A breather post in between marathon writing sessions and some serious future posts. I bought a mountain bike off of Craigslist last week: a late-80s-to-early-90s Specialized Hard Rock. Functional has been in the shop for the past few weeks getting a tune up, so I thought it’s a good idea to finally get a backup bike. The front tire was flat and the back one was on its way out. Other than those things, it was good to go.
One of the mechanics at the shop said it’s a small boy’s bike, although I don’t if he meant “small” to modify the “boy” or “bike.” There is a subtle difference there. It’s sized 15.5″, which is a tad smaller than my normal size of 16.5″. It rides fine for me, probably because a lot of shortness is in my legs/thighs. A smaller bike can be problematic but you can more maneuverability if it’s small in the right way.
Note the hacky tape jobs on the lights. I realized I didn’t have a second set of lights with their proper attaching parts. Nothing has to be perfect when it comes to these things—we do what we have to do to get the job (ride) done.
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I remember seeing ads for that and a couple of features in the cycling mags. How nice for you. It’s nicer than my cheap Schwinn, but I have proper detachable lights for it. Not required here unless riding during hours of darkness. Today was a ride downtown to the county offices to turn in a marriage certificate — 32 miles round trip.
Thanks, Ed. I’m averse to spending money but the price for this was good and it will last a good bit.
Since my route to the bus is on sucky roads, having an mtb allows for a more relaxed ride. Instead of avoiding gravel and potholes, I can kind of tank over them and enjoy the weather more.
What kind of ride was that 32 miles? Pittsburgh is very hilly, except for the trails, so a 32 miler here would be pretty brutal but a good workout if you’re up to it.
Brutal is available just south of here with numerous hills and very steep. However, downtown is probably one of the easiest rides in this area. It sits in a very large, flat bowl right on the banks of the North Canadian. Heading east from here, I hit hills out where I live, but they flatten out and become fewer the farther I go. Once I come alongside I-40, I mostly parallel that on the service roads or streets nearby. Downtown is mostly flat. It’s less of a workout than 24 miles heading south.
It’s good to have variety. Not all places do.
Were you able to go on a trail at all to the county office, or is mostly auto roads?
Paved pretty much all the way. Oklahoma has few actual trails that aren’t owned by somebody who restricts access. Oh, and OKC is west of me, not east.
Why would so many people restrict access? I guess there’s a good reason. I just know I wouldn’t do that necessarily.
Different local culture and laws to match it. Oklahoma is pretty selfish about land access and signs warning of “you’ll be shot” are common. Tort liability tends to place heavy burdens on the landowner, too.