We are doing it again this year!  This is an exciting opportunity to hang out with deaf cyclists, especially riding with Alan Hurwitz,  the president of Gallaudet University!   May 12 is the date, so be sure to mark it on your calendars!  The bike route starts from Gallaudet University to Old Town Alexandria.   On the route, we will go by places of interest such as the White House, Lincoln Memorial, John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts, C & O Canal, Ronald Reagan National Airport, Martin Luther King Memorial, and more!  We will then return to Gallaudet after reaching Old Town Alexandria.  The total length of the round trip is around 30 miles.

This will be the second annual Ride-with-the-Gallaudet-President.  Please check out the last year’s story about it.  That’ll tempt you to join us!

Visit the Ride with the Gallaudet President for further information.

dVELO is seeking experienced cyclists to ride with the group and to provide support during this event in two ways:

• Helping remind riders to follow the bicycle road safety procedures such as stopping at red lights and stop signs, riding in the appropriate parts of road lanes, and etc.

• Serving as “sweepers” by remaining at the end of the pack to make sure no one straggles from the group as well as giving encouragement.

All volunteers will be rewarded with guaranteed discount of $10 registration fee.  The regular registration is $25.  That’s good deal!

Please contact Ralph at info@dvelo.com for more information.

                                                          Deaf cyclist Nick Schrieber falls victim to a bicycle robber.

In 2001, the FBI reported that almost 300,000 bicycles were stolen every year.   The FBI also estimated that 2/3 of stolen bikes nation-wide were never reported.   So, that means a possible average of 900,000 bicycles are disappearing each year.

As you read this, I hope you are thinking whether your bike is safely secured or locked up!

Unfortunately, bicycle protection is not all about securing with a padlock and a chain or even leaving it in a safe room.

At least not in Nicholas Schrieber’s case.

Professional cyclist Nick is a multiple-time medalist of the past Deaflympics, World Deaf Cycling Championships and Tour de Formosa.  Not only did he excel competing against international Deaf cyclists, but also against hearing counterparts at home.  In fact, he just won a criterium race Saturday, March 31st.

Unfortunately, as great as he is in cycling, even he was not immune to bicycle thievery.

Nick’s case was not an oops-I-didn’t-padlock-my-bike kind of carelessness.  Instead, he fell victim to a well-executed bicycle-napping last September (2011).

Here is his response after I interviewed him through Facebook on what had happened:

“I was trying to sell my bike through Craigslist.  A guy texted me, wanting to see it. When he texted me again three days later,  I thought he was serious.  He came by in his BMW.  I opened my garage door and welcomed him to check it out.  I noticed that he was shorter than me so I took out an allen wrench to lower the seat for him to try riding it on.   But then he said, ‘its okay. Leave it, leave it.’

“Then he gets a call from his cell.  He answered briefly and then hung up. He said he wanted to test ride the bike.  At first I said no, but then he said, ‘here’s the car.’  So, I was like ‘ok…’  He then he rode away.  I waited and waited.

Finally, my wife came out and asked ‘where is he!?’  She called the cops.”

The Schriebers learned from the police officers that the BMW the man had parked at their home had been reported stolen a few days before.  Nick then spread word around about his bike being stolen.  He said that everyone knew what his bike looked like, and they were hoping someone would spot it somewhere.  The thievery occurred September 11th and it wasn’t until a few months later when Nick got some good news.  He continued:

“A friend spotted the bike at at a pawn shop, I think on February 2nd.  I went there, and sure enough, it was mine.  But all of the Sram Red components were gone.  It was replaced with some cheap Shimano components.  The serial number had been changed at the bottom of the cranks.  It was no longer a complete bike.  The cops showed up, but they couldn’t do anything.

“I gave them some pictures, the original serial number, and contacts to my local bike shop.   A week later, a detective called and told me that he had gotten the bike out of the pawn shop.  I went in to match the serial number I had.  It was supposed to be in the fork, but there wasn’t one.  The cops showed me eight different pictures of possible suspects.  I saw the picture of the same guy that came to my house and pointed him out.   They said it was the same person who had gone into the pawn shop.   The detective said that the suspect was on parole and that he would be coming in for questioning.  He never showed up.  I am still waiting to see if they catch him.

“I have to go to the court.  I will hand over the bike to an insurance agent.  Since the serial number had been removed, the warranty is void as stated in the Trek company policy.”

Nick concluded that as soon as the cops catch the suspect, he will sue him for all of the missing parts on the bike. (Sram Red components are not cheap…a complete set could cost well over $1,000!)

When asked what he thought of all of this, he said, “It was a mess!  I will never try selling anything online.  People are stealing and scamming.  So get your guns out and put up plywood!”

