Sometimes I don't feel like a complete tool. Sometimes I figure things out that really makes me feel smrt.
Ride into work this morning: 43 degrees. Not bad, but needed a long sleeve something, light gloves, a cycling cap under the helmet, and knickers to keep the knees functioning. Since I was in commute mode(strictly riding to and from work), I didn't need any fancy cycling clothes, just comfy looking street wear. I just wore my Shimano sandals with wool socks, cycling shorts under my knickers, a Nike longsleeve running shirt (Bryan, I think I have the one that you've raved about and yes, it's purdy dern good), Nike short sleeve running shirt over LS shirt, my favorite Defeet mid-weight gloves, and cycling cap. I was just right for the 20 minute jaunt in mid fourties weather.
Ride home from work: 80 degrees. All the aforementioned items besides sandals, shorts, and short sleeve shirt were too much for the ride home. At first I tried stuffing my socks, gloves, and cap into my knickers pockets, but it was very uncomfortable. Then I looked at the long sleeve shirt I wasn't going to wear and thought, "That would make a pretty nice fanny pack." So I laid the shirt out, placed the cap, socks, and gloves in the middle, folded up the body part, then used the sleeves to wrap around my waist under my shirt. It worked perfectly. I again, had just the right level of clothing for 80 degrees and was happy as a camper riding home.
So that was my first bright idea of the day. My 2nd one is a much more involved revelation (HA!) that will take another posting tomorrow when I'm not so tired. I'm back to the 6:30am - 3:30pm shift and 10pm is officially calling-it-quits time. Stay tuned for my 2nd amazing discovery that just might involve the conjuring of a new bike.
10 comments:
are you going to make it yourself? in your garage? out of cardboard tubing?
Dude, way to quick of a response. You must be bored at work. I am really heading to bed now. I will respond to anything you have to say in the morning. Post accordingly.
that was pretty much it.
Here's my non-sleepy/cranky response to your first question: Well, if I was skilled in the art of growing, smoke and heat treating bamboo, AND knew how to build a bike using said treated bamboo along with hemp fiber joints, I'd make one of these.
there's just something about a bamboo bike that seems like a bad idea ...
I used to have a bamboo bike. But I spend a lot of time with pandas, and one day I came back to just find handlebars and a gruppo sitting on the ground, surrounded by pandas. Boneheaded move, there.
Apparently, bamboo is a really good material. It's tensile strength is greater than steel (they grow 60 meters high, but never get wider) and can withstand more compression than concrete. The source is here.
if you build a bamboo bike, I'm going to (somehow) ban you from Shabbos +1.
Naw, I wouldn't build a bamboo bike. But I might buy one. Ok, so not really. But maybe way in the future when it becomes more popular.
Reading up on it, it just makes a lot more sense to make a cheap bike out of bamboo. I guess it would take some company figuring out how to industrialize the growing/cutting/prepping of bamboo to bring the costs down of bamboo bikes. Right now, it's all completely custom since bamboo is not commonly used as a building material. But is should. It's a fricken grass that, unlike a forest, doesn't destroy ecosystems after being cut down and, unlike steel factories, doesn't take huge amounts of energy or create pollution. It just grows back; and quick.
Yes, a bamboo bike looks ghetto. There's no getting past that. But if it can be used to create a lightweight, stiff, cheap bike, I'm all for it. Seriously, if the Solcycles business takes off and their products are legit, I could see getting a bike from them. And I would ride it....every Shabbos +1...while wearing sandals.
Munson the bamboo bike is stupid. It's as strong and light as carbon fiber and the same fricken price. They are selling those dumb frames for $1500! Nick Frey from Des Moines helped design it for a class project. It might be a better idea to buy an aluminum bike made from recycled pop cans...now thats green!!!
Leggo
Post a Comment