Roger Bikes

Author: Roger

  • Home Theater

    Home Theater

    I have always enjoyed watching movies and TV. I enjoy all kinds of shows and use Youtube extensively for educational and entertainment purposes. I am not a hard core fan of anything but I do enjoy watching moving pictures. I enjoy going to the theater but it can be annoying when people want to talk during a show. Also with the pandemic theaters are now a no go for me.

    When we started designing our home I knew I wanted a basement with a home theater. I knew that Kate would be smart and get us a place to sleep and eat, but I was focused on one thing: Having a large screen and surround sound system for watching movies.

    At the start I wanted to have two thirds of the basement be one huge open room. It would have been 23 feet wide and 27 feet long. Then our builder told me how large of a beam they would need to install to make that work. We quickly redesigned the basement to have a weight bearing wall halfway across the 27 foot run. This added two bedrooms/offices/workout rooms at the south end, with a large room in the center.

    Weight bearing wall installed.

    While the center room ended up about half the size I had originally wanted, it was still plenty large enough for a 120 inch projector screen. Going from a 13 inch laptop would be quite the upgrade.

    With the room size determined, layout was the next focus. For a projector to create a 120 inch screen you generally want about 12 feet of distance from the lens to the screen. That is also the ideal distance to sit from a 120 inch screen so that you can see everything without turning your head.

    Since the room is 23 feet by 13 feet I could have pointed the projector to any wall in the room. However from a sound system perspective it is best to have some distance behind your head and the back wall. This allows you to place the rear and surround channel speakers further behind for greater effect. It also helps with reverb and acoustic stuff.

    With sound in mind it made sense to either place the screen on the east or west wall. Since the stairwell comes down to the west it made the most sense to place the screen on the east wall. This would allow me to place low level stair lights that would not effect the image quality. Also when you enter the theater room you aren’t walking in front of the screen.

    One thing I picked up while learning about home theater design is to place your receiver and electrical equipment to one side of the room. Then you don’t have to see the lights from the equipment when watching the screen.

    The stairwell comes down on the north side of the theater room. So we added a cubby hole under the stairs where I can put the electronics, with room for expansion.

    Whats in the cubby?

    With the location of the receiver determined I knew where to run all the speaker wire. The question was how many speakers to run. Dolby surround sound comes in a number of flavors:

    • 5.1 is the bare minimum with the standard left and right front channels, a center channel, two surround channels, and one subwoofer.
    • 5.2 adds a sub.
    • 7.1 and 7..2 add two rear channel speakers.
    • 5.1.2, 5.2.2, 7.1.2, and 7.2.2 adds two height channel speakers also known as Atmos.
    • 5.1.4, 5.2.4, 7.1.4, and 7.2.4 adds four height/Atmos channel speakers

    The most common setup is 5.1 and this is also the most common option recorded in most movies. More and more movies are adding height/Atmos support. I figured that speaker wire is pretty cheap so wired the room for 7.2.4 with the plan to setup 5.1.4 initially.

    There were a few factors in opting for 5.1.4 for the initial setup:

    1. There would be fewer speakers, which saves money.
    2. I would only need a main receiver/amp to power everything.
    3. The improvement in sound over my laptop would be incredible and probably enough, for now.

    Once I had the layout configured it was time to start shopping for speakers, receiver, and projector. This is where I started feeling overwhelmed with the options and costs. It turns out that speakers, receivers, and projectors can all get crazy expensive and complicated.

    In the end I went with some solid Sony speakers that didn’t break the bank but were high enough quality that they make the room feel solid. One thing I learned is that you want to stick with one speaker manufacturer for the entire system of speakers. Apparently they are tuned to each other or something like that. I feel like I read this on enough different websites and forums that it might be the truth and not some way for speaker manufacturers to sell more stuff.

