Bicycle @ MindSay

This morning I arrived at work and was in the process of locking up my bike when another cyclist arrived... a woman I recognized from working in the building, but don't know all that well.  She saw my bike and said something to the effect of, "That's your bike? That's hysterical. I figured it belonged to some hipster kid."

I really didn't know how to respond to that.  "Fuck you" seemed a little much for someone I didn't know.  So I just smiled awkwardly and said, "Nope... it's mine, all right."

Dunno what's so "hysterical" about it, goddammit.


I see that I've neglected to mention another recent purchase.  I got tired of not having room in my fridge for food since so much shelf space was reserved for beer.  So I bought a small (4.5 cu. ft.) "beer fridge."  Quite handy.  I now have lots of space for food in the big fridge.

Pity I can't afford groceries.


While hauling the small - but hardly lightweight - beer fridge up the stairs to my apartment, I strained my lower back. So it's handy that I'd recently made another investment: a "subscription" plan at Massage Envy.  I used to have regular massages, and knew that I needed them again. My shoulder has never gotten back to 100% since the injury, but after three massages, now, I've noticed improvement. I'm duly impressed with my CMT. She's quite good.


I suppose the biggest news is that I've applied to graduate school.  Assuming financial aid comes through, I'll begin in December working on a Master's in Mental Health Counseling.  Do I know exactly what I want to do?  Nope.  I just know I've got to get out of what I'm doing now.  It's not challenging, and I know I can do something much more meaningful in the world. 

Wish me luck.  It's been a loooooong time since I've been a student.

I had find many products about 36 Volt Front Wheel Bike Conversion Kit. FRONT WHEEL E-BIKE CONVERSION KIT FOR REGULAR BICYCLES::New 36V model > just released with quick lock and load battery box. Easy slid off and on!!!!36v front E- wheel kit shown installed on bicycle. Note: Bicycle not included.* 36v Skyhawk brand name; designed in USA and made in China* This is a 36 volt front wheel kit to convert a standard bike to an E-bike.. Installs in minutes; net weight, less batts. Is only 12.0 kg.* Uses 3 standard UL approved 14 amp hour e-bike batteries carried on rear rack. Batteries sold with kits or can be obtained locally.* Available in 24" and 26" wheel sizes for standard bicycles.* New design battery box is quick lock and load type. Convenient to carry indoors for charging or batterries can be charge while on bike.* Flat land max. Speed with average wt. Rider is aprox.17 to 20mph.* 3 batteries are held in removable heavy duty plactic carrier box on of rear chrome rack.* 36v controller held on underneath side of rear rack.* Can be optionally ordered with lead acid gel cell 14amp/

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a Dutch utility bicycle
A utility bicycle (aka ute bicycle[citation needed]) is a bicycle designed for practical transportation, as opposed to "sport bicycles" which are primarily designed for recreation and competition, such as touring bicycles, racing bicycles, sport/training bicycles, and mountain bicycles.

A freight bicycle used for child transport
Utility bikes are somewhat similar in purpose, though not in design, to the hybrid bicycle, particularly its subvariants, including the modern city bike and the commuter bike. They are used for short-distance commuting, running errands, shopping, or for transporting goods or merchandise. Utility bikes may also be seen in courier service, in war, and for personal transportation inside large workplaces (factories, warehouses, airports, movie studio lots, etc.). Utility bicycles often feature a step-through frame so they can be easily mounted, hub gears and drum brakes to reduce the need for maintenance, mudguards to keep the rider's clothing clean, a chain guard to prevent skirts or loose trousers from being caught in the chain, a skirt guard to prevent a long skirt catching in the rear brakes, a kickstand so it can be parked anywhere, and a basket or pannier rack to carry personal possessions or shopping bags. In this guise, they are frequently known as roadsters.
Utility bicycles are typically much heavier than bicycles designed primarily for sport or recreation. The traditional hub-geared English or African utility roadster may weigh as much as 35 to 50 pounds (16 - 23kg). Parts such as frames, rims/wheels, and tires are chosen for strength, safety, and durability rather than high performance. Additionally, utility bikes tend to incorporate fewer technological advances in material design and engineering in comparison to sport bicycles, though there are exceptions. In particular, the small-tired Moulton portable utility cycles incorporate advanced engineering with relatively light weight.

Utility tricycles in Changping District, Beijing
Most utility bikes feature an upright riding position. The handlebars are almost always curved back and positioned higher than the saddle so that the rider can operate controls without changing his or her riding posture. Some people add a child seat or a trailer. The utility bike's combination of parts, design, and features provide functionality and comfort at the expense of weight, an adequate compromise when used as originally intended (relatively flat terrain for short distances).
The utility bicycle, usually seen in the form of the heavy hub-geared English or African roadster or European city bike, is the most widely used form of bicycle in many undeveloped parts of the world. While motor vehicles have displaced bicycles for personal transportation in many industrialized and post-industrial nations, rising fuel costs and concerns over the environment have led many people to once again turn to utility bicycles for a variety of daily tasks. In countries where purpose-built utility bikes are unavailable or unsuited to local conditions, many cyclists have acquired hybrid bicycles, road bicycles, mountain bikes, or touring bicycles for commuting and general utility use, often refurbishing older or secondhand models. A few countries, notably the Netherlands, Denmark and the Flemish Region of Belgium, continue to produce versions of the heavy utility bike or roadster. In addition, the Deutsche Post uses a version of a utility bike in most German cities for delivering mail.
See also
Cycling portal
Bicycle messenger
European city bike
Hybrid bicycle
Roadster (bicycle)
Utility cycling
Cycling
v?d?e
Utility cycling | Recreational cycling | Bicycle racing
Glossary of bicycling
Utility cycling
v?d?e
Roadcycling| Segregatedcyclefacilities| Vehicularcycling| BicyclecommutingUtility bicycle| Bicycle trailer| Bike sharing
Categories: Cycle types | Road cycles
Hidden categories: All articles with unsourced statements | Articles with unsourced statements since March 2009(and so on)

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Has anyone ever had to change a mountain bike part?  This can be fun but also time consuming.  I recently changed my tires on my MTB.  First I had to take the wheels off the bike.  Then I had to take the old tires off.  Finally I put the new tires on.  It took a little time to seat them properly. 

