Back on the chain drive...
Walked my bike over to the bike shop (it's just around the corner) this afternoon. Unfortunately, my rear tire was shedding rubber in spots, so that had to be replaced as well as the tube. It was a fairly quick job while I waited.
While I was there, I figured I might as well replace the headlight. My old one was no longer working reliably (typically, it would work when I tested it at home, but not when I needed to use it on the bike), and was from the quaint days of filament bulbs. Since I often ride at night, a light is handy, since there are a few places along the river that can be pretty dark without one, to say nothing of the legal requirement to have one. One of the new white LED lights would give me a much longer battery life, as well as a light that reliably turned on when I hit the switch.
Alas, my old light dates from the days of the fruit flavoured iMac craze, and was molded in purple translucent plastic. As such, it was a nice match for the purple metallic paint of my bike frame. One of the reasons I've put off replacing it was the knowledge that I wouldn't find it's aesthetic match. But I needed a working light... They had two. A three LED light in grey, and a five LED light in metallic blue. Aside from purple, my bike has silver, black and various shades of grey components. The grey light would match nicely, the blue light would clash. I considered getting the blue light, anyway, for the extra brightness, but opted for the grey, to match the bike's colour scheme better. How pathetic is that?
After using the bike to run a few errands in Harvard Square, I came back home for bit. After dinner, I'd hoped it had cooled off a bit, so decided to go for a ride to test the new light. I rode down through MIT to take a cursory look for the ultra milage cars, but they were no longer in the lobby that the picture I'd seen had been taken in. I crossed the river and rode upstream. Since I was just testing the light, and had ridden earlier, I figured I could cross back at River Street. It seemed too early to give in when I was there, though, so I pushed on to Anderson Bridge before turning for home. The new light works well. It's bright enough for the darkest sections along the river, and very visible from a distance. I won't miss the extra brightness that I didn't get in the light that would have clashed.
While I was there, I figured I might as well replace the headlight. My old one was no longer working reliably (typically, it would work when I tested it at home, but not when I needed to use it on the bike), and was from the quaint days of filament bulbs. Since I often ride at night, a light is handy, since there are a few places along the river that can be pretty dark without one, to say nothing of the legal requirement to have one. One of the new white LED lights would give me a much longer battery life, as well as a light that reliably turned on when I hit the switch.
Alas, my old light dates from the days of the fruit flavoured iMac craze, and was molded in purple translucent plastic. As such, it was a nice match for the purple metallic paint of my bike frame. One of the reasons I've put off replacing it was the knowledge that I wouldn't find it's aesthetic match. But I needed a working light... They had two. A three LED light in grey, and a five LED light in metallic blue. Aside from purple, my bike has silver, black and various shades of grey components. The grey light would match nicely, the blue light would clash. I considered getting the blue light, anyway, for the extra brightness, but opted for the grey, to match the bike's colour scheme better. How pathetic is that?
After using the bike to run a few errands in Harvard Square, I came back home for bit. After dinner, I'd hoped it had cooled off a bit, so decided to go for a ride to test the new light. I rode down through MIT to take a cursory look for the ultra milage cars, but they were no longer in the lobby that the picture I'd seen had been taken in. I crossed the river and rode upstream. Since I was just testing the light, and had ridden earlier, I figured I could cross back at River Street. It seemed too early to give in when I was there, though, so I pushed on to Anderson Bridge before turning for home. The new light works well. It's bright enough for the darkest sections along the river, and very visible from a distance. I won't miss the extra brightness that I didn't get in the light that would have clashed.