Nope no Free Tidbits this past saturday. Fabio’s “cultural exchange” items of pepper seeds from Bhutan had come to fruition and we had a few of these pods of mystery this Saturday at Wayland’s. From Fabio’s tales, it seems those Bhutanese eat hot peppers like a salad. I was actually surprised at how large these were. Generally speaking, smaller peppers tend to be hotter. So maybe these aren’t that hot? In appearance they seem pretty similar to jalapeno. 
So the thought is we’ll cook something tonight utilizing the peppers, a thai curry and the chana masala from the magic powder pack we bought in BC. Gotta QC the goods, make sure it’s not too sweet, not to rancid, you know? So one of the peppers is cut open and slivered. We each take a tiny piece and taste test them. Hoo baby! These guys are hot! 
Not habanero hot, but they’ve got more than a decent punch to them! It’s gonna be a good one tonight! Continue reading ‘ANger of Bhutan’
Just had a Burger King Stacked Steakhouse Burger for lunch. It’s the Angus burger meat plus bacon, 2-slices of American cheese, A-1 Steak sauce, crispy fried onions, and a “baked potato topping” which was essentially mashed potatoes with chives smeared on the underside of the top bun.  All this is served on a “premium bakery-style bun”, which was just a cornmeal-dusted bun instead of a sesame-seed bun. The non-“stacked” version doesn’t have the potato and bacon, but instead has lettuce and tomato. When I walked in and saw it on the menu, I thought, “that looks really unhealthy – I’ll get it!” The large size value meal is around $8 USD, and comes in at 1410 kcal (burger = 970, large o-rings = 440, large unsweetened iced tea = 0). Not bad, but the meat was on the dry side, and the burger overall was salty. I could do without the bland, pasty potato stuff, so maybe I can get the regular Steakhouse burger and add bacon next time. The “Stacked” version, being without lettuce and tomato, was definitely on the dry side overall.
3.5 out of 4 grinning monkeys
4 out of 4 cardiac arrests
Recommended (if you don’t plan on living forever)Â
This morning the vog was so thick, there was a opaque wall of haze in Kalihi valley coming down Like Like. The Waianae mountains were barely visible from the airport, and even up close at HMC-West, the details were blurry. Rain all day: I guess no bike riding. This week makes up for all the good weather last week. I don’t imagine the weather improving for the weekend either.
Sunset will probably look really nice today…Â
I saw these two things being hauled around today. I have no idea what they are. Whatever they are, they are normally trailered, have wheels on one end (in this case the “front”) and have what appear to be seats on the other end. The curved part is hydraulically moveable, and there are little support arms on the sides that look like supports for additional panels. Some kind of radar antenna?
Here’s some updates on bits and pieces from the bike that have undergone months of use and abuse:
Shimano M970 XTR Driveline
Excellent operation since day one. I’m running an all-Shimano driveline, and aside from the pinch-bolt-style XT crankset (which I purposely chose over the M970 XTR because of its easy field servicing), it’s all XTR. The shifter paddles and the derailleur pivots are all still tight and smooth. Shifting is quick and precise. The dual-release triggers are nice, since I can keep the forefingers on the brakes while upshifting or downshifting with the thumbs. The availability of service components is nice – I was able to keep a rear derailleur damaged in Whistler in operation by replacing a small part. There has been no issue with premature chain or cassette wear, or chain failure. Continue reading ‘Long Term Tests’
Friday was overcast and dark, but I thought it would be a good idea to test out the new Panaracer Rampage tires and the reinstalled Solos headset. There was a good, cool wind blowing from the East, so I had a brisk headwind to work against along Kahekili. Still, I managed a higher maximum speed along this run with less effort than usual owing to the much lower rolling resistance of the new tires. I went into the turn up to WCC hotter than usual, but the tires easily held in the deep leaning turn. The climb up the Chicken Trail went fine. The traction on the new tires was very good. The stiffer knobs climbed up the rooty sections better than the Michelins did. On the road, the laps went easier. I was able to generally use one higher gear than usual on the climbs. Backtracking up the Chicken Trail on the way back home, I found there was more tire spin on the steep debris-strewn initial section, and full-spin loss of traction on the moonscape climb. That is a difficult section anyway – if the traction is good, the legs usually can’t manage the climb anyway. I think the new tires are great, but I need to get used to their behavior and adjust my riding to them. The headset was solid and drag-free.
D = 15.35 km (9.54-miles), Vavr = 17.5 km/h (10.9 mph), Vmax = 41.5 km/h (25.8 mph), T = 53-minutes
I picked up a set of the new Panaracer Rampage All-mountain tires last Thursday. According to the packaging, they are 700-grams apiece, 60-grams heavier than the Michelin Mountain A/T 26 x 2.2 tires that were on the Ellsworth before. The tread pattern is evenly open like the Michelins, but the paired center knobs are buttressed on one side. Panaracer recommends mounting the front with the buttresses on the leading edge and the trailing edge (rotationally, that is) to brace the knobs for braking and traction respectively. The side knobs are aggressive and braced, and like the Michelins, they are spaced apart to allow for mud clearing or to allow them to punch through loose material. There are almost twice as many side knobs as the Michelins, but there is still adequate spacing. Many current tire designs have an almost continuous band of side knobs, which would be good for cornering on hardpack, but a recipe for mudpack or sideslip of loose off-cambers. Continue reading ‘Panaracer Rampage 26 x 2.35 Tires’
I’ve had endless creaking problems with my 1-1/8†threadless Chris King Headset. It is a beautiful piece of workmanship, but the top-cap-to-steerer interface is a complete hack kludge. No bearing interface should be dependent on an o-ring for concentric loading! It was time for a change, so based on my exceptionally good results from the Double X One Point Five headset on my Chase, I had Jarrel bring me in the mechanically similar Solos for 1-1/8â€. Continue reading ‘Cane Creek Solos Headset’
After being reminded of the place that took over the old Rainbows Express location in Kakaako, We went by to Hank’s Haute Dogs for lunch. The interior is well-done-up, in neo-fusion-diner style, not unlike places like Kakaako Kitchen. Both the dining area and kitchen were bright and clean.
The cashier quickly and courteously took my order and sent it back to the kitchen, where Hank himself was prepping orders.The place was crowded with mostly white-collar-types. About ten-minutes and half-a dozen orders later, I got my Brat and onion rings. Continue reading ‘Hank’s Haute Dogs’
The weather was downright beautiful on the Windward side on Wednesday afternoon, so I took the Ellsworth out for a spin to settle in the new Cane Creek Solos Headset. It didn’t really go in smoothly on Tuesday, so I was considering uninstalling it and resetting it, but the nice weather compelled me to take the bike on a shakedown ride. Initially, there was a noticeable amount of resistance on small amplitude movements. After the ride, the resistance was gone, but there was some aluminum dust appearing at the junction of the upper bearing cup and the top cap. There may be some kind of interference contact that has to be dealt with. I’ll take it out on Thursday and see what’s up. Monday’s ride was mostly seated climbs, so I did standing climbs to mix it up a bit.
D = 15.04 km (9.35-miles), Vavr = 18.3 km/h 36.4 km/h (11.4 mph), Vmax = (22.6 mph), T = 49-minutes