New Fenders and (Finally!) a Ride

Forty days, and counting, that we've been buried in snow, here in D-town. The roads are finally somewhat rideable today (snow is forecast for tomorrow, of course), and the sun is out, pushing the temps into the low 40's/upper 50's F.

So, I slapped on the "quick release" Planet Bike fenders I ended up with last month (I accidently got them for a customer who actually wanted the non"QR" version - more on that, later), and took off from the house.

While most of the neighborhood roads are in similar shape to the street in front of World Headquarters, the main roads are relatively clear. Very wet, though, due to the snowmelt.

Get off the main drag, and this is what you have to deal with.

The fenders did a pretty good job, though. My feet and ankles got wet from splashing though standing water, but my back and rear-end are skunk-stripe-free, and my toolbag and seat stayed dry. So, I'm happy with the fender performance.

The black fenders don't look too bad on L'Orange Peugeot.

The "quick release" designation on the fenders is a misnomer, though. The only difference between these and the standard version is that the fender stays strap to the fork and the seat stays, rather than bolting into the eyelets. Oddly, the bottom-bracket end of the "QR" version actually bolts to the chainstay bridge, while the standard version clips on, there. Both versions bolt to the brake bridge and fork crown.

I think Planet Bike needs to come up with a designation which reflects the fact that these don't require eyelets, and drop the misleading "quick release" nomenclature.

Quick-release, or not, the fenders did what I wanted them to do.

For those familiar with Denver: I left my house at Evans and I-25, rode down Iliff, then cut down Gilpin to Kaladi Brothers and had a cup of green tea. I then took Franklin to Washington Park, and made a loop in the park, then retraced my route home.

(For those familiar with how I feel about riding in Wash Park, this gives you an idea how desperate I was to ride a bike, today!)

Franklin is not in much better shape than my street, which surprised me. It's a fairly heavily travelled street, but it didn't look like it had been plowed since the snowstorms started.

I was sucking wind, pretty early in the ride. I have had a mental block concerning riding the rollers, this past month. I don't mind rollers as an adjunct to real riding, but I kinda despise them as a replacement for riding.

So, I am quite out of shape. At least I have lost some weight (12 pounds since New Year's). Hopefully, I can jump-start the fitness training, soon, and be in riding trim by Spring.

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Inky Dinky Doo

I've been working on a new comiuc, for the past few weeks. It is an 18-page effort, concerning a driver's road-rage against cyclists and some rather...unique consequences.

I have plans to make this a continuing story. So, this is, essentially, Chapter One in a serial. Whether or not any other chapters come into being kinda depends on how this one is received. I plan on submitting it to some magazines, but if they all reject it I guess it's back to "Published By Kinko's".

I finally finished the rough pencilling, this morning, at Kaladi Brothers Coffee. This afternoon, I inked the first three pages.

I have about 25 hours, or so, in it , so far. And, I'm figuring that I have about another 8 hours to go on the inking.

Here's the cover I'll be using if I end up putting it out, myself.

The interior art will be black and white, but I like the color on the cover.

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Another Member of the House of Orange

You may recall, a few posts back, that I reported that Randy had found this orange Peugeot mixte for me:

When Carol saw it, she asked if she could have it instead of the white version she had been riding. I told her that she could, but she had to ride it as a fixed-gear rather than a single-speed. We agreed that I would put a flip-flop hub on it, so that she had the bail-out of a freewheel, if she needed it.

So, since I can't really get out and do a lot of riding due to snow, I built it up over the past couple of days. Flip-flop wheels, chopped and flipped bars, and an Ideale seat plus an alloy crank and new pedals bring it up to snuff.

The bell is a Peugeot item, complete with embossed lion, which came from a Peugeot 3-speed I converted last year.

Now, if the temperature would only get above freezing and clear the roads off so that we could take it on the "shake-down cruise".

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Yes, I Am Officially Sick Of Snow!

All right. Snow is kinda pretty. And, it can be fun to play in. Plus, without it snowboarding would be a lot less entertaining.

But, come on! A blizzard on one Wednesday, another on the next Thursday, then 8 inches more the next Friday? Combine all of that precip with a city which is unable (or unwilling) to plow the roads in neighborhoods off of the main drag, and it gets really old , really fast. The roads in my neighborhood (and most others around town) are rougher than jeep trails, and really aggravating to drive on.

The name of this Blog is "Two Wheels". That is because "two wheels" describes my favorite modes of transportation.

Thing is, I don't see any possibility of going any significant distance on two wheels (either pedal-powered or engine-driven) for quite some time, and that does not make me happy.

And, wanna talk cabin fever? Try living in a 600-square-foot house, with about a half-dozen bicycles and a dog, with nowhere to go. (The back yard is under 3 feet of snow!)

Gah!

Of course, I am ready for Spring about 1 minute after we have our first killing frost. But, still, this is just too much!

At least we're past the Winter Solstice.

Come on, Spring!