middle school bike-a-thon prize

[Claire Petersky]

In my copious, copious free time I am the Vice President of the Highland
Middle School Music Booster Club. Our chief fundraiser is a Bike-a-Thon.
(No, it wasn't my idea -- I came on to the Booster Club just this year). Our
prize for the best fund-raising kid is a K2 Reaper. It looks like this:

http://www.epinions.com/bicycles_2002_K2_Reaper/display_~full_specs

I figured that this would be a cool enough bike for middle schoolers. Yes,
we're paying for it -- $139 on a close-out. Next year, we'll have enough
lead time we can get something donated. But when someone said we should just
go down to *mart (actually, Fred Meyer) and get a hundred dollar bike, this
is what I came up with as a reasonable alternative.

Do you think this was a decent choice? Now that I put the money down for it,
I'm freaking out maybe I could have done better.


--
Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky
please substitute yahoo for mousepotato to reply
Home of the meditative cyclist:
http://home.earthlink.net/~cpetersky/Welcome.htm
Personal page: http://www.geocities.com/cpetersky/
See the books I've set free at: http://bookcrossing.com/referral/Cpetersky

 

[Beverly]

"Claire Petersky" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> In my copious, copious free time I am the Vice President of the Highland
> Middle School Music Booster Club. Our chief fundraiser is a Bike-a-Thon.
> (No, it wasn't my idea -- I came on to the Booster Club just this year).
Our
> prize for the best fund-raising kid is a K2 Reaper. It looks like this:
>
> http://www.epinions.com/bicycles_2002_K2_Reaper/display_~full_specs
>
> I figured that this would be a cool enough bike for middle schoolers. Yes,
> we're paying for it -- $139 on a close-out. Next year, we'll have enough
> lead time we can get something donated. But when someone said we should
just
> go down to *mart (actually, Fred Meyer) and get a hundred dollar bike,
this
> is what I came up with as a reasonable alternative.
>
> Do you think this was a decent choice? Now that I put the money down for
it,
> I'm freaking out maybe I could have done better.
>
>
> --
> Warm Regards,
>
> Claire Petersky
> please substitute yahoo for mousepotato to reply
> Home of the meditative cyclist:
> http://home.earthlink.net/~cpetersky/Welcome.htm
> Personal page: http://www.geocities.com/cpetersky/
> See the books I've set free at: http://bookcrossing.com/referral/Cpetersky

Nice bike. The only suggestion I would have would be to check the local
bike shops. I stopped at mine to pick up my granddaughters bike earlier
this week and saw some nice Trek bikes for kids in the $150 range. Some
might even have some on sale at a lower price.

Beverly

>
>

 

[Zoot Katz]

Wed, 29 Sep 2004 00:31:52 GMT,
<[email protected]>,
"Claire Petersky" <[email protected]> wrote:

>Do you think this was a decent choice? Now that I put the money down for it,
>I'm freaking out maybe I could have done better.

It's half price and looks like the type of bike a kid that age would
love. They'll probably grow out of it before they destroy it.
I think you made a good choice but the colour doesn't grab me.
--
zk

 

[Mike Jacoubowsky]

> In my copious, copious free time I am the Vice President of the Highland
> Middle School Music Booster Club. Our chief fundraiser is a Bike-a-Thon.
> (No, it wasn't my idea -- I came on to the Booster Club just this year).
> Our
> prize for the best fund-raising kid is a K2 Reaper. It looks like this:
>
> http://www.epinions.com/bicycles_2002_K2_Reaper/display_~full_specs
>
> I figured that this would be a cool enough bike for middle schoolers. Yes,
> we're paying for it -- $139 on a close-out. Next year, we'll have enough
> lead time we can get something donated. But when someone said we should
> just
> go down to *mart (actually, Fred Meyer) and get a hundred dollar bike,
> this
> is what I came up with as a reasonable alternative.


