Tootfinder

I definitely did not expect to get in 11 miles today! It's getting pretty warm/hot in the mornings though. I was out at 6:30am and that was even a bit too warm.
#bikeTooter #bike #mke

I haven't actually written a new blog post about the #Tricycle project, but I have greatly amended and extended the last one.
#BikeTooter

Nasty headwind home 💨
#cycling #biketooter

I cannot tell you how many squirrels have run out in front of me while biking this week, but the number is greater than 3 and it's only Wednesday.
Have you ever hit a squirrel or other animal on your bike?
#bikeTooter #biking

Yesterday we received Auchencairn Climate Transition's new hand-cycle (ours is the yellow one), and I got shown around the key points of maintaining it and adapting it to fit riders. This extends our hire bike fleet so that we can now support riders with leg function impairments.
In practice we'll be sharing this with other 'try a bike' projects locally.
#BikeTooter

Ohh, bikerouter.de is super cool!
#biking #bikeTooter

bikerouter.de
▶ Der wahrscheinlich beste Fahrrad-Routenplaner der Welt! Kostenlos und datenschutzfreundlich. Gravel, Rennrad, MTB, City, Long Distance, Trekking uvm.

#goodmorning! We just decided to do a morning loop as it will very likely be too hot after work.
Tomorrow is a bank holiday. So it's the end of the week already
#cycling #BikeTooter

Um, sir, I think there's something wrong with the way you've laced your wheel spokes?
#BikeTooter

I’m not saying I’m the first person to ride the entire length of the new protected bike lane on Lisbon but there’s a good chance I am… (I had to carry my bike across a dozen gaps because it’s not all connected yet!)
#biking #bikeTooter

The other fun part of my ride today was when a guy had to wait an extra 10 seconds for me to go through an intersection before he could make a left turn.
He yelled "Get on the sidewalk!" and while I was tempted to yell "I'm in the bike lane!" I just sort of laughed it off.
#biking

I would like to proudly announce that I fixed the noise coming from my right crank or pedal.
I took the crank set apart, applied some grease, and applied a lot of Loctite.
Let's see how long this lasts.
#biketooter #FahrradBubble

Today’s ride was 8.3 miles… nothing too exciting to report. (In other news I’ve been relearning SQL to pull data from the RunGap SQLite database.)
#biking #bikeTooter #mke

First day without rain.
Right after work we brought our car to some maintenance and drove back by bike. Well not the direct way, but a fun way 😊
It felt really good!
#cycling #BikeTooter #getoutside

Me: Hey, we could ride those bikes!
Partner: They’re locked up.
Me: Are they, though?
(That was last night. There were two bikes there. Note that we are on an island, there’s only so far a thief would get. There are tons of unlocked bikes around. I’m sure the owner just went for a ride. Still a funny photo though!)
#bikeTooter

I did not make any good progress on my project to read GPX data with Python today. (Trying to read speed.) May need to just read it as XML.
There are a bunch of nerds who do Python and bikes though, so someone might have the code example I need.
#biking #bikeTooter

The man outside Espinola, Ontario.
‘I was standing here 45 years ago!”
wow.
It really is incredible the legacy Terry Fox has in all Canadian's hearts. Congratulations to his brother Darrell for completing this 45 year commemorative bike across Canada!!
#TerryFox #BikeTooter #Bike #MarathonOfHope #CancerResearch #Canada
https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/video/9.6827455

Couple of pics from yesterday’s Purbeck ride. Really enjoyed the morning shower dodging. Must get the mountain bike out more often
#cycling #bike #biketooter

I did it! My wife convinced me to join a pre work cycling loop. A great start into the day.
#cycling #BikeTooter #training

I got this bike 12 days ago and just hit 100 miles. If I can keep commuting to work that's about 13 miles each day of riding a bike instead of driving a car.
#biking #bikeTooter #ebike

normies: "I'm holding my wife's purse."
me: "I'm holding my wife's bike helmet."
#BikeTooter

I biked over to the giant hole in the road (caused by the flooding last month) during lunch yesterday. Still a hole.
#bikeTooter #hole

Today has been mainly about stripping down my favourite mountain bike for repainting and renovation.
#BikeTooter

Sooo, I rode the ebike this morning, did my longest ride, in minutes and miles. Burned tons of calories, so yeah… ebike means more exercise, not less.
#biking #bikeTooter #ebike

✅ Quick loop with my wife between some rain showers.
Feels so good to get out!
#cycling #BikeTooter #getoutside

Having not written anything about my #tricycle project in months, I've now written two posts in two days. Here's the first:
#BikeTooter
Rethinking the tricycle drive train

Rethinking the tricycle drive train
I've been rereading my posts on design of a tricycle, and especially this one; and I've been looking again at this picture, of Seventy Seven's removable front subframe which carries its front wheel, steering, and transmission systems; and I've been thinking. This will be a short post documenting my thoughts.

