Badger's ride Blog

2007-04-14T18:26:00.000-07:00

Sea Otter-

I drove down to the Sea Otter Classic yesterday. I dropped my $10 and then lost the next 5 or so hours to la la land. I wandered around sampling samples, trying demos, and asking "What have you got that I won't kill?" I'm hard on parts. I bought myself some socks. This pair, is my favorite. I also picked up some "bike bling" in the form of anodized valve caps. I managed to make some more decisions on components for my up near future new mountain bike. I also managed to watch the practice for the dual slalom race. I saw the dirt jump and trials demo's, and the short course cross country race. I left tired, but happy I had gone.

Tierra Bella

So I had signed up for the Tierra Bella 100 km ride for Saturday (today). I wasn't sure if two of the people (Mark & Margaret) I knew were going to show up because of the impending rain, and the third (Michele) was not feeling well on Friday and wasn't sure if she was going to feel well enough. When I got a hold of her in the morning she felt up to it. The weather radar showed some rain off shore, but it looked way out, and light so I decided it was worth it. As a precaution, I made sure to wear the wool socks I had bought at Sea Otter . This would prove to be wise. Going over the mountains to Gavilan, where the Tierra Bella started, it rained a fair amount. When we got there it had stopped. We registered, met up up with Mark & Margaret, and were ready to go, but they were not. So M&M suggested we ride ahead, and they would catch up. This was likely as Mark races road bikes, and Margaret is in insanely good shape. It was overcast, the pavement was wet, it was cold, but it felt good to get going. M&M caught up with us at the first rest stop (at 11 miles). But, as were were ready to go, they were just getting there. "We'll catch up." they said. They did about 5 miles later, and blew by us. I could see a moment on Margaret's face where she debated whether to keep going with her husband, or slow down with us. She kept going calling back they would wait for us at the next rest station. I could tell Michele was not at 100%. We were averaging about 12.5 MPH. On out training rides, we had averaged about 15 on similar terrain. We make it to the next stop(22 miles), and the sky is looking very threatening. No sign of M&M. We head out and Michele asks me if I would be disappointed if we only do the "25 mile route." (There was no 25 mile, but lot's of people had been talking about a 25 mile route at the rest stop, so we both were confused). I said not so much. I was cold. She said she wasn't sure yet if she was up to 100k or not. I could tell she wasn't feeling great. Then, the rain started. On Santa Teresa Rd. it began to rain hard. whenever someone passed me water sprayed off their tires. I could taste the road. At Michelle looks over at me and asks, "Is it going to break your heart if I say I don't think I can do 100k?" I pretend for a moment that it will, but then admit I'm very, very cold. Only my feet, in their nice wool socks, still felt anything close to warm, and they were cold. We decide to ratchet up the speed, thinking it's only a few more miles. We were at about 26 miles at that point. We kept up a good pace, around 20 MPH for a while on the flat. At one point were were going down a mild hill at about 30. The rain stung when it struck my face. I had, for reasons unknown to even me, grabbed my fingerless gloves. I could barely feel the brake levers under my fingers. We Around mole 32 we slowed down some. the terrain got more rolling, and we were both suffering from the cold. When we got to Gavilan it was raining hard again. All I can say, is that it felt good when the heater kicked in on the truck. Total distance, 37.78. I feel confident I could have done all 62 miles if it had not been raining.

2007-03-24T23:52:00.001-07:00

I rode 50 miles this morning. That's right. 50.

-Ryan

Boooo!..... Yay!!!!!!!

2007-03-18T16:37:00.000-07:00

Mountain Bikes in The Mist:

Sunday I took a break from my road ride training schedule and got out onto the dirt of Santa Cruz. I decided I would park along Highway 9 and ride up through Pogonip, across the campus and down into Wilder Ranch to do the Eucalyptus loop and back out. Well, that was the plan at any rate. The parking area was packed with cars and bikes. I was lucky to find a spot. There were, without exaggeration, maybe 25 people either just getting back from a ride, or prepping to start one. Oh, and it was foggy and cold. Not a problem, I had arm warmers. Pogonip can be a rough ride. With no warm up you launch directly into the ride up to the campus. Despite not getting enough sleep and feeling a little like I was getting a headache, I was in high spirits. Once I got on the trail my mood improved. It was colder ans, significantly, wetter than I had anticipated. After a mile of mist an sweat I was soaked to the bone, but I was still feeling great. I was climbing much faster than I ever had on that trail, despite not feeling 100% physically. I was moving through a particularly steep rocky section when I hear a PANK! sound from the back of my bike and felt a stutter through the chain. It was suspiciously similar to when I broke a frame in the fall. I stopped, looked at everything, and it all looked OK. OK, maybe it was the tire snapping off a rock I think. I get to the campus, and on a gentle down hill I finally stop spinning my feet to rest when it happens. I'm standing on my pedals because the trail is a little rough and the cranks suddenly begin to turn forcibly almost bucking my off the bike. What? The? Fuck? I manage to panic stop and hop off. I try to spin the cranks by hand backwards. No go, the chain goes slack and the dereailuer moves forward uncomfortably. Hell. I get a stick and a large rock and pound on the casset for a bit to try to loosen it up. No go. I ride back down the hill to my car constantly reminding myself that I MUST pedal or I will crash. Twice I forget. Both times I manage to recover. The hub is a total gonner. I could not even get it apart to see what happened. If I had to guess I'd say one of the ratchet bits bent or sheard off and lodged in the shell seizing it up.

I bought a new wheel this morning. The bike mechanic listened to what had happened with wide eyed horror.

Cool Trails Go up Hill:

After that fiasco I wanted nothing to do with the geared bike today. On a whim I hauled the single speed out to Wilder. I was just going to ride up the coast and back, but when I got to the western boundary I headed inland. I ended up on a trail that I had, somehow, never ridden before. As I could not shift there was about 1/2 mile that I had to push the bike up hill, but other than that I rode the whole time. About 12 miles on one gear. What a total blast. It was one of the best rides I've had in months. I really like the single speed. Don't get me wrong, I'm not going to snap and get rid of the geared bikes. I'll ride those more often, but sometimes there is something beautiful about riding with no gear or suspension. You don't so much ride the trail, and much as the trail rides you. Today was very nearly a perfect ride.

Rock Star

2007-01-08T19:14:00.000-08:00

I took the Monocog out to Wilder Ranch this weekend. It was weird I felt like a rock star. The trails were fairly empty. Nearly everyone I passed (or was passed by) called out, "Cool Bike." Twice while I was stopped a group of riders would roll up on me, say hello, notice the bike and star asking question. It was funny. On my other bike I rarely get more than hello. The ride it's self was brutal. 14 miles, no shifting or suspension. Up hill sucked. The flats and the down hill were fun. It was a great day to ride, and not to muddy.

