Beijing Work Bikes
I’ve had bicycles on the brain lately, I’ll admit it. I suppose that’s what one gets after a mountain-biking themed three week vacation to Moab, UT (See Kent’s photo) where I won a Surly Karate Monkey frame at the Moab Fat Tire Festival.
Super-cool festival, mind-blowing riding. But I won this frame, see. And I’ve made it my winter project to build it up and ride it in the Bike New York “Great Five Boro Tour, 2004.” So I’ve been doing some research. Okay, I’ll be honest: I’ve been obsessing. This is me and I can’t do anything the easy way — I’ve decided to build this bike up as a fixie.
Now, you can’t just walk into your local bike shop and start pestering the staff about fixed gear components. They look at you funny. They ask you why you would want to do this. Unfortunately you have no good answer. You can’t explain this aching urge to ride a fixie. (And babbling about the movie “Quicksilver” just doesn’t help matters very much.)
So we’re left with the web. Thankfully, there are other people like us. They can’t talk to anyone about fixed gear, either. So they write web pages. And we read them. And that’s how we discovered this exquisitely photographed collection of work bikes in Beijing. (Fixed Gear Gallery)
Fixed gear? WTF are you thinking?! You need to try something a bit more productive…. like building and flying a rocket with an onboard live video downlink. Oh, wait…..
Yeah… and how is the rocket project going, anyway?
The rocket flew and the video looks pretty good. I’ll be putting some video stills up on the site over the snowy weekend.
I’m also about 75% done building a bigger, faster, better rocket. This one has electronic altimiter deployment of drogue and main parachutes, piston ejection, electronic altitude/performance recording, and takes from big, to really, really BIG engines. I’ll fly it in the spring at an organized launch, as an FAA waiver will be needed! Pics of this rocket will be on the site sometime this winter. Who knows… the snow might make it happen….
Tim - the pics from the rocket are up. Let me know what you think. Also, check out my ghetto fab studio.