Bikes
Sandpoint, for many of the reasons that Atlanta is not a particularly bike-friendly town, is a very bike-friendly town. Sandpoint is very small, for example, which means the rides are of manageable distance most of the time. Since it's small, the network of sidewalks is fairly comprehensive... but that doesn't matter so much because there will never, ever, ever be anywhere near as much traffic as there is in Atlanta. Moreover, because there are fewer drivers, the "I or A" rule does not apply. When the weather is nice (ish) I ride to work in the mornings, and find that it contributes greatly to my productivity. Must be the blood flow.
I'm immensely happy with my Peugeot, and also quite happy to find that Marsha has one as well- a UO-18, the Mixte frame version of Sophie (that's so-FEE, not SO-fee, because she's French and picky). I love how it feels to ride an old road bike. You can really tell what the limitations of the time period were, but not in a bad way. You can feel the frame flex a bit when you put the power down, but you also just know that someone actually built the bike. Somehow the experience is diminished when the words "autoclave" and "laser cut" get involved. I realize I'm an engineer and I do appreciate consistency in manufacturing, especially given one of my current projects for various reasons, but machines should also be treated like art. The chrome on the front fork is just plain pretty, and the painted lug welds are as well. There's no performance gain, of course... but it makes me happy when I see my bike, so I'd say mission accomplished.
Incidentally, CHaFE is a fundraiser. If anybody is interested in donating to it, or knows someone who would be, this is a link: Donations
-The Proprietor
I'm immensely happy with my Peugeot, and also quite happy to find that Marsha has one as well- a UO-18, the Mixte frame version of Sophie (that's so-FEE, not SO-fee, because she's French and picky). I love how it feels to ride an old road bike. You can really tell what the limitations of the time period were, but not in a bad way. You can feel the frame flex a bit when you put the power down, but you also just know that someone actually built the bike. Somehow the experience is diminished when the words "autoclave" and "laser cut" get involved. I realize I'm an engineer and I do appreciate consistency in manufacturing, especially given one of my current projects for various reasons, but machines should also be treated like art. The chrome on the front fork is just plain pretty, and the painted lug welds are as well. There's no performance gain, of course... but it makes me happy when I see my bike, so I'd say mission accomplished.
Incidentally, CHaFE is a fundraiser. If anybody is interested in donating to it, or knows someone who would be, this is a link: Donations
-The Proprietor