Gadzooks, now I'm being stalked!

On this last Sunday, the missus and myself were headed to a performance
of 'Avenue Q' downtown at the Paramount[1]. She was perched on the back
of the Xtracycle chit-chatting with me and generally lending an air of
(sweat-free) sophistication and style to the affair.

We were waiting on 20th for the light to change so we could turn left
onto Jackson and head downtown. The fellow behind us in a pickup truck
was edging out into the lane, like he wanted to pass us or something
[2]. After we went through the light and were headed downhill (at a
very decent clip), he started pacing us and making me in general very
nervous.

They started shouting and after a bit we realized that they wanted to
know where we got the bike from. We shouted back to try out 2020 cycle,
but I really didn't want to have an extended conversation like that. We
stopped at the red light at the bottom and once it changed squirted
across and parked over in front of Saigon Deli and thought nothing more
of our encounter.

While we were waiting in line for our sandwiches, the fellow came in and
asked some more questions. He had went and found a parking spot and
followed us into the deli. It turns out he has a disabled child and
wanted to know about the Xtracycle because he wanted to cycle with
them. I had a few propaganda cards from Xtracycle in my freeloader bags
and I gave him a card for one of LBS that sells a lot of them.

It was sort of amusing, especially since what seemed like a bad
encounter was actually someone who just really *really* wanted to talk
about bikes. I would have to say that I've had so much more interest
from people in the Xtracycle this year than last. I think people in my
area are really starting to think about how they can work bikes into
their lifestyle.

[1] Despite the fact that the show has puppets, it is not for
children. Not that we didn't see an eight year old in the
audience. [3]
[2] Which considering I was in the left part of the lane and only about
5 feet behind a Semi was not going to happen.a
[3] Songs like "It sucks to be me", "The Internet is for Porn", and
"Schadenfreude" might be indicative of that, no?

--
Dane Buson -
"Well, when you're looking for a ****-poor broken reimplementation of a Un*x
tool that misses the point, you can usually rely on Redmond to come up with the
goods." - AJR in asr

On Tue, 24 Jun 2008 15:15:21 -0700, Dane Buson
wrote, in part:

It was sort of amusing, especially since what seemed like a bad
encounter was actually someone who just really *really* wanted to talk
about bikes. I would have to say that I've had so much more interest
from people in the Xtracycle this year than last. I think people in my
area are really starting to think about how they can work bikes into
their lifestyle.

What were you riding? I read you busted your Schwinn.
Have you posted this yarn to the googlegroups whatever it is for
X-bikers? Zoot Katz signed up today and was happy to see a familiar
name that he can place with a flesh and blood being.
I'm not stalking you but had to laugh at the small world we've
created.

The link happened greping "xtracycle" in the archives at
endless-sphere.com . A whacked bunch of home brew there!
If Frank K. ever gets hooked on e-bikes he'd probably never let go.
With his EE he'd be a natural hacker in electric vehicle community.

My Xtracycle will be two years in service come August. The post
announcing "my new truck" mentioned the possibility of future
electrification. I'm ready to push that project but I can't afford to
do it over so I'm not rushing it. It's been among the most useful
bicycle accessories I've ever bought. Hooked to most any bin bike it
gets more comments, compliments and questions than vintage Campagnolo
lugged steel. le Bete ranks two out of three on the babe-magnet
scale. The sweet thing about a long tail is that you can pick 'em up
too. Two at a time with electrics if you're into that stuff.

Tales of broken Free-Radials and tales of what happens when people
running lesser motors than mine spin out a drop out or fork end and
other costly errors. I'd not thought about torque arms until doing
more research. I'm nerding out on buzz bikes right now. I'm
visualising long tails, porteurs, truck bikes, cargo trikes, bakfeits
and long johns built to take the loads associated hub motors.

Instantly having more watts that a five man break away is fukin'
awesome dude! How one bike handles it is the question. The
Stokemonkey is probably the best rig for maintaining bicycle like
performance with electric assist.

