3 thoughts on “David Alden – Meh in March

  1. Yeah dude! Nice.

    I’m sure it was also a trick to get negotiate your way into that place. White tires for sure and a helmet. How’d you swing the part about bar ends, pegs, and pedals hitting the floor?

  2. Hi Joe, yeah, helmet and white tires were key, but I actually wear a helmet all the time (http://beardedbiker.blogspot.com/2013/11/the-helmet.html), and that’s another story all together. On the handlebar, I’ve got grips that go all the way past the bend at the top, so that part of the bar won’t scratch the floor, and then white rubber/plastic bar ends. Then, I took a white road bike tire and cut it into strips and zip-tied those to the edges of my pedals. Initially, I also used two strips like that per peg, in a “X” pattern and then hose clamps to hold those in place. Ugly, but it worked. Ultimately, I found some rubber plugs at a hardware store that are big enough to stick out of the peg far enough to keep the metal edges from hitting the floor. It was a lot of work to get the bike modifications just right, and it took a couple of meetings with the facilities people at the gym, but I was able to drop my bike on the floor without it making a sound or scratch and that satisfied them. Once I got the “okay,” the real challenge has been the schedule as I can really only get in the gym when there’s nothing else going on. Many times there are little kids running around in there or other classes and I’m out. It can be frustrating, but I’m happy to have access in the first place, so even if a class of kids come in when I’ve *just* gotten on the bike and warmed up, I graciously pack up and head out.

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