Nice option to the Dummy.

Not that I'm trying to win this bike or anything, but this is still one nice cargo bike. I'm linking to it in the hopes that I will win it. I'm not gonna hide that. I like the plastic bin for kids and stuff. I like the brakes. I like the changeability it has. Anyway, check it out.

MADSEN Cargo Bikes

I don't like flats

I don't like flats. Nobody does. But I go at least one step further than most do to prevent them on my regular rides. My regular rides are currently my Big Dummy and my commuter, the 1x1. Lot's of flat phobic people use flat resistant tires. That sounds like a good idea. I do that too. Some people use regular tires with tire liners. Way to much trouble and sometimes they cause a flat. Some people use regular tires and a tubeless setup to prevent flat's. I've used that both on and off road and I like it because it works. It's a little troublesome and requires some tinkering, but it's worth it to me. You can run light tires and still have some puncture protection. The problem with regular tires is that with many of them, the rubber compound is a little soft and the tire will pick up quite a bit of debris that can work it's way into the tire far enough to cause some leakage. Usually no big deal. Sometimes though, it can cause a slow leak that will bug you for too long. This happened to me one day on the way home from work on my commuter bike shod with Specialized Nimbus tires. An odd shaped little piece of metal worked it's way into the tire enough to cause an air leak. The odd shape of the object did not let it seal with the sealant that was in the tire, so I had a slow leak. I stopped several times to pump up the tires with air, and made it home without having to add a tube to the tire. Now, if you are like me, you don't just say, "okay, a flat, I'll have one of those occasionally. " What I did was combine the most efficient flat prevention devices that I know of. I use a Schwalbe Marathon Plus with home made sealant. This tire has a built in tire liner that can't get in the way or cause a flat. My homemade sealant was swiped from a thread on MTBR. I've been using it from several years and it has always allowed me to get home without changing to a tube. So far. To show you what it can fix, this photo is from a recent adventure with the boys. I ran over a roofing felt tack with the front tire of the Big Dummy. The tack went through the protective layer of the tire. I saw and heard the tack with each wheel rotation. Remember now, I have the Big Dummy loaded with my two boys. The day is a bit warm and we are tired from our adventure down town. Now would not be an easy time for a flat. I pull out the tack and hear a little air leaking out, then rotate the tire so that the hole is on the bottom so the sealant can do it's thing. It stops leaking within seconds and we continue our adventure without a worry.

Surviving another day

It's really amazing to me how motor vehicle drivers are allowed to endanger others lives. It's also amazing how the drivers can operate their deadly vehicle in such a dangerous manner yet at work or at home they will seem to care about the safety of others and their lives. People will continue to operate deadly equipment impaired, distracted and disinterested. Nothing will be done.

Today's aggressive driving award goes to Louisiana license number MUS 985, a dark gray sedan whose driver must have thought that he would just ignore the human life in front of him and pass me within 1 inch so he could continue on his way without a 5 second delay.

It's been a while, we've been riding!

It's been a while since I have updated this blog. The kids and I have been riding and enjoying the Big Dummy. I've added new seats onto a new snap deck. The Snap Deck was made from shelving that my neighbor was throwing out. The Snap Piece replacement was homemade from PVC tubing custom mitered and trimmed to fit, then screwed into the deck with drywall screws. I'll order the real Snap pieces soon as I do believe them to be superior to my homemade version. On top of the deck is the reason for the whole build, the Crazy Creek Kids Chair. I copied with credit this idea from shizzknits on Flikr. I am thinking of a wooden seat setup like stoutag has on his bike. Or even the most excellent bikerfish setup. Many great idea's via the internet.


































As you can see, we ride mostly to the downtown Baton Rouge area, LSU area and the River front area. Many more adventures left in these spots. One of our favorite destinations is City Community Park. It is located near the LSU lakes and the golf course to the north of the lakes. It is one of the best parks in Baton Rouge and hopefully many more will follow.





































Mike the Tiger is a close bike ride from the park. We like to get to the cage early when Mike is playful, otherwise, he is taking a cat nap. Mike has one of the best habitats I've seen for a tiger. It's got a waterfall, a small stream, and a pond for Mike to swim and wade in.

Tour of Down town Baton Rouge

This past weekend was an enjoyable weekend for the boys and I. Sarah had to study for nursing school and the weather was nice enough for the rest of us to go on an extended bicycle adventure. The Sunday adventure was the best yet.
We loaded up the bike.













We fed geese.














Then we rode through the LSU campus to the levee and down the path to the Down Town Riverfront.

We saw the kidd.













We saw bikes.













We played in the fountains.













We climbed on a cannon.

























We saw geese and alligators.













And we took naps.














