Excuses, excuses

Well I swore I'd actually get some riding in this week, but between working almost every spare moment fixing up my bike and getting back and forth to work, I haven't had much time. No biggie though, I'll definitely be back in the saddle once I'm back at home again.

The lean mean purple machine is no longer purple - it is now a nice glossy black. It seems that green spraypaint isn't particularly attractive, whereas black is. I just put the first coat of lacquer on this morning and will put another one on as soon as I get home, and after that it will be time to put 'er together again!

Pieces of bike strewn over my floor...

I'm house sitting for my parents this week, so I've got access to my old man's garage and all his tools. As such, I'm taking this opportunity to give the lean mean purple machine some much needed TLC. It is currently in pieces all over the garage and partially sanded. That's right - my lean mean purple machine will soon be a lean mean black and green machine. It will also have fresh cables and tape and a brand new rack and pannier set as well as some nice new lube everywhere I can manage it.

Because my bike is in pieces all over the floor, I'll be training indoors this week. Blehhhh...

Desperate white female seeks cheapy messenger bags for a few hours of DIY fun

What an epic adventure I've had this day. Truly a fantastic frenzy of fabulous fun. My intention was to ride over to the Savers on the east side to purchase some cheapy messenger bags for to make my own panniers (because panniers are fscking expensive, doncha know). Little did I know that there is no longer a Savers on the east side, only one on the west side. Equally little did I know that in place of the awesomeness that is Savers was its polar opposite... Family Dollar. Ew. So I rode back to campus, thinking I'd go to the Goodwill on State Street. WRONG! About 3 minutes before I arrived, they had closed. No one wants to sell me cheapy messenger bags today, apparently.

So scratch that idea. I then went to Budget Bicycle (bless their LBS hearts) and purchased some necessary items for my lean mean purple machine; handlebar tape, cables, and a rack. Unfortunately, probably due to no fault of the kind people at Budget Bicycle, the rack was missing one single nut, and so I was unable to complete the installation completely. Oh well, it feels solid enough for now.

Today's mileage: 6.9 miles

Bolt your bottle brackets or bear the burden of bumps, bruises, and broken bicycles

Rode through the Arboretum yesterday - never knew how pretty it was down there. Definitely didn't ride as far yesterday as I did on Tuesday, but it was still a good ride, and I do love my lean mean purple machine. Note: strap on bottle brackets... don't work. Don't use them. They will spitefully get in the way of your pedals no matter how often you kick them back into place. Sooner or later, very bad things will happen... the point is, if you can't bolt it down, don't use it.

If anyone is interested in donating, please email me. Bike and Build applications are not open yet, and as a result I don't have an "official" donate link, but rest assured that all donations will be held in reserve until I've got one.

Total mileage (yesterday): 7 miles

Don't train on a cruiser...

...It won't work out for you. Rode to the mall like I said I would, but on the way out, my handlebars came loose... mysteriously. This is on top of all the other odd issues it has. I didn't have a big enough wrench on me to attempt to fix the part I thought it might have been, so I had to chain it up at a St. Vinny's until I can figure a way to get it home. No big deal though, I found a reasonable (better than that damn cruiser) training bike on Craigslist, so I walked to the gentleman's house, tried it out, and bought it. It'll work for now, maybe be a nice project bike. It needs new handlebar tape for sure, could use new cables, a paint job, and a different shifter mechanism (if possible?). The current one involves flipping these little levers.

Anyway, today's training totals (mileage is according to Google Maps):

Home to mall: 5.8
Mall to Craigslist guy: 2.5
Craigslist guy to home: 4.1

Grand total of 12.4 miles! Woo!

The adventure begins...

And it begins... the ride of a lifetime.

My name is Ally, and my goal is to bicycle across the United States with Bike and Build during the summer of 2009. This blog will document the next 365 days, from my training and fundraising efforts to preparing for the trip to the actual ride. It will also serve as an accountability record - did I train today? If not, did I train yesterday?

So here I am, at the beginning. I will be biking at least four times a week, increasing my mileage a little each time.

Yesterday I rode approximately 3 miles - all the way down Lakeshore Bike Path and to the end of Picnic Point, then all the way back. Today I will be riding to the mall on the west side, a trip of approximately 5 miles each way.