Nick, we are all so sorry about what happened!  We are hoping for the best that this suspect will be brought to justice, and that you will receive compensation for the loss!

by David Snow

A bicycle an owner has pride and joy in may be a beautifully crafted 20-speed road bike or a full-suspension mountain one made out of carbon fiber.

I own a bicycle that is neither.  In fact, it is quite the opposite.

I am proud of owning set of 26’ wheels: a rust-streaked beach cruiser.  The ownership didn’t begin with purchasing it at a bike shop.

Instead, I saved it from becoming scrap metal.

Years ago, when I was nearing home from work one evening, I spotted a fat-tire bicycle lying against a couple of trashcans, half hidden.  I only gave it a quick glance as I passed.  I thought I would forget all about it after getting home.  But then I told myself, “I have couple of racing bicycles and a MTB, but no beach bike.  Hmmm…”

Since the trashed bike was only a few houses up from where I live, I walked back to the trash site for a closer look.  My first reaction when I saw it was to say, “forget it,” and return home.

It was quite an eyesore.   Rust was everywhere.   The “oversized derriere” seat was practically falling apart with rain-soaked rubber foam spilling out.  It was a fix-up job more complex than just squirting some oil to get rid of the kinks.

However, before I turned around to walk back home, I did a double take.   The wheels. I crouched for further examination.  The fat, white-walled tires had all rotted and were half out of the rims.  But the wheels themselves weren’t rusty like the rest of the bike. The rims were aluminum.  The thick-gauge spokes were stainless steel!  Combined, they were a mark of good-quality, bombproof wheels.   To make sure, I test- spun them.  The rims were absolutely true.

Any bike that comes with good wheels should most likely be of good quality too, right?   I changed my mind about it not being worth salvaging!  I quickly dragged the bike away from the trash and trudged it home, eager to play bicycle doctor.

I disassembled the bicycle down to the frame (you should see how much rusty water had leaked out!).  The messiest part of the cleaning was removing the hardened and sticky grease from the bottom bracket, head and wheel hubs. The WD40 spray did its magic- I able to reuse most of the parts after the rust was removed.

The replacement parts I got were some bearings for the hubs and headset, a new seat, drive train, rim tape and a set of tires (Michelin Transworld City 26×1.5).  The total cost was around $60 – 70.

I had originally planned on stripping the frame down to metal and give it a new paint.  But when I started scrubbing the frame with steel wood, I discovered that most of what I thought was “rust” actually was just dirt and mold.  The sea foam green (at least I think that is the name of the color) paint appeared after a few scrubs.  It was the same with the handlebars.  They were pitted, but much more chrome was visible than rust.   At the end, the sun-faded frame color actually looked cool and very retro.   All the cleaning revealed the brand name, even if barely. It was a Hampton Cruiser.  The coolness factor made me drop the new paint idea.

After all was done, was it cost effective?  Absolutely!   Maybe I was a little biased having only ridden racing bicycles with rock-hard, shock non-absorbing skinny tires, but that bike was really very smooth and solid.  I was in love with it the moment I test-rode it.

Oh, by the way, notice the fenders?  I threw them in with the rebuilt…at no cost!  I made them out of a piece of discarded drainage pipe from a construction site (ok, you can label me a dumpster diver).

That was almost 10 years ago.  I have ridden it for fun, for training (yes you read that correctly), and for quick transportation around a huge campus of a university I used to work at.

Now I am currently using it for getting around the 74-acre campus at Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind where I work.  A 5-minute walk to a building is instantly transformed into a 30-second ride!

Furthermore, my son is a student in the Deaf elementary department.  His classroom is
in a building is on the other side of campus from where I work.  At the end of each school day, it is quick to just ride over, fetching my son and bringing him back to my office.  I had added a bicycle rack and foot pegs so his ride behind me is comfortable and stable.  The round trip only takes a couple of minutes.  On foot, it would take a whopping fifteen minutes, with most of it on the return trip.  That is because that boy takes his time walking!  He is 10 years old and weights around 90 pounds, but hauling him around is still quite easy cranking in its low gear ratio.  Sweet.

Jeez, look at how much I have said about that old bicycle!   The point of the whole article?  This bike has become my pride and joy.   That bicycle may not be something great to look at.  It may not be something that would be sold for a good amount of money.  Heck, it may not even be something that would attract thieves.  But to me, it is a great and solid bike in its usefulness…and sentimentally.   When I take the time to think about it, I feel proud to have rescued something from ending up in a pot of molten steel.  In return, it gives me countless benefits including fun.

What about you?  Do you have any stories of your own about a special bike you own or have owned?  If yes, please do share!