Can'tClimb

...and lucky me, it seems the weather is just turning perfect. Anyhow I just relocated from Florida about 3 weeks ago, Tampa actually. Where it's flat and hot all the time. Hence - Can't Climb. Have a road bike, don't really ride it. Love to ride fixed though. Not been riding long, only a little over a year. And if anyone's interested, yes there's a messenger scene in Tampa. It consists of ONE guy...met him while I was changing a tube on my way to DT. Ha...I thought that was neat/funny. Okay, that is all. Nice to meet all you virtual people.

East Hill

Hi CC, yes, weather's starting to finally get better for those of you in the otherwise snow and ice locked portions of the US . Be glad you aren't in Maine, New Hampshire, or portions of Canada though. At least a few of our members are still up to their elbows in snow .

What bike have you got?

Welcome to BF!

East Hill

Can'tClimb

Well I have the Motobecane, that I don't really ride. I inherited it from a friend and it's a nice bike, recent. I spent a couple hundred dollars on a new cassette and various other parts and it gets no love.....shame. I think i'm going to get my boy on it as it's a bit big for me anyhow. But my love is my Fuji. It's an older frame that I got from a friend and put a fixed wheel on. Have a disassembled Schwinn frame that I used to ride, and of course I'm always collecting, well I will be now that I'm settled in. What are you riding?

East Hill

Are you going to join us in Classic & Vintage then? We always enjoy having a new member show up there .

Most of my rides are in the link in my signature for the Vintage Bicycle Liberation Front--it's just really a place to have all my rides in one spot .

The one I haven't added is this one, though:



East Hill

leftovers

oh my LORD that is a pretty little number!!! as for collecting, my first decent bike was a beautiful Trek 640, with a full campy parts group that this guy kept in immaculate shape. he was selling it for a beyond reasonable price. so for a college kid, it was AWESOME. and he set it up so well, i have YET to come across a bike that shifts that well. i even have that parts group on my current bike, and still not as good. unfortunately something possessed me to strip that pristine Trek down to nothing and make a fixie out of it.

day of, i got doored.
never mess with perfection.

ANYWAYS!!!!
Can'tClimb::::
welcome! and welcome to chicago too.
ample messengers here. crazy.

i ride both. track bikes are simple beauties and hell of a lot of fun, oddly enough great in the winter too. but as much as i love new track bikes, i adore converting old bikes over. but you know, you love road bikes for different reasons. i love mine for too many to county.

best.

Can'tClimb

Agreed that is quite a lovely ride. Classic and Vintage sounds fun, I'll definitely be attempting to learn a thing or two or ten from yas.

leftovers,
I haven't allowed myself the pleasure of a new track bike purchase as of yet...I'm sure it's coming though. But yes I do love finding a good junker bike and turning it. As for my road bike I fear I jumped in over my head too soon... bunch of serious riders... kicked my arse. Riding on one cog has been the more appealing of the two since. I haven't really been riding much as of late, but I guess that's why I'm here. Anyhow, now that I've been in Chicago for a few weeks, I've gotten mostly settled and can't wait to get back outside.

Hey thanks to you both...sure I'll catch you round BF regularly.

FLYcrash

Welcome to Chicago!

Be forewarned...soon enough it WILL be flat and hot. The spring and autumn here are glorious but extremely brief. Chicago summer is quite a bit less brutal than Houston's (where I grew up) and Tampa's (from what I've heard), but it's still annoyingly humid and oppressive. Importantly, air conditioning is far less ubiquitous here.

I actually prefer riding in the winter to some extent...it filters out lots of casual riders who don't care to learn even rudimentary riding skills as they swerve around on the lakeshore path and nearly run you over on the sidewalks. But at some point, say below 15 degrees F, it gets too cold for me too.

Can'tClimb

Hello FLYcrash. Thanks. I used to ride at night in Tampa. I lived close enough to ride to and from work for a little while, so that and the few races I attended were the only times I willingly suscepted myself to the UV index. But the heat and the annoying distance between EVERYTHING there puts a big damper on the whole alternate mode of transportation thing. So night rides...rock. The cold however, I will be having to get used to. I don't miss AC yet but in due time...as I've heard.

I could probably be taught a thing or two about etiquette but hey - I pay attention. And what do you know - I can see peripherally! And bonus, I can chew gum and ride! And sidewalks? Uhhhhhhhmmmm.......no. So I won't be running people over...at least not on sidewalks...hopefully.

Nice to meet you though...catch you around.

FLYcrash

Cool! No, I wasn't insinuating that you lack riding skill...just that it's annoying to be riding in close quarters with people who view bicycles like toys. Few people who actually sign up for a cycling forum, I think, have such a cavalier attitude.

Enough of that...get out and ride! The lake shore has never looked better! And if you like riding at night, you'll almost have the path to yourself on a weeknight. The view of the skyline coming north from where I live (in Hyde Park) is absolutely breathtaking.

Can'tClimb

oh no....sorry flyCRASH, I always forget that my sarcasm doesn't convey so well through these keys. but that wasn't me getting offended, at all, but me poking fun at the riders you were referring to...you know running folks over, and not paying attention to anyone else....

oops....my apologies.