Heidi and I were planning on camping at Malibu Creek State Park on Friday and Saturday, but it looks like it’s going to rain a lot on Friday so we decided to scrap that idea. I’m just going to drive up early (4:30) on Saturday morning before the ride. It’s going to be a long day, but I’m really looking forward to doing some climbing and will hopefully be able to improve on my previous time.

Factoring in vacations, sick days, and other missed riding days, let’s assume I commute via bike 40 weeks per year and ride an average of two times per week. Those 80 trips equal 3360 miles.  If I instead drove a car, which made 30 miles per gallon, that would equal 112 gallons of fuel.  At $4.00 a gallon those 112 gallons would cost $448.00.  By commuting to work I also qualify for a $20.00 per month “commuter benefit.” That adds up to $240.00 per year.  So, I’m basically saving $688.00 per year by riding my bike to work.

But, saving money isn’t the only reason I like to bike to work. I mean, that’s definitely one of the reasons it’s great, but it’s certainly not the most important. It takes me about 1 hour and 20 minutes to ride in, which means I’m getting 2 hours and 40 minutes of exercise a day when I bike to work. I’m turning two days of work commuting into 5 hours and 20 minutes of exercise. I’m saving money, staying fit, reducing traffic, and am helping the environment.

I’ve been commuting by bike for years and, honestly, it used to be a real pain. And there are times when it still is. There are days — especially in the winter — when I wake up and simply don’t feel like riding into work. But all the excuses and thoughts of a cozy bed are gone 30 seconds after I start pedalling. There are plenty of days when I skipped my ride and regretted it. But I can’t think of a single time when I regretted not being back in bed.

You see, after a while something changes and riding in becomes an addiction. Kind of like that first cup of coffee in the morning. But better. You ride in, shower, then sit down at your desk. Your body is tired, your legs are aching. But, damn, it feels good.

I’ve been riding bike my bike more lately, which has been a lot of fun. I think I’m averaging between 170-200 miles a week, which is probably 50 miles or so more than I was riding before. I joined two clubs a month or so ago: Swamis and Ranchos. I’ve been riding with Swamis on Thursday mornings and, occasionally, on Sundays. I’ve been riding with Ranchos on Saturdays. Both clubs are very fast and have been a challenge for me, which is why I decided to join them. I also bought a touring bike in early summer. It’s been really fun to get that outfitted with the proper gear. I’m hoping to post a lot more about the bike and our touring adventures in the near future.

Otherwise, there’s not too much else to report. Life is good.

I think I started trying to play when I was a sophomore or junior in high school. But, that was pre-Internet and I didn’t really have any resources available except one instruction book and an old hymnal from church. Needless to say, it didn’t go very well and I was quickly discouraged. I made a second run at it in college, but once again didn’t stay on it. Which, looking back, is a major shame because some of my friends were awesome musicians/guitar players and I could have really learned something. But, it’s such a damn hard instrument to learn that if you aren’t really dedicated to it, you’re going to fail.

So, I picked things up with renewed vigor in November. Heidi got me the Gibson Learn and Master Guitar DVD course for Christmas and I picked up a beautiful used Les Paul on eBay. I’ve been playing about 6 hours a week for the last 2.5 months. It’s harder than hell and there are times when I get super frustrated, but it seems different this time. I can’t really play anything besides scales, a dozen or so chords, and some cheesy old folk songs, but it’s still been a lot of fun.

I posted a link to this on Twitter a while ago, but thought I should also add it here.

Helvetica In
Motion from Positive
Pictures on Vimeo.

It would probably be more accurate to call it an “experience” rather than a show, even if that sounds kind of stupid. To see what I mean, watch this.

jónsi tour trailer from Jónsi on Vimeo.

Then read this.
Jonsi’s High-Tech Concerts: More Live Film Than Stadium Spectacle

I really liked all the video stuff going on — it totally added to the show rather than be an unnecessary distraction. I’m not sure there are a lot of other bands out there that could pull this off since Sigur Ros/Jonsi’s music really lends itself to this kind of thing. There were three or four moments during the show when the massive wall of sound, along with the cool animated backgrounds sort of transported me to a different place. Pretty much everything you’d want in an awesome concert.

And what would a concert be without a shitty phone pic? (Obviously I need a better camera in my phone. Still holding out for a Galaxy S.)

Jonsi at HOB in Las Vegas

I’ve been getting up every morning a couple hours before the sessions start to do P90X in my room. I’m not sure if that’s lame or cool — maybe a little of both. I almost said “screw it” this morning, but buckled down and “brought it!”

Highlights so far have been the Powershell sessions with Don Jones. Learning a lot about PS, which will be useful at work.