    I spent a solid chunk of change on the receiver to get 5.2.4 of speaker channels without an external amp. It also has future support for 8K projectors when we start using them in 4 to 5 years. The receiver should outlast the speakers and projector, so it made sense to invest there. I went with a Denon AVR-X4700H.

    For the projector I initially thought I would go with a 1080p resolution as that would be good enough, and it would keep the costs down. As 2021 progressed the price of the BenQ HT2050A crept upward to $700 while its 4K replacement, the BenQ HT3550, was holding at around $1700. More than doubling the price but giving me beautiful 4K resolution. Then I saw a refurbished option for just over $1200 and jumped on that.

    With the equipment selected I needed to start thinking about finishing the theater room. Paint was a big decision. You do not want to use white or any bright colors in a theater room. The light from the projector or TV will bounce off of the bright walls and wash out the image. Ideally black is the best color for a theater room as it absorbs the light and makes for the best viewing experiences.

    Unfortunately a black room is also a bit terrifying because it is black. Burgundy is often used instead to create a more comfortable room when you have the lights up and aren’t watching a movie. While we were looking at paint colors for the rest of the house I started evaluating dark reds. Eventually I settled on Sherwin Williams’ Merlot.

    Color is the most subjective thing I can think of and I got quite a few side glances from the builders when I proposed painting the stairwell and entire theater room with this dark color. I had a few panic moments over my decision, especially after it was first applied to the walls and ceiling. In its wet state it gave off a lot of sheen and looked really scary.

    Something from a horror film.

    Fortunately it dried to the correct sheen and became much more comfortable to live in. I am really happy with how it came out and think that it works well when watching a film but also is nice to sit in with the lights on. I primarily work from this room sitting on the couch.

    I have learned to leave the projector off during the workday as it is just too distracting. One really cool thing about the Apple TV is that I can use the projector as a monitor with no cables involved.

    More of a novelty than anything productive.

    With the walls painted and the house finished it was time to install and test the setup. I was pretty nervous about the speaker wiring and if I had installed it all correctly. I was also nervous as a lot of construction happened after I installed the wiring. Did the dry-wallers cut or crimp any of the wiring?

    Fortunately everything worked and the home theater is my favorite room in the house. I need to work on hanging acoustical panels on the walls and ceiling, but it sounds fine to me right now. I can also add another sub but the existing one sounds fine and creates enough bass to elicit noise complaints from upstairs already. I can also add two rear channel speakers but need to get another amp for that. If I do that upgrade I will have the amp power the two front and center speakers and connect it to the Denon via the pre-outs. The HDMI cable is run through a conduit so that I can replace it when the HDMI standard is inevitably changed again. However there is no hurry to spend more money on this project right now.

    All said I spent a little over $4000 on the electrical equipment for the theater room. Not cheap compared to a TV with a soundbar, but very cheap compared to most of the home theater setups I have seen online. Looking back at the project the only thing I would have done differently would have been to run the speaker wires longer. Right now one of the runs is a little short and makes the setup in the cubby a bit cramped.

    When we were building the house Kate was a bit dismissive of the theater room. She did not grow up watching TV and movies so does not share my addiction. Now that we have moved into the house she has started warming up to the benefits of having a dedicated theater room. It allows us to keep the living room free of a TV, which we both prefer. However when the mood strikes we can easily retreat downstairs and enjoy some escapism.

  • Usumacinta prep week

    Usumacinta prep week

    We leave for Rio Usumacinta in four days! Its going to take us 2 days to get to Palenque, Mexico. One day to drive to Denver as flights out of Durango to Denver are not reliable at all. The second day is flights from Denver to Mexico City to Villahermosa. Then we drive to Palenque and spend one or two nights there.

    On Jan 11th we hit the water. Including guides we will have 21 people in our group which is the largest group I will have ever gone rafting with. We are on the water for 7 to 8 days, I am still a little fuzzy on the details. The good news is that I am not organizing or leading this trip. I am like water and will flow where told to flow.

