Rider:
Katr member offline [1 comment]
Ways to connect: n/a
Location:
Salem, Oregon
Club Affiliations: ADD Bicycle Theatre
Commuter Cycling Century
Salem Bicycle Club
Team Fred
Team Estrogen
Member Since: July 2007 5 Year Distance Chart
2024 Miles Traveled: 0
2024 Rank: currently unranked
Lifetime Odometer: 2,760 miles
Rider Comments:
Ride, katr, ride!
posted by michaelheggen on 9/5/2007
History:

click to enlarge
I don't drive, so I have always done most of my commuting, shopping and errands by bicycle. I only took up thinking halfway seriously about speed and distance in the last year or so. Yes, I'm ridiculously healthy, thank you very much.

My first bike was a Schwinn girl's Stingray with blue metal-flake paint and a flowered banana seat. What a sweet bike. Next was a Schwinn World Sport 10-speed, then I rode my mom's 3-speed Schwinn Breeze, which got run over by a Trailways bus...

...with the insurance settlement I got a one-speed Schwinn repro cruiser, which weighed about a million pounds and which I routinely rode on casual 30 mile trips, and an 18-mile round trip commute, up and down some serious hills. That was a sweet bike, but about the time I was thinking it would be nice to have gears, I snapped something off that would need to be welded so I donated the bike to the Center for Appropriate Transport. Blackie was a lucky bike--she was stolen 3 times and I got her back each time, once after almost a year. She served me well for over 10 years. I hope she's having a good 2nd life.

I had a crappy Schwinn "mountain" bike, a Frontier, I think, which got stolen. Good riddance. I also rode my brother's police-auction "Frankenbike", which got me around but whose geometry was all wrong for me.

I finally inquired about a Bianchi that my friend's housemate had *left in the yard* for two years. How often do you get a free Bianchi? After a trip to the LBS for new everything, Bianca has been my faithful, if heavy, steed ever since. The Project-3 was an ur-hybrid, a kind of 29er, and BSGs and real bicyclists often admire her. I've got road bike tires on her. I doubt I'll forsake Bianca anytime soon.

I don't own much in the way of real bike gear, know nothing about components, and hate getting my hands dirty. But I don't let that stop me. Go Team Fred!

If you don't care about aerodynamics, check out http://www.cobbworks.com/ for their "Oyster Bucket" panniers.

My hero: http://www.bta4bikes.org/btablog/2008/03/21/1295/ 
Bicycles
click to enlarge 1994 Bianchi Project 3
700c Hybrid bike


Lifetime Odometer: 2,792.5 miles
No planned events for 2024

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