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16 <h1>Clinton's Bicycle</h1>
17 <div class="contents">
18<dl>
19<dt>
20<a href="#sec1">The Death of the Internal Combustion Engine</a>
21</dt>
22<dt>
23<a href="#sec2">The Birth of the Organic Oxidization Engine</a>
24</dt>
25<dt>
26<a href="#sec3">A Kind Emacsing Friend</a>
27</dt>
28<dt>
29<a href="#sec4">Metamorphosis</a>
30</dt>
31<dt>
32<a href="#sec5">The Night Is Friendly</a>
33</dt>
34<dd>
35<dl>
36<dt>
37<a href="#sec6">Portable Sun</a>
38</dt>
39<dt>
40<a href="#sec7">I Am the Moon</a>
41</dt>
42<dd>
43<dl>
44<dt>
45<a href="#sec8">North's Son</a>
46</dt>
47</dl>
48</dd>
49</dl>
50</dd>
51<dt>
52<a href="#sec9">In the Name of the Steel</a>
53</dt>
c91a896f 54<dt>
55<a href="#sec10">The Death of a Friend</a>
56</dt>
9be210c0 57<dt>
58<a href="#sec11">A New Star Rises</a>
59</dt>
2aff8b5c 60</dl>
61</div>
62
63
64<!-- Page published by Emacs Muse begins here --><table class="image" width="100%">
65 <tr><td align="center"><img src="img/photos/bicycle/2006-10-25/front.jpg" alt="Greetings Friend" /></td></tr>
66 <tr><td align="center" class="image-caption">Greetings Friend</td></tr>
67</table>
68
69<h2><a name="sec1" id="sec1"></a>
70The Death of the Internal Combustion Engine</h2>
71
72<p class="first">In May 2006 and Camaro decided it was time to die and cost more than
73it was worth to repair (although in reality it cost more to repair
74than it was worth the first time it broke, but hindsight...). I
75travelled by foot for the remainder of the summer.</p>
76
77
78<h2><a name="sec2" id="sec2"></a>
79The Birth of the Organic Oxidization Engine</h2>
80
81<p class="first">In August I decided that I should get a bicycle as my <a href="http://umbc.edu">university</a> took
82about an hour to walk to on roads which did not have a terribly good
83sidewalk. What was initially meant merely to get me to school in a
84reasonable amount of time has now become a new love.</p>
85
86<table class="image" width="100%">
87 <tr><td align="center"><img src="img/photos/bicycle/2006-10-25/left.jpg" alt="It is good to be a bicycle" /></td></tr>
88 <tr><td align="center" class="image-caption">It is good to be a bicycle</td></tr>
89</table>
90
91
92<h2><a name="sec3" id="sec3"></a>
93A Kind Emacsing Friend</h2>
94
95<p><a href="http://emacsen.net">Emacsen</a> gave me his Spring 2003 Giant Iguana which was hardly ridden
96and merely needed a tiny bit of tuning to get riding again. Soon after
97getting it I added a rear rack with panniers, a tail light, and a
98cheap headlight (which, alas, was smashed to bits in a small crash).</p>
99
100<p>I rode the bike with its knobby and wide mountain bike tires for a
101month as I built strength. There are many hills in Catonsville, and so
102for the first few weeks lazy nerd me was defeated by the terrain. A
103mere two months after starting to ride, however, I achieved a level of
104strength I never thought I would. I could ride thirty miles in a day
105and <em>not feel it the next day</em>! A few months after that, even with a
106long interlude of no riding due to a broken bone, I found myself able
107ride seventy miles with a few thousand feet of elevation change.</p>
108
109
110<h2><a name="sec4" id="sec4"></a>
111Metamorphosis</h2>
112
113<p class="first">In late September I replaced the mountain bike tires with 26x1.75
114<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
115the bike on pavement considerably. I chose 1.75 over 1.50 tires
116because I tend to ride with a fairly heavy load (textbooks and other
117type things), and enjoy the freedom of being able to go off road and
118not sink into the ground or get trapped in the grass.</p>
119
120<p>I <a href="http://unknown-lamer.livejournal.com/160217.html">fell</a> in October and bent my straight handlebar. I needed a new
121handlebar so I found a trekking style handlebar on the internet that
122gave me additional spots to put my handle, allowed for a slightly
123lowered position while riding, and was the same diameter as the
124straight bar so I could keep the shifter/brake combo (it being a bit
125expensive to replace). It now has cork tape covered in cloth tape (I'm
126hoping the cloth tape will take the brunt of the wear and I can extend
127the life of the expensive cork tape). I plan to try using heat shrink
128tubing to cover the ends of the tape in place soon (if it works it
129should look neater than duct tape).</p>
130
131<table class="image" width="100%">
132 <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>
133 <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>
134</table>
135
136
137<h2><a name="sec5" id="sec5"></a>
138The Night Is Friendly</h2>
139
140<h3><a name="sec6" id="sec6"></a>
141Portable Sun</h3>
142
143<p class="first">As the end of October 2006 arrived the days became shorter, but my
144desire to explore the world increased. This presented a bit of a
145problem, and so I spent time scouring the Wise Internet for
146information on headlights. After much futile poking around I settled
147on 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
148is as bright as a single car headlight on the top setting and the
149batteries do actually last as long as the website says. I've ridden
150with it in the rain many times, and it even survived a nasty spill
151that broke my collarbone and bent my front rim.</p>
152
153<p>As of March 2008 the light still lasts a good three hours on full
154bright. This is with me using it at least once a week, and very often
155two or three times a week for extended rides (generally draining the
156battery entirely once a week) since late 2006 (excepting that winter
157because of my broken collarbone). I feared for a while that the
