Me Me Me
As a test of how sensitively Google Analytics tracks declining site visits, I offer you a post that’s all about me.
That sweet ride in the picture above is mine. If you look closely you’ll see that the tire is studded. Those studs got me safely back and forth from my house in the Central District to my job downtown for the past three work days. Any of you readers among those who saw me out there and were no doubt thinking “what a fucking idiot!”?
I handmade a pair of studded mountain bike tires about 20 years ago when I lived in Massachusetts and liked to race around on frozen ponds. They work marvelously on roads that are “snow packed by design,” though it’s still plenty dicey in loose snow and slush. When my bus route was suspended last week, I decided to dig those gnarly beasts out of storage — never mind that they hadn’t been on a bike in 20 years.
Thanks to my deranged unwillingness to throw the tires away over those two decades, which included a cross-country move, two cities, and five different residences, I have been able to keep my unbroken stretch of bike commuting going since the snowstorm last winter. No more excuses not to ride, EVER!
For the bike geeks: I got that bike for $25 a couple of years ago at the Lake City Value Village. It’s a 1993 Alpinestars Al-Mega E900. New, the frame alone retailed for $750. Like most outdoor recreational gear, mountain bikes have evolved such a rapid pace that it might as well be planned obsolescence. But that also makes for some sick bargains if you happen to have a hankering for the old stuff.
Want to know more? Google “Daniel C. Bertolet” and “GaAs”.