    We have purchased some new dry bags that open like duffel bags. Traditional dry bags open at one end and you stuff everything in them. The problem with that setup is that if you want some clothing on the bottom of the bag you have to remove everything to get to it. With a duffel style dry bag it is much easier to rummage through and get that t-shirt you need for the luau or whatever.

    I also bought a couple of long sleeve sun shirts with hoods. We are going to be in the sun a lot and I prefer to just block everything rather than risk a sunburn. We have our life jackets, or Personal Flotation Devices (PFD’s), and are renting the tent from the rafting company. They are also supplying the rafts and food. We will handle everything from preparing meals to cleaning toilets/groovers while on the river. I am getting excited.

  • Snowtastic fun in the sun

    Snowtastic fun in the sun

    I like getting outside and being active. Movement makes me smile and laugh and helps me forget about everything I don’t need to be worrying about. With the recent snowstorms we have been getting it has been difficult to get outside and have fun.

    For over a year now I have been looking for cross county ski equipment so that I can go outside and play with snow on the ground. The problem we ran into last year was that everyone else wanted to do the same thing. There was a shortage of cross country ski equipment, similar to what the bike industry is seeing. I looked for used and new gear but nothing came to fruition.

    One option to cross country skis are a splitboard. A splitboard is a snowboard that comes apart into two pieces that resemble skis. The bindings are moved from their snowboarding position into a cross country ski position with the heel free to lift, just like a cross country ski. This allows the user to traverse flat sections of snow like a cross country skier. With the aid of climbing skins the user can go up steep hills. Once at the top they recombine the board into one and snowboard down in style.

    The problem with splitboards is they are expensive due to the added manufacturing work and lower demand as most people like riding up chairlifts to snowboard. The good new is that Craigslist is still in operation and still delivers the goods. Sure enough I though about getting a splitboard last Friday and searched on Craigslist for one. I got a hit from someone in my small ass town selling a 2 year old board with bindings for a steal. I contacted them and made the purchase Saturday morning. Within 20 minutes I was skiing around our property.

    In snowboard form here but it transforms! More than meets the eye!

    The main purpose of a splitboard is to allow people to get into the backcountry and snowboard. The problem with this is avalanches. The key is to wait until later in the season to start going into the backcountry. Once the snow settles it is safe from avalanche and is then safe for splitboarding. I figure that will be around April. Until then I will enjoy using the splitboard only as cross country skis on my land and other flat areas.

  • Getting started with rowing

    Getting started with rowing

    I returned the really expensive mountain bike a few weeks ago. It was too small and I also don’t need a super duper high end mountain bike. I don’t need to go any faster than I already go. In the meantime the ground is covered in snow and riding a bike out of doors is not happening as much.

    This creates a lack of aerobic exercising which leads to a grumpy Roger. No one wants a grumpy Roger, especially me. At first we considered getting an indoor bike trainer setup. One consideration was to get a trainer that we could attach our road bikes to and ride inside. Another was to buy a spin class style trainer.

    While I was researching all of this I was also reminded that indoor rowing is a great aerobic exercise. A few years ago I got into the CrossFit thing as a good friend owns a gym here. CrossFit uses indoor rowing as an anaerobic workout or for warming up. I enjoyed using the rower, the rhythmic movement is similar to how pedaling a bike becomes a rhythm, and there is no impact.

    So I started researching indoor rowing machines and quickly identified 2 main types: air resistance and water resistance. The most famous air resistance is the RowErg® by Concept 2. You will see these in most gyms, they started making machines in 1981, and are used by elite athletes for training. There are a variety of water rowers on the market. The advantage of a water rower is that they are less noisy.

    My goal with the rower is training and the RowErg is very reasonably priced compared to all types of brands I reviewed. I asked my Crossfit gym owner friend for advice and she highly recommended the RowErg. So the purchase was made.

    We took delivery on Christmas Eve and I have used it all but one day so far. We agreed to set it up in the guest bedroom in the basement. This gave it a dedicated space so that it is always ready to be used. We can also close the door to avoid bothering anyone else in the house.

