The Christmas Boat

Long time without an update.  I've been busy, tis' the season you know.  Christmas and the making of gifts for people has provided a good break from the bike for me these past couple years.  In the next several posts I'll show what I've been working on, now that the gifts have been given.  I didn't want to risk ruining surprises by posting anything earlier.

First off, I found a set of plans published in Wood Magazine back in 1995 for a "nautical shelf".  KT and I thought this would be a good gift for her parents, as it would look nice in the house her parents are building in White Mountains of New Hampshire.  As I worked on this project I took pictures with my cell phone, so I have a play by play for this gift.

To begin, I prepared Poplar pieces for the back, three shelves, and transom.  In this picture the back is being laid out per the plans.

The back is cut with a 15 degree bevel on its outer edges.  I tilted the base on my jigsaw to make the cuts.

The shelves were cut to width, with 15 degree angles on each end.  The shelves were glued and screwed to the back at their designated heights.

The sides of the boat shelf were laid out with a similar technique to the back.  The shape of the sides will allow it to correctly "wrap" onto the back and shelves.

Prior to attaching the sides I dyed the interior of the shelf.  I figured it would be easier to apply the dye, and sand the subsequently raised grain, while the shelf was in pieces.  The water based dye shouldn't interfere with the glue to be applied.

The sides were wrestled onto the shelf and attached with glues and wood screws driven into the back and shelves.

As can be seen in the above picture, the bow of the boat remained to be closed up after the sides were attached.  I temporarily glued a couple blocks to the outside of the boat so the bow could be pinched together with spring clamps.  An epoxy fillet was applied to the inside of the boat to adhere the sides to each other.

Next step was to fill all the screw holes and begin the sanding process.  It officially looks like a boat now.

Inner and outer gunwales, made of Red Oak, were installed by gluing them to the sides of the boat.  I now understand why you see so many clamps in pictures of boat building shops.

The foredeck, made of Ash was the last piece to be attached.  It was roughly cut to shape on the bandsaw and would be sanded flush with the outer gunwales was the glue dried.

And now the pictures jump ahead to the finishing room.  There was a great deal of sanding between the above and below pictures.  The gunwales were sanded flush with each other along the edge of the sides.  At the front of the boat the sides were sanded into a smooth, rounded bow.  I've never spent so much time with an angle grinder and 80 grit sanding disc as I did on this project.  The gunwales are masked off to apply primer to the back and outer sides of the shelf.

After two coats of primer and sanding between coats, the first coat of black enamel goes on.

Now it's time to focus on the inside.  The black sides are masked off and lacquer was sprayed on the inside and gunwales.  I ended up laying on 6 coats of gloss lacquer.

After drying overnight, I buffed on a couple coats of wax both inside and out.  Here's the finished boat shelf!

 

 

It was a good project and came together as we envisioned.  KT's parents liked the gift and we look forward to seeing it hanging on their wall.

Workin' Like an Elf

How many days until Christmas?  I've been working feverishly down in the wood shop to complete a couple Christmas gifts.  As much as I would like to post some pictures, that could ruin the surprise for a recipient of one of these items.  So, here are some pictures of gifts I made last year.

 Mahogany door mat with inlaid stone.

Turned bottle stoppers.

  

Knife and Kydex sheath.

 

Clock.

  

Box with knife inside.

The knives were a first.  Entertaining to make but a lot of work.  I'd have to make quite a few more to even think about being proficient at it.  I made two Mahogany door mats but only have a picture of the one.  Oh yeah, I made Katie a tall jewelry box too, we do not have any pictures of it.

It was a quite a few projects last year.  I'm not making nearly as many items this year, and I should probably start working on Christmas gift in February to be able to complete everything!

I can say I'm looking forward to two weeks of vacation from work over the holidays.  During this time I expect to break out of these "rest weeks" and get on the bike.  In the meantime, I'll continue making sawdust and breathing finishing fumes.

