Slow leaks

I can't think of any aspect of bike maintenance that drives me farther up the wall than slow leaks in tubes. Especially with my Speedster. Why that bike in particular?

• No quick release - The rear (internal gear) can't be and the front just isn't, and for commuting that's just fine (it buys me an extra 0.5 seconds) but for replacing tubes it's a pain
• No work stand - The other bikes hang on a rack and I could probably get their (quick release) tires off on there, not the Schwinn because...
• It weighs a lot - This is an old school steel tank, which I love, but the lean-against-the-wall style rack my other bikes are on wouldn't hold it
• Full metal fenders with attached taillight - This makes it tough to just wheelie the bike up and over on the rear wheel, I get about 1/2 way and hit the fender
• Odd tire size - When I had new wheels built I did the cool but not smart thing and kept the original S6 wheels, which makes getting new tires and tubes a pain (that will change soon)
• Tires that don't sit easily - I don't know if it's S6 in general or just the tires I have, but they do not sit well on the rim so pinch flats are a constant source of worry

That's the beginning of the list, but you get the point.

For the last week I've been commuting on the Trucker because the Schwinn is flat in the back. I pulled it off this weekend, couldn't find a hole, put the tube back on and a few hours later (3 or 4) it was going flat again. In the end I will probably pull the tube and replace it, tagging it as leaking and fix it later (when I have access to my dad's fountain to find the leak). I think I'm also going to get new rim tape because the old stuff looks pretty shot, and some of the add-it-yourself anti-flat goop.

Maybe my next bike...?

I can't imagine actually using this, but I love the ingenuity.

When I was a kid we had a smallish yard and a push mower. The smallness of the yard did not in any way make me any more willing to mow the lawn on the fairly rare occasion that I was asked to. A mower like this might have done so. Here is a pic of the bike in action (links to a page with a video).

At any rate it beats this style.

The Trucker

As I mentioned earlier, I've been riding my new(ish) Long Haul Trucker to work for the last few days. This is due to a flat rear tire on the Speedster and the fact that it is kind of a pain to flip it over to fix. I need to stop being lazy and buy/build a repair stand so I no longer have this problem, but that comes later. For now, I'll enjoy the fruits of a multi-bike stable (mixing metaphors, oh well).

It was when I mentioned riding the Trucker that I realized I had not actually made a post about the completed version of the bike, so here goes. Because I'm not overly geeky about the parts (and I didn't do much to spec the bike other than give generalities) I'm not going to go into great detail. Here are some highlights:

• S and S couplers to make it possible to pack for travel - Since I built this as a touring bike and I had the frame clean of anything I figured getting the S&S retrofit was a good thing to do. Thanks much Bilenky Cycle Works for the beautiful installation.

• Brooks B-17 - I guess I'm one of the lucky ones. Right on the bike it's been one of the most comfortable saddles I've had. Hard as wood, no doubt, but somehow not painful. This is significant for me given my tweaked left hamstring/sciatic nerve.
• Bar-end shifting - When I was test-riding bikes to decide what I liked I found that I couldn't stand the wobbly feel of brifters. That, paired with the friction-shifting option and how much I like the bar-end shifting on my SuperCourse made this an easy choice.
  

• Reelights - I had them left over from when I got the dynohub installed on the Speedster and figured I'd toss them on here just for laughs.

• Campus pedals - I like the clipless/normal option with this bike, especially for touring.

I have noticed a few things which have reinforced the point a made a few days back, about the need to ride all the bikes in the stable regularly. Not only is it an important part of the proper "care and feeding" (as the Surly people say) but you need to be reminded of the eccentricities of each bike. I've had two small issues on the Trucker that would be easily avoided if I used it more often. The first is that I have been hitting the right (rear) shifter when I stand up to pedal - I'm just not used to where the lever is. The second is that I forgot why it was important to wear bike shorts (I'm talking about support here) while riding on the fat, upright seat of the Speedster.

Live and learn.

Is there anything worse (for cyclists)?

Not to get into a philosophical debate about the nature of evil, but the gentleman below must fall pretty high (low?) on the list of the worst. His name is Igor Kenk and he is believed to be responsible for the theft of 2,396 bicycles in Toronto.

