Sylvia the Linus Dutchi and her changes; part 2

The wheel set my dear husband got me for Christmas made all the difference in my riding. The roller brakes let me stop with out having to put my feet down and my pedals no longer take a bite out of my calves every time I stop. The 8 gears instead of 3 means I'm now able to go as fast as I want without spinning like a lunatic and I can easily get up all the hills in my area without needing to get off and walk. With the exception of the stupid overpass, but I will conquer that one eventually! I'm saving up for a dynamo light set to go with the generator, then I'll have light anytime I want it. The rims are way beefier than her originals and the spokes are a bit thicker so I don't worry when I hit a pothole or take her off a curb. Supposedly these rims are lauded by mountain bikers and BMXers for their strength and durability.

As she is now. Ready for anything.

Her grips are now natural cork because the bike shop that spread her for the new gears cut my nice foam ones and I wanted to try something different. As soon as I get a job I'm going back to the foam though. I don't like how hard the cork is. I'm a squeezer and these just don't have the give I like.

Her new basket helps balance her out and can hold a lot of stuff. It's the perfect size for my bag and has made her even more stable feeling than she was before. I definitely like the added weight in the front. It's not the first basket she's had, but I think this one is the winner!

Cyclops bike.

There are still a few small changes I want to make. I want dynamo lights,  better tires and maybe a beefier kickstand. I really want another water bottle holder and I've been playing around with where to place it. I think the basket may be where it goes. 

She goes well both on pavement or dirt in the alleys. She is cheerfully oblivious to most bumps and can carry a very nice load. We can toodle along at a stately 8.5 mph or if necessary fly along at a zippy 15 mph. (Fastest we've gone was 22 mph, but I couldn't sustain it for more than 2 blocks.) She's comfortable for long rides/distances and makes our usual short jaunts fun too.

I'm so glad we found her! She's practically perfect in every way! At least for me!;)

Princess approved.

Sylvia the Linus Dutchi and her changes Part 1

We got Sylvia on February 24, 2014 after searching for the right bicycle for me for a long time.When we were looking I had a few requirements. It had to be strong enough to carry stuff; it needed a low step through for my knee; it had to be small enough to fit me (I'm a very spritely 5'1"-3" tall. It depends on who measures me and my shoes at the time.) It had to feel right. I didn't want black; most of the bikes around here are black and I wanted a blue bike. Good thing I was flexible on the color!

I rode so many different bikes I almost gave up. I rode Treks, Giants, Birias, Raleighs, Specialized, Schwinns, a Montgomery Ward bike, and other assorted Craigslist contraptions. I rode old ones and new ones. I was beginning to think I would never find the right one for me. Then we heard about this little tiny shop that had just opened up, Transit Cycles. The owner let me take a spin on a black Linus Dutchi and it felt good and I could get on easily and just go, but I hated the grips and the brakes sucked. . Of course, me being me, I had to keep looking.

A few days later we went back and I tried out Sylvia. I didn't like seat or her grips, but the fit felt even better than the black one had. Plus she wasn't black. Duncan was willing to trade the rear rack for a front one and trade out the grips for some black foam ones so we put the deposit down and left her to be adjusted. Two days later the small size is available in blue. Oh well, she was already mine.

A week later we went to get her. On the final test ride to make sure she fit and was adjusted properly I found an old drum set. Her front rack carried home the little drum with no problem and that sealed the deal. She could carry stuff and she liked it!

The oldest picture I could find.

After a few months of riding I really hated the saddle (it pinched and not in a good way!) and my dear husband got me my Brooks. It's a B67s and has been the most comfortable saddle I've ever sat on. Now that it has some miles on it, it just keeps getting better and better. 

After about 4 months I had destroyed the rubber in the pedals she came with. Linus was really nice and offered to replace them, but I said no thanks. I tried some other rubber block pedals, but in less than 2 months they had cracked and were falling apart. I think the weather here just destroys the rubber and I hate plastic pedals. I did some research and ended up getting these bear trap pedals in green. They are nice and wide for my feet and they grip my shoes nicely. The only downside is that they really hurt if they hit you. Someday I hope to have rubber pedals that don't fall apart so fast, but until then these ones rock.

In this configuration she took me to work and on many adventures. Then I outgrew her 3 speeds and we got new wheels with bigger gears from my husband for Christmas. That's when the party really started.

To be continued.......

Sylvia is home!

Sylvia had no problems getting her rear spread for her new hub and her upgrade went of with very little issue. I'm really glad we decided to take her to the professionals. I would have probably broken something.
We picked her up from Ajo Bikes yesterday evening and I'm so glad she's home! I took her for a test ride around their parking lot to make sure everything was in working order and Max was kind enough to make any adjustments that were needed. I love them there and the customer service is top notch. It's definitely my favorite bike shop, now if only they carried more commuting stuff...
The new gears are great! It's good to have options and she felt much zippier. The heavier wheels made her stick to the ground better and I took a few slooow turns to see how she cornered. Before she would almost topple if I was going less than 5 mph but now she sticks to it and goes around smoothly. There's also less wobble when I start from a stop and once we get going it feels like we could go forever. I love the gyroscope effect of her heavier new wheels and hubs!
What's funny is that she's now a 10 lbs heavier than she was before. Once I put her baskets and rack back on she will weigh a whopping 57 lbs. Without them she's still a hefty 44 lbs.
We moved her seat forward a bit like Dan from DBC City Bikes had suggested and I really like the new position. He was super helpful when I called to inquire about his bikes and gave me lots of information.

