Review: Revised Radish

Greetings and happy Friday!

If you'd told me at the beginning of the year I'd have a major "bikeyface" day on December 1st, I:
(a) Would have no idea what you meant by that; and
(b) Would not believe you even if I did know what you meant by that.

Amazing, how quickly things can change, yes?

I hope everyone in the States had a wonderful Thanksgiving, with a little time to focus on our gratitude instead of our shopping lists, and if possible, to spend time with people you love (whether or not you were related to them). I traveled to mid-MO and suburban KC, KS with the hubster to visit his family and mine. It was a good weekend, and Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays, for it's truly a chance to do little more than reconnect, stuff yourself, and think about all of the things that are wonderful in your life.

When we left St. Louis on Thursday, it was cold. When we returned early Sunday, it was already in the 50s. My drive across the gret stet of Missouri had left me frustrated and grumpy (highway 70 traffic gets worse every year, and drivers are aggressive and greatly overestimate their skills, which makes defensive driving both a necessary and somewhat-futile exercise). I sat on my couch and contemplated the beautiful weekend day with one of the last bits of warm sunshine for the season, and I knew what I needed to do: it was time for a bike ride.

I thought first of Fleur, because she is so comfortable to ride, and then realized this would be a wonderful chance to take the newly-refurbished Radish out for a spin! Honestly, it was a little scary at first - I haven't ridden a ten-speed in forever (high school?), and compared to the fat, stable tires of a mountain bike, or the bolt-upright position offered by the Dutch-style bicycle, I felt like I was basically lying prone right over the front wheel. However, I was immediately struck by how good the bike felt - my LBS did a great job fixing it up, and in the two miles from my home to the place I hop on Grant's Trail, I became very comfortable on the bike. I did notice one small annoyance - I added a kickstand to the ten-speed, and the left crank knocks it when it passes so it makes a small "tap" sound every time I pedal around. I am not sure how to fix it; nor am I sure that it bothers me so much that I will. I love the convenience of a kickstand. 

It felt good enough that I cycled the whole of the trail (about 17 miles up and back again). The bike performed splendidly, and I also got used to the (utterly terrifying) downtube shifters. I liked riding a lighter bicycle (Fleur is starting to feel quite heavy and a bit unwieldy for non-riding purposes with all her storage and accessories), and having access to additional gears. HOWEVER, I was struck by how much more comfortable Fleur is for a 2.5 hour ride -- shortly after I turned around after reaching the Mehlville end of Grant's Trail, I began to really feel an ache from the ancient padding (or relative lack thereof) in my sit bones, my back and neck were becoming stiff from the aggressive riding position, and I wished I'd only done about half the trail. This was exacerbated by the fact that I'd neglected to bring water and was thirsty when I left the house, and I was beyond ready to be home by the time I rolled into my driveway.

So where does that leave us? 

1. With a kickstand and rear rack, The Radish will be the go-to for rides I need to drive to.

2. I want more gears, not adjusted gears, on the Linus. I will be looking into replacing the 3-speed wheel/shifter with 8 speeds after the holidays.

So I continue to feel that Fleur is the right bicycle for most of my rides, but I'm thrilled to get a sense of where the Radish fits. I think I need to adjust the saddle northwards about an inch, and I'd like to move the handlebars up quite a bit, too, to make the riding position a little less aggressive.

I am on the fence about what to do with the mountain bike. As snow has arrived in St. Louis, I think having a bike with larger tires will be beneficial and wonder if I want smooth or knobby tires for this purpose. I am having fit concerns with the mountain bike and need to consider what I want to do with the Trek's handlebars. I know I want fenders and a kickstand, but do I want a rack, too? I think I probably do - I don't like riding with backpacks, cross-body bags, or bulky items in my pocket, and the tiny rack is perfect for attaching a small purse as a mini pannier. So, stay tuned. 

In the meantime, at home, with Thanksgiving behind us, we have decorated for Christmas and I think bicycles may make for the best ornaments. Yes?

