bluegoatwoods
Well-Known Member
It's a drag. But it's getting too cold. It's hard to stay warm and it's hard to start the engine. (particularly about dawn or so)
But I'm gonna keep on two-wheeling. I drove to work all last week and my back hurt so bad I could hardly stand it. I had a nice Schwinn pedal bike. I had been thinking about motorizing it, but I didn't want to lose it as a pedaller. But about a month ago my daughter took it without telling me and it got stolen. So I spent the last couple of days rebuilding an old, cheap mountain bike that we had laying around. Built my own saddlebags out of aluminum strips from the hardware store and two of those cheap fabric, insulation and plastic-inside coolers from wal-mart. Now I've got a nice, wide platform over the back wheel that I can bungee my duffel bag onto. This gives me the cargo space I need without a trailer.
I've been an ice-biker before and I'm gonna do it again. I'm actually looking forward to it. It makes this time of year less bleak if you can spend some time out there without being uncomfortable. Though I've (almost) never been a hunter, I've always enjoyed camping out this time of year with my hunting friends for pretty much the same reason.
Another example of how people can be weird toward us; commuting to work as the cold weather came on I, naturally, dressed heavier. Heavy boots, coveralls, etc. I also carried a small folding chair. Makes it much easier to change shoes and such. A few times, while sitting in this chair with my boots, coveralls, hats, gloves, etc. kinda spread around me, security would come up and say, "What are you doing?". Now their job, of course, is to be suspicious. But these guys were agressive, sort of angry and overly suspicious about it. I really think they were jumping to the (ridiculous) conclusion that I was trying to set up some kind of squatter's camp. I remember thinking, "C'mon Barney Fife..I know it's unusual. But it shouldn't be that hard to figure out." Of course they recognize me now and don't give any trouble. And most of the people at work are admiring. But even at this (moderately) grown-up stage of life, you'll still rung into that third-grade mentality that says, "You're not like the rest of us. You're a dork."
Oh well, I don't want to end on a sad note. I'm looking forward to riding in the winter. I'm gonna have to consult with AlaskaVan and get a good notion on how he makes his studded tires.
see y'all around.
But I'm gonna keep on two-wheeling. I drove to work all last week and my back hurt so bad I could hardly stand it. I had a nice Schwinn pedal bike. I had been thinking about motorizing it, but I didn't want to lose it as a pedaller. But about a month ago my daughter took it without telling me and it got stolen. So I spent the last couple of days rebuilding an old, cheap mountain bike that we had laying around. Built my own saddlebags out of aluminum strips from the hardware store and two of those cheap fabric, insulation and plastic-inside coolers from wal-mart. Now I've got a nice, wide platform over the back wheel that I can bungee my duffel bag onto. This gives me the cargo space I need without a trailer.
I've been an ice-biker before and I'm gonna do it again. I'm actually looking forward to it. It makes this time of year less bleak if you can spend some time out there without being uncomfortable. Though I've (almost) never been a hunter, I've always enjoyed camping out this time of year with my hunting friends for pretty much the same reason.
Another example of how people can be weird toward us; commuting to work as the cold weather came on I, naturally, dressed heavier. Heavy boots, coveralls, etc. I also carried a small folding chair. Makes it much easier to change shoes and such. A few times, while sitting in this chair with my boots, coveralls, hats, gloves, etc. kinda spread around me, security would come up and say, "What are you doing?". Now their job, of course, is to be suspicious. But these guys were agressive, sort of angry and overly suspicious about it. I really think they were jumping to the (ridiculous) conclusion that I was trying to set up some kind of squatter's camp. I remember thinking, "C'mon Barney Fife..I know it's unusual. But it shouldn't be that hard to figure out." Of course they recognize me now and don't give any trouble. And most of the people at work are admiring. But even at this (moderately) grown-up stage of life, you'll still rung into that third-grade mentality that says, "You're not like the rest of us. You're a dork."
Oh well, I don't want to end on a sad note. I'm looking forward to riding in the winter. I'm gonna have to consult with AlaskaVan and get a good notion on how he makes his studded tires.
see y'all around.