It's the wrong time of year for it now, but I stumbled across this article in the National Post* about how to make your own studded tires for riding on ice.
No, thanks.
*Apparently a Canadian magazine; the article is from 2011.
Wednesday, August 26, 2015
ice tires
It's the wrong time of year for it now, but I stumbled across this article in the National Post* about how to make your own studded tires for riding on ice.
No, thanks.
*Apparently a Canadian magazine; the article is from 2011.
Tuesday, August 25, 2015
bike book gifts
For my 60th birthday, a few months ago, Laura OLPH and Snakehead got together to get me a couple of bike history books; shortly thereafter, Tom H gave me one from is library. With the idleness that has come from unemployment, I've had a chance to go through all of them.
On Your Bicycle was the gift from Tom. It's a pretty comprehensive history of the early days of cycling, including precursor vehicles and discussions (in way too much detail for anybody who's not an enthusiast) of all of the early forms through the "Safety". Everything after about 1920 is relegated to the last two chapters. Admittedly, the book was published in 1987, but the book gets to the Draisine in the beginning of the 19th Century by page 14.
I enjoyed it, but unless you have an interest in the early history of bikes, you might find it slow going.
The History of Cycling in Fifty Bikes is a bit of a misnomer; there are fifty bike-related stories in the book, some of which are based on particular bikes, but others are based on riders or technologies. It was a lot of fun. It's a book for dipping into and enjoying, not for bike scholars (sheesh, are there really bike scholars? Well, I guess you can count Sheldon Brown, Jobst Brandt, and Gerd Schraner...).
I thought it was great.
The Golden Age of Handbuilt Bicycles is nothing less than brain candy for those of us who like lugs and shine. I can pick this up and page through a couple of the articles, or lose an hour going from page to page. It's just a delight; just enough mechanical info to let you know what you're looking at in the glorious pictures.
Thanks to Laura, Snakehead, and Tom.
On Your Bicycle was the gift from Tom. It's a pretty comprehensive history of the early days of cycling, including precursor vehicles and discussions (in way too much detail for anybody who's not an enthusiast) of all of the early forms through the "Safety". Everything after about 1920 is relegated to the last two chapters. Admittedly, the book was published in 1987, but the book gets to the Draisine in the beginning of the 19th Century by page 14.
I enjoyed it, but unless you have an interest in the early history of bikes, you might find it slow going.
The History of Cycling in Fifty Bikes is a bit of a misnomer; there are fifty bike-related stories in the book, some of which are based on particular bikes, but others are based on riders or technologies. It was a lot of fun. It's a book for dipping into and enjoying, not for bike scholars (sheesh, are there really bike scholars? Well, I guess you can count Sheldon Brown, Jobst Brandt, and Gerd Schraner...).
I thought it was great.
The Golden Age of Handbuilt Bicycles is nothing less than brain candy for those of us who like lugs and shine. I can pick this up and page through a couple of the articles, or lose an hour going from page to page. It's just a delight; just enough mechanical info to let you know what you're looking at in the glorious pictures.
Thanks to Laura, Snakehead, and Tom.
Monday, August 24, 2015
pseudo-hilly ride with the old guys
During my unemployment, I've been riding with the Freewheelers who go out three times per week during the day; they're largely retired guys (they call themselves "Team Social Security"). Some of them have been marvellously supportive during the worst of my blues with this unemployment, so I had to go today and let 'em know that I had a job offer. There was a proper mix of "sorry to see you go" and "get back to work, you lazy slug".
In many ways, these are the kinds of guys I'd like to be in ten and twenty years.
We met at Etra:
Sixteen to start, and yes, it really was that foggy and misty (and HUMID! Hard to breathe all that muck!). Al P, de facto leader when Dennis doesn't come, had a route he pulled out when Dennis didn't come; it's too hilly for Dennis (although it's not really a hilly ride... but these are riders who would just as soon drive through the Sourlands, thank you).
On the road:
We have a range of abilities, and got spread out; I swept (Al is gracious enough to say he'll miss me when I start working again). Most of these guys don't really need me to sweep; they know where they’re going, and, although they may not be fast, the will get there just the same. They remind me of Terry Pratchett's golems, that go at an unremitting four miles per hour: they're not fast, but they never stop... they'll get you eventually.
We stopped at Phil's.
It looks like I have a few more rides with these guys, and I'll miss them when I go back to work, too... but I will be glad to get back working again.
Route and ride data here.
In many ways, these are the kinds of guys I'd like to be in ten and twenty years.
We met at Etra:
Sixteen to start, and yes, it really was that foggy and misty (and HUMID! Hard to breathe all that muck!). Al P, de facto leader when Dennis doesn't come, had a route he pulled out when Dennis didn't come; it's too hilly for Dennis (although it's not really a hilly ride... but these are riders who would just as soon drive through the Sourlands, thank you).
