Blustery Day

I was riding yesterday afternoon and found that the gusts of wind were pushing the front wheel of my Schwinn around so much it was not safe to play guitar as I rode on a busy street in town doing errands. I grew up next to Travis A.F.B. where the biggest cargo planes in the USAF are based because of the winds there, and I was used to riding in wind with the steel wheels, handlebar and stem my bike used to have. I live in Oregon now and just switched to aluminum wheels, handlebar and stem last month.

I definitely noticed a big difference yesterday from the wind pushing the front wheel around. I could see the wheel turn as a gust of wind hit it, necessitating my stopping playing guitar to grab the handlebars for safety. I guess the difference in weight of all those aluminum parts compared to steel is significant for the front wheel's stability in wind when riding with no hands. I hadn't really noticed much of a difference until yesterday. On the good side, there is also a noticable difference in how much easier it is now to go UP hills! My bike is about eight percent lighter than it was before the upgrades.

Upgrades to my Schwinn in 2009

On October 6, 2009 my Schwinn ten-speed was greatly improved by the replacement of its steel wheels, handlebar and stem with aluminum parts. It is now a "Super Sportabout" (read that page for an explanation of that name).

The new wheels deserved their own page, as did the better handlebar. These and other changes this year are summarized on Upgrades to my Schwinn in 2009.

I am sad that my 1965 Ford Falcon Ranchero is still sitting out of commission in the driveway. It hasn't moved since the summer of 2007. The improvements to my bicycle are nice, but I can't ride it in wet or cold conditions (not good for the guitar, the bicycle or ME!). Even when the weather permits bicycle riding, I can't carry very many groceries on it, especially heavy things like kitty litter or pet food.

The new bass player Rocky and I haven't rehearsed as much the past couple weeks, but last night's session was quite good. He learned some more of my Evolution song, and I learned more of what he calls his "G Boogie" song. So far we have neither recorded together nor performed any live shows for the public, but some of my guitar playing the past couple weeks has been the best I have ever played.

My bicycle will have a good home when I die

Since the early 1980s I have ridden the same Schwinn ten-speed bicycle many thousands of miles while simultaneously playing a Fender Stratocaster guitar, sometimes with a small battery-powered amplifier clamped to the seat post or carried on a rack over the rear wheel. I'm pushing fifty years old now, and thought to contact The Bicycle Museum of America yesterday to see if they would be interested in preserving or even displaying my bicycle after I die.

To quote the Wikipedia article about this place:

The Bicycle Museum of America is a small museum nested inside the village of New Bremen, Ohio, United States. The museum, one of the largest private collections of bicycles in the world, is located at 7 West Monroe Street.

I was delighted when Annette Thompson of the museum wrote me back within a couple of hours. She said:

This would make an interesting story for our museum. Yes, we would enjoy having the bike.

I forwarded her email to one of my sisters and I am posting this blog entry as well to make my wishes known. Of course, this assumes I don't die ON the bicycle. If I do, it might not be a pretty museum display! I am locally famous, but if my fame ever spreads my bicycle may end up in the Smithsonian or the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Even if that doesn't happen though, I rest easier knowing my bicycle will be well taken care of after I am gone.

We're getting good!

The last two nights my new bass player Rocky and I sounded really good in our jam sessions. Several of his songs are coming together nicely, and he is getting better at playing bass to some of my songs too.

This reminds me of the time I was hanging out with Peter Griffin of the Family Guy cartoon television series:

Stll riding and playing

The weather has been great lately for Bicycle Guitaring. My bicycle just had some replacement parts installed by the Local Bike Shop so it is running smoother than before. Rocky (the bass player) and I practiced three or four nights this past week. We're sounding better than before.

The "Minstrel Cycle" of The Bicycling Guitarist

Yesterday I joined "velospace, the place for bikes" and posted some photographs of the Schwinn I have ridden for decades now while playing guitar. Details of my ride are online at The "Minstrel Cycle" of The Bicycling Guitarist. I edited the description on that page today, giving more information about the specifications of Schwinn Sportabouts compared to the better-known Varsity and Continental bicycles.

I don't actually call my bicycle "The Minstrel Cycle." If I refer to it at all by any name, I just call it Schwinn. I made this pun decades ago. It was a natural joke to make considering I have been called a traveling minstrel and the bicycle is red. Okay, I will make no more jokes about menstruation, period! The joke is even funnier since someone called Lijemtu added "only if you play ragtime" (May 21, 2009 at 11:01 a.m. in the Welcome Wagon thread of Tunesmith songwriting forums).

Plans for my Schwinn ten-speed bicycle

When I upgraded my 1977 Schwinn Sportabout to a "Sportinental" by converting to quick release wheels and centerpull brakes from the fancier Schwinn Continental model, I didn't change to the Continental's aluminum stem and handlebar but kept the steel stem and handlebar of the Sportabout. In the Suggestions to upgrade my Schwinn Sportabout page, Raleigh D. says that would have been the very first change he would have done to save pounds of weight. I hope to do this someday, but I don't have a Continental stem and handlebar yet. Raleigh D. also suggested I change from steel to aluminum wheel rims.



For several years 27" bicycle wheels were out of fashion, but apparently they are being made again. I hope someday to get a pair of Sun CR-18 27" rims and have this pair of vintage Schwinn-Approved Quick Release hubs from a Continental laced to them with brand-new spokes. These came from Craig Morrow who runs an online store on eBay specializing in vintage Schwinns.