Today started out a little frustrating. I took off from home to head to work, and heard a weird noise coming from my back wheel. Turns out a staple had made itself at home in the tread of my tire. I tried to pull it out, but one of the ends broke off in the tire. Woe befell me because my multitool doesn’t have a pliers within its foldy embrace. Fortunately, I was only about halfway down the hill, so I turned around and hurried back to the house to grab another bike. By the time I hit the top of the hill, my back tire was entirely flat.
Good thing I turned back.
By this time, I was in a red-hot hurry, as I hadn’t left the house with much wiggle room in my travel time. I grabbed the Burley and took off again. I busted a move on my way to work and got in JUST ahead of the time clock. Whew!
Besides being the right tool for the job when the job is “get there ASAP,” the Burley is just hella fun to ride and I always wonder why I don’t ride it more.
I’ll be riding it again later this evening to meet up with Joel and some of his work friends to celebrate one of their birthdays. It will get me from the Hill down to the 39th Street restaurant district in fine style.
I guess I don’t ride the Burley that often because it is kind of overkill to ride it to work. It’s like commuting with a Porsche. I mean, yes, you can do it, but it’s kind of a mundane use for an exquisite machine.
Also, even though I bought that damn bicycle four years ago, I still sometimes feel like it is way too fancy of a bike for the likes of me. I feel a little bit self conscious about riding such a posh bike; like a total poseur Fred. Especially now that the bike has been entirely Michelleified, and has flat-bars, BMX pedals, and a bell!
7-2-05
11-21-09
It has evolved a little bit! Got rid of those awful, stiff Easton wheels, got a different seat that doesn’t crack my cooter, dropped the drop bars, got some better pedals. People sometimes look at me a little cockeyed because my bike is so odd but it works so much better for me this way. I never was able to get the hang of riding with drop bars; also the integrated shifters (Shimano 105s) were too bulky and my shrimpy little paws were just too short to shift or brake properly with them.
Wow, the sofa has sure suffered in the intervening 4 years! Note to self: after Minnie & Griz, no more damn cats.
Anyway, I have a lot of fun riding this bike, and I should get over myself and my ridiculous and artificial hangups about it and ride it more frequently!
In general I have really been enjoying my commute lately. The weather has been so delicious. It is cool out, and dampish, but not cold nor wet enough to be uncomfortable. Instead it feels refreshing. It has not been cold enough to freeze the ground yet, so it still smells nice and earthy outside. Fallen leaves are decomposing, which adds a sweetness to the ambient scent of the great outdoors. It’s “Two-Sweater-Weather” right now. If you wear two stout sweaters, that works out perfectly. A jacket will only generate sweat, but it is too cold for only one sweater or just a regular shirt. Two sweaters, an earband, and a fairly stout pair of gloves have been my weather-beaters these days and it’s been exactly perfect. Well, my head gets too warm, ’cause I’m back to wearing the easter-egg helmet and headlight combo, and my beautiful Nutcase helmet doesn’t ventilate worth a crap. This little helmet is as cute as it could possibly be, but it sure steam-cooks my headmeats.
I have to wear the earband or my ears would get cold and start to ache from the wind, but the upper part of my head gets WAY too warm. This will be a problem until it gets cold for real. Then, I will be glad to have such a marginally ventilated helmet.