Big Oak Bikes

Shovel Time, Then Saddle Time

2012-01-21T15:46:00.001-05:00

I spent quite a bit of time liberating the drive and sidewalk from the blanket of snow which fell last night.

This afternoon, I rode the blue Trek on the trainer for two hours. I'm gradually building up time on the trainer, mixing in some high-intensity sessions.

I'm hoping this will translate to better (I.e. a bit faster) outdoor riding this year. But the bottom line is: I need as much saddle time as I can get to make some of my longer rides possible.

My iPhone makes longer rides possible. I simply download a bunch of podcasts (mostly from NPR), and ride away. I can't deny, however, there are many times I want to stop.

Happy riding!

January Ride

2012-01-08T18:48:00.001-05:00

Today wasn't as warm as the last couple days, but the upper 30's with light wind and sun is a gift for early January. I got out my Trek 500, put on new Shimano 105 pedals and a new Ultegra rear dérailleur. I haven't ridden this bike since October, and felt great flying down the roads on it again.

I'm looking forward to many good rides this year. I'm hoping to complete a full Randonneurs series this year. I've not been doing many outside rides longer than 20 miles at a time ( except for today's 30), but I've been steady at using the bike trainer and running every other day. Indoor stretching and strength exercises hopefully will get my upper body in shape enough to handle the longer rides.

Anyway I hope it's warm where you folks are.

Happy riding!

A Great Warm Day

2012-01-07T07:04:00.002-05:00

The temp reached 50F today, with light winds and bright, sunny skies. It felt and even smelled like spring. I only wore my winter jacket over my office shirt and blue jeans.

I did wear long underwear, which was nice and toasty in the morning, but very warm for the ride home. But since my commute is only 3 miles, it wasn't bad at all, even though I did ride a few more miles just because it was so nice.

Tricross commuter and my Trek 710 on the trainer. I dearly love them both. I ordered a new rear derrailleur for the Trek 500. Will post soon my plans for that bike. I love that bike equally as well.

Still trying to figure out posting with the iPhone. Computer's in the shop, and may be some time before it can come home.

Happy riding!

Bill Oak Lambert's photostream

2012-01-02T09:44:00.002-05:00

Bill Oak Lambert's photostream on Flickr.

I'm trying something different for this post. Our lap top is on the fritz, so I set up a flickr account and am posting directly from flickr.

The photo is of the Polar Bear Plunge yesterday at Johnny Appleseed Park. The bike club held it's Chili Challenge bike ride, which I rode.

We set off from North side Park at 1:00pm, and immediately the four speed skaters and KMart Dave were off the front. Not wanting to get separated and lost, I and about 15 other sheep followed Dave and the skaters, only to find out when we caught them that no one knew where they were going.

By that time, we lost contact with the main group and the true leader, Fat Tire Phil. No worries, however, as we worked our way over to Johnny Appleseed Park, with 20 minutes to spare for the Polar Bear swim at 2:00pm.

One club member, Rob, rode his bike to the swim, then jumped into the water, and ran 3 miles back to the start. Very impressive, but that is understandable from him. He's a horse on the bike, and try as I might, I can't keep up with him.

Anyway, we had an enjoyable rest of the ride with the main group, occupying Fort Wayne's streets for another hour and a half.

As in past years, I've not made any resolutions, with the exception that I hope to ride more.

Happy New Year! I hope each of you has a great year filled with many miles.

Bill

Christmas Lights

2011-12-25T21:36:00.003-05:00

Last Sunday evening, the bike club and many of the bike commuting community in Ft Wayne area met downtown for the Christmas lights ride. It was a 16 mile ride that weaved through downtown, then out to Franke Park for the Festival of Lights drive. Unfortunately, my camera battery again died before we got out there. The cold seems to quickly drain what little life remains in it.

It was fun taking to the streets, being a part of a large, courteous mass of bikers.

This is the Santa that has adorned the side of the old Fort Wayne National Bank (now PNC) building since it was built in 1970. Before that, it was in storage for many years in a barn north of town.

Jump ahead to today, Christmas day. This is the much-anticipated trainer Santa brought me.

And this is the Big Oak Bikes Fitness Center. It's located right next door to the Big Oak Bike Shop.

I also got a new jersey. I tested it today in 43 degree weather. Very warm for this time of year, and sunny, too. The jersey worked great, with a long-sleeved undershirt and a light windvest on top.

I hope all of you had a great and peaceful Christmas Day.

What to do

2011-12-11T11:40:00.003-05:00

It's officially that time of year. The time when I find myself desperately searching for something to do. The short days seem to trigger a desire to do stuff besides watch tv. Not that I have anything against tv, and I watch it often, but when I sit in front of the tube lately I think about all that conditioning from a spring, summer, and fall of riding leaking away.

I don't have a bike trainer, but I did put in a request to Santa for an inexpensive one. I had a trainer in my triathlon days, 25 years ago, and I've almost forgotten the misery those things induce.

I brought in a box off the porch the other day from Bike Nashbar, but it had Alex's name on it. What on earth is she buying now?

For exercise, I've got disc golf on Saturdays, which is great. And I still bike commute occasionally to my new office but it takes maybe 15 minutes one-way, if I ride slowly. But during the evenings when it gets dark, I get rammy when we're done with supper and it's only 6:30, but feels like 10:30pm. This morning, I picked up this brochure at the hardware store, and it re-kindled my desire to make something.

The last time I carved, I ended up with this:

That was back in my duck-hunting days. I was going to carve a whole raft of ducks, but that's the only one I completed. It took a little longer to carve than I thought it would (by a factor of 10).

Anyway, we'll see what develops. It's all a mystery to me.

Happy riding!

Two Things I Got Today

2011-11-29T17:27:00.003-05:00

We're getting the first significant snow of the season tonight: 4" - 8" of heavy, wet snow. Maybe not so great, but it's making everything look pretty.

Ah, what better to do on a cold, snowy night than read about bikes in the latest BQ?

Stay warm and dry.

Happy riding!

The Big Oak Bike Shop

2011-11-13T19:48:00.006-05:00

This morning, I spent a little time in the workshop, gluing up a laundry cabinet door that came unglued. I picked up handlebar tape yesterday for the tricross, and screwed up some courage and decided to try wrapping it on.

I've had this tape on for some time, and it's come loose a few times. Each time I re-wrap from the brake hoods back toward the middle, a little tighter. Wrapping handlebar tape makes me nervous - trying to evenly space the tape so I have enough, but not space too far so there are gaps, keeping proper tension so it doesn't separate, and on, and on. I was a physical and emotional mess the last time I tried this.

But yesterday I was passing my LBS, and was magnetically drawn in. Without trying to look like a dithering idiot, I purchased some bar tape after the third different sales person came up to me to ask me if I needed help. I instinctively nabbed some bar tape, even though I hadn't planned to buy anything.

Fortunately, I grabbed the relatively cheap Bontrager tape. The Specialized Phat Wrap that I like, is up to $30! Some of you may be able to justify this expense because it lasts longer, provides superior cushioning, blah, blah, blah. But $30 is too much for me.

Earlier this summer, Jon told me the key to putting bar tape on is to keep it uniformly tight as it's being wrapped. Hugh instructed me on cutting and taping the end in one of his blog posts. As much as I seem to screw up perfectly good projects, one half of the bar doesn't look too bad, eh?

And the other half looks pretty good, too. It looks even better if you back up from the screen a couple yards, then squint.

Two cats in a corner. Nothing related to cycling, but how could I resist taking a photo of these brothers in fur?

Last weekend, Alex and I went up to Chain O' Lakes State Park for a long walk. Most of the leaves are completely gone from the trees, and, once again, I am frantically searching for a SARATS entry. This Euonymous was lovely, but it is a small shrub, so it's hardly a tree worthy of entering.

And this bug-eaten black oak leaf (one of my kin) caught my eye also.

A bitternut hickory bud. A dendrologist's treat, the only tree in these parts which has sulfur yellow buds.

I took many pictures of several different lakes on the walk, but this is the photo I liked the best. I forget which lake this is, maybe the largest of the Finster Lakes?

I haven't ridden to work for a while. But very soon, like 1 week from tomorrow, I'll have no excuse to not ride. I've been reassigned within my agency to the area office, which is 2.5 miles from our new home. I'll post more about that new commute as it unfolds. I took a trial run to my new office this afternoon. There are a couple of very busy intersections which have me concerned. But I'll figure out a strategy.

Happy riding!

New Phone

2011-10-30T18:53:00.001-04:00

I replaced my old, decrepit cell phone with a basic iPhone. I gotta admit, it's really cool. I posted this from my iPhone.

Rode with the club today, a zesty 45 miler. This was the last organized ride of the year. From now until April, just show-and-go rides.

I'm trying to figure out how to post a photo. I totally crammed the Element with bush trimmings and tree branches yesterday. Swept and vacuumed and the Element is looking good again.

Happy riding!

1st Club Ride in a While

2011-10-22T20:52:00.002-04:00

It's been a month or so since I rode my last club ride, what with the move and all. But today I rode with the club on a 45 miler. And it was sweet to be out applying rubber to the road again with other people.

All of the packing, then moving, then unpacking has been consuming most of my free time in the evenings and on the weekends, so that didn't leave too much time for biking. But that's all behind us now, so there's miles of biking ahead for Big Oak.

Our ride today left from Huntertown and headed up to Waterloo, and then back.

The riders were all faster than I was today, so this was a common view for me today. Kathy, just up ahead on the right, broke several ribs this summer in a bike crash. She's back to riding almost full speed again. I rode the last 10 miles or so with Bernie, just ahead on the left. His legs weren't feeling the best today, either, and we had many short, but steep hills, plus a pretty strong southwest wind.

After we got back to Huntertown, I gave Bernie a lift home. I picked up this used Honda Element, mainly so I could haul bikes around easily. And it also fits in our garage (my truck didn't). It also gets much better gas mileage.

Bernie's bike at his home. I thought you folks would like to look at it. It's a Rivendell, but I don't know the model. It might be a Saluki. It was made by Joe Stark, when he was still building frames for Rivendell. He's got Campy derailleurs, Campy rear hub, and a TA crank. A beaut to steel-frame junkies like me. Nobody else in the club rides a Rivendell. Bernie also has a beautiful early 90's Eddie Merckx, with chromed fork ends and chromed seat and chain stays.

I'm a little bummed the nights are getting dark so early now. Once the time changes in two weeks, there will be almost no light left when I get home from work. Got to think of a project for the winter.

Hope you folks are able to get out and ride.

Happy riding!

Changes

2011-10-17T20:30:00.004-04:00

OK, I like to think of myself as being reasonably savvy with computers and stuff. But lately I've become painfully aware of my true ignorance. We've moved a couple weeks ago, and I packed my camera cord which connects to the computer (its umbilicus) in an as yet undiscovered box. So I've been accumulating photos on the camera, with no way to download to the computer.

Or so I thought.

Then I saw my nephew stick an SD card in his computer, and instantly had an "Ah Hah!" moment. That's what that slot is on the side of my computer! Bill, oops, Big Oak, you idiot! I guess it's not for cheese.

Anyway, here are a few of the more memorable photos I've taken which documents my simple, simple life.

I took this load of bikes to ArtWerks, a bike shop here in town which sells only used bikes. I told Art to make me an offer, and I immediately accepted. I have no room for these bikes, and I hated to let them go, but I know Art will find a good, loving home for them. I sold the truck, too, although not to Art. And I got a fair sum for it, although I had to haggle for a bit.

Here's the new bike shop. In addition to these two, Alex's bike is in front of the car and out of view here, and I've got 3 bikes crammed in our 7' X 8' garden shed, along with a lawnmower, garden tiller, a stack of huge flower pots, and a bunch of garden and yard tools. I feel sorry for the poor sucker who next opens that shed door.

It's been over twenty years since I froze off my herd of cacti, so Alex decided it was time I get another batch. We found this beauty at our local Meijer store. I'm not sure what kind it is yet, but I'll look it up one of these days.

This is called a Coral Cactus, although I don't believe it is a cactus at all, but maybe a Euphorbia of some type? I'll have to look this up also.
Here's of photo of the beast a few weeks ago on the new sun porch. He had a large tumor removed from his leg, and he needed the cone to keep from licking and tugging at the stitches.

Business end of the beast. He had the cone on for 9 days, and he actually liked it. I believe he was able to smell much better with the cone, and he could certainly hear better, but only if he was aimed in the direction of the sound. I'm thinking about taking the cone down the road to the high school, to see if the coach would buy it to listen in on what plays the opposing teams are calling.

This past weekend, we went up to Alex's sister's house, where we rode some of the bike trails north of Chicago. This heron was just off the trail, posing just for me.

Alex, on her perch.

A slough along the Des Plaines River.

I've learned something the past month or so. Never pack up and move without taking a bunch of time off work. Better yet - hire somebody to do the packing and moving. Even better - don't move.

I am very happy to be settled into our new house, and to be back on the bike, although I've got some evening meetings which will cut into biking for the rest of this week.

Happy riding!

Bill

Yehuda Moon Strip Has Ended

2011-09-27T20:44:00.003-04:00

Yehuda Moon, a bicycling-inspired comic strip created by Rick Smith, has ended. I've read the strip, off and on for a couple years, but became a subscriber this spring, after I rode a 200K brevet with Rick.

Rick worked in the insurance industry, but left his job to stay at home with his two young children, while his wife returned to work. While he was at home, he started the strip. He's had some success with the strip over the past few years, but when I rode with him this spring, he was concerned, but hopeful, that he was close enough to earning enough with the strip and website that he could help support his family.

I can't find on Rick's website why he has decided to end the strip, perhaps he has decided to return to work (work other than the strip). I'll miss Yehuda's exploits, and Rick's dedication to helping make bicycling a safer transportation mode for all.

Good Luck Rick, and Thanks for all the Laughs.

Happy riding to you, Yehuda.

Shaved Marbles

2011-09-20T05:59:00.003-04:00

Well, we've completed our move. Man, moving and trying to work are pretty tough, especially when Alex and I tried to maintain our regular work schedules. Pack in the evenings, work in the day. On move day, a week ago last Friday, we ended up throwing stuff in boxes at 5 in the morning. Fortunately, we have understanding friends and family who helped us move stuff we've both accumulated through 50 years of life. Now, we have most of the boxes unpacked and the stuff put away. Come home from work, unpack boxes.

Our two cats and mixed-up hound dog made the move well and the four-legged family actually likes the new house very much. We did shave Marbles, our old long-haired cat, because he isn't able to clean himself as well as he used to. He prances around like a Capuchin monkey now. I had no idea he is as small as he is. Since the weather's cooled dramatically, he hangs close to us now to gather any excess body heat we give off.

My bike commute is now less than 15 miles each way, which means I can now get to work a half-hour sooner. I miss the old route though.

I'll be posting more bike-related stuff from now on. This move has been hanging over our heads for a long time, and I'm glad we finally have it complete.

Thanks, Ron, for checking on us. We are doing very well.

Happy riding!

Bill

Budding Friendship

2011-08-26T18:10:00.003-04:00

Last year Alex participated in a 4th-grade reading project at a local school, sponsored by Big Brothers Big Sisters. At the end of the school year, she became a full-time Big Sister to her friend, Saraya. Last night, we took Saraya down to the Rivergreenway for a ride. She used Georgia's old bike, which fit her perfectly. Saraya had a great time riding, and I had a great time watching Alex and Saraya interact.

It was a great night to get out, and it was fun introducing Saraya to the Rivergreenway.

Happy riding!

Bill

Great Morning to Ride

2011-08-20T16:00:00.003-04:00

We spent the day back at the alma mater yesterday, delivering our daughter, Georgia, for the start of her sophomore year. Across the street from her dorm, is where the marching band practices each day. I really don't know if that is the world's largest drum, but it's labelled that. It makes an appearance at each and every home game. And it's pretty loud.

But not as loud as the train horn on the Boilermaker Express. They've mounted a modern freight train horn on this thing, and when it goes off this close, it makes your ears ring. I had first-hand experience yesterday.

