A few of my New Years have included resolutions to ride more. At least a couple of times--when I was young--I kept them. It was easier then.
Other times, I've made resolutions regarding skills or equipment. One year, I resolved to learn how to fix my bike. That's when I got my copy of Tom Cuthbertson's Anybody's Bike Book.
(Years later, when I first heard of Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States, I found myself thinking of Tom Cuthbertson's book. If Zinn were a cyclist, he'd've been Cuthbertson's kindred spirit. But I digress.)
Another year, I decided to learn how to build wheels. Not long after, I came across an article Sheldon Brown--this was the first time I'd heard of him--wrote about it in Bicycle World, if I remember correctly.
And then there was the time I resolved to get myself a track bike. No more silly fixed-gear conversions, I told myself. Some time in the middle of that winter, I got a good deal on the Bianchi Pista (a real, made-in-Italy one), about which I'll write a post on some snowy (or rainy) day.
For all the times I've made resolutions (I don't make them anymore), there were others when I thought the year would start off on a good note with a book (whether or not it was bicycle-related) or some nice new piece of equipment--say, a jersey or an accessory.
Bicycling! magazine promotes that sort of thing. It's a good way to launch new products, especially those you don't actually need but could enhance your cycling pleasure. I thought this one, from last year, was cute:
It's called, naturally, a "Bird Cage". If I were to get one, I'd have to forget about the name: One reason why I have never had, and don't want, a bird for a pet is that I can't think of any living thing as a pet if I have to keep it in a cage. (Did someone mention boyfriends? ;=) )
It made me think of a bottle cage I had years ago. I think I gave it to myself as a Christmas or New Year's gift:
I installed it on my Jamis Dakota. I think I transferred it later on to my Bontrager Race Lite. I liked it, actually: It held the bottle securely, even when I rode over rocks and such. If I recall correctly, it was made in Arizona or Utah or some Western state that's not Colorado or California by a company called Innovations that made some other cool bike accessories.
So...The year of the Bird? Or the year of the Snake? All right, I know I'm butchering Chinese cosmology here, so I'll stop and wish you a Happy New Year!
Other times, I've made resolutions regarding skills or equipment. One year, I resolved to learn how to fix my bike. That's when I got my copy of Tom Cuthbertson's Anybody's Bike Book.
(Years later, when I first heard of Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States, I found myself thinking of Tom Cuthbertson's book. If Zinn were a cyclist, he'd've been Cuthbertson's kindred spirit. But I digress.)
Another year, I decided to learn how to build wheels. Not long after, I came across an article Sheldon Brown--this was the first time I'd heard of him--wrote about it in Bicycle World, if I remember correctly.
And then there was the time I resolved to get myself a track bike. No more silly fixed-gear conversions, I told myself. Some time in the middle of that winter, I got a good deal on the Bianchi Pista (a real, made-in-Italy one), about which I'll write a post on some snowy (or rainy) day.
For all the times I've made resolutions (I don't make them anymore), there were others when I thought the year would start off on a good note with a book (whether or not it was bicycle-related) or some nice new piece of equipment--say, a jersey or an accessory.
Bicycling! magazine promotes that sort of thing. It's a good way to launch new products, especially those you don't actually need but could enhance your cycling pleasure. I thought this one, from last year, was cute:
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| Made by Portland Design Works |
It's called, naturally, a "Bird Cage". If I were to get one, I'd have to forget about the name: One reason why I have never had, and don't want, a bird for a pet is that I can't think of any living thing as a pet if I have to keep it in a cage. (Did someone mention boyfriends? ;=) )
It made me think of a bottle cage I had years ago. I think I gave it to myself as a Christmas or New Year's gift:
I installed it on my Jamis Dakota. I think I transferred it later on to my Bontrager Race Lite. I liked it, actually: It held the bottle securely, even when I rode over rocks and such. If I recall correctly, it was made in Arizona or Utah or some Western state that's not Colorado or California by a company called Innovations that made some other cool bike accessories.
So...The year of the Bird? Or the year of the Snake? All right, I know I'm butchering Chinese cosmology here, so I'll stop and wish you a Happy New Year!
