JeffW saw this place on the Channel 8 “Cheap Eats” segment earlier in the week, so we went there for lunch on Friday. I didn’t make the adventure down to the old Hamada Store location on Queen Street just a little ‘Ewa from Ward Avenue on the makai side. Apparently, even with the phoned-in order, my coworkers still had a half-hour wait for the food.  The interior layout was apparently not set up for efficient customer or workflow, and the staff level was insufficient for the level of work subsequent to the TV spot publicity. We couldn’t even get a phone call in on Thursday! Continue reading ‘Queen Street Cafe’
Got these a while back from Chain Reaction Cycles in the UK (that was a story unto itself!) and put them on the Chase back in December of last year. The winter rains and switchover to snowboarding mode kept me off the bike until recently, but now with the lengthening days and drier weather, it’s two-wheel time again. Outwardly, these are similar to the XTR SL-M970 shifters, with blocky pods, long, awkward looking finger levers, and skinny perches. Shimano has purposely gone with a more “prototype†or “werks†appearance on their newer MTB parts instead of the fluid, beautifully sculpted look of their earlier parts. Unlike the XTR’s, these are provided with optical gear displays. The release levers are dual-release (push or pull) like the XTR’s, but aren’t multi-release (only one shift per pull). The pods are adjustable laterally on the perches, but only two positions are available, instead of the stepless slide. Continue reading ‘Shimano Deore XT SL-M770 Shifters’
Hooray! It’s finally out! I picked it up on release day so I could catch up on those episodes I missed on TV and rewatch those where I came away with, “huh? what?”. All 13 episodes of season three are presented in letterbox high-definition (the first two seasons were produced in standard definition, so don’t expect a BRD re-release of those). The extras are limited to deleted scenes (which basically amount to the recorded dialogue with storyboard art), and commentary tracks. It’s all so gloriously wrong! It’s the only US-produced animation that I watch regularly – maybe religiously. The quality hasn’t degraded over the seasons, probably because the creative team has remained intact, and the network hasn’t gone all Nazi on them like Nickelodeon did on Ren and Stimpy. Continue reading ‘The Venture Bros. Season 3 BRD’
Met Ckucke and JT for a climb up Tantalus. Root got busy at work at the last minute, so he didn’t make the start. I was rolling some new slicks to take some of the resistance off. It was indeed easier and the control was better, but the comfort level decreased by an amount inversely proportional to the increase in performance. Being Kuhio Day, the bottom of Makiki Heights Drive was heavily infested with road bikers, so we parked down on Makiki Street, lengthening the ride a little. With the lower rolling resistance and some new pavement above Euco, I was able to push a couple gears higher than with the 1.85 Hutchinson Scorpions. As usual, my legs burnt, my lungs exploded, my heart pounded, and my lower back knotted up. The swarm or roadies were sessioning the circuit between the one-lane bridge and the top parking area. We rested briefly after reaching the top, paid our respects to hopping rooster, then descended backtracking down Tantalus Drive instead of dropping Roundtop Drive. Continue reading ‘Buk, Buk, Buk’
I can’t really be happy about this right now because of all the krapp that happened today. I broke my Oakley Wisdoms in Japan hitting my face on a tree branch. These Oakley Crowbar Asian-fit goggles came along on Brociety just in time. Yellow frame and black iridium lenses. Base lens tint looks like VR-28 color. Ventilation looks about as marginal as the Wisdom, so they should fog-up under similar circumstances. Foam fits my face nicely. Nice, shiny, and new. Whee. Okay, I’m a little happy… maybe. Continue reading ‘New Oakley Crowbar Snow Goggles’
Okay, the rubber friction piece on the handlebar mount instantly peeled off between the first use and second use. Contact cement should remedy this. I suggest purchasing a second mount if you plan on moving this light between bikes. There are both identical replacement mounting brackets or a hose-clamp style ones available. I’ve had mixed experiences with both types, so I can’t really recommend one over the other. Continue reading ‘Cateye HL-EL450 Update’
On average, I have to say tonight’s ride sucked. The camaraderie was good. About half of the actual riding was fun. Dinner was great. The uphill parts of the riding absolutely sucked. Being wet, sweaty, muddy, and gritty sucked. Losing half of a pair of $45 USD Da Kine gloves sucked. Getting the inside of my FJ80 covered with mud sucked. Spending more time hosing down the bikes than riding time sucked. Dropping my light when cleaning up and breaking it sucked. I’m effing salty about this whole escapade now. When it started raining, I should have just gone the F home. I thought it would be OK, and besides, we hadn’t really gone on a mud ride in a while. I joked at dinner that we had to do one of these once in a while to remind ourselves not to do it. This was before I realized I lost the glove and before I broke the light. Great F I was right! I am so unbelievably pissed right now. Screw this sh*t! Double F! Continue reading ‘Muddy Trudge’
Does anyone see the irony of the Federal Building in Honolulu being landscaped with trees that are all on the State of Hawaii list of invasive or weed species? There’s Fiddlewood (Citharexylum caudatum) near the mauka entrance stairs, Formosa Koa (Acacia confusa) and several manicured Chinese Banyan trees (Ficus microcarpa) on the lawn, and a very heavy presence of Australian Tree Ferns (Sphaeropteris cooperi) along the ‘Ewa side. Heck, there’s probably Wedelia (Wedelia prostrata) somewhere over there too!
Is it also ironic that Kaiser Hospital, Moanalua has a hedge of poisonous Yellow Oleander (Thevetia peruviana)?
Go figure.
Sunday was overcast and windy, but conditions were still prime for a ride. I met Ckucke, Root, JT, and Kevyn in Waimanalo for a spin up the Demon Trail ride. Tracy joined us, but went up on foot instead of on wheels. She pretty much took off and we were constantly playing catch-up! I guess on the Demon Trail, being on foot is more efficient on average.
JT found some dog poop at the beginning of the climb. We went as far as the mango tree, then decided to continue climbing up to the Demon Trail and going in a ways. There were some surveyor’s tapes and stakes along Government Road, with “1/2†pipe, capped†indicated. I wonder what the water will be used for? After a rest at the end of the road, we started up the trail. Ground conditions were very good to begin with, but further in it became moist, giving rise to tire spin and kickouts on roots and slick rocks. The waterfalls along the trail were all wet. We paused at the big one to rinse JT’s tire and watch the little black waterbugs darting about. The streambed through the fairy forest was scoured of moss, indicating some fairly heavy water flow in recent weeks. Here and there was some new sloughing and slumping of the contour cut – new rubble piles littered the inside edges, and a large rootball blocked the trail. We rode as far as the second waterfall past the melaleuca grove, then turned around. JT was hurting from a bail into a rock garden, traction was dropping abruptly, and we had all experienced enough pain and suffering for one day. Continue reading ‘Poop Tire’