With you proclivity for bustin' stuff and our rainy climate you're a
rolling test bench.
--
zk

Dane Buson wrote:

It was sort of amusing, especially since what seemed like a bad
encounter was actually someone who just really *really* wanted to talk
about bikes. I would have to say that I've had so much more interest
from people in the Xtracycle this year than last. I think people in my
area are really starting to think about how they can work bikes into
their lifestyle.

A couple of years ago I built a 10.5' skiff. My wife & I have been car
topping it to get to the river (Charles, Boston). A couple of weeks ago
I built a bike trailer for it, not really sure about how it would all
work out. After a half-dozen excursions now, I'd say it works great. We
can be in the water in literally 10 minutes, without any boat wrestling.

We've been getting lots of reactions, ranging from slack-jawed stares to
"wow, that's so cool". I've had lots of experience pulling a trailer
bike with similar loads (~100 lb), so the handling isn't difficult. So
far I haven't pulled it more than a mile or so, but as I gain
confidence, I think I'll start going further afield. It's pretty easy to
pull on the flats, hills are tougher, but I'm using an MTB to tow, so
have low enough gears to maintain wobble-free speed up pretty steep
climbs. My hitch is to the seat post via a piece of PVC slipped over
(bungied to the tongue with inner tube wraps), so it releases easily by
popping the seat post QR so I can then walk the trailer right into the
water.

My next challenge is to bring along an electric trolling motor &
battery. I'm reluctant to add the weight to the trailer, but I have a
BOB trailer that I may use to let my wife pull the battery. As I was
thinking about that, I wondered about the possibility of putting a hub
motor on the BOB wheel and making a self-contained "pusher" unit.

Anyway, all this is kind of an example of the "lifestyle" aspect. It
felt pretty weird at first to be pulling a boat behind a bike and I was
a little self-conscious. Now that I've done it awhile, it seems a lot
less strange. I have been really surprised by the amount of positive
comments from passers-by (and the degree of enthusiasm). The big benefit
though, as for so much utility biking, is the convenience factor. Rather
than the big production of car-topping (or car trailering), we just go
rowing on a last minute whim and can launch at many places impractical
to reach by car. Although I have pulled various trailers -- trailer-bike
& BOB, and done some unusual stuff by bike, carrying a large load has
(successfully) opened up my mind to other possibilities. I guess that's
just the way it goes...

Peter Cole wrote:
Dane Buson wrote:

It was sort of amusing, especially since what seemed like a bad
encounter was actually someone who just really *really* wanted to talk
about bikes. I would have to say that I've had so much more interest
from people in the Xtracycle this year than last. I think people in my
area are really starting to think about how they can work bikes into
their lifestyle.

A couple of years ago I built a 10.5' skiff. My wife & I have been car
topping it to get to the river (Charles, Boston). A couple of weeks ago
I built a bike trailer for it, not really sure about how it would all
work out. After a half-dozen excursions now, I'd say it works great. We
can be in the water in literally 10 minutes, without any boat wrestling.

We've been getting lots of reactions, ranging from slack-jawed stares to
"wow, that's so cool". I've had lots of experience pulling a trailer
bike with similar loads (~100 lb), so the handling isn't difficult. So
far I haven't pulled it more than a mile or so, but as I gain
confidence, I think I'll start going further afield. It's pretty easy to
pull on the flats, hills are tougher, but I'm using an MTB to tow, so
have low enough gears to maintain wobble-free speed up pretty steep
climbs. My hitch is to the seat post via a piece of PVC slipped over
(bungied to the tongue with inner tube wraps), so it releases easily by
popping the seat post QR so I can then walk the trailer right into the
water.

My next challenge is to bring along an electric trolling motor &
battery. I'm reluctant to add the weight to the trailer, but I have a
BOB trailer that I may use to let my wife pull the battery. As I was
thinking about that, I wondered about the possibility of putting a hub
motor on the BOB wheel and making a self-contained "pusher" unit.

