPG, originally uploaded by neilfein.

Train across from the campsite. Trains on this line kept us up all night. Campers are advised to bring earplugs.

Made it!

2008-06-08T21:09:00.006-04:00

Neil B had to bow out of the ride after a fall, but he made it pretty damn far, riding 90 miles on a broken rib.

Neil and Judy followed me in a car, in my mad dash to cover the last 100 miles to DC in one day. They made sure I ate properly, didn't overheat, and drank a lot of water.

Thanks again to everyone who sent donations - I exceeded my target of $1000 for epilepsy research. There are a lot of people who made this ride possible, and thank you to everyone involved!

I have many more pics to sort through, and a journal as soon as I can get it all finished. I filled many notebook pages that I have to type up and edit.

Click on the pictures for a larger version and more information.

A bit belated day 5

2008-06-04T19:20:00.002-04:00

So last night I didn't actually talk to Neil until I was about to go to bed, so I wasn't sure if I could keep my eyes open long enough to post. And by the time I got here tonight, Neil had already posted a bit. But let's see if I can fill in some of the back story.

The big issue yesterday is that Neil got a flat. He had spare tubes -- so no problem, right? Well, actually, since this is a new bike, neither Neil had checked to see if the pumps they were bringing on tour with them worked with the valve. After going through two tubes, they called a guy from bike forums to come meet them. Neil had one tube left, but he also had a rip in the tire sidewall. So they planned to go to a bike store to get him a new tire and another tube. (And a pump that actually works with his bike, I assume.)

So during the day, they crossed the Mason-Dixon Line at the same time that they crossed from Pennsylvania into Maryland. And before they did that, they passed Deale, PA, which is the highest elevation on the trail. They went through the Big Savage Tunnel, which is an old railroad tunnel that's been converted for the trail. It's about 7/10 of a mile long, and it also represents the divide between water that drains to the Atlantic and water that drains to the Gulf of Mexico. (Neil called it the continental divide, but that's in the Rockies.)

After that, it's all downhill from there. Literally -- they got past the highest point. They stopped in Frostburg, MD for the night, and stayed in a dorm at Frostburg State University.

I'll post more for Neil once I actually talk to him. (We've been leaving each other messages all day.) You can also see below for more info.

Shake, Rattle and Roll tour update from the road

2008-06-04T17:14:00.004-04:00

I'm in the library in Cumberland, so here's an update. Sorry it's brief. I'm keeping a notebook so I'll have more when we get back. Most of this entry is cannibalized form an post I just made on bikeforums.net.

Neil B took a spill, and he's is resting up in the Bruce House, a local B&B. He seems okay so far and may be able to ride tomorrow, but we'll know a lot more in the AM. We've stopped early in Cumberland, which is just as well since there's a thunderstorm coming and there's a tornado warning - the second we've had on this tour. Much contingency planning is occurring, since this puts us 30 miles behind.

Everyone we've met on the road has been great! It's great to finally put faces to the names.

Neil's trailer is pretty wobbly, and the quick release hitch keeps jamming. It was checked out; apparently the quick-release retaining pins were bent, and forcing the hitch onto the skewer was making it worse.

A sharp rock jumped out to bite my tire on a few miles west of Frostburg. I had to get a new tire in Cumberland, and I rode it around town a little bit while under the full load and it seems fine. I have three spare tubes. I may tour with a spare tire next time. Martha is correct that I could be traveling lighter, I've learned a lot from this tour. We're having a great time, despite the setbacks. (More mechanical issues... sigh.)

It's amazing to see everyone commenting here and keeping the thread going over on bikeforums; I feel pretty pumped from seeing y'all following our progress. Keep it coming! I'll check in again when I can.

Day 4: Falling Water

2008-06-02T21:57:00.003-04:00

Neil called me tonight from his campsite approximately 15 miles from Confluence. (No, I have no idea where these things are. Apparently Confluence is near Cumberland, if that helps anyone. I think they're still in Pennsylvania.)

During the ride today, the Neils met up with Judy (from Bike Forums) and her 14-year-old daughter Libby. Judy and Libby took the Neils in their car from the trail to visit Falling Water, a famous house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Also joining them was a guy they met on the trail who is doing the same trip. (Sorry, but I forgot to write down the name of the other guy.)

After getting back to the trail, Judy and Libby took all the bags from the Neils and drove on, which meant that the Neils could ride unencumbered for a bit (although Neil says that the bike is holding up well with the load). Then all four of them went about 15 miles up in the mountains to a campsite, where they're going to spend the night.

Tomorrow is going to be what Neil thinks will be the toughest day -- 49 miles over hills. But both Neils decided to mail some stuff home (or in my Neil's case, to DC), including the guitar, which was making PA Neil feel unbalanced. That should make it easier.

Neil's been doing laundry about every other day, and he says that seems to work fine. But he also told me that the guy they visited Falling Water with is doing the same trip with just two panniers and a Solitaire tent. So maybe Neil could reduce his load even further for future tours.

As y'all can probably tell, I finally remembered to take notes tonight, which is why I have details about where they are and who they're with. I'll update again tomorrow night.

Day 3: On the Trail

2008-06-01T22:23:00.002-04:00

Well, the Neils spent last night at an inn that has recently been refurbished. Apparently there's even a Las Vegas room with lots of Elvis memorabilia. They got caught in a downpour about 5 miles out yesterday, so they arrived soaking and muddy. Luckily, today they found a combination bike shop and restaurant that let them use their hose to clean off their bikes.

