journal features

tricked out bike

the journal of Michael Werneburg

twenty-eight years and a million words

Tokyo, 2008.10.24

After speaking with a coworker who's an avid cyclist, I decided to go to the fine folks at Azabu Cycle about getting my bike modified. I was interested in having the handlebars raised, for two reasons.

The first is that I've been getting a pain in my neck whenever I cycle frequently (e.g. by Thursday of every week). This has been a contributing factor for the long spate of migraines I've been getting of late.

The second reason is that with the current configuration, I've got my head down and tend to a) speed up and b) miss what's going on around me. I'd rather take my time and see what's around me.

So now I've got the bike back and just raising the handlebars by 5-10 centimeters have made a big difference. With a lot of weight off my hands my neck is less stiff and sore after a 30-120 minute ride, and I've got better visibility as to what's going on around me. Of course, there's now more weight on my perineum, and I've got one of those slender hard seats. (>_<)

rand()m quote

If a person has ugly thoughts, it begins to show on the face. And when that person has ugly thoughts every day, every week, every year, the face gets uglier and uglier until you can hardly bear to look at it. A person who has good thoughts cannot ever be ugly. You can have a wonky nose and a crooked mouth and a double chin and stick-out teeth, but if you have good thoughts it will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely.

—Roald Dahl