My name is Scott (the village scribe). I bike. I teach. I think out loud.
I rediscovered a love for bicycles last summer (2008). At the time, I worked from home, but I’ve since begun a new job in August 2009 that requires going into the office four or five days a week. The job is located in Adrian, Michigan, a town of approximately 21,000 people covering only a few square miles. Therefore, I decided it would be a swell thing to commute by bicycle and made a pledge to do so. I bought a suitable bike, outfit it for commuting (e.g., lights, bell, fenders, rack, pannier), and began riding it as much as possible — for fun, for fitness, for transportation. In January 2009, I added a road bike to my stable, and have taken to longer and faster rides for fitness and sport. I have no aspirations to race, but thoughts of touring in one form or another have crossed my mind. And I’ve even tried my hand at restoring older bicycles.
The name of this blog serves as a nod in many directions. The town of Adrian, which I hope to call home for a very long time, takes its name from the Roman Emperor Hadrian, who lived and reigned in a era and a place I study professionally. “Hadrian on a Bicycle” is for and about those who ride bikes of any sort, in any manner, for any reason. Whenever opportunity arises, it will focus especially on bicycling-related news and information associated with the city of Adrian, nearby communities, Lenawee County, and the state of Michigan. The rest of the time, it will be simply a space for talking about bikes and the things to come to mind while (or as a result of) riding them.
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My name is Nathan (r.i. mountaineer), brother of the aforementioned Scott. I live in southern Rhode Island. I’m an application developer and spend the majority of my time sitting at a desk in front of a computer telling it what to do. (Or is it the other way around?)
After not so subtle remarks from my 5-year-old daughter like “Daddy you’re a big guy” and “squishy” as she’s pressing both hands into my stomach, I received a less subjective opinion from my bathroom scale confirming my squishiness at 219 lbs. At that point, I made a promise to my wife to weigh 190 lbs. by the end of summer (September 21, 2009). So I initially took to biking solely to augment my dieting with exercise. However, I have since discovered that exercise is just a really nice bonus you end up getting while you’re having a blast riding around all over the place.
In addition to writing about the usual product reviews, biking community, bike shops, routes, etc., I’m going to post about biking health, fitness, and technique. Also, I will share my findings with you as I explore whether an individual (namely me) who wants to get seriously into the hobby of bicycling can do so without either paying high prices at the bike shop or owning subpar equipment.
Lydia, despite her cast, taps into her little suitcase of courage.
I always get asked if I’m a bike racer. Which I think is terribly hysterical (I don’t dress like one, I commute on a mountain bike, etc etc).
Bike commuting is fun. The winters where I am are a little too nasty to do it year-round, but I manage almost 6-7 months a year. I love how commuting clears the head and puts you right out in the midst of nature. Great stuff.
Anyway. This is just a long note to say that I like your blog and will be stopping by often.
All the best,
Heather Ingemar
Many thanks for stopping by, Heather, and for taking the time to say hello. I’m glad you like the blog.
So tell me, do you get writing ideas when you ride? I do. The problem is that, too often, I forget them by the time I get back to my desk!
Hehe, yes, I do get writing ideas while I ride. I am sure I often forget them, but I’ve been lucky that the really good ones tend to stick.
Best,
Heather
Hello, I enjoyed reading your blog and I was hoping to get your help.
This summer myself and 90 other riders are going to be riding our bikes across the United States to raise money and awareness for the water crisis in Africa. The program is a division of Compassion Corps called Wheels for Wells. http://www.wheelsforwells.org
Our goal is to raise $200,000 which will provide clean drinking water to up to 40,000 people in Sub-Sahara Africa. The way we raise the money is that we simply just find bike riders who are willing to commit a week of their life to join us in our campaign. The trip cost $2500, which entitiles the riders to 3 meals a day, hotel and SAG/Safety support.
We are really look for 2 things.
1. Riders
2. Volunteers
The average volunteer works from home and commits 1 hour a week to sending out emails to a list of people that we have on our databases.
If you are interested, I was wondering if we could schedule a time to talk.
Thanks
Christopher Carr
Director, Wheels for Wells
484.459.4280
Nice site upgrade! I haven’t made my usual pre-work blog rounds in a while, so apologies if this comment is way way late.
I wish to thank you for this blog. As a cycling enthusiast I am always looking for cycling related things to feed my passion, and this place does that nicely. Heck, I even found a local ride this evening through your “Local Rides” list and made three new cycling friends, thanks to this blog. I look forward to the opening of the Re-Bicycle Lenawee so that I may find like minded people, donate my time and help others through cycling in one way or another.
On a side note, how can I add an avatar to my postings here? (I am really not a black square type of person.)
First, black squares are underrated in my humble opinion. Nevertheless, if you want an avatar, check out http://en.gravatar.com/ and http://bit.ly/8yr5jv.
Next, I really appreciate your kind remarks concerning the blog, especially considering that it’s taken me two days to get those kind remarks posted. Clearly, I haven’t been doing an especially swell job of keeping up lately. Most of all, I’m pleased to know that you found the blog useful. The impetus behind this effort was to connect and support cyclists of every ilk, and by so doing to help generate energy and momentum for everything from group rides and fundraisers to advocacy projects and bike-friendly infrastructure. The more there is available locally to those who are already cyclists, the better. And the more people we can get on bikes, the better.
Thank you Scott, as I like my new look much better!
As far as your blog, you seem to be one of those who have done what many have only thought about. You have acted on your wishes to do stuff related to cycling, and I commend you for doing what I have yet to do.
Thanks, Bill. I really appreciate the kind words.
PS: your new look is a great one, and I love the bikes you have feature on your velospace page. Nice work.
Hey mod.- I had a question regarding the picture on the home page. Why is the best part of that bike cut out, the beautiful brooks seat? Love the blog thou. :p