14-MAR-2011
Day 74: out running errands
Day 74: out running errands
That was what today was about. I had to hit several shops today and pick up a few things that we needed about the house. Rather than do so in the car, I chose the bike option. It was a delightful afternoon for it with temperatures just above freezing and very little if any wind. Notice: the sky is blue! This is the first time in a long time that I have seen blue sky and I loved every minute of it. I think spring is finally just about here in terms of the weather (in terms of the solstice, it is just around the corner but I will go by the weather rather than by some arbitrary date on a calender for determining when spring really arrives;p)
Anyhow, the km are up to 1115.9 (693.4 miles) on the Dew for the year so far. Up they go:)
Until next time...
13-MAR-2011
Day 73: just out and about
Day 73: just out and about
Boy, am I terrible about reporting mileage! I have not ridden as much as normal in the last couple of days as I have not had time, and was fighting sickness. Now, things are back to normal. I suspect that this week I will have many excuses to run errands all over the place since the weather forecast is calling for 10-12 degree highs for some days. You won't catch me inside on those days! Total for the year thus far is 1081.7 km (672.1 miles). I really want to get out on the cross bike as soon as possible. Just need to get the salt off of the roads and I am on it.
Anyhow, I broke down and tried my new tires today and really like them a lot. They are much much faster a tire, and take significantly less effort to roll down the road. I am pleased with them. They are not good (not even a little) if there is any snow on the ground, so if it snows, I might find myself in a very slippery situation and going very slow. The long term forecast though is not calling for any snow though, so I am not too worried.
About the picture. I wish I had noticed that the picture is not focused the way I want it to be. I would have taken another :( Sometimes, no, all the time, I prefer the precise focus accuracy that my dslr has over the "lets guess" approach that my daughter's point and shoot seems to default to. I do, however, appreciate that her camera is small enough to slide into my pocket though. Can't do that with an E-3. Her camera is much more friendly for this kind of application.
Behind the bike is one of my good friends that I do a lot of cycling with and have known over 20 years (since we started university together.) We are parked outside the Kitchener train station.
Until next time ...
12-MAR-2011
Day 72: it's back!
Day 72: it's back!
And I am not upset. My fast bike is all ready to roll again and now all we need is for the snow to melt and the salt to be off of the road. This bike I don't want to dip in the salt.
It has fancy pants new tape on the bar, a new sealed cartridge bearing headset, and all new cables. I think I might have goofed up on the front wheel rebuild (either that, or my memory is failing) as the front hub has 10 bearing a side and I swear that I have only 9 in there right now per side. So, I have to take it apart and check! Sigh. But once that is done, it will be ready to go again. This is on the list for later today:)
All for now, so until next time ...
11-MAR-2011
Day 71: new rubber
Day 71: new rubber
Yes, new rubber for the commuter bike. The original tires are not too good in my opinion, and I don't really want to use them at all to be honest. My initial thought was to get some Schwalbe Marathon tires, but they are quite expensive and like all tires, wear out. So, I opted for the Specialized Nimbus 700 x 35c tires with "flakjacket" anti flat tech built into them. I have owned Specialized tires with this anti flat tech before, and can say that they work really really well. In fact, I have picked glass out of the rubber that had been ground into the tire.
Now all I need is some nicer weather with no snow to mount them on the bike. Perhaps by the end of next week.
The car is in the photo because I drove again today. I am feeling much much better now, and figured that since I was driving anyhow, I might as well get my cyclocross bike picked up at the shop on the way home. Sadly, this was not to be as the mechanic who was working on the bike was away today and unable to get it finished. So, I will get it tomorrow or some other day then. This is ok with me as I am not intending to ride it until the snow is gone and the salt rinsed away. I don't want to introduce salt into that particular mix but I am ok with mud and dirt. Mud and dirt abrade, but don't cause rust.
Until next time...
10-MAR-2011
Day 70: dirty kona project two
Day 70: dirty kona project two
A shot of the fork badge on my commuter bike. I don't know if I told you this one yet or not, but Kona made a mistake when they built this bike. It is supposed to have a "titanium" coloured fork with mounts for disk brakes and mounts for a front rack. That last part would be good:) Sadly, someone at the factory made an error and shipped the fork with legs that were too short. So, Kona replaced the fork with a Kona Project Two fork which is, in my opinion, a nicer one even though it is lacking in mounting points for a rack.
