Something from the Comments

Ham said...

And about "lots of lights", can I add "at lots of levels"?

On my commute, I occasionally come across a guy who has fixed a batten across his pannier rack and fixed four full width cat eyes that is seriously attention getting. Then, I noticed how easy it was to have them all blocked out. I'd advocate at least three at different levels. I use the pannier, on the post below the seat and on the rear of my helmet.

Good call, Ham. I use a row of blinkies across the back of my bum bag, so they're up above the bike and not obscured by anything on it. Spanning the bag like that, they wrap slightly around to provide some improvement in side illumination as well. Reflector leg bands on each ankle add moving reflectivity. But this is just one of many approaches and barely sufficient. I plan to add a helmet light to the front and assorted options for extra side/rear lighting.

This winter I have seen a few cyclists around the North Conway area with little or no illumination. A couple who appear to be trying to be conscientious have only a weak light or two to the front and maybe a single blinky on the back. Their array satisfies the law, but will get them mowed down eventually. On streets narrowed by snowbanks, populated by tired and intoxicated vacationers and locals, dinky lighting is a false economy. Unless these people want to die...

In my observation, lights below the saddle on the seat post are hard to spot compared to the same size and type of light up and out, higher on your person. Lights low on the bike help least of all. They draw the motorist's eye down and away from finding a clear path PAST you.

Moving Forward

The cellist's Traveler's Check frame arrived along with its FSA Orbit UF headset. I wasn't going to build it up right away, but she mentioned that she thought I was going to convert her old 'Check into a fixed gear for her spring training. That moves the project up the list. Fan that flame of interest!

Hmm. She has the leg length to handle a 175 crank. I have several of those kicking around, no use to me. That'll save a little money. I need a BB, stem, bars, pedals, wheels...

To build or not to build? That is the question. Whether 'tis nobler to swap out the axle in a pre-built fixie wheel from the local parts house or take wrench against a pile of spokes... The production wheel is probably cheaper than the hub and rim I would order. But it's my beloved wife.

Last year, the Blue project cost more than I intended. It ate my little cushion of shop credit used to purchase consumables like tubes and chains. I don't want to end up there again. But the biggest chunk after the frame itself was the traveling bag.

For the second Traveler's Check I was going to buy the hard case. That way our family arsenal would have both types. Cha-ching! I might have to let that slide in favor of the working parts of the bike.

Time to start shopping...

Frustrations and Injustices: A Hard Word Lingered

redcliffs said...

I always find your posts interesting. That said, the title of your blog promises advice, yet most of what you write is just whining about the frustrations and injustices of your chosen life. What gives?

Red, I am not a whiner. Accusing someone of whining is a snide tactic we use these days to shut someone up for various reasons. It's a barely veiled insult, even when preceded by apparent praise. I resent it. If you did not mean it that way, you should know how it came across. If you did, you know what you can kiss and how often.

Every life has frustrations and injustices. I have tried to live a consciously good life in my transportation and recreation choices. What seemed like clear benefits to me have been completely ignored by vast numbers of Americans, leading to more congested roadways, gigantic cars, aggressive driving habits, obesity and a whopping sense of entitlement. A massive consumer lifestyle has led to all the environmental, social and economic problems we face now.

Frustrated? You bet your ass. Frustrated by injustice? Who wouldn't be? Aren't you?

A person should be able to be a cyclist in addition to other aspects of life. Every rider shouldn't have to be a committed advocate and road warrior against the forces of motorization. Yet the frustrating unwillingness of this country to accept cycling completely into the transportation mix has led to what are basically battle lines.

That does make me editorialize quite a bit. Now go make sure your tires are fully inflated and lube your chain just the right amount, not too little, not too much. Always ride with traffic and use LOTS OF LIGHTS at night.

Advice

Buy a steel frame. Shift in friction. Use toe clips. Try a fixed gear. Ride conventionally-spoked wheels. Keep it simple.

Cafiend out.

I miss the simplicity of bike season

The skiing here is fine, but the local powers are addicted to intrigue and the self-proclaimed aristocracy yearn for the days when subservient grunts grubbed gratefully for a pittance. Why drive all this way just to look at immaculate grooming while trapped indoors instawaxing set after set of abused planks for people who only get it done because someone told them they should?

