Broke as a spoke.

My spoke broke.

Again.

It’s the second time in a week that my bike is in the shop for the problem and frankly it pissed me off when it happened. The big ride that I’ve been planning is eight days away, and I feel like I need to be out as much as possible to prepare for it. Luckily I was heading to the gym only a few minutes from home and not up in Lambertville or Bulls Island or something ridiculous when it popped. I can change a tire on the side of the road, but that’s about the limit of my mechanical expertise at the moment.

At any rate, I called the shop – Bike King in Morrisville, PA – they remembered me, my bike and told me to bring it on in. They’re going to replace all the spokes on that wheel to make sure the problem doesn’t continue – which is cool by me.

So while I’m at the shop, I ask the guys about bike shorts. I hate to say it,
but I need to invest in ‘em. I’ve been wearing regular mesh shorts all summer, and even a 20 mile ride makes me hate my life. Ya see, bike shorts aren’t just about looking homosexual in lycra and spandexor the aerodynamics of such a snug-fit – hence these loose-style shorts which are a favorite of mountain bikers and casual riders. No, bike shorts are a necessary piece of equipment because of the chamois – or for lack of a better description, ass-and-crotch-padding.

I ask the shaggy-haired guy behind the counter if there is actually a difference between mens’ shorts and womens’ shorts. He laughed and said yes, adding with a smile, “we are different down there you know.”

Yes. I know. I’ve read about that. In books. And sometimes when boys and girls really like each other, they give each other special hugs. I digress.

Shaggy, all joking aside, took the time to actually show me the difference. In the shorts, I mean.

Wait.. None of this sounds right.

He took a pair of mens’ short and a pair of womens’ short, flipped ‘em inside out to show how different they are and why. Other than obvious differences in junk and plumbing, even our bones themselves are dissimilar – the pelvis or “sit-bone” is wider on women (for child birthin’ purposes) so the padding is shaped differently (wider, of course) for that reason alone. And anyone who has ridden a bike ten miles or more understands why that’s important. Not to mention cases of sexual dysfunction in some serious male and female riders.

By the way, the chamois on most of those baggy MTB-style shorts is gender-neutral - meaning they have largely the same padding regardless of mens' or womens'. I’m thinking that I need to be nice to my body and invest in a decent pair of shorts. And be prepared to spend $60 on even the low-end. Pun unintended.

Sometimes it’s hard for a girl with my figure to muster the lady balls - aka “thatchers” – to walk into a bike shop, let alone talk about clingy apparel with dudes. You might call me fat. doughy. pudgy. thick. or cylindrical – like a Pringles can (my very favorite self-descriptor). So, you can imagine the looks someone like me gets upon entering some shops – like what the hell is that girl doing here? And if I’ve never been in that shop before, I stand there sort of dumb-founded, wondering the same thing. I’m usually only browsing anyway, on account of being broke, so I just look at all the cool stuff I would want to buy if I could afford it or if my body-type and skill-level warranted such a purchase. But my guys? Shaggy, et al? They made me feel at home right away.

Bike King is a small shop. They don’t have huge rooms full of stock that you can get lost in – but what they do have, is excellent customer service. They proved that to me when I was shopping around for my ride, and they continue to prove that to me on the regular. That’s why they’ll be my go-to-guys for any mechanical issues I have. On the bike, that is.

In unrelated news: I’ve started freelancing, so that’s one reason for my sporadic posts recently. Working is good, especially if someone is gonna give you a few bucks for your effort. Dad is hanging in there, he’s on a new chemo regemin which is kicking his ass, but we’re not going to talk about that at the moment. Also, we have a video from the blimp ride which will be posted soon, just some last editing touches to do. And finally, I have a couple blog posts which are just itching to be written: one about Vick and the other about, shockingly enough, cycling.

And on that note, I was just informed that my baby is repaired and road-ready. So I gotta go. I have a ride to prepare for.

WMC: Can you Harvey Milk me, Focker?