Here's Georgia, with her new roommate, Gabby.

Here's Hugh's hand, the one who whacked his face and hand in last week's crash. His eye is black and blue, and he broke a bone in his hand, but that didn't keep him off the bike for this morning's club ride. It didn't slow him down, either.

I haven't shown my ears much on this blog. Here's my left ear - it's my favorite.

We rode northwest of town, in lake country today. It was a spirited ride, with lots of hills and turns, so this is it for photos. I had to ride like crazy to hang on.

It was a great morning to be on the bike.

Happy riding!

Bill

Another Wreck

2011-08-13T16:06:00.002-04:00

This has been a season of accidents for the 3 Rivers Velo Sports club weekend touring rides. Steve P had an accident early in the season and broke his collar bone, a month ago Kathy B wrecked, broke her collar bone and 4 ribs, and today, Hugh wrecked and whacked his cheek bone on a curb in Butler, IN.

We had just stopped at about the 40 mile mark on the 60 miler today. After pulling out of the c-store, the group of 9 stretched out, single file on US 6 leaving Butler. There was enough traffic that we didn't hear folks at the back yelling at us - Patrick, Sean, and I made it 1/2 mile out of town not knowing what had happened. But as we turned south on CR 63, we noticed there was nobody behind us. Walt came riding up a few moments later, saying someone had a flat.

I immediately thought it might be Phil, and headed back to help. Phil had a flat earlier in the ride, and used his spare tube. He didn't have a patch kit, but I did. Since he had 650B tires, nobody else would have a spare tube to help him out. When I got back to town, Steve P and Hugh were working on his flat tire. Hugh had hit a large rock with his rear tire, threw him off balance, and he tumbled to the ground. I noticed his right cheek started to swell pretty quickly, and asked him about it. He thinks he hit it on the ground, but he couldn't really remember falling. Phil said he whacked his cheek on the curb. Walt headed back to the c-store and returned with a bag of ice, which Hugh used on his cheek. I wasn't sure he should continue, but he wanted to get back on the ground. His right had was hurting, but he could use his fingers and ride with it.

We kept an eye on him, and after 4 miles, or so, Steve, Patrick and Hugh took off at a 19mph pace, heading into the wind. They wanted to get Hugh back quicker. But that was too quick of a pace for me, so after 5 or 6 miles of this, Luis and I drifted back and rode back at a more reasonable pace. The group was all back at Leo High School, when Luis and I got back. I waved so long to everyone and rode on home.

We've had some bad accidents this year, and I hope we don't have anymore. I wasn't along on either ride when Steve and Kathy went down. Although Hugh didn't appear to be hurt as bad as they were, it was serious anyway. Just goes to show you how quickly an accident can happen.

Be careful out there!

Bill

Stress Release

2011-08-06T14:54:00.002-04:00

I haven't been on the bike too much lately due to an impending change in our housing situation. It seems the county is going to take our house to widen the road, which means we'll need to move. We've employed the assistance of a lawyer, and for the past several months we've been in negotiations. Well, negotiations are over, papers will be signed Monday, and all will be over, except for the crying.

Alex and I did get out last Tuesday night on the Rivergreenway for a nice, little ride. These warm summer nights have been very nice, although the daytime has been exceptionally hot. I can't imagine how you folks from Missouri to Texas have been handling the extreme heat you've seen. As hot as it's been here, we are nowhere near as hot as you folks.

This morning, I went on the club ride. Michael, of Ear to The Breeze, came up to ride with the club and me today. It felt good to get out and cruise the flatlands east and north of Fort Wayne. We left New Haven, headed up to Hicksville, OH, then over to Spencerville and back to New Haven. That's Micheal, below, on the left. Shortly after this photo was taken, Steve, on the right, broke a spoke in his front wheel. Greg got his wheel trued up enough for him to head back home. Steve's the Touring Director, and so he hated to head back, but Greg, a former bike mechanic, would have none of that. His radially-laced wheel, with aero spokes would not last for the rest of the ride (according to Greg).

Except when we were near the Maumee and St. Joe Rivers, these roads are straight and flat. That meant the group rode fast. And it was a welcome pain to be riding hard again after going a few weeks without pushing myself. Bike therapy. Great stress release.

After several months of house-searching, we found a home and made an offer on it. Yesterday the offer was accepted!

The new house is about 4 miles from here, on the other side of the St. Joe River. So I'll still have my same roads to ride, and the new road to work is a straight 14 mile shot.

Happy riding!

Bill

Vacation Tidbits

2011-07-25T20:53:00.006-04:00

It seems like at the beginning of each of every one of my vacations, I have grand plans to do all kinds of things during the week that I really want to do. This vacation, I wanted to do two or three posts, but with all of the stuff we did, I never found the time to get that done.

In addition, this trip was bittersweet, for Alex's parents, who were born and raised in the Adirondacks, and who retired to just east of here in Vermont, moved to Indianapolis, where Alex has two sisters. This may be the last time we visit here, at least for a while.

Anyway, I did get a little biking in during the week, and I took a few photos. I thought I had Blogger photo-uploading all figured out, but as I uploaded my photos, they are not in the order I had planned. But I think I've got them pretty well sorted out now, so if you've got some time to kill (i.e. nothing else better to do), we'll get started.

We stayed at a cabin on Glen Lake, about halfway between Glens Falls and Lake George, NY. We rented this cabin, instead of our usual rental on Friends Lake because it is easier to get into and out of for Alex's parents, and because it has air conditioning. Last year's 100F temps cooked us in that little sun-drenched cabin.

Here's the road heading out toward Highway 9, a bumper-to-bumper two lane road that more or less parallels the Hudson River.

Between Glens Falls and Lake George, is this sweet little trail which roughly follows an old rail corridor. In several places, the trail leaves the former rail bed to climb over a large hill, or to follow beneath overhead power lines. The trail is wide, recently paved with asphalt, and is very well marked with stop signs and hazards (like this anti-car device).
Blue Trek needed a rest along the trail, and he (she?) chose this spot. I must confess I'm becoming quite attached to this old Blue Trek. It is such a comfortable bike to ride and it never complains. I feel the need to give this bike a name, which is unusual. I've not named any of my other bikes, but this one is different.

The city of Glens Falls is at the south end of this trail. The trail follows roads around the Glens Falls Country Club, but jumps back on the old rail line south of the golf course. This building is near the old feeder canal trail in central Glens Falls. I thought it looked cool, and is a good advertizement for the product the plant produces.

The old feeder canal. This canal carried water to the main canal which connected Lake Champlain with the Hudson River. This early 1800's transportation system enabled the US to become the great country it is. And a lot of people literally worked their guts out building it.

Blue Trek likes this spot, too.

A history sign. I can't get enough of them.

Glens Falls is embracing this trail. Many people were out walking and biking on the trail when I rode it on July 17th. This business looks like my kind of place, but it was closed at 9:00am.

Around the side, along the trail, they've got a welcoming little park-like area for the ice cream stand. It was closed also.

The trail was clearly marked in Glens Falls at each road intersection.

Glens Falls reminds me of mid-sized midwestern towns with some nice, affluent areas, and some run down areas, and homeless folk wondering around downtown. Along the path, with folks from all walks of life, I found this to be a very pleasant place to be. And I'm sure that the other people using this trail found this a very pleasant place to be. Funny how a simple thing like a trail built just for walking or biking can lift the spirits of a community.

Dang, a couple photos out of order. This is the feeder canal trail again. It's packed limestone screenings which makes a very nice surface. I saw some bikers with 23's or 25's who had no problems on this trail. When these trails are wet, however, they get my bike dirty.

At a trail head near the start of the asphalt-paved trail. Info sign with map. And history sign. I love the history signs.

A better view of the trailhead.

At the other end of the trail is Lake George. Coming down a heavily-wooded path, the view opens suddenly to this. Spectacular!

A tour boat on Lake George. This is a big lake.

I rode around the east side of Lake George to find a vista to get more water photos, but the road was heavily wooded, and I didn't find any good spots. But I did climb up Lockhart Mountain (my first mountain on a bike) and found this sign. I thought about riding down this road to the golf course, but thought it might be restricted. My father-in-law later told me this is a beautiful course which looks out over the lake.

Back at the cabin, Georgia and her boyfriend, James, shucking corn for supper.
Anders and I fished for several days. He is a very good bass fisherman, and taught me some good tricks for catching bass. We caught a bunch of bass every day. This is one of the larger ones he caught.

All-in-all it was a very nice vacation. We were able to get Alex's parents safely to their new home in Indy, we caught gobs of fish (all of which were returned, relatively unharmed, to the waters of Glen Lake), and I got to ride a little bit. We never did get out to ride as a group, but Brooke (Alex's sister), Anders, and Alex and I are all set for our Door County, Wisconsin trip on Labor Day. We'll be doing nothing but biking on that trip.

Thanks for hanging in there to get to the end of this post.

Happy riding!

Bill

On Vacation

2011-07-16T19:25:00.003-04:00

12 hours of steady interstate driving got us to our destination for this summer's vacation, Glen Lake, NY. Half way between Glens Falls and Lake George, the area is a little more crowded than I imagined. But many hours in the fishing boat and in a bike saddle will alleviate that. Will post more as I have time.

New Trek for Bill

2011-07-05T21:03:00.003-04:00

As I mentioned in my last post, Jon brought to Indiana this Trek 710, which I purchased from him. He had the bike cleaned up, with new cables, cable housing, and bar tape. Aside from the paint scratches (it's a 30 year old bike, after all!), it rides like a new bike. Essentially it is to me.

I didn't ride it to work today like I had planned, but I did go for a nice, long ride tonight after supper. It rides straight and true with no hands. A very good sign.

I added toe clips to the pedals. These pedals and clips fit my ape feet very nicely.

The Tange fork, not original equipment, nicely absorbs rode vibrations. On gravel, below, I can actually see the fork ends moving slightly as I roll down the road.

The curves on the SR Randonneuring bars fit the palms of my hands so nicely!

The body support system - handlebars and saddle, are a great combination. I've had this saddle on three different bikes now, I believe it shall stay on this one from now on.

I've had this Blackburn rack for probably over 30 years. It's been on almost every bike I've owned since then.

What attracted me to the bike in the first place is this TA Specialties crank. A French-made component, all three of these rings can be replaced with different-sized chain rings, for almost infinite gearing options.

When I first hopped on the bike, it felt a bit small for me. This frame is slightly smaller than my Trek 500. But after riding it yesterday and again today, it feels very comfortable. Maybe my other Trek is too big for me? With my stiff back, I feel like I'm really stretched out on the 500. I'll need to do some long rides to know how it'll really feel. I predict it'll be just fine.

Happy riding!

Bill

Bloomington Blog Ride

2011-07-04T21:14:00.004-04:00

Every now and then I get the good fortune to have a great ride with great folks, and this weekend I had that experience.

Jon and Brad from Denver stopped in Bloomington, Indiana, at Micheal and Sarah's house Saturday night. I drove down early Sunday morning to meet them for a ride. Micheal's friends, Tim, and Asher, came up from Louisville, and we met his other biking friend, Dave, on the road.

We headed out through the south end of Bloomington. Below you can see Asher's left arm, Jon, and up the road a bit, Tim, then Micheal.

Micheal planned this route, a 50 miler that promised some dandy hills and plenty of gravel. Shortly after we left Bloomington, we rode through a woods Micheal played in as a kid. He said that John Mellencamp bought the woods so that it could never be developed. I took several photos in the woods, this one below is the only one that had people in it. It was dark enough in the woods that when I clicked the camera, it took a few seconds to flash and take the picture. When we were riding on the trail, it was bumpy, so I couldn't ride one-handed for very long. Oh, Steve, the Tricross was completely at home in the woods, and is presently whining in the garage for another trip back to the woods.

After we came out of the woods, we came onto blacktop, and climbed the first of several very big and steep hills. Man, this country down here is beautiful!

I believe Micheal said this was Lake Lemon.

After riding through Yellowwood State Forest, we came out into this bottomland field, tucked between limestone ridges. Here's Jon and Brad in the foreground.

I forget which State Road this was, but it was very busy. We were only on it for a mile or so. Then we headed onto many miles of gravel.

Here's Dave fixing one of many flats on his rear tire. He was running Panaracer Paselas, which are great tires on asphalt, but not so good on gravel. The sidewalls on those tires aren't very thick, and sharp gravel will pinch the rubber against the rim, if the tires aren't fully inflated. Unfortunately, without a floor pump, it was almost impossible to get the tire pumped back up to the proper pressure to prevent future flats.

Ahhh, gravel. After a screamer downhill on this loose gravel, we rode for a while on flat ground, then had a big, steep uphill. Shortly after I took this photo, I noticed my front fender floating around, as if a nut had come loose. After I stopped, sure enough, the nut that holds the fender onto the bracket which attached to the top of the fork was gone. But the leather washer was holding the fender onto the bolt. I zip-tied the fender back onto the fork, and all was good. I'm thinking I may take the fenders off the Tricross, and slapping on some knobbier tires to handle gravel and trails better.

Regrouping and recovering at the top of the hill. As I said, it was a mighty beast.

We climbed many other hills, and I didn't take too many photos. But as we were heading back into Bloomington, I noticed the Tibetan Cultural Center entrance, and was able to get the camera out just as I passed the entrance. Micheal did a very nice blog entry about this, last year, I believe.

Back at Micheal's ranch, rehydrating. And eating. Sarah made a great spread of pasta salad, deviled eggs, fresh fruit, and sandwiches. It was great!

I was honored when Micheal and Jon invited me down for a ride. I enjoyed talking bikes with these guys all ride long, and for a good while afterward. It's funny how you meet people in person for the first time, but feel like you've been friends for a really long time. I guess the power of bikes is quite strong, and that interest provides a common bond. But more than that, though, is that these are really good people who love everything about bikes, but have many other interests too. It's too bad we all live far apart. We did think it would be a fun time to ride with the Texas blog contingent. So, maybe someday, there will be an opportunity to meet again, with more folks.

Jon did bring a Trek 710 with him, which I purchased. He took some pictures, so maybe he'll post one. I bought the bike thinking it would make a great rando bike. And tonight, I rando-fied it even more, adding some wider tires, a rear rack, and putting my Brooks saddle on it. I'm going to ride it to work tomorrow - I'll take a photo and post it. It is a sweet ride.

Ride Instead of Work

2011-07-01T21:01:00.002-04:00

I took the day off today so I could go on a long ride. I headed out at 7:30 this morning, and pointed the bike toward Ohio for no particular reason. It seemed like a good idea to head toward the sun, apparently.

This is C192 in Paulding County, Ohio, along the Maumee River (it's behind the trees to the right side of the photo, below). This is one of my favorite roads. In a flat landscape with square roads, a curvy river is a great place to ride.

Below is a road I've wanted to ride for over 30 years, but didn't dare try because of the heavy traffic. This used to be the only route between Fort Wayne and Toledo. It used to be known for its long string of semi trucks and speeding cars trying to pass. But now it's all mine as new US 24 is open.

Here's the shiny, new US 24.

For miles it is possible to see several different towns at any one spot from their water towers. In the center is a water tower below. Let's ride to it to see what town belongs to it.

Paulding.

Back toward the Ohio line is the wind farm. There are somewhere around 40 operating wind mills here. Eventually, there are supposed to be over 200 wind mills.

Directly across from one of the wind mills is this horse farm.

The wheat is ripe now. I saw one combine out today.

Back in Indiana. I didn't see any snowmobiles today.

The weather all week has been great, although my work schedule prevented me from getting in many miles. I made up for that today.

Happy riding!

Morning Ride

2011-06-19T17:32:00.003-04:00

I got up early this morning for a ride, although I didn't get out of the house until 8:30. A cup of coffee, look at the paper, eat my cereal, another cup of coffee, check the blogs, another cup of coffee... Well, you get the idea.

Since the wind was coming from the southeast (that took a half-cup of coffee to check), I figured I'd better head southeast and check out the windmills that are being built over in Ohio.

