Bicycles and Music

My recent passion for bicycling came about like many Americans – during the pandemic. Of course, I have been riding bicycles all my life and I vividly remember when I was seven and I rode my bike without training wheels for the first time.  It was terrifying but also liberating!

I got back into bike riding in 2018 when I was given a Trek Earl that was collecting rust and dust at someone’s house.  The Earl is a heavy beast – almost 30 pounds of steel. It’s a single speed and (at the time) was all I ever wanted: simple and fun and looked great. It had a 44/17 gear ratio and a split frame body (and a bottle opener!). I used my bike to casually ride around Houston and just have some personal time.

As I kept riding, I enjoyed it more and more and so, I starting tracking my miles. THEN I decided to buy a second bike to keep at my office because I worked in an area of Houston where great trails for walking and biking are easily accessible. Plus, my office is close to where my sons live and the three of us could go riding together after school/work or on weekends. 

So, I ordered a State Bike (a 4130 in “perplexing purple”) and didn't give it much thought beyond the State being a nice secondary bike.  

But once I had the bike assembled and gave it a test ride around the neighborhood, I was instantly in love! It is much lighter than the Trek (21 pounds v. 30 pounds), had slightly thinner tyres and was also a single speed. But the bike felt so… svelt.

I changed plans and brought the State to my apartment and took the Trek to my son’s place. Then all hell broke loose with the pandemic and I was stuck in my apartment with a perplexing purple bike, my record collection, and my cell phone for work. 

And it was around that point where biking changed from being a casual activity to one where I would track miles, challenge my body and mind, and dive deep into parts to make the bike “better”.  I'll talk more on the "better parts" aspect in upcoming posts. 

TLDR: I like riding my bike a lot.

Hit the trails!

I could not resist heading out this past weekend with the crazy warm weather going on.  It got up to 70 degrees (F) here, which is kind of bonkers when you think about it, but it certainly makes for a pleasant evening of bike riding.  

Since I didn't have any plans for New Year's Eve, I decided to head out at night on the White Oak Bayou Trail and made Senate Avenue Brewing my destination -- mainly because it's at the end of the trail on the far northwest side of the city.  Unfortunately, many parts of the trail's sections are torn up from construction, which turned parts of my casual ride into a full bore mud slosh.  

Thick mud had clumped over my brakes and into the fork and frame. I had to stop several times and use my knife to get the mud out.  When I started off again, I would eventually hit ANOTHER large area of mud and standing water.  Pedaling with your tyres all clogged up is not easy, but it was kind of fun battling the mud.

Oh yeah, about Senate Avenue Brewing: highly recommend their brews.  I tried their holiday ale called Die Hard Is A Christmas Movie (of which I agree) and it was quite delicious!  Dark and roasty with subtle hints of orange peel and... cardamon?  Wonderfully brewed and not too sweet. 

Got back to my place around 11pm and just chilled for the New Year while fireworks and guns fired into the night at midnight.

Was a bit sore on January 1 from the mud struggles, but it was also criminally beautiful outside... so  I took my bike to a local car wash and sprayed off most the mud that was still caked on and then casually rode another 20 miles along Buffalo Bayou Bike Trail. 

Oh yeah... I log all of my hikes and rides on Strava, if you're into that sort of thing. 

TLDR: It was warm and I went on a bike ride.