New Ride

I ordered a new Worksman today to replace the one stolen. Though, instead of ordering a new "News Boy", I ordered a "Team Dual Tandem".

Heidi and I have had a tandem for years, we just don't ride it any more. I will have to sell it to pay off this new trike, but that won't take too long.

I like the idea of the side-by-side tandem. On the Old Burley Duet (the old tandem), Heidi use to complain about starring at by butt for hours. We will be off to the New Jersey Shore for summer vacation, so the trike will get a work-out.

Our new one - Red, three speed, and puncture resistant tires. (I can't wait to zip-tie a big beach umbrella to it for shade and down-wind coasting).

More to come.........

Back in the saddle again......

My wife surprised me with a gift, a used Trek 7200 to use as my "station bike". For those of you who do not have a significant other, the following may seem a little bizzar, but to others it will appear totally normal - the gift cost me $80. It went something like this..... "I know you were looking and I found you this, surprise...... Oh, they need $80."

My new (old) bike was one that was left at the local bike shop for more than a year without the previous owner paying, or picking it up. So, if you bike shop says they will sell your bike after some many days, this one will. The $80.00 covered the cost of the work the shop had performed.

After taking the bike for a spin I found out why no one had picked it up from the shop. The bike had been wrecked and the front suspension fork was bent and the handle bar is a little bent. I replaced the bent fork with the one from my old Montique so now I have a Trek hybrid with a 700c rearwheel and a monster mudder 26 inch front wheel. I raised the stem an extra inch to compensate for the smaller front wheel/tire. There are also a good number of scratches on plastic parts to show the bike slide on the ground a little when it was wrecked.

I bought 7 feet of 3/8 inch chain from Home Depot. It took a while for the checkout people to understand the chain was $9.00, not $110.00 - they tried to charge me by the inch, not the foot as it was actually priced - I don't have good expereinces at Home Depot - this was a bad one. I also got a good stout lock.

Today, I rolled down the hill to the train station and locked my new (old) bike to the rack in between some other "beaters". Let us see how long this one lasts.

Its gone Jim!

The emptiness was overpowering. The great void left me by some fool who stripped my identity with a simple snip turned quickly to rage and images of my doing wrong to that fool filled my mind, but this is foolish of me to think I might actually bring that kind of harm to anyone.

Why me? But in an instant I knew my Worksman was gone and it is now in the hands of some fool who probably does not know the historic value of the machine, the last American built bicycle. And I hope that fool peddles quickly because I have notified the Police and with all the advertising hanging off it, it will be hard to miss this bike as it goes by, it even has my cell phone plastered all over it in big letters - just let the fool park my bike somewhere and have someone unkowingly pick up their phone and call me! Ugh..... what a day.

After all these months of parking my bicycle at the train station, my bike has become such a part of my daily routine that I don't know if/how I will be able to cope in the next few days. I guess I will just have to get up an extra 15 minutes earlier and walk to the station rather than gently guide down the hill on my trusty old steed.

I also hope Mr. Fool realizes that the new gear shift cable sitting on my workbench will no longer be a benefit for my bike, and Mr. Fool will soon see that he/she is stuck in second gear. I am glad I didn't get to that chore this weekend (replacing the cable). I also hope soon that Mr. Fool realizes I haven't put air in the tires in a few weeks and that the tires were a little mushy this morning. Also, when Mr. Fool encounters his first hill he will realize that the Worksman is a big heavy bike that is sometimes not too easy to get up a big hill.

Thankfully, I had easy access to the bicycles serial number, and I was able to print a picture of the bike and the advertising signage to give it all to the Police Officer who made out the report documenting the theft of my bike.

I hope it turns up safe.

Too long since last post.

I need more time in the day to do everything I want to do, plus do all those things that must get done.

I rode the Worksman through the summer of 2007 until I had a little mishap when my cable lock got caught in the rear sprocket and popped the sprocket off the rear hub. Well with fall and winter fast approaching I reverted to riding my ex-Tidal Force/Montaque folding mountain bike. Still 5-, and sometimes 6- days a week the bike enables me to get back and forth from the train station with occasional stopps for bread and milk on the way home.

