Westside Wrap Up

I'm pretty sure that this rack/child configuration is not officially supported by Alex, but it does work for short hotel hallway rides.

We spent the last few days in the Seattle area. Some fun/family stuff and some work stuff.

I didn't ride much. But I did get my rack. And we saw a few interesting bike things.



Check out the tandem here. If you look closely you'll see a dog in the back basket too. These two were happily chatting as they cruised down the main drag in Ellensburg.


I also saw this interesting twist on a wheel lock. I've seen these on cars before, but this is the first bicycle wheel lock I've seen.

When I got home today, I had a bunch of work stuff to do, then I put the fender and light and low-rider rack back on my 520 and took a quick spin.

Man I love this rack. It just completes this bike. It just occurred to me tonight that with this setup, I can easily pile my winter sleeping bag (which is huge) on the front rack along with my hammock and pad. Then the food/clothes/etc can go in the small Ortliebs on the front low-rider. This is a perfect set up for S24O's this time of year.

This bike is getting so close. I still need to get a new headset for it. In fact, if I can find a shop that can do this while I wait, I may try to get it done this Friday.


And I'm not insanely crazy about the crankset (Sugino XD2) and the tires I'm running (Maxy Fasty and Nifty Swifty).

When I kill this chain I'll probably swap out the drive train:
-- I have a slightly used XT rear derailleur to replace the Deore
-- I have a line on a different crank set for it (Ritchey triple)
-- Shorter bottom bracket
-- New rear cog.


As for the tires, the ones I have on there are ok, but I do prefer just a bit of tread and it would be nice if the side walls were a tad cushier. I'm holding out for Jan at BQ to source something like the Grand Bois.


As for trying out the rack. One of my first loads will be hauling posters all over town for the P2P/Scoop "Viewed By Bike" photo contest and show. How's that for a shameless plug?