I'm not going to repeat the whole sorry tale, which you can find at the Toronto Journal, but here is one part I found especially disheartening:

Oddly enough, the police and many bicyclists were aware that Mr. Kenk’s little shop, the Bicycle Clinic, appeared to be a black hole that consumed stolen bicycles. Bike theft victims regularly discovered their missing bicycles there, and were often able to recover them, either through vigorous argument or a payment of $30 or $40.

I've had a bike stolen, I think most cyclists have at one point or another. I lost mine because I was an idiot and left my bike in the back of my pickup (under a locked camper shell, but still) on a street that was not highly traveled at night. But to think that there was this sort of organized system operating in a city with as many cyclists as Toronto, and that no charges were successfully brought is just depressing.

Hopefully this time something will stick.

Another reason why buses are evil

Most of the talk about the surprise attacks motor vehicles like to pull on cyclists is centered around the right hook. For those unfamiliar (are there any?) the pic below illustrates the right hook in all its glory.


Simply put, a right hook happens when a cyclist (either in a bike lane or just riding to the right of the road) is passed by a car which then makes an abrupt right turn, leaving the cyclist with few (and no good) options. This picture takes you to a nice bit from Commute Orlando! on what drivers should do to avoid hooking cyclists and I'm not going to cover it in any more depth. I want to talk about the pinch.

This happens, primarily with larger vehicles (vans, delivery trucks, and especially buses) when the driver in question passes the cyclist and then either drifts or cuts towards the right, leaving an ever-narrower gap for the cyclist that ultimately can only be avoided by slowing down to the point that the driver is far enough passed for the cyclist to take the lane. Sometimes it happens because the lanes shift and the drivers just aren't paying attention, and sometimes it happens because the driver is an arrogant MTA bus driver (yeah you, route 40, bus number 06008) who is apparently offended that a cyclist is on his road (at least that was the look he gave me when I came around to make a turn while he was stopped at the light).

The full story: As I got to the major intersection (where President St. becomes the JFX, around the flag in the map) I pulled out and took my lane (2nd from right, far right is turn only) because there was a bus loading up a short distance back and I know they like to crowd. As the light turned green I paced the van in front of me across the JFX slowing a little around Frederick to prep for the turn at Gay. The driver apparently was in so much of a hurry to offload some passenger (depsite there already being a bus at the stop, where the bus is visible on the map) that he started pulling over to the curb before he had fully crossed Frederick. That pinched me between him and the sidewalk, as he was passing me at the time. I ended up having to stop and then pulled out to the left while he was stopped at the Fayette/Gay light and went around (I turn right at Gay). As I went passed the driver the look he gave me was somewhere between being asleep and "you're lucky I didn't pull all the way over, @$$hole".

Just one more example of why buses are evil and I am a strong opponent of cycling on roads used by mass transit. Too bad in Baltimore you're more likely to find a rodent and roach free abandoned building than a road more than two blocks long without a bus line on it.

The importance of variety

My last post I mentioned both my (not very) expansive three-bike stable, and that I had to commute on my touring bike due to a flat on the commuter. One thing I didn't mention is the odd discomforts I felt riding it.

When I picked up the Trucker and did a brief test-ride it was the single most comfortable bike I had ever been on. For the most part that is still the case. One little thing I noticed is that the muscles at the base of my thumbs are extremely sore now, and while I was riding they felt unpleasant. Thinking about it this really isn't surprising. Most of my riding (in fact 100% for the last couple of months) has been commuting, on an upright. Getting back onto a bike with drops means having to support my weight in a different position, and the body isn't used to it.

For a long time I had only one bike, a mid '90s Trek 930 SingleTrack. I had it set up for commuting (somewhat, slicks and a rack) and I rode it everywhere. My friends were training for a tour and I did their rides on the Trek, I commuted on the Trek, I went shopping on the Trek. Then it was stolen. I ended up getting two bikes to fill its duties - the Speedster and a Raleigh SuperCourse. The Speedster just isn't great for longer rides and the SuperCourse is too much of a road bike (read: extra-skinny wheels) for daily commuting on Baltimore streets. Now I've added the Trucker. Unfortunately, my time lately hasn't allowed for a lot of pleasure riding, so it's nothing but utility, which means the Speedster.

The point? If you have more than one bike, especially if you have more than one type of bike, you need to put some time in the saddle of each of them. Your body will thank you for it and (perhaps more importantly) you'll get to enjoy all of the different types of riding.

Why I have three bikes for just me - or - why I'll be paranoid all day.

