# super soggy Baltimore 1/14



## Arby (Apr 29, 2004)

Yes, that's right. Super soggy. 

As I laid in bed last night listening to big fat rain drops impact on Earth I only thought about how wet I'd be by the time I got to work. When I woke this morning, the same tapping, liquid sound was still there. (insert grumbling here) When I stepped out the front door this morning there was pouring rain as the Light Rail rumbled by. Off I went, on my way to work. I stopped and hung out under the cover of the entrance to the Enoch Pratt Library and took a couple pictures before fully committing to my journey to work. 

In a dry set of clothes now, with a fresh strong cup of java now. Feelin' ok. 

Have a great day everyone; I'm going to do the same.
RB

Wet Baltimore this morning at 6:45am:


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## northcoast (Jul 11, 2003)

Mornin' RB,
Sorry about the rain, man. Nice pics, though. I bought one of those Chrome bags a while back and love it. Everything inside looks nice and dry.
Later,
TY


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## Arby (Apr 29, 2004)

*Roger that.*



northcoast said:


> Mornin' RB,
> Sorry about the rain, man. Nice pics, though. I bought one of those Chrome bags a while back and love it. Everything inside looks nice and dry.
> Later,
> TY


That's a big 10-4. Chrome bags keep everything nice and dry. have a good ride in today brotha!
RB


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## MarkS (Feb 3, 2004)

*Watch out for flooding on the way home*

I had to drive in this morning. As I was leaving, the stream by my house was flooding. By the time I reached the Mill Center on Falls Road, the police had closed Falls Road becasue the Jones Fallls was reaching flood stage. Even the streets downtown have standing water on them. Try to stay on high ground on your ride home -- there are lots of potholes under the standing water.


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## Arby (Apr 29, 2004)

*Yeah deffinitely...*



MarkS said:


> Try to stay on high ground on your ride home -- there are lots of potholes under the standing water.


Good morning Mark,

I hear you on that. I went through one deep puddle this morning and was lucky not to hit anything hiding in it (pot holes, man hole cover lips). Today was the wettest commute I've had so far. The rain seemed to blow at me from every direction. God bless Bell Weather gear. My upper body stayed dry. 

Have a great day Mark,
RB


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## FishrCutB8 (Aug 2, 2004)

Your shots are always great. What kind of camera do you use?


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## Arby (Apr 29, 2004)

*Thanks*



FishrCutB8 said:


> Your shots are always great. What kind of camera do you use?


Fishorcutbait,

Thanks, I try to get atleast a couple neat pictures in each post, the rest are just snapshots on the way to work. I use a Panasonic FZ1 digital camera most of the time. It's only a 2 megapixle camera, nothing special but it has a couple neat modes that let you leave the shutter open for a little longer than normal, and you can adjust the exposure settings. This is my camera that is always on my person. 

I also use a Nikon D70 which is a digital SLR 6.3 megapixle camera body that enable you to use multiple lenses and you can go fully manual with it. I have a couple lenses for this camera. I seldom take it on my work commutes because I don't have any type of service plan for this camera (if I fall and break it, that's it). I mostly use this camera when I'm not on the bike, or when I'm acutally doing a series of something.

Glad you enjoy the pictures, I take pictures everyday anyway, posting them is a lot of fun for me!

Is it lunch time yet? 
RB


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## FishrCutB8 (Aug 2, 2004)

_Is it lunch time yet_ 

I eat two lunches, so yes and no. I had one at 10.30, the second will be around 1.00....


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## Arby (Apr 29, 2004)

*Veggie sub for me today*



FishrCutB8 said:


> _Is it lunch time yet_
> 
> I eat two lunches, so yes and no. I had one at 10.30, the second will be around 1.00....


I just put my order in for a 16" overstuffed veggie sub with extra mayo. Now time will slow down untill it arrives of course. I get a half hour for lunch. Usually I make sammiches here but on payday's like today, I order out. 

RB B hungry.


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## FishrCutB8 (Aug 2, 2004)

Step away from the Mayo....


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## jumpstumper (Aug 17, 2004)

Well, you did say you wanted to move to SuperSoggy Portland, OR... Right? 



