February Mileage

October: broke wrist.
November: 0 miles.
December: 0 miles.
January: 29.85 miles.
February: 181.46 miles of fury!

Okay, so the bold, red text is a tad hyperbolic. But still…

Dreambike!

The Surly arrived yesterday, right at the beginning of two days of solid rain. Sigh. I haven’t gotten to really test it out yet – just a couple of short jaunts in the cold rain. But I can say this: it is (a) beautiful (pictures to come), (b) incredibly comfortable, and (c) a lot faster than my hybrid. The rain’s supposed to sweep out tonight, so I’m hoping I can go for a longer ride in the morning.

Monkeying around

I don’t know how many of you read Bike Hugger, but just in case you missed it, I had to gank this link to a child-death-monkey-themed 1963 bicycle safety film called “One Got Fat.”

Seriously, it’s like David Lynch filmed a 15-minute version of an Agatha Christie novel. I’ve gotta go find a warm, clean place to recover.

Dreambike: specced and ordered

So after several e-mails, phone calls and an in-store visit for sizing, the dreambike specs are complete (for those in the ATL, Bicycle South is an *outstanding* store for this kind of project). Here’s what’s in the works:

Frame: Surly Cross-Check 58 cm frame, black

Crankset: Shimano Sora compact, 34/50 t

Derailers: Tiagra

Cassette: Tiagra 12-25

Brakes: Tektro 862A cantilevers, R200 levers

Shifters: Shimano Dura-Ace 9sp bar-ends

Wheels: Deore hubs, Sun CR-18 rims (these are 29-inch mountain rims, which should be perfect for the potholes)

Handlebars: Nitto Randonneurs 42cm

Seat: Sportourer FLX Gel Women’s

Tires: Conti Ultra Gatorskins 700×28

I actually have a couple of things to upgrade as I get the cash (brakes and saddle, namely), which gives me something to look forward to. In the meantime, it should weigh at least 8 lbs. less than the hybrid I use now, and should ride like a couch to boot.

Sedation…under…way…

Strapped!

So I have somewhat wonky knees. Or, at least, my knees and feet are weirdly misaligned, with my feet splaying out quite a bit. It’s just the way I am. It’s meant that the clips on my road bike put my feet in a slightly awkward position vis a vis my knees, so I tend to ride with the straps loose and my feet pointing further out than they should. The answer seems to be floating clipless pedals, but these are pricey. Meanwhile, over at the commuter bike, my shoes have been sliding off the big blocky plastic pedals when wet. Not good.

So today I purchased a dorky solution to both problems: power grips! Which even came with exciting new pedals. And all for just over $30.

I’ve installed them on the commuter bike and, though taking a bit of getting used to, they seem to make my ride both more efficient and comfortable. We’ll see how well they work with my knees. If they’re a problem I’ll take the grips off and happily accept the non-slip pedal upgrade. But so far they seem like a good solution, especially given the fact that I want to be able to bike with normal shoes on my commuter bike. And if they are kind to my knees, I’ll also get some for the road bike and ditch the clips.

On another note, LMS has a dream bike on order. Which the manager of the bike store told me not to ride. Because if I do I’ll want one too.

Got Bottle

It’s been a mildly odd biking week. First off, I lost my bottle on Monday. No, not my nerve, my actual bottle. To be fair, it’s in a bottle holder strapped by velcro to my rack pack, as there’s no room on the frame of my commuter thanks to my big-ass lock. Today I lost my bottle again, but thankfully a friendly motorist told me it had skipped off to the other side of the street and I was able to recover it. There are friendly motorists? Who knew?! Anyway, if anyone knows of a good handlebar-mounted bottle holder, I’d be glad to hear about it.

Then on Tuesday, all excited to go in wearing my new O2 rain/wind jacket (the last of which was reduced to a bloodied polypropylene mass by my fall), I found that I had a flat in my back tire. Arse! But it did mean that I got to take the newly inflated foldable on MARTA. After dealing with my heavy pannier-laden commuter on the train the Breezer was a joy. It was like biking with, well, nothing. And that’s without folding it up, which I could have if the train was crowded. Foldables are just so damn cool, especially in combination with mass transit.

And then, upon putting a new tube in my commuter bike yesterday, I discovered that the tire bead had separated from the wall. So it was new tire time. At least now I can change a tube pretty quickly.