They rode on the trail today, and made an average of about 10 miles per hour. (12 or so on the flats.) Both Neils are feeling a bit wobbly as they get used to their equipment: NJ Neil has his new REI bike that he's still breaking in, and PA Neil is dealing with a trailer.

Tonight they're camping at a site on the trail that includes a laundromat. They're having fun and haven't had any major arguments so far. My Neil is considering mailing his guitar back, since he hasn't really used it at all, but he'll make the decision later.

More to come as I hear it.

Days 1 and 2 of the Tour!

2008-05-31T22:33:00.003-04:00

Well, I've heard from Neil, and the trip is underway.

Neil and Neil drove out to Pittsburgh on Friday, and stayed with a guy from the bike forums. This morning, the Neils left Pittsburgh, and biked what my Neil described as the most harrowing day of the trip. That's because the two of them needed to get out of Pittsburgh in order to get to the beginning of the trail that they'll be following most of the way to DC. They're spending the night in a hotel, and tomorrow should start on the trail.

Unfortunately, Neil hasn't been able to talk for long, so he'll give me more details when he gets the chance.

Threads

2008-05-30T09:22:00.003-04:00

The trais were running late last night, but NJ Transit made up the time between Jersey Ave and Princeton Junction. I got into Philly on time and Neil picked me up in the Neilmobile.

I was putting the front rack back on the bike (I had taken it off to get the bike in the Neilmobile) and an allen screw got cross-threaded in one of the front eyelets. In the midst of visions involving 4 panniers and the ability to carry only two of them, Neil's roommate Josh saved the day using a Dremel, a drill,and a screw extractor. The eyelet has no threads to speak of now, but the rack is firmly on that side with a bolt and nut. My joking around about using zip ties to attach the rack had been becoming a bit less of a joke each time...

Must shower and get dressed. when Neil and Josh get back with the rental car, we'll pack up stuff and bikes and head out.

Shake, Rattle and Roll!

2008-05-28T23:57:00.005-04:00

I'm going to be biking the Great Allegheny Passage and the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal Towpath trails starting this weekend. That's over 300 miles of riding, mostly on crushed limestone and gravel.

Many generous people have donated to the Epilepsy Foundation for this ride, and I've raised just over $1000. Thanks again to everybody who donated! If you've been meaning to send money but haven't, it's not too late. (Here's the donation page.)

Needless to say, I'll be pretty out of touch next week. I'll probably leave my cell phone off for most of the time as well.

2008-05-28T21:32:00.001-04:00

This is Martha, Neil's wife, with a test post. If this works, I'll be able to post updates for him during the tour.

Least. Boring. ride. Ever.

2008-05-10T17:47:00.004-04:00

I was riding my bicycle west on Route 27 towards Kingston, and suddenly heard the rear tire blow out. As it happens, I'm right across the street from a service station that was so kind to fill up a slow leak for me in the past. I pull into their lot and get my tools out.

After changing the tube, I got the wheel back on the bike and saw a rip in the sidewall. The tube was bulging out just enough that I knew it wouldn't last for all that long. I called my wife and asked her to pick me up and started riding home. About 4 miles later, a car made a left out of oncoming traffic right in front of me.

Traffic was pretty packed and moving slowly, so I didn't have nearly enough time to react. I ended up half-sprawled on the hood of the car, my feet just barely off the ground. I was able to stand and pull my bike out the van's wheel well; I waved the couple in the car to the parking lot they were heading for originally.

The couple was obviously concerned about me. Aside from a few contusions on my face, I felt fine for the most part. Adrenaline and all, I assume.

Martha drove up a few minutes later, expecting to see a bike with a tire about to blow out. My front fork was twisted beyond repair as well as the front rim.

At the Robert Wood Johnson ER, they gave me meds for my achy shoulder and upper arm, telling me I didn't look like I had a concussion. The nurse on duty was funny! My LBS agreed with my assumption that the frame is toast.

Neils on Wheels split up

2008-05-04T23:08:00.004-04:00

...for an hour or so. I just finished a new tour journal, and it's chock full of cool stuff, including:

Dead animals!
Tension!
Camping in the freezing cold!
Fighting between the Neils!
An awesome vanilla malted!

The whole thing is here. Please read it and let me know if you enjoyed it, I'd love to hear from you.

http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/greenlane

Green Lane campground just before sunrise, Green Lane Park, PA

a quickr pickr post

Nietzsche's Blind Date

2008-04-16T07:13:00.000-04:00

Beyond This Horizon
by Robert A. Heinlein

Hamilton Felix is the ultimate in Heinlein protagonists: An uncaring, sharp, and perfect superman of a human being with a similarly intelligent, perceptive, and gorgeous woman who's been set up with him in a eugenics scheme. The background is a revolution that's misgguided but perhaps justified in intent. Not as absorbing as some books of this time, but an enjoyable volume on an excessively dark and rainy evening.

1 to 1 odds of death

2008-04-13T00:00:00.000-04:00

This picture has been making it's way around the net. There's a good blog entry about it at Cozy Beehive that goes more into depth about it.

Riding a bicycle is safer than driving a car, swimming, and walking, but it's more dangerous than flying and playing with fireworks.

I have sore armpits

2008-04-10T22:39:00.007-04:00

Last Thursday: I was towelling off as I stepped out of the shower, and I found I didn't have the strength in my arms to dry the backs of my shoulders. The same problem presented itself on with my left arm and right shoulder. I made do with that old move where you use the towel like a two-handed backscratcher.

Martha's been attending classes at the Family Martial Arts academy in Highland Park. A class a beginner can attend basically consists of doing components of sparring alternating with assorted stretches, specialized pushups and situps and stretches. Picture a room of people all doing these together.

