One of my crew was listening to the Nights with Alice Cooper show and heard this song and told me about it . Because he knows that I am a bike geek. I have never heard it, or even of Tomorrow.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Black Friday Blues...
This gave me quite a chuckle. It's from CycleDog in OK.
The womenfolk were out shopping. I was bored. I could watch Eastern Yahootie State beat the snot out of Western Yahootie State, but why bother?
My commuter bike's computer had died. The battery failed - again. I decided to find a way around the problem. There was an old calculator with a solar cell in my junk box, but just for fun, I decided to try a bigger solar cell meant to charge a car battery.
Why stop there? The bigger array offered more power, so I could add a few extras.
Another junk box yielded an ancient TRS-80 type 200 laptop. The solar cell would easily power it, but for surges I decided to add a small battery too. With some Hall effect devices and strain gages, the computer could monitor speed, cadence, and various forces applied to the bike frame. I could actually measure the lateral stiffness and vertical compliance! Yes, it's real-world geekery, but I was bored. I fabricated brackets out of old bike parts, angle iron, and some bits stolen from kid's broken toys. It wasn't pretty, but for a quick lash-up it would do.
All that extra power only added temptation. I mean, what self-respecting electronics geek could ignore it? A few calculations revealed that I'd only be using about a quarter of the energy on hand, so I immediately added a few other goodies: a GPS system, a old video camera, and a cell phone for mobile Internet access. This all required more wiring and cables, of course, and the video camera needed a short mast since I wanted overhead shots.
So far, I'd stayed within the law as far as the FCC was concerned. The next step was going to be tricky. I wanted to rig up a proximity sensor that would switch on the camera as a vehicle approached from behind. I gutted my son's old toy baseball radar gun, but it was designed for very low power and short distances. More power would make it operate over greater distances, so I scrounged the magnetron tube from our old microwave oven. Now kids, don't do this at home. It's a job for a professional.
The maggie tube and power supply went onto the rear rack. I had to find a bigger battery and ended up with an old car battery back there too, as well as an inverter for the higher voltages required for the magnetron. An FCC inspector would have a heart attack if he saw this, and drafting closely could offer some hazards - like getting cooked internally. But this was just a quick lash-up.
A trial run was in order. I pushed the bike out of the garage and set off down the hill. It was immediately apparent that the extra weight caused problems. I wobbled wildly and steadily gained speed. The rear tire blew with a deafening bang! The wheel thumped a few times before all that weight on the front end caused the fork to collapse. I vaguely remember flying over the handlebars.
Witnesses said the following events happened in short succession. The bike had barely stopped moving when a short circuit caused the car battery to overheat and explode. Bits of casing peppered houses and cars. Someone called the cops, the bomb squad, the fire department, and presumably an ambulance in that order. The wiring and cables on the bike caught fire, resulting in a brief but intense blaze that actually melted the aluminum frame.
But like I said, that all came from various witnesses. I'm sitting in a cell at the local police station, waiting for an interview with Homeland Security about the alleged bicycle bomb. This is the bright side. At least I didn't have to go shopping.
.
My commuter bike's computer had died. The battery failed - again. I decided to find a way around the problem. There was an old calculator with a solar cell in my junk box, but just for fun, I decided to try a bigger solar cell meant to charge a car battery.
Why stop there? The bigger array offered more power, so I could add a few extras.
Another junk box yielded an ancient TRS-80 type 200 laptop. The solar cell would easily power it, but for surges I decided to add a small battery too. With some Hall effect devices and strain gages, the computer could monitor speed, cadence, and various forces applied to the bike frame. I could actually measure the lateral stiffness and vertical compliance! Yes, it's real-world geekery, but I was bored. I fabricated brackets out of old bike parts, angle iron, and some bits stolen from kid's broken toys. It wasn't pretty, but for a quick lash-up it would do.
All that extra power only added temptation. I mean, what self-respecting electronics geek could ignore it? A few calculations revealed that I'd only be using about a quarter of the energy on hand, so I immediately added a few other goodies: a GPS system, a old video camera, and a cell phone for mobile Internet access. This all required more wiring and cables, of course, and the video camera needed a short mast since I wanted overhead shots.
So far, I'd stayed within the law as far as the FCC was concerned. The next step was going to be tricky. I wanted to rig up a proximity sensor that would switch on the camera as a vehicle approached from behind. I gutted my son's old toy baseball radar gun, but it was designed for very low power and short distances. More power would make it operate over greater distances, so I scrounged the magnetron tube from our old microwave oven. Now kids, don't do this at home. It's a job for a professional.
The maggie tube and power supply went onto the rear rack. I had to find a bigger battery and ended up with an old car battery back there too, as well as an inverter for the higher voltages required for the magnetron. An FCC inspector would have a heart attack if he saw this, and drafting closely could offer some hazards - like getting cooked internally. But this was just a quick lash-up.
