Solo Knob

Rode at the knob after work today.  Given the warm and finally dry weather of the past week or more I was surprised how wet the course was.  Maizeville was a mess and I bypassed it on the second lap.

 Another sun setting vulture picture.

It was within 20 or 30 minutes of sunset when I got back to the car.  I took a couple pictures of what I have to believe is an often photographed sign and packed my stuff back into the car.  About this time a couple "kids" showed up in a truck and jumped on their Mongoose bikes.  I was trying to figure out how they were going to get in a ride before dark.  I hope they had fun.

Ride complete, ready to head home.

Road Ride - crisscrossing Overton

This morning Ryan and I set out on a somewhat unplanned ride towards Overton.  We road up 539 from 302 and dropped down to Overton Road via McAfee.  The next left took us up the Smithville Western climb to the west and then we were on 539 again, riding north.  Down Cedar Valley and then up Rice Hill.  Pleasant Home back into the Valley and then the Armstrong Climb east. 

 Heading back into the valley.

We went over to Friendsville and then took Jentes back to the Valley.  This time we climbed Cedar Valley and then took some pulls south on the fresh pavement of 539.  Smyser was the last little climb on the way home.  It was a good ride with some good climbs and nice weather. 

Daniel's first ride with the guys

This morning I was trying to think of something for Daniel and I to do while KT went out to lunch with girls.  "Hey bud, you wanna go for a bike ride in your bike trailer?"  Daniel's answer was full of excitement "Yeah!"

We went to the basement and setup the bike trailer.  We bought the trailer as part of the deal when I sold my Wahoo mountain bike and had not used it yet.  Daniel was excited to set it up in the basement and was ready to go.  I called Ryan and was glad to hear he would join us for the ride after KT and Helena were back from their lunch.

Loaded up and ready to go, thumbs up!

For several hours Daniel kept asking if we were ready to go for a bike ride.  Ryan and I continued telling him we had to wait for Mommy and "Hena" to get home before we could leave.  Several times he thought they were home when they were not and he would yell "Mommy is home, let's go for a bike ride!"

Eventually KT and Helena arrived back home and Rylen was handed off.  I told Daniel he had to pack up his stuff so we could go.  He disappeared for a few minutes and showed up with backpack, filled with toys, and said "I'm ready, let's go!"

Rolling south on the rails to trails.

We drove to the rails to trails in Fredericksburg and the excited little boy fell asleep on the way there.  Ryan and I set up the trailer and had it all ready to go when I woke him up.  He wiped the sleep away and was excited to climb into the trailer and get going.

We rode south to Millersburg with only one stop along the way to break out a PB&J for Daniel.  During this stop he told us "it's a beautiful day out!"  We agreed.  Daniel rode well in the trailer but was eager to get out at the playground in Millersburg.  After a bathroom break and a cold drink from a vending machine, Daniel hoped back into the trailer for the ride north.

The guys.

It's a gentle grade for the ride back and I felt the presence of the trailer more so than on the ride out.  The trailer worked great and Daniel enjoyed it.  There were a couple complaints of his back hurting, but the kid certainly isn't used to sitting still.  Maybe we'll throw in a foam pad for him the next time.

The return trip.

Back at the car we loaded everything up and drove Ryan to his house.  As we were leaving Ryan said "good ride Daniel, see you later!"  Daniel promptly replied, "good ride, see ya later!"  He was excited to get home and tell mommy about his first ride with the guys.

The end.

Muddy Knob

Friday is a good day of the week, and knowing all day long my bike and gear were in truck and I was meeting Ryan for a ride at the Knob after work made it even better.  There were a handful of vehicles there when I pulled.  I guess we were not the only ones glad to get out after another week of wet weather.  We hoped the last couple days of no rain had been enough to dry the course.

We talked to the Soupcan guys before rolling out.  The first portion of the course was in good shape, a few puddles but nothing too wet.  Later in the ride we encountered some really wet sections with lots of standing water.

 Ryan coming up the access rode at the end of our ride.

After finishing a lap we decided to head out for another half lap.  I enjoyed riding the Cradle for the first time but didn't fair so well on the switchbacks.  Once again we squished our way through the wet sections and bailed at the top of the Furnace to get back to our vehicles.

It was a great way to spend a Friday evening!  And I'll be spending tomorrow morning washing this filthy bike.

Dried on mud.

Mohican with Patrick and Ryan

Friday night Patrick, a friend from work, sent me a text proposing an early Saturday morning MTB ride.  It had rained Thursday, it rained Friday, and the forecast predicted rain Saturday.  But, the chance of rain was only 10% from 7am to noon for Saturday.  I called Ryan and signed him up for the ride; meet at my house at 7am, head to Mohican.

