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it came today. i remember when i first saw it for sale. there was so much about it that just seemed fitting for us. sure it was damaged, but nothing is perfect, right? it came today...and it brought a smile to my face thinking about how i would patch it up a little and give it to you. i smiled as i looked it over and thought about how people had seen it and figured it was worthless, but for me it would be so easy and satisfying to fix.

then i remember. i will never give this to you. you will be busy that day. you will be somewhere i am not and enjoying it. you have made up your mind and this worthless piece of junk is not going to change anything.

it really saddens my day to realize i have to get you out of my head and my life.

tuesday

i keep wanting to think it's some kind of joke. i'm pretty sure she's being serious though. it's a rough in-between time, i reckon. or end time. shit, i don't know. i've never known, because that's just not something i would know.

today was a sick day. i'm pretty sure it'll take more than a day to get better...but that's all i got right now.

Lighting the way

Where do i start? Hmm, well...by now i am sure everyone is bored of my blog posts. i agree...i've been kind of stuck in a rut for a while, and i apologize. so here i decided to do a post on my headlights. i'm writing this post from the flock browser. i don't remember why i ditched it a few versions back, but tonight i decided it would suck too much to try and post all these pictures in a small format via the regular blogger interface. i will probably be doing it wrong anyway, but oh well. the idea for this blog came from our local newspaper. they have started up a monthly section for, about, and by cyclists in our strange little town. i am almost tempted to submit an article, but i figured i would just get some practice. i am out of shape with writing. i have been pedaling the streets of san antonio for about a year and a half now. i particularly enjoy riding at night. the weather is cooler, there is usually less traffic, which means less inhaling of fumes and also less idiots who think it is cool to yell at a guy on his bike. with the territory comes other problems though. for starters, i already have poor vision. the streets in my area tend to go from sidewalk to ditch without warning, and aside from that it is always nice to be able to see where you're going. so here we have a brief history of my lights. this first light was built in (well, kinda...i guess hardwired and bolted on makes a better description). anyway, my first bike when i started riding regularly was an electric bike. a 36v e-bike...a very cool bike which unfortunately is not running at the moment. actually...i'm pretty sure i did a post on futurebike some time back. anyway, the light on this bike was amazing. it was practically a motorcycle headlight on a bike. this thing was BRIGHT! the downside? well, it drained the battery fairly quickly, so it was best to be pedaling instead of using the electric motor if you didn't want to be in the dark after a few minutes. sadly, i began to have problems with futurebike. at first, the battery pack died. by the time that happened, the company that made the bikes no longer existed, and finding a replacement battery pack was a hassle. i ended up finding a place that was willing to wire up 3 12v batteries up the right way and do some rewiring to make it all work. things were looking up for a little while, but next the rear wheel broke on me. to this day i am still not sure what is broken. i have the feeling it is the hub. one of these days i will take it to my bike mechanic friend to see if he wants to dismantle it. who knows...maybe it is a really easy fix with the right tools?

by the time futurebike broke, i was already hooked on riding. my next bike was a craigslist purchase...a vintage british bike...a 1978 viscount aerospace. now, i had been spoiled with my motorcycle headlight, at first i tried the black bell light by its own. it is actually a pretty nifty light. it runs on 4 aa batteries, and is a combination halogen light and led light. the halogen light was great, but unfortunately in that mode you could only get about an hour and a half before your batteries ran low and it went into powersave mode which switched to the led. the led mode is actually not half bad if you are going at really slow speeds and don't want to illuminate too far ahead. enter the planet bike 1 watt blaze (the white light). this little light is amazing. well, i say little...i suppose it is compared to my 4d maglite or even the bell light. this light uses 2 aa batteries (which by the way, i recommend eneloop batteries - made in japan). the light output is much better than the bell and it lasts for about 18 hours, although frankly i would never go more than 2 rides without switching out to freshly charged batteries. when the mount for the bell light started breaking, it was time to switch to 2 of the 1 watt blaze. i tend to keep one pointed a little far and one a little closer. the light is a bit narrow, but with the combination of the two i am able to light a pretty bright and wide-ish area. the planet bike mounts are pretty awesome too. i have become a bit of a bikeaholic...and out of all my bikes i am able to adjust and mount them to all the handlebars. it is on there secure and in all this time they have never given me problems like the bell mount did after just a month or two.

for the longest time, these 2 planet bike 1 watt blaze were my weapon of choice. people would always come up and say...hey, you're the guy with the lights! which of course made me chuckle...because there are plenty of people with lights out there and somehow i am known as the guy with the lights. i guess few people in this town care for lights. in the city limits things are fairly well lit, and i'm sure most people have decent night vision. so, yes...i was happy with my lights for about a year or so...and then tragedy. at this point i don't remember if a light was lost or stolen or broken, but either way, i had to replace it. i was so happy with these lights that i gladly purchased another of the same. however, there had been a few improvements in led technology by that time. the new light was also showing up as a different color because it had not been "worn in". now...it was probably silly of me, but i went ahead and gave the solo light to a friend and purchased another new one so that it would match better. hey, even when old it was a pretty kickass light! i ended up having to get 2 more, either through loss or theft or damage.

