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Showing posts from March, 2009

VeloMania: I Build A Front Bike Rack

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I wanted a front rack on my urban MTB, but did not have a lot of money to spend on either a really good or really bad rack. This is how I built it. There are several DIY sites out there on how to build a bike rack. Materials used: [3] 36 x 1 x 1/8" aluminum bar stock 1 length of bar stock will be the horizontal box, overlapped and pop-riveted together. 1 length of bar stock will be both down-struts. 1 length of bar stock will be the deck w/ backstop. [2] 1" hose clamps [2] 3" double-stick foam tape, for each fork Pop rivets or stove bolts, as necessary for assembly I used a pop-rivet gun to secure the struts to the rack, and the deck to the assembled rack. You could easily use stove-bolts, I just had the pop-rivet gun handy. GENERAL ASSEMBLY This is all DIY improvised, based on available materials, and trying to get as much out it as possible. Your measurements will vary. BOLT ASSEMBLY ON FORKS Here is Mr Hose-Clamp/Strut Support. Take care when drilling the hole for

The Question Posed

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"...the road to Genovia leads through Gevalia". I delayed putting in a fresh sheet in as I pondered this hard fact. My espresso got cold. The phone, an enigmatic onyx sphinx, remained silent. “Zastava Smackdown” , p 241. by Giovanni Nessuno Rome, 1991

Hurricane Island: H37, Aug 1971

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I was admitted to Outward Bound as a probationary candidate. I was seriously underage. The normal minimum was 16-1/2, but my 16th birthday was 3 days before the end of the course. My dad was not enjoying watching me smoke lots of dope and becoming another white social parasite. I knew I needed it, and agreed. The weeks in New York before leaving for Maine were a swirl of overcast humidity and Lebanese Blonde. The ferry left Rockland in the fog. I was standing on the deck in a pea coat, dress pants, and leather street shoes, slippery on the steel plate. Pulling into Hurricane, we were met with our first surprise of many surprises. The instructors counted us off into our respective watches, and told us to find our tents. For the duration of the course, you had a number. Mine was 13. This was a device to make sure everybody was accounted for at all times, especially if the boat capsized and so on. PT in 45 minutes. Fetch! Thus began 26 days of basic training. Every day was an unc