On the way down, I couldn't help but notice how good the crops looked. It's been exceptionally wet here all spring, and planting was delayed - especially for corn. But almost everything is now planted and even the late planted crops look very good.

Here are a few photos of crops on an Amish farm in my neighborhood. All of these fields below are right next to each other and make for good diversity for good soil health and reduced pest pressure. This is a new alfalfa seeding. It grows all growing season and can be cut for hay 3 or 4 times during the season, and will produce for 3 or 4 years.

Here's a field of oats. There aren't too many oats planted - they'll probably be used to feed horses. They'll be ready to cut in a couple weeks.

The king of crops - corn. This corn looks very good. "Knee-high by the 4th of July" is the saying, but this corn will be knee-high by this Friday.

Soybeans. Looking good.

And here's the farm across the road.

Twenty miles later and I'm close to the windmills. Since it was really hazy this morning, I couldn't see how many have been built, but it's over 20 now. The plan is for 200+ windmills to eventually be built here. Oh, and this is winter wheat in the foreground. It'll be ready to harvest in another 3 weeks or so.

Happy Father's Day to all you dads out there!

Bill

Now This is What I'm Talking About!

2011-06-13T19:30:00.002-04:00

After highs in the 60's up until last weekend, then highs in the upper 80's and lower 90's all last week, we finally got some decent weather yesterday and today. Today's high was a glorious 73 F, with light winds, and sunny skies. Very low humidity.

The kind of day when a person feels that all is good and right. When a person walks outside and says, "yes, I am really going to accomplish something today. But why would I, when I can just ride home and enjoy the scenery." And that's what I did!

County Road 29, south of Auburn.

Here's the small lake at the bottom of Lakewood Park hill.

The Cedarville Reservoir, just down the road from my home, looking more lovely than usual.

Rando panda. I picked up this jersey from the Ohio Randonneurs club.

Happy riding!

Bill

600K DNF

2011-06-09T21:55:00.003-04:00

Well, I won't keep you in suspense any longer. I didn't finish the 600K ride last Saturday/Sunday in Ohio. I did try to post Monday night, but blogger didn't want to upload my photos, and after the third try, I went to bed. Tonight's the first night I've had a chance to make this fateful post.

While I was disappointed I didn't finish the ride (I'll tell you what happened in a little bit...), I still had a really great time, for the most part. And I learned a great deal more about randonneuring.

We started on Saturday at 5:00am in Blue Ash, on the northeast side of Cincinnati. Did you notice that all of these starts look the same?

It was quite warm, I'm guessing in the low 70's. Our high temps weren't even in the 70's as little as 5 days prior to this ride. An ominous sign of things to come?

As the sun came up, it was a beautiful, warm, green morning. The abundant rains this spring have burst every bud imaginable with lush, green foliage and lovely bloom. After a few hours riding, I settled into a very reasonable rhythm. I felt very good and strong, especially on the hills. I soon found myself in a small pack with Toshi, below here, on the right hand side, and two tandems (I forgot all 4 names). I find riding with tandems to be fun, because there are twice as many people in one spot, and they fly on flat ground - a great vehicle behind which I can draft. On the uphills, however, they are quite slow. None of the tandem folk found it amusing when I offered to provide a draft up the hills for them.

Once we got into the hilly country, I dropped the tandems behind and out of sight. But Jim came into view coming down a hill from the opposite direction. He said we were going the wrong direction, but I knew I was right, because this portion of the route is the same as the 400K ride I did here 3 weeks ago.

A little while later, Jim came roaring back and caught up with me. Jim is quite the strong rider as he is able to cruise at a much higher speed on flat ground than I am. And he flies down hills. But I am able to keep up with him or go a little bit faster uphill than he. Here he is below, way ahead, up the hill.

And around the curve.

And around another curve.

Like I said, I was feeling very good, great, even! And the scenery was magnificent!

Everyone who could make hay was out today making it.

Pretty soon we were in West Union, almost 100 miles into the ride. I grabbed a quick bottle of water, got the brevet card signed, and headed right back onto my bike. About 10 miles outside of West Union, I had my first cramp - in the hamstring. Pretty soon, my right hamstring was really cramped up, and going up the steep hills really hurt. I walked up the steepest hills, then pedaled slowly on the downhills. Soon, my left hamstring cramped up. Damn! I still had at least 30 miles to Georgetown, the next control.

I was able to make it, but it took me over 3 more hours to cover that 30 miles. The temperature must have been above 95 degrees, and I was covered in buckets of sweat. By the time I got to Georgetown, I was totally beat. I sat in the United Dairy Farmers convenience store and slowly drank a big Gatorade. Then I filled my water bottles, bought another big gatorade and a big bottle of water and put those in my rack trunk, and headed out into the heat. I felt much better, but after 10 miles, the cramps were back. I still had 47 miles to go to get back to the next control - Blue Ash, where we started.

I kept riding, slowly, and still had to walk the steepest portions of the big hills. As I was almost out of water and Gatorade, I came upon this little park pavillion with a drinking fountain. I stopped here and spent quite a while. By this time, my breathing was shallow and rapid, even after I had stayed in the shade here for quite some time. I knew I was in trouble.

I managed to get back to Blue Ash (the hotel was the control). After I had the brevet card signed, I went across the road, bought a chicken sandwich, Klondike bar, and small bottle of chocolate milk and went back to my hotel room. I quickly devoured the food, took a cool shower, and layed down for an hour in the bed.

I got up and headed back out on the bike around 11:00 pm. Bob, the Regional Brevet Administrator (RBA), was in the room right next door. He was standing outside when I came out of my room, and he had his regular shorts and a t-shirt on. Bob and his wife, Patti, started the ride this morning also (on a tandem), but bailed because of the heat.

That put an idea in my head. I could bail. But I didn't want to. I got on the bike, and slowly, and painfully, pedaled out of town. By this time, the skies were lit up almost constantly by lightning from severe thunderstorms to the north - the direction I was headed. Since I had very little energy left in my legs, and they were immensely sore, I headed back into Blue Ash, turned over my brevet card to Bob, and went back to bed. Man, did I ever sleep good.

I awoke the next morning and headed for home. I wished I had drank much more water and Gatorade on the first part of the ride. The morning gradually became warmer, and I didn't pay attention to that, and became dehydrated. By the time I got to West Union, it was too late, the damage was done.

There were 35 people who started, but only 18 finished. Those 18 are tough, and experienced randonneurs. I am glad I got to ride with them, for a while. I'd like to say I'll attempt another 600K this year, but I'm not sure that I will. I'll definitely ride some more 200K's with these fine Ohio folk. For now, I'm just glad to still be riding.

Happy riding!

Bill

Carbed Up, Lubed, Ready to Roll

2011-06-02T22:04:00.003-04:00

I just came in from the garage, having completed the last-minute adjustments to my bike for Saturday's 600K, starting and ending in Blue Ash, OH. In what must have been a curious looking frenzy, I got the brilliant idea to count the teeth on all the chain rings on all my bikes, searching for the smallest chainring I could find. I ended up with the Shimano 600 crankset and chainrings I bought in 1979 to put on my Schwinn LeTour III. It is a beautiful crank, with a 52 large ring and 39 small ring. I used a 42 small ring on the 400K, and found it difficult to climb the steepest hills. But with the 39, it should be a little easier.

The Q-factor for the Shimano 600 crank and bottom bracket is narrower than for the stock Sakae crank and bottom bracket that came with the Trek when I purchased it new in 1986. After a test spin tonight, I forgot how sweet that narrow crank is - it feels so nice.

I replaced my old Gatorskins (I've been using those for training and for commuting) with the Pasela Tour Guard tires I also used on the 400K, making sure to put the tire that was in front on the 400K to the rear and vice versa. I also put in brand new tubes, and I have two new spare tubes, plus two patch kits and several tire boots. Plus 4 CO2 cartridges and my tiny hand pump. I'm taking the Gatorskins to leave in the truck, because we come back to the start at the half-way point. I should be good to go for tires and tubes anyway.

I readjusted the brakes, but left the saddle and handlebars exactly as they are, because they are very comfortable now as they are. I'm headed in to work tomorrow with the roosters, so I can come home early, throw everything in the back of my truck, and head to Cincinnati tomorrow night.

My worries over being able to finish the 600K have passed now. Somehow, fiddling with the bike and getting all my stuff ready has helped make the ride seem OK. I don't know if I'll finish, but I'm going to try like hell to make it to the very end. Sometime Sunday night I'll be asking myself what the heck I was thinking to try something stupid like this, but hopefully, I'll be a Super Randonneur (having completed a full ACP Randonneur series). That's been my goal all winter long, and I've been looking at this as my prize for loosing so much weight.

Anyway, I've got to go - need to recharge the camera battery and my cell phone. Oh yeah, and get to bed.

Happy riding!

Bill

Glacial Drumlin Trail Ride

2011-05-30T21:48:00.007-04:00

Friday night, Alex and I drove over to her sister and brother-in-law's, (Brooke and Anders), home in Illinois, and then we all drove to the Glacial Drumlin Trail between Milwaukee and Madison, Wisconsin, early Saturday morning. We got on the trail at Sullivan, a small burg roughly half-way between Milwaukee and the Mad City.

Having ridden more than a few rail-trails in Wisconsin and Michigan over the past few years, we expected this to be a decent ride. And it was. Most of the trail surface was crushed stone (quite smooth, even for my 28mm Continental Gatorskin tires). Some of the trail was asphalt, and very smooth (no roots had yet wrecked the suface). We headed to the east, with the plan being that we would ride all the way to the end of the trail in Milwaukee, then head back to Sullivan. The next day, Sunday, we planned to ride from Sullivan to Madison and back.

Sometimes, however rides don't always go according to plan, but experienced cyclists find ways to adapt, and even thrive in difficult circumstances.

Despite our slow pace, Alex's thighs were burning pretty badly after we had covered only about 15 miles. Anders, below, is trying to cheer her up. We decided that maybe we should turn back to Sullivan. After all, 30 miles for the day seems sufficient. The main thing we strive for on our bike journeys is to have fun, and mileage or speed are not important.

A stop in Dousman at Chamberlain's Flower and Ice Cream Shop on the way back seemed like the perfect way to infuse our bodies with calories. I had a chocolate malt made with Zanzibar Chocolate Ice Cream, a deep, dark brown ice cream made with 3 different African cocoa bean varieties. It was delicious! Alex was still tired, and her legs were still sore when we left, but she was in a much better mood.

A little farther down the road, Anders had gotten a phone call. I make fun of him sometimes because he's always seems to have phone calls. But he has a business, and many of his calls are important. This one, however, turned out to be a little more serious, as Alex apparently had an accident.

Alex had apparently done a face-plant on the asphalt not too long after we left the ice cream shop. Anders rode the next 5 miles to Sullivan and got in his truck to head back to Dousman, where we told Alex and Brooke to head back to. I rode back to see what the problem was.

I didn't take any photos, and won't describe the injuries, other than a bruised lip, many bruises and a scratched pair of glasses were among the more serious results of the accident. Apparently, Alex had squeezed the front brake lever too hard, and she went over the handlebars. I looked closely at her to make sure she was OK, and she was, then I turned my attention to her bike. Her left brake pad was almost 2/3 worn off, and rubber bits from the brake pad were all over the brake, fork, and on the lower down tube. The rim was bent quite severely at the point where one spoke was noticeably disfigured. I also noticed the front wheel was not seated all the way in the right dropout, which made the left side of the front wheel rub on the brake pad.

My guess is Alex had been riding all day on her bike this way. Her legs were sore by pedaling much harder than the rest of us. When she squeezed the left brake lever, my guess is the right brake shoe slipped inside the rim and may have grabbed some spoke nipples, causing the wheel to stop quickly.

Fortunately, there was an awesome bike shop in Dousman, The Bicycle Doctor Nordic Ski Shop. Even though they had just closed, the mechanic took a look at the bike, measured the spoke, and gave me a new one. He offered to put it in, but since I've built several wheels for myself, I wanted to put it in myself. He adjusted the brakes at no charge, and sent us on our way.

On the ride back to the hotel in Oconomowoc, I tried to help Alex feel better by showing her some photos of shooting stars I had taken along the way.

The next day started out extremely foggy, but Alex was feeling amazingly well. I had made sure she had some carbs and protein just as we got into the truck at Dousman to help her recover. Plus, she drank quite a bit of water Saturday night also.

On the trail on Sunday morning, she had very little pain in her legs. All was good!

I thought this was a very cool feature for the trail. Someone took pride and designed and built a beautiful bridge beneath a county road for us to enjoy. In these days of austerity, this is a monument to show that we can build nice things.

We saw many creatures on and along the trail. Most hopped, flew, or darted out of site before I could take a photo, but this guy was slow enough for me to capture (by photo only). There were many wetlands along the trail, which was good to see. But soon, I imagine there will be an abundant crop of mosquitoes, especially with all the rain we've been getting for the past two months.

We saw several deer (Red deer?) in this enclosure. I don't think they are the native white tailed deer - they look shorter, and their ears look wider. They seemed even more interested in us than we were in them.

Near Helenville, I saw this old barn. It was attached to two concrete silos, which looked like it may have been a grainery to load rail cars when trains used this path.

Someone had put together this brief history of Helenville, which preserves the stories of the people of this hamlet, which otherwise would be just a blip on the map.

A canopy of trees was common along the trail, but in other places the trail was open, allowing us to enjoy the Kettle Moraine region. This is beautiful country.

We headed back to Sullivan by noon, where we racked the bikes once again. Anders is showing off his handy work here.

Shortly after we got in the truck, the skies opened up and dumped rain on us. Brooke had been following the rain from Dubuque, and figured the rain would start sometime around noon, here. And she was right. While I'm not to hip on being connected to the web, especially when I'm biking, I appreciated Brooke's attention to the weather radar.

We went on a little excursion in the truck, and one of the stops was Aztalan State Park. When Alex and I lived in the Madison area, many moons ago, I had always wanted to get over here to see this park, but I never made it.

Unlike the history of Helenville, the stories of this village are lost. Nothing remains of the lives of the people who walked and played and farmed this ground but what little we can sift out of the soil.

Sacred ground. The mound behind this reconstructed palisade is a burial mound.

I hope all of you folks had a great Memorial Day weekend. We did!

Happy riding!

Bill

Saturday Ride

2011-05-22T08:51:00.003-04:00

After I got home from last weekend's brevet, I noticed some heavy streaking on my new Pasela TG tires. It's from the brake pads wearing, and the residue washing across the sidewalls as I cruised down those monster hills in southern Ohio.

I scrubbed the tires with dish soap and a brush, but couldn't get all of it off. I re-mounted the Conti Gatorskins, as I want to save the Paselas for the 600K brevet, coming up in two weeks.

I went on the club ride today, a 55-miler which left from the south end of Fort Wayne, headed southwest to Huntington, then back east through Ossian and then back north. Here's a photo of the group in happier times - a dandy tail wind which took us to the half-way point.

After the half-way point, a stout headwind from the southeast separated the speedsters from the randonneur (me). I was able to regroup with 6 others later in the ride, but I just don't have the speed these other guys have. Usually when Waterloo Matt shows up, the pace is way too fast for me. He is such a strong rider, and several of the other guys try to match his speed.

My training and randonneuring experience has prepared me to have fun in any bike situation, so even though I was dropped, I still had a great time. It is fun to ride with a group of people, but it's just fun to be out on the bike. Period.

The is the first day this year that felt like summer. Sun and warmth!

Happy riding!

Bill

Blue Ash 400K

2011-05-16T20:53:00.007-04:00

Saturday was the Ohio Randonneurs 400K ride, which started in Blue Ash, OH, a quiet suburb in northeast Cincinnati. The start was warm - in the mid-60's, but damp. It had rained during the night, and the air was heavy with moisture.

There were 24 starters on this ride. I knew many of these folks from the previous two rides this spring. It's funny how you can get to know someone, not really by talking much, but by simply riding along side them for a long time. We left the hotel at 5:00 am sharp. Bonne Route!

