My Hobo Bike Project

I declare 2013 as the summer of my hobo bike project. So this is about acquiring, fixin' up, and riding my hobo bike.

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I'm back! Had to move to an apartment and store my bike in the dungeon but if you think that's stopping the hobo bike… So I'm out riding and seeing the sights in my new town. Hope you all have a great summer!

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I'm still managing to ride but I have to admit, the mornings are frosty and there's little left in the way of good temps/daylight hours. Seems like a window of a few hours in the middle of the day (weather permitting) is all that's available and even that's waning. Anyway, last Sunday the weather channel app said clear sailing. Headed out, got absolutely soaked by 3 separate downpours. The stream coming off the front tire "power washed" the grease out of lower headset bearings and replaced it with a fine grit. Serves me right for not running fenders on this rig! Whatever! No choice but to pull it apart, clean and re-lube. I installed a piece of old inner tube before re-reassembly. That should take care of future incidents.

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I haven’t been posting but I sold the Fargo so I’m still riding the hobo bike quite a bit with the recumbent for a change 'o pace. I got my drivetrain problems sorted out on the hobo bike and then tried a bunch of different handlebar/stem combos. It turns out, I had it right all along with the dirt drop stem and the albatross bar. Decided to go up even higher and just for fun, mounted the front shifter to a Paul thumbie on the right side for all right handed shifting. Just because. Anyway, I rode the Shoreline Greenway Trail group ride today and the weather was grand. Although truth be told, I prefer the solo rides.

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The bike is up on the rack pending parts arrival to fix a skipping chain. In the meantime, I decided that I'll never use the 50T ring so I turned it into a bashguard.

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It's time to put a period to the summer of the hobo bike. I took the fargo out today and fittingly, someone was hocking coffins—thereby signifying the end of the season, and my experiment. I also got this parting background shot of kayakers fading into summer's horizon.

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What's next? I'm going to rethink the drivetrain and wheels on the hobo bike. I'm thinking I like click shifting and maybe 700c wheels for more clearance/wheel & tire options. Not sure yet. A hobo bike is a delicate thing. If it gets too nice, no more hobo bike. Still, I did miss some niceties. We'll see…there's time for that still. For now, it's on to the neglected fargo and ti-rush. They could both stand to get some miles on them.

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I was watching The Aviator last night and the Hepburn family scenes reminded me that Fenwick is only a ride away. Caught the train back home.

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LI North Fork: Orion Point, Greenport, Shelter Island (2 of 2)

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LI North Fork: Orion Point, Greenport, Shelter Island (1 of 2)

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Saw some old friends on today's ride.

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Riding the rails economist.com

A report from the National Hobo Convention

THEY found the Hardrock Kid under a tree in Ogden, Iowa back in 1977. He was on his way to the Nation­al Hobo Con­ven­tion in Britt when he stopped for lunch …

Real hobos. Cool little story.

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Most cyclists seem obsessed by speed and distance. MapMyRide! 47.2 mi @ 15.8 mph. Woohoo! Wtf! When did life turn into a race? When it’s over, what’s at the end of the race? Is that your goal, or is it to ride? Ask yourself that. Is the best song the one that ends the soonest? Anyway, I no longer have a bike computer and I don’t use an app. Don’t ask me my miles or average speed. I’m going to go on a super slow, meditative ride today. I may take hours to do less than 10 miles. I’m stopping a hella ‘va lot, too. So there. ;)

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Back at it, over to Block Island on the ferry for a day this Tuesday past. Different sort of experience this time. It's tourist high season and everybody was getting last dibs on their summer fun before school goes back in session. The ferry was jam-packed and the island was teaming with pedestrians, bikes, scooters, and cars. Still, a very nice experience and everything on the ferry and on the island runs efficiently and without any stress or fuss. I did this trip on the cheap so I brown bagged my lunch at the beach this time, but I didn't feel cheated in any way.

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I set out out before sunrise today but it was raining and I didn’t feel up to it, so I stopped at Starbucks, caffeinated, and returned home. Still got home before most people were up and at it. Well, alright!

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A couple of pics from recent rides. Hope you're all having a great summer. Now that August has arrived, it's going to start feeling like it's coming to an end.