Honesty goes a long way with those customers, as long as you remember to bring it out instead of reflexively doing their bidding. Ironed-in wax on a beat-up, high-density or extruded no-wax touring base is a waste of their money and my precious life energy. Instead, buy this F4, smear it on everything and go have fun.

Unfortunately, the cheerfully codependent wax grunt has a long heritage in skiing. What instawax customers usually don't realize is what a hack wax job they're getting. In places where they do a lot of them, it's an assembly line to separate the gullible from a few bucks between the front door and the trails. We don't have a facility that lends itself to such mass-produced fleecing.

The bike repair shop presents a much more straightforward challenge and attracts far fewer people who just want to know what it's like to have servants. I actually get a measure of respect for what I know and can do for people there. And if I don't, I can always grab a big wrench to tap meaningfully into my palm as I listen to the whining.

Outside of work, bike season also presents more savory transportation options. Which bike should I ride on what route variation? What should I have for lunch/fuel? Sometimes I wish I had a magical short cut home, but I just keep turning the cranks until I get there. I set the schedule of effort and rest rather than having rest forced on me by sedentary transportation and the demands of work in a shop running on the most pared-down staff.

As winter stretches before us for more than two months, I can't let myself hibernate. The actual skiing is as wonderful as ever. It's just all the clutter I have to cut through or chuck aside that wears me down.

Huh?

During one of many busy days last week at the touring center, a guy I should recognize came up to the backshop entrance to say hello.

"What do you think? Is everybody going to be using the new Campy Ergleblurgle next year?"

The what? I gathered it was something that must be getting a buzz in the cycling media, but I had no idea what he was talking about. Not only have I been trying to keep up with the Nordic ski industry's own Shimano-like ADD, it was Christmas Week and I had already gone about nine long days without a break.

Cross-country ski season used to be a relaxing break from the frantic pseudo-innovation of the mountain bike industry in the mid 1990s. Now Nordic has its own avalanches of poorly-thought-out equipment solutions to attitude problems. And more people come into a ski shop hacking and dripping snot than in a bike shop. Vacation weeks are hell. It's as if you earned your meager annual income by letting several motorcycle gangs and a couple of sketchy fraternities use your house and yard to party for ten days.

In a while I'll start to think about bikes again. If the weather turns warm it will be sooner. If the snow sticks around it will be later. Right now I have enough to do, starting with disinfecting the counter top where the last customer dripped on it.

2008 Winds Down (or goes down the drain)

With the last storm, 2008 officially became the wettest year on record in New Hampshire. Three of the top five years occurred in the last four years. The record was formerly held by 2005, with 2006 in third place. Records go back to 1870 in Concord. The next two places are held by 1888 and 1897.

Last summer seemed like it never happened. Cloudy skies and chaotic storms dominated every week after the drought and fire danger of May ended as abruptly as it had followed the extraordinarily snowy winter. The air was warm and damp. Closets and drawers in the house grew rank with mildew.

Ugly weather discourages many people from playing outside. The early surge we got in the dry start tapered off to a steady flow of repairs and a light rhythm of sales.

As this winter gets underway it seems to take up where last winter left off. We've had early snow, but temperatures that have started to seesaw above and below freezing. Sure it's zero right now, but tomorrow we're looking at almost 40, with rain moving in. For the next week the forecast calls for mixed precipitation including snow at temperatures above freezing. There's a lot of water in snow like that. Sign of the times? Can we look forward to another non-summer after we crawl out of the snowbanks again?

One can never be sure, of course. We could slide just a few degrees farther to the warm side and get only rain for the rest of the winter. I don't wish it, certainly, but I've seen it before.

A snowless winter does not mean an early spring. It just means the local economy is further depressed because the businesses that depend on snow didn't get it. In this economy, how well are those businesses going to do anyway?

Nordic skiing is "the cheap skiing." That's a benefit if people feel they can afford to go skiing at all, but no help if people have no budget for recreation. Bicycling has transportation benefits, but only if people can and will take advantage of them.

Wet weather will discourage everyone somewhat, and some people completely, in any season. It's one factor we can't control on a day to day basis.