We tore through the streets of Blue Ash, and were quickly in the country, descending steep hills at too fast a speed for me to feel comfortable. Fortunately, my new rear tire, a Pasela Tour Guard, punctured. Fffft, fffft, fffft the tire went as I quickly tried to get out of the way of the people behind me. I stopped by the road side, unsnapped the headlight, only to find that the noise was not from leaking air, but from the clear plastic covering on the Pasela tire stamp. It was coming partly off, and hitting either the seat stay or the rear brake as the tire rotated. I pulled it off, spun the tire, and all was good.

I worked my way down the rest of the hill, and was able to catch up to the riders in my speed range at the next hill. For some reason, I am always excited during the start of any group ride, and I was probably more excited for this ride than any other. I bombed up the hill, only to realize too late that it got much steeper as I climbed. Not having a triple chainring crank on this bike (my Trek), I had to jump off the bike when I couldn't breathe fast enough. A moment of panic set in as I thought I might either hyperventilate or pass out, or both. I walked to the top, with several other people, and we continued on.

Being a flat lander, I thought I could power up any hill. I quickly learned on this ride to shift into the lowest gear going up these steep hills. They are so long and so steep, and I don't have the leg strength or the lungs to ride like the Schlek brothers up these hills.

As the morning wore on, it became more damp, and began to mist heavily, which gradually turned into a light, steady rain. The route generally paralleled the Ohio River to the east. I left the camera in the bag for the first 100 miles, until after we left West Union, a very small town at the far eastern part of our route. There, it stopped raining and misting altogether.

Here's a photo of Paul, with whom I rode much of the first 120 or so miles. This was taken shortly after leaving West Union, heading back to Blue Ash. From Blue Ash, then we would head to the north, then back to Blue Ash to finish the 400K.

Over near West Union, there was very little crop land. Mostly pastureland. Some of the flatter fields, I think, must have been tobacco fields in the past, because I saw many tobacco barns.

Al and Ron on Chicken Hollow Road.

Paul had been having trouble with his left pedal working its way out of the crank arm. The first time he hand-tightened it as much as possible, then asked the cashier at the West Union controle for a wrench. She handed him a pair of Vise Grips, and he was able to crank it down tight.

I was enjoying riding with Paul, but I had to ride faster than him on the hills because of my smallest chain ring. If I had a smaller chain ring, I could have stayed in the saddle and ridden up more slowly. But these hills (especially the ones on Chicken Hollow Road) were so steep that I couldn't stay in the saddle and keep pedaling. I had to stand in order to maintain what little momentum I had. This meant I could climb the hills at 7 to 8 mph, and Paul was considerably slower. When I got to the intersection with US 68, I stopped to wait for Paul.

After what seemed to be a very long time, I thought I might head on up US 68. I looked back one last time. But no Paul.

Doug, Ron, and Al came up and said Paul had stopped at a farm to ask to borrow a wrench for his pedal. I decided to ride on and abandon Paul, which I felt bad about doing. I would want him to go on if it was me who was having trouble. I didn't have a wrench, so I couldn't do anything anyway.

Here's a photo of my trusty steed. I put a plastic bag over the Brooks. I bought a new, longer stem which allowed me to raise the handlebars even with the saddle.

This little goat-path of a road is Schwalle Road, and it was, in my opinion, the most beautiful part of the ride.

There were trees, then pastures. I don't know how two cars pass on this road. But it was really cool, and I was a part of the countryside here.

The skies started to lighten as we got to the United Dairy Farmers (UDF) store in Georgetown. The worst of the climbing had been done for the day. What a relief!

I decided to head out by myself, ahead of Al, Ron, and Doug. There were a few other folks who got here before I did, and they were lounging inside. Being a newbie randonneur, I am wary about taking too long at any stop.

Just after I turned on Eden Road, the clouds left, and the sun came out. This is what Adam and Eve must have seen. Our leaves up north are still just coming out on the trees, and here is lush greenery everywhere.

I shed my rain jacket to absorb some rays on my nekked arms. I put new handlebars and a new, longer quill stem to help ease the suffering of my stiff neck. I'm glad I did this last week, because while my neck got pretty sore, my left shoulder didn't bother me as it had on the 200K and 300K rides.

Here's an old forage barn. Many barns were in disrepair, as they are most places in the midwest. Modern agriculture has no use for old barns. Today hay is baled into 600 lb round bales, or 1200 lb rectangular bales and is stored under what look like big picnic pavilions, or in big pole barns.

Here's an old tobacco barn. I didn't see any tobacco planted anywhere, and I think many of these old barns are used only for storing machinery. I don't know if tobacco is even grown in this area anymore.

As the sun started to settle in the west, it became overcast again. I rode through a lovely little valley on Round Bottom Road.

After this photo, the skies quickly clouded up and a storm unleashed buckets of rain. I made it back to the hotel which was the next controle, where I dried off and put on rain tights, a long-sleeved jersey, and my wind vest. Since the rain had stopped, I stowed the rain coat in the rack trunk, and headed off into the night, alone again.

Navigation became my chief concern at night. I had to focus more on the cue sheet at night, as I was really worried about getting lost in the dark. I didn't want to ride any more than I needed to. I did end up running off the course in two different spots. Fortunately on this last stretch I didn't get too far down the road before I realized I was off course. Each place I went off, I was able to find my way back to the place where I erred.

As I finally made it back to the hotel, a robin began to sing. A cheerful welcome to my arrival at last. I took a quick, hot shower, hit the bed, and zonked out.

The next morning at 9:00am, I had everything packed and headed out, but stopped when I saw Al loading his bike. We talked about the ride, how hilly it was, and how difficult. He was wondering why he was doing this. After all, he drove down from central Michigan to do this. I couldn't tell him why I was doing this either. It doesn't make sense to ride all day and all night. He had pre-registered for the 600K, but he said he wasn't sure he was coming back. I told him I wasn't sure either.

On the way home, I began to think about why I am doing these long rides. At first, it was to prove to myself that I could do a long ride. But this ride was different. It was much more difficult, and even though I didn't feel like quitting, I've been in other situations where I've quit after investing the smallest fraction of energy I put into this ride.

This time I was able to get a different perspective about the people and about the things most important to me. Spending a really long time in the saddle gives a you a great opportunity to get away from your worries. But the irony is that it gives you a really great opportunity to wallow in your worries - worries which you can do absolutely nothing about when you're a long way from home on a bike, in the middle of the night.

I left Blue Ash with a profound sense of gratitude for my wife and daughter, who have been very supportive of me spending large amounts of time away from them in order to train, and to come over to Ohio to do these rides.

Like Al said, these rides don't make sense. But, I bet he'll be at the 600K ride. I think I will be, too.

Happy riding!

Bill

Ohio Ride

2011-04-30T18:44:00.012-04:00

I wanted to venture out today on a long ride, so I first checked the weather to see from which direction the wind was coming. Southeast, all day, getting stronger as the day went on.

So, at 8:00 am, I mounted the Trek, and headed due east, into Ohio. This is the lake plain of the former Lake Maumee, left behind when the last glaciers melted. I have no idea when the lake disappeared, but it left a magnificent swamp, which has been drained, and now is magnificent farmland.

The price of wheat last fall was at an all-time high, and folks throughout this part of the midwest planted all the wheat they could get a hold of. This wheat was planted last fall after the soybeans where harvested, sprouted, then lay dormant over the winter, and woke up a little over a week ago and has started to grow. It'll be ready to harvest in mid-July.

I passed several double track roads like this one. They go on for miles, apparently providing access for farm machinery and probably little else.

After a while, I came to Paulding.

Paulding has a cool, old courthouse.

Back out on the lake plain.

Here's the Auglaize River. About 15 miles north of here is Defiance, OH, and where it empties into the Maumee River. From there, the Maumee flows maybe another 40 miles, into Lake Erie.

I've been looking forward to riding over this way for some time. County Road 171 runs along the Auglaize, and it's the only curvy road around for many, many miles.

In a landscape of straight roads every square mile (Thomas Jefferson's idea), it is pleasing to ride on a curvy road.

The terrain is different around the river. The landscape is much different here than a mile to the east or to the west.

The Auglaize was an important river to the Native Americans, and was important to the early history of our country.

Just outside of Oakwood, is this iron railroad bridge. They don't build 'em like this anymore.

Look at the limestone-block abutment. These blocks were cut from solid limestone, and have probably been in place for 100 years. Concrete doesn't last this long.

I followed Ohio State Road 66 south, and for a while, it followed the Auglaize.

Then it straightened out, as most roads do in this region.

I turned back to the west on this 1-lane road, T72. It had been recently paved, and I had the wind to my back, and the riding was good!

What's this? T72, my personal road, is a river road too?

Several miles north, when I was still headed east, I was looking for this, the Miami and Erie Canal. I didn't notice it, and I'm wondering if it may have been filled in and farmed over, as it has been in many places.

Here's the canal looking the other way. Many sections that haven't been filled in look like this. The Miami and Erie Canal is part of the canal system built in the 1830's throughout Ohio, and extended into Indiana. George Washington, in the 1780's, envisioned a waterway into the interior, west of the Appalachian Mountains. It took 50 years, but the system that was built far exceeded what George could have imagined. In 1851 the state of Indiana went bankrupt trying to pay for the Wabash and Erie Canal.

Further down, T72 turned to gravel, but the wind didn't let me down.

Getting closer to Indiana, T72 widened to two lanes.

Just east of the state line, a wind farm is being built. I was able to get close to one of the new windmills. These things are huge!

The plan is to build 55 wind turbines here. That will be quite a site once they are all in operation.

As I was riding, I noticed this coming down the road.

It's nacelle, which sits 240 feet above the ground. The generator is inside.

There it goes. Soon that turbine will be producing electricity to charge the batteries for my bike light.

Just past the grain bins lies Indiana.

Hope you were able to get out to ride today.

Happy riding!

Bill

Double Trained

2011-04-28T20:29:00.003-04:00

Every morning, around 7:20 or so, I start listening for the freight train on this line (Baltimore & Ohio). Sometimes it's a little early, sometimes it's a little late, but often I get stopped. These trains usually fly, so I don't have to wait long, but it's personal to me to get across this crossing before I get stopped. On the way home tonight, I got stopped by this bad boy.

While the train was passing, another came from the other direction. While this isn't unusual, it was fun to see both trains at the same time.

These Bradford pear trees began opening their flowers on Tuesday, and fully opened today. This is the fire house right across from my office in Auburn.

The birds are really beginning to sing loudly in the mornings. Spring is good!

Happy riding!

Odds & Ends

2011-04-26T21:40:00.003-04:00

Easter Sunday fell on Georgia's birthday this year, so Alex and I avoided all extended family festivities to drive to Purdue University to spend the day with our now 19 year old daughter. It's hard to believe she's almost done with her first year of college. I must say, I think she's adapted to college much better than her parents have to being empty-nesters.

This is Georgia with her really good friend, James. This was the first time we got to meet him. The kid is OK - he's on a mountain bike racing team, and he skitters around on campus on a sweet fixie. He didn't have it handy, though, because he had it squirreled away in his room. Georgia showed me a photo of it at Christmas time.

On the bike scene, I've been hammering out the miles, and have been thinking about little else between working, and biking. The weather the last two weeks has been extremely windy (sounds like pretty much all of the country), and it's been cold. The week before last I was covered with snow one day, and pelted by sleet on the next.

I rode my first club ride on Saturday, and apparently caused a minor stir. Several people noticed how thin I was, but only Luis was brave enough to mention it. Apparently losing 45 lbs is pretty noticeable, especially in a short sleeved jersey and bike shorts. Come to think of it, that jersey actually felt a little on the large side. I still got smoked by the jocks, but I made it to within two miles of the finish before I was dropped. But I rode 8 miles to the start, and 8 miles home, so I had a few more miles in my legs than they did.

Oh, back in October, I mentioned that I wanted to get down to 200 lbs. Well, I made it there sometime around mid-March, and since then I've been consistently staying right at 197 - 199 lbs. The size 40 pants that used to be tight on me are so loose that I can't really wear them anymore. I'm back to a size 36 - the same size I wore in high school, when I ran track and cross country. I'm only 7 pounds heavier now than I was 31 years ago. I'm hoping to be able to control myself and keep the weight off. If you or anyone you know is trying to lose weight, try SparkPeople. I've been following their free diet plan, counting calories, fat, and protein all the while. Once I dedicated myself to sincerely following the diet plan, and getting plenty of exercise, the weight came off steadily.

Since it's been windy, I haven't been commuting too much, but instead I try to knock out 25 - 35 miles after supper, which means I end up getting back home after dark. My new Ixon light is just the gravy for a dark night.

The high beam is outrageously bright. I haven't tested it on any significant downhills yet, but this sucker lights up the night. The low beam is just fine for general riding, and that's what I mostly use. It runs on 4 AA cells. I have re-chargeable lithium batteries in here, and I haven't had to recharge them yet. I did buy the original rechargeable batteries from Peter White, from whom I bought the light. But those batteries just never held much of a charge, and I felt I should have been getting more than 2 hours of use per charge. I went down the road to our Meijer store and bought some $7 rechargeable batteries, and they've been working great. I bought an extra set for my next brevet - the 400K coming up on May 14th.

It's been quite a while since I last posted, and I've got more to say, but it's getting late. I'll post some more stuff another day.

Happy riding!

Bill

A Fun Randonnee

2011-04-10T15:40:00.006-04:00

Yesterday I did another brevet with the Ohio Randonneurs. Yesterday's brevet was the 300K, the second in the Super Randonneur series I'm attempting this spring.

The high temp was forecast to be 72 F, with partly sunny skies in the afternoon, and I was really looking forward to riding at last in warm weather. The morning temp was 50 F, and that felt great to feel the warmth at 6:00 in the morning, when we started. Here we're receiving the final instructions from Regional Brevet Administrator, Bob Waddell.

We headed out - somewhere around 50 of us - and took over a small part of Springfield, OH. At 6:00 am, there was very little traffic.

We were out of Springfield and into the country after only a mile, pushed along by a decent tailwind that pushed us to the south. Fortunately, it was too dark to see my speedometer, or I probably would have slowed down immediately. We were bookin'!

Not too long after I took the photo above, the speedsters took off at a quick pace, and I was happy to let them go. After all, I've never ridden 300K at one time before, so I wanted to save some fuel for the last 275K.

I also realized that I left both of my water bottles in the hotel room - I had no water! I stopped at the first convenience store - about 20 miles after leaving Springfield.

Not too long after leaving the c store, the sun came up, and momentarily broke out of the fog.

After making several wrong turns and riding extra miles to get back back on course on the 200K brevet two weeks ago, I rigged up this map-holder. It's a medium binder clip secured with two zip strips.

There's Al up ahead. I rode most of the way with Al, who was from Michigan.

The route took us south from Springfield, then west, right between Dayton and Cincinnati. This is I-75.

Docked at the second control - 1/3 of the way done. That's my Trek in the foreground, with SKS fenders I installed last week. Al's Waterford is further away. The temp hadn't really warmed up much, and the clouds hadn't parted, but I was optimistic for sunny, warm weather soon even though it began raining as we left this control.

By the time we got to the United Dairy Farmers control at the halfway point in Oxford, it was raining pretty hard. Several people were inside shivering, and two UDF workers were busy following us around, furiously mopping up our drippings.

We were stopped by a train shortly after the rain let up - about 6 hours after it started. At this point, I was anxiously awaiting the parting of the clouds and the bountiful sunshine which would pour down upon us.

There's Al's front side. A P-B-P veteran, he kept a smile on his face the whole ride.

At 6:00 pm the sun came out! But it went back under at 6:15, and the clouds grew thick and dark.

Some of the trees were blooming.

The country side was beautiful down here, with narrow river valleys, wooded roads, and broad vistas. We traveled this road on the 200K, and I especially enjoyed this section of road. Try as I might with my camera, I can't capture the beauty of actually being there.

Just outside of Sparksville, was Bean Bag City. We passed this place on the 200K brevet. I'm curious what kind of bean bags they sell.