Basically, I have gone 11 months with very little change to my routine. Except for the Worksman which needs a little attention, I have only performed basic maintenance on my bikes.

During these past months, by riding my bicycle the approximately 396 miles back and forth to the railroad station and taking mass transit to work, I have avoided buying almost 660 gallons of gasoline. From a carbon standpoint, I have avoided spewing 6.27 tons of CO2 into the atmosphere (based on 40 CFR 600.113-78). Not too bad.

The economics of my bike-train-bike commute are really good. My mass transit commute is $240 per month. Whereas the cost of driving, with just the cost of gasoline and tolls being $350 per month, is much much more - I haven't even included the cost of wear and tear at $0.80 per mile, or any of the social* costs at $0.33 per mile ( http://www.commutesolutions.org/calc.htm, and http://www.vtpi.org/tdm/tdm66.htm#_Toc18284958) which would bring my drive to work up to $1,700 per month. WOW!!!!!!

The point here is, ride a bike, don't drive a car.

*The social cost does not include the cost of Foriegn Policy, or the war in Iraq.

I got it!!!!!!!

I picked up my new Worksman Newsboy bicycle on Friday afternoon, May 11th. This is the first bike I have bought in 10 years that came completely assembled and ready to ride without needing as much as a little wrenching to tighten something up. Even the seat was properly adjusted at the factory. And yes, I picked the bike up at the factory from the person who actually took my initial order. [For safety I did add a bell, and LED head light and tail light - so a wrenched just a little bit.]

This is a big bike. With the baskets and fenders, the bike weighs forty+ pounds. At first I was a little skeptical that perhaps I made a mistake with such a heavy bike, but with the 3-speed transmission (rear hub) and the smaller (37 tooth) chainring the gearing is perfect for my riding needs. Around town I can cruise along at 10-12 MPH, I can easily hit 30 MPH going downhills, and the gearing is low enough that I can climb the hill leading to my house easier than I could on my mountain bike. And how can I climb better on a heavier bike? Because the Worksman's upright ergonomics are better than the crouched over mountain bike position, the Worksman is more comfortable and much easier to peddle up hill.

The workmanship on the Worksman bike is as industrial as the bike, and it is excellent. Despite all the chrome and the baskets, nothing rattles. I cruised around all weekend running errands and all I could hear was the tire rubber against the road (and at first I thought it sounded like an electric car - that spooked me).

Part of the plan for this bike was to use it as an advertising platform for my wife Heidi's toy business. The baskets on the bike provide almost 10 square feet of advertising space. So as the bike is parked at the train station all day waiting for me to come home from work, it is advertising Heidi's business. We used Buildasign.com and made up corroplast signs (corrugated plastic) which are zip-tied to the front a rear baskets. I have included here a copy of the sign attached to the bike.

Until next time.

The new bike arrives today!!!!!!

My new Worksman Industrial Bike arrives today. I got the call on Tuesday that it was ready to be picked up, so I drove to work today (only the 5th time in 11 months I have driven my car to work) and will pick up the bike in just a few short hours. Here's a picture of what the bike looks like. Mine will be yellow and it will have a 3-speed Sturmey Archer rear hub. I will also be adding a front caliper brake when I install my Wilderness Hub motor on the bike to make it an eBike.

So, I have dusted off the wheel and electric hubmotor from my old Cannondale mountain bike and I am looking forward to mounting the motor on the new bike. e-Bikes are just the sort of transportation solution I need in this soon-to-be $4.00+ per gallon of gasoline world. My lead-acid batteries from 2 years ago are shot. I am exploring my battery options. With the exception of the price (almost $800.00) LiFe phosphate (lithium iron phosphate) batteries look like a really good investment. From what I can tell they are half the weight of lead acid batteries, and they look like they will last almost 1 years (that's about $80.00 per year - much cheaper than getting new lead acid batteries every year!!!!!!). The LiFe phosphate batteries may make electric cars a soon reality.