Wednesday Mail Call!

When Cleve Jones woke up this morning, he had no idea he'd be penning a guest spot on the DIP. And he still doesn't know. I plucked this little dumpling as a repost from the mail bag for empowerments and edumacations.

Dear Catherine --


It has been over 30 years since my friend and teacher, gay rights activist Harvey Milk, was assassinated. Today, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people have won limited rights in a handful of states, but we are still second class citizens throughout the United States.

Harvey once said, "It takes no compromising to give people their rights."

This morning, Representative Jerrold Nadler, (D-NY) introduced a bill in Congress to repeal the so-called "Defense of Marriage Act" that bans same-sex marriages from being recognized in other states.

If passed by the Congress, the Respect Marriage Act would be a significant step forward in the march for full equality.

Join the Courage Campaign and Equality Across America and send a message to your Congressmember urging them to co-sponsor the Respect Marriage Act and to keep marching forward towards full equality for LGBTs.


Equal rights are not a "gay" issue. They are about our shared human rights: safety in our schools and jobs, equitable healthcare and housing, and protection for our families, to name a few.

Like all other Americans, LGBT people are guaranteed equal protection, but are currently denied it by Congress. Repealing DOMA is just a first step. Free and equal people do not compromise. That's why Equality Across America, the organization I founded, is marching on Washington October 11-12 with one simple demand: Equal protection for LGBT people in all matters governed by civil law in all 50 states. Now.

Please ask your Congressmember to co-sponsor the Respect Marriage Act as an important first step, and remind them that there are no fractions of equality.

When Harvey spoke at Gay Freedom Day at San Francisco City Hall in 1978, he invoked the words of the Declaration of Independence: "All [people] are created equal. No matter how hard you try, you can never erase those words."

No more compromises. We are equal.

Cleve Jones
Senior Advisor, Courage Campaign

P.S.: I am proud to announce that the Courage Campaign will be running a Camp Courage for hundreds of participants during the March on Washington. The only way we win full equality is by organizing in our own communities and Camp Courage will send the marchers home as empowered organizers who will continue to fight for full equality.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Courage Campaign is an online organizing network that empowers more than 700,000 grassroots and netroots supporters to push for progressive change and full equality in California.

PUBLIC OPTION NOW!

Wednesday night I watched the President Obama address a joint session of Congress to discuss his ideal healthcare reform bill. I watched with embarrassment while someone on the other side of the political spectrum called him a liar, and reminisced about the old days when no one called out President Bush for being a colossal liar that got 5,000 brave men and women killed in an unnecessary military venture. Ahhh, them were the days, but I digress.

See, I watched because I’m invested in this healthcare thing. It means something to me and it should mean something to you too.

There are three main facets to the Obama plan. Consumer protection , a marketplace exchange and requirement for everyone to carry health insurance like some states require every driver to carry auto insurance.

Do I like the idea of being mandated to carry health insurance? No. I’ve always been the kind of girl who when you tell me I have to do something, that’s the last thing I want to so. It’s not a non-confirmist thing, it’s being compelled that usually bothers me. But in this case things are different. See, I WANT health coverage. I need it. Not like the people in the video below - thank god – I’m lucky enough that despite being a self-proclaimed beefy lady, I’m actually in pretty good health. For this I am thankful.



But all that could change if you’re one of the uninsured and you don’t need a duly elected president to remind you that you’re only one accident or illness away from bankruptcy. Ask my friend from Upstate NY, a Lymes disease patient, who chooses between meds and rent. Ask my friend from Central Jersey, a single mother of two with a family history of heart problems – she’s in collections for an $800 EKG. You think she needs the stress of bill collectors calling for a routine preventative procedure or test? Yeah, that’s great for her heart but in reality it's only a drop in the ocean.

These are just two examples of people what I know who are falling down this rabbit hole. I’m sure I know more if I dig further. I’m sure you know someone who isn’t a deadbeat but has to face this medical insurance madness every day.