At about 7:30 pm, I got to the Little Miami Scenic Trail. We followed this for about 8 miles. Up ahead is Bill, whom I caught up to and finished the ride with.

By the time we got to the end of the rail-trail, it was dark. Bill and I rode the last 20 miles or so in the dark. Bill had a GPS, which he used to successfully guide us back to the finish. Even with a little flashlight, it's tough following a cue sheet and finding road signs.

Back in Springfield, near the end.

Each brevet is a learning experience. What I learned on this trip was to make a checklist and follow it. I was very happy I brought plenty of clothes, including a rain coat, even with a 10% chance of rain at the start.

What I especially enjoyed about this brevet was that this really was an adventure. Riding in darkness, hours of rain, hills, managing food, fluid, and electrolytes, the trip was great. The upcoming 400K still scares the hell out of me, but getting through the 300K with plenty of time to spare, and feeling good at the finish gives me hope that I'll be able to handle it.

Happy riding!

Boiling Sap

2011-04-04T20:44:00.004-04:00

Some friends of ours collect maple sap each year and spend the better part of March boiling and boiling until it condenses into that amber ambrosia, syrup. And each year, they invite the community to their sugar camp to eat pancakes, french toast, fried corn mush, and hash. And maple syrup is available to those who want to buy.

This year the event was yesterday (Sunday).

The sap is pretty much done running now - at least the clear sap. Now that the buds are beginning to expand, the sap gets cloudy and the cloudiness can't be removed from the syrup. These pails are put on the trees for effect, I think.

The sap comes from several different woods, and once the pails are emptied into tanks pulled by 4-wheelers, it is accumulated into this bulk tank to be driven a couple miles down the road to the sugar shack.

The sap is then pumped out of the bulk tank, into a tank pulled by another 4-wheeler, then pulled up the hill where it is fed, by gravity, into the shack where it will be boiled.

Here's one of the boiling pans. It was like a steam bath in here.

Tyler here explains where the sap comes from, and is pailing the sap as it first comes in so it doesn't burn as the temperature rapidly rises to boiling. Once it boils, it essentially pans itself, and doesn't burn.

It takes a lot of wood to boil down the sap.

What does this have to do with bike riding, you ask. Probably nothing, except I rode in the morning on Sunday, and was famished when I got here. But after eating french toast and fried corn mush, all drenched in maple syrup, I was very happy and satisfied.

Gotta go - the big game is ready to start. Go Bulldogs! My daughter almost chose to go to college at Butler, but instead chose Purdue. We could have been sitting in Houston tonight! Of course, if Purdue had kept winning, we could have been sitting in Houston tonight, too!

Happy riding!

New Night Light

2011-04-01T17:36:00.002-04:00

Since I plan to do some more randonneuring, I thought I'd better get a light with batteries that will make it through the night. My first choice would be a generator hub with an Edulux headlight, but the price of that combo doesn't fit my budget right now (or the foreseeable future).

So, I chose to buy a Busch & Muller Ixon IQ battery-powered light from Peter White Cycles. If you've never been to his website, you should check it out for the material he has written. Kind of like what Steven Wright would say if he sold bike stuff.

When it arrived Tuesday, I was surprised how large it was, and it was plastic, and felt kind of cheap. I mounted it on the bike for Wednesday's early morning commute to work, and was immediately impressed by how bright it was on the low setting. It also was very solid on the bike - absolutely no rattling and no movement at all.

These photos are from last night (Thurs night). I headed east to the Ohio State Line. Ohio is exactly like Indiana, only darker, so I turned around, and headed back into the fading daylight, confident that shiny Ixon will show me the way home.

Mighty Ixon ready to take on the oncoming darkness. Go ahead, darkness, make my day. Er, night.

My night-time photos didn't turn out too well, and I even took a short video, and that turned out even worse. But believe me, it is much brighter than my NiteRider light with the heavy battery that lasts 2 hours, tops. Ixon is powered by 4 AA batteries. I purchased 4 rechargeable batteries from Peter, and apparently it takes several uses and chargings to get the full 20 hours on low, 5 hours on high that Peter says I'll get.

If any of you watch Ghost Adventures, I think I captured an orb! See it, near the top of the photo? Then it flew into the back of my head!

Well, no it didn't. Frankly, I think those guys would be more believable if they just said they captured a reflection from their lens, or a dust particle. But they really blow their credibility when they see an "orb" and it flies into somebody's head. Come on! Get real! IT'S JUST A DUST PARTICLE! AND IT DRIFTED BEHIND HIS HEAD!!

Anyway, I digress.

Happy riding!

Goin' Rando!

2011-03-27T09:43:00.008-04:00

For the past two years or so, I've been reading about these randonneurs who ride incredible distances for no apparent reason. But their stories have fascinated me since the time I first learned that they existed. And the live amongst us, quietly going about their biking odysseys.

What first appealed to me about the sport is the sense of adventure. Being out there on a bike, self-supported and in the elements. Flat tires and other breakdowns are the responsibility of the rider to mend (he or she has to fix the problem or there is no other way back). There are no sag vehicles, there are no sag stops.

The other thing that appealed to me are the bikes. Bikes like I used to ride in the 70's and 80's (actually, I still ride them). Sturdy, steel-framed, and with fairly fat tires compared to most road bikes found in bike shops today. And these bikes have racks, bags, lights and are comfortable to ride. Plus they are useful in everyday life, like commuting to work, going to the grocery store (within reason - hauling milk for me requires panniers), riding to church, going to play disc golf. Oh, and they just look really cool.

Lastly, like most new things I try,I am interested in finding out about the people involved in the organization. Are these people with whom I want to associate? Are they friendly, inviting, or cold and determined only to look out for themselves and screw everybody else who might be in their way. All of the randonneuring stories I've read on the web indicate they are warm and inviting. Could this be true in real life?

In January, I joined RUSA, because I wanted to try a brevet or two. Well, yesterday, I did one, sponsored by the Ohio Randonneurs. The first brevet of the season, it was a 200K ride, starting in Springfield, OH and heading north to Urbana, then south through Yellow Springs, Xenia, and around Caesar Creek Dam and resorvoir, then back north to Springfield.

It was cold and windy the entire day, so I kept my camera with its worn out and cold-sensitive battery tucked beneath several layers of clothes, and I kept my thick gloves on. But I did take just a few photos.

We started at the motel right at 7:30 am, just as the day began to get light enough to see without lights. We headed north through the streets of Springfield, then we hopped on the Simon Kenton trail, a rail-trail stretching between Springfield and Urbana.

The more I am around people, the more I am convinced we are genetically related to sheep. Several times at street crossings, the group would ignore the stop signs and zip across the street, and the stragglers at the tail end of the group would struggle with the decision to stop, or go, and incredibly all of those straggling strugglers decided to go. I blow through stop signs myself, but not until I slow down enough to look for oncoming traffic. And if I see a vehicle, I stop. Stopping with the strugglers behind is risky, too, as I was side-swiped by one. Fortunately, neither of us was injured, although I did run through my ABC (airway-breathing-circulation) checklist from my Ski Patrolling days when that guy was almost creamed by a car.

Aside from that brush with undeniable tragedy, I met and rode with some very cool people. Several people from the Ohio club have ridden Paris-Brest-Paris (PBP), and many of them have ridden it more than once. I could not believe my good fortune to find myself surrounded by experienced randonneurs, whom each sincerely congratulated and welcomed me to the sport.

I had the privilege to ride the entire ride with this fellow, Rick Smith, creator of Yehuda Moon and the Kickstand Cyclery.

A new journey is always defined by the people with whom you share the experience, and I'll remember always the fun that Rick and I had discovering some of the idiosyncrasies of randonneuring. This was Rick's first brevet also, and he pointed out several things I would have otherwise missed. For example Rick said, "what other sport requires you to carry a pencil?", and "this is like a game of Alley Cat that never ends". I had a great time riding with Rick and getting to know him and about his tremendous love for biking and bikes. He is a very observant fellow, too, who is good at following cue sheet directions.

I enjoy Rick's comic strip, but until last night, I didn't support it. But I do now, and I suggest you (and you know who you are) go to his website and subscribe. Rick is dedicated to helping us all learn to use our bikes more and to integrate transportational cycling into our society.

This is south of Yellow Springs, the large groups have disintegrated. Ahead is Nicolas, from France, but living in Muncie, Indiana. This was what I would see of him for many, many times during the brevet - speeding away. But I caught up to him several times at the control stops and when he would get back on route after turning the wrong way.

I must confess that I, too, wandered off course many times also. The standard guidance system for randonneuring is not a map, but a cue sheet, with the intersections and turn direction indicated. I kept my cue sheet in one of my seven back pockets (two jerseys and a wind vest) for much of the ride. But decided to pull it out to help take some of the burden off of Rick for following the cue sheet.

When in a large group, very few people follow the cue sheets, and several times the group missed a turn, and these missed turns really added up. I rode and additional 12 miles. I also learned that randonneuring is not about a matter of following. We all follow. Just make sure to follow people who actually know where they are going.

One of the rail-trails. While the hardy and experienced randonneurs in the group didn't like the trails and thought we should be on the roads 100% of the time, I enjoyed them because they were a reprieve from the traffic and they offered shelter from the suffering headwind.

As for my equipment, my bike performed very well, with the exception of a bearing in my bottom bracket that barked a few times. Those rides in the rain this early spring take away the grease. I think I'll just stick a cartridge bearing assembly in there and be done with it.

I bought some new pedals from Dick Jr. at the Country Bike Shop, and these were perfect for the brevet. The width was perfect for my feet with foot covers, and the pedal seemed to spread pressure across more of my foot.

Here she is, my 1986 Trek Tri Series in all her randonneuring glory.

This is a fairly comfortable saddle, although I much prefer my Brooks saddle I have mounted on the Tricross. I didn't want to change saddles before the ride, since this is adjusted to the perfect height, tilt, and position to accomodate my finicky knees. The saddle bag is stuffed with a spare inner tube, chain tool, spoke wrench, multi-size allan wrench tool, CO2 inflater with 3 16g cartridges, some loose change, and two patch kits.

The cockpit, with camera bag affixed to the stem, plus my NiteRider light. I stuffed the bag with 3 Clif bars and an extra cue sheet. While the bag was very handy, I still had to put my camera, cell phone, spare money, driver's license, insurance card, debit card, extra Clif bar, 5 Gu packets, brevet card, and helmet rain cover in my jersey pockets.

My Nite Rider light is plenty bright to see at night, but the battery is very heavy and it only lasts for two hours. There is only one setting, so I can't make the battery last any longer. I did order a new Busch & Miller Ixon IQ battery-powered light from Peter White Cycles. It is scheduled to be delivered on Tuesday, and I think this might be a good randonnering light for my limited cycling budget.

I brought this pump along with me, and it rattled in the holder over every stinking bump. I think I'll not bring this along on the next brevet. I used this pump to pump up my 3 flats on the Ride Across Indiana last year. Just the pumping alone wore me out. I can get the tires to 50 psi with no problem. But the effort required for every ten psi after that expands exponentially.

My new (fairly new) 28mm Continental Gatorskins. These are the wire bead, non-foldable. No problems at all with the exception of a harsh ride on bumpy stretches. Rick had mounted 42mm Grand Bois Cypress tires on his Rivendell Saluki. Pumped to 55 psi, he said he really liked the ride.

What does my randonneuring future hold? More brevets, although the 400K and 600K scare the hell out of me. But the people I met on this ride made it a great ride - by far the most enjoyable long ride I've ever done. I'm signed up to do the 300K in two weeks, and I look forward to that. But I'm waiting before I commit to the 400K.

Happy riding!

A Road of My Own

2011-03-20T20:47:00.003-04:00

Today I rode a few miles east, then 17 miles south into the wind so I would have the wind at my back on the way home. When I got back up to new US 24, I bypassed the road closed barriers, and took a cruise on the new highway.

Being a good cyclist, I obeyed the road signs.

The ribbon of highway stretching toward Woodburn. Once this section of highway opens, I shall claim the two-lane 24 which will be abandoned as a US Route, but will still be open for travel. The road follows the Maumee River closely, so it is unusual for a road around here - it has curves.

Hope you got out today.

Happy riding!

Life in the Jetstream

2011-03-13T16:12:00.002-04:00

We were blasted by a brutal wind all day yesterday. The jetstream is on the move, and I'll take the wind for now, as it works its way to the north. Eventually, as the jetstream settles into its summer pattern, we'll be entitled to warmer weather. But so far, it's been a slow warmup.

The ducks are coming back in large numbers. But ice is preventing them from using lakes. Look at the black spots on this flooded field. Them R Ducks!

I wish I could blame this on the cold wind. But it looks like this when it's warm also. If I adjust my mirror just right, I can do my own dental work!

Just as I whipped out the camera to photograph them, a male and female bufflehead popped off this flooded spot, right next to Little Cedar Creek. They will be heading north very soon.

Outdoor hockey season is over. This temporary rink is on my way to and from work. Within a month the owner will be mowing under there.

The Cedarville Reservoir is completely ice-free now. The last bits of ice broke up yesterday in the big wind.

Warmer weather is coming.

Happy riding!

Garrison Keillor in Fort Wayne

2011-03-09T21:06:00.003-05:00

Garrison Keillor last night said, "God made March so that non-drinkers would know what a hang-over feels like".

We saw Garrison at the Embassy Theater in Fort Wayne. He did a two-hour, stand-up show and it was fantastic! Alex and I have been listening, on and off, for the past 26 years to "A Prairie Home Companion", and I've read several of his books. We'd like to get up to the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul where he does his live radio show before he retires.

Snow Day

2011-03-06T19:47:00.002-05:00

The wind is my friend, the wind is my friend. I had to keep telling myself that for the past few days. Thursday, the wind was from the south, but switched on Friday to the north, where it's been blowing steadily since.

We received a little snow Saturday afternoon, but fortunately not enough to cause problems on the road - well, not too many.

The St. Joe River crested today, and is receding. This year's flood is only a couple feet above flood stage, much lower than many other years.

The river broke up a week or so ago. I rode under this bridge on Christmas Eve. Since then we've received enough snow that it piled up and was too deep to ride. It would have been fun on a Pugsley though. Today a pontoon Pugsley might work.

I like how the snow covers this river bank.

And how it sticks to the tree branches.

I griped about the snow this winter. But it sure is pretty today.

This house looks over an abandoned gravel pit. The lakes are still frozen, although the ice is beginning to rot, especially on lakes which receive a lot of snow melt (and last Thursday's rain). This was probably the last weekend for ice fishing, and I didn't get out once all winter.

I walked a half-mile along this road because of black ice. It was scattered throughout my ride today, but especially bad here.

The hill down into Devil's Hollow.

The wind was cold enough that I almost turned back after 5 miles into this ride. But I hung in there and managed 35 miles today. While I'm satisfied with the mileage, I am glad I continued because I wouldn't have seen the lovely snow scenes today.

And I wouldn't have seen the year's first robin today, either. Go Spring!

Happy riding!

Sunshine!

2011-03-02T21:06:00.002-05:00

Sometimes, in the summer, when it's really, really hot, I complain about how bright and hot the sun is.

Not today.

Happy riding!

Dry Roads

2011-02-27T19:05:00.005-05:00

We've had a couple of days with high temps above 32F, and the sun came out briefly this afternoon. Plus the low last night was pretty warm also. The roads dried out this afternoon, and I was on them!

I rode southeast to Woodburn, then back north past Harlan, and then north of Grabill. This is just north of downtown Woodburn. Apparently this isn't Woodburn's photographic side.

This is the Maumee at Bull Rapids. The river broke up in the middle of the week, and the rapids are under maybe 10 feet of water or so. The snowmelt is causing flooding, and the rivers are expected to continue rising.

We're getting a thunderstorm right now - I just saw lightning out the window. Oh, I heard my first red-winged blackbird call of the year on my ride today.

It was great to get out again. I hope you can too.

Happy riding!

