slagg

I am not the bicycle maniac I should be. I don't have the best wheels, neither am I a top-notch mechanic. But I love my bikes. They are a joy to ride and they get me from Point A to Point B well enough. I plan to recondition them both so that my wife may ride one and I the other, and I hope to add a trailer to the pedal-powered family next year. In the meantime, here is a picture of me with my main ride, for which I paid $35 USD in 2006, and even with the fall of the dollar, I'd still regard that as a good price.


While the bicycle may not be ideal for many of my countrymen, I have chosen to live in an urban environment. Our public transit is bike-friendly, with racks on the front of all of the buses, and anything I need is within riding distance. I have taken the time to explore my city, and I know many of the cut-throughs, alleyways, back roads, and public spaces, and if need be, I could make a transition from petrol-power to pedal-pwer with relative ease.

One thing I admire about Europe is the greater reliance on transportation other than the personal automobile. Having a car is fun, convenient, and empowering, but it's not the only horse in town.

When is Andy Gates showing up? In his absence, I don't know to whom to defer in all mattters cycling.

In the meantime, let's talk about bicycles!

I hate bikes. One made me fail my first driving test. Will never forgive them!

Like walking, don't even own a bike.

You're so contrarian, Apache. I like that about you.

What does a proper PAW bike toolkit contain, where do you draw the line?

Excellent question that I don't feel qualified to answer at this time, though I'll take a crack at it in general terms. For the PAW or extended bug out, you'll obviously need to replace or repair tyres, tubes, chains, and spokes. I wouldn't expect to be a bicycle road warrior, but rather use it to get to my bug-out location (BOL), where I would want to have the majority of my replacement parts. Therefore, I'd want to at least have a patch kit, two spare tubes, spare links, air pump (or two?), chain lube and tools.

I carry a spanner, a couple of tire tools, and some Allen wrenches, and these have served my needs so far. If I were to break a chain, though, or bend a rim, I'd be in trouble.