S.S.FrankenTrek
I did something much out of the normal routine this evening. 'Course, my whole day has been slightly out of routine. (I know I'm supposed to leave these "today, blah, blah" message on a different blog). I woke up (was awakened) at 4.20a.m. and couldn't go back to sleep, so I was out of bed at perhaps 4.35. I fiddled on the computer- reading some nice reports of the SanFran 200K Brevet from this weekend, did/had a 15min mediation and ate cereal at home, all thing I enjoy, albeit not so damn early. I had suffered one of my "moments" Friday afternoon, so today I had to drive the truck to pick the Trek up from work. Yes, I could've taken public transpo, but it would take me a good hour or more with transfers in the cold. My conscience only goes so far.
Having had an off morning, my afternoon wasn't too strange: led tennis conditioning, came home, read a little bit, that's about it. And then, much like the morning schedule, the evening schedule ventured in its own direction. We ate supper, pasta, at 4.50p.m. b/c tonight 1 son had soccer at 6.00 and the other at 7.00 right after that. That means you either eat supper at 5 or at 8.30. I actually enjoy eating early b/c it sits on the stomach better. After that they went to soccer. And I had time on my hands.
I hemmed and hawed and hemmed some more. "Do I ride?" "It's 25F and getting dark." "It's going to snow, rain, or sleet tomorrow, could be a rough biking day." "Why are you such a lazy, worthless, no good piece of shit." "Strike that. I'm trying to talk nicely to people, first of all myself."
I rode, taking a quickie, supremely flat neighborhood ride on the Trek. Damn I sure do like commute over trying to "train" after work. And, damn, I sure did enjoy my bike jog. It is gonna be nasty around here for the next few days but it felt great to stretch it tonight, cold or no.
This is the S.S.FrankenTrek. I can't help the fact that I just love this bike right now. It was my first "real" bike, purchased in the spring of 1987 as a graduation gift. I rode it partly through college before switching to a C'dale 'Criterium' for some years. I then sold it to my uncle (older by 6.5 yrs) who didn't ride it as much as he should have. I later bought it back from him for the same price I sold it originally. Dumb? Yes, but worth it. It was a rain bike for a good while and now, in it's present form, acts as commuter #2 and single-speed beataround. I love it. It's super sturdy and smooth through the turns. I've adorned it w/ some really ugly features like the clear plastic BMX pedals and miss-match silver and black crankarms (and Jimmy says, "Fuck Gas."). It's a SS now, running a 40x16, which is an easy push for work and the neighborhood. I recently added the Carradice for commuting purposes and the PlanetBike fenders- borrowed from the Redline- were put on for obvious rain purposes. I prolly should have never bought the wheels; Chris @ Clarksville took advantage of me, but they were a great deal and serve the bike very well.
Can you tell I love it? Can you tell that I just had a great 1-hr cold, dark, lonely and invigorating ride to help finish off a Monday. I hope you all had the same opportunity. As for this week, we may be looking at anywhere from 5" of snow to an ice storm. I'm sure all the bread and milk is gone, being KY and all.
peace!
Having had an off morning, my afternoon wasn't too strange: led tennis conditioning, came home, read a little bit, that's about it. And then, much like the morning schedule, the evening schedule ventured in its own direction. We ate supper, pasta, at 4.50p.m. b/c tonight 1 son had soccer at 6.00 and the other at 7.00 right after that. That means you either eat supper at 5 or at 8.30. I actually enjoy eating early b/c it sits on the stomach better. After that they went to soccer. And I had time on my hands.
I hemmed and hawed and hemmed some more. "Do I ride?" "It's 25F and getting dark." "It's going to snow, rain, or sleet tomorrow, could be a rough biking day." "Why are you such a lazy, worthless, no good piece of shit." "Strike that. I'm trying to talk nicely to people, first of all myself."
I rode, taking a quickie, supremely flat neighborhood ride on the Trek. Damn I sure do like commute over trying to "train" after work. And, damn, I sure did enjoy my bike jog. It is gonna be nasty around here for the next few days but it felt great to stretch it tonight, cold or no.
This is the S.S.FrankenTrek. I can't help the fact that I just love this bike right now. It was my first "real" bike, purchased in the spring of 1987 as a graduation gift. I rode it partly through college before switching to a C'dale 'Criterium' for some years. I then sold it to my uncle (older by 6.5 yrs) who didn't ride it as much as he should have. I later bought it back from him for the same price I sold it originally. Dumb? Yes, but worth it. It was a rain bike for a good while and now, in it's present form, acts as commuter #2 and single-speed beataround. I love it. It's super sturdy and smooth through the turns. I've adorned it w/ some really ugly features like the clear plastic BMX pedals and miss-match silver and black crankarms (and Jimmy says, "Fuck Gas."). It's a SS now, running a 40x16, which is an easy push for work and the neighborhood. I recently added the Carradice for commuting purposes and the PlanetBike fenders- borrowed from the Redline- were put on for obvious rain purposes. I prolly should have never bought the wheels; Chris @ Clarksville took advantage of me, but they were a great deal and serve the bike very well.Can you tell I love it? Can you tell that I just had a great 1-hr cold, dark, lonely and invigorating ride to help finish off a Monday. I hope you all had the same opportunity. As for this week, we may be looking at anywhere from 5" of snow to an ice storm. I'm sure all the bread and milk is gone, being KY and all.
peace!
Comments
I recently ordered some better gloves, and they arrived today. What is any normal person to do in such a case but ride for a bit "to test the gloves?"
It felt good to get out. I'm tweaking my gear selections a bit, and with the new gloves, may drop my temperature threshold a few more degrees, to the lower 20s. Next thing to get is a pair of wool tights, unless I can find a pair I used to have. They came apart in some key places, but as an inner layer they may still do the job.
Tom, I swear by a pair of oldish PearlIzumi lobster mitts. They have big, tall, thick pile- which I think the newer models do not- and I can say I've used them comfortably to -1F. My cold weather riding has also really been helped by Performancebikes fleece exercise pants. Another cheap pickup, but essential for anything below 40F.
Jimmy, that IS a fine sticker. I do have to hide it from the kids at school. :-) As for the crank, it may be. don't know. i got it over at ClarksvilleSch, where I've been going for years. It was the only 170 they had in stock. they seemed worried that it didn't match the original silver. me, i liked it even more.