Will Ride Tonight
Note: The following blog is a reprint from July 11, 2012
Today I'm cleaning/organizing the garage getting ready for the new bicycle (discussed in previous posts) and it really surprises me how much "bicycle stuff" I've accumulated through the years, then put aside and forgot. It's really remarkable. Shelves and shelves of items that I may never use, or rarely use, but am loathe to throw away. Dusty, forgotten, but hanging on to dear life because some day, under some circumstance, I may want to use it -
- Tires. I have no bike that has 27" wheels any more, but I kept the tires. May use them someday (?). I also have a couple of spare 26" tire sets, too. One of them (a knobby mountain tire from Bontrager) I threw away because I only ride on the streets.
- Tubes. New and used. Amazing. I must have 50 pair.
- Wedge packs. Those are the little packs that go under the seat, great for carrying flat tire repair kits. I think there's three. I had four, but gave one to my niece.
- Heart Rate Monitors - just two. Funny thing is that I don't even use HR monitors any more. I just ride for fun. But I won't throw them away or put them on ebay because I might need them some day.
- One thousand allen wrenches.
- Two rear racks. I use one.
- Rear panniers and trunk. The trunk is in use on The Rig right now, and the panniers are used rarely.
- Handlebar Bags - Three. I don't use these any more because I attach high-end lighting to my handlebars and the bags won't work with the lights. But I'll keep all three because some day . . .
- One top-tube bag. A little thing to put your cell phone in, maybe the keys and a little change.
- Rear tail lights - probably 6 or 7 blinkies. Two are NiteRider Cherry Bombs; two Planet Bike SuperFlash, one turbo; a Cygolite 2-Watt that recharges (the best of the lot); another expensive 1-watt light that is great, but I forgot the name and it is not printed on the light; and a few older generic blinkies off the Wal-Mart shelf.
- Headlights. Let's see - There's a Dinotte 5-Watt LED, uses rechargeable AA batteries that I got about 6 or 7 years ago. A soft, full pattern, fairly bright. I never use it, but might some day. There's a light called the View Point Gen3, an LED light that was very very bright for its time. It was the house brand for Performance. It is not bright at all by today's standards, but it was bright enough that it made me feel safe riding at night! A NiteRider MiNewt 200, very nice. There were two NiteRider MiNewt 600 Cordless, which are monster bright lights - but I gave one to my niece (she still uses it). The other one is currently in use on the Rig. Finally, a NiteRider 1500 Race, an incredible light that shares handlebar space with the 600. This thing turns night into day, it floods the street ahead of me with bright light. When I run the 1500 in concert with the 600, there are 2100 claimed (1700 actual) lumens lighting up the road, and people in cars veer away and flash their brights. It's amazing.
- Rags. Don't get me started on rags.
- About 20 years of Bicycling magazines that I WILL NOT throw away. Too much info!
- Locks. I have three U-locks, all three Kryptonite although one of them is sold under the Trek name. Plus, about 3 cable locks, too.
- Three or four empty cans of Tri-Flow. Plus a full one.
- About 2 pounds of those little rubber strips that are used for spacers to make things mount easier on handlebars
- An entire coffee cup full of water-bottle cage bolts. Everything that attaches to a modern bicycle uses these bolts.
- Two floor pumps, three frame pumps
- Several water bottles and their cages
- A CamelBak Mule
- A handful of chain breakers
- A few extra chainrings that don't fit on any of my current bikes, plus a couple of chains
Maybe I'll have a garage sale!
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