A cyclist’s career in review

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Not sure what it was exactly.  Maybe it was the new year, 2010.  Maybe it was riding home in the cold and the dark at 9:30pm.  Maybe it was the realization that the ride I do daily and casually – to get to and from work – would have been unthinkable just a few short years ago.  Whatever the impetus, I started to reflect on how far I’ve come in cycling, how far I have to go, and how quickly it has all happened.

It is the latter that really struck me.  Cycling is a big part of my life.  It is my primary mode of transportation (by time, and by miles some weeks) as well as my primary recreational activity.  It invigorates me, motivates me, and in many ways defines part of who I am.  It is such a huge part of my life that I feel like I’ve always been a cyclist.  But in fact it has been more like 3 very short years.  That’s right – three.  And it all began because of a little job I took in Palo Alto – while living in Sacramento.

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Obituary: Fuji Absolute DX

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January 11, 2010.  Approximately 9:30 am.  San Francisco, CA.  4th & King Caltrain station, aboard southbound train 236, still sitting in the station waiting for the 9:37am departure.  That was the last time I say my Fuji Absolute DX bike.  A brief moment of inattention on my part, and me and my bike were parted.  That is when some low-life thief took him from me.

But this post isn’t about that.  Rather, this post is an only-slightly tongue in cheek memorial to a great bike.  Nicknamed “Truck” for the utilitarian, hauling usage as my daily commuter, there were at least 5500 miles recorded on the cycling computer.  That’s before I took the computer off and moved it to another bike – and not counting all of the times I simply didn’t turn the computer on.

Truck has accompanied me through countless bus and train rides.   A frequent passenger on both the Amtrak Capitol Corridor and Caltrain commuter trains, Truck as rubbed wheels with fixies, mountain bikes, folding bikes and carbon framed wonders.

Over the years Truck has become more and more equipped – tragically the final addition of a super-bright light on the handle bars being used for the first time on that fateful January morning.

Full list of equipment attached to Truck at the time of parting:

  • Planet Bike Hybrid fenders
  • Super-bright front light – didn’t have it long enough to recall the make  🙁
  • Secondary LED white frog light on front – left attached “just in case” the other light failed
  • Planet Bike flashing red rear light
  • San Marco Ponza saddle
  • Blackburn rear rack
  • Shimano SPD pedals
  • (2) Threaded CO2 cartridges
  • Presta CO2 inflator
  • (3) tire levers
  • Multi tool with cool rubber case
  • Spoke wrench
  • Alexrims front and rear
  • Memories from many many miles

Truck was like a first girlfriend – so many things learned, so many new things experienced.

Truck – you will be missed.

Some really cool one-off bikes

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I just found the Underground Velo blog.  There are some great pictures of some rather unique bikes.  Some of them are quite functional (this one looks purpose built for snow) and some are more on the artistic side.  However, the one linked to on Underground Velo called “SaltFats” – originally detailed at RatRodBikes – is an absolute stunner.

Both sites are well worth the look if you are into custom bikes:

http://undergroundvelo.blogspot.com/
http://ratrodbikes.com

Making bikes more “car like” by throwing electronics at ’em

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I ran across a blog posting “At MIT invented a ‘smart’ bicycle wheel” [sic] detailing some MIT folks and an electronics laden rear bicycle wheel they’re playing with.  More than the details of the post itself,  it struck me that it is exactly this kind of things that can lead to more wide-spread bicycle usage.  Adding bells and whistles to bicycles can make them more “car like” – and thus more accessible and user friendly to average folks.

That being said, there is still something that draws me in the other direction.  Sure – it is made of high-technical synthetic materials, and was designed using modern computers and possibly a wind tunnel.  But there is something very alluring to me about the apparent simplicity and elegance of a modern road bike.  I still don’t like riding without indexed shifting, though.  Hey – a guy’s gotta have standards.