A Geek Goes Flying

With the vehicles in the shop, the bike is my only option right now ... And the weather is conducive, so, legs pumping is the order of the day. I picked up: ABUS Ivera Chain 7210/110 Sparkling Bicycle Lock ($65); well reviewed (I’m usually not away from my bike for any length of time, but this lets me pop in for, e.g., groceries, with less anxiety) Gieury Carry On Backpack, 50L for $33 I don’t expect it’ll last forever, and I’m mostly using my Timbuk2 bags for daily stuff, but if I need to take a box to the post office or the UPS store, or if I’m stocking up on bulkier groceries, this works well. Finally, randomly, I ran into a mobile bicycle service and repair business, Out Front Cycles . Which could be just the thing I need, since I think my bottom bracket is going out again.  

Updating and enhancing my existing commuter kit . Swapped the Bose Tempo Frames to adaptive lenses . Success. Make the trip home right at sunset multiple times now and there’s no perceptible difference between the glasses and “naked” eyes. ROCKBROS Bike Pants Strap Cycling Reflective Ankle Bands Adjustable Pant Leg Straps for Biking to keep my jeans out of the chain (etc), vs. french rolling . Replacing the Power Grip Straps on my Power Grips High Performance Pre-Assembled Strap/Pedal Kit . (One of my straps is in really poor shape.) Adding a NiteRider Solas 100 Lumens USB Rechargeable Bike Tail Light that I’ll clip to my backpack or whatever bag I’ve got slung, in addition to the 1W Mars 4.0 mounted on my seat post. I want additional visibility and something I can recharge at the office if I find myself stuck with dead batteries. (Which, I also swapped the existing rear light to USB rechargeable AAAs .) The Topeak Tail Lux Helmet light is $20 and comes with a strap that mounts it ...

In between Storms of the Century ™, I’m back to bicycle commuting to the office. (For not the best reasons: Weight loss (again, sigh), and, my senior mutt can’t make it up the stairs anymore, so she hasn’t been coming in with me, so I don’t need to accommodate her with my Jeep and a ramp [1] and ... But at least I feel better on the bike.) Revant lenses for the Bose Frames Tempo sunglasses: 👍 I’ve been using the Bose Frames Tempo sunglasses again, an xmas present from my mom back in 2020.  They still work incredibly well, audio is good all things considered, and they don’t isolate me from the environment when I’m cycling. (I mostly stick to bike paths, with some limited time spent in traffic.) I’ve even been able to participate in Zoom conferences with vendors, boards of directors meetings, etc., while on my commute, and no one has complained about wind noise or said they’ve had any issues hearing me. Impressive. The lenses are too dark for riding at dusk, though, and with sunse...