My ass will thank me later

I decided to join the ranks of Brooks England aficionados and recently purchased a B-17 leather saddle for my bike. The stock saddle on my bike is fairly narrow, about 145 mm, and more suited to sportier riding. The Brooks is 175 mm wide and is considered by many de rigueur for commuting, touring, and other such riding. I'm hoping the change will be of long term benefit. I also like the classic look of the leather saddle - it easily works with my bike - and I'd be remiss if I didn't admit there is some cachet to the Brooks nameplate on the back, too.



By chance I came across a bargain basement find of a pair of Crank Brothers Candy pedals for $6. They were inside a box of some generic platform pedals and I was pleasantly surprised when I took a peek inside! I've already installed them in place of my Crank Brothers Mallet pedals. The platform on these is much smaller, so not as good for normal street shoe riding, but it turns out they are much easier to engage with my cleated shoes. There is still enough platform there that I can just jump on from a dead stop and pedal away. The Mallets will go back on my mountain bike and I can always switch back later on if needed.



My bike has seen a nice transformation this week. I'm quite pleased.

Record time

OK, yesterday (Wednesday July 14) was only the third day doing my round-trip bike commute from home. As I mentioned before I was excited to find I could do the one-way ride in just over an hour. Since this is barely more time than the drive & bike routine was taking, it was more than enough justification to just ride all the way.

The weather was warm and I was feeling good. I made it in just under an hour. According to my CatEye bike computer, at least.




The CatEye pauses the time when the bike is not moving (like at traffic lights) so it's still a valid time in most respects. Total elapsed time from my iPhone RunMeter app is below. Cutting 3 minutes seems tough, but we'll see if I can break 60 minutes elapsed door to door. That will be my next milestone.

World Cup Fever

I played soccer beginning in the 2nd grade and played 4 years of varsity high school "futbol." I never did, however, become much of a fan of pro or World Cup futbol. Nevertheless I was sporting my yellow #9 Ronaldo Brasil jersey for my Wednesday weekly bike commute. My parents got it for me when they vacationed in Brasil a few years ago.

It actually is pretty good as a cycling jersey since it is close, if not identical, in hue to the hi-viz yellow many cyclists wear, anyway. This was not the first time I've ever worn the Brasil jersey for my bike commute. Even though I certainly chose to wear it consciously knowing the World Cup was underway, I didn't think much about it once I had it on.

So there I was not even a couple minutes into my commute and I encountered a Latino guy riding toward me on the sidewalk. I looked in his direction 1) because I had just seen another cyclist pulled over on the sidewalk changing his tire, and 2) because he was a "sidewalk salmon," a common variety of the bike salmon. The guy shot me a blank look and then yelled something unintelligible at me with, oddly, still no change in his expression. I was perplexed until my brain reprocessed what it had heard. I still don't know exactly what he said, but it definitely had "Brasil" in the middle. I then took a look down at my chest. Duh.

Brasil was still in the tournament when this happened. As you may know, in the time it took me to write this post, Brasil has since lost to the Netherlands in the quarterfinals.

On cycling shoes

I think part of the reason cycling is so prevalent in places like Copenhagen and Amsterdam is that people don't think twice about riding a bike to get somewhere. They just get on their bikes and go without worrying about wearing proper "cycling attire." They just wear their regular clothes. And regular shoes. And some look damn stylish doing it, too. (Also, see this article.)

The other day my 6-year old daughter wanted to wear her heels while we ran errands (Side note: I did not buy her these shoes). When we returned home, she wanted to ride her bike. First reaction: yes, of course! But then I balked and almost made her change shoes until I thought of the ladies in heels I've seen on the different "cycle chic" blogs and let her ride her bike as is. To compare:

                                                       Credit: Flickr / Amsterdamize

Now, mind you, she was just riding up and down the sidewalk and also went across the street so we could pick up her brother from grandma & grandpa's house. I can't comment on riding long distances in such shoes (for one, because I have never worn high heels), but it is apparent that, in general, cycling can be done quite successfully in various types of footwear. For further proof, witness the following gentleman in the minimalist, barefoot-like Vibram FiveFingers "foot gloves." I also have FiveFingers (and, yes, they are ridiculous looking), though, I have yet to bicycle in them. I will attest to having ridden my bikes in flip-flop sandals (aka slippers).