Monocog 29er

2006-11-15T20:20:00.000-08:00

(Or how I learned to stop shifting and love one gear)

So... About a month ago I snapped the frame on the Trek. Wasn't doing anything crazy, just going down some fire road. I hit a water ditch, and at the bottom of it there was a "snap" and the frame got all squishy feeling. Hardtails should not be squishy. The frame snapped on a weld where the bottom bracket shell and the seat tub meet. On a whim (and a vague memory of a lifetime warrantee on the frame) I took it by the shop. The shop said they'd try to warrantee it for me. It worked. The break was determined to be a manufacturing flaw. So I am waiting for a new frame to be shipped out to me. So this last weekend I was shopping around the local shops for someone to swap the parts from the broken frame to the new one (I don't really trust the mechanics at the place I bought the bike. They are all young, and... well... a little stoney). At one of the shops that has a good reputation I noticed their selection of 29" wheel mountain bikes. Most mountain bikes are 26" wheeled. In the past few years more manufactures have been making the larger wheel bikes. They supposedly ride better, turn better, etc. What caught my eye about them is they are supposed to be better for taller riders by moving the center of gravity lower in relation to the rotational mass, thus providing a feeling close to what shorter (normal) people feel on a 26" bike. I noted a cheaper one and talked to the mechanics about it. I got one of the sales people to let me take it on a test spin. About 3/4 of a mile later I rode back into the shop with a huge grin. I REALLY liked the feel of the 29" wheels. Being off road bikeless the temptation was even strong. There was one downside. It was not a "geared" bike. It was a single speed. It had a rigid fork, no suspension But the frame fit me so well, I bought it. It was cheaper than my geared bike, weighing in at $450. I got home and some buyers remorse set in. So I geared up and rode the single track up behind the high school. The climb was a little brutal. I had to stand to pump my way to the top. The washboard sections were a little harsh on the hands without suspension. But it rolled soooo nice. The trail felt very different. In one rooty section that always gives me trouble, I just flowed through it. Beautiful. By the end of the ride I understood the lunatics who climb up to sand point on one gear. There is a simplicity and beauty to dumping all those gears and just riding liek you did when you were a kid. I got home with a huge grin, tired legs, and no trace of the buyers remorse. The bike is twice the workout in the same distance. I an not going to be ditching geared bikes soon. The Monocog will be great for my local trails and for shorter rides, but the ability to downshift and make it easier is a wonderful thing. It has convinced me though, that my next geared bike will be a 29er.

You've got to want it.

2006-09-08T10:45:00.000-07:00

I've been riding, but I just have not been writing about it. *SHRUG* these things happen. Here are the highlights. Mid June I was cranking up a hill in Wilder Ranch. I had adjusted my derailleur and replaced the chain because I had had shifting problems. PANK! The chain snapped. I had to ride about a mile back to the car. Fortunately it was all down hill. I replaced that chain and STILL had shifting problems. I determined the cassette had been warped. Presumably from the amount of torque someone my size puts through the drive train. I replaced that. First ride on the new cassette, the chain bounced off a cog on the derailleur and wrapped around it. When I pedaled I pulled the derailleur up over the cassette. Total goner. I replaced the Shimano drive train with a SRAM X.9 drive train and have been nothing but happy with it. I've been doing more rides. Rides, that last year left me gasping, have gotten easier. Sections of trail that used to give me trouble I fly through without thought now. Sections that I used to walk I usually make it through. Occasionally I get in over my head, but usually it just means tipping over. No biggie. I was riding up a hill in town last night and something occurred to me. A little over two years ago I tried to rid up the hill on my old mountain bike. I got, MAYBE 1/5th of the way up it before getting off and pushing. The act of walking up the hill was hard and I had to stop and rest a few times. Last night I just spun up to the top. I could feel the burn, but I knew that my legs had a long way left in them. My lungs were barely straining. I pondered how much better shape I am in now. I've lost over 40 pounds since I started. I know I've gained a lot of muscle mass. I've a lot more energy than I used to. It's taken a lot of work. Pedaling up ANOTHER hill, one I would have never even tried before, I could feel my legs burn and lungs working hard. I wonder what sort of brain damage kept me going, because frankly, the sensation sucks. When I got to the top I was very proud of my progress. I turned and started back down, thoughts still playing in my head. I've seen Lance Armstrong quoted as saying that to be a good cyclist you've got to like pain a little bit. Maybe that's true, but the conclusion I came to is that you've got to want it. Really want it. If I didn't I'd still get a stitch in my side and be winded after a mile of flat land. I used to stop twice in my 5 mile loop, and not it's a warm up to a "real" ride. Funny how things can change.

And for no reason, all the bikes I can remember having in my life. I wonder if there are pictures of these out there.

-The Red Bike - My memories are vague, but I suspect Cindy might have had it before me. It was, in my mind, my first bike.
-The Black BMX - I think Dad bought it for me at a flea market. I don't think I had it very long. In my mind it's flat black, with white.
-The Evil Kenevel Bike - It was white with a coaster brake. I loved that bike. It had a banana seat, fenders, and molding to look like a motorcycle. I learned to rid two wheels on it, and rode it into the ground.
-The Mongoose Moosegoose - This is THE bike of my childhood. I remember crashing it on my first ride around the corner because I had never used hand brakes. Chrome frame and black mag rims. I rode that bike a lot, and crashed more times than I can remember. I am drawn tot he idea of single speed, ridged mountain bikes with the though of recreating the feeling of rides on that bike.
-The blue Schwinn Varsity - Bought it from and add in the news paper. It served me well through Junior High. I would ride to school with my hands in my pockets to keep them warm. No hands the entire way unless I had to stop.
-The Red Schwinn Continental - This bike was older than I was. It had belonged to Dad before me. I believe it was bought new when my folks move to Hollister, before either my sister and I were born.
-The Green Schwinn Frontier - MY first mountain bike, though it rarely saw trails. I used it in San Luis Obispo, primarily for exercise (Though not enough) and later when I was delivering furniture to save money on gas. It was a good bike. Cleaning it up one day started my current obsession with cycling. I was trying to ride it on trail, it just wasn't really meant for that.
- The Trek 6700 - My first real (and current) mountain bike.
-The Centurion - Bought for 5 buck, cleaned up and traded for a frame and fork.
-The Trek 520 - My road/commute bike. It is a fantastic bike, and fun to ride to work.
-The Roach - Just a frame right now. I intend to build it up to run to the store, etc.

-Badger

It was supposed to be so easy

2006-06-11T19:18:00.000-07:00

I rode today.

