Dead real estate

I was putting some final touches on Johanna's Jake the Snake for upcoming abuse of it on the D2R2. I wanted to take it for a spin, so I rode it up through Cedar Hill Cemetery, out towards the quarry and nearby spooky environs. Much too my surprise, they're doing all sorts of crazy new construction at Cedar Hill. It looks like they're adding more ponds and that they've taken down a good 5 acres worth of forest (which, of course, make me a little sad). How did I miss this? I go through there pretty regularly, but it has been maybe a month or two.

And then (GPS is so cool!), I rode down through those other Cedar Hill trails and some of it appears to be legit singletrack.

(this is not a picture of legit singletrack)
This is totally fucked up. In the woods above Cedar Hill, there are a couple of pet carriers, indicating that people drive up there to abandon their pets. Assholes. If you can take on the responsibility of getting a pet, don't get one at all.

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Bikes on Dikes

It began with what was meant as a short detour on the way home from Colt Park -- a jaunt along the paved Riverside path.

But Saturday was the first time this summer that we were not faced with disgusting humidity, 85+ temperatures, or some crazy hail-tornado-thunderstorm-Armageddon warning. Instead of turning back when the pavement ended, we kept going on the path between the Connecticut River and the flood barrier.

Every single time I have ridden past the paved part of the path, I have encountered less than optimum riding conditions -- ice, mud, and most recently, sand. Starry Starry Bike would be awesome for these rides, but for some reason, I am always finding myself here on a bike that lacks awesome knobby tires.

Still, it's quiet. As Interstatement reminded me while I was kvetching about the precarious ride, we had not seen any pesky baby carriages in some time. Nothing makes me happier than being away from screaming babies and their often smug, entitled parents, as one is wont to be subjected to in the disputed territories.

A deer jumped across the trail. We did not encounter anyone once we reached the sandy part of the path, though we could hear the whining of dirt bikes across the Connecticut River.

The path dumped us out somewhere near the highway, a dike, and a giant billboard advertising pizza, which is basically torture when there are no decent pizza joints in that neighborhood. We rode alongside the tracks for a bit before finally finding ourselves back on the pavement, cutting through Keney Park, and then heading home.

*Somewhere along this route, I believe, is where I picked up a case of poisonivy. I won't post pictures of that.
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Frankengoose

It was the bike nobody wanted. A barely-used Mongoose hardtail with a short-travel suspension fork and chunky tires that hummed loudly on the pavement. My upstairs neighbor gave it to me when I inquired about his much-nicer Nishiki mountain bike years ago. I found it too heavy for serious mountain biking and too redundant to use instead of my Trek 720. I gave it to a friend's teenage son. He wasn't interested, and it was too big for my friend or her daughters, so she gave it back to me. I offered it to another friend's teenage son, but he scored a sweet Giant on the cheap, so I was stuck with it once again. I disassembled the bike and installed a 700c rigid fork from a Trek, intending to make a sort of low-rent 96er winter beater. There wasn't much of a winter. It languished.

Enter friend #3. Her son was going to college and needed a city/commuter bike to get around. Did I have anything that might fit the bill? Yes I did, and this time I had an inspiration. At some point I had noticed that the rear stays were really long on this frame. It turned out there was enough room to fit a 700c x 32 rear tire with a fender. I got a used rear road wheel with a 7 speed freehub and a new front wheel for peanuts at a swap meet. I swapped a MTB axle and a 5mm spacer onto the rear wheel to make it 135mm and re-dished and trued it. I found a brand new Vittoria 700x32 tire on the curb in my neighborhood (?!) and found a matching one on sale at a local store. I had two front fenders left over from another project, so I mounted them front and rear, adding an orange strip of Scotchlite reflective vinyl for added visibility and snazziness.

The 'Goose originally had V-brakes front and rear. I mounted the original front brake on the Trek fork, installing a pair of the large original pads from my Yuba. Out back, the original canti posts were too distant from the 700c rim to use anything shy of a super-adjustable, super expensive Paul Components brake. I used a rear sidepull from an old 70's Nishiki road bike that is likely bound for single/fixiehood. By adjusting it wider than I usually would, I found that it worked quite well with the V-brake ratio lever. The slightly used original pads from the front brake fit nicely and made for perfect toe-in. The vestigial brake posts remain, which looks goofy, but I had no interest in grinding them off and repainting the frame, so they remain. I was pleasantly surprised with how well the bike stopped without squealing.