Credit: family//bike//words / Derrick Purvis

So, it goes without saying that you don't need special shoes to ride a bike. Many people will tell you that cleated shoe/pedal combinations don't even provide much (or any) benefit in terms of pedaling efficiency versus a normal shoe and bare pedal (or pedal with toe straps). I will not get into that debate here, but will concede that I do commute with dedicated cycling shoes with Crank Brothers pedals. My particular pedals have a large platform so that I can also ride with any type of normal shoe, should I choose to do so.

Getting my bell rung

Some of the bumps on my bike commute cause such a rattling that my bike bell will just ring itself. I guess it is a minor consolation when getting jostled about to hear the lovely ding of a fine brass bell.

Bike 21 Commuting Habit tips, 1st edition

Now that I've got bike commute #21 in sight (you know, to make my bike commute habit "official"), I thought I would just share a few thoughts on my bike commuting experience so far. None of these are earth-shattering revelations, but I think are worth repeating here for anyone just getting into bike commuting.

1) Be prepared to ride. It seems like this goes without saying, but if you don't ride everyday, this is pretty critical. Every other tip is basically a corollary from this basic axiom. Early on I would try to pick my bike commute days at the spur of the moment while getting ready in the morning. Instant recipe for failure. There was always something I was missing or needed to do that slowed me down and caused me to abandon the ride.

2) Coordinate with your family. Well, that is if you have a family or someone else that depends on you to be home at a certain time. There were several days I wanted to ride but for one reason or another I needed to be home at a certain time or to pick up the kids from school. Plan ahead of time to avoid these conflicts. Set a recurring appointment in your Outlook/Google/iCal calendar and share/invite your wife, significant other, mom, parole officer, etc. so they remember you will be riding that day.

3) Pick the day(s) you know you have the lowest chance of a conflict and stick to it. There are always exceptions, of course. I figured out Wednesday was the best day for me to ride, so I plan on riding every Wednesday. Monday mornings being what they are, Mondays were out immediately. Tuesdays & Thursdays my kids have activities after school so those days were out. Fridays I usually like to get home as soon as possible, but this is my backup day if I miss my Wednesday ride.

4) Leave a change of clothes, toiletries, etc. at work. I had read this tip before on another cycling web site, but it took me awhile to come around. When I started seriously trying to bike commute I bought a rack for my bike and a set of panniers. I would load up the panniers with my change of clothes, a change of shoes, a towel, and the sundries I needed to shower at work. The stupid thing about that is I have sets of work polo shirts and pants provided to me for my job and a pair of work boots already at work. I don't normally wear them, though. Now I've been leaving a pair of jeans, some underwear and socks, and some basic white tees in my cubicle to change into when I ride to work. Then I will also wear one of the polo shirts and my boots. The work pants are really horrible; they are pleated and too baggy. I just can't bring myself to wear them. Anyway, if you don't have room to keep things at your job or don't have showers, then I guess you can stick with panniers or a backpack to hold your gear and then try to clean up with wipes or just the bathroom sink and a towel.

5) Check your bike the night before. Again, this is more critical if you only ride once or twice a week like I do. Air up your tires. Make sure you didn't remove anything from your bike that you might need, like say lights or tools from your saddle bag. Make sure your saddle is still attached to your bike. I saw a guy biking to work with no saddle one day. That couldn't have been fun.

Some optional tips:

• Have a helmet to wear. I think there is a saying: "Opinions about helmet use are like a**holes...everybody knows one and he doesn't wear a helmet." No..."A**holes are like helmets, everybody has stuck their head in one." No..."Helmets are like opinions, you either have one or you don't, a**hole." No, that's not it, either. Oh, nevermind. My recommendation: wear a helmet.
• Carry a spare tube. Also, make sure it is the right size for your tire. I think I have three spare tubes for my 26" mountain bike. I don't have any spare 700c tubes for my other bike. that. I. use. to. bike. commute. Hmmm...

Well, that's it for now. Look out for more bike commuting tips in the future. Maybe.

Keep on keepin' on

It's been awhile since I've posted. Not that I haven't been riding. I have faithfully kept up with my once weekly bike commute. That's right. Not a typo. One whole time a week. Wow. I know.

