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So I’ve recently sold two of my bikes. My dirt jumping bike, and my cross country bike. I now ride cross country on my single-speed 29er, and I’m loving it.. Only problem is that the gear ratio isn’t ideal for riding day to day, and I’d really like something with drop bars.

My commute is mixed. Some road, some gravel, some single track. I used to commute on my 29er with 37c “slicks”, and they provided more than enough control – I never had a puncture either, touch wood.

I was thinking about converting my 29er to a “dingle-speed” two gear ratios, but the same number of teeth. I run a 32/20 for XC, and would probably run a 36/16 for commuting. The chain length is the same so it doesn’t need adjusting, but to be honest I’m a bit of a perfectionist with bikes. Commuting on big chunky tires seems a bit pointless, and ultimately a waste of my energy and money.

Versa VRS-8 Alfine Levers - Allows you to shift an 8-speed internally geared Shimano Alfine hub with road levers - STI style.

So, I think I’ve figured out what I really want from a commuter…

The frame and fork should be a “monster-cross” style frame (cyclo-cross with disc tabs IMO). Ideally I’d be able to tension the chain using an eccentric bottom bracket (EBB) or track dropouts. Shimano Alfine 8-speed internally geared hub on the rear, and a “whatever” QR hub up front with some light 29″ rims and my 37c tyres. Road drop bars with Versa VRS-8 levers, so I can shift the Alfine hub, STI style, without any other messy shifters around the place. The rest of the spec would probably be fair mountain bike in flavour. Crankset, pedals and saddle would be similar to my 29er. Nothing over the top, since it is a commuter after all. The one thing I can’t decide on is whether to run discs or cantilevers. I know canti’s work fine, I just don’t know if I should because I can. Certainly finding a disc specific frame is harder, I just have visions of running this bike with a 2″ wide tyre in the future for some XC fun, and Avid BB7 Road’s would go nicely on it – not to mention handle the winter better as a commuter.

I’ve been on the frame hunt for a while now but unfortunately there aren’t a huge amount of options available, especially for myself living in Australia. The Salsa La Cruz covers some of my needs, just has no way to tension the chain. I’ve considered the Forward Components EBB but to be honest I’d prefer a frame that comes built for single-speed.

Singular Peregrine - Monster-cross styling - Cyclo-cross geometry, disc tabs and eccentric bottom bracket.

The Singular Peregrine meets my needs perfectly, only I can’t justify that sort of money on a frame yet (I’m guessing around AUD$1000 by the time it’s landed here).

It’s challenging, but I suppose it’s part of the fun of building something yourself. I’ll find my frame eventually – maybe I’ll just have to make some trade-offs first.

Last weekend started off pretty average. I had a massive hangover despite how much I don’t want to drink alcohol any more. Go figure. It was an average night in the end, and I paid the price for it on Saturday.

Come Sunday though, the boys and I got together early in the morning and drove up to our local downhill track – Fox Creek. Fox Creek has multiple downhill trails, that you can “shuttle” with a car and a trailer. While I love my fitness, pushing a downhill bike up a hill is just too hard, and leaves you with no energy to barrel down it again.

We got around 12 runs in, and I had an absolute ball. While I’m well and truly rusty at doing jumps and drops at speed, it didn’t matter. I did what I felt comfortable doing (and from time to time what I wasn’t comfortable doing) and got such a rush all I wanted to do was hit it again and again!

About 3/4 through the day we took a break and I had time to think – “This is what I want from life!”. Every day we do such mundane tasks to pass the time, but getting a solid dose of adrenaline just removes all of the negativity in our life. Doing things that make us feel alive is what helps us to break the mold. I personally want to go to the grave knowing that I have truly enjoyed my time on earth. I’m not saying that it has to be to the “extreme”, but just doing things that you genuinely enjoy.

Everyone has their own hobbies that give them something. For me, riding makes me feel alive, and gives me a sense of freedom. Freedom is so important to me. When I’m barelling down a hill, I can choose my lines, hit one of the three jumps, and so on – freedom in a sense. Whatever you need from life – just do it.

For me, I live to ride, and ride to live.

I raced in a mountain biking event last Saturday. As I’ve mentioned in the past, I’m not that into the competitive side of the racing, but just go out as I feel some sort of obligation to do so.

About half way through the second lap I was really in the zone. While riding at “race pace”, I was still able to take in my surroundings and enjoy what I was doing. Every part of the track was beautiful. Some areas quite wet with beautiful scrub-land around it, other areas almost like forest, and other areas more open and rocky.

As I raced, I thought to myself “there really is no better way to see the world than on a bike”. It doesn’t matter if it’s a road bike, mountain bike, touring bike, geared, single-speed, whatever. If it has two wheels and somehow resembles the original bicycle, I can appreciate it.

Live to ride, ride to live!

Ok, so not the roses as such, but riding to work this morning I saw what I usually do – some very dodgy driving because someone was obviously in a rush.

I’ve always found that riding to work is an excellent way to slow down your life. The time doesn’t just fly by as much as it does when you’re driving a car. You’re actually taking things in around you, seeing the interesting, beautiful and often hilarious things that are happening in the world.

As I mentioned, this morning I saw a very near miss of a car crash. Last week I saw a motorbike try and overtake a truck on the footpath, then almost stack it into a light pole after literally skidding to a halt and letting the truck past. I know what it’s like to be behind the wheel in peak hour – frustrating. Changing lanes to pass the slow driver in front of you, having someone cut you off, and always trying to get through each light before it goes red.

Obviously this extends much further than driving a car. Slowing your life down has many positives. There is just so much going on in this world, it’s really cool to take it all in rather than being involved in it all.

A few months back I was catching up with some friends in the city for a drink after work. I was about an hour early so I just decided to grab a beer and wait for them outside on a chair in the sun. All sorts of things passed me by and it was a really enjoyable experience. Nice looking girls, those pierced goth types, a couple of homeless people all walked past. A truck did a reverse parallel park into the smallest parking space I’d ever seen! Pretty much everything I saw was interesting in some way shape or form. Maybe I should start doing that more often instead of watching TV for entertainment?

It’s been pouring for the past week, and while the rain stopped last night, this morning the cold set in. There was a frost on the front lawn which for me is a telltale sign of it being truly cold.

I’m giving myself one week to get sorted for winter. I’m a bit disorganised this year as I’ve had a few years off from commuting year-round, but now it’s time to get it all started again.

My bike is pretty much perfect for the winter commute. It’s single-speed so cleaning the drive-train is easy, and there are less parts to replace when they wear out. I have an awesome set of lights to use when I need to – two for my helmet and two for the handlebars. It’s like daytime when I use those things!

One thing I am missing though, is mud guards – known as fenders pretty much every where else in the world. I had some on an old bike that I had but sold that a few years ago. I should be able to get these by the end of the week with some luck. Fenders are the difference between being covered in crap from the road, or being clean when you get to work. Not all that “cool” but there are times to accept function over form.

Keeping warm and dry is another thing. I’m fairly well organised here, but really need some long knicks for the winter.

For those thinking about commuting during winter on their bicycle, I’d suggest the following:

• A weather proof drive-train (single-speed or internally geared rear hub)
• Mud guards (fenders)
• Quality lights to see and be seen with
• A backpack with waterproof outer layer
• Quality waterproof jacket
• Winter clothes – depending on how cold you have the options of gloves, skull cap, base layer gear, etc.

There are more things to think about, but to me these are the basics. Riding in winter is really empowering. Not being beaten by the weather makes you feel really good about yourself, but it is hard to get started. Next week I’m tackling the beast. No excuses.