And best of all, I got to ride 20 miles with my boys. It was a good weekend. I was really pooped by the time we got home, but it was worth the effort. I need to work on child seats that will hold both kids on the BD safely. Towing the trailer is quite a bit more inconvenient than just riding the BD. I'm not sure of the overall weight of the bike and trailer, but it was more than enough of a workout going up the levee. The thing is LOOONNNGG too. Tractor trailer rig experience is preferred.

The next installment of "Making something from nothing" is the heaviest water bottle holder in the world. And it may get heavier. I need to add another tube to hold the bottle a little better. This holder was made entirely from 316ss tubing scrap. It had to be pieced together using the shorter lengths to get what you see. It seems to be a unique design. Though, I doubt anyone would think of it or want to copy it. Most modern water bottle holders try to have a stylish design and very light weight. I think I have bucked the trend. The WBH resides on my Big Dummy where the weight will not be noticed.

Making something out of nothing.

Today is your lucky day. A double post. I know my legions of loyal followers will have their day made.

Today's feature is a caliper guard for my Big Dummy. Xtracycle makes one. It's a good one I guess. But I like to make the things that I can. I like to make them out of scrap metal too. Industrial scrap. Stuff that will be sold for scrap value only, or thrown away. I dig through the scrap bin several times a day to find the most bikable parts I can. I've made several things for bikes out of scrap and would make a lot more if only more stuff would get scraped or thrown away. The caliper guard is the latest part out of scrap.

Aggressive drivers.

I decided to use this blog to record the license plate numbers of those people/vehicles that drive too close, pass too close and generally endanger my life by being careless and driving aggressively. Today's aggressor goes to Louisiana plate number RMS 212, a white Chevy Tahoe.

The Big Dummy goes offroad.

Easton and I brought the Big Dummy out for an off road ride at Comite park Last weekend. The long tail bike handled great. Riding a long bike on such a seemingly tight trail was no problem at all. The added weight gave the bike momentum to make it over obstacles and hills that I did not think possible. The Snap Deck does need a cushion or padding to make Eastons ride more comfortable. Easton did not want to ride down Skid Mark hill or over some of the log crossings, but I was able to ride them by myself just fine. After riding up one of the longer hills we met up the Bill from DRB. He was out riding his off rode unicycle. Very entertaining to watch. We got to watch him try and fail going down a short rough hill into the Bowl.

Next installment, Making something out of nothing, or real recycling.

The Big Dummy commutes.

I have commuted on the Big Dummy for a few days and I find it rides as well as or more stable than my Surly 1x1 commuter. It's slower, but not much so. But it can carry everything I could possibly want to bring to work, or home from work, and I can carry Easton on it as well. It's been refined about as much as I can with what I have. I still need a front and rear wheel for the commuter built, but that will wait a week or so.

The Big Dummy is complete.

Well, the Big Dummy has arrived. It was received just after I left DRB to feed Landon and put him down for a nap. Perfect timing. I would have been able to start building the bike during Landon's nap if it had come in just a little sooner. No matter. We picked it up and started the process of moving parts from my daily commuter over to the Dummy after he woke up. The process was slow since I don't do this all day every day, but between watching Landon, feeding, ni night, etc. it was more than half done by the time I was tired enough to go to sleep. I finished it the next day and brought it to Bill to have him cut the steerer tube and seat the star nut since he had better tools for that than I did. This bike will have to be my commuter until I can buy replacement parts for the 1x1. I want to have both bikes built at the same time. I did get a free set of used disc hubs that I can build into wheels. Bill will talk me through the process when I'm ready.

For sale: motorcycle

In order to buy bicycle related goodies, I have to either start making more money or sell stuff that I don't want/use.

For sale: 2001 Suzuki DRZ400S, like new condition, many extra's, must see to appreciate.

Starting the new year right.

I placed the order for a Surly Big Dummy from Bill at Dirtroad bicycles. I hope the have the frame on the 9th of January '09. Also on order is the Longtail kit from Xtracycle. I intend to move some parts from my commuter bike over to the Dummy until I can sell enough stuff to buy replacements. I'll need another rear wheel with a gear hub. First choice would be the Rohloff Speedhub with 14 gears. Second choice and posibly the most reasonable is the Shimano Alfine hub. The Alfine hub with 8 speeds is really all I need in Baton Rouge, but aiming for the Speedhub is a posibility. A front wheel with disc and rim brake capability is also needed. 36 hole drilling of course. Disc brakes will eventually be installed at both ends, but for the first few rides, I will have to do with rim jobs. I will be working hard at getting the dummy ready for hauling the kids. Getting Landon willing to ride on the bike instead of in the trailer will be difficult but necessary.

The start of something ordinary

This blog will probably put most of you to sleep. This is a good thing if you have trouble sleeping. A bad think if you are interested in something interesting about bikes. I'll try to do better.