One of the great ironies of the health care crisis for me personally has been the rhetoric or “debate.” As someone with a degree in political science, I’ve always had an appreciation (even if sometimes disdain) for the political process and now – at one of the most important times for millions upon millions of uninsured Americans – the dialogue has been hijacked by our own extremists who would rather rip this debate to shreds than find the common ground we need to forge meaningful change. It makes me sick, pun unintended.

If you take the president at his word, he won’t sign any program that will add a dime to the deficit – and let’s face it, it’s not like the previous administration ever cared about that. If it was up to them, they would’ve privatized social security and fed it to the stock market. Yeah, that woulda been cute. I digress.

Personally, I’m in favor of adding the public option to the insurance “exchange” that is being discussed. I just don’t believe that the collective bargaining power of the uninsured will be strong enough to achieve affordable plans without the public option. It will foster competition for insurance companies which will help the individual consumer within that market place. Also, if I’m paying into the system, I’d rather not have that system spend money on advertising and crap that has the company logo on it for giveaways. I don’t need all that garbage, I’d rather have the money go to good doctors who can help keep me healthy.

I also believe that affordable coverage for the individual consumer would spur entrepreneurialism – people just might feel more comfortable starting their own business or going to work for a small business (an independent spirit our country was founded in). Think about it. Americans would be able to pursue their true talents as opposed to finding some corporate machine job that they are interested in based on access to benefits alone. There’s nothing wrong with that if that’s what you want, but if you’re me, having the option to do something different (and still feel safe and secure about it) is a good thing.

That’s why I support the public option and emailed my three representatives in Congress and the White House urging them to stand fast on this piece of the healthcare reform puzzle. I urge you to think about this rationally and make a little bit of constructive noise. I urge you to email your representatives. They need to know where you stand on this (even if it’s not with me). If you’re not sure who your Congressional representatives are click here for House and click here for the Senate. I can see how the House might be confusing, but you really should know who your Senators are.. and they’re the ones that need to hear from you the most.

After the President’s speech I turned on Comedy Central. I’d like to say that I needed something lighthearted to concentrate on after that very emotional and stirring address, but it’s actually just what’s usually on in my room.

Chris Rock’s 1999 comedy special Bigger and Blacker was on, and at one point he said, ”you better have some medical insurance or you gonna die.” It’s not funny, precisely because it’s true. I’ve been saying something sadly like it for years. People without health insurance go bankrupt or just die.

Seriously. Doing nothing or falling back on half-assed reforms will cost more in both money and lives than you can even imagine. And there is no amount of Robitussin that Chris Rock’s dad can pour on this one to fix things.



If you’d like to read more about comprehensive health reform, click here. I have no intention of finding the lame GOP-friendly sites who would like nothing better than to torpedo reform and maintain the status quo. Frankly, because they’ve sucked up enough of our attention.

It’s simple mantra that I’d like for you to repeat: A healthy America is a strong America.

Did you hear that? A healthy America is a strong America.

Seems like it would make sense, doesn’t it?

Does this blimp make my ass look fat?

Today, the Caperello family got the chance to share something totally unique – a ride on an airship. A blimp. It was freakin’ awesome.

The event, a birthday celebration for cancer survivors explained in my last post, was put on by the American Cancer Society (the official sponsor of birthdays) and Horizon Blue Cross & Blue Shield. My mom who works for ACS got an email from the event coordinator that some media would be present and wanted to interview my dad. The Ewing Observer is a local, monthly paper – the most recent edition came out yesterday, so it’ll be a while before we can read their account of today's happenings.

I said,"They want to interview you! That’s pretty cool, huh Pops?" His response was nonchalant.

“I’ll answer any questions they have," he said, "but I want them to know that every American deserves healthcare.”

Yes. My pop’s initial reaction was to use the publicity as a pulpit for the healthcare crisis. We wore matching red t-shirts that read, The healthcare crisis is a cancer crisis on one side and Make health insurance adequate, affordable, available, administratively simple on the other side.

