cycling

On Friday, my Pocket Llama from Bike Friday arrived.

Once I get some better photos I will post them up on the blog.

I went to Cycle Science, the bike Friday dealer in Melbourne to collect the bike on Saturday.
I folded the bike and put it in the back seat of the car, but I forgot to put a blanket between the two parts of the folded frame … result: the Bike Friday logo is slightly scratched and there the top layer of the paint on that side (left) is scratched 🙁
All this before I even go for a big ride.

Today, Sunday I rode into the city.
Verdict: I love it, I expected to feel all the bumps with the small 20″ wheels on the bike, but nothing, it was OK.

Not long ago I said I wanted a new bike, well it’s nearly here now

Tracking number 979485808207 Ship date Aug 18, 2008 Estimated delivery Aug 25, 2008 by 6:00 PM Reference 109712B109180,1 09723,109713,109181,1097 Destination MITCHAM, VICTORIA AU Service type INTL Economy Master tracking number 979485808170 Pieces 4 of 8 Status In transit Date/Time Activity Location Details Aug 20, 2008  9:10 PM In transit  ALEXANDRIA AU  7:39 PM Clearance in progress ALEXANDRIA AU  7:39 PM In transit ALEXANDRIA AU Package available for clearance  7:31 PM Clearance delay ALEXANDRIA AU  4:00 PM At dest sort facility MASCOT AU Aug 19, 2008  10:08 AM In transit HONOLULU, HI  3:14 AM Departed FedEx location LOS ANGELES, CA Aug 18, 2008  11:51 PM Departed FedEx location OAKLAND, CA  11:18 PM Arrived at FedEx location OAKLAND, CA  5:47 PM Left FedEx origin facility SPRINGFIELD, OR  4:45 PM Picked up SPRINGFIELD, OR  12:00 AM Package data transmitted to FedEx I have your bike order with Fed-Ex tracking #’s below. http://www.fedex.com/us/tracking/ Order I.D. #  109722     tracking #  979485808207

Nice Bike … one day I want one.

Because it is a foldable bike, it needs small wheels (20″) if you want it to be able to fold it up into a small space This means you need a long seat post and handlebar post then on a normal bike.

Compare the 700c road bike frame size versus the Bike Friday

Today I purchased my new bike. It’s a 2008 Giant CRX City Pro. What’s special about it is that it does not use a derailleur , it instead uses an 8 speed internal hub (Shimano Nexus)

My impressions based on one short ride home?
– The steering is twitchy! why? short wheelbase make turning easier, but high speed stability is lessen by this.
– Had some problems changing gears. Not totally unexpected, new bike, new problems – the gear still has to run in. But there are some funny sounds when using 3rd gear
– When you are pedalling it sounds like you are coasting on a derailleur normal bike
– Not sure if I like the handlebars, but I need more time to tell
– The tyres are are 700c (good) and inflate up to 120psi (my poor bum!, you really feel the bumps).. So not so good for going over curves.

It will be interesting one the bike runs in and I get used to riding it. It should be a fast bike

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I knew that I had been riding bikes for a while now, but here is proof of over thirty years of cycling! … way back in 1976

Got my rear wheel of my bike rebuilt today.
All 32 spokes were replaced for 20,000 won and only 15,000 won labour. Pretty good value.
I hope this stops the wheel from breaking a spoke every week or so.
Last time I got a spoke fixed, another one broke 600 metres from the bike shop!

I was reading the Ulsan Pear, December 2004 issue and it mentioned that there was a building with lots of computer shops in it.
Obviously I had to find it, as Ulsan is really lacking in good computer stores.
So how to get there? Well its a perfect excuse to go for a ride. It was my first big bike ride for 2005. I was worried about how my ankle would hold up, but it seems fine. When I say big, I really mean small. It was only about 20km.
I rode from Songan to the “Parking Garage”, Samsan dong.
The computer stores were pretty good. 1GB flash ram sticks were going for 130,000 won.
Unfortunally no one had 200GB SATA hard drives.

I also stopped off at the Lotte Department store and saw some of my students in the Blood bank bus. They were just about to go into the cinema to watch a Korean film. They looked strange without their school uniform.
I was thinking about donating blood, but I had to ride back later and it was probably not a good idea to give blood and exercise heavily.