Some semi-non-sequitur thoughts from today's bike commute: 

We "officially" started the 2010 season of the Bike Commute Mileage Challenge. We being my alter ego "Obi-Juan Kenobi" and my challenger, known only as "Cyclo-Cross." In the pre-season that ran in the closing months of 2009 the results were pretty much a wash. Since getting my new bike I have rejuvenated my commitment to my commuting pursuit. My opponent, on the other hand, has been confronted with some obstacles that have hindered his ability (or is it willingness?) to make the ride in to work. Thus the tally currently stands at 18-4 in my favor. 18 "points" equals 9 rides for me. For my personal goal all told, I'm at bike commute #15.

I was fortunate to catch most of the traffic lights on my ride in to work. I set a new commute time PR.

Today I got a few waves from passing riders. I've noticed much more friendliness from other cyclists in the past few weeks. Very encouraging. I also caught up to another rider at a traffic light on the way home. We actually even chatted it up for a minute. The guy was really nice and he was also a part-time bike commuter.

If you read my last post, you know I took a bit of a spill several weeks ago. My helmet saved me from a good knock on my noggin and I walked away with only minor scrapes on my hand and knee. I thought my helmet came away relatively unscathed as well, but I just discovered that the shell does have a crack.  Even though I've been riding with it for a few weeks now and have no plans on hitting my head again, it's better to be safe than sorry, so I've ordered a new helmet.

1 Less Car

Cole from 1lesscar.com was giving away some t-shirts on Twitter a little while back and I was lucky enough to be picked as one of the winners. I got my shirt in the mail today, and I gotta say it is one of my favorites of their designs. Go check out his web site www.1lesscar.com for more shirts and the blog with a lot of useful reviews of bike related products. You also have to see the wood "porter crates" that he makes. The crate is featured in the 2010 Trek Lifestyle/Urban bikes printed catalog on the new Belleville. If I had the money right now, I would seriously get another bike just so I could put this crate on it.

photo: Trek Bikes

Speaking of bike t-shirts, my collection has quickly grown in the past few months. My ratio of bicycle-related t-shirts to actual number of miles cycled is a bit disproportionate. I'm working on that. On the actual cycling I mean. I'm not getting rid of any of my shirts.

Disclaimer: I really did win the 1lesscar.com shirt for free. There was no expressed or implied agreement to mention the website on this blog.

Bumps, Backpacks, and Headlamps

With the stormy weather out of the way I rode my bike to work on my regularly scheduled Wednesday this week. This was officially Bike Commute #8, but is there any point to continue counting? Maybe, maybe not, but I guess I will anyway.

It was sunny but being winter, it was still cold by San Diego standards. I layered a long sleeve merino wool tee under another long sleeve shirt. I wore a beanie under my helmet to keep the wind off my ears, but still wore shorts. Gloves, of course. It was a lovely day for a ride and I had excellent luck with regards to catching green lights at the intersections. I only had 2 minutes of stop time versus cycling time: 22 minutes by bike computer and 24 minutes total run time by wrist watch. That might be a personal best time, I think.

I aired up my tires to 70 psi and it felt like the bumps on Kearny Villa Road were more noticeable. That or the condition of the bike lane was worsened by the recent rains. I'm not sure what pressure I had been running on my previous commutes, but I'll have to experiment with tire pressure a bit more.

Instead of the Timbuk2 messenger bag I've been riding with the past couple rides, I opted to try out my old Boblbee hard shell backpack. I've never ridden with the bag before, but the aerodynamic design certainly lends itself toward cycling. I used this backpack extensively during grad school and it was always comfortable because of the integrated lumbar support, especially with heavier loads. The stability of the backpack was welcomed after experiencing shifting with the Timbuk2 bag the past couple rides. In defense of the Timbuk2 I had not been using the stabilizing waist strap (I seem to have misplaced it), so I suppose I shouldn't blame the bag for moving around. One issue with the backpack was that there was no ideal way to clip an extra blinky light. The Timbuk2 has an integrated clip specifically for this purpose, plus built-in reflector tabs. I managed to clip my extra blinky to the backpack's top grab handle, but it flopped around occasionally.

I have a Princeton Tec Yukon light that I haven't really used much because I didn't want to fuss with mounting its external battery pack. It came with a helmet mount, so I decided to try it out for the evening ride after work to supplement my handlebar-mounted Planet Bike Blaze. My backpack has a little pocket on the top flap. I was able to stow the battery pack there, though I didn't take much care to pack in the extra length of wire. When I initially set off the wire flopped around. I somehow got it to behave for most of the ride. Next time I'll have to stow the wire more carefully or use zip ties to manage the extra length. It didn't get too dark that I noticed much benefit from having the helmet-mounted light. Towards the end, I was able to look down and check my progress on my cycle computer, which is not back lit. It was nice to have light that moved with my eyes versus being fixed on the handle bars.