Gearing-wise, this bike is a 1x7, with a Hyperdrive-C cassette swiped from my disassembled Skykomish, Gripshift from a mid-90's Trek and a derailleur from a Peugeot mountain bike frame I have. I had modified a welded triple crank to a 38 tooth single long ago with this bike in mind, but it made for an abysmal chainline, so I had to get creative. I started with a ubiquitous late 80's/early 90's 28/38/48 Shimano Biopace mountain triple. With 10 nylon spacers from the hardware store and the stock chainring bolts, I was able to space the lone 38T ring inboard. That combined with a deliberate flip of the asymmetrical bottom bracket spindle (from a Fuji folding mountain bike) made the chainline just about perfect.

The cut-down flat handlebar and Sakae stem used to live on my Trek, and both came from trash-picked bikes (I installed the grips after the pictures were taken). The frame, headset, bottom bracket cups, seatpost, saddle and front brake are all that remain of the original bike. I messed with so many major aspects of this bike that the geometry was a blind crap-shoot, but it turned out to be a nimble-handling bike without being twitchy. The high-riding bottom bracket gives it bonus cornering and curb clearance. It earned barrio approval, with a few shouts of "Nice bike!" as I test rode it on Park Street. I was pleased. Most importantly, I'm told the bike's new owner loves his new ride, and it's unlikely to come back again. Third time's the charm! Read more!

Ladies drink free!

I got an email (press release?) from this bike shop in Avon. I complained once about bike shops and woman, maybe these guys are trying to redeem themselves. Here it is:

Hello,

My name is Edgardo Rossetti, I’m contacting you on behalf of Sun & Ski Sports in Avon, CT. We are hosting Outdoor Divas, a women-only event, in partnership with the MS Society and HealthTrax, on August 19, 2010 from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

We are reaching out to local businesses, clubs and groups in the area and are pleased to extend an offer to you and your female athletes.

The various clinics will focus on:

• Nutrition
• Health assessments
• Bicycle maintenance and repair
• Bike fittings
• Cycling shoe fittings and cleat placements
  

Additionally, Hor'dourves and wine will be provided.

Please let your female athletes know that they should RSVP at sunandski.com/events.

For more information please contact us at 860.676.2300 x133 or at meghan@adamsknight.com.

Thank you!

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Bikes Outside: Political Asylum

Connecticut's primary came and went this past week. The barrage of robo-calls has had a brief lull, and a sense of impending underwhelm has enveloped the promise of the next few months and terms to follow. A candidate or two that have occasionally kind of recognized the existence of bicycles won. A bike-friendly candidate lost. It's all very bothersome, and I found the best way to get away from all of that is to go for a little ride, which I have done on some new (to me) local routes over the past few days. The best parts of these rides have been quiet and semi-remote, but the paved approaches have been peppered with bike riders aplenty.


A side effect of the bounty of bike riders is a corresponding dearth of street-parked bikes. They are out there, of course, but trying to avoid bike or location redundancy has made for slimmer pickings of late. Maybe it's a sign that I need to spend more time in further-flung neighborhoods from my own.

I believe today's Bike Outside is the first Asylum Hill contender in the series. I found it halfheartedly tethered to a Willard Street fence. It's a fairly typical beater Huffy, still getting the job done with few outward signs of maintenance. Like virtually all of its quasi-ATB 26" wheeled brethren, it sports knobby tires that help make urban riding that much more of a chore. I had two unexpected off-road jaunts this weekend, both on wide slicks, and it wasn't difficult enough to warrant running knobbies all day for the sake of the occasional patch of dirt. If the lower-end bikemongers would simply spec some street tires on these bikes, it would make riding them a bit more pleasant and cut down on the glut of used 26" knobby tires at our nation's bike co-ops. The Urban League's bike shop program (also in Asylum Hill) had a towering pile of them. It doesn't seem to be discouraging a lot of people from ridng, so I guess it's not all bad.
Have a good week.