A trial run was in order. I pushed the bike out of the garage and set off down the hill. It was immediately apparent that the extra weight caused problems. I wobbled wildly and steadily gained speed. The rear tire blew with a deafening bang! The wheel thumped a few times before all that weight on the front end caused the fork to collapse. I vaguely remember flying over the handlebars.
Witnesses said the following events happened in short succession. The bike had barely stopped moving when a short circuit caused the car battery to overheat and explode. Bits of casing peppered houses and cars. Someone called the cops, the bomb squad, the fire department, and presumably an ambulance in that order. The wiring and cables on the bike caught fire, resulting in a brief but intense blaze that actually melted the aluminum frame.
But like I said, that all came from various witnesses. I'm sitting in a cell at the local police station, waiting for an interview with Homeland Security about the alleged bicycle bomb. This is the bright side. At least I didn't have to go shopping.
.
Monday, December 1, 2008
Lego Lunacy
Even the folks at Lego think that SUV drivers are out of control. But please notice the cyclist with flowers in her baskets.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Anthropomorphism
What is it about we humans imbuing inanimate objects with “personality”. We give objects importance. We have favorites, (bikes, guns, fishing rods, bats, gloves…” that seem to us to perform better than others for us. So we give them names and character and feelings.
I am currently working to restore, modify, so restomod is the word I suppose, a 1968 Raleigh Super Course. What’s that you say, you were not aware that the Super Course was made in ’68? Well according to the good folks at Bike Forums and my own research. It is likely the first year that it was made and furthermore this frame appears to be a Carlton Grand Prix rebadged as a Raleigh.
This was taken shortly after I got her. That saddle was from another bike and has since torn beyond repair, (sigh) it was a Wrights 34.
100-2105
This bike is now forty years old and now that I have her (see, I did it there) back on the road I seem to get this “feeling” of joy, of happiness at being ridden again. This is the point I am trying to get at. I know with my “logical mind” that this is impossible. But logic has little to do with the emotions involved with riding.
From 1968
From 1969
On Sheldon Brown’s Retro Raleighs web site. (from which I got the images) There are catalogs (catalogues) from 1968 and 1969 that show this bike. The ’68 catalog lists the parts accurately with the exception of the crankset which is a Stronglight Model 93 and was either a shop upgrade or done by a previous owner. I lean toward the in shop scenario. It is also interesting to see that in ’69 the Super Course cost $110.00. The 1970 catalog lists different derailleur’s than mine has. One of the reasons that I believe that she is a rebadged Carlton is that the serial number #110536 is on the left rear dropout. Carlton is reported to do this but at that time Raleigh did not.
My plan for her is a “randonneur” type of kit. With full fenders and bags, she came to me with a little rack attached to the front brake that is for keeping a very large handlebar bag off of the wheel and or fender, which is what, gave me the randonneur idea. The paint is really rough. She seems to have been stored outside for at least some of her 40 years. Still there are some areas that the original coffee color can be seen. I am still trying to sort out how (or if) I will repaint her. It appears that the method used was transparent brown over a copper or bronze metallic.
100-2112
As for the decals, they caused quite a stir on another forum. I did receive a graphic for the down tube Raleigh and I think I can make one for the seat tube from a picture of the headbadge. The top tube has Super Course in a script of some kind I might try to do a rubbing and see if I can get close. I’ll also need some sliver tape for the seat tube striping.
I am really excited about this project. I think that the beauty and grace that this bike displays is of the era it is from and something that some manufacturers are doing again, and either saying that it’s “new” or that they’re getting back some “nostalgia”.
Tags: Bikes,
Thursday, September 18, 2008
First grade poem
First a little background. While our daughter was in preschool my commute was often multi-modal. I would drive to the preschool and park the car there, then ride to work or ride to the bus if the weather was iffy. I could then ride back from work get her from the school and drive home. It worked for us and apparently it also impressed our youngest son enough to write about it. Now, I will not lie here. When I read this the first time I choked up. I was not aware that this process of commuting to work on my bike would inspire any of my kids.
If your having trouble reading his handwriting it reads.
My Dad is Lightning
My
dad is like
lightning he rides to
work and back
going up down up
down to pick
up my sister.
I think it's cool.
Carl
Friday, September 12, 2008
Rain
It rained last night as I fitted my fixed-gear with new full fenders. My excitement mounted as I awoke to the sound of rain this morning. I donned my very best wet weather gear with the addition of newspaper sacks on my feet. I then set out. It was sprinkling as I left the house and I traveled through varying levels of precipitation. As I was nearing work I realized that I had rain water streaming from my face, my grinin' like an idiot face.
It was a good ride.
Carl
It was a good ride.
Carl
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