Everyday I have the Blues

Tour de Germany

Did you know that Volkswagen's "focus on mobility" extends beyond cars to two-wheelers? Neither did we until VW research and development chief Dr. Ulrich Hackenberg said so at this week's Auto China 2010 show. Hackenberg introduced the VW bik.e, a battery-powered two-wheeler that resembles a bicycle without the pedals.
According to Autobloggreen, the specs look pretty good: a 12.5 mile range (perfect for short trips around town, nothing more), a top speed of 12.5 mph, and most impressively, the bike can easily fold into a disc that fits in a car's spare tire compartment.
VW hasn't revealed when--or if--the concept bike will go on sale, but chances are good that it will be commercialized at some point soon. What do you think--would you ride around on such a tiny contraption? Video of the bike in action is below. Just skip past the part with the goofy undersea dancers.

Fluid Dynamics 2

Eyjafjallajokull April.17 2010 HD from Jonmundur on Vimeo.

Bob, The Hoods, and Bill

Had a great ride on Sunday.  The usual groundhog parcours.  John and Camille Hood were in town visiting from Franklin, NC.  We picked them up on Winner-Foster and they rode with our group through Fulshear and Simonton and back to Winner-Foster.   Really nice to ride with them again.  John half wheeling me all the way from Simonton to our turn off onto Pool Hill road - speed increasing all the way.  Just like his Dad, it is in his blood.

Not far past the turn off of Winner-Foster heading North onto FM 359 we ran into Bob Parnell and Xena riding south.  Bob is a Houston cycling legend. The Natural - natural ability to ride the bike.  They turned around and road the last 10 miles or so with us back to Katy.  Bob was diagnosed with brain cancer around a year and one half ago.  Has had surgery to remove the brain tumor, initially looked like it was staying away, but it came back.  Underwent experimental chemo treatment, but, he is losing the battle.  It turns out it was his birthday and a bunch of people came to his house on Saturday and he loved it.  He said it was the best birthday ever and that he was so "amped up" he couldn't go to sleep for quite awhile.  He pulled out his Calfee and donned an Al Wahley world championship jersey, that Al had signed and given to him, and went for a ride - first time in quite a while and maybe the last.  His muscles have atrophied and he has lost a lot of weight.  It was really nice to see him.  Bob is/was one of the good guys of the west Houston peloton.  He lived for the Kirkwood Ride/race.  Always working on the front of the pack, or off the front in a breakaway.  Yet, for such a clique-ish bunch of elite cyclist, and Bob being one of the best, he was always the kind of guy to provide encouraging words and support to the new guys/outsiders such as me 20 years ago.

Bill Edwards, another, older, cycling legend from Houston passed away yesterday after a long bout with cancer.  Bill spent a lot of his time training and coaching young riders using a classic training method emphasizing an intensity building pyramid method.

La Doyenne

Liège-Bastogne-Liège, the last of the Spring Classics.  258 km - the oldest and toughest of the spring classics.  The famous Côte de la Redoute (8.4%) and the final Côte Saint-Nicholas (11%) are leg breakers and should produce the final selection.

I was very surprised that Cadel Evans was able to go around Alberto Contador on the Mur de Huy at Fleche-Wallonne.  Although that clearly says that Cadel is in exceptional form (and that Contador went too soon), I am suspecting that Schleck brothers may have another one-two punch up their sleeve today.  If not, Phillipe Gilbert was in sparkling good form winning the Amstel Gold race two weeks ago.

I'm going with Andy Schleck to repeat last years win.

My Generation

Ladies and Gentlemen:
WES has been gallantly carrying the weight of the Blog on his shoulders and in an effort to maintain the Friday evening music interlude I offer classics from our Generation, inspired from my viewing of Pirate Radio tonight.
Rock and Roll my friends.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=594WLzzb3JI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_81PchgI7A&feature=channel

Transocean Horizon

Fifth generation drilling rig designed for ultra-deep water built in 2001...

This is an exploration drilling rig.  I don't do these, although this was a good rig.

The media does not understand that this platform is not intended to produce oil and gas, but, to explore for oil and gas.

When drilling a well in a new location, there is uncertainty as to the pressure regime that will be encountered.  Basically, the pressure gradient is equal to the density of water/unit depth.  However, when encountering hydrocarbon bearing sands, there is typically an over pressured zone.  This over pressured zone has to be counter-balance with the density of the drilling fluid/mud, which is controlled by the rig operators.

Sounds like they ran into a fault while drilling a wildcat exploration well and they had "lost circulation" - that means the mud that is used to balance the pressure in the hole that they are drilling was not circulating back to the rig, but was "lost" into the fault.  Eventually, if they cannot plug the well, they loose all of their mud down the fault and if the seafloor BOP (blow out preventer - multiple remotely operated valves that can shut off the well bore at the seafloor) also fails, then the unbalanced well blows out sending hydrocarbons up the drilling riser and on to the rig floor and catches fire with a big boom.  You know, like the old school pictures of Teapot Dome and other classic movies, only not with the romanticized benign rain of oil, but, with an explosion and fire.

I would be surprised if the missing crew members are alive, that was a big explosion and fire.

Not good for the people.  Not good for the industry.  Not good for the politics.