My Bicycle.html

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  13     <h1>Clinton's Bicycle</h1>
  14    <div class="contents">
  15 <dl>
  16 <dt>
  17 <a href="#sec1">The Death of the Internal Combustion Engine</a>
  18 </dt>
  19 <dt>
  20 <a href="#sec2">The Birth of the Organic Oxidization Engine</a>
  21 </dt>
  22 <dt>
  23 <a href="#sec3">A Kind Emacsing Friend</a>
  24 </dt>
  25 <dt>
  26 <a href="#sec4">Metamorphosis</a>
  27 </dt>
  28 <dt>
  29 <a href="#sec5">The Night Is Friendly</a>
  30 </dt>
  31 <dd>
  32 <dl>
  33 <dt>
  34 <a href="#sec6">Portable Sun</a>
  35 </dt>
  36 <dt>
  37 <a href="#sec7">I Am the Moon</a>
  38 </dt>
  39 <dd>
  40 <dl>
  41 <dt>
  42 <a href="#sec8">North's Son</a>
  43 </dt>
  44 </dl>
  45 </dd>
  46 </dl>
  47 </dd>
  48 <dt>
  49 <a href="#sec9">In the Name of the Steel</a>
  50 </dt>
  51 </dl>
  52 </div>
  53
  54
  55 <!-- Page published by Emacs Muse begins here --><table class="image" width="100%">
  56   <tr><td align="center"><img src="img/photos/bicycle/2006-10-25/front.jpg" alt="Greetings Friend" /></td></tr>
  57   <tr><td align="center" class="image-caption">Greetings Friend</td></tr>
  58 </table>
  59
  60 <h2><a name="sec1" id="sec1"></a>
  61 The Death of the Internal Combustion Engine</h2>
  62
  63 <p class="first">In May 2006 and Camaro decided it was time to die and cost more than
  64 it was worth to repair (although in reality it cost more to repair
  65 than it was worth the first time it broke, but hindsight...). I
  66 travelled by foot for the remainder of the summer.</p>
  67
  68
  69 <h2><a name="sec2" id="sec2"></a>
  70 The Birth of the Organic Oxidization Engine</h2>
  71
  72 <p class="first">In August I decided that I should get a bicycle as my <a href="http://umbc.edu">university</a> took
  73 about an hour to walk to on roads which did not have a terribly good
  74 sidewalk. What was initially meant merely to get me to school in a
  75 reasonable amount of time has now become a new love.</p>
  76
  77 <table class="image" width="100%">
  78   <tr><td align="center"><img src="img/photos/bicycle/2006-10-25/left.jpg" alt="It is good to be a bicycle" /></td></tr>
  79   <tr><td align="center" class="image-caption">It is good to be a bicycle</td></tr>
  80 </table>
  81
  82
  83 <h2><a name="sec3" id="sec3"></a>
  84 A Kind Emacsing Friend</h2>
  85
  86 <p><a href="http://emacsen.net">Emacsen</a> gave me his Spring 2003 Giant Iguana which was hardly ridden
  87 and merely needed a tiny bit of tuning to get riding again. Soon after
  88 getting it I added a rear rack with panniers, a tail light, and a
  89 cheap headlight (which, alas, was smashed to bits in a small crash).</p>
  90
  91 <p>I rode the bike with its knobby and wide mountain bike tires for a
  92 month as I built strength. There are many hills in Catonsville, and so
  93 for the first few weeks lazy nerd me was defeated by the terrain. A
  94 mere two months after starting to ride, however, I achieved a level of
  95 strength I never thought I would. I could ride thirty miles in a day
  96 and <em>not feel it the next day</em>! A few months after that, even with a
  97 long interlude of no riding due to a broken bone, I found myself able
  98 ride seventy miles with a few thousand feet of elevation change.</p>
  99
 100
 101 <h2><a name="sec4" id="sec4"></a>
 102 Metamorphosis</h2>
 103
 104 <p class="first">In late September I replaced the mountain bike tires with 26x1.75
 105 <a href="http://www.conti-online.com/generator/www/de/en/continental/bicycle/themes/tires/city/travelcontact/travelcontact_en.html">road tires</a> which nearly doubled my range, and improved the handling of
 106 the bike on pavement considerably. I chose 1.75 over 1.50 tires
 107 because I tend to ride with a fairly heavy load (textbooks and other
 108 type things), and enjoy the freedom of being able to go off road and
