World's greatest panniers

I think cyclists fall into three camps when it comes to moving things by bike: bag on bike, bag on person or basket. And, then there are some weirdos use pockets or plastic bags hanging from bar ends.

I used to always put my bag on my back, but then I started carrying heavier things longer distances. That makes for back pain and sweat. So, I invested in Ortleib Roller Classics (for the back rack) and my life has changed in so many positive ways. They're so waterproof that it's incomprehensible and practically take themselves on and off the bike. Even yesterday as I was ruining by hubs and bottom bracket in the flooded meadows, my pannier contents stayed dry.

Speaking of carrying things around. Soup art returns! Tomorrow at 7pm!

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Debut of mediocrity

As a crappy cyclocross and mountain bike racer, I decided it was finally time to try racing on the road for once and went to Battenkill. Salem told me that racing in the Cat 5 field may be frustrating because I'd have to do a lot of work. I wasn't totally sure what he meant by that, but I think I get it now.

Johanna came with me to Albany and we spent the night there with brother and sister-in-law. It's very pretty in Cambridge, NY and I'd say that the scenery comes close to rivaling D2R2. It's got dirt roads and I love those. It's got three 1/2 steep dirt climbs.

The race itself was ok. It started slow. Going against all advice I've ever been given, I rode off the front around mile three or so. My awesome solo break didn't last very long, as people caught back up to me right after the covered bridge and into the first dirt section. That was fine. A lead group kind of developed and sort of a chase group developed. But they didn't stay very well organized as far as I could tell. By a couple miles after the first feed zone, there weren't really any groups at all. People had ridden ahead of me and I caught a few. I rode with a nice guy from New York for awhile. Around mile 48, there are a bunch of dirt rollers with a climb preceding them. I rode ahead the guy from New York around there and rode the rollers by myself. It flattens out near the end, except for one mile long climb with 6 miles to go. There's a descent and the last three miles are totally flat. I noticed the guy from New York had reappeared about 500 yards behind me, so I rode quickly (for me) and finished ahead of him.

It would appear that the winning times for 3's, 4's and 5's are all about the same, but more people drop out in the 5's. My field started with 50 and only 38 finished. I finished 19th in my field, which is pretty poor. If I'd raced with the 4's, I would have finished like 70th or something. I think because of the frenzy to register for this race, people aren't totally racing in the category in which they normally find themselves.

But, anyway, that's my boring race report. I saw another guy racing on an old Waterford like mine. He did better than me. Happily, I wasn't the only person with unshaven legs. Also, while I like this new to me bike, I developed some crazy lower back pain for the last thirty miles.

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Bikes Outside: I like the Sprite in you

Today, the Bikes Outside lens drags itself away from hiatus with a proper steel workhorse. This 1970's Raleigh Sprite 27 shares both the color scheme and solid, overbuilt construction of the Checker Marathons that still ruled the streets of New York back in the day. Given that this one could actually accommodate a passenger, the taxi comparison is somewhat appropriate.


Aside: I was obsessed with Checkers as a child, once asking for a ride in one for my birthday (we almost never splurged on taxi rides). They were increasingly outnumbered by Chevy Impalas by the early 80's, so my Dad's attempts to hail one resulted in an errant Impala stop or two, followed by Dad explaining to an irritated cabbie that his shiny new Chevy was not what he was looking for.

Between the bright colors, the trailer flag and the massive twin horns, this rig should be hard to miss (or hit, as it were) The bright Brit machine was parked at a gas station convenience store on Albany Avenue, making it the first Bike Outside profiled in the Clay Arsenal neighborhood. Read more!

When is a dog a Snail?

The Snails were joined for a few miles today by an enthusiastic new member.

Also, as you can see by this partially blurry image,

the Snails were uncharacteristically moving fast enough to warp the space-time continuum.

It was just another average run-of-the-mill Friday in Hartford, which is to say the Snails were out and enjoying themselves admirably. I rode one of those archaic bikes with an 8 speed cassette and of course kept breaking down, while the others basked in their Zen bliss of trouble free riding.