Ugh

2011-02-23T16:41:00.004-05:00

The forecast high temps in the mid 30's never arrived today, leaving the roads covered in ice and snow yet again. Early Monday morning we received 1/2 inch of glare ice over everything, then we got 6 inches of snow on top of that. The high temps have been in the teens to low 20's the last two days, so although the snow is mostly scraped off the roads, the ice remains on my rural commute roads.

So, I've been burning expensive petrol the last two days to get my gluteus maximi to work. Looks like the ice will be here through tomorrow, then more freezing rain Thursday night and more snow on Friday.

I shouldn't complain after the nice weather we had last weekend. But I'm starting to get cabin fever. Got to get out for a run now.

I know, I know, I'll be complaining about the heat soon enough. But I promise not to complain about hot weather until after August 1st this year.

I hope it's warm where you are and you can get out to ride.

Oh, yes, the Nokians, you ask? Well, they won't fit my Trek (chain stay's too close for those wide tires). They won't fit on the Tricross right now either because I mounted the fenders too close to the narrower tires I have on that bike now, and the Nokians won't fit inside the fenders (I already cut the fender stays). And my Kuwahara has some issues right now that I won't go into.

So if you want to feel sorry for me now, go ahead, it's OK. I will appreciate it.

If you think I'm whining and don't feel sorry for me, you probably live some place much colder and snowier than where I live. In which case I ought to feel sorry for you. You poor sucker!

I've wasted enough of your precious lives today with my drivel.

Happy riding!

Birthday Presents

2011-02-20T18:37:00.004-05:00

It's been a busy week, work-wise, so I didn't get any miles on the bikes during the week. I was really bummed since we had high temps in the 40's all week, and Thursday the high was 57F. Yesterday, Saturday, was a sunny day that got up to 40F. I was able to get out and ride 58 miles on the Trek. And this afternoon, I rode an easy 10 miles.

All of our snow is gone now, but the lakes, and the reservoir here, are still frozen.

My birthday was Tuesday, and I got two Gatorskins. I had Ultra Sports on this bike, but after 6 or 7 flats, I was getting a little nervous. These are supposed to be more durable. These tires are 28mm wide, which is the width I like for this bike. On my Tricross, I run 35mm for commuting. There is a stretch of gravel and the 35's float along with no trouble. These 28's are a little narrow for gravel, but I can use these on gravel if necessary.

I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm 35 lbs lighter than I was on Oct 1, when I started my Spark People diet. I was hoping to make it to 40lbs lost for my birthday, but I'm happy where I'm at. Eight more pounds and I'll be right in the middle of my ideal weight.

Here's another of my birthday presents:

This is a beautifully-photographed book of bikes made by the great French constructeurs from the 1930's through the 1980's. All steel-framed, these bikes are works of art. But they were also functional - the pinnacle of randonneuring technology.

Noteworthy, but not related to bicycling, Alex and I came home from dinner at a restaurant Wednesday night to find this beast had eaten my birthday cake. A beautifully decorated German chocolate cake, every molecule completely devoured.

I hope you have cake where you are.

Happy riding!

Petit Paquet par Avion

2011-02-10T05:17:00.003-05:00

I found a curious, but well-secured, package in the mail last night when I got home from work. Hmm, looks like it's from Canada.

It took about 22 minutes to cut through all of the tape and wrapping paper and more tape on the box inside, but it was worth it - a tube! Unfortunately, the tube had more of that same industrial-strength tape wrapped around both ends. Must be the same tape they use to seal cracks in Great Lakes ice-breaker ships' hulls. Another 9 minutes to open the tube.

Alas, me coveted FARATS award! Fresh syrup direct from the finest Canadian Acer saccharum phloem, lovingly prepared in double-boiling stainless steel vessels! I can't wait to cook up some pancakes, or maybe French toast and drown them in maply goodness. And, I've got some shelled black walnuts - I could sprinkle walnuts on ice cream and drizzle with syrup. Man, it's gonna be great!

Thanks Rantwick! You are quite the gentleman, and run a fine contest! Congratulations to Myles at Rat Trap Press, and Paddie at Pedal Talk on their victory! And congratulations to all the FARATS entrants - all of you had lovely photos.

Lazy Afternoon Stroll

2011-02-06T14:36:00.003-05:00

Needing to avoid early on-set of cabin fever, Alex and I grabbed the dog and headed down to Shoaff Park in Fort Wayne. The park has a two-mile paved road which loops around the park. Most of the road is closed to cars, and the Park Dept. keeps the entire road pretty-well plowed through the winter.

Here's an overlook on the St. Joe River. Just around the bend to the left is the former location of the dam which diverted much of the St. Joe's flow into the feeder canal which fed the Wabash and Erie Canal. And on the opposite bank is the former location of Robison Park, a popular amusement park in the early 1900's.

This is my favorite part of the park. A long, gradual slope down to the river. On the left is a deep, wooded ravine.

A very happy dog. There's a critter under that snow somewhere!

The high temp today is 30F, so the sand and salt the road crews have been spreading is melting much of the ice off the roads. More biking in the very near future!

Happy riding!

Big Snow? No...

2011-02-02T15:41:00.007-05:00

Well, we didn't get the big snow that was predicted (again). But we did get about 8 inches, plus we got 4 inches the day before. We did get plenty of wind all day yesterday, and last night. And we received a bunch of sleet, which made the snow heavy to shovel. The sleet froze in the eave troughs and flowed over, making some dandy icicles.

There are some big drifts out there - a friend of mine had a 4 foot drift across his lane. The deepest in my drive was 2 feet. So much for the up to 8 foot drifts that were predicted.

Since we were under a Level 1 Snow Emergency (only emergency vehicles allowed on the roads) this morning, we kept the office closed today. It'll be back to work tomorrow.

Jon, hearing about my crank issue from a few posts ago, sent me a 170 crank arm to match the Sugino crank on my Kuwahara. Thanks Jon!

I mounted that up today, and I am thinking of slapping on the Nokians to try some snow biking. I'd like to see what condition the roads are in.

You might be asking yourself (but probably not), "why doesn't that big dummy put the Nokians back on his Tricross - after all, he just mounted new VO fenders on his bike?" Well, the answer is I trimmed the front fender stays just a hair too short, so now the Nokians won't fit on the front. My 32mm Schwalbe Marathon fits fine, though.

Whenever I do something mechanical, I never quite seem to get the results I am after. Well, I did get the front fender to fit that Schwalbe just right. I just forgot I've got a little bigger Nokian that would be nice to mount in snowy conditions, like today.

The road crews do a really good job of clearing the roads around here, so I'll be able to get the Tricross out in another day or too.

In the meantime, keep the rubber side down.

Happy riding!

Big Snow Coming?

2011-02-01T11:25:00.002-05:00

We're under a Blizzard Warning now, something that only happens once every few years in these parts. It's been a really long time since we've had a good dose of snow all at once, we'll see if we get it this time.

I copied this from the National Weather Service:

* MAIN IMPACT... SNOWFALL AMOUNTS OF 6 TO 18 INCHES ARE EXPECTED... WITH THE HIGHEST AMOUNTS IN NORTHWEST INDIANA AND SOUTHWEST LOWER MICHIGAN. SUSTAINED WINDS OF 20 TO 30 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 45 MPH WILL CREATE DANGEROUS CONDITIONS... WITH ZERO VISIBILITIES IN BLOWING SNOW AT TIMES AND SIGNIFICANT DRIFTING. SNOW DRIFTS OF 4 TO 8 FEET WILL BE POSSIBLE IN MANY OPEN AREAS.

I like it when they predict snow drifts by the foot.

I probably won't be biking to work tomorrow. (I wimped out today as well and drove). We received 4 inches last night, but the wind has been strong and from the northeast for over a day now. Looks like a Deusy is coming!

Old 24 Almost Done

2011-01-29T17:54:00.003-05:00

I rode east today, toward Ohio, then headed south toward Woodburn. It has been several months since I've been down that way and I wanted to check on the progress of the "Fort to Port" highway project. That would be a 4-lane, divided U.S. 24 from Fort Wayne to the Port of Toledo on Lake Erie.

The reason I am interested in this project isn't so I can get to Toledo 15 min. faster, but because I will feel safer riding on old U.S. 24, a two-lane highway which was built on the old Wabash and Erie Canal Right-of-Way. The old highway is a scenic route which follows along the south bank of the Maumee River. It is twisty and is wooded along much of the north side, between highway and river. It's also a very dangerous road to drive, with many semi trucks and people in cars who want to pass the big trucks. Passing on a twisting, two lane road isn't a good idea for many people, and many people have lost their lives, or taken other lives on this road. But for a two lane road, it has wide shoulders, so I'm thinking it'll be safe for riding a bike on.

East of Indiana 101, the open portion of the new highway is open. West of Indiana 101, it looks like this all the way to New Haven (a small suburb of Fort Wayne):

On the way back, I rode many miles of gravel roads, which are packed snow and ice this time of year. Riding in the center, without studded tires, is actually pretty good. When a car passes, I scoot over and stop, since the snow on either side is an oatmeal-colored dry mush that is difficult to remain upright.

Most of the time, I am quite a bit faster than the Amish buggies in my neighborhood, but on packed snow, they are faster. I tried to catch up to this buggy to draft, but could get no closer than this.

I'm happy today got up to 31F, but I am looking forward to when it gets a little warmer. Biking is helping to keep cabin fever at bay, but another couple months of winter, plus a month of winter/spring transition after that, usually with lots of wind. Well, I digress.

Happy riding!

Bicycle Museum of America Redux

2011-01-22T20:43:00.007-05:00

It was another cold day on the flat land today, and Alex and I were up for some adventure. Once again, I took advantage of her good nature and drove her an hour and a half south to the Bicycle Museum of America.

This was her first visit to the museum, my second. I visited here first last October, although the museum has been open here since 1997. Many of the bikes in the collection are Schwinns, and just about all bikes in this room are Schwinns.

I particularly like this Schwinn Paramount track bike.

A little farther back. That's a big-looking frame, isn't it? I suddenly don't feel quite so freakishly large.

Just off of the front room, full of Schwinns, is a door and stairway leading to the basement. My favorite part of the museum. All kinds of bikes, all eras, and even tricycles are stored down here.

There were a couple beam bikes that caught my eye. Hmm, sponsored rider on this bike.

A sponsored rider for this bike. Methinks these were not ridden by normal humans. I'm guessing these bikes belonged to elite triathletes.

Ahh, more my speed. A mid-70's Peugeot. With a Simplex derailleur. Nice. Probably should snip the end of that cable.

I enjoyed looking at the components - here's an early Campy derailleur on a bike hanging from the ceiling.

Upstairs were more and more bikes.

Another Peugeot. With lots of miles. Still looks like a sweet ride.

Look at this derailleur. Before 1962 or there-abouts, most rear derailleurs looked something like this. The two bogey wheel assembly slides back and forth on a spindle, instead of the pantograph-style derailleurs of today. A very nice, French machine.

Hey, I don't think you're supposed to sit in there!

Jeez, you almost hit me! I think the curator is coming, get out of there!

I did find the Country Bike Shop in Celina, about 15 miles away from here. I had a delightful, hour-long discussion with Dick, the owner's father. They had many, many Rivendell bikes set up in different configurations and sizes. If I had the money, I'd have taken home a sweet Sam Hillborne that was set up just for me, and in my size!

No riding for me today, but it was a great day!

Happy riding!

Kuwahara's New Purpose

2011-01-17T19:43:00.003-05:00

A year ago last fall I purchased a 1983 Kuwahara from a second hand shop in Butler, Indiana, for $20. It appears to be a touring model, with double holes on the rear dropouts and on the fork dropouts.

There is a great deal of clearance for wide tires - look at how much room there is at the seat stay.

There's quite a bit of room at the chainstays as well.

I haven't been able to make up my mind, until recently, what to do with the bike. At first, I wanted to convert it to a fixed gear bike. But I have a Scwinn LeTour III that I've already converted. Then I thought I'd put skinny tires and fenders on it, and use it for a rain bike on fast club rides. But finally, the clouds have parted, and the sun has shone through, making it absolutely clear what this bike is meant to be: a country bike. I don't think it'll ever look as nice as Alan's at Eco Velo. But for now, I like it as it is.

It has a big frame, maybe just a hair too big for me, but I can stretch out on it and it feels very comfortable. I need to lower the seat just a little more. The steely, flexy goodness is welcome on our rough, frozen roads.

This will be the bike with which I'll do quick club rides, but I'll also use wide tires so I can ride gravel roads. I'd like to add fenders and maybe a hub generator some day.

In the meantime, I wanted to install the VO compact crankset I bought a couple weeks ago. The crank that came with the bike had some issues. The non-drive crank doesn't line up exactly with the drive side crank. This is the original Sugino crank that came with the bike. It cleaned up well.

The problem is the crank arm hole has been jingered, probably from riding too long with a loose tightening bolt.

So, I bought a new Shimano, sealed bearing bottom bracket from my LBS, and installed it. Only to find that the new VO crank sits another 10 mm too far out away from the bike. The front derailleur won't shift on to the larger chain ring. So, for now, the bike has the new non-drive VO crank arm and the old Sugino crank and chain rings until I get a shorter bottom bracket. The new bb should fit one of my other bikes.

Here's my new helmet mirror:

Keep looking forward!

Happy riding!

Camera Craps Out

2011-01-16T16:33:00.002-05:00

Well, actually the battery pack does whenever it gets cold. I went for a ride this lovely, sunny morning, but it is recorded for posterity only in my brain. And don't count on it being there long.

I don't know if the battery pack is really dying, or if it just doesn't like the cold. It works OK in the house, but after the camera is outside for even a little while the battery pack fails. I guess I need to keep it warmer.

I bought a helmet mirror yesterday at a nearby general sporting goods store. I mounted it this morning before the ride, and I was impressed how well I could see out of that dime-sized piece of reflective plastic. Will try to post a photo after my camera battery is warmed up and recharged.

On the weight front, I've lost 31 pounds since Oct 1. Only 12 more pounds to my goal! I gained a pound last week after being off at a conference for three days. Lots of "regular" food and beer, although I was able to moderate my consumption.

We've gotten some snow last week, and wind yesterday, so the roads are so-so. But it was good to get out anyway, especially while everyone was in church (although the churches I passed didn't look too full).

Happy riding!

Sunrise

2011-01-09T18:43:00.000-05:00

Hoar frost on the old apple tree at sunrise.

Happy riding!

Latest Project

2011-01-07T21:33:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I received a box from Velo Orange - there were a couple of specials they offered that I could not pass up.

I've been thinking about re-fendering my Tricross again - several years ago I had plastic fenders that cracked. Velo Orange had a set of their own 48mm fluted aluminum fenders. They advertize them as being heavier than the Honjo fenders they stock, which, in my book, is good. Maybe they'll last a little longer?

The nice thing about these fenders is they are pre-drilled in the right places, so mounting was easy (I suppose about as easy as mounting fenders gets).

I like the new bling. But I may have emasculated the tricross. I could have used the fenders on my ride home yesterday. The highway crews were out in force yesterday afternoon spreading sand, some of which my front tire kicked up and got in my eye. Not anymore!

Maybe not the rough-and-tumble life this beast was built to live, but it gets lots of love.

I also ordered a compact crank that was on sale for a ridiculously low price. I may put this on the Kuwahara, or maybe the Trek. I haven't decided.If I put it on the Trek, that could spark a whole series of upgrades I'm not ready for.

Well, now you know what I'll be thinking about for the next week.

Happy riding!

First Commutes of the New Year

2011-01-06T22:22:00.000-05:00

It's been a while since I've ridden my bike to work, so this week I thought I'd begin commuting again. The lack of snow and dry, ice-free roads lured me out on Tuesday, and again today (Thursday). My commute is 20 miles each way, and I've been whining to myself that it's been too cold or too dark or too windy or too... You get the idea. Many excuses not to ride. Once I got out on Tuesday, all the excuses seemed to fade away.

