Lovely Afternoon

March 12, 2013

My lovely sister, about whom I wrote in my last post, has been visiting my mother. We met for a early lunch date and a short Brompton ride.

She, of course, had seen more Bromptons than I have, living in Belgium, but she had not ever ridden one. Having two, we parked outside of the city and rode along the Creek Walk path to lunch. The weather had been threatening rain all morning, and just as soon as we pushed off, it started to sprinkle. New York weather mimicking a Belgian winter.

After a short ride, we found the pub where we would have lunch. They had kindly (and unintentionally) kept a table free for us!

We neatly tucked the Bromptons behind the table...

and I tried to no avail to find a pint of beer that could compare with those my sister usually gets in Belgium. All of the American Belgian styles were gone on the day we visited. We did find a great cheese and charcuterie plate and friendly people with whom to talk.

The rain started in earnest while we sat there, so we spent a great couple of hours talking and laughing. On our ride back to the car, my sister pointed out how useful it would be for her to have a Brompton. She rides the train 20 minutes then takes a bus another 30 minutes to her work. She thought that if she had a nice folding bicycle, she could get off the train a stop or two sooner and ride the last 20 minutes to work, saving herself time and getting in some exercise. And, she said, if it rained on either end and she didn't want to ride, she could just take her bicycle on the bus anyway. I wisely nodded my head in agreement. I'll let her think it's all her own idea.

My Brompton Story?

My sister lives in Belgium in a lovely little village about 45 minutes by train from Brussels. She has lived outside the US for almost 30 years and, thus, has a very different perspective about public transportation and bicycling... and food... and beer. She speaks French, Dutch, and German, as well as English, like a true Belgian.

I visited her and my nephew last January for two weeks. During that time I visited Brussels, Leuven, Louvain le Neuve, Antwerp, and London. I used public transportation nearly exclusively (except for the time I missed the train in Brussels and so missed the last train to the village). I was astounded at the number of bicyclists riding in the cool, rainy Belgian winter weather. And even more astounded at the thousands of bicycles I saw parked in and near the train stations. One of the reasons I have a Brompton, well, two Bromptons, is watching the cool Brompton owners rolling their folded bikes along the train platforms and then standing waiting the 5 minutes for the next train. I road shank's pony. Everyone else road a very cool bike.

When I returned to the US, I had been encouraged to ride more, and I did. And the old Trek 700 Singletrack I had bought at a consignment shop for $16.00, converted to a commuter bike, and didn't really maintain, just was no longer up to the task. Broke some spokes, gear shift levels would no longer adjust, rust!, bottom bracket was grinding, front derailleur needed replacing... I decided it was time for a new bicycle. I lusted after the Breezer Uptown 8 with the Nexus 8 speed rear hub, but remembered those lovely little Bromptons. It's all about the fold!

In the US things are just father apart than in Europe. My sister can hit the commuter train with a rock from her front steps. I have a 5.25 mile ride to the train station. Trains run every 30 minutes all day past her house. There are four trains each day along the east-west corridor between Buffalo and Albany, and no trains run north-south in this part of the state. There's not even buses that run north-south in this part of the state... wait, that's not true... there's one bus a day. You can't get to the Syracuse Airport on public transportation except by taxi. I know, because I made a point of using public transportation to get from my home to the airport, and I walked the last 2 miles on very busy roads with no sidewalks. In my part of the US there is no problem with public transportation having too many people try to use it. It just doesn't go where I want to go most of the time. Yet, I can use public transportation to connect the distant places I want to get to if I can fill in the large gaps at the beginning and the end. I'm not talking about a 2-4 km ride like I hear people discuss in the forums and blogs. I need to fill in 10 to 15 km or more. And the Brompton works like a charm.

And I can fit two plus luggage in the boot of my car, providing for a great opportunity to ride someplace new like Long Beach Island. Many of my friends and relatives have thought I was a little crazy for spending so much on these little bicycles. I have been nothing but pleased!

St. Patrick's Parade

March 9, 2013

I know, March 9th is not St. Patrick's day. Except in Syracuse, New York!

I only have a couple of quick shots for the parade. Really, I had forgotten the parade was taking place. I  got a text from my son telling me that he was downtown with his lady friend. The weather was actually pretty nice, so I took the Brompton for a spin that did not include snow and slush for once.

I know; it's not a very interesting photograph. I'm not the artist that many others are and I'm just using my iPhone.

This young gentleman was kind enough to pause so I could get his photo in front of the Niagara Mohawk - National Grid building. Another time I'll have to get a good photo of the architecture of this building, very Art Deco.

My son was kind enough to have a pint of IPA waiting for me. We stood around and watched the parade and the people for about an hour, and he and the lady friend met some others. I road down to my favorite downtown pub to see the action.

And I am so lame for not getting a photo of the two block bar and pub area of Syracuse with the entire street and sidewalks mobbed with St. Patrick's day celebrators.