 109 not sink into the ground or get trapped in the grass.</p>
 110
 111 <p>I <a href="http://unknown-lamer.livejournal.com/160217.html">fell</a> in October and bent my straight handlebar. I needed a new
 112 handlebar so I found a trekking style handlebar on the internet that
 113 gave me additional spots to put my handle, allowed for a slightly
 114 lowered position while riding, and was the same diameter as the
 115 straight bar so I could keep the shifter/brake combo (it being a bit
 116 expensive to replace). It now has cork tape covered in cloth tape (I'm
 117 hoping the cloth tape will take the brunt of the wear and I can extend
 118 the life of the expensive cork tape). I plan to try using heat shrink
 119 tubing to cover the ends of the tape in place soon (if it works it
 120 should look neater than duct tape).</p>
 121
 122 <table class="image" width="100%">
 123   <tr><td align="center"><img src="img/photos/bicycle/2006-10-25/handlebar.jpg" alt="It would seem that the amount of destructiveness to be found in individuals is proportionate to the amount to which expansiveness of life is curtailed. By this we do not refer to individual frustrations of this or that instinctive desire but to the thwarting of the whole of life, the blockage of spontaneity of the growth and expression of man's sensuous, emotional, and intellectual capacities" /></td></tr>
 124   <tr><td align="center" class="image-caption">It would seem that the amount of destructiveness to be found in individuals is proportionate to the amount to which expansiveness of life is curtailed. By this we do not refer to individual frustrations of this or that instinctive desire but to the thwarting of the whole of life, the blockage of spontaneity of the growth and expression of man's sensuous, emotional, and intellectual capacities</td></tr>
 125 </table>
 126
 127
 128 <h2><a name="sec5" id="sec5"></a>
 129 The Night Is Friendly</h2>
 130
 131 <h3><a name="sec6" id="sec6"></a>
 132 Portable Sun</h3>
 133
 134 <p class="first">As the end of October 2006 arrived the days became shorter, but my
 135 desire to explore the world increased. This presented a bit of a
 136 problem, and so I spent time scouring the Wise Internet for
 137 information on headlights. After much futile poking around I settled
 138 on a <a href="http://www.cygolite.com/2-Products/1-DualCross300.htm">Cygolite DualCross 300</a> and was given one as a birthday gift. It
 139 is as bright as a single car headlight on the top setting and the
 140 batteries do actually last as long as the website says. I've ridden
 141 with it in the rain many times, and it even survived a nasty spill
 142 that broke my collarbone and bent my front rim.</p>
 143
 144 <p>As of March 2008 the light still lasts a good three hours on full
 145 bright. This is with me using it at least once a week, and very often
 146 two or three times a week for extended rides (generally draining the
 147 battery entirely once a week) since late 2006 (excepting that winter
 148 because of my broken collarbone). I feared for a while that the
 149 battery strap was going to wear out and break, but it has yet to show
 150 signs of wear. All in all an <strong>excellent</strong> investment! This thing can
 151 handle heavy use and rain and all sorts of nasty stuff.</p>
 152
 153 <table class="image" width="100%">
 154   <tr><td align="center"><img src="img/photos/bicycle/headlight.jpg" alt="A beacon in the night" /></td></tr>
 155   <tr><td align="center" class="image-caption">A beacon in the night</td></tr>
 156 </table>
 157
 158 <p>The nicest part of the light is that it does seem to get its rated
 159 life of about four hours on the brightest setting. I'm not sure if it
 160 really gets nine hours on the dim setting as I've never ridden at the
 161 lowest setting for an extended period of time (I use it as dusk is
 162 setting in to make myself visible, and then increase to full
