... about posting with any regularity. My apologies. Just been uninspired lately, writing-wise. But today I'm home, and dealing with an odd back ache, so I'll take a minute to write.
On the bicycle side of my world, I've been riding my Miyata 210 winter commuter to work lately, and so far my feelings are mixed. I've set it up with studded Nokian tires, as noted before, and so far, they have been unnecessary. The only ice I've encountered on the bike path has been patches that can be easily avoided. I rode over a few of them just for the heck of it, but they were too small to really matter. Oh well, maybe we'll actually get some snow again here. The other thing of note about the bike is that I have opted for Albatross bars from Nitto... and so far, the jury is out on these. I put them on thinking they were more toward the comfort end of the spectrum than the efficiency end, and thought that for a short commute of 6 miles each way, that would be fine. Well, I was right so far about the efficiency part... it feels like I'm working a lot harder sitting upright like that. On the other hand, I'm not finding them particularly comfortable either. Maybe it's adjustment... of me as well as the bike... but so far I find I'm missing my drop bars or moustache bars, for both comfort and efficiency. We'll see with a little more time how it goes.
On another note... I just finished reading a very good book, and am in the middle of another, very different, but very good one. The first was Stealing the General, a book about a Civil War raid by a small group of Union soldiers who stole a Confederate locomotive (named the General) with the intention of disrupting rail service, tearing up tracks, burning bridges, and cutting telegraph lines. As a kid I read a picture book based on a Disney movie (The Great Locomotive Chase) about the events... loosely, apparently. Anyway, Stealing the General is a good read... lots of detail, some debunking of myths, and some genuine acts of courage, as well as a lot of mishaps and twists of fate.
Second, I'm now reading Bill Bryson's latest book, The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid, about his childhood in 1950s Des Moines. A wonderful book, especially for the boomers among us. I'm about 10 years younger than Bryson, so some things are different, but a lot of what he writes about resonates with me. If you ever pretended to be a super hero (anyone out there remember Fearless Fly?), or made a gluey mess with model airplanes, read this book! I find myself laughing out loud through much of it, and smiling through the rest. A great read.
Well, that's it for today. I'll endeavor to write more.
2 comments:
I have been trying to decide between a moustache bar and an albatross bar for my fixie and you just solved my dilemna. I will be ordering the moustache bars. I had made some bullhorns out of the original drop bars, but they just were not hacking it. I also read, I believe on the Rivendell site, that moustache bars work well on a tandem (road), any thoughts?
Never get in a sweat about not posting. If it becomes a chore, you'll never do it. and its always a treat to see a new post on blogs which aren't updated too often.
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