Day 8: Coffee Me Home

I am spoiled, I admit. I currently have three bicycles at home. They all do different things but not one of them is used as much as a tool to live.

As I struggle to balance and justify my current way of life, I find it a humbling experience for me to sit down and write my 13 Days to Thanksgiving blogs. I have to keep reminding myself that we are born to be different, to do different things and to accomplish different goals. Collectively, because we are different, we create this 'World'. So, again, to all my readers, strangers or friends, please continue to do the great things that you do and enjoy the benefits of your hard work. Shall you have time left from your responsibilities, then let's go out there and make a difference for deserving others.

Project Rwanda is one the smaller bicycle related projects aiming at helping the Rwandan people through the utilitarian of a Coffee Bike. The project was created by Tom Ritchey after his visit to the country in 2005. I chose to write about this because there are stories within stories that could easily be made into a few movies. Some people in this project found redemption through it and many discovered it a life changing experience. I can ... write on and on about Tom and how he incorporated experiences of this project into how he runs his successful company but I won't. I will just leave you with this short documentary that touched me deeply after I watched it. It's created by Jacob Seigel-Boettner. You are more than welcome to contact me and we can talk about this at length. Until next time ...

Pascal's Bike from Jacob SB on Vimeo.

Wedding Presents

I had three goals to accomplish on my trip down to Alabama aside from the main goal of visiting my extended family. One is to get as many training rides in as possible; which I did, three days in a row. Another is to rediscover my passion for Landscape photography and capture some interesting pictures. Third is to find two wedding presents for two of my best friends' weddings that already occurred. In fact, one has already been over a year ago...

The world is full of people that make sense, methodical and logical. It's okay, needed and necessary. I am just .... not one of those. For some, the act of tardiness in this regard might seem like I do not care. For me, it's quite the opposite. I care ... enough that I need to look for that 'thing' that I feel is just right. Wedding Registry? I haven't yet been to one in my life so I have no idea what it looks like.

For me, buying a wedding present is slightly harder than normal because I am not buying just for one person but for 'that' couple. It must represents who & what they are and what they do. I take into consideration of how the piece(s) will fit into their home, the color, material and also the usefulness of the item in general. The more I know about them, the easier it gets, I guess? Still, I need the time to look for it. Since the work I do is not conducive to allowing me to do that, I usually have to wait until I am on vacation to do so.

The whole time on this trip, I juggled those three goals along with spending quality time with the folks down here. I went to countless art galleries and gift shops. Searching through shopping outlets in two different towns and went through two different beaches in search of those items. Second to the last day before I had to leave, I gave up everything and dedicated the whole day searching for the presents. Funny enough, the search brought me back to the very store in the town that I stayed at that I kept skipping over thinking that it's a furniture store.

Did I buy them and what did I buy? It's not that important, really. What's more important for me here was the effort I took in finding them. I certainly do not think that my approach is the right approach for everyone. Rather, I would like to encourage you to just 'be' yourself. Define who you are and just be. The world goes 'round because we are the same but different. I am fine with who I am and I like who you are just the way it is. Well, for the most part, as long as your way is not to be outwardly vicious and harmful to others.

Anyway, Let's just say that I left there the following day with all my goals accomplished!

Po' Boy

I have always been intrigued with this name. Why are they calling it a Po' Boy. Usually, for something so delicious, people always name them with wonderful, delicate, colorful or sensational names. But a Po' Boy?

First of all, I wouldn't have cared if what I had eaten wasn't so good. My host family here who has been so kind to me and always makes sure that I get to experience everything this lovely southern town has to offer. I had it the last time I was here and I made sure to go back there for my first lunch on this visit. It's that good! The place is called Market By The Bay Seafood Cafe. Just a simple small little restaurant with at most ten table-for-twos inside and about another six larger tables outside. Come during lunch time and you most likely will not find an available table to sit. I think they do substantially more take-out business than dine in.

Like most things these days, when in doubt, Google it (or Bing it if you are a Microsoft fan or Yahoo it if you ... never mind..). I found the explanation of Po' Boy on Wikipedia here. I am not going to bore you with the details as you can read them yourself on Wikipedia. But, since there are several possible origins of the name Po' Boy, I just want to point out that my host family here believes that it came from the words "Poor Boy".

