Al's Blog-o-Sphere

Yeah, so? First riding bicycles, now what?

Well, I’ve gone back to my electronics roots and have recreated a crystal radio that was my first electronics project back in about fifth or sixth grade.

Finished set. Click to enlarge.

Back in my early teen years, I was a fierce reader. I spent many hours in the Children’s and Young Adult sections of the Lockport Library. I made at least one trip a week during summer vacation bringing back an armfull of books each time.

I read all sorts of things, including science fiction, but that’s another story. The library had a small section of books on technology aimed at young people. In it I discovered a series of books by Alfred Powell Morgan and made my way through some of them. Continue Reading…

Along the way, we stopped at an old canal site.

Our group set out to ride a section of the Erie Canalway Trail and decided to begin in Albany and ride west for two days, turn around and ride back. Three nights camping on the trail at two campgrounds. The first night, we met at a hotel in Rensselear. Continue Reading…

Al, Jeff, Paul, Bob

…and finished after two.

I enjoyed the night camping and it was great to meet my friends again, but by noon on Friday, it was apparent that I had grossly misjudged the trail.

The majority of the Greenbriar Trail is a gravel double-track with grass in the middle and sides. Think of a set of tire tracks left by a truck. No matter what I did, I was always riding with at a minimum of two, and often four, wheels in the grass. Gravel is enough of a handicap, but that was too much. Continue Reading…

Yes, my ride is going on a diet, from three wheels to two. I’m now the proud owner of a 2003 HP Velotechnik Street Machine GT.

The new bike HP Velotechnik Street Machine GT

I’ve wanted to have a two wheeled recumbent since the beginning when I bought my trike. I actually thought I’d get a two-wheeler when I bought the trike, but got caught up in the go-cart fun-ness of the trike. It was not a bad decision, it’s been a great ride and is still my go-to ride for touring. And a trike has almost no learning curve, unlike a two-wheeled ‘bent. Continue Reading…