Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Video Project Update
As I was working on this project, and as it continued to get longer and longer, I realized how unlikely it would be for anyone to actually watch it. While everything that I say makes sense to me and is very exciting to me, I realized that it is most likely very dull and confusing to others. And with that realization, I decided to go ahead and drop the project.
The truth is, if you are truly a child of God, then you already know and understand that things I was going to say anyway, but if you are not a child of God, then there is really no way of explaining these things in a way that they would make sense. Despite my best efforts, everything I would say would only be confusing and misunderstood.
I sincerely hope that you are one of the blessed ones who already understands these incredible secrets. I hope you are one who understands what the "sign of the son of man" is and also one who has the joy of knowing that this sign has appeared. If you are one of these blessed ones then it is with great joy that I say "see you soon!"
Sunday, October 11, 2009
The Motorized Bicycle
This past spring, I started itching for a motor bike of some kind. I was thinking about getting either a motor scooter or a small motorcycle of some sort. I wanted something I could use on short trips down the road or even for a trip into town (we live about five miles from Wal-Mart) when we were needing only a few small things. However, I really couldn’t justify spending the $1000 that this was going to end up costing.
Eventually, I learned about a motor kit that could be added to a bicycle. The kits were advertised on Craigslist for $150 and less. At first I figured it was some kind of scam. But as I began to do my homework, I found out that there were several companies selling these kits, and they were selling for anywhere between $120 and $150. I also found some web forums that were made up of others who had added such motors to their own bikes. And even though a few of these people were not happy with their motor kits, most were. So with this information, I took a chance and bought a kit off of eBay (I made an offer and got mine for $110). In the midst of all of this, I also salvaged a bike that was in good condition to use for this project.
My kit arrived on July 3rd. By late afternoon July 4th, I had everything in place and gave it a try. Thankfully, she started right up. And up until I sold her in early September, I used the bike as a regular source of transportation.
After the motor was broke in, my motorized bike would reach a top speed of 33 mph (Even though it would reach this speed, you wouldn’t want to run it at that speed for long periods. Typically, I cruised between 22-25 mph). Also, it would get anywhere between 85-100 miles to a gallon of gas depending on how much I helped by pedaling.
In late August, I came across a good deal on a pair of motorcycles. After riding the motorcycles, I realized that I probably wouldn’t use the motorized bicycle any more. Realizing that, I sold it in early September to a college student. I got $200 for the bike which was probably a fair price for both the buyer and me. I made a little bit of profit, and the buyer got a ready to ride motorized bike. I really hope that it works out as well for him as it did for me.
The Complete Bike
A View of the Motor
Here is the bike with a "trunk" that I added. It was good for carrying a couple gallons of milk,or a few loaves of bread