Book of Lenny

I recently saw Jonathan Marshall's work at AMOA, a video with accompanying installation called the 'Book of Lenny' a chronicle of one survivor of a fictionalized apocalyptic-scale weather phenomenon called El Nada. Lenny the protagonist, builds among other things, this cycle-boat. It's a converted Schwinn Varsity married to a floorbase of salvaged fenceplanks on top of pontoons. Attention to detail is in no small supply: for example, rudder functions are taken into consideration, by connecting guidewires to the bike's front fork.

The amazing thing about this cycle-boat is that it is not all fiction. From the video, we see that it actually functions on water.



There is a certain way in which the contemporary cycling community values itself as a DIY bastion. "If the shit hit the fan, we could fix things ourselves." Or at least we could fix our bikes ourselves. If everything ran on bike principles then we could fix everything. The bike rider and the survivalist are not so distinct in society, Marshall brings attention to that connection through his fiction.

Peticab

here's a photo of Comrade and me during Critical Mass.....it's not the best shot of Comrade but you get the idea. my pedicabbing friend timothy remarked on our setup saying, "oh look. it's sort of like a little pedicab for dogs." and i, who am usually the last person to make a pun, said, "yes. you might call it a 'peticab' mightn't you?" harharhar....

ANYWAY, there had been a call for people to "pup their rides," but i was the only one with a critter on this particular ride. i was a little worried about being able to maneuver through traffic and whatnot downtown but we managed just fine.

i think i will try to organize a doggie ride cuz doggies are cute and they like to ride around town too....maybe sometime in the late summer, in the evening. we'll stop at dogparks and waterholes/ponds/pools/fountains to keep the pups cool. it'll be so much fun....

May is bike month

And I want to take it really seriously this year. I want a partner in crime, though. Roncal and Arwyn won't work because they already are both allstars at not using cars.

Here's the deal, I want to bike and bus more and I would love to even bus a ton more this month. The obstacles to overcome: being at the bus stop by 5:55 am and riding the bus/biking 1.5 hours each way if I want to avoid using my car. BUT i can do it and it sounds more horrible than it is. When my car was at the shop, I actually enjoyed turning my brain off completely and getting on the bus. Recreation: I run late. all the time. cedar tardy sexton. that's me. in order to bike/bus on the weekends, i need to step up my organizational/scheduling skills by about 50%. or more.

Sooo, I am hoping there's someone out there who will enter a challenge with me to bike &/or bus blank days a week to work and we can offer each other moral support. If we surpass our goals, we get to do something super fun (could be go out of town, alcohol, chocolate...some cool something) and if we miss a day we were supposed to bike/bus we owe the other person money or we have to contribute a few bucks to a bike org...

I know the biggest obstacle is breaking out of my routine, I really think the rest can be fun.

Anyone in or know anyone who would be in?

ps-I use bike/bus interchangeably because either way, you are leaving a car at home and to me, that's the most important goal.

resources

My prius has sort of eclipsed my bicycle but I'm headed back around. The weather is so gorgeous, why would I want to be in a car if I don't have to? I'm really looking forward to a full night of riding for Roncal's birthday--it was such a marvelous time last year. Here's a few resources for all (two) of us. I'm looking forward to ordering my hard copy of the most recent Austin bike map since I have yet to successfully make it from work to home without dangerous highway crossings and spontaneous dump-outs on the deathly roads I was trying so hard to avoid.
http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/bicycle/bikemap.htm
A friend sent this one...
http://www.bicyclecity.com/

astrid

for fuck's sake

re: fixie

i should remember to tighten the bolts that connect my chainring to my crankarms regularly.....that way i won't bend my chainring and derail my chain randomly one day while riding down congress ave. like i did on tuesday....sheesh.... whatevs.....i took the opportunity to gear it up. i am now riding a 46 in the front and 15 in the back.....

sweet.

tabitha? astrid? emma?

so i finished building up my fixed gear bike. it's a converted schwinn sprint. beautiful. the frame is a color somewhere between shit and champagne. a little rough looking (hopefully theft retardant in that way). 40t in front 15 t in rear (i might need to gear it higher cuz it's sortof not giving me the kind of gain i would like). although i tried to find as many used parts as possible (frame, fork, brake, seat, seatpost, headset, handlebars) the drivetrain (bottom bracket, pedals, cranks, gears, chain, wheelset) is all brand new. thus, the drivetrain is nice and shiny and makes me proud in that way that new car owners are (commodity fetishism much?).
it's my first attempt at fixed-ly riding. i'm loving it so far although i'm having a tad bit of trouble getting into the left toe-clip since i don't usually ride with one on that side. also my saddle (a salvaged yellowbike find) is a bit uncomfortable so i'm tracking some leads to find a more comfy saddle. i also need to find a wrench to carry around so that i can take off my wheels (bolts, not quick-release) when i need to. i feel like i'm graduating to something here.

and i don't know...i (since i'm silly) feel like this bike needs a name. something dignified but sporty? something utilitarian and political? something homely but sturdy?

pic coming soon....

Drunk Drivers

on saturday night, a stupid person in a stupid mini-truck accelerated to turn left from oppposing traffic, in front of me at congress/barton springs road and almost killed me. i pulled my brakes and tried to skid-stop but hit the ground. my bike continued forward under the truck, and the truck ran over the rear tire of my motobecane. the driver didn't stop. he knew he ran over something: a bike, a person, possibly both. and he chose not to stop. where do such people come from?

whatever.
i'm fine. but angry. and a little disappointed in "people."

the damage: i paid 60$ for a new rear wheel, tire, and tube. luckily the frame wasn't cracked. it was bent by about 4mm but the (hot) mechanic said "meh." i tried to take this opportunity to upgrade my wheels to 700c's but ran into ca$$ette/derailleur$ compatibility problems. so we kept the 27's. and the bracket for my bike lock broke off my bike, so now i have to carry that in my bag. i've got a minor bruise on my left inside elbow, left hip, and right inside knee, but no blood and no broken bones.

before this all happened i signed up for health insurance at work, but it doesn't go into effect until feb 1st. hopefully i won't need it until then.