Every day is Earth Day

What did I do today before lunch? I bought a bike [I'll explain], planted a tree, twice!, hung out with Alden, and blogged while C was at work. That amounts to a morning in the life of a man committed to reducing his carbon footprint, perhaps; or is he just a man obsessed with bikes and landscaping for self-satisfying reasons?!

Never mind that dramatic introduction. I am really excited for a few reasons today: I bought a new bike and finally planted the Norway spruce that C's parents gave us for Christmas. Now, on to explanations.

The bike! You might have been asking yourself "Didn't David just buy a bike, hardly longer than a month ago? Wasn't he so proud that he posted pictures of it on his blog? Is he that capricious and insatiable? The answers to those questions are: yes, yes, and sometimes! It turns out that the Schwinn Probe single speed I bought at Third Hand Bike Co-op, was just not as perfect as the image I had constructed in my head in the minutes when I was inspecting the bike. I will admit, it was an impulse buy fueled by my desire to commute with a road bike, get "in" at the Co-op, and be seen cranking one gear only. After a few weeks of riding, I decided the entire bike was a little small for me and made funny noises and realized I would have gladly spent a little more money for a better bike that suited my needs. Without further ado, I posted some flicks on Craigslist and within 30 minutes received a response (followed by 5 or 6 others) from the man who ended up buying my bike for the price I originally paid. At the same time, I was fixated on Craigslist pages for Ohio cities between Cleveland and Cincinnati. This became an obsession [that's right, but maybe not so healthy]. Long story truncated: While I was waiting to meet with the man who wanted to see my bike, I was lucky enough to find an advertisement for a sporty Fuji right here in my town! This morning I got a call from the owner--batta-bing!--I now ride a '95 Fuji Tiara. I think it's currently a 12 speed. Since the purchase, the only customization I've attempted was the addition of a used leather Bianchi racing saddle for $10 from Westerville Bike Shop. I've been talking to [a guy] from [now defunct] Restoration Bicycle in Columbus, who will hopefully help me convert this bike to a single speed tank. After that, maybe just a touch of colorful handlebar tape will make this simple conversion complete.

I've been gathering inspiration from the Fixed Gear Gallery site, where people post pictures of some crazy nice bikes that have been customized to the nth degree. I am currently resisting the fixed gear tend, but there are some great looking bikes around the world...