My Bicycle.muse

   1 #title Clinton's Bicycle
   2
   3 [[img/photos/bicycle/2006-10-25/front.jpg][Greetings Friend]]
   4
   5 * The Death of the Internal Combustion Engine
   6
   7 In May 2006 and Camaro decided it was time to die and cost more than
   8 it was worth to repair (although in reality it cost more to repair
   9 than it was worth the first time it broke, but hindsight...). I
  10 travelled by foot for the remainder of the summer.
  11
  12 * The Birth of the Organic Oxidization Engine
  13
  14 In August I decided that I should get a bicycle as my [[http://umbc.edu][university]] took
  15 about an hour to walk to on roads which did not have a terribly good
  16 sidewalk. What was initially meant merely to get me to school in a
  17 reasonable amount of time has now become a new love.
  18
  19 [[img/photos/bicycle/2006-10-25/left.jpg][It is good to be a bicycle]]
  20
  21 * A Kind Emacsing Friend
  22
  23 [[http://emacsen.net][Emacsen]] gave me his Spring 2003 Giant Iguana which was hardly ridden
  24 and merely needed a tiny bit of tuning to get riding again. Soon after
  25 getting it I added a rear rack with panniers, a tail light, and a
  26 cheap headlight (which, alas, was smashed to bits in a small crash).
  27
  28 I rode the bike with its knobby and wide mountain bike tires for a
  29 month as I built strength. There are many hills in Catonsville, and so
  30 for the first few weeks lazy nerd me was defeated by the terrain. A
  31 mere two months after starting to ride, however, I achieved a level of
  32 strength I never thought I would. I could ride thirty miles in a day
  33 and *not feel it the next day*! A few months after that, even with a
  34 long interlude of no riding due to a broken bone, I found myself able
  35 ride seventy miles with a few thousand feet of elevation change.
  36
  37 * Metamorphosis
  38
  39 In late September I replaced the mountain bike tires with 26x1.75
  40 [[http://www.conti-online.com/generator/www/de/en/continental/bicycle/themes/tires/city/travelcontact/travelcontact_en.html][road tires]] which nearly doubled my range, and improved the handling of
  41 the bike on pavement considerably. I chose 1.75 over 1.50 tires
  42 because I tend to ride with a fairly heavy load (textbooks and other
  43 type things), and enjoy the freedom of being able to go off road and
  44 not sink into the ground or get trapped in the grass.
  45
  46 I [[http://unknown-lamer.livejournal.com/160217.html][fell]] in October and bent my straight handlebar. I needed a new
  47 handlebar so I found a trekking style handlebar on the internet that
  48 gave me additional spots to put my handle, allowed for a slightly
  49 lowered position while riding, and was the same diameter as the
  50 straight bar so I could keep the shifter/brake combo (it being a bit
  51 expensive to replace). It now has cork tape covered in cloth tape (I'm
  52 hoping the cloth tape will take the brunt of the wear and I can extend
  53 the life of the expensive cork tape). I plan to try using heat shrink
  54 tubing to cover the ends of the tape in place soon (if it works it
  55 should look neater than duct tape).
  56
  57 [[img/photos/bicycle/2006-10-25/handlebar.jpg][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]]
  58
  59 * The Night Is Friendly
  60
  61 ** Portable Sun
  62
  63 As the end of October 2006 arrived the days became shorter, but my
  64 desire to explore the world increased. This presented a bit of a
  65 problem, and so I spent time scouring the Wise Internet for
  66 information on headlights. After much futile poking around I settled
  67 on a [[http://www.cygolite.com/2-Products/1-DualCross300.htm][Cygolite DualCross 300]] and was given one as a birthday gift. It
  68 is as bright as a single car headlight on the top setting and the
  69 batteries do actually last as long as the website says. I've ridden
  70 with it in the rain many times, and it even survived a nasty spill
  71 that broke my collarbone and bent my front rim.
  72
  73 As of March 2008 the light still lasts a good three hours on full
  74 bright. This is with me using it at least once a week, and very often
  75 two or three times a week for extended rides (generally draining the
  76 battery entirely once a week) since late 2006 (excepting that winter
  77 because of my broken collarbone). I feared for a while that the
  78 battery strap was going to wear out and break, but it has yet to show
  79 signs of wear. All in all an **excellent** investment! This thing can
  80 handle heavy use and rain and all sorts of nasty stuff.
  81
  82 [[img/photos/bicycle/headlight.jpg][A beacon in the night]]
  83
  84 The nicest part of the light is that it does seem to get its rated
  85 life of about four hours on the brightest setting. I'm not sure if it
  86 really gets nine hours on the dim setting as I've never ridden at the
  87 lowest setting for an extended period of time (I use it as dusk is
  88 setting in to make myself visible, and then increase to full
  89 brightness when night falls). It is about as bright as a single car
  90 headlight; an entire standard width car lane is illuminated with the
  91 light set to hit the ground about eight feet from the bike. I find
  92 this adequate to cycle around full speed at night.
  93
  94
  95 ** I Am the Moon
  96
  97 One day in late April 2007 I decided to cover my bicycle in reflective
  98 tape. It is very bright now.
  99
 100 [[img/photos/bicycle/before_tape_upside_down.jpg][The last time the bike will be naked]]
 101
 102 [[img/photos/bicycle/bicycle_post_tape.jpg][Not quite strong enough to cause tides]]
 103
 104 [[img/photos/bicycle/post_tape_nighttime_1.jpg][Or perhaps it is a shining star]]
 105
 106 *** North's Son
 107
 108 In Early 2008 I decided to add a few stripes of reflective fabric to
 109 the rear of my panniers. I am not very good at sewing so I used
 110 Fabritac, and they have held on reasonably well since then. I wouldn't
 111 say that the bond was *permanent* though[1], but so far they have only
 112 peeled a tiny but on the edges (fixable with a quick dab of the
 113 glue).
 114
 115 I am quite a bit more reflective in the rear now thanks to this. I
 116 also have a rear fender now (more to follow on this once I stop being
 117 lazy and install the front one too) which has a nice strip of orange
 118 reflective tape.
 119
 120 [[img/photos/bicycle/rear-tape-white.jpg][~200ft with my DualCross]]
 121 [[img/photos/bicycle/rear-tape-red.jpg][~200ft with one of my tail lights]]
 122
 123 * In the Name of the Steel
 124
 125 I got a few patches from friends who were travelling about, and in
 126 July 2008 finally glued and sewed them to the bike. Now I am more
 127 metal, clearly.
 128
 129 [[img/photos/bicycle/2008/bayern-patch.jpg][Freistaadt aus Bäyern]]
 130 [[img/photos/bicycle/2008/blind-guardian-patch.jpg][Blind Guardian is cool]]
 131
 132 * The Death of a Friend
 133
 134 On the eve of February 9th, 2011 I went on a ride. Arriving at my
 135 destination I chained my bike and noticed one of the chainstays looked
 136 a bit odd; fate would have it that the chainstay had fractured. And so
 137 my first Aluminum Steed was laid to rest. Rest in Peace dear friend.
 138
 139 * A New Star Rises
 140
 141 After months of being a bit broke (bikes are ... expensive) and then
 142 trying to scrounge up a used bike on Craigslist for a few months, I
 143 caved and got a [[Bicycle 2012][new bike]].
 144
 145 Footnotes:
 146 [1] It turns out that I was underestimating the bond; as of late
 147      September 2010 the reflective tape has only minorly peeled around
 148      the edges (fixable with a quick touch up). This being with
 149      regular riding and occasional exposure to rain.
 150