I am using Strava now, but only because it's a way to get my data from Apple Health to flow to other places. Right now Wandrer and Squadrats pull data from Strava, and Strava gets the original data from Apple Health. The world is complex and silly sometimes.
#bikeTooter #biking

It's crude, but I separated all my bike ride GPX files from the huge pile of files and loaded them all into gpx.studio to show where I've rode my bike in the last 20-ish months.
#biking #bikeTooter #geo

It’s been awhile since I did a “fast as I can” cemetery ride and I was amazed at my average speed. I kept it going on the streets a bit more to do 8 miles total.
#biking #bikeTooter #mke

I had an air filter attached to the rear of my #Kombi, and then I realized that I couldn't shift. One of the cords that I had used to secure the hepa filter was on the derailleur. It was an easy thing to fix, but it reminded me just how much I hate derailleurs (and any kind of external gears in general).

I just submitted my first request to the city to clean up a bike lane. I chose "Miscellaneous Street Maintenance" because I could not find anything that was a better fit.
#bikeTooter #mke #milwaukee

So, #BikeTooter. My Cannondale Slate runs 650b wheels, with the rear on a 12mm through axle. I think the wheel is actually a Mavic, although it's Cannondale branded. It currently has a SRAM 1x11 groupset.
I'd like to put a Campagnolo Ekar groupset on it, but the problem with that is it needs an N3W freehub. I have an old Campag Eurus rear wheel, but it's 700c and has the Camp…

I guess I should have got a cargo bike. (Kidding!) I had to bring a few packages to work today so my DIY pannier got a test... seemed to work fine.
#biking #bikeTooter #ebike

Morning #bikecommute
#BikeTooter #cycling #taamakimakaurau

Sigh, well I was feeling good about getting an ebike but I stopped by a local shop and the model I was looking at is pretty much sold out everywhere. They do have newer models ($more expensive$) and some other modes so I may need to do up that whole spreadsheet of features to compare things.
#bikeTooter #biking

I watched a video where someone talked about a huge snowstorm and how people started calling the city to clear the bike path and the city was like "Um, we don't clear the bike path" and I guess a bunch of cyclists were doing in on their own because the city wasn't doing it.
And then after all the requests from people, the city started doing it. 😜
#bikeTooter

Early start today and successfully avoided the rain! #cycling #bike #biketooter #Dorset

Probably not news to urban cyclists but parking lots are a game changer! Places I thought I could not bike to are accessible where parking lots are all connected, or right next to each other with a bit of grass between them.
#bikeTooter #biking

Gosh, can you tell when I switched to an ebike and started riding to work?
#biking #bikeTooter #ebike

Someone said there’s a huge difference between going 20mph and 28mph on a bike. I completely agree.
#biking #bikeTooter #ebike

I had to change both tires on the 50 year old Raleigh and it was a bit of a pain but it’s up and rolling again. Too hot to ride now though… might give it a spin in the morning.
#bikes #bikeTooter

Secure bike parking at work… the ride in today was the fastest yet, despite the terrible winds! I attribute the short time to good luck in crossing busy roads and not having to wait multiple minutes to cross.
#biking #bikeTooter

Damn, this ebike things is actually pretty cool. I did my normal ride in the cemetery without using the motor and my stats are pretty damn close to my acoustic rides.
I’m probably going to have a lot to say about it this week.
#biking #bikeTooter

The three things that make bicycle route planning most difficult where I live is freeways, railroad tracks, and rivers.
#biking #bikeTooter

Blah. Rain today so I did not bike to work. Not quite ready for that... I have to take the car tomorrow as well due to a doctor appointment. Hopefully I can bike on Friday!
#biking #bikeTooter

I made some progress on mapping all the GPX files of my bikes rides for 2025... though it looks like I am still getting some walking data mixed in, so I'll need to fix that.
The cemetery paths are interesting! There are two paths I guess I never rode down in 2025. Weird.
#biking #bikeTooter

Bike Friends, uhhh… my wheel fell off? The fork slid apart. How much of a concern is this? I rode with no issues but I do hang my bike by the front tire all the time.
#biking #bikes #bikeTooter…

After 15 minutes of messing around with maps I've gone from "It's impossible to get there by bike!" to "Hmm, if I avoid the super-busy roads, cut through these parking lots, take a two mile detour... I think I can get there!"
#biking #bikeTooter

Went to the bike shop last night (the family owned shop where I know the guy) and he showed me a flyer I made like 35 years ago and said it's been on the wall there for decades!
#bikeTooter

First (real) ride on the new bike. So chuffed! Also, found a dollar on the way home so yeah, biking really pays off!
#biking #bikeTooter #mke

