After hemming and hawing about whether or not I was going to ride at all, I ended up riding the PB to my parents house which makes for about a 27 mile ride. I managed to make a new benchmark for myself riding fixed on this ride. I didn't touch the brakes once. Today my left Achilles tendon is a bit tight but it was pretty cool coming down the biggest hill on the way and not using brakes. It makes me want to go brake-less just for the aesthetic, but I know that would just be foolish and asking for trouble at this point. By the time I got there I was pretty out of juice.
Today I will likely go for a fairly easy ride to loosen up my tight leg. I need to do a little shop time too, to clean up, get the tools all in order and re-clear out my work space, for the 90,000,000th time.
Thursday, December 28, 2006
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
Just riding in the Rain
Did a few miles on the Pirate Bike on Christmas Eve. I put my one pair of SPD pedals on that bike and it's a totally different ride. I can actually skid that bike without brakes when clipped in now. The roads are a little crappy now that they've been sanding so I'm thinking of moving up to some wider tires, probably some 32's that just so happen to be on sale at Performance.
Today it was raining so I broke out the tour bike that I recently added some Planet Bike Freddy fenders to. While the fenders were a pain in the butt to mount, they rule. No up spray, no spallter all over my legs and feet, I rode right through some long deep puddles just to see how well they worked and I have no complaints. This was the first rain ride I've ever come home clean from. I just need to finalize some drive train treatments and the Raleigh will be a fantastic foul weather bike. Tomorrow I'm going to ride to my parents house for our Chirstmas get together. Up in the air on which bike; it may snow. I'm leaning towards the Pirate Bike, but if it's real crappy I just may go back to the Raleigh.
Today it was raining so I broke out the tour bike that I recently added some Planet Bike Freddy fenders to. While the fenders were a pain in the butt to mount, they rule. No up spray, no spallter all over my legs and feet, I rode right through some long deep puddles just to see how well they worked and I have no complaints. This was the first rain ride I've ever come home clean from. I just need to finalize some drive train treatments and the Raleigh will be a fantastic foul weather bike. Tomorrow I'm going to ride to my parents house for our Chirstmas get together. Up in the air on which bike; it may snow. I'm leaning towards the Pirate Bike, but if it's real crappy I just may go back to the Raleigh.
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Been Awhile
Oh yeah, I started a blog. Now that I've remembered I started a blog this spring, time to revisit it. This summer I have cranked out a bunch of miles, built two bikes, and also had the miracle of my wife getting into cycling (like really into it!).
The new bikes.
First, I built up a new road bike. I went with a Nashbar (Leader?) frame. The final build can be seen on the Nashbike page (I'm Sam K). I had an utter blast sourcing the parts and building the bike up. All told I pretty much exploded the myth that you can't build a bike cheaper than you can buy off the shelf. I love the way the bike rides. I have named this bike "Woof".
Secondly, I caught fixed-gear fever in a major way. First I took my old beater of a Schwinn Varsity and stripped it down and JB Welded a cheap track cog onto the hub. I took that for a ride and damn near killed myself, BUT I was instantly hooked on riding fixed. The Schwinn is a bit small for me so I moved my fixed wheel over to the Hawthorne and did a few miles on that. I could see that this was not going to stand up to my new need. So I started sourcing some parts here and there. A wheelset, moustache bars, eventually a frame. It's all based around an '06 Trek Cruiser Classic aluminum frame. It's all black and to me, it's hot. I'm still working on some cosmetic details to add a bit of a pirate theme to it. We've been calling it "the pirate bike". I love this bike. It's got a looong cruiser wheelbase, 44in! Running 700c wheels, 39x16 gears, and 19mm tires for the hills round here. I rode it 30 miles to my parents house on Thanksgiving. That was a glorious ride and it may become the topic of another entry.
The new bikes.
First, I built up a new road bike. I went with a Nashbar (Leader?) frame. The final build can be seen on the Nashbike page (I'm Sam K). I had an utter blast sourcing the parts and building the bike up. All told I pretty much exploded the myth that you can't build a bike cheaper than you can buy off the shelf. I love the way the bike rides. I have named this bike "Woof".
Secondly, I caught fixed-gear fever in a major way. First I took my old beater of a Schwinn Varsity and stripped it down and JB Welded a cheap track cog onto the hub. I took that for a ride and damn near killed myself, BUT I was instantly hooked on riding fixed. The Schwinn is a bit small for me so I moved my fixed wheel over to the Hawthorne and did a few miles on that. I could see that this was not going to stand up to my new need. So I started sourcing some parts here and there. A wheelset, moustache bars, eventually a frame. It's all based around an '06 Trek Cruiser Classic aluminum frame. It's all black and to me, it's hot. I'm still working on some cosmetic details to add a bit of a pirate theme to it. We've been calling it "the pirate bike". I love this bike. It's got a looong cruiser wheelbase, 44in! Running 700c wheels, 39x16 gears, and 19mm tires for the hills round here. I rode it 30 miles to my parents house on Thanksgiving. That was a glorious ride and it may become the topic of another entry.
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