Final ride of the year... flats!

Ryan and I originally planned to do a night ride last night but he left work earlier than expected and we headed out in the afternoon.  We both left from our houses and rode towards each other on Messner Rd.  Just east of Fredericksburg Rd. I came upon Ryan stopped alongside the road, he was checking in with another cyclist who appeared to be changing a flat tire.  As I rolled up to the scene I realized it was Jeremy Grimm.

Back on the bike Jeremy joined us as we rode over to Honeytown and south to Fredericksburg.  It was good to chat with Jeremy and hear how he and his family have been.  We rode into Fredericksburg and climbed Harrison to the west.  Jeremy headed north on Nonpariel as we continued across 83 and onto County Line Road.

Aaron heading downhill on Force Road.

The day was overcast but warm for the season, the thermometer in the back yard showed 41 when I left the house.  Road conditions were wet from melted snow and the roads were covered with cinders.  It felt great to be outside on the bike.

We rode down Force Rd. to connect up with Cemetery Rd. and here began our problems.  Apparently the pre-ride adjustments I made to my front derailleur were not so good.  In a 500 yard section of road I managed to drop my chain to the outside and then inside.  Wow, that's a new one.  Stopped in the road and with Ryan holding my bike up I managed to get the chain back on and start rolling again.

About five minutes later we were on Cemetary Rd. and Ryan announced his rear tire was going flat.  No big deal, we stopped along side the road and got to work on a tube swap out.  Ryan searched for a foreign object in the tire and found none.  With a new tube, this one full of air, on the rear wheel we started rolling again... again.

Flat tire change #1 for the day.

"I've got some bad news..." Ryan stated a few minutes later.  His rear tire was flat again.  We pulled into a gravel parking area along side the road near the Killbuck marsh.  Ryan flipped his bike over and we both looked down to see bubbles puttering out of a hole in his wet tire.  I reached down and picked a pointy cinder out of the hole.  Wheel off, tube changed, tube inflated, wheel back on.  We started rolling again... again... again.

The culprit!

With our spare tubes exhausted another flat tire would result in a call for vehicular pickup alongside the road.  We rode up the old 226 bypass and turned west on Willow.  Just before reaching the Kister Mill Ryan called out, "my front tire is flat!"  I reached for my cell phone.

KT was glad to hear we were only a few miles from home and she picked us up in the truck.  Ryan announced we had set a new record, it was the first time the two of us had ever required a pick up on the road to get back home.  Oh well, it had some comic relief to it. 

Ryan is now shopping for new tires.

It was not the cleanest day on the road.

Christmas!

 Daniel was up bright and early on Christmas morning.

 I made a little guitar for Daniel.  He was excited to find out

what I had been working on in the basement that denied him from coming down.

 Daniel and KT taking a gift to the neighbor on Christmas morning.

I also made a guitar for my nephew Sam.  He was

even more excited than Daniel to play his own guitar.

Playin' Dead

Not much "real" cycling to post about but I haven't been playing dead.  This month I signed up to use our corporate fitness room and have been riding the stationary bike, rowing, and doing core work at lunch.  It's made for a nice break in the middle of the day and helps me sleep better at night.  Hopefully it also translates into some fitness advances come spring.

One less road kill to swerve around in the spring.

Speaking of playing dead... this strategy did not work so will for the possum Rock found in the back yard last night.  After playing with the possum for a while Rocky went in for the kill as Katie, Daniel and I watched from the porch window.  Katie made me brush his teeth after letting him back in the house.

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree

We hiked out into the Christmas tree field and found

the perfect tree for our house.

I helped Daddy cut it down with a saw.

Mommy and I stood it up in the house

and decorated it!

Staying Warm on a Mountain Bike

The temperature was 30 and there was skim coat of snow on the ground as Ryan and I pulled our bikes from the truck and geared up.  Two other vehicles were parked in the Mohican MTB parking lot.  The bike rack on the back told us one vehicle belonged to a mountain biker but the second vehicle, a truck, may have been a hunter. 

Getting ready to roll out.

In the previous two weekend rides I had done at Mohican I never saw a hunter, but we donned neon colors just to be sure we were not mistaken for venison on the bone.  The extra layer couldn't hurt either, given the temperature.

Self timer pic from the truck's tailgate.

A good thing about riding at Mohican when it's cold is the first uphill mile activates your body heat right away.  Despite the snow dusting throughout the woods, the trail itself was clear other than leaves.  Snow must not stick as easily to the compressed trail, maybe the ground temp of the trail is higher?

 The trail was obvious amongst the snow.

As we rode out to mile 8 we passed about 4 to 5 hunters.  Some were sitting close enough to the trail that I could have thrown and hit them with a water bottle.  They were obviously in violation of the law prohibiting hunters from being within 500 yards of the trail.  At least these guys were facing away from the trail.  I wondered what they thought of us as we came crashing through the woods.

At the 8 mile mark, where bi-directional riding ends, we turned around.  It's a different trail in the opposite direction, culminating in a mostly downhill final mile.  There were some cold moments along the way but I think we stayed comfortable most of the ride.  Ryan made two evaluations of the ride: "Hey, we didn't get shot" and "it was invigorating."  I agree.

Back at the parking lot a few more vehicles had showed up and we had passed four riders on our way back to the start.  One of the vehicles caught our attention as it looked like a sweet setup for bike road trips.  Check out the extra locks on rear and side door.  I'd never seen these type of locks before but quickly found them on the web, it's a guarded hasp with a hockey puck lock:  http://www.lockitt.com/TrailerDoorLocks.htm

This vehicle says "ready for adventure".

Bike Work Stand for Ryan

Some time ago I began work on making a bike stand for Ryan.  I had some ideas for improvement over the bike stand I made for myself several years back and was eager to see if they would prove out.  Of course a work stand can be purchased, but what fun would that be?  Plus, there's certainly a cost advantage to making your own stand if you can scrounge up some pipe.  Total out of pocket cost for this project was about $20.

The project was delayed for quite a few weeks as I searched for a steel plate for the base.  After having no luck, and after seeing that Ryan had been working on his bike on his basement floor, I compromised and built a wooden base.

As it turns out the stand and base seem to work pretty well.  I hope it performs as expected and elevates Ryan's bike work to a new level.  Ha!

Ryan's new work stand holding my bike and

my stand on the left.

The stand adjusts up and down for height with

telescoping pipes and a locking bolt with handle.

The bike is clamped into the stand via a

pipe clamp and padded wooden jaws.

The bike can be rotated and locked in place

with another bolt and handle.

Overdue Update in Pictures

Wow, I guess it's been awhile since I last updated the blog.  Rather than attempting to recap in text, here are some pictures...

 Chris' tie at the wedding in New Hampshire.

 A clock I made as a wedding gift

for Jessica and Chris.

 Daniel dressed up for the wedding,

with matching blue tongue.

 Nice fall day for a ride.

Daniel's pumpkin hauling service.

 Soupcan cyclocross.

 The result of chain suck at Soupcan cyclocross.

 Post ride cleanup.  Ryan and I rode at the Knob.