Wife Lila’s sister, Marty Riley, came down to do a chalk drawing at the 16th Annual Lake Worth Street Painting Festival. While they were down here thawing out from a snow-filled Midwestern winter, they did the obligatory beach thing where Marty shot this striking photo of birds and a sailing ship on the horizon.

Wife Lila spotted a Huffy with a RAW engine kit

When they stopped at the county park at the north end of Jupiter Island (reportedly the richest per capital Zip Code in the country), Wife Lila spotted a bike that was out of the ordinary.

She never did find the owner, but it looks like a Huffy big box store bike that’s been modified by adding a80/66CC RAW motor bicycle engine kit.

The RAW kit looks a little kludgy

There were only two reviews at the Amazon link above.

Both gave it four out of five stars, but they also mentioned problems with fit and finish.

It sounds like something you could make work if

• It fit your bike
• You were mechanically inclined
• Not overly critical

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“I want a bike for about $350″

Son Adam said his buddy, Matt Lovelace, was looking for a new bike, but he didn’t have a lot of money to spend – about $350 – because he was a student working on his Master’s Degree in Biomedical Science.

I told Matt that my wife and I had started out with Trek Navigator 300 comfort bikes for about that price in 2001. “The most important thing is fit, not price. You’re 31, which is when you start losing the flexibility that let you ride an old yard sale bike you could pick up for $50 in your 20s.”

I suggested that he’d be better off going to a regular LBS, instead of a big box store, so he would be dealing with folks who understood bikes and riding.

Of course, he went to a big box store

He found a Diamondback Insight at a good price and was pleased with some of the reviews he found, but, fortunately, someone walked by who knew something about bikes and convinced him that it was the wrong size.

It was then that he “decided to spend my money on something that was the right fit,” and he ended up at Bicyclery on Military Trail south of Okeechobee Road in West Palm Beach.

“I had to have it”

There, he saw the Specialized Sirrus in a flat black color scheme. “It just felt right. I had to have it.”

The base bike cost him $520 plus tax, more than he had anticipated spending originally.

I told him before he started shopping that price was important, but to keep in mind the price of the bike spread out over its lifetime. If you think you’ll outgrow what the bike can do in about three to five years, divide the difference between what you planned to spend and what you want to spend and you’ll find out that it’s probably less than a cup of coffee a day.

Nice handlebar grips

I liked the feel of the Specialzed handle bar grips that are a little flatter than the normal round grip. I think they’ll be more more comfortable on a long ride.

A compromise on the front fork

This model bike has an aluminum front fork. To go to a carbon fork would have jumped him up a model and about another $100. He figured he could put up with a slightly stiffer ride for the dollar difference.

That was probably a good choice. He’s already talking about accessories: bib shorts, computer with cadance and, after today’s ride, a spare tube and some basic tools.

Florida sand spurs are nasty

He liked that the Sirrus comes with a wider tire so he could go on sand or gravel if he wanted to. He was demonstrating that on a ride with his friends this afternoon and scored his first flat when he picked up a sand spur.

The Specialize Sirrus meets his initial goals

Matt was looking for a bike that would let him ride in a more or less upright position while cruising parks and trails with his girlfriend. At the same time, he wanted one that would let him ride faster and longer if he wanted to go on longer rides with his friends.

He came back from his first group ride feeling like he had found a bike that would meet those requirements. The ride wasn’t that long, but he did manage to hit 26 mph for a stretch when they gave him a chance to see what it would do.

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It’s always fun to spend someone else’s money.

Ryan was looking for a commuter bike. He is just two miles from work, doesn’t own a car and doesn’t particularly want a car. (He’d probably take a car if it were given to him but, for sure, he doesn’t want car payments, car repairs, car insurance and all the overhead associated with owning a car.)

A Commuter Bike, Nothing Fancy

We looked at hybrid bikes — something with an upright seating position, but thinish (28c or 35c, for example) tires; something that would take fenders and a rack. He obviously didn’t need a full touring bike for his two-mile commute. He certainly didn’t want the full-suspension mountain bike that I see so many commuters riding around town.

In flat Florida, he didn’t need much in the way of gearing range. Internal gearing would be sweet but outside of his $400 or so price range. As a utility cyclist, he wanted something that was comfortable to ride in regular clothes as opposed to the most efficient transportation.

