With a New Year approaching, my riding has also begun anew! My wife (who is awesome, by the way) got me a new ride for Christmas. For the past year, I have bee riding my “hardtail” mountain bike with either the urban assault tires or slicks to log miles. By “hardtail”, I mean no suspension. Many of the mountain bikes you see out there are full suspension or at least front suspension. I believe this takes away the true feel of riding. Some people swear by full suspension, but I’m not buying it.
My new bike is a ’08 Scattante Americano Single Speed. This bike has a flip flop back hub that I can flip over to change the bike to a fixed gear. A single speed bike is like the bikes we rode as kids – no gears. I bought a bike trailer from a guy in 07 who rode a fixed gear bike and swore by it. Ever since talking to him about fixed gear bikes, I have been intrigued. I did some research and found this bike that can be either single speed of fixed gear. Once I get the feel for hoe the bike handles I will get a new cog and make the switch to fixed gear. A fixed gear bike is an interesting machine. Basically, you can’t coast; if the pedals are moving, so is the back wheel. Stop pedaling, stop moving. Once I make this switch, I’ll be sure to post about it.
With the New Year also comes a new mileage goal. In 2008, I rode over 2000 miles on either my mountain bike or the stationary. It’s only the 30th and I still have 2 more riding days left in the year. Yesterday’s ride put me at 2048 for the year. In 2009, I am shooting for 3000 miles. This should be doable as I really only started counting 2008 miles in late February while helping my wife train for her first triathlon.
Stay tuned for how my progress is going.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Thursday, December 18, 2008
I did it!
This summer, I decided that I would set a goal of riding 2000 miles by the end of the year. I am happy to report (as if anyone reads this) that on December 16th, I accomplished my goal. It was nothing special. In fact I was in a hotel gym, by myself with he TV going (satelite was fading in & out even). I hit my goal for the year and silently kept going. I don't know what I was expecting, but it was quite low key. Anyway, I did it, & I'm happy about it. Maybe I'll shoott for 3000 for next year....
Saturday, December 13, 2008
I'm out of Texas!
I know my header should be "I'm in New Mexico", but my dislike for Texas leans me to be more excited to not be there (virtually). I ronically, I fly to El Paso next Tuesday where I'll probably break my 2000 mile mark for he year (if the hotel gym has a bike). Yes, I'm only 36.78 miles away from the 2000 mile goal I set for myself this summer. Kinda cool!
I saw something on the road the other day that struck me as odd. A guy was riding his bike down the sidewalk (a huge pet peeve) and got all torqued when a car pulled across the sidewalk to check for a break in traffic so he could go wherever. Dude had no reason to be honed off; he shouldn't have been on the side walk. There was a perfectly good bike lane righht next to him on the street. For those who like to ride on side walks-please stop. Cars do not expect a bicycle to come flying down the sidewalk and the possibility of being hit is far greater than if you're on the street. Now if you're 8 years old and going to school, that's different. Adults should ride in the street (in the bike lane) and obey the same traffic laws as cars.
I saw something on the road the other day that struck me as odd. A guy was riding his bike down the sidewalk (a huge pet peeve) and got all torqued when a car pulled across the sidewalk to check for a break in traffic so he could go wherever. Dude had no reason to be honed off; he shouldn't have been on the side walk. There was a perfectly good bike lane righht next to him on the street. For those who like to ride on side walks-please stop. Cars do not expect a bicycle to come flying down the sidewalk and the possibility of being hit is far greater than if you're on the street. Now if you're 8 years old and going to school, that's different. Adults should ride in the street (in the bike lane) and obey the same traffic laws as cars.
Saturday, December 6, 2008
What's Killing all the Fish?
Emma & I ran some errands today by riding. Well she rode in the trailer and I pulled her on the bike. We rode a little over 15 miles and on one stretch of the ride, we rode along one of the canals. When I first pulled onto the tow path, I noticed lots and lots of trash floating in the canal. I woouldn't have been surprised to have seen a trash truck overturned in the canal up stream.
Then I started seeind dead fish floating. What's killing them? I believe that this is the water that irrigates our crops. I wonder how much disease and funk is being washed over our crops and into the ground water?....All the more reason to keep my garden growing. Terri was saying something about a recent law that says all crops have to be irradiated and you will need a license to have a garden. I say bullshit. I will not only continue growing a garden, I am going to expand it.
Sorry to get too environmental, but it's important that we take care of the planet we have. I guess that's why I ride a bike to do errands instead of driving.
Then I started seeind dead fish floating. What's killing them? I believe that this is the water that irrigates our crops. I wonder how much disease and funk is being washed over our crops and into the ground water?....All the more reason to keep my garden growing. Terri was saying something about a recent law that says all crops have to be irradiated and you will need a license to have a garden. I say bullshit. I will not only continue growing a garden, I am going to expand it.
Sorry to get too environmental, but it's important that we take care of the planet we have. I guess that's why I ride a bike to do errands instead of driving.
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