July 30, 2009
Boo!
Yet again, it's been far too long since I've posted here. Oh well. Blame Twitter and/or Facebook if you must. Quick hit-and-run run-down:
A) Em's great. I love that little girl. Words and photos fall miles short of describing her awesomeness.
B) I ran a marathon in April and I'm supposedly training for the Chicago Marathon in October, but I haven't run in almost 2 full weeks due to a creeping illness which has taken away all of my energy. Need to shake it off soon.
C) I never wrote a proper Illinois Marathon wrap-up. I thought I had one well underway, but all I can find now is my 'notes' file. Here it is:
<Quote>
What went wrong:
Inconsistency in first 10 (and throughout). a) Should have had 1-mile paces. b) park route was slow and passing was impossible c) 2nd half was hillier than expected.
Calf cramp - pre-race stretching? Water/nutrition?
Hip fatigue - stride?
Wind/uphills = mental. 9MPH headwinds on the uphill stretch around Mile 18-19.
Tingling in last 2-3 miles.
What went right:
Tim, Chris, Dennis.
Had gas left to sprint the end.
Weather (other than wind).
CROWD/VOLUNTEER SUPPORT!!!
Other points:
The Champaign Country Club mile SUCKED! My slowest mile.
Garmin was good, but it disagrees with reality. It gave me about 0.01 mile extra per course mile. At the end of the race, that added up to over a quarter mile of difference. It's minor, but noteworthy. Also, for whatever reason, my watch time differs from the official chip time but nearly a minute. I'm not sure how to resolve that.
<EndQuote>
My photos from the event.
Tim Borbely's photos from the event.
Oh and here, listen to this PODCAST about the Illinois Marathon: 061_2009IllinoisMarathonPodcast.mp3
D) Motorcycling:
i) Not ONLY motorcycling related, but everyone who drives should visit The Black Nail Brigade web site and in particular, read The Black Nail Brigade Manifesto. This is no joke. This is not a fashion statement. This is about life and death and the preservation and prevention thereof. Go. Read. Now. I'll wait for you.
ii) Been doing a bit of riding. Not much on the dual sport, but some here and there.
iii) Got waylaid by a minor accident in May when an ignorant woman pulled in front of me. You can search out details in my Flickr photo stream. I am well or at least really close to it, the bike is well, damage insurance has been settled, injusry insurance is still outstanding.
iv) Just bought tickets to the Moto GP races in Indianapolis at the end of August. This will be my first race experience ever, believe it or not - car, motorcycle, whatever. Should be a blast.
E) Computers - I've been burned out on technology lately in part because a seriese of hardware failures have just beaten the crap out of me both at home and at work. But I've lately heard about some interesting projects which have rekindled a bit of a spark. I no particular order of usefulness to my life, examples are: Xen, eyeOS, Evernote (used it before, using it more now), a cheap analog to digital video capture device from Woot!, some stuff with MythTV, and a few other things I've forgotten already. OLPC or something like it for Emily? Anyway, yeah, tech = cool.
F) Pets: Harrison died back in November. Not sure if I ever posted that. Also, a few months back we got fish. Now we have a TON of them. And a snail. I love watching them.
G) Flying. Have done NONE in a long, LONG time. Doesn't even look like I'll make it to Oshkosh this year. A bummer, but oh well. *sigh*
Ok, I'm running out of steam on this latest hit-and-run. As I always say, I'll try not to be such a stranger. Yeah, right.
Later.
August 19, 2008
Olympia Phantom Riding Suit Follow-up Review
Nearly 6 months ago I got an Olympia Phantom one-piece riding suit and did an audio review. Someone just asked me how I like my suit and I decided it was time to do a follow-up review. It's been nearly 6 months and perhaps 4,000 miles, so I've got some additional experience with the suit now.
Bullet points since that initial review:
- I'm still wearing it every day, so I must like it/or at least tolerate it (I like it).
- The high-viz gets dirty REALLY easily, especially if you have oil weeping from a bad valve cover seal (it's fixed now, but the legs still show the signs).
- The 'seat sliding' I mentioned in the review was a non-issue after about 2 days - as was shoulder fatigue I think I mentioned.
- Fit-wise I was right between L and XL. I went XL and am glad - L was a bit sung shoulders-to-crotch with the liner in (and I'm not that tall). Without the liner (95% of the time - i.e. when the temp is above 45F) - and after losing about 25 pounds - I feel a bit like I'm a little kid wearing my dad's suit. Points to Aerostitch if you can afford a custom fit, I guess. I'd definitely suggest trying one on and sitting on a bike (preferably yours) with it on to ensure proper fit/comfort.
- 'Stitch users often state how much harder this suit is to get into versus a Roadcrafter. They always cite '30 seconds' as the mystical time barrier at which they can get into or out of their 'Stitch, but they can't in a Phantom. I've never tried on a Roadcrafter, and I can tell you the first few times I put on the Phantom, it was a bit awkward. But if you wear the thing every day, which is kind of the point, you can easily get in and out of it in under 30 seconds, especially after the super-strong velcro has a chance to settle down a bit. ;) I should do a video of getting in and out of it - I bet I could get it on AND off in 30 seconds. Sure it takes a little longer with the liner in, but really, the liner is only going to be in about 3-4 months out of the year. BTW, the leg openings easily fit over my boots.