    With the location determined now we need to start rowing. Apple Fitness+ offers rowing classes so we started using those. They are good workouts but a little short and more focused on keeping a high stroke rate of 26 to 30 strokes per minute. One of my goals in 2022 will be to row a marathon or 42194 meters. Training for that will require slowing down and rowing for much longer.

    Concept2, who makes the RowErg, have an extensive training section on their website. Part of this is a Workout of the Day (WOD) which emails you each morning 3 workout options for the day: short, medium, and long. So far I have done 2 of the long workouts and they have kicked my butt. The first was 2 sets of 6000 meters and the second was 3 sets of 4000 meters.

    Concept2 also has an online log book that you can manually enter or use their mobile app to do so. The app connects wirelessly to your rower to collect workout data which you can then quickly sync to the cloud. This helps them keep the cost of the rower significantly lower. Once you upload the data you can then see what other Concept2 users are doing from the Rankings tab of the log book.

    Concept2 goes even further with this and has Challenges throughout the year to keep you motivated and even connect with other rowers. There are also teams and races depending on how involved you want to get. For now I am using this as a training tool especially while there is snow on the ground.

    As with any new toy I am tempted to use it all the time right now. However this is a great way to burnout and even get injured. I am giving myself some time to get used to rowing without getting too crazy. I will continue to take it fairly easy and use it as a way to prepare for rowing our raft on the Usumacinta.

    Once we get back from the trip I plan to start training for a Marathon effort sometime in April or May. That should give me enough time to get used to spending long periods of time on the rower.

  • Goals for 2022

    Goals for 2022

    Here we go! 2022 a new year and new hope! Ok maybe not that dramatic but its a fun mental exercise to think about what I want to accomplish in the next 12 months. I did this last year and managed to meet a lot of them so maybe it will work this year too.

    In 2022 I want to exceed my biking mileage of 3,141 miles and go for 4000 miles. Thats an average of 333 miles a month, 77 miles a week, or 19 miles a day. This is a bike increase in mileage and will be a big goal to make.

    After returning my new bike, I opted for a rowing machine to keep my aerobic training going during the winter. My goal is to complete a Marathon in 2022. That is 42,194 meters. Besides finishing the distance I hope to complete it in under 4 hours.

    With a garage I should be able to get my woodworking hobby into full effect. I just need the price of wood to come down. My goal this year is to complete the Workshop projects from Weekend Woodworker and then get a coffee table and bookcase built for the house.

    Professionally I have some really big goals for 2022, but I cannot talk about them just yet.

    I want to do some big multiday bikepacking/touring trip but haven’t thought much more about it than that.

    I want to blog everyday and the 100 day challenge should give good motivation for starting the year off strong. After that I hope to keep using this as a type of workout but also push further into discussing personal and professional topics. I know if I was more organized about this site it would help encourage people to subscribe. That said, I already have a paying job and that is where most of my daily energy is focused.

  • 2021 Review

    2021 Review

    What a wild year. The sequel to 2020 ended up exceeding 2020 by a bit and it hasn’t slowed up as we head into 2022. The United States capitol building witnessed its largest physical attack since the War of 1812. The global pandemic of whatever COVID is now called continued to grow and mutate and keep on going.

    On the positive side a lot of good and great things happened in 2021. We built a house and moved in! Our jobs are going really well. The James Webb space telescope was launched after 20 years of development and avoiding pirates.

    On Jan 1 I wrote about my plans for the year. I hit a few and missed some others. I did not conquer the pull up, We did build a house. I did not quite achieve blogging everyday, but I did post in 10 of the 12 months! I only made two complete woodworking projects: a wall mounted lumber rack and some shelving for the garage. I exceeded my bike riding goal of 2600 miles with a total of 3141 miles! Finally I increased my volunteer time and effort with the Mancos Trails Group significantly.