I still need to get around to automating this stuff a bit more, but for now I just type a few numbers each month for my biking stats...
#bikeTooter #python

13.78 miles today because I got less than 5 hours of sleep so I was up and out early. 172 miles for the month (the most ever!) and just over 700 for the year so far.
#biking #bikeTooter

Today’s ride for Scrappy Hour was 7 miles out and then 7 miles back! The hills killed me. 😢
#scrappyHour #biking #bikeTooter

My current bike stats... on my way to 1,000 miles this year. (And hopefully many more!)
(code is here: #bikeTooter

More #purbeck trail photos from yesterday. What an incredible evening to be #cycling
#bike #biketooter

Bikes with tiny wheels always look so weird to me. (I mean weird as a 6 foot tall adult. I rode 20" BMX bikes when I was a kid.)
Do these 20" bikes feel like riding a "normal" bike? Is it weird? Is it just me?
#biking #bikeTooter

The view on the way to work along the Oak Leaf Trail is lovely at some spots...
(Though stopping for the photo I got attacked by bugs, which is not great.)
#biking #bikeTooter #mke

I just learned about rain ponchos for cycling and... what?
#biking #bikeTooter

Ahh so good to do a quick #workout loop after a day in the office!
#cycling #BikeTooter #afterwork

Whew! Mistakes were made, but I got the dashboard of the Beat Bike put together. I can now pedal to set the tempo while I live program the drum machine. (No video of programming yet because I had to hold the phone up high!)
#bikeTooter #diy

Also... why!?! Well, I like to make weird stuff.
I plan to take this to Maker Faire Milwaukee... and maybe ride it around the neighborhood!?
And I gotta say, pedaling while programming a drum machine is a trip. I used to do it just sitting at a desk but hey, exercise while making beats? It's a win-win!
#bikeTooter

I’ve been resting up all day, taking it easy… sore throat is gone (since Wednesday night) and no snot or congestion today, just tired really.
Hoping I can make it out to Riverwest 24 tomorrow for the biking fun that is the People’s Holiday.
#biking #bikeTooter

I am hoping to do 1,000 miles on the bike this year. It's still June and I'm at 650 (surpassing the 620 for all of 2024.) I also did 120 this month which is the most miles I've done in a single month. I am glad I started riding and try to do it daily.
#biking #bikeTooter

I found out one of my neighbors has an Aventon Pace (either 500.3 or 500.2) and said he loves it. Good to know. He got it at Erik's Bikes, which is where I hope to get one at some point.
#biking #bikeTooter #ebike

Today's bike ride was 8 miles but whatever the crazy thing is that I saw a guy get chased off the Menomonee River Parkway by a turkey! It chased him into the road, and he was running down the middle of the road and a car had to stop!
#bikeTooter #turkey

I hit 1,000 miles today, which was my goal for 2025. Some of it was on a bike/trainer in my basement during winter, and this month was mostly on a (borrowed) ebike, and the rest was all on my old Trek 7200.
At some point I need to return the ebike and I'm hoping I can get my own before 2026 so I can make commuting to work by bike a normal thing.
#bikeTooter

I made some progress on the Beat Bike!
The magnet mounted on the wheel passes a reed switch which is sensed by the control box (with a Raspberry Pi Pico) and then triggers the drum machine to step through the programmed sequence.
Still a lot of work to do, mostly mounting everything onto the bike, and some more code to write, but the proof of concept is all good.
#bikeTooter

The current "bike to work" carry is a milk crate zip tied to a rear rack. I gave it a nice paint job and did a little cutout right behind the seat. There's a piece of foam in the bottom to prevent rattling (I toss my lock back there) and the bungee holds my backpack in place securely.
#biking #bikeTooter

Favorite team name “Blood Bath and Beyond”
#biking #bikeTooter

I had to pedal like crazy the last half mile to keep my average speed at 12mph…
#biking #bikeTooter #mke #milwaukee

I went for a short ride today, and every now and then I would hear this weird “cling clang” sound, but I couldn’t figure out what the hell it was. I even stopped twice to investigate. It wasn’t constant though, just intermittent. Urgh!
Got home, took a photo, and then figured it out. Sigh…
#biking #bikeTooter

If you lock up your bike indoors (garage or home) what do you lock it up to?
I think a friend of mine locks his up to four other bikes but let's pretend that's not an option for everyone. 😅
What large, heavy, or structural thing do you lock your bike to in your garage or home?
#BikeNitePQ

Riverwest 24 is next weekend. I thought about tossing my bike in the car and driving down to do some laps but then realized it's like 5 miles from my house so I'll just bike down there and do laps, hang out, etc.
https://www.riverwest24.com/

Did 6 miles this morning, almost made a rectangle, but those Tosa streets are tricky!
#biking #bikeTooter #mke #milwaukee