More when the bike arrives.

Train converts!!!!

It has been 11 months since I started my bike-to-train commute and I think it has worked out really well. In the morning the bike ride to the train wakes me up, the train trip is very relaxing, and I arrive at work ready to concour the day. I usually sleep on the train trip home - I think is has to do something with the rhythmic hum of the train wheels on the track, and the bike ride home from the train station again wakes me up to finish up the end of the day.

During the past 11 months I have driven my minivan to work 5 times, either because I was picking something up or continuing my trip in another direction - not bad. I have had no delays caused by the trains. Actually, I have made some friends who share my commute, and we are a lively bunch on the train platform at 5:15 in the morning.

With gasoline price rocketing past $3.20 per gallon I have had two of my co-workers ask me about train commuting. One has already started taking the train and loves it, and the other will start in a week. I am hoping more people will start riding the train as gasoline prices increase further. Now that's two less cars on the road.

One more eBike on the road.

The Estelle is on the road! One more eBike is cruising the streets of Westchester County. The bike was picked up about 2 weeks ago, last week there were flood causing rains which squashed (I should say squished) gettting it on the road. Because the tires and tubes were rotten it took until Sunday morning to get the new rubber set and going. Now its going.

My first riding impression. The Estelle is a pure power assist so you have to peddle to actuate the motor, whereas my Wilderness Experience setup can move the bike independant of peddling. The power assist is great, good torque, and descent top end speed - but speed isn't everything on this type of commuter bike, reliability is the most important thing here. To enhance the reliability I installed the "triple protection" Bontrager slicks - I have run on these tires for three years without any flats.

Now it is up to D. to start riding the bike instead of driving the car. One less car here we come. Good luck D., you have a great ride.

Update on my next eBike. The bike has been ordered, this week I order the new battery pack and charger. It will be about 4 more weeks before I am back on the eRoad again.

Until next time.......

New bike coming and add a convert to eBiking

I had a very interesting experience, and not one many people have when they are shopping for a new bicycle. Last week I went to the Worksman Bicycle factory in Queens, NY, because I had a few technical questions about their bikes. I was met by an Associate who directed me to a more knowledgeable person to help me with my questions. Well, blow me away, the more knowledgeable person I was introduced to was the President of Worksman Bicycle, the oldest continually operating bicycle manufacturer in the United States established in 1898. Try going to Cannondale, Trek, or Schwinn and having the president of any of those companies try and answer technical questions about their bikes - I don't think it will happen!

Worksman is a different type of bicycle manufacturer, they manufacture industrial bicycles and tricycles used to transport people and material in factories, and industrial and business complexes across the country. [see www.worksmancycles.com for more information] Worksman cycles are a terrific green solution when they replace Cushman style motorized work vehicles - more on this later.

I order myself a Worksman Cruiser, the bike arrives in three weeks. Better yet, I found Worksman was selling electric Estelle City Bikes, a German made eBike at a significant discount. Of course I will soon have all the components together to reassemble my eBike, but it was a really good deal. I mentioned this to friend who jumped on the opportunity and bought one of the eBikes. I helped assemble the bike only to find the tires had aged and need to be replaced, so it will be a few days before the Estelle City eBike hits the road. This is cool because it means one less car on the road, and I have converted another person to the simple pleasures of ebikes - we are one person closer to a better world.

I have to figure out how to post pictures in this Blog to help illustrate the things I write about. Perhaps that is a task suited for another day.

