2 STROKE DIRT BIKE ENGINES

Here's the bike that Todd sent to me right after we'd finished Cycle Japan (September of 2001). After nearly a year without a (traditional) bike that fits, I was now back in business. As soon as I had it reassembled I took her down to the river path and revved up to 50+ km/hr on the flats! After the recumbent, this bike felt like a rocket.

Todd put this together so it's pretty much mix-n-match as far as parts go. The frame is a Schwinn from (I think) the late '70s. (I checked the head badge number against a database once and remember finding that it was one of the frames made in Japan for Schwinn.)

In any case, here it is. Todd painted the frame black but the occasional rubbing of my right thigh against the frame wore the paint away. (I've got an unusual riding style.)

I took this bike out the first week I had it and did an absurd 330km ride. Here's my journal entry from that day (September 16, 2001):

Woke up early and was on the road at 3:40. I just love riding early in the morning. When I passed through Sabra’s town, Shiroishi, it was 5:05 and the faintest sliver of a moon was rising along with the planets in the pre-dawn sky. It was truly magical. Riding along the Ariake coast was gorgeous and I turned up the heat to raise my average speed so I could do my first 100 miles in under 5 hours, which I did (4:56). I popped a front spoke at 96 km, however, but the wheel held together. I later popped another spoke in front and one on the drive side of the rear wheel. My ride took me around the Unzen peninsula and back up 207, only I got lost and tried going up a few dead-end valley roads until I finally cut back across on 444. This meant unnecessarily climbing over a big hill in mid-day heat, but it was my own fault for going off course.

Anyway, the combination of hills, heat, fatigue, and broken spokes make my return trip take more than two-and-a-half hours longer than the first half. In the morning I was wondering if it would be possible to ride 200 miles in under 10 hours but now I have my doubts. Even so, I still felt better when I got home than I did when I went to Nagasaki on the Stainless. I totaled 330 km and did my rear end ever feel it!

Because of all the broken spokes, I upgraded the rims to Mavic MA-3s. The Look pedals were purchased at Iwai Cyclery in Kurume to complement the killer shoes I got on ultra-discount through Nashbar for only $26; the pedals were more like $90.

That dual water bottle rack on the seat post never really worked. Any good bump would send the bottles flying out, which got old real fast.

Like the wrist watch taped to the handlebars?

The Claiborne Pell Bridge, commonly known as the Newport Bridge, is a suspension bridge operated by the Rhode Island Turnpike and Bridge Authority that spans the East Passage of the Narragansett Bay in Rhode Island (northeastern United States), connecting the City of Newport on Aquidneck Island and the Town of Jamestown on Conanicut Island. The bridge is four lanes (two in each direction) and is part of RI 138. It is a toll bridge, and the cash toll is US$4.00 for cars (as of 2009). E-ZPass is accepted, and Rhode Island residents with a Rhode Island E-ZPass pay a discounted toll of only 83 cents. Out-of-state residents pay full price, even with a Rhode Island E-ZPass[2], making this bridge the only toll facility in the U.S. to give a residence discount that isn't limited to the adjacent neighborhoods. The bridge is the only toll road in Rhode Island.[3]

The main span of the Newport Bridge is 488 meters (1601 ft), ranking it number 70 among the longest suspension bridges in the world, and making it the longest suspension bridge in New England. The overall length of the bridge is 3,428 meters (11,247 ft). Its main towers reach 122 meters (400 ft) above the water surface, and the roadway height reaches as high as 66 meters (215 ft).[4]

The bridge was constructed from 1966-1969 at a cost of U.S.$54,742,000 by the Parsons, Brinckerhoff, Quade & Douglas company, also famous for engineering the modern New York City Subway and the Cape Cod Canal.

The bridge was renamed for U.S. Senator Claiborne Pell in 1992, but it is still commonly referred to as the Newport Bridge by residents and historians. The bridge is featured on the Rhode Island state quarter.

Bicycles are not permitted on this bridge, but Rhode Island Public Transit Authority bus #64 has bike racks for weekday and Saturday travel