"You've got something stuck in your spokes"

Yesterday, I picked up Fizz.

Twas a glorious day. I rode her back to base and began the enjoyable task of strapping and bolting accessories and gadgets to her.
I'm getting used to drop bars and the not-yet-tailored-to-me geometry. I hope to iron that out with a fitting with Adam next week.

The next day I went for a ride to see the new racks the Pirates have installed at PNC Park. I was stopped by a man who tried tell me that I had something stuck in my spokes. I explained it was intentional as well as explain what Yehuda Moon was. He introduced himself as an avid cyclist who hasn't been riding much recently due to a car-on-bike incident that left him with lingering concussion issues. He fawned over the bike (I mean, squatting next to it and giving a good look-over and everything) and we talked bike for a good 10 minutes while I tweeted my thanks to the Pirates for the new racks.

I also made sure to get some good shots of her leaning on stuff with a nice scenic background.

Friday evening brought me to the monthly Flock ride. I was reluctant to ride in a group being still wobbly on the new bike. I stopped at Thick to see if they could insert some spacers in my stem to raise it to a more comfortable level as a stop-gap measure before my fitting. Yes, at 30 minutes before closing time on a Friday, they gleefully accommodated me. My hands (which were in a fair amount of pain) felt a bit better, but Adam didn't like the angle of my saddle and adjusted it. I suspected I wouldn't make it a mile or so before my bits and pieces got angry. I was right. I stopped in Panther Hollow (new bike lanes!) to re-adjust it.

Sue was there and she snapped this shot:

The ride ended short for some reason. Odd. So, Marko and Yale and I tried to escort Sue back to her car, but we got separated in the Dead End that Saint Mary's cemetery is. My hands are killing me but I wasn't sorry to have gone, I did fine in a group even though I felt not entirely comfortable with the steering and braking.

Getting used to 26" tires and my brakes being in a different place: it'll take some time.

Where do little tricycles come from?

Today, I picked up the Trucker frame from Dan B and bungeed it to the back of Ruby to take it back to Thick to be built up with some extras too:

• Surly rear rack
• Velo Orange fenders (I'm hoping Dan can coat these to match the frame)
• Schwalbe marathon plus tires
• yellow bar tape

Dan watched me bungeeing the bikes together and saw me off with his signature line: "What could possibly go wrong?"

Here's the bike-on-bike action:

bow*chicka*bow

We made it! No incidents!

The whole spectacle reminded me of this:

I'm convinced I'm going to be blessed with one of these in 9 months:

Fizz gets stripped, blasted and baked

I'd like to introduce you to Fizz. Fizz is my soon-to-be Disc Trucker. A Surly Long Haul Trucker with disc brakes. I picked up the frame on July 24th from Thick and handed her off to Dan B so he could powder coat her in a bright yellow instead of the dull green or dark maroon available from Surly. Dan worked on the frame while I vacationed in San Fransisco and he sent along photos of the progress for me. How awesome is Dan? The process is fascinating to me and here, I'll share with you:

Before

Using chemical stripper to remove the bulk of the previous powdercoat. My Precious.

The sandblasting cabinet

Before any blasting...this is the fork after chemical stripping of the prior coat of powder.

Crown has been blasted, legs are mostly untouched.

Left leg has been blasted clean, right is mostly untouched.

Here's the fork after baking, and the frame about to be powdered.

Dropout Porn

More Porn: look at those purdy lug welds.

The powder: RAL 1018

After!