By the way, have you noticed the green bits sprouting and making it really start to seem like spring?

Brendan enjoys the trouble-free operation of a simple bike,

while my bike decided to "excessorize."

Also, with the snow, then water, then mud finally clear of our haunts, we found some ways blocked by trees, forcing us to alternate routes. Luckily, Brendan was able to demonstrate the cyclocross technique for which his bike was breed.

You can almost hear the cowbells.

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When is a reason reasonably well reasoned?

While recently reading a forum when I probably should have been doing something useful, I saw a question asking what the advantages of a fixed gear are. There were the usual responses of simplicity, training a good spin, and the Zen art of bicycle riding, but being my frequently unhelpful and sarcastic self, I proffered, "What is the advantage of riding a bike when cars are so much faster and easier."

My bike for the coasting-challenged cyclist.

(While I didn't vote Technium for the frame material poll here, it's a sweet ride and I would like to find another 440, 460, or 480 model with the downtube shifter mounts.)

Actually, I wasn't really trying to be sarcastic and unhelpful, but rather to subtly make the point that simple enjoyment of something is sometimes a hard think to qualify, no matter how real it is. Admittedly, I more often opt for easy riding bikes with multiple gears and the ability to coast, but something about the fixed gear is nice. To that end, I road it last night with Brendan and a bunch of others from my father's house. With everyone else shifting and freewheeling along with the greatest of ease, I made use of every other advantage I could find. What fun!

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Mounds

I was all excited that the City had built dirt jumps down by Colt Park where the snow mountains had been. Sadly, they're actually just gravel mounds into which I sank when I rode on them. Read more!

Topsy Turvy World

Survey says that 73% of women who have a safety concern related to bicycling named "distracted driving" as the concern.

In conversations (that are generally one-sided) with "well-meaning" (re: busybody) coworkers and acquaintances, not a one has asked if I was afraid that a distracted driver would slam into me. No. The fear that they try to transfer from themselves to me is that of being attacked by a stranger. According to the same survey of female cyclists, only 13.1% named stranger attacks as one of their concerns.

In the February issue of Bazaar, Liza Minnelli is quoted as saying, "Keep moving. Always be a moving target. [...] Marilyn Monroe taught me that." Those who have concerns of being ambushed might calm themselves by keeping those words (completely out of their context) in mind. Read more!

Something with which you can disagree

I like my Mondays oppositional. Read this and feel the same way. Read more!

Suitably epic

While we didn't get a Nor'easter of snow in Hartford, it did rain and was kinda gross. No one else wanted to ride with me on Friday afternoon, but I wasn't about to let that stop me. So, in the twilight drizzle I rode off in the boardwalks of the Hockanum. Descending the stairs behind the East Hartford town hall, two nice young men with bmx bikes warned me that it was slippery and pointed at muddy pants. Of course, I'm Brendan the awesome mountain biker. Therefore, I crashed about a half mile later. Believe it or not, wet wood with a fine coating of river mud is slippery. My left foot still hurts. Other than that, it was a pleasant Friday evening ride.

That was the warmup for yesterday's reconnaissance ride for the Detour de Connecticut. I don't want to divulge too many details, because it should be something of a surprise for those who embark. At 113 miles, it took me about an hour and a half or so less than the D2R2, but I also stopped more during the D2R2. It's though, but I recommend. It's funny that rides like this beg so much comparison to D2R2, but I guess that's the ride that most accurately captures the New England dirt road zeitgeist.


Of note is definitely how ignorant I am of CT east of Willimantic and I bet most people are. When riding on dirt and paved roads out by Riverton, the Barkhamsted Reservoir and all those scenic places out to west, you'll still see some cyclists because it's still relatively close to some population. But, when you head out that way and the biggest population center is Willimantic, nary cyclist (or person, really) is to be seen. It's cool, our suburban state generally doesn't feel so remote.


So, mark your calendars for May 7.

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Too much of a good thing?

