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Summer Rants |
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Written by Zach Magoon
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Monday, 25 August 2008 |
I have a bunch of little rants this month--a few things that have been bothering me. But, I throw in some nuggets of joy as well:
I hate cigarettes. Some jackhole threw one out the window after blowing a big puff of smoke as I rode by him. How gross is that? I let out a big cough and a "thanks chubs" and apparently the dude heard me because he said he was sorry. But come on, stop throwing that crap out the window. I guess littering goes along with the stupidity of smoking. What a great couple of habits.
It's been a crappy summer weather-wise for commuting. The last month has had rain or thunderstorms at least a couple times a week. Some days it's fun to ride in a big downpour, but others, I'm just not in the mood. The worst is to get caught in the rain in without rain gear in the morning and having to slap on those wet tighty bike shorts at quittin time. Bleck--so gross. I don't have a solution for this one. I guess I could pack yet another set of clothes but, man how many sets do I need to bring in one day?
Failing parts. I had to replace my pedals that came with the Redline, These things had been cracking and creaking for some time and I finally pulled the trigger on a great pair of TruVativ platform pedals. I wanted something super stiff, durable and grippy becasue I'm not using toe clips. These pedals are awesome. Grippy as all hell from replaceable metal pegs that just bite into the bottom of any rubber soled shoe. I haven't raked my shins across them yet though--that will be a hoot. I haven't bottomed out as much with them either--perhaps I'm getting less aggressive in the turns, or I'm getting old, or just use to the safe zone.
More bikers on the streets! This is awesome. I see a ton of new people every morning who are obviously commuting. One less car on the road is pretty damn awesome if you ask me. I hope people continue into the fall and winter. It's really not as bad as one might think. With a good light and some appropriate clothes, you can commute all year long, even in snowy Portland. Regardless, it's nice to see folks out and about. I read an article on Boston.com saying that bike commuting was up 70% this year. Unreal--keep it goin. Maybe more manufacturers will produce more commuting-specific gear for us to buy.
Ride safely,
Zm |
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