Cruisin' in the TARDIS

Since this is ostensibly a blog about biking, in which I yak on the topic of bikes and how to use them, I guess it's time to introduce my bikes. I have a few.



This is Grey Bike. This is the first non-crappy bike I ever bought (the model is the 2008 Novara Buzz V), immediately after I finished college. As far as category goes, it's an urban bike, made to be fairly comfortable, agile, and very, very durable. The only things I don't like about it relate to it being a less expensive bike. For one, they did not change out the length of the crank arms or stem relative to the size of the bike. So the crank arms are fairly enormously long, and the stem stretches me out past where I'd like to be. Admittedly these are both very fixable problems, but half the point of this bike is that it's pretty inexpensive. I'm also not a huge fan of the flat handlebars or the saddle, mostly because it's a "unisex", rather than a lady's. The current incarnation is as general beater bike, loaner, and for riding to places I'd rather not lock up either of the others. It will soon also become a pedicab, because the idea of people watching and riding bikes while making money appeals to me.



This is Shadow, a 2009 Cannondale Synapse 7. She is an aluminum bike with a carbon fiber fork, and is all over just a sexy beast. She now has a different saddle than in that picture, and is black as midnight from head to toe. She's a fast, agile, sexy vixen with curves that just won't stop. Shadow is my bike for when I want to go fast, for a long time, and together we put in between 50-150 miles a week, all summer last year. I've also commuted on her, but she's a flashy lady and I really dislike chaining her up anywhere - the bike just screams "STEAL ME!" in big flashing letters.



Last, and by no stretch of the imagination, least, is the TARDIS. It's a Surly Long Haul Trucker, which is a dedicated touring bike made to handle well under loads, and ride comfortably as long as you can physically stand to be on the bike. It's my everyday bike. I use it to go to work, get groceries, walk the dog, cruise around town, ride to school, and everything else you could conceivably want to do with it. 90% of the time I'm on a bike, I'm on the TARDIS. I've tricked it out since I got it, and in the time since this picture was taken it has acquired a kickstand. My all time record haul on it was a kitchen trashcan, a wastebasket for the bathroom, a dozen coathangers, and $60 worth of groceries. Here's to bungee cords.