Doored!

It was statistically inevitable, as much as I ride in Chicago, that I would be doored. (Careful, link may not be suitable for work due to language!) It happened this past Friday as I was riding home around 11:30 p.m. - some a$$hat flug open the taxi door into the bike lane, and I was skidding across the asphalt. I didn't hit my head or break anything, but I got scraped and banged up pretty good. That's the bruise on my left bicep; there's a matching one on my left thigh, and smaller ones scattered around my left arm & leg.

What really cheese me off is that the jerk excused himself for not looking first because it was "so late" and offered a measly $20 for a tuneup. Nobody thinks it's too late to look for a pedestrian or a car, but apparently bicyclists have a curfew I didn't know about. And $20 for a tuneup?!? A basic tuneup is $50 or more, which I told him and he dismissed, even though I threatened to call the cops and get him ticketed and mentioned that I'm a lawyer. I got so sick of his bull that I ended up walking away.

Well - now I'm mad at myself because I should have called the cops. I wasn't entirely confident I knew the ordinance, and the truth is it's much more stringent than I realized. Since he caused a bike crash, he should have gotten a hefty $500 ticket.

So listen up, Chicago: a copy of the ordinance is going into my bike bag. If I get doored again - which I hope I don't! - or see someone else doored, it's coming out, the police will be called, and a ticket will be issued. If you don't care about sending a bicyclist flying, maybe you'll care about the $500 fine.

Team Crusty Rides the Metric Century!

Last month, Team Crusty participated in the Apple Cider Century. In a bold move, we decided to ride the Metric Century - otherwise known as 62 miles. The weather was gorgeous, lots of sunshine and comfortably warm. The "extra" 12 mile loop was at the beginning and had a lot of long hills, so we were pretty pooped by the first stop. But we actually did it! (With a lot of whining and groaning!)

The ACC was completely full this year with the maximum of 5,000 participants. We had numbers 4999 and 5000 - which drew a lot of attention during the ride! In fact, our numbers overshadowed the Team Crusty uniform touques. Maybe we need a flashier team uniform...

Lollapalooza '08

August in Chicago - Lollapalooza time. This year I only bought a one-day ticket, for the first day. The only day of the weekend, it turned out, to be 90 degrees and exceptionally humid - just my luck!

As always, I ended up deviating from my plan. Manchester Orchestra didn't do much for me, so I ended up wandering around during their set. K'NAAN was playing when I got there, and I ended up staying for them, despite not having liked the preview clips.


The main reason I had chosen Friday was to see Duffy, and I managed to get right up in front of the stage for her. I read reviews afterward that she was, basically, bland and too clean-cut for Lollapalooza - which is silly; Amy Winehouse-like behavior isn't necessary to be a great singer. And Duffy's voice literally gave me goose bumps.


Friday ended up being sold out - depending on the source, there were 75,000 to 100,000 people there. And after Duffy's set, I could tell. Moving between the two ends of the festival became very difficult due to the crowds, and water fountains had a 30-45 minute wait. I stuck it out for Gogol Bordello, Bloc Party, and CSS, all of which were excellent. But after CSS, it was too much, and I bailed on Radiohead.


As I got my bike, I saw several couples on blankets in the park around the bike racks, listening to Radiohead... no crowds, great sound - the best seats in the house.

Cheese, Glorious Cheese!

The American Cheese Society (that's American... Cheese Society, not American Cheese...Society) held their annual conference in Chicago at the end of July. On the Saturday of the conference, there was an event open to the public: the Festival of Cheese. Over 1,000 cheese would be available! I had to go.

Once there, I gazed in awe at the Chicago skyline carved out of cheese. I sampled cheese after cheese after cheese until it dawned on me - there is such a thing as too much cheese! They began to taste the same. I took a break, then headed back for some lighter fare, including a lavender honey goat cheese that I fell in love with.

The next day, the leftover cheese was sold to the public. I got there too late for any of the really unusual cheese, but a friend and I managed to buy some cheddars and monterey jacks - I think we ended up with about 30 pounds for $30. Our diets are very cheese-based now!

Toe-tal Misadventure

Last week, I had a misadventure. While leaving the apartment building, I thought I would prop the front door open while opening my umbrella. This was a bad plan. The door caught my big toe under the nail. At first I thought it was just a stubbed toe; then I saw blood; then I felt lots of pain.

I cursed and gasped my way up the stairs to my apartment, took off my bloody shoe (this is not a British curse, the shoe had a pool of blood), and doused the toe in Bactine. Then I made two calls: one to work calling in sick, and one to Dr. Dad.

At first we thought it was okay to treat at home, but eventually it became clear from the amount of pain and the bizarre angle of the nail that professional treatment was necessary. In the end, the podiatrist had to remove the nail (providing a couple of blissfully numb hours from the local anesthesia!).

