polo-rama

Pretty sloppy little HDR pano of the court last Friday. See it as a QTVR here.

B.A.D. is good!

2010 Eugene Bike/Pedestrian Summit

Visited a sort of "town hall meeting" for active transport advocacy in Eugene this weekend. A host of familiar local and non-local businesses and groups were present as well as some newer ones. There were also several large maps of the city posted up for community members to point out portions of the city which could be improved for bikers and walkers with better infrastructure.


(See this one big and read people's comments)
The most entertaining part of the event for me actually took place afterwards, when I had the opportunity to ride some of the unusual bikes built by the students of the alternative high school and apprenticeship programs at the Center for Appropriate Transport.


The apprenticeship program's chaise-lounge cargo bike. I can't decide whether it was more fun to ride or drive this one. I spent the better part of an hour doing both.


The alternative school's sidecar-equipped-BMX, which they called the "sidehack." The youngsters were really good at throwing it into epic powerslides.


By the way, I had a lot of fun at last Wednesday's Bike Appreciation Day, which I think really helped to promote awareness of the UO Bike Program's DIY shop and maintenance classes. Here, comrade and co-worker Jeff re-cables his brake during a lull in campus traffic. The next one's on Wednesday, Feb. 11, and we hope to have some shiny goodies to hand out.

Finally, I would like to ask you all to remember the importance of dressing up as a robot:
Because, sometimes, you just have to look silly, dammit.

2010 Tweed

Weather looks good, but I can't go. Previous ride reports here and photos here.

Spoker

A certain Schwinn equipped with a Sturmey-Archer 3-speed came in for repair one time too many this week. The hub was overdue for an overhaul, which I'd never done on an internally geared hub before, so I oped to lace up a simple coaster hub.



Lacing the wheel was easy. Measuring the no-name hub and rim took a bit of time. Cutting the spokes to length, filing them, and turning threads onto their heads took awhile. Discovering I'd measured the rim incorrectly and compensating by putting a twist in each pair of spokes took just a bit more time than I'd care to admit.

But now it's done, it's out there in the world, and I've learned to measure in at least three places to determine Effective Rim Diameter.

Photo final

Did a typology of handlebars for my photo final. While I'd like to get it properly photographed, the best I can do to share it online is this digital mockup:



It's called "handlebars are people, too."

Dear Wheel,

Thank you, dear Wheel. It's been a year and a half since I designed and built you with friends Sheldon and Miller. Yes, you were more difficult to raise than the average 3-cross, and I had to lace you more than once before I made you right, but when I finally finished, you were strong and beautiful.

Since we've been together, you've done so much for me.

Like a good luck charm, it was the day after I first rode you to polo that I landed my first bike job.

Besides hundreds of commuting miles, we've shared a few alleycats, I've played countless games of polo on you, spraypainted you for a tweed ride, cyclocrossed you more than once, and generally given you the kind of abuse I've raised you to love. You've even helped spawn a cousin—a wheel I never would have had the courage to ride across America if it weren't for the trust we had built.

Now, with one side of your hub stripped beyond any threadability, and the other cog'd with glue, I cannot remove your broken spokes, and joke about you as my "custom 30-spoker," as a loose nipple rattles between the walls of your rim.

Thank you, wheel. You have done so much for me, and, even after I build another, I will continue to ride you until you become dust. And then I will put you on my wall, with other decommissioned bike stuff.