Two Wheels

9/23/08 Back in the Saddle
I’ve been riding in the evening with Ollie, but most of the real riding and commuting has been hampered by feeling under the weather. Speaking of weather, we’ve had great cycling weather for most of the summer and Fall so far…
I was able to get on the single-speed Fuji and commute to work yesterday morning. It was a great ride, although it was pretty darn dark on the bike path. The trees shield the path from any ambient light from the sky. I was really trusting that the path was clear and safe. It made me think a lot about lighting systems if I want to keep doing the morning ride. I enjoyed the ride in, and the dark conditions didn’t seem to slow me down much. It took me about the same hour and 15 minutes that it normally does.
Coming home however… it was rather warm, and I was much more tired. I guess trying to do a double commute on my first day back on the bike was a little much. At the end I was just pedaling, rather numb to my surroundings. Good to be on again though.

6/2/08 I just got sponsored (for a week)

No, that’s not a very padded seat.

It’s ridiculous. I asked my bikeshopownerfriend if he’d be willing to rent me a proper road bike for the TMRV ride, and he said he would let me borrow one. Somehow it got out of hand and he loaned me a high-end demo bike. Something I’d never pedal otherwise. So now I’m doing bit of training on this speed machine and feeling awkward with such a serious piece of gear. I do like to ride it, but I probably would be impressed with much less. I had to buy the dreaded biking shorts to tighten up the discrepancy between my own seriousness and the bike’s distinctly racey aura. Strange how that happened. I guess if everyone has them on, no one looks outstanding, or superhuman, or dumb…

5/28/08 Fuji update, bike ride coming soon

I put the new bars on the Fuji and put the road levers back on. It was a bit of work, but came out okay. I did my first handlebar wrap, and while it has some quirks, it worked okay. I had read a couple places that you might have to change your stem if you use moustache bars because they are so low and so far forward. I can attest to it. While they look really cool and sleek, when I’m riding it I’m really low and it gets uncomfortable in any hand position after a while. I took a 15 mile ride at slow speed with Simon and Dad Sidebotham on Memorial day and I found myself really enjoying riding upright “no-hands”.
When I did a more aggressive ride by myself it wasn’t so bad because I was really using the body position for doing the work.
I’ll be getting a new stem, and hopefully it will get them high enough to make it work.

5/14/08 Another project

Sometime in March I decided that Simon and I should take on a basement bike project. Last Fall we found a small 5 speed bike that fits him well. It’s kind of a franken-bike of sorts that looks like it was well used and well loved. I think it may (shh…) have been a girls bike originally, but it had been worked into an androgenous sparkly purple and black wheeled thing. Since Simon is up for some long distance riding, I thought we might be able to make some use of the gears. He rode that bike till about Thanksgiving when it got too cold, even for him.

So, we are going to repaint it and refurbish it a bit. Light blue paint and everything else black. I’m getting all the stickers off and trying to remember how everthing will go back together. Hopefully we can devote some time to it this weekend, and make some headway. During the frenetic month of April my basement workshop was simply strewn with the bike parts, which I tried not to kick around too much.
If I’m lucky I can learn something from it and keep the parts separate from the Fuji operation that needs to be complete in a week or so.

5/13/08 Fuji Royale remixed

Wow, time flies. We are in the middle of Spring and loving the green all around us.
The busiest time of the school year being April and May have kept me pretty occupied and not riding my bicycles too much.

Today, however, I did get a chance to ride home from work. I rode the single-speed Fuji. It was the first time to ride it that far, and it went well. I was able to climb the small hills in the commute with the one gear. The headwind made it hard going, but we got the job done.

I’m plotting to make the Fuji back into a 12 speed. I need a light and ergonomic road bike for some of the longer summer riding. In particular, I’m going to do a an organized ride in Iowa, 100 miles across 2 days.

I’ve ordered moustache handlebars which will offer me more hand positions. Road tires going back on… I’ll take some photos when it’s back in business.

2/3/08
We’ve had some very cold weather, and then plenty of snow around. This has made riding pretty much shut down for the past couple weeks. I have snuck out between cold snaps and storms, but it has been few and far between.

