After a few weeks of debating the virtues of bike sharing/rentals I purchased yearly subscriptions from Nice Ride MN for me and the family.  The keys arrived yesterday and this morning we went and took a ride along the Midtown Greenway.  The overall experience was wonderful.  You insert your key into any available bike, adjust the seat and then pedal away.  I wasn’t too sure how these green monsters would handle but it turns out that was not an issue.  We thoroughly enjoyed the ride and look forward to many more before November, when they remove the bikes for the season.

I’ll tell you what, if you live in the Twin Cities then I recommend you check out Nice Ride MN.  If you live in another city that offers this service, ditto.  And if you live in a city that is considering a program like Nice Ride then you need to support it.  You won’t be disappointed.  Nice Ride?  Indeed.

Good-gosh almighty.  It has been entirely too long since my last ride so weather permitting, I plan on hitting the streets tomorrow.  Forecast calls for thunderstorms so I am taking a wait and see approach.  Regardless, I am taking the first window of opportunity I see.

So the Nice Ride racks are starting to reappear in the Twin Cities so it must mean that Spring has sprung.

I am compelled to post a photo of my “new” old road bike that I found on craigslist.  It is a 1988 Raleigh Technium Tri-Lite with a mix of Shimano and Suntour components.

My Lemond Fillmore.  The following images were taken at the Hawthorn Farm MAX platform on a rainy day in April.  This day in April as a matter of fact.  I have the Lemond for just over a year now and it continues to be a joy to ride.  I really love singlespeed bicycles.  The clean lines and simplicity make riding single speed a real joy.

Oh yeah.  Talk about hybrid energy, I mix it up between MAX and my Lemond singlespeed.  Take a break from your gas powered vehicle and give bicycles a try.

]]> http://ividdy.com/index.php/day-111-strike-a-post-lemond-fillmore/feed/ 0 http://ividdy.com/index.php/day-85-why-ride-singlespeed/ http://ividdy.com/index.php/day-85-why-ride-singlespeed/#comments Sun, 07 Mar 2010 17:53:18 +0000 Mister Viddy http://ividdy.com/?p=1518 Why ride singlespeed? There are many personal opinions out there regarding the topic of singlespeed and fixed gear bicycles and why people ride them.  Many people, including myself, like the fact that a singlespeed or fixie is lightweight and easy to maintain due to the fact that there aren’t very many parts involved in the construction of such bikes.  There is certainly the coolness factor but one must admit that singlespeeds and fixies are very cool looking bikes, in general.  I ride a singlespeed for two reasons.

1.  I rarely take advantage of the gear selections available on multi-speed bicycles.

2.  I like the fact that maintenance and upkeep is much easier on a singlespeed bicycle.

It was several years ago that I came to the realization that although my bicycles had several different gear selections I rarely changed gears.  I found that I had a favored gear ratio and I never changed it, even while climbing.

So I’m not cool but at least my Lemond is.