Out And About After Sandy

I was lamenting the fact that I won't be able to take a big trip this year.

However, I am experiencing the weather and seeing the kind of light one finds in London, Copenhagen and other northern European capitals.  

Somehow, though, I don't imagine they've had anything like Hurricane Sandy.  Then again, I'm sure they have other kinds of rough weather that I didn't spend enough time in those places to experience.

But I digress. Apart from the chilly, damp air and gray skies, something else gives the part of the world in which I live the flavor of northern Europe:

Those bikes are parked outside PS 1.  It seems that every time I ride down that way, I see more and more bikes parked there:

Those racks, installed recently, aren't enough for the bicycle traffic that stops at the museum.  Almost as many bikes are locked and chained to lamposts, parking meters and other immobile objects on the surrounding blocks.  Some of those bikes are interesting and unusual, such as this one:

A few A. Sutter bicycles, which were made  France, made their way to these shores before and during the '70's "Bike Boom."  They are much like other French bikes of the period--a little nicer, perhaps than Peugeot, but not quite as nice as Motobecane. But definiely, quintessentially French, for better and worse.

I mean, nobody else did chainguards the way they did them in Gaul.  And their fenders are, rightly, the ones that inspire the ones Velo Orange and other companies make:

The bike in the photos, and most other A. Sutters, were manufactured in Chatellerault, in the Loire Valley. A. Sutter also offered a top-of-the line racing model that Olmo made in Italy.  Like most top-of-the-line Italian racing bikes (as well as some from other countries), it was equipped with Campagnolo Nuovo Record components.

I don't know whether A. Sutter is still in business--and, if they are, whether their bikes are still made in Chatellerault or anywhere else in France.

If they're still being made, I wonder whether they're available in the light blue of that bike. Lots of bike makers made light blue bikes, but this particular shade, by itself, all but marks it as a French Bike.

Now, for a very different blue bike, take a look at this:

You've probably seen Austro-Daimlers before.  They're another marque associated with the '70's Bike Boom.  They might be best-known for one of the most elegant catalogs ever produced and their pledge that their top-of-the-line bike, the Ultima, would "leave the factory in a specially prepared foam-filled case." The ladies' version of the Vent Noir might be the most elegant mixte that wasn't made by a French constructeur or English hand-builder!

Even their lower-and mid-level bikes reflected the attention to detail of their best machines:

I find it interesting to see bicycles like this one that are more than three decades old but look as if they just left the showroom.  Was it stored in one of those foam-filled cases?

Anyway, enough about bikes.   I took a spin down to Brooklyn, and passed by Pratt Institute. I can hardly imagine a campus looking more autumnal than this:

When The Streets Go Dark

Yesterday, I rode a bit.  Today, a little more.  

Today's travels took me to DUMBO, for no particular reason.  

Over the years, I've seen the area turn from an old warehouse and manufacturing district that was abandoned after sundown to a neighborhood where bookstores, cafes, boutiques and pet-accessory shops (It seems that everyone there has a dog!) line cobblestoned streets.

It sounds as charming as it is.  But I learned something about its atmosphere early this evening. Even with the lamps and candles glowing from windows, and the streetlights and the lights on the bridge, much of the ambient illumination actually comes from downtown Manhattan, less than a mile across the East River from the Fulton Landing.

The dark area to the left is downtown Manhattan--specifically, the area around Wall Street and the South Street Seaport.

This evening's ride was the first I've taken in that area for which I think more than one Knog Frog light (or a bigger, more powerful lamp) would have been handy.

Ghoulish Gear (And Girl)

You really can find anything on the Internet these days!

I mean, I just found a page of "Halloween Bicycles."

The image I posted last week from Park Avenue Bike's announcement of its Halloween Cyclo-Cross race is on that page. Here's an image from another ride announcement:

Somehow it seems appropriate for a Vancouver Critical Mass ride, doesn't it?

Now, here's the way I'm going to a Halloween ride:

From Riding Pretty

I really want someone to say, "Justine, I never knew you had that side to you!"

Of course, if I'm going to dress myself for the occasion, I have to do the same for my bike:

From Ciel Bicycles

The Return Of The Fade?

The other day, while making preparations for the storm that's raining down on us, I spotted this:

Of course, it's not the kind of bike I'll ever ride.  And it's certainly not the sort of paint job I'd ever get on one of my bikes.  However, I think it's not bad:  The yellow main tubes and seat stay "fade" into a maroonish red on the chainstay, rear dropouts and front fork.  The seat and handgrips more or less match the maroon paint.

Could this be a signal that "fade" finishes are coming back?  This one isn't so bad.  If more had been like this, "fades" would not have their awful reputation and association with the '90's they now have.  

A Whirlwind Of Bike Modifications During A Storm

So...what am I doing to weather Hurricane/Tropical Storm Sandy?  Bike stuff, of course.

I started with Arielle.  The Dia Compe Silver Shifters are pretty, but they haven't worked out very well.  I've had to replace the nylon washers three times because to keep the levers from slipping (and giving you an unwanted shift), I've had to tighten them really hard.  

I think the action on them is smooth.  As they are patterned after the Sun Tour Micro shifter, I though I could find a pair.  I could...for about $200 on eBay.   So, I went for a Dura Ace downtube shifter, which can be switched from indexing (click-shift) to friction (traditional) mode.

They're not quite as pretty as the Silvers, but they aren't bad, I'd say.  Plus, it's part of the same Dura Ace gruppo as my derailleurs.

I also plan on changing the levers on Helene.  Right now, I have Silver shifters mounted to Velo Orange handlebar pods.  The shifters were originally mounted on the downtube, and I decided to try them on the bars.  Since I ride the bars tilted downward, it's really not much of a reach to the downtube.  Plus, each shifter will need about a foot less of cable and housing than it would need on the handlebar, which will result in a quicker, smoother shift.

I'll probably make the same change to Vera. However, she had a more urgent problem, to which I attended:  Her rear rack was falling apart.  It broke at two of the welds.  Old bike mechanics' wisdom says that if a spoke has broken on your wheel, others will break soon.  I applied that sage advice to my rack, and replaced it.

I got a good buy on a Civia Mission rack.  I tried installing it on Helene, with the idea that I would transfer her Blackburn rack to Vera.  But I didn't like the way the Mission fit on Helene.  The Blackburn fits perfectly, and I didn't want to readjust it for Helene.

As it turned out, the Mission fight nicely on Vera.

Helene's rack mounts are higher on her seat stays than Vera's are on hers.  If I recall correctly, when I ordered Helene's frame, I told the folks at Mercian that I intended to use a Blackburn rack, mainly because I've been using them for about 30 years.  

Anyway, I rather like the way the Mission looks on Vera.  It'll be interesting to see how it holds up under daily use.

So far, it looks like only Tosca and the Trek will be spared this whirlwind of bike modification!