A good ride, I met up with a friend an a co-worker up at Wilder Ranch. Immediately I start having mechanical problems. On any cog in the rear cassette other than the lowest two the chain would skip like mad and made it impossible to use them. No problem, I'll just go slow. The first few hills are brutal. We head up the north leg of Engleman's loop. We turn on Wild Boar trail which I rather like. It's a short swoopy fast single track. We followed it up to Old Cabin Trail. Old Cabin is a lot better than I remember it being. Of course last time I rode it was over a year ago, and unbeknownst to me I had been coming down with the flu. We tore down and up the rooty single track to Eucalyptus loop. We turned left onto the south leg and off we went. Excellent. I love the single track on that trail. Fast and smooth with some techy bits. Crossing the last creek my friends stopped unexpectedly in front of me causing me to slam on the brakes. I teased her for a moment, and then heard a voice behind me say, "Do you have a cell phone, my ride partner crashed, I think he fractured his hip." The speaker was older, and of course, I pulled out my cell. No signal. He said his friend seemed to be OK, but there was no way he could ride. I was a little concerned the injured fellow could be going into shock, so we all raced up the trail to the paved section where Wilder Ridge meets it. We had signal, so he called 911 with my coworkers phone. Apparently the fellow who crashed was 61 years old. The man who borrowed the phone had to get to the entrance to Wilder (The tunnel). We offered to go back and check on his friends. "By the time you get there the ambulance will be there. H's got a good sweater, water, and a survival blanket. He'll be OK." So we continued out ride. We rode Wilder Ridge to Zane Gray. Zane Gray is steep, narrow, rocky, rutted, and has a steep drop off on the right for the first half. Of course, I loved it. While we were descending I caught sight of a Range truck, a Fire engine, and an Ambulance going up one of the fire trails. We dropped onto what I thought was Dairy Mill trail, but the sign said Wilder Ridge loop. It was single track so we didn't care. We rode it until we got to Wilder Ridge trail and then back out. All in all, with rest stops, repeat attempts at parts of the trail, and the incident with the other rider it took us 4 hours. At the parking lot the guy who used one of out phones was

Wet

2006-05-19T16:21:00.000-07:00

Riding in to work yesterday morning I saw about 7 people riding up Glen Canyon. I never see anyone riding up or down at that time of the morning. When I got into Santa Cruz there were many more bikes than usual. And not the usual crowd. No these were not the local immigrants, homeless, and students. There were people from all walks of life riding. Riding past a local bakery I noticed a sign which read "Information Station." The place was swarmed by bicyclist. I'm not even sure it is usually open at that hour. That's when it dawned on me. It must be a bike to work day. The ride home was dome on the middle chain ring again.

Today I replaced the pads on the disk brakes on my mountain bike. It wasn't that difficult. I had completely worn through both the front and rear sets of pads. I was only able to stop last weekend because there was a little of the pad left on the front. In the back it was all shiny metal. I am a little concerned I may have scored the rotors. After all, last weekend the front got hot enough to melt the pad retention springs...

2006-05-16T18:55:00.000-07:00

Rode into work again today. I managed to make it all the way home on the middle chain ring up front. I'm proud of this.

2006-05-04T20:43:00.000-07:00

I rode into work today, and then home. Lots of climbing. I'm tired tonight.

2006-04-19T18:15:00.000-07:00

The sun has finaly come out. I did about a 6 mile ride today. It's a good start.

Sunny day

2006-04-06T10:56:00.000-07:00

I'm not at work today, and it's sunny out... RIDE! I spent about an hour and a half rebuilding the rear hub on my mountain bike. I cleaned and repacked all the bearings, and it's all good now. So I rode it today. The trails are all still way to muddy. I suspect even the fire road at Niscene Marks is a mess, so I just rode on pavement. I need to get used to the bike again. Divits and rocks that worry me on the road bike I don't even feel on the mountain bike. After about a mile I was hopping up and down curbs as much as I could. I stopped and ate at Auntie Mame's and then back home. Not far today, maybe 5 miles, but it felt great to roll.

2006-03-23T17:45:00.000-08:00

Rode 5 miles today, even though I was feeling tired, and like I might be getting sick. Funny, I feel better now.

Also, I found an add on my union website from someone selling an old Schwinn continental 10 speed. 27" fram, which is identical to the one I had, and regret getting rid of. They want $50. I figure it's worth that for something to run to the store and back on.

Super Neglect Man!!!!

2006-03-18T13:36:00.000-08:00

OK, I'm back. I went on my first "Real" ride in months. I rode Bean Creek Rd. in the "Easy" direction. It's about 8 miles. Not real bad. Last year I used it as a "recovery" ride a few times. Today it was easier than I thought it would be. I've not done any decent riding in a while, but I have been doing a lot of hiking, so I had not lost as much as I thought I would. The first, short, hill a few blocks from my house had me wheezing. I was thinking, "Do I really want to do this?" but I decided to abuse myself today as a start. After 2 miles the first "real" hill started and I had to down shift, but I managed to motor all the way to the top. A range rover passed me. I fell in behind it on the down hill, up shifting into my highest gears. Suddenly I felt a change in the air flow. I was drafting off of him. It was much easier to keep up the pace. The driver turned off of Glen Wood on to Bean Creek and I was right on him. I followed him down quite a ways until her turned off into a drive way. I kept seeing him make glances at the mirror at the grinning lunatic behind him on a bicycle. The ride out of Bean Creek was a grind, but far easier than I had thought it might be. I was warmed up by then and ready to roll. If the weather holds perhaps I'll ride into work this week.

I intend to start a somewhat rigorous (for me) training regime this week. Healthy food and lots of riding. I want to get in shape to do some epic 40-50 mile dirt rides out at Henry Coe by the end of summer.

Rattlesnake Roundup!

2005-09-18T18:25:00.000-07:00

I went up to Wilder today. As I rode up wilder ridge trail a pair of women passed me. When I got to the top they were off to one side of the trail, "Want to see a rattle snake one asked?" Sure enough. Not one, but several. Babies. In what looked like a gopher hole in the trail. We stood, watching the snakes and chatting for a bit, and then I continued on. I went up and came down the Eucalyptus loop. Tot he top it was about 4 miles and about 850' of elevation gain. It was hot to. Coming down I road some single track that I had not ridden since the beginning of summer. I remember walking most of it last time, not from steepness, but from technical difficulty. This time I rode 99% of it (Two root FILLED short climbs, less than 20 feet each, I needed to get off and push up). I'm tired tonight. I should sleep quite well.

Neglect Part 2

2005-09-11T08:25:00.000-07:00

I've been riding a lot.

