Riding On Into Summer
I realized I haven't posted anything in a while, but it's not for lack of riding. Most of what I do is commuting, and since the end of the Three Speed Adventure April, that's all I've been doing. A good writer could probably write about their daily commute in a car and be entertaining. Being on a bicycle gives me an edge over someone in a car, but as for writing talent - I'm not sure I can pull that off.
I've been bouncing back and forth between the Happy Little Three Speed and the Raleigh. I do give some thought to the degree to which I should baby the Raleigh given that it's 67 years old. That leads me into all sorts of contradictions. I wanted a bike with a full chain case, for instance, because I like that it protects the chain from the rain. Then I think I should leave the Raleigh at home when it rains because I'm worried about water getting trapped somewhere in the steel fenders and causing rust, even though I'm in the Southwest, where, while it may rain every day in monsoon season, things dry out between showers fairly thoroughly. "Maybe I should just put on aluminum fenders," I muse to myself. And do what with the old fenders - shove them in the closet? Ugh, why can't I just use things, give them a reasonable amount of maintenance, and then replace them if and when they disintegrate? So I'm trying to ride the bike without looking at the weather and trying not to think of it as a holy relic of bicycledom that needs to be polished and preserved. It's probably going to outlast me whatever I do, short of parking it in the yard under the downspout.
Last Friday, I was riding the Happy Little Three Speed downtown, where my son has a summer job selling vegan ice cream on the Santa Fe Plaza. I hit a bump, and it felt like my tire was going flat. My wife and I pulled over onto the sidewalk, and I pumped the tire back up after checking the tread for errant goatheads or pieces of glass. I was about to get back on the bike when I noticed a huge bubble bulging out of the sidewall of the tire. I hopped off the bike in a panic and let all the air back out of the valve. The bubble had to be pressed back in.
I pried up the edge of the tire, folded a dollar bill in half, and used it to boot the tire. I pumped it back up and rode on my way. It was the first time ever I've booted a tire. I knew it should work, but I was a little surprised and very pleased to find it actually did. Now the question is - do I ride it like that, or do I go ahead and replace the tire and consequently recover my cash?
I did receive all my buttons, patches, and stickers from Shawn for the Adventure April challenges at the Society of Three Speeds. I love the buttons, but I just can't find anything to pin them on. When I was in high school, I had a denim jacket that I had a few buttons on, but even then, I was not much of a wear buttons around kind of guy - nor do I like T-shirts that say things. Give me a plain black t-shirt any day. I have one SOTS button on the strap of my shopsack, but I don't want to festoon the strap. My saddlebags are at least allegedly waterproof, or I would stick them on there. For now, I'm hanging on to them like a little trove of treasure. Thanks Shawn.
I don't know about the October Challenge for the same reason I don't do much for bike to work week. I bike to work every day, at least practically every day. I can't remember the last time I drove to work. For the past year, I have largely done all that commuting on a three speed. Occasionally, I will ride the Xtracycle if I need to pick something up at the end of the day that won't fit in a saddlebag. Participating in a bike to work challenge feels sort of like participating in a have-opposable-thumbs challenge for a month. But I'll keep thinking about it.
I don't have a photo of a bikey thing, but I have been doing some backpacking. My friend Randy and I went out for five days in the Pecos Wilderness. We're gearing up for our usual fall trip to the Grand Canyon. He'll be in his seventies soon, and he's hoping for at least six or seven more years of backpacking. Here he is climbing up the Santa Barbara Divide. I believe the peak behind him is part of the ridgeline Truchas Peak is on. We did, by the way, haul our snowshoes with us on the advice of the rangers, who said that, in spite of its being July, there was still deep snow above 10,600 feet. There was snow, and some of it was deep, but it was compacted enough we didn't need snowshoes.
I've been bouncing back and forth between the Happy Little Three Speed and the Raleigh. I do give some thought to the degree to which I should baby the Raleigh given that it's 67 years old. That leads me into all sorts of contradictions. I wanted a bike with a full chain case, for instance, because I like that it protects the chain from the rain. Then I think I should leave the Raleigh at home when it rains because I'm worried about water getting trapped somewhere in the steel fenders and causing rust, even though I'm in the Southwest, where, while it may rain every day in monsoon season, things dry out between showers fairly thoroughly. "Maybe I should just put on aluminum fenders," I muse to myself. And do what with the old fenders - shove them in the closet? Ugh, why can't I just use things, give them a reasonable amount of maintenance, and then replace them if and when they disintegrate? So I'm trying to ride the bike without looking at the weather and trying not to think of it as a holy relic of bicycledom that needs to be polished and preserved. It's probably going to outlast me whatever I do, short of parking it in the yard under the downspout.
Last Friday, I was riding the Happy Little Three Speed downtown, where my son has a summer job selling vegan ice cream on the Santa Fe Plaza. I hit a bump, and it felt like my tire was going flat. My wife and I pulled over onto the sidewalk, and I pumped the tire back up after checking the tread for errant goatheads or pieces of glass. I was about to get back on the bike when I noticed a huge bubble bulging out of the sidewall of the tire. I hopped off the bike in a panic and let all the air back out of the valve. The bubble had to be pressed back in.
I pried up the edge of the tire, folded a dollar bill in half, and used it to boot the tire. I pumped it back up and rode on my way. It was the first time ever I've booted a tire. I knew it should work, but I was a little surprised and very pleased to find it actually did. Now the question is - do I ride it like that, or do I go ahead and replace the tire and consequently recover my cash?
I did receive all my buttons, patches, and stickers from Shawn for the Adventure April challenges at the Society of Three Speeds. I love the buttons, but I just can't find anything to pin them on. When I was in high school, I had a denim jacket that I had a few buttons on, but even then, I was not much of a wear buttons around kind of guy - nor do I like T-shirts that say things. Give me a plain black t-shirt any day. I have one SOTS button on the strap of my shopsack, but I don't want to festoon the strap. My saddlebags are at least allegedly waterproof, or I would stick them on there. For now, I'm hanging on to them like a little trove of treasure. Thanks Shawn.
I don't know about the October Challenge for the same reason I don't do much for bike to work week. I bike to work every day, at least practically every day. I can't remember the last time I drove to work. For the past year, I have largely done all that commuting on a three speed. Occasionally, I will ride the Xtracycle if I need to pick something up at the end of the day that won't fit in a saddlebag. Participating in a bike to work challenge feels sort of like participating in a have-opposable-thumbs challenge for a month. But I'll keep thinking about it.
I don't have a photo of a bikey thing, but I have been doing some backpacking. My friend Randy and I went out for five days in the Pecos Wilderness. We're gearing up for our usual fall trip to the Grand Canyon. He'll be in his seventies soon, and he's hoping for at least six or seven more years of backpacking. Here he is climbing up the Santa Barbara Divide. I believe the peak behind him is part of the ridgeline Truchas Peak is on. We did, by the way, haul our snowshoes with us on the advice of the rangers, who said that, in spite of its being July, there was still deep snow above 10,600 feet. There was snow, and some of it was deep, but it was compacted enough we didn't need snowshoes.
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