We were hoping for a dry night to give the course a chance to drain the water of the past couple days, but I woke up several times during the night to the sound of rain.  All three of us were standing in my driveway Saturday morning ready to ride, and questioning the course conditions.  We made it this far, no sense in bailing out now.  The truck carried three bikes and three riders south.

In the first mile of trail the excellent drainage of Mohican was evident and we had no worries about blazing the course, save the last mile which has been puddle ridden all spring.

Around mile 8, before heading through the Discovey Forest.

Riding with Patrick was fun and all three of us enjoyed taking turns leading the way.  The weather ended up perfect, never a rain drop.  We made several stop along the way to drink, eat, and chat.  It was a good time.

 A short stop under the covered bridge.

I was happy to ride the course pretty clean and was feeling connected with the trail the whole way.  Ryan cranked the singlespeed up Mount Doom and rode really strong all the way to the finish.  Patrick said it was his longest ride of the year and he did a good job pacing himself as needed.  I enjoyed riding behind Patrick to watch his lines and methods.  He's been riding a mountain bike for a long time.

 Patrick's eBay find.

It was kind of nice to ride the last mile through the campground road and let the legs cool down.  We talked with some guys in the parking lot and headed home.  After visiting with Rylen for a couple hours, Ryan and Rylen headed home just as a down pour started.  The weather worked well for us today.  It was one to remember.

 Post ride in the parking lot.

Playing with the Camera at Mohican

30 sec self timer, 10 shot burst, and I didn't run over the camera!

Sunny Skies... for a couple days

Wow, there has been a long stretch of rainy days of late.  I guess it didn't bother me too much as I was under the weather myself with a mild cold for the past week.

Typical scene this April.

 Finally the weather broke yesterday and I was able to mow the yard with plans of riding today.  Nothing serious for today, just an easy spin to make sure my cold was in remission.  It was nice to see blue skies and everyone else out mowing.

Now this is more like it.

Unfortunately the forecast is back to rain and scattered storms for the near future.  Oh well, it makes the nice days better appreciated.

Mohican Sunset

Tomorrow is Good Friday and, amongst other things, that means a three day weekend for me. Unfortunately the weather forecast for all three days is looking wet. It was nice all day today so I decided to book it home after work and head down to Mohican.

At 5:30 I was on my way to Loudonville having already stopped at home to grab my bike and gear up. I parked at the Discovery Forest parking lot with a new plan in mind.

 Gettin' ready in the Disco Forest parking lot.

A short distance down the road from the parking lot I jumped on the trail between mile markers 8 and 9. I felt cool in the 50 degree air but warmed up soon on the way to the downhill stretch that begins before mile 11. Before long I was at the covered bridge and ready for some climbing.

Near the top of Mount Doom I caught a rider, the only other rider I would see today, and rode with him to mountain bike trail head 2. I immediately noticed his Luv Bars and Groovy Cycles frame made by Rody Walters, a local frame builder. Turns out Mike, the Groovey pilot, is a good friend of Rody. Mike mentioned his other Groovy frame is the “rattlesnake frame”, which I immediately remembered from reading Rody’s blog.

Without too much delay I headed out on my own from the trailhead, Mike was back to his truck and done for the day. I knew it was going to be cutting it close on making it back to my truck before sunset.

As planned, I detoured at mile 23.5 and took the short loop connector up to mile 4. I was feeling pretty decent, if not a little hungry, and continued to mile 8. The sun was quickly dropping and it was getting dark in the woods. If there had been leaves on the trees I’m sure it would’ve been darker.

From mile 8 to my road crossing is the only substantial section of non-singletrack on the course. I guess it’s a former logging or well access road. It felt like I was going 25 mph as I blasted along this section and I was back to my truck in short order.

It’s going to be much easier to tolerate three days of rainy weather with 20 miles of mountain biking in my legs!

Happy 0th Birthday Rylen!!

Ryan and Helena welcomed a healthy baby girl into the world today!

Baby Rylen, so cute.

 Welcome to fatherhood Ryan!

 Daniel helped me install a welcome home sign.

Organized Pegboard

A long overdue pegboard organization in the basement:

Just added the shelf in the middle.

Too nice to pass up

The legs felt pretty good this morning after yesterday’s longer ride. Eating well and stretching must have done the trick. Even so, I really did not plan on a ride today.

KT took Daniel for a picture session in Ashland late this afternoon, and I made a spontaneous decision to head to Mohican for a short ride. Within minutes of KT leaving I was loaded up and out the driveway.