A New Bike!

After all the deliberating, both public and private, I went out and bought a new bike. I am the proud new owner of a 2010 Masi Speciale CX. Detailed specs can be found at the Masi Bicycles web site.

I went to check out bikes at Cal Coast Bicycles on Wednesday, December 23. Thanks to Aaron, who helped me out and was extremely helpful. I didn't go in expecting to buy a bike that day, but they had the bike in my size and gave me a great deal. Due to a minor equipment glitch on the bike and the impending holiday, I didn't actually take the bike home until Saturday. That was cool, though, because that Saturday was actually my birthday, so it was quite a treat to be able to take home my new bicycle. The bike is a combined Merry Christmas/Happy Birthday/Happy New Year/Happy Bike Commuting gift from my lovely wife. Thanks, babe!

Narrowing the list

I've been thinking more about the bike I want. I think I will go steel...just because. Therefore I can immediately cross the few aluminum bikes off my list. I'll also pass on the disc brake and carbon fork bikes, which are probably overkill. I'll sneak the Handsome Devil in there, though I'd have to have that built up at a to be determined cost.

Here are the front-runners:

• Raleigh Clubman - Reynolds steel frame/steel fork, Shimano Tiagra, painted fenders, Brooks saddle ($1099)
  
• Masi Speciale CX - steel frame/fork, Shimano Tiagra/105 ($1195)
  
• Masi Speciale Randonneur - steel frame/fork, bar-end shifters, Shimano Tiagra/105, fenders ($1145)
• Handsome Cycles Devil - steel frame/fork, build TBD ($379 frameset + ?)

The Raleigh Clubman and the two Masi are all gorgeous bikes and at the top of my list right now. The Handsome is close behind. Masi is a San Diego-based company, so I like to factor that in. It is always nice to support the local guys. On the other hand, it is nice to support the little guys like Handsome (not that Masi are huge themselves). If I could do a comparable build of the Devil in that $1100 price range, it would be a tough call.

• Bianchi Volpe - steel frame/fork, triple crank, Shimano Tiagra/Deore ($1099)
  
• Surly Cross-Check - steel frame/fork, bar-end shifters, Shimano Tiagra ($1050)
• Gary Fisher Lane - steel frame/fork, triple crank, Shimano 2300/Deore ($1099)

The Bianchi Volpe and Surly CrossCheck are both solid choices, but don't seem to have some of the flair of the previous bikes. The Fisher Lane is brand new to the market but is very much akin to the Volpe and CrossCheck. I admire Gary Fisher and how he's an ambassador for cycling of all types.

• Specialized Allez Steel - Reynolds? steel frame/steel fork, downtube shifters, Shimano 2300 ($610)
• Kona Honky Tonk - steel frame/fork, Shimano Sora ($899)
  

The Specialized Allez Steel could be a dark horse here. The Kona Honky Tonk appears a close cousin to the Allez. I think the geometry of these two are the sportiest of the bunch. Not that I really understand much about bicycle geometry, but they have the shortest wheelbase and chainstay length. They may not take fatter tires either. The downtube shifters of the Allez are certainly a throwback, but the price is not to be ignored, especially if it indeed has Reynolds tubing.  In 2009 the Honky Tonk also had downtube shifters, but for 2010 Kona switched to STI shifters. Whether that's an improvement depends on your perspective, I guess, but this bike also looks like a good value. I've not seen a local shop yet that carries Kona road bikes, though.

What to do, what to do?? Test rides would be an ideal start, I suppose...

Handsome Devil

No, I'm not talking about myself. I'm talking about this bike:

I remember visiting the website for Handsome Cycles some time ago, but I guess I wasn't really paying attention before. Though I would prefer to buy a complete bike, something about building a bike on this frameset is speaking to me at the moment.

I found a couple interviews with the guys from Handsome online and it seems they were inspired by the Bridgestone XO-1 when designing this frame as a versatile all-rounder. Because of that Bridgestone connection, I'm thinking this might be a poor man's Rivendell (albeit no lugs, just double-butted chromoly to keep it affordable). EcoVelo apparently has a review of the Devil forthcoming in the new year. I can't wait to read it.