I'm not sure if the martial arts are for me, but the class I was in is a very constructive and focused environment. The senseis are friendly and encouraging, and I liked the few people I spoke to. It has the advantage of being a kind of exercise I obviously don't get. Riding a bike is getting to be, if not effortless, at least a kind of exertion I can roll with. Riding also only exercises me below the waist.

Boy Scouts, Brains, and Barren Plains

2008-04-07T06:59:00.006-04:00

Starman Jones
by Robert A. Heinlein

Typical Heinlein juvenile in many ways. A hillbilly gets a berth on a starship crew, mostly by trickery, and makes friends and enemies on the bridge and in the hold. More math- and testosterone-intensive than most. A dark but thoughtful book, Starman Jones has shadows of the upcoming Starship Troopers in tone.

Farmer in the Sky
by Robert A. Heinlein

More representative of RAH in his Boy's Life phase, a city boy and his father join the fledgling colony on Ganymede and find it's even harsher than they expected. The hours and days in the promised land are not just filled backbreaking work but also with politics, arguments over land and gumption, and fields of rock. Very strong characters and story.

Latest reads

2008-04-06T21:25:00.002-04:00

The Uncommon Reader

by Alan Bennett

The Queen of England discovers that the joys of reading highlight the sterility of her life. Fun, intimate, and very much a good read.

A Deepness in the Sky
by Vernor Vinge

A thoughtful, wide-screen epic with a smart story and memorable characters. A civilization (or entity) from the enthralled heights of the galaxy has gone bad, turning younger races into zombies. Seen from the point of view of the disinformation and speculation produced by galaxy-wide newsgroups. One of the best hard-SF novels I've read in some time, along with Fleet of Worlds.

The town of farking Clark, NJ

2008-04-05T13:32:00.004-04:00

It's been a while since I posted. Here's the latest route I use to bike to work. The different crappy bits are from around mile 5 to mile 8, a side route to avoid the nastiness that is Raritan Road between Walnut and Westfield avenues. This section goes from Clark into Cranford, I think, but the Clark bit is where I've been cussed out and honked at more.

There are turn-by-turn directions here, but they don't print worth an 90's Schwinn. That's the biggest problem with bikely; otherwise, I love the site.

Work to Home 7.2u.a

Share your bike routes @ Bikely.com

Robot Hell

2008-03-15T12:38:00.001-04:00

Mazel Tov!

2008-03-09T13:11:00.003-04:00

My sister-in-law's wedding is the subject of a full article in the "Vows" section of the Sunday NY Times. It's a rather good article, and it blows away the mentions Martha & I and Dan and Allison had. Go Carol & Avi!

Click on the pictures for a larger version and more information.

The Stuff of Legends

2008-01-12T16:50:00.000-05:00

Fatal Revenant
by Stephen R. Donaldson

Picking up where the cliffhanger ending of The Runes of the Earth left off, Thomas Covenant leads Linden Avery on a quest to use the power of the Blood of the Earth. Linden finds quickly that she doesn't trust her old friend as much as she should, and refuses to surrender the power of Covenant's white gold ring to the rightful wielder.

If this makes no sense, it means you're seven books behind the story. There's no sense in pretending, "What has gone before" prologues aside, that these books are in any way standalone stories. Fatal Revenant in particular is opaque if the reader is not familiar with previous works, but very regarding if one has a good memory (or is quick to peek in the glossary).

Questions about the Ranhyn, the forestals, and Linden's son Jeremiah are all answered with more questions. The Land's history is explored like never before, and scenes of Linden healing through Earthpower while Berek Halfhand watches on in awe are among the most powerful that Donaldson has ever written.

Fatal Revenant flags in introspection and self-doubt in the middle of the book, but quickly picks up again. With the new expressions of lore that are turned over, this addition to the Thomas Covenant saga smacks of fan service a little, but I didn't mind. What I do mind is waiting until 2010 for the next volume.

Save This Page

Hey, I can't talk right now, I'll call you back in a bit.

2007-12-27T22:56:00.000-05:00

Time for the Stars
by Robert A. Heinlein

It seems odd I haven't read this one until now. I started this because I needed a book to take on tour, and didn't feel like carrying the heavy hardback I'm in the middle of reading.

The Long Range Foundation funds unlikely ventures, one of which is space travel to distant stars. One issue with this is communication with ships light-years away, and they scramble a project to find telepairs - mostly identical twins - after the discovery that telepathy is instantaneous breaks quietly.

Tom and Pat are one of several identical twins who have to decide who goes to the stars and who stays. Time for the Stars is in many ways a typical Heinlein "juvenile" novel - stock Heinlein characters, with many of the Heinleinesque tropes, such as red hair, twins, and an obsession with the long view. But stock Heinlein stuff is almost always damn good stuff.

The author follows the element of human beings functioning as communication devices to a fascinating end: People have lives apart from the noble exploration of the stars, particularly the telepath left behind on Earth and has to interrupt work or a date or class to take a message. And messages that may seem vital to those on a starship may not be as important to a child being called to the table.

I think I still have four or five Heinlein juvies I haven't read yet...

Zip ties are the best, just under duct tape and velcro.

2007-12-27T22:53:00.001-05:00

100_6668.JPG, originally uploaded by neilfein.

My light is usually mounted on my trunk bag, but I'm going to mount it on my new rack. I'm in between racks at the moment, so I've done this as a temporary measure.

Philly to Bethlehem

2007-12-26T11:56:00.001-05:00

I'm back from the latest bike tour. There was some good, some bad. I finished the Crazyguy tour journal.