Anyway, I was finally able to bike in this morning. Cold and sunny, but I was resplendent in my many layers, O2 jacket (in my favourite colour, “don’t run over me”) and, under my helmet, my new, warming safety yarmulke. Lotsa fun. And, unless I am totally shagged out by the end of the day, I think I’ll give biking home a shot.

Which would make today’s commuting tally 15 miles.

Dreambike!

I’ve been commuting for several months now on a fantastic Raleigh Passage 4.5 hybrid. It’s a great bike, especially with the various modifications I’ve made (new seat, new tires, butterfly bars, etc.).

But a featherweight it’s not, coming in at a proud 32 lbs. To be fair, I am no featherweight myself. Still, I’ve been dreaming of a lighter, faster bike, but one that was still sturdy enough to withstand my daily commute. My LBS guy assures me that I’ll tear up a normal road bike in about a year if I load it up and start zooming over potholes – they’re designed for racing over smooth asphalt, not hauling over city streets. So I need something reasonably light, roadworthy (as opposed to trailworthy), and brick shithouse-sturdy.

Lucky for me, and courtesy of a mortgage company screwup, I just got a bike-sized windfall in the mail. You know you’re middle-class when you get an unexpected check in the mail; I never got unexpected money back when I desperately needed it.

Anyhoo, back to my bourgeois privilege: the plan is to design my own dreambike, starting with one of these. I have an appointment tomorrow morning to sit down with my LBS manager and spend a couple of hours picking out parts for my new baby. Then I will go home, hose myself down, and try to decide which sedative will keep me from having a Keith Moon-level freakout while waiting for my new toy to actually be built.

More to come as the DB gets closer. Hooray!

RIP, Mr. Brown

We at Unsquished, along with the rest of the bicycling world, are pausing for a moment to remember and celebrate Sheldon Brown. We never met him, nor corresponded with him, but his willingness to share his vast expertise with the Internet world made him a kind of mentor to us and many others looking to educate themselves about the two-wheeled life.

Ride in peace, Mr. Brown. And thank you.

Respectable Mileage

On Thursday I commuted for the first time by bike since breaking the wrist. And then today I went for a 14 mile ride on the Giant OC3, the bike on which the accident occurred. So I really do feel back in the swing of things. And look, my weekly mileage is veering into the respectable range.

The commute was excellent. I just rode one way, taking MARTA back. But it was still a good 7 1/2 miles, with some excellent hills. My usual 34 minutes is now down to 43, so there’s some getting back into shape to be done. But it was great to haul myself to work under my own steam. I’ll do a couple of one-ways, and get back to the 15 mile round trip.

I also spent a very satisfying couple of hours yesterday making sure my tires were at correct pressure on both my bikes, and oiling and cleaning the chains. And I unfolded, reflated and rode around on Lady MacSquish’s now somewhat neglected Breezer Zig7 foldable.

A year ago we both started on foldables (in my case a Dahon), before realizing that we wanted to do more than ride a few miles around town. We both took the serious commuter bike route, I’ve added a road bike, and LMS is working her way up to a mega-serious custom commuter. I exchanged my Dahon for a KHS Urban X, but her foldable has remained in the garage.

It’s a lovely piece of engineering, and we want to hang onto it as something we can easily fit in the trunk of a car. This way, if one of us leaves the car somewhere (say at the train station, after taking the train to the airport), the other can ride to it, easily stowing the bike in the trunk. Or, if we sign up for FlexCar, we can ride to the rental car. A foldable is, in fact, a great option for two people getting down to one car.

Anyhoo, I am trying to be a little less obsessed with mileage and speed than I was before the accident, but I’m happy to have ridden over 35 miles this past week.

Taking up space

So after a brief winter hiatus (where I substituted eating for bicycling as my main form of exercise), I’m getting back into commuting. And I’m realizing that not only have I gotten slower, my instincts have dulled.

Specifically, I’ve regained the urge to ride as close to the curb as possible. It seems like the polite thing to do, and though I generally have the manners of one raised by wolves, I do try to be civil after my own lupine fashion.

But I’m remembering that when I give room to cars, they never return the favor. I actually don’t think this is malicious. I think that yellow line is a serious psychological barrier for drivers – as it should be – and if they can, they’ll try to squeeze between it and me.

So the smart thing to do is ride further out in the road. If drivers have to cross the yellow line to pass, they’ll usually cross well over the line and give you tons of room. Or follow behind you and scream obscenities. But words will never hurt me, my friends. Not like a Camry, anyway.