Ocean Air Cycles – Click to Shop

A large part of our year is spent just under the edge of the coastal fog bank.

It makes for very tough mid day nature pics, as the entire sky blows out white.  You can see the blue peaking out about a half a mile back from town, teasing throughout the day, but seldom making an appearance on the coast until late afternoon if we are lucky.

While looking at today’s capture I could not help but notice what leaving the car parked and using the Rambler for the majority of local transportation has done for my legs.  That is a screaming endorsement if I have ever seen one.  Should there be any negotiation with the spouse on weather of not a Rambler fits into the budget, just use this for ammo.  A little riding all the time, and it help if you are on a Rambler 😉  The tan lines are a completely unrelated challenge.

In upcoming news, the site is in desperate need of an overhaul.  I will be chipping away at it as I can, it will be incremental, although if something crashes, don’t be alarmed, leave the alarm up to me, I will get it back up and running in no time.  I am still intending to take down the online storefront, moving sales of the t-shirts and such back to the main site.  That is going to be a bit of a headache fixing old links, but I have a bit of a plan for that too.  The Rambler program is still creeping along.  I am working on raising capital for a full production run that will allow me to keep stock on hand.  99% certain that there will be a kickstarter project, with a couple of backup plans as well.

Another rainy, foggy and damp Wednesday.  There seems to be a pattern setting in with the weather, October is usually the start for the weekly winter weather patterns, but the moisture side of things seems to be showing a bit early this year.

Still it was nice to get out and take a quick break, and as an Uncle from the NE has reminded me more than once, “you never have to shovel rain”.  So, taking a minute to relish the rain, and enjoy the fact that I have fenders.

It was/is a great day to ride.  I had the time and the need to roll multiple stops into a nice 30 or so mile loop of food gathering.  Off to the Farmer’s market and a couple of grocery stops.  Summer is holding on nicely and the riding conditions continue to be superb.  There were more people out on bikes than I have seen in a long time, and on top of that they were friendly, most waving before I could get a chance.  Just a fantastic day to e outside.

I have been working on some modifications to my camera pole setup, and this was also the chance to work out some bugs, and grab a few stills and video from different light and road orientations.  The pole worked fantastically, I was pumped to get home and see what I captured:

The only downside was that the lens fogged up at some point half way through he ride.  On the plus side, I have learned a ton about what I need to do to get the angles I want.  I also learned that I need to stop and check the lens before every series of shots.  This is the first time I have had it fog up, most likely due to how hot the little camera gets shooting video.  Live and learn, the next round will be better.

One of the many highlights was crossing paths with another guy (not on a beach cruiser) riding in sandals.  There is something fantastically summer that happens when you can feel the sun and wind on the tops of your feet while you ride.

Today was a pack and ship day, and I saved the tough nut for last.  I have gotten pretty good at shipping large boxes over the last few years.  There is no way to get a traditional diamond frame bike in a tiny box, it just won’t happen.  Today I was stumped though.  It has been a long time since I boxed up a surfboard.  I did the smart thing, reached out for some help, and rode down the street to the FCD surf shop.

Cyrus and Ryland hooked me up with the right tools  for the job, thanks for all the help.

With dimensions in hand, and the board boxed up it was time to work out the shipping quotes.  Boxes like this, or bikes, fall into the dimensional weight category, big box of mostly air, and are not cheep.  I ended up back at the shop.  The xtracycle was the best tool for the job, in about 10 days Jon is going to be stoked with his new bonzer, and it will be the first time that board has been in the Atlantic.

Rain is not a common thing here, let alone in September.  We are glad for it, and I was glad to have the fenders today.  I made it out in the morning to ride just for kicks and catch up with a buddy, that is something that needs to happen a bit more often.  On the last five miles or so we were caught.  Fun stuff, a drizzle by most standards, but real rain.  I thought it might pass, but the drizzle continues.

I dodged the drops to make a run to the post office.

I love that I can squeeze a medium flat rate box (or two) into the saddle bag.  With the Rambler and bags I have, I can handle 80% of my local transportation needs.  Of the remaining 10% I could probably get by with more trips to the store and smaller loads.  The panniers are there for the days where there is just that little bit more.  I love my Rambler No.1, it is the most versatile bike I have ever owned that was not a tank and still a blast to ride.  I think everybody should have one, but I am biased 😉