Resurrection of Bicycle

Not much of a resurrection really. The bike, which I found in the dumpster in our complex, was actually in pretty good shape. According to the mechanic @ Salvagetti (http://www.salvagetti.com) this GIANT Iguana is about 10 to 12 years old. When I saw it sitting in the dumpster, I couldn't believe someone would throw away a bike just because it didn't have a seat/seat post. Upon further investigation, I discovered that the rear derailleur cable was shot and no longer attached to the derailleur. It was actually wrapped around the seat tube ostensibly to keep it out of the way as one rode. The rear cassette / hub was also toast. It wouldn't engage in the forward direction, so maybe for those who aren't bike fans or mechanically inclined, it was a lost cause: 1o yr. old bike, no gears, no seat - trash.

And there it sat. In the dumpster. In the rain. As I drove past and caught a glance, I saw hope. I stopped the car, jumped out, ran the bike down to my garage, ran back to my car and went on with my day. When I returned home, I took a closer look to assess the situation. I cleaned it up, removed the rear derailleur assembly and there it sat, in that state for months.

If the past is any indicator, that would be the end of the story: a bike gets saved out of the dumpster only to sit in the garage as a project that will never happen. But this time was different. Friday morning I decided that this was going to be the day. I headed over to Salvagetti (best bike shop in Denver) and told the mechanic, Philip, what I had in mind. I wanted to revive this late 90s mountain bike, found in the dumpster, as a single speed 'around-towner'. Philip (and the saleswoman, Addie) assisted me in procuring the parts necessary for the transformation. A few hours later, I was making a run to the grocery store on my new bike!

I think I'm in love.

Attack of the Fat Squirrel

This guy apparently gets fed by humans pretty regularly @ Wash Park. He was not intimidated in the least.

Lunch @ Foolish Craig's in Boulder

Car Sloth

Well, it's hard to believe it's been a week between rides. Yesterday was my day off so I did two loops around the reservoir: 30 mi

Having a car sure makes it easy to decide against riding to work when it's 20 degrees outside!

I'll try to ride a little more this week, but I think the time off was needed. I was feeling a little burned out.

Totals for the month (in the event that I don't end up riding today or tomorrow): ~340 miles

On pace for a 4K mile year. We'll see.

A New Car = Less Riding

Friday was my day off, so I didn't ride to work. I did though, ride over to a friend's house to pick up his old car (new to me) that he offered to give me. I didn't ride Saturday or Sunday. And while I did manage to ride in to work on Monday, I took the car on Tuesday & Wednesday. Ah, how quickly the power of the gasoline combustion engine can overtake your bike-commuting resolve!
I rode today, so my totals since last Friday are:
1/15: 10.2 mi
1/16: 0 mi
1/17: 0 mi
1/18: 21.4 mi
1/19: 0 mi
1/20: 0 mi
1/21: 21.4 mi

The New Route

I took a home on Wednesday that cut about 2.5 miles off my commute: 10.7 mi vs 13.2
So my total mileage for:
1/13 - 23.9 mi
1/14 - 21.4 mi

A Ride in the Park

Cherry Creek State Park that is. My daily commute takes me through this great little piece of the "outdoors" right in the heart of Denver. Here are a few Mule Deer I saw the other day.
My ride totals so far this week:
1/10 - 0 mi.
1/11 - 26.5 mi.
1/12 - 26.5 mi.

Saturday Afternoon Ride

Did almost 20 miles today. Just above freezing, but sunny. Still a lot of melting snow around so I took to the drier streets instead of the bike paths. Headed up Quebec to Smith Rd. then toward Downtown. Headed east on MLK & stopped by to see some friends on the way home.

New Year's Resolution FAIL!

Didn't take long. The temps got down to about 5 below, so I chickened out & took the car to work on Thursday. Oh well, I rode today and it was about 3 degrees. Man, were my feet COLD!
I also found out that a section of my route (the High Line Canal bike path) will be under construction until 4/15/10, so I'll have to re-route a bit. I didn't have a cycle computer on the mountain bike, but I assume that my chosen route was a little longer than normal.
For an estimate I'll still go with:
1/8/10 - 25 miles round trip to work.
That's about 100 mile so far this week. Not bad for a cold & snowy week.

Chilly Week

My ride this morning was nice. Not too cold. The rest of the week hasn't been terribly exciting, but here are the stats:

Monday 1/4 - 25 miles (round-trip commute to work), 19 degrees F
Tuesday 1/5 - 25 miles (round-trip commute to work), 30 degrees F
Wednesday 1/6 - 25 miles (round-trip commute to work), 28 degrees F

Tonight's ride home was a little...

WWJR

...probably a city bike; people friendly. Anyway, I biked about 5 miles to church this morning.
Looks like we may have some snow & cold weather this week. We'll see how the commuting goes!

Ride Report - Day 2 of 365

Well, two days down, 363 to go. I just went on a short ride (11.5 mi.) up to my old place of employment. I was laid off a year ago in October. It was strange to see only 8 cars in the parking lot. Cold & overcast on the ride. Nothing special to report about it, but a day on the bike is a pretty good day not matter where you go or what the riding conditions are.

365 Bike Rides

Since we've gone back to being a single car family, I've been bike commuting more regularly. (even enduring single-digit temps w/ snow.
So this year, I am going to try to ride my bicycle everyday. (minimum 1 mile to qualify as an official bike ride) I also want to try using my bicycle for more than just the commute, but for errands and stuff as well.

Off for a ride! Happy 2010.

Update: 12 miles @ 14 mph - snow still on the bike paths - 32 degrees
Ride Map