So I’ll be back in the full swing of bike commuting come early January, after over half a year doing most of my work from home (and so most of my cycling on my road bike). Which means that it’s time to get my city bike back into shape. Not that I haven’t been riding it regularly, but it does need a little care and attention for the fifty-odd miles I’ll be putting on it each week. Nothing too drastic though. Just a good oil and clean of the chain, along with some new grips and a new saddle.
My old grips had reached that point of deterioration where they were leaving little black flecks on my hands. And they’d always slipped around a bit. Some hairspray on the inside of the new ones has them securely in place.
But it’s the new saddle that’s the best change of all. I wore through the springs on my old one, so it needed replacing. I had rather naively thought that I could pony up $30 or so for something decent. Once in the bike store, however, I felt the lure of the Brooks saddles, and succumbed to the all-too-convincing sales pitch of the bike store dude, who pointed out that if I went the Brooks route I’d be buying my next one in thirty years or so.
Plus which, they’re just so lovely. I mean… leather! I feel that a Brooks saddle somehow makes my life more Victorian. I already shave with a brush and soap, so why not bring my cycling into sync with my personal grooming?
Anyway, several rationalizations and more money than I care to mention later…
Lovely, innit? As it’s leather I have to anoint it with special oils on a regular basis during the breaking-in period, and wait for it to mold itself into the shape of my ass cheeks. But already it’s quite deliciously comfortable.
On another note, I can’t quite decide whether I think this article is awesome or slightly annoying. It’s about the political implications of cycling, and particularly Critical Mass, local bike collectives and the general impact that getting around by bike has on the way you relate to the world. On the one hand it does a very nice job of examining the politics of cycling. But buried in here are some slightly annoying binaries. The piece seems to subtly equate following traffic laws and wearing helmets with a lack of radicalism, while providing a heroic narrative for youthful bike subculture (while simultaneously arguing that said subculture transcends intergenerational boundaries).
Um… can’t I have my politicized cycling without unnecessary head injuries? If you believe this piece, no-one who attends Critical Mass wears helmets and follows the basic rules of the road in their regular biking lives. Since when did a styrofoam exoskeleton on your noggin make you pro-car? And since when did biking on the right side of the road efface the independence and rejection of the automotive status quo that comes with getting around by bike?
Or maybe I’m being too cranky here. Thoughts?
Posted by unsquished 
