"You need some car free days"

Since moving to Dallas I've been driving to work every day. It has been taking its toll on me - until this past Saturday, that is. Saturday was the first day that I've commuted to work without a car since coming to Texas. I biked to the train station, hopped aboard for 15 miles ($1.75) and biked the rest of the way to work. On the way home I missed a train by less than a minute, causing my return commute to take 80 minutes.

Overall, it was fun. Tons of folks on the train talked to me because of how different my bike is from things they've seen. Everyone seemed to strike up conversation about it. The train did get crowded though.

Today, I'm armed with more experience. I know what to expect, how & where to pay for the fare, how to hang my bike on the DART, and a knowledge that it's less taxing psychologically on me than driving is. I'll be saving a bit of cash, too. My driving commute was costing me a gallon of gas each direction ($8 total), plus wear and tear on the car. My roundtrip now costs me less than $4, and I'll be getting some exercise and sunlight at the same time.

Today will be bike commute #2.

The Cloud

I got my frame back a couple of months ago with the braze-ons. Looks great, but the canti studs on the back are too high. I can just BARELY get a set of brakes to hit the rim without rubbing the tire. If they were another millimeter higher I'd be screwed. Oh well, I got the work done for super cheap and it WILL work out, so no skin off my back I guess. I've been trying to get in contact with a personally recommended powder-coating company, but no luck. I'm sick of this frame sitting around unrideable , so I clear-coated it today and will get it powder-coated later after I get vinyl decals made for the logo.