& a blog

i’ve been biking to work for over four years now. every year it was a little further (a mile, then two and a half miles, now five and half miles). so obviously having a bike in working order was essential. i had a specialized hard rock for a while there, but it had seen better days and eventually succumbed to lackofshifting disorder which teamed with brake failure spelled utter death for the machine.

late last summer (a least later than i would have liked a bike) i got a trek 3700. it was on sale at international bicycle in allston. it seemed like a good deal @ about $325, so i got it, and was riding it to work within a week.

from the get-go the seat was loose, which sucked and required me purchasing a little allen wrench tool.

only later did i realize that everytime the bike worked loose and i had to retighten, i was weakening the bolt. i discovered that this had been happening when the seat totally snapped off at the bolt while climbing the hill at the swiss village in newport, ri. it was so sudden and dramatic, that almost losing the seat and its supporting hardware as the bolt broke.

but i didn’t, and a with the purchase of a new bolt, i was back on the road.

to do it again, on the way home from a ride to fresh pond in cambridge, ma. that time, when the seat broke, it made dramatic contact with my…

i believe i am still bruised.

in addition to my bike whoas, i also had the cheap plastic wellgo pedals snap on me while biking across the bu bridge.

all of that, for the time being has been repaired or replaced today. i have a new seat post with a superior seat holding assembly (if that’s what it should be called) and a brand new pair of pedals, that this time are a metal and rosin construction. the whole purchase cost $31.40 with tax.

it’s not a bad bike. i have gotten a lot of use out of it, and if nothing else, i am thankful it’s never broken when i have been catching class at risd in downcity providence, and am zipping down college hill from brown.

that said, the bike could be better. it has lots of little issues (like the bolt not staying tight) that will become large problems (like the bolt shearing off and leaving your genitalia suspended above a sharp iron rod).

i only hope the bike works better, if not perfectly now.

because it sucks taking the orange line to the red line to get to work everytime for $4 round trip and a ful 20 minutes longer than on a bike.

viva la nueva trek!