Potato harvest

The kids were thrilled to find the three tiny potatoes they planted gave them quite a bit of return on investment.

Fiddle contest

With the encouragement from their violin teacher, Alyssa and Vivian attended their first ever fiddle contest today. It was a pretty big event in the Reid Park with a fairly large crowd.



Without any experience in competition and not having much time to practice, we only hoped that they can have the courage to go up to the stage, finish their songs, and have fun along the way. We were pleasantly surprised by how well they did. Both of them ended up in the same age group, the "Pee Wee", for kids up to 9-year old. Alyssa was the 2nd one on stage for the whole event, playing "Old Joe Clark", "Country Waltz", and "Long, Long Ago":



Vivian was the 5th one, playing "Boil 'em Cabbage Down", "See Saw", and "Long, Long Ago":



And while his sisters were busy with the contest, David had quite a lot of fun running around and having delicious kettle corns:



When the scores came out, we were really shocked. Vivian was in the 5th place and Alyssa was in the 3rd place!




They were very happy to share the good news with their teacher Ms. Laura:



It was definitely a fun day for our entire family, especially for the two girls. In addition to the medal/plaque and all other goodies, they also won some cash awards ($10 for Vivian and $25 for Alyssa). Now there are two rich girls in the house contemplating how to use all that money!

Crazy windy days

The weather in desert can get quite extreme sometimes. Today we have 25+ mph winds with 40+ mph gusts. And as if that is not enough, the winds are expected to continue into tomorrow and bring the daytime temperature down by about 30-degree F compared to today. Perhaps I should consider taking a break from biking.

Fall is here. Really?

It was like someone just flipped a switch somewhere. The temperature suddenly dropped from mid-90s to mid-80s and has been stayed like that for a week now. I even feel a bit chilly on my bike rides. Is the summer really over? Is that even possible in Tucson?

And that's the last of it

Tucson is a great city for biking. Most of the major roads have dedicated bike lanes and the weather is simply great. We have 350+ sunny days here, so for the most part I don't have to face the situation that I hate the most: riding in the rain. However, all that sunshine and dry weather comes with a great pain in the a$$: cacti and all sorts of thorny plants are everywhere!

Even with Continental Ultra Gatorskin for both my front and rear, I managed to run through 5 inner tubes in 3 months. Initially I was worried about the broken glasses/metal sharps on the road, but so far all my 10+ flats are caused by thorns. The last fresh tube in my stock went into the front today. Guess it is time to stock up again. *Sigh*

Incidentally, I noticed a Motobecane Fantom Cross Outlaw started to show up in the bike enclosure at work this semester. The disc brakes and the wider tires looks really cool. Could that be the answer to my problem? Hmm...

A not-so-hot Ninja

The temperature here has finally come down to the mid-90s and make it so much more pleasant to go out for a ride. I particularly like the fact that the engine doesn't threat to overheat whenever I stop for a red light. I am also very happy that I somehow made peace with the strong winds in the mountains and no longer feel intimidated by them.

The slightly extended ride this afternoon reminded me again the beauty of Tucson. I think riding on the back of a motorcycle provides a good balance for enjoying the sight. Traveling in a car makes me feel encapsulated and isolated from the outside world, whereas riding a bicycle simply can't get me very far (not to mention the sweaty part).

Can we be friends?

We went out to shop for a pair of shoes for me this afternoon. The salesman at the Dillard's was a very friendly guy and kept chatting with the kids while I tried the shoes on. One part of conversation that I overheard goes like this:

Tony: Hi, my name is Tony. Can I be your friend?
David: My friend is Peter.
Tony: Oh, I'm sure that Peter is a great guy. But can I be your friend too?
David: Ummm... Okay!

I thought that was hilarious.

Too hot for a Ninja

Maybe I am getting used to pedaling in hot weather, when I took my Ninja out for a spin this afternoon, I felt the ride was quite pleasant even though the temperature was about 103-F. Unfortunately for my little Ninja, the slow ride around town under the scorching sun is a bit too much and the temp gauge kept threatening to go up to the red line. So I cut the ride short and came home to give my bike a good chain-cleaning session. Now that this is done, I am so happy to see the chain and gears become shiny again.

Gators in the desert

After providing nearly 4 months of trouble-free service, the Gatorskins I installed on my bike finally succumbed to the relentless attacks of thorns on my commute route. I was a little bit disappointed, as I have read so many good things about their puncture resistance, but this is already much better than the almost weekly flat tire repair I had to do before. To be fair, it has stopped several thorns that are about 3-4 mm in length during this time, so I guess I shouldn't complain too much.

Instead of jumping on the bus or calling Ann for help this time, I decided my tools should start to pay for themselves. The Topeak Mini G MasterBlaster Bike Pump I have been carrying in the bag worked okay; it is easy to get up to 60 psi, difficult to get up to 75 psi, and becomes painful beyond that. Nonetheless, it is good enough to get me home, and better yet, I still managed to beat the bus.

