Thursday, January 16, 2014

My new wheels

I finally got a new bike this week and it's a Takara Kabuto. I guess the name Kabuto means helmet in Japanese. I'm actually quite impressed with how the bike performs. One thing I will add is that the Vitesse racing saddle is actually quite comfortable which was a nice surprise. It doesn't look like it would be but there's actually a reasonable amount of padding for your butt. The 700 x 25c tires are a good compromise between rolling resistance and shock absorption. 
Earlier today I installed the rear rack. After all, this is a commuter vehicle and if I go to the store this is my only transportation other than walking. In the next week or so I should be creating a new set of grocery panniers, they're far too expensive to buy having looked for some. I went and hunted up my extra canvas today. To admit, I wanted to make some new bags anyway, maybe slightly more aerodynamic that the rectangular ones. For some reason there's only one left of pair I had made before. The Axiom is specially designed to center any weight that's attached to it but when you have a heavier amount of stuff you need both bags to help maintain your balance.

Tomorrow the front and rear lights should be in so that I will be able to ride safely at night. I've even dusted off my helmet and made sure it fits right. I didn't install the trailer hitch yet though I probably will pretty soon.



Here is the review I posted on the Fingerhut site where I bought it at and I gave it five stars. The same model is on Amazon also and it averages 4.1 stars there with 318 reviews that have been posted. It's a really good bike.
The weight and balance are excellent on this bicycle which makes for great handling characteristics. I think a person who really knows what they're doing is who designed it. It felt like one of the road bikes I used to race on many years ago. There really isn't a need for multiple gears if you're in the city and this bike is proof of that. It will take a little oomph getting started though, since I'm close to 50 I'm noticing that.
Even going up 6% grades like one near where I live hasn't been an issue. I just zip right on up it. My daily commute is about 3/4 mile each way and it's now quite a dream compared that heavy mountain bike I was last riding. I timed it tonight and it took me 6 minutes, normally it's been taking about 12 minutes.
Assembly once I got it out of the carton went like a breeze, I think it took me about 15 minutes and I was taking it out for its first spin. It started getting noticed immediately so get yourself a really good lock or you may end up missing the bike rather quickly. I had a couple of people came to congratulate me on how good it looks.

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Cover reveal

I was able to finally put together the final cover for Ascendancy Rising today and I think it's a really good one. It definitely calls attention to the good versus evil aspects of the storyline. This particular painting was created in 1895 by Carlos Schwabe and is called "Death and the Gravedigger." It's filled with lots of occult symbolism which also fits the storyline perfectly like the grave markers in the background. From what I was able to research the woman that modeled as the angel was the painters wife. I thought that was cool. I've been hunting a long time for the image that would be displayed on the cover.


Sunday, January 12, 2014

Etheusela

What I've decided to do is put the entirety of what I have of Etheusela up on Wattpad one chapter per week and I think there's 22 chapters ready to flesh out. Note, these are rough drafts. Many of the basic concepts in Etheusela did become part of Beyond Realms but they are very different stories. Here's the first chapter. http://www.wattpad.com/35346601-etheusela

And if you really like what's there please leave a comment. I'm also trying to decide when I want to finish this novel up. I think there's 16k all together.