The plan, the action, and acting locally

The plan....... right now the plan is to order a yellow 3-speed Worksman utility bike with a full complement of baskets for posting advertising for the toy business. I will be ordering the bike with a smaller chain ring for easier uphill pedaling) and I will install my Wilderness Energy electric hub motor on the bike's front wheel for their added zip. I am still not decided on whether or not to use 7 amp hour batteries or 12 amp hour batteries, there is a significant weight difference between the two and if I don't really need the range this time around then the lighter battery pack would be much better. Regarding the range - at this time my radius of traveling by bicycle is about 3 miles, so it is likely I will not need much more than a 10 mile range. The first time around my travel radius (to work and back) was 9 miles, this is where the larger amp hour batteries are worth the added weight. For longer trips I have my 100 MPG Honda scooter.

The action..... right now I am about 6 weeks away from placing the order for the bike and batteries. Some other things have gotten in the way (like paying for a root canal, kid's summer camp, and new inventory for the toy store), so I need to wait a bit for the cash flow to catch back up to my expenses (or the other way around).

I have been asked to participate in a "green vehicle" symposium and a local college, and I really excited to be able to talk about my experience living with an electric vehicle - this will be cool. The symposium will be sometime in April.

$25 Million?

Hello March!

For the past few days I have been having reoccurring thoughts about winning the Virgin Earth Challenge prize for demonstrating a commercially viable design which results in the removal of anthropogenic, atmospheric greenhouse gases so as to contribute materially to the stability of Earth’s climate.

Winning the prize is too simple, just prohibit cars and give everyone a bicycle. The design already exists!

I am actually disappointed in the contest because I feel the premise is to award non-sustainable designs for gadgets to scrub the atmosphere so mankind can still live our unsustainable lives and continue to pump pollutants into the atmosphere.

What is really needed is a paradigm shift from unsustainable growth to sustainable living, and the basic design of the bicycle is perfect to start the transformation required to make this shift. For example, if the bicycle, e-bike, or whatever variant were to immediately replace personal motor vehicles there would be an immediate reduction in negative impacts to the atmosphere. Gone would be the tons of carbon dioxide and other toxics gases we pump into the atmosphere for each mile of roadway driven. Also gone would be the energy requirements and resources needed to support the production and use of personal motor vehicles, and well as the associated gaseous toxins. Further eliminated would be the unsustainable energy policies, dependence on foreign resources, failed foreign policies, and the fallen and maimed youth fighting pointless wars protecting finite and likely trivial natural resources. The spiral of the effect each change makes compounds the benefit to the planet and helps move mankind toward sustainable living.

I could go on, but I am satisfied I made my point that the bicycle is the design for a better, safer, and healthier world. Now show me the money so I can go out and buy bicycles to give to people who share my visions.

I'm Back.........

It's almost March, I hope the last of the snow is now melting, and I am itching to buy a new bike on which I can reuse my hub motor.

Don't get me wrong, my current ride is great. Oh, here's an interesting story, my current ride is a Montague folding mountain bike that I bought on eBay from Wavecrestlabs. Actually, I bought the frame set only, the wheel set was from my old Cannondale which I originally had the hub motor setup on. A bunch of the Montague frames became available when Wavecrestlabs sold Tidalforce to Matra Sports. So it is kind of ironic that I went from riding an electric-conversion Cannondale to a de-electric Tidalforce. The old Tidalforce frame set came equipped with all necessary components (including the braze-ons for running the electric wires between the motor, batteries, and control - they are all still there but now empty), all that was missing were two wheels - I think I only paid $200.00! for the bike. Too bad the hub motor doesn't fit the front suspension fork, otherwise I would just mount the Wilderness Energy hub motor to the old Tidalforce frame - an odd partner of sorts.

Currently my old non-e Tidalforce serves as my station bike. I ride everyday, rain, sleet, snow, salt, heat, cold, or sun - no exception, the mile or so from my house to the train station where I chain it and catch the train into New York City to go to work. I also use the bike for short trips around town (milk runs, to the Post Office, etc.). The only problem I had was with the chain. The chain broke because it wasn't the proper size for the cogs on the Cannondale cassette - this has been fixed. I would not do this to any other bike, but once a week I spray down all the movable parts with WD40 to keep the workings well lubricated from the wintry nasty things that tend to gum up machinery. Usually I would use a good quality synthetic bicycle oil and grease. I will likely have to service all the bearings at some point during the spring.

