I Love My MP3 players, but...

There is something so cool about having thousands of songs right there in your pocket, no question about that, but there is something missing- album art! I was in a small cafe yesterday in Petersburg. One room was decorated wall to wall with old album covers from 12 inch vinyl records. BTW, this is a great idea if you hate to paint! Yeah, I know you can still get some of the album art on the tiny screen of a MP3 player, but it is just not the same. There were some pretty cool album covers back in the day. Looking at all those album covers was a walk down Memory Lane. Foreigner, Van Halen, The Cars, The Who, Led Zeppelin, The Eagles and Billy Joel had some great covers. When I was a teenager, I mowed grass and lifeguarded during the summers and spent most of my paycheck on these old records!

Statement!

I wanted to write a statement, an eloquent, well-written statement, somewhat poetic that would summarize this single speed experience so far. A statement that flows well. A statement that could be proudly displayed on t-shirts or bumper stickers one day. After several days of brainstorming for precise words and several painstaking nights of revising I finally have it!

Single speeds are fun as crap!

Holy Cow!

36 inch wheels!

Will these be the new "29er" wheels?

http://www.bertaut.com/monster.html

http://twentynineinches.com/2007/02/14/36-inch-wheels-the-next-big-thing/

And the Winner Is...

I've been wanting to try the singlespeed thing for several years now but never took the plunge until now. I narrowed my choices down to three frames: Gary Fisher Rig, Bianchi Rita, and a Niner One 9. I sold every old bike part I could find in my basement on Ebay then I placed bids on each of the three frames.



And the winner is...

















THE NINER ONE 9!

I consulted teammate and friend Warren Schimizzi on gear set-up, tires, rims, and hubs. Two weeks later the bike was built and ready to ride. I hooked up with Ron, Warren, Paula, Donnie, and Chris for my first ss ride. This ride included some road but mostly single/double track. My first impressions are that the bike handles well and is very light. I can't wait to ride it again!