Tag: rain

rain, wind, rain, rain, wind, rain, wind, wind and… rain

The correct number of bikes to own is 4

There was a time when I thought n+1 was the right number of bicycles I had to own. But as I grew older and got other things and people to spend time with and take care of, more equipment did not mean more time in the saddle.

Quite the opposite actually and I sure never really needed these two Centurion Le Mans mixte bicycles I’ve had for almost 6 years and barely used. I wanted them gone before winter and put an ad on Blocket (Sweden’s Craigslist) in October last year. I quickly realized I’d better be selling skis at that time of year though.

Centurion Le Mans Mixte, Blocket

That horse was in pretty good condition and I had just replaced both tires with brand new Schwalbe but a guy actually offered me less than half the price I was asking for to, and I quote, “help me get rid off it”. I removed the ad instead and put it back online last week: the horse was sold less than a hour later. Blocket in a nutshell.

I’ve now got 4 bikes -a commuter to display the Brooks saddle I got when I turned old, a full suspension mountain bike to jump on & off curbs in the neighborhood, a cyclocross to ride on roads and a hard-tail mountain bike to carry my kid around- and it’s about the right number.

Stockholm hasn’t had such a rainy month at this time of year for more than two centuries

Sweden hasn’t experienced such a wet May since 1962, according to meteorologists, with double the average rainfall for this time of year across much of the Nordic nation.
The capital bore the brunt of the recent downpours. In fact, Stockholm hasn’t had such a rainy month at this time of year for more than two centuries and the recent soggy weather has dampened a number of major events in the city including the annual marathon. ((http://www.thelocal.se/20150601/may-weather-in-sweden-was-worst-since-1962))

According to meteorologists it’s been raining quite a lot in May. It didn’t take me complex mathematical models and insanely expensive hardware to figure that out but I guess that sort of lines are for people who never go out so keep up the good work, you’re on the right track! Now if you want cheap and accurate weather data you could also ask any daily bicycle commuter in the streets and she could tell you that. She probably wouldn’t know about two centuries ago but even if she said so you couldn’t prove otherwise.

If there’s one thing cyclists don’t like and don’t forget though, it’s wind. She could also tell you it’s been windier (last year was also windy) than all those years (at least two centuries) she’s spent in the saddle around Stockholm. So back to work weather boys, you’ve got a cyclist to catch and question!

dry & warm

If you thought Stockholm was an idiot free city let me get this straight: you’re wrong.

The more bikes around in a city the more bike thefts & demolitions and – the cyclist in you will agree – there is nothing more annoying than not finding your bike where you left it in the morning or (and that’s maybe even worse) finding it smashed into pieces after a day at the office.

fixie, dry & warm

But even in an idiot free Stockholm a bike would not have a long life expectancy if it were to be outside 24/7. While it has a pretty easy life during summer, it has to deal with rain, snow, ice and salt most of the winter.

There’s fortunately some landlords that have sacrificed a couple of square meters from an indoor parking (basically the surface previously occupied by a single car) and built a parking for a dozen bikes instead.

I’m pretty lucky since my office is located in a building owned by such a landlord & I can leave my bike indoor behind a secured door during the day. One drawback though. Such a facility encourages people to cycle to work and the parking is often very crowded.