Life, Lust, and Silly Puns

Woooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooot I got a road bike! Yeah, it was scheduled to arrive on the 28th, but I guess they were quick about it. I got it Thursday evening, spent Friday tuning and adjusting it, and went for my first ride on it today. I only went 9 something miles, but I barely felt it.

Anyway, I love my bike. It's 26 pounds and runs 32 mm tires, but I can still keep up with the big kids on their more expensive bikes. Anyway, my bike.



I don't like the Sora shifters. I'll keep scouting Craigslist.

It's been a while, but I just wanted to say I've got a pretty schweet X-mas gift coming up. It'll be delivered on 12-28-08 but I might not be able to get it on that day. I'm hoping I can get my hands on it by the 29th. Since this blog is about cycling, and because everyone knows my hobby, this gift will be related to biking. I've mentioned considering getting it these past few weeks, but you'll know for sure which one once I get it.


Counting down....


F5F5F5F5F5F5F5 etc.

Ok, quick post before I worry about my CTA tomorrow.

So before, I said that the best height for your seat is when your leg is almost fully extended with the crank in the 6:00 position. Well that's partially true, but one thing I didn't mention: It's the heel. So basically, in the 6:00 position, your heel should barely be touching your pedals. So when you pedal regularly, you'll have some knee bend at the bottom of each stroke.

Also another thing that I said before and still holds true. For the seat fore-and-aft (front and back for you geniuses), put your cranks in the 3-9 position. The front tip of your forward knee should be bisecting your pedal. It may be hard to see it perfectly when you're looking at your own knee while sitting on your bike. Here's a small pic to illustrate my point.




Enjoi ur ride ppl.

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