Wilmot Ride: Abundant Sunshine

"Abundant sunshine."  I do not recall seeing such descriptive text on a weather.com forecast, but abundant sunshine sounded pretty good so Ryan and I made plans to ride today.  For no particular reason we decided to ride southeast.  Before heading out from Ryan's place we looked at a map and decided to do a loop out to Wilmot and back from Apple Creek.  We made a general plan of what roads to take and headed out.

The sunshine was indeed abundant and combined with temperatures in the upper 40's, it was a comfortable day for riding in a long sleeve wool jersey.  We rode east into Stark County on Harrison Rd. before turning south to Wilmot.  A short section of gravel road brought us across a low area and we soon found Wilmot. 

We hooked up with TR606 in Holmes County to come back west.  It was a nice township road with many well kept Amish farms lining the way.  We saw many, many more livestock than cars or people along the way.

Ryan trying to explain our route options

while I'm messing with the camera.

We intended to turn onto the Holmes County equivalent of Criswell Road to ride back north, but we ended up in Fredericksburg and road northeast to get back home.  These few extra miles gave us about 40 for the day.  I find it suprising that we still find new, unridden roads within short distance of our homes.  TR606 felt like it was "way out there" but we road its entire length on a little 40 mile ride.

I wonder how many more rides we will have this year in abundant sunshine with temperatures in the 40's... of course I've been wondering this same thing for the past month and the mild weather continues.

Pedal to Church

Daniel's runny nose kept him from going to church, and Katie decided it was her turn to stay home with him on a Sunday morning.  While eating breakfast the thought occurred to me that I could ride to church.  Yes, no, yes, no, yes, no... I couldn't decide.  A second cup of coffee at 8:45 convinced me to ride.

Partly cloudy skies and a heavy morning dew joined me on the roads.  I rode up Overton and turned east on Smithville-Western to climb to church.  Just before starting up the hill I zipped the arms off my convertible jacket and removed my winter gloves, I didn't want to accumulate too much heat.

Smithville-Western heading east out of the Overton Valley.

At church I walked my bike into the classroom for our ABF (adult bible fellowship) class and had a seat at ten before ten, about five minutes late.  Maybe I should have climbed faster, but at least I wasn't a sweaty mess.  I sat down next to Ryan figuring he would be least mindful of a lycra clad person beside him.

On the ride home, I rode back into the valley on Smithville-Western and climbed McAfee up to SR539.  I passed several hunters, including a young boy in the front yard  of their house with his dad and a deer.  I knew it was the opening weekend for youth hunters.  I wondered if it was the boy's first deer.  He seemed to be looking at it in an odd fashion, like "are you really dead?"

 By noon I had already ridden, been to church and ate lunch.  A good way to start the day!

Let the light shine through.

A Night Ride on Friday

Between my persistent cold of previous weeks and the wet weather this past Wednesday, I had not made it to an OCC night ride in several weeks.  I proposed a Friday night ride to Ryan and he thought it was a good idea, so I posted it to the club forum and was glad to read replies from Bob and Brian reporting they would join us.

It was a perfect night for a ride.  Temps fell from the upper to lower 40's, minimal wind, and no rain.  Bob and Brian had ridden in the rain Wednesday night and, as Brian put it, he was hoping to replace the wet memories with dry ones.

We departed in the dark and as we rode south on Kansas Rd. a bike light approached in the opposite direction.  As we passed the rider behind the light let out a devious growl, kind like Tony the Tiger in a Frosted Flakes commercial.  I didn't get a good look a the rider but Ryan and Bob said it was Lorson.  He must have been on his way home from work, as Ryan had seen him riding to work in the morning.  It's tough to know who is coming towards you in the dark, so a comical growl is as good as any greeting.

The comments throughout the ride and after were unanimous; it was a great night for a ride.  Even better than a Wednesday night ride, there was no work the next day!  My legs were toast by the final section up Rohrer.  A couple weeks off seems to have taken its toll, but it's okay this time of year.  It was fun to be out on the bike with a good group of guys!

