Stupid Hurts

Looking at my bike, it took the worse of it, but my eye is trying its best to swell shut.

I was leaving a store with Ben when we saw a group of messengers who knew me and told us about a bicycle race that was coming up in a few hours. The race was part of a benefit to raise money for a messenger who had been hit by a car and had his neck broken.  I think some people just need a small excuse to get drunk and some of us just need a small reason to race. Before the race had started some of the guys where already getting started drinking.

The race started with four people. There would have been five, but one of the guys popped both of his tires in the process of getting ready. (Probably a sign you need to stay home.) I was a little unfamiliar with Atlanta so I had a map drawn for me. We got moving and were holding a pretty fast pace. I didn’t feel really good and several times I thought about quitting, but I couldn’t just let myself quit. Somewhere shortly before the third stop I pulled out my manifest so I could check my map, and figure out where I was. I probably should have slowed to below twenty mph. I got hit by another bicyclist in the race who was going to cut through the parking lot I was in front of. I was moving fast enough to hit the ground and slid and have time to think “I hope I don’t slide into that curb.”  Once everything settled I was hoping I didn’t have a seizure on the side of the road, then I thought about my camera since it was in my bag. The other guy who crashed was one a brakeless fixed gear, so there were not a whole lot of moving parts. So once he got stretched out he was able to get moving again. We were both in first so I was hoping he would make, I found out he and someone else caught a flat tire later. So Ben won by default.

I picked up my bike, and was hoping to ride it to the next stop. It didn’t agree with me in the slightest bit. My bike looked like the back of a dress on prom night, There is no happy word it.  Even after adjusting the brakes and screwing with the drivetrain it was obviously not being pedaled anywhere. So I just threw it over my shoulder and started walking to the next stop. I stopped by a Krispy Kreme on the way when blood started getting into my eye, and I have learned people take their doughnuts pretty seriously in Atlanta, and you can get to the front of bathroom line pretty easily when you are dripping blood. It was swarming with people in the Krispy Kreme, and I had never seen someone sit down with the intention of eating an entire box of doughnuts. Apparently this is a fairly common thing.

The worst part of all of this, is the fact I spent a solid hour getting lectured by my dad about racing, crashing and hurting myself on my bicycle a few days ago.

My bar tape was actually so bad to the point I had taken it off and re-wrapped it backwards to cover up some of the holes. Since I was replacing my tires and adjusting every thing else it seemed like time to replace the bar tape. I have been putting off new tires on my road bike for some time, because while it gets tires are 1/12th a often as my fixed gear. Spending $100-150 bucks every blue moon vs. $20-40 dollars every other month still sucks.

But, I got my road bike taken care of, and just when I thought I was done working on it for it a bit. I realized pretty much the entire drive train needs to be replaced. The chain rings are bent, the cassette is just old and replacing all that will necessitate a new chain.

I guess that’s just whats happens when you play with your toys hard

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So I decided a bit back that I wanted another [tag]fixed[/tag] [tag]gear[/tag] [tag]bike[/tag] to replace my [tag]langster[/tag] that was sold while I was in the [tag]hospital[/tag]. I almost bought another one of the same bike, but they are amazingly hard to come by in this part of the world. So after a bit of research I decided it would be best to [tag]build[/tag] my own [tag]fixie[/tag] this time.

I started by hunting up an interesting [tag]frame[/tag]. I came across a steel [tag]Italian[/tag] time trial frame that was odd enough to make a good start for a build.

I figured while I was waiting for parts to start coming in for it I would go ahead and sew up a top tube pad to match my bag.

Given my predilections for things that are odd or interesting means I have to put up with making things myself or special ordering stuff. This time was was no different than the others. While I was able to pull several parts from my big box of spare parts I keep lying around. Several things either had to be special ordered or found hidden in a box under a self at one of the local bike shops.

But even that being the case, the build has managed to come together fairly smoothly and well under budget. I have had loads of fun doing the research and hunting down the parts. The wheels had to be custom built to keep the overall project cheap.

It almost ready to be ridden. Today I went into my local bicycle shop to pick up my tires. Unfortunately they had to be special ordered as well. When I got there they told me “we are sorry they aren’t in yet, and we don’t know when they are coming in.” After a bit of talking, I found out that the $14 dollar tires I had ordered had no estimated time of arrival but they would gladly sell me some $45 dollar tires to ride on until mine came in. I chose to pass.

Cycling at night is sublime. The world seems like a completely different place at 2 am. I prefer the back roads and the neighborhood streets, chasing my shadow from each cone of light to the next. I like to ride slowly at night, and just listen to the sounds. The darkness gives me ample chance to reflect on current events and organize my thoughts, or even better a chance to clear my mind and listen to my tires buzz on the pavement.

Next week looks to be busy cycling wise for me. I am supposed to be helping to support May as “ride you bike to work month” as well as attending a Critical Mass ride and at some point attending one of the Tuesday night 20 mile rides my shop will be putting on for the rest of the summer. I managed to talk my way out of the 8am Saturday morning rides. I don’t think I could bring myself to wake my poor bicycle up that time of morning.

Oddly enough I just realized this is blog post 113, which means I missed the milestone of post 100. Thanks everyone who reads this thing month after months!

When I reach the rack my bike is chained to I take a moment to tilt my head up and feel the rain run down my face. After I shake the water out of my lock and my hair I look at the slick racing tires I have on my bike, I look at the rain falling from the sky, and then I look back at my bike. I say out loud , “this should be an interesting trip.” The lightning arcs across the sky in the distance, and the following thunder sounds like a deep friendly challenging laugh. I throw a leg over my bicycle look at the sky and ask, “so you think this is funny do you?”

And then I laugh back, and enjoy my ride home.

After two weeks off my bike I finally managed to make the time needed to get it back together and ride a few miles on the new tires. My first errand was to retrieve my car from a parking lot because the battery decided to die on my way home from work this morning.

While packing up my freshly charged battery I realized it was sad that I own enough backpacks to have the thought, “this isn’t going in my good messenger bag, which of my others bags should I take.”

I honestly think I have managed to find the most hardcore workout ever. Attacking hills for several miles with a 25 pound battery strapped to my back was enough to leave me dizzy and close to vomiting on the side of the road.

Yeah it was fun.

So after getting my battery installed I broke down my bike and drove home. I actually stayed inside long enough to change into more cycling friendly clothing before running out to do a few more miles.

Today has been an amazing day. Well aside from car breaking down or course. I had a great time talking to a friend online for a few hours. I got a call offering a job installing networks and traveling. I saw one of my favorite responsible adults and she imparted wisdom. I got to ride a few miles and get my heart pounding. And most importantly I got a HEAVILY discounted ticket reserved for Rome this summer.

Now if I just can get some sleep finally.