The other day a Pedros rep came into the shop and dropped off a goodie bag full of stuff. I was interested because he mentioned biodegradable greases and lubes; a subject I’ve been curious about a lot lately. Attempting to be green and enviro-friendly by biking all the time always brings up the question: exactly how “green” is biking? Looking a bit deeper into the bike maintenance realm it’s easy to see many petro-chemicals and such. I’m happy to see somebody working on it, and Pedros is attempting something. And it seems good.

In the bag was a couple bottles of chain lube (CHAINj and Go!—I think the word Go! always requires an explanation point behind it, I’m happy they got that right). This CHAINj has a page of it’s own where you can learn some more about this product. There’s more about canola, or rapeseed oil, here at Wikipedia; quite a bit to read about and research there.

There was also a bottle of ProJ—a “Professional Strength Citrus Degreaser”. So far I’ve only used a bit of the ChainJ on the chain on my fixie, and that bike is silenced again. So far, so good! Also in the—fully recyclable—bag was a RxM multi-tool, some tire levers (these I like), and a catalog.

Reusable shopping bag.

How revolutionary all this is, I’m not exactly sure, but it always takes that single step to make serious change. I’m willing to try, much like the article in the catalog states, it is “…worth the effort. That’s what we [Pedros] had in mind for this page - to encourage you to try.” I’m already riding my bike everywhere I go, no car option in sight for me. I’m willing to try the next step, let’s all try why don’t we.

I recently posted a unicycle on craigslist for sale. It’s one I’ve had sitting in the apartment for a while and have never actually picked up to try out. (Well actually a couple of times, fruitlessly of course). But I’ve had a couple of hits on the ad and thought maybe I should check out what they go for at retail.

I came across this site: unicycle.com and got what I needed. Curiosity got me to check out what an “impossible wheel” is. Wow, is all I can say. And then there’s this youtube video of one being used: appreciate the metal if you must.

Yeah. Today was Cantilever Brake Day. Mark your calendars; May 22nd. Maybe it should be Cantilever Brake Week too, it’s been interesting.

Seemed like an eternity of them today.

No, not the threaded style, like this:

But more like this style:

Images from JensonUSA

And definitely not on anything new, more like the older generation with cracked out springs, rusty (or non-existent) centering screws, corroded alignment surfaces on bikes that could easily be filed as DSOT’s. Such is life, at least I can say I’m giving new—safe—life to old bikes, keeping them on the road, keeping their owners riding and hopefully not driving.

So tomorrow’s Seattle Bike to Work Day. Hell yeah! I’m happy about it, it’s a great day, supposed to be great weather for it, and it’s great that there’s any emphasis and public support for such a conceivably mundane activity. I am honestly really happy and glad when I hear people refer to it as a holiday as I have a number of times this week. There have been a few repairs at the shop that the owners urged to have done before Friday, it felt a little bit like the few weeks preceding the STP. The fact that May is considered Bike Month is awesome, I haven’t yet seen any cards at Hallmark but anytime now I expect to see one in my mailbox.

I’m really curious though. Are there any numbers calculated as to how effective this hubbub is at getting people to bike to work on Monday, May 19th, 2008? Or any/every day hereafter? Bike to work, bike to school, bike to play, bike to shop, bike to theater, bike for groceries, bike for peace, bike for coffee, bike for booze, bike anywhere and everywhere!

Clarification: This is not to say that changing one’s individual actions to benefit themselves and the larger world by riding a bike to work is mundane, but rather that the actual act of riding one’s bike is such an easy and simple activity that it can be described as mundane. And yet as simple as riding a bike to work is—and as one’s transportation—it is wholly affecting in it’s importance and excitement.

For all you Seattle bikers. There’s a good happy hour that you specifically should know about. From 4:00 or so to 6:00 in the evening, Roxy’s has some good appetizers that are half price. But….

if you ride your bike there, they’ll give you a free appetizer! Fried pickles last night went well with my whiskey.

Their menu is pretty interesting. I don’t eat meat any more, but considering their webpage (pastramisandwich.com) they’ve got some good sandwiches. I know they’ve got salt bagels in the mornings and I like to stop in there for those before I get to work some days.

So check it out, eat and drink up!