It snowed all day today, but we only wound up with a skiff of snow. The roads were in good shape all the way home, although they were a little slick for my work truck today. I had no trouble with my regular road bike tires - they gripped the road with no problem. I think the truck tires were wide enough that the weight was distributed over a much wider area than my bike tires. Of course, my work truck will get stuck on wet grass.

This below is in Auburn, just around the corner from my office and on the way home. It's amazing once I turn this corner on my bike, I forget about all the stuff I need to get done at work.

My worn Schwalbe Marathon still has claws for the road.

A few miles south of Auburn. These two tracks (Baltimore & Ohio Line) run a lot of freight. It's not uncommon to get stopped by a train here. For some reason, there are several trains that run between 7:00 & 7:30 am. On my way to work, I've been stuck at this crossing many times, sometimes in the rain, sometimes when I really have to pee, and sometimes when I am running late.

Here's the mile of gravel.

Here's my winter face. No whiskers this year - my beard makes me look really old (white fur). I bought a mesh reflective vest last week at Meijer. I'm glad I chose the mesh, it does a great job of keeping me cool!

I've got two bike projects coming up, now that my package from Velo Orange arrived today. You'll have to wait for another couple days to see what I've got going.

Be sure to get out there - once you get pedaling, it's not as cold as it seems.

Happy riding!

Chili Challenge, 2011

2011-01-01T19:25:00.001-05:00

Another New Year's Day and another Chili Challenge ride, sponsored by the 3 Rivers Velo Sport Club and the Fort Wayne City Parks Department. We met at 1:00pm, just north of downtown, and rode to the west, then north.

We stopped by Johnny Appleseed Park for the annual Polar Bear swim. At swim time the temp had dropped to the low 30's. This was much warmer than last year's swim. My daughter, Georgia, swam this year with the Polar Bears, but she swam at 12:00 noon. We arrived here for the 2:00pm dunking. I don't know why they have 2 different swims.

That water's gotta be damn cold! Crazy nuts!

I don't know how many cyclists rode this year, but it was a large number. We overwhelmed the city streets, and it was great! I learned a few years ago to stay at the front of the pack. With numerous traffic lights the bike crowd gets split into many groups, and once separated from the lead group, it is impossible to stay on the route. There are so many turns that the street map provided by the club is not very helpful.

I hope all of you folks were able to get out and ride today, or at least thought about riding.

Happy New Year!

Final Ride of 2010

2010-12-31T19:43:00.001-05:00

Today's high climbed into the mid 50's, a rare, but very welcome treat for this time of year. I got off to a late start, after 3:00pm, and I had no route planned, except to follow the front wheel.

There was a vibrant and aggressive southwest wind, so I headed south into the wind, hoping the wind wouldn't change direction on my way back north (it happens to me quite often). I headed down through the Amish neighborhood south of Grabill, IN. This Amish dairy always looks tidy and prosperous.

Some gravelly goodness. Fortunately, the road is still frozen, just the very surface is thawed, making a very firm and non-slippery ride. I took the studded Nokian tires off so I could make better time.

I wound south to North River Road, back under I-469. This stretch of 469 has been renamed "Ronald Reagan Expressway", a distinction bestowed upon the road by our dubious and former congressman Mark Souder. Personally, I can think of some better names for the highway. Ronald Reagan has only been to this area once, and that was during the great flood of 1982.

The Maumee River east of New Haven.

Here's the entrance to the Rivergreenway at New Haven. Intersection of Landin Road and Lake Avenue Extended.

Maplecrest Road is being extended across the Maumee River to make a vital connection to New Haven. This will cut travel time for folks on the northeast side of Fort Wayne from 10 minutes to 5 minutes. In the meantime, the Greenway is useless from this point east all the way to Coliseum Boulevard. Why the city doesn't include temporary re-routing plans into the bridge construction is beyond me.

Getting back to the greenway involves riding through many parking lots. It's safer riding on busy Coliseum Blvd., a 6 lane freeway, than it is riding through all of these parking lots.

Ahh, back on the trail along the Maumee.
The filtration plant for Fort Wayne. The city takes river water, cleans it up here, and pumps it throughout the town.

This fellow, a Jesuit Priest who was supposedly the first European in this area, is pointing directly to the confluence of the St. Marys and St Joseph Rivers. Where the meet is the start of the Maumee River.
The St. Marys is there to the far right, behind those bushes. Just before the bridge is the beginning of the Maumee River, the conduit which directs all surface water in this area to Toledo, OH, and Lake Erie.

Here's the location for tomorrow's Polar Bear plunge. No snow, no ice. Should be pleasant.
The dam on the St. Joe just upstream from Johnny Appleseed Park.

Under Coliseum Blvd. to the Indiana-Purdue University, Fort Wayne campus.

Up the hill to Shoaff Park. With quickly waning daylight, I chose to ride faster and not take anymore photos. Still 7 miles to go at this point.

The warm weather was sure welcome. The temperature is dropping slowly now, and will continue to do so until Monday. High temp of 20 on Monday, a normal high.

I hope all of you folks had a great 2010, I really did. My family and friends are healthy, happy, most are employed, although a nephew is Afghanistan and we wish him a safe stay until his return in July.

Be safe out there, and Happy New Year!

Biking on The St Joe River

2010-12-24T15:39:00.000-05:00

It's been cold here with little snow for the last 3 weeks. As such, liquid places, like lakes, ponds, and rivers have developed a nice, deep crusty surface.

The St. Joe River, near my home is well-frozen, with about 1 to 1 1/2" of powdery snow on top. Perfect for an ice ride. I rode a little bit on the river last year, but ice conditions weren't good with a couple of big snows delaying good freezing conditions and making biking through the deep snow on the ice difficult.

Not so today. I rode 6 miles on the river upstream from Leo, IN, to just south of Spencerville, IN. Unfortunately, my rechargeable camera battery didn't have enough juice to record the event, but I was able to take a crappy photo with my old cell phone.

The 4-wheelers and snowmobilers (and 1 dirt bike) have been out on the river, snow I knew the ice was safe. What I didn't expect was the quiet, peaceful, and easy ride made possible with no traffic whatsoever. Alex and I have canoed this stretch of river, so the landmarks were familiar, but looked different sitting so high above the water, er, ice.

The river is a great place to see birds, and today was no different. I saw 4 red tailed hawks and 1 great blue heron. The heron must be getting food from some of the holes in the ice where creeks flow into the river. I saw some heron foot prints in the snow, but didn't believe there would still be a heron hanging around. Silly beast!

Anyway, we don't have any significant snow in the 10-day forecast, so I'm excited about some ice bikin'.

An an unrelated note, my daughter, Georgia, announced she will be swimming with the Polar Bears on New Year's Day. She has made her mother and I so proud!

Happy riding!

Rides for 2011

2010-12-22T19:15:00.000-05:00

These long dark evenings have me thinking about what bike rides, organized or not, I'd like to do for 2011. Here are some of the thoughts that bubbled up.

Multi-day cross-state rides appeal to me because I will be able to say I rode across such-and-such state. I rode across Indiana last July, but that was a one-day event. I've been thinking about a fatter state, like Iowa or Kansas, or traveling the length of a state like Wisconsin.

Loop rides lasting several days are appealing also, like the Tour de Kota, or the Great Ohio Bicycle Adventure, or riding around the Finger Lakes region in New York.

I like destination rides also, like riding to the Michigan state line (done that many, many times). For some strange reason, I've always wanted to ride to Toledo, Ohio, which isn't too far away, I've just never ridden there before. I'd stop and eat a couple dogs from Tony Packo's. I've always wanted to ride to the Mackinac Bridge, and to Wausau, Wisconsin, where we used to live.

All of these rides are not very far away from me, but I'd be willing to travel for a good ride. The Colorado Rocky Mountain Bicycle Tour sounds cool, but I have no experience riding in the mountains, and I'm afraid a ride like that would kill me.

If you know of any bike rides of any kind you have enjoyed, please let me know.

Happy riding!

Long Winter Nights

2010-12-15T17:17:00.000-05:00

The long, dark nights usually trigger in me a need to become obsessed about something, but this winter it really hasn't hit me yet. Last winter I spent much time researching and reading about the Erie Canals - the Wabash & Erie Canal in Indiana, the Miami & Erie Canal in Ohio, and the original Erie Canal across New York state.

The winter before last I spent a lot of time reading about riding long distances - mainly centuries and longer and finding new trails to ride my bike.

This winter, maybe I'm more obsessed about losing weight than I want to admit. I have many reasons for wanting to lose weight. One of the things that inspired me to lose weight was this book:

published by Marlowe & Company in New York.

I'm not going to give you a book report here, but three things I like about the book are,

1) the book has a lot of good, useful information about the health and mind aspects of bicycling,

2) there are 12 in-depth interviews with notable cyclists ranging from 90+ year-old John Sinibaldi to "The Reverend" Rich White, with interviews of more famous cyclists in between, and

3) the authors are both accomplished cyclists who love cycling (not because they were great at it, although they both were) and it is evident in the way they put the book together.

I almost never buy books, since we have a fantastic library system here in Allen County (oh, by the way, my wife works there!) and they have literally millions of books. If they don't have a book, they will seek the book from another library system for me, or I can request that they purchase the book I want for the library.

I bought this book, though, and I paid the full price $16.95. Only when I was in college 26 years ago did I pay more for a book. You should be getting the idea by now that I liked the book.

'Nuff said.

On the weight-front, I've lost 24 lbs now since Oct 1, and I'm still losing. Nineteen more pounds to go and I'll be smack dab in the middle of my ideal weight range. Quite honestly, I'm surprised I've made it this far. My love of food usually consumed the majority of my conscious thoughts. Lately I've been excited about finding new belt loop holes I haven't used for a very, very long time. And getting comments from people who say, "you've lost weight!"

I've even started running again, although I'm taking it very slow and easy. My knees ain't what they used to be. But with less weight to push around, it's remarkable how happy they've been over the past month.

I haven't biked for the last two weeks, but that's going to change soon. Tonight I'm putting the Haakapaliittas on the Tricross for some winter biking. I'm feeling the need to begin commuting to work again, although 20 miles each way in the dark on icy, snowy roads doesn't seem like a sane thing to do. I've scouted out some more park-and-ride spots where I might get away with parking my truck part way to work, then I can bike the rest.

Anyways, enough about me.

If you can't get out and ride, at least day-dream a happy bike ride!

There's Still Breath on the Mirror.

2010-11-29T21:10:00.000-05:00

I wanted to post something to let folks know I still exist, kind of like the way I breathe onto the bathroom mirror in the mornings to prove to myself I'm still here. There's less of me here though - 21 lbs less, since I started serious food monitoring with help from my friends at Spark People about 6 weeks ago.

I'm about 1/2 way to my goal of 200 lbs, which is about my ideal weight for my height, according to various sources. Right now I wish I was about 6 inches taller, then I'd be at my ideal weight already.

Anyway, I made it through two Thanksgiving dinners, and actually lost 2 lbs last week, mainly by eating much smaller portions than I would have otherwise. The thing I like about the diet is that I'm not starving myself - I keep track of the amount of carbs, fats, and proteins using the Nutrition Page on Spark People. I'm consistently eating 2,000 calories per day, which coupled with regular exercise is erasing pounds. I've found that I get cranky (that's what my wife says anyway) if I don't eat on time. And the menu I follow is loaded with fresh fruits and veggies, which I like anyway.

I'm trying to not sound holier-than-thou, and I'm trying not to brag. I'm simply amazed that I've been able to lose this much weight after years of exercising until I can't move anymore, or going for days without eating much, only to give up and eat three Big Macs at once. But it's not about intensive, pain-inducing exertion or starving myself. I just didn't know how to eat.

I realize that in order to keep this weight off, I'll need to continue watching what I eat. Probably forever. But I feel better about this idea since I know more now about eating smaller meals at regular times. And I don't get uncomfortably hungry.

On a side note, I've been feeling better than I have in a long time. I'm playing the best disc golf I've ever played, and I even got a hole-in-one two weeks ago. I have loads of energy, even at the end of a long day of disc golf.

Still biking only 2 - 3 times per week, and not that exciting, with cold temps and wind and grey skies. I am enjoying reading all your bike blogs out there (even if I don't leave a comment) - keep up the good work!

Happy riding!

On the Bike, Snow Report, Eggshells, and Other Miscellany

2010-11-14T12:17:00.000-05:00

In my previous post I said I was going to take a break from biking. And I did. For about a week, then I hopped back on the bike and have been riding regularly since then, albeit at a leisurely pace. I even commuted to work (20 miles each way), and I stopped to take this photo on Wednesday night.

For the past week we've had beautiful weather, with sunshine and highs in the 50's and 60's. Last Saturday we awoke to our first snow, but it was just a dusting which quickly melted. The snow in northern Wisco and Michigan that fell yesterday didn't get us, but we have abundant wind and cold air today. Will make for a cold, slow ride this afternoon.

Several weeks back, Myles blogged about using eggshells in his coffee. Last week, after I used a couple of eggs, I washed out the eggshells using my fingers to scrub away the membrane from the shell under running water. I let the shells dry overnight, then ground them up in my coffee grinder the next morning. You know that smell when the dentist drills your tooth to prepare for filling a cavity? That's the smell that emanated from the grinder.

I added those ground up shells to my freshly ground Meijer (a regional big box discount store) coffee, and made a pot of fresh coffee. I must say, I didn't like the coffee at all. I kept thinking of the dentist with every sip. I really like my dentist, but I don't want him messing around with my coffee. I think if I was making cowboy coffee, adding finely-broken eggshells would probably help settle the grounds and make the coffee taste better, but I don't recommend using a coffee grinder to process your eggshells.

On the weight-loss front, I've lost 17 lbs since early October by following the Spark People plan. I've used dieting to lose weight before, but I never knew what I should be eating. My previous diets were primarily lettuce salads, rice, and bananas. But the spark people plan gives a detailed menu each day, and lists the grams of carbs, fat, and protein for each menu item, so I can easily track how much I've eaten for each meal and each snack. In addition to the food plan, there is a fitness plan that is very helpful also. All this is free, which is the best deal I've had in a long time.

A couple of things I've learned is that I have been mistaking the empty stomach feeling for hunger, and that eating "healthy" food doesn't make up for eating crappy food. I'm learning that food should be treated as fuel for the body, not for an emotional treat to help me feel better.

Something I don't think I've mentioned much before is that I spend a great deal of time playing disc golf. Yesterday I got my first hole-in-one after seven years of playing. In addition, my disc golf buddy Paul and I tied the course record for best-disc doubles, so yesterday was a great day.

Happy riding!

Off the Bike

2010-10-28T18:14:00.001-04:00

After the last club ride (you remember, the one where I couldn't keep up and was left with 25 miles to ride on my own with sore legs and a headwind?) I got to thinking about what I needed to do to be able to ride faster. Or at least less slow.

Maybe a new, lighter bike? New tires? More speed work? These dang shorts are sure uncomfortable. And this jersey is too tight. Why did I buy biking clothes that are too small?

So, for the past two weeks, I've been dieting, using the Spark People diet and fitness plan. Mainly because it was cheap (free, actually). But it seems to be working. I've lost 9 lbs without trying too hard. But I have been exercising at least 5 times a week, mostly walking, weights, and elliptical trainer at the gym. But not too much biking.

I plan to do more biking, but plan to limit my biking to no more than 50 - 75 miles per week until I lose another 30 lbs, which should be sometime in January. Then I plan to do as much outside riding as weather will permit, and ride the trainer a few times a week inside.

I'll post periodic updates. Wish me luck!

Happy riding!

Fall Colors, Smackdown, and Looks Like I Picked a Bad Week

2010-10-17T15:31:00.001-04:00

You'd think that having been a forester for 26 years would make me a shoe-in for RANTWICK's Autumn Tree Smackdown. I haven't been able to find any Smackdown-worthy trees since the contest began. I decided today I'd better get out and try to find some colorful trees before the leaves are all gone.

These trees aren't too bad, but look at the big tree to the left. We're losing our leaves, man, and they're going fast.

