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bike-to-(work,school) day
May. 18th, 2006 10:45 amokay. so today is Bike-to-Wherever day. Sadie really wanted to ride to school this morning. No problem, right? I mean, this is why we got the Trail-A-Bike - so she could ride behind one of us.
Except, I haven't been on the bike in about a year. For most of that time, it's been taken apart, actually. I had this great plan to strip and repaint it - that never happened. So much of this week has been putting it back together and getting ready to ride.
Unforeseen problem - with the hitch for the Trail-A-Bike on the seat post, the seat is just a bit higher than I normally would consider comfortable. I can still two-foot the bike while on the seat, but it's more like two-toes than two feet.
Foreseen, but fixable - cable for front derailleur broke. Not a biggie - just riding over to West Cliff. 5 speeds should be enough.
Oscillation turned out to be an issue. The Trail-A-Bike allows the passenger to pedal independently of the rider of the main bike. There is no synchronization as there is on a regular tandem bike. The linkage is also fairly flexible (makes turns easier, but...). We eventually got that figured out, though.
And to top it all off, I forgot my cycling gloves. Thin-tired bike transmits a lot of shock through the handlebars, so padded gloves are really handy. (The bike is an old Raleigh tourer with non-padded grips.)
So we made it to school only five minutes behind Laura (of course, we left before her...) and there was much rejoicing. And moaning and whining on my part.
Of course, then I rode home and discovered another interesting thing about the Trail-a-Bike... interesting and non-constructive. If there's no one on it, the damn thing bounces over every bump. And let's just say that Santa Cruz streets tend to be pretty pothole-ridden, especially after a wet winter.
All in all, an educational morning.
Except, I haven't been on the bike in about a year. For most of that time, it's been taken apart, actually. I had this great plan to strip and repaint it - that never happened. So much of this week has been putting it back together and getting ready to ride.
Unforeseen problem - with the hitch for the Trail-A-Bike on the seat post, the seat is just a bit higher than I normally would consider comfortable. I can still two-foot the bike while on the seat, but it's more like two-toes than two feet.
Foreseen, but fixable - cable for front derailleur broke. Not a biggie - just riding over to West Cliff. 5 speeds should be enough.
Oscillation turned out to be an issue. The Trail-A-Bike allows the passenger to pedal independently of the rider of the main bike. There is no synchronization as there is on a regular tandem bike. The linkage is also fairly flexible (makes turns easier, but...). We eventually got that figured out, though.
And to top it all off, I forgot my cycling gloves. Thin-tired bike transmits a lot of shock through the handlebars, so padded gloves are really handy. (The bike is an old Raleigh tourer with non-padded grips.)
So we made it to school only five minutes behind Laura (of course, we left before her...) and there was much rejoicing. And moaning and whining on my part.
Of course, then I rode home and discovered another interesting thing about the Trail-a-Bike... interesting and non-constructive. If there's no one on it, the damn thing bounces over every bump. And let's just say that Santa Cruz streets tend to be pretty pothole-ridden, especially after a wet winter.
All in all, an educational morning.