To work at least once a week on my road bike (10 miles each way)
Wilder Ranch
Up to Sand Point once more
To the Loma Prieta Trail head
De Laveaga park (Lots of nifty single track. Good place to practice)
And yesterday my local loop

The ride on my loop was interesting. I had not ridden it in a long time. The initial climb, which used to leave me winded, gasping, and stopped at the top, wasn't bad. Several sections that used to freak me out because of roots and rocks, I didn't even notice. Sections I used to walk through I picked and danced the bike through. It was a nice feeling. I explored parts of the trail network that I had never seen before and generally had a good time. Today I intend to get out on the pavement with a friend and see what a longer road ride feels like.

Neglect

2005-08-16T18:33:00.000-07:00

I keep meaning to post about my rides, I just.... don't. Today I did my 8 mile loop. A ride that used to leave me lying on the floor gasping for air. Today... No big deal. That's a nice change.

Pedal

2005-07-22T09:21:00.000-07:00

During the ride last weekend, my left pedal developed a side to side play. I didn't notice it on the ride (Well, I noticed that it felt weird and that there was a clicking coming from somewhere but I thought the cleat on my shoe had come loose again). When I looked at it closely the following day I noticed the damage. When I took the end cap off mangled ball bearings and metal shavings fell into my hand. Not good. So, feeling a little flustered, I gave up on fixing them and decided to call the company because I remembered they had a two year warranty. I didn't get around to calling them until today. Mostly because I'm at work during the companies hours, and for some reason it never occurred to me to use the cell phone on my lunch break or something. At any rate, I called them up today. The service rep apologized profusely for the pedal's failure. He said that occasionally the cartridge bearing fail, but they aren't supposed to do that. He said they wanted to make it right and gave me the option of sending the pedal to them and they would rebuild it for free, or sending me a rebuild kit and doing it myself. Of course I said send the kit. So, no questions asked, they are express mailing the kit out to me. Should be here Monday. That's what I call good customer service. Any company willing to stand behind their product like that is worth spending my money with. So if you need pedals, I can recommend Crank Bros. without any reservations.

Sand Point

2005-07-17T11:21:00.000-07:00

I rode Niscene Marks yesterday. I rode from the parking lot to Sand Point. The odometer on my bike said it was 18 miles. My trail guide says 1600 feet of elevation gain. My initial intend had been to ride to the Loma Prieta trail head. A ride that, at one time, seemed long and tough. When I got to the trail head, I was barely breather harder than normal, and I didn't feel it in my legs at all. So I stopped, munched a power bar, and started an attempt on the incline. When I got up as high as I had been with my parents I rested for a few minutes, then I got on and started spinning up again. On an exposed stretch a rider came struggling up behind me, "How far to the top?" he asked. "I'm not sure, I've only done it twice before, and that was in winter *GASP* things looked different." I replied. he passed and as he rounded the bend ahead of me I heard him cry out "YES!" I rounded the bend and saw the sign. "Top of the Incline" This is as far as I had gone before. I had mistakenly believed this to be Sand Point. So I stopped, rested for ten or so minutes and started cranking up further. The climb was much less sever, but after the Incline my legs were a little tired. After a while (and several miles) three riders were coming down. They had passed me at the Loma Prieta trail head. "Come on, come on, come, your almost there man! keep it up!" they said as they passed me on their way down. Then... I crashed. At about 2 MPH, I hit a root... rock.. something... I don't know what. I tipped over, and then I was lying on my back, still holding the handle bars, feet still clipped in, and the bike vertical above me. I let it fall to the side and unclipped laughing. No scrapes, cuts or bruises. To be honest I have no recollection of the fall it's self. One second I was riding, the next on my back. I righted myself, and pushed on a short distance thinking "If I don't get there soon, I turn back, I'm to tired." But there it was. The top. I sat down and rested. Then the decent. I was tired, so I took it easy. I knew I wasn't sharp enough to bomb down like I normally would. The ride back to the truck was tougher than the ride up even though it was all down hill. When I got to the truck I collapsed into the bed and lay there for a while until I felt strong enough to stand. Then I loaded my bike and sat on the tail gate for a while watching people start their rides, and others get back. A group of 4 college age guys came riding up to the SUV next to me on their long travel full suspension bike, wearing knee pads, chest protectors, elbow guards. As they disassembled their bikes and loaded them they started chatting with me. I asked them if they had shuttled up to the top for the down hill, they had. One asked me where I had ridden. When I told him up to Sand Point and back one of the other guys said, "Dude, we suck!" which amused me greatly. It was a great ride, but despite the short run I did last night to keep my limbs from tightening up, they are still a little sore today. I'm rather proud that I climbed a hill, stopping only once to rest, that I had previously believed impossible to ride up. A good day.

"Easy Ride"

2005-07-10T17:01:00.000-07:00

So this morning I was tired. I thought to myself, "I want to do an easy ride. Something different." So I remembered that bikes are allowed on portions of Henry Cowel and decided to check that out (especially since it is part of my impending long ride to the ocean). The ranger at the entrance was bordering on hostile when I asked if bike were still allowed. He shoved a "Trail Use Guide" at me and then told me to "ride carefully." Obviously I am the psychotic mountain biker out to maim and Pillage! MUHUHAHAHAHA! The trail is paved for the first few miles. I run into few hikers (Who were friendly with the exception of one older couple who picked up their little rat dog, scowled and shot daggers with their eyes as soon as they saw me). What I learned riding the paved section, is that steep is steep no matter what your riding on. I thought my lungs would explode. I turned onto the unpaved fire road for.... More climbing! In sand! yeah! I struggle up up...up... and up. Near the top there was a forest service truck with a couple guys doing road/trail maintenance. They seemed impressed I had ridden up that far. I got to me destination. The overlook. From there I could see all the way to Monterey. I sat for a while, enjoying that I was there by myself, and resting, for I was sure my legs would take a beating on the way down. Some German tourist showed up and were amazed I had ridden up. They had a lot of questions about my bike and if there were other place I rode in the area. I told them about Wilder Rand and Niscene Marks. And then I was on my way for some sweet, rocky, down hill... or not. I came down a different way than I cam up. The trail map the ranger had given me indicated it was open to bikes, and the trail book I have described it as "A moderate decent with a few patches of sand and rock drops no more than 8". Things must have changed... It was like trying to ride on the beach. I gave up and assumed that the sand would end and the down hill fire road would be a thrill. When I got out of the sand, the drops started.... 1'-3' drops. There are people, I am sure, would have eaten it up, but at my skill, on a hardtail, 1' is about as high of a drop as I will do. So I walked down through that. Finally the trail developed into what I had been lead to expect... for about 30 yards until it met up with the paving again. So I rode out. The decent on the pavement was as steep as I had remembered, but I stayed on the brakes a lot more than usual because of the number of pedestrians and blind turns. Toward the bottom of the hill I had to grind to a halt for a family our for a Sunday hike. When I started moving again I hear CHING*CHING*CHING*CHING every time the wheel goes around I hear it. I remember a problem I had with my shoe earlier (The cleat that clips to the pedal came loose, no problem, fixed with ease) and thought to my self I should have turned around then. At first I thought some of the sand had gotten into something, but everything felt OK. Then I hit the front brake and the noise stopped. So I stopped spun the wheel by hand, and... nothing. I get back on, and it starts going again. And the noise is back. I give up and think maybe the heat had warped the brake rotor. Visions of having to pay someone to fix it dance in my head. I get to the parking area thinking, on the up side I had not startled a single pedestrian because of the noise. So I spend time carefully eyeing the rotor trying to tell if it is warped. It looks straight to me. I re align the caliper. Still making noise. I look real close at the rotor... and see something... I get real close to it and see.. a tiny fleck of molten metal, no bigger than the tip of a ball point pen... maybe half that stuck to the rotor. I take my leatherman and use the knife to scrape it off. It pops off easily leaving only a shiny metal spot where it was. I try again. No noise... Yay! I load up the bike and head out. I am so going to get an 8" rotor to replace that 6" when I buy a new fork, it won't heat up as fast and will dissipate the heat better. All in all my easy ride turned into a bear.