Last fall, I played host to the first Detour de Connecticut with great success, or as Brendan put it, "Nobody died." That ride included such novelties as traversing officially closed dilapidated bridge girders and mid thigh deep Glastonbury Cove crossings, but for this year, I'm scaling back the "adventure course" aspects and substituting an extra 30+ miles. Introducing: 2011's Detour de Connecticut. This will be the "Bow Tie" edition, based on the rough shape traced by the route.

Not yet convinced this is a bad idea? Learn more here.

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Flinging Mud

In the spirit of the Red Sox, I also had a completely bootleg opening day for cycling. Now, it's not that I stopped during the winter. It's just that my cold weather cycling was transportation-only, not joy riding. So, with today's forecast of temperatures in the 50s and sunshine, I was excited to get out and go down by the river, where it would not be flooded anymore.

I loaded up the Jenny, who does not go out when there is snow and ice on the ground. The plan was to ride around, read a book in the sunlight, and maybe stop for coffee before meeting up with friends on the other side of town. Everything is all set and ready to go, and I realize the tires are really soft. I usually make such observations once I'm miles for home. Oh, and I have no idea where my pump is. I had to unload everything and take Starry Starry Bike, which does not have a basket and which still does not have the seat/handlebar arrangement quite to my liking anyway. I like to sit upright, not hunched forward.

Since the tires are all inflated and I needed to get out for fresh air, I was not going to be too annoyed about it. Anyway, it's got working brakes, which is more than can be said for most local bikes.

The first thing I notice is that everything is out of whack. The shifting is rough. There are three separate sounds coming from the bike that ought not be. But the brakes work and the bike can move, which is all I need for the time being. I just wish it would be a more stealthy ride.

The public path is, of course, blocked with a gate. There's enough room to walk my bike around it, but a cargo bike wouldn't fit. This is total bullshit and there are other barriers that could be put into place that would allow bicycles to go through more easily, while blocking cars. Patrolling of the Riverfront is sporadic -- heavy during the week and less so on the weekend -- which is only a concern in so far as I wanted to immediately complain about the gate to someone.


So, there is a new crop of graffiti, none of which is impressive. Really, if you're going through the trouble of making illegal "art," why not write something worth reading? Step it up guys!

My irritation with how inaccessible this awesome path is continues. The elevators to the elevated plaza were marked "closed for season." It's April, sunny, and warm. What season are they waiting for? So, I have to either go all the way around from the edges of the Riverfront path (which I do) or I have to portage my bicycle up all the friggin steps. I can't walk up half the stairs without getting winded. Those are crap options.

A large section of the path is now muddy from what the Connecticut River gifted us when it overflowed its banks. It ended up being better that I took Starry Starry Bike because the Jenny's tires probably would not have liked it. As sloppy as it was, the mud only got on my boots, thanks to my fenders.

It was fun watching people sliding around on the path. Looked like the MDC trucks had trouble with the path too. Suckers.


When I got to the Riverside Park I saw that there was a festival of fire or something on the East side of the river.
One marvels at the things that go on over there. Fires. Dirtbikes on sandbars. It's comforting to have a river in between us and that nonsense. We only have to contend with uninspired graffiti and drunks passed out on the stone benches.

Like a drifter I was born to bike alone.

When I finally abandoned the riding around in circles aimlessly, I thought I'd stop off for a late breakfast. After manhandling the quaint sidewalk cafe so that I could lock up my bike, someone came over the inform me that the new cafeteria-with-canned goods has a bike rack inside of the parking garage next door. They might want to post signs advertising that. Anyway, I sat where I could see my bike just in case some ironic young professional decided to mess with it. Next time, the bike is coming in with me. If people can bring strollers into stores, I can bring my bike. There's nothing on my bike, after all, that wails or shits itself.


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Bokeh

I've been listening to the new album by Bibio a lot lately. It's called "Mind Bokeh." I had never heard the word bokeh before and assumed it was made up. It's not. Johanna harnessed the awesome power of wikipedia to learn that bokeh is a Japanese word for the part of a photograph that's out of focus. The shallower the depth field, the more bokeh.