Getting back to my itching, here is what I have been thinking about...... I will keep the non-e Tidalforce Montague for my wintry and rainy day commuting to the train station. I want to purchase the 2007 Schwinn cruiser that has the 7-speed Nexus rear hub and install the hub motor on the front fork. I need to mount baskets on the bike, so I want to mount large Wald wire baskets both front and rear - this will give me more cargo capacity than the trunk of my wife's VW Beetle convertible. The best part is, I think it will actually make money for me!

Here is where the revenue comes from - advertising! You see, I get to the train station at about 5:00 AM (really early - the first train of the day) so I get to park my bike right at the bottom of the stairs leading to the platform where everyone gets the train (this is first-come, first-served). Literally hundreds of people walk past my bike every day for the ride into New York City. The Wald baskets offer almost 10 square feet of conspicuous space where I can place advertisements for local businesses.

I have the location, hundreds of people pass the spot every business day, there will be a conspicuous cool-retro look, and it doesn't need to be expensive to be conspicuous, especially if local businesses can supply me with their artwork - then I just slip it into a mounting sleeve on the exterior of the baskets. On holidays and weekends, I can park the bicycle out front of the advertised establishment so there will be the advertisement-establishment association to more easily direct people to my sponsor. Spread out over 5 years, my cost is less than $0.75 per day (assuming 10 months of operation per year). So, even if I only charge $2.00 a day to have someones advertising on my bike, I will be able to buy a nice new bike every other year - not a bad way to stay in new wheels! Taking the concept further, I can sell franchises by offering a free bicycle to bike commuter if they park their bikes conspicuous public places (Anyone interested?).

Regarding the Schwinn Deluxe 7, I have ridden the bike. I feel it will make a great commuter/short trip bike. I like the ergonomics. I fit the bike really well. It has a very cool retro look, and the 7-speed Shimano Nexus hub has great gearing for around town. With a hub motor mounted, the bike makes a perfect urban/suburban cruiser, and with the baskets added the machine will move more groceries and stuff than any steroid pumped SUV.

Until next time.

November 5, 2005 - End of e-blog for now.

Come one, come all.

Please visit my new bike blog found at http://dahon-speed8-commute.blogspot.com/

We will see you all soon

Thank you.

October 30th - no more ebike......(until it gets warmer)

I found during the last three weeks the temperature played a big role in available power from the battery, plus an aged battery pack doesn't go the distance in cooler (40's) weather. I also tested my charger last night, this is charger No. 2, well... it crapped out - 2 chargers in one spring/summer/fall season - this is not acceptable to me.

As you can see from my previous post, I am 55 pounds lighter now that I have removed the battery and motor, and the Canondale is once again a bicycle.

I was horrified this morning when I was at the bagel shop and realized I had only 5 minutes to get to work. I called the guy I was relieving and he had no problems with the delay (but it cost me a bagel he wanted). I couldn't figure out what happened, I was 1/2 hour off my normal pace and I didn't think the motor made that much difference. So I figure I was realy slow without the motor, it kind of made sense, but I still thought I had made really good time. Well, my wife calls me at work and explains to me how funny it was for her to find all the clocks in our bedroom 1/2 behind every other clock in the house. This finding says alot about this morning's ride, I actually did make good time without the motor.

Tonight on the ride home I was particular about timing myself. I hit the road at 5:40 and was home by 6:25. 45 minutes, 15 minutes longer than if I had a motor, but some of the time added was due to going slower because it was dark out.

Well, I am set to peddle tomorrow, Halloween.

Happy Halloween, and please be safe.

PS. I sold my pickup truck to a construction company! No more gas, no more insurance, no more associated car expense!

October 29th - My Birthday! (I lost 55 pounds today)

I had the misfortune of having to work on birthday. I also made the mistake of celebrating my birthday on the night of the eve, so getting up at 04:00 Hrs was not too pleasant. However, most unpleasant was finding my batteries just don't have the life left in them, especially on that big hill I go up to get home from work.

