Fall has left

While we haven't received any snow yet, mother nature brought a bit of winter to the area this week. This morning's commute temp was 10F with a windchill of 2F. Thankfully the wind was mild and the ride into work did nothing more than burn my lungs. The days earlier week were better, with morning temps in the upper teens to mid 20s. The Long Haul Trucker was the bike of choice this week, other than today when I took the Singlecross in, figuring one gear would make me work harder and stay warmer. It worked during the loosely organized run to Coldstone Creamery that occurred last night. A cold ride for ice cream, but a good way to introduce two friends to the joys and issues of riding in the winter. I'm sure they will be back for more. 9 days of commuting out of the last 10. Odd that I am starting to get into a grove now that the weather has turned cold. Maybe it's because I'm not doing a lot of riding lately, other than my commute to and from work.

I spent a couple of days this week building stoves to use on extended bike rides and camping trips, both of which I want to do more of this year. Rather than being a slave to the convenience store, it makes more sense to be able to carry food with me and eat when and where I want to. This surely would have saved me some issues on my ride out to Whiterock Conservancy earlier this fall. The first one I built was the SuperCat, whose construction went off without a hitch. It's easy to make if you have a can and a paper punch. In a pinch, I'm sure a nail and a pair of pliers would work as construction tools. On Wednesday night, I built a penny stove, which is supposed to be more fuel efficient, while also heating better.

This stove will heat 2 cups of water to a full boil in 4 minutes. I'm going to build another burner for this one as I'm not happy with the seal that I'm getting with the penny. There are some other designs I'd like to try, but I'll maybe save those for this week while I'm on vacation.

Bunch of riding scheduled for this weekend. PRC's Cranksgiving Alleycat is tomorrow starting at 1 PM. This will be the second year that I've ridden in this, and I'm sure it will be a good time like it was last year. I expect a large turnout tomorrow. Sunday the highs are supposed to be close to 50, so I'm going to get my November Cup O Dirt ride in while the weather is nice. I've posted the ride dates and times to the IowaGravel blog in case anyone wants to join up.

Vacation this week, which is definitely needed. I hope I can take part in CITA's annual Turkey Day mountain bike ride, but that will depend on what I decide to make for dinner on Thursday.

Last, but not least, I have spent some additional time thinking, and have decided to sell my Bacchetta Corsa. My riding focus has changed and I have decided that I would like to have a Salsa Fargo in my garage before TransIowa in May. Selling the Corsa is going to be the way to get that done.

Fall is here

This time of year is always interesting. 39 or 40 degrees during the morning commute and 70 degrees on the way home. Tail winds both ways one day, headwinds both days later in the week. I love fall commuting. Tomorrow will make 3 solid weeks of bike commuting. 100th being open definitely makes the commute easier due to lower levels of traffic, and reasonable pavement quality. I've also been making a point to commute in something that doesn't look like cycling clothes at first glance. Flat soled shoes on the LHT, SPD sandals on my other bikes. Jeans with an ankle strap, or shorts. A wool shirt and maybe a wind breaker. It saves me a bit of time at the office in the morning, and I hope it encourages other people to ride their bikes to work (or anywhere) more. If people don't think that they need to wear special clothes to run an errand on a bike, they might pull that old bike out of the attic and give it a try.

Over the past few weeks, one thing that I have noticed is that many people, even other cyclists, are surprised to find out that I have biked TO a bike ride. Last night I rode with a coworker and some of her friends. All but one were what I would call "dedicated recreational cyclists". They ride a lot, but they ride mainly for recreation. Each of them were surprised that I rode from the my office to the start of the ride, a distance of around 8 miles. I had made a decision a while back that driving to a bike ride that started in town really didn't make a lot of sense to me. Most of the rides that I go to regularly start within a 30-45 minute ride from my house or office. Yes it makes the ride take a bit more time, but I also get more miles in that way, I don't use as much gas, and I don't have to deal with parking. I do it so often, that it's become somewhat second nature. This must mean that the "utility" cyclist in me is getting built up a little more each day. I'm definitely not car-free yet by any stretch of the imagination, but I would say that I'm becoming less car dependent. If time allows, I don't mind riding my bike somewhere to do something, whether it's visit a friend, go to the store, or go for a ride. On the flip side, I don't mind driving if I'm time constrained, or the weather is bad, or I don't feel like riding (yes, it happens). I guess I figure that with all of the extra cycling that I do, that I help offset what some people would consider "frivolous" driving. In the end, you do what you are comfortable doing, and lead by example.

This weekend consists of trail work with CITA on Saturday, and another gravel century on Sunday. Saturday's work is the perfect opportunity to give back a little for all of the time that you've ridden the trails this year. We want to have everything looking nice and screaming fast for the Dirty Du on November 2. Hope to see a lot of you out there even if it's only for a couple of hours.

Weekly wrap up

Tomorrow will be 5 for 5 on work commutes for the second week in a row. Woot! Another spread of bikes this week. LHT for a couple of days, Karate Monkey for a couple of days, Dahon folder for the first time. Sturmey Archer 3 speed and little wheels made for an interesting commute. Riding the Dahon definitely felt like more work than the single speed or any other bike in my current stable. The Dahon garnered a few good natured snickers and "clown bike" comments from some of my coworkers. Price of being different. :) Karate Monkey with the Bob and a cooler will be the ride for tomorrow. First night time Quarter Rage tomorrow night. Gonna head down early, fill the cooler with beer and have a few with Squirrel before (and after, and during(?)) the race. Need to make sure the bike and helmet lights are set to go. Taco ride last night was a good time. We had a lot of people show up, the weather was perfect, and the company was good. Denman's was in better shape than I expected it to be. A few soft spots, but nothing that was terribly sloppy. We didn't get to hillside again. I may just go ahead and ride it myself next week even if no one else wants to.

Gravel hundy ride on Sunday. If you're interested, leave a comment. Not sure of the route yet. Will likely be one that we've ridden before, unless I get a sudden burst of energy.

Commute week

Managed (for the first time in quite a while) to commute to and from work all week. 3 days on my single speed and two on the Karate Monkey. Having 100th street passable is really nice. Dealing with traffic on 86th in the morning was really starting to get on my nerves. I've noticed my appetite was unquenchable this week. I think even the small amount of extra riding is making some difference in how much food my body wants. The weather this week was perfect with morning temps in the mid 60s and highs in the upper 70s during the afternoon. One flat on the front going in on Friday, but I was able to just fill the tire with a C02 cartridge and finish the ride to the coffee shop and then work. Took a few minutes late in the afternoon to change the tube out and remove the offending thorn. No more issues.

Quickie

Commute - 7 miles total on the single speed. 100th is open to local traffic, which means it's open enough for me to ride it to work without being a bandit. About f-ing time. Ride home wearing jeans and a t-shirt in spitting rain and a 15 mph head wind. Guess I should have checked the weather before I left.

Other - 6 miles on the LHT to go get ice cream. Willie Nelson's Peach Cobbler from Ben and Jerry's. Mmmmmmmm

Rasmussen Team and Supporter party tomorrow night. IMBCS #8 on Sunday.

Finally a beautiful week

After all of this winter's cold, this spring's rain, and last weeks flooding, we've gotten a reprieve. Temps in the mid to upper 70s during the day and no rain. I finally went 5 for 5 on commuting this week, which was really nice. Four days on the LHT and 1 day on the Paramount. No jerks trying to run me off the road or cut me off on 86th this week. I wonder if they are getting used to the fact that I'm going to be there, and taking my lane? Got a bunch of other "utility" miles in as well. Rode to Sands and back for volleyball on Tuesday, and rode to El Bait Shop for drinks and dinner with the family, and then over to Court Avenue Brewery for dinner and drinks with a bunch of people from Rasmussen's. This was Greg's way of saying thank you for volunteering to help at the Hy-Vee Triathlon this weekend. The ride back from downtown starting at 10 was interesting. I'm not used to being out on a bike that late on a Friday night, especially downtown. I was extra careful about the route that I took home, and the proximity of other vehicles just to make sure nothing bad happened.

Rode down the 62nd street hill to 86th with Kathy this morning. I took the '53 Schwinn so I wasn't tempted to go much faster than she was going. It's an old bike, and it's likely a bit small for me, but I like riding it. Stopped for coffee and a scone for breakfast and then we headed home.

Racing the Johnston Green Days Crit this afternoon. Headed out to cheer on the rest of the Rassy crew and the PRC girls during earlier races. Afterwards, headed to Ankeny to have some food and drinks. Tomorrow is relaxing on heckling hill in the morning and then working the wheel pit for the Pro races at the triathlon,

Another week

Monday - Rode LHT to work. Rode home, changed clothes and rode to Denman's. Rode Denmans and J11 from 6:00 - 7:30. Rode to CITA meeting. Rode home and pulled in at 10:15 PM. Damn it's dark w/o a headlight.

Tuesday - Rode LHT to work. Rode to Rassys, picked up my rear Surly Nice Rack. Rode home Installed and admired.

Wednesday - Rode Karate Monkey to work. Rode to Rassy's for Taco Ride at 6. Good sized group (10 - 12). Denmans, Squirrel's Nest, Rhythm, Hillside, beer break, Rollercoaster, J11. Rode to Windsor Heights on the trails and then home in the car. Paul Jacobson and gravelo make it down from Ames to join us.

Thursday - Drove to work. Left at 3:45 to help with PRC Duathlon. Enjoyable afternoon/evening watching people run and relaxing by Big Creek Lake.

Friday - Rode LHT to work with the new racks and trunk bag. Polk County Sheriff squeezes between me and an oncoming car while I'm riding 3 feet off the white line. I'm not pleased. Arkel Tailrider trunk bag rocks for the work commute. Drove to Ankeny. Visited Kyle's bikes and hang out for a while. Pick up a 53 Schwinn Traveler that I found on Craigslist earlier in the morning.



I have a habit that needs intervention. Get home from dinner and finish the installation of my handlebar bag on the LHT.

Saturday - Took 83 Schwinn Traveler down to DM Bike Kollective as a donation. Check that a bike is ready for delivery and help move some benches around at the Kollective. Stop at Rassy's and get some bar tape for Conor's road bike. Later in the evening, install the bar tape on Conor's bike. Photograph and weigh the LHT. 40 lbs w/o bags. 57 lbs with. 5 lbs of that is the Surly racks. Prep Karate Monkey for Sunday's IMBCS race #2 at Ingawanis. Pack and stack the other stuff that needs to go with.

Easy day

Rode to work today, guiding the Long Haul Trucker south into today's endless 25 mph wind. I wore street clothes again, because I could, and I wanted to. Took my share of the lane, because it's my right, and I wanted to. Left the office, rode to Barr and picked up a chainring bolt tool, and two new chainring bolts. Headed west (young man) on the Clive Greenbelt trail, turned north onto NW 142nd, rode north on NW 128th street and then home. The tailwind allowed me to spin out the LHT while in street shoes. Solid steel feels great rocketing along smooth pavement. The brakes are not quite up to slowing down, so it's time to look into some Koolstop pads before calipers are harder to get to.

Legs feel pretty good after Sylvan Island, but I can tell that the race worked them over good. Still not happy with how I feel, so I called DQ and arranged a fit session with him next Friday morning, before I leave to help out with TransIowa.

Hump Day

Finished up the fender install on the Surly last night. I think I have about 3.5 hours into installing the fenders. Not that I couldn't have finished them sooner, but I wanted the installation performed properly, so I took the time to do it. Getting a longer bolt for the fork crown and spacers for the rear fenders took a bit of time (and an extra bike ride) as well. However, I'm happy with the results. The rear fender was definitely harder to get lined up since it covers more of the wheel, there were more attachments to deal with, and I had to think about how I wanted to deal with the rear fender stays and their interaction with the quick release and derailer. I ended up using the rack stays and eliminating all of my issues. In the spirit of the internet, I tracked down excellent installation instructions and photos from both the Velo Orange Blog and from SconnyBoy's blog.

Rode the bike into work this morning and I'm pleased with the results. The only noise I heard was when a rock was kicked up into the fender. We'll see how they hold up long term. If I run into issues with the bolts getting loose, I'll add a bit of loctite to the recipe. Speaking of commuting, for the first time ever, I rode into work with "normal" clothes. No lycra, no performance fabrics. Just jeans, a t-shirt, light coat, street shoes, gloves and a helmet with a hat underneath. It was definitely a different experience, and the weather was perfect for it this morning at 28F or so to start. I kept the jacket unzipped a bit, and rode at a fairly sedate pace. It was an interesting experience. I think I'll be doing more of that, or just changing shirts when I get to work . It's quicker, and a lot less hassle once I get to the office.

I'll likely spend tomorrow going over the Karate Monkey in preparation for the Sylvan Stampede this weekend in the Quad Cities. Looking at the forecast, it's going be wet through Saturday evening. Chances of the race happening don't look too good.

Two words: Incredibly Hot

Photo credit: Scott Schuman

What is better than a beautiful girl on a bike? There is just something about this photo. Her eyes, the jeans, the coat. Simply scrumptious. Scott Schuman has photos of many stylish people on his blog, The Sartorialist. Click the title to this post to see all of the stylish people with bikes. Oddsmakers place my chances of being on his blog at about 50,000:1

I'm feeling Surly today

My Surly Long Haul Trucker was ready to pick up from Rasmussen's last Thursday. Due to the lovely spring mix of rain, sleet and snow that was blanketing the fair city of Dead Moans, I decided to return on Friday to pick it up. I have used it as my commuting bike the last two days. I also managed to take a nice hour and a half ride on it. My impressions about it so far are positive. Surly really hit the nail on the head when naming this particular bike. You sit high, just like you would in a truck. You get a chance to look around at your surroundings a bit more rather than concentrating on the wheel or the pavement directly in front of you. javascript:void(0)

The bike has a pace and momentum that is all its own. It feels slower to accelerate than any of my other bikes, including the Karate Monkey. Once you get it moving the bike automatically settles into what I consider "the right pace". This pace is not too fast, nor too slow. It's a pace that really makes you think that the time you arrive at your destination will be the right time, no matter what the clock might say. It's also a pace that doesn't want to make you dive into corners aggressively either. Once the bike has the racks on and loaded, or I have the Bob trailer (which my wife told me to order) attached and loaded down, the gearing is going to be about right.

The Brooks saddle and bar tape were two things I changed out from the stock bike. I really like how the honey Brooks B17 looks on the bike, and the extra expense of the Brooks bar tape was worth it to make the bike look complete. The Brooks will take a bit of adjustment to get so it feels good. Everyone complains about how hard the Brooks saddles are, and after my ride yesterday, I can understand it to some extent. However, I also know that issues were related to my position on the saddle, rather than something about the saddle itself. I moved the saddle forward a small amount before this mornings commute, and I hardly noticed it was there. I'll put a few more miles on this weekend and see how it feels. I ordered some nice wide metal fenders from Velo Orange earlier in the week. They should be here on Friday. Having commuted without them in the light snow on Tuesday, I'm anxious to get them installed. They definitely keep the bike cleaner, and my feet drier.

Friday and all is well

Commute steed was the single speed again today. 40-ish all day. Head wind coming in, bigger headwind coming home. Glad I checked the weather and took the thicker windbreaker this morning. Sterling called from Rassy's today. 58cm Surly Long Haul Trucker is on it's way, along with a honey Brooks B17 saddle, matching Brooks bar tape and the rest of my parts. Should be in on Monday, and ready for me on Tuesday. I can't wait for it to get here, move my fenders over and start riding to work on it.

My friends Bill and Karen, and their son Stirling, are coming down tomorrow. We are headed to Connecticut Yankee Pedaler in Chariton so Bill can look over and try out their selection of recumbent trikes. They carry and stock a number of major brands. Should be a good time.

The smallest things

Got up this morning and looked out at the roads. Wet looking, like it had maybe rained some last night. That, or the warmer temperatures are driving the last of the winter moisture out of the pavement. Was ready to just drive in this morning when I happened upon this. Great photo with a great write up below it. After reading it, I closed my laptop, got dressed, and rode the the trusty single speed to work.

Left the office a bit early and rode the pavetrail over to Rassy's to chat with Sterling about my LHT. The custom build came in a bit higher than I wanted, so I decided to go with a complete bike, along with racks and pedals. They happened to have a 60cm frame in Olive that came in for someone else, so I had a chance to tool around the parking lot on it a bit. After some measurements, I'm can fit either a 58 or a 60cm frame. Sterling will talk it over with Donny Quixote tomorrow and give me a call with the decision.

Weather is going to be a crap shoot tomorrow. Hopefully I can ride. But with weather issues in the forecast, I'll likely be on the lead sled for the commute. Once the LHT gets here, the lead sled will get it's original parts back, and be donated to the Des Moines Bicycle Kollective and from there, it will go to a new owner.

Para-mute

Rode the Paramount into work and back today to see how it felt. In one word: NICE. I swear that this bike has next to no drag at all in the chain line. Either Dura-Ace is some sort of black magic, or I need to spend more time on maintenance of my other machines. I definitely need to adjust the saddle nose up a bit more, and then expose a bit more seat post. I kept feeling like i was falling off the front for the short commute. Acceleration was snappy and it was all too happy to cruise along at 20 while on the small ring. I hate to even think about this, but I'm beginning to wonder if the frame is a bit too small for me. Tapped the back of the front wheel into the front of my foot pulling up to the office this morning. Part of it might be not being used to riding a bike with any sort of race geometry. That or my feet are too big. If the roads are dry, I'll take it into the office again tomorrow. New bikes are good for the soul. :)

A comfy ass is a happy ass (and mine is not happy)

Having ridden a recumbent quite a bit for the last three years, I had gotten used to not having post ride pain in my sit bones. I even rode a lot of miles on my single speed last year and never had an issue with sore sit bones or, as some of my coworkers call it, "numbus junkus". That all changed on last weekend's gravel century. I started having some soreness around mile 45 that just got worse and worse until I finally had to call it a day early. I've ridden the same seat on the same bike all winter on the local trails with no issues, albeit on snow most of the time. Took a few days off the bike, and yesterday's 6 mile round trip was still making me more sore than I should be. This morning I swapped seats from my skinny tire gravel rig over to the Monkey. Ride to work was fine. Took off early to get a longer loop in before the sun went down. 14 miles later and I'm sore again. More riding on the horizon for tomorrow as I head downtown to volunteer at the Des Moines Bike Kollective. Not sure what to do at this point. I'm going to try a different pair of shorts tomorrow and see if it appears to help any. I know chamois wears out, and these are my favorite shorts, but I think that I should be able to get more than a year out of a reasonably not cheap pair of Pearl-Izumi's.

Thoughts from anyone reading this appreciated.

Commute and bikes

Rode the Monkey to work today. Felt good to finally not drive to work for a change. Even though my commutes have been short, under 9 miles each way at the old house and right at 3 miles each way from our new place, those miles start to add up over the months. Commuting is a good way for me to make sure I get some miles in each week. I also tend to ride the commutes fairly hard, which is a big difference from the long slow rides that I normally like to take, and is good for me as well. Over the last year I've mainly used my Cayne Single speed as my commute bike. Even though it's steel, it's fairly light, and it's easy enough to just hop on and go. I'm thinking that I might take the old Schwinn that I bought and turn it into a single speed commuter. It would take some weight off the bike and with the wider tires, and fenders it would be a better bike for bad weather. My other option is to donate it to the newly formed Des Moines Bike Kollective, and then buy a used Surly LHT that I've had my eyes on for the last couple of weeks. As long as one bike leaves when another one arrives, I'll probably be able to get away with that.