Happy to be home.

The roller brakes have huge cooling disks on them and I think they look very nice. Her new spokes are thicker and the deeper rims really make the Linus tires feel so much more plush. She rides much more smoothly over bumps now too.

Front wheel.

Back wheel.

It's a very nice set up so far, but I'll have to get new grips. They cut my old one to fit and the gap pinches a bit. I don't mind though, it'll be fun to pick them out.

We can really go now!

Her old 3 speed hub had this gearing:

0.733, 1.000, 1.364

Her new 8 speed hub has this gearing:

0.527, 0.644, 0.748, 0.851, 1.000, 1.223, 1.419, 1.615

We can now go faster, which was the goal, and slower than ever before! I love it!

Big cooling disk!

This morning it was drizzling so I took her out to splash in the puddles. It's one of our favorite things to do. Plus it was a great way to give her a proper test ride. We went for a 6 mile jaunt down our favorite bike path.

We're back!

I love this path because it has everything. Hills, flats, potholes, and dirt. It's a short little 3 miles to the road closed sign that has been up forever, but it really gives a taste of it all. It was so much fun! I rode along to my Irish pub rock (I only were one earbud and they're the nice ones that let ambient sound in) and smiled at everyone I saw. A nice construction worker even smiled back! On the way to the sign I pushed it and played with the gears. 

I got going super fast on the downhill through an underpass and we hit a large puddle. With her old rim brakes that would have been game over and I would have had no braking power. (Not that they were good when dry or anything.)  I panicked a little and squished the brake levers. I didn't expect much, but the roller brakes slowed me down just fine. They aren't as forceful as I'd heard, but they actually work. That is a very nice change from the way I had to stop before. No more putting my feet down to stop! No more bloody calves! This is great! I pedaled away with a huge smile and a ton more confidence.

I made it to the sign in less than 20 minutes, which made me very happy! I don't think I'd ever gotten there that fast before. The old gears meant anything over 12-13 mph would have me spinning like a mad person to get more speed. I was actually shocked at how easy it had been to get there.

This is a good place to rest.

It's not just closed, it doesn't exist!

I tootled home really slowly to play with the steering some more, plus there's a nasty hill I have trouble with coming back out of the under pass on the way home. Most of the time I would get off and push her up it, but I was determined not to today. 

I built up as much momentum as I could on the gentle downhill and thanks to the higher gears I kept most of it as I started the uphill. I made it to the top and only had to downshift to 2nd! At the end I was only going about 3 mph, but it was a win for us! 

I love these wheels! Zac 2000!

Right after cresting the hill the sun came out and lit the way back home. I'm taking it as a sign of great rides to come. I'm so grateful my husband got these wheels for me for Christmas!!!

A glorious ride.

Cyclovia was fun!

This morning my husband and I went to the GABA bike swap meet and Cyclovia. It was a lot of fun and we had a blast. It felt really good to toodle around on Sylvia. We got there early and a lot of it wasn't open yet on the way out, but on the way back it had really picked up steam.

The route.

It's always nice to not have cars around and it's really special when the sun is kind of shining. (It was a cloudy day. Yay!)

Her first sticker.

My husband got me this cool sticker for Sylvia, now when I look down she's grinning back at me. I think it matches perfectly.

Bike swap meet was crowded.

It was hard to get through the bike swap meet, there were a ton of people. Our bikes made it tricky to navigate, but I'm glad we rode in. You can't impulse buy if you can't carry it home; although I might have been able to strap another bike on my rack and my husbands long tail could have carried one easily.

Sylvia and the party bike.

I'm not sure how it works, but this looked cool.

Fruit smile

One of the volunteers was making fruit smiles and I had to get a pic. It looks like me! I was really grateful they were passing out fruit and granola bars at the end of the route. I forgot breakfast. (Ok, I was just to impatient to leave.) It hit the spot! I also got 2 free bush seedlings and a new bike route map, plus, lots more stickers.

It's cardboard!

There were these neat sculptures made of cardboard. This one reminded me of Davy Jones from Pirates. Then my husband told me what it was. Let's see if you can guess.

It's a walrus!

Not the same statue as the one above. I liked this one too.

A bike plane thing!

The snake bridge

To get to and from downtown you have go through a snake. I love this bridge!

It was a lot of fun and I can't wait to do it again. Now it's back to figuring out my cover so I can publish. Wish me luck!

Bike date!

Last night we went to the first Bike Fest bike-in. They were showing "The Goonies" at a little park a few miles from my house. I love that movie and we had to go! I got everything ready well in advance and even packed a picnic diner of cold chicken sandwiches and crackers. We had cookies for with the movie too!

