May is national bike month, and in honor of that and other events I'd like to tell you the story of the Sheriff. My friend Jason had a very nice folding mountain bike that was stolen out of a back yard in Phoenix. Presumably the thief rolled up on the Sheriff and left with Jason's bike. Unfortunately for him it was too big, and when he downsized from rooms into a car, he gave it to me. The Sheriff was a dark blue Schwinn Moab mountain bike with front suspension. In a previous life I presume it was ridden by a sheriff - hence the remains of "SHERIFF" on the top tube in reflective letters. At the time my old bike had some issues, so I transitioned to the Sheriff. It was nice to have a bit more suspension on washboards and rocky trails. When I went to join the YogaSlackers on the second half of the YES tour, I completed the transition by switching my seat, pedals, bar ends, and back rack onto the Sheriff, rigging up a larger back rack carrying system, and a way to mount my camera bag on the front. I headed off to Colorado for some biking and fun. Fortunately for Jason, the Sheriff accepted the BoB trailer rear skewer mount so we got to trade off pulling every other day. I logged my first 100+ mile day on a bike that trip - from Pueblo to Salida - pulling the trailer and a lot of uphill (and probably into the wind too).
| |
|---|
 |
|---|
 |
|---|
Since that first epic trip the Sheriff has carried me on some other nice trips as well as countless little trips - to the library, for groceries, etc. Some of the more memorable trips include the last leg of the first Too Much Fun Expedition, a trip up silver canyon into the White Mountains, strapping it on my packraft for a three day trip down the Owen's River to the aqueduct, then biking back to my truck (this time the wind really did turn from a screaming tailwind to a frustrating 3/4 sidewind about 5 miles into the biking). The cables had some issues and I was having real trouble shifting until I replaced the shift cables - that made a big difference. The next repair issue after a new seat was to do the brake cables. Meanwhile they were wrapped in duct tape.
 |
|---|
 |
|---|
Sometimes I felt bad for the Sheriff when it was strapped onto the back of my truck in the blazing southwest sun, rain, or dust. I think the worst was the salty road spray in the northeast though. It had a hard life filled with bumpy trails, washboarded roads, and numerous flats. I also snapped the chain biking up a hill near Smith Rock - luckily it was nearly all downhill back to camp.
 |
|---|
A bicycle is like a car in terms of taking you places more easily except that it doesn't take gas and gives you exercise along with the freedom to roam. As the sticker says "a car runs on gas and makes you fat and a bicycle runs on fat and saves you gas". Ever since I learned to ride a bicycle in Holland (running into a motorcycle I am told), I have usually had a bicycle. I think the longest I went without one was my first year of college and a 5 month trip to Asia (although I did rent one to explore Angkor Wat). My heart grew heavy when I went out to get on the Sheriff last night only to find that someone had taken it from where it was leaning against the back of my truck about 10 feet from my front door. It would be nice if it was only taken for a joy-ride and I get it back, but if not I hope someone is out there riding the Sheriff as much as I did. At least I am not left totally bicycle less, but I miss the Sheriff nevertheless. I never did get around to replacing the brake cables...
 |
|---|
 |
|---|
 |
|---|