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December 20, 2006
Madame Butterfly
Last night I took the Schwinn out for a 12-mile ride. It was about 37 degrees F (2.7 C), and it was dark.
The last time I rode in the cold (it was 32 F or 0 C) my hands got cold as did the shiny part of my toy box.
As it was warmer today and as I hadn't had time to buy a new pair of gloves and as I was afraid my hands might still get numbingly cold, I decided to layer gloves. I put on a cheap, light pair and then the thicker gloves I purchased from Nashbar. It still wasn't enough and I had to stop to do some hand warming about 3/4 of the way through the ride.
To keep the more forward portion of the tools from getting cold I decided to wear underwear beneath the tights so there'd be some layering there. I also tucked the shiny part down as low as I could so the padding in the tights might provide an extra bit of a wind break. This worked very well especially since I was cautious and didn't tuck things so low that the pedaling was interfered with.
On the back of the bike I put one of those red flashing lights you may have seen on the bikes in your neighborhood. It looked like it would be plenty bright enough and it came with a clip that allowed it to easily attach to my bag (not the one mentioned above -- though that might be a nice holiday look). Unfortunately the clip also made it easy for the light to come unclipped and it eventually dropped off and fell into the street. I heard the light hit the ground and figured it would be OK until I got back to it due to the fact most people don't normally want to get too close to flashing red lights in the road; they often mark a hazard of some sort.
I reattached the light to the bag and ran it through a piece of elastic to help keep it in place.
On the front of the bike I mounted a Cateye EL 350. The light would turn out to be bright enough to be seen by autos, and OK for seeing obstacles as long as I didn't go too fast (I don't know how slow I had to go as any time I had to reduce speed due to poor street lighting, it was too dark to see the speedometer).
All in all the ride went well enough. I still need new gloves and heavier tights would be nice. And a bacalava.
My biggest concern with the ride came about a mile from home. Even before the ride I knew that I might have a problem with the crank. During the last outing a clanking noise had started up and I'd almost used it as an excuse to not ride ... and then I felt sort of like a slug and decided I'd head out.
When I started out there was a little bit of noise coming from the crank but nothing that I thought would be trouble. I mean, I knew I was going to have to take the crank off and look at it eventually -- probably before the next ride -- but I thought I'd be OK for this ride.
A little further than a mile from home the clanking came on strong and supplemented itself with a bit of grinding and an additional noise I never in a thousand years would have thought could come from a crank. Think David Lee Roth singing with his balls in vice. It wasn't like that, but you've got to admit it was an interesting thought.
The noise was enough that I was concerned that the crank might lose its ability to turn, it would seize up, and flames would engulf my pedals. That never happened.
Hey, here's an observation. During day rides some cars give me a really wide berth when they pass. At night, with the flashing light, most cars give me most of the lane I'm in.
Posted by delmer at December 20, 2006 2:48 PM
Comments
"the shiny part of my toy box"??? Oh. My. God. you totally owe me a new keyboard! I was snorting coffee through my nose reading that (attractive huh?) and had to come back and comment later.....still giggling madly here.
Glad your...ummm...shiny parts are alright though!
Posted by: Pen at December 21, 2006 5:30 AM
Sounds like your crank froze. Maybe your nuts are too tight.
Posted by: The Phoenix at December 21, 2006 12:53 PM
Pen: I'd be glad to send you a new keyboard, but it appears that you folks have some of your keys in the wrong places ... I don't know how useful anything I sent would be. (This is based on the couple of notebooks I've seen that have been dragged here from the UK.)
Phoenix: That had me snorting.
Posted by: delmer at December 21, 2006 1:23 PM