On my Christmas list, I had put a number of items, mostly tools for working on my bikes. My stretch gift, the one I never dreamed I get, was a single speed Schwinn Cutter that I'd been admiring at the bike shop. I figured I'd get some or all of the tools and that was it.
Instead, Mrs. Doohickie started at the other end of the list and got me the Cutter. I was in shock. I thought there must be some mistake. After all, I needed to work on the bikes I've got, I don't, ummm... errrrr... Wow. A new bike! My first new bike in 25 years!
Once I suspended all operations in the practical portion of my brain I realized this was the best present I could have gotten. Getting tools would have meant more work. This present is nothing but fun.
So far I've taken the bike out for only a short ride around the block, but it helped me rediscover something I was starting to forget about cycling: IT'S FUN!
On my geared bikes, when I spin out at the top of a gear, it's time to shift to a higher gear and pedal harder, only to top that out and upshift again, until I'm maxed out, working at peak efficiency, man and machine at maximum output.
Riding a single speed is different: You have to work hard in the beginning for a couple of strokes, then you're up to speed and can really accelerate. But eventually you run out of gear and..... WHEEEEE! It's time to coast! Multi-speed bikes are very businesslike and efficient; single-speeds are fun, even childish. Like I said...
WHEEEEEEEE!
I have a little time off work. That will give my knee time to heal. Eventually I'll start my new 16 mile commute. I'll work all that out. In the meantime, it's time to have some fun on a bike.
Thanks to Mrs. Doohickie for starting at the other end of the list. I never expected that.
UPDATE (Dec 27): The bike came with a set of decals in several styles. I used the same style Schwinn shows in the Schwinn Catalog: Traditional block letters spelling SCHWINN on the downtube, and the model name on the top tube. I think the bike looks pretty sporty with this livery.
12 comments:
Now you can ask for goodies for the new bike. Mrs. Doohickie is a pretty smart chick. Now she knows you've become dirt simple to shop for. Of course, you either figured that out long ago or else she's even smarter than I think.
What an AWESOME surprise under the tree. Congrats on the new ride.
Looks like a great bike to have fun on. Congratulations!
Looked through the comments on your earlier post about knee pain. In my case it seems to be from an abnormally tight ITB (iliotibial band). At first sign of knee pain, I do "bend-sideways" stretches with one hip against a wall (light pole, anything vertical and solid), feet and shoulders away from the wall. The stretch is noticable (tight) over the hip area, but loosens up the ITB and takes some load off my knee.
Sa-weet! New bike! Coolio, Julio!
Weeeee indeed : )
And first new bike in 25 years? What a great present!
Sweet ride! You are a lucky man to have such a thoughtful wife. So this cycle is designed for clandestine operations in low-light environments?
Can you post on what it's like to ride this kind of bike? I see the single gear in back, and my first thought is trying to make it up hills and over freeway overpasses. Is it a practical bike for everyday use?
I was talking to the mechanic at my bike shop and this subject came up. He's been playing around with a couple of single speed project bikes. He said that your head approaches riding differently. If you know you can just downshift to climb a hill, your mind gets a little lazy about it. But when you only have one gear, you tend to attack hills and climbs because you know you can't simply downshift. The result, according to him, is that he is a lot stronger climbing than he realized.
I haven't ridden it around enough yet to know whether the same will be true for me. I'll have to report back.
Update: What I realized is that on my geared bikes, I wasn'ty standing up on the pedals at all anymore. If I needed more oomph, I just downshifted. On this bike, I realize at the bottom of a hill that this isn't an option, so at the base of the hill I pedal sitting down until I start to feel my cadence slow, and then I stand up and push the rest of the way up the hill, standing until I get to the top. This time of year that's fine (temps in the 30s). As it gets warmer, I'll either need to get fitter or refrain from riding this bike up hills.
I find that my mind is much more active on this bike. I'm more actively looking at traffic and constantly gaging the terrain so that the uphills don't catch me off guard. Single speed riding is more rigorous, both from a mental and physical standpoint.
Nice looking bike. I had my eye on a Cutter for a while but I ended up getting the Madison instead. I have a couple of single speeds and they have their purpose. I'm all about old and vintage bikes but there's something about having something new and shiny that's very satisfying.
Congrats, Paul! Enjoy your new ride and please post a lot of info about how it feels to ride the new bike.
Peace :)
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