Festive cyclist in Philadelphia, the Art Museum in the background.

Light show at Macy's department store in Philadelphia, PA

a quickr pickr post

Click on the pictures for a larger version and more information.

Almost ready for the next tour

2007-12-20T23:30:00.000-05:00

I'm almost ready for this Saturday morning, that is, assuming neither myself or Neil have a rough time while riding because we haven't ridden all that much lately... assuming my bike doesn't explode (I had to replace a rim today, surprise!)... and so on. Oh, yeah, and assuming I don't get sick again (I'm mostly over my the cough I had last week).

That's enough whining. Here's the plan, the links are maps with cue sheets:

Day 1: The Neils meet in Philadelphia, we ride around the city, see stuff, do stuff, crash in the hotel. (All the nights are hotels.) Maybe 20 miles for the day? Not sure. (Neil will be riding there from Kimberton to meet me, I'll take the train.)
Day 2: Philly to Doylestown, 33 miles
I have no idea what's to do in Doylestown, but I'm sure there'll be something interesting.
Philly art museum to Doylestown
Day 3, Doylestown to Bethlehem, 34 miles
We'll be arriving in Pennsylvania's "Christmas City" on December 24th. I'm Jewish, but still looking forward to seeing the spectacle.
Doylestown to Bethlehem
Day 4: Bethlehem to Kimberton, ~50 miles
- Part 1
- Part 2
- Part 3: Green Lane to Kimberton (Neil knows this part).

Last I checked, the weather looked decent, but we'll be prepared if it rains or snows.

Unless I get sick or have more mechanical problems or... naaaah. Never happen. What could possibly go wrong? Um, I never said that.

Asteroids

2007-12-09T00:16:00.001-05:00

Pac-Man

2007-12-09T00:09:00.001-05:00

If this works, it'll be pretty cool. Enjoy.

Edit: It works in safari, not in Firefox. Any windows users get this to work?

Possible worlds

2007-12-08T16:11:00.000-05:00

Interworld
by Neil Gaiman and Michael Reaves

This first collaboration between fantasy author Neil Gaiman and hard-SF writer Michael Reaves is a solid young-adult SF adventure. Interworld keeps the hard science-fiction and fantasy strictly on their own sides of the plate, situations tending to be one or the other, with very little desegregation. I'm hardly the target audience, but I can't help but find this to be somewhat of a compromise book.

Joey Harker is someone able to navigate alternate dimensions, not someone who has, as he's thought all his life, a deficient sense of direction. (As someone who shares that ...ahem, feature... I can sympathize.) One recruitment later (by an interdimensional paramilitary group) and Joey is on his first mission against a rival organization.

The gist is that Joey has to save the universe from folks who want to keep all the dimensions under their thumbs (or equivalent appendages). It was a fun read, but it honestly didn't work for me. Interworld kept striking me as predictable. The writing, however, is quite good, and the characters excellent. (Even the ones that are other-dimensional iterations of Joey.) I hope that this team writes another book; there's much potential here.

2007-12-02T14:05:00.000-05:00

First ride of the season that's both in the snow and with the proper tires. I think I need new brake pads on the back, though.

I forgot how much fin the knobby tires are. I was hopping curbs and riding on the grass, because I could.

Click on the pictures for a larger version and more information.

Bike tour journal

2007-11-25T22:39:00.000-05:00

I've finished transcribing and making the journal I dictated on tour generally enjoyable to read. Enjoy! (There are more pics on the photosite that didn't fit into the narrartive.)

http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/nov2007tour

I'm back!

2007-11-22T12:31:00.000-05:00

I had a great time, 188.7 miles over 5 days. I'm typing up the tour journal. Me on the first day, in Philadelphia:

...and here I am at my second-night warm showers host. (Photo by WS host Rick.)

More to follow very soon.

Click on the pictures for a larger version and more information.

The Daily Show and Writers' Guild strike

2007-11-13T11:31:00.000-05:00

I don't usually do blog posts that are just links to articles, but this one is by Martha's cousin, who writes for The Daily Show, and is a very good (and funny) account of the peronal impact of the writers' strike.

Picketing but Still Punchy
by Rachel Axler

THE writers of “The Daily Show With Jon Stewart” are some of the newest members of the Writers Guild of America — just over a year old. Developmentally, we’re babies — still in the oral stage. When we finally get a new contract, the first thing we’re doing is sticking it in our mouths.

So it came as something of a shock to us when, so shortly after joining the union, our contract expired, negotiations with the studios broke down and the rumored strike became a reality....

Link to the NY Times article.

Photos from our Halloween party

2007-11-04T09:12:00.000-05:00

Larissa, Jake, Jackie

Mike, Jodi, Derek

Jake, Shawn, Debbie

Memo, Anita

Click on the pictures for a larger version and more information.

How to carve a pumpkin

2007-10-30T22:49:00.000-04:00

..or, how I carved this pumpkin. Photoset with instructions.

Click on the pictures for a larger version and more information.

What time is it?

2007-10-29T22:12:00.000-04:00

Eastern Standard Tribe
by Cory Doctorow

I gulped Eastern Standard Tribe down almost in one sitting, on a day I was tired from uploading family photos to the internet.

Art Berry is a user experience consultant, working for a firm in London. Actually, he's an agent for the Eastern Standard Tribe, a social network of east-coast net-connected folk who find each other work, help each other out, and they sabatoge companies so to make way for their own concepts in the market. Almost forgot... they all keep a sleep schedule that lets them stay in touch in real time with tribe ground zero. Got that? Sleep-deprived idea-folk who are disguised as businessmen. Sorta.

