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By Johnny, September 29, 2008 11:27 am

I came across this list today and I would have to completely agree with their pick of “Saving Private Ryan” and maybe “Moulin Rouge” (I was teary eyed but I don’t think anybody noticed). For “Saving Private Ryan”, I saw it on TV a few years back by myself and was sobbing like a little baby at the end when Tom Hanks uttered the sentence, “Earn This.”

Other movies that got me was “Beaches” and “The Notebook”. Both chick flicks and both was so sad. “Beaches” on the value of friendship. “The Notebook” is the fact that a disease like Alzheimer completely erases a person’s memories. There is a Korean movie that similar in plot, but the victim was much younger. The title escapes me but that got me too. Something about losing your memory is sad to me. Perhaps that was my inspiration for creating this blog. In the event if I ever lose my memory (which is highly possible since my grandmother did), I can come back here and read about them. I’m very interested in seeing the “Iron Giant”. Haven’t had an animated movie make me cry but the description sounds good.

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By Johnny, August 22, 2008 10:14 pm

We’re down to the last week of summer. Again it went by real fast. Seemed like it was just last week since we took Memorial Day off. I haven’t done anything but ride around LA with my bicycle. Reminds me of the summers I used to have during high school when my friends and I would ride to the mall on our bikes because no one had a drivers license.

I find riding so therapeutic. It let’s me wander away on my own free wheel without burning any fossil fuel or getting stuck in the mass of gasoline driven vehicles. Riding in the heat isn’t so bad. There’s constantly a breeze when you’re moving slowly and gradually. Of course, sun-block is a must. I’m not bound by the impact on gasoline prices. I find myself feeling guilty for driving. Especially if it’s a short distance. My limit now is to take the bicycle if I’m going somewhere 5 miles or below. Ridiculous driving otherwise. I even bike to the park to run and then bike back. My trips to the local store and bank are by bike now. I look forward to picking up mail in San Marino because it’s an adventure each time I jump on the saddle. In short, I’m so glad my love for bicycling has sparked such a different and new lifestyle. I am so much at peace with myself. I’m not ever in a rush anymore. Bicycling has taught me to sit back and enjoy the ride and not focus so much on the destination.

As a result, I have enlisted 2 others on a San Diego to San Francisco bicycle ride next year. Here are the break down of the cities we’ll be at:

• Day 1: Imperial Beach to Cardiff-by-the-Sea
• Day 2: Cardiff-by-the-Sea to Newport Beach (camp)
• Day 3: Newport Beach to Santa Monica (motel/hotel/hostel)
• Day 4: Santa Monica to Sycamore Canyon/Point Mugu (camp)
• Day 5: Sycamore Canyon to Carpinteria (camp)
• Day 6: Carpinteria to Santa Barbara – our day off to hang out there (motel/hotel/hostel)
• Day 7: Santa Barbara to Lampoc (camp)
• Day 8: Lampoc to Pismo Beach (camp)
• Day 9: Pismo Beach to San Simeon Village (motel/hotel/hostel)
• Day 10: San Simeon Village to Big Sur (camp)
• Day 11: Big Sur to Monterey (camp)
• Day 12: Monterey to Santa Cruz (motel/hotel/hostel)
• Day 13: Santa Cruz to Half Moon Bay (camp)
• Day 14: Half Moon Bay to San Francisco

It’ll probably happen around June, July, or August when the weather is less likely to be stormy. We still need to figure out what to buy to prepare for this trip. I’ve checked out several guide books that should help us get started. Actually, the destinations was from a guide book. I’ve also purchased Adventure Cycling maps for this trip as well. This is going to be such a great experience. I can’t wait to do it!

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By Johnny, August 4, 2008 9:51 pm

I did my first 32 miler on my road bike today. It took me a little over 2 hours and 15 minutes. This is the longest distance thus far that I’ve been on the saddle, EVER! It’s a big accomplishment and was very challenging both mentally and physically. I know around mile 11 to 18th was the toughest. Those had a lot of hills to climb. I know I was going about 6 – 7 mph through-out those 7 miles and had to stop several times to catch my breathe. From mile 18th until 32, it was fun because I got to explore an area that I was not familiar with. Not to mention it was straight down-hill ride so I was enjoying the coast and the speed without exerting too much energy. What’s next? I think I’m going to do a 40 miler and then eventually work my way to a half century and finally a century. This should prepare me well for my race and a potential touring trip next year. Yeah, I’m that crazy!

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By Johnny, July 19, 2008 11:52 pm

I decided to do a few things as part of my adventure for this beautiful Los Angeles Saturday. I pedaled up to my favorite train stop in South Pasadena and took the North bound train towards Pasadena. It was my first time riding the Gold Line up to the last stop in Sierra Madre. From there I made my way down 4 stories of car parking and rode over to Harbor Freight, Pasadena location. For those who don’t know what Harbor Freight is, it’s a store where you can find all sorts of miscellaneous tools and items you wouldn’t find at your local hardware store or even at an auto parts store. It was great because they had so many tools for all sorts of things.

