Welcome Chip Haynes author of the Practical Cyclist

This week Chip Haynes will be joining us to answer our questions about cycling.

We are giving away four copies of his book The Practical Cyclist.

Chip himself will be popping into the forum over the next few days answering questions and joining in discussions.

From now through this Friday, any posts in this forum, ie the bicycle forum, could be selected to win.

To win, you must use a name that follows our naming policy and you must have your email set up in Paul's daily-ish email..

The winners will be notified by email and must respond within 24 hours.

You can find out more about Chip here.

Posts in this thread won't count, but please feel free to say hi to Chip and make him feel at home!

Make sure the discussions follow's permies' publishing standards

Hey there, Chip here!

I've already posted to a couple of threads on this forum, but yeah, this is me. I ride my bikes in the Endless Suburbia that is Pinellas County, Florida (about 20 miles west of Tampa). Today I rode "Pan", my light green Peugeot Panorama hybird that I converted to a very snappy single speed. I call it the happiest bike I own. Whadda ride!
Fair warning here: I am not a professional bike mechanic (you've already got a good one here, I see), but a sort of long time hobbiest and tourist (in the cycling sense of the word) who's been riding since Eisenhower was president. No need to work the math, I'll be 63 next month. I prefer light bikes that aren't racing bikes, but I don't mind heavy bikes that get the job done. My wife (The Lovely JoAnn) and I have 43 bicycles in our collection, and I tend to swap out my ride about once a week to ride something different after a bit.
So. Here we go.

Hi-ho!

Chip

Welcome. I may not have a lot to contribute on the topic, but lord knows I have had questions in the past and I am sure I can find something worthy of your attention. Thanks for joining the site and offering your insights!

I am a new "pod person" to this site, and love it! This is my first attempt at trying out the forums. I would love to read your book Chip! Thanks for all your great rants Paul!

Woo hoo Chip - way to rock out that bow tie!

Welcome to Permies!

Lawrence-

And here's hoping you get a chance to read that book! I've been told it sounds just like me. (I'll take that as a compliment.) The illustrations in the book are of bicycles we do own, except for the cover art. For some reason, the publisher had their artist do that one. Go figure. I tried to keep it all light and upbeat, but still get the infromation across and one solid point: You don't have to go fast and you don't have to go far... You just have to go.
Of course, for many people on this site, they need to ride further to get where they need to go, into town, out to a neighbor's, whatever. Bikes can still do that, but now you're talking a level of rugged and gearing (AND BRAKES!) that you might not need in calm, cushy suburbia. Still, it can be done. I still have the bicycle I used to cross America in '76, and it's still a wonderful ride.

What a great way to start the day - Chip Haynes on Permies!! 43 bikes in your collection, eh, Chip? I must remember that the next time someone complains about the 10 or so in our collection... and I must add "The Practical Cyclist" to my reading list. Hope your week on Permies goes well, Chip.

Thank you, Rod!

To tell you the truth, I was hoping to hold the collection to 42, that being the meaning of life and all, but then I found a unicycle awhile back that someone had pitched. Had to give it a good home. (Can't ride it, but I've got it.) I've got a fair variety of machines that allow people to stop by and try different bikes before they go bike shopping. I've also got a couple of high wheelers, if you're feeling brave. Most of them aren't really worth much, but they all come with a story, and some of the stories are even true!

Oh, and Jennifer- Thanks for the shout out!

It's amazing how much mileage you can get out of a $9 bow tie from Walmart these days.

I also, somewhere around here, have a plywood bow tie. I kid you not. It's hilarious.

Oi!

A unicycle is not a bicycle, so Chip, you might indeed have the meaning of life 42, but with that many, how can you be sure they aren't breeding more when you aren't looking?

JP

Jonathan-

True, true, my friend, but we also have a fair number of tricycles and a PeeWee Herman scooter. I'm not sure just how to catagorize that last one, but it also has three wheels. We have a Le Run skatebike that has three wheels, but two of them are roller skate wheels. So let's see... that makes for five trikes, one unicycle and 37 two-wheeled bicycles. (And let's just agree to ignore the Vantly cargo trailer for now, shall we?) That makes for 90 wheels on 43 conveyances and an average of 2.09 wheels per device. Close enough?

Whew.

By the way, I'm going to put this here, and if Adrien or anyone freaks out, they can make it go away and I'll understand.

I try to be the most accessable author on earth. You can always email me at chip dot haynes at yahoo dot com. (My friends tell me to write it like that to dodge scammers and spammers.)

If you prefer snail mail, we are:

Chip & JoAnn Haynes
1601 Pinewood Drive
Clearwater, FL 33756

And the phone number here is (727) 442-8072. The answering machine is always on. Always.

I'm here for ya- except when I'm out riding.

So I ran the winner picker app in the forum software and only one of the 2 winners was on the daily-ish email...bummer.

Everett Keyser

Congratulations Everett!

I sent you an email to ask for the email address of the person that first referred you to Permies.com. That person (if qualified) will also get a copy of the book and a permies care package.

Way to go, Everett! (Hope you like the book!)

As for me, I'll not disappear just like that, just 'cuz the promo's over. I will be here, nosing around a bit, to post and hang out. I promote bicycling. That's what I do. Yeah, I wrote a book on it, but I really enjoy getting people out there and riding.

Thanks so much Chip for answering our questions on the forum!

Adrien, this has been, and still is, a blast! I will hang around here and tell you, one and all, that I check my email everyday, and I'll even answer the phone if I hear it.

Or the door, if you knock.

Hey Chip, maybe a little permaculture gardening will rub off on you ?

Alas, Mlies, I have a black thumb. Remember the Mojave Forest? Yeah, well, see, they left it with me when they went on vacation. My bad.

However: I am growing cotton here in the yard, and that is WAY cool. (It tried growing polyester, but killed it.) Funny thing, though: I undertstand that, except as an ornamental, it is illegal to grow substantial amounts of cotton in Florida as a crop. It attracts the boll weevil, and that is a bad thing. But for now, my small plantation is safe, and I use the resulting cotton to clean small bike parts in the garage. What I'd REALLY like to grow is cacao (chocloate). I've heard all different opinions on whether or not we are warm enough for that, though. (We are just below Lat. 28 North.) We are right on the coconut line. Perhaps I should strart with that, and add a lime tree or two.

Then I could put de lime in de coconut...