I built the new bike

Here are some pics. I rode it last night for an hour or so. It is very comfortable and compliant. I like the aero wheels. The added surface area really bites into the wind upon cornering. I have it set up with 39:18 gearing which I spin up very easily. I am thinking of dropping it to 39:16 or 39:14. Although the 39:18 combo will be nice when taking it off-road. We'll see.

Had a good weekend

It was full of highway time. I had my last drive in the Cobalt on Saturday morning. The Megabus back on Sunday was pretty relaxing. I am pro bus travel. It will be nice to go back to regular bike commuting. My new Fisticuffs is almost fully built. It's coming in at a svelte 19.5lbs without fenders. It turned out much lighter and better looking than I thought it'd be. I will post pics soon.

I wish I had some more time at home. There were some things I did not get to do. I wanted to play a board game and have one relaxing morning. I think that's what Thanksgiving will be for. That's it for now.

Shaking up the midweek

So in my last post I mentioned how I wanted to be a part of something. As I searched for groups to join nothing was pulling me in. As I was riding to work on Monday morning I knew what I needed to do. I created a couple groups of my own. I thought of them as pilot groups. A test to see how many people I can 'tolerate' in my leisure time. After all if I'm not required to be with these people then there's no need to overdue it.

On Monday it all started. I sent out an email blast to some people at work and others I know. Wednesday night I suggest we hit the dirt jumps/pump track just Northwest from where I live. We would head over after work and ride for an hour or so. Not a long commitment but an event nonetheless. I got six quick responses and it was all set.

The way I worded the message was a bit different than usual. I read in a communication book that when you want to be more persuasvie or soften up the receiver, use the word 'you'. Directly send the message. For example, one sentence in the email: "this may be the last warm you'll be able to ride". It seems like at that point it becomes personal. This was the expermentation with 'you' and the first time responses came within minutes. I wanted to try it again.

Another group I want to start is a Wednesday night bar trivia crew. A bunch of bars across the city have trivia night mid-week (Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday) to boost business. They are fun to do with a group and drinking is secondary because focus is on the game. I sent another email to about 8 people using the same method. The ringer sentence was: "And since you are all smart and love to go out on Wednesday nights you should come." The same result occurred. 6 of the 8 people responded in 5 minutes. I just think this is cool.

Everyone seemed to have a great time during both events and agreed to do it again when the chance arose. The riding group probably won't meet again until the spring but they'll know what's waiting for them. The bar trivia group I can only see growing due the the the mid-week event and the stable people attending. So, there's a cool experiment to try.

Back to recording...

My life via the web. I really haven't been up to much this past week. I've felt pretty bored. It's been raining everyday and the with cold weather forthcoming I'm having pre-seasonal depression. Once winter is here I'm not bad at embracing it; it's saying goodbye to summer that's tough. I have a new bike ready to be built for winter riding and commuting. I went with this frame: http://www.vassagocycles.com/fisty.html. I plan to build a singlespeed with fenders.

I am looking forward to my next job at SRAM, although not very motivated. Everyday I'm here I feel like I don't have the special skills needed to make it. Maybe I should head back to school and learn. I am just feeling of little value. I've been at odds with my general life direction. Do I want to make a lot of money? Do I want more time for relaxation? Does relaxing just make me anxious? So here I am trying to be positive but feeling weak.

I did put together the responsibilities and requirements for a position that could exist here at SRAM. I would work as a coordinator for our product management team. I ran it by a couple of guys in the department and they wanted to make sure I knew I would need multiple key industry contacts. This is where I become apprehensive because keeping 'contacts' is not something I've been very good at in the past. I can change but I seem to get in touch and stay in touch for a limited about of time. I peak, flatline and then dive. That'll be the hardest part. The rest is easy, tech communication, SAP reports, and ride testing.

I feel like I need a group to join. I do a lot by myself and am getting the feeling of solo identification. I don't identify with a group or culture. I'm floating and I'm tired of it. I've been in a lot of temporary places none of which have satisfied. I want to try something new but at the same time I don't want to give up what I have built. I just need more community. The few long term friends I have all live far away. I don't stay friends with people I see on a daily or routine basis. I think I get bored of them.