Tubus Twine Shellacking, ala Rivendell

I have been riding for a few weeks now with the Arkel Cam-Lock pannier hardware. After a few days, I thought to eliminate metal-on-metal contact caused by the lower hook. My go-to lately for such an issue is hemp twine and Shellac. Using the "Rivendell" method* for twining handlebar tape, I twined the lower bar of the Tubus Carry rack:

I presume that the indentations in the Shellacked twine indicates potential long-term wear prevention against the titanium Tubus. And I think it looks sharp.

Today's reason for Why I Ride a bike: The Casseroll carries what I need it to in the manner I want it to.

*

Contest Audit Trail

Of course, I planned on posting the audit trail for the contest. Here it is!

1. I entered the name of everyone who submitted a response
2. Used the =rand() function to generate a unique number in between 0 and 1 for each person
3. Copied and pasted these outputs as values ALT + ESV!
4. Sorted from smallest to largest
5. Manually ordered the list from 1-12
6. Used the =randbetween(1,12) function to determine the winner
7. Congratulations, Gail!

Excel don't lie. Thank you all for the comments! I agree with what many of you shared about not being able to adequately describe Why You Ride into a few short sentences. This is precisely why I blog about my daily encounters with my evolving reasons for Why I Ride. 

And the Winner Is . . .

Gail! Congrats! Lmk which color you desire for your new bag.

Almost to 10,000! Comment to win Black Rose Bag Tool Wrap

One of my favorite additions to the Casseroll has been from Black Rose Bags. The quality of the bag is fantastic, and they're great people to do business with. In honor of receiving 10,000 hits in about 10 months, I'm hosting a comment contest giveaway to win this tool wrap:

Of course, I won't restrict you on the color choice, as they have several available (check out their Etsy store).

So here's the contest:

Leave a comment with WHY YOU RIDE

I'll use a random number generator to determine the winner Monday morning (7/18)! Good luck!

Panaracer Pasela Replacement

Since the Casseroll's birth (the day I opened the womb . . . box), I have been riding on Panaracer Pasela 700x28c llantas. The bike originally came with Continental something-or-others (Contact? ~600g/ea), but they were too much wire-beaded, black-sidewalled tire for my taste. The Paselas are much lighter (280g), and have turned out to be quite durable. This is the same weight as a Bontrager RXL All Weather Hardcase 23c tire. My front tire is still pretty solid, but the rear has developed a flat tread cross-section, as well as some fissures. Strangely enough, the only flats I've had in the past couple years have been the result of razor sharp salt deposits in Madison. Both the Casseroll and the Brompton have fallen victim.

Photos:

The salt-induced tread mishap. 

The remainder of my emergency tire boot.

Ye olde tread wear.

Sidewall breach.

Ahhhh, new tread. 

As far as usage, I have ridden these tires for nearly two years, with roughly 4-5000 miles? I have taken to dirt paths lately, and they have performed quite favorably. The extra volume of the 28c tire affords a comfortable tire for commuting, and longer-distance riding on various terrain. I'm not afraid to take the bike on a dirt road, if that's where my adventure happens to take me. Option value. Bam.

Today's reason for Why I Ride a bike: I can inexpensively transport myself about, and perform needed repairs on demand by myself. I can't easily do this with a car...

Brompton Photo Shoot

I got a new camera the other day, a Sony A55. Such a cool gadget. I won't lie, I really wanted a legit camera to properly take pictures of my bikes and the like. Be prepared for better pictures as I learn the functions better. My first set of experiments was with the Brompton. Without further ado, I give you the photo shoot:

Ambient lighting on the balcony was less than ideal, but I was mostly snapping shots for fun. 

Today's reason for Why I Ride a bike: Bikes allow me to enjoy the beauty of my surroundings, and can themselves add to that beauty.