Grape eatin' on the run.

I rode the first four miles and was going to take the short loop back, but I decided to backtrack for a little more riding time. Once again the new bike felt great. I have made several modifications to the bike and will have to post some specifics later.

Sneak peak at drivetrain modification.

On today’s ride I tried to spin a little more than usual to prevent over doing it after yesterday’s ride, and I was feeling good. It was just a nice, short mountain bike ride and the first time in short sleeves this year.

What a difference a day makes in Ohio’s weather! (I’m stating the obvious here.) Yesterday it was in the 40’s and overcast. Today it was 82 when I left for the ride and sunny as could be. Tomorrow’s forecast: high in the low 50’s and rain. Oh well, at least it’s not supposed to snow.

Shauck Metric Century

My Saturday started the same way a work day begins, with a 6:30AM alarm. It sure is easier to get up for a bike ride than it is for work. After getting dressed in cycling gear, brewing some coffee, and making a peanut butter and egg sandwich I was standing in the driveway waiting for Ryan to show up.

We were on the road by 7:15 and heading for Shauck, south of Lexington, for a metric century to benefit the Johnsville volunteer fire department. We figured it would be a good way to get 62 miles in the legs and see some new roads while doing so. At the fire station we signed in for the road and headed out.

Arriving on scene.

It was a damp 40 degree start to the ride, not so much rain as a misty fog. We stopped within a handful of miles to take off our glasses as they were too wet to see out of. For the beginning of the ride I began to feel underdressed and was not staying warm. The sun never came out but it must have warmed a few degrees and I became more comfortable.

A quick stop to dig out some food... and take a picture.

We rode to Fredericktown and then up to Butler. In Butler the route took us onto the rails to trails and we rode the former railway bed all the way to Lexington. The route was mostly flat or mildly rolling but we did enjoy a good uphill grade riding south out of Lexington.

Gas station stop in Butler to refill bottles.

It was a good ride, though the route was somewhat non-distinctive. I guess that makes sense for a flat ride, it’s usually the hills that make an impression on me. For this time of year it was a good ride to get the legs up to speed.

 Pedaling along the rail trail.

Grandpa Franks Visit

It's been a long time since I've been to my grandfather's grave.  This morning, while KT and Daniel were stuck in the house under the weather, I headed out on a ride without much of a plan as to where I would go.  As it turned out I ended up riding by Reedsburg and saw the cemetery from a distance.  Remembering my grandfather I stopped in to visit his grave.

 

This is how it ends for everyone.  No matter how many
miles we ride or how many good intentions we have.

 

But Christ represents us, if we ask, and makes
this the beginning instead of the end.

I continued on my ride, thinking of my grandfather, a short while later I spotted no less than eight deer out in a field.  Fitting because my grandfather was an avid outdoors-man and hunter.  I stopped to snap a picture and captured about half the herd crossing the road.

A deer paceline.

I've worn through my first pair of Look cleats.  I was not having any issues with the worn cleats but figured I'd replace them before beginning to have issues.  Fortunately I had a spare pair on the shelf, thanks to a Christmas gift from mom and dad a couple years ago.

The new 3 cleat system.

The first ride of the year on the Litespeed had me feeling like I was pedaling with my toes.  I'm guessing it's from riding an indoor exercise bike so much over the winter, so I've shifted my pedals rear ward a touch. Actually they are shifted rear ward as far as possible with these shoes.

The wear dots on the old cleats were about gone.

Yesterday Ryan and I went for a ride around the block.  The thermo told us it was in the upper 30's and we dressed warm as we intended to ride a mild pace. 

 Washed out on Carr Road.

We rode north on Carr Road from Ryan's house and felt the 10 to 15mph wind directly in our face on the way out.  After a right hand turn we rode east to the county line and turned south.  Eventually we returned to Carr Road and enjoyed a tail wind on the way back to Apple Creek.

 Washed out on Deerfield Road.

It felt good to be out for a couple hours!

Windy on the way to Flickinger

I came home from work and headed out for short ride, destination Flickinger Hill.  I knew it was windy... but it was really windy.  Headwind all the way to Flickinger, climb the hill, then cross winds, and finally some tailwind on the way back.  It felt like more of a ride than what it was.

 The flags are proof, it was windy.

First Paragon Ride

What a perfect day for a mountain bike ride at Mohican State Park.  The weather was very nice for a mid March day, it was 45 and sunny, and the trail was in great condition.  The water of the past couple weeks had drained away and left behind a grippy runway.