The World Looks Different When You Ride

This past week has been a mixed bag, as far as bicycling goes. 

The Good:

I mentioned my "stable" post in and by Bikes for the Rest of Us, and got some great feedback from the post's authors about how to adjust my hub gearing on Fleur (Linus Dutchi) in order to fit my riding needs better.

I've been in touch with my LBS about making this change, and about the work needed to Julek (90's Trek 8000) and The Radish (70's Motobecane 10-speed).

Here's the starting plan for the bikes:

• Adjust the ring from 22 to 18-tooth to adjust second gear on Fleur.
• Give The Radish the attention it needs - new brake hoods, a once-over.
• Julek needs to have a crack in the shock looked at; not sure yet if I'll keep the shock or return to the original fork (I still have it).
• Julek needs some smooth tires.
• The Radish and Julek need fenders and small rear racks.
• The Radish needs serious wheel love. The spokes are loose and wheels are out of true.
• The Radish needs some reflectors, too, to be compliant with current law.
• Kickstand upgrades for everyone.

I will start with The Radish, then Julek, then Fleur, since that's the order in which they are rideable. Which brings us to...

The Bad:

Can we talk about daylight savings time? I have never been profoundly affected by daylight per se. I love rainy days, and as long as things are green and lush and moist, I'm happy. I get far more bummed out by days when it's miserable to be outside - freezing and grey, or hot and brown. Truly, I blame Portland for ruining things with evergreens and mild temps year round.

This year, the end of Daylight Savings Time hit me like a ton of bricks, because it effectively meant that, even with mild weather, to commute to and from the office, I'd have to commit to riding 6(+) miles in rush hour traffic in the dark. And, at least at my current comfort level, I can't.  I struggle with the ride home during rush hour in the best of circumstances, and I need more than a blinking red light and an awesome headlight to get me over this. Like a body-suit made of reflective-coated titanium or something, I don't know. That said, sometimes on Fridays I can scoot a little early, and that may buy enough daylight to make the occasional winter ride possible. So don't totally give up on me. Plus, riding to and from church and local businesses is still very much a possibility, because those are often daylight-hour activities, even as the Winter Solstice approaches. 

The Ugly:

If I am often busy, November presents a special challenge, due to NaNoWriMo, in which I have participated most years (and I am determined to win this year; I won in 2009). Nano collided with an already-busy schedule last weekend and I basically spent Saturday and Sunday running around like a crazy person. The chief (or at least, most relevant to this blog) implication of this is that I have officially "failed" coffeeneuring, in that I could not find time for a challenge-worthy bike ride at any time during Saturday or Sunday. However, I've been assured that continuing without winning is still grounds for submission and cheers, so I will try to coffeeneur this weekend and on future weekends. I do so like the this is not about speed or distance or getting somewhere; it's about biking leisurely to a leisure activity vibe of the thing. I want to celebrate that, especially since it is so much more accessible to me right now than  distance rides, night rides, and commuting to work.

The Game-Plan:

I will use these long, dark nights to provide the incentive to get the remaining bicycles up to speed, to seize the opportunity to ride on weekend days, and to find space an time in my schedule to breathe... and ride.

The Silver Lining:

Out of frustration comes (if you're looking for it) insight. 

On a practical level, I've determined that I need a paper calendar. I love my phone's calendar for its ability to remind me of things with alarms, but I have the terrible habit of checking only to see if I am free for the specific window requested of me, and not considering the larger picture (what the rest of the day, weekend, or week holds for me). I'm a visual person, so this isn't really a surprise, but I hadn't thought about it until my overbooked calendar caused me to miss out on something I really enjoyed and wanted to do (ride my bike to a coffee shop without feeling awful and rushed).

On a philosophical level, my feelings about my car are changing. I don't know if it was the recent hybrid eclipse, but people have been driving so recklessly that I've come to resent my car commute something fierce.  I'm paying much closer attention to how I feel when I'm driving, versus how I feel on the bicycle. And it's marked. My stress levels, so long as I permit myself to have adequate time to reach my destination without rushing, are low-to-nonexistent on the bike. But in the car, I can't control that nearly as easily, because I am a driver, and can't just choose side streets to interact with pedestrians or the sounds of nature instead of stop-and-go arterial or inner-belt nonsense. I'm paying attention to these things.