I don't have a great camera, probably because it's part of a cell phone. However, it's the only cell phone I've ever had that has a macro zoom. I'm not sure if it's a virtual macro zoom or if it's actually part of the lens. None the less, I can get good bokeh with it. As seen in the above picture of a Siamese carrot.

And for those reasons, Salem jumped off this wall.

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Sometimes the best turns...

...are the wrong ones.

Looking to build on last fall's Detour de Connecticut success, or as Brendan put it, "Nobody died," I've been scoping out an expansion of the route while scaling back some the aerobatic bridge crossing and river fording. As of today, I'm pretty sure I have it, but more on that later--watch this space.

More to the subject line, I was out east again today on a scouting mission, when I didn't check my notes and rode up Ballamahack instead of Back Road. Hey, they both start with "B." I'm guessing Back is pretty nice as well, but Ballamahack treated me to a not-quite dead end, turning into an unimproved woods road, descending past an old homestead and finally finishing at a beautiful little hidden pond.

I even managed to find some more old roadways to take me back to civilization after a brief walk through the woods on a the far side of the pond. I love it when a backfired plan comes together.

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Sue the MDC

Quick, while you still have the chance, sue the West Hartford Reservoir. Brendan and I rode there today. I had a good time, but I still don't like the place. I annoyed Brendan a lot by telling how I don't like riding there, even though I was smiling the whole time. I'm funny like that. So, if enough people get in before legislation is passed and sue the pants off the MDC, I surely won't have to ride there anymore. I should start a committee, or an action group, whatever that is. So, sue, sue, sue.

The people in this slide are posing as the revolutionary heroes who fought to free us from the yoke of the English crown, and give us the right to sue anyone we want. For example, Brendan could sue me for taking a picture of him, looking at the slide, without his permission. You'd think he was posing for the shot, but no, I just violated him silly and candidly. He should definitely sue me.
And here's Brendan again, but this time he knew I was taking the picture, so I'm probably safe. That said, someone should sue the Beat Bike Blog for the sticker on what's left of a pay phone. Who do we think we are. Actually, we didn't put the sticker there, but someone should probably sue us anyway to be safe.
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I, testify!

Public hearing season is almost done and there's one more recreational liability bill up for a hearing, this time it's before the judiciary committee. Go testify or submit written testimony. Here are the details:

If you care about recreational access to your municipal lands, you need to help NOW.

Last July, over 700 people attended a public hearing in West Hartford to let the MDC know that closing its lands to public recreation because of liability concerns would be unacceptable. Since then we have been working with State Legislators to restore recreational liability protection to municipalities. This is the same liability protection enjoyed by private landowners and the state of Connecticut, and the same protection that municipalities had enjoyed for 25 years before a court case (Conway v. Wilton) took it away.

On April 4th at 10:00 a.m. in Room 2C of the Legislative Office Building in Hartford, the Judiciary Committee will be holding a public hearing on H.B. 6557

remainder of writeup on the CFPA web site

thanks

charlie [Beristain]

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Spooky mountain rally

I've played with the idea for a little while and I think I want to go through with it.

It'd be a two hour race made out of Goodwin Park and Cedar Mountain, coming out to 9 miles or so per lap. I think that'd mean that you'd get two or three laps (you'd have to fit two laps in two hours, to start lap three). This could be fun, right? You'll be scored on speed, style and intelligence. Beginning of May? Rideable on either a 'cross bike or mountain bike, I'd say.

Anybody interested?

Another Eel!

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The woods are still there

Last fall, Dario, Salem and I had an appointment in Berlin. We rode there by way of Cedar Mountain. While in the spooky woods, we encounter a woman who was sad that all the trees were being cut down to make way for a subdivision. That didn't sound good, though it did explain the orange bands on lots and lots of trees. However, it did seem strange that any would want to build a subdivision in this economy.

I haven't been back in the woods since the end of December and when I rode through there it was evident that something with big tires had been through. It hasn't really taken down any trees, so I don't know what the big-wheel thing was doing in there. Bulldozer off roading?

Today, I rode over there in the romantic sleet and the trees were all still present. The spooky woods are still standing and hopefully will be forever. Read more!