Getting to work was normal, dark. I am now riding with 4-red flashers on the back (3-on a homemade light bar, and 1-one the seat post), and I have a Cateye 300 plus 2-Trek white/green flashers in the front. I really need to spend some time figuring out how to upload photos, this setup is worthy of sharing. I have applied 3M reflective tape to my helmet and I am riding with a day-glo green DOT III approved reflective vest. I am sure I am a site to see, and that's the point - isn't it?

On the note of being seen. I have noticed a trend with the DF Wedgie crowd wearing dark tights, jerseys, and helmets. It may look stealth, if you can see it. My word to those wanting to "look cool", be bright! Bright colors that contrast the urban landscape (or country side) can save your life from those idiot drivers (I mean most drivers) who, at best, are concious of only what is in a 35 degree field of view in front of them. Be safe, not sorry.

Getting back to the batteries. I spent an hour last night removing the motor, control, throttle, and battery, and wrenching a little on my brakes. Well, I lost 50 pounds. When I was finished I got ready for work, set the clocks back an hour, and went to bed looking forward to a nice ride to work in the morning.

October 27 - near my birthday (the 29th)

I am still here. During the past 17 days, it has rained 14. New York has never had so much rain during the month of October.

Fortunately, for most of the last 17 days I have been on-call and I am being compensated by the company for driving as business travel - and it has been well earned because there were quite a few calls.

Stay-tunned in. There are a couple of things happening here. Like, the truck is being sold, a new bike and new job may be on the horizon, and I have to come to grips with replacing my ebike batteries.

October 9 and 10 - I nice ride (until the battery died)

It happened, finally... The batteries failed to get me up the last hill on my way home today. For the first time in months I had to drop into my granny gear - sorry Granny, I had too. With 50+ pounds of battery and motor now being dead weight, thank heavens I still had a granny gear.

Between a little grease on my bearings, the chain needing a good cleaning and lube, all the dead weight, and my largeness due to consuming to much c6h12o6, the ride home today was an awakening. But do note, it is 7:45 AM and I have just finished my second glass of wine - I worked the overnight and just got home - O.K.?

Decisions, decisions, etc.... I am leaning toward selling the e-bike as-is (it will need $40 of new batteries) for $400+ shipping, and I love PayPal, and buying a new bike. I have been eyeing the Dahon Speed TR because it folds (I can take it on a train to Manhattan) and it has the SRAM Daul Drive with an 8 cog gear cluster, plus 3 speed internal hub for a gear range of something linke 29 to 111 inches - you can't beat that on most road tandems!

I have also been playing with a couple of conceptual designs for a trailer/carrier for a folding bike that will allow the rider to haul a substaintial load in the trailer without compromising the foldability of the bike, and then once the bike is folded, the bike stores in the trailer that is then convereted to hand-truck stlyed wheeled lugage/carrier. The attempts I have seen at working this concept have seemed to lack the energy/input of anyone who would seriously use this type of system on a day-to-day basis. I hope my concept can reach the masses and revolutionize transportation as we know it.

On the revolutionarianism side of things, I have been thinking of a new business (in addition to the two I already have) that sells bicycles, bicycle accessories, and other items to caiter to bicycle commuters. What do you think? Is it a worthy business idea?

The Week of October 3

It's a blast running erands on the e-bike. Truely, this combination of bicycle and electric technologies is the most effiecent way of running to the store when you only need a few things.

Monday was a normal day, the kids were in school and Heidi (a/k/a Director of Finer Details, a/k/a Mrs. Jim) was working on her business. While the house was empty I ran packages to the Post Office and made a trip to the hardware store for some odds and ends. Well with a zoom and a huff, I was in town in a flash, parked in my usual parking spaces - "right in front of all the places I needed to go." Before I knew it, I was home without using any gasoline.

