Clem-L's first march and rally and a brief 5-month update

[LLM]

This fuzzy image was captured yesterday near the NY State Capitol building in Albany, NY.  With a crowd estimated at 7000, I managed to catch one "Nice Bike!", and had a conversation about hip replacements and step-through frames with a guy with a very sore hip, whose bike was parked in front of mine.  

This is the current winter setup, five months after New Bike Day.  A few thoughts to mark the occasion:

It's a "meh" so far with the Nokian A10 studded tires.  They feel squirmy in turns compared to the Mount and Grounds that I had on the Surly, though to be fair, I haven't played much with tire pressures.  Snow melt that turns to ice patches after sundown is common here in upstate NY; squirmy seems a small price to pay for the peace of mind of having studs.  I have returned to using the stock saddle after riding through the late summer and fall with a Brooks B67S.  This saddle is surprisingly comfortable, and I love not having to worry about the weather, or about someone taking it. I've also grown to like the look.  I just started using the Extra Small SaddleSack as a handlebar bag.  Among other things, I store my lighting gear in it.  I like being able to simply pull the battery pack cord  through the zipper opening to connect my CygoLight MityCross.  The bottom of the Sackville MultiSack attached to the Pletscher Clem rack is just visible through the rear wheel.  This is not Riv's most handsome bag, IMO, but I use it more than any other for city riding.  Yesterday, I stored a wallet, gloves, shoulder strap, bus pass and cable lock in it; its slim profile was well-suited for walking a bike in a crowd.  I have adapted to the quirks of the stock thumb shifters, but a touch of arthritis in my thumbs has me collecting parts to switch to bar-end shifters.  I haven't decided whether I will try modifying the Ergon BioKork grips for cable routing, or just wrap the bars.

All for now.

Linda

[Jim M.]

Looks great! But it makes me glad to live some place where I don't need studded tires.

jim m

wc, ca

[LLM]

Crisp air in the lungs, the sound of spattering bacon as carbide tips hit the pavement.....you're missing out!

[Shoji Takahashi]

Very useful update, Linda. Thanks very much for the info on the multisack and Clem setup. Living in the Boston area, I've tried and still have studded tires in the bike shed-- I really don't enjoy riding with them, though. Fortunately, most winter days are clear enough to use regular tires.

tailwinds, shoji

[RichS]

Good looking Clem-L! Thank you for the report.

Best,
Richard