Arby said:


> Yes, that's right. Super soggy.
> 
> As I laid in bed last night listening to big fat rain drops impact on Earth I only thought about how wet I'd be by the time I got to work. When I woke this morning, the same tapping, liquid sound was still there. (insert grumbling here) When I stepped out the front door this morning there was pouring rain as the Light Rail rumbled by. Off I went, on my way to work. I stopped and hung out under the cover of the entrance to the Enoch Pratt Library and took a couple pictures before fully committing to my journey to work.
> 
> ...


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## Arby (Apr 29, 2004)

*Yeah Portland would be awesome...*



jumpstumper said:


> Well, you did say you wanted to move to SuperSoggy Portland, OR... Right?


It's either Portland or Seattle... but we're leaning towards Portland. Portland is not as wet as Seattle is it? My girl and I have a lot of research to do yet. It will be about a year and a half atleast, untill we do move though. We have to save and I have to get a job lined up out there before we move. 

Is Portland that rainy? It's supposed to be the most bike friendly place in the US. I only know that it's beautiful and the air is a lot fresher/cleaner than the "air" here in Baltimore. 

RB


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## Arby (Apr 29, 2004)

*sonofa....*



FishrCutB8 said:


> Step away from the Mayo....


I said "cold" veggie sub.... they heated it up! My veggies were far from crispy and my extra mayo turned to oily soggy bread..... sonofa.....

I'm in love with Mayo. Nothing worse than a dry sammich. Except maybe no sammich at all.

*burp*
May your sammiches never be dry,
RB


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## jumpstumper (Aug 17, 2004)

Yeah, Portland is probably twice as rainy in the winter as good ol' MD, but less rain in the summer. Seattle has slightly less rain than Porland, but is colder. So, you get to pick your poison!  

I live in San Jose, Ca now, and was looking to sell my billion $ home and relocate to Oregon, Washington, or Colorado - so I checked all the weather patterns, so far Durango CO looks pretty good. 




Arby said:


> It's either Portland or Seattle... but we're leaning towards Portland. Portland is not as wet as Seattle is it? My girl and I have a lot of research to do yet. It will be about a year and a half atleast, untill we do move though. We have to save and I have to get a job lined up out there before we move.
> 
> Is Portland that rainy? It's supposed to be the most bike friendly place in the US. I only know that it's beautiful and the air is a lot fresher/cleaner than the "air" here in Baltimore.
> 
> RB


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## meat tooth paste (Oct 6, 2004)

How has your Pista held up over time in the rain?

I have the 05 model and dig it, my favorite bike to date.


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## Arby (Apr 29, 2004)

*Hi Meat*



meat tooth paste said:


> How has your Pista held up over time in the rain?
> 
> I have the 05 model and dig it, my favorite bike to date.


My pista has held up great. I've had it out in the rain a bunch of times and all I get is some greasy, dirtiness coming from my lower headset cup area. I just take the headset apart, clean and regrease it about once a month. I don't even need to do it that often but I love how simple the bike is and get a kick out of keeping it clean and smooth. My hubs are in awesome shape. I just regreased them for the first time about a week ago. I have had my Pista since August and so far everything has held up great. 

My Pista is an '04. I REALLY like the '05 Pista Concept. Love that Bianchi blue paint job. 

I can only really list one thing that I am having a problem with and it's my fault. My drive side crank got loose and I didnt' realize it and kept riding it for a day or so. Now it doesn't stay tight. So I carry an 8mm hex wrench for the crank bolt with me. I did put some locktight on the crank bolt threads and it's held for a week now.... we'll see.

I've made one mod to my Pista and that is I upgraded my chain to a Kool chain. It's thicker; I forget the dimensions but it's basically like a BMX chain. KMC makes the chain. Supposed to not stretch as much. Pictures of it below eh.

I ride my track bike everywhere everyday here in the city. I don't own a car and hate public transportation. I am 110% happy with this bike.

Got a shot of your pista for us?

RB


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## meat tooth paste (Oct 6, 2004)

Thanks for the feedback on the Pista. Yeah, I ride mine everywhere. I don't really ride my gear bike anymore and recently put it up in the attic  . Good to hear that the Pista is holding up just fine under all that rain, I've been hesitant to ride mine in our LA rain here lately. So the Pista and the D70 gives us two things in common  . I like your photos, keep'em coming.



Arby said:


> ...Got a shot of your pista for us?