Hey... that hurt

2005-07-04T16:15:00.000-07:00

So Sunday a friend of mine DID NOT flake on me when I called her up to see if she wanted to ride. We went up to Wilder and rode up Wilder Ridge trail, down Baldwin Loop, and then back on the bluffs. Though she had ridden road bikes quite a bit before, she had only ridden on dirt a few times, and most of them of gentle trails (Like the bluffs). I took it easy at first because I was afraid of putting her off the sport, but she kept up no problem. The climb was well groomed. It had been recently graded. When we got to Baldwin loop the trail had not been groomed, so it was much rougher and rockier. I was riding in front and came to a steep rocky section about 30-40 feet long. Not that technical, but the potential for problems existed. I rode my brakes for a second, picked my line, and dove down. The climb on the other side was a little rocky as well, so I could only afford one glace to see how she was doing. I caught a glimpse of her just starting the drop maybe a minute after I had done it (She had been a bike length or two behind me when I did it). I cranked to the top of the hill and stopped to wait. She rode up next to me with a big grin ear to ear. "When I saw that drop I had to stop for a moment and think, but I like this trail more than the other one. Much more fun." I laughed. Indeed. So we bombed down the rest of it, Me in the lead by perhaps 100 feet, her trailing. When I got to the bottom she was right there. The ride on the bluffs was relaxing and wonderful until.... I crashed. The trail dropped down by the rail road track. She was leading and shot down to them and then rode along them in the rocks. I carried a little more speed than her and turned a little later. The rocks under my front wheel rolled and my front wheel began to wash out. In an attempt to keep my handle bars from crossing up and sending me over them I went a little into the loose rock on either side of the track. The wheel straightened, but wallowed. My left peddle smacked the rocks and bounced my foot out of the clips. When my foot came down again it came down on the rocks, and buckled. My knee impacted in the loose rocks cutting it a little, and my foot knocked the front derailleur out of alignment. I peddled up to my friend where she had stopped at a fork in the trail. She looks at me and asks, "Are you OK? What happened?" I explained, and we both laughed a little. I had to ride the rest of the way back with the chain on the big ring up front. It's fixed now, but it was a bit of a pain. Things are fine today except for a few bruises. It's not a good ride unless you end with a little blood and mud on your legs. :)

Material Issue

2005-06-14T18:40:00.000-07:00

It's been a while. My mountain bike was down waiting for a new part. Then, I bought a road bike, but just managed to get it out to ride this weekend. It's been good so far. About the same time it showed up, my parts did, so both bikes are working smoothly. It feels good to be on two wheels again.

Say Anything

2005-05-20T17:28:00.000-07:00

I was sick for two weeks. It started the night after that last post. I didn't ride for two weeks. Since last weekend I've ridden 3 times, about 20 miles total. I don't think I lost to much this time. I need to train for my "Birthday(ish) Ride" I am planning. From here to the ocean. about 17 miles. About 3000 feet of decent, about 1500 feet of climbing. About 3 miles of pavement, about 5 miles of single track. In the world of cycling it's not that far, but for me it will be a mile stone. When I started this 2.5 miles was a long, long, way.

Oof.

2005-05-01T16:41:00.000-07:00

So it started as a simple ride. Planned total distance, about 6 miles. Somewhere along the way I crested a hill only to see yet another, bigger hill to climb. Being tired I turned back, remembering a nice chunk of single track I've ridden before. When I got to it I remembered another chunk of single track I had never ridden and rode to that. I took off down it, and it was a blast. It flowed into another trail that wound through the redwoods. Zipping down over root, rock, and gully I was reminded of "Return of The Jedi" during the "Speeder Bike" sequence. Zipping along the trail I was sorely tempted to make engine noises and watch for Ewoks. Coming up out of that trail was a whole other matter. All the roots and rock made it a fair bit of work. There were portions I had to get off and walk, not due to fatigue, but because the trail was so difficult. That trail connected to one I rode before going down to check out the Sea Otter Classic. Riding it from this direction it was MUCH easier. Finally I hit the Wilder Ridge trail and was able to bomb down back to my truck. When I got to the truck, the trip odometer read 12 miles. Half of that fairly technical single track. It was a hard day of riding.

2005-04-30T11:56:00.000-07:00

Again.. .Slacking. 5 miles tuesday. Wether didn't cooperate until friday but was to busy. Today I rod my local 4 mile single track. I haven't ridden it since fall. The uphills seemed less harsh, and the downhills a little easier. There is a little 12 inch drop that used to freak me out. I was watching out for it today. I rolled over it and realized only AFTER that that had been it. It seemed small to me now. It's nice to be able to see improvement in your own skills.

2005-04-24T14:00:00.000-07:00

I slacked on writing this week... Tuesday 5 miles, thursday 4 miles. Today, 7.

Ooof... Ouch.... Ooof

2005-04-17T14:27:00.000-07:00

I rode out at wilder today. On the wide stuff I did great. On the narrow, deep rutted single track, Ooof. I tipped over four times. Fortunately into grass, which was nice and soft... I ran into a group of 6 riders in their lat 40's. They all commented on my road rashed leg from the fall a couple days ago. One of them held out his leg. Pretty much the same thing. We laughed a little and chatted for a few minutes, and then continued on our respective way. It was a good ride. 6 miles all said and done.