Claire: Bike shops get hit up for donations constantly, and most likely
can't afford to give a bike away. But we came up with a solution that has
seemed to work well for many. We take a bike that normally sells for about
$250 (typically a TREK 3500 etc) and sell it to them, below cost, for $110.
We offer this to any non-profit group that's running a fund-raiser, and it's
worked out very well. We couldn't afford to sell a zillion at that price,
but we can afford to help out a whole lot more people than we could if we
were choosing who to give one away to.

You might approach a local shop and see if they'd be willing to do something
like that. You don't know until you try (and somehow I don't see you as the
shy kid on the block)!

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReactionBicycles.com

 

[Claire Petersky]

"Mike Jacoubowsky" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

> Claire: Bike shops get hit up for donations constantly, and most likely
> can't afford to give a bike away. But we came up with a solution that has
> seemed to work well for many. We take a bike that normally sells for
about
> $250 (typically a TREK 3500 etc) and sell it to them, below cost, for
$110.
> We offer this to any non-profit group that's running a fund-raiser, and
it's
> worked out very well. We couldn't afford to sell a zillion at that price,
> but we can afford to help out a whole lot more people than we could if we
> were choosing who to give one away to.
>
> You might approach a local shop and see if they'd be willing to do
something
> like that. You don't know until you try (and somehow I don't see you as
the
> shy kid on the block)!

The assistant manager of the place who is selling me this BMX bike is the
one who has encouraged me to do take the lead time next year and get the
bike donated to us. I know him when he was the floor manager of my current
bike shop, and he thought it was well worth it to approach his boss. The
bike-a-thon though is this weekend, and we (well, I) just don't have the
time to do the necessary paper work this year.

I know what you mean about getting hit up a lot, though -- I know from
working for the United Way that some businesses get it worse than others.


--
Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky
please substitute yahoo for mousepotato to reply
Home of the meditative cyclist:
http://home.earthlink.net/~cpetersky/Welcome.htm
Personal page: http://www.geocities.com/cpetersky/
See the books I've set free at: http://bookcrossing.com/referral/Cpetersky

 

[Ryan Cousineau]

In article <[email protected]>,
"Claire Petersky" <[email protected]> wrote:

> In my copious, copious free time I am the Vice President of the Highland
> Middle School Music Booster Club. Our chief fundraiser is a Bike-a-Thon.
> (No, it wasn't my idea -- I came on to the Booster Club just this year). Our
> prize for the best fund-raising kid is a K2 Reaper. It looks like this:
>
> http://www.epinions.com/bicycles_2002_K2_Reaper/display_~full_specs
>
> I figured that this would be a cool enough bike for middle schoolers. Yes,
> we're paying for it -- $139 on a close-out. Next year, we'll have enough
> lead time we can get something donated. But when someone said we should just
> go down to *mart (actually, Fred Meyer) and get a hundred dollar bike, this
> is what I came up with as a reasonable alternative.
>
> Do you think this was a decent choice? Now that I put the money down for it,
> I'm freaking out maybe I could have done better.

Speaking as a minor conoisseur of BMX bikes, that's a remarkably good
freestyle machine for the price.

The basic benchmark between mediocre and serious BMXs is whether they
use a 1-piece (ashtabula) crank or a three-piece crank (strong and
light). This bike uses the latter.

So, can I um, enter your Bike-a-Thon?

--
Ryan Cousineau, [email protected] http://www.wiredcola.com
Verus de parvis; verus de magnis.

 

[Claire Petersky]

"Ryan Cousineau" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

> So, can I um, enter your Bike-a-Thon?

Sure, get a couple of sponsors, and meet us at Marymoor Park in Redmond at
9:00 AM on Saturday morning. Do you think you can handle 30 miles round trip
on the flat?


--
Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky
please substitute yahoo for mousepotato to reply
Home of the meditative cyclist:
http://home.earthlink.net/~cpetersky/Welcome.htm
Personal page: http://www.geocities.com/cpetersky/
See the books I've set free at: http://bookcrossing.com/referral/Cpetersky

 

[Ryan Cousineau]

In article <[email protected]>,
"Claire Petersky" <[email protected]> wrote:

> "Ryan Cousineau" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>
> > So, can I um, enter your Bike-a-Thon?
>
> Sure, get a couple of sponsors, and meet us at Marymoor Park in Redmond at
> 9:00 AM on Saturday morning. Do you think you can handle 30 miles round trip
> on the flat?

