I am an old man in lycra [1]. Back and shoulders do not allow me to stay aero for long periods, so I either have the bike set up for climbs or for aero. Since my rides usually have both, I’m always either wishing the bars were a bit closer or a bit farther away. […]
After yet another road bike crash, one of my friends keeps telling me that I should take up gravel biking or mountain biking. Yes, there’s less chance of getting hit by a car (except driving over to the place where I’ll be gravel/mountain-biking, I suppose). Or trying to park at one of these places on […]
It’s one thing when a car tries to pass on a blind curve while you’ve going the speed limit on a 5% downhill grade and almost head-ons into the oncoming traffic just to get around you before a stop sign in 200 m. [1] After decades on the planet, and especially the last four […]
Tagged bicycle, bike, shenanigansIf the bike radar is out of juice, I don’t go until it’s recharged. That’s almost true of the HUD. And I’m going to cry when that dies, because they don’t make it anymore, and the alternatives are 1) expensive 2) proprietary and 3) made by small companies likely to go out of business. Like […]
It turns out that bike clothing is another buy once, cry once item. Generic $50 bike store and manufacturer jerseys and chamois suck. Mid-level ($100 on sale) are somewhat better. But the $200 on sale stuff is the shit. Zippers that work with one hand. Padding that doesn’t roll up and cause sores. Pockets that […]
Pasadena still hates bikes. They make bike lanes to nowhere (Sierra Madre Villa – best bike lane in Pas, goes nowhere, gets driven in by cars, no enforcement. Also see Marengo for about a mile), refuse to pave bike lanes that are guaranteed pinch flats at any speed (Raymond), get buffaloed when they try to […]
Tagged bicycle, bike, bike lanes, PasadenaThinking about it, if it’s not the weight, it could be: Psychosomatic – I am totally susceptible to superstition, placebo, imposter, dunning-krueger, and the oxford comma. Aerodynamic – For all that it weighs the same, the new bike is burly. The frame is almost twice as wide. Wheels are 35 instead of 23. Discs instead […]
Tagged bike, rantI got a new bike. Not really because I wanted to, but because it’s basically impossible to get replacement parts for the groupset on the old bike, and replacing the groupset would require new wheels, and… for want of a nail, etc. At some point maybe it’s just better to put that money into a […]
Tagged 5200, bike, Domane, Trek, weightI tend to think that the lack of parking for the n-thousand employees where I work, even after recently spending tens-of-millions on a (too-small-even-when-planned [1]) parking garage, was just general bureaucratic ineptitude. But since the general result is that you have to come in early to get parking, and you can’t leave to take an […]
Has there ever been a more useless convention than “On your left” (or right) when passing a pedestrian or slower bike? Nine times out of ten, the passee just goes in the direction you just hollered. It’s human nature! You hear “left”, you move left. But not always, so you can’t rely on it and […]
This is perfect. Pasadena Police Department will step up Bike & Pedestrian Safety Enforcement Operations on Monday, May 15, 2017 with focused enforcement on collision causing factors involving motorists, pedestrians and bicyclists. This operation is also in remembrance of [a seven year old kid], who at the age of seven, was struck and killed by […]
There are few things more dangerous than a mom with a mobile in a minivan and a moppet at 7:45.
Bike mechs
Sometime in the distant past, I upgraded from the best bike I could afford when I was in college (Suntour, downtube shifters, Reynolds aluminum, etc.) to a pretty modern CF with 9 gears and brifters! [1] [2] I thought that was pretty sweet, and didn’t ever really see the point in upgrading. Until, after probably […]
Tagged bicycle, bike, old bike