Monkey See, Monkey Do

Improve your bike-fu skill from these teachers, little grasshopper

You know you want it

Alright stop collaborate and listen

Brake it to me gently

For every season turn, turn, turn

I believe I can fly

It's not flying, it's falling with grace

Pump it

'

Now go out and ride

Jargon jumble

Growing up I never learned the names of every bike part.  Seven years ago the bug bit me good the end result is that I picked up as much as I can.  Sadly it is all in English.  Coming home I found it a little frustrating to deal with the local sellers.  

These are a few that I have encountered:

Headset
     Standard size - Meaning sizing from the early nineties and prior.

    Oversize - 1 1/8 in. or the current International Standard sized headset.

     Integrated - pertains to all internal headsets.  Sadly those I've talked with were unfamiliar with Zero Stack, Integrated, Semi-Integrated.  This frustrates me the most because I'm in search of a replacement headset.

Stem - Handlepost

S.I.S. - those ramps/ bumps on the sides of your chain rings that aids in shifting your chain.

Sprocket - either the chainring or the freewheel/ cassette gears

Can you name a few terms used locally but you've not see or read from International forums?

Start 'em young

    Do you remember how old you were when you got your first bike?

     I received my first 2-wheeled ride at the age of seven.  I rode that bike through elementary school and was passed on to my brother then cousins.  Getting that bike gave me some independence as a kid and a license to explore my hometown.

    The kid on the left is my son.  He was five when that photo was taken.  Somehow he caught the bug much earlier than me to the constant horror of his Mom and Grandma.

    Kids this generation are more predisposed to be couch potatoes.  I made it a goal that he should enjoy both indoor and outdoor activities.  So far it's working out quite well. Most of the time I have to moderate his eagerness to ride or else we'll trigger his asthma.  So far it has bothered us much lesser than I imagined.
At this time he can comfortably log 7 miles on his 16-inch POS "singlespeed".

    Now I can't wait till our youngest starts walking so I can introduce her to her pushbike. Mwahahahaha.

All things wise and wonderful...

My favorite blogs, forums, and sites, in no particular order.

1.  MTBR.com - gear reviews and a generally well moderated forum.  My go to site when I need opinions on anything related to MTBiking.

2.  pinkbike.com - same as above with better photos and video content.  Way too many teenage knuckle heads in the forums so it gets irritating at times.

3.  sheldonbrown.com - funniest most noob friendly bike guru (may he have his eternal epic rides).  If you don't understand what he is talking about there is really something wrong with your reading skills.

4.  parktool.com - the Tech knowledge base on this site has been a boon for DIY cyclists.  Nice (but expensive) tools too.

5. www.bikehacks.com - DIY stuff galore.

6.  yehudamoon.com - or is it Kickstand Comics either way funniest cycling oriented comic strips in the web.  I miss you Trail Ninja.

7.  bikeradar.com - gear reviews, cycling news with a British flair.

8. strobist - Flashy photo blog

9. instructables.com - If you want  to make something learn from someone else who has done it before you.

10. xs650chopper.com - because I love me a chopped Japanese cloned-Triumph motorcycle.

My Pet Peeves as a driver in the Philippines

Cars/Trucks

Driving with high beams on.
Fog lamps as headlamps.
Turn/Brake signals not working.
Using a cellphone while driving.
Plates with colored plastic covers.

Motorcyclists

No LIGHTS!
Red Headlights
Fog lamp for headlights.
Reckless driving, i.e. cutting from blind spots, frequent lane changing.

Emergency vehicles
Driving in an emergency situation with no sirens or flashers.
Barely audible siren
The use of flashers even if it does not have an emergency.

Cyclists

Riding solo in the middle of the highway.
Occupying the whole lane when riding as a group.
Lack of reflectors or lights when night riding.

#1...

And so it begins...

This is an online repository of my many musings, opinions, and observations of things around me.  Primarily it will revolve around cycling (human-powered and engine driven).  There will be some reviews of the knick knacks I pick up and a how-to instruction or two.

Stay tuned.