Life, Lust, and Silly Puns

So yesterday rained (of course) so I took the Red Bike out and rode around w/ Jasper. We went to Panda Express, then Evolution, where we looked at the SRAM X.4, bashguards, etc. Still dunno what to get for Christmas. Anyway, the fenders worked pretty well, especially the front one. I'm not sure about the rear fender, but I'll just say they worked.


Delicious SRAM X.4

it's about the engine. just sayin'




might wanna get workin.

Ever wanted to know what frame material to make your bike out of? Well "supcom" from bikeforums posted... (had to give credit, right?)

"Aluminum lawyers are fat and fatigue quickly. Steel lawyers are thinner and never crack under pressure but they get rusty after a while. Carbon fiber lawyers are good at isolating you from those little bumps life throws at you, but they can fall to pieces unexpectedly. Titanium lawyers really aren't better than any other lawyer, but everyone says they are, so they run around naked and charge double."

Excellent.

The Red Bike 2.0 is finished!

Anyway, here's what I did today. Replaced brake system, which includes brake lever, cable, most of the housing, calipers, and brake pads. Since my fenders are attached to the brake bolt, I also adjusted the fenders too. I also found out that, because of the weird derailleur mounting, the frame rubbed the chain while on the highest gear (a whopping 3-5!) So I also adjusted the rear derailleur.

Overall, a good pet project. No quick releases at all means that you can't mess with my bike unless you bring tools. 1.5'' tires roll fast. Fenders cover road crap. Rigid fork doesn't suck sprinting power. Yeah, it's a good beater bike.

I was flying down a hill. At this point, it didn't matter that I had just failed an in-class essay 15 minutes before. I was on 3-8, but I knew that if I pedaled, I would spin as if I were on 1-1. My handlebar was incapable of turning. I don't know whether or not it was because of the centripetal force of my front wheel, or because my arms were frozen in place from the exhilarating speed. Cars were passing me at ~10 mph. It was great.

When I walked out of Lit, I knew I had two options. Either go home and mope about my failure to prepare for essays, or go do some hill training on that "valley" on Stevens Creek. After stopping by my house to drop off my backpack, sweater, and lock, I was on my way.

Roughly 15 minutes later, here I am, typing on my laptop, eating a Clif bar.



At least I'm not moping about my essay.

Yup, they arrived today, on time, from Amazon. They're not like the mountain bike style, where they're mounted on a seatpost, 5 inches above the tire. Rather, they're a more traditional style of mount, with less than an inch of tire clearance. And I got the set of front and rear fenders + shipping + whatever for $15. Not bad.

Anyway, I'll post some real pictures of the Red Bike when I get my brakes. Meanwhile, enjoy some "teasers".






Yeah, I'm so artistic.


._.

F5F5F5F5F5F5F5... you've done it before, I'm sure. Perhaps you were tracking a package? Well then you might start to know how it is to track 3 packages... and knowing they'll get at your front door a week later than you had thought. The wait is killing me.... F5F5F5F5F5F5F5F5



If you didn't know, that's from XKCD.




F5F5F5F5F5F5F5F5

The following has nothing to do with biking. Surprising, no?


So apparently, this new thing is spreading. FutureGame. Click a few lucky clicks, win Apple stuff. Naturally, I wanted to do a little background info, as it had to do with money, and the Internet. As it turns out, the Terms and Conditions (oh my god, I read it! *gasp*) aren't so long. The following are two quoted paragraphs, with bolding on the words that I want to emphasize.

"Players may request prizes and/or money awarded to be sent to them only when the value of the award has exceeded $20 and the Player has been registered for at least a month. Prize and/or money awards will be sent at the end of each calendar month, provided the Player had eligible awards and requested the said award.

To receive prizes and/or money, FutureGame requires a home address and phone number. To receive more than $400 in cash or equivalent prizes during a calendar year, FutureGame requires the Player to provide their Social Security Number as well as complete a W-9 Form from the IRS for tax purposes."

If you play it safe, earning $0.01 every time... well, don't worry. You have a whole month to get $20. Enjoy your Shuffles guys.

Yes, I have played it. Yes, you can win prizes. Yes, there are better ways to make money. Just my little rant.

So I guess rainy season has (finally) started. For the first time in a looooong time, the humidity in my room has gone above 30% (It was 50% on Friday :P) But then rain comes with a price - getting wet. Pretty obvious, I know, but my slick tires attract a lot of kick up. Since Friday was the first time it's rained in a long time, all the road crap was kicked up onto my bike and me :[

So yeah, I'm getting fenders. But not on my Mesa! I'll be riding my red bike 2.0 for the rest of the rainy season... as soon as my parts come in. Fenders come Wednesday, and brakes come sometime next week, or maybe the week after :[ I haven't ordered my tires/tubes yet... if I really can't wait, then I'll replace the current tires with my old Mesa ones. WTB Velociraptors :P


Oh, and just a side note, if you wash your bike with a garden hose, wipe it dry with a towel after you're done. The fluoride in the water will leave marks. (Thanks for reminding me Jasper)