Do I have to use a BMX? Hm. Time to build up the Auto-Mini.

Sadly, it conflicts with my club ride, 200 miles north.

-RjC.
--
Ryan Cousineau, [email protected] http://www.wiredcola.com
Verus de parvis; verus de magnis.

 

[Luigi de Guzman]

Ryan Cousineau wrote:

> In article <[email protected]>,
> "Claire Petersky" <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> "Ryan Cousineau" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>> news:[email protected]...
>>
>> > So, can I um, enter your Bike-a-Thon?
>>
>> Sure, get a couple of sponsors, and meet us at Marymoor Park in Redmond
>> at 9:00 AM on Saturday morning. Do you think you can handle 30 miles
>> round trip on the flat?
>
> Do I have to use a BMX? Hm. Time to build up the Auto-Mini.
>
> Sadly, it conflicts with my club ride, 200 miles north.

I haven't ridden a BMX in ages. How do big people ride 'em?

Maybe I should get one, ride it down to the park, and learn tricks from the
kids. We could even trade: I could teach 'em to ride with the traffic if
they teach me some flatland stuff.

-Luigi

>
> -RjC.

--
www.livejournal.com/users/ouij
Photos, Rants, Raves

 

[Bill Baka]

On Wed, 29 Sep 2004 17:33:54 -0400, Luigi de Guzman <[email protected]>
wrote:

> Ryan Cousineau wrote:
>
>> In article <[email protected]>,
>> "Claire Petersky" <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>>> "Ryan Cousineau" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>>> news:[email protected]...
>>>
>>> > So, can I um, enter your Bike-a-Thon?
>>>
>>> Sure, get a couple of sponsors, and meet us at Marymoor Park in Redmond
>>> at 9:00 AM on Saturday morning. Do you think you can handle 30 miles
>>> round trip on the flat?
>>
>> Do I have to use a BMX? Hm. Time to build up the Auto-Mini.
>>
>> Sadly, it conflicts with my club ride, 200 miles north.
>
> I haven't ridden a BMX in ages. How do big people ride 'em?
>
> Maybe I should get one, ride it down to the park, and learn tricks from
> the
> kids. We could even trade: I could teach 'em to ride with the traffic
> if
> they teach me some flatland stuff.
>
> -Luigi
>
>>
>> -RjC.
>
Please get some pictures if any adults try riding those 20" BMX bikes.
I could use a laugh. Last spring I had to deliver a 20" that I had fixed
for a kid that moved about 2 miles away and had to stand the whole time.
The walk back was easier. 30 miles? I don't think so. At least wheelies
are safe since you can just put your feet down.
Bill Baka


--
Using M2, Opera's revolutionary e-mail client: http://www.opera.com/m2/

 

[B i l l S o r n s o n]

Bill Baka wrote:

> Please get some pictures if any adults try riding those 20" BMX bikes.
> I could use a laugh.

But...but... Didn't you say you're riding a purple girl's bike you
originally bought for your daughter???

Bill "we DEMAND pics" S.

 

[Zoot Katz]

Wed, 29 Sep 2004 22:21:57 GMT, <[email protected]>,
"B i l l S o r n s o n" <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>But...but... Didn't you say you're riding a purple girl's bike you
>originally bought for your daughter???
>
>Bill "we DEMAND pics" S.

