On Friday I mentioned the Osloh Denim Lane Jeans, and said that I was about to head out on my fixie. Well, I was joking about the fixie part–but then I saw that it was still raining out so I really did decide to ride my fixie:
Having recently re-configured this bike complete with basket, I reconfigured it once again by removing the basket and adding clipless pedals:
I removed the basket so I could try a new handlebar bag that I’m unable to show you due to an embargo, hence the cropped photo, and I added the clipless pedals so I could use my Lake winter boots:
This was my first ride in the Oslohs, and my impressions were favorable, even in the rain. Indeed, they were favorable enough that I wore them all weekend, rides included. While they still need some breaking in (more rides and a trip through the wash should help with that), I was always comfortable, and I must say I think the chamois is a good idea because it did enhance my on-the-bike comfort. Here was my ensemble on Saturday:
By the way, I am absolutely loving my new Greenfield kickstand, especially when it’s time to urinate into some foliage:
In case you’re wondering whether or not the kickstand moves on rough terrain, I think maybe I’ve heard it once or twice on some particularly rugged patches so far, but it’s such a non-issue I hesitate to call it an issue even with the prefix “non-” in front of it. Basically, it’s like worrying about hearing your cable housings bumping into each-other, or hearing the water sloshing around in your bottle. My only regret with regard to the kickstand is having waited so long to get one.
The next day, I decided to add a little salmon to my sartorial palette:
As for the little blue bundle I’m holding, it’s a Sackville Banana Sax, which is not a clever name for a men’s bikini bathing suit, but rather a saddle or handlebar bag, depending on where you mount it. (It’s also not embargoed, like the other bag I mentioned earlier.) I chose the latter location after transferring the contents of my tool roll to it:
Here’s the bag in situ:
Admittedly with the rear bag empty and the front bag only containing my tools I had something of an “all hat, no cattle” thing going on, but I was nothing if not prepared, and I did put my gloves in the Banana Sax almost immediately:
The trees are resplendent in fall-tastic colors:
And while I failed to capture this with my sub-mediocre photography the water fowl were at least impressed with my bike and flocked towards it:
So I went in close in an attempt to capture a halfway-decent picture of them:
But backed off when the swan tried to bite me:
Then I hopped on the bike and rode away:
Note that the distance between the handlebar straps is exactly the width of the sleeve on the Nitto handlebar. I don’t know if that’s on purpose or just a happy accident, but it’s impressive either way..
Note also that the long quill stem allows you not only to keep your handlebars at a comfortable height, but also to fasten accessories such as a handlebar bag and a bell to it. This is something you fail to appreciate when you look at a “naked” Rivendell. The uninitiated tend to be critical of the long-quill aesthetic, but it is in fact supremely functional, and when you think about it, griping about having a few centimeters of quill showing is kind of like griping about having some seatpost showing:
Oh, and how about that field dotted with mushrooms? It looks rather bucolic–as long as you don’t know that the Major Deegan Expressway is just a few feet away:
So much in life depends on which which way you decide to turn your head:
And I did end up using the rear bag later that day too, which is large enough to swallow a soccer ball, albeit a kiddie-sized one:
How many people can say their “gravel bike” is also their “soccer dad bike?”
I’m nothing if not goal-oriented.