 Just these same pics from a couple weeks ago. Mine is mostly stock. I usually trick out my bikes or build them up, but I just like the stock Pista as it is and have no complaints.

-NN


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## DrRoebuck (May 10, 2004)

Great pics, RB. How do you keep the camera so steady?

Meat, I third the D70. Just got mine a little while ago. It's a work of art.


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## Arby (Apr 29, 2004)

meat tooth paste said:


> Mine is mostly stock. I usually trick out my bikes or build them up, but I just like the stock Pista as it is and have no complaints.
> -NN


Yeah, mine is mostly stock too. Well, hell, I guess it's not. No major major changes but I didn't like my silver saddle so I put on an old one I had kicking around. The drop bars don't work for me with my recently broken wrist so I use the cow horns. I love how they work and look though, so they ended up being a Godsend. My pedals that came on my pista bit the dust early on; one of them was getting really loose on it's spindle and I wasn't going to wait for it to come off on a ride so I put some old DH pedals on. The DH pedals work great even when I don't have my spuds on, which is rare... I hate riding not clipped in on a fixed gear... holy dangerous! Then, lastly, the chain has been swapped out. So, yeah I guess I did modify mine a bit. Still a simple beautiful work of art.

That's cool that you and Dr.R have D70s... I sooo love mine. Just wish I could take it with me daily... I only take it out when I go out shooting. I do take it out a and set up shots in my room though. I love that camera.

Oh, are those hollow axles on the '05 Pistas? I like that a lot... or is it just an indent in the end of the axle? Is that a spoke card from a messenger race in your rear wheel? I used to keep all my cards in my spokes until recently. There's a messenger race in DC tomorrow night that I wish I could go to. 

Bikes and photography dovetail so nicely don't they?

R to the B.


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## Arby (Apr 29, 2004)

*I dunno...*



DrRoebuck said:


> Great pics, RB. How do you keep the camera so steady?
> 
> Meat, I third the D70. Just got mine a little while ago. It's a work of art.


Are you serious? LOL... If I do a long exposure shot with the D70 and I don't have a tripod with me (95% of the time I don't) then I just sit down and lean my back against a wall or something sturdy, hold my breath and press the shutter button. Or I'll set the camera on something and use the self timer for the long exposure; that's a sure fire way to get a steady shot.

Glad to meet another D70biker! :]

RB


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## meat tooth paste (Oct 6, 2004)

DrRoebuck said:


> Great pics, RB. How do you keep the camera so steady?
> 
> Meat, I third the D70. Just got mine a little while ago. It's a work of art.


 The D70 has been a trooper and has never failed me 9 months I've been shooting with it. It's been great in studio and has been reliable on location in 114 degree Salton Sea temperatures. $1000 for the body is a deal IMO. Back in 1999 I had a Kodak DCS520 dSLR that was a 2mp body based on an EOS-1. Price? $9700 for the body. BTW, the Tamron Di series lenses are nice. I was a Nikkor fanatic, but these Di lenses changed my mind.


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## DrRoebuck (May 10, 2004)

Arby said:


> Are you serious? LOL... If I do a long exposure shot with the D70 and I don't have a tripod with me (95% of the time I don't) then I just sit down and lean my back against a wall or something sturdy, hold my breath and press the shutter button. Or I'll set the camera on something and use the self timer for the long exposure; that's a sure fire way to get a steady shot.
> 
> Glad to meet another D70biker! :]
> 
> RB


Not really serious. More like a veiled compliment. You're right about biking and photography going hand in hand. You can get just about anywhere, fast, without having to worry about parking a car, etc. You're also more in touch with your surroundings, which makes you more likely to notice the potential for a great shot.

You don't take the D70 on the daily commutes?

Meat ... are your commute shots with the D70? Thanks for the tip on the Tamron Di. I got the D70 outfit, which comes with a Nikkor 18-70mm. It's a great lens, but I'll be interested in a zoom lens soon enough.

The D70 is my first real camera. I had the Coolpix 4500, which comes pretty close. But when all is said and done it's just a glorified point-and-shoot.


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## FishrCutB8 (Aug 2, 2004)

Arby said:


> my extra mayo turned to oily soggy bread..... sonofa.....


Told ya so!


