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Okay.

Here we go.

The final days before the ride.

I believe Frank said it best … but I’ll paraphrase:

And now, the ride is near;
And so we face the chafing certain.
My friends, let’s say it clear,
I’m sure out butts, they will be hurtin’.

We’ll ride for life and health.
We’ll travel each and ev’ry hillside;
And more, much more than this,
We’ll do the AIDS ride.

Long rides, we’ve had a few;
But then again, too few to mention.
We’ve trained, whined and complained too
But saw them through without exemption.

They’ve planned each meal and camp;
Each hopeful mile along the West side.
But soon, yes quite soon now,
We’ll do the AIDS ride.

Yes, there’ll be times, I’m sure you knew
When I bite off more than I can chew.
But through the hills, when there is doubt,
I’ll eat them up and spit them out.
I’ll face them all and I’ll ride tall;
And do the AIDS ride.

I’ll love, I’ll laugh and cry.
I’ll eat too much; my legs will stumble.
But when the pain subsides,
I’ll be the one who’s humble.

To think we’ll do all that;
And may I say – not without due pride,
Oh no, oh no not we,
We’ll do the AIDS ride.

For what is a man, what has he got?
If not his brother, then he has naught.
To make aware, and stop disease;
And not turn back on those in need.
Let us take pride — we did not hide –
We rode the AIDS ride!

Okay, so cut me some slack. As of today I’m REALLY effing excited about this ride. I had to get through so much to get to this point. The fundraising was easy, I have many people who love and support me and believe in the cause as I do. But the job, and the school, and the training, and the planning, and the packing, and the myriad little painpoints of life, they got in the way. But I’m getting on a plane tomorrow and flying to San Francisco. And starting Sunday all I will care about is pedaling up those hills and mountains, and doing this AIDS ride. And proving to all of you that donated that I’m up to the challenge.

I hope to be able to post up here as the week goes by. It all depends on cell coverage out there. But the folks in charge over there have set up a sweet little tool which allows you to send me messages of support along the way. I’m rider 1892, by the by. For other official news of what’s going on with the ride, check here.

And if you want to help out with a last-minute donation, well then by all means, pick up your credit card and go here!

This past weekend was the 4th annual AngelRide Connecticut. Dan “Papa Bear” B was our fearless leader, in charge of the safety of the ride, and our motley crew of motos.

Yes, it was time to suit up, mount up, and herd them two-wheeled dogies from Norfolk CT to Mystic, to raise money for the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp (for their new outreach program, actually). Last year we had raised $275k for Angel and the kids at the camp … and hopefully this year we did the same or better.

To sum up the weekend: We had no lost riders and zero injuries. The weather was fantastic, both days. I got my street feet back after too long focused on the track. I tried out my new-to-me ’stich. There was a lot of standing around, playing in traffic. Great food at every meal. Light sunburn. The amazing positive feeling I get from being around people pushing their bodies to the limit to help out those in need. And a high-speed extralegal jaunt down I-95 to cap it all off!

Pics are up here … enjoy!

Woo! And the grades start rolling in …

Last week saw me (complete with shakey hands) taking finals up at Hunter. They were challenging, they were fair, I was sweating them as I needed to ace both Chem and Bio to get As for the semester and keep my 4.0. But at long last, the semester was over. And now? Now I start to see the grades come in.

First up: Chem 104 Lecture. An A, I am proud to say. Hope I have two more coming!

I saw this today and thought y’all might be interested: Eureka! Purdue Scientists Turn Water Into Hydrogen. It’s not an electrolytic cell necessarily, but it will sure help power those Hydrogen fuel cells if it’s not come cold-fusion-style scam …

I am once again published. This time, it’s got nothing to do with technology … it’s all about that Five Boro Bike Tour. If you’re a regular here you’ve seen the content, but now it’s been picked up by Pedal Pushers Online. Only now it’s in “all its glory”. Actually, Dan from PPO commissioned the article, it was meant for them from the get-go. So go and check it out, then check out their site. They do good things.

This just in from Anna: A sweet animation on the action potential in your axons, lovingly hosted by WH Freeman. If you’re studying, for, say, a Bio final, there might be questions on action potential.

Whoa. Been following the Floyd Landis case in the news? Check out the latest testimony from Greg Lemond. It’s a prickly story of a Now-Ex-Manager and an Angry Young Racer, and the Old Former Champion. SFW and all that.

