Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Spring Renewal

It's been tough at times getting into bicycle commuting lately. Between my longer commuter and quickly changing weather, it's getting too easy to just take the car. So what can I do to renew my enthusiasm? Buy some bling for the bike of course! I bought a vintage Wrights W3.N saddle off ebay to replace the basic vinyl-covered, plastic-framed thing that was on there. Now my saddle looks like this:





From a distance you can't really tell,



...but my butt sure can feel the difference!

The ride home was very windy today: twenty, maybe even thirty mph winds right in my face. I'm glad it was a nice warm wind though. I'm also glad the river wasn't too high for me to cross...



...although it was close, because even with the warm weather I really didn't feel like doing any extra miles this afternoon. Wind. BAH!

Oh... I forgot my other new bling! I also got a new t-shirt which hopefully will inspire me:



It's a little hard to make out, but it says RIDE MORE THAN YOU DRIVE.

If you want one (they're only $10 shipped right now), you can order it by clicking here.

11 comments:

Rat Trap Press said...

Nice saddle. It looks good on the Nishiki. I'm looking to get a cheap used leather saddle myself.

Doohickie said...

It wasn't exactly cheap, but it was less than half the price of a new Brooks.

HeidiTri's said...

That seat looks incredibly uncomfortable.

Doohickie said...

You've never ridden a leather bike saddle, have you? Try it sometime. It's like riding on air.

A Midnight Rider said...

I ride a B17 and can't say enough about the comfort. It's like there is nothing there, riding on air so to speak.

I'm really looking forward to the tour this summer. I figure just about two weeks. Next month I'll be riding the 30,000 friends through the five boroughs of NYC. It's my fourth and it's a hoot.

Steve A said...

So, when ya REALLY gonna tell us about the new commute? Huh? Inquiring minds want to know!

I have a Wright's saddle on my wife's bike that I ride on occasion, to keep it ready for the day she returns to it. It IS a comfy saddle. It originally came with Frankenbike.

Doohickie said...

Steve: I've started the post, but it is a rather massive undertaking. The article goes about halfway from work to home; I need to finish the rest of it. Then... I need to prune it, something I didn't need to do when the commute was only 7 miles.

Steve A said...

NOW you know why my own "new commute" post turned out to be a series...

Velouria said...

Looks like a nice, cozy saddle! I have yet to completely break in the Brooks Flyer Special on my Motobecane mixte... and it's been a year!

Nice mural the bicycle chose to pose in front of : )

Chandra said...

hi paul,
how is things? nice saddle. i totally dig leather saddles.
peace :)

She Rides a Bike said...

Nothing motivates me to get out of the car then some new bike bling. I bought a new pannier this past weekend that is so, so cute that I can't stop trying to show it off anywhere and everywhere I can. A pair of new shoes helps too.