The Machines of Experience

I think about my bicycles quite often. Recently, a very basic and simple idea occurred to me. Bicycles are experience machines. The time (and sometimes money) I spend on building and maintaining different bikes allows me to have positive experiences that I value. It’s worth the effort – the payoff is unique and great.

Each bike in my fleet has been built with a specific purpose in mind. (The Schwinn Le Tour is an exception. I bought it brand new and I have only changed the tires and stem and added racks.) With each build, a new possibility is available to me.

I bought my first real bike (Schwinn le Tour) from a bike shop almost four years ago. Through it I found a type of exercise I enjoy, a more extensive knowledge of the geography of my area and a sense of confidence as I reached various cycling goals.

Last summer I built a mountain bike. It’s a fully rigid, steel frame of unknown manufacture (I’m pretty sure it’s a Giant, though I don’t know if it was branded as such or was manufactured by them for another company). That bike allowed me to begin exploring some great off-road terrain in my area. I loved mountain biking immediately and every time I get out on that bike I feel like I am treating myself.

My “townie” bikes have allowed me to complete errands without driving. I love being able to sneak in a little riding time whenever I can. It’s not exactly high adventure, but it’s good for me.

Late last summer I also finished a singlespeed road bike build. It was a revelation. I found that I could do a lot more with one gear than I thought I could. It was also one of the rare builds where almost everything worked exactly right for me right away. I did end up switching to slightly more narrow tires, but the moustache bars/riser stem/25” road frame combination was perfect immediately.

Even though most of my bikes are built from frames and parts found in the garbage or online for low prices, I still would be reluctant to ride them in the winter. I was having a great riding fall last year and I didn’t want to stop when the snow came. I built a winter beater out of an old Raleigh Grand Prix frame and I learned a lot about layering wool clothing.

Early this summer I finished my touring bike. It’s based on a very tall (24”) Ross mountain bike frame. I got the frame and fork from ebay a while ago for $6 plus shipping. After overcoming a stuck bottom bracket cup (thank you propane torch) I built it up with trekking bars, front and rear racks and an insanely low climbing gear (24 X 34). Two weeks ago, I took it on a sub 24-hour overnighter (s24o) to test it out. Touring was one of the things that I was interested in when I got into cycling as an adult. This bike will be my ride for more s24o adventures this summer and possibly a multi-night tour.

I finished a (sort of) cross bike build recently, too. I found a Raleigh 700c hybrid frame in a dumpster two years ago. It took me a while to decide what to do with this bike until I realized that it would make a great cross-type bike. It has a triple crankset and slightly larger than ‘cross –legal tires, but I don’t plan to race it. I went on a lovely mixed-surface exploration ride and this bike did all that I wanted it to do. It was fine off-road and fine on the pavement. None of my other bikes could have done as well.

My last personal project (for now) is a lightweight go-fast type of bike. I was given a Viscount Aerospace Pro last year by a neighbor. He had let it sit in his backyard for a while, so my first order of business was to make it ride-able. It wasn’t as bad as it could be; I only needed to replace the saddle, tires, chain and some cables. It rode pretty well and seemed light and fast. The frame size was in the lower end of my size range, so I thought it might make a good go-fast bike. I got down to work and did a 700c wheelset conversion, a bar and stem swap (I had some Cinellis on hand) and an installation of a racing saddle and aero levers. The initial test ride of this set up seems to confirm my expectations for speed and agility.

Pic from 2009. This is the initial basic build to determine some of the frameset's characteristics.

Thinking about all the things I can do with my bikes motivates me to do more building and refining of completed builds. I’m grateful to have found an active hobby about which I am passionate. Cycling adds so much to my life and is good for my mental and physical health. I am also encouraged to complete more donation bikes so that others might be able to have positive experiences, too.

Meandering is good

“Ride only when you feel like it.”
-Grant Petersen, “Tips For Happy Riding” (Rivbike.com)

“Ride on your own terms. Don’t think, “It’s a sunny Saturday, I have a fantastic bicycle, I
must ride forty miles.” You’ll have more fun (and you will ride more often!) if you ride
only when you feel like it. Your bike isn’t the boss of you!”
-Grant Petersen, 2010 Rivendell Catalog (Rivbike.com)


Last Sunday was sunny and in the 30s (Fahrenheit) in my area. It was warmer than the day before, with slightly less wind. I had some free time in the afternoon, so I felt like I should get out for a ride. The thing is I didn’t really feel like putting on several layers of wool and such. So, I threw a fleece over my regular clothes and hopped on the winter beater.

There are times when I have a clear goal or destination for a ride. I either follow an established route or I plot a new one on Mapmyride.com.

