Yes, I know that backing up to the cloud would solve all of this problem. But that’s still a bit expensive, and what I did worked fine. I also found a trick to make it a little better.

I now have a Recovery directory that contains the following soft links

• 1Password.agilekeychain
• LogicBlox.tmbundle
• LogicBloxOpenVPN.config.conf
• Settings.textexpander
• dot_bash_profile
• dot_hgrc

One command can copy the link contents to the SD Memory card I carry on most trips.

cp -RL . /Volumes/DAN_512/

Now I don’t have to suffer without my syntax highlighting and shortcuts.

A rail corridor must include, but not be limited to the following:

* 75 feet of right of way on each side of the tracks and no more than one grade level crossing per mile.
* Study and approval of ground contamination problems by the EPA.
* Crossing arms that cannot be avoided by drivers.
* Welded rail.
* Bells, not whistles, at intersections.
* Berms along the MN&S to reduce sound pollution.
* Landscaping to discourage people (especially students) from crossing the tracks.
* Sound walls on the BNSF east of the MN&S spur to reduce sound pollution.
* Removal of the switching wye in the Elmwood neighborhood
* A pedestrian bridge crossing the BNSF tracks to connect the either the Birchwood or Lake Forest neighborhood to the “West End” commercial area.

From: lapray@comcast.net [mailto:lapray@comcast.net]
Sent: Friday, June 11, 2010 8:22 AM
To: SLP Neighborhood Associations
Subject: Safety in the Park

Hello,

As you may have heard there are big potential changes coming to the heart of St. Louis Park. These changes involve the proposed re-routing of heavy freight rail traffic from the east/west Canadian Pacific tracks along Highway 7 to the North/South MN&S tracks that run past St. Louis Park High School and Methodist Hospital.

A grass-roots multi-neighborhood organization called Safety in the Park has been established to ensure the safety, livability and property values of residents in St. Louis Park. Leaders of Safety in the Park have participated in every study, consultancy, meeting, dialogue and task force on this issue for the last 10 years. We are currently working with Hennepin County, the City of St. Louis Park and the State of Minnesota on solutions. We are well informed and well organized. We are not opposed to light rail.

Safety is our greatest goal. To achieve this goal we are encouraging Hennepin County to reevaluate the freight-rail corridor options when planning for the displacement of freight-rail traffic currently running on the Kenilworth corridor. If the Kenilworth corridor is deemed unworkable, we respectfully demand that the MN&S spur-line route, which runs north/south through St. Louis Park, be upgraded to create a rail corridor on par with the Kenilworth and 29th Street corridors.

If we are unsuccessful in changing the plans of Hennepin County and unsuccessful in getting the mitigation needed, the entire face of St. Louis Park will change. The trains that currently parallel to Highway 7 with two grade level crossings will go through the heart of St. Louis Park on the MN&S spur, mostly on tracks that are within a few feet of resident backyards and within feet of the high school. On this rail line the trains will have 14 grade level crossing (Excelsior Blvd. just west of Hwy 100 and Dakota Ave. near the High School are the most prominent) making travel around St. Louis Park dangerous whether one is in a car, on foot or on a bicycle. Because there are so many crossings so close together, emergency vehicles will be hampered.

Although your neighborhood is not directly affected by these changes, those of us nearest the tracks fear not only for the safety of the community first (especially the High School Students,) but we are also saddened by the thought of reduced livability and property values for all residents of St Louis Park.
We need Hennepin County to know that St. Louis Park is not split on this issue. Therefore, we need your help. Please consider joining Safety in the Park. Help us make everyone in SLP safe.
If you have questions about the rail issue or about Safety in the Park, please feel free to contact either of us.

Best regards,

Jami LaPray, lapray@comcast.net and Thom Miller, thom@two-rivers.com

Co-Chairs of Safety in the Park. Visit our Facebook page at “Safety in the Park”.

The best bottles are the ones you get for free or find on the trail full of cold beer. But if you have to buy some bottles, pay a bit extra and get these, I think.

