1 Less Car On The Road Yesterday ...
01-25-07, 01:04 AM
#1
gentleman cyclist
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1 Less Car On The Road Yesterday ...
I'm a noob around here and this will be old hat to everyone else, but I rode my bike to work yesterday and I feel really good about it.
I rode mountain bikes for years, but eventually the thought of loading my bike onto my (ugh!) Jeep and driving 50 miles round trip became less and less appealing.
Thankfully I live in a neighborhood in which I can rack up some quality road miles right from my front door (many of them in dedicated bike lanes), so I built up a nice road bike and have been enjoying the exercise. Unfortunately, what with the clipless shoes, Brooks saddle and changes of clothes, cycling has been compartmentalized into fair weather "after work exercise" and not built into my normal day.
So, I recycled an old steel 10-speed frame, built it up as a 700C singlespeed (coaster brake! - looks like a track bike), built some wheels, got some platform pedals, and now have a bulletproof, rainproof, low maintenence commuter. I climbed on this morning in jeans and my winter coat and rode to work. I ran a few errands throughout the day and, finally, I can envision at least 3 car-free days a week in a typical fat, middle-American, Southern, sprawling mid-sized city.
A drop in the bucket to be sure, but Nashville had one less car on the road yesterday.
I rode mountain bikes for years, but eventually the thought of loading my bike onto my (ugh!) Jeep and driving 50 miles round trip became less and less appealing.
Thankfully I live in a neighborhood in which I can rack up some quality road miles right from my front door (many of them in dedicated bike lanes), so I built up a nice road bike and have been enjoying the exercise. Unfortunately, what with the clipless shoes, Brooks saddle and changes of clothes, cycling has been compartmentalized into fair weather "after work exercise" and not built into my normal day.
So, I recycled an old steel 10-speed frame, built it up as a 700C singlespeed (coaster brake! - looks like a track bike), built some wheels, got some platform pedals, and now have a bulletproof, rainproof, low maintenence commuter. I climbed on this morning in jeans and my winter coat and rode to work. I ran a few errands throughout the day and, finally, I can envision at least 3 car-free days a week in a typical fat, middle-American, Southern, sprawling mid-sized city.
A drop in the bucket to be sure, but Nashville had one less car on the road yesterday.
01-25-07, 07:13 AM
#2
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Nice.
Hey don't worry about that Brooks, I have a 40+ year old hand me down that has been through rain, snow, sleet, fog etc and still looks and works great.
Hey don't worry about that Brooks, I have a 40+ year old hand me down that has been through rain, snow, sleet, fog etc and still looks and works great.
01-25-07, 12:35 PM
#3
Sophomoric Member
Congratulations, mrmatta. You found the right tool for the job. And the MTB and the road bike are still there for weekend fun. 
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01-25-07, 12:56 PM
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put our Heads Together
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Bikes: a mountain bike with a cargo box on the back and aero bars on the front. an old well-worn dahon folding bike
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So, I recycled an old steel 10-speed frame, built it up as a 700C singlespeed (coaster brake! - looks like a track bike), built some wheels, got some platform pedals, and now have a bulletproof, rainproof, low maintenence commuter.