New Cycling Cap

Two and three years ago Ryan and I made a spring cycling trip to watch a couple stages of the Tour de Georgia and then ride near Asheville, NC (links: 2007 and 2008). We rented a cargo van and built a bunk in the back to hold a mattress and our bikes. They were great trips and we missed out on such a trip this year, but we recently began thinking about a 2010 spring cycling trip.

The cargo van was a fun and utilitarian option for hauling our bikes and for camping, but I began to think the $250 rental fee could be avoided. It occurred to me a truck cap for my truck may allow a similar setup to what we had with the cargo van. Knowing a new truck cap would cost $800 or more I navigated to www.searchtempest.com, a site that searches regional craigslist pages.

Searching for "dakota cap" resulted in many Dodge Dakota truck caps for sale. Problem was finding the correct size for a truck of my year with a quad cab and finding a tolerable color. The prices ranged from $75 to $600 or more. Caps at the low end of the price range were the aluminum type for older model year trucks. There were some fiberglass caps in the $200 range that looked pretty decent but none were hunter green. Katie began to worry I'd be one of those guys that drives a truck with a mismatched cap. Really, how bad would a light purple truck cap look on a dark green truck?

After giving up for a couple weeks I returned to searchtempest and was excited to find a listing for a good condition dark green fiberglass cap that came off a 1998 Dakota quad cab. It was listed for $150, near Coshocton. A little research on the web told me model years 1998 through 2004 quad cab Dakotas would use the same cap. Sweet!

I emailed the seller asking for pictures and he sent back some cell phone images that gave me further confidence his cap would work for me. He lowered the price to $125 saying the pictures didn't do the cap justice. We talked on the phone and he said the cap had some scratches from a fallen tree branch but it was intact and otherwise in pretty good shape. For $125 I figured I couldn't go too wrong.

First glimpse of the truck wearing a cap, cell phone

picture on the way home from Coshocton.

Last night I drove an hour south to pickup the cap. The seller and his son were very friendly and helped me set the cap on the truck and clamp it in place. We all agreed it was a perfect match in size and color. The cap has some scracthes and dings but being made of fiberglass, it's not going to rust. A little touchup paint will hide the white fiberglass showing through the paint.

Now I need to come up with a design for a platform in the back. I've got some ideas that would allow the bikes to ride in the back while driving and for sleeping the bikes would be stuffed into the cab. I also have some ideas about how to best utilize the space in the extended cab of the truck.

Alright... another project to day dream about!

End of Season Litespeed Re-tread

Prior to heading out on my ride the other day I made a tire swap.  For the past two seasons plus I have been riding on the tires that came with my Litespeed, a pair of Vittoria Rubino Pro Slick.  They have been good tires, no complaints whatsoever, and seem to have lasted a long time.  I'm guessing they have 6 to 7,000 miles on them and the rear tire has started to show threads.

I have a new pair of Hutchinson Fusion tires at the ready, but I was hesitant to put these on this time of year.  My fear is to be out on a night ride and cut or otherwise damage a brand new pair of lightweight tires.  Instead, I used some credit I had with Performance Bike to buy a pair of cheap, heavy and hopefully durable tires.

The Forte GT2 Kevlar tires are a house brand tire from Performance.  They are definitely heavy at 295 grams for a 700c by 25mm tire.  The tires were on sale for $12.99 each when I ordered and free shipping was offered.  The reviews indicated they are durable, hopefully the Kevlar lining helps with durability.

The tires went on relatively easily.  I wasn't sure if the wire bead would make things more difficult, it didn't seem to matter.

Out on the road I immediately noticed a rougher ride.  I had inflated the both tires to 100 psi, just as I had always done with the Vittoria tires.  Perhaps these Forte tires need to be run a lower pressure, or perhaps they are just a stiffer, less forgiving tire.  Next time out I will try 90 to 95 psi and see if there is a difference.

There's not much I would say about handling.  These tires are for making it through the end of year before switching to my cross bike for the winter, so handling is not something to be scrutinized with these tires.  They are round and roll so that is good enough for me!

