Commuting on Crap

Given my most recent experience with the lawlessness in the Park City it would seem to me that if you don't want your commuter bike to be the object of someone else's affection you need a couple of good locks and a crappy bike to ride. With the exception of the Panasonic (in the extreme background) that I have written about before my guess is the owners of most of these bikes only ride them for getting to work and really don't care about riding in general. I have a lot of respect for them because no matter what their situation is they are riding bikes to get to work. That's cool!

Thievery, Park City Style

Despite the heavy police presence, CT Counter Terrorism Unit, TSA, and a bevy of other three lettered agencies on the ground at the Park City Metro North Station my Thule Side armed bike rack was stolen off of my car. Of course the heavy police and counter terrorism presence was on the train platform and not at the parking garage and thus with so much attention focused elsewhere someone had the audacity undo all the bolts and make off with my rack. I checked Craigslist and found nothing matching my rack.

At least the bikes at the Bike Rack were safe! A new addition amongst the regulars, a rattle can jobbie with funky grips. I have to hand it to these guys because today I got to the station at 6:30am and these bikes were already here.

The usual suspects were at the Rack, the Toponga (foreground) and the Panasonic (background) in the background.

Something I haven't noticed before but the Topanga is an anti-theft saddle device. Looking back at previous posts it appears that it was always there.

Of course the Panasonic is always intriguing. It has a blue PIA derailleur, BMX pedals and a NEXT saddle.

I love the ghetto bars with electrical tape grip and oem brake levers that probably came off the drop bars.

Funny how the Topanga has a nice mountain bike front brake and a crappy side pull brake in the back.

A late edition to the party was this mountain styled bike found in most discount stores. Probably another rattle can job whose owner might not have gained possession of this bike through legal methods.

Another visit to the Park City Metro North Station Bike Rack

Back to NYC this week so I thought I would drop in at my favorite bike rack and see if there was anything new, anything wild, anything fabulous, maybe something vintage dragged up from the basement because the car was in the shop. There as a little treat, this mass produced Bianchi with a sprung saddle, granted not a Brooks, though. A friend of mine has something similar that I want him to sell me so that I can rebuild it into a fixed/sser Monster Crosser.

I have seen this Schwinn often times enough and what get's me is that the owner is sitting on a train somewhere, or already at his place of work with a saddle and seatpost. Dude, get a lock, and lock it down!

The Panasonic with the ghetto styled bars seems to be a regular now and of course there is the Toponga. I don't understand the bag over the seat concept in rainy weather. OK, so the first time you plant your fourth point of contact upon the seat, it will be dry, but by the time you get where you are going, the rest of you will be wet anyway, so what's the difference? Unless of course the owner thought it was supposed to rain today, too, which might be the more likely explanation.