The Blasphemous Bicycler

Today’s Commute: 10 miles
May: 29 miles
2008: 178 miles

Today’s installment : The Breezer Citizen

What’s good:

• Fully equipped - fenders, rack, dynamo lighting, chain guard
• Internally geared 3 speed rear hub - No need to get one’s hands greasy performing drive train maintenance
• Built-in lock - Will do little more than keep honest people honest, but perhaps you live amongst honorable people

What’s bad:

• Only available in three sizes - very tall or very short people may have problems finding a good fit

Since the Breezer Citizen comes so completely equipped, the only necessary additions are a helmet and a raincoat.

A Giro Makai Helmet will help keep you safe from head trauma, while the inflammatory design informs passersby of your demonic disposition.

The Showers Pass Touring Jacket is made from technological marvel fabrics, which allow perspiration to evaporate, whilst keeping the rain at bay. Although it may be had in a variety of colors, the bright “Yelling Yellow” is more likely to be seen by motorists on a gloomy, rainy day.

Right, on to the numbers:

Breezer Bikes are available from Breezer Dealers.

But I’m doing it anyways.

Here’s my very first ever video blog (silent movie style) of yesterday’s ride on the Lebanon Valley Rail Trail.

It features Me, Klinutus, a goat, and my evil sister.

Enjoy.

Today: 19 miles
May: 19 miles
2008: 168 miles

There are 5 people in my department at work. One of the guys in my department has started bike commuting a few days a week. If we can convince one more person to ride, the majority of us will be bike commuters.

Then I would no longer be a weirdo, and I would have to start riding to work on a unicycle to maintain my street cred.

Today: 10 miles
April: 57 miles
2008: 149 miles

Today, we consider the Electra Amsterdam Classic 3.

What’s Good

• Totally enclosed drive train - One need never worry about greasy breeches, and the need for tiresome maintenance is greatly reduced
• Includes rack, fenders, and dynamo lights - The well-appointed Amsterdam Classic comes complete with nearly all the accessories a commuter could desire.
• Style - These are the sorts of bicycles found between the legs of the most fashionable ladies in Denmark. What more enviable position could one aspire to?
• 700×40 tires - Neither pothole nor cobblestone street will jar your bones with plump tires such as these

What’s bad

• Geometry - The layout of the Amsterdam’s frame is optimised for comfort and dignified cycling, not for maximum speed or efficiency.

Although the Amsterdam comes with a rack, you would not go far wrong to put a basket on the handlebars to transport your lunch and sundries to your place of employment. Electra offers several, the least expensive being $25

For a bike like the Amsterdam, a rain cape is a good option for protection from the elements. It’s not unlike a tent that keeps the rain off of you from above and is open for ample ventilation from beneath.

A nice yellow cape can be had for $46 from J&G Cyclewear. I have had dealings with J&G in the past, and have found them to be most honorable people with products that are excellent in every imaginable way.

Brain injuries are only humorous when they happen to some other fellow.

For $50, the Bell Citi helmet may assist your skull in the containment of brains, lest they spill across the pavement; a most untidy state of affairs in the best of circumstances.

One never can be sure where brigands and thieves may lurk in the shadows, and it would, therefore, be best to secure your bicycle to a sturdy object with a lock.

The entry level Kryptionite U-lock can be had for a mere $18.

It bears mentioning that Kryptonite locks are not actually manufactured from real Kryptonite, and any efforts to use one to subdue Superman will likely end in failure.

Right, so, let’s tally up the figures.

Bike $550
Basket $25
Rain Cape $46
Helmet $50
Lock $18

Total: $689

A touch more expensive than yesterday’s example, but the extra money is well spent for the dynamo-powered lights and the style and panache the Amsterdam has to offer.

Electra bicycles can be purchased at your local Electra dealership.

Update: More discussion of the Electra Amsterdam can be found on the Bikes for the Rest of Us blog.