Warm, Sunny & WINDY in November

One week into November and we are treated to a 66 degree, sunny day.  I have not been out on a ride since last Saturday due to a nagging cold.  There was plenty of coughing and nose blowing in the last week, but no bike riding for me.  With today's warm weather I couldn't pass up the opportunity for a ride in short sleeves.

The wind was really stiff, 20 to 25 mph according to the Weather Channel.  Everywhere I looked flags were standing at attention and leaves were on the run.  It was actually distracting as I rode past corn fields, several times I mistook the rustling of the dry corn leaves as an approaching vehicle.  Yeah, I'm not sure how wind blown corn plants can sound like a vehicle but they did.

Steady winds blowed from the SSW.

I made a conservative loop out through Moreland and passed by the Kister water mill on the way back.  My route was appropriate for the wind, as I was given a boost on the final leg while riding NE on Millbrook.

Kister water mill.

Surprisingly to me, I only had to stop once during the ride to evacuate my nose.  Hopefully being out for a little exercise will help me shake off this cold!

Halloween Night Ride

We took Daniel to his first Fall Fest at the church tonight.  He ran around as a little Incredible Hulk amongst what had to be hundreds of other kids.  Good times, he seemed to have fun amongst all the chaos.  Katie whipped together a sewn chef's hat just before leaving to complete her chef costume.

I went dressed as a cyclist, which Katie proclaimed to be unfair and boring. To complete the costume, unknown to people inside the church, I plugged the bike rack into the car and brought along my bike.  Katie and Daniel drove home while I pedaled home.

It was a nice Halloween night for a ride, with a nearly full moon overhead.  I stopped along the road around the block from home for a few pics.

 

Worms, Cottage & DST

It's time for a little catch up on the happenings since the beginning of this past weekend....

The big excitement of the weekend, and Monday, was a family trip to Dillon State Park.  We stayed in a small cottage for a couple nights and enjoyed the fall colors and weather.  Katie made a post with some nice pictures here.  It was a nice extended weekend.

Just prior to leaving for the State Park on Saturday, Ryan and I made it out for a nice ride around the block.  What was not nice was the aftermath of our ride.  It had rained the night before and the roads were a bit damp, no standing water that I remember, just damp.  Upon return home I was shocked to see the amount of worms, worm pieces, and worm guts our bikes were carrying.

On a ride in the spring we experienced a similar wormy situation but it was nowhere near this gross.  As Katie was packing up for our trip, I was in the basement trying to get the bulk of worm gunk cleaned up.  I was afraid of how bad the basement would smell if I left it go until we came back.

Post ride bike posing in the front yard.

Usually I use a damp rag to clean my road bike, but the rag was not working on the worminess, it was just smearing the slimy, bloody worm residue all over the place.  I ended up with the bike in the front yard, using a garden hose and a brush to clean up the mess.

Downtube worm chunk cling-ons.

Tonight was the last OCC night ride ride of the year that departed from the shop in daylight.  Sunset was at 6:28 today but with the expiration of daylight savings time, subsequent rides will depart in the dark.

It was another good ride tonight.  On the way out Ryan asked me if I had fun cleaning the worms off my bike after our Saturday ride.  It was not just me plagued by the worm cleanup project!

Chain Tattoo Pants

Last night was an excellent ride with a small group of OCC guys.  About 10 of us left the shop in the unseasonably warm weather.  Everyone was speculating it may be the last Wednesday night ride without jackets and heavy gloves.

Upon reaching Moreland Road, seven of us continued on for the full loop while the other guys opted for a shorter route.  As we slipped through the night behind our headlights, we encountered varying temperatures in the rolling hills around Fredericksburg.  I distinctly remember a couple low areas that felt refrigerated as we pedaled along.

Sitting at my desk today, I looked down and was amused to find a nice chain ring tattoo on the thigh of my jeans.  It must have happened when carrying my bike down to the basement.  Oh well, I kind of like it!  Maybe I should have a similar design embroidered into all my pants.

A Solo Fall Ride

This past week did not present many opportunities for a ride.  I didn't even find a good morning to commute by bike.  Friday I took a vacation day and headed down to Dayton to help at my brother's recently purchased house.  Dad and I worked on installing new kitchen cabinets Friday and Saturday.

