Portland has been having an extremely mild winter - no extreme cold and, even, not a lot of rain! We have had some moody foggy mornings which is kind of cool, I like the imagery of fog - is that weird? The morning commutes are, like last year, providing more solitude which is nice for mellowing the mind before thrusting myself into the hecticness of the workday.
Each day is a different day including the scenery that surrounds me. Even during my second year of bike commuting, there are times I just have to stop to take a picture and enjoy the light, shadows, calmness. Occassionally I will wonder if those passing think I am a rookie commuter, snapping pictures of, to them, just another day. See, that's why I need this, to distract my constantly fleeting thoughts.
One would think project SUB (MB-5) is no longer a project ... well, not quite. I decided to use it for test lab as I plan out another MB-1 project (Project MB-1.2). Here I am testing a variation on the drop bar, On One Midge bar and playing with a set of balloon tires, Schwalbe Big Apples (26" x 2.15" = 55-559).
Riding around on this set up is actually enjoyable and fun. The Midge bars are much better than the Moustache bars, since they have actual straight tops and the brake levers are not completely horizontal, and there is some drop to them. The balloon tires are quite different and not as slow as one might think. The last time I rode around on tires that took such low pressure (currently running 30psi) was way back in my childhood days on the Schwinn single speed!
Okay, so when I build up MB-1.2, I'll use the Midge bars and Schwalbe Big Apples. Having two MB-1s will be fun and they will be fairly different for different riding purposes, but both will be fun riding bikes. SUB will be re-converted to the errand bike, the one I can use panniers on.
There seems to have been quite a few Bridgestones for sale in and around the Portland area recently. Given that, you would think I would see more Bridgestones on the road, but that does not seem to be the case. So, the other day, I stopped at City Bikes on my way home to check their used parts bins for some brake parts. While paying, someone came in and asked, "Who owns the MB-1?" I said, "It's mine." He said, "Nice bike."
When I left and as I unlocked my bike, I realized why he asked. There locked to the next over rack was a Bridgestone MB-0.
The MB-0 is on the right. Cool, a first for me!
6 comments:
I've been enjoying the mild winter here in New England too - we've hardly even had snow this year, which has been awesome. I commute on a folding bike and last winter, the roads were so bad by the end of the day that I'd usually just take my bike home on the bus with me once/week or so (at least). Haven't had to do that once yet this year. (And only about 1 month of winter still to go!!)
I imagine it is quite nice since wasn't it pretty bad last year?
The Montague sounds pretty nice, and convenient if you do need to catch a bus or train.
I really like the time and care you put into your MB1 build up. I just looked at all the pictures on Flikr. Did you have the DT bosses added before the re-paint? Or did it come with bosses? I would've assumed it shipped with DT cable stops?
I have a MB-zip frameset in a closet in my basement... awating my 9-year old daughter. I figure by 12 or so she should fit it.
Thanks, John. Yes, I had the DT shifter bosses added after the frame was stripped. I also had them remove the factory cable stops. If it ever goes back to MTB shifters, stops can easily be bolted to the shifter bosses.
The MB-zip is a nice frame and should be a great bike for your daughter.
Oh, another thing, did you know there is Bridgestone Owners Bunch on facebook? You should stop by and join up, lot's of great information and comraderie.
Facebook BOBs: Yeah. There's also an iBOB list google group. But they rarely talk about B'stones anymore. I've owned a bunch of B'stones over the years. Not super well-made bikes, but they're interesting geometry-wise and worth picking up if you can get a good deal... as it appears you have. The only B'stone I still ride regularly is a hacked MB-2 -- built up like a big BMX bike. Fun.
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