Today I drove to work simply because I couldn't force myself to fully wake up and get up, so I knew that I would be late for work if I attempted to ride my bike to work. As I was finally getting ready to leave the house though I experienced a certain relief by the fact that my ride was going to be so fast, cozy, and windless, but it also gave me a sense of guilt. This is after all the short little summer that we get and every one here knows how much we appreciate it. I consider it almost a sin to be driving on a day like this. It it was not for the fact that some distances are so long and it takes to much time to get from place to place, I would be riding my bike all the time.
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| Linus Roadster 8 Speed |
Its not like I am complaining. After all and after the $180,000,000 that was approved for the bike project in Anchorage, last winter we already saw a big improvement in the way the muni is keeping the bike trails and side walks clean even in the middle of the winter. For those of you who don't know what a winter in Anchorage is like, well... it is long, cold, dark and we get lots of snow and ice. Needless to say; to maintain the roads clean and driveable, much less the side walks must be expensive.
I don't ride my bike in the winter, even though I could. I guess this year I will do my best to ride it at least all the way to the end of October or at least right before we get the first snow fall.
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| Novara Buzz |
I am also having a little issue with the way my new Linus bicycle fits me or perhaps should I say - with the way I fit on it - the main reason why I bought the Linus was because my old Novara Buzz forced me to ride bent over and over time my hands start so hurt and I don't particularly like to have part of my weight rest on my hands when I could be riding upright. I supposse it is a matter of preference. In my teens and my 20s I rode road bikes all the time. As I age, I find it less desirable to spend more than five minutes on a seat that presses on my pelvic tissue. Some say that I haven't found the right saddle. Others say that one gets used to that, but I simply feel that that somehow will end up hurting me in the long run. So as I was saying, my Linus looks great, but I am still finding myself bending over to reach the handle bar. I would have thought that since it is a comfort/city bike, I would not have that problem, but what should I be expecting of a bike that I didn't test ride. I just ordered it from the web. I ordered the biggest one they make since I am six feet tall. We'll see what happens when I change the stem for a longer one.
I forgot to mention that my new Linus has now a new
B-67 Brooks saddle which I totally like.
Maybe I should take a picture of it against the mountains tomorrow as I come to work. I am a fan of visuals and as much as I would like to sit here and try to explain lots of things, an image will show lots. I am sure you there would also appreciate having a picture to match with the narrative.
I don't want to finish without giving you a little description of my my large new Linus 8speed because as I use it more and am able to compare it to others out there, I can tell that if I had spent a little more money ($200-$300) I would have obtained a superior bike such as a Surly Long Haul Trucker or a Raleigh. The quality is in the details and my Linus has these regular single wall rims, cheap brakes, the emblem looks like it is glued to the frame.
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| LINUS 8 |
Tomorrow is Friday and I will probably ride the bike to work (one way 5 to 6 miles) because I like to ride it even when it is not completely safe to do that here in Anchorage. There are all types of rednecks out there like the one that almost ran me over on his truck while I was crossing the street and had the audacity to call my attention. He probably thinks he is doing us bikers a favor by not eliminating us all and letting us ride the side walk next to him.
In any case and since I said that I was going to finish, I will finish here. Thanks for reading.
Send all kinds of feedback even if I don't like it ;)
Last year in September my brother Jairo, his (now wife) girlfriend Kristin and I went on a ride from Anchorage to Girdwood. Very nice country and the trail was only for us. I like the fact that it is quite separated from the highway, but some times it makes me think about the danger of bears. This is along the Chugach mountain range. Alaska apparently has five mountain ranges as follows: There are actually five main groups or ranges of mountains that in reality become 10 ranges and in those there are 43 groups of mountains:
