Statrix Redux

I leave for Mexico in almost exactly a week. In fact exactly a week from now I’d better already be at the airport or I’ll risk missing my flight should there be trouble. I don’t expect any, never have had any, but I don’t mind hanging out a bit so I’ll be there.
The problem I’m having is that there just isn’t a enough time to get everything done that I’d like to get done before I go. I’ve still got to decide exactly what, besides my bike, I’m taking and that’s always a tough call.
The good news is that I found a map confirming one of the places I was looking for in DF. Some folks may figure out why I want it, I’ll let the rest keep guessing – the answer isn’t the obvious one. 🙂

Aloha!

All the pieces are now in place for my trip bike-wise. With the arrival of my TravelCase, which is really a Samsonite F’Lite case, but with tools and such. This weekend I’ll pack my NWT, take it out, and pack it up again. I am a bit worried about the weight of the whole deal, but we’ll see how it goes. I thinking I should get a cheap scale to estimate the weight.
Here’s the bike I’ll be putting in my case. I made the image with my iPhone last night while out running and errand when I stopped for a bit of iced tea.

Speaking of weight, did I mention I’ve lost almost 50 lbs. in the last 10 months or so. Tis true. Biking has certainly played a part in that. Of course so has quitting ice cream, cookies, pie, cake, and a few other things.

My TravelCase is on it’s way. I didn’t get a FedEx number yesterday and got worried so this morning I called Green Gear again. This time there was no problem, the case had been shipped.

That means I can spend part of the weekend practicing packing the bike and photographing it as I go, both for myself and for the TSA guys who will be inspecting my case. Hopefully it will all work out.

I haven’t ordered the trailer portion of the case, frankly I don’t have the money right now. However I will be getting to that just as soon as I get back and pay off a few of my expenses. I may have to be off to Kauai in January, so it’ll be important to be ready for anything!

Aloha
Aloha!

…that would be my Bike Friday New World Tourist.
On Friday I left off with the delivery of my NWT. After work I headed home and unpacked my bike. As much as I would have liked to see it packed correctly in the TravelCase, that was not to be. I’m hopeful that it will ship today so I can have it time for the weekend so I can pack for my trip.
The bike was very well packed, almost over-packed if that’s possible. Everything seemed to be in great shape and I didn’t have much trouble getting things sorted out. I should note that the instructions Green Gear supplied were excellent, any trouble I had was basically my fault – I’m not a handy guy.
Once I got the bike together, which took well under and hour from start to finish including putting on all the reflectors and such, I discovered the one problem I was to encounter. The front brake wasn’t properly adjusted and the front wheel wouldn’t spin freely. After a frustrating couple of minutes I decided that I might check the instructions.
And of course the instructions for the exact problem I was having were clearly spelled out. My problem was solved in about 30 seconds.
I only had time to take the bike around the block that evening and it seemed fine. It’s kind of hard to tell about the fit of a bike on such a short ride, but everything seemed to work and the bike wasn’t noticeably uncomfortable or anything, indeed it felt pretty darn good.
On Saturday I didn’t get a chance to ride it. I had to be at an all day workshop noted elsewhere on my blog. I decided to haul all my camera equipment on a bike I was more familiar with “just in case.” I probably needn’t have worried, but still…
Finally Sunday rolled around and I was ready for something other than a ride around the block. I had a bunch of errands to run and off I went on my NWT. I noticed immediately how easy the SRAM Dual Drive was to use and how much it is an improvement for me over a front derailleur. [For me means exactly that – you might prefer something else and that’s perfectly okay.] I also noticed that the fit of the bike was perfect. In fact it was better than what I think I ordered. I used the measurements from my body and my Giant Sedona and it seemed to me the handlebars on the BF were a centimeter or two higher. This was an improvement.
As I was running errands I never had the chance to ride more than a couple of miles at a stretch and a lot of that was stop and go, but the bike handled beautifully once I got used to it. Everything was crisp where it should be crisp and smooth and silky where it should be smooth and silky.
I was, I am, extremely impressed.
After my errands it was time for lunch and I had to put the bike in the back of a friend’s van so we could go together to the restaurant. It took a couple of minutes to fold and I did have some trouble because the folding hinge was, as the BF website predicts, a bit sticky at first. It wasn’t difficult though.
In the evening I rode out to a meeting I attend and had the opportunity to fold the bike up again. It was easier, but still a little stiff. Today I rode it to work and folded it to take upstairs and, again as predicted, the fold was much easier – I suspect practice helped too.
Here’s an image of my bike packed away in my office…

In order to make it easy to fold my BF I had to do a wee bit of modification to the standard setup. It seems that, at least on the heavy rider upgrade NWTs, the seat mast does not come with a quick release. I called tech support on this and they said I could certainly use one, and they recommended Salsa, but that for big guys they couldn’t exactly recommend it. Still, having to use my wrench to take the seat off seems unacceptable to me (again, to me – your mileage may vary) so I went to my LBS and picked one up. As my seat mast is seated all the way down in the frame the quick release only needs to keep the seat from twisting, no weight is being supported. The upshot is that it works fine and doesn’t seem to be putting any extra stress on the bike.
That’s it for now – the bike is sweet and I can highly recommend one, even for really non-handy guys and gals like me. 😉
Aloha!

Hah!
I zoomed home when I found that my bike was on the FedEx truck and out for delivery. I got have a nice snack and some coffee while I watched an TiVo’d episode of Pushing Daisies. I really enjoyed the show when it premiered and I’m hoping I enjoy the new season as much. It’s definitely surreal which, at least for me, is fish.
The first wrong was not reading what came with my Garmin. It has a charger, for one’s car. I don’t have a car. Luckily it is supposed to charge from a powered USB port and I have lots of those around. So currently it’s charging from my Apple iPhone charger – the old one, not the new one which has been recalled. If that works I’ll forgo the charger as I don’t need more of the darn things.
Then the bike came. That big old FedEx truck pulled up and boy was I ready for it.
Unfortunately the TravelCase did not come. I was…um…well let’s just say I wasn’t exactly happy about it. I opened the big white box and saw a wheel and thought, “that’s not right.” It wasn’t, though it is the wheel to my bike.
Granted I’m not thrilled. I’m sorry but I think small businesses need to do a better job than big ones when it comes to this sort of stuff. But maybe that’s just me.
I immediately called my salesperson and let her know that the case hadn’t shipped. She was right on it and I received email when I got back to work stating it would be shipped Monday via 2nd Day Air. I’m good with that, but darn, it would have nice if it had come packed in the box so I could make pictures of it packed correctly. Now I’m going to have to figure it out by trial and error and if you know me, lots of error. 🙂
I’m going to congratulate myself though – I didn’t yell on the phone. I’m sure I sounded a little disappointed, but I was polite, nice even (I think). Sigh. There’s no point in yelling though. My sales rep didn’t do the shipping and the bike was packed correctly for a box – it wasn’t supposed to be in a box though. 🙂
Anyway as soon as I can I’m heading home and putting it all together. We’ll see if I can handle that much. 🙂
Aloha!

…and it’s not first time either. 🙂
Nope, when I figured my Bike Friday wasn’t shipping I was completely out of the loop. It did ship and is expected here sometime tomorrow when I hope, really, really, hope I am home to get it. 🙂
Thank you Bike Friday, thank you Amazon.
So tomorrow I’m waiting for my bike and my GPS….cool!
Aloha!

Mexico, Mexico, Mexico…I can’t wait. I’m really getting excited about this trip, but a bit nervous too.
No, I’m not worried about crime or the actual flight, or any of that…just that sort of nameless worry that affects me until I actually make it to the airport and take off – then I relax. After all, at that point the plan is in motion.
And to top it off, I’m still waiting for my Bike Friday. Here I’m really getting nervous. I’m sure it’ll show up sooner or later, it’s the later I’m worried about. I was told it would definitely ship today and I’d get a tracking number. The business day is just about over in Eugene, at least the 4pm FedEx pickup has passed and…no tracking number. Given I live in Hawaii even overnight now means Monday at the earliest. I really would have like the weekend to get it together and see if I can deal with it.
Well I suppose there are worse things in life than not getting a new toy immediately.
My other toy is supposed to arrive tomorrow and assuming it works, I’ll be able to find my way around DF even if I have to walk…which it is beginning to look…no, banish that thought. 🙂
Aloha!

Wow! I just got a call from the local university outreach program saying I could attend a workshop this coming Saturday with Eli Reed, the photographer.

The thing is, I tried to sign up a couple of weeks ago when I first got an email about the workshop. I’ve taken other workshops at UH so I’m on the list. But unfortunately it was sold out and all I could do was sign up for the free lecture (which I’ll be glad to attend).
But it looks like I’ll be going after all! Cool!
After I’d seen the original email I looked around the web for examples of his work, and good stuff it is. Here’s a link to an article on The Digital Journalist called “Living in the Now”

While I don’t generally do photojournalism type imagery, probably out of fear, since I am going to DF it may turn out to be very handy!
Aloha!

Well I leave in two weeks and my new bike hasn’t shipped yet. It was supposed to go out 9/24, then 9/29 or 9/30. Today (10/1), it’s “in the line” which means it hasn’t yet been built. My other concern is that my sales person is taking off on Saturday for a trip to Japan. That’s cool, but I wanted to be sure my bike is in hand sooner rather than later. I’ve got to have at least a week of playing with it before I’ll feel good to go.
The good news is that they are willing to ship it overnight as an upgrade instead of 2nd Day. As this is Hawaii I’m not sure how much difference it’s going to make, but there you go. It’s nice of them and they certainly don’t have to do it – but I’m not going to try to stop them. It would be nice to have my bike this weekend rather than next week.
In the meantime there’s not much to do besides worry about it all. 🙂 It doesn’t help, it’s not healthy, but sometimes it just feels so darn good to pick at it in my head. Sigh.
Aloha!

What’s up with Amazon and my Nuvi 200? It was “In Stock” when I ordered it and expected to ship on 9/26. Then I got a note that said the status had changed and it was expected to ship 9/29. I can live with that, but today, 9/30, my status still says expected to ship 9/29 with no further explanation. Worse I am no longer allowed to change my options such as expediting the shipping. I am hoping it arrives before I go to Mexico but I am beginning to worry.
Speaking of waiting I am hoping to hear that my Bike Friday is shipping today. This is another one. It was supposed to go out 9/24 and didn’t. I was called by my salesperson saying it would go out either Monday or Tuesday (today). Because of the delay I even spent another $80 to speed up the delivery to 2-Day.
As you might guess I’m getting a little frustrated. I’m leaving for Mexico in 2 weeks and would really like to have my bike and the GPS so I don’t get lost riding it.
Oh well!
Aloha!