Speak for yourself.
--
zk

 

[David Reuteler]

Zoot Katz <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> Wed, 29 Sep 2004 22:21:57 GMT, <[email protected]>,
> "B i l l S o r n s o n" <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>>But...but... Didn't you say you're riding a purple girl's bike you
>>originally bought for your daughter???
>>
>>Bill "we DEMAND pics" S.
>
> Speak for yourself.

well, i'm 180ing on this. let's just see the photo and get this over with.
i'm betting good money on a kind of '00s slightly older somewhat crazed and
scruffier version of grizzly adams

http://www.grizzlyadams.net/setPhotos/photos/grizzrifle.jpg

like maybe this:

http://gxpmall.bizland.com/ted_kaczynski.jpg
--
david reuteler
[email protected]

 

[Bill Baka]

On 30 Sep 2004 02:41:22 GMT, David Reuteler <[email protected]> wrote:

> Zoot Katz <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>> Wed, 29 Sep 2004 22:21:57 GMT, <[email protected]>,
>> "B i l l S o r n s o n" <[email protected]> wrote:
>>>
>>> But...but... Didn't you say you're riding a purple girl's bike you
>>> originally bought for your daughter???
>>>
>>> Bill "we DEMAND pics" S.
>>
>> Speak for yourself.
>
> well, i'm 180ing on this. let's just see the photo and get this over
> with.
> i'm betting good money on a kind of '00s slightly older somewhat crazed
> and
> scruffier version of grizzly adams
>
> http://www.grizzlyadams.net/setPhotos/photos/grizzrifle.jpg
>
> like maybe this:
>
> http://gxpmall.bizland.com/ted_kaczynski.jpg

Not even close. No beard.
Hah!
Whaddya mean settle a bet?
Bill Baka


--
Using M2, Opera's revolutionary e-mail client: http://www.opera.com/m2/

 

[Ryan Cousineau]

In article <x_F6d.38340$aW5.27697@fed1read07>,
Luigi de Guzman <[email protected]> wrote:

> Ryan Cousineau wrote:
>
> > In article <[email protected]>,
> > "Claire Petersky" <[email protected]> wrote:
> >
> >> "Ryan Cousineau" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> >> news:[email protected]...
> >>
> >> > So, can I um, enter your Bike-a-Thon?
> >>
> >> Sure, get a couple of sponsors, and meet us at Marymoor Park in Redmond
> >> at 9:00 AM on Saturday morning. Do you think you can handle 30 miles
> >> round trip on the flat?
> >
> > Do I have to use a BMX? Hm. Time to build up the Auto-Mini.
> >
> > Sadly, it conflicts with my club ride, 200 miles north.
>
> I haven't ridden a BMX in ages. How do big people ride 'em?

To a certain extent, they don't. But please prepare for a fairly info
and tech-rich post.

stock BMX bikes are not designed to be ridden long distances by
average-height adults. If you take a look at typical teen BMX riders,
you will notice that they have serious monkey-motion (seat too low, thus
knees too high) when just riding along. This is by design, since it
keeps the seat out of the way when you're tricking. I believe that BMX
races are short enough that serious pedaling is done standing, and much
of the rest of the time is spent negotiating jumps. You be the judge:

http://tinyurl.com/6l2o7

Now, this can be remedied, to a certain extent. I have an old-school BMX
(the now-notorious BMX LX) with a 22 mm seatpost. I was lucky enough to
find a very tall (300 mm?) seatpost in that size, which was still not
long enough for me to ride the bike in a true roadie position. It was,
however, long enough for my 5'2" wife to ride it very comfortably. It's
her favourite bike (or will be, once I put a good front brake on it).

http://www.sfu.ca/~rcousine/wiredcola/archive/2004_05_23_archive.html

I build the BMX LX as a concept project to see if I could turn a BMX
into a bicycle both fast enough to entertain me, but which could be
disassembled small enough to qualify as checkable airline luggage. The
critical issue here is probably the size of the frame and fork together,
since I would consider removing the fork (and thus opening up the
headset bearings) a bit much for a "transportable" bike. It was then
overtaken by the event of me finding a folding bicycle at a garage sale.

Newer, good-quality BMX frames often use mountain-bike sized seatposts,
which means really, really long posts are available (Nashbar sells a 400
mm post for $30). At that point, you could get a fairly normal-sized
rider on a stock BMX frame. Hey, 5'6" is a perfectly normal size!

The other thing worth knowing is that adapters to make an "American"
(Ashtabula) threadless BB shell take a normal road-style BB cost about
$20. Then it's time to play fun with multi-speed drivetrains.

