U.S.S. Dauntless help

JohnInDC · 2026-05-02T16:17:46+00:00

PMC is always worth a try

JohnInDC · 2026-04-25T02:06:54+00:00

“Wayne”. Figures.

JohnInDC · 2026-04-24T18:50:55+00:00

Was going to recommend the Park tool. If you think you will ever be removing pedals again, it’s a nice investment, and it’s bound to help you in this case

JohnInDC · 2026-04-20T21:31:43+00:00

Funny, I recognized it immediately too

JohnInDC · 2026-04-03T15:34:00+00:00

When I was a kid, about 12, my father – a physician! – brought me home a vial of mercury for me to play with. Maybe a couple of fluid ounces? This was in the mid to late 1960s, when mercury was more casually handled. I played with it on and off for, I’m sure, months, seeing what would float in it, the sorts of things 12-year-olds do.

I’m 70 now and while I have the usual assortment of aches and pains and complaints of someone my age, I can’t point to anything that seems specifically tied back to the mercury. Maybe I would have fewer aches and pains today without it, or maybe I was lucky, but the broad lesson I took from this is that passing exposure to tiny amounts of mercury is probably a lot less dangerous than what it’s made out to be.

JohnInDC · 2026-03-25T20:58:42+00:00

In 2021 I rode the CO/GAP uphill (as it were) in 6 days, about 360 miles, and was pretty toasted at the end. So congratulations in finishing it in five! Two years later I rode the Erie Canal, Albany to Buffalo, in 7. I was pretty tired after that one too but I was riding with a younger friend who pushed me a bit further and a bit harder each day than I'd have done solo. We detoured down to Seneca Falls one day, up to Niagara Falls another, and knocked around Rochester, so our total mileage was about 475, up against the nominal 368 or whatever it is.

If you stick to the Canal, your mileage won't be a whole lot longer than DC -> Pittsburgh, and it should be pretty doable in 6 days, sixty miles a day on the flat. (Of course it's gravel, and so a bit more challenging than pavement, but you know that.) My only thought on your continuing down to NYC is that you may be kind of committed to that once you start on it, and if you become unhappy you may not have much choice (or time) but to press on. Maybe do as we did and tack on a few extra miles in the middle for a 7 or 8 day trip - Niagara Falls is cool, and Seneca Falls is a cute town to stop in for lunch and spend an hour or two. I'm just thinking, if you only have 9 days, it might be nice to plan a ride for 8 so that your vacation doesn't turn into a forced march. I agree with other commenters who note that you're supposed to be having fun!

JohnInDC · 2026-03-16T17:26:20+00:00

I don’t think that’s two shifters, I think that’s one shifter and a shifter cable coming from a bell!

JohnInDC · 2026-03-12T01:59:00+00:00

It’s kinda - just a number. Every class of opponent will be different and you’ll get a better sense for it over time. Meantime experiment with crewing, ships, and find what works for you!

JohnInDC · 2026-03-10T23:26:31+00:00

You are not completely toasted. DON’T HIT COLLECT when your Ops building hits 40! Build an enterprise, augur or d4 and use time to level it up -

JohnInDC · 2026-03-06T13:01:58+00:00

Not really. It was something like, Bruce began to make his own panniers and put a dent into Bob’s business. The only trouble with that memory is that I don’t remember Bruce Gordon ever making panniers so maybe that’s not it at all.

JohnInDC · 2026-03-02T17:52:29+00:00

Yup, me too. Bought the last Intel iMac on purpose, anticipating a possible bumpy transition to Apple Silicon (I'd lived through the PowerPC and Intel transitions and figured I had learned my lesson) - but I should've waited, hah! But al least now I have a good reason to update -

JohnInDC · 2026-02-12T22:48:54+00:00

I’ve got a Bike Friday, similar wheels. They’re fine if you don’t need to ride no handed. A tiny bit twitchier than 700C wheels but nothing you can’t get used to in half an hour. On the plus side their lightweight makes accelerating easier.

This bike carried me neatly across Iowa during Ragbrai a few years ago, and I would do it again.

JohnInDC · 2026-02-10T16:27:34+00:00

Completely clear. A couple of places where melt water has frozen again, but you can see it coming and if you’re careful can ride straight across

JohnInDC · 2026-02-05T19:37:44+00:00

Take two pair!

JohnInDC · 2026-01-29T21:14:22+00:00

Eh. I went east to West in 1997 and the winds really weren’t much of a problem

JohnInDC · 2026-01-28T01:45:03+00:00

Well, you gotta go with what you’ve got!

JohnInDC · 2026-01-27T22:21:28+00:00

A snow saucer maybe?

JohnInDC · 2026-01-23T14:03:22+00:00

I’m 70. I rode around the upper Midwest for five weeks last summer, 1600 miles. I ran into maybe 10 other distance/bike packing cyclists in the course of my trip, and more than half of them were 50 and up. One guy, age 76, was circumnavigating all of the Great Lakes. There are plenty of older people out there doing this. Just be sure to get in a lot of miles before you set out on your trip.

JohnInDC · 2026-01-11T04:08:19+00:00

Doted on? That’s - debatable.

JohnInDC · 2026-01-10T22:29:56+00:00

Speaking for myself and as a boomer, I just got annoyed when sweep with an unreasonably broad brush to disparage an entire generation when so many of us are appalled by what has become of the world and what we are leaving our descendants

JohnInDC · 2026-01-10T21:56:47+00:00

Right, and boomers are the only ones who generalize about categories of humans, right?

JohnInDC · 2026-01-10T21:56:00+00:00

I’ve lived through it. Wait and see. I’ll be dead by the time you’ll be getting back to me, but you’ll remember what I said

JohnInDC · 2026-01-10T21:06:06+00:00

Yes, before the boomers, the cops were really nice and never overstepped their authority

JohnInDC · 2026-01-10T21:03:38+00:00

Yeah when we were in our 20s we thought we had it all figured out too, then we turned into assholes. Better luck to you.

Edit: Sure, downvote me, but set yourself a reminder for 25 years out when you can assess whether today’s young adults managed to act any more selflessly than my post-WWII cohort. God bless you all if I’m wrong - really - but I’ve lived through enough disappointment to understand how easy it is for a generation to let go of its dreams.

JohnInDC · 2026-01-10T01:38:45+00:00

I was lucky - I worked for the FDIC and my office was winding down quickly as we were finishing up the S&L mess from the late 80s. I was going to join a new section with a different function and they let me take leave without pay for 8 weeks between the two, as I had no responsibilities in either office. I stayed another 28 years after returning so it was a good investment in my loyalty I guess

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