Thursday, January 29, 2009

Upgrades

So you know when you get new parts you just can't help but put them on. Well I got a single speed kit, chain ring, and chain. Being that my old stuff had more then a 1000 miles on it.

The stock ring was 36T the new is 32T. The gear in the back was a 15T and now is a 16T. I am running a 1/2 x 1/8 chain with a quick link. The problem that I am facing now is that the bash guard that is on the crank arms is to thick for the new chain, but I need it on the crank arms because without it my bolts won't tighten down and hold the chain ring. Now with the wider chain, the chain rubs the guard and with that quick link the chain rides up on the guard and I end up skipping or jumping teeth. A very big pain in the ass when you are also towing the trailer with you kid in it. So I was semi-forced into taking the car today to work, most because the gear is new and I don't want to trash it because I am want to ride.

I think what I can do is take some flat bar and drill out the holes for the bolts to go through and then cut the flat bar down to size. Basically making a spacer that will fit were the guard would bolt down. If it works I will be very happy. I have no reason to think that it would not work. This is one of those times that I wish I had a friend that worked in a machine shop and I could get access to the lathe and turn my own guard. That would be the best of both worlds. Having a guard and giving it the right amount of clearance are the chain ring.

But on to the new parts. I was only able at this time to get the ROCK WERKS single speed kit. It looked a little cheap, but it did go together very well. The only question that I had was at what angle to set the chain tensioner at. I just got onto the net and looked at a couple of pics and kinda guessed were it should go. I believe that I have it in the right spot. As far as putting the parts on the bike. That was very simple. Getting the cog in the back in the right spot was a two try process for me. But it did line right up on the second go. I also found out that the kits don't come with a locking ring. So I had to use the last cog from the cassette as well as my lock ring. I have a sram cassette and I would assume a sram hub. I am not sure if the other company's are different but I got mine to work and it works very well other the the guard issue. But like I said above I have an idea.

I am sure that I am not the only dad out there that takes his kid to school using a bike trailer. Boy you think your legs are in kind of good shape until you start towing that trailer. It was amazing to me how heavy he has gotten. Last summer we took him out in that trailer and would go for rides. I don't remember him being that heavy. Yes I know that kids grow and gain weight, and then add in the weight of my bag and his bag, holy crap.

Keep is greasy side down.

Sunday, January 25, 2009

A new dawn

As a new dawn arises, a new quest begins. I start taking my son with me on my commute. I have this older burley trailer that I stuck a bell tail light on. I know that it has reflectors both front and back but I felt that they were not enough. I am not sure how well this light will hold up against the weather. I hope that it gets me through the next couple of months. I know that when you buy cheap, you get a steaming pile of shit, most of the time. I will still have my tail light on but it will not be blinking, I will leave it on the solid beam.

His new school is on the way to work for me. So in the mornings and on my way home I will take him with me. I think one of the biggest problems that I face is whether to ride on the shoulder like I normally do or ride on the sidewalk. Riding on the sidewalk kills me. I hate going up and down with the driveways. I think that I can get a way with riding on the shoulder because I leave the house everyday at the same time and I see the same cars go by every morning. I am hoping that they will slow down just a little bit more now that I have the trailer. I would really like to have an xtracycle right about now. And yet in the other hand the trailer saves me money because I don't have to go and buy anything or go out and buy Buddha a stack of new clothes so he is water proof. So I am thinking that the trailer will work out very well for now.

I am also hoping that if my son his riding with me I can instill in him that riding a bike can be both fun and the best way to get around. I hope that he will look back as he gets older and thinks to himself that I should ride instead of take the car. I look back and think about how my dad got to and from work. For several years, more then I care to think about he walked, or he drove a little motorcycle. Know he has a company rig and drives everywhere. His job does require him to drive a lot. What is really funny is that I am following in his foot steps. I am also in outside sales. So I ride to work, drive at work, ride home.

So how do you encourage riding a bike when your ol'man drives for work. I guess you do what I am doing. Taking him with me. Showing him that you don't have to have a car. I am hoping that in a year or so. I am only out on the road once a week or so. I am hoping that my company will catch on to this thing called the net or even the ol'phone as a way to reach out and get new customers. Having said that I must say that nothing beats a hand shake and a look in the eye to say I can deliver, and I am a man of my word. So I do feel that it is required to drive once in a while. My company provides for people through out my state and the country, so at times I will drive to get the job done, or to look someone in the eye and tell them I can get the job done.

So as dawn approaches I will start this new day with hope that my son will be better then I and he rides more then his ol'man.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009



So this morning like many mornings, I sat down to watch the news and eat some breakfast before shoving off to work. While listening to the news they tell me that the fog is heavy and is a freezing fog. So that means black ice in spots. What a deal, they said that yesterday and I found no such thing on the way to work. However this morning I did find it.

While I was breaking the law and cutting through the parking lot of an abandoned restaurant, I go to make a left turn and go through the drive through. Well as I go into the turn I felt that very slow slide out. The one that I have felt before. Knowing what is next I unclip my left foot and kick it out there only then to remember that that big ol'cleat on the bottom will do nothing to stop what is happening. If anything it will aid the fall. Sure enough it did, down I went. The ice patch was long enough that I went on sliding away from my bike, while it went into the bushes. As I got up and slowly walked over to the bike, very slowly, I felt no need to slip again. I noticed that I broke a piece of my bash guard off, relocated my front fender to the right bent the back fender up a little bit. O' what a morning. I have to say that my rain gear that I wear did fair pretty well sliding across the pavement.

So the lesson that I can take away from this morning is that sometimes the weather gal is right and I need to be a little more careful.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

2009 needs to slow down



I can't beleive that we are in 2009, and the world has not ended. I am just joking. It is hard to believe that I have only ridden to work twice this year and it is the 14th. I guess I could come up with all kinds of reasons on why, but they all would be bullshit.

Over the last month of 2008 I quit one job started with a new one. Walking into the unknown is hard, and walking into it without any clue if it is going to work makes it that much harder. Then add in the weather and the fact that I was not ready for all 18 inches of snow. I figured that this year would have been like last year and we would not get that much snow, boy was I wrong. And the town that I live in has no snow removal equipment, makes it that much better.

Overall I have to say that 2009 is starting off a little rough. Not riding as much as I want, to many changes, and lots of stress. So I will ride my bike as often as I can and hope that by feb I am riding everyday again. I will tackle each problem one at a time to find the answer, and hope for the best.

2009 needs to slow down

It has only begun and I am ready for '09 to slow down. I have changed jobs, had to fight weather bad enough that I could not ride, and getting sick.

Last month was rough, leaving one job that was fairly secure to go out and risk it all on a new company. So far so good. But in the middle of trying to start up a new company it snows like hell and I was not ready for that kind of weather. So my bike sat for every bit of three weeks or better. Sad little fact, that makes me mad. I was getting into a good rhythm and liking how I felt. Now the stress of a new boss, location, unknown lands, I am lost. As of now this year is only 14 days new and I have only rode my bike 3 times to work and back. That is bad.

I thought that I could ride through the winter even if the snow fell, I was wrong. Over here in the PNW you can't count on one year being like the next. This year we got dumped on. More snow then I had seen in years. At my house alone I had 18 inches. And because the town I live in does not have any snow removal equipment, it got bad. But it is over now and as long as I can get back into my routine I will be ok.