 Two Gary Fisher 29ers ready to roll.

It was mid afternoon when Ryan and I pulled into the parking lot.  I unloaded my new Paragon from Ryan's  trunk rack, ready for the first ride on my 29er.

About half a mile into the ride we stopped and I shed a layer.  The warmth of the sun through the leafless trees felt good.  In the opening, mostly uphill, section of the trail I was feeling benefit from the larger wheels.  The bike was rolling over roots with more ease than my previous 26" wheeled GF Wahoo.  I figure the plusher front fork on the Paragon also contributed to the better feel.

 Nothing like the first ride on a new bike.

As we continued through first five miles I was really liking several aspects of the new bike.  The hydraulic brakes are much better than on my Wahoo.  The new stoppers provided a solid feel with an ability to modulate braking force.  The larger front rotor and 29" tire patch certainly contributed to better braking as well.  I also noticed gear changes were less drastic than on my previous bike.  The Wahoo was 8 speed while the Paragon is 10 speed, and I could feel the smaller change in gear ratio between shifts on the Paragon.

 Ryan enjoying the warm sunshine.

At mile 8 we turned around to retrace our route.  Somewhere along the ride back I was noticing traction benefits with the Paragon.  I was happy with my tire choice and I think the new tires were certainly contributing to the traction combined with the larger contact patch of the 29" wheels.  On an uphill corner I stood up to pedal as I turned sharply.  On this same corner I often lost traction and had to put a foot down while riding the Wahoo.  On the Paragon I stood, felt a tiny amount of rear wheel slip, but then it connected up and pushed me through the corner.  Nice.

 Hey, my support vehicle showed up.

I'm sure there are plenty more things to discover about the new bike.  In spite of a dream the night before where I didn't notice a difference between the Wahoo and Paragon, there's a big difference.  And I like it.

Another New Ride

No, I didn't get another new bike... but we did go to the zoo today.

Giddy up.

Jellyfish tank.

Wet Left Foot

Despite the gloomy and overcast weather I gathered up some ambition and headed out for a ride.  It was breezy and cool with temperatures in the upper 30’s as I rolled out.  With camera in my pocket I was hoping to come across some picture worthy scenes.  I was in luck.

Doing my best to keep the wind in my face for the first half of the ride I rode west on Angling Road.  I stopped near the base of a cell tower looming over US30 and thought the perspective of the tower and guy wires looked interesting.  Picture #1 acquired.

A short distance later I turned north on Firestone Road and came across a pothole collection that caught my eye.  Picture #2 acquired.

An even short distance later, still on Firestone Road, I saw something familiar alongside the road.  I squeezed hard on the brake levers and pulled a u-turn.  It was a cell phone along the edge of the road and looked like it had been there for a while.  The phone was waterlogged and looked like it had been through a few freeze / thaw cycles.  Picture #3 acquired.

After a few jig jogs I pedaled west out of Reedsburg and turned south on Funk Road.  I wondered if this low lying section of road would be open after all the recent flooding.  The road was open but there were many fresh ponds throughout the valley.  Glancing over my shoulder at one such pond I spotted several large birds blending in with the scenery.  I thought they were blue herons at first but later realized they were sand hill cranes.  The quality of the digital zoom on the camera surprised me.  Picture #4 acquired.

A short time later I was back to Angling Road.  The “road closed” signs were up for Angling Road east of Funk but I thought it may be passable on bike so I turned left.  Water was across the road at the road’s lowest point, yep that’s the way water works.  There was a current moving left to right across the road but I decided it was worth the risk to pedal across slowly.  Before crossing I pulled the camera out, took a picture, and securely sealed in a ziploc bag in case of a splashdown.  Picture #5 acquired.

Crossing the water was mostly okay except it was deep enough in the middle that I was dunking my left foot with each pedal revolution.  I had unclipped my right foot and held it up in the air when I realized the water was getting deep.  Thank God for Thorlo socks, they kept my feet warm the rest of the ride home despite the left one being water logged.

To get back home I took Uhl Road to connect Jefferson to Smyser.  Upon turning north onto Uhl I encountered an even better photo op of a ruinous pothole.  Photo #6 acquired.

There’s nothing like a wandering, picture filled bike ride to help forget your body and mind’s confusion over setting the clocks forward an hour!

New Horse in the Stable

Here it is, my new 2011 Trek / Gary Fisher Paragon!

25.1 pounds out of the box.

Given the flooding and generally wet conditions of late, it may be a little while before I take her out on the maiden voyage.  But that's okay, I have a project or two in mind before hitting the trail.  More to come later...