Before and After

Yo blog-o-sphere

So i got this bike off of Craigslist for $20 with the original intention of giving it to my bro for Christmas; but i found out it was too small and it'd be pretty expensive to ship it to Illinois.. So instead i fixed it up for a friend who had her bike stolen a couple of months ago. I'm pretty proud of how it turned out. Special thanks to sean for showing me how to re-build the headset and bottom bracket, william for teaching me how to draw flames, and jessie for helping me choose colors, and iris for getting the sweet basket!


I feel like this is where most people can stop reading, but if you ever care to try a project like this here's what I did and what I learned:

1. First i stripped the bike of all its parts and threw them in a big box. You'll need special tools to remove the bottom bracket and headset or you might damage them. My friend sean at the bike shop helped me with this for free.


2. I sanded the frame, primed it, and painted it. I put the flames on my covering the frame in masking tape and then cutting out where i wanted to paint flames. I finished the paint job with a protective enamel clear coat


3. Now comes the rebuild. For a singlespeed or fixed gear, you have two options:
   1. You can try keeping the old wheel, remove the cassette, and put spacers and a single cog on there (i did this on my singlespeed, and it works fine)
   
   
   2. Or you can get a new wheelset, either singlespeed of fixed gear. This is the route i went with this bike because the old wheelset was shot
   
   
   
   
4. It's important that you have good chainline and chain tension. the chain tension on this bike was easy because of the horizontal dropouts. If you don't have horizontal dropouts, you can play with gear ratios and use a "half link" to try to get the tension right. For chainline, you might have to change the bottom bracket you're using. I got lucky and was able to get by by shifting the large chainring from the outside to the inside of the crank bolts.


5. I also replaced some clutch parts (seatpost, grips, added the basket, and threw on a set of old mtn tires i had laying in the garage).

and Whamo, a finished bike! i'm a little jellous i can't cruise around on this baby!

Today in Pictures

Today in the Congo people line up as they are displaced from the fighting. In India, Troops line around the Taj Mahal Palace hotel hotel as the battle rages for the hostages still inside. In America, people line up and the battle rages for $400 dollar tv's. The death toll is already up as people are injured and store workers are crushed to death from crazed shoppers.





happy holidays.
-mike

2000 miles to New Orleans

What if I got in a boat in central park, here in boulder? What would i see, where would I go?

I looked on google maps and it looks like i'd float through Greeley, through Nebraska before joining the Missouri in omaha. From there I'd cut down to Kansas City, through my childhood home of central Missouri to St. Louis and then south, through memphas and eventually to the gulf.

I'm sure there are more scenic stretches of river, I've been on a lot of rivers, but there's something about just heading out my door and ending up in the gulf. I've gotta think that the trek would take close 3 months to complete... but there's something slightly appealing to me of living a couple of months on the river.

I think i need a straw brim hat first. and a fishing pole.
Peace.
mike

a good weekend

This weekend was fun. Also, I didn't tell you this but i got a digital camera for my birthday. That means I can blog, and post pictures too!

First off, I went to velo swap and scored a new bike. It's a red Felt, and its soo fast. For you bike nerds out there, its a custom built felt with a carbon fork, carbon stays, and a full dura-ace group on it. I took it for a spin saturday and had a personal best on one of the little local climbs.

After the ride, my friend Shannon came in town with her puppy. We had a good time hanging out on the roof, watching an awesome Boulder sunset! Sunday, we went to my church, which is amazing, and went on a little hike with the puppy. Shannon left this morning, which is sad because she won't be close by anymore.

Anyhow it's getting cold out, and it won't be long till the snows arrive! I'll keep you posted!
Peace.
mike

Cool!

I was reading Alieen's blog the other day and found this. It's super sweet, especially for those of us who are graphically stimulated.

pretty much, it reads my blogs, picks out 150 words (i think their size is based on how much they're used) and makes a sweet graphic.

My amazing friends

So before you read this post, if you're not an avid reader of my blog, you should back up and skim the last two for some background.

So tonight I'm sitting in the living room with Josh and William, we're making some homemade pizza (if you've never made your own pizza, let me know and I'll send you the recipe, its easy and delicious!)

Anyhow, the doorbell rings and I yell "Come In!" then there's another knock, and I realize I'm going to have to get up and get the door because Josh and William weren't phased. When I open the door, there's a crowd of maybe 20 people with balloons and a giant check for a new bike! Apparently a ton of my friends rallied together and all chipped in a couple bucks, to raise $760 to replace my broken bike! (the check was made before the last few donations were counted)


So a very special thanks to all the unknown people who donated to help me get back on the road! Thanks to Andrew Adare for talking me out of buying that $100 beater bike I was looking at yesterday, and thanks to Laura and William for masterminding the operation. This is a perfect example of the amazing un-intentional community I've found myself in here in Boulder.
I love you all.

Peace.
Mike

Hit by a car

I keep getting asked to tell this story, so I figure I'll just blog it for posterity.

Friday night i was hanging out with my good friend Matt D. We were on our way home, riding down the Broadway bike path.

At Broadway and Euclid, i had the walk sign and there was a car stopped at the light. I entered the intersection when the car gunned it making a right hand turn, t-boning me. I flipped over the hood and landed on the other side of the car, watching it drive off. Immediately tonnes of slightly intoxicated college girls came to my rescue, but were a little helpless as far as identifying the car that hit me. I did a little self examination, and when i felt i was ok i got up and with a shoulder to lean on walked over and sat by the side of the road.

The police and the ambulance were there pretty quickly. They asked me a lot of questions at once, and it took some convincing to the paramedics that Yes, i was OK, and NO, i did not want to ride the ambulance. I didn't get a good look at my bike, the police took it in as "evidence" but i did see that the fork was in 3 distinct pieces, and I'm assuming both wheels are done for.

I caught a ride to the hospital, where i was in a bed between two drunken college girls. After my x-ray i opted to leave the emergency room and told the doc i could be found in the more peaceful waiting room.

The x-ray's showed no bad news, (my left knee was really swollen). I also when to a physical therapist who said my knee was bruised but in really good condition.

I'm glad I'm OK! And I'm really thankful for all the supportive calls and e-mails I've gotten. I'm especially appreciative of everybody who's offered to let me borrow a bike or help me fix my old one. My plan of action is to get my bike back from the 5-0 and see what Trek will do for me (they sounded hopeful that they might be able to do me some sort of favor). If the frame and components are salvageable, I'll start from there. If not, i might be in the market for a new bike.

Oh, and as far as the car that hit me goes: I didn't get a good look at it as i was flipping over the hood, but I do know that it was a sedan, and it was dark colored (Black, or maybe dark green or blue). Some at the scene thought it was a Volkswagen but based on the hood ordainment (the one part of the car i did get a glance at) I'm thinking it was more like a Dodge or a Pontiac. At any rate, if you see a car driving around boulder with a mike shaped dent in the hood, take a picture or write down the license plate #.

Peace.
mike