The comments under the article got me thinking. Why, indeed, was Lemond scheduled to testify? He wasn’t racing. He wasn’t at the TdF as an official, right? If it was just to assassinate character b/c Landis has a good case … does that make anything justified? Nope, but still, messy.

Bruce Campbell, formerly “B” movie god and now “A” movie scene-stealer, is lighting up the internets once again. And, your HDTV. Don’t zip past those commercials, kiddo, you may miss Bruce in such gems as “Bruce Has Experience” or “Bruce Sings Duran Duran and Gets Some“. SFW.

Nothing beats Bruce. And, I wear Old Spice.

Now where did I put that autographed picture?

No, you weren’t hallucinating on Sunday, May 6th. If you woke up and saw 32,000 bicyclists rolling past you in Times Square, up a closed avenue … or if you saw a host of red-bibbed behelmeted nuts freezing in the late Spring chill on the Queensboro bridge … or if you wondered at the sea of self-propelled silliness cruising down the BQE in Brooklyn. What you saw was the 30th Annual Five Borough Bike Tour (brought to you by Bike New York and Commerce Bank).

New York City is becoming more bike-friendly every year. With each new Greenway, each new bike advocacy group, each new event that takes root and grows we get closer to the two-wheeled world we want to live in. It will never be perfect, but events like the 5BBT are a huge help towards raising the visibility of our favorite sport and mode of transport.

This was my first Five Borough Bike Tour, and it’s definitely an event not to be missed. When else will you legally ride your bicycle down the center lane of the FDR? Plus, in case you haven’t been here long, NYC has some amazing views. You really get to enjoy them from the heights of the Queensboro Bridge, from the center of Central Park, and the banks of the East River. The ride is an excellent introduction to each of the boroughs we call home.

We saw all shapes and sizes of rider. From the dedicated tourist mom who carted her two kids behind her in a trailer, to the uber-competitive yet underdressed racer, to the bike messenger (lock in hand). Riders who had never pedaled more than a mile or two without stopping before joined endurance athletes for the 42-mile course. My own motley crew was partially there to recruit riders for an upcoming charity event, Braking the Cycle.

Sure, we had some gripes about how the event was run. But the weather (which started out far too cold for late Spring) turned warm, the roads opened up as the pace differentials became more obvious, and we skipped every rest area to keep moving forward. We hammered up bridges and dodged wobbly riders, and when we got the BQE, where the pavement was smooth and the view was breathtaking … we were in bicyclists’ Nirvana.

Come out and join us next year! Some advice for those who want to participate next year (Sunday May 4, 2008):

– Sign up early, online. At least a month early. This year, the event sold out two weeks before the day of the ride.

– Be prepared to walk for large portions of the morning. It takes forever to get started when there are 15,000 people in front of you and 17,000 people pushing you from behind! Also, the marshals in the Times Square area were more interested in letting drivers and pedestrians by, than those of us who had paid for the privilege of riding closed roads.

– Bring plenty of food and beverages with you. They provide food and water at the rest stops, but there’s no guarantee you’ll like what they’ve got (there were some strange drinks handed out this year) … and the lines are horrendous. You could lose an hour, easily, waiting for some food at the lunch stop.

– Be prepared to lose your friends. If you get separated, everybody pull over, walk onto the sidewalk, and use those phones. Or, be like me and just continue to the finish line and meet everyone there!

– Bring plenty of spare tubes, a pump or CO2, and whatever tools you may need. I saw zero bike support out on the road. Yes, zero. There were mechanics at the finish line, and there may have been some at the rest stops, but I saw no sag vehicles or roving bike techs.

– Check the weather beforehand, and dress accordingly! It was 48 degrees when we left for the starting line.

– Find another way home besides the Staten Island Ferry. We waited two hours for our free trip back to Manhattan. Everyone was in a good mood, and it had finally warmed up, but there was only one ferry running and the wait was interminable.

– Bring money. There is no real food available for free at the over-commercialized festival at the end of the event. You’ll have to pay if you’re hungry.

And most importantly? Talk all your friends into going. I went with a crew of 7 (plus 2 children) and we had an amazing time. Perhaps the single most-fun day I’ve had in the city. I mean, what could be better than cruising across the Verrazano Narrows Bridge with 32,000 of your closest friends?

Once again, pics from the day are up here.

I can’t remember if I posted this last Fall or not, but it doesn’t matter … it’s gorgeous. Check out this animation on the inner life of the cell. It’s mindblowing stuff. Alaie showed it to us last semester, but Erica found it on the internets … I love the internets.