Commuter Rigs of the Early Days

I started commuting by bike daily around 2003. I rode from Reston to Falls Church in Virginia along the W&OD. This was pre-smartphones and ride tracking apps. I don’t have many photos from back then. A few though from the archives. [1] The first was my daily rider for several years – A @gary_fisher HooKooEKoo. It belonged to my Uncle-in-law and i inherited it when he passed away. I put a Surly rigid fork on it, flat bars cut real skinny with bar ends – pretty much to mimic the hoods of a drop bar bike. I eventually rode it into the ground. I stripped the bottom-bracket threads and I thought it was done, so I gave it a hero’s send off [2] and figured that was it.

I didn’t want to give up though and researching on the internet I found out that you could re-thread stripped BBs the opposite way and use a EuroItalian bottom bracket. So I found a shop in Maryland – College Park Bikes – who said they could do it. The bike lives on now, sitting in my garage. Around 2004 we moved to Annandale and I had the dream commute to Falls Church – we lived literally on the edge of Wakefield Park, so I could get an MTB rip in on my way to AND from work.

[3,4] Here’s a few pictures form those commutes. First, a Schwinn Moab that was actually my wife’s and way too small for me, and second, a nice slice of trail in Wakefield. When the Gary Fisher first died, a buddy of mine sent me a beater MTB frame and fork from Colorado – a Schwinn High Plains. I built it up as a drop bar single speed. [4]

I rode that to work for years and it was in the stable until just last year when I finally sold it. As with every bike I’ve ever sold, I regret it now, but it seemed like the right thing to do at the time. Never sell bikes, kids. We moved to New Brunswick in October of 2006, and in January of 2007 was one of my first commutes here – on a fixed-gear beater Specialized MTB that I’d bought off Craigslist in DC for $100 [5].

It was -28ºC in this photo. I’m finding it really hard to believe I’ve been commuting for over 15 years. You’d have thought I might have stopped then. I’m sure my fingers and toes wish I had.

Special Days

Today is a special day. I got up this morning and did not want to get on the bike. It was dark, cold, raining. I’ve done this hundreds of times before and I have hundreds of dollars worth of technical gear to do it with and I still didn’t want to because I knew, at some point on the ride, I would be cold and uncomfortable – suffering – and it would suck. I knew I would get out there and I would start to doubt. All those things everyone else asks and says about riding a bike to work in this kind of weather would come up in my head and I’d have no good answer. All the usual responses – mental health, fitness, sustainability, adventure – they’d all seem stupid in light of the moment. I’d just be an idiot riding my bike in the rain.

When the moment struck, I thought, “I’m going to take a picture to show how much this sucks. It’ll show people. And when I get to my cush, warm office and I’m drinking my fresh, hot coffee, I’m going to post it to Instagram so everyone knows what a badass I am and then I’ll bask in the glow of validation, community and virtual high fives.” Of course it took a few tries with my high-tech phone to get the photo right. Then as I rode on I felt a little better. Then I thought, “I’m not even half as hard as guys like @elexplore and @rayzahab. Those guys push themselves for DAYS at a time. I’m riding 45 minutes to work.”

Then I thought, well but, they have high tech gear, and sponsors and even after days or weeks, they go home to their friends and family and laugh and share stories. I mean, they share stuff to Instagram too, so how bad could it actually be? Then I was reminded that there’s so many people out there experiencing PROFOUND levels of suffering and discomfort – both internal and external – and they’re not going to be able to post to Instagram about it, and their not gonna get the virtual high-fives and they might not have anyone who wants to hear their stories even when they’re dying to tell them. They’re just going to try and make it through one. More. Day. I’m glad I was able to ride my bike to work today. It was just an ordinary day like any other. Special.

FACKENTHALL AGREES TO TERMS FOR TNHL 2019-2020 SEASON

OCT. 3, FREDERICTON, N.B. – Gritty defensive winger and perennial fan-favorite Kent Fackenthall has agreed to terms with the Thursday Night Hockey League to play full-time for the 2019-2020 season. 

After a lackluster season last year, where he saw most of his time spent in the minors with the occasional call up-to The Show, Fackenthall admitted that his game needed work. “Yeah, last year was a a bit of a disappointment for me. I felt like I could do better. I struggled with some nagging injury issues and had a hard time adjusting to the late ice-times. I was – y’know – tired – it was past my usual bedtime – and it was hard to get up the next day. So that sucked, now that I’m older.” When asked if he’d done anything in the off-season to help get back on track he replied, “yeah, I rode a lot of bike to try and strengthen my knees and I’ve worked with my trainer on a pretty comprehensive nap program that I’ll be trying out this year.” 

At the end of last season rumors swirled that Fackenthall might end his long and storied career, retire and go to work in the front office in player development. “I had some talks with the league, with my family, my agent, and the guy who does the ice at the rink and decided to give it one more go. I wanted to try and play another year and then assess – maybe go out on a high note – also, there’s the money, too, right?” Long noted for his aggressive play and willingness to mix it up on the ice – even when it is entirely inappropriate – Fackenthall has developed a reputation, and in some cases a report – with other members of the league. “Yeah, he’s a bit of a dick at times,” – says Mike Morton, a veteran center that often finds himself battling opposite Fackenthall on the ice. “He’s not above the frequent cheap shot, slew foot or butt end. He likes to talk smack, but he’s easy to get off his game – you can get inside his head and then he’s done.” 

When asked if he planned to change his game any in an effort to secure his spot on the team, Fackenthall replied, “Yah, uhm, no, I don’t think so. Not really. I mean, pretty much my style is look for the guy on the other team who’s maybe not having the best night, then go out and maybe try and make it a little worse for ‘em, y’know. Mostly I don’t want to work too hard and just try and get out of the room fast afterwards so I can get to bed.”

When asked if Fackenthall’s return to full time play would have a positive or negative effect on the profile of the league, Commissioner Collin Sleep replied, “Kent WHO? Oh, oh, oh, THAT, Kent. Um, yeah, whatever – as long as he pays me it’s up to him if he shows up or not – I just gotta cover these ice time costs. Some of these bastards still owe me from LAST year.”

Looking longer term, Fackenthall was non-committal on his future past this season. “Yeah, I dunno, we’ll see. Maybe I’ll play another year, or I could just coast through this one, then into a cush front office job or maybe a sweet real-estate sales gig, probably.”

The TNHL kicks off Thursday, October 17 at 10:15pm at Willie Oree Place. Admission is free and the league asks that if a couple of fans could bring water bottles on the off chance Collin forgets them or doesn’t show, that would be appreciated.