I’m not entirely sure where Horizon stands on healthcare reform, but the reps there at Solebury Airfield couldn’t have been nicer. We won't see the article for some time to know if dad got his message out, but at a certain moment, it was all about the blimp, baby.

And that moment was right about here:


That's dad in the red.
Captain Terry (seen below) dropped some knowledge on me n moms while they had dad in the air with the reporter from the Ewing Observer.


Fun facts:

• There are 22 airships in the world, 3 are owned by Goodyear

• There is $50,000 worth of helium in that thar blimp

• This blimp has 2 pilots and a crew of 11 (Terry had the morning shift, so his partner or “line pilot” I believe he was called, is at the helm with my pops)

• Blimps don’t do snow or ice. After Sept 13 it’s going to its’ home in North Carolina. At 25 mph it takes about 12 hours to get where they have to go. I wouldn’t mind going for that ride if it was during the day and I had an appropriate amount of beer or scotch.

• On a scale of 1-10, ten being perfect – Terry rated today’s weather of 82-degrees and clear blue skies as an 11.

After a ten-minute ride they circled back to drop off the reporter (Diccon Hyatt is actually the community editor, but I digress) and pick up mom and myself.

I took an embarrassing amount of photos – the whole album will be up on Facebook shortly, but here are some of my favorites:


Pre-flight interview.


Maybe you can tell, maybe you can't - but the level of excitement is off the charts!


Momma & me: excited and nervous.


That's a propeller spinning around. It sounded like a mega-souped-up lawn mower.


The pilot steers the rudders with wheels on each side of his seat which makes him look a little like Joe from Family Guy. He doesn't look like he's going anywhere, but in fact, he is.


Two of my favorites: Round Valley Resevoir and Spruce Run in the distance.


The center gauge on the top row says we're at 1300 feet - the pilot says it's the perfect altitude for sight-seeing.


Airfield wildflowers.


Coming in for a landing!


Terra firma.

The wind was a little disconcerting. You could feel the airship being pushed by strong gusts. I've been parasailing before, but it's an entirely different effect. The feeling of lightly propelled floating at that altitude is unmatched.

Here is the bio of my dad that he and I wrote at ACS’ request:


Frank is 62 and has spent over 40 years working as an IT professional – and is very excited about this blimp ride! He loves the idea of simply being able to float above the Earth and look down. In a hot air balloon, he says, you’re at the mercy of the wind and might not be able to see something you’d like to, but in a blimp you have directionality in where you float. Airplanes move too fast at low levels to see anything and at higher altitudes, you can’t see anything because it’s too far away. He just thinks it would be a really neat thing to experience.

Frank has been fighting stage four metastatic pancreatic cancer since fall of 2007. It has been a tough journey thus far, but with total support from his family and friends, he refuses to give in and is hunkered down for the long haul. He’s also impressed by the spirit of those he has encountered at his various doctor’s offices and even his local pharmacy; finding that healthcare professionals and the people working with them have been extremely caring and loving individuals.

Frank is proud that the American Cancer Society the sponsor of his next birthday, October 8.


Yeah, my pops wasn’t just excited – he was thrilled. It felt so good to see that smile on his face.


That's our shadow, man. Far out.

By popular demand (I've always wanted to say that), you can click here to see the entire photo album.

Things I’m excited about this fall for $400, Alex.

Well this has been an interesting and exciting summer in more than a few ways. A quick round up reminds me of turning 30 with some of my best friends in Baltimore, going camping in the Catskills and visiting some great peeps in Albany, taking control of my life using Livestrong, volunteering for the LS Challenge in Philly, getting a new kick-ass bike and using it to push my limits and explore this area of the Jerz, making some new friends and getting to spend a bunch of time with my dad – helping to take care of him and such.

