Even though I spent half of yesterday believing it was Friday, today actually is Friday, and over the course of this week I have discovered a few new things:
Padded bike shorts really do make a difference.
Cutting that .3 of a mile out of my commute somehow saves me five minutes.
Telling someone the time casually in German is very complicated.
Riding with clipless pedals uses different\more muscles than toe clips.
The weather and temperature in Georgia will never be predictable.
What did you learn this week?
I learned that concrete
I learned that concrete trucks can spill extra concrete onto the side of the road if they don't clean their chutes before leaving the jobsite.
I learned that these little piles of concrete can knock you off your road bike and, if you're going about 30 miles an hour, can send you sliding across College Ave.
I learned that helmets are good and road rash is bad.
that riding home with unicycle strapped to your back will get
you stopped by the cops
www.stupidhurts.org
are you serious?
for what?
this is bad news for all cargo bikers.
well
- i (re)learned that shifting and coasting is sometimes more fun than skidding
- i learned that i really should get/build a cargo bike for the stuff that i sometimes need to haul around (e.g., my accordion)
- and i learned how to conjugate 6th class passive verbs in the optative tense in sanskrit
i didn't learn
but i have seen two different cars in as many days driving around with only european license plates (german and english). is there some sort of new world order license plate agreement i'm not aware of?
1. That 1 extra mm of tire
1. That 1 extra mm of tire width makes a huge difference. Much comfier ride.
2. DO NOT ride in Buckhead. Ever. Especially not during rush hour. Ick.
tires
[stock paul h response here]
Packing up the winter gear
Winter clothing is being used less and less. Yeah!
Fenders work! Use them!
Ain't nothin but a drizzle
But road grime'll mess you up fo shizzle
Riding in Barcelona rocks
I learned that a lot of people ride here, even old guys in suits coming from their office.
There are very few fixies (saw 3, the Courtney makes 4).
I also learned that if your angle is shallow enough and the pavement is wet enough it takes surprisingly little lip on a curb cut to ensure that your bike goes one way and you another.
Yep, biking in Barcelona rocks
- Take the L3 to Montbau and you can pretty much coast all the way to the ocean
- There's a great bike path along the Besos river. I went past the paved part on a mountain bike with road slicks (from here). Don't know if I'd do the gravel part on a road bike because of the sandy areas and sudden dips.
riding makes me want to ride less
My daily commute from Buckhead to Downtown is tiresome (mentally) to the point that the thought of getting on my bike is beginning to feel like a chore. I need to move, or find some magical route that doesn't involve riding where normal traffic flow travels at 50 mph in a 35 mph zone.
see above Buckhead comment.
see above Buckhead comment.
.
I need to get sunscreen
Missing a Back Brake Is Doable (But Not Advisable)
The little screw that goes into the back barrel adjuster is stripped. (Campy part.. which means I got 13 years of use before breakdown... Campy wears in; Shimano wears out...) This means brake caliper doesn't close all the way. This means no back brake. (The front's more important, right?) It is doable to be this way, but not advisable (in this town..). I'm having to think more (like a fixie rider...) And I don't like having to think more. (Would Sopo have such an obscure Campy Chorus part?) MP
.
Back brakes are only necessary when traction is an issue (e.g., snow/ice, water/oil, sand/asphalt, etc).
I've Learned I'm No Wrench
Thanks for the Campy links, friends. (Will keep 'em...) I learned this Friday that I'm no wrench, at all. I took my steed to APB and Chris managed to "fix" it in one minute with a) a look and b) a couple of turns of a screw. (Doh!) MP
Have you looked here?
Loose Screws Bicycle Small Parts
http://www.thethirdhand.com
Is this what ya
Is this what ya need?
http://www.yellowjersey.org/cabrx.html#CBA
Coughing spells can get scary.
Especially in the middle of 5 o'clock traffic.