Electra Townie 7D

After test driving a few bikes (including a sweet Trek in the color of root beer), he decided on the Electra Townie 7D. I’m sure you have seen the ads for the Electra Townie line of bikes. Their claim to fame is ‘flat foot’ technology: when you’re stopped, you can put your feet flat on the ground without leaving the seat.

More cruiser than road bike, more beach than mountain, the Electra Townie wouldn’t have been my first choice. (My utility bike is a Trek 7300.) The Townie is heavier than I’d like, and the tires are two inches wide for a lot of friction. Still, I gotta admit, it rides smooth and is really comfortable.

With a Shimano seven-speed rear derailleur (14-34 cassette), there is plenty of range for just about anywhere he’d like to go in South Florida. The lack of a front derailleur makes for less maintenance and allows for a nice factory-original chain guard.

Mandatory Accessories: Bell and Helmet

Ryan is going to hold off buying the fenders and rack but bought a nice bell and helmet. The Townie requires a non-standard rack for which they charge a king’s ransom (about twice what a standard rack costs). Ryan balked at buying the helmet until I pointed out that he keeps some rather important stuff in his head, and he spent a lot of money working his way toward a masters degree.

Inaugural Ride: Palm Beach Lake Trail

We hit the Palm Beach Lake Trail for the inaugural shakedown cruise. The weather was just about perfect. Ryan’s new Townie cruised straight and true. He is very pleased with the bike. I’ll follow up with him  after he’s gotten a few weeks of commuting under his belt to see if he is still just as happy.

Celebratory Bike Lift At Ride Completion

On What Do You Commute?

With Ken going on and on about his Surly Long Haul Trucker and the rest of us yapping about our carbon fiber this and fine Italian styling that, it’s easy to forget that most bikes on the road are used for utility and not touring or speeding along.

So, what’s your other bike? You know, the bike you actually use to take the kids to school, go to the grocery store or just take a ride over to the local pub. What bike to do you ride when you’re not riding your real bike?

—Matt

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A neighborhood fortune teller

I shot a photo essay on “Madame Rosinnii’s” fortune teller tent set up at 80 Briarwood in Athens, Oh. It was the psychic version of a lemonade stand.

Look at all the bikes. Bro Mark wasn’t the only kid with a banana seat bike in that era. These bikes have fenders, baskets and saddle bags. These were bikes made for getting places and carrying things.

Hemlock, a dying town not yet dead

I ran into these two boys in front of a decaying general store in the dying coal town of Hemlock, OH.

The 2000 Census found 142 people in 48 households living in the town, so it’s still holding on. You can probably find kids on the streets today, since almost half of the households had children under 18 living in them.

This Galaxy Flyer is set up as a real utility machine. Check out the rearview mirror, heavy-duty rear baskets, fenders and a chain guard.

THIS bike has seen better days

The rear tire is flat, the pedals are shot and the front tire is coming apart. I’m going to guess that at least one older brother put a bunch of miles on this machine before it was handed down.

When I look at these pictures, I wonder if the boys rode their two-wheeled magic carpets out of Hemlock or if they’re one of the 48 households with kids of their own still there.

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I promised back in January that I’d post a video of the process when I learned the rudiments of how to do it.

Wayne builds a 26″ wheel around my SON generator

Wayne took the hub off the front wheel of my old Trek 1220, where it had been whirring away without a problem for four or five years. He ordered a 32-count Alex Adventurer 26-inch rim similar to the one supplied on the Surly Long Haul Trucker Complete. The original wheel is a 36-spoke-count rim, but the SON hub is a 32, so I had to send the first wheel back. I also needed spokes, nipples and Wayne.

Total cost for the new wheel (excluding taxes and shipping)

• Alex Adventurer Rim – $34.98
• Spokes – $35.20
• Nipples – 3.84
• Labor – $30.00
• GRAND TOTAL – $104.02

It’s running straight and true

I’ve been riding it for almost eight months now and it’s still running straight and true, despite potholes and railroad crossings.

I’m not surprised. This is the third wheel Wayne has built for me.

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Everything checked out OK, except that he noted some rust on two stem face plate bolts.

I wrote back to tell him that mine were showing the same thing and that I’d replace them with stainless steel bolts at first opportunity.

My LHT is a Short Haul Trucker

After reading Aushiker’s account of 500 km service, I almost didn’t weigh in.