- As for rain, I've never been in any for more than about 20 minutes, though some of that has been heavy. I always show up dry, even without the liner, unless I opt to leave some vents open - but even then I'm only wet around the open vents, not seams, seat, or anywhere I shouldn't be. I recently washed the suit and have not yet re-treated it with NikWax, so I'd be curious to see how it holds out the water now, but I'll be treating it soon.
- PEOPLE ACTUALLY SEE ME. My near-manslaughter moments have been reduced to weekly occurrences as opposed to daily (got to love commuting). Now if someone tries to occupy my space, I assume they're doing it on purpose. BTW, a lot of little kids wave sheepishly from the back seat - must be the Power Ranger thing.
- One complaint in a lot of reviews which I agree with is that given the extra room in my fit, I'm not sure how long the knee or other armor would stay in place when needed. There are pockets to keep it in place, but I really think it's a crapshoot.
- The back pocket is really nice for throwing a hydration pack in for longer rides.
- Other pockets are roomy, many are waterproof, and they're easy to get into and use even with gloves on.
- So far (4,000 miles or so), there's no apparent wear (pulled seams, loose threads, etc.). The only 'damage' I have is that some of the arm vent mesh (football jersey mesh, not Phoenix Jacket mesh) got caught in the zipper and there's a small hole. I wish that mesh was a bit more substantial, but the venting is nice.
- Oh, the venting is nice. I wish there was some reliable way to cool the leg/crotch region - which is a persistent hot spot - but that's the price of protection, I guess. It would be nice to be able to open the leg zippers a bit from the top down, but they only zip bottom-up.
- I don't regret the purchase and would buy one again. Sure, there's room for improvement, but I feel it's a good bang for the buck.
Any specific questions, let me know: oblivion at ratula dot net
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July 14, 2008
2008 Ride for Kids Fund Raising Plea
Click to listen, right-click to save -> 2008 Ride for Kids Fund Raising Plea - 2.8MB - 1:58
Hey remaining die-hard listeners, it's Oblivion with a short edition of EbloTheWeblog.com. Last summer, as you may remember, I raised over $1600 for the Chicagoland Ride for Kids charity motorcycle ride benefiting the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation. The Chicago event set a new record and raised over $400,000 to fund research to treat and cure bother cancerous and non-cancerous brain tumors in children. Last year, due to my fund raising efforts, I got to meet some of the children who have benefited from this research and I have to tell you they really motivated me to ride again this year.
My goal for this year has been to match my funds raised last year, but unfortunately I'm falling short and the ride is THIS Sunday, July 20th. If you'd like to donate, any amount would be appreciated not only by me, but more importantly by the children and families of children with brain tumors. You can donate at http://www.firstgiving.com/markmatula .
If you happen to get this message AFTER July 20th, you can still donate - the money will still go to a great cause and any amount will be credited towards my fund raising efforts for next year's ride. You can bet I'll be riding again.
Thank you for supporting me and this great charity and thank you for staying subscribed. I hope to have a real show out shortly discussing my recent adventures. Have a wonderful day.
Contact info:
- email: eblo at ratula dot net
- My voicemail line is dead from neglect.
- skype: oblivion9999
- Subscribe to my podcasts via RSS: 
- My banners and promos
July 01, 2008
Yoga for the Road
Sometimes I write offhand comments in message boards or whatnot and then reread them later and am honestly impressed with myself (yes, I know how egotistical that sounds). Here is one such bit in response to the question of why motorcycling stirs the soul in a way driving a car does not:
As for the allure of the bike, part of it for me is how fluid the experience is. In a cage, the kids could be jumping on the back seat (in the good ol' days before car seats) with little to no effect on the direction of the ride. On a bike, every little movement does SOMETHING. Take an ignorant pillion for a ride if you don't believe that. You can flow like water on a bike. Sometimes that water is quiet and still, other times it's a rushing, burbling torrent.Riding (well) is all about the flow. Yoga for the road.
That is all.
June 15, 2008
Father's Day Weekend
Yay for Father's Day. You know, I never really 'got' Father's or Mother's Day until I became a father. That's too bad.
Saturday, Emily and I hung out at Kenosha Regional Airport watching planes while an EAA Young Eagles rally was going on.
Someone had brought a pedal-plane which she adored.
Then we went to a "farkle-fest"/tech day a few blocks from our hose and got my new motorcycle tires (Bridgestone Spitfie S11s) mounted on the rims. I met up with these guys through Sport-Touring.Net and their generosity saved me $75+ as opposed to getting the tires mounted in a shop.
Emily got a little bored/tired.
Afterwards, we went to Pep Boys and the motorcycle shop for tools and brake parts. When we got home, we went swimming for the first time of the year.
On Sunday, I got a bunch of nice work shirts and shorts and a great Gerber multi-tool (think Leatherman but different brand) and after my ladies took me out to breakfast, I spent 7 hours with my Seca replacing the brake pads/shoes and getting the freshly shod wheels on.
I got back from my test-ride (Oh, the new tires are fantastic) in time to watch a few videos with Em and put her to bed. I finished off the evening with a Guinness or two and a few episodes of Long Way Round.
It was a GREAT weekend!
Unfortunately I had to settle for a phone conversation with my dad instead of hanging out in person. Maybe next year we can spend it together.
