"Manic-Obsession"

As so often happens during my manically-obsessed phases, I find myself diving into the various cultures surrounding bicycling. As always, I've check out every single book the library has on the subject. I've read dozens of magazines, scoured the internet for blogs and websites, and clicked through hundreds of pages on pictures. I never cease to be amazed at the depth of a given segment of culture and truthfully this is one of my favorite parts of learning about something new. One day I have no idea that there are several types of cyclists, myriad cities with biking cultures. The next day I have to carefully monitor myself so I don't spend the entire workday browsing blogs, Flickr and cycling and manufacturers sites. I discover groups, forums, magazines, specialized clothing shops all dedicated to various aspects of biking. I learn about touring, competitive cycling, velodomes, mountain biking, radonneuring. I discover the biking cultures of Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Portland. My head spins at the opportunities out there for one interested in bikes.

I find myself drooling over catalog pages of bicycles, signing up for free info from various cycling clubs and associations. In my head I start charting out a possible route for commuting to work and outfitting my bike with upgrades. Inevitably my love of history leads me to look up books telling the story of how we got from the first bike to the sleek machines of today. I find pages and pages of vintage bike posters and advertisements.

More than anything all of this information overload makes me want to hope on my old bike and go tottering off. Scoff if you will, but it's too damn cold outside for me to actually follow through. I know it's not as cold as such and such place or this that and the other. I don't care. It's like 15F out and my fat ass is not going out there for more than a few minutes. I will sit inside and read about other people riding bikes, thank you very much. I will think about this weekend when the temperature stops tormenting me and I can go for a nice long ride with the sun on my face.

In the meantime, here's some eye candy:

Cultures I wish I lived in:

Lastly, I have not been entirely wasting my time held prisoner by the cursed weather. The handlebars of the Sears, the pedals and a good bit of the front wheel are now cleaned up and looking shiny and wonderful. I tried tackling the spokes, but alas they shred the tin foil. Looks like I'll be getting some brass wool after all. Also I am feeling a bit thwarted as I can't really get at a lot of the parts that need cleaned up most. I think I will end up taking the bike apart a bit to clean things, but don't want to tear it apart before the weekend and before I can get it to the shop. My hope is that with some minimal repairs it will be road ready for this weekend...