What the hail?

We had some pea-sized hail this afternoon. I'm really surprised, considering that it is already mid-April and last week was kind of hot. The kids were very excited and each grabbed a bucket running around in the backyard to collect the ice.

Getting hot

It's only mid-March now and I already need a water bottle for my 6-mile bike commute. I really wonder how I survived last summer.

Idiotic racers in a truck

Two guys in a truck yelled at me on my way home today, first time when they passed me on the road and second time when I passed them after they parked on their driveway. It was fast and loud so I can't quite understand what they were trying to say, but it sounds like something along the line of "We are awesome and you suck because we can drive faster in a truck than you can go on a bike". Pure idiots.

On a side note, the new tires I put on yesterday held up well to some unplanned tests. They are quite rigid compared to the stock tires so the ride wasn't as comfortable. The funny thing is that just seconds after I had this thought, I was forced to ride through two piles of broken glasses that spread across the entire bike lane. Maybe I am being superstitious, but it seemed like the tires want to convince me that puncture resistance is far more important than supple rides. You won, I am sold.

I hate flats

While bike commute has many things going for it in Tucson (e.g., countless sunny days, well-planned bike lanes), the over-abundance of thorns and the generally poor pavements are definitely not. After having a good number of flats, I finally gave in today and spent some good money on a pair of Continental Ultra Gatorskins (700c x 25). Hopefully this will do the trick.

Now some observations about the tires before I have a chance to ride. First, they are pretty easy to mount. I read some reviews about how difficult it is to get these tires mounted and was kind of dreading about doing that. To my surprise, the ones I got (with wire beads) went on without causing my any trouble. In fact, they are easier to mount than the stock tires that came with my bike.

Second, the QC may not be as good as I expected. When I saw the asymmetrical thread pattern, I asked the people at the bike shop (our local Performance Bike) about the direction of rotation. The answer they gave me was to put the sizing label on the left. However, when I was mounting the second tire, I noticed that the sizing labels are on different sides for the two tires that I got. So if I follow this direction, I'd end up with two tires with opposite thread patterns. Although it probably doesn't really matter, this makes me doubt about what the label "Handmade in Germany" really say about them. Sloppy workers maybe?

A strange visitor

A young man showed up at our house this evening and offered to do some yard works or other thing around the house. Initially I thought it's just another person who was looking for some extra cash (been a couple ones recently), but surprisingly, he is not here for money. Instead, the reason he asked was:

"I set that saguaro in your front yard on fire about 15 years ago when I was a kid. I feel bad about that and want to do something to make it right."

I told him not to worry about it, since the saguaro is doing quite well now (except for the scars, now I know why they are there). I thought the whole thing was quite bizarre and deserves an entry here.

The calvary has arrived

Ann's parents arrived today. Kids are thrilled to see their grandparents and have been spoiled rotten in the short 30 minutes since we arrived home.

It is about time that Ann and I take a break. Hooray!

Nap time at zoo

First flat on the road

Well, technically this is not really the first. I have experienced tons of flats back in high school, but have not gotten one for more than 10 years.

It happened soon after I left office this afternoon. I was right next to a bus stop when it happened so I decided to take the easy way out (good thing that bike rack is standard on the city bus here).

Thinking back, I am really lucky that my commute route almost overlap completely with one of the bus routes. So in any event, I can always wait for <30 mins and take the bus home or to work. Kind of makes me wonder why I carry all the pump/spare tube/tire level/multi-tool with me anyway?

Where is everyone?

I only saw 1 other bike commuter this morning on my way to work, which definitely does not feel right in Tucson. With most of the the undergrads gone, riding around the UA campus is actually quite pleasant. Gotta enjoy this while I can.

Anyway, only 3 more days to go (yay) and some more eukaryote genomes to crack (yucks) before the winter break.

And that makes seven

Alyssa got a used 20" 6-speed Raleigh Rowdy from Tucson BICAS to replace the 16" bike that is almost too small for her now. With this new addition, we have a total of 7 bikes in the house (Ann, David, and I have one each, the 2 girls share 4 bikes in the sizes of 12", 14", 16", and 20"). The sight of all the bikes lined up in the backyard is quite impressive.

I don't remember the my job description as a dad has "bike fleet maintenance and management" in it, but looks like this is going to take up a big chunk of time and effort.

Nice weather makes me a wimp

The temperature this morning was in low 40s and my thought was "Gosh, this is too cold to ride my bike to work."

Even though I have a mild cold and a 10 mph headwind weighing on my side, I still feel my argument was kind of weak. Then I thought to myself "Heck, if I can ride in Iowa's winter, where there was snow on the ground and the sky was depressingly gray, how come I can't ride on a beautiful sunny day in Tucson?"

And with that thought, I hopped on my bike heading to work. Fortunately the ride was not as painful as I've expected. Better yet, the work out helped to soothe my stuffy nose a bit when I got to my office.

*Sigh* Looks like I am completely spoiled by the nice weather in Tucson.