I enjoyed Cory Doctorow's second novel very much; I read it in a few hours, mostly on a train. It doesn't hold together nearly as much as his first book, though. Art bears more than a passing resemblance to Manfred Macx, main honcho of Charles Stross's Accelerando, Doctorow's sometimes collaborator.

But. The concept of people depriving themselves of sleep to keep up with the j0nz3s has been going on for years; when's the lat time you walked into work yawning because you'd stayed online until 1am? (Or is it just me that does that?) Of course, we used to stay up late to watch late night TV, and some of us even stay up late reading.

Tribe is very perceptive, easily read, and very thoughtful.

Most of Cory Doctorow's works are available for free under Creative Commons License at craphound.com.

Memory lane

2007-10-28T21:19:00.000-04:00

My brother-in-law recently bought a slide scanner and turned a box of 35mm slides into web-ready embarrassing photos. The family met my Mom for dinner last night for her birthday and gave my Mom a CD last night. (And a GPS, but that's another story.)

Me and Michele, 1972

me and and my best friend, the record player, 1972

My cousins Rob and Doug

Bernie, Molly, Carol, Sol

Neil with Molly's head poking in from the fourth dimension. 1969

Michele

Neil in 1970.

Click on the pictures for a larger version and more information.

Known Space is alive and well

2007-10-26T11:38:00.000-04:00

Fleet of Worlds
by Larry Niven and Edward M. Lerner

The first novel by this collaboration team and the first Known Space book since the plodding Ringworld's Children, Fleet of Worlds is a pleasant surprise. The two writing styles work well together, the characters are very good, and five worlds fleeing through space is a mind-expanding setting.

When the race of aliens known to Humans as the Puppeteers find that a wave of hard radiation from supernovae in the core of our galaxy will reach Known Space in the distant future, their natural caution (or cowardice) prompts them to flee the galaxy now. Bringing their planet and four attendant farming worlds provides the setting for a human colony that has been bred to serve the puppeteers as farmers and advance scouts, which the colonists defer to as "citizens".

The characters are a little pale for the first hundred pages or so, but this is the only fault of this wonderful novel. A prequel to Mr. Niven's Ringworld, Fleet of Worlds is the first of a projected two-book arc.

Bike-El

2007-10-19T17:26:00.000-04:00

It was raining while I was riding home from the carpool today. I was wearing my $6 yellow rain cape I bought in Walgreens; it billowed out behind me the whole way hom. I felt like Safety Yellow Superman!

Crossing Ethel Road, I was singing the Superman theme to myself:

Dum da da duuuum... da da da da daa daaaaaaaa...

... and at that very moment, a guy in a car yells out, "Hey, Superman!"

Traffic

2007-10-19T14:54:00.000-04:00

I rode my bike yeserday from my carpool to the Apple Store (in the Menlo Park Mall). Once I got on route 27, I was the only vehicle not stuck in traffic.

Carpool to Menlo Park Mall

Share your bike routes @ Bikely.com

Pics from Labyrinth

2007-10-16T23:21:00.000-04:00

Photos taken by random folks, using Brushwood's camera:

Brushwood performing, and me as the Heartbreakers

Me playing the opening set to the show to an audience of tens of thousands of molecules

Grazina, Adam, Karen at Labyrinth

Bruce with yummy Old One cupcake

Click on the pictures for a larger version and more information.

Covered Bridges

2007-10-15T06:05:00.001-04:00

Martha rode 22 miles on Sunday, her longest yet. We did the 20-mile route on the Central Bucks Bicycle Club's Covered Bridges Ride 2007.

Half the ride was on the Delaware and Raritan Towpath, the other half was on River Road that parallels the Delaware River. The ride was a lot of fun, and I always enjoy chatting with other bikers. And doing a ride with Martha is a rare pleasure, of course.

Click on the pictures for a larger version and more information.

The Irish Island

2007-10-14T16:51:00.000-04:00

Korea
by Simon Winchester

Korea documents the author's walk across South Korea that retraced the route of seventeenth-century explorer Hendrick Hamel. Hamel wrote a book of his travels in the land of "Corea" that brought this mysterious land to the attention of Europe.

The trick of detachment while remaining involved in the story is something that eluded the author at this point, but the stories in this book are of a more personal nature than the historical narratives in later volumes. Despite the fact that he doesn't flat-out say it, Mr. Winchester obviously loves Korea and found most of the Koreans he met fascinating.

Comparisons to other places Winchester has been are inevitable in a travel book. I was fascinated to see, however, that as the book Continues, the author is more likely to compare Korea with another facet of the country, rather than, say, Shanghai or Tokyo or Dublin.

Before writing the masterful volumes Krakatoa, A Crack in the Edge of the World, and The Professor and the Madman, geologist-writer Simon Winchester generated a series of travel books. I read this book out of a curiosity to see where one of my favorite authors started out, and was pleasantly surprised to find it quite well-written and educational.

A very bad morning

2007-10-12T12:19:00.000-04:00

The shop called and told me that my bike was finished on Wednesday, and I rushed to the shop after work on Thursday. A comedy of delays caused us to barely squeak in the door maybe fifteen minutes before they closed.

The rear tire was uneven, but they fixed this in five minutes. I paid and tried riding it around the parking lot before putting the bike in the car. I forgot to roll up my right pants leg, and it has a but of a rip in it now. But I have a shiny drivetrain, a new rear shifter that actually works well, and replacement (non-defective) tires.