* about 9 hrs 15 min, averaged 12.5 mph when the bike was moving
* 39 x 19 gearing was perfect
* why is the best track through the gravel always on the left?
* first mistake: using an untested mix in water bottles
* second mistake: riding the first 20 miles too hard
* at mile 25 I was overheated, dehydrated, and imagining a DNF
* guzzled my one bottle of straight water in the next 10 miles and felt much better
* drank 3 x 24 oz bottles of plain water over 20 miles from Preston to Forestville
* climbs out of Forestville were long walks for me
* 183rd Ave, northbound, into the wind will give me nightmares for months to come
* on Nature Road I started to have fun and enjoy the scenery
* thanks to Mark for the training rides and waiting
* thanks to Craig for pics and Surly at the finish
* thanks to Chris for a super event

I just replaced them using the REI 100% satisfaction guarantee, because the original pair developed a short-circuit near the jack, in the button circuit. When carrying the phone in a loose jacket pocket, the pause and fast-forward functions were out of control.

I hope this new pair lasts better, because I really like them. I might even buy a short extension cable, just so I can limit the short-circuit to that easily replaceable jack.

http://www.skullcandy.com/shop/asym-black-red-micd.html

I’m having problems with my left foot & ankle. Last week I was sure it was planar fasciitis, but last night it felt like achilles tendonitis. How do I pile on the base miles but rest that?

Took my new Handsome Devil out for a shakedown cruise this morning in the fresh snow and aging ice fields of Minneapolis. Visited Hurl at CRC & Jesse at Handsome to show off.

Initial ride impression: This bike is smooth. Like my old Falcon. I like it. My track bike was so twitchy, which I realize now was not ideal.

The build was easy as follows:

* Handsome Devil frame and fork via CRC
* According to Jesse, I am the first customer to own the Handsome branded seat collar :-D
* Origin 8 headset installed at CRC
* Shimano UN-53 bottom bracket from old bike (110mm spindle length)
* Shimano 105 square taper cranks from eBay
* Time ATAC Alium (newer style) pedals from old bike
* Surly fixed-fixed hubset, originally 120mm spaced out to 130 (chain line looks good on inside ring)
* Nitto Moustache Bar w/ cheap stem from old bike
* Brooks B-17 w/ cheap post from old bike
* Fenders from my parts bin
* Assorted stainless fasteners from my local hardware store. I’m especially pleased with the 5mm long set screws used to plug the shifter boss and fork rack threads.

The build was difficult in two ways:

* The drive side dropout was too tight for the hub axle. It looked slightly squished which may have happened in transit or in my garage. I spaced it out a bit using gentle pressure on a pry bar.
* The bottom bracket threads were very clean, but I needed a 5 x 0.8 tap to clean out the threads on all the bosses.

I sent my postcard in for the Almanzo 100 so I need to ride. I was successful in dressing for the weather, but not in bike prep.

Head to toe I wore fleece hat, headband, sunglasses, face mask, neck gaiter, poly tee, wool long-sleeve base, wool sweater, heavy winter shell, heavy ski gloves, cycling shorts, heavy tights, poly wind pants, wool socks, winter boots. I should have worn ski bibs instead of my lightweight poly wind pants, and I need to buy a pair of mittens or equip a bike with wind protection for my fingers.

Bikes were a problem. The IRO Mark V fixed gear has no brakes, so flat pedals are out. But my Adidas cycling boots are not warm enough for 0 deg F. I wanted to ride the BoSS, but I found that the brakes were frozen in place from the freezing rain and grime of our road trip home. I departed optimistically on the ExtraSpesh, after swapping pedals from the BoSS. All went well for about 5 minutes, when a 20-second hiss drained the air from my front tire.

Of course, I raided the ExtraCycle’s usual tool kit when we left for our road trip, so I was without tube, wrench for lug nuts, and tire levers. I briskly walked the bike home. By avoiding a stop at the coffee shop I was able to call it “some exercise,” plus the boys are dying to go skate later today.

There’s a slight thaw in the forecast so I’ve put off bike maintenance until I get back from Atlanta…