1986 Peugeot p-10 Fixed Gear Conversion (SOLD)

This weekend I took my 1986 Peugeot P-10 Fixed Gear Conversion down to The Spindle for their bike parts swap meet and BBQ jam. The Spindle is a super rad shop[ for commuter bike clothes, but even more than that, it serves as sort of a social hub for Atlanta bicycle people. I was pretty stoked that the bike got attention all day, and I ended up selling it right after the swap meet closed. My friend Katie iMac gave me the bike in original form, and then I did the conversion to fixed a few years later. Just wanted to post a few pics for the memories, and I am glad to know that the bike went to a good new home. Had a lot of great adventures on this bad boy...

Terminus 5C 2014 Atlanta GA

Coming up this weekend, 10.4.14 in Atlanta GA

TERMINUS 5C

I did the Terminus 5C last year and it was definitely one of the most fun rides of the year. You get to make your own route to 5 different locations around town, each location hosting a challenge that earns you points. Sweet party at the end. You should go, and you should bring your friends. 

You Shouldn't Yell at Cyclists

Flowery Branch End of Summer Half Century 3D VIEW Bicycle Ride

Are you using Strava?  I am, and I hope you are too.  Such a great way to quantify your stats, if you are into that sort of thing.  I know that stats are not for everyone, and that some folks just like to go ride, but I personally LOVE seeing my numbers.

Something I discovered which is very rad is the VELOVIEWER website, which offers a bunch of interesting visualizations of your Strava data.  Probably my favorite of all the available visualizations is the 3D view of your ride.  Today I did my longest ride of the year, an End Of Summer Half Century. I didn't really intend to do that kind of distance when I left the house, but the weather wasso nice I just kept going. Anyway, here is the 3D visualization of the ride elevation data:

Pretty Rad!

Scattante Mestre Multi-Lens Eyewear

Earlier this year, in Spring, I picked up some cheapo sunglasses at Target, specifically for using on the bike. They actually did pretty well, and are still functional, but one of the rubber nose pads fell off. Since symmetry is cool and all, I ripped the other nose pad off, and ever since then I have just been unhappy with them. To me, it seems like the are fogging up more, and to be honest I really just wanted a new pair of shades after sweating all over the Target specials all Summer.

So I picked up a set of these Scattante Mestra Multi-Lens Eyewear:

Got a great deal on them during one of Performance Bikes sales. They came with 3 different lenses, dark, amber and totally clear. Also included is a hard case, and a bag that doubles as a cleaning cloth.

Just got them, so I haven't tried them out yet, but I popped in the amber lenses since we are headed into Fall and most of my riding will be done during the twilight hours. I'll give them a good run through this upcoming week. One of the things I am interested in is whether or not they won't fog. If they do, I am thinking about drilling two small holes in the top corners of each lens to see if creating some ventilation will help. But let's not get ahead of ourselves, I haven't even ridden with them yet.

I can say one thing for sure though,..

I definitely feel like I am from the future when I wear them. 

Clunker - Very Rad Old School Homage

A pretty well done modern clunker. Love that gold anodized front rim. I'm thinking they may have actually had the mounts for the V-brake custom welded on as I'm sure that this thing started life as a coaster brake.

Learn a little more about clunkers in the vid below:

Fixed Gear Brake Pad Upgrade - Wait...Fixies Don't Have Brakes, Right?

Well, track bikes don't have brakes, but I wouldn't consider my fixed gear a true track bike.  For the record, it is an Aventon Cordoba with a few small mods.  I run a front brake, because I can.

Me and a buddy recently did a fun half century on the Silver Comet Trail, and about 10 miles out there is a bike shop called Boneshaker Bikes that we stopped at hoping they would still have some of the clear/dayGlo combo brake pads that they had when we passed through last year. They still had them! I grabbed a set for my Aventon since the stock pads had for some reason started squeaking pretty bad as of late. I'm not going to lie...I also just wanted the clear/glo color to add a little snazz to the old blackbird.

The install was a little iffy. These things are not meant for fixed gear biking at all, they are for BMX bikes, so I was a little hesitant that the curve profile would be too sharp for 700c rims, but that ended up not being an issue. I did have to do some creative rearranging with the washer stack on each pad to get them to fit though, and even then the threads stuck out pretty far from the slots. No biggie though. The only downside is that I absolutely positively without a doubt have them toed in correctly, but I'm still getting some squeaking. Tightened up the brake mounting bolt in the fork, which helped but didn't totally solve the issue. 

Believe it or not, I think that the sound may have something to do with some residual chemicals from cleaning the bike at the local High Pressure Wash It Yourself Car Wash. We'll give it a little time and see how it goes. I'm trying to use the brake in emergencies only anyway. Color ended up looking pretty rad, a subtle touch that some heads will appreciate.

Looks pretty rad from the flight deck.

Broken Bottom Bracket Cup

I ride a 2012 Scott S 50 road bike, That is a perfect bike for a regular non-pro like me. It has a triple on the front but I try not to ever granny. Anyway, a few weeks ago the BB started creaking so I bought the tools, disassembled, cleaned and reassembled. I may have reassembled with a little too much gusto...

CRACK IS WACK

GT BMX Vintage Ad - 1981

Regular Cyclist has BMX roots so you'll see the 20: crew gets lots of respect around here. Very cool vintage GT ad circa 1981.

Firsties

Something needs to be the first post, so here we go.

I am a regular cyclist.

By that I mean I bicycle regularly.

Also, it means I am a regular average rider.

I am not a racer, ultra-commuter, full time bicycle activist, or bike shop employee.
However I have done and been all of those things at one time.

I'm not super fit, super fast, or doing extremely epic ride distances, but I do like to try to improve my personal limits. Want to see how incredibly average I am? Follow me on STRAVA.

So if I am so regular, why even bother to start a blog?

Well, like all cyclists, I have opinions, and from time to time I like to put them out in the bikeiverse and see what happens.

So there you have it. Hope you stop through often.