Surrounded By Nonexistent Bicycles

I'm in Wichita, KS this week on company business. I usually make this trip about once a month. If you've ever spent much time in hotels on business trips you know that it can get pretty boring trying to find something to do when you're not actually at work. There's usually at least 8 hours of non-sleeping time to be used up.

I've been to the mall of course, but I'm too old to be a mall rat, and there's only so much time you can spend wandering through candle and soap shops. I tried finding woodworking stores but apparently nobody in this entire city cuts wood as a hobby. There are several "outdoors" stores that are good for a few hours worth of stooging. (You know, the stores that are full of guns, millions of fishing lures, furniture made from antlers, and ultraheavy camping equipment.)

One place I almost always go is to the local bike shops. And on this trip I decided to hit some shops along the way, too. In preparation, I emailed most of the bike shops in central Oklahoma and southern Kansas to see if they had any touring bikes in stock. Two or three of them responded positively, so I marked them on my map to visit, along with the regulars. Alas, so far the closest thing I've seen to a touring bike is one Bianchi Volpe. Everyone says they can order a Trek 520 or a Cannondale T800/2000, or even build up a Surly LHT. But no one seems to want to stock touring bikes.

I'm guessing that when gas prices go back up there will be an increased interest in actual transportation bikes. Till then, if you want to see a touring bike you'll just have to look at pictures of it on the web.

One Less Bike ( For Now ... )

Well, I sold my '88 Cannondale Criterium bike this morning. I really didn't ride it much. I had never really gotten comfortable on the bike like I have on some others. It was just taking up room in the garage.

Still, I always have mixed feelings when a bike grows up and leaves home. But at least I know the new owner, and I think it will be ok in his hands. I would have hated to sell it to a stranger.

Hmmm ... now I have room for a new bike :)

Trestle Wrestle

Just a couple pics of the trestle desk I'm working on in my garage workshop. I've decided that this one will be done all with hand tools. No electrons are being harmed in it's construction.

I figure that I need to learn to do joinery both by hand and by machine, so I thought I'd do this one all by hand just for kicks. It really makes you think hard to solve problems in different ways. You can't simply use a table saw for every little thing. And doing joinery without routers and mortisers is quite interesting, to say the least.

Freewheeling Again?

Last summer Glenn, Paul and I went on the Oklahoma Freewheel, a 7-day cross-the-state bicycle tour. We've been talking already about whether or not to go this year. I guess Glenn has made up his mind over the weekend, because I just got this message from him:

Lloyd,

I was trying to figure out how much it would cost to go on the freeWheel this year,after all I have most of the equipment already so it should be much cheaper.

Here is a rough estimate of my expected cost.

$1,300 for a new Trek 520
$1,300 for accessories
$200 for a new tent
$100 for a sleeping pad
$120 for entry fee
$450 for spending money
$150 for gas or bus fair
$200 for a bike box
$15 for spare tubes
$15 for a freewheel T-shirt
$35 for spare mirrors
______________________

$3885 total


Let's see what I'll get for my money.

I get to sleep on the ground,
take cold showers,
get rained on,
get crowded out by cars,
to take alot of blurry pictures,
smell bad most of the day,
eat in overcrowded restraunts,
get wind burned AND sunburned,
fight for a camping space,
live on Gatoraid and Cliff bars,
spend most of the day looking for arrows painted on the road,
sit in the hot sun, after a 60 mile day in the saddle,
eat food undercooked or overcooked by the boyscouts or some women's axuillary,
ride 5 miles with PeeWee Herman,
Have to talk nicely with some overweight woman looking for a husband,
get passed by that same overweight woman on the hills, (damn I hate that!)
get knocked over or run down by Lloyd who's only excuse is "I was clipped in",
get chased by mad dogs,
fix flats, mostly for Paul,
put up with people who sing,
get flipped off by mad drivers,
spend every day covered with a mixture of sweat, road grime, sunblock and gnats,...............................
.......but if the wife don't kill me first!.......

I'M GOING!

New Life South of the Border

A year ago this month I posted an entry about an old Giant Rincon mountain bike I was working on. I had picked up the bike from a garage sale with the thought that I might convert it to a touring bike to use for the Oklahoma Freewheel cross-the-state ride coming up in six months. After disassembling and cleaning/repairing/adjusting everything on the bike, I put it back together with drop bars and road shifters. Not long afterwards, however, I had the opportunity to purchase a 20-year old tourer which I rebuilt and eventually used on the Freewheel ride. So, the old Giant languished in my garage for nearly a year.

I justified it’s taking up valuable storage space by imagining it would make an excellent around-towner with its sturdy frame, flat pedals, and decent rack. I even put straight bars and mountain bike shifters back on it to make it a little more nimble jumping curbs and dodging potholes. But the unfortunate truth is that I simply didn’t ride it. No matter how suitable it was for urban trips, I just didn’t need it.

With the help of my old friend Glenn I found a way to give this old warrior a new lease on life. You see, for several years, Glenn has been going on mission trips to Mexico to provide support for several fledgling churches. He and others supply Bibles, hymnals, clothing, toys, musical and electronic equipment for several congregations there. One real need has been for transportation for the local pastors, some of whom serve more than one church in an area, much like the circuit-rider preachers did in the early days of our own country. For many pastors, owning a bicycle for transportation is simply out of their financial reach.

The accompanying pictures are of a pastor in Coxcatlan, Mexico picking up his new bike. He looks happy to receive it, and I’m happy that he’ll be putting it to good use. It’s much better than having it parked unused in my garage.