Sometimes it's harder for me to get motivated for a ride after having not ridden in a week, especially when headed out solo.  I find the best approach is to get out bike, clothes, and gear without thinking about it too much and try to get to the end of the driveway before inventing a reason not to ride.  By the end of the street, I'm always excited to ride.

Thanks to the wind, I headed north through Overton Valley before climbing Smithville-Western to the west.  That's always a good climb and did a fine job of warming me up on a windy 54 degree day.  I rode over to New Pittsburg and through Reedsburg before heading home.

Stopped along the side of the road for a couple pictures.

The fall colors are starting to get serious, which made for a nice combination with the big clouds throughout the bright, blue sky.  I enjoyed the ride and hope to not go another week without getting on the bike.  The weather forecast is showing a warmup this week, 65 for the high on Thursday, with overnight lows in the mid 40s.  It's looking good for an OCC night ride on Wednesday night!

Looking west into Ashland County, near Reedsburg.

Road Ride to MTB Race in Loudonville

Yesterday was a good day on the bike.  Ryan and a handful of OCC/Soupcan Racing guys were doing an OMBC (Ohio Mountain Bike Championship) race at Mohican State Park, and I rode down to see the guys at the finish.  KT and Daniel also came down to see us at the finish and then go for a hike with Helena and her mom.  It was the third or fourth time I've ridden to Loudonville.  On previous rides I'd taken a west then south route but yesterday I decided to try a south then west route. 

Just into Holmes Co., looks like the perfect candidate for a haunted house.

I road out of Wayne County on South Elyria road and continued into Holmes County until the road dead ended.  Turning right, I ventured westward on some new roads.  You never know which roads are paved or gravel or dirt in Holmes County.  I brought a small pencil with me to make notes on my map about which roads were good.

A crowd assembled when I stopped for a "nature break" along the road.

The weather was perfect and I found some really scenic township roads.  With recon data of the route and crossroads wirtten on my map, I have a good idea for a winter cross bike route on some unpaved roads.  As I closed in on Wally Road, south of Loudonville, I made a wrong turn on some twisty township roads and ended up flying down a dirt/gravel road before realizing I would have to back track.  When I turned around and looked at where I had come from, I had to take a picture.  It looked like a farm access road.

Twice traveled.

A sunny, fall day.

After pedaling solo on lonely backroads for two hours I rolled into the campground where the mountain bike race finished.  I tried to hold a track stand at the entrance to the campground while two racers passed in front of me.  There was still a racer coming from my left but my track stand was at its limit.  I pedaled onto the campground road and looked back to see... Ryan!  He was riding on a flat rear tire as he crossed the finish line.

The Soupcan guys had fnished and the OCC guys were continuing to come in as I wandered about the finish area.  Katie and Daniel had arrived and we were all taking in the spectacle.  Daniel liked all the bikes but seemed a bit overwhelmed by all the activity.

As the racers continued to finish I made it around the finish area to hear the race stories from the OCC and Soupcan guys.  Flat tires, exploded pedals, podium finishes, and more.  I guess a good time was had by all, or at least most.

Light up the Night

Last night was my second Amish Night Ride with some fellow OCC riders.  Thanks to my new Cygolite Mitycross 350 light system, I have been able to join the small group of guys who defy early sunsets and continue to ride on Wednesday nights.

About 9 of us left the shop at 6:30 and headed south.  We rode nearly the same route as last week: down to Fredericksburg and back, about 35 miles.  Sunset was shortly after 7pm, prompting blinky tail lights and high output head lights to be turned on prior to reaching Fredericksburg.  The temperature was mid 50's when we started and dropped into the upper 40's once the sun went down.

Ryan pedaling toward sunset.

Riding as a group at night is a visual spectacle.  Beams of light move around the road up ahead, while varied blinking sequences of bike tail lights flash out the back.  All this makes for a unique display as a member of the rolling light show.  I'm sure it's equally unique for a car to come upon a pack of us riding the back roads at night.

