Journals Set 2 - Due Nov.16

Journal Entry 11:
My project is progressing very well. After much consideration and advice, I have made the decision not to find the parts for a bike, but to find a cheap bike online, have my dad or stepdad instruct me on how to take it apart, and I will put it back together, maybe adding new bike tape or a paint job to customize it.

Journal Entry 12:
There are a couple of challenges that I am encountering in my project. The first one is the cost. I would rather not spend my own money on this and my parents aren't willing to pay for much. The second one is finding the correct bike size and type. I am a small female and looking for a single speed bike just for simplicity's sake. To solve the first problem, I have turned to looking for used bikes. I figure that they will be a lot cheaper and I can always make them look better. Currently, I am checking Craigslist to see if there is anything I can buy. There is not really a solution to the second problem, except to keep looking. With my budget and time frame, I just have to hope that a bike pops up that I can use. If it does not, I will have to look deeper. Things that are going well include that I will not have to look for parts individually and I learned that I have a lot of people I can turn to for guidance and advice.

Journal Entry 13:
There are many ways in which I can use my resources and prior knowledge to achieve my project's goal. The first one is my sources. Like I have mentioned before, my dad, stepdad, and Grand Perfomance Bike Shop will help me and advise me when I run into trouble. For example, when I am putting the bike together, I may have problems with putting things in the right place or screwing things on right. The second one is my prior knowledge. My family has always been active and ever since we met my stepdad, we have been into triathlons, especially running and biking. Over the years, I have had my own road bike and learned how to maintain it. I have always had questions and ask my dad, the bike shop, or my stepdad. Slowly, I have started to understand the art of fixing and maintaining bicycles. I know how to change out pedals, put on bike tape, take wheels off and on, put tubes in wheels, and take parts off to clean it and then put it back together.


Journal Entry 14:
I have a variety of sources. Most are from the internet, yet I have many that are primary sources of loads of firsthand information. My dad and stepdad are very experienced in building and fixing bikes. They also have friends that know even more than they do and are connected to Grand Performance Bike Shop. There are many resources around me to help me. I think I can continue to look for instructions and background information on putting a bike together, like videos and how-to instructions until I get the bike I will use. This way I will have "practiced" in my brain prior to building the bike.

Journal Entry 15:
Knowledge from my sources has changed my project in a big way. As aforementioned, after I learned about the price of buying bike parts individually and the complexity of it, I had to change it around a little bit. My stepdad recommended that I find a single-speed bike to take apart instead of finding the parts from different websites and people.

Journal Entry 16:
There is not a clear way for the audience to see my sources in my project. All of the sources contribute to the making of the bike itself. Others may be able to use a scientific fact to back up a statement or something of that nature, but that is not really possible for me. In my paper and when I present my project, I can say how the different sources helped me and how I used them.

Journal Entry 17:
My area of interaction that I am focusing on, human ingenuity, is about humans making and creating things for themselves. The idea behind building a road bike is that you do not have to spend a lot of money on a nice, new bike, but you can find the appropriate parts to put it together for less money. This project revolves around human ingenuity and the name itself, "Building a bike" even shows how much the area of interaction is woven in.