So yeah, It's been a good 2+ months since my last post. This is how blogs go with me; I write a lot, then gradually lose interest of just plain forget about it. Happened to my writing blog. Happened to my other writing blog, and darn near happened to this blog, too. Fortunately I have a fiancee that bugs me into doing stuff that's good for me. Also fortunately, I had a fairly eventful day of cycling.
After having bought my bike, Vigdis (a Surly Cross-Check), I immediately started thinking of what to upgrade first. After having to deal with the weird knobbiness/non-knobbiness of the stock tires that came with the bike (I accept that, being what is effectively a high-end hybrid, Vigdis and her finer points will be exceptional at nothing, but still people!), I upgraded the tires to WTB's CrossWolf tires. So far, they're fantastic on wet grass, which is weird, of all things to excel at, but whatever. I no longer fear taking those sharp, low-angle turns because these new tires have a nice, consistent oh my God is this boring! New topic:
I got clipless pedals today. For those of you who don't know what those are (I didn't until like six months ago, so no judgments here), essentially, you attach your feet to the pedals, such that you cannot accidentally take them out. I rode with a mild fear of turtling (picture two wheels in the air and me upside down on the pavement -- oo! better yet, picture those fainting goats but riding bikes), but luckily i only looked like I had special needs a few times today.
Really, the cool thing is that you can power through on the upstroke when you're pedaling, so yay for efficiency! It's pretty cool dropping into pedaling beast-mode at any given moment, completely burning out your (my) legs and rotating which muscles to use and which to rest at any given moment. I'm getting that much closer to cyborg!
It's not exactly a life-goal, but still, it'd be neat to be a cyborg.
I was on my way back from the only coffee shop in town that's not a starbucks, weaving aroung some amazing holiday traffic, surrounded by cars at a stoplight (Conway sucks, that's all there is to it; it's a town with ten times as much traffic as there is to justify it). But, the car next to me, the passenger rolled down his window and said "thanks for biking!"
Merry Christmas, you commuters out there; we are appreciated!
After having bought my bike, Vigdis (a Surly Cross-Check), I immediately started thinking of what to upgrade first. After having to deal with the weird knobbiness/non-knobbiness of the stock tires that came with the bike (I accept that, being what is effectively a high-end hybrid, Vigdis and her finer points will be exceptional at nothing, but still people!), I upgraded the tires to WTB's CrossWolf tires. So far, they're fantastic on wet grass, which is weird, of all things to excel at, but whatever. I no longer fear taking those sharp, low-angle turns because these new tires have a nice, consistent oh my God is this boring! New topic:
I got clipless pedals today. For those of you who don't know what those are (I didn't until like six months ago, so no judgments here), essentially, you attach your feet to the pedals, such that you cannot accidentally take them out. I rode with a mild fear of turtling (picture two wheels in the air and me upside down on the pavement -- oo! better yet, picture those fainting goats but riding bikes), but luckily i only looked like I had special needs a few times today.
Really, the cool thing is that you can power through on the upstroke when you're pedaling, so yay for efficiency! It's pretty cool dropping into pedaling beast-mode at any given moment, completely burning out your (my) legs and rotating which muscles to use and which to rest at any given moment. I'm getting that much closer to cyborg!
It's not exactly a life-goal, but still, it'd be neat to be a cyborg.
I was on my way back from the only coffee shop in town that's not a starbucks, weaving aroung some amazing holiday traffic, surrounded by cars at a stoplight (Conway sucks, that's all there is to it; it's a town with ten times as much traffic as there is to justify it). But, the car next to me, the passenger rolled down his window and said "thanks for biking!"
Merry Christmas, you commuters out there; we are appreciated!
