Like dockless bike share and electric scooter share before it, gas-powered motor scooters seem to be reaching the “abandoned in the weeds” phase:
Not only that, but incredibly I didn’t see any on the Brooklyn Bridge yesterday!
Of course the Brooklyn Bridge generally isn’t as bad as the Manhattan Bridge, but the motor scooters I did see were in the car lane, including one guy who was FaceTiming (or equivalent) while riding and almost got taken out by an Uber driver.
Still, I’m not getting my hopes up, and as usual by the time I got back to the Bronx it was motor scooters and wheelie-ing dirt bikes everywhere.
As for me, I was on my primary commuting bike, which has reached its “dialed in” phase:
The reach is now perfect, and as much as I love Brooks saddles the plastic one is better for regular urban use since it’s easier to deal with in the rain. (Plus I don’t really miss the scranial suspension properties of the Brooks when I’m mostly riding on pavement.) Yes, I’m not crazy about the orange pedals, but you’ll see I’ve at least matched them with my water bottle. Not only that, but my shirt accidentally matched the frame:
And my shoes even mostly matched the pedals!
You roadies ain’t got nothing on me.
I’m still using the Two Wheel Gear pannier/backpack thing too, and I like it very much, even though I never really put it in backpack mode anymore:
Awhile back (and I’m too lazy to find where) I mentioned that as soon as I had an opportunity to test its waterproofedness I’d let you know. Well, this past Friday I got caught in one of those crazy summer downpours and I’m pleased to report my computer and everything else in there stayed dry. I also had another opportunity to test it yesterday evening…
…when I discovered that the bag had successfully been targeted by a bird:
So without even emptying it first I stuck it right in the sink as soon as I got home:
And I even went at it with a scrub brush:
There was just a little bit of water intrusion, but keep in mind I was running a faucet right over the zipper. (The bag also comes with a rain cover, by the way.) Really, only this document got appreciably wet:
At the end of the school year some idiot driver (I realize “idiot driver” is redundant) ignored the crossing guard as my younger son and I were crossing the street to his bus stop, and when the crossing guard called her out on it she explained that she “owned these streets,” was tired of being delayed by children going to school every day, and insisted she “didn’t have to stop.” Naturally, an argument ensued. So I’ve been carrying around this traffic code primer I put together ever since in the hope that she tries it again and I can have my “Jerk Store” moment:
So yeah, the bag can handle the rain is what I’m saying.
Moving on, shortly after I offloaded the bouncy bike onto some poor sucker awarded the Softride to a lucky new owner, the latest test bike from Classic Cycle arrived!
While I’m not yet ready to reveal the bike, the package also contained the raw materials for what I’m declaring to be the 21st century’s first-ever Friction Shifter Shoot-Out (say that 10x fast)!
This idea comes from the twisted mind of Paul of Classic Cycle, and my task will be to test each one of these derailleurs on a friction drivetrain and see which one works best, bringing YOU one step closer to curating the modern friction drivetrain of your dreams.
Here’s a slideshow of the test subjects:
Step right up and place your bets.