I am a bike thief

Well not really. The bike I was talking about yesterday, miraculously, was still there this morning. I walked around and told all the folks on that half of the Dr. Pepper showrooms that I was going to take it, and if anyone came looking for it, it'll be in our warehouse. It's fully functional although not in great shape. I rode it over, and after several laps in the warehouse, parked it safely inside. In the interest of full disclosure and keeping my conscience clear, I'm posting a picture of the bike. If it's yours, just let me know. If I believe you, you can have it back. After a month or so it will probably go under the knife.

Pink Bike

I'm back on the road as of today. It's crazy how time and excuses build up and next thing you know it's been 4 months. I went to retrieve my bike lock from the bike rack that I used to lock my bike to. Back Up - we've moved the company I work for across the street, so I'll be parking my bike in a different spot. So, when I go to retrieve my lock I notice that someone has used it to dummy lock their bike, a pink girls bike that looks like it may have at one time been red, to the rack. Just sort of wrapped it around the frame. Pretty convincing actually. It took me a minute, and a try with the key, before I realized it was mine. I took it and then realized I was leaving this person vulnerable to the thieves in the area. I asked around and everyone seemed pretty sure that the bike hadn't moved in a couple of months and that it had been abandoned. So I took my lock and went on my way. I thought I should start off day 1 with a pic of some sort so here it is. This is a shot of the recently paved 43rd street railroad crossing. Not much to look at. However, before it was repaved, it was a tremendous nut buster 2 block stretch. It made me smile when I turned the corner and saw the fresh asphalt.

Bonnie

This is the closest I've come to riding my bike since November. Here is the Grand Canyon through the ears of my trusty mule Bonnie.

What Tha?!

Today, while riding down 7th Avenue I busted Alley Bulka, the notorious Wackee Nanny of Birmingham, with a giant sack of starbucks riding shotgun. For shame Alley, for shame......

Recycle America

This is where your recycling ends up if you live in Birmingham. I used to have a theory that Birmingham had stopped recycling and they were just collecting our recyclables and dumping them in the landfill. I defended this theory by pointing out that Birmingham had gotten rid of the recyclable sorting trucks and had begun collecting with the classic garbage compacting trucks seen here. My thinking was that they were avoiding the negative publicity of ending a recycling program by continuing to pick up, even if they were just dumping them. As long as people got to separate their garbage, and as long as they saw it get picked up, they would assume the city was taking them to be recycled.Well, I was wrong, another conspiracy theory shot full of holes. I've actually seen the trucks lining up to enter Recycle America every Wednesday. Usually there are a lot more of them, lined up all the way down the street. This just happened to be the day my camera battery wasn't dead. Incidentally this is also the spot where, if you take a picture of the garbage trucks, the giant in the first truck leans out and says you don't have his permission to take his picture.

uhhghhh

I must be close to some record on flat tires. It seems like once a week I'm getting a flat. It's effecting me to the point that it causes me to second guess getting on my bike at all. Mornings where I'm running late I find myself wondering if today is gonna be flat tire day and if I want to deal with the hassle. Since it's dark these days (and cold) when I'm riding home, I'm really not looking forward to the inevitable tire change in the dark and cold. I've received a bit of advice about avoiding flats. Such as, making sure your tires are properly inflated. I don't think it could make a whole lot of difference when you are picking up nails left and right. I've thought about trying to take the bigger, busy roads, hoping it might be better. My thinking is that with more traffic, it is less likely that there will be debris, ie nails, in the street. I've also thought about those Slime inner tubes that self seal when you get a flat. However, I have my doubts how they would perform against a three inch nail. Alternately, I figure at this rate I will pick up all the nails, and the problem will eventually go away.

Super Tuesday

dia de los Muertos

Here's a shot of my tall bike and my cruiser getting dressed up for day of the dead this year. I just gave the tall bike a quick spray with some festive colors , pimped 'em with some fringe and found some drunk esqueletos to ride them.

Road Kill

I was trying to make good time on my way home from work yesterday. I heard the whistle of that 5:00 train that is forever trying to block my way home. I thought I would beat the train on 41st street, but it won. Since it was moving slow, I spun around real quick to try and beat it to the 43rd street crossing. As I turned down 1st avenue, I heard the distinct sound of my tire being impaled and then the dreaded slow hiss. I found a cozy spot just next to the recycling plant and began to unpack and disassemble. The first thing I noticed was the flattened cat, just noticeable in the background of the picture of my bike upside down. I hoped this was not some kind of omen, and kept working. The next thing I noticed was the ridiculous size of the nail that was embedded in my tire. It was buried all the way up to the head, so I didn't notice until I pulled it out, that it was roughly 3" long. I pressed on. After I got everything changed, and the tire inflated, I pulled the pump off and ripped the top of the presta valve off. I don't know what that part is called, but it is the little thing you screw down so that the air won't come out. With it came part of the little metal part that keeps the little screw down thing connected to the rest of the valve. I thought, or maybe said out loud, several things I don't remember. It wasn't actually leaking, or at least I couldn't hear it, so I screwed the cap on it, packed up and hit the road while there was still air in the tire. I made it to the 43rd street crossing, and yes, the friggin' train was stopped there blocking my route. I finally made it home, and by the end of the evening, all the air had leaked out of the tire. I couldn't bring myself to change it again, so I'm on four wheels today. Oh yeah, and I found a golf ball while I was changing the tube.