Cheap-o Helmets

Article about these cooler-styro-grade POS's at Singletracks.

TLDR Takeaways from the article:

1. Know the helmet brand.
2. Look for safety features / safety technology.
3. Expect to pay at least $50 for a safe helmet.  (added: at least $50 – but realistically, budget more for $100, and be pleasantly surprised if it comes in lower.  I mean, what's a whole bunch more comfort and safety worth?)

Those are good, but if you're new to bikes, knowing the brand and knowing what tech to look for may not be in your realm of knowledge.  Here, let me add a few more:

• Buy your helmet from a local bike shop, because you can try it on, and fit really matters.  For that matter, so does supporting your LBS.
• If you don't have a LBS and have to order online, buy from a bicycle-specific vendor.  Amazon's getting crap-tacular lately, being flooded with cheap garbage.  And don't even get me started on some of the more general merch sites.  Anyway, my two go-tos these days are Cambria Bike and Modern Bike.  YMMV.
• If it has a goofy name like "GuudLuk," well, you already know.

Graphics?  No, not really today.  The linked article has some though.  On second thought, here's an oldie-but-a-goodie from this 2012 post:

Not pizza sauce.

Kunstler Ruminates

On suburbia, the somewhat thwarted promise of New Urbanism, and how a decentralized project to re-make American towns into places worth living in has gone off the rails.

The Late, Great Debate about Suburbia, an Apologia

It's a worthwhile if slightly depressing read.  I have my own thoughts on these and related matters but will keep them to myself for now, being in the middle of various situations.  However you can glean that I'm largely in sympathy with Kunstler's views on these matters simply from that fact that I'm posting this link.

Learning to Shift for Yourself

A two minute video on a school that teaches how to drive a manual transmission, from CBS News via youtube.  One of those little trials we all should pass.

Coffeeneuring in 2026

I received the email notice two days ago that The 2026 Coffeeneuring is go, and will begin on Saturday October 10th.  I like the idea, and there's an off chance that I'll participate this year, but most likely not.  The entire event more or less culminated for me in 2020, on my first official day of retirement, and in the aftermath of Hurricane Zeta no less.  After moving to Apalach I participated again in 2021, but with the two coffee shops in town only one and two blocks away, and local bike friends being not at all into the event, it felt vaguely contrived.  (note: not in general, just for me in this location)  Especially in comparison to epic multi-county treks to cool little book-and-coffee places, or to an alligator-haunted private palm tree paradise, or to that very first run downtown to the Mockingbird back in '17.  Kind of hard to top.

Anyway, Coffeeneuring returns, and is worth a mention here.  It is fun and worthwhile, if your locale suits.  Here's the main site, watch for any coming details.  And who knows, I might jump in after all.

Equinox Noted

Time marches onward and two of the local palm trees have marched upward, so my usual living room equinox light show – in which the rising sun formerly beamed through the kitchen window, bounced off a picture of a gargoyle, to a picture of Horus, and finally onto the living room wall shared by my office – anyway, it seems to be a thing of the past.  At least, so long as those two palm trees block the way.  And yes, I realize that sounds like something out of Raiders of the Lost Ark, but I swear it all just happened by accident.  Anyway, the inset picture is from spring 2023.  I had forgotten until I looked it up just now how bright that reflection had been.

Also worth mentioning, here's an old post noting this day in aviation history when, 22 years apart, the B-29 and B-70 prototypes first took wing.  What a Difference 22 Years Makes  Somehow, 2004 just doesn't seem all that long ago.

Finally, I see that the morning cool forecasts for this Thursday, Friday, & Saturday have been revised downward to 65º.  I'll take it!

ps: Speaking of weird chance celestial alignments, take a look at today's NASA APOD.  Huh.

pps: We seem to have the leading edge of the first ragged cold front about to pass over.  Ragged or not, I'll take it.

Sweet relief.

Fall Weather

I see that Tuesday's the fall equinox, and at 8:04pm EDT to be precise.  Let's check the forecast...

88º!  Well, with the equinox so late on Tuesday, maybe fall's in store for Wednesday?  Huh, 89º, hm.

On the bright side, lows Thursday, Friday, and Saturday are in the 60's – admittedly, the high 60's –  but at least that's something.

Maybe later, punkin' spice.  Definitely not in September around here.

Out In the Hot Early Fall Sunshine

Sprayed frame protector lube up into the ICT today.  Messy, but at least I've (sort of) got the job down now.  Here's a link to last year's spray job on the Straggler, which includes a link to a how-to video.

Bleh.  Now I've got to clean all the outside stuff with windex and put it all back together.  Pain in the butt, but for a steel bike that's going to see beach action it's a mandatory before-you-go treatment.

On the easy side of things, one of the guys at Epic Bikes recommended putting tubeless tire sealant into the tubes, rather than going full tubeless on fat bikes.  Injecting the sealant was both neat and painless, to my great surprise and relief.