If I can't ride consistently, at least I can share.

Here are some great bike links I stumbled across this week:

If I ever think something "bikey", Commute by Bike posts about it shortly thereafter.
Tips from the cycling sloth... 

And, thanks to Melissa @ Her Green Life, I've been thinking a little extra about what I want in bike infrastructure lately, which has resulted in some very interesting ready about old freeways and bike lanes.

Are you in St. Louis? Are you interested in bike infrastructure in the community? If so, please make note of an upcoming event by Great Rivers Greenway in which the Bike Plans from three bike-friendly communities will be presented. It's an all-morning event next Wednesday, 11-20-2013 from 830pm-130pm. Admission is $15. I hope to go, but it will truly depend on my work schedule that day. 

Finally, who doesn't love a little Bikeyface? Let's look at her new posters. I am such a fan of the top poster with the three different bicycles.

That's all from me this week. 
Here's to riding - whenever and however it suits us, so long as we ride!

Random Thoughts and Busy Days

Holy busy days, Batman.

I have a million things I could have written for this post, but no time in which to write. Weekend travel, Thursday rehearsals, and busy-ness at work are conspiring against me, but such is the slide into the holidays -- somehow it affects everything, n'est-ce pas?

Light riding week for me, but big week for bike news. This past weekend I went to Kansas City to visit family and had the chance to get back on the mountain bike, on which I did a nice little 5mi street-and-trail ride that made me think more favorably about the suburbs than I usually do. My brother lives about as close to a lovely little trail as I do to Grant's trail, but his trail was empty. Seriously, in five miles, I think we saw four people. For better or worse, I can hardly get over 5mph on some stretches of Grant's (especially by the farm) because people love to use the trails and parks in St. Louis. To be clear, I'm not complaining. Use means we're more likely to get MORE TRAILS, rather than face resistance to our requests for this sort of infrastructure.

I also picked up my mom's old 1970s Motobecane 10-speed, which is in surprisingly good shape for a bicycle that has been hanging out in a garage attic for decades. No rust, some scratches and missing paint (my brother and I are almost certainly responsible for this during our adolescence), gorgeous brazed joints and badging, and new tubes, tires, and brake pads thanks to my handy brother. I love the look of the gumwalls he picked. Good brother. :)

So, here's my complete stable:

I have names for each of them.
UPPER: The Radish
MIDDLE: Julek
BOTTOM: Fleur

Julek is a dude. Mostly because he told me so.

Ten-speed derailleur (2+5) w/downtube shifting
21-speed derailleur (3+7) w/thumb shifter
Three-speed internal (1+3) w/grip shifter

The 10-speed needs: wheel to be trued, spokes to be tightened, brackets to be checked. 

The MTB needs - surprisingly little, but I found a tiny crack in in one the mounting spots on the Rock Shox. Does anyone know if this is a big deal? My brother didn't think so. I know I have the original fork if they are shot, but would probably need to repurchase the appropriate headset to swap them. 

The Linus might benefit from different or additional gears. I'm totally on the fence about whether to mess with her at this point.

I plan to add, at a minimum, kickstands to The Radish and Julek, and to swap a single-footed kickstand to a double-footed one for Fleur, since she's my basketed friend. I'd like to get fenders and small rear racks for the 10-speed and MTB; the 10speed has an eyelet on her rear-wheel that makes me think this was contemplated from the start. KISMET, I TELL YOU.

In stable news, Bikes For the Rest of Us, a great bicycle resource blog with numerous reviews and multiple contributors, featured my stable on its website. They are looking for stories about your bike(s) and why you chose it/them. Please find them if you wish to contribute. 

