Yesterday, I headed into Boston--biked to the bus station, got to Boston S Station, biked over to Inman Sq. Then the reverse back home, 24 miles of riding.

So nice out. Cold, about 30, but tolerable once bundled up and pedaling, and just a gorgeous, sunny day. No one out New Years morning; no one working in Boston. Never biked the city with such light traffic before, but a bike is still the best way to get around. Not much wind, occasional gusts, except the Longfellow Bridge, which is uphill, into the wind, both ways...

Some snow and ice, but I'd put some work into the basket townie including studded tires, which worked fine.

Night before, New Years Eve, I: geared up the bike with spares on hand, so SRAM bar end front shifter which doesn't play well triples, so ditched the small ring and set the low limit on the SLX der to stop at the middle ring. 36/46 setup.

Suntour DT friction shifter bodged to a Shimano bar end pod limited me to 6 8sp gears out back, custom cassette of 11/13/17/21/26/32, LX mtn der.

One splurge: Velo-Orange Porteur bars.

All came together quick, worked flawlessly. Beater bike, so perfect to literally throw under the bus (luggage space) for the bus portions; not afraid to leave it locked outside in the city; OK to ride through corrosive slush. Ergos with the new bars just jelled. Frankenshifting worked well, and gearing was perfect for the city. Almost no need for a double up front.

...Except now that I'm getting this dialed it more and more, little thoughts start creeping in: legit brake levers might be nice. Maybe a 30/46 combo up front? New shifters and a full cassette out back? Evil thoughts about pretty much converting this from a total low-cost, parts bin frankenbike, into a way sweet mtn/porteur conversion.

Luckily, finances dictate I leave it alone.

10 degrees outside... I might not ride today...