20121231

Last Ride of 2012

I took a ride on the bay today, right as the sun was setting.  


San Mateo Public Shores has lots of little nooks and crannies to explore.
 I'm fortunate to have a stable of awesome bikes to choose from, but my Trek District Carbon is by far my favorite ride.  Fast, responsive, it fits me like a glove and looks like Batman's bike.  Freaking Batman!

20121220

Orange

Alright, so maybe I started this one a bit early...

Hey baby, your bearings are so smooth I could just spin you all night

20121218

On Disappointment

Waking up to a flat tire is one of my biggest let downsIt's along the same lines of waking up thinking it's Friday when it's really Tuesday, or biting into a warm chocolate chocolate chip cookie only to realize you used salt instead of sugar, or having a shower interrupted by a power outage.

You get up, planning the day in your head, looking forward to a brisk ride to wake you up on the way to work.   You pull on your warm gear to brave the chilly wintry morning, stashing an extra layer or two into the messenger bag, checking the weather to know for sure.  You plan your evening errands, making sure you have enough room for that last Christmas present you'll be picking up on the way home, and then pulling your gloves on you check your tire pressure only to be shot through the heart.  

Then you'll get grumpy because you won't have been able to ride in today. 

20121214

Upcoming Projects: Friday Edition

With the holidays coming up soon, I will be busy with Christmasy things like seeing my family, and riding bikes.  That said, I might not be posting much until after the New Year, but we'll see.  As such, I have a list of next year projects that I've been musing over to share with you until I return.

Christmas lights, Velocity style!

20121211

People Are Awesome

I received some love from Boston in the form of these beautifully made Takhion decals yesterday! Hrrundel, who has an amazing collection and a killer blog featuring some of the coolest bicycle related design work I've ever seen, was kind enough to send me a set!  I will be doing a restoration in the near future, so these will be set aside until I have the time to properly repaint and re-decal.
Some of the decals I received!  I'm quite excited to put these to good use :D
Needless to say, this made my day. 

20121207

Happy Friday. And Hanukkah.

This weekend is going to be packed, so here are the most recent bike related photos!





20121206

On Accessorizing

There comes a time, usually once, maybe twice a year, where I find myself going to a place or an event that people describe as "nice," "formal," or "classy."  It's a rare occurrence, and not to say that I don't enjoy it, but it does require me to shed my usual attire of grease stained (chain print, of course) jeans and wear something deemed a bit more socially acceptable.  Such as not this shirt (NSFW language there). Long story short, I'm going to a "nice" Christmas party, and I need to look pretty.  


Since this party is pretty soon (read: two days) I wouldn't be able to do what I usually do in these situations and order something from Terry, who at the very least has nice clothing with a bicycle theme.  And since it's also almost winter and cold outside, I needed to go out and find something that would keep me warm enough to not get cranky.  Which is how I found myself wandering around Target last night.

This is about bikes, I swear.  

20121205

Some Rainy Wednesday Things

I went home this past weekend with the intention of putting up Christmas lights and getting some rides in on my timeshare bike, but a late fall storm decided instead to dump about four inches of rain and some howling winds while simultaneously flooding everything.  So, instead, I changed out the rear cog and helped my dad install the CB2 Bike Rack to hang it on.  

My walls are so white :/
 Both seemed to come out rather well - the rack looks really nice, and my new ratio of 46:18 seems that it will be better suited to some of the hillier rides that my dad has been liking to do lately.  Fortunately with the latest technology in flip flop hubs, I can always switch back over to 46:15 with the flick of a wrench.  Or something.  

The storm kept my room mostly dark, so when there was finally a break in the clouds I tried getting as many pictures as I could.  It's a very pretty bike.
The rain, however, did not manage to keep me from the REI Used Gear Sale where I managed to score two pairs of Vibrams (disclaimer: don't bike in these ever or you will really, really mess up your feet, like I did), a brand new helmet, and a rolling bike parking stand thing.  Be forewarned that while I highly recommend checking out the REI sale if you're a member, it's basically a Black Friday for hippies, and people will fight you.  Get there early to wait in line and be prepared to punch for those SPD shoes.  

Although I love the rain, storms that keep me off of the bike are a bit tiring after a while.  A good storm is great, but flooding all of the bike paths/bike lanes is not so great.  
Here are some dropouts from a sunnier time. 
Though, truth be told, it makes for a lot more room on the bike car. 

Also, I just found this site and it is wonderful. You're welcome.
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