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## Arby (Apr 29, 2004)

*not for commutes...*



DrRoebuck said:


> You don't take the D70 on the daily commutes?
> The D70 is my first real camera. I had the Coolpix 4500, which comes pretty close. But when all is said and done it's just a glorified point-and-shoot.


Nah, I am afraid that one day I will have another run in with a car and destroy my Nikon. I lost a good camera that way, cracking the body right in half. That was a $500 camera and I really liked it. I've been hit by 3 cars, one time being sent over the bars and I got doored once as well, which dislocated every bone in my right wrist, detatched all my ligaments and did cartilage damage. Not to mention cracked my camera in half when I flipped over the bars and landed on my back. (camera was in my messenger bag) ... (I was flying) Now I have a perminant zipper on my big lumpy, stiff, wrist some hardware in my scaphoid and I'm missing a wrist bone... Oh, and my first three fingers are numb! 

Anyway, I cary this Panasonic FZ-1. Nothing special, just a good lil' cam. The D70 is my first "real" camera too. I do have an old Rollie I hardly ever use and a Canon T70 but I never use them really. 

I don't think I've gotten any work done today.... 
RB


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## meat tooth paste (Oct 6, 2004)

I would never carry my D70 with me on rides, it's my money maker. I carry a little point and shoot digi for riding pics. For film, I carry a little oldie but goodie Nikon FG or an old Canon rangefinder. I call it the Pecker camera because it's the same one in the movie Pecker. If you like funky quirky movies, check it out. It's funny.


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## Arby (Apr 29, 2004)

*Yeah, filmed in Baltimore...*



meat tooth paste said:


> I would never carry my D70 with me on rides, it's my money maker. I carry a little point and shoot digi for riding pics. For film, I carry a little oldie but goodie Nikon FG or an old Canon rangefinder. I call it the Pecker camera because it's the same one in the movie Pecker. If you like funky quirky movies, check it out. It's funny.


Mark S, another Baltimore RBR poster and all around cool guy, tells me that Pecker was filmed in Baltimore. I ought to check it out this weekend. 

I sometimes wish I had yet another digi camera for commuting. The one I cary has a nice Leica piece of glass and I love that the camera has a burst mode of up to 4 or 7 fps depending on image size/quality. If I could find a cheapy digi that has burst mode, is atleast 2mp, and has a decent lens I'd probably pick it up. This is hard to get out of my back pocket, or front vest pocket when riding and I'm afraid of dropping it everytime. 

RB


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## meat tooth paste (Oct 6, 2004)

*RB:* Yeah Pecker was set in Baltimore. John Waters loves Baltimore. It's not a movie for everyone (kinda b-movie-esque straight and gay sexual humor), but it _is_ a movie for someone who rides an electrical tape covered bike with no brakes and takes pics of his cat next to his bike  . How about carrying the camera in a pouch that attaches to your waist or Chrome bag strap? That's how I carry my little camera. Of course, it's easier for me to do this because I am not rained on as often as you are there.

*DrRoebuck: *My commute pics are taken with a pocket Canon digital 4mp Elph. I forget the model number S400 something. I carry it in a snug pouch on my waist or on my backpack strap if I am not wearing a belt. I prefer it on my belt for quick access (DRAW sonny! <--use cowboy voice). I used to carry it in my Camelback but it took too long to stop, take off the pack bring it to the front, take out camera. I only use my D70 for my fashion and musician photography work.

Some of my fashion and music work shot with the D70:


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## Arby (Apr 29, 2004)

*Very cool pictures Meat*



meat tooth paste said:


> *RB:* Yeah Pecker was set in Baltimore. John Waters loves Baltimore. It's not a movie for everyone (kinda b-movie-esque straight and gay sexual humor), but it _is_ a movie for someone who rides an electrical tape covered bike with no brakes and takes pics of his cat next to his bike  . How about carrying the camera in a pouch that attaches to your waist or Chrome bag strap? That's how I carry my little camera. Of course, it's easier for me to do this because I am not rained on as often as you are there.


Those are some sharp photos, very neat to look at. I hope that one day I can sell my photography and maybe be good enough to make it my main occupation. I don't like to photograph people though. I like landscapes, abandonned things like old houses, cars, machinery etc, bicycles and people riding/racing them and sports/action in general. I also really like macro work. But, I'm no photographer. I kind of call myself one, but I never went to school for it or anything. I'd like to take a class so that I can better understand how to use the manual functions of my D70 though. 