Out of town this weekend, but I'll end this on a caffeinated note: I recently started following @coffeeneur (Chasing Mailboxes, otherwise known as Mary G) on Twitter, and she (of the DC area) talked me into participating in a "coffeeneuring" challenge, which at this point, boils down to riding my bike at least 2mi round trip to get a cup of coffee and nibble at a local coffee shop SEVEN distinct times on SEVEN distinct weekend (non-work) days before 11/17. Which means, coffee Sunday, Nov 2, Nov 3, Nov 9, Nov 10, Nov 16, and Nov 17 to "win". More info here if you'd like to join up, but with one of the few remaining weekends upon us, time is of the essence. 

Finally, I just received this AMAZING bumper sticker for my car (designed by Elly Blue, of Everyday Bicycling, Bikenomics, and Taking the Lane). If I can find 32 seconds, it's so going on that 4-wheeled thingamajig I also use to get around.

Cheers and happy riding! xx

Make it Work: Trek Mountain Bike

Happy Friday, friends! 

Let's go on a virtual bikey shopping-spree, shall we?

Today, I want to talk about my moutain bike. I worked in a bicycle shop in my hometown when I was in high school, when mountain bikes were the thing. As I mentioned in my initial post, I cycled (heh) through a few mountain bikes due to bike theft (my hometown is kind of steal-y about these things, though my second MTB was actually stolen from the flat we were staying in in London for the summer in 1995). While I was working at the shop, I purchased an alumnium-frame Trek 8000, then upgraded the fork to Shox. It has its original tires. My bike looks like this, except for the headset and Shox:

Photo Source

It's a gorgeous bicycle, and I love the color scheme - loved it in 1996 and love it today (charcoal and yellow are a fab pairing). I also have a yellow bottle cage. That said, I wouldn't mind it getting a slightly more sophisticated style. I'd ideally like to make the following modifications (not in order of preference):

1. Upgraded saddle - The current saddle is not comfortable and the gel cover I have over it shifts and doesn't help much. Plus, since I've been riding again, I'm a little more accustomed to the bike saddle. I would like to get a Brooks, since I don't like this saddle (I don't LOVE the Linus' stock saddle, but it works just fine, so if I'm going to spend money to replace a saddle, it will be the MTB's). I like the ochre ($117.00).

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2.  Smooth tires. Let me be honest: I've never been a big "off road" girl. I don't mind fairly flat trails, but I'm not going to "shred" and never have. I like my spine and noggin intact, and I'm not an aggressive- or competitive-sports girl. The knobby tires slow me down. I'd like to get smooth tires. These Kwenda Kwests (~$25 each) would be fabulous . 

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3. Rear-view mirror. Always. I am particular to Sunlite mirrors, because they are crazy-inexpensive (under $8.00) and large and have reflectors on the back. Also, they mount to the handlebars instead of the bar ends which means your grips remain intact. Speaking of grips...

4. I'm now obsessed with these grips... ($81.00) to match the ochre Brooks saddle. My plan is coming together nicely...

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5, 6, 7, 8. The foregoing address cosmetic and comfort issues. From a truly-practical standpoint, I'd also need a kickstand ($29.00), rack ($90.00), fenders ($55.00), and I'd like a chain guard ($29.00) to protect my pants. I have combined them, because VeloORANGE makes gorgeous accessories. All photo credits below are VeloORANGE. 

I would be inclined to order two of the kickstand, since the single-leg variety (which I have on my Linus) doesn't do well with heavy loads, or since I've added the front basket. 

9. Finally, I'd like a pannier for the Trek. The narrow Philosophy Burnside is perfect, and the grey and black is really sleek (if a little expensive at $259.00).

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10. Bonus? A bell. Can get those anywhere for a song.

My thinking, here, is that the Trek could become a meaningful commuter option for work (extra gears), and I'd have the Linus for errands and local travel. I've have a couple of very good-looking bikes, and since I know the Linus can get me to work and since the outfit on the Trek can accommodate baggage, either would be a perfectly-reasonable substitute for the other in the event of a flat or if repairs were needed.