Anyway, all this is kind of an example of the "lifestyle" aspect. It
felt pretty weird at first to be pulling a boat behind a bike and I was
a little self-conscious. Now that I've done it awhile, it seems a lot
less strange. I have been really surprised by the amount of positive
comments from passers-by (and the degree of enthusiasm). The big benefit
though, as for so much utility biking, is the convenience factor. Rather
than the big production of car-topping (or car trailering), we just go
rowing on a last minute whim and can launch at many places impractical
to reach by car. Although I have pulled various trailers -- trailer-bike
& BOB, and done some unusual stuff by bike, carrying a large load has
(successfully) opened up my mind to other possibilities. I guess that's
just the way it goes...

But, this being r.b.m., inevitably you're in for a flurry of people
telling you that your boat would fit better in a nice set of panniers.


Bill G,D,&R

On Jun 25, 9:47*am, wrote:
Peter Cole wrote:
Dane Buson wrote:
It was sort of amusing, especially since what seemed like a bad
encounter was actually someone who just really *really* wanted to talk
about bikes. *I would have to say that I've had so much more interest
from people in the Xtracycle this year than last. *I think people in my
area are really starting to think about how they can work bikes into
their lifestyle.
A couple of years ago I built a 10.5' skiff. My wife & I have been car
topping it to get to the river (Charles, Boston). A couple of weeks ago
I built a bike trailer for it, not really sure about how it would all
work out. After a half-dozen excursions now, I'd say it works great. We
can be in the water in literally 10 minutes, without any boat wrestling..
We've been getting lots of reactions, ranging from slack-jawed stares to
"wow, that's so cool". I've had lots of experience pulling a trailer
bike with similar loads (~100 lb), so the handling isn't difficult. So
far I haven't pulled it more than a mile or so, but as I gain
confidence, I think I'll start going further afield. It's pretty easy to
pull on the flats, hills are tougher, but I'm using an MTB to tow, so
have low enough gears to maintain wobble-free speed up pretty steep
climbs. My hitch is to the seat post via a piece of PVC slipped over
(bungied to the tongue with inner tube wraps), so it releases easily by
popping the seat post QR so I can then walk the trailer right into the
water.
My next challenge is to bring along an electric trolling motor &
battery. I'm reluctant to add the weight to the trailer, but I have a
BOB trailer that I may use to let my wife pull the battery. As I was
thinking about that, I wondered about the possibility of putting a hub
motor on the BOB wheel and making a self-contained "pusher" unit.
Anyway, all this is kind of an example of the "lifestyle" aspect. It
felt pretty weird at first to be pulling a boat behind a bike and I was
a little self-conscious. Now that I've done it awhile, it seems a lot
less strange. I have been really surprised by the amount of positive
comments from passers-by (and the degree of enthusiasm). The big benefit
though, as for so much utility biking, is the convenience factor. Rather
than the big production of car-topping (or car trailering), we just go
rowing on a last minute whim and can launch at many places impractical
to reach by car. Although I have pulled various trailers -- trailer-bike
* & BOB, and done some unusual stuff by bike, carrying a large load has
(successfully) opened up my mind to other possibilities. I guess that's
just the way it goes...

* *But, this being r.b.m., inevitably you're in for a flurry of people
telling you that your boat would fit better in a nice set of panniers.

Bill G,D,&R- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I've been eyeing an inflatable kayak for that purpose. The other
pannier would be a compressed air cylinder. (But then I'd need a home
compressor capable of filling the bottle in a reasonable time, I
suppose.)

Zoot Katz wrote:
On Tue, 24 Jun 2008 15:15:21 -0700, Dane Buson
wrote, in part:

It was sort of amusing, especially since what seemed like a bad
encounter was actually someone who just really *really* wanted to talk
about bikes. I would have to say that I've had so much more interest
from people in the Xtracycle this year than last. I think people in my
area are really starting to think about how they can work bikes into
their lifestyle.

What were you riding? I read you busted your Schwinn.

(Un)fortunately the frame was only bent and perfectly fixable. I was
hoping to replace it with a Surly Instigator frame, but such was not to
be. Meh, I'm sure I'll break it in a couple years of use. If not, it's
obviously the right frame for the job.

