Bicycling
While not bussling away at my MBA Studies or growing the presence of the student assocaition here at Fox, I enjoy riding and building bicycles. Several years ago, while a recent transplant to Philadelphia, I decided to invest in my first road bike. At the time I was not particularly informed, and just wanted a cheap bike that could get me around the city in a reasonable amount of time. Strapped with a Flip Video, I spend a relaxing Saturday creating this video:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rS4hIiHC5iM&feature=g-upl&context=G268188eAUAAAAAAAJAA[/youtube]
The following summer, I decided to upgrade to a single speed bike. Philadelphia is so flat that there is really no reason to pedal around with the extra weight that a gear set creates. Here is bike number two:
This bike took me on several adventures, including a 50 mile American Cancer society “Bike for the Cure,” a ride across the Ben Franklin Bridge.
Philadelphia skyline from the Camden waterfront
…And a trek across the state of New Jersey (Philly to Atlantic City)…
I loved riding this bike…and so did my cat!
Mid-winter, I decided on my next bike related activity and set out to build my first bicycle from the ground up. I visited a bike coop and purchased an old bike with a decent frame and scrapped it down. After my first experience in paint stripping (way way more time consuming that I originally assumed), I was ready to start building. The trickiest part was learning how to ensure that the parts I was purchasing would be compatible with the frame that I had. This involved a lot of trips to Performance Bike and Bicycle Revolutions with my frame in tow. This process also involved purchasing a full set of bicycle tools….bottom bracket tool sets, crank wrenches, and allen keys galore! As winter turned to spring, my bike building project was complete.
This bike was…and still is…my favorite bike. Unfortunately, a year later, while locked up in center city, my purple bike was hit by car. The frame ended up looking like this:
Luckily, the majority of the damage was on the frame only. This allowed me to purchase just a new frame (as opposed to new wheels and components) and swap out the old one. This frame swap resulted in me owning my most current bicycle, which I am currently riding around and exploring the city on.
Upon starting the MBA program at the Fox School of Business, I found that other members of the 2013 cohort also had an interest in biking. I was able to pair up with Jessica Samph for the annual Bike Philly event.
As I continue to push forward in accomplishing both my personal and professional goals, I’m certain that I will always make time for biking around the city.
Corey Crawford