I bought another bike. Yes, I know that I already have one, but I have a sneaky habit of regularly perusing craigslist classifieds looking for that perfect 50cm frame of my dreams. Well, this wasn't the frame of my dreams, but it's a '94 aluminum ride that's a nice addition to my get-around-town-steel-frame-circa-1980-something Schwinn (albeit a sweet one). Plus, this new bike has a triple, which provides a good gearing ratio for those long, arduous, joint-stressing uphill battles. Dear knees, I want you to know that I'm looking out for you.

[Above: My new (used) bike, getting cozy with a Cannondale.]

[Below: My commuter bike, hanging out with the rest of the bike crew in the basement. So patriotic, I know. Notice the padded snowboard helmet hanging from the handlebars. This is KEY for riding in the winter months. It even has vents that I can open and close while I ride to adjust my temperature.]



To show my knees a little extra appreciation, I bought some clipless pedals on eBay (clipless what huh?). My new pedals will keep my feet in place, use more leg muscles by allowing me to pull on the upstroke, and increase my pedaling efficiency. They're also safer than traditional cage pedals with toe clips and straps. When you fall with clipless pedals, your feet pop out of the pedals. When you fall with cages, well, that's tough. I got into an accident a few years ago while riding with toe clips, and I'm fortunate that my pedals were cheap. [Sidenote: the Department of Transportation now uses the term "crashes" because most events previously known as "accidents" could have been easily avoided, and thus can't accurately be described as "accidents." This particluar one could have been avoided if that driver hadn't decided to swerve across three lanes and turn right in front of me. Curses! Crashes! Grr! ] The pressure from my body flying forward with my feet stuck in the toe straps caused the metal screws to rip out of the cages while tearing the pedals apart. My knees and ankles hurt for a week or so after the crash (along with injuries to other miscellaneous body parts), but I learned an important lesson: Don't try that again with good pedals.

I believe that a well-placed piece of velcro made to rip open under pressure could have prevented my knee/ankle strain in that crash. In my opinion, all toe straps should be designed to self-destruct with enough pressure. Manufacturers, take note. DIYers, buy velcro.

Anway, I had a wee problem when attempting to take the original pedals off of my new (used) bike. The left pedal was stuck. I mean STUCK. And yes, I know that the left pedal is reverse-threaded (as in, turn it clockwise to loosen, righty-loosy, lefty-tighty). Well I pushed and I pulled and I kicked and I pounded my wrench with a hammer. Wouldn't budge. I attached 3 wrenches together to increase my leverage. I dumped a kettle of boiling water over the end of my crank to expand the metal and loosen the pedal. No luck.

[Above: Crank arm and pedal. The pedal screws in at the bottom. This happens to be a right crank arm, which means that the threading is normal, righty-tighty, lefty-loosy. This also happens to be a flat pedal, including neither a cage nor clipless capabilities. I use these pedals when it's raining/snowing/hailing/monsoon-ing and I want to wear my big clunky waterproof boots.]

Then I bought some Liquid Wrench and let it soak into the threads overnight. I found a long pipe and attached it to the end of my somewhat small and rather cute pedal wrench...and Voila! It worked! It was awesome! From my understanding, PB Blaster is an even better penetrating oil, and Kroil is the best (so good, in fact, that you can only buy it online).

[Left: The Liquid Wrench, pipe, and pedal wrench that combined forces to save the day.]

It is my hope that bike commuters and DIY home mechanics can learn from my mistakes and adjust their bikes to be safer and more fun to ride. With cities like, ahem, Chicago leasing its parking meters to Morgan Stanley for 75 years ("Hey, do you have any pocket change? I need $6 in quarters for the meter"), and then raising public transit rates to help "fix" the problem of a broken economy and a cash-starved city, a Craigslist bike could really pay off. But it's not just a cost-effective form of transportation—it's also better for the environment, better for your health, a great way to connect to your community, [insert the countless other benefits of riding a bicycle here]. As long as you know how to fix your bike and take care of yourself, you can keep riding FOREVER. Yes, forever. And ever.

More quick tips on knees:
- Adjust your saddle height properly. Most people ride with their saddles too low. You should not be able to sit on your bike and touch your toes to the ground at the same time. You should, however, be able to stand over the top tube with your feet flat on the ground and have at least a half-inch of clearance between the bike and your crotch.
- Avoid pushing too hard in a low cadence. As in, if you have to struggle with every pedal stroke, switch to a lower gear.
- Stretch frequently. Flexibility is very important. Seriously.
- Drink water. Keeps your joints lubed up and ready to go. Water is a miracle elixer. Even better than candy, I swear.
- More advanced fitting and positioning. This becomes more important the more you ride. Repetitive use injuries have a tendency to sneak up on you. This includes forward/back saddle positioning, cleat alignment, crank length, and other factors. It gets really complicated really fast. Some people go to school for this stuff.
- Did I forget something important? Feel free to chime in on the conversation.

If you want more info on pedals, proper positioning, maintenance, or pretty much anything bike related, check Sheldon Brown's website. It's wonderful.

Earlier today i read about the world's first sperm created by man in a laboratory in Newcastle. This scientific development is believed to in time answer questions about the infertility of men and provide solutions for reproductive challenges for future generations. Nevertheless some hold skepticism that fully functioning sperm have been created, the Newcastle team emphasise the sperm were fully mature and mobile and do in fact state it will be another 5 years before this process is perfected.
Of course due to the nature of this topic, there are a series of ethical questions raised about the morality of genetically engineering sperm used from the stem cells of human embryos, that had been donated through IVF treatment. By using artificial means to create life, it has been argued this act of "playing God" erodes society's attitudes towards reproduction and has the danger of making humans into a commodity. Regardless the question must be raised don't all people deserve the chance to procreate? The Bible states "Be fruitful and multiply" and yet when this was said i'm sure the Lord didn't intend for its meaning to result in promiscuity, STDs, increased abortion rates and for the UK to have the highest teenage pregnancy rate in Europe. Couples who are infertile have just as much right as any other to have a child, in our ever expanding society surely we must see the benefits and long term interests research such as this will provide for humanity.
As a final thought i ask, if aspects of society has accepted the idea of designer babies, which aims to take its own slant on the process of natural selection, drawing our world that much closer to Stepford babies i can't help but wonder is artificial sperm all so terrible?

"This understanding could help us develop new ways to help couples suffering infertility so they can have a child which is genetically their own. "

"It's taking one life in order to perhaps create another. I'm very much in favour of curing infertility but I don't think you can do whatever you like."

Young Americans make up the largest group of uninsured people in the country. It's time we join the conversation about health care reform and make our voices heard! Join an online discussion and uncover the facts and myths about reform.

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The US Department of Education just opened its newest stimulus fund, the i3 fund, for school districts with especially innovative ideas. There are stringent requirements to receive the money, and the funding can be pulled at any time, yet the money will go directly to school districts. Check out CNN's coverage here.

Education Secretary Arne Duncan visited Chicago after the recent death of a high school student there. Derrion Albert was beaten to death by a mob of teens, and some people are blaming the death on Secretary Duncan's plans as the former head of Chicago Public Schools, where many failing campuses were closed down and students moved to different schools, often across rival gang lines. The Associated Press has the details.

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