me during the day: man why am i so tired

me after work: spends hours programming on side projects while trying to do anything else

Mech Pilot who? There’s a Mech Pilot here? Form wings of 3 and watch your 4 and 8.

Shit.

Shit.

Do they know?

She falls into formation behind rogers, Honda on the other side of them. She's trying to keep calm, and something rolls over her that calms her nerves.

They're not expecting a fight, but forming up means that someone's nervous. She's trying not to let the independence of her MP days make her second guess the Air Force's emphasis on a chain of command.

Rogers might know. She thinks rogers might have known from the beginning and said nothing. She trusts rogers but now she's afraid. She's so afraid what if he—

Calm rolls over her again. Right. She shouldn't worry.

Mech pilots aren't allowed to serve as air pilots. Or boat captains. Or truck drivers. If one owns a car, they're paying several people off to do so. Being a mech pilot changes you, and no one trusts you around moving machines any more. Most pilots that live long enough to get out or retire never touch machines again anyway.

So what she's doing is illegal, even if she is one of the better pilots in the whole of the conflict, either side.

She's very possessive of her plane. Most pilots are. But if they knew that the fighter jet spoke back to her, they'd dismantle the vehicle and do whatever the fleshy equivalent of that is to her.

See, a mech changes you. and once you've been the spark of a soul in one, you know the language of machines forever.

And you can't stop waking them up.

highres vid with sounds here
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So I've decided to become a bike commuter, instead of relying on Flora/Public transit (Our busses kinda suck here) and I'm also disabled! I've done a lot of research to make my bike more accessible to me. So I figured I'd share it as most of this stuff is scattered to the wind!

Brakes

Coaster Brakes

The classic, and what I went with. HARD to find in North America, they're associated with kids bicycles. You pedal backwards and the bike stops. Easy, no hands required. The huge downside, besides how hard it is to find them, is their lack of braking force, they just plain don't stop you as fast as hand brakes do, it's not a huge difference, but one you should be aware of. You can't use a derailleur with them, but that's fine as there's shimano 3 and 7 speed hubs with coasters built in that are GREAT as they'll go so long without maintenance you'll probably never have to think about it.

Bike polo brakes.

Bike polo people have a problem, they use one hand for whatever it is bike polo people are doing. Poloing? I dunno, I'm bad at sports, but if you have one good hand, the brakes they use are a godsend, they have two cable points so one brake can pull both the front and back in whatever ratio you so desire. You lose a little control but you can use any cable brakes! These are easily retrofit as well so you can buy any bike you want that doesn't have hydraulic brakes, and the bike shop can slap this right on.

Hydraulic Brakes

Got good grip but don't have much strength? I find hydraulic brakes give more leverage per unit of force and can be a great option.

Electronic Smart Brakes

These cost 5000 dollars and apparently kind of suck. Alright if you have to use them, and are made of money. Otherwise AVOID, get some coaster brakes.

Shifters and Transmissions

Paddle shifters.

Common on race bikes, but can go on anything. Just need a gentle poke to shift and come on all sorts of mounting positions. You can also with a welder friend, make weirdly positioned ones pretty easily. Generally as these are for sporty people, come in all sorts of really light touch options.

Twist Shifters

Got some grip but missing too many fingers for paddles? Twist shifters just let you wrap a cable around the handlebars with a grip, this gives lots of leverage. I like the shimano ones that screw down directly on the handle, the cheap ones, as the spot for the screws juts out a bit and is an easy grip. What's cool is these come with basically every non-derailleur gear mechanism.

Enviolo CVT Hub

These are CVT hubs, they work like an automatic transmission in a car and have an infinite gear range which can help you keep your perfect cadence. By default they include a twist shifter, which is awesome, but the reason I put it here is that the other option, if you have an ebike, is fully automatic shifting. Eliminates entirely the need for a shifter, if you have hand mobility problems or a prosthetic, this is THE solution. They're also not as expensive as they sound. Weight a ton though, makes lifting the bike a bit spicy.

Electronic Shifters

These exist for the Shimano 8-speed hubs and Rohloff hubs if you are super rich. Needs no shifting force, can be automatic as well for a bit of extra cash.

E-Bike

Incredibly easy to pedal if that's a concern for you. Incredibly heavy if you need to lift a bike, or worse, pedal it with a dead battery. A must for cargo bikes imo. Imo overrated a bit because for commuting, these are pretty complicated and if you forgot to charge it, your day is ruined. They are however super common, and super great.

Frames

Step Through

Step through frames are often sold as "Women's bikes" in North America which is hillarious to me as the other common style, step over frames, are perfectly positioned to regularly kick you in the balls on rough stops.