 

The final end result was just what I wanted.  new tires on my MTB made a difference on the trail.  It took a little time in my afternoon to do this but it was well worth the effort.

 

So if you are going to change any of your mountain bike parts plan out your job and consider the time needed to do the job.

Since my time in Japan is now limited to that of "extended vacation" I have started looking back on my experiences and looking forward to how I can apply them to my life in America. One of the things that I have had to do in Japan is find alternate means of transportation. In America I was used to either driving myself to where I needed to go or bumming a ride off of friends. Unfortunately out here I have no motor vehicle and getting a native Japanese to give you a ride is nigh on impossible (I have a story about that, but I will save it for my next post). Of course I use the bus and train, but I also started riding a bicycle to get from here to there.

So after being bombarded with various flash cartoons explaining why I am killing the environment I thought, "well, I don't really care, but what the hell... maybe I'll still ride a bike to do errands when I get home. It's healthy and ecologically friendly." But here in Japan I live in a pretty big city... nothing is more than about two or three miles away. Any type of bike will get you to where you are going and you don't have to think much about pacing. In America I live in a suburb of either Chicago or Detroit, both of which are very spread out. I figured if I wanted to continue riding a bike in the States I should look up some tips on what to buy, types of bicycle, etc.

I looked up "commuter bicycling" and a couple variations of that phrase and came up with mostly personal web pages and forums discussing the use of a pedal bicycle as a commuting vehicle. Now, I had heard before that environmental people can be very annoying at times, and that those who ride bikes to commute are very "holier than thou". I didn't really believe it until I started reading the web sites. I looked up about 10 pages, and each and every one was written by a douche bag.

The first I saw was written by some old guy who goes on about how in order to really commute on a bike you must ride something like twenty miles a day and train on the weekends. Basically he is a true bicycle enthusiast who is trying to get others to become the same through a combination of guilt and oddly empty promises (you will be more sexually attractive if you bicycle more!) He also included one of the dorkiest things you can on a website, a list of "ways to know you are a cycle enthusiast". (I don't have the link at the moment, I'll post it when I find it again.)

The next site starts out telling you that you ride a bike wrong. Pretty much no matter what, unless you follow the same regiment as these people, you ride a bike incorrectly. Again the author comes off as a douche and tells you once again that in order to simply commute to work you must train in your free time. I also find it amusing that on both websites they list "companionship (ride with a friend!)" as a perk to bicycle commuting. I personally would never want to even hang out with these people, let alone ride a bike with them.
Douche bag #2's site:
http://www.bicyclinglife.com/PracticalCycling/commuteguide.htm

The forums were all the same: Bicycle folks complaining. They complain about other, "poser" cyclists, they complain about cars, they complain about not having bike paths, they complain about the bike paths they have... it's just silly. Occasionally they will have a thread about equipment or technique, but as far as I could see it always just degraded into a "my way is best! NO! MY way is best!" style argument.

So after doing some research I have decided not to continue my cycling when I return to the United States. According to everything I have read I will have to devote a fair amount of time to simply getting in good enough shape to ride a bike as a commuter, and after that I will have to use a lot of my free time to keep up that condition. Other bike commuters will cast a very critical eye on me and most likely judge me as a "fair weather" environmentalist or poser or whatever. Even if I did get into good enough shape, I would apparently become an elitist asshole with a subtle but biting sense of unwarranted self importance.

So there you have it, I have been convinced to use only motor vehicles by opponents of motor vehicles. A word of advice to commuter bicycle proponents: Don't tell people they suck at riding then say they should ride a bike. It's confusing.

Also, as a personal note, they never addressed my main excuse for not wanting to ride a bike: I don't want to and it wouldn't be fun.

-Maru!

Yesterday, I was going to blog about the fact that someone tried to steal my bike.

I'd ridden down to Temple Coffee yesterday morning to do some writing, and when I came out, I noticed the cable lock had been tampered with. Like someone had tried to cut through it, but only succeeded in making it through the rubber coating. It surprised me that anyone would attempt this in broad daylight in a busy area. But since the damage was very close to the combination mechanism, I also couldn't imagine that I hadn't noticed it when unlocking the bike at home or locking it before going into the coffee shop.

This morning, I'm blogging about the fact that the motherfucker succeeded. I went out this morning and the bike was gone, the cable cut through and left dangling from the wrought iron railing.

And of course, there's not a damn thing I can do about it. It never occurred to me to have the bike added to my renter's insurance. (Mainly because this is the first time I've ever had renter's insurance in my life, and I really don't think about it.) **Edit...  Turns out it wouldn't have mattered.  My deductible is $500, which is about twice what the bike cost.**

It's said that in the Old West, horse thieves were shot.

Kinda feeling nostalgic right now...