I have been looking at getting some studded tires for next winter. I think it would be worth it to make it possible to get out a bit more. Sometimes it’s really not that cold, but if the roads haven’t been plowed very well, there’s that sticky, slippy, film of snow and ice that is hard to ride on. The studded tires run about $50 each, so it’s an investment you have to plan for.

Tonight we had a couple inches of snow fall, and with it being a weekend evening (during the SuperBowl), no one was in a big hurry to plow the roads. I decided to take my bike out for a spin to see what it was like. Riding on the packed snow on the street was nice, good traction and smooth riding. You just have to watch out for those wheel ruts, they can trap you and make you fall (I didn’t ). Two inches of fresh snow was hard to ride through, like sand, maybe. The sidewalk with irregular foot patterns was a little tricky and took some concentration to ride on, but much easier than fresh snow.

Well, I only rode on my block, and it seemed like an adventure. I really have a lot of respect for those bike commuters in MN and other Northern climes that commute miles and miles by bike through winter. It’s hard work, and I’m sure you plan to fall once in while.

12/29/07
Been riding almost nightly with Ollie, but that’s been mostly it for the bike. We head out for about 2-3 miles a night and I’m mostly interested in staying warm. I haven’t any problems with ice or snow since that one time.

I have been trying to get the Fuji converted over to single-speed. It has been trickier than I had imagined. I picked up a new wheel at Sammy’s and was shocked that he had the exact size and type that I needed. Since then I have tried to put a freewheel sprocket on it and it didn’t fit, even though they are supposed to be virtually universal.
Tonight I took of the deraileurs and shifters which seemed like a “no going” back kind of step. I had to drag the bike into the kitchen to work on it because it’s so cold out. It was fun. I removed about 2 pounds of parts including the chain. Now I just have to figure out how to get the drivetrain to make sense. I’m starting to see why it might be a good idea to just hand it over to someone and say, “make it work”, and pay them $100.
I love how light and simple the bike is becoming, even if it takes me a while to figure out.
12/11/07
The lousy weather lately has kept me off the bike, lately. I guess you could say that the conditions have taken me off the bike literally as well. My first little incident with wintery conditions has my hip and shoulder aching a bit. I haven’t been out since, but I’m looking forward to a bit colder temps when we get less precipitation and the ground is drier.

I’m ready to start working on the conversion of the Fuji to a single speed. I have all the bike maintenance books checked out of the library, and having all that info around is creating encyclopeidic synthesis.

11/2/07
I found a fun magazine online called Urban Velo, it’s devoted to practical-minded cycling. Well, some of it is for cycle geeks, but it’s more of the hipster/ bike messenger side and commuters. It created in Pittsburgh, but contributors are from all over the world. I’m enjoying it.

October was a pretty good month for cycling. I was slightly hampered by a really busy month, and Ollie’s car incident… but I was still able to log 143 miles. I’m figuring out how to stay warm, but not sweaty as the weather cools.

I added mini toe-clips to the Fuji and they are perfect for giving you a bit more security and leverage without dangerously trapping your feet in the pedals. I think I may also add them to the Raleigh hybrid. I think they will work for riding with Ollie too.

Speaking of the Fuji, I have begun to put together a “to do list” to make it awesome. It’s actually quite an undertaking, but I think it’ll be great. Here’s my list:
1. Moustache or simple swept back handlebars
2. Get seatpost unstuck and get a seat clamp (right now it’s fused at in a low position)
3. Get 3-speed hub from SchwinnBreeze threaded to 27 inch rim (remove derailer/ shifter mumbo jumbo)
4. Switch gearing to a single gear up front, by removing large gear keeping the 48t
5. New chain for non-derailer gearing
6. Reflectors
7. SKS fenders
8. Put on the Brooks saddle from Sammy’s old bike

It’ll be a wannabee light, rigid, English 3-speed. It should be good for commuting, and nice to look at.

10/27/07
Here is a great video ad designed to get Brits to cycle more.

10/24/07
As I’m finding my place in the world of cylcing, a few places have started to seem really comfortable. I’m attracted to bikes that are high quality machines while being classic in their styling. I’m not interested in racing or gear that can’t be used daily, for everyday stuff. So, tight clothing and speed obsessed stuff is low on the list. I have found this company, where they are serious about their classic bikes and everything they sell. They say buy the cheapest helmet that fits. They believe wool is the best fabric for sweating in. I don’t think I’ll ever own one of their bikes, but I can learn a lot from their open and informative sharing of information. I am especially interested in their information on bike camping.