    Overall I am really happy with how I did with my goals. The main one was the house and I think just completing that would have been more than enough to satisfy me. I am glad that I was able to get some of the other goals as that meant I was able to distract myself from that huge project. Building a house is a really big goal and I am happy that we don’t have to do it again.

  • New Years Lockdown

    New Years Lockdown

    Another year another lockdown instead of celebration. Last year we were in Virginia visiting Kate’s father at this time. We were being cautious of his health mainly because of his age. He still rode bikes with us pretty much everyday, but COVID ain’t something we want to mess with.

    This year we are being cautious because we are flying to Mexico in just over a week. While we can enter Mexico with COVID we cannot come back to the US with it. Also it would suck to be sick on the trip. So we are in another lockdown to protect ourselves from getting sick. As a side effect we are also eliminating ourselves as spreaders of the virus.

    Personally I am pretty introverted so the lockdowns haven’t been as terrible a thing for me. Kate on the other hand loves being around people and socializing. She is a tough lady but I know that she misses hanging out with friends and making new friends at our favorite joints.

    The irony of course is that I am the one who got the ‘rona a few months ago. The main theory for that was eating in a restaurant that was crowded with no masking in sight. Kate and my parents where there and none of them got sick though. I also took Dazey to the vet where I was masked but no one working there was. Finally I have a sliver of a theory that Kate gave it to me and never showed symptoms herself.

    My experience of being sick sounds fairly common: a strong flu type fever and chills, followed by congestion and exhaustion. I had mild symptoms for a day or so leading up to taking an at-home test and learning I was positive. Once I tested positive I was in lockdown and Kate spent the week sleeping at her office in town. (This was back when we lived in the 300 sq ft cabin.)

    It was nice having the place to my self, for about a day. Then I was missing my lady. The dogs stayed with me and did a good job of consoling me, but by day 5 things were getting tense. I think we started to get tired of each other, and reacted by getting more and more snippy with each other. On day 6 I texted Kate asking if she could come and walk the dogs.

    The entire global pandemic situation is a mess. We watched Death to 2021 last night and I had a crazy feeling of deja vu when it started. They used the same actors from Death to 2020 and at first I was worried I had selected the wrong video. Then I realized that 2021 was a really fucking crazy year and that the deja vu was reality.

    The video is well done, like last years. Cuts between actual footage of the carnage and then fake interviews with actors playing various people. The satire is very well done helped by a strong cast. Stand out performances goto Hugh Grant, Tracey Ullman, Samson Kayo, and Diane Morgan. Diane’s portrayal of everyday person, Gemma Nerrick, is the source of my hardest laughs.

    From a retrospective part Death to 2021 gave me all that I needed to reflect on as far as what was in the news for 2021. Other than the global pandemic, and my country’s almost revolution; 2021 was a pretty stellar year. We built a home, or rather, paid very talented people to build it. Professionally we weren’t affected negatively by any of the larger events, and both of our employers continue to do well. We are in good health, other than the bout of ‘rona I went through.

    The pandemic has made the globe feel both smaller and larger at the same time. We are all being affected by the pandemic. However, depending on where you live, the experience can be vastly different. We got our first vaccine doses back in Feb/Mar, and have already gotten our booster shots. Some of my coworkers, in other countries, have only just gotten their second shots. The disparity is real and something that gets missed by most US news outlets.

    So here we are again. Another trip around the sun, hiding in our huts, while nature reminds us all of who is really in charge.

  • Shovelin the north side

    Shovelin the north side

    For a variety of reasons we ended up with a north facing garage door on the house. Since we live in the northern hemisphere this means there is very little direct sunlight on the north ends of anything. This wouldn’t matter except that our area gets a decent amount of snowfall in the winter.

    Since there is no direct sunlight the snow piles up and up. If you are not vigilant about removing the snow it can pile up and block the driveway. It can pile up so much that it can damage the door which would suck.

