...bowie

091115

Just glancing at my last post made me wonder whether it was just a thought about how to introduce a freak bike that looked pretty funny or whether I had this:



Still ringing around in my head. I must admit to having watched it quite a few times. "That's pretty freaky Bowie."

Here's another more understated "freak" bike. It's freakishly small, but has a full adult sized seat. My wife pointed it out to me out on Milwaukee Ave. Sadly, we did not get to see this rider mount his or her steed, it'll have to be left to the imagination what sort of rider this bike takes.



In about the only other news to report, the Bridgestone 400 I purchased and was hoping to build up for a friend arrived in a pretty oddly shaped box...



Upon opening, I was greeted by what looked like a great packing job. Actually, it did not look very good at all now that I think about it.



Something doesn't look right here.



That is one narrow rear dropout spacing. Maybe it was for some older exotic track bike hubs, a one off for Bridgestone?



Nope, actually it looks like this bike was crushed to death. At first I thought the guy I bought it from was just an unconscionable dolt, but then some things started to seem weird. First off, he shipped it from some sort of fancy bike outfitter place, so it seemed weird that such a chap would put a bike frame in a giant empty box with some pipe insulation on it. Then I began noticing that the label looked kind of like it had been taped on more than once. Finally I took a look at the dimensions on the label and it became clear that this box was just a UPS warehouse special. I guess someone must have dropped a pallet full on this thing and just pulled the bike out of the annihilated bike box it was in and stuck it in this cavernous thing, taped the label on and off it went with nary a mention. I could've dug something like "Hi, this is UPS, we destroyed your shipment but thought you might still like to receive it. Enjoy!"

Between this and my f-ed up front wheel from August, I'm not feeling much love for brown these days. What can brown do for you? I'll tell you what it can do for me, don't destroy my shit! Thanks.

Going to the orthopedic surgeon again tomorrow morning. We'll see what the verdict is, if anything. I have been doing pretty well, but have only ridden a bike around the block a few times thus far. I've had a few unfortunate bouts with overdoing it after feeling good for a few days, so I'm trying to not continue being an idiot. Might try a ride this week. Dying for it.

that's pretty freaky...

091029

Freakbike of the month:



What the?! That is some freaky geometry. Sadly, I did not see this being ridden. It's so tiny I could just stand over it, but perhaps it's a tall freak bike to a 4'8" person?

Not much else to report. My arm is mending pretty reasonably it seems. I'm still having a hard time getting used to the shockingly big collarbone end popping up out of my right shoulder, but I guess that's the new me.

I have not tried to get on a bike yet. The guy said 4 to 6 weeks, but I have improved a lot and it's tempting to just go try and putt around the neighborhood. I probably shouldn't push it though, I've been pushing it enough just doing regular household stuff I think. It's coming along though.

I've been finding a few too-good-too-pass-up deals on some bike bits lately. I have a back burner build to do for a friend, so perhaps these things will come in handy:

Gorgeous 57cm Bridgestone 400 frame/fork with BB and chain: $105 shipped to me
Shimano Tiagra derailleurs and DA bar end shifters: $65

My next thing to do is to start trying to get my Paramount refurbished though, so I'm hoping to build something I can make a little extra scratch from for the fund to do this.

I'm missing some pretty good riding weather these days. It's real hard to drive almost everywhere, I am just getting used to not feeling like a bike when I pull up behind a long line of cars in stopped traffic. Oh yeah, I don't get to go by on the side, I'm part of the problem now! Boo Hoo!!