I ain't too old to hurry

Date: January 25
Mileage: 18
Ride type: Commute
January mileage: 189
Year to date mileage:189

Another good commute, though not as good as yesterday with the big tailwind. As I rode I was again amazed at how great the bike path and roads are right now. In fact as I labored up one of the hills on the bike path, on the heavy bike turning clunky tires with the superfluous studs, I thought to myself, "Maybe tomorrow I should ride the Schwinn." It sounds appealing, but my tires were awfully white when I got home. Not from snow, but salt. I don't need another bike that will start rusting to oblivion.

Speaking of rusting, the freewheel on the Raleigh is not freewheeling again. So I rode it home in mock-fixie fashion. In other words, no coasting. Because when coasting, the chain droops way below the chainstay and swings alarmingly close to the spokes. It's a little interesting going downhill in this fashion. On a fixie you can just let your legs relax, or you can actively slow the bike down by applying pressure in the opposite direction. Can't really do that in this case. So, the trick is to try to pedal hard enough to keep the chain engaged but not so hard as to increase your speed on the descent. I find it's easiest to pedal just hard enough to get slight resistance and then keep the front brake slightly engaged. Tonight when I got home I hit the hard stuff. I skipped the Finish Line and went straight for the Liquid Wrench penetrating oil. My dad always had a can of this stuff in the garage. Not aresol, but the little 3-in-1 oil style can with the screw off tip. Works wonders. So like father like son I always try to have a can as well. We'll see how it goes. I have a feeling I should start scouring eBay for a new one as the LW will only be a temporary solution, if it's a solution at all.