58 and the wind was my friend

It was 58 degrees when I promptly left work to get home and jump on my cross bike.  Not too bad for the final January day of 2012.  For the first time in several rides I paid attention to the wind direction and ended up doing it right; I ate the gusts on the way out  but enjoyed a tail wind on the way back.

 I tried racing my shadow on the way out.

We won.

 Setting sun, headlight at the ready.

 A favorite gravel road of mine, only

ridden once the cross tires come out.

Sunset over the Funk bottoms.

Photo Intervals?

Headed out for a ride on snow free but wet and dirty roads, perfect for those cross tires I installed yesterday.  It was 42 degrees when I left the house under sunny skies.  I rode out to one of my favorite areas, west of Shreve.

Sunny skies on the way out.

The deer also like one of my favorite areas.

I rode for almost two hours and enjoyed every minute.  Well, I was getting some headwind towards the end and my legs were getting buttery but it was all part of the fun.  I made a handful of stops for pictures.  Maybe it's a new kind of interval technique, ride hard until the next photo stop?

There's a tree on the roof, let's move out.

The sun was getting sparse on the way back.

Tire Change

I guess it's that time of year, time to change from road tires to cross tires on the cross bike.  I've had good luck the last couple years running cross tires in the winter.  They have been tolerant of of the cinders and salt on the road, with no flats yet.  It's definitely later than normal to make the switch, but the roads have not been cinder strewn until now.

My winter riding recipe: cross bike, fenders, & cross tires.

 

 Meanwhile Daniel was asking,

"Do you have winter tires for my bike?"

2012 Karate Monkey Build

In September last year two thoughts came together.  First, I read a MTB Action article about singlspeed mountain biking and began to think it might be fun to have a second mountain bike.  Second, I realized the corporate health and wellness reward from my employer would be credited to me in the coming weeks.  About this time I began shopping for bike parts.

Three months later my Surly Karate Monkey is complete!

I've only had it out on one shakedown ride so far.  My first observation was the quick handling of the bike.  This is likely due to the 2.5" shorter wheelbase compared to my Paragon.  The Monkey turns on a dime.

It's going to be interesting to see how the single speed and rigid front end work for me on the trail.  The 2.4" Maxxis Ardent up front will hopefully add enough squish to keep me from cracking.  I look forward to spending some time on this bike!

Snow Tires Activate

When we bought the Mazda3 back in June I also bought a set of snow tires mounted on steelies.  As fall passed by and the calendar said winter was here, I was not sure when to put the snow tires on.  I decided to wait until the first real snow so I could see how the car handled with the regular tires and then how it would handle with the snow tires.

 Salty car, snow tires stacked and ready to go.

Our first real snow was Friday.  The car did okay but I definitely had to be cautious while accelerating not to break the tires free, same with braking.  So today, Daniel helped me put on the snow tires.

Daniel really did help, spinning the

lug nuts off after I broke them free. 

Daniel was very interested in this job.  He helped move the four way and jack from wheel to wheel, helped me roll the tires around, and kept calling the lug nuts "walnuts".  Oh well, I knew what he meant.

Job done.  I kind of like the looks

of the blacked out wheels.

Riding Indoors

I have yet to hop on the indoor trainer.  The day is probably coming but I've avoided it so far.  Today we went for a hike at Wooster Memorial Park with the Falks.

Rylen got in an indoor ride.

Friday Night Riding

It's been too long since getting out on a ride.  Today I promptly left work and headed home to get out on the road.  It was strangely warm for December, in the mid 40's during the day, but I dressed for lower temperatures knowing I'd ride past sunset.

Still sunny on my first pass through the swamps.

The roads were dry but crunchy with all the salt left behind thanks to weather forecasts including the threat of ice and snow.  No accumulated snow yet this year and it has not been consistently cold.  I'm sure the mountain bike trails could benefit from some sub-freezing temperatures to prevent getting muddy.

I typically reject the urge to take pictures of road kill,

but I couldn't pass this one up.  A big snapping

turtle along the road in the swamps.

As the sun sank in the sky I fired up the head light and enjoyed watching the sunset from aboard a bike.  It was dark when I rolled up the driveway, satisfied from having been out on the back roads.

Sunset on my second pass through the swamps.

New Steel Steed

Let's call this a teaser... a new machine is in the works... all parts are here... more to come...

Daniel's Toolbox Project

Daniel went down the shop to work on a toolbox with Grampy.  Good thing he received a new "construction set" complete with suspenders for Christmas.

Ready to work.

 Daniel drove about two dozen nails, never hitting

his fingers or Grampy's.  He also painted his toolbox.

The completed project!  A better tool box for

his new tools than the plastic bag

previously in use.

Merry Christmas 2012!

Merry Christmas from the North Pole!

Christmas Wheel Truing

Here's a project in the works, a wheel truing stand for Chris.  I found and purchased Roger Musson's wheelbuilding ebook (http://www.wheelpro.co.uk/) a while back for the build it yourself wheel truing stand plans as well as wheel building info.  It's a worthwhile book and the plans for the stand are good, but I had to add my own tweaks to the stand.

