Something different yet familiar

I did something different today. I went for a bike ride that had no utilitarian aim. And I went on a regular mountain bike, sans electric assist. This is something that I used to do all the time. However, in the past year I had gotten into a more car-reliant lifestyle, as least as far as my free time was concerned, since my tennis events and whatnot were generally not really pedalable. And there was no time or energy left over for biking for fun. When I did ride, I was on a mission, and I used the e-bike.

At 23", My non-powered bike is a lot taller than the 18" frame that I put the motor on. It feels stiff and spindly. I was very surprised at how fast it wanted to roll, being nearly nude without all the cargo racks, batteries and whatnot. I was also surprised by how easy pedaling was, although some inclines made me feel like I wasn't really making much progress at times. I was also surprised by how refreshed I felt after pedaling around the neighborhood, getting a feel for things. (I couldn't resist a stop at the nearby Krispy Kreme.)

The river was beautiful. I brought some hot tea and biscuits (ok, crackers) because I thought it was a civilized thing to do. With a fleece jacket, wool quarter-zip sweater, and cotton turtleneck, I felt slightly underdressed for walking around outside but it started to get a little warm after some exertion. High was in the low 50s 'F. I had wool socks and some ventilated mesh clogs that worked fine, warm and breathable. I used to wear thick woolen socks with sandals. :

Looking at my bike by the river, I realized I had had it for an amazing ten years. It's a 1998 Specialized Hardrock FS (front suspension). It's hardly the most expensive thing out there, but it's been my entry into the world of real bikes. It's tall and ungainly and slow, like me, but it's tough. Ten years! It's gotten me around rattlesnakes, over ice and snow, I even rode it on the beach when I first got it. It's been from Sullivan's Island (SC) to Emigration Canyon (UT). What an emotional trip it's been.

Since I work at home, I don't have much of a commute. This was my commute with nature. This is how I used to live, and how I will be living now. This is I.

e-bike tweek

I added a shiny new part to the e-bike yesterday and am very excited. The lowest chainring had gotten bent somehow, probably climbing a steep hill with a dead battery, although I feel that a lot of this bike was already due for replacement when I found it by the Dempsey Dumpster(tm).

The way it was bent looked impossible to correct without mangling the other gears; besides I figured it would get broken again. Also, this gave me the opportunity to get a both a little faster gearing on the top (44 teef vs. 42) and a little lower one (22 teef vs. 24) on the small chainring to give me more relevant pedaling speeds on the fairway and help climbing aforementioned big hills.

Original equipment was one of those cheap cranksets with all the sprockets riveted on; the upgrade (Shimano M440) has replaceable ones in case this happens again.

The main thing is, it's a shiny new part, resplendent in the black and silver scheme that covers the rest of the bike. It really makes the cheap metal and plastic pedals it's attached to look like crap. They are actually rusted and screaming for replacement. I might just repaint them for thriftiness's sake. Also, the seat is quite tattered and corroded; I figure you don't want a bike to look too nice on the mean streets.

I researched this crankset a lot on line before taking it to a local bike shop in my parents' town. They did a surprizingly good job, fixing it while I was at lunch at a cost much less than I was expecting! They had to use a different bracket (they gave me a used one cheap) as the new crankset was lower profile than the original. I am glad I didn't take on this project myself as I would have spent two weeks even getting the right parts. That would have meant missed rides, and extra gas expenses.

Interestingly, this crankset is a 9-speed dealie, which means it can work with narrower chains than came with my 7-speed setup. I just had the rear cassette (and chain) replaced---an expensive, frustrating experience---but now if it ever goes I can theoretically add more gears there too. Anyway, the new part is better than the originally but it was still pretty cheap. Which makes me a happy man.