King Of Fools

2005-04-16T10:46:00.000-07:00

So yesterday my parents came up from Hollister to go for a ride with me. I was a little worried that riding on dirt might throw them a litter. They've ridden on bike paths and roads some fairly impressive distances, but on dirt, the rules change. They handled themselves well. We road up the fire road at Nisine Marks. From the parking lot near the Britannia Arms up to the Loma Prieta trail head, and then made an attempt on the Incline up to Sand Point. We got about a mile and a half up when I think my dad realized that it wasn't going to level out and we turned back. In general we rode slower than I generally, but it was fun. The only accident of the day was, of course, mine. At low speed I strated to tip and panicked trying to unclip and of course could not get free of the pedal. I scraped up my knee a small amount. My Mom looked a little worried. I was laughing my ass off. It was really funny. Good day.

Poing!

2005-04-13T17:41:00.000-07:00

Went for my 5 yesterday. It was nice.

Set Me Free

2005-04-10T11:18:00.000-07:00

I rode my 8 mile paved loop today. I would have really liked to ridden on dirt, BUT I bought a set of "clipless" pedals and shoes yesterday, so I figured something nice and smooth would be a good idea, less likely I'd need to clip out suddenly and take a slow motion tumble to one side. The first mile or so, I was clipping in and out of the shoes quite often to get used to it. It took several minutes to get the hang of clipping in. While standing still, sitting on the seat, leaning against the wall of my stairs. Clipping out was MUCH easier than I expected. Basically move your foot to the side like you would to put it down, and the rotational movement pops the clip out. While riding the pedals have a "Floaty" feel that was initially unpleasant after riding some pretty sticky platform pedals for a while, but once I began to trust that my feet were locked in tightly, I got used to it, and didn't even notice after a while. I'm not sure if it was the clipless pedals letting me use my legs up stroke to put power on the ground or I'm in better shape, or some combination of the two, but that loop seemed much less difficult than it has in the past. When I got back on the flat land towards home I sprinted up to about 25 MPH. I'm rather proud of that. There have been many times riding that stretch where I was so tired it was all I could do to keep up right. But today... I was sprinting.

Ride On Shooting Star

2005-04-03T14:26:00.000-07:00

I rode out at Wilder today. I rode along the bluffs, and then turned inland, riding up the Baldwin loop trail (Which was a brutal muddy slog) and then down the Wilder Ridge trail (Dry and loose, on e hell of tha thrill coming down). It was a good day to ride.

Number 9... Number 9...

2005-03-26T11:23:00.000-08:00

Went for a ride out ar Nisene Marks today. I parked in town and road up to the Loma Priets trail head. One way trip, 4.5 miles. 9 miles total. Good ride. Nothing remarkable happened.

Sing Loud, Sing Proud

2005-03-13T09:01:00.000-08:00

I rode a 6.5 mile ride out at Wilder Ranch Yesterday. I climbed from about sea level to about 600 feet elevation over the course of two miles, with a majority of the climbing confined to short, very steep sections. I started down the other leg of the loop, saw how bad the trail was torn up from the rain, and turned around and rode back. I learned a few things.

1) Speed Kills, But Speed Saves

Climbing up a rather steep segment I heard a rider coming down call out a warning. I rolled to the edge of the trail to get out of his way. As he approached he hit a fairly rutted section. Rather suddenly he was flying over the handle bars. By the time I got to him he was already picking his bike up. "You OK I asked" "Yeah, I'm fine. New brakes." which in my mind explained his crash. Later, right before I turned back and rode out the way I came in, I passed a sign which said "Warning, heavy eroded trail ahead, please slow down" So I did, a little. I rode over a small erosion gullies and carved into a turn. Somewhere near the apex was an erosion gully perhaps 2 feet across. And of course it was right in my line for the turn. A way around? Not at my speed. Stop? Not at my speed. Remembering my crash from a few weeks ago, I took my fingers off the brake levers thinking that the brakes can quickly turn a low control situation into a no control situation. Right before the hole I pushed down on my handle bars and then pulled up, and jumped at the same time in an attempt to "Bunny Hop" over the hole. The front wheel made it over, and the back came down on the lip of the hole, but my legs were flexed and absorbed the hit. I then stopped and turned back, because I could see the trail was in similar condition tot heat home for the next one hundred feet or so, and then turned into a mud bog as far as I could see (and that was at leas a 1/4 mile). Had I slowed down I don't believe I would have been able to get the wheels over the hole and I would have gone down. At least the wet dirt was soft...

2) look at where you want to go, not where you don't.

During a short decent after the top of a rise on my climb up there was a point where a jeep (Presumably people doing trail maintenance) had driven through. Across the trail was a rut willed with black water. No way of knowing how deep it was I didn't want to ride through. In the center there was a "Bridge" of hard packed dirt about 4" wide. Which really, is not that much. I locked my eyes on it as I approached, and then looked on the far side as soon as I hit it. Once I got over, I could see my tire track running right down the middle. I began to experiment with this in the rougher sections. If I looked at where I wanted to go, I always made it through clean. If I looked at what I wanted to avoid I almost always hit it.

3) The unused trail

On the way back I decided to take a little short cut. IT would cut less than a quarter mile off my trip, but it looked like a sweet little stretch of single track. I noticed that there was not a single tire track in the dirt though as I started. I quickly learned why. The trail wound through the coastal scrub and was, at many points less than a foot wide. Being on a bike and riding facing forward you can imaging the problem with this. The brush was also very wet because the coastal fog had rolled in the night before. The experience would be much like standing in the shower, fully clothed, with the water spraying as cold as possible, while someone slapped you with a huge bushel of branches. I came out the other side, right where I thought I would, completely soaked, laughing like an idiot at the ridiculousness of it.

4) Assume all mud is deep

rolling at a casual pace down a gentle hill the right side of the trail was heavily eroded at one point. The left side had some standing water, maybe an inch deep, with "A little mud" at the bottom of the pool. Rather than drop down into the gully, which would have been impossible to escape from without dismounting I figured I'd hit the mud. I've got fenders right? I do have fenders, but the mud was DEEP. My front wheel sank to just below the brake rotor, and the rear wheel until the derailleur was kissing the mud. Of course I stopped almost instantly. I pulled the bike out with a slurping noise and decided next time I'd skirt the trail on the grass.

I love to ride.

3.5

2005-03-10T20:12:00.000-08:00

Rode 3.5 miles today. It's my short loop, but has lots of climbing. A good work out. Looks like the weather will hold this weekend, so I get to hit the trails again! :)

2005-03-08T17:58:00.000-08:00

Rode the 5 mile loop today. nothing outstanding to report.

