Friday, October 19, 2007

DAY AFTER THE STORM

{words carey - images brian & carey}

First text sent 6:04am from me (c.) to Brian (b.)

c. - Looks pretty crappy out-thinkin of riding to Zeitgiest havin you pick me up as I hv no car 2day.
b. - Eithr or. i do nd 2 get gas 4 sue (his truck).
c. - Or i cld roll up 2 ur place
c. - Ill rollup 2 ur place. that way if its clear we can ride.
b. - Dnt 4get ur climbn legs

I arrived at Brain's house after rolling 6 miles of flat and then a grunt of a climb where I was greeted with a fresh cup of French Press and good weather. It seems when the winter comes around I am the human gage that indicates whether we should ride the next 20 miles to work or not. You see, from my house to downtown it is a nice little 6 mile jaunt, in those 6 miles I am able to gage how windy it is, how wet, snowy, ice, or cold it is. If I arrive downtown soaked, freezing, bruised (from slipping on ice) or feel that the headwind is a bit strong - the bikes go in the back of Sue for a mellow drive into work.

Today felt like one of those days - but the weather flipped from a down pour of a morning to a pleasant one. Off on our bikes we rolled across the Beacon Spine, which offers killer views of Seattle and Elliot Bay to the right and the Cascade Mountains to the left. As we dropped off the spine it was a short little jaunt over the interstate, a roll through a construction zone (that for the past 3 weeks has offered up some tricky navigation through cars-cones-tractors-hard hat workers-and grooved pavement), then it was a quick left to a right, a cut through a short yard and then onto the Green River trail.

Today was definitely a day of navigation all around; there were several trees down on the trail from the wind storm yesterday - jumping the trees with bikes over our shoulders definitely put some smiles on our faces. Enjoy the pictures.

{CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE}

Rolling the Beacon Spine

Rolling the Spine II

Rolling through a green belt down off of the Spine.

Navigation central - notice the woman's stop sign has a sticker that reads, "Women at Work" a bit of a funny juxtaposition.

First obstacle...
Brian always making obstacles look attractive.


Ahh...
My turn...


Pavement of leaves - awesome.

I found a toy along the way.



Second obstacle...



Random images from rides earlier in the week:

No pun intended here...as Brian showed up at the coffee shop I noticed he was wearing the same Twin Six socks as I.

We also had a peculiar guest join us for coffee.

Bottoms up, time to roll.


Just recently, more of these bike lane indicators have been showing up on the streets of Seattle. It is about time!

Brain carting home a frame to build for a friend.


Ahh...the brilliance!


Enjoy.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I enjoy reading your blog ... Carey - is that a new '08 One Way you were riding on Friday? I'd love to read a 'commuter's review' as I am eyeing up this bike (among a couple of other SS cross-type bikes) for my winter commute (in Wisconsin). I recently test rode an '07 One Way and thought it felt kinda sluggish, but I wonder if that was due to the stock 60 psi tires.

Thanks- keep out the interesting work!

BF kemyooter said...

Hey anonymous,

I’m actually riding a ‘07 One Way (which for ’08 the frame geometry hasn’t changed) that's outfitted with the Brooks saddle and bar tape that comes on the '08. I also have a 5 speed internal Sturmey Archer on the rear (as this is my winter commuter). So I jumped on this bike about 2 weeks ago after coming off of sporty road bikes and single speeds all summer and the One Way was way more relaxed – I attributed this to a more slack head tube, the classic rack in the fork, the 700x35c tires, and the chunk of a hub that was added to the rear. So...I swapped out my tires for some Vittoria Rondenour Cross 700x28c, flipped the stem over so I wasn’t as up right and now I’m pretty happy. Last Friday I put about 4 different hills into my route to work and home and I must say the One Way was totally digging the hills – it seems to be a great climber.

So, after thinking the One Way might be a bit too relaxed for me I kept riding it and the little black machine has grown on me; I call it my Cadillac – smooth, solid, comfortable, stable, fun, buttery (due to the ride of steel), and a great commuter/urban pursuit vehicle. It seems when I get on my sporty bikes I just put my head down and go – with the One Way I kind of kick back a bit, roll a little slower and enjoy my surroundings – that’s why I decided to commute on this all winter; as winter for me is a time of slowing down. Plus, if I need to throw a pair of knobby tires on one morning because it snowed or I want to cruise the Steilacoom cyclocross course down south, I am set. Oh, and I must say it is pretty damn stylish – I get a lot of compliments on it.

As a commuter I think this bike is great, for all the reasons mentioned above. If you wanted something sportier then our Rush Hour is the way to go. Brian commutes on this all winter with rigged fenders and fatter tires – but when the snow comes-a-tumbling down he reaches for his Rx1.0.

Hope that helps – I would say you’d be pretty happy rolling on this bike everyday no matter whether you are commuting, rolling some mountain paths, hitting the city, or just riding for the fun of it.

Thanks for reading.

Enjoy-Carey.

BF kemyooter said...

Ooops, I meant to write "rake" in the fork - you probably figured it out though.

Carey.

Eric B. said...

Hey, thanks for the nice review! I've really been digging this bike, both the 07 and 08 versions look awesome. Sadly though, I'm kinda strapped for cash and there aren't ever any to test ride around Raleigh, NC, so I'll have to wait. Anyhow, did you have to spread the frame to fit the gear-hub? I'm thinking about doing a similar hub-gear conversion if I ever get one and making the One Way my all-round/city/commute/tour bike.

Anonymous said...

You guys should really consider marketing a One-way style bike with an internally geared hub. It would be like a Clubman http://retroraleighs.com/clubman-kohler.html. Then we could ride around dressed like this dude http://retroraleighs.com/clubman-kohler/pages/zrider-from-51-catalogue.html. It's only a matter of time.

Anonymous said...

I second the request for a write-up on your internal hub setup, Carey. I have been thinking about building up a single speed like the one way with an internal hub as well and I am not sure what to think about in terms of hub spacing, chainline affect, shifter placement, gearing, etc. A real life implementation would be great to read about ...

Yokota Fritz said...

Thirds on a hub-gear One Way.

I love the ride photos, Carey. And those argyle socks totally rule. Keep up the great work!