Riding west towards Fredericksburg.

There's a sense of isolation as you pedal down a dark road.  Instead of being surrounded by the expanding countryside, your attention is constrained to the 40' of lighted road up ahead.  Even with a group of other riders there is solidarity in the night.  The darkness obscures the identity of the person riding at your side.  A turn of the head to check if it's okay to change position results in a good view of the bike light behind, but the rider behind that light remains cloaked in darkness.


Back at the shop we recovered from the high pace of the final miles and the sprint for the last road sign.  Bikes were returned to their car racks, trunks, and truck beds.  We gathered under the security lighting of the bike shop and made plans for next week's night ride.  "Let's ride 'till the snow stops us!"

The post-ride assembly.

Bike Lighting
Following is a link to an article I wrote for the Orrville Cycling & Fitness web site.  The article presents two Cygolite bike lighting systems, complete with on-the-road images of the lights at night.
http://www.orrvillebikeshop.com/articles/lights/let_there_be_light.htm

New Camera Working Well

Last week KT suprised me with a new digital camera for my birthday.  It's a Canon Digital Elph SD1200IS and is very compact, the perfect size to fit in a cycling jersey's pocket.

This morning I decided to commute to work and try for a sunrise picture.  It occurred to me that a slight alteration to my usual route would provide an elevated view to the east.  I rode across Valley Rd. to Batdorf Rd. and stopped at the top of the hill, overlooking the Prairie Lane area to the east.  After trying a couple settings on the new camera I captured the following fiery sunrise picture.

Satisfied with the sunrise pictures, I was about to get back on the back when I then turned around and saw a nearly full moon still high in the sky.

The 40 degree morning air was making my fingers cold, so the gloves went back on and I continued my ride to work.  I'm impressed with this little camera!  More pictures to come.

- AAron

DoG Tour - 85 miles of enjoyment

Today was the Day of Generosity Cycling Tour, an event to support the Grace Brethren International Missions and national missionaries.  Brian, Ryan and myself were along for the 80 mile route, which was actually 85 miles.

Under questionable skies we rode west to Ashland.  It was about 52 degrees when we left and the forecast didn't predict the temperature to make it out of the 50's.  We made a stop in Ashland, near Brian's place of work, for a coffee warmup and then headed north to Spencer.

Coffee break in Ashland.

The bikes took a rest during the coffee break too.

From Homerville north to Spencer we caught an excellent tailwind.  We shared some good pulls as we sped north with ease on SR301.  Brian made the prediction, "I think we are going to pay for that on the way home."

Tail wind plus a good road equals high speed.

Upon our arrival in Spencer we stopped at a convenience store for food and bottle refills.  Pop Tarts, Fig Newtons, and peanut butter cracker sandwiches were the popular choices.  Ryan  polished off a zip lock bag of Cheez-Its he packed for the ride.  I've got to say, I have been entertained over the years by the food he brings on a ride!  :-)

Food stop in Spencer.

Brian's prediction was very, very true.  We were eating a headwind for about 25 miles from Spencer south to Overton.  The sun had sporadically shone itself throughout the ride, mostly between Ashland and Spencer.  But on this final stretch we pedaled beneath heavily overcast skies.

My legs were toast after a couple pulls.  I felt like I couldn't recover from the efforts, no thanks to the persistent wind.  Fortunately Ryan and Brian were still strongly turning the pedals over and we pushed onward to Overton.

From Overton it was south to Smithville-Western and a eastward climb out of the valley.  We approached the climb and I dropped my chain shifting to the small ring.  I couldn't shift it back on and had to stop and dismount to the return the chain to its useful position.  Great, a perfect way to start a climb.

Thankfully my legs had recovered during our eased pace, and the blocked wind, on Overton Rd.  I felt better and had a good climb up Smithville Western.  After a long wait to cross SR83, we returned to the church where we had started.

Representing the OCC.

It was a pretty good ride: we stayed dry and warm, the route was enjoyed with some new roads for me, and we helped support international missions.  I'm glad the three of us were able to meet up and ride!