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.

4:20

haha. you thought this was a blog entry about smoking pot. but it's not. in fact this in a record of the fact that comrade and i went on our first trip to the vet via bicycle/trailer. trailer trailer trailer. our appointment was at 4:20 and we were late by about 15 minutes due to traffic and the fact that hauling a dog and trailer takes significantly longer than hauling just myself through south austin.

whatever. we did it. and on our way out of the office some crazy old lady with a white haired poodle asked if i always carried my dog in "that thing." i lied a little bit and said "yes" thinking that "i always carry my dog in this thing" is pretty much the same as "i will always carry my dog in this thing." she wrinkled her nose a bit and observed, "it doesn't look very safe...." off the cuff i made up a statistic, "more people die in car accidents in austin every year than in bicycle accidents." just to shut her up. i'm pretty sure it's true even if i don't have the NHTSA report to prove it.

let me tell you, cars give a bike+trailer much more space than they give just-a-bike. and most people (who are not old ladies) love seeing a dog out and about in the city. we got a lot of expository "A DOG!"s yelled at us. i mean, my dog is super cute, and now she's got a trailer to make her look even cuter. and i am her homely, sweaty rickshaw driver.

french connection

hiya

i got a new (used) bike. a good condition older motobecane super mirage. steel, french, vintage. my favorites. attention to detail is amazing on older bikes. seam-stitched (faux?) leather grip tape. amazing, i say.

the only thing that isn't ideal about it is the gearing which is a bit too easy to be entirely useful. i can't really accelerate the way i would like to down hills. i talked to tom and he said that changing out the rear cassette is pretty easy unless it's a high-end french monster, which of course it isn't.

w00t!

ow.
i just crashed. i might have been drunk. my hand hurts.
bleedy bleedy.