I was excited to ride the bike to work Friday morning; I got on the road by 5:45 AM, and realized I was feeling lightheaded. After a few blocks of this not going away, I turned back. Riding when I'm not at 100% in the light rain and cold could be dangerous. My wife would have dropped me at work with the bike. But, as I discovered when I got home, I have a slow leak in the front tire. I may have ripped the valve when inflating it, but this is the same wheel I had a flat on last weekend.

Oh, and the zipper on my rain jacket broke. I'll try to return it, but I'm not sure if the shop will take something back without a receipt that I bought it in August.

Music

2007-10-11T12:08:00.001-04:00

It's been a while since I've posted on music. Here are some of the things I've been listening to lately:

OK Go, Oh No

OK Go's second studio album is great fun, filled with well-produced and just plain catchy songs. Their first, epynonomus album sounds a lot like The Cars and REO Speedwagon had a child, but the band is finding its own voice. Their sheer energy is comperable to that of No Doubt before they became a dance-music band. There are shades of the Joe Jackson band, particularly in "It's a Disaster" and "Good Idea at the Time".

OK Go has a very distintive "band" sound. These tracks sound like they were recorded live as a band, uncommon in this age of overdubbed studio magic. A slight distortion warms the sound, particularly on the vocals. (This may have been intentional, or may be a mastering error. Either way, it sounds great.) And the band has a great telepathic-musician thing going on.

They're best known here on Teh Net Of Tubes for their video of the band doing a heavily choreographed dance on eight rented treadmills. The music is hardly groundbreaking, but it's fun stuff, making good use of the rock toolkit.

Samples from the band's site

Apocalyptica, Cult

"Harmageddon" off their album Inquisition Symphony got my attention this past spring, but the cello metal band comes through awesomely on Cult, an album of original material (as opposed to the metal-muzac covers of previous albums). Edit: All but three of the songs on this album are originals.

The band's musicianship is superb. The cello metal sound is distinctive, and I could listen to it all day; but there is a tendency for all the songs to sound kinda the same on the first listen. Cult benefits from repeated, attentive listenings; the material is well-composed and distinctive. (Oddly enough, the iTunes store lists this album as "Explicit", even the instrumental songs which are most of the album.)

If you haven't listened to cello metal, imagine cello, viola, etc. blended seamlessly with a distorted guitar-like sound. The result is a powerful, dramatic sound mixing speed metal with a classical string trio listen-and-feel, and almost-gratuitous alternate time signatures thrown in just because they can.

Samples from the band's site

Gentle Giant, Gentle Giant

Hardly new music, but new to me: This 1970 album is a tour of where progressive rock could have gone. Smart, tight, and well-performed, but hardly opaque songs.

Dixie Dregs, What If

Billed as fusion jazz, the Dixie Dregs sound an awful lot like Kansas to me. The forceful, poppy progressive rock album What If was retreading old ground in 1978. The album is uneven, but Take It Off The Top and Travel Tunes are great songs, mediated by the mellow title track and Gina Lola Breakdown, an odd stompin' southern country hoedown.

Spock's Beard, Beware of Darkness

Flat-out prog rock, this is my first listen to Spock's Beard. Wonderfully complex and memorable songs, four out of the 7 tracks are long-form works. The material builds on progressive song staples, and even goes beyond them a little. Thoughts, my fave so far, reminds me of Kevin Gilbert's work on The Shaming of the True, which, unsurprisingly, drummer Nick D'Virgilio completed after Gilbert's death.

There are a few filler songs (Walking on the Wind springs to mind), but the album is mostly evenly good.

Touring: Lessons learned

2007-10-10T21:10:00.000-04:00

Despite all the planning in the world, there's nothing like experience. Here's what I learned on my first bike tour:

Mud puddles, dead ends, and heavy gravel are great fun - on a mountain bike with the right tires, not so much fun with 30 pounds of stuff hanging from the rack. this was clear in Cheesequake State Park, of which we had no trail maps. Possibly because you really can't call them proper trails when they're overgrown and blocked by bogs. In the future, I'll avoid planning routes through large parks without knowimg more details. touring is a blut seeing stuff and exploring, but stuff like this slows you down too much.
I could have left the extra cycling outfit, book, and iPod at home, but I wish I had taken a rain jacket.
Even in warm weather, it gets cold in the early morning. Arm and leg warmers are invaluable, even if they do make you look like a jazzercise refugee.
Rain can be a good thing. We had one burst of rain for 20 minutes or so, and I found it very refreshing.
Utility roads are evil. Water Works Road in Old Bridge, NJ, looks like a perfectly respectable road on maps and satellite photos. Water Works Road is a dirt and gravel road blocked by scrub and a downed telephone pole.
Compasses and non-intertubes Hagstrom maps rule. Where bikely cue sheets failed us, "real" maps saved the day, and where Hagstrom county maps were (infrequently) misleading, the compass saved our lycra-clad sore asses. Bike-mounted compasses suck if you have a steel frame; I took along a small hiking compass I picked up for $10.

So... what's next? Neil and I have been kicking around a few ideas. I'd like to do a week-long tour of 200+ miles, but the next time I'll have a week off will probably be December. You can tour in the snow, but I'm still new at this. I really don't want to be changing a flat or fixing a brake cable on a county highway in a snowstorm.

I forgot how much I enjoyed this

2007-10-09T21:58:00.000-04:00

Since my bike is in the shop, I walked home from my carpool today. I put my stuff into a hiking backpack the night before, including a water bottle I dutifully filled up at work before leaving. I asked my carpool to drop me off at the intersection of Talmadge and New Durham.