It also looks far cooler with a black fork and titanium body. My Kona cyclocross bike has a black fork and mostly blue body, and it looks really sharp.
Long live the black forks!
So, I was feeling a bit off today and it was raining like crazy and there was some serious ice under the puddles. I drove. Pending feeling better tomorrow, I will ride in, but I have a feeling based on how I feel now that I will drive again. Sigh.
I have next week off though and hope to make up for the missed days with a vengeance:) I won't have much else to do other than family things so I plan to do a lot of puttering around on the bike.
Until next time...
09-MAR-2011
Day 69: wow, what a ride
Day 69: wow what a ride
I won't dwell on the unpleasant parts of my ride home from work. Let's just say I needed to do some venting and leave it at that, ok?
When I left the house today, it was wonderful outside but I knew it would not stay that way. We were due for some serious rain and/or snow. The forecasters were calling for about 10cm of very wet snow, some likely freezing rain, and then some rain. What we got was about 5cm of slush. No big deal and actually kind of fun to ride in.
I had a wonderful experience with a snow plow operator and have to compliment him and his employer for his behaviour. There is a small piece of my ride that I have to side walk shuffle down (ride the bike on the sidewalk) because, during the winter, getting to the road where the path I take pops out is not possible because of snow banks. I would clamber over it, but the road has a 50kmph speed limit on it which, due to it being a four lane road approaching the city's limited access freeway people routinely do 80 on. So, climbing over the banks with a loaded bike and trying to merge with that is simply not happening. Therefore, I sidewalk shuffle a block. Anyhow, this kind nice snowplow operator saw me, and raised his plow blade so that I would not get a soaker. How nice, and very much appreciated.
About the picture: this is a piece of the Iron Horse Trail in Kitchener. Notice the lovely slush (and notice all the bike and foot tracks - it did not slow anyone down.)
As an aside, isn't it pathetic when the colour photos almost look black and white? Come on spring, we know you have it in you to show up!
Until next time ...
08-MAR-2011
Day 68: another day in the sunshine
Day 68: another glorious day in the sunshine
Here are the numbers for today:
Today: 29.3 km
Year total: 1031.7
Sadly, they are calling for ten centimeters of wet snow tomorrow.
Had a terrific ride home. The wind cooperated like it rarely does and I basically flew home. Wonderful stuff.
I have been using my cell phone more and more for this blog because taking the E-3 on the bike can be a major hassle. I am now officially saving for a high IQ digicam which will go with me everywhere I go and replace the cell as my pocket camera. Perhaps later this year this might work out and happen.
Cheers!
07-MAR-2011
Day 67: peaceful ride
Day 67: peaceful ride
Took the bike into work today again. All the wet snow of the past few days has mostly melted, but last night, what was left froze into solid ice. This made for a slippery ride in this morning. I did not fall, but I did have the back of the bike slide out in a neat fishtail when I lightly touched the pedals while making a turn.
That was exciting.
After being at work for about an hour, I checked my bike for some reason and found that I had a flat tire! I am still not sure what caused it. There was nothing in the tire, and I certainly never rode on it flat. The only thing I can think of is that when turning into the parking lot at work I must have rolled over the drive way edge at a funny angle or something and pinched the tube. Nothing else makes sense.
Anyhow, by the end of my errands today, I finally broke over 1000km. If I keep to this pacing - riding to work about three times a week plus getting out on the weekends once - and never touch my other bikes at all, I will be on track for a 6k season. Since I intend to ride the other machines, it is easy to assume a season with more like 10+ k in it. Not too bad.
I have decided to start something new today (that I used to do over on my blog on blogger but stopped for some reason when I started things up here) and that is to record my mileage for the day and my year to date total. I am not doing this to brag, but rather for interest sake and as a bit of a self motivator. I am silly like that.
Anyhow, here are the numbers for today:
Today: 48.92 km
Year Total: 1002.3 km
Until next time ...
