Looking silly.

I took the folder out for its first serious ride. I did a 10 mile loop on it for a shakedown. I found that it is not at all squirrelly like I feared it might be. It is however, definitely not designed for a large rider. The handlebars are way too close, so it takes all the power out of the positioning. The seatpost is definitely not quite long enough, and the handlebars could benefit from an offset stem, rather than simple being a T off the top of the stem. The coaster brake has got to go, it's very snug, and the slightest backpedal will engage it enough to drag. I am starting to think that this bike might not be very fixed-gear friendly because of how low the BB is so I fear that pedal strike could become a major issue. I need to do more evaluating on this though. Wouldn't be the end of the world if I just made it a SS freewheel, becasue I could just pick up a stock bmx wheelset for that rather than having a custom fixed wheel built up. I probably looked rather silly in my serious bike duds riding around on the folder. I borrowed the SPD pedals from the pirate bike, and put the Velo TT saddle on it too. It is fairly comfortable with this set up, geometry aside. I would like to change the grips to something a little larger, probably cork. I need to get out for a longer ride to see just how long I can crank this thing for.

I also got back a new helmet from Giro to replace the one I just bought. The Pneumo was defective out of the box. I had bought an 06 model and they sent me a shiny new 07 model which is very cool. It's as comfy as the last one, and fits more securely thanks to the not defective Roc-Loc mechanism. I love this helmet.

More new toys and some heavy news.

Since my last post a few things have been confirmed for me. Specifically, I'm getting divorced. I had never intended to use this blog for stupid whining but I guess that's where I've gone and I realize that some people will learn about this for the first time here, sorry about that, I don't really feel much like telling it over and over to everyone. This has actually caused me to ride less because my life is all over the place. I've had to move and consequently the bikes have been moving all over the place, and I just haven't had have time lately. Couple that with general emotional difficulties and I just haven't felt like riding. Tomorrow though, I get back in the saddle. Which saddle is still in question.

Another thing that has been confirmed is my trip to France to see Le Tour. I'm flying out the 14th of July and will be returning on the 28th. I should get to see the stages through Provence, and as it gets into the foothills of the Pyrenees. I am very excited about this.

To further this endeavor, I have finally broken down and ordered up a folding bike. It's a Dahon Boardwalk S1 as seen to the left. It currently weighs 30 pounds. My goal is to get it as light as possible. Saddle, pedals, crankset, and wheels will be swapped. The rear coaster brake wheel will be replaced with a fixed/fixed gear wheel for gearing flexibility. I am considering using a Surly Dingle Cog for two gears on one side and Dos Eno freewheel on the other for four total options. Though I may simply go double fixed for simplicity. I need to see how it rides for distance before I bother messing too much with it. If I can't go long on it I have some serious figuring to do for getting around France. Fenders, racks, chainguard and reflectors will all be gone of course. The handlebar will likely be treated to some cork grips and a replacement brake lever. I essentially bought this thing to have the frame as a platform to start from.

In other good news I have lost another pound. I am down to 181lbs with my target at 175lbs. I am starting to feel better about this because, coming from 190lbs (with a temporary spike up to 195lbs) I now have less to lose than I have lost so far. Feeling a little less like Jan and more like Lance (ha, yeah right). The remaining 6 is all abs, so biking is fairly powerless to help, situps and running it is.

Finally, I traded my truck in for a Jeep Wrangler. It is piles of fun. Has a hard top withe sunroof, new stereo, new speakers, new soft top, and some of the fun exterior stuff like grill guards and tail guards. Still trying to figure out how to get bikes on it. Nate (bro-in-law) gave me 4 Thule Velo-vice trays that I will likely mount up on an over-roof cage rack. Trying to figure out how to make some half doors for it. Possibly out of wood, fiberglass or maybe, just maybe some carbon fiber. Best of all, she gets the same mileage as my truck, but is approximately 10,000 times more fun to drive and designed from the ground of for fun toys.

New Toys, Old Toys

The wind has seemed to quiet down some finally. Riding at lunch has been much more pleasurable. The other day I had a stark reminder why breakfast is important though. On our lunch ride we went out on the longer loop we found, and I realized I had not eaten yet that day. Not cool, that ride did not feel good. Eat breakfast, people!

I finally got around to installing a new BB in the Bridgestone. That dials my chainline in nicely on the single front ring to be evenly in the middle of the rear 7 speed gear cluster. The original BB predated cartridge BBs and that bike has thousands upon thousand of miles on it. The bearing retainers were just pieces floating around inside the cups. I'll probably overhaul that BB for another bike. So after putting a flat bar back on it, I'll be ready to go trail riding again. Haven't been for years, but I miss off-road. I'll be hitting the trails up at Moosehead this weekend.

The new toys are a longsleeve merino jersey that I can't wait to ride with, and a Park PCS-1 workstand. This came from PricePoint.com for $120, thanks Jim! It's a very solid stand, we borrowed one from Brian to build Jim's bike in, so I knew what I was getting when I picked it, extremely solid, easy to use, good clamp. It also came with a free Crank Bros 10 multi tool. It's a little bulkier than some of the more foldable models, but it makes up for that in being really solid. Out of the box I didn't need the instructions to put it together, it's incredibly simple. Only two bolts to fasten the lower legs to the Y-joint.

Jeremy asked me what cheap tires I would recommend to get a mountain bike back on the street. Instantly, I thought of the Kenda K-Rad 26x1.95s. I had these on my Bridgestone for all of last year as a mostly road single speed, and I just gave one of them to Tim at work who is now riding with it on the front of his Gary Fisher. The tires roll easily for street, but have enough of a low tread for grass and hard pack trails/dirt roads to get a grip. The checkerboard pattern looks good on a mountain bike and doesn't make much noise on pavement. I even rode these in 3" of snow in January, they did OK, but it was a little on the slippy side. To seal the deal, they are only $10 each from Nashbar. I only took them off the bike to put more aggressive trail/mud tires on.

