'bent Commute

Date: August 15 Fri
Weather: 85F, sunny
Mileage: 26
August mileage: 162
Year to date: 1589

I've been blogging about old boringass savetheworld bike commuting and no one seems interested, so today I'll write about old boringass savetheworld bike commuting, but on a different bike. to begin, the darth vadar machine seems to be working b/c i bounced up again out of bed at 5.15 with nary a complaint. it could also be that the newness of the new school year is still palpable and i haven't yet descended into that ignominious rut that the public school education/all jobs can be. because i was too lazy to fix the pinchazo on the LHT from yesterday i had to pick from my varied stable of noble steeds for the commute today. Options:
  • Bleriot- have to use rechargeable light, the one i forgot to plug in last night. don't really want it as my regular commuter. too pretty. Carradice Longflap is a tad small for my usual needs (clothes, lunch, papers), but it's workable too.
  • 925 fixie- basket ready for basic commuter load. no lights. i was going to ride this one but forgot the light thing.
  • Rans rocket- again, a bike i rarely ride, but now that i have a 'bent, i'm not going to sell it. it's good for occasional trips, and if the "walnut-sized organ" ever flares up, i'm set.
Yes, I have other bikes, but commuting is about carrying capacity. I don't do backpacks or messenger bags; they're heavy, sweaty and uncomfy compared to a good pannier or basket. Because I hadn't charged the Niterider I chose the Rans. I had it out 2 weeks ago so I knew it was still functioning. It has a little flashy LED on the stem and I added the Princeton Eos to my helmet. In dumbass hindsight i could've done the same for the fixie, but away i went on the 'bent.

(Useless side anecdote- I had the Eos mounted to my helmet last year at some point with a random nylon/velcro strap i had laying around. at some point i took it off. i then wanted to remount the Eos on the original stretching headlamp strap. in looking for the stretchy headlamp strap i found another random strap, this a little stretchy and numerous velcro placements. i have zero clue what it's for, but it has ended up being a good mounting strap for my helmet, more secure than the previous. as for the headlamp strap, ??)

i met 'BB' for our first commute of the year (together). there is so much grief brewing around school right now, so the morning topics covered that ad infinitum. she's a tough nut, a former journalist, but she also can be very insightful. this time i was the one bitching about the whole scene and her reasonable observations helped chill me out a bit. the 'bent did fine and i had to keep from leaving 'BB' b/c i felt pretty good.

after work, we decided to use the Friday afternoon for a little extra mileage. in the fall our usual, that's to say our as teachers, is to meet up for libations on the patio at a local establishment. this year instead, b/c everybody seems so @$#@@# pissed and worked up over the principal thing i saw nor heard nary a word about connecting for drinks. And i'm not mad about it either. i needed to use the pedals to turn the stress away and just be away from it all. 'BB' and i left via Algoinquin and returned via Bank St. back into the downtown area. From there we came Kentucky and up through the Highlands. At about mile 15 in the afternoon my knees starting talking to me. while the 'bent isn't inherently bad on the knees, b/c we were in the city there was alot of starting and stopping and that wore on them after while. i think i was pushing too big a gear too. i came home refreshed (except for knees) and glad that a very trying, no, miserable week was over. it's a strange spot where i am excited to teach the kids, but the office politics are truly, and completely, out of control.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Man, I'm still looking forward to seeing what other bikes you have stashed away.

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