Back to the City

Soon I will be starting a new job in Providence. I'm excited about this development because it means I'll once again be a productive member of society, in sharp contrast to my two (and a half) years as a poor graduate student. A job in the city means I'll be moving out of Narragansett and back to Providence. This, in turn, means I'll be able to ride my bicycle for transportation and that (finally!) means I'll have a reason to finish my single speed project.

The patient is a 1990 Trek 830 mountain bike. I got the bike when I was in high school, it gave me my introduction to mountain biking. It's currently set up in more or less stock form. I replaced the headset, bottom bracket, and crankset a couple years ago, along with the seat. To turn it into a single speed urban transport rig I'll need to do some more work. First, the crankset sucks and will need to be replaced again. I don't feel bad because I only spent $15 on it. The bottom bracket spindle is way too long, so it'll need to be replaced too. I'll excise the derailleurs, but it has integrated shifters and brake levers. I'm not sure how I'll deal with that. There are a bunch of other little issues like that. My goal is to spend as little money as possible, so I'll probably end up slowly but surely making changes to the bike. It works now as a 21 speed bike, so the idea is to keep it rideable all the way through the conversion.

Living near the beach has been fun because I've been able to surf and ride often. Moving to Providence will mean less surfing, but hopefully more riding...