A New Bike...Part 3

My wife asked me tonight if I was getting a new bike for Christmas & my birthday (Dec. 26). Though I certainly want one, part of me feels that I haven't earned a new bike just yet. I am far from my initially stated goal of 21 habit-forming rides to work. My wife suggested that maybe a faster bike might make me ride more often. Maybe, but...
Hey, why am I even resisting this?? Well, partly because I am still undecided on what bike I want. Part of the problem is I fear that a lot of the bikes I'm considering might have to be special ordered without being able to ride the bike first. 

Here are the bikes by classification, with basic spec and price:

Cyclocross:

• Bianchi Volpe - steel frame/fork, triple crank, Shimano Tiagra/Deore ($1099)
  
• Surly Cross-Check - steel frame/fork, Shimano Tiagra ($1050)
  
• Masi Speciale CX - steel frame/fork, Shimano Tiagra/105 ($1195)
  
• Raleigh RX 1.0 - aluminum frame, carbon fork, SRAM Rival ($1425)
• Kona Jake the Snake - aluminum frame, carbon fork, Shimano 105 ($1399)
• Kona Jake - aluminum frame, steel fork, Shiman Tiagra ($899)
• Gary Fisher Lane - steel frame/fork, Shimano 2300 ($1099)
• Gary Fisher Erwin - steel frame, carbon fork, Shimano Tiagra/105 ($1429)
  

 Road Bike, rim brakes:

• Kona Honky Tonk - steel frame/fork, Shimano Sora ($899)
  
• Bianchi Imola - Reynolds steel frame, carbon fork, triple crank, Shimano Tiagra/105 ($1249)
  
• Raleigh Clubman - Reynolds steel frame/fork, Shimano Tiagra, painted fenders ($1099)
  
• Specialized Allez Steel - steel frame/fork, downtube shifters, Shimano 2300 ($610)
  
• Trek Pilot 2.0 - aluminum frame, carbon fork, Shimano Tiagra ($1149)
  
• Masi Speciale Randonneur - steel frame/fork, bar-end shifters, Shimano Tiagra/105, fenders ($1145)
  

 Road Bike, disc brakes:

• Kona Honky, Inc. - steel frame, carbon fork, Shimano 105, Avid BB7 discs ($1449)
  
• Novara Buzz Road - aluminum frame, carbon fork, Shimano Tiagra, Avid BB7 discs ($999)

Gee, that's a lot of bikes to consider...

A New Bike for My Commute, Part 2

In Part 1 I talked about the type of bike I think I want to get for a commuter. In general I'm thinking about a drop-bar road bike. Probably a touring or cyclocross frame. Probably steel.


I have researched extensively about the Surly Cross-Check and Long Haul Trucker. I'll assume everyone knows about these bikes. There's nothing I could really add as I've never ridden one. Consensus seems to be these are great bikes for commuting and both come in around $1100 for a complete bike. I would lean toward the Cross-Check between the two; in fact, for awhile I was convinced this was the bike I wanted to get. There are some other bikes that have caught my interest more recently, though.


A funny anecdote I will share is about when I went to a San Diego-area bike shop (let's just say it's on Adams Avenue) and was talking to one of the shop guys about a getting a more road-oriented bike to supplant my mountain bike for commuting to work. I asked about the LHT, which they had on display. The guy helping me told me frankly that the LHT was "too much bike" to just use for commuting. I do understand the LHT was designed for loaded touring, so there is truth to that statement [Incidentally, over at Commute By Bike, the voting did end up with the LHT as the bike of choice for their "Perfect Commuter Bike"]. The thing was that I felt that he kept talking me off $1000 bikes (I asked about the Bianchi Valle, which they didn't have, and he also reluctantly pointed out a Raleigh Clubman, which they did have) and steered me toward a ~$600 Specialized/Globe Vienna. Maybe he felt he was doing me a favor recommending the cheaper bike based on the impression I was giving him. I took it for a test ride anyway. It was decent, a nice bike actually, but it wasn't the bike for me.


Now that I think about it, I went to the other bike shop on Adams Ave. on a different occassion (where I bought the touring tires I'm currently riding) and had a somewhat similar experience. There I actually did throw a leg over a Cross-Check (or was it an LHT?) and began probing the shop dude about his opinion on steel road bikes. He also ended up pointing me to an aluminum-framed, flat-bar hybrid. As I've stated,this is just not the type of bike I am after.