River Euphrates

2005-03-06T20:55:00.000-08:00

I went up to Wilder today. Again my friend flaked out on me. She's got a good excuse thought. Anyway, I rode up another trail this time. One I'd never been on. It began as a STEEP climb. About half way up the was a short flat and I stopped. It was taking to much effort to go up. I spin the wheels to check them and the rear is tough to turn (No wonder the climb took so much out of me!). I realize the brake rotor is dragging on one of the brake pads. I used the multi-tool my folks bought me for x-mas to realign the caliper (Very simple) and begin to climb again. I clean a section that was heavily rutted from the rains this past week. After that it go REAL steep. I down shift and begin to mash my way up. It's at that point that the bike begins ghost shifting and jumping between two gears seemingly at random. The rear time begins to rub the frame to. I bail off and push the bike to the to afraid I had bent the axle. Nope. Apparently a stick had tripped the quick release, allowing the axel some wiggle room. Torque from cranking had wiggled the wheel and caused the wheel to rub. I straightened it out and finished the ride without problem.

2+2=5(The Lukewarm_

2005-03-03T19:26:00.000-08:00

I went for my 5 mile loop yesterday. I road the Trek. I broke a spoke on the rear wheel. I'm thinking they may be fatigues, and I should maybe take the wheel apart and replace them all. Anyway, As I was replacing the spoke another cyclist stopped to ask if I needed anything. I told him no, but thanks. It's always nice when people do things like that. I got back on and peddled like a mad man to get home. I tied my best time ever on the loop. I felt like I was going to puke because I pushed myself so hard. Spoke fixed tonight. Going to ride this weekend if the rain lets up.

Golden Comeback

2005-02-26T22:31:00.000-08:00

Went for a ride today out a Wilder Ranch. Rode out the Wilder Ridge Trail a ways and then into some single track I cannot remember the name of. IT was good. I was a little gun shy after my wipe out, but I had zero problems today. All told I did about six miles. The ride up was brutal. I am so out of shape, but I'm working on remedying that. I eventually stopped, because my right hip and right thigh were throbbing, presumably after effects of the crash. Coming back down was a riot. I was grinning ear to ear. I could feel the tires bite in on the corners the suspension absorbing hits, I could here the tires crunch the gravel on parts of the path. It was beautiful. The weather was still nice then to (It got all gray and nasty later). All in all a spectacular day of riding. Even if a friend of mine back out of going with. I'll drag her out eventually.

Freaking out Mom

2005-02-18T17:18:00.000-08:00

I spent about four hours truing up and tensioning the wheels on my Trek today. I feel better, but the weather sucked. I had to go to the bike shop twice. First time to pick up spokes (One of the little bastards snapped when I was tensioning it) and for tools to take the drive cassette off the hub so I could actually put the spokes on. I finished about 4:00 PM local time and decided I needed to take it on a shake down ride. So I head out on a short loop. The one I think of as "Old Road Loop" because there is a nice heavily eroded old road section about 50 yards long that I use to brush up on my technical skills. The whole thing is just a little over a miles. I planned to do two loops. SO I rode up the (brutal) hill. Along to the dirt and down. I'm feeling quite good. The bike if performing flawlessly, and I'm doing well, especially on the decent on the old road. At the bottom of it there is an asphalt curb about 3 inches high. As I got to it *BAM* the front of the bike grabs, I go over the handle bars. I hit HARD. No graceful roll, just slapped down like a dead fish. Pain shoots up from both hands and my right elbow. I feel the bike land on top of me and roll off. I begin to get up and I realize I can't breath. A moment of panic. I realize I've had the wind knocked out of me. I roll over onto my back and relax until I can breath again. I look first at the bike, everything looks OK. I look at my elbow, which was, by then, stinging furiously. Oh wow, lots of blood. I make sure it's not gushing, upright my bike, and ride home without doing a second loop. I clean up and clean my wounds (Not until after I took a picture of it which I'll post one I figure out how to do that). Fortunately work gave me a NICE first aid kit, so I had way more than I needed to properly clean it out. I noticed in the shower that I had a nasty bruise on my right thigh. Presumably from the sifter or the break lever as I went over. Over all I'm fine. This crash, at about 8-10 MPH did far more damage than when I crashed going 15-17 MPH, but the fundamental difference was what sort of surface I landed on, this time I landed on asphalt. OK. So why did it happen? Why did I crash? Well, pilot error. Right when I got to the curb I clamped on the break, because I wanted to make sure there was no traffic. The braking slowed the wheel and compressed the front shocks, so when I hit the curb, there was less momentum on the wheel, and the shocks had less room to compress to absorb the hit. These to factors caused the wheel to stop and the ensuing disaster. So what could I have done to avoid it? Well, not break until after the curb. In the past I've learned that speed can save with bumps like that. There was plenty of room on the pavement to stop or slow down to watch out for traffic, so next time, I let the break out, and pull up slightly on that front wheel to help it over.

huuuuurk!

2005-02-17T20:01:00.000-08:00

Been sick. Had the flu. 'nuff said. Now the weather sucks.

One Step Closer

2005-02-02T17:58:00.000-08:00

So I got home and remembered that I had a video i needed to return. So I hopped on the Centurion and rode down to the video place. Only a few blocks. I returned the video. Coming out of the parking lot I decided to ride the bank to take out some money. I decide that despite wearing my "Street" cloths I'll sprint the mile or so to the bank. I make it. As I wait in line and then make my withdraw I feel pretty much entirely recovered. So, I decide to sprint the slightly over a mile home. Big chain ring in front, smallest in the back and off I go. I made this sprint to. But coming up the hill one block to my apartment. Ug. Brutal. My cloths were soaked with sweat, but I'm doing laundry tonight, and it felt good to push myself. Tomorrow I do 5 miles again.

5X5

2005-02-01T19:41:00.000-08:00

I rode my 5 mile loop again. My front wheel was developing some play in it. Maybe I didn't properly tighten the cones when I repacked the bearings. I'll fix it tomarrow night.

5 more under the bridge

2005-01-30T09:57:00.000-08:00

So today’s ride actually went off without a hitch. I rode the 5 mile loop, it's shorter, still in civilization, and I don't quite trust the Centurion yet. That being said it was a good ride. For the first time since the break I took for a month or so before Christmas I'm not really tired. It just feels good to have gotten the exercise. On thing, it was FRIGGIN' COLD! I stopped momentarily to investigate the rear wheel and make sure things were doing what they were supposed to be doing. Leaving my feet in the clips I reached out and grabbed a sign post. It immediately struck me as cold. When I let go and started moving my fingers sort of stuck, looking around at the yards in the neighborhood I was in they all had frost. It was good to get out.