 163 brightness when night falls). It is about as bright as a single car
 164 headlight; an entire standard width car lane is illuminated with the
 165 light set to hit the ground about eight feet from the bike. I find
 166 this adequate to cycle around full speed at night.</p>
 167
 168
 169
 170 <h3><a name="sec7" id="sec7"></a>
 171 I Am the Moon</h3>
 172
 173 <p class="first">One day in late April 2007 I decided to cover my bicycle in reflective
 174 tape. It is very bright now.</p>
 175
 176 <table class="image" width="100%">
 177   <tr><td align="center"><img src="img/photos/bicycle/before_tape_upside_down.jpg" alt="The last time the bike will be naked" /></td></tr>
 178   <tr><td align="center" class="image-caption">The last time the bike will be naked</td></tr>
 179 </table>
 180
 181 <table class="image" width="100%">
 182   <tr><td align="center"><img src="img/photos/bicycle/bicycle_post_tape.jpg" alt="Not quite strong enough to cause tides" /></td></tr>
 183   <tr><td align="center" class="image-caption">Not quite strong enough to cause tides</td></tr>
 184 </table>
 185
 186 <table class="image" width="100%">
 187   <tr><td align="center"><img src="img/photos/bicycle/post_tape_nighttime_1.jpg" alt="Or perhaps it is a shining star" /></td></tr>
 188   <tr><td align="center" class="image-caption">Or perhaps it is a shining star</td></tr>
 189 </table>
 190
 191 <h4><a name="sec8" id="sec8"></a>
 192 North's Son</h4>
 193
 194 <p class="first">In Early 2008 I decided to add a few stripes of reflective fabric to
 195 the rear of my panniers. I am not very good at sewing so I used
 196 Fabritac, and they have held on reasonably well since then. I wouldn't
 197 say that the bond was <em>permanent</em> though, but so far they have only
 198 peeled a tiny but on the edges (fixable with a quick dab of the
 199 glue).</p>
 200
 201 <p>I am quite a bit more reflective in the rear now thanks to this. I
 202 also have a rear fender now (more to follow on this once I stop being
 203 lazy and install the front one too) which has a nice strip of orange
 204 reflective tape.</p>
 205
 206 <table class="image" width="100%">
 207   <tr><td align="center"><img src="img/photos/bicycle/rear-tape-white.jpg" alt="~200ft with my DualCross" /></td></tr>
 208   <tr><td align="center" class="image-caption">~200ft with my DualCross</td></tr>
 209 </table>
 210 <table class="image" width="100%">
 211   <tr><td align="center"><img src="img/photos/bicycle/rear-tape-red.jpg" alt="~200ft with one of my tail lights" /></td></tr>
 212   <tr><td align="center" class="image-caption">~200ft with one of my tail lights</td></tr>
 213 </table>
 214
 215
 216
 217
 218 <h2><a name="sec9" id="sec9"></a>
 219 In the Name of the Steel</h2>
 220
 221 <p class="first">I got a few patches from friends who were travelling about, and in
 222 July 2008 finally glued and sewed them to the bike. Now I am more
 223 metal, clearly.</p>
 224
 225 <table class="image" width="100%">
 226   <tr><td align="center"><img src="img/photos/bicycle/2008/bayern-patch.jpg" alt="Freistaadt aus Bäyern" /></td></tr>
 227   <tr><td align="center" class="image-caption">Freistaadt aus Bäyern</td></tr>
 228 </table>
 229 <table class="image" width="100%">
 230   <tr><td align="center"><img src="img/photos/bicycle/2008/blind-guardian-patch.jpg" alt="Blind Guardian is cool" /></td></tr>
 231   <tr><td align="center" class="image-caption">Blind Guardian is cool</td></tr>
 232 </table>
 233
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 260
 261 <p class="cke-footer">                         Ruled by the ebb of my oceans
 262                         Slaves to the dusk and the dawn
 263                          Your petri dish civilisations
 264                              Are buried and born
 265 </p>
 266 <p class="cke-timestamp">Last Modified:
 267     July 22, 2008</p>
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