as time went on, i aquired another bike. this bike is a west german bike...and actually had mounts for a generator on the fork. i ended up finding a generator combo made in west germany too...and after many months of figuring out a grounding issue, i finally got it working in october of 2009. so, i'd like to take a minute on this. this generator is old school. it only lights up when engaged against the tire and when you are moving. when stopped, there is no light. as such, i have it as a secondary lighting. now, i am not really sure why this sort of product isn't popular in the united states. i have been very happy with having this as a secondary light, even though it is not mounted ideally and the light is pointed off to the side. i figure this is ok...i can ride next to someone and provide some light for them :) . the thing i hear often about generator lights is that it slows you down and that the bulbs go out if you pedal too fast. prior to having everything properly grounded, i did blow out a few bulbs. but, after correctly setting it up i must say it is great to have a set of lights i don't have to worry about. at first, i did find there to be a noticeable drag....
but y'know what? i am still faster than a lot of folks out there, and there is something inspirational about a light getting brighter as i pedal faster. it's good motivation for me.

so eventually, planet bike came out with a 2 watt blaze. frankly, i hadn't really planned on getting it. the 1 watt would cause people to flash their lights at me every now and then, and there was really only once or twice where i felt it was not providing enough light (especially having two of them). however, after getting to a point where i was going to have to replace a 1watt again...possibly 2, i decided to give it a look. the price difference is only about $10. the battery life is slightly lower, but after just 1 ride they had me convinced that i made a good choice. personally, i feel like running the 2 watt on low is about the same as the 1 watt on high. i also love that it comes in glossy black. planet bike makes a pedaled powered 1 watt in black (but you'd need to have a regulated generator coming out of your wheel hub, not an old school one like mine). there is also a battery powered 1 watt in black, but it is part of a combo only, and the cost is the same as a 2 watt. in the end, i chose the 2 watt and i am happy. so, here is my setup how it is now. i am running 2 of the 2watt blaze on my handlebars, and the pedal powered 6 Volt 0.4 Amp 2.4 Watt Screw Fit MES Halogen Bulb (it is considered an "upgrade" to a regular bulb...nicer light, less prone to burnout from speeding, blah blah blah). in the first picture, i have put the 2 watt against the 1 watt against the halogen (in case you can't tell...the 2 watt is the one on top, the 1 watt to the bottom left and halogen to bottom right). personally, i think the pedal powered light and the 1watt match up quite nicely. now that i run the 2watt i notice the halogen bulb kind of seems dim, i really have to be pedaling fast for it to match up...and it never seems to be at the same level of light as the 2 watt. from an oncoming viewpoint, i find it hard to distinguish the difference between the 1watt and the 2 watt. both are really visible, and in fact someone i work with once told me "i don't know how those lights do as far as lighting your path, but i saw you from pretty damn far". it might be kind of hard to see the difference, but believe me...it is noticeable when riding. in fact, i find it ok to ride with just 1 of the 2 watts. well...so far.







so...none of the lights really match up with that first headlight, but oh well. i am really happy with the 2 watt and pedal powered setup. i think the 2 1-watt and pedal powered setup was probably a little more ideal, as the brightness would match up better, but that's not really a big deal. there is only 1 light that i didn't cover in this blog. it is the planet bike 1200. don't bother with this light, it is useless to see with and pretty much useless to be seen. it eats batteries, too. on mine, i ended up putting a yellow tape (the kind that is used to repair auto lenses) and i turned it into a yellow light to be seen with. ah! one other thing. all the planet bike lights use the same mount....so even though you might start with the sucky 1200, you can use the same mount for the 1 watt or the 2 watt if you ever switch. this is particularly nice if you have multiple bikes...you can just find the mounts and it makes things a lot easier! another thing i'd mention...just as a personal preference, i always go with lights that use aa or aaa batteries. i use rechargeables...either the sanyo eneloop (which many consider the best battery in the world...even going to far as to prove it in tests) or also the sony cycle energy. now, not to be racists or prejudice, but i do notice that the ones made in china do not stand up as well as the ones made in japan. they lose charge quicker and do not handle cold weather so well (lose charge, less life). mainly i stick with aa and aaa because worst case scenario i can go to a corner store and get some juice if i am ever out riding and forgot to charge my lights. so anyway, that was my brief history of my bike lights. i hope you clicked to enlarge some of the pictures. goodnight.

the weather report

i'm not sure why, but i wanted it to pour on me. the weather had predicted an 80% chance of rain. i checked everything and hopped on my bike for a quick pedal to the store. the cat that missed mohini too has chosen us to be his adoptive parents or something. his previous owner passed away. the house sold and has new tenants now, but he sticks around here these days. there are times i want to shoo him away...tell him to find a better home. in the end, i guess i don't mind pedaling 6 miles round trip to get him some food. there was a few moments of strong headwinds, but it did not rain on me.

tomorrow there is a 60% chance it will rain on the ride i've been looking forward to for a few weeks. it is never the ride i expect, and i don't foresee that will change. it is 40% chance of no rain, but 100% chance it will not be the ride i want it to be.






let's beat the odds! oh, right. no.