Coming soon…
New job and new bike. It’s a longer piece, but you’ll be done before either one happens.
New job
Problem One: I’ve wanted more hours at work ever since I became a clerk four years ago. I’m scheduled for only 12 hours a week at Winton Branch, and four hours a week at Sully Branch. I’m on the sub list, so I’ve been able to supplement this with subbing, but it’s not the same as a regular schedule with dependable income.
Problem Two: Each winter, I ride fewer and fewer recreational miles. The novelty has worn off, and having done it, I no longer have anything to prove. But, I feel best when I’m riding 50 or more miles a week. This winter I’m having a hard time with 20.
The Fix: Happily, I’ve been able to resolve both these problems with one solution. Last month I applied, Wednesday I was interviewed, Thursday I was offered and Friday I accepted a change in job location to the Arnett Branch across the river in the old 19th Ward.
My scheduled hours are one hour less than the maximum I’m allowed, which with belt-tightening of $2.50 a week, puts me right where I want to be income-wise. The schedule itself is a dream—Monday through Thursday, early afternoon to early evening each day.
This means I have all morning to myself, every morning. After lunch, I go to work, and I get home in time for a late dinner. I’ll miss the Tuesday Night Urban Assault Ride in the winter, but I haven’t been attending that anyway. In summer, I’ll miss the Monday Night Small Ring Ride and the Wednesday night club rides from Mendon Ponds Park. On the flip side, I’ll be able to attend more the club’s day rides.
Since I take two weekends off for ride weekends, (like the Great Finger Lakes Bicycle Tour coming up in June) I’ve had to use vacation time for them. A three-day weekend every week (besides being awfully hard not to like) saves me vacation time. It’s like getting extra vacation days.
On the down side, I’ll have to accept slightly lower standings in the Commuter Cycling Century Challenge at BikeJournal. On balance, I’m psyched over the schedule.
While my commuting days drop, my commuting mileage doubles and trebles. It’s 3.4 miles round-trip to Winton Branch, 4.4 to Sully Branch. The route I used on Wednesday for my interview is the best candidate for my MDAS (Most Direct And Safe) route to Arnett. It was 20 minutes each way, totaling 9¼ miles round trip. By itself that’s 75% of the 50 miles a week that I really need. Shopping and errands (plus commuting to my quarter-time job at Presbytery) will easily cover the rest.
And it’s such a nice route too! Using almost all secondary and residential streets, the only place I may have to contend with traffic is crossing the river on the Ford Street bridge. On either side of I-490 and either side of the river, I have all sorts of choices for variations. But the MDAS route uses the best part of Park Ave—from near Culver to Meigs—which even with regularity is unlikely to become monotonous.
In snowstorms, the residential streets are last to be plowed. They can become a bit dicey, especially as hardpack begins to form and again when it breaks up. Worst case, I can deal with traffic and buses, but ride clear pavement instead, by taking East to Main to Genesee to Arnett.
Finally, come summer, I can do all sorts of things the end up on the bike paths. I can exit the Riverway at the Ford Street bridge, or exit the Canalway at Chili Ave. If I want climbing instead of miles, I can ride Cobbs Hill to Pinnacle Hill up through Highland Park, then shoot through Mt. Hope Cemetery for a few hills before crossing the river on the ped bridge in the U of R. The possibilities are endless.
Oh, and did I mention that with the prevailing winds, I’ll have a tailwind home instead of having to buck a headwind at the end of a long day?
Things take time in library land. I don’t have a start date there yet. The earliest it could possibly happen is Monday March 8. My new boss is taking vacation soon and may not want me starting while she’s gone. So I may not start at Arnett until Monday March 22. Either way, I can’t wait.
New (to me) bike
When I resumed cycling four years ago next month, I rode the cycling learning curve pretty quickly, and bought a new bike every nine months. It’s been 29 months since I bought the Portland. I’m three bikes behind schedule. 
Seriously, I love both the Portland and Yellow Bike. I’ve been very satisfied with them both, especially after the upgrades I put into them last year. Still, in the future, I really want a bespoke bike. Or two. Something about hand-built, one-of-a-kind, made-to-measure appeals to me strongly. (Maybe it’s all the hyphens.)
I don’t yet know enough about the different materials and geometries used in bikes to make an informed choice. Both the Portland and Yellow Bike are aluminum. I’ve learned that, contrary to popular opinion, aluminum doesn’t have to be a harsh ride (Yellow Bike can be, the Portland would never). I need to learn these sorts of things about steel, titanium and carbon fiber.
The first step is going to be steel. I came across a second-hand, well-made steel bike. I’ve put a deposit on it to hold it for me until a dry day when I can test ride it. A couple of quick measurements indicate it will fit me just fine, perhaps with an adjustment or two.
It’s a late 90s, TIG-welded frame made of Reynolds 853 tubing—a very good tubing set. It originally came with full Ultegra, and it’s previous owner had a major case of upgraditis on top of that. It has an Easton carbon fork and bars, Thompson seatpost and stem, Dura-Ace rear derailleur, Selle Italia saddle, and it rolls on Neuvation wheels shod with Specialized Armadillos. It even has pedals that fit my shoes.
It’s a lot of bike, and representative of the sort of parts spec I’d be looking at myself. I don’t have an exact weight yet, but it seems to be 8–10 pounds lighter than Yellow Bike and the Portland, which puts it in the upper teens.
You’ll never guess the brand.
It’s a Schwinn of all things. A 1999 Schwinn Peloton, the second from the top-of-the-line that year, and much higher-end than anything they’re selling now.
The original spec is here. Comparing that to what I listed above, you’ll see that every iffy part, and then some, have been replaced already. The price is more than Craigslist or Ebay, but less than I expected at an LBS. Oh yeah, I found it right across the street at Towner’s Bike Shop.
I knew I’d get in trouble moving so close to an LBS.
Pics and ride report coming soon…