Since I'm now talking bike shops...I made a trip down to Velo Cult one time, as well. Really cool shop (not that the other two shops weren't cool). I explained what I was looking for there and was shown a couple different bikes. Guess what? This was the first shop where they didn't try to sell me on an aluminum hybrid! Well, the fact that they only sell steel bikes may have something to do with it, but, whatever. Score one for Velo Cult! I also asked about Xtracycles. They actually have an Xtracycle built up at the shop, which they'll apparently loan out for extended test riding. It's the only shop that I've ever visited where I've seen an Xtracycle. I've always been afraid to ask "regular" bike shops about Xtracycles for fear they'd have absolutely no clue what I was talking about.



Next post: less bike shop anecdotes, more bikes...

A New Bike for My Commute

I started the blog with this premise that, should I get in a routine habit of bike commuting, I would obtain a bike more purpose-built for the job. My aim was 21 bike commute rides to cement my cycling commitment as a habit. So why am I writing about a new bike since I am not even close to reaching my goal? Well, I haven't been riding the past couple weeks, so I need to write about something...

The blog Commute by Bike started a series recently called "A Group Build of Building Your Perfect Commuter Bike" that explores the characteristics of what makes a good commuter bike, and selecting a fantasy build for the writer, BikeShopGirl. Certainly there is no one-size-fits-all bike that will be best for every bike commuter. It is a worthy exercise nonetheless, as there tend to be some characteristics of what makes for a good commuter bike. It is also interesting to read about particular component or gear choices that you may not have known about. I am eager to see what turns up in the posts and comments. Since I started drafting this post, the series is well underway and they're going down the road of selecting a particular "touring" type frame, as voted by readers. You can follow along to see how that goes, but that initial question got me thinking about what I'd like in a new bike...


First, here's a little more background on my current bike...

The commute in pictures post

I rode to work this past Wednesday. I thought I'd take along a camera to try and take some photos along the way. Trying to take photos while riding with my iPhone is tough and it doesn't take very good pics when on the move. Plus, without any manner of wrist strap, there is a large enough probability that I could drop my iPhone and I'd rather not do that.

My wife had our Panasonic Lumix, which would have been nice with its wide-angle Leica lens (it's the ZS1, not the LX3, but still pretty good), especially for "panda" shots. I need some more practice with those. These pics were taken with an older Olympus Stylus. The main plus with this camera is that it is small and basically flat on all sides - it has no odd lumps or lens protrusions - so I could carry it in my shorts pocket without it being annoying. This camera is also supposed to be shockproof up to 5 feet, but they probably didn't test dropping it from a moving bicycle.

Here's my panda portraits. You might recognize my new Twin Six T-shirt (October T-shirt of the Month).

Competition, bike pumps, and kid seats

I had hoped to ride in today (Friday). Some things came up, but it just boils down to no bike commute today. I got to work to find out my co-worker (the eponymous "Cyclo-Cross") rode in today. Because of the furlough situation at work he has been taking Fridays off recently so I was surprised to see him there. That's two bike commutes for him this week and zero for me. I didn't intend to take this fabricated "competition" too seriously, but maybe my ego is not going to allow that.

BCMC Week 2 ends 3-2 in favor of CC. Boo!

---------------------

In other more mundane developments, I took advantage of the sale at REI to finally get myself a floor pump. Up until now I've just made do with a mini pump. This is obvious, but, damn, the floor pump is much easier and quicker for inflating tires!

---------------------

I was writing part of this post on my iPhone standing outside the local karate dojo, waiting for my kids inside. I saw a guy ride by with his son on the bike. Normally such a sight would make me smile. At first I thought the guy had his kid in an iBert child seat, but as I watched them go by I realized the kid was just sitting on the top tube and holding on to the handle bars. I can't even remember if the kid had a helmet or not. The dad did have a helmet, at least.

Worse than the carelessness which this parent displayed, is that this sight just reminded me how much I want an Xtracycle (how self-absorbed of me, I know). I have been flirting with the idea for quite a while now, but have been unable to pull the trigger. The Xtracycle folks finally released their purpose-designed child seat, the PeaPod LT, and they keep putting long tail kits on sale (how dare they). I do have my doubts about using an Xtracycle for my current drive-then-bike commute. Maybe after I get a second bike I can convert the current one to a long tail. Excuses, excuses.