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Less than a week

Now that primary season is over, we can focus our undivided attention on the D2R2. Last year's debacle weighs heavily on me. I wonder if other participants conflate D2R2 to be a measure of their person; I am. I've ridden about 600 miles in the last two weeks. Is that enough ('cause it's not really that much)? I don't know. It's serious, man, like I'm living in a Gatorade commercial.

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My Jump

When I ride to work through Trinity, sometimes I jump this little gap in the parking lot by the field house. Often, there's a car parked there, but on nice days, there isn't. Today, there wasn't, so I did my lame little jump.

The end.

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Ulnar Neuropathy

Do you think about your left pinky much? I've been thinking about my left pinky a lot, because it's gone numb. It would seem that I have developed an ulnar neuropathy, which according to velo news is caused by "poor bike fit with too much forward pressure or riding on rough terrain under constant handlebar vibrations". I'm guess my problem was caused by mostly the latter scenario. It sucks, because I have motion and control on my pinky and it doesn't hurt, but I can't really feel it. Supposedly, it'll go away in three weeks or so.

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Sea and Oh

You may recall from the landmark beat bike blog post that Johanna and Brendan sometimes ride a long way. We did it again. This time we decided to ride the C&O Canal. It's a tow path that runs from Washington, D.C. to Cumberland, MD. Friend of the blog, Dan Shoup rode it once (among other things) and I've been wanting to ride it since I was in 5th grade. Earlier this week, we did it.

It was a fun cycling and camping adventure with Johanna astride her Kona Jake the Snake and me with the 23 year old Diamond Back Apex. There were arguments, horrible thunderstorms, really cool caves, quality American meals, a beautiful river, bent rims and more dirt road riding (370 miles) than you can shake something at. Originally, I had planned to write some long narrative about our ride, but this isn't crazy guy on a bike. We're succinct here and I've leave you with some pictures.

The only downside to bike touring is that my right pinkie still has no feeling.

near Sharpsburg, MD.

Great Falls!

Paw Paw tunnel

You see a lot of this.

Ortlieb makes awesome panniers.

The Canal is full of these dudes.

I found my 'cross bike's long lost Technium cousin in Hancock, MD.

And finally, River City Cycles in Williamsport, MD is an awesome bike shop. Highly, highly recommended. Johanna wheel was trued back from oblivion and the owner was wearing an Iron Cross t shirt.

And of course, my valiant traveling companion:

I'm in a cave.

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Bikes Outside: Vito Power

Following our recent excursion to to the hinterlands outside of the capitol city, we find ourselves back in Downtown Hartford proper for this week's street-parked bike. It seems I've been around Bushnell Park a lot this year, which is true. I've been sort of a blog slacker of late in the face of other obligations, but I'll try to raise the bar a bit in the future. In the meantime, check out the Rockhopper I saw near Vito's on Trumbull Street.


Specialized no longer offers a full-rigid Rockhopper, which I think is a shame. I'm all for innovation, but don't deprive riders a chance to taste the original recipe. I'm not sure how old this particular bike is-- mid/late 90's? early oughts? It's new enough to have a threadless fork and V-brakes, but beyond that it's a Grip-shifted throwback to the golden era of mountain biking. However many years it has been around have been relatively easy ones, as it's in good condition.

The slam-dunked, nose-in-the-air saddle suggests someone is either too small for their frame or nostalgic for their BMX bike. Other than that, everything here could have easily been as it was the day it left the bike shop. I've been meaning to obtain or piece another mountain bike together, as my latest all-terrain beater is getting commuterized for my neighbor. The "Piece together" option is the more likely and viable of the two, but something like this would suit me fine.

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Bikes Outside: Drum Beat Bike

This week we are crossing a line I had considered with great trepidation and apprehension. For the first (non-postcard or vacation) time, the Bikes Outside lense takes a look at something parked beyond the boundaries of Hartford proper. I've seen plenty of sweet bikes parked in the surrounding suburbs, where the average sweet bike-buying budget per capita is much higher, but felt like broadening the search would make things too easy. I've decided for now that I will allow Bikes Outside the occasional foray beyond city limits for extra special bikes within Greater Hartford.