> Maybe I should get one, ride it down to the park, and learn tricks from the
> kids. We could even trade: I could teach 'em to ride with the traffic if
> they teach me some flatland stuff.

BMXs are fun machines. Very easygoing, very easy to ride down stairs,
and if you use a large-volume tire, slick or not, the ride is
surprisingly smooth.

--
Ryan Cousineau, [email protected] http://www.wiredcola.com
Verus de parvis; verus de magnis.

 

[bentbrian]

In article <x_F6d.38340$aW5.27697@fed1read07>,
Luigi de Guzman <[email protected]> wrote:

> Ryan Cousineau wrote:
>
> > In article <[email protected]>,
> > "Claire Petersky" <[email protected]> wrote:
> >
> >> "Ryan Cousineau" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> >> news:[email protected]...
> >>
> >> > So, can I um, enter your Bike-a-Thon?
> >>
> >> Sure, get a couple of sponsors, and meet us at Marymoor Park in Redmond
> >> at 9:00 AM on Saturday morning. Do you think you can handle 30 miles
> >> round trip on the flat?
> >
> > Do I have to use a BMX? Hm. Time to build up the Auto-Mini.
> >
> > Sadly, it conflicts with my club ride, 200 miles north.
>
> I haven't ridden a BMX in ages. How do big people ride 'em?

To a certain extent, they don't. But please prepare for a fairly info
and tech-rich post.

stock BMX bikes are not designed to be ridden long distances by
average-height adults. If you take a look at typical teen BMX riders,
you will notice that they have serious monkey-motion (seat too low, thus
knees too high) when just riding along. This is by design, since it
keeps the seat out of the way when you're tricking. I believe that BMX
races are short enough that serious pedaling is done standing, and much
of the rest of the time is spent negotiating jumps. You be the judge:

http://tinyurl.com/6l2o7

Now, this can be remedied, to a certain extent. I have an old-school BMX
(the now-notorious BMX LX) with a 22 mm seatpost. I was lucky enough to
find a very tall (300 mm?) seatpost in that size, which was still not
long enough for me to ride the bike in a true roadie position. It was,
however, long enough for my 5'2" wife to ride it very comfortably. It's
her favourite bike (or will be, once I put a good front brake on it).

http://www.sfu.ca/~rcousine/wiredcola/archive/2004_05_23_archive.html

I build the BMX LX as a concept project to see if I could turn a BMX
into a bicycle both fast enough to entertain me, but which could be
disassembled small enough to qualify as checkable airline luggage. The
critical issue here is probably the size of the frame and fork together,
since I would consider removing the fork (and thus opening up the
headset bearings) a bit much for a "transportable" bike. It was then
overtaken by the event of me finding a folding bicycle at a garage sale.

Newer, good-quality BMX frames often use mountain-bike sized seatposts,
which means really, really long posts are available (Nashbar sells a 400
mm post for $30). At that point, you could get a fairly normal-sized
rider on a stock BMX frame. Hey, 5'6" is a perfectly normal size!

The other thing worth knowing is that adapters to make an "American"
(Ashtabula) threadless BB shell take a normal road-style BB cost about
$20. Then it's time to play fun with multi-speed drivetrains.

> Maybe I should get one, ride it down to the park, and learn tricks from the
> kids. We could even trade: I could teach 'em to ride with the traffic if
> they teach me some flatland stuff.

BMXs are fun machines. Very easygoing, very easy to ride down stairs,
and if you use a large-volume tire, slick or not, the ride is
surprisingly smooth.

--
Ryan Cousineau, [email protected] http://www.wiredcola.com
Verus de parvis; verus de magnis.

Being short, only 5'4" sometimes has its advantages. I've successfully ridden my old Raleigh/Rampar BMX as a hiking path bike in city parks with a tall seat post. The short wheelbase and small wheels make for some snappy handling and a lot of fun. 'bent now and having even more fun.