158battery strap was going to wear out and break, but it has yet to show
159signs of wear. All in all an <strong>excellent</strong> investment! This thing can
160handle heavy use and rain and all sorts of nasty stuff.</p>
161
162<table class="image" width="100%">
163 <tr><td align="center"><img src="img/photos/bicycle/headlight.jpg" alt="A beacon in the night" /></td></tr>
164 <tr><td align="center" class="image-caption">A beacon in the night</td></tr>
165</table>
166
167<p>The nicest part of the light is that it does seem to get its rated
168life of about four hours on the brightest setting. I'm not sure if it
169really gets nine hours on the dim setting as I've never ridden at the
170lowest setting for an extended period of time (I use it as dusk is
171setting in to make myself visible, and then increase to full
172brightness when night falls). It is about as bright as a single car
173headlight; an entire standard width car lane is illuminated with the
174light set to hit the ground about eight feet from the bike. I find
175this adequate to cycle around full speed at night.</p>
176
177
178
179<h3><a name="sec7" id="sec7"></a>
180I Am the Moon</h3>
181
182<p class="first">One day in late April 2007 I decided to cover my bicycle in reflective
183tape. It is very bright now.</p>
184
185<table class="image" width="100%">
186 <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>
187 <tr><td align="center" class="image-caption">The last time the bike will be naked</td></tr>
188</table>
189
190<table class="image" width="100%">
191 <tr><td align="center"><img src="img/photos/bicycle/bicycle_post_tape.jpg" alt="Not quite strong enough to cause tides" /></td></tr>
192 <tr><td align="center" class="image-caption">Not quite strong enough to cause tides</td></tr>
193</table>
194
195<table class="image" width="100%">
196 <tr><td align="center"><img src="img/photos/bicycle/post_tape_nighttime_1.jpg" alt="Or perhaps it is a shining star" /></td></tr>
197 <tr><td align="center" class="image-caption">Or perhaps it is a shining star</td></tr>
198</table>
199
200<h4><a name="sec8" id="sec8"></a>
201North's Son</h4>
202
203<p class="first">In Early 2008 I decided to add a few stripes of reflective fabric to
204the rear of my panniers. I am not very good at sewing so I used
205Fabritac, and they have held on reasonably well since then. I wouldn't
011c040f 206say that the bond was <em>permanent</em> though<sup><a class="footref" name="fnr.1" href="#fn.1">1</a></sup>, but so far they have only
2aff8b5c 207peeled a tiny but on the edges (fixable with a quick dab of the
208glue).</p>
209
210<p>I am quite a bit more reflective in the rear now thanks to this. I
211also have a rear fender now (more to follow on this once I stop being
212lazy and install the front one too) which has a nice strip of orange
213reflective tape.</p>
214
215<table class="image" width="100%">
216 <tr><td align="center"><img src="img/photos/bicycle/rear-tape-white.jpg" alt="~200ft with my DualCross" /></td></tr>
217 <tr><td align="center" class="image-caption">~200ft with my DualCross</td></tr>
218</table>
219<table class="image" width="100%">
220 <tr><td align="center"><img src="img/photos/bicycle/rear-tape-red.jpg" alt="~200ft with one of my tail lights" /></td></tr>
221 <tr><td align="center" class="image-caption">~200ft with one of my tail lights</td></tr>
222</table>
223
224
225
226
227<h2><a name="sec9" id="sec9"></a>
228In the Name of the Steel</h2>
229
230<p class="first">I got a few patches from friends who were travelling about, and in
231July 2008 finally glued and sewed them to the bike. Now I am more
232metal, clearly.</p>
233
234<table class="image" width="100%">
235 <tr><td align="center"><img src="img/photos/bicycle/2008/bayern-patch.jpg" alt="Freistaadt aus Bäyern" /></td></tr>
236 <tr><td align="center" class="image-caption">Freistaadt aus Bäyern</td></tr>
237</table>
238<table class="image" width="100%">
239 <tr><td align="center"><img src="img/photos/bicycle/2008/blind-guardian-patch.jpg" alt="Blind Guardian is cool" /></td></tr>
240 <tr><td align="center" class="image-caption">Blind Guardian is cool</td></tr>
241</table>
242
c91a896f 243
244<h2><a name="sec10" id="sec10"></a>
245The Death of a Friend</h2>
246
247<p class="first">On the eve of February 9th, 2011 I went on a ride. Arriving at my
248destination I chained my bike and noticed one of the chainstays looked
249a bit odd; fate would have it that the chainstay had fractured. And so
250my first Aluminum Steed was laid to rest. Rest in Peace dear friend.</p>
251
9be210c0 252
253<h2><a name="sec11" id="sec11"></a>
254A New Star Rises</h2>
255
256<p class="first">After months of being a bit broke (bikes are ... expensive) and then
257trying to scrounge up a used bike on Craigslist for a few months, I
258caved and got a <a href="Bicycle%202012.html">new bike</a>.</p>
259
011c040f 260<hr />
261<p class="footnote"><a class="footnum" name="fn.1" href="#fnr.1">1.</a> It turns out that I was underestimating the bond; as of late
262September 2010 the reflective tape has only minorly peeled around
263the edges (fixable with a quick touch up). This being with
264regular riding and occasional exposure to rain.</p>
265
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292
9be210c0 293<p class="cke-footer">&lt;RetroJ`&gt; here's something interesting about one of these chinese
294 pop music videos I've found.. it illustrates the
295 cultural barrier nicely. this young female pop star is
296 wearing a t-shirt with the confederate flag
2aff8b5c 297</p>
298<p class="cke-timestamp">Last Modified:
9be210c0 299 February 26, 2012</p>
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