Wind in the spokes

It has been a windy month. Plenty warm enough for riding, but very generally windy. I've almost been blown of the road a few times though. It's now warm enough to ride to work every day but with that weird early spring temperature differential between 7:00am and a couple hours later. Most mornings I need tights, jacket, hat, gloves, and in the after noon I need none of that. So I've been looking like a camel on my way home lately with my jersey pockets stuffed full.

Today I basically have to go for a very long ride; The century date we've (Jim and I) been talking about is next weekend, but I'm not sure if that's going to work out for a number of reasons.

Now that the weather is a little more conducive to pictures, I got out the whole stable (well, except for the new guy) for some pictures. Here they are:

Nashbar Road bike, built 2006 (aka: Woof):


Dad's [now mine] Schwinn Suburban (1972):


I've been very excited to add Dad's bike to my collection. My earliest memories involve being carried in a backpack while atop this bike. We used to go for a bike ride almost every day when I was tiny. We would ride out to Dairy Queen for ice cream, and up to the powerlines to pick blueberries. I would invariably fall asleep during the rides with the wind in my face. This was a bike that had 10 whole gears. When I was old enough for my own BMX bike, I was amazed that you could have all those levers and gears and you could go so fast. The mechs on this bike are all very old, and weigh a ton. I have begun the process of tearing it down to make a single speed conversion out of it. I will likely be buying some new wheels for this bike soon. Probably track wheels so I can ride it fixed as well. I bought new rubber for it right away, only to find that yes, these are the old Schwinn proprietary rims that don't hold a conventional tire bead. 90 psi- BANG! Off like a shotgun.

Raleigh R-300 (1997) Touring bike:


Hawthorne Fixed-Gear (aka: Dump Bike):


Trek Cruiser Classic (frame 2006) Fixed-Gear (aka: Pirate Bike):


Bridgestone BB-1 mountain bike (1992):


Not pictured are a couple crappy old frames that are hanging in the corner, a Schwinn Varsity, and a gas pipe Shogun. Also just yesterday I picked up a dept store ten speed with a decent looking lugged steel frame, fenders, and 26" wheels. That may be destined for a bizarre FG conversion.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas?

So I'm Dreaming of a White Easter may be a new song, since a white Christmas is getting to be rare. With a constant string of travel followed by a dang blizzard, riding days have become scarce again. While in Texas last week, I did pound out a couple good long workouts on a recumbent stationary bike, but it really just isn't the same. I did give the PB a bath last weekend, so its "Back in Black" for that bike. The Brooks b17 honey colored saddle looks pretty sharp on it. I clipped on my old MTB rear fender to protect the Brooks and rode it for the first time a couple weeks ago. I think it will work out well.

This week began the assembly of Jim's Gunnar. Oh baby. After a bit of a fiasco with him driving up here to build it last weekend, only to find out the wrong headset had been shipped, getting down to it was good. I used my Nashbar headset press for the first time, it's a thing of beauty. The cups just slide right into the head tube. Jim says "It looks like a bike", it just needs the dérailleurs, chain, and shifters put on. I have never seen a red like is on that bike. It's the purest paint color I've ever seen. So we will probably finish it up on Monday at lunch. Hopefully today will be conducive of riding. It's supposed to be sunny, so there's hope.

Saving Daylight

Well, it's that time of year again. Wait a minute, no it's not. It's early for DST but what the hell, it just makes it so I can ride after work earlier so I'm not complaining one bit. This morning I took the Raleigh out for a good one. Did about 32 miles and change. Not many cars out and quite tolerable weather. Around 50 and overcast. Wet roads like crazy. I had this uneasy feeling that my tires were sliding out from under me a few times. I'm not sure if they were or if I'm jsut crazy, it was a quite unsettling feeling. I wasn't imagining it when I rode over the metal grate bridge at the Salmon preserve. I was distracted with nature and almost went down twice. That would not have been pretty at all. I've heard of people going down on those things and I know I don't want to do it. I guess I'm going to call this the official start of the riding season for me. DST will allow me much more flexibility in riding, and I should be able to start riding to work again this week.

On the wrenching side of things. Jim sent in measurements to Gunnar so now he's waiting in the verdict; custom or stock frame. I will likely soon move my moustache bars to the Raleigh, and I have decided instead of putting the triple back on the Bridgestone, I will probably get a Surly stainless single ring for the front, and run 1x7.

Calm before the [next] storm

Well, the last couple of days have been gorgeous, mid day temps in the 40s, bright sunshine, and clear roads. I brought in the newly reconfigured Pirate Bike. I changed the handlebar to a flat bar with Ritchey grips like came stock on my Mtn bike in 92, and changed the lever to a proper V-brake lever. I can stop like crazy now. So I brought the bike to work and rode at lunch the last two days, putting me over 100 miles for the new year. Unfortunately, there is a blizzard coming tomorrow, so I will likely not be able to ride again outdoors for at least a week or two. C'est la vie. I am considering changing the bar on the Raleigh tour bike to the moustache bar formerly on the PB, for some classic touring stylee. Though if I do that, I might want a shorter stem on that bike.

Also on the horizon is a custom build for Jim who is ready to upgrade his aluminum Cannondale, to a Gunnar Roadie, that we will assemble with a full Ultegra kit (oh baby). So we'll see what the weather brings us tomorrow. Hopefully I'll be riding more soon.