'bent Brian

 

[Hunrobe]

>David Reuteler [email protected]

wrote in part:

>i'm betting good money on a kind of '00s slightly older somewhat crazed and
>scruffier version of grizzly adams
>
>http://www.grizzlyadams.net/setPhotos/photos/grizzrifle.jpg
>
>like maybe this:
>
>http://gxpmall.bizland.com/ted_kaczynski.jpg


Is it just coincidence that you picked two convicted felons' photos or are you
trying to tell us something?
(Bill--- It's all in fun. He could have posted links to a sex offender site
after all.)

Regards,
Bob Hunt

 

[Bill Baka]

On 01 Oct 2004 01:03:19 GMT, Hunrobe <[email protected]> wrote:

>> David Reuteler [email protected]
>
> wrote in part:
>
>> i'm betting good money on a kind of '00s slightly older somewhat crazed
>> and
>> scruffier version of grizzly adams
>>
>> http://www.grizzlyadams.net/setPhotos/photos/grizzrifle.jpg
>>
>> like maybe this:
>>
>> http://gxpmall.bizland.com/ted_kaczynski.jpg
>
>
> Is it just coincidence that you picked two convicted felons' photos or
> are you
> trying to tell us something?
> (Bill--- It's all in fun. He could have posted links to a sex offender
> site
> after all.)
>
> Regards,
> Bob Hunt
>
>
Hey, I have been busy climbing trees with my grandkids and not riding,
but I let them have the camera so the best you can hope for is a
shakey picture of me about 20' up in a tree. Walked to the park and
showed the kids how to properly climb a tree. Then I got complaints
for not wanting to play tag on the monkey bars. Gotta draw the line
somewhere. I may put a pic up for you guys just to get past this blip.
It was kind of worth it to see the look on a younger grannies face when
she walked by and we were all in the tree, like "What the ?????".
Acting your age is over-rated.
Bill Baka


--
Using M2, Opera's revolutionary e-mail client: http://www.opera.com/m2/

 

[Bill Baka]

On 01 Oct 2004 01:03:19 GMT, Hunrobe <[email protected]> wrote:

>> David Reuteler [email protected]
>
> wrote in part:
>
>> i'm betting good money on a kind of '00s slightly older somewhat crazed
>> and
>> scruffier version of grizzly adams
>>
>> http://www.grizzlyadams.net/setPhotos/photos/grizzrifle.jpg
>>
>> like maybe this:
>>
>> http://gxpmall.bizland.com/ted_kaczynski.jpg
>
>
> Is it just coincidence that you picked two convicted felons' photos or
> are you
> trying to tell us something?
> (Bill--- It's all in fun. He could have posted links to a sex offender
> site
> after all.)
>
> Regards,
> Bob Hunt
>
>
OK, you guys asked for it so I did it. A link to my page of bike pictures.
I have some much better ones but have to find them. Only 2 of me (thank
God)
and the rest of some of the towns I have been to. I may turn my site into a
bicycle trip journal.

Here is the link....http://www.syix.com/bbaka/bike/bike_index.htm.

I am still working on my HTML/XML/Java/whatever skills since I am
a hardware electronics engineer and not a web programmer. It's new,
it's kind of fun, and I can post proof of some of the places I have been.
I just wish the camera could give a better rendition of things. One of
my ideas is to take 2 pictures of the same thing from about 10" apart
horizontally and put them up as a stereo pair. I have one of those old
stereo viewers from the 40's or 50's and it works really good with the
old cards so I may try to make my own.
Coming up next will be some ride reports on my x-mart Mongoose that was
given to me for my birthday #56. Twist grip shifters but they work,
sort of, most of the time.
See ya,
Bill Baka


--
Using M2, Opera's revolutionary e-mail client: http://www.opera.com/m2/

 

[papercut]

Ryan Cousineau <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> The basic benchmark between mediocre and serious BMXs is whether they
> use a 1-piece (ashtabula) crank or a three-piece crank (strong and
> light). This bike uses the latter.

The specs say 1 piece. Which is fine, really. Given the original
price, even if it had 3 piece cranks, they'd probably be forged steel
set, possibly stronger, but probably not lighter than the one piece.


Still, a fine bike for that age. Nice to have 'em use a front brake,
too.