more parts for the cross check

I got another box of parts that are going into the Cross Check that I'm building. Some of 'em are below:

At top: Who knew? You can buy brake and cable housing in bulk, at about $1 per foot! Those are 25-30' rolls, enough to hold me through several rebuilds of all the bikes. (I asked at Kim's, but Bennie was incredulous that I could get it for that price.)

Bottom right: J. P. Weigle frame saver, for spraying inside and keeping inside rust at bay. The can will do 3-4 bikes, so if somebody's doing a build, I may have some left over.

Bottom left, more bling: polished aluminum skewers from Velo Orange, my favorite neo-retro vendor. (No, my favorite isn't Rivendell Bike, despite the fact that Grant Petersen has been in these posts far more often than Chris at Velo Orange. Petersen is more vocal and colorful a character than Chris, but Chris has lovely stuff; I've spent more money there than at Riv.)

The pic below shows the "VO" logo in the lever end of the skewer.

I like it.

The frame and other parts from Kim's are supposed to be in this week (I have no doubt this dratted snow is interfering). Then, when The Excellent Wife goes off to Poland, I'll build up the wheels and start the bike assembly. It is supposed to keep me out of trouble while she's gone.

how to do everything podcast

I have so had it with being stuck in the house; I'm actually ready to go back to work - but up to six inches of snow are predicted for tonight into tomorrow, and I may not even be able to do that.

When I exercise, I listen to podcasts. Now, NPR has taken to adding a promo to the beginning of each podcast about another podcast that they are promoting, and this morning, I heard a promo for How To Do Everything. It sounded interesting. I downloaded two, and now I'm binge-listening.

It's run by two guys, Mike & Ian, who are tech guys on another NPR show. They take interesting or stupid topics, and get "experts" to offer opinions (for example, they had the lead singer for the group Smashing Pumpkins talk about making pumpkin pie, before going to Paula Deen to get actual useful information). They also have a recurring topic on interesting toilets, and music to listen to while you do whatever you're doing while you listen to the podcast (a woman who counts rings in the bones in fish ears got a few seconds of "Put A Ring On It").

"How To Do Everything" is taking the curse off my enforced idleness. You can put this link in your podcatcher to get it.

crosscheck project: parts

Over the past month, I've made a couple of references to a project I intend to build up, and I ordered some of the parts last week.

The parts are starting to arrive. Below, for the wheels build:

H-plus-Son TB14 rims, F125 front hub, SL210 rear hub, spokes, nipples, and other parts from Brandon at BikeHubStore.Com. Brandon runs a small shop, and I think he runs the help chat from his cell phone because he's been available and helpful days and evenings. I especially like that he doesn't label things; the only labels on any of that stuff is a small one around the valve hole on the rims (and yes, they do come with that fetching lingerie cover).

Below, a couple of other deliveries.:

Lower right, some bling: an IRD crank with old-style flutings. I've had my eye on this for a while. Lower left, some stop-washers from Rivendell, so I can back-engineer the bar-end friction shifters on my current commuter to be downtube shifters. Above them, some anti-bling: an inexpensive Shimano Altus rear derailleur (see the link for the too-long description of why this might be a good idea). It will happily do nine speeds with the friction shifting I'm going to use.

The frame will be a Surly Cross-Check, which I've ordered from the excellent Dave Kim at Kim's Bikes (yes, I know some folks have had trouble with one of the staff there, but you don't have to deal with that person, and everybody there treats me like the rich uncle who leaves Franklins on the table when he leaves, including the Spanish-speaking mechanics in the back). He's collecting some other parts for me, too. The handlebar and brake levers will be ported over from the set I built up on the commuter: a Nitto B115, with drop-bar levers that will work vee-brakes (don't use your regular brifters for these, they don't pull enough cable).

Further developments as they arise.

why cycling is notable

One of my secret shames is that I occasionally visit Facebook, partly because the Princeton Freewheelers club page has info that doesn't appear anywhere else, and partly to see Ed Kanitra's Bicycle New Jersey page.

On the latter page, in the comments to a link to an article on Why Cycling Makes Us Happy, a fellow member with the excellent screen name of Pete Jr Leather said this:

Bicycling, (for Transportation, Sport, or Exercise) is notable for these basic things:

1. You get to sit down.
2. The scenery changes.
3. like all 'technology derived hobbies', it satisfies the 'Human 'need' for gadgets'.

