who needs to shift?

Trek introduces an automatic shifting bicycle:

"It's easy, you just hop on and ride," Correa said. The bike, meant for recreational riders, shifts through three gears using an electronic shifter in its rear hub and powered by a generator in its front hub. Though Correa had a few reservations, he was impressed. He liked the bike's retro styling and ergonomics--an easily adjustable seat and handlebars make it comfortable. He had to get used to not reaching for the gears, but said, "It can really handle the hills."

I don't know -- I like being able to decide how hard, or easy, I want to take a hill.

rain!

With all the beautiful clear weather over the last few weeks I forgot what weather in Providence is really like. Yesterday Rachel, my friend who's biking Providence to San Francisco this summer, and I biked to Providence Bicycle in this fog that was so wet it turned into rain once we got moving on the bikes. We bought clipless pedals (really, they should be called just clip pedals, since you clip your foot into them). The guy who sold them too us refused to install the pedals on a rainy day so I'll have to go back sometime in the undetermined future (if it ever stops raining). I don't really mind riding in the rain too much, but I don't have the clothing to do it without getting soaked through very quickly (note to self: rainpants aren't very useful in California anyway, so don't leave them at home).

Rachel and I went fundraising in Keeney, the big freshman dorm. It went much better than expected: people were so friendly and almost everyone gave us a few coins. We raised $85 in an hour and a half, and only interrupted one freshman 'special moment.' He didn't give us any money.

Today I'll try and get all my school work done so I can go riding when the sun finally comes back.