06-MAR-2011
Day 66: photo walk day
Day 66: a wonderful day for a photo walk
I woke up today to a lot of new snow. My daughter basically went back to bed in disgust. So did my wife.
I, on the other hand, jumped on my bike and went Uptown for a wonderful walk with some photograph buddies of mine. When I get back to the computer later, I will link their works to here so you can see what they are up to with their cameras (those that I can link to that is.)
All for now!
05-MAR-2011
Day 65: the big fix
Day 65: the big fix
There is something immensely satisfying about fixing something. Even if that something is not broken.
One thing that is suggested to do with a bicycle that you want to keep running in good order is to clean the thing fairly regularly. Seeing as this is the first winter that this bike has seen, I felt it a good idea to clean it and to overhaul the hubs while I was at it.
Doing this involves removing the wheel, disassembling the hubs, wiping all the old grease and grit away, polishing up everything (as in, buff it to a shine), stick in some new grease, and reassemble it making sure to adjust everything so things spin smoothly and there is no side to side knocking or play. It is advisable for wheels with a quick release that a very very tiny amount of play be left in the hub (so small you almost cannot feel it) as the cam action of the quick release has a "crushing" effect on the hub when it is clamped down which results in the hub becoming slightly tighter. Do it right, and the clamping of the skewer will put the hub into perfect adjustment. This would be the goal and I think I nailed it this time.
It was a good thing I took the hubs apart. The front in particular had very little grease left in it (I think they were a bit stingy at the factory as what grease was in there was pretty clean) while the rear just needed to be cleaned up badly. This overhaul should hold until mid summer depending on how much rain and slop the bike ends up soaking up.
My intention for the headset is to let is "die" on the vine. I will most certainly overhaul it eventually, but on a low end bike they usually are a true weak spot. I will replace it with a FSA sealed cartridge bearing head set when this one goes or starts to. That will reduce maintenance on it to replacing the bearing packs every couple of years.
The bottom bracket will get a "every two years" replacement - it is a cheap cartridge one and since I am winter riding the bike, putting in a good one would be a silly waste of money. All it has to do is spin freely and not go "crunch." Inexpensive will do. Likely, it will get replaced almost exactly one year from now. In the mean time, I need to come up with a better mud flap for the front fender which hangs lower and curls forward around the wheel to keep slop from striking that part of the bike as much.
Until next time ...
04-MAR-2011
Day 64: wonderful in, wet home
Day 64: wonderful into work wet home from work
A bit of the morning golden light for you. The ride in this morning was wonderful - crisp, cool, but nice and dry. I had a tail wind all the way in. The ride home was less crisp, warmer, but raining. Thanks to good luck, I had a tail wind all the way home.
Ahhh bliss.
Until next time ...
03-MAR-2011
Day 63: out of inspiration today
Day 63: out of inspiration today
Today? A bit of a dud inspiration wise. I have successfully fought off a cold/flu thing and am feeling much better. Today was a non bike day - I did not even look at it except on the way past it to the work bench to take this shot. I did not think it wise to ride in to work in the cold when I was right on the edge of being sick. Smart move as it turns out - my friend who did ride today said it felt cold. It wasn't cold, it just felt that way since spring is so close that some days you can literally smell it (if you know what I mean.)
So the lack of inspiration takes me to the basement to the workbench to the pile of spare bolts and nuts I have for bikes. I think everyone with a bike who tinkers with it should have a box of things like this. Just some spares. All I did was go to my local bike shop and ask for an assortment of the most commonly used bolt lengths, nuts, and washers that they use to attach things to bikes. They live in this old cake pan.
A number of years ago, I inherited cake pans and cookie sheets from my wife when she declared the house a "no non-stick surface" zone unless that non stick was a cast iron pan seasoned right, greased glass, or ceramic. Works for me. It is better for you, and I ended up with several parts trays for the workshop.
Anyway, back to the photo. A picture of my bike? Well, the greasy bolt you see in the middle was on a bike of mine once... A picture from my bike? Well, only if I sat on it while I took this which I didn't...
Until next time ...
