Yearly Archives: 2014

Finishing Other People’s Jobs is Thankless

This entry was posted in Just Life on by .

Why is it that it is so unrewarding finishing someone else’s job?  I’m not sure that I’ve ever done a project, that was a continuation of project that someone started and baled, and ever been very satisfied.

I think it is because that no one really does anything exactly the same and that there are many ways to get to the end result of a project.  The problem is that when someone starts something in a specific way, you need to be thinking like them to get to the same end result that they envisioned.  And you might not have that vision in you.

I got thinking about this because I started, or more accurately, got involved in tiling a shower in Lawrence, that someone else had done the shower pan and cement board.  They wanted a no sill shower, a smooth transition.  They make a flush drain, a trough that would have been perfect, but the guy before me thought he could build a smooth little berm between the shower and the bathroom floor.  He did that, but he didn’t get any grade on the shower pan. And he didn’t know that the drain could be adjusted up and down, so it was mounted about 3/4″ too high.

So, yesterday, I chiseled out all the surrounding concrete, and lowered the shower drain, then tried to tile the floor so the water flows towards the drain.  I’m not sure how it is going to work.  I think there might be a couple low spots, which would be a total failure, or at least not good.

What I really needed to do was to knock out the whole thing and just start over.  Get the right drain and do it right.  That might still be what is going to happen.

I’ve run into this so many times.  Guys that have started working on their cars, or bikes and then get frustrated and quit.  A bike usually isn’t so difficult.  There isn’t much on a bike that I don’t know about.  But, someone cross-threads their bottom bracket or something and then calls and asks if I can “help” him install a new bottom bracket, when he already knows that he has jacked it up.

It’s much worse with cars.  I hate showing up to help someone fix their car and there are a ton of nuts and bolts laying around.  I pretty much need to remove them to know where they go back.

Michael Fatka had a sign like below at his shop, Michael’s Cyclery in Ames, Iowa.  I didn’t appreciate it as much back then as I do now.  The last number isn’t a big enough jump.

LABOR RATES copy

I put in the other floor next to the shower, so felt some connection to the project. The other floor has electric heat and is nice. You can't tell how little slope the shower floor has here. Maybe 1/8" per foot if I'm lucky.

I put in the other floor next to the shower, so felt some connection to the project. The other floor has electric heat and is nice. You can’t tell how little slope the shower floor has here. Maybe 1/8″ per foot if I’m lucky.

I should of just put one of these in and got rid of the curb.

I should have just put one of these in and got rid of the curb.

 

USAC Changes Stance/Ruts and Guts

This entry was posted in Comments about Cycling on by .

I saw that the USAC changed their line in the sand qualification process for the Elite race at Cyclocross Nationals in Austin and now allows for a rider to petition to get into the event.  I was a little pissed initially, but then reconsidered.  I was being selfish.

I have pretty much written off the cyclocross season.  I knew, at best, I might, just might be able to race by January, and not a day before.  And I only wanted to race the Elite race, not the Master’s, if I had to make a choice.  But, since I didn’t race last season, and now not again this year, I wouldn’t have been in the top 90 of the rankings or have a UCI point, so I couldn’t compete.  Now, I guess I could/can.  It  made me a little mad that they announce this just a little over a month ahead of the race.

But, it is a good rule and I applaud that they reconsidered.  Better late than never.  There are other guys like me, riders that race in Europe and don’t have any UCI points, riders hurt early season and are just recovering by January, and others that have peculiar problems that need to be taken into account.  The rule is good.

If you want to take advantage of this exclusion, you need to apply by December 20th, after December 10th.  The specifics can be found here.

Down in Broken Arrow, near Tulsa, this weekend, they are holding Ruts and Guts Cyclocross races.  The races are on the National Racing Calender this year, and next season, are going to be UCI races, so they are going through the stages to grow.  I’ve done the race a few times and it is a blast.  I think the racing in Tulsa will be a lot like it will be in Austin in January.  There is a little Ruts and Guts logo above that is a link to the races.  You can also click here for the race specifics.    Tulsa is a cool place to hang out, so if you have the opportunity, you should try to get over there.

I ran two miles the other day.  Well, I “ran” two miles 100 meters at a time, pretty much stopping when I started limping badly.  But I ‘m going to stay at it.  I think the impact is good for the muscles surrounding my hip.  The bone is healed now, but my muscles aren’t working well yet.  It is amazing to me that it is such a slow process.  Attrification of muscles starts as soon as they aren’t used.  It’s pretty hard to get them back to normal.

 

It's not going to look like this in Tulsa, or Austin for that matter. But, it is supposed to be pretty nice this weekend, in Tulsa, 50's. I've done the race when it was in the 90's.

It’s not going to look like this in Tulsa, or Austin, for that matter. But, it is supposed to be pretty nice this weekend, in Tulsa, 50’s. I’ve done the race when it was in the 90’s.