Wearing a cheap rain poncho I picked up from Walgreens, I headed out. It didn't take long before I realized I wasn't bored, in fact, I was enjoying the process of searching for new shortcuts and looking at interesting plants and weird people.

I crossed the railroad tracks and took a shortcut across a soccer field to a cello metal soundtrack. The sky was oppressively grey for the three-mile walk, but I stayed almost completely dry, to my disappointment. At least the poncho kept me warm.

Neils on Wheels 2007 October Shore Tour

2007-10-07T20:16:00.000-04:00

Neil and Neil on the bridge over the Navesink river in Red Bank, NJ

I think that bike touring is my favorite kind of biking, and I've only done one proper tour. (It becomes a tour when you ride for a bit, stay overnight somewhere away form home, rinse, repeat.) Just you, a bike, a friend, and 30 pounds of stuff in side bags, is somehow very cool. Neil and I rode from Edison to Red Bank yesterday, and in the morning continued on to Monmouth Beach to see the shore, then returned.

Over the 100 mile ride, Cheesequake State Park was our first real stumbling block. Hagstrom County maps and Google Maps-generated cue sheets are great tools, and both have incorrect and unclear information. In the park, we didn't even have that; we used luck and a compass to get across the park, doing our best to avoid unbikeable trails and deep mud puddles. That compass saved us several times, and it takes a lot of the guesswork out of map reading.

We took the Henry Hudson bike path for 7.5 miles, from Matawan to Belford. It was a nice break from road riding, but there were a lot of bugs. I had to scrub insect corpses off my skin when we got to the hotel room later that day.

When we were heading into Red Bank, we decided that we wouldn't continue on to the shore that day. The hotel was kind enough to let us bring out bikes up to the room. Martha, Grazina, and Asad drove down to Red Bank and we all went for dinner at a very good Italian restaurant.

At 6am, we woke up and got ready for the road. When I was packing and loading the bike, the front tire looked like it had when I pulled the bike out of the basement this past spring, after two years of no riding. I inspected the tire and tube carefully, and I found no nails or glass. There were no errant spokes that could have poked a hole in the tube. There was, in fact, no hole in the tube that I could see. (It might have been a pinch flat, which can happen from a pothole or jumping down a curb. I'm glad I was able to change the tube with a minimum of fuss.

I packed carefully to avoid taking stuff I didn't need, since the more you have the slower you will go. I learned this lesson on my first bicycle commute home from work. Once you're down to the bare minimum, it's quite satisfying to be able to keep a good pace with full panniers and trunk bag.

We rode to Monmouth Beach in about 45 minutes and had breakfast in Amy's, an omelette/pancake place on the main drag that MArtha and I found while we were scouting road conditions for this tour. We rode over to the beach After fueling up so we could touch the Atlantic Ocean. I graffitied the ephemeral "Neils on Wheels" in the sand.

Seen on a front lawn near route 35.

The trip back went a lot more quickly. We replotted the route when having breakfast, spreading the county maps over the table, trying not to knock the drinks over. We missed a couple of turns (two major streets weren't marked or didn't exist) but we kept a decent pace and didn't make too many side trips. We also avoided the dirt road Water Works Road in Old Bridge, along with the downed telephone pole blocking the road.

Click on the pictures for a larger version and more information.

My first complete commute

2007-10-02T08:28:00.001-04:00

Monday morning, I left the house at 5:40am. I improvised a little on the route, and got in in 1h 50m, and was working at my desk by 8am.

This is the first time I've done the entire commute without Martha dropping me off partway in the morning. Honestly, it's really not all that hard, although I had to nerve myself to get going in the morning. And I could do without getting up at 5am.

The trip home was 3 hours long, but that's because I was exploring. No, really, that's not a euphemism for "getting lost". My cue sheet holder broke about four miles into the ride home, so I stuffed it into my bag and kept going by the seat of my pants. I finally got clever and realized that you can pretty much always tell what town you're in by looking at the manhole covers. I ended up riding 49 miles for the round trip.

A couple of guys in a driving range on Inman Ave in Edison thought that riding to my house form there was "a long ride". And apparently, asking which direction is north sounds like I'm asking how to get to Newark.

There was a hairy moment in Scotch Plains, but a friendly jogger pointed me towards Inman Avenue. When I got to Oak Tree Road and Grove Street at 8pm, I knew I was 25 minutes from the house. (Scotch Plains is pretty hilly, by the way. Lots of rich-people houses on the top of a hill, and twisty, steep streets going past houses with huge lawns and tiny barking dogs behind fences with manicured shrubs. Pretty, though.)

What was hard about it was that I worked 10.5 hours yesterday. I spelt very, very well last night.

Stress

2007-09-26T22:15:00.000-04:00

Bruce and I been rehearsing a lot this week for our set on Saturday, and I rehearsed last weekend and tonight, for my solo set. This is for a gig where I am sound guy and play two sets during a 13-hour show. I've already started obsessing over my packing list. (Stuff like the PA, speakers, mics, duct tape, and, oh yeah, the guitar would be helpful.)

Meantime, I pulled my bike out of the shop I had it in; seems they won't get the parts in until at the earliest Thursday the 4th. I told them to keep the parts (tires and right shifter) on order and I'll bring the bike back then. I spend the drive to the bike shop seething and calming myself down. No use antagonizing one of the better bike shops in the area. But they could have called me about this.