But the arrival of September, while it signals summer is drawing to a close, does not mean that the fun stops there. Oh no, there is a whole lot going on this autumn and they fall into two general categories:

Gear and Rides:


This is a Camelbak hydration system. It’s a fancy backpack that holds 100 oz of water. It would have been very useful while I was out riding on 95 degree days and stealing water from garden hoses in the mountains. But that’s ok, I have it now, and not only is it way more comfy than the bag I’ve been using, but it’s also in this color called “cheddar” (mmm, cheese)which will help people see me and is perfect for leaf peeping and hunting seasons. No, I don’t hunt, but I don’t want to be mistaken for a large, huntable animal out on the trails either. It could happen.


This is a bar-map. It is basically a piece of plastic that holds maps and route instructions, and velcros to your handlebars. You may be asking, Catherine, don’t you have a GPS? Yes, I do, but I am a cartography nerd and this way I can plan my exact route without “the bitch” (that’s why I call the GPS voice) telling me the fastest route by car, which is not necessarily the best or safest route by bicycle.

I have one more piece of gear that is shipping to me today called a RoadID. It’s an ID tag that fastens onto a bracelet, anklet, shoe lace or you can get it as military-style dog tags. My mom is always very worried about me when I go out for hours on end, which is understandable, and this little item will identify me in an emergency even if my cell phone is busted and my driver’s license is lost or stolen. While the people at Road ID slacked a little on a specific customer service request, they did send me an online coupon for me to provide to my friends, undoubtedly with hopes to boost their sales, but it’s a purchase to consider if you’re the active or outdoorsy-type. Coupon Number: ThanksCatherine534854. This coupon is good for $1 off any Road ID order. It can be used up to 20 times in the next 30 days, so get crackin'.

I can’t wait to get all this stuff together and go for my next long ride (tomorrow, perhaps?) because I’m training for a 50 mile ride (aka half-century) to take place on Oct. 4. It’s called the Pumpkin Patch Pedal and winds through some of the most beautiful farmland in central Jersey. I’m excited. It was a goal I set in the back of my head for July and I’m feeling pretty good about it. Hope the weather and my knees all cooperate.

No, not everything on this post will be about my bike.

Fun times:

In addition to things I love every fall like leaf peeping (which will definitely be enhanced by long descents down winding roads or trails) and pumpkin hunting and carving, I’m also looking forward to camping. I’ll be going with one of my best friends, her husband and two kids – I’m looking for a place that I went to years ago that has a haunted hay ride for the youngins, they should like that.

Last year I enjoyed some mid-October camping in the Catskills for another best friend’s 29th birthday. I think autumn camping is my favorite because of the colors, the ability to comfortably wear hoodies all day long, you don’t wake up sweating in your tent in the morning and the beer stays colder longer while sitting around the fire. It sure does get cold though if you’re tenting alone, that’s why I cuddle with rocks from the outside of the campfire ring. It does the trick, trust me. This year Shan is turning 30 and while I secretly hope she will choose camping again this year, I can’t wait to see whatever hijinx and shenanigans she decides on.

Also, I am ready for some football!! Hell, I’m already enjoying some preseason games, but I cannot wait for Week 1. I’m an Eagles fan, and I’ve got some thoughts on the whole Michael Vick thing – but I’m not getting into it now. Perhaps later this week.

Lastly, and most immediate, is Thursday’s blimp ride. Yeah, you heard me: blimp ride. The American Cancer Society is having a birthday party for cancer survivors this week, and included in the festivities is the option to take a ride on the Horizon blimp. Although my dad is a Libra, he gets to partake in these festivities. And he is soo excited! We’re all really looking forward to it. I’ll write about that and include some pictures at the end of the week also.

So, for the most part, that’s that. Of course I’m looking forward to spending time with the people I care about most as well as getting to know some of the new people I’ve met recently, and now that cooler weather is here, I’m gonna be making more soups and stuff – which reminds me, the stuff on the stove should be ready right about now.

It’s always bitter-sweet to see summer go, but what are you looking forward to?