I haven't been biking in too long a time. This morning as I sat drinking my coffee, Bucky the cat jumped up onto my lap to sit. To my dismay, he started kneading my lap with his front paws. You know, like when a kitten kneads his mother's soft belly to stimulate milk production, or like an adult does when finding a soft cozy place to bed down. These are not things that a bike rider likes to have associated with his formerly strong, muscular quads. That's all I have to say about that.
I saw a quote at Austin Bike Blog that I thought was too good not to share. Like to hear it? Here it go.
While flipping through the paper today on my way to the comics, I ran across a "gift guide" for the holidays. It was a silly little full-page spread of various items which some of the staff writers apparently thought would make good gifts, or maybe which were included in the special section as a paid endorsement. Whatever the reason, it caught my eye because one of the gifts was a tandem bike. A sub-$300 department store tandem, but then any kind of bike gets my attention.
The family that bikes together on this cycle has no choice but to stay together. The 21-speed (nondescript bike name) tandem bicycle is a great option for cruisers, with a low frame in the back for shorter riders. Something else to consider: Tandem bicycling has been shown to reduce tremors for patients with Parkinson's disease, and taking the rear seat is a great way to exercise for those suffering from vision loss. (some dumb, old discount department store) $279.
OK, so it forces you to spend time with your family members and if you are going blind or have a neurological disorder it may be good for you. Hmm.
Here's a treadmill with all the bells and whistles you'd find at a premier fitness center: The (Huge fitness equipment company machine) includes a flat screen TV with digital tuner, an iPod-compatible music port and a great sound system. No excuses for not exercising! (Big store at the mall), $1699.
Now, how is it that they can make an exercise machine sound exciting (it even gets an exclamation point), when in reality it's a solitary mind-numbingly boring piece of exercise equipment that is only made tolerable by stuffing it with electronic entertainment gadgets so that you forget that you're in a stuffy corner of the basement walking, but going nowhere so that you can avoid driving to a gym where you'll pay a gym membership then wait in line for a machine so that you can walk, but go nowhere on a solitary mind-numbingly boring piece of exercise equipment while listening to your iPod so that you don't have to talk to the people around you? Then on the same page they make a tandem bike- a vehicle for getting out, getting fresh air and exploring while talking to and spending time with your significant other and getting exercise (perhaps even better exercise than the treadmill) without really minding it because you're having fun- sound like a mundane physical therapy device, suitable only for those with health problems. If nothing else, the bike would make a much cheaper and more effective towel drying rack than the treadmill.
I suppose I should comment on yesterday's election.
It's good that the soon-to-be leader of our country can pronounce the word "nuclear". It's true. I heard him. Maybe the rest of the world will stop making fun of us now.
I always enjoy taking my bike to the bike shop. I guess it's bitter- sweet, of course because the fact that I'm taking my bike there in the first place is because there's a problem with it that I just don't feel comfortable tackling on my own. But I digress. The reason I like taking it in is that it always gets a reaction from the mechanics. It's not that it's an expensive or high end bike. A gray teen-aged mid level steel bike may be fun to ride through the woods, but you wouldn't put it up in the shop window.
What gets the attention? Very simply, the brakes on my bike are a bit odd and they're bright red against a gray frame. These days, in the world of mountain bikes, if you want simple, you go with direct-pulls. If you want power, you go with discs. If you want even more power and nice feel, you go with hydraulic discs. If you told most people these days that they can also have hydraulic RIM brakes, the reaction would probably be "why".
Well, because the clamp down like a putbull. A good set of direct pulls with boosters could likely do as well, though. They have a positive feel and they're virtually maintenance free, but even that isn't all of it. In addition to working well, they're out of the ordinary. The make a bike which isn't much to look at (at least not for most) into something wild and exotic. One of the mechanics mentioned that he had only seen hydraulic rim brakes once before, but there's a chance he's only remembering the other time it was in the shop. That's what I like to think. Real bike geeks appreciate stuff like that. Those brakes are my bike jewelry.