I then cruised over to Sears across the street and bought a 15mm wrench. I finally used a gift card that had $0.94 of credit! One less card to carry. I made my way out of Sears and took the train to the Bike Oven. At the Oven, I had some time to work on my bike. I had to tighten up the chain ring bolts and rewrapped my handlebar. By time everything was over it was 5PM. Me and one of the volunteers decided to go get smoothies in Chinatown. We rode our bikes from Highland Park area and chilled out and chatted for about 30 minutes and went our separate ways.

I took the Gold Line and then transferred to the Red Line and got off Hollywood and Vine. From there I proceeded to the theatre that was having the 2008 Bicycle Film Festival. I was greeted by Mr. Rollers, a very well known photographer for the Midnight Ridazz. He offered to valet my bike and so I allowed.

First time getting my bicycle valeted and I don’t mind it at all, unlike car valets. I waited in line until 7:30 rolled around and we all finally got to see some movies about bicycles. It was inspiring. When we got out, the line for the next program was long! I wanted to stay back and catch this last showing but I was hungry and tired so I bolted out to the train station.

The train was crowded with families who spent their day at Universal Studios and were heading back home. I know because they were holding souvenirs. I got off at the Civic Center stop hoping to catch a bus and try using the bike racks in front of a bus for the first time. I waited almost an hour and no bus came so I got fed up and road home from Downtown LA to Alhambra. Fueled by popcorn, a smoothie, and a power bar from earlier in the day, my head was pounding as I made my 7 mile journey at 11PM. I quickly stopped by Yoshinoya and picked up a chicken bowl with a cup of water. A well deserved meal that eased the headache and my sore legs.

Not bad for a 19 mile day (according to my cyclometer).

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By Johnny, June 30, 2008 11:00 pm

As I was sitting on the train today I was staring out in darkness and began to reflect what’s been happening in my life the last couple of months. I’m at a completely different phase in my life right now compared to last year. First of all, I’m sitting on a train to work! I’m sure I never thought I’d be doing this a year ago. I’m actually happy that I am doing this to help be more green and not contribute in the demise of our environment.

Last year, I was playing poker on a weekly basis. Now we’re playing once every 3 months as it seems. I miss the face time to BS with the friends and catch up. I got to do that 2 weekends ago when all of our schedules allowed it.

I’m 10lbs lighter than I was a year ago. I’m more active and enjoy running and biking this year. Last year, my bike was sitting in the garage collecting dust. I was coming with all sorts of excuses not to go to the gym. It was not until the blood results that came in on my annual check-up to wake my lazy ass up. I’ve already run 2 5K back-to-back weekends. I will be participating in my first sprint triathlon relay this year and hopefully the LA marathon next year. I’ve added 2 more bicycles to encourage myself to ride them. And ride them, I do. This is one trend I don’t want to forget.

This year we’ve been actively searching for a new home for my family. Unfortunately nothing has turned up and I may have to look for property for myself. I can’t help it when my folks are so picky about all the places we’ve seen. My second offer to potentially the last house of our search has been submitted. It’ll take a miracle for the seller to accept the offer but I guess we’ll see.

I’m in this weird purging phase. My motorcycle is listed on Craigslist still. I’ve had people who were interested inquire about it but no formidable offers that I can entertain. Lots of people want to trade me for another bike and even a boat. That does nothing to someone who doesn’t know how to swim. I’m also playing with the idea of selling my trusty car and get a more fuel efficient Honda Fit. I love the fact that you can carry crap in such a compact vehicle. Maybe after I buy my first property.

I’ve lost interest in gaming from last year. Yes I still play my XBox but it’s still the same game, NBA 2K8. I love that game!

In the work front, things aren’t looking so good. I’ve inherited more applications to handle and it’s starting to stress me out. The overall company politics is making it harder and harder for me to do my job. It’s only a matter of time where grinning and bearing won’t work. Until that time, I can only keep my head up and work through this tough time.

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By Johnny, June 23, 2008 11:20 am

As promised, my new roadie for competition training. It’s definitely rides different than my commuter and the fixie. It’s smooth as butter but still needs a little getting use to. I changed the pedals on it so I can use my riding shoes on it. Hopefully I’ll put in some miles on it in this weekend’s training ride at Zuma!

Some specs on it:

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2:00PM – The picture on the Lemond website shows a much more aggressive looking Reno. I’m gonna have to fix that when I get home tonight!

10:42PM – Much better! I thought it felt kind of weird sitting upright on the ride Sunday.

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By Johnny, June 20, 2008 11:10 pm

I finally removed 4 of my wisdom teeth this morning. The experience was very interesting because apparently, when I was sedated, I didn’t even realized it. One minute I was looking up at the light in the ceiling, the next I’m waking up with gauze in my mouth and ready to go home. The pain did not set in until I got home and had to change the gauze. Nice and bloody ordeal but still not as painful until I began drinking water and eating. The good dentist prescribed some antibiotics and and trusty ole’ pain-killers. I’ve been taking them round-robin as the time is required by the prescription.

