Café run
I snuck in a half-hour ride between the rains this evening. It stopped raining in the mid-afternoon and dried enough that I could ride the bike over to Starry Nites Café to listen to a friend play. She hauls her Yamaha keyboard in on Sundays to play concertos for the late-afternoon/early-evening crowd.
I had a couple of cups and wolfed down some bike fuel (in the form of their delectible Vincent Wrap—a chicken wrap with melted cheese, tomato and spinach) and chatted with friends for over an hour.
I was itchin’ to ride, so a half-hour before sunset (had one been able to see the thing) I said my farewells and set off up University Ave with no particular destination or duration in mind.
I took a left at Culver Rd after deciding to cruise Park Ave. On Park, I tooled by Spin Caffé [sic] where a hardy few were at the tables on the sidewalk. No tables were out at any of the restaurants near Berkeley St.
I caught the light at Oxford St and while waiting, saw that the tulip trees (magnolias to you southreners) were in bloom and changed my mind and turned left to take them in. As a reminder that they’re called tulip trees in these parts, each one down the whole length of Oxford Mall is planted with a few dozen bright red tulips growing at the base.
At Monroe Ave I stopped to mount my lights before turning right heading for downtown. Passing Starbucks is when I decided to make it a café run of sorts. Of course in a real café run, you’re supposed to stop and have one instead of just riding by. But how much coffee can you drink with only five minutes between them?
Monroe turns into Chestnut St where I took a right on East Ave. This took me past Java’s Café on Gibbs St and, two blocks further up East, The SPoT [sic].
I took another right at Alexander St then a left back on to Park Ave so I could cruise by Java Joe’s in the Montana Mills at the corner of Goodman St. Goodman takes me back home, passing within a block of Starry Nites to complete the circuit.
Pannier rack
Well, mounting the stupid pannier rack (see earlier entry today) is turning into a project. I managed to refashion the round clamps to fit my oval seatstays and only put one light scratch in the bike’s paint in the process.
The picture on the package shows three ways of mounting the front of the rack, depending on the bike. I have no braze-ons there, the seatstays join into a single large tube just in front of the wheel, so that option was out, which left mounting to the seatpost clamp.
This looks like it would work, except for one minor detail. My bike has a quick-release seatpost clamp with a 5mm bolt. The hole in the pannier rack mounts are 4mm. I have a drill, but no bits the right size or even slightly larger.
I’ll have to stop at the hardware store this week to get a drill bit. And hope that the bolt is long enough once I get the extra harware in there. It’s a captive affair attached to the cam of the quick-release lever, so if that doesn’t work, I think I’m out of options.
April 26th, 2006 at 7:42 am EDT
I wouldn’t start drilling holes before going back to the bike shop to ask why they sold you a pannier that doesn’t fit the bike. Maybe they should exchange it for a more suitable one (or fit it themselves at no extra cost).
May 3rd, 2006 at 5:32 pm EDT
Hi Chris!
I had thought about that. And my new drill bit has been sitting here unused since before your comment.
I’ve talked to several people, a salesman in a competing shop, and two salesmen and the mechanic at the shop where I bought the bike. All said the same thing—that aftermarket parts nearly always have to be modified/fitted or have fittings fabricated due to the overwhelming variety of frames on the marked.
Walking around the store today while my fenders were being fitted (which they were happy to do), I looked closely at nearly every bike in the place. I have to agree. No two frames are alike. Stocking accessories must be a nightmare for the shop.
There’s a lot of standarization in key areas, like drivetrain, brakes, handlebars bars and seats, but still, not everything will work on any given frame. Everything else? Buy something and custom fit it.
In my case it’s that it’s a hybrid frame and that I’m adding accessories normally associated with road bike, to a frame that shares more geometry with a mountain bike. Interestingly, my bike includes standard fender mounting points at the rear, and none whatsover in the front.
So I’ll drill my holes in the poannier rack tomorrrow or on the weekend.
And I’ll have a better idea of what to look for when it comes time for another bike. If I can remember it that long. I’m happy enough with this one that it could be a while.