Roll Cat

2005-01-29T19:12:00.000-08:00

So the weather was beautiful today. So it was a ride day. I lounged around the house for a while and drank coffee, and then geared up. I put some air in the new tires of Centurion and off I went. I had decided that the 8 mile loop was a necessity. It had been to long since I had ridden it, and I know on the skinny tires of the Centurion I could get some real speed on the back side when the road drops into the canyon that is on the other side of the ridge line behind my place. Pedal hard wondering if I'm going to be able to make a clean ride of the hill (The first hill is about 1.5 miles of a pretty good grade). I start the hill. I'm about two miles into my ride when the back of the bike suddenly feels squirrelly. Like I've bent the rim really badly (I know what that feels like because I've done it on my mountain bike). So I stop on the side of the road and assess the bike. I notice that the tire bead has pulled away from the rim and the inner tube is bulging out. Before I can unscrew the cap and let pressure out KA-BOOM the inner tube fails. No problem I think. In my tool bag I have a patch kit, tire levers, and a couple of co2 cartridges and a nozzle to fill the tire. I flip the bike and prepare to get to work when it dawns on me. The wheel is bolted on. I have no wrench. I begin to walk the bike back home. After about 100 yards or so the tire has pulled it's self so far off the rim it is tangling in the brakes every revolution of the wheel. I pick it up and carry it. In two miles carrying my (about) 30 lbs. bike my right arm got very tired, and the cable guide for the read brake cable managed to cut my shoulder. I got home and pulled things apart. The tube was a total goner. It was missing a patch of rubber the size of a dime. Even if I had had the wrench I would not have been able to patch it. I get one of the spare tubes and put it all back together. I decide that since my hands were already greasy I might as well re pack the bearings in the front hub. This turned out to be much simpler than I had anticipated. About 45 minutes later everything was back together and I decided to ride the 5 mile loop. I flip the bike up right and... the back tire is flat. Hrmmm... I think, I could have sworn I put 70 psi in there, oh well. Pump it up, put the pump away, and then comeback and feel the tire. It's defiantly softer than it was 2 minutes ago. Crap. I must have pinched the tub when I used a tire lever to get the last bit of the tire back on. Off the wheel comes. Off the tire comes. (And let me tell you, the narrower rims are much harder to do this than on my mountain bike. On the Trek I almost don't even need the levers) I fill the sink with water and search for the hole. Sure enough I can tell I pinched the tube. I patch it, put it back on the wheel, this time avoiding using the levers until the very last bit and pump it up. After all that it was 5:00 and I no longer wanted to ride. I'll go tomorrow morning.

The Wild Rover

2005-01-24T15:52:00.000-08:00

I hauled the mountain bike out to Wilder Ranch today. Many many trails there I've yet to explore. I rode out on the bluffs trail, then cut back and under the freeway up onto the hills. After about 5 miles (3 on the bluffs, 2 hill climbing) I was beat. I lay the bike down on the end of the trail and lay in the grass for about 15 minutes to rest. The ride back down rocked. It was a sweeping downhill, not very technical, so I let out the brakes and bombed down. The posted speed limit for the trails is 15 MPH, I think I exceeded that :) It was great to ride on the dirt again. It had been to long.

SLACKER!!!!

2005-01-21T23:53:00.000-08:00

OK I've been slacking for a few days. I had to replace those tires. But of course there was a catch. I pulled the tire off and immediately noticed two things. First, the existing inner tube had bonded with the existing tire (Fortunately I had anticipated as much and bought new tubes as well) . Second, the rubber rim tape (The strip that goes between the rim and the tube so the heads of the spoke nipples don't cut the tube) had bonded to the tube and shredded when I tried to separate the two. Not a huge issue, easy to fix, but I needed to get the wheels to a bike shop and get them taped. MY intent for today was to do that, and then ride, but I had an eye exam this morning, and they put drops in to dilate my pupils. Which of course made me incredible sensitive to light. Joy. So in my apartment, with the blinds all pulled, I worked like a gnome and got the tires on and everything ready. I'll ride tomorrow I think.

Hmm... That's not good.

2005-01-18T17:58:00.000-08:00

Well I went for my typical 5 mile after work ride on the Centurion today. About 3 miles in I start hearing "Tick.. Tick.. Tick.. Tick" coming from down by the peddles. The bottom bracket going? I think to myself, sparing as much time to look down as I could. Didn't feel like it. At about 4 miles the noise has evolved into "Viiiip.. Viiiip.. Viiiip.. Viiiip.." What the hell is that? It sounds like when I bent the rear rim on my mountain bike, but there is no increased peddle resistance, not to mention the complete lack of knobbies on the tire. By 4.5 miles "Viiip-Tick.. Viiip-Tick.. Viiip-Tick.. Viiip-Tick.." with the Viiip coming from low and the tick coming from up front. I finally get home and look really close at the bike. The tires, which might be close in age to myself, are coming apart. The threads in the side wall had ripped and were hitting the frame, and thus producing that noise. Tomorrow I need to go past the bike shop on the way home and pick up a new set of tires as well as a few cone wrenches so I can get into those bearings.

1 Bicycle, 2 bicycle, Red Bycycle, Blue Bycicle

2005-01-17T21:21:00.000-08:00

I rode to the store this afternoon. Not far. Round trip, 3/4 of a mile or so. I rode my "New-Old" bike. A 70' era "Centurion: LeMans." My folks found it for a steal at a thift shop. I'd been looking for a road bike on the cheap to ride during the week. The mountain bike (An 04 Trek 6700 Disc) is a fine bike, but it never felt right on the pavement. I had to peddle much harder to make it half as far. With the huge knobby tires it just didn't roll well on pavement. You could hear that tractor tire hum when I got going fast. The Centurion is a little small for me, but it will do for now. I need to take the hubs and bottom bracket apart and clean and grease the bearings. I suspect they haven’t been taken apart since they were manufactured. I can imagine the grease has glazed with age by now and I'll need some solvent to get everything shiny. If it is I'm just going to buy new bearing, they are to cheap to spent the effort cleaning and likely pitted any way. Looks like the weather is going to be good for a while. Maybe the trails will be dry enough to ride this weekend (Or at the very least dry enough that I can carry the bike over the boggy bits to prevent erosion with out walking the entire time). I should go for a ride after work tomorrow. I'll do the 5 mile loop I think. I just transferred the lights over to the Centurion, since it’ll be starting to get dark.

Huh? Wha...?

2005-01-17T16:56:00.000-08:00

So this is a blog to keep track of my cycling activity. Read and be thrilled.