I didn’t feel like riding like that. I had no real plan. I simply wandered north, taking a different street than I usually do. I meandered down to a short stretch of bike path that wanders along a river. I scooted over to a park and rode on the grass (frozen, covered with a crust of old snow). I rode along another part of the river, then down a wide road with a good shoulder. Back on to another section of the bike path, I went back and forth under the tunnel, enjoying the feel of the bike along the pavement and laughing as I jumped snow banks like a kid.

I had only intended to go out for a short one. I came home an hour later. Short by summer standards, but this is February.

I had a great time.

I have no idea how many miles I covered; the winter beater doesn’t have a computer. With all the off-road exploring I can’t go back and put a route into mapmyride to determine the mileage. I don’t really care.

I found two pennies. Meandering is good.

Things Found in the Street – January thaw edition

I live in the Northern part of the United States where it is expected to be cold with snow on the ground from December to March (at least). Recently, we’ve had some warmer weather that has caused much of the snow to melt. We also had a significant amount of rain which has washed some snow away. I find rain to be particularly depressing (I have my own PTSD reasons for this) but it’s even worse in the winter. It’s not supposed to rain in the winter, it’s supposed to snow. Snow is beautiful; rain leaves everything muddy and ugly and it uncovers the garbage littering the streets.

Another thing uncovered by the disappearing snow is a huge amount of dog excrement! It doesn’t seem to have the same rate of dissolving as snow does. There was one area along the road where I counted over 50 individual deposits! Apparently my neighbors are less-than-fastidious about cleaning up after their animals, at least in this particular spot. It’s at the edge of a commercial lot, so perhaps few are compelled to scoop there. As for me, I always scoop.

(I recommend these particular dog waste bags. They’re biodegradable and made in Norway).

Of course, with the unsightly garbage and such come some interesting items. First of all, there is money. I found some coins this weekend. Mostly pennies, but I did find a nickel near the bike shop of which I am not exactly fond. A thaw is a great time to find money in the street. I recall a few springs ago when I found almost $1 total in coins picked up around just one neighborhood block. I guess people accidentally drop money and it gets covered in snow. When the snow melts, jackpot!

I also found a random bent fork. As I’ve written before, winter is found metal cutlery season. I don’t know why.

Then there is this random bike part. It looks like a seat post clamp from some department store bike. Someday I’ll need one of these and I’ll be glad I found it in the street.

I also found some Coca-Cola bottle caps. A non-profit with which I am familiar collects the codes that are found underneath the caps. I found about a half dozen, all on the same street.

I also found this bicycle while out on a ride. I saw it on my way out and planned to pick it up on my way home, if it was still there. I know it’s hard to believe, but it was still there 90 minutes later. I guess that no one wanted a girls’ Roadmaster with a bent seat tube. I’ll strip this thing of any usable parts and send the frame off to the recycler.

I also recently found a trio of department store bikes. These are the older ones that I like to find – fully rigid with friction shifting. I’ll tune them up and donate them soon.

Another upside of all this balmy weather is the fact that it’s easier to ride. I was able to get out twice this weekend and it didn’t require too much clothing. I went on my longest ride of 2010 so far (20 miles – not much) and I rode a bike other than my designated winter beater for the first time. Still, I wouldn’t mind a few extra layer of clothing if we at least had some snow to play in.

Damn you, bikesnob!

http://http://bikesnobnyc.blogspot.com/2010/01/tip-of-helmet-tainless-in-2010.html

I have a list of topics that I want to address in Things Found in the Street and one is the weird helmet wearing in this month’s issue of Bicycling. The snob beat me to it! Of course, he did it better than I could, but that’s why he’s the snob.

Sir, you’ve been blogging forever, or at least since the internet was invented. Can’t you leave something for a newbie?

It would have been pretty cool if I had written my post before him, though. That should be motivation to keep writing and to jump on it when inspiration strikes.

There was another incident of bikesnobnyc synchronicity last fall as well. One day I read a post on another blog that referenced Black Sheep’s 1992 hit “The Choice is Yours.” The very next day, this post appeared on the snob:

http://bikesnobnyc.blogspot.com/2009/09/indignity-of-commuting-by-bicycle-wurst.html

It also references that work.

Is the snob some kind of megamind that can absorb the posts (and potential posts) of all bloggers?

The evidence points to “yes.”

Not much found in the street recently, except snow. I am glad to report that I at least put some bicycle tire tracks of my own in the snow – I got out for a 10 mile ride on New Year’s Day. I also took the bike out to run errands on the 2nd.

Not finding anything new is not of any consequence, anyway. I have a few years’ worth of found things to write about already. Besides, this blog isn’t intended to be a daily diary.