Friday, July 11, 2008

Ready to ride!

Well tomorrow I am going cycling with some friends on the first of hopefully many higher mileage rides (at least compared to my 11.4 mile commute) with the goal of building up enough stamina to do possibly an overnight road trip somewhere or at least an all day round trip. Tomorrow's ride will be about 20 miles and future rides will likely increae gradually in mileage.

Tires are aired up, cloths are laid out, power bars are packed and water bottles are ready to be filled.

Now I better get to sleep since I have to be up at 6AM. That gives me 7 hours of sleep if I conk out in the next 20 minutes. Hasta!!

13 comments:

SQLFunkateer said...

Vaya con Dios!

Percussivity said...

Ironically at one point I was asking God for some grace. I had a minor blood sugar crash at about the 10 mile point. It is 11.5 miles to work but when I commute I set my own pace. What hurt was when I tried to match my two friend's pace (both have been biking longer and are in better cardiovascular shape.)

After lying in the grass seeing spots for about 5 minutes I ate half of a power bar, drank some water and I was pretty good for the rest of the trip except that I let them get ahead and I set my own pace. It was a good ride and it will get better... I just need to start punishing, I mean pushing myself more when I commute.

The Unabashed Blogger said...

How's that punishing coming along?

I think we will be a bit better with more practice when it comes to pacing. This is only the 4th time I've ever ridden with ppl on the road and only the 2nd when riding with more than one other person. The more people we invite, the easier it will be in the long run for everyone. I was just too excited about the "new" bike...Sorry! And I reckon that means you were too far behind to see the Coder fly through the redlight...

SQLFunkateer said...

Is this the Rush tune you were talking about?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAvQSkK8Z8U

Percussivity said...

Yeah... great tune. Great album as a matter of fact. I'd say that Moving Pictures is for Rush what 90125 was for Yes... in terms of reaching a good balance of music that was embraced by the masses and at the same time is musically interesting and creative rather than just "pop" junk. 'Tom Sawyer' is probably the most played Rush song and that is from Moving Pictures but also YYZ which is a pretty well known instrumental is from the same album.

The Angry Coder said...

Regarding the red light, Unabashed, you had turned it into a race a the end. I wasn't gonna let a little light stop me from the pursuit. I would have (and indeed have...) done the same in a car. Some KCBT friends used to live across the street from us and we'd race to church every Sunday. At one point it got a little crazy with speeds of 70mph+ and running red lights. Good times, good times...

SQLFunkateer said...

"I'd say that Moving Pictures is for Rush what 90125 was for Yes... in terms of reaching a good balance of music that was embraced by the masses and at the same time is musically interesting and creative rather than just "pop" junk."

AGGGHHH!!!

While I can come to grips with the fact that 90125 isn't all bad, the idea that they had finally progressed to a point of a good balance, well, I'm going to have to take issue with you ("go on, mr. tweedy, take issue, take issue") (sorry for that random Fry and Laurie reference).

The early Rush stuff I've listened to was mildly interesting...kind of had the feel of a band feeling out some things, starting off as a Cream-style blues rock trio, then trying to kind of get spacey/proggy, but never really polishing it up. I agree, when I listened to Moving Pictures as a whole, I was very impressed, its a well-put-together album. To me it is a much closer parallel to 1970's The Yes Album, or perhaps Fragile of 1971, where Yes finally hit their stride and honed their sound distinctly. I wouldn't say that either of those were inaccessible, in any way...hits like "Roundabout" and "I've Seen All Good People" remain the staples at their concerts and are every bit as recognizable (probably moreso) than the 80s hits, among the populace at large, I think. While Yes did 80s pop very well (at least, at first) what they did best was prog...they virtually created the genre, and they are known for that. Rush themselves were strongly influenced and have Yes to thank for paving the way. While 90125 was a great album, it was not a pinnacle; they had reached that summit and climbed down, years before.

*breathes deeply*

Wild Yesfan rage has been abated, thank goodness.

I will have to listen to more Rush.

SQLFunkateer said...

And back on the original topic, you guys made the Drudge Report today with this story!

VIDEO: Cyclist and Drivers continue to Battle in Portland...

Percussivity said...

OK let me esplain... ah no, there is too much, let me sum up.

Perhaps that was a hastily crafted comment. I did not mean to say that when a band makes an album more accessible to the 'average' listener that it is inherently a good thing. I merely meant that it is refreshing to hear an album that to a musician's ear IS engaging, creative etc... and at the same time that album becomes wildly popular among the 'average' listeners (meaning non-musicians).

You have to admit that there is a lot of what you and I would consider REALLY GOOD music that goes way over the heads of a lot of people in the same way that modern dance goes over my head and therefore remains unappreciated.

I used the word 'balance' only in the sense that these albums produced very good music from my perspective (not necessarily the best they've ever done) and at the same time reached the populace.

SQLFunkateer said...

OK, you have appeased my righteous fury. I agree. Rush as a whole was also better at the whole accessibility thing...I've always thought of them as being a version of Yes that could do prog, but not require intense study and repeated listenings to actually start to "get it". Their stuff tends to be slightly simpler (in a generally good way) than the wildest bits of, say, Relayer, or Tales from Topographic Oceans, but its by no means simple, just a nice balance, as you say. Since they are that sort of band, Moving Pictures was more of a pinnacle for Rush...it was what they did best, and it happened to be both musically engaging and popular. What Yes did *best* was not as popular, admittedly, but the popular stuff Yes did was by no means crappy.

+1 on the modern dance.

Percussivity said...

You seem particulary irascible this morning... but it is good to be passionate about some things.

SQLFunkateer said...

Hah, yes, it must have been the two hours I spent on the metro bus yesterday, riding to the county courthouse downtown for jury duty (excused!). While it was probably better than trying to find parking, there's nothing like mass transit systems to put the irascible in...irascible.

The Unabashed Blogger said...

This is supposed to be a post about Cycling!!!

And Tarl, you might lose that "race" one of these days if a car gets ya...or police officer...