Meijer Organic Coffee: Meh...

The Meijer brand organic coffee was on sale last week and looked to be appealing enough. Saddly, unlike most of the other store brand organic stuff, this is lacking in many ways. The roast is a bit weak and the taste comes out watery, even in a french press. Note to self- spend an extra couple of dollars on something else.

Fixed the Park

(if the grammar and spelling seems a bit worse than usual, blame it on a slight hangover from a friends birthday celebration last night)

The weather in Michiana has finally switched to more a spring-like condition than a winter-like one. This is subject to revision though. It has snowed here towards the end of May. That might have been 1987. Damn, I am getting old. That and the hangover make me want to crawl back in bed. Where was I going with this?

Oh, yeah- Took the fixed gear to Central Park (no, not THAT central park; this one is in Mishawaka) to see how the new bridge between the Battel and Beutter parks turned out and to check the bike path conditions. For a relatively small area (about a 2 mile loop) they have done a great job of incorporating landscape, art, architecture and public use. If the long term plans for this area are carried out in a similar manner, they will have created a well developed public space that is attractive to visitors as well as to current and potential residents. It wasn't completely out of my mind to move close to the area while riding around. There were a number of bicyclists and runners as well as people walking, laying out and taking in the day with their dogs. And that last part just makes me happy.

In riding the fixie in the park, a couple of things occurred to me. The first was its stealthy manner. People do not hear it coming at all. When you glide past them you get a sense they were not expecting to be overtaken by anyone walking, rollerblading or anything else, but especially not a bike. So a little extra caution there.

Another thing was other bicyclists in the park. A mountain bike zoomed past while I was pseudo trackstanding and taking in some of the new park features. A short while later found me positioned to pass him. Going up a hill. While he was fumbling around with his gears. Internally I was laughing since this is the kind of story many who ride a fixed gear write about.

Most people pay little attention to bike types, but it was curious to see some of the expressions of people who did. One guy in particular studied the bike with a look of confusion- I know something is different, but just can't tell what it is.

I'm going back to bed now. The drugs aren't working.

To Succeed

"To attain what you do not currently have, you must do things you have never done". This phrase in its various forms, for whatever reason, sticks with me. And it has been on my mind more in the past year or so. The idea, of course, is to try new things. Clearly the work of a devout optimist. I can not help but agree with the sentiment. However, my optimism often wanes and contributes to my cynicism.

My curiosity has the better of me at times, though. So I have not been able to keep myself from wondering if the opposite is also true "To attain what was previously had, continue doing that which has always been done".

Rhode Fixie

Finally had a chance to get this thing out on the street and see what it's like riding a bike without gears, freewheel, or back brakes. Weird. Totally weird.

I caught myself attempting to coast a few times but was quickly reminded that it is impossible. In fact, depending on the speed, the pedal will push you up if you stiff leg it. Leaning forward and applying some brake is how I suspect people skid these things, it will require some practice.

The bike is incredibly quiet and smooth, very precision. The weight shed is very noticeable as is the lack of drag previously caused by gears and old bearings. As soon as the weather warms up I plan to put some miles on it. Maybe I'll do a blog about a sore ass.

Oh yeah, photos:

Before and After


Chainline

Minor Threat

Well, the day has come for the fixed gear bike to be done. It did take some money, a bit more than had been planned, but still far less than a new bike. It took a lot of work, especially where sanding the frame is concerned. The results are quite the same as the envisioned bike in my head. And with that being said, I'm pretty happy with the results. It is very light, much lighter than it was originally and considerably lighter than my MTB.

Here are a few camera phone pics of the fixie. I'll edit this and post some better shots when the weather breaks. April in Indiana... a person has to love hating their region to live here.





And the one front brake that I refurbed.



After all the reading online, a couple of late nights sanding/scraping paint, the many trips to House of Bicycles for knowledge and parts along with the results, I can't wait to get this on the street. The paint needs another 24 hours otherwise it would be out in the cold wet weather today.

Plans still include nixing the outer chainring (it's just there to space the bolts correctly for the primary chainring), new cranks and a new bottom bracket (since bolting this back together, the one that is in there is shot, even with the new bearings) and clipless pedals. Plan to see how the bars and seat work, might opt for a flat bar and a better vented seat mid summer.

Now, onto all the other things left unattended during this crazy week...

The Fix

At the risk of being too newsy with blogs (which I rarely keep up on anyway), here's some update on the fixed gear bike.

Naked photos



Stripped down to bare tubes.



Brazed sections.



Ahhh, primer. Funny how this look is appealing. Maybe if there were some orange Velocity wheels going on it.

Speaking of wheels, the originals on this bike were beyond repair. House of Bicycles, a local bike shop, has fixed gear parts and has been very helpful in this build. They set me up with two rolling Alex wheels for a fair price so I plan to use them as my local supplier of bits.

Also worth noting- I took the day off from work to finish sanding and prepping the frame for prime/paint today. I'm class.