All packed up.

All the lights were charged and on the bikes. The rear Wald baskets were deployed to hold sweaters, blankets, and seating. I love them even though they are a bit of a pain to open. They are super convenient to have.
It was fun packing stuff into Sylvia's baskets and the scary thing is she could hold way more than that. She's a real pack horse!

Niterider and Flea go nicely under the basket.

About halfway there I was struggling a bit with the extra cargo, and I even told poor husband to go ahead of me and I'd catch up. He refused and stayed with me. Then he toldme it looked like my wheel was a bit squishy. The one thing I had forgotten was to check my tires! All tires have a slow deflation factor and it caught up with me.

We made it to the park.

Even with me moving super slow we got there way early. We were the first ones to arrived. After a few minutes more people came and milled about. It was a cute little park and the only downside was no bathrooms. Fortunately there is a church nearby and I used theirs. My husband and I ate our sandwiches while we waited for the show to start.

Mirror image

"Goonies" was better than i remembered. I don't know if it was the cold outside air, the other people laughing and hooting at the screen, or the fact that it was our first bike date ever, but it was great. Even the cold couldn't detract, but I'm glad I found my favorite gloves and took them. Now I want to go and buy the movie so we can watch it again!
The ride home was dark and chilly, but not as scary as I had worried about. I have a fear of my lights suddenly dying, but it didn't happen and it was actually kind of peaceful. I'm thinking there will be more nighttime excursions in our future, especially after I get a dynamo set up.

Best light gloves ever, and they turn into mittens!

A Good Morning

Once again I got up before the sun, I seem to do that when Husband is out of town. I decided to soak Jane before I left. I wanted to ride my bike so I had to be patient. She was a bit cranky at being woken up so early, but a plate of pumpkin and vegis cheered her up.

Jane getting her daily bath. She's a sulcatta tortoise.

Breakfast is served.

I still can't find my lights, I'm afraid they may be in my junk drawer of doom.

We all have one and mine is actually a desk with 3 drawers of random things I have no idea what to do with. That's the next couple of Thursdays project.

I just went for three miles in my neighborhood because I'm trying to figure out where to put padding on my fenders so they don't rattle as much. I went over every bump and pothole I could find and I think I have it figured out.

It was a great ride though and I'm really starting to crave going out on Lucy. It's my time to go where ever I can and its like I'm flying free.

I'm getting to go places I can't reach on foot and I'm seeing thing in a whole new way.

Today I smelled people's breakfasts cooking and the flowers that were blooming. Someone was making cinnamon rolls and I was tempted to meet my neighbor. I was good though and just rode by twice sniffing the air like crazy. It was a great ride

I wonder what these are.

Nothing Went Wrong!

After my other locking skewers failed Husband got me these. I was a little leery of trying them because of the other ones. These are much more solid though and today I gave them a shot. No failures and they seem to work great. A few more rides and I'll know for sure.
He also got my mirror to go on the handlebars. I wear glasses so when I look behind me all is fuzzy. When I did it all I saw was my backside. He turned it upside down and it works great. I was going to take it apart, but I'm glad he figured it out first. It's good to see behind me again.
Today's ride went smoothly and nothing went wrong! Yay! Tomorrow I'm going to try the bike path again. It felt good to be able to go without having to stop for something or another. I was hyper vigilant  to how Lucy was reacting and felt. I also stopped frequently because that's when the other skewers failed. Everything seems to be in working order though!

They work so far!

I did stretch out a bit more today and saw some interesting things. I like odd shapes that plants can grow into.

This cactus reminds me of a dancing lady.

And the way people decorate even the most basic things around here.

This gate made me smile.

This is a good way to close up a hole in your wall. It looks like an accident was the incentive to pretty up with tile. It's and outer wall and not in their house. 

A nice way to fill a hole in your wall.

It Barely Hurts Anymore!

I went over 2 miles again today and my butt barely hurts! It's a miracle! Next week I'll try for 3 and see how it goes.
Today there were some neighbors out and I stopped to talk to then. They were building a fence in the front yard because their dog keeps trying to escape. They used to ride bikes together but the wife got a new job a while ago and now they don't even ride separately. She really liked the flowers I've painted on Lucy and my rear baskets. I let her open them and she thought they were cool. It was nice to meet them and hopefully they start riding again soon.
I like the fact that I'm not just seeing new things I'm also meeting new people and my neighborhood in just the few short weeks I've been riding around it is starting to feel more like a community.
When I rode before it was just to work and home. It was strictly for the transportation aspect and I usually left super early and never saw anyone. I never rode to explore and google maps was my guide.
Now all I can do is explore. I work from home and any riding I do is for pleasure. I'm lucky I'm rediscovering the pleasure.

This lizard startled me when I saw it. I had stopped for a drink and there it was right next to me.

I like the filigree of this gate. and the little coyote at the bottom.

A tiny flower growing right by the curb out of the street. I'm glad I missed it when I pulled over.