[Frustration] and the Art of Bicycle Maintenence.

Beauty, right? Well...it wasn't always that way. Let me tell you a short story.

Once upon a time not so very long ago, I decided that it would be beneficial (and fun!) to take apart my new Rig. Clean it, lube it, spit in it, on it, and maybe switch out a few parts here and there...the "works," if you will. Soon afterwards, I found myself in Adam's basement late last Thursday night, taking it apart with a little bit of McDonald's and some imagination in our hands.

Why not Put a different crank on?

Heh. The rest went as follows:

Crank Removal-Success
Bottom Bracket Removal-Success
Eccentric Removal-Success
Grip Removal-Sucess
Exchange of parts-Success
New Grips-Success
New Crank-Uhhhh...What?




As it turned out, there was a slight side to side play in the crank when we installed it (not good, amigo.) that we didn't expect. So what did we do? We Postponed 'till Saturday. What happened Saturday? We used spacers. Still play. More spacers. Still play. Even. More. Spacers. Still the SAME amount. So, after two trips to Alger and some coffee, we rode.

Ticked off, I might add.

...The best part? The only thing we had to do was use no spacers, as Adam discovered later that night in a near insomnia-stricken daze. And now it works.


On the lighter side of things, I was surfing the web as my usual Monday pre-work routine would have me, and I came across quite an amusing Video.

Check it out.

Thoughts?

Rock the Vote

To shave? Or not to shave? That is the question.... You decide.

Somewhat Impromptu Saturday Night Ride.

That's right... after a day consisting of sleeping in, working on Tom's bike, a quick trip to the shop, a little more working on Tom's bike, another trip to the shop, coffee to get one's mind off of working on Tom's bike, then back to work on Tom's bike again...

We rode. F-squared [i.e. Tom's special lady friend], Tom and myself did a little ride...

A few pictures... Tom will give a fine explanation onto what we have encountered with his bike once we finish I'm sure.

Tom Tom

In previous posts, I have made mention to a friend and former co-worker of mine named Tom. Tom is a great guy, extremely creative, funny and has a huge enthusiasm for all things cycling. He is responsible for the manifesto design and the 'NDJR' logo you see on the banner.

It should then come as so surprise that he will be joining in on all the No Drive fun. Bringing his insight, thoughts, and observations to the No Drive blog.

Enjoy but be kind. He's a youngin'.

If you read the blog...

On Facebook? Read the blog? Let's be friends. Follow the arrow.

The new Rig.

So I did it.

I got a cross bike, A 2006 Cannondale Cyclocross Optimo 3. Since switching over to the new shop, this bike had caught my eye and seemed to be the right fit for what my needs/wants were for a TransIowa bike and whatever else I decide to throw at it. This time, unlike with my old Poprad, I went the 'traditional' route in sizing a CX bike. I went with a 56.

I have already changed out the seat to a B17 and re-wrapped the handlebars with the tan tape for a little sweetness.
The overall fit of the bike seems to be dialed, some minor adjustments with the stem length and handlebar placement and I'm off. The only thing I might debate changing is the crank, but that is a long time coming and right now would be more to have a full Shimano drivetrain than anything else.

Now that I have the bike, I just need to decide if I'm going to a Kisscross event this Sunday.

Manifesto

Now. I highly recommend that you click on the 'manifesto' above to get clear understanding of what I'm writing about tonight. You might have noticed this little icon on the right side of the page for some time, hardly readable [somewhat intentionally so...]. This came out of a little brainstorming between myself and Tom. Tom, a college student, former co-worker, hipster to some, ladies man to others, all around great guy, was telling me about a discussion he and his roommate were having about this idea of 'no drive, just ride.' and they jokingly started talking about a rant or manifesto talking about this. Now, don't hold me that what I just wrote as being the whole story; what I do know is that we [Tom and I] were talking about this and later that night I emailed Tom my thoughts. With some correction of my poor English and grammar, Tom through this all together.

I think it's good, maybe should be a t-shirt.

*Note: I just realized that there are some grammatical errors in the 'manifesto'. This soon will be corrected.