It causes me to confess that my Surly Long Haul Trucker just turned over 500 miles.

Since mid-January.

That’s pathetic. I’m waiting for the Surly folks to take it away from me for being unworthy of the name Long Haul.

Oops, I found MORE rust

When I had my bike up on the rack this weekend mucking with the ring lock, I had a chance to look everything over more closely.

That’s when I saw some rusty b0lts on the cranks (above) and on the brakes.

Salt air is all ar0und us

I make it a point not to ride through any puddles that I KNOW are saltwater, but some exposure is unavoidable. I’ve written before about how we’re surrounded by salt air, even though I live a couple of miles from the Atlantic Ocean.

I’ll replace the bolts that I can and keep an eye on the rest. It’s no big deal, but I hate to see rust. Of course, I guess I could just say that rust builds character, like it did on my brother’s old Sears Spyder.

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That is 12 inches in the back and 24 inches in the front. The bike’s back end is a Huffy but he didn’t know where the front end originated. The front brake isn’t connected.

—Matt

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Do you have more info?

Unfortunately, no.

Her answer, “Shot while driving. He was hauling A.”

If anyone knows the rider, let me know. I’d like to hear his story.

When you don’t know, you have to speculate

• He might be a member of the Freakbike Militia, but I don’t recall seeing him on their last group ride.
• He could be a retired 18-wheeler driver, nostalgic for his former point of view on the road.
• He could be a drywall finisher. Instead of wearing stilts, he tools around the room on his high bike.
• He likes to read road signs at eye level.
• He takes flash flood warnings seriously.
• He assembled his bike late at night without reading the instructions.

Thanks to Jan

Thanks to Jan for the picture and for not running over the cyclist while she was driving and fumbling with her cellphone camera.

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What’s so unusual about that?

Well, it’s because she bought it IN China.

Rachel is what we call a member of the PBNI 600. In less than a year, our former newspaper has shaken off about 600 of us like fleas off a stray dog. Some of us were lucky enough to take early retirement, others have started new careers. (I think I saw a former copy editor on a street corner holding up a sign that said, “Will Count Commas for Coffee.”)

Meet The Chairman Mao

Rachel, a former features writer for The Palm Beach Post, is producing a highly readable blog, Mandarin Orange, “In Which I Live and Teach English in China.”

Here is her account of buying her new bike, The Chairman Mao.

This blog is going to be on my daily must-read list. That gal can sling words around. Post readers are really missing something.

Excerpts:

• I really wanted this bike. I’d dream about having one every time I gazed toward the horizon and considered what could be out there. Desert! Farms! Mountains! Donkey carts! Oh, I was filled with longing. It’s been fun walking everywhere, of course, but as I discovered when I walked to the Iron Gate Pass — 10 miles round-trip — I tend to be seized with ennui/nihilism by mile eight or nine: This whole stupid world looks the same and I will never get home so I might as well die right here. In Nowhereville, China.
• He said 750 yuan and I clutched for the pearls I wasn’t wearing. 750! I swooned a little, letting him know that I’d never heard such a thing in all my born days. Why, I could hardly catch my breath! I made to leave, to go find a nice fainting couch somewhere, when he told me 690 yuan (about $101).
• This time, I hung my head. Oh, this was sad news. About the saddest I’d ever heard. I shook my head mournfully. What was this wicked world coming to when a girl — a stranger to this country! — couldn’t even have her own flying pigeon? Tragic.

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Dad and mother rode from Cape Girardeau to Advance

Mother is holding the two bikes she and my dad, L.V. Steinhoff, rode from Cape Girardeau, MO, to Advance, where she grew up.

I did the 72-mile round trip ride the first year I got back into biking. My experience was a lot more pleasant than hers. She talks to this day about how her legs cramped up on the ride.

Lila’s mother’s bike looks remarkably similar

They really knew how to do bikes back in those days. They have fenders, racks, lights, kickstands  and chain guards. They must have weighed a ton, but they look like they were built with practicality in mind.

Here’s my Dad with the bike

This was taken in Rolla, MO, in 1942. The man in behind the screen door with the “Dad” notation, is my grandfather, Roy Welch.

I’m still looking for pictures of the bike I used to deliver newspapers. The only one I can find so far has it way over in the corner of a picture where you can’t see much detail.

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