That is next door to perfect. I wish I'd said it.

final on cycling glasses

Six months ago (sheesh!), I wrote a post on getting cycling glasses. At the time, I thought it might be a "stuff that works" post, and it's turned out that way, but it took some doing.

I wrote that I'd decided to go with the Serfas Gladiator glasses.

They showed up for Christmas, but before they did, I sent the prescription inserts off to LensesRx to get bifocal lenses installed. (In that earlier post, I wrote how nobody local wanted to do the job, ether at all, or for what I thought was reasonable.) I got the bifocal-lensed inserts back, and, for distance, they were a great improvement over the glasses I had been using.

For close-up, though, they really didn't work. The bifocals were set for focus about twelve to sixteen inches (30-40cm) from my face, but my GPS is farther than that, and I couldn't see it well. I went back to the LensesRx site, and saw I could get progressives for only a little bit more than the bifocals.

I ordered another prescription insert from Serfas on December 29. When I hadn't received evidence that it had shipped by January 8, I called; evidently, some of those post-Christmas orders had been dropped behind a water cooler, or something, so it only went out after my call. While I was waiting for the insert, I paid for the lenses to be installed (there was a great sale at the holidays), but I didn't pay for expedited service. The service was much slower than the first time I'd gotten the lenses.

But they've finally come, and they're great. The distance vision is right, and I can see the GPS on the bike. I can't see the real close stuff... but I don't need that when I'm riding (I can certainly see well enough to do road repairs).

I can recommend the Serfas glasses and the LensesRx lenses, with some caveats:

1. Don't order from Serfas when they're recovering from the holiday party;
2. Go for the progressive lenses; and
3. Pop for expedited service at LensesRx.

light enough for ya?

That might not be too heavy. (I make no warranty about road-worthiness, reliability, or long life.)

I have so had it with weight-weenies.

Original from today's Oddman.

no-so-hilly ride with ed & rick

It's not clear whether it was because Snakehead Ed was tired from riding yesterday (he was on an old steel bike, with a narrow gear range, and had no cleats in the bottom of his snow boots)...

... or whether it was because there was still ice on the roads, and we were afraid of hitting a patch of ice on a speedy descent (that's my story, and I'm stickin' to it)...

...or whether we decided we didn't want to hassle with the traffic changes caused by the closing of 514/Amwell Rd in Millstone...

...but we decided to do a flatter ride than usual today. Just three of us came out; Rick W joined Ed and me to do this route. That includes my ride from home, as well as a ride to the Better World Market for some junk, and my ride from there home.

We went up through the Weston Causeway (open again; it seems like it was closed forever), taking advantage of the little traffic on 514 due to the closure, then down into Hillsborough, and towards Rocky Hill. We stopped at the Kaufman Center in Skillman for a quick break (Ed was feelin' a banana deficiency), and we heard some band or other practicing; they had left some drums an other paraphernalia out in the parking lot:

Snakehead and Rick enjoying (?) the music:

From there, we went down to 518. Rick suggested no break, so we zipped back to Six Mile Run/Blackwells Mills, where we started. I figured I'd earned some junk calories by that time, so I told 'em I was riding to Better World Market, and Ed met me there; we settled some family matters, explored the relative merits of old and new bicycle technology, and otherwise wasted some time before leaving.

I took my circuitous way back to avoid the construction at the dip on Route 27 below Cozzens Lane, and as I came out, I discovered a flat in my rear tire; I wasn't two miles from home. It was filthy, wet, and cold; the only break I caught was that when I took the tire off the rim, the tube was stuck where a huge construction staple had punctured both; I decided I didn't have to look any further for the hole (although my rear tire is beat up and gashed, possibly from riding over sharp salt crystals; it may need early replacement). I got home after the tire change without incident... but, all in all, I would have happily given up that bit of drama.

gotta get out ride

Even though it was expected to be colder than I like, I decided to go out on Laura OLPH's ride for today (I think The Excellent Wife [TEW] was glad for me to go out; my mood's been a bit cranky recently), especially given the description:

Saturday's forecast is for cloudy skies and temperatures hovering around freezing.  Screw it. Let's try to get out on the road anyway... We'll stick to the flatlands, where the roads are wider and sunnier than up on our mountain. We'll aim for something in the 40-mile neighborhood at a slow B pace.

Y'know what? Seven others, besides Laura and I, also thought it was too good to miss. We did this route (Laura had emailed me the link the night before, but it confused Mr. Garmin; I may need to get him seen to).