I normally commute on my '72 Schwinn Speedster. It's a semi-zippy little tank, banana-yellow, with a 3-speed internal rear hub and a drum brake/generator front hub, a nice NOS Schwinn rear rack and some Wald folding baskets, a a nifty little OYB 5 way bag on the handlebars. In other words, a great city bike. Unfortunately, I couldn't ride it today because sometime between getting home last night and trying to get on it this morning all of the air decided to evacuate the rear tire. Since I was already pushing the late end of heading to work I didn't have the time to fix it. I debated driving and then decided to bring the Trucker instead.

It should go without saying that this is not what my Trucker currently looks like, but I don't have any other pics available online. That actually shocks me, because it means I didn't do a gooey post after it was finished. Anyway...eventually (as in, when I get the rest of the rear) the Trucker will be a touring rig. As of now I don't have racks of bags for it. That meant wearing the mess bag. Thankfully the weather has taken a turn for the cool today and I didn't end up with a monster sweaty back.

The problem, and the reason I'm going to be twitchy all day at my desk is that we don't have the most secure bike parking around. We have a few police barricades to lock up to, in a semi-obscured corner of the garage. There is no reason anyone not affiliated with the building would be in there, but this is a pricey and well loved bike.

Oh well, I'll just make a lot of trips up and down the stairs...

jp

Because BikeSnobNYC asked...

I'm posting the following PSA


Head on over to his blog for the rest of the details on the campaign-in-the-making.

Gas tank doors

Today on my way in to work I was waiting for a light and noticed that the Jeep (Cherokee I think) next to me had its gas tank door open. I was tempted (as I always am when I see them open) to lean over and flip it closed. I can only imagine the negative repercussions that an action like that would have in a city like Baltimore. It did get me thinking about all the little things that are easily noticed on a bike, especially the ones that I want to do something about.

The obvious first is crap on the road. I know some other bloggers (and I'm too lazy to look for examples) as well as at least one thread on BikeForums have gone so far as to start listing the interesting items they see on the road, but I'm talking more about the just random garbage. The one type of item that always leaves me scratching my head is clothing. Jeans seem to be the most common around here, along with single shoes.

One thing I notice (which may be part of the reason I'm such a non-fan of Baltimore) is architecture. Not in a technical, expert way, but just in the look and "feel" of buildings as I roll past. I see so many places on my short (3.5 mi) commute that are great looking but have been left to rot and it frustrates me.

There are other, and as I said, many other blogs discussing the same.

Bike-pocalypse?

Details available at Cycleicious.

Mass transit and "green"

I'm going to come right out and say this, but I despise riding mass transit. I don't go near buses and use subways (light-rail, etc) only when I have to. About the only form of mass transit I will use is the train from Baltimore to DC. Mainly this grips is about the over-high concentration of people and the less than pleasant condition of the carriages. (One exception that I have encountered is the light-rail in Portland - the seats were actually spaced apart so that standing people didn't lean on you, there were specific spaces for bikes, all in all a pleasant experience).

Recently, as part of the "cars are evil" push from the mass of the Environmental Movement, mass transit has been pushed as the solution. Get people out of individual cars and into buses. This morning I encountered one of the two glaring flaws in that.

Most mornings when I get stuck anywhere near an MTA bus I slow down to a crawl to let it get far enough ahead that I don't have to play leapfrog at every stop. The bus I was behind this morning was so nasty that I could still smell the exhaust when it was three blocks away. The best part? It had a giant MTA Green ad on the back end. Yeah, real "green".

My other major gripe as a bike commuter with the push to get everyone onto the buses is that all of the near misses I have had in my ~ 10 years of bike commuting are with buses. The drivers either don't care or can't see what's going on around them. Especially in Baltimore there is an definite attitude of road-ownership that you can almost feel anytime you get within a half a block of an MTA bus. They regularly crowd cars, trucks, everyone using the road out of their way, to the point that there is really no benefit in griping since if there was going to be any changes they would have happened long ago.

I understand the Movement's ideals behind pushing mass transit over personal vehicles. I just think there needs to be a little more thought applied. Buses aren't necessarily very green, but they do work great for greenwashing, allowing jusridictions to avoid actually doing anything to cut pollution, while making life significantly more difficult for the cyclists who are legitimately cutting their pollution output.

