Our Trip Chronicles: I've put all of my trip stories on Neil's Crazyguyonabike site.   There are lots of good stories up there!  To see mine, go to CrazyGuyOnABike.

EASILY AMUSED?  Check out Chunk 666.  I had a homemade chopper long ago, and I'm considering making one that's even uglier and less safe than the original - as if a water pipe fork and no brakes wasn't dangerous enough.

My interests in bicycling are primarily with cycle touring.  In 1999, I sold my Cannondale F700 and bought a Vision recumbent, which I'm really happy with.  It's turning me back into the cyclist I was years ago (albeit with less commuting to work).

*** WANTED: BIKE PARTS *** Looking for parts to finish bringing my Raleigh Superbe back to 1969: *          Sturmey-Archer battery holder *          Grey shock grips in good condition *          Simplex handlebar end shifter (I only need one and don't need the demultiplicator)

THE CURRENT STABLE INCLUDES 2008 Rans V-Rex, my main ride 1973 Raleigh International, 'been repainted, clinchers and regeared.  Still a 531 frame,                     Campy Record hubs/head/seatpost/pedals, Brooks Pro. 1999 Vision VR82 recumbent tandem 1973 Raleigh Tourist, rod brake roadster.  Plan to retrofit this for flatland touring equipped ca. mid-70s. 2006 Jamis Ranger XL, my token MTB

EASILY AMUSED?  Check out Chunk 666.  I had a homemade chopper long ago, and I'm considering making one that's even uglier and less safe than the original - as if a water pipe fork and no brakes wasn't dangerous enough.

My (very casually organized) group of touring friends is the "Canalligators".   Somehow there always is a canal involved: the Erie Canal system, the Cape Cod ship canal, the C&O, the canal in Milwaukee or Chicago, or the Wabash & Ohio...

Introducing Pluto. (Spring 2000)  Goofy needed a little brother.  I needed a bike I could ride in the salt; I'm not willing to submit either my Vision or my Raleigh Superbe to that particular abuse.  (I've had winter bikes before, and if you think the salt eats your car, you should see what it does to a bike!) Pluto is made from three+ donor bikes, all compliments of the good people of Palmyra, NY who throw away beat up or run-over bikes.  I also used a piece of Raleigh Grand Prix tube that I've been keeping as a souvenier of my years in the profession. I've sold this bike to another tinkerer.  Keep going; the next project bike (Scooby) follows.  (Read on; there's more below the picture.)

The main frame is a better quality BMX frame; it's strong and gussetted in places, it seems pretty light and may actually be CrMo.  The welded-on boom part is the Grand Prix tube, the moveable part of the boom is a Columbia cheapie BMX, as is the black part of the stem.  The blue part of the stem, wheels and running gear are mostly from a Huffy 20" wheel mountain bike.  Handlebars are inverted GT mountain bike bars, compliments of Jerrod at Park Ave.  Craig at Joule welded the boom on (nice pattern there).  Thanks, guys.  The rest, including aluminum tubes, steel brackets, bike axils for seat mountings, wood, foam and misc. bike parts are all out of collected scrap.  Idler is a belt pulley from a copier; it's aluminum with sealed ball bearings.  To date, I've got all of $35 in it. I've added a seat cover from some stretch polywool blend that's left over from my days of making cycling shorts.  (Don't need $pecial $horts on a 'bent!) The ride is decent, gets a little wierd at high speed.  Gearing is inadequate, I may go to a Sturmey-Archer AW x 2 arrangement or an S5 hub to take advantage of the overdrive in the hub gearing.  (SA rules!) **3/25/01**  Just added a 52T chainring and thicker, firmer foam on the bottom of the seat.  The big chainring gives me a gear range of 39-78, so I normally cruise in 5th or 6th and the low is low enough.  I also added a rear brake, so I had to buy a cable and this brings my total investment to about $45. **4/2/01**  I have now added a taillight and a two-pulley adjustable-length idler.  This lets me change the length of the bike without changing chain length; I just have to move one of the pulleys.  I've started partway riding to work, about 3.5 mi. each way; as my condition and the weather improve, I'll ride farther in stages. Also new is a t-bar attachment to the seat that I can hang a common backpack on, made from one-by and 1" dowel.  I've also added a coroplast rear fender.  I had a mounting that kept it off the wheel, but it needed something to hold it down onto a crossbar.  Suddenly, I realized that MY BIKE HAD NO DUCT TAPE ON IT!  So that's the solution to the structural need and the philosophical requirement at the same time.

Project Bikes Pluto and Scooby: go to the end of the page

Scooby Bike Here's my latest little bit of absurdity. Design goal #1: Make me giggle.  This goal was met.  I've got some mechanical tweeking to do and more shakedown mileage, then I'll be tearing it down to rebuild all the bearings, upholster the seat, add a small tail cone and to paint it.  How's 1970 Barracuda Lime Green with black accents sound? The drive side of the rear hub has half of a medium-flange hub, cut in half and bolted on where the bearing-only part was.  The left side retains its drum brake (not designed for stops with 225# rider from 20 mi/hr, smells smoky in use!)  The mid-drive has two output cogs, but using low-low the derailleur drags on the street so there are effectively about 7 gears. Note that I've reversed the fork to increase trail.  Top gear is about 70", which is plenty fast; it's definitely twitchy at speeds above 15 mi/hr.  That said, make no mistake: it sure is a ball to ride! The good folks at Park Ave Bikeshop are trying to get me some decent 14x1.75 tires; for now the 2.125 knobbies (Toys-R-Us) will have to do.  They're not so bad, they look tough and give me more clearance. Total investment to date: $85 and a four-pack of Scottish ale (keeps the welder smiling). I've recently sold this bike and am contemplating the next project, a 20-27 road bike based on a mixte.

Our Trip Chronicles: I've put all of my trip stories on Neil's Crazyguyonabike site.   There are lots of good stories up there!  To see mine, go to CrazyGuyOnABike.

11/02 UPDATE: Here's the finished item.  Note the added windshield.  The 13 year olds that always said "cool" when I rode my vision?  They just stare at this.  The color makes me ill, but it gets noticed.  I've also made a fitted seat cover for it.