Biking
Ah, biking. We all remember when we learned to ride a bike: our first set of training wheels, our first wipeout, our first stick stuck between the frame and the back wheel whipping you on the back as you try to get away, our first trip around the block, and our first use of a bike as an implement of destruction. Some of us can even remember when the neighbor kid managed to run us over with his bike. Some of our moms still claim to see the tire marks on some of our faces. Again: ah, biking.
Long after I gained those fond memories, I upgraded my biking to a form of travel. I got a (fairly cheap, really heavy) bike for Christmas my freshman year of
college, and that I used to get myself around campus. My first summer at
Argonne was spent without a car, so that same bike got me to and from work on site. It even managed to get me to and from campus one summer when I lived in Lincoln.
In June of 2003 that steel-framed beast had fallen apart enough that I needed a new bike, this time one that I would actually take care of. Based on the experience I gained from my first bike, I had some pretty simple criteria I was looking for when choosing a new one: I wanted one that was light enough that I could carry it up a flight of stairs without losing my breath, but strong enough that I could ride it back down those same stairs without crushing it like an aluminum can. In the end I chose a
Trek 4300 from
Cycle Works. It has served me well since then both as a recreational bike (single-track and traditional path) as well as a commuting bike. It gained 300+ miles during its first summer alone as I rode it to and from campus and on the occasional weekend excursion.
Lego
When I was young, I used to spend a lot of time playing with Lego sets. I used to make space ships, buildings, pirate ships, and weird death scenes. Eventually I grew up (read: graduated from college) and could afford to buy whatever sets I wanted. No more reliance on mom and dad to pick out the correct sets for me!
Although I get most of my Lego sets to build their intended model, sometimes I am able to collect together enough loose bricks to build something fun. My main interest these days has been in trains, so I've been going wild lately building train-related creations. Some of them are included here.
- Mega Lego - What happens when you send little lego pieces through a megalizer machine?
- Beetle - A tiny model of an old Volkswagen Beetle.
- Little Depot - A small passenger depot partly inspired by a large bucket of bricks and a pick-a-brick purchase.
- Little Platform - A cargo platform for loading goods on and off a train. Made mostly from the parts from a Harry Potter set.
- Signal - A trackside signal inspired by one seen on MOCpages.
- Water Tower - A water tower built mostly from parts from an Adventurers set.
- Trolley - A trolley I built after seeing some inspiration on the web.
- Metra Car - Living in an apartment down the street from some railroad tracks outside Chicago inspired me to build a Metra commuter rail car.
- Submarine Flatbed - A flatbed car built for carrying a small submarine.
Cars
I wouldn't say I really _like_ cars, but after having to learn about them to keep my first one running, I've come to respect them. During my life I've owned or taken care of a few different cars.