It was a good ride; not fast, but social (which is a lot of the reason I ride with Laura and the people who come out with her). This early in the season, some of us were out of shape, and if we ride tomorrow, some of us may be complaining (even moreso than usual!).

Riders included Barry, Chris C, Dave C, John K, Marco, Ed C, and Ron S, whom I haven't seen since I can't remember when; it was especially good to see him. Here's hoping we see more of him. Below: he rode in from home.

Below: it was cold enough that Barry decided to wait in the car!

More at the start:

We stopped at the Stonebridge Bagels in Allentown, one of my favorite stops (they treat us like folks, and the kids behind the counter show me a deference I definitely don't deserve):

Below: Ed was riding that wonderful old steel Trek, with a real freewheel. He has his eye on a cross bike with disk brakes, but this one catches my eye every time.

(...but my poor bike SO needs a cleaning, to get the salt and road grit off. I need a warm weekend to give it a good overhaul!)

In other news, the parts came in to build the wheels for the Surly bike. Expect more pics early next month.

project

A few weeks ago, I said I had a "maybe" project. Well, The Excellent Wife (TEW) is going to be away for a couple weeks next month, and I'm going to use that time to start on the building of my cyclocross/local chores/take-it-easy bike; the one I expect to take on rides with TEW and the one I'll ride when I lead the Bike Exchange rides. I just put in an order for most of the parts at Kim's. I got the rims delivered this week, and the rest of the wheel parts are coming. Some of the other parts are being ported over from my hybrid.

Plan on seeing some posts about the build.

... and throw away the key

From the Washington Post:

‘Revenge porn’ Web site creator convicted; he victimized thousands of women

From the linked article:

Kevin Bollaert, a 28-year-old Web developer from San Diego, created UGotPosted.com in December 2012. The site occupied one of the Internet’s seediest niches, inviting men to submit naked images of their former lovers as “revenge” for a breakup. By the time it was taken down the following year, the site included photos of more than 10,000 people, mostly women. The images were often accompanied by identifying personal information and links to the subject’s social media accounts....

Bollaert used a second site, ChangeMyReputation.com, to demand money from the women whose pictures were posted in exchange for taking them down. Prosecutors said he charged up to $350 per person and made tens of thousands of dollars from the site.

More here.

I don't believe in the death penalty, but it's not because I believe it's cruel. It's not. Decades of imprisonment is much more cruel. (And there's always the risk that the executed person will become a martyr.)

For some people, no cruelty is too much.

tour de franklin registration

It's a bit dodgy to find - at this writing, the link from the Franklin Food Bank site is "404 not found" - but the registration for the Tour de Franklin is open. (Kudos to friend Dave C, who pointed it out.)

For the past few years, I've led a team of Freewheelers on the 60-mile ride at a "B-ish" pace. I intend to do so again, if the weather holds. I'm registering now; Dave tells me that they are limiting the ride to 660 participants (HAH! I'll bet that's an artificial number to create a false sense of scarcity; I'll bet they got a bit over 600 last year, and figured in a 10% increase. But I digress...)

I'll put up a post on the Freewheeler page about it. If Freewheelers want to do one of the other rides, I'd be grateful if you join my online team anyway; I'll have instructions on how to do that. I've just sent in my registration and the team is not set up yet.

small chainring ride

Between the snow last week and the snow that's expected for tonight & tomorrow, there was a brief caesura today, so after doin' the taxes I got out on a short ride (some of my friends were doing a ride in Philly, but it sounded like an hour in the car out and another back for 20 minutes of riding, so I decided to give it a pass). I have a huge, thick, warm pair of gloves from my motorcycle days, so I decided to try them today.

It turns out that I lose so much dexterity with the clunky gloves that I could barely shift the rear, and shifting the front took more forethought and planning than I was happy with (there's a major bridge closure on 514, and some of the overflow traffic uses roads I like to ride on; these drivers are already angry and disoriented, so an old guy on a bike is not a welcome sight on these snowy roads with no usable shoulders). I did the whole ride, almost, in the small ring.

Except for the traffic, it was a relaxing ride. On the part of the cogset I use with the small ring, the gearing is close, so I was able to keep my cadence steady, and got home less wiped out than I sometimes do (I haven't needed a nap today). Here's the results.

Bike needs a wash; it's all grit and road salt. Here's hoping for an opportunity to do that soon.

One of my unofficial goals is to ride in each calendar month; for 2015, I'm 2/2.