A Day for a Daydream

The forecast for this afternoon was 1/4 to 1/2 inch of ICE. I took my ride ASAP and haven't opened the door since. I don't even want to know what's out there.

I had a great day inspite of that. I had a good ride, then when I got back I called Easy Racers to get some info about the EZ-1's that were built in their shop and had a nice long talk with a fellow named Freddy who seems to know an awful lot about Easy Racers. Yes, that Freddy. In addition to some info on the EZ-1, Fast Freddy gave me a lot of tips about hill climbing on bents, training, recumbents in general, and a report on the Javelin that he's been riding. That made my day/week/month. More to come on that very soon.

But today was a wedgie day. I was planning to ride a mountain bike, but my old errand bike was on the stand and ready to roll, so I took it. The picture is Elm Street, just one block over from Linden Street that I blogged about the last couple days. I think it may even be a little steeper than Linden, but wider and better surface, so I'm anxious to try it. Today was not the day. Grand Street's the main drag, a couple blocks over, and was completely clear, so I went up it. I was surprised that it didn't seem any easier climbing on the upright. I don't know if I was any faster or not, but I did pass one person--well, he was walking, but still...

This bike is pretty elegant for an errand bike. It is an old English R.E.W. (Ralph) Reynolds (the makers name, but made from Reynolds 531 also) frame that I got from a friend. The seat tube was damaged by a heavy handed mechanic trying to free up a stuck seatpost about 20 years ago. Click for a bigger view and you'll see the bandage I put on the tube.

Since I've had it, the bike has had drop bars, "priest bars" and Albatross bars from Rivendell, and now Moustache bars. The Carradice bag is a model that was made for Rivendell a few years ago.














It's a lovely bike inspite of the rough life it has led. The handlebars are great for around town riding, but even worse for my wrist/hand problems than drops, so back to recumbents tomorrow (here, for sure, and hopefully on the road too).