10/13/07
I havent’ been updating this page lately for a couple reasons. The first being that I started to log my mileage at BikeJournal, but then later realized that only members could read it. So it’s just my personal log, which is fine too. It was totalling my miles up for me and I logged 215 miles in September. October has been much more busy with afterschool stuff and weekend events, so I’m about 100 miles behind this month. So I guess you could say my second reason for inactivity here is less saddle time.

Of course, builidng up the Fuji and getting Bike to School Day has been pretty bikey and fun. I’m hoping to work out more bike commuting even as the weather turns cold.
9/14/07
Today was a big day for me because I made my highest mileage for a day. I biked to the church where our district was meeting for an district-wide assembly. And then I biked home from the high school. All told, it was 34 miles pedaled. The cool Fall air made it a perfect day. I loved it. Amazingly, I spent 3 hours on the bike, but I also managed to get in a full day of work. I left home at 6am and came home at 4:30. Almost a normal work day for me.
One bonus was that I started talking to another rider on the bike path. He was a retired fellow and we got talking about biking right off. He was an interesting guy and he ended up scrapping his destination and riding with me for 4 miles of my commute, so we could continue our conversation. It made ride go quickly and was fun. I’ll be calling him if I ever need a foldable bike, he has a couple extras.

9/11/07
Still obsessed with the bike lifestyle. I have logged about 125 miles since I last wrote. Riding home from work has been great. I’m organizing a Bike to School Day initiative in hopes to get at least 100 students to bike to school on October 3rd.

My neighbor George wants to bike, but his gimpy leg (as he calls it) gives out on him now and then. I have looked up a pedal assist motor that mounts over the back tire and allows you to pedal less or not at all if you want. It can go pretty quick and gets almost 200 mpg. He wants to get out on the bike, so he’s probably going to slap down the $400 for the motor kit for his bike. I can’t wait to see how it works. I’m more interested in electric versions, but it’s pretty neat either way.

9/2/07
While I’m enjoying as much biking as I can… I am thinking that I’ll eventually put together an e-bike as a special purpose vehicle. You can outfit a standard bike with an electric hub and a battery pack for a couple hundred dollars. As I try to commute by bike almostfull-time, it would be a way to dissolve some of the excuses, like not wanting to be sweaty upon arrival, etc. It’s a long-term plan, but I can see it being a nice option to make the bike commute more likely. As my commute is longer than the ideal bike commute at 14 miles, this seems like a pretty good solution.

9/2/07
The first week of school, the Fox River flooded and took the River path out of the options. I bus/biked to school once last week and did some weekend riding with Simon. I am looking forward to being able to use the river path again this week.
Today I rode on the path up to Geneva and could see evidence of the river having slid over the asphalt in places, leaving it silted. I was able to get in a 20 mile ride in 1.5 hours. The weather was lovely this morning.

Yesterday Simon and I went out for 9 miles, visiting downtown Aurora, the local hombrew shop, and a bike shop in North Aurora. Our pace together is definitely leisurely. He works hard though, with 20 inch tires and a single gear.

8/21/07
14 miles, commuting home, 1:10 minutes
A nice ride through the thick and humid air. The smells were a sweet and earthy perfume from the woods and river. We have had so much rain that the Fox River is overflowing it’s banks in places. About 3-4 spots you couldn’t use the bike path and had to take a short detour around the low spots. The river actually looks a bit unpredictable and dangerous, for once.
It rushes by pretty quick these days. I rode home with stuff in my panniers and it seemed like I could’ve packed lighter. I’ll have to look at ways to carry less stuff back and forth. I don’t really like to have a shoulder bag for a long ride.

8/18/07
13 miles, pushing it, averaging 13 mph
I rode the Fox River trail today. It’s getting very familiar, and most of the other bikes and feet I pass are also familiar. I had a time limit so I was pretty direct about my pace. It was chilly enough to wear a long sleeved t-shirt. Nice cool ride.

8/17/07
21 miles, two rides
I headed out on the Gilman Trail again this morning. I forgot to bring my water bottle so I was motivated to find some water on the ride. I went as far as the trail would go (8.5 miles) which is Waubonsie Community College. I snuck into a building and slurped enough water to get me back home. Looking for a drinking fountain along the way made me realize that our harsh winters don’t allow for very many outdoor drinking fountains. Even parks don’t have them much.

