Well, one good week of the flu or whatever I had week before last killed my 2 a week commuting plan. It’s not like I have a sponsor to let-down or left prize money on the table, the point was to make the commitment to ride the bike and leave the car. In that respect I’m really off to a good start. I think I will make it 2 days per week on bike ‘average’ to allow for illness, driving out of necessity, ice storms and the like.
December sort of has five weeks of commuting, so I’ll plan for 10 days on the bike. As I sit and nibble my coffee, I’m pondering my studded Nokians. I bought them back in about 2002 I think and they have maybe 10 rides on them. I haven’t had them on any wheelset for a few years and am planning for the best way to use them. I only have on fixed rear wheel at the moment, so I either have to change tires on demand or put the studded tires on one bike and just live with it.
After losing a custom Vulture cross bike to the corrosion of winter riding already, I’m hesitant to expose more than bikes to the crud than I actually need to. I guess I just don’t want to wear out the [expensive] studded tires when in my experience you only need them a few times a month. Hmm, well that was Bend, OR and I probably will regret my commuting life this winter just for writing that.
Oh, here is cuJ0’s picture of the Vulture himself at the NW Handmade Bike Show in PDX last month:
Wade the Vulture in late fall plumage
Very happy to report that I got an early Burning Man ticket and cuJ0 did too! Kippered Martini Camp! Wade will either be with us or we will make a life size carboard version. Vulture!
Happy Thanksgiving, if it means anything to you.
G