Tuesday and Wednesday were weird, these are the High Jewish Holidays - the holiday isn't weird (I'm Catholic, the Mrs. is Jewish - and do we know guilt...), but weird is the kids were only in school for one day, then they were off for two. Well at least we got to spend some quality time together at home (no one went Postal on anyone), but at lunch on Tuesday my 7-year old daughter explained to me how her classmate threatened her and told her he was going to have is brother shoot and kill her. THIS IS ONE TYPE OF INCIDENT EVERYONE SHOULD TAKE SERIOUSLY IN OUR POST-COLUMBINE WORLD. The next 48 hours were spent notifying the Teachers, getting the Principal involved, the kid's parents were dragged into this, and the bottom line was the kid just out of line make inappropriate juvenile-type remarks to impress my daughter - no one actually had a gun. Needless to say, the event made for an exciting few days.

Wednesday the truck got it's first workout it has had in a while. I needed a cubic yard of top soil, there were some awkward packages that needed to be mailed out, etc. Next week we pick up a cord of firewood.

Thursday, Friday, and Saturday I drove the truck to work (note: since early September I have only used 7 gallons of gasoline in the truck). Not only was I starting my rotation at work, but I was working nights and we were in the middle of a tropical depression that dumped 8 inches of rain across most of the area - it was wet, work was busy, and the luxury of the truck was well worth it.

Last night, Sunday night, I rode my e-bike, this was a welcome change. I have been noticing that I have not been getting a good connection between the charger and the charger's plug on the battery pack. I suspect road grime and poor manufacturing, and a summer of bike commuting have taken it's toll here. I plan on going to Radio Shack to get replacement pieces and do the repairs myself. I also notice that now that it is a little cooler and the batteries have been cycled 50+ times, they aren't keeping the charge they use to - or - this could be a function of a poor charger connection. After I see how the charger connection repairs work out, if I notice little or no improvement, I am going to remove the motor and battery from the bike until the spring and/or sell it to someone in a warmer climate who may get winter use out of it - I would also consider selling the complete bike for the right price ($400.00+ shipping).

The motor removal scheme came to me after I did some work on the bike last week. I removed the battery pack to attach a custom-made light bar to my rear rack that accomodates 3+ LED flashers - I am now very visible from behind! [note: I need to upload photos] The bike felt extremely light without 30+ pounds of lead acid battery, and I realized the bike will feel even lighter removing 20+ pounds of motor. After a summer of riding, I am in sufficient shape that I might not physically need the motor to keep my commute times where they are at now (30 minutes +/- 5 minutes). However, I do like the motor. Perhaps my next setup will be with a brushless (less drag) motor and NiMH batteries (less weight, but more $$$).

Thinking I might swap off the motor I grabbed the stock wheel and gave it a spin in my hands. Wow! The gyroscopic effect was cool, but the grinding of the bearings was unbearable. This made me realize that I really need to overhaul the Cannandale. This also made me think that if I overhaul the Cannondale, remove the motor and battery, I might just end up with a very low rolling resistant and light weight commuting bike.

Now here's my delema. If I over haul my bike, it will cost me about $100 in parts (new cables, I would switch my brakes to v-brakes at the same time, and I would replace the chain and tubes - the tires are still fine), and I would take me 8 hours to complete the job. I value my time at about $68/hour. So the actual cost of overhauling the bike is close to $650.00. Now because I have the highest credit rating in the world (I pay my bills and have no credit card debit), I can afford to lay out $650 for a new bike (hey, isn't that what credit cards are for?). So do I fix the old, or buy new? If I buy new, do I sell the old, or keep it as an e-beater? What would you do if your were in my position?

October 1 & 2 - Local errands

On Saturday the mini van got a good workout. Back and forth from the neighborhood across town to a softball clinic for the girls (wow they like softball!). I offered to car pool and ended up with 6 very energetic 8 and 10 year olds, and boy can they make a lot of noise - the ear drum splitting headache causing type. So I figure I transported 7 people, the mini van gets 25 MPG, then I must have gotten an honest 175 passenger miles per gallon? How does that work? Like a municiple bus gets like 6 miles per gallon of diesel, yet carrying 50 passengers the bus is getting 300 passenger miles per gallon. Is there actual efficency here?