Every time you have a flat, the terrorists win

2007-09-24T23:27:00.000-04:00

I brought my bike into the shop today, to have them look at my wobbly, deformed tires. The mechanic told me that yes, they're defective, and they'll throw on new ones. (I'll be able to return the tires to the tubes I bought them from.) The good news here -- aside from the whole thing where I end up with tires that don't try to throw me on my ass when cornering -- is that, according to the mechanic, I did a fine job when I put on the tires. These are just sucky tires. Actually, tires -- Continental Town and Country -- have given me an incredible speed boost, it's just that these two particular ones are made from mutant terrorist petroleum products that don't understand the concept of balance.

I'll be riding Martha's bike home from my carpool for a few days. (I already raised the seatpost about four inches.) But my bike should be in fine shape for the shore. But I'm without my bike until probably Friday.

On the up side...

I reached 1001 miles for 2007 today. I'm pretty sure I hit 1000 when I was trying not to get blown over by rush-hour traffic on Livingston Campus.

100_6147.JPG

2007-09-17T08:48:00.001-04:00

100_6147.JPG, originally uploaded by neilfein.

I saw this while bicycling in Rock Creek Park, Washington, DC, when I stopped for water.

Um... look at all the people!

2007-09-03T15:33:00.000-04:00

I'm playing a gig -- performing a set and doing sound for the rest of the concert at Labyrinth. I think letting me perform there is the bribe the organizers give me so I'll keep doing their sound, which is cool with me. Corruption and a gig in one package.

Labyrinth is an all-day renaissance/goth/other festival, held here in Edison, on September 29th. I still don't know the time I'll be on (will post that when I get it), but the location, etc is on the calendar page.

I also asked for a slot at an open mic this week on Wednesday, but I haven't heard anything back yet; there may not be any spots left. Or I've somehow pissed off the organizer (naaah).

Also...

Since this is a relatively unknown site, a personal blog of interest to only me and a few friends, I figured there were maybe a handful of people looking. Looking at the traffic logs, there are more of you reading than I thought -- not huge crowds by any definition -- but I am getting visitors, 56 this past week. More than the three or four I expected. Given the few if any comments, I'm pretty surprised by even this much traffic.

Aside from the locations where I can pretty much guess who it is, I'm seeing hits from outside the US: Dublin, Norway, quite a few from England, Paris... pretty cool. Not that I'm expecting any response, but if anyone wants to let me know how they found the blog I'd love to hear it. (If I know you personally, of course I know how you found it.)

..and live, from the Bermuda Space Triangle...

2007-08-30T17:21:00.000-04:00

Polaris
Jack McDevitt

The third book in a loose series featuring Mr. McDevitt's character Alex Benedict, Polaris is told from the viewpoint of Chase Kolpath, Alex's pilot and assistant. Chase doesn't quite Rainbow, Alex's two-person operation that sells archaeological finds, but she is certainly a well-known face to their wealthy clients, and very skilled at cutting through bureaucracy.

The setup behind this vaguely noir/mystery book involves the mysterious ship Polaris whose passengers and crew vanished mysteriously 60 years ago. The ship has captivated the public for years. While the Polaris was hardly the only ship to disappear, the way it's crew of celebrity scientists-- and young, pretty captain Madeline English-- vanished in impossible circumstances is an inexplicable, glittering mystery for the ages.

When Chase cuts a deal for Rainbow with Survey (a government exploration and artifact recovery agency) to have first crack at buying Polaris artifacts, the building is bombed by parties unknown, taking out most of the artifacts. The mystery behind the bombing-- and what did happen on the Polaris all those years ago, by the way-- is delightful reading, and difficult to put down. (I read most of the book on a plane, and managed to stay focused despite the bad movie and noisy passengers.)

The books seems to be headed towards a pretty pork-barreled nine-eleven analogy for the first few chapters, but it thankfully drops that quickly. The sense of a complete world is not as great as it could be, but the author does a very good job of painting a universe where human colonies are all-- almost all-- united. (The history of this world is much richer in A Talent for War, the first of the Alex Benedict books. yes, I'm reading them out of order.)

A fun book, with an unexpected ending. This is the first of Jack McDevitt's books that I've read, and I intend to keep reading them as long as they stay good.

Tremors

2007-08-28T20:27:00.000-04:00

A Crack in the Edge of the World
America and the Great California Earthquake of 1906
by Simon Winchester

The story of the earthquake that devastated the then-young city of San Francisco is particularly well-suited to the Simon Winchester "grand event" treatment. The earthquake -- and the vast fire that followed -- is an event of such scale, that a writer known to convey bewildering arrays of facts well is needed to merely outline it.

The haphazard rebuilding of the city is a story that directly follows not only the quake and fire, but the needs of businesses in the city and, in particular, the fear that the young city might not bounce back. In typical style, Mr. Winchester dissects not only the disaster, but the social atmosphere it took place in.

The author has demonstrated a passion for language, and this book is no exception. The passages on writing of the time are well-written, and particularly entertaining when discussing sub-par poetry of the time.

Aside from the geology that surrounds the story, one of the most captivating accounts is that of how insurance companies reacted. Some defaulted amid squabbling over whether damage was fire or quake related, and these companies reputations suffered (if they even survived). (Lloyd's of London enhanced its reputation considerably by instructing its agents to pay all claims.)

I need not detail the glittering explanations of plate tectonics and earthquake science, of seismic instrument technology. bringing out details inevitably lessens the sense of grandeur and sheer interconnectedness that Mr. Winchester's best sagas convey. A Crack in the Edge of the World is a typical Simon Winchester book - which is to say, fascinating, lots of digressions that turn out to be relevant, and very well written indeed. While not his absolute best work, this book sits closely behind Krakatoa and The Meaning of Everything.