Regardless, these are perfect if you have limited mobility, as you barely have to lift your feet. Biking has significantly less joint impact which often goes along with this requirement, and low frame bikes are easy to get. Technically they're less strong, but the dutch style bikes you find these on are built to last until the end of time, so unless you're mountain biking, you won't notice ever.

Mid Drive E-bike

Imo if you're getting an e-bike because you have a disability, you should get one with a frame that can support a mid drive motor. These usually have torque sensing, which is much better than cadence sensing when it comes to reducing your work load. They also are compatible with auto shifting mechanisms, which are another accessibility boone.

Trikes

I honestly don't recommend these and probably for a different reason than you think, if you absolutely can't use a two wheel bicycle, they exist, and are incredibly easy to get started. I would instead if you have balance issues get a dutch style double kickstand that lifts the rear wheels. Why? You don't actually balance a bicycle yourself when it's moving, it basically does it itself, balance is only an issue while stopped. Trikes however, don't have this stability and if you go fast around a turn, it's going to dump you. If you cannot stand, these are your only option and come in a few seating positions. But if you can stand at all. AVOID. The two wheel bike may sound scary, but trust me, it's far less likely to dump you on the ground. If you get one of these, watch those corners! And ensure cargo is mounted low.

Anxiety Reducers! (Security)

Buying a bike can be a huge anxiety trigger, mainly because of bike theft, and that it is fairly hard to replace accessibility devices. Replacing my bike, as it's got a coaster brake hub and thus nobody stocks it in big numbers, would take six weeks minimum. Keeping things locked up nice takes on an extra layer of importance.

NO CABLE LOCKS OR COMBINATION LOCKS

Everyone can can cut these, and the combination mechanisms are bypassable. Every bike thief sees these as easy marks. Even if you have accessibility issues with keys, you should get some key grippies or something, or your bike will walk away.

Chain locks

These are really secure as they're generally harder to cut as they're really awkward to get a grinder on. You can easily wrap them around the frame for storage, and they can be installed on any bike rack one handed, which you cannot do with a U-lock, imo no matter the disability, these are the option. Thicker the chain, better it is as really thin chains can be cut with hydraulic snippers. Everything thick needs a grinder and it is a serious pain in the ass to cut these with power tools.

U-Locks

Get a thick one as these are actually much easier to attack with a grinder, take two hands to install but are less fiddly. If the chain lock gives you problems, these are the next best thing. Bear in mind hydraulic snips can cut these if they're two thin. Thicker is better!

Knog Scout

These are little bike alarms that use the find my network so you can track your bike, also make a ton of noise if you try to move a bike with them on and are easily hidden on the frame. iOS only atm but imo, the best bike alarm. DO NOT TRY TO RECOVER YOUR BIKE YOURSELF, get some friends on board if you insist. :P (I haven't found an android option nearly as good yet, I'm looking!)

Lock a tire, and a frame with the lock

Stops your tire from being cut or quick detach wheels from being taken! Also if your brake has a rear hub, so much of the value is in the hub that locking that wheel is obvious as the bike can't be resold easily without it.

Accessories

Quick Detach Racks

There's two I see a lot of here. MIK racks and Racktime racks. They are both awesome, you can just drop accessories on like baskets, and they lock in place, no fiddling with anything. They have little plastic levers you depress and the basket comes off. If you're like me and have hand dexterity issues, these are a god send. You can buy the mounting brackets on their own and convert ANYTHING to these. Which is awesome.

Pannier Bags

These can be left on the bike usually and not interfere with putting baskets on the rack. These keep the weight low, if you have balance issues, you won't notice heavy groceries at all if they're below the seat point, so you need a set of these.

Dynamo Lighting.

I have ADHD and never EVER had charged lights on my bike. I'd take them off. Then leave them laying around. Dynamo lights are always there so that was high on my list when I retired my first bike for a more accessible second. These flash a bit when you go slow as they use a cap to ensure there's light when you're going slow. You can see better with a flahing light than a dim one. but well below the WCAG guidelines for flashing lights on computers (I checked!) so should be fine if this is an issue! NEVER bike a night without lighting of some kind.

Bike radars and Mirrors

Mirrors let you see what's behind you without having to look around, great for mobility issues. There are lights with built in "Bike radars" that beep when cars or people are just behind you, also great for mobility issues or vision problems and shockingly, not that expensive.

Bells

You need a bell, especially if you're shy/socially anxious, as the ding ding is the universal sign of "Get out of my way I'm going to run you over" so you don't need to yell at people. There are so many different styles, including electronic ones that just need a little button press, bike shops will have them all out to try so you can easily find one you can manage.