What you see in the picture I took above was an Oyster Po' Boy. Conventional believe is that it can be anything fried seafood related but I am told that it's not necessarily true. My host family is determined to show me a Roast Beef Po' Boy sometimes before I leave. So, we will see. Anyway, my tips for you guys seeking a good Po' Boy are:

1. The bread must be thin and crusty outside but very soft and airy inside (Louisiana French Bread).
2. Protein must be 'lightly' breaded and fried (for fried version that is).

This is a simple but deadly delicious food. For my cycling peeps reading this blog, I am not saying that it's good for athletes on training to eat this everyday. But c'mon, it's soooo good you have to try it at least once in a while.

My 'Fixie' Answer to Carbon Footprint Reduction

In my attempt to join force and be part of "Going Green" initiative, I have a mission to reduce my carbon footprint by incorporating several "Green" activities in my daily life.

Since I drive my car around for living, I made it my goal NOT to drive my car as much as possible in my off days. Oh yes, I do have several bicycles that I use to train and ride charity century events. However, the thought of parking my prized bikes outside while doing my chores left me very unsettling.

I need something ride able, cheap, old, and unattractive to thieves but cool looking ... Then came the idea! UJ has this old Trek that as far as my research could come up with, it's an old Trek 600 series made around 1982 using Reynolds 531 frame.



I decided and went on to convert this machine to a solid "fixie". With new tires, replacing rotten saddle with a cheap Selle San Marco and a few radical hack-n-saws of a few other parts, the result is as attached pictures show.

My first ride impressions before my “post-conversion” modifications were:

1) Man, it's a lot harder to climb the hill than my 20-speed bike!
2) Holy crap! It's even harder to go down hill because you can NOT coast on a fixie. I had to learn to use my Biceps Femoris & Gastrocnemius muscles to stop me and my bike from rolling down uncontrollably..
3) Contrary to the "hip" fixie culture, I decided to install a front brake. Man, was I glad I did that.
4) The placement of the brake at the end of the converted bullhorn bar hindered my ability to apply proper grip to pull and climb.
5) I also think I need a handlebar tape to offer me more grip as the bare aluminum is slippery when dry but I hate to think how it reacts when it is wet.
6) The aluminum toe clip pedal has to go!! It's too scary at least for me to worry and spend the time trying to clip in when I have to constantly pedaling while trying to clip in at the same time.

Since I know that the hill I could barely climb out immediately to the right of my house is about 4% grade and the actual hill going up to my house is about 8% grade, I knew that I had no chance of practically using it to do what I wanted to do. So, back to the drawing board again. I went and asked Jordan, my bike mechanic from Marty's Bicycle Shop to change the current rear cog setup from 15 tooth to 18 tooth ring. The result is a resounding success!!

With my simple cargo shorts, t-shirt, solid sneakers and a helmet (mandatory...people!!), I hopped on and pedaled to my coffee shop to have lunch and back. The bike rides like a charm. All the mechanics at the shop said the same thing that they could see why this bike would be at the top of line in it's days.

The conversion cost? Since this bike was initially deemed too old to convert up to a full blown 18 or 20 speed bike and was better be donated, I think my 'fixie' conversion prolongs the life of this bike for at least another 20 years! Anyway, here's the cost of the parts & labor for the conversion.

- plastic pedal: Found in some old parts box for 'FREE'
- a half chain link: $1.70
- Selle San Marco saddle: $30
- Bontrager Cork bar tape: $12
- Surly 18 tooth cog: $31.59
- Front 42 tooth chainring: $25
- Lock ring: $10
- Michelin Pro3 Tires - 1 pair: $80
- Giant inner tubes - 1 pair: $24
- Labor: $75

So, roughly about ~$290, I have myself a wicked cool, functional, unattractive to thieves and practical bike to ride around town to fulfill my goal of reducing my carbon footprint.

I plan to use this bike to:

- Go grocery shopping.
- Go to the gym.
- Go to “my” coffee shop.
- Everything else reachable practically within 20-mile radius.

Like I said, walking is too slow … running is too tiring … driving pollutes the world. Let’s all go back to the basic and ride a bike for simple chores!

Ride on!