Last week I went to the doctors to do some further testing on my HDL and triglyceride level. 6 months ago in my annual check-up I was told my HDL (good cholesterol level) was too low and my triglyceride level (fat that you burn for energy) was way too high. It made me more proned to getting metabolic syndrome which is a bad thing. So as part of my new life changing goal this year, I exercised more. This time, I’m not just doing your run-at-the mill weight training and cardio. I asked to participate in a marathon and a spring triathlon competition. I took it on myself to prepare for these events by being very persistent and running and now bicycling alot. To be honest with you I enjoy running and bicycling so much that it was almost natural for me to be doing this. At the same time, I rediscovered my love of bicycling and prompted me to be car-free during the week. Not to mentioned adding 2 more bicycles to my stable. I must digress. The results of this time’s check-up was everything was back to a healthier level just because I did one thing different, exercise. And this time I’m not going to stop.

Edit: I realized that I didn’t mention this but I did buy a new roadie for the triathlon training and for my greedy self. Pictures to come once I have a chance to take them.

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By Johnny, June 10, 2008 8:57 pm

I’m finally putting this on Craigslist .

http://losangeles.craigslist.org/sgv/mcy/726153291.html SOLD 07/03/2008

It was a hard decision, but I think the time is right to hang up my motorcycle helmet (for now) and put on my bicycle helmet. I’m making room for a third bicycle in the stable. Damn this bicycle addiction.

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By Johnny, June 1, 2008 5:50 pm

I’m finally done with my fixed gear conversion of a Nishiki International road bike. I’m not going to lie and tell you that this was close to even being a cheap ordeal. Here’s the list costs that was necessary for this complete build:

• 19 teeth cog and new bicycle chain = $48.71
• Bar tape & 3 inner tubes (1 for spare) = $19.78
• Nitto bullhorn handlebar = $54.89
• 2 Panaracer Strada Pro tires, front brake pad , and White Lightening chain lube = $80.18
• 2 rim tape = $8.64
• White Specialized Alias 143 seat & brake cable = $72.09
• Spray paint & electric tape (extra bar tape) = $5.80
• Cyclocomputer, front & rear lights, wedge bag, mini pump, and miscellaneous items = $149.32
• Donations for stand time @ Bike Oven = $65.00

Grand Total = $504.41

I guess I could have went real cheap and buy the plain black tires with no puncture protection or no red stripe sidewall or even gone with a bulky wired cyclocomputer or big no name front lights. This bike, in my opinion, deserved a better assortment of accessories. Hence the expensive bill.

I did gain 3 things from all this:

1. Being comfortable with taking bikes apart and working on it.
2. Owning a kick ass fixed gear bike to ride.
3. Fixed gear riding is sooo different than regular free gear riding.

Converting the bike felt like when I first got into computers in college. I was obsessed and was laser focused on the task. I was thinking about the bike when I wasn’t around it. And when I was working on it, I felt at peace. The time working on it went by very quick. I think I’m going to actively volunteer at the Bike Oven to learn and work on bicycling. This is so fun that I’m actually considering selling my motorcycle so I can use that to buy a very nice road bike. Yes, I am that into it.

Here’s the before picture of the bike when I picked it up:

Here is the finished conversion with new white toe clips and all.

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By Johnny, May 21, 2008 12:36 pm

I’ve been fascinated with the idea of building my own fixed-gear bicycle for a couple of months now. I first caught sight of one when I was looking around for ways to improve my current commuter. I came across a beautiful bike with no brake levers and no derailleurs. It was just a bike with one chain around the wheel and nothing else. A fixed-gear bike does not have a free wheel. This means that when you pedal backwards on a complete stop, you actually can go backwards. It makes it challenging if you ride around hills both going up and going down. You can simply pedal backwards if you wanted to stop. There’s plenty of people who uses fixed-gear bikes for tricks and stunts. You can find clips on YouTube. Track bikes that are used in competitive racing are all fixed-gear. It’s suppose to improve your riding and is good for training. I’m going to be doing a triathlon in September and thought that this would be neat to ride.

A friend of my gave me his old Nishiki International road bike. It’s a pretty old bike but still in very good shape. I took it to the Bike Oven in Highland Park to begin my project last night. The folks at Bike Oven were awesome. They were very friendly, receptive, and most importantly patient. I spent about 3 hours taking parts off of my bike, rebuilt the headset and bottom bracket. Things I thought would be hard wasn’t too bad. Of course I was spoiled by the plethora of tools that was available around me. What remains is buying a cog for my rear wheel and a new chain. Hopefully I’ll have it completed by this Saturday so I can take it out to ride during the upcoming holiday weekend. The before and after pictures will come shortly.