One story: While I was unfolding on the street to meet my daughter (who needed some cash, can you believe it?), a gentleman asked me about my Brompton. I briefly told him about some of the features, and then he asked if he could ride it. Well... firstly, the street was too full of people to ride anywhere and secondly, he was pretty deep in his cups. I gently declined his offer. He persisted and offered to show me his badge as an FBI officer to prove his trustworthiness. I gently declined again, pointing out that he was in his cups, and he asked again. I finished unfolding the bike and putting my helmet on, looked at him, and told him that he could ride my Brompton if I could spent the night with his partner. At this point he lost interest and went back to drinking.

Does everyone get asked to let strangers ride your Brompton? I do offer to let people ride it, but strangers? This bicycle is really just too precious!

The Weather Changes!

March 9, 2013

Finally the heavens opened and displayed the bright shinning warm object that has been gone from us for nearly beyond memory!


And my work was to, first, clean up the very dirty Brompton.

I truly love my Park workstand. Santa was kind to me at Christmas, and I have certainly never kept a bicycle's chain as clean as I do now.

The second job was to go for another bicycle ride :)

I've been reading the Brompton blog written by My Orange Brompton. I have to tell you just how jealous I am that he has all these other Brompton riders with which to plan and take rides. I believe I'm the only Brompton owner in my city. I have seen only a few other foldies. And the cycle crowd is nearly entirely made up of the lycra crowd.

Perhaps I'm just ahead of my time?

:)

Multi-modal to Albany Again

March 7, 2013

This trip turned out differently than I had expected...

I had some business in Albany, so thought I would ride to the train station, catching the train for my trip. Train was 45 minutes late. Public transportation in the US is not known for keeping to schedule. 

Brompton tucks in with the other luggage.

While I rode to the train station under the threat of snow, it held off. 3.5 hours later upon disembarking at the Schenectady train station snow had started to sift down lightly. I put on my rainlegs, expecting things to get worse.

And worse things did get, over the course of the 11 miles between the train station and the hotel the snow went from a few flurries to heavy wet snow that put nearly 2 inches (4 cm) on the roads. I stayed amazingly dry because of my jacket and rain legs, but the snow and slush made the Brompton a sloppy mess.

I will certainly do the ride again when I need to be in Albany. Maybe not in the sloppy snow, if I can help it!

Planet Bike Blinky Superflash and CREE XML Headlight

When I bought my Brompton, I purchased the battery light set. There was no way I could have afforded the dynamo lights at that time. And I have found the basic light kit... basic. The rear light that fits under the rack has a great look and has been solid for me to this point. But it is mounted low and only has a steady light.

So I bought a Planet Bike Blinky Superflash.

The light has three ways to attach. The bracket can be attached to the seat post, to a stay on the rear triangle or clipped to a bag or jacket. I attached under the seat in the space between my extension seat post raised to my proper seat hight when the lower section is all the way extended. This mounts it high and makes it easy to see from the rear.

The light has two settings: blinking where the larger LED blinks alternating with the two smaller LEDs below and steady on. I use it as a blinking light.

The front Brompton light does not have enough brightness to be used as a light to see by. As a blinking front light, it shows up enough for oncoming traffic to see and that's really all, so I bought a 1200 Lumen CREE XML T6 Bulb LED through Amazon.

The light attaches to a lithium ion battery pack that recharges off the mains. Seating the light at the bottom of the U of my handlebars didn't really work because of interference with the cables. I have ended up installing a crossbar and installing it there when I need it. This light is BRIGHT. The downside is the weight of the battery.

The light has four settings: 3 brightness settings and a flashing setting. This photo shows the bright setting. See the snow? :) The signs that are lit up are over 100 meters away.

This system works for me. I don't ride very often after dark. Sometimes I get caught when I stop at the pub... so this really lights up the path!

Brompton Winter Riding

The winter refuses to end!

While I have been very bad at updating this blog, I have still ridden when the weather has cooperated and sometimes when the weather has not! I don't mean to be a whiner, and still...

So here's some photos of winter in Syracuse taken January 12, 2013.

This is the path I frequently ride along the lake. about 5 miles along it joins up with a much larger path that through a park. Unfortunately, this part of the path is not maintained during the winter. What you see is the snow that has partially melted after being packed down by snowmobiles. This is impossible to ride through and means there is walking and pushing involved.

The winter storms have brought down a tree onto the path, although this part was a little more rideable, because the thaw had cleared off more of the paved surface.

The main part of the path runs through the park and is plowed clear of snow for use year round by cyclists, runners, and rollerbladers. The local governments are working to complete the path so it circles the lake. I hope when they do that the path on the other side of the will be cleared in the winter. There are so few places to ride in Syracuse that are not on roads shared with cars. It would be great to have this path around the lake!

Cycle life under the gray dome. I don't mind the cold so much; gear can deal with the temperature. It's the ice and snow that is messy and sloppy. This part of town is clearer. I had hoped that the snow would be done. Hopes were dashed!