My Bicycle.html

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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>
  54 <dt>
  55 <a href="#sec10">The Death of a Friend</a>
  56 </dt>
  57 <dt>
  58 <a href="#sec11">A New Star Rises</a>
  59 </dt>
  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>
  70 The 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
  73 it was worth to repair (although in reality it cost more to repair
  74 than it was worth the first time it broke, but hindsight...). I
  75 travelled by foot for the remainder of the summer.</p>
  76
  77
  78 <h2><a name="sec2" id="sec2"></a>
  79 The 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
  82 about an hour to walk to on roads which did not have a terribly good
  83 sidewalk. What was initially meant merely to get me to school in a
  84 reasonable 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>
  93 A 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
  96 and merely needed a tiny bit of tuning to get riding again. Soon after
  97 getting it I added a rear rack with panniers, a tail light, and a
  98 cheap 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
 101 month as I built strength. There are many hills in Catonsville, and so
 102 for the first few weeks lazy nerd me was defeated by the terrain. A
 103 mere two months after starting to ride, however, I achieved a level of
 104 strength I never thought I would. I could ride thirty miles in a day
 105 and <em>not feel it the next day</em>! A few months after that, even with a
 106 long interlude of no riding due to a broken bone, I found myself able
 107 ride seventy miles with a few thousand feet of elevation change.</p>
 108
 109
 110 <h2><a name="sec4" id="sec4"></a>
 111 Metamorphosis</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
 115 the bike on pavement considerably. I chose 1.75 over 1.50 tires
 116 because I tend to ride with a fairly heavy load (textbooks and other
 117 type things), and enjoy the freedom of being able to go off road and
 118 not 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
 121 handlebar so I found a trekking style handlebar on the internet that
 122 gave me additional spots to put my handle, allowed for a slightly
 123 lowered position while riding, and was the same diameter as the
 124 straight bar so I could keep the shifter/brake combo (it being a bit
 125 expensive to replace). It now has cork tape covered in cloth tape (I'm
 126 hoping the cloth tape will take the brunt of the wear and I can extend
 127 the life of the expensive cork tape). I plan to try using heat shrink
 128 tubing to cover the ends of the tape in place soon (if it works it
 129 should 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>
 138 The Night Is Friendly</h2>
 139
 140 <h3><a name="sec6" id="sec6"></a>
 141 Portable Sun</h3>
 142
 143 <p class="first">As the end of October 2006 arrived the days became shorter, but my
 144 desire to explore the world increased. This presented a bit of a
 145 problem, and so I spent time scouring the Wise Internet for
 146 information on headlights. After much futile poking around I settled
 147 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
 148 is as bright as a single car headlight on the top setting and the
 149 batteries do actually last as long as the website says. I've ridden
 150 with it in the rain many times, and it even survived a nasty spill
 151 that 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
 154 bright. This is with me using it at least once a week, and very often
 155 two or three times a week for extended rides (generally draining the
 156 battery entirely once a week) since late 2006 (excepting that winter
 157 because of my broken collarbone). I feared for a while that the
 158 battery strap was going to wear out and break, but it has yet to show
 159 signs of wear. All in all an <strong>excellent</strong> investment! This thing can
 160 handle 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
 168 life of about four hours on the brightest setting. I'm not sure if it
 169 really gets nine hours on the dim setting as I've never ridden at the
 170 lowest setting for an extended period of time (I use it as dusk is
 171 setting in to make myself visible, and then increase to full
 172 brightness when night falls). It is about as bright as a single car
 173 headlight; an entire standard width car lane is illuminated with the
 174 light set to hit the ground about eight feet from the bike. I find
 175 this adequate to cycle around full speed at night.</p>
 176
 177
 178
 179 <h3><a name="sec7" id="sec7"></a>
 180 I Am the Moon</h3>
 181
 182 <p class="first">One day in late April 2007 I decided to cover my bicycle in reflective
 183 tape. 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>
 201 North's Son</h4>
 202
 203 <p class="first">In Early 2008 I decided to add a few stripes of reflective fabric to
 204 the rear of my panniers. I am not very good at sewing so I used
 205 Fabritac, and they have held on reasonably well since then. I wouldn't
 206 say 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
 207 peeled a tiny but on the edges (fixable with a quick dab of the
 208 glue).</p>
 209
 210 <p>I am quite a bit more reflective in the rear now thanks to this. I
 211 also have a rear fender now (more to follow on this once I stop being
 212 lazy and install the front one too) which has a nice strip of orange
 213 reflective 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>
 228 In the Name of the Steel</h2>
 229
 230 <p class="first">I got a few patches from friends who were travelling about, and in
 231 July 2008 finally glued and sewed them to the bike. Now I am more
 232 metal, 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
 243
 244 <h2><a name="sec10" id="sec10"></a>
 245 The 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
 248 destination I chained my bike and noticed one of the chainstays looked
 249 a bit odd; fate would have it that the chainstay had fractured. And so
 250 my first Aluminum Steed was laid to rest. Rest in Peace dear friend.</p>
 251
 252
 253 <h2><a name="sec11" id="sec11"></a>
 254 A New Star Rises</h2>
 255
 256 <p class="first">After months of being a bit broke (bikes are ... expensive) and then
 257 trying to scrounge up a used bike on Craigslist for a few months, I
 258 caved and got a <a href="Bicycle%202012.html">new bike</a>.</p>
 259
 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
 262 September 2010 the reflective tape has only minorly peeled around
 263 the edges (fixable with a quick touch up). This being with
 264 regular riding and occasional exposure to rain.</p>
 265
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 292
 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
 297 </p>
 298 <p class="cke-timestamp">Last Modified:
 299     February 26, 2012</p>
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