The lateral truing gage is shown in this picture.

I added a solid wood edge band to the base plate, curly maple on this one, and used a single knob in a slot for width adjustment.  A pin on the underside of each upright engages the slot to keep the uprights in alignment as they are slid side to side.  I also routed a pocket for the "jaws" to better attach and locate them.

The radial truing gage is shown in this picture.

Hopefully Chris gets some use out of this stand.  I will building a couple more in the near future.

Santa Claus is coming...

Went out for a short, around the block ride.  39 when I left the house but the sun was going down and so was the temperature as I rode.  First ride of the year on crusty, salt covered roads so the cross bike came out to play.

 Santa is coming on a cross bike?

Or a reindeer powered sleigh?

I've been working on a couple small Christmas projects.  No pictures to be posted until after they are given away.  Not as much time anymore to make gifts, but I found time to make a couple items.

Sun going down.

First Frozen Mohican Ride this Year

Went down to Mohican for a little ride.  It was 37 in the car as I was driving, out in the woods the temperature varied depending on which side of the hills you were on.  There was still a dusting of snow on the north side of the hills.

 One of two stops today for a self-timer picture.

It was wetter than I thought it would be.  My back tire filled with mud quickly and left me with reduced traction.  I'm really think a different back tire could make the upcoming winter rides more fun.

A dirty bike and dirty car.

I did the short loop twice, seeing several guys on each lap.  The parking lot had more cars in it than I expected.  It was a nice, sunny day that brought out the mountain bikers.

 

Second picture stop.

After a stop at mom and dad's for dinner and some work in the shop I pulled up the driveway.  I thought it was kind of neat seeing a bike on the rack behind the car lit up by the brake light.  After a picture, I unloaded my muddy bike to be washed tomorrow.

Grainy but I like it.

Slight Miscalculation

Finally made it out for a ride.  It was 53 and sunny when I left the house, not bad for December.  I didn't pay too much attention to the wind direction and just started riding.  SR539 is a seldom traveled state route with nice pavement and, as I road north, I kept thinking my effort and speed were not matching up.  Yeah, a tail wind was pushing me along.

 Someone planned ahead with silage for the winter.

After riding west and then turning back south my effort and speed were not matching up again.  This time the wind was hurting and not helping.  Somewhere about this time the sun started to get low in the sky and was obscured by clouds.  It felt like the temperature dropped ten degrees.

My intention of 1.5 to 2 hour ride turned into 2.5 hours and I was pretty chilled when I made it home.  Still, as always, it was good to be out.

Pinhole

I found the leaky spots in my two flat tubes from Saturday's ride at the Knob.  A pinhole in the same place on both tubes.  Hmmm... something pokey must be hiding in the tire, though I cannot find it even with the tire turned inside out.  Maybe it came out in the process of dismounting the tire.

Tube triage central.

Tonight Ryan and I went out for a night ride but it did not go as expected.  We rode through some standing water on Messner Road and were startled in the dark by Ryan's front tire exploding.  It sounded like a .22 pistol bark, and yes, the tire exploded, not just the tube.  The wire bead was protruding from the rubber.

 Of course neither of us had anything to use as a tire boot and it seemed like a call home was in order.  Searching the side of the road in the dark I found a McDonalds bag.  Inside I found the remnants of someone's breakfast including a packet of picante salsa.  Tear corner, squirt out salsa, and boot tire with the foil, plastic packet.  Perfect.  It worked surprisingly well and we didn't even take the shortest route home.  Thanks to someone for littering?

Knob by night and day

Tuesday this past week Noah and I went for a night hike at the Knob.  There were no bikes involved but it was a fun adventure in the dark.  Well, it was not as dark as it could have been due to the nearly full moon.  At times we turned our light off because the moonlight was sufficient to see.

Noah had a new Fenix flashlight that put out some very usable light.  I had my Cygolite bike light strapped to my helmet, which I've never done before, and a smaller Fenix flashlight.  It took us 2 hours to hike the trail from start to the top of the Furnace.  It made me realize a night ride on a mountain bike, with the right light, would not be as deathly as I had thought.  I'd want to know the trail for sure, but a bright night and bright head mounted light made riding look fun.



All that hiking in the dark made me want to ride, a not-so-suprising result of walking a mountain bike trail I suppose.  This afternoon I went to the knob again, this time with bike.  Yet another Saturday of perfect weather.  It was 54 degrees when I was driving, very nice for mid November.

I had a very enjoyable ride, taking my time, scanning the scenery, and breathing the fresh air.  Towards the end of the first lap I thought the bike was handling funny.  Is that wind pushing me around?  (It was gusty, especially outside the protection of the woods.)  No, that would be a front tire with about 0.75 psi in it.  I stopped to change out the tube.  I really did not spend much time trying to identify what kind of flat it was.

 I really do not do this often enough to

think about tubeless, but I'm thinking

about tubeless.