A green tree and one with color. We've had many frosts, but only one mild freeze so far. Most of the trees with green leaves (mainly oaks) are turning brown. In some years oaks can show beautiful color, particularly white oak, which can turn a magnificent deep purple color. Not this year.

A very nice sugar maple, but not much red.

Here are our sugar maples. Not too much color this year. The tree closest to the road usually turns yellow, whereas the big maple to the left turns a beautiful reddish orange, but apparently not this year.

Me and the tricross. It is a beautiful day today. I should have taken a photo of myself yesterday - I was a lovely red color.

Yesterday's club ride was a blazing fast 50 miler, but I rode 5 miles to the start, and 5 miles home, so my ride was 60. After riding 35 miles in the pack, I couldn't keep up anymore with the group. As we headed southwest and directly into the wind, I was looking at the prospect of 2 hours of misery. As I plodded along, I pondered the reason for my lack of energy. This past week, I decided to:

- limit myself to no more than 3 cups of coffee per day

- started working out at the gym again (my eye lids are the only body parts that aren't sore right now)

- started a new diet plan at SparkPeople

Looks like I picked a bad week to do all of these things, and then go balls-out for 60 miles.

Seems like I've heard that somewhere before...

Well, I hope you have lactic acid-free rides!

Trip to Bike Heaven

2010-10-02T17:07:00.000-04:00

The forecast for a cold, rainy day made up my mind - I didn't do the club ride this morning. Instead, I headed down toward New Bremen and my new discovery, the Bicycle Museum of America.

On the way to New Bremen, I stopped by nearby St. Marys, Ohio, to look at remnants of the Miami & Erie Canal. Side note - there is no apostrophe in St. Marys, but I can't tell you why that is. St. Marys is a small town on the edge of Grand Lake St. Marys, a reservoir created in the early 1800's to supply water for the canal. Present-day downtown St. Marys is a quaint place.

The City of St. Marys has restored a portion of the canal, and has built a two-block stretch of brick-paved trail along side it. Here's a replica canal packet, a boat specially designed for canal travel, hauling people, livestock, grain, and other supplies north and south (and a little bit farther north, both east and west).

An interesting side note is Grand Lake was built by damming the St. Marys River, which flows northwest into Fort Wayne, emptying into the Maumee River and heading to Lake Erie at Toledo. On the very edge of the sub-continental divide, water from the lake flows by gravity into the canal, then heads both north to Lake Erie, and south to the Ohio River (then down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico). This lock allows canal packets to be raised or lowered, depending on the direction of travel.

The canal system in New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana allowed the fledgling United States transport people west across the Appalachian Mountains, and to transport grain and other commodities from the west to the east. George Washington was convinced that without opening up a travel corridor from east to west, the new territories west of the mountains would become separate countries.

Of dubious distinction, thousands of native Americans were relocated from the Indiana Territory, traveling through this very lock on their way from their home in Indiana south to the Ohio River, west to St. Louis, then on wagons and on foot west to Oklahoma. While some of the Miami people stayed in Indiana, only those who left Indiana and survived the journey to Oklahoma (and their descendants) were granted tribal status by the US Government. Those descendants in Indiana today still do not have federal tribal recognition.

The next town south on the canal is New Bremen. Home to the Bicycle Museum of America. The museum was created to house the vast bike collection of Jim Dicke, owner of the Crown Equipment Corporation.

According to museum staff, Mr. Dicke purchased a sizable collection of Schwinn bikes from the Schwinn Corporation in Chicago. Much of this room is dedicated to Schwinn bikes.

This bike caught my eye immediately. It's one of 70 Schwinn bikes made by Waterford Precision Cycles for Schwinn's 70th anniversary. Oh, those are Campy Record components. Nice bike. Chromed lugs. How do they do that?

A perfect place to be on a rainy day!

Check out the crank on this bike! Alfred Letourner set the speed record on this bike in 1941 - 108.92 mph! He drafted behind a modified race car. Still, quite a feat. For every 1 revolution of the crank, the wheel revolves 9.5 times.

The second floor was a deluge of bikes. Many notable bike styles from the 1940's to the present are up here.

Another view upstairs. One small side room caught my eye, and I apologize for not getting a photo there. In the small room were a couple touring bikes with stories attached of their rider's journeys across the US. All local people.

After spending several hours looking at all of the bikes, I said goodbye to two of the curators standing near the front door. They asked if I had seen the basement yet. "Basement? Why no. You have a basement?" said I.

One of the fellows led me to the basement where he explained about the collection. The bikes in the basement are there because there is not enough room upstairs to display them.

This Raleigh Twenty is a fairly new acquisition and is being carefully cleaned. I got a kick out of the license stickers.

This cool bike was made by the Commercial Bicycle Company.

Several of these old bikes have the same model Brooks saddle I received for Christmas last year. While my Brooks is new, it is made exactly like these saddles 70 to 80 years ago.

So many bikes.

There are many older bikes in this room that are city bikes before there were city bikes. Made in England, France, and Germany, the city bikes are really well-built. With a quick clean up, most of these bikes are ready to ride. I tried to take a couple photos, but the bikes are so closely packed together I couldn't get any good closeup shots that were easy to see what I was trying to photograph. There were a lot of American bikes down here also, a few brought back some memories from when I was younger.

I will definitely return. This place is cool.

Today there was to be a high wheeler demonstration, but the rider was no where to be found. It was a crummy day.

Hope all of you are able to get out and ride.

Happy riding!

You Never Know What's in Your Back Yard...

2010-10-01T18:37:00.000-04:00

I had no idea this place was practically in my own back yard. The Bicycle Museum of America is about 100 miles away, and I happened to find it completely by accident.

Being interested in canals, I was looking at google maps today trying to follow the route of the Miami & Erie canal, which traveled between Toledo and Cincinnati. In tiny New Bremen, Ohio, I happened to see "Bicycle Museum of America" on the map. No, that can't be right, can it? A few clicks later and I found the web page I've linked above. How cool is that?

View Larger Map

I can't figure out how to get the map to show you "Bicycle Museum of America" on the map as I saw it, but the location is there, right next to Lock One Park.

Not only is there a bike museum, but there is an intact lock on the canal right next to the museum. But that is just the beginning, my friends. There is a hiking trail that travels for 40 miles along the towpath. Some of it is paved with crushed lime, and in other places it looks like the path is just grass. So I'll have to plan a trip over there. I assume I can ride my bike on it.

Yes, there is more. I know you can't wait.

There is a bike shop in nearby Celina, called the Country Bike Shop. They specialize in selling Rivendell bikes and other stuff associated with riding bikes on all sorts of roads. I found the link to that bike shop at the Ultra Marathon Cycling Association's website.

Gotta stop by that shop on my trip over to the canal and bike museum. Man, life is good!

Happy riding!

New Ride

2010-09-20T20:14:00.000-04:00

Last fall, I found a Kuwahara Pulsar at a second-hand shop in Butler, Indiana. For $20, I figured if nothing else, I could get some use out of the components, and it would be worth at least that amount.

After I did minimal work to get the bike working again, I found that the bike pulled severely to the left when I rode it. I straightened the fork in my own crude way, but it seems to ride straight, even without hands. These are the old levers from my Trek. I bought some new red cable housing from Velo Orange.

If you try to straighten your own fork with the above method, be sure to align the dropouts so they are parallel and aligned with one-another.

By the way, I had a 20 year-old roll of cotton tape in my tool box. I forgot it takes two rolls to do 1 handlebar. The handlebars above remind me of the Star Trek episode with Frank Gorshin as the half-black, half-white man who can't get along with another guy who is half-white and half-black (on opposing sides). But, I digress.

The bike is now a sweet ride.

The frame is huge, and I have the seat up a little too high. I do have to be careful when I stop as the top tube is dangerously close to making me a candidate for the Vienna Boys Choir. I read somewhere that a good randonneuring frame is larger than what you might buy in your local bike shop. But as big as the bike is, it seems to fit me really well in the riding position.

Also, note the kickstand. I'm going to leave it one the bike. It's nice to be able to stop somewhere and park the bike without finding something to lean it on.

The fork has two sets of eyelets - one set for a front rack, and the other set for fender stays.

The rear dropouts have the same. How can I not put fenders on this bike?

The Sugino double that came with the bike cleaned up very nicely. It looks good on this old bike. Someday I'll get polished aluminum rims for some bling. For the meantime, I'm sharing the wheel set from my Trek so I can just get out and ride it.

Another lovely sunset.

Happy riding.

New Levers

2010-09-17T20:31:00.000-04:00

I ordered some new Tektro brake levers and some red brake cable housing from Velo Orange. The Tektro levers are for my Trek 500, the red brake cable housing is for the Kuwahara I picked up last fall.

This is the start of a complex series of component switches from one bike to the next. I'm in the process of slowly upgrading the Trek and using some of those parts to upgrade the Kuwahara. I plan to transfer the brake levers and the bottom bracket from the Trek to the Kuwahara. The Kuwahara's handlebars and levers (gum rubber-covered Dia Compe levers) will be transferred to Alex's old Raleigh Mixte. This whole switch is my cleverly-hatched plan to turn her old mixte into a road bike so she can ride a little faster and a little farther.

The fact I have to sacrifice by installing new stuff on the Trek is something I'm willing to endure.

I put the new levers on the Trek tonight and took it out for a spin.

The aero profile looks pretty sweet, n'est pas?

I'm not sure yet if I like the angle of the levers. I like the ramp angle, but when I put my hands on the levers, I feel really stretched-out. It's not uncomfortable, but it is much different than using my other Shimano levers that originally came with the bike.

La Rueda Tropical has an informative post about handlebars, handlebar angle, and brake lever placement.

I'll take the bike on a long ride on Sunday and see how I feel about it then. As for now, got to get to bed so I can get up early in the morning. We're headed to Purdue University for Parent's Day. This will be the first time in a month Alex and I get to see our darling daughter since we dropped her off there.

Happy riding!

Club Century

2010-09-11T19:32:00.000-04:00

The 3RVS (3 Rivers Velo Sport) club held its club century, the Allen County Century today. The route is 100% in Allen County, tracing the outer fringes of the county on the north, east, south and west sides.

Here's the crew on the state line road, about 40 miles into the ride. Everyone still looks pretty happy.

When I go on club rides, I like to help do my share of pulling at the front. This is about the 45 mile mark and the horses are getting antsy. Shortly after I took this photo, the crew, minus Luis and I, pulled away at an awesome 22 mph pace.

We at lunch at the Three Kings Restaurant in Hoagland, about 53 miles into the ride. Notice the old grey Trek, 3rd bike ahead on the left. Sweet Steel!

Several people bailed after lunch and after a short while, it was just 2 Joes, Steve and myself. I rode several miles with the group at a 19 mph pace, but even that was too much for me, so I slowed to around 16 mph and the others rapidly pulled away.

The ride was supposed to be divided into two groups - an 18 - 20 mph group, and a 15 - 17 mile group. Since the 2 Joes and Steve were ably representing the faster group, I wanted to do my best to represent the slower group. Here's me in the 15 - 17 mph peloton.

We ran into rain for much of the way, and I got quite cool at the 75 mile mark. Fortunately the rain stopped for a while at the 80 mile mark. I was a little worried for a while since I rode my bike 14 miles to the starting point, and still had a long way to go. But when the rain broke, my spirits lifted, and I quickly downed several fig bars. I was able to get back to the starting point for the ride in good shape, and rode the final 14 miles without any problems. The total ride ended up at 133.0 miles for me - my second longest ride of the year. I averaged 15.8 mph for the entire ride, so I was quite pleased. Actually, I'm happy to be vertical at the end of a long ride!

Happy riding!

Door County Weekend

2010-09-06T20:10:00.000-04:00

Alex and I drove up to Brooke and Anders' (Alex's sister and her husband) house north of Chicago and drove up to Door County Friday night. Saturday was very windy and chilly, so we rode the trails in Peninsula State Park in Fish Creek. I forgot to bring the camera along on that ride, so I have no photographic record of that event.

Sunday, however, was different. We woke up to pure blue skies and much less wind. So, we decided to take the ferry over to Washington Island, an island north of Door County. Door County separates the bay of Green Bay from Lake Michigan.

The main road running north-south on the island is nicely paved with very wide shoulders, which were nice for biking.

Ambling up the road, we came across scenes such as this:

And this. Far in the background is the limestone bluff at the end of the Door Peninsula.

We rode 6 miles north and 5 miles east to the northeast corner of the island, and the location of tiny Jackson Harbor.

There was a concession trailer at the harbor, but since they were out of fish guts, we decided to not buy anything:)

Actually, there are several commercial fishing vessels stationed at the island, like these two fine specimens. These are the tools locals use to gather net-fulls of yellow perch, which is almost a delicacy. Just ask anyone from the midwest about yellow perch and watch the drool begin to flow.

There is a very small fishing museum here, and this old VW caught my eye. I couldn't figure out whether this was a part of the fishing museum or not. Perhaps this was the vehicle of choice for yellow perch captains. This beetle had the large round tail lights of the '72 and later, but I don't know exactly which year it is. Does anyone out there want to guess?

The 5 Scandinavian flags honor the legacy of the settlers of this island.

Anders was born in Denmark, so naturally, he had to check out the Danish Mill.

Waiting for the ferry back to Door.

Here it comes...

Since it was sunny, we opted for seats on the roof. You can see the bikers leaving the dock. The Island Clipper is a bike-friendly ferry, and the crew carefully loaded and unloaded our bikes for us.

Departing from the island.

Looking back to Washington Island. We are smack dab in the middle of the Porte Des Morts. Glad this is a calm day.

Looking ahead to the Door Peninsula.

We were fortunate to stay in the same place we stayed last Labor Day. This is the view off of the deck out our back door.

Near sundown, we walked down to the shore to watch the sunset. The land you see across Eagle Harbor is Peninsula State Park. It's a great place to ride a bike, hike, and camp.

Shortly after I took this photo, the sun went behind clouds and we didn't get any other sky colors.

Land (water) of the gulls. I think these were mostly ring-billed, although there are herring gulls in the area too.

We walked down the main drag, past this restaurant, which hosts a daily fish boil. We bought steaks to grill tonight. No fish for us.

We saw a building near the water with graffiti all over it. The community actually promotes it if you use a 1/2" brush or less, and are tasteful.

It was too dark to get a better photo, but it was a fun building to look at and read.

This is the location of the world's best chocolate malt. These modest people who run this store would never make that claim - I am bestowing that title upon them. Ever since Rosie's Diner closed on Calhoun Street in Fort Wayne, it's been my mission to find a chocolate malt to match Rosie's. This is that place. Located in the center of Ephraim, WI, next to the water.

I hope the sun shone on you folks this weekend.

Happy riding!

Great Black Swamp Ride

2010-08-29T18:07:00.000-04:00

Saturday I rode east into the Great Black Swamp. We live on the glacial end moraine just north and east of Ft. Wayne.

Below is a photo of the Great Black Swamp, as it appears today.

Probably 99% of the swamp is gone today. The soil is ditched and tiled, very few trees remain. Those woods that do remain are on ground that was too wet to drain years ago. The drained ground, however, makes excellent farm ground. Graineries like this abound in every small town with a rail line in the Great Black Swamp.

In the afternoon, Alex and I drove to a nearby nature preserve to walk in the woods. Here's a photo of Big Oak and Big Oak (Big Bur Oak, actually). Bur oaks like this were common (and still are) in the Great Black Swamp on the bluffs along the Maumee River.

Here's the route I took. A 50 miler with no hills (I'm not counting the US 24 overpass as a hill, although it was the biggest I encountered the entire way).

View Great Black Swamp Ride in a larger map

Happy riding!

A Cool Day

2010-08-26T21:38:00.000-04:00

The weather is finally turning cooler after a hot July and August. While the temps were not nearly as hot as in other parts of the country, it's been humid almost every day since May.

Not tonight. Cool, clear air from the north!

The abundance of heat has matured the corn early this year.

I hope it is cool wherever you folks are out there biking!

Happy riding!