Power Walking

If you look really closely under the leftmost stack of power line insulators,

you probably still can't see Hartford in this grainy photo.

While riding in falling snow can be fun, I had my fill of it this winter, so with the white precipitation and my right hamstring feeling a twinge strained (my saddle height was fine, but my shoes were too low!), I took today's exercise in a the form of a walk out the power lines near my father's house and into the Meshomasic state forest. I've ridden those woods a lot, but walking affords a different perspective, increased ability to wander off-trail, and more time to snap photos.

Above: an old airplane hanger finally succumbed to the weight of winter snow.

Below: X marks the spot for a ridiculous and big fishmonger's house.

(yes, again with the small, grainy photo)

And, from the files of rednecks giving rednecks a bad name:

The serenity of natural environs

What may appear as golden strands are the rusted steel belts of automotive tires,

for the sweet taste of burnt rubber with your s'mores.

Don't let all the spent shells frighten you; it will only encourage them.

On second thought, go ahead, be afraid.

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A (ride from the) City of Two Tales

It all started with the Eel. I met Brendan; I started riding with Brendan. Eventually, I rose to the lofty status of Beat Bike Blog contributor. Of course, I kept riding with Brendan and would sometimes mention the possibility that we'd end up writing about the same ride. Well, the day has arrived. Sorry, here you go.

Salem got a new bike. It looks a little like this Huffy that he once made me take and subsequently....

Oh, wait, my lawyers have informed me I can't just copy his post, you know, plagiarism and all that. So, here goes.

It's true, I have a new used bike. The previous owner decided the original brown paint was too butt ugly, so he had it repainted a buttier and uglier black. Or, as famed frame builder and saver of steel frames, Peter Weigle once told me, painting a frame black means you gave up. He didn't specify what you gave up, but I have a sense of what he means. Despite all that, I rather like the new beast, although it does have an appetite for seatpost extension, swallowing a full 2" of it on today's maiden (for me--really, she's an ol' whore) voyage, and I have been compared to a certain princess with a pea based sleeping disorder, so low saddle heights don't sit well with me.

Believe it or not, I didn't actually intend that pun; they just sort of happen.

But as some possibly drug addled fellow once said, it's not about the bike. Even more so, it's not about the cell phone, which Brendan was so giddy to document me using. For those that don't know my curmudgeonly eccentricities, I'm quite the Luddite. I'll spare you the details, and trust me, if you knew, you'd thank me for that. So the phone, it was given to me by a friend who works for Nextel or whatever they're called now; it was her old one and has no service, but by FCC law can still be used to call 911.

Here's the picture I was taking when Brendan caught me in that compromising position.

So anyway, the ride, it was really fun, but you already know that. Brendan told you so.

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Nem buh!

Salem got a new bike. It looks a little like this Huffy that he once made me take and subsequently took back from me because he liked that bottom bracket, uh, bracket thing. It was sort of like an eccentric bottom bracket bracket, but the bottom bracket wasn't eccentric. I guess it was like a bottom bracket spacer. Anyway, I digress. It's a Bianchi B.u.S.S..

Salem and I went for a bike ride today. We rode down to the nemba ride at the Blow Hole. I learned a few new trails there that makes the place a little more of a destination and less of a pass through. For a small park, there really is some great singletrack.

Then we rode home. Salem got a phone call.

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What's Your Excuse?

On her bicycle, an elderly person was able to escape the tsunami in Japan.

I find it impossible to listen to stories like this without immediately wondering how people in the United States have grown to be so soft. During most of the year, people in Connecticut find excuses for not biking. "It's too rainy. It's too cold. It's snowing. It's dark and someone might stab me. The humidity might make me sweat."

Do you think this woman ever thought for a second, "Oh, I can't get on my bike. I'm too old and it's too wet outside"? Read more!

Summer employment

You know who's hiring? Kingdom Trails is. All sorts of summer employment stuff, including being a mountain bike patroller. Need something to do between May and October? This could be it.