I'm going to rent Pecker tonight. I've got nothing else to do. In a city that mainly drinks, if you are not a drinker, it can sometimes be boring on a Friday night. If my girl wasn't working tonight it'd be different; we usually spend a lot of time together; it's awesome. Well, I'll let you know what I think of Pecker. 

Have a good weekend. I'm moving into my new place on Sunday; it's about 14 blocks deeper into downtown Baltimore. Should be pretty neat, once I'm settled in. Maybe I'll post some pictures of that somehow... lol. 

See ya!
RB


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## DrRoebuck (May 10, 2004)

Went for a ride this afternoon. It was so damn beautiful out, and I hadn't been on my road bike in almost two weeks because of a cracked rim. It was a great afternoon. I didn't go too hard because there's a small group ride I'm intending to meet up with tomorrow morning.

*RB:* If you take photographs, you're a photographer. Hope you finally got some work done today. We all love your pics so keep it up.

*Meat:* Those pictures are stunning, especially the last two. The colors on the D70 blow me away. Did you manage to get out today? I have an older 2 MP Elph. Maybe I'll start taking it with me on rides.


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## meat tooth paste (Oct 6, 2004)

DrRoebuck said:


> *RB:* If you take photographs, you're a photographer. Hope you finally got some work done today. We all love your pics so keep it up.


 *RB:* He's right. Don't sell yourself short by not calling yourself a photographer. I know you're not shooting professionally, but getting paid to shoot is not a criteria to measure whether one is a photographer or not. Don't mind the fact that you didn't go to school for it either. I know have met alot of terrible photographers in my time and they went to school for it. School can't give a person an eye to see a situation in frame. Sometimes it has to come from within first, and school simply guides that. So from you're shots, I see you as a photographer. Remember, in the end, it's our work that speaks for us and your work looks good.

*Dr: *Nah, I was stuck behind my mac doing photoshop work. I would normally go for a nite ride right now, but I will think twice. All the recent rain has created some monster potholes and I've hit a couple that I couldn't see at nite and almost ate it a couple times. Times like these make me think about getting a nice HID light.


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## meat tooth paste (Oct 6, 2004)

RB and Dr: Thanks for comments about my work.


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## DrRoebuck (May 10, 2004)

meat tooth paste said:


> Times like these make me think about getting a nice HID light.


You're welcome re the pic comments. Btw, I have the NiteRider Trail Rat and love it. Bright as hell and reasonably priced.

http://www.mtbr.com/reviews/Lights/product_122252.shtml


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## zeytin (May 15, 2004)

*Meat*, Those are amazing photos, the lighting and colors are breathtaking, thank you for sharing

*RB*, Your framing and eye for shots is awsome don't sell yourself short.
Didn't know you were moving, I am out of town at the moment but if you need some help let me know (email), I'll be back tomorrow evening (Sunday). I assume carrying furniture on the bike is a bit tough  

*All 3 of you*, In reference to the D70 comments...someday. In the meantime my N70 with film and my little sony digi will have to suffice. I finally got a scanner so I can scan in my standard picts. Any of you know how to scan in negatives..lol


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## DrRoebuck (May 10, 2004)

zeytin said:


> Any of you know how to scan in negatives..lol


You can get a neg scanner. I'm guessing Meat knows of some good ones.


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## meat tooth paste (Oct 6, 2004)

DrRoebuck said:


> You can get a neg scanner. I'm guessing Meat knows of some good ones.


 Nah... I don't do my own neg scanning. I did when I was in school because I had the time and wanted to learn. Back then we had SCSI based scanners that crashed all the time and we had to fool around with the scanner's location on the SCSI daisy chain 

I send out all my neg scans now. The price has become pretty low nowadays. A&I Lab in Santa Monica can scan a whole 35mm roll for $12. Images are 39meg jpegs, which equates to about a 10x15 print for a 35mm neg scan. Not bad for posting online, image comps, clients proofs and so on. Turnaround time is about 4 days. Film must be uncut. When it comes time for final prepress or outputting to large stuff, I then get the chosen negs drum scammed for around $25/neg.

From what I've read in photog magazines, Nikon makes nice film/neg scanners that do alot of auto dust removal.


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