The Aldrich Ave Daily

I find that Pink Floyd’s second line from the song “Time” describes this post best. Did you know the average American wastes two weeks of our life each year sitting in traffic? It took me 45 minutes to get home from work yesterday. It usually takes 15-20 tops. I thought it was ironic that this little tid-bit of information popped on the radio while I was sitting in a entrance ramp on 394. Lets figure you start actually driving in traffic at age 18. If you live to be 80(which is the expected rate in the U.S. at this time) thats 62 years of driving. So 2 weeks a year for 62 years is 124 weeks or just over 10 months. Almost a year of our life is wasted sitting in fucking traffic. We are not here to be sitting in traffic wasting away time. Literally. By the time I turn 80 I hope I can last at least one more year to get back that year I lost sitting in my car, watching the tail lights in front of me flicker on and off. Add that and the fact that barrels of crude oil hit an all time high a couple of days ago, the reasons to continue driving a car are becoming slim. I am not here to waste my time in traffic or break the bank on a tank of gas. If I could I’d get rid of my car. I just hope that sometime in the near future I will be working closer to home so I can ride my bike to work. It makes me wish we had the kind of public transit the Europeans have. My brothers host family in Germany didn’t even own a car. You can’t get you’re license over their until you are 18, its hella expensive too. But public transit is far beyond what we have. If you want to use a car, its cheap to rent one over there. Flights over there are cheap too.
Speaking of cars. The hunt for a new one continues. I am looking for 3 things. 1. Reliability. I want a car that is known to last long and not have problems. So basically anything NOT made in the U.S. 2. Affordable. I would like to buy a new car or a car a few years old. I was able to pick my uncles brain this weekend(he’s been selling cars for years) and it sounds like with where I am financially it can be done. 3. Longevity. I want a car that has a ton of gas mileage. I’m talking in the 35-40mpg, maybe I could to hybrid and get 45-50mpg. We’ll see. I’ve found a couple of good deals on some 07′ Civics, but I am also considering a Hyundai, Nissan, or Toyota. This week is pretty hectic, but I plan on getting out to dealers next week.
Well, I’ve got a long day of errands, laundry, car fixing, and one-dogs to enjoy. Oh, and for all you coffee drinkers out there the Cameron’s Breakfast Blend is one of the best bag of beans I’ve had in months. I’m out.

daily quote – “I think his assessment is off the mark” Vice President Dick Cheney in a Wall Street Journal article criticizing Alan Greenspan’s memoir which blasted the Bush administrations handling of the economy

today’s bike term – monkey-motion adj. magazine writer speak for a full suspension bike

Well Afton has come and gone. Its been some time since my last post. You can read about what happened at the 24 Hours of Afton here BAQFUP Now that the biking season is pretty much done for me I hope to spend some more time on this thing, letting you folks keep tabs on this some more. I haven’t been on a bike since the 24 Hours. My knee(the reason I had to quit early) still bugs me from time to time. I notice it when I take out a repair bike for a test ride. I’m thinking this isn’t a problem that will heal on its own and I am thinking of maybe hitting up the doctor in the next couple of weeks. Besides, I’ve got a weird looking mole on my forearm that I think should be looked at.
That bastard has done it again. I’m talking about The Man. We all love college football. Should we have to pay and extra fee just to watch our team? NO!! But we do. This year marks the first year of the Big Ten Network. This was tried once before with the Twins. Remember Victory Sports? Thank God that bombed. The only way I can watch the Gopher football team is if the game is nationally televised. Even if I was dumb enough to give the cable company more of my money the only network that even carries this Big Ten Network is Direct TV. Why on earth should we have to pay more money to watch a college event. The NFL has the same thing on Direct TV but we still get to watch our team on regular TV. Even the NFL’s package is cheaper then what the Big Ten is charging. Just an easy way for the Big Ten schools to make a quick buck. We can make a difference however. Join the petition to STOP this madness so we can all as Big Ten fans watch our team at no extra charge. puttingfansfirst.com I joined up, and every Big Ten sports fan should do the same. Put this shit to an end.
With this cool weather we’re having I think its safe to say summer is in our rear view mirror. I love autumn. Nice cool weather. Football is upon us. Hockey is only a few weeks away. HOCKEY!!! Its back. Leaves changing. Perfect time to bundle up with that special someone. I also get this unique feeling inside this time of year. A feeling of comfort and warmth you could say. I use to love going up to Duluth in the fall. It has probably been at least 2 years since I’ve done that, but hope to get up there sometime in middle to late October. Should be fun. See some old friends.
Well, thats all for now. I will be spending a lot more time on this now that the summer season is slowing and I actually have time to think again. I’ll be switching themes a little bit. Not so much bike talk now. Maybe a little more political, keep up on global warming, some more interesting topics for you folks that aren’t of the bike ilk. Ta Ta.

daily quote – “I think the American public deserves to have a clearer sense of where’s the light at the end of the tunnel.” Sen. Norm Coleman on Iraq after Gen. David Petraeus testified before Congress about the war’s progress

today’s bike term – cockrotter n. one who allows his bike to fall in disrepair, and whose bike invariably fails him at some point in every ride. These people don’t know why their bike always breaks, and often would rather buy new parts than keep their bike in good condition.