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Mundo Gordos

The stock wheels on my Yuba Mundo had served me well for the umpteen months I had been riding the bike full time, and I had not been particularly gentle on them. Experiments with very heavy loads and a few impromptu off-roading adventures had put them through more than their share of abuse. They hadn't required re-truing since they were new, but the sweet muse of rationalization assured me it was time for new wheels.

I did have a few minor complaints about the wheels, the first being that the single-wall rims made tire bead seating annoying (especially with the O.E. Schwalbe Big Apple tires, which had "relaxed fit" beads) and that the loose ball-bearing rear hub seemed to need attention more often than I would consider reasonable. Also, the original Quando front hub, while perfectly functional, caused prolonged loops of Englebert Humperdink to play in my head as the logo flashed repeatedly into view when I rode slowly.

The primary reason I wanted to build new wheels for the Yuba was my epiphany on dynamo hub lighting during the darkest hours of September's ill-conceived Coventry trip. As long as I was building a new dyno front wheel, it seemed like a good time to upgrade the rear wheel to a 7-speed freewheel (it was 6 speed! Why Yuba, why?) and cartridge-bearing hub like the "V-3" Mundos have (mine is a "V-2") I chose my components, waited for sales and coupons to come up and accumulated the necessary parts over the next few months.

The hub choices were easy. I wanted a disc-ready 36 hole dynamo hub for the front. There were two choices: Schmidt or Shimano. With Schmidt hubs retailing for $300+, there was really only one choice. I bought a black 36 hole Shimano Alfine hub from Harris Cyclery. A Hartford expat friend who works near Harris picked it up for me and brought it to the Real Ride, saving me the time and expense of shipping. The rear hub is a Modus-branded Yuba-specific anomoly: 48 holes, 135mm O.L.D. with a 14mm solid axle, cartridge bearings and old-school freewheel threading. Short of custom fabricating such a beast from bmx parts and unobtanium, Yuba was the only source. Luckily, it was reasonably priced. Yuba has since introduced a disc brake version of this hub for the disc-ready V-3 Mundos which would make for better dishing.

It seemed that I had two choices for a matching pair of rims. The only rim brake compatible 26" rims I could find in both 36 and 48 hole drillings were the Sun Rhyno Lite and the Salsa Gordo. I later learned that the Velocity Chukker and Psycho were both available in 36 and 48 hole as well, though at a 50+% price premium over the Salsa. I had been running a 36 hole Rhyno Lite (with a lackluster generic hub) up front on the Yuba ever since I converted it to a front disc brake. I went with the Gordos to try something new (I hadn't built any Salsa rims before) and because they were available in black in both drillings, which matches the hubs and tends to look more presentable while dirty than silver rims. Since these are the wheels most likely to be around when someone inquires about wheelbuilding, I like for them to look their best.

I assembled the wheels using DH13s, which are Wheelsmith's heavy-duty double-butted baaad muthashutyomouth spokes. The 13 gauge elbows were a nice, snug fit in the Alfine dynohub, but downright loose and jangly in the gaping holes of the Modus hub.

I found #4 brass washers at the ever-awesome Park Hardware and bought 50 of them, knowing that I would inevitably drop one or two of them and lose them under the stove. I placed them on a piece of wood and gave them each a good whack with a tapered punch. The resulting dished washers made for a perfect fit.

The front wheel was a great build. Everything quickly and efficiently came into uniform truth and tension. Beautiful! The rear wheel took disproportionally longer than its extra 12 spokes might have promised. It ended up sitting in the truing stand for a few days getting finished in a series of 15-minute sessions of miniscule corrections until the truth, tension and dish were optimal. My bedtime breaks with a cup of tea and a spoke wrench made for a nice winding-down ritual in December.

My new wheels were pressed into service at the very end of 2010. It was a fitting New England baptism of some of the harshest conditions we've seen in years. They have spent the past few months slinging salt, grit and slushy snow and conquering a bumper crop of fresh potholes. I'm thoroughly pleased with the wheels and positively delighted with the dynamo lighting. I sprung for a new set of tires while I was freshening up the rolling stock, but I'll save the tire review for another day (ditto the light). Read more!