Back to the car after the first lap I pumped so more air into the front tire.  A single 12g CO2 cartridge lets you inflate and ride but it leaves you babying it until you can get more air.  Hmmm... ride more?  I'd like to, but no spare tube to carry.  Note to self: I should keep a couple spare tubes in the car.

I started a second lap hoping to not experience a second flat or I'd be walking or using a patch kit trailside.  The day was getting late and I still wanted to do yard work at home, so I figured I'd bail out at an access road crossing.  Well, I was having too much fun so I kept riding.

 The Cradle.

About 25 pedal strokes before emerging from the wood onto the furnace I once again wondered why the bike was handling funny.  Wow, the front tire is really noisy on the trail.  Yeah, it was flat again.  At the last tire change I had swept the inside of the tire looking for debris but never found it. 

So, I finished my ride the same way Noah and I finished our night hike, with a walk up the Furnace and back to the car.

Wilmot Ride in Perfect Light

32 degrees, frosted grass, and full-on sunshine... Ryan and I rolled out of Apple Creek headed towards Wilmot.  Sometimes it just feels good to be bundled up, breathing cold air, and pedaling through the country side.  That was the case this morning.

 We saw some cool looking clouds on the ride.

We rode a gravel road around the back side of the Wilderness Center.  Then we road past the building at the Wilderness Center and into Wilmot.  The sun had been in our face our on our left so far.  Coming out of Wilmot it would be at our back or right side the rest of the way.

 Gravel riding into the sun.

The Wilderness Center.

The air was crisp and the colors of fall were on display beneath a vivid, blue sky.  The low light of the morning was perfect for pictures.

 Ryan had the camera out too.

Coming out of Wilmot, and heading west, we were on a state route with a big buggy lane.  I looked ahead and saw a couple Amish riders.  I had to get a picture of Ryan latching on to the Amish peloton.  While I nearly bit it riding through a pot hole one handed, I got the picture.

We only wheel sucked a little bit

after catching on.

We huffed and puffed on a couple short hills while heading north on Apple Creek Road and soon were back to Ryan's house.  It was a great morning on the bike.

Self portrait.

Daylight Leak

Made it out to the knob after work for a ride.  I had hoped to be riding by 4:30, knowing sunset was at 6:22 tonight.  It was after 5:00 by the time I unloaded my bike and was ready to roll.  Oh well, maybe just one lap.  Plus, I was not sure how I'd be feeling with the incessant cough still hanging on.

This was the sun status as I drove the dirt road

to the Knob about 5pm.  It was gettin' down.

It was warm, I think the car display said 63 when I pulled in.  Shorts and short sleeves were just right.  The course was in good shape too.  They added some pallets in the typical puddles of Mazeville and they seem to be making a difference.

After finishing the first lap the sun was getting low, but I figured a partial second lap was in order.  At the first opportunity to short cut back I kept riding.  At the second opportunity, top of the Furnace, I could see my car and knew the sun was nearly done for the day.  Too much fun, I kept riding.

It was 6:35 when I made it back to the car after lap number two.  The sun had set but there was plenty of light remaining.  Good times.

Riding with Monkey Boy

After a leisurely start to the morning I asked Daniel if he wanted to go for a bike ride at the high school.  “Yes!  Let’s go for bike ride at high school.”

“Or… would you rather get out the bike trailer and go for a ride on the trail?”

“Let’s get the trailer and go for a ride on the trail!”

The decision was made.  We loaded up the trailer, my bike, and our gear into “daddy’s brand new car”, as Daniel calls it.  It was a sunny drive to Fredericksburg, although a bit cold with the car’s thermometer only showing 46 degrees.  We pulled into the parking lot at the trailhead and were the only car there.

 Heading south.  This was the first time we had to close

the plastic front cover due to temperature.

Daniel rode his Strider bike around in the parking lot while I put together the trailer and loaded us up.  It was chilly as we began our ride to the south.  We did the usual, rode to the depot in Millersburg and stopped at the playset.  Daniel bought his usual Vitamin water from the vending machine, and we ate some lunch at the playset.

 Heading north.  Chasing down a couple Amish buggies.

It warmed up a little bit as the ride back was not so chilly.  Back at the car we broke down the trailer and loaded everything in to the car before spending some time at the elementary school playground.  Daniel put on a good exhibition on the little monkey bar set, making it four bars out on his own, and then we headed home.

 Daniel had fun on the monkey bars at the Depot too.

Racing Red in the Fall

Made it out for a short ride "around the block".  The distance didn't matter, I was just glad to be riding after being stuck with an incessant cough for the past week.  I made a point to bring the camera, as I figured there may be a nice fall scene to capture.  Shortly into the ride I found such a scene and, with the setting sun at my back, stopped for a picture.  I wondered if my Rudy glasses with their Racing Red lenses were inflating the colors of the scene, so I snapped a pic through the glasses.  It kinda came out cool.

 

It was a tight squeeze to fit the camera

between my face and the sunglasses... right.  :-)