So, poor Mr. Toe is naked. Tomorrow I go back to the podiatrist for a checkup; hopefully, she will confirm that the nail will grow back - although this is a long process, and can take up to 12 months. At least the pain is less than it was the first few days.

The Adventures Continue

This month's adventures took place in Colorado. First, we went to Karla & Jason's cabin near Fairplay. We went sledding on a former ski hill, which was a blast; I think the last time I went sledding was in college. Sadly, we only have a photo of G.Nome and I; nobody had a camera out when I accidentally steered toward a ski jump made of snow and achieved vertical lift. After an hour of Extreme Sledding, I was fortunate enough to walk away with only a minor thumb injury.


Next it was on to Rifle and Glenwood Springs. Chris and I took a cave tour, which was very cool, with lots of beautiful formations. My previous underground experience was in mines (copper, which I was too young to remember, and salt, which was beautiful), so this was something new. I've been promised a more hardcore cave excursion in the future - more horizontal touring than upright!


We also went on the Canyon Flyer, which was basically an alpine slide but on rails, like a one-person roller coaster. It was AMAZING. The first time down, I braked a little on the curves, where I felt I was going to fly off. The second time, I was a brakeless daredevil!!!

Hopefully I will go back to Colorado, especially Glenwood, for future adventures. There's a beautiful bike trail there I'd like to check out. And I'd love to see a more exotic wild animal than the geese and chipmunks I spotted on this trip!

In Memory of Dzia Dzia: 1914 - 2008

Last week, Joseph J. Zalenski - my grandfather - passed away at age 93. And while it's sad for my grandmother, for me, and for the rest of the family, he had a long wonderful life.

Dzia Dzia's life began in a time when the world was industrializing, when cars and phones were fairly new and televisions were yet to come. He was one of the "Greatest Generation" and in so many ways, his values reflected that. His devotion to his family and pride in the accomplishments of his children and grandchildren were unwavering.

He was a man of many names. The grandkids all called him Dzia Dzia (Polish for "grandfather"). His Army buddies knew him as Slim. My Busia (grandmother) and other people called him "Iggy." In recent years, I started calling him "Bonesy" - the nickname he gave me when was a teenager - because he became so thin.

Throughout his life, he had almost as many jobs as he had nicknames. He worked for a butcher; he played basketball - fantastically! - and worked for Great Lakes Steel; he was a cook in the Army in Europe during World War II; he was a police officer and detective with the Wyandotte Police; while at the police department, he was also a process server.

To me, though, the most important job he had was Dzia Dzia. And he was very good at it! I have so many memories of the time that I spent with him while growing up. Walking to St. Stan's to get the basket blessed on Easter Saturday. Watching t.v. and eating sunflower seeds at Busia & Dzia Dzia's when we spent the night. Dzia "fishing" (umm, napping!) at Kensington while Bill and I ran around like little "monsters." Eating the world's best pancakes - nobody but Dzia could make them so good. Going to polka festivals and watching Busia & Dzia Dzia dance and dance and dance. Taking a "short cut" on the way to serve papers.

The family always had our little jokes. Dzia Dzia would always moan that we were sending him to the poorhouse when Busia and I went shopping, and that he still wore the socks he got married in. So one Christmas, I gave him a pair of socks. Another Christmas, he got a football helmet to wear when he banged his head against the wall after hearing how much money was spent. It was that much more funny because he was always generous and willing to help out when someone, including me, needed to get past a rough spot.

I loved to hear his stories about his life. Especially in later years, he would talk about when he was in the Army. Some stories were funny, like when he stole the bike from the German. Others were sad, like knowing his baby son (my uncle) was sick and not knowing whether he was still alive. Every story told me about a different facet of him, about different experiences that he had lived through. Eventually, his stories inspired Bill and I (aka Team Crusty) to trace part of his tour of duty, to bring back to Dzia Dzia photos and video of the places he had never seen again due to his fear of flying. I'll never forget how amazed and touched Dzia was to see the video of the hospital he'd been in in Liege, and how happy it made me to be able to give that to him.

I'm going to miss Dzia Dzia terribly. He has given me, and others, so much. But - as trite as it may sound - I know that he will always be with me, in the stories he told and the memories I treasure. And for that I am grateful.

No Feats in February

That's "feats," folks - I still have "feets."

What can I say, I dropped the ball again this month. I've had a lot going on, though, and to be honest just didn't have the energy left to dream up an adventure and carry it out.

Next month is good to go, though: I'll be hopping up on a horse for the first time in oh, about 20 years! Yikes. And I'll be spending my birthday in a gorgeous place with an eclectic group of fantastic people. It's gonna be great.

And after that - I'll keep looking for new and fun adventures. I'm sure I'll find them!