On the road:
We have a range of abilities, and got spread out; I swept (Al is gracious enough to say he'll miss me when I start working again). Most of these guys don't really need me to sweep; they know where they’re going, and, although they may not be fast, the will get there just the same. They remind me of Terry Pratchett's golems, that go at an unremitting four miles per hour: they're not fast, but they never stop... they'll get you eventually.
We stopped at Phil's.
It looks like I have a few more rides with these guys, and I'll miss them when I go back to work, too... but I will be glad to get back working again.
Route and ride data here.
Sunday, August 23, 2015
third reflection on driving
Saturday, August 22, 2015
camera didn't work on b tri-county cruise
Well, this is disappointing. After Chris C dropped a few hints that he'd like company on the Tri-County Cruise ride that he was leading today, I decided to go. I brought my camera, but only three pictures (of the dozens I took) came out; from the stop at Roy's:
All the rest are color-distorted. When I get working again*, I've gotta get a new camera.
*And I have an offer, subject to physical and background check, from Rutgers; I hope to start next month. I'm very grateful and excited, and, being the person that I am, I'm also imagining every scenario that might interfere with the job start. It can't be easy to live with me; I assure you, even I have a problem living with me.
The Excellent Wife (TEW) decided that she would do Pat van H's ride from the same place today; so we made a date of it, going to the ride together. On the way, we saw a number of people with cameras, binoculars, and telescopes looking at various fields, and when we got to the start at the Reed Recreation Center, there were a couple there as well. I asked what was going on, and a younger gentleman told me that it was a migration-and-nesting of birds that were similar to sandpipers, but liked fields rather than shorelines; and some rare ones either were, or might be, coming through these parts today; he showed me their pictures in the book her carried.
Now I know what I sound like when a normal person asks me about bicycles.
Chris decided to merge his B+ ride with Ron M's B ride, and we split into a faster and slower group (different riders occupied each group at different times; I think this was a good way to run it for this crowd). Ron runs a ride from the Reed Recreation Area to Roy's for the break, a distance of about three or four miles, but as you'll see from my RideWithGPS page for the ride, he manages to get well over 30 miles out of it. This is a fun and welcoming crowd, and we went along at a pretty good clip. Of the three or four rides that went out, we were probably the first back.
After about five or ten minutes, TEW came back with her ride. Club president Pat van H had borrowed the extra helmet I keep in the car for just such a purpose. Then TEW asked if we could do four or five extra miles. (Last year, she was barely a D+ rider. Every time she does this kind of thing - and it's becoming frequent - I think, "Who are you, and when are they bringing back my wife?")
All the rest are color-distorted. When I get working again*, I've gotta get a new camera.
*And I have an offer, subject to physical and background check, from Rutgers; I hope to start next month. I'm very grateful and excited, and, being the person that I am, I'm also imagining every scenario that might interfere with the job start. It can't be easy to live with me; I assure you, even I have a problem living with me.
The Excellent Wife (TEW) decided that she would do Pat van H's ride from the same place today; so we made a date of it, going to the ride together. On the way, we saw a number of people with cameras, binoculars, and telescopes looking at various fields, and when we got to the start at the Reed Recreation Center, there were a couple there as well. I asked what was going on, and a younger gentleman told me that it was a migration-and-nesting of birds that were similar to sandpipers, but liked fields rather than shorelines; and some rare ones either were, or might be, coming through these parts today; he showed me their pictures in the book her carried.
Now I know what I sound like when a normal person asks me about bicycles.
Chris decided to merge his B+ ride with Ron M's B ride, and we split into a faster and slower group (different riders occupied each group at different times; I think this was a good way to run it for this crowd). Ron runs a ride from the Reed Recreation Area to Roy's for the break, a distance of about three or four miles, but as you'll see from my RideWithGPS page for the ride, he manages to get well over 30 miles out of it. This is a fun and welcoming crowd, and we went along at a pretty good clip. Of the three or four rides that went out, we were probably the first back.
After about five or ten minutes, TEW came back with her ride. Club president Pat van H had borrowed the extra helmet I keep in the car for just such a purpose. Then TEW asked if we could do four or five extra miles. (Last year, she was barely a D+ rider. Every time she does this kind of thing - and it's becoming frequent - I think, "Who are you, and when are they bringing back my wife?")
Wednesday, August 19, 2015
late stop ride with the old guys, and extra miles
A good day's ride for me is about 60 miles, and Dennis does between 35-45 on his three-times-a-week rides, and it's about ten miles from Etra to the Byron Johnson park in Allentown (where Dennis starts on Wednesdays), so I drove to Etra again this morning early to get to Allentown for the start of the Wednesday "Team Social Security" ride at 8:30.
I'm pathologically early, so whe I got to the park at about 