Too short

One of the problems I've been dealing with commuting in Baltimore is recovery - my legs always feel lethargic and stiff. Stretching helps a little (side not - I have crazy-tight leg muscles, so stretching is an almost lost cause at the best of times), soaking helps a little, skipping a day or two helps a little, but I never really feel good. This is a change from CA, where I would do a 20 mile trip home and be up at 4:00 the next morning and feel great. Today I figured it out - my commute is too short.

My ride is a hair over 1.5 miles each way (when I map the loop is reads as 3.2). By the time I'm getting to work my legs are starting to feel warmed up. The ride home ends with a decent climb (a few blocks at a good grade, but keep in mind I'm on a flatland three-speed) so I get home and feel pretty wiped. I think I'm going to get my rollers out and start doing some time on the rollers in the back yard when I get home, maybe 10 minutes in a low gear, and see if that helps.

Road placement

I learned to drive in California, back in the waning days of public school driver's education (classroom) and driver's training (behind the wheel. I did the classroom part at night school because it was a graduation requirement. I did the behind the wheel with my dad, who at the time was the district coordinator for the driver's training program and a certified instructor.

That mean that when we got in the family car so I could putter around he had a tendency to mash his right foot down, looking for the brake pedal that he had in the district cars. It also meant that I was taught by someone twice as neurotic about my driving.

The point of that: I had pounded into my head that the appropriate place for a car was to the far left of the lane. I was told that this was because the driver has the best view of things on that side and staying way over, close to the left line, means that anything you miss seeing because of the bilk of vehicle to your right shouldn't be much of a problem. As I drove up and down CA I saw that most drivers followed this most of the time, so I figured it was probable in the driver's handbook thing they pass out before you take your permit test.

Then I moved the Baltimore and had realized that they don't teach driving the same everywhere.

One of the benefits of extreme-left driving is that it leaves plenty of room for bikes (yes, this is a bike-related post after all). Here in Baltimore the tendency is to drive right down the middle or (when you see a bike) as far to the right as possible. I'm only slightly exaggerating there. On many occasions (including this morning's commute) I've seen cars that have passed me pulling so far over to the right that they end up in the bus/parking cutouts that only run part of the block and then have to slide back to the left to keep driving.

I suppose this is one way that the painted lines of a bike lane help - they create a "do not pass" mark for this kind of driver. I'd be happy if people would just stay to the left, the way I was taught.

(A big part of the dad-reminiscing is because yesterday was my dad's 66th birthday)

Appropriate bike use

I'm not an anti-car, bike only person. I have a nice little pick-up that I use and enjoy driving, and back in CA I have an old (1960) Toyota Landcruiser that is waiting for me to have the space to finish working on it. At that point I will have two functional vehicles for one person, and yes, I do plan on keeping both. That is because I see both having specific uses. I'm a "place for everything" kind of guy. I don't keep a lot of stuff that doesn't have a purpose. I firmly believe in taking short trips, including commuting and shopping, by bike. I chose my current job and home because of the potential for bike commuting (the routes aren't great but it's only 1.5 miles) and I will continue to do so. There's a grocery store within 2 miles, and I firmly support the 2 Mile Challenge both in the specifics as set by Clif Bar and in theory. Bikes for short distances, the truck for longer ones, just makes sense to me.

And then there's this:


(What makes this even more fun for me is that I saw the pic on Holy Taco - hardly an eco/bike type website...)

Charity

I will admit that I can be overly generous or stingy when it comes to charities, all based on my mood at the moment. I focus on a few areas of personal interest (mostly outdoorsy stuff) and then give whatever feel right. The more solicitations I get, the less I tend to give because I get annoyed and feel like "punishing" the solicitor. There is one exception to this - Elden, AKA the Fat Cyclist.

I had been reading his blog for a little while before I realized the situation with his wife's battle with cancer. All I knew was that for some reason the really cool swag he sold came in the site colors of orange and black, and (at the time) what I thought was an oddly un-manly pink. The I read about Susan's fight with cancer and it all made sense.

Maybe it's because Fatty has done such an amazing job of personalizing his requests for help (no form letters in the mail), maybe it's because he is so open about what the funds are used for, maybe it's because he comes up with creative ways to ask (yes, the man did a century on rollers), or maybe it's just because he's so darn funny, but whatever the reason I never hesitate to toss my hard earned money his way.

The point of this? If you haven't seen his blog, go now. If you haven't helped out, please think about it.

(This was inspired by a reference at another site to making donations to LIVESTRONG, a group Fatty regularly champions)