    So the first thing I do whenever we have snowfall is shovel and clear out the concrete apron in front of the door. There is a lot of other snow removal that I have to do, but I always put this first so that it gets done. Once I complete the rest of the snow management, if it has been snowing, I will clear the apron again.

    The grind continues, but the views are great.

  • Don’t Look Up

    Don’t Look Up

    I feel like I stopped watching as much satire in the last 4 or 5 years. Its not that I don’t enjoy satire, I do, but when you are living in the world we have lived in for the last 4 to 5 years its just not as necessary. So I had some trepidation towards watching the recent release of Don’t Look Up.

    Ensemble comedy casts can be really great. Tropic Thunder is a masterpiece, but it was making fun of Hollywood, and the rest of us. Don’t Look Up instead takes on a sobering topic: climate change. Do we really need a comedy about that, right now with everything that is happening? Yes, I think we do.

    <SPOILERS AHEAD>

    In this case climate change is replaced by an ‘extinction event’ comet from the Oort Cloud. The scientists that discover it are told to sit and assess by the President of the United States. From there follows a series of unfortunate events and finally total destruction of the planet.

    I very much enjoyed Don’t Look Up from both a comedy and satire perspective. There are a lot of funny moments delivered by all star actors and good writing. The situations that they find themselves in are so terrifying they are comical.

    The satire is what drives the plot of the film. From the disaster President with her son for Chief of Staff. To the Tim Cook/Steve Jobs/Elon Musk billionaire pulling all the strings eventually leading to the planets destruction. I have read reviews that feel the writing is elitist and partisan. The writers definitely borrow from current events, hence the satire. I guess including some commentary on the recent President may feel partisan. I felt that those sections could have been either party in charge. The point is the money is what is in charge.

    The creators of the film managed to include every group of people in both good and bad light. Mostly bad and hence the ending of the film. If you come away from this film offended you should. We are all complicit in this situation and are represented well in this movie. Even the characters that try to help manage to mess up somehow. Media training is something we are going to need.

    The final scene is very sobering and a harsh reminder of what we face with climate change. For as many of us who are in agreement that the climate is changing due to man’s activities and that we need to do something about it, there appear to be more people who want to bury their heads in the sand. Don’t Look Up indeed.

  • Solar panels vs Batteries

    Solar panels vs Batteries

    For our river trip next month we will want to keep some electronics charged up for photos and lighting. We wont have cell signal so the phone batteries will save a lot of power in airplane mode. I am also bringing a lot of batteries (8) for the GoPro so that I can take a few time-lapses and get fun shots of the trip.

    To keep phones and watches charged we will want to bring a few portable batteries and a solar panel. When at camp we will be sure to have the panels out and charging battery packs and/or devices. Since we will be in a jungle I want to be conservative about how much solar charging is going to happen. Better to have too many batteries than too little.

    The question is how much battery backup do we need for an 8 day voyage?

    The back of an envelope calculation for portable chargers is to divide the charger’s capacity (mAh) by the device’s mAh. If a charger is 10000mHa and the device is 2942mAh then you should get 10000/2942 = 3.4 charges before the charger is depleted.

    With batteries I like to round down as it is better to have too much than too little. So in this case I would say that the device should be able to be recharged 3 times.

    For this trip we are taking two 20000mAh packs and one 10000mAh pack. That gives us 50000mAh to charge two iPhone XR’s (2942mAh each) and two Apple Watches (~285mAh each) for 8 days. 50000/6500 = 7.7 charges to full for all devices combined. That gives us almost a charge a day, which we should not need since the phones will be in airplane mode.

    To safeguard ourselves, and ensure much epic footage is shot, we are taking a 28W solar panel system. We will be able to use this before and after each day of rafting and keep either devices, chargers, or both topped up as much as possible. Hopefully this means we won’t ever deplete one of the battery chargers completely. Which will avoid us having to stress about battery management too much and instead on enjoying the trip.