Saturday I took the bike to the hardware store and picked up another 2-six pack of pumkin ale. A descent 3 mile round trip on the e-bike.

Today, Sunday I went for bagels, a good 2 mile round trip.

[Note: I need to contact Wilderness Energy, the charger seems to not be working well. The likely problem is road grime on the bike-side charger receptor. I am not too sure how agressive I can get cleaning out the charger receptor. Perhaps, this is a part I should wrap daily with fresh electric tape to keep the grime out.]

Monday, I start maintenance work on the bike. I should pick up another couple 6-packs of pumpkin ale, the last ones were short lived - neighbors, they like it too.

September 30th - New Pumpkin Ale

I love Pumpkin Ale. I actually just went and grabbed one out of the refrigerator. Boy it tastes good, almost like drinking the finest of pumpkin pies, but it quenches your thirst too. Amazing stuff. This particular brand is Smuttynose Brewing Company, and it is brewed in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. I only bought 1-six pack today, but it is so good I may just have to buy a whole case.

Today was my first true day off in a long time. I am starting to mop-up some loose ends that have been piling up over the past few days (daze) and weeks. One item was getting orders packed and shipped to customers (my wife and I have a side business, we buy and sell used books, the family started this business back in the late 1960's). I had 8 orders today, and one was shipped in a huge 16 inch by 12 inch by 12 inch box, this size is a little too large to strap on my bike rack, so I hitched up the Burley trailer. With the trailer loaded, I was off to the Post Office on my e-bike. When I arrived at the Post Office, one of the Clerk's was on a break and saw me roll up all encumbered with parcels and she said she was amazed one could do what I was doing. Actually, it isn't all that hard to do.

After finishing business at the Post Office, a rather tired looking new Mom with a double stroller packed with a set of twins and a 3 year old pulling at her shirt tail approached me and asked how safe the trailer was in traffic. [I started wondering, was this person about to do herself and her family in, or was this person looking for alternative transportation and a little excercise, fortunately I found out it was the exercise she was looking for.] I spent a good 20 minutes explaining how safe the Burley product was, how to find low traffic routes, to walk in cross walks and on sidewalks if traffic is too dangerous, and the benefits my family has had using a bike and trailer for more than recreation. The mom then looked at her husband after I explained a 3 year old and a couple days worth of groceries can fit into the trailer at the same time - I guess this guy now knows what is coming.

I left the Post Office and went to the local grocery store. This store is awesome, they have the largest selection of micro-brewed and imported beers, ales, ports, etc. A full 25 feet of refrigerator wall space is dedicated to their beer display, and no two of the same beers are next to each other on any shelf - this is not a Budweiser-only store. Wyck beer, pumpkin ale, Jamakin, Austrian, Norwiegn, beers with corks, bottles wrapped in paper, ....... just an awesome selection [and just 29 minutes from mid-town Manhattan]. Here is where I bought my six-pack of Pumpkin Ale (which I still continue to sip).

Well on the way home, I passed by a neighbor who had also just made a beer run, but in her mini van. Well she thought I had a child in the trailer, and was floored in wild hysteria to find out all I had was a 6-pack and bag of pretzles. She too hadn't realized that there is more than just children that can fit into a bicycle trailer.

I am almost finished with my Pumpkin Ale, boy it tastes darn good. Tomorrow, Friday, is likely the last day I will be riding my e-bike for a few days. I know I have one errand to run mid-day, round trip will be 14 miles. I really need to overhaul the bike. All the bearings need to be regreased. The cables are so stretched that no simple adjustment keeps set for any period of time. My derailuers need to be scrubbed clean of road grime, and it's about time I true my rear wheel. I also need to work up a solution for better mounting my flashers for riding in the dark.

Lots to do before returning to work next Thursday.