For once it was cool enough that it was almost chilly. Usually, I work up a good sweat, but it wasn’t like that today.

Later in the evening we all took an evening ride through downtown Aurora. The night had gotten clear, cool and entirely pleasant. It was especially fun because Carol came along!

8/16/07
7 miles, social and easy
I did something social and met my co-worker, Greg, for a bike ride. We met in St. Charles and rode almost to Elgin on the river path. It was pretty brief because we had a stutter start with finding the path and getting our act together. We saw some nice nature and I found some nice mulberries. He was only barely tolerant of my interest in stopping and eating from the foliage, but we had a good time. Leaving my bike rack on the back of my car is working out well for getting me to the outlying areas without much hassle.

8/15/07

28 miles between 3 rides, mixed purpose
I started out today with a self-imposed time limit to be out for an hour. I rode the short 3 mile river loop that is near our house, rain drops were falling, so I thought I might want to stay close. By the end of that leg, it had cleared and I decided to try and get in the ride to Batavia and back done in my remaining time. I pushed hard and was able to be heading back at my proposed mid-point. By the time I got home I had done 16 miles in about 1:10.
Simon wanted to go for another ride, so after breakfast we headed out to the Gilman trail. I knew he would like the new scenery. Boy, did he! He was spotting edible fruits all over. We stopped and sampled many things along the way. We ended up doing 10 miles over 3 hours, with plenty of rest.
I finished up the night with a 3 mile ride with Ollie. I am tired and my lower back is sore, but it was a good day.

8/14/07
8 miles, between 2 rides, low ambition
When I woke up for my morning ride I was met with some grumbling thunder and pouring rain. I crossed riding off my agenda and went back to bed. The day turned out to be pretty decent and after lunch Simon and I struck out for some new territory. We headed up to St. Charles to visit a new bike shop there called Sammy’s. It’s run by a charismatic European guy who seems to have a booming business after only a month or two. I bought the seat he recommended for me and we headed out on our ride. We went down the west side of the river and crossed over in Geneva, we headed back up the east side and finished up back where we started. It was a nice ride at a leisurely pace. I know we didn’t overdo it when Simon is already talking about doing another one tomorrow. A couple of those 9-10 mile rides made him shy from riding for a week.

In the evening, I took out Ollie for his regular 3 mile jog. It helps keep him behaving like a balanced herding dog.

Oddly, I bought a bike with a cushy seat and now I’ve gone to a slim and tiny one. Why? Comfort. The big “comfy” seat pinched the nerves in my legs because it was too big. All the springs in the world can’t make that feel okay. So, bigger isn’t always better.

8/13/07

10 miles, 1 hour, leisurely
I rode back up the river to get some more grapes. I added an additional loop to the ride to make it a bit more substantial, but my legs were tired and I took it easy. I was trying to soak up the beauty around me and notice what was going on with flora and fauna. I picked up about 3 lbs. of wild grapes, which took about 15 minutes, and was a nice distraction. More jelly on the way.

8/11/07
18 miles, 1 hour 40 minutes, pushing it (12-15 mph average)
I rode down the Fox River Trail and through downtown Aurora, to pick up the Virgil-Gilman Trail and head west. I only planned to go out for a medium ride, but when I found that the section that had been previously closed was open again, I had to check it out. I think I almost got to the end of it which is at Waubonsie Community College in Sugar Grove, but I headed back due to time. Coming home I shaved off some distance by passing through neighborhoods and shortcutting the Fox River portion.
I was riding too hard to really notice much scenery this time around. Being Saturday, there were a lot of people out on foot and on bikes. It was getting rather hot toward the end of the ride, another reason to get out earlier these days. Only one week left of recreational riding, after that it may be mostly commute related.

8/9/07
14 miles, 1 hour 20 minutes, moderate pace (10 mph mostly)
All the rain had water seeping everywhere. The bike path near the river was covered with water in places. Birds were everywhere, probably feasting on the bounty of insects and worms. It seemed like they were leading me down the path. Lots of cardinals… I saw a black weasel or ferret. A whole flock of white herons or cranes were hanging out in a small pond. So pretty. I was biking on the