bike stuff

So I've been riding my bike. Sort of. I've really just been messing with it for the last few weeks. Since we moved, I haven't been able to really ride that much, but I'm excited to try out some of the new routes around my neighborhood. I came to the realization that I don't understand why derailleurs never really work, and since I'm no expert, I will never really be able to make them function properly. So I'm converting my mountain bike into a single speed. I really just used a few gears anyway, and I'm not really planning on going to ride any trails or anything... Since my bike is more of a commuting machine it makes sense to just fix the thing and strip all the stupid parts that just get in the way. It'll make the dang thing lighter too. I'm going to ride the bike around campus this year (because of a super ridiculous parking situation), and making an ugly bike even uglier is the way to go.

Last night I tore the rear wheel apart. I took off all the nonessential parts (everything), and now all that's left is finding that "magic gear" ratio that will allow me to ride around comfortably. I'll need some new brake levers, but I'm sure there's some available in my parent's garage somewhere. After adjusting the chainline, everything should be good to go. I'd post some pictures, but I'm too lazy.

update

Well, we moved. We moved all our junk and we're in our new place. Nothing much to note though. It seems that we've been spending too much time at Ikea however.

Summer crawls on.

Man, I'm tired.

ride

I went for a ride yesterday, mainly to check if my brakes really worked, but just to get out of the house and do something. I ended up riding down to my parents house about 5 miles away, and from the start, it looked like it was going to be a great ride. I left the house around 8pm because by then the temperature had finally dropped from insane to somewhat tolerable. Halfway through the ride I saw some awesome clouds pushing their way westward, bringing a serious headwind that sucked the speed out of me.

Some cool things that I saw on the way:

A rusty chain
A dead raccoon
An orange lighter
A red ball
A Leatherman Wave tool (I picked this up quick! sweet!)
Numerous beer cans and random crap.

My ride wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I took some back roads and rarely saw a car pass me. The roads around here have really become dangerous as more homes are built out west, and the increased traffic has made the streets a traffic nightmare. Lucky for me though, our city has a nice bike path that runs through town.

Watching Live Earth this morning- a huge concert with just about everybody, playing all over the world in support of the environment. I hate the inversion and smog that constantly covers this valley because of lousy weather and fumes contributed by vehicles. I hate hearing about how our environment is taken for granted. I don't expect to see an oil tanker run aground in Utah lake, or a glacier to melt and flood downtown, but seriously... human impact on the world is going to become more of an issue in the years to come. Not just an issue, a bad situation.