Jack's Electric Bicycle

Weekly wrap 9.29.06

This week’s total mileage: 43 miles

This week’s mileage on e-bike: 20

This week’s mileage on a regular bike: 23

Total mileage since July 10, 2006: 492

Total e-bike mileage since July 10, 2006: 443.50

Total regular bike mileage since July 10, 2006: 48.5

Gas savings this week: 3 gallons

Gallons saved since July 10, 2006: 33.7

Price of gas today: $2.75

Gas savings since July 10, 2006: $104.29

Notes: This week I used the regular road bike more than the e-bike. Why? Because I felt like it.

It was a low-mileage week because I had to use the car for several errands, like pulling a trailer full of brush to the dump.

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I completed two minor bicycle-related improvement projects.

The first involved a small bike bag for carrying tools. I considered purchasing one and did some online research. I found some really sweet looking bags at www.rivendellbicycles.com.

The problem is that the bag I like the most cost $88. Add in tax, shipping and handling, and the little bag would wipe out most of my gas savings since starting this blog.

Then it occurred to me that the bag looked slightly similar to an old purse that CP (my better half) used to carry around. It is a small, square, green canvas purse with a big buckle on the front.

So for the first time in my life, I asked a woman if I could have her purse. If the governor was present, he would have called me a girlie man.

I grabbed the scissors, some dental floss (strong thread) and a needle and went to work on the purse. Within 15 minutes it was transformed into a small tool bag which mounts under the rear seat on the road bike. There’s enough room for the tools, patch kit, spare tube, a salami sandwich and a Snickers Bar.

It’s actually nicer than my old Cannondale bike bag. And, no, it doesn’t look girlie. It looks like a bike bag.

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Transforming a purse into a bike bag got me thinking about how you could turn all sorts of bags and luggage into bike bags. I saw a small gym bag at the thrift store today that would make a nice “rack bag” with the addition of a few buckles or velcro straps. It would probably be a little better than what you could purchase at a bike shop.

I’ll keep this in mind when it comes to any future bikes in need of such accessories.

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The next project involved removing the finger ends from a pair of wool gloves. There’s enough wool still intact to keep my hands warm, but my finger tips are free for changing gears, etc. That was five minutes well spent.

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It’s getting a little colder. The forecast calls for some weekend drizzle and the possibility of rain next week.

I suspect it won’t be long before my weekly updates include comments about puddles, plastic bags and rain pants.

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Based on what I can tell, there aren’t a lot of people in McKinleyville who use their bikes for general transportation purposes. (The term I recently learned for this is “utility cycling.”)

On the weekend, the Lycra people come out in droves and enjoy the Hammond Trail. And after school I see some kids on bikes.

But when it comes to commuters and shoppers, they’re far and few between.

posted by Jack Durham @ 6:18 PM