Have you posted this yarn to the googlegroups whatever it is for
X-bikers? Zoot Katz signed up today and was happy to see a familiar
name that he can place with a flesh and blood being.
I'm not stalking you but had to laugh at the small world we've
created.

I did post it on the Roots Radical group also, other than you I don't
think I've seen any usenetizens I recognize.

The link happened greping "xtracycle" in the archives at
endless-sphere.com . A whacked bunch of home brew there!
If Frank K. ever gets hooked on e-bikes he'd probably never let go.
With his EE he'd be a natural hacker in electric vehicle community.

I might have to peruse that site some more. I've been contemplating the
addition of electric assist. Mainly for when I'm hauling multiple
people. I don't tend to carry more than a hundred pounds or so of cargo
at any given time.

My Xtracycle will be two years in service come August. The post
announcing "my new truck" mentioned the possibility of future
electrification. I'm ready to push that project but I can't afford to
do it over so I'm not rushing it.

I went back and looked in my posting history and it appears my Xtracycle
has been in service two years and two days now. I go back and read it
and notice my thoughts about not thinking I'll need the Stokemonkey any
time soon. Which has been true, but I think is changing. The more I
use my bike for everything, the more I think "I could use it even more
if only..."

It's been among the most useful bicycle accessories I've ever bought.
Hooked to most any bin bike it gets more comments, compliments and
questions than vintage Campagnolo lugged steel. le Bete ranks two out
of three on the babe-magnet scale. The sweet thing about a long tail
is that you can pick 'em up too. Two at a time with electrics if
you're into that stuff.

True true, it definitely gets a lot of attention. If I gussied it up to
look nice [1], I'd probably get even more.

Tales of broken Free-Radials and tales of what happens when people
running lesser motors than mine spin out a drop out or fork end and
other costly errors. I'd not thought about torque arms until doing
more research. I'm nerding out on buzz bikes right now. I'm
visualising long tails, porteurs, truck bikes, cargo trikes, bakfeits
and long johns built to take the loads associated hub motors.

Huh, I hadn't even considered that sort of problem associated with a
motor. Though I have done some bad things to frames just using muscle
power, so I shouldn't be surprised [2]. I suppose I'll have to go do
some research.

Instantly having more watts that a five man break away is fukin'
awesome dude! How one bike handles it is the question. The
Stokemonkey is probably the best rig for maintaining bicycle like
performance with electric assist.

Unfortunately they're still not available yet. I heard vague rumblings
that they have their new stock, but no date as to when it will be.

With you proclivity for bustin' stuff and our rainy climate you're a
rolling test bench.

Well, thankfully I only seem to break my commuter bikes. Every frame
break and the majority of my other problems happen on the commute. The
Xtracycle getting crunched? Happened when I was using it as a commuter
that day. :-/

[1] Instead of the moderate uglification I used on it.
[2] An insufficiently tightened quick release skewer led to a 13mm
increase in my OLD when I was a little too vigorous with a sprint
start.

--
Dane Buson -
Come quickly, I am tasting stars!
-- Dom Perignon, upon discovering champagne.

In article XHr8k.68$ic.0@trndny06,
Peter Cole wrote:

Dane Buson wrote:

It was sort of amusing, especially since what seemed like a bad
encounter was actually someone who just really *really* wanted to talk
about bikes. I would have to say that I've had so much more interest
from people in the Xtracycle this year than last. I think people in my
area are really starting to think about how they can work bikes into
their lifestyle.

A couple of years ago I built a 10.5' skiff. My wife & I have been car
topping it to get to the river (Charles, Boston). A couple of weeks ago
I built a bike trailer for it, not really sure about how it would all
work out. After a half-dozen excursions now, I'd say it works great. We
can be in the water in literally 10 minutes, without any boat wrestling.

This is barely related, but my brain will not let me sleep until I post
it:

http://www.cafepress.com/joshreads/2057953

The existence of this gear is "explained" by the Judge Parker comic he

http://joshreads.com/?p=807


"Got a full boat wrestling scholarship!"

--
Ryan Cousineau http://www.wiredcola.com/
"In other newsgroups, they killfile trolls."
"In rec.bicycles.racing, we coach them."