working well

Overall my beloved austin rambler has been dead reliable as a commuter bike and good looking to boot. Gearing is awesome for getting there and back in jeans and not ending up dripping on the hot days the summer has already brought us. I’ve optimized the stuff I carry with me daily to fit in my Timbuk2 metro messenger bag because it slips neatly into my old school panniers, and last night I added a cup holder to the handlebars so I could take a cup of coffee with me to the bus. These touches have made the ride to the bus stop and the final leg of the commute from the bus to the office very comfortable.

more tweaking and tuning

After three weeks of regular commuting and getting to really know the bike on a day-in-day-out basis, I did make a short list of tweaks the bike needed. The first tweak was trimming down the kickstand (yes, my daily commuter has a kickstand) because the front wheel sat way too high when the kickstand was down. A fresh blade in the hack saw made this an easy task. A little filing and the shortened kickstand makes the bike much more stable when I’m parked and waiting for the bus or when I stop by the market on the way home from the park & ride.

The next tweak was shortening the chain. Given the bike has a wide gear range I left the chain a bit long intentionally but after a few weeks of riding it became obvious I needed to drop a couple of links. The shortened chain doesn’t dance as much! While the bike was up on the stand I also gave the brakes an adjustment and ran through everything to make sure everything was staying put. This also gave me an excuse to listen to some music through speakers instead of headphones and have a beer!

up next

As much as I love my old school panniers, they are not working well for my commute. While I really don’t need it, I feel a bit lost when I don’t have my laptop with me at all times. Also the local bus system has added wifi to most buses so if I had my laptop I could be productive on the bus (blessing/curse, I know). The panniers I have are too small for my briefcase so I have stopped bringing my laptop. Also when I stop for groceries things get tight so I broke down and bought a new set of panniers from my favorite bag brand – Timbuk2. I am excited to get these but have to be patient as, being a complete cheapskate, I took advantage of the free ground shipping promotion.

I have also figured out that I need a clock on the bike. I’m not a watch wearer for a number of reasons so I need to find a good, easily readable timepiece to put on the handlebars so I can determine if I’m on track to catch the bus at the park & ride of if I need to intercept it at a different location. This morning I had a near miss at the park & ride so this is a fairly high priority!

The part of this book that I find so intriguing is that Bob Mould and I are essentially contemporaries – he was born in 1960; I was born in 1963 – so we have grown up during the same historical timeline. I also find it inspiring that like me, he has continued to seek out new forms of music and, as a true fan of music, has remained current as a fan. The music of his youth inspired him to develop his own voice, and that same passion for new music helped him lead but also follow the development of popular music.

If you’re a fan of music I highly recommend you read this book. The artist’s view of the music industry, the descriptions of the way he created, the way he toured, and the work ethic he has demonstrated throughout his storied career stands in stark opposition to the typical portrait of the excess of the rock & roll life. This book is thoughtful, insightful, revealing, and highly personal. I read about the songs and the stories behind them. Listening to the songs and knowing the events that influenced their creation allowed me to feel closer to the music I have always treasured. The only time I put the book down was to recharge my iPad!

Since I haven’t been doing the bike/bus thing for a while I was way out of the routine of getting up, getting everything on the bike, and getting to the stop for my bus of choice. The last two mornings Jill gave me a ride to the stop but this morning everything fell into place and I made it to the stop by bike. The weather was awesome this morning too! Here’s to getting back into the bike/bus routine!

My bike/bus activity also supports the Cliff Bar 2 Mile Challenge. Join me if you can!

Big Pile O’ Legos!

Hey – A Quickbeam!

And a Surly/Extracycle!