Today, we find ourselves just two miles from the border established in 1854 by Otto Liebend Blauzurück as "A clear demarcation 'twixt The Spigot and Roger's Package Store, in preparation for the future enforcement of a minimum age for the consumption of spirits." Here, steps from the shopping center that many foolhardy Hartford Advocate readers mistook for a neighborhood in Hartford, this morning's bike was spotted outside of West Hartford Town Hall during the recent MDC public hearing. Aside from its owner being on board for a good cause, this bike has that extra special something that lets it into the rarefied club that is Bikes Outside.

This bike makes the cut because it is a winning mix of elegant lines, quirky components and sturdiness. I always love me some Chicago Schwinn, and the swoopy lines of the traditional American cruiser frame are an enduring form in the bike world for good reason. While seeing a cruiser that isn't a cheap Chinese knockoff is refreshing, it's not enough to land you here, nosiree. This bike goes the extra mile. There's the color: somewhere between coral and brick-house red, dulled and nicked to a comfy patina. There's the front end: a crowned tubular fork (instead of those lame flat bladed ones some Schwinns have) and the massive Wald basket say, "I have arrived, and I brought a 12-pack!" The chrome fenders, random newer stem and springy seat all add to the look, and then there are the brakes!

I am hopelessly fond of drum brakes. My first car had drums all around, my gorgeous, snarling 1970 Triumph had drums front and rear. I have stared in awe of the massive finned aluminum drums on vintage racing motorbikes and cars. Adding drums to a neat old bike is an automatic win for me. I fully understand that disc brakes are the most effective hub-based way to decelerate a wheel, but how can you look at those clunky finned beauties and not be a bit charmed? The rear one in this case has a 5 speed freewheel attached, insuring the rider can climb hills in preparation for some white knuckled brake-warming descents. Good stuff.

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Ur Doin it Wrong

I was doing an internet search to find out some boring facts about bicycle usage, and the top website results all had something in common -- they either mentioned fatalities or included some sort of baloney like "you can ride in CT if you don't mind feeling like you are taking your life into your own hands." It's like some unwritten rule exists that every conversation about riding has to allude to danger, helmets, and hellish drivers. I swear it's all to keep the masses complicit in the destruction of the environment by coercing them back inside their cars via stories of bicyclist fatalities.

Whatever. Sometimes bike crashes are hilarious.

For instance, Snooki, some creation out of Jersey that I do not understand entirely since I lack cable tv, but whose existence I know of thanks to Perez Hilton and TMZ, tested the boardwalk with her face today. And of course, you can watch it, over and over.

No, you're not a bad person for mocking someone who is famous for being an obnoxious partygirl. Read more!

GPX'd

I'm 15 years late to this technology, but I have a phone with GPS now. And, it can track me. I forgot to turn it on yesterday until several miles into the ride, so this isn't the most interesting track.

None the less, check it out:

Some more pictures:

And, what am I planning here?

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The Hours

It wasn't that great of a book.

Anyway, I have an observation to make regarding the sanity and insanity of drivers in Hartford. From what I can tell, it all depends on when you're on the road.

• Before 8:25am, people are ok.
• 8:25am to 8:50am everyone is insane.
• 8:50am to 2:30pm everyone is ok.
• During the school year 2:30pm to 4:30pm everyone is insane (very, very insane!)
• 4:30pm to 7:30pm everyone is ok.
• after 7:30pm Thursday through Saturday everyone is crazy

I have some theories on this, but they aren't very scientific. Bullet point number two doesn't actually seem to have much to do with people running late to work. That just seems to be when people who drive like assholes go to work (or where ever it is they go in the morning). Bullet point number four's craziness is ascribed to people with kids being crazy, or maybe crazy elementary school kids are driving the cars. The last bullet point is because drivers are on their way to go get drunk or are already drunk.

The strange thing about inter-town commuters is that they get worse when they get further out of Hartford. I think this is because they just spent some terrible time on the highway and by 6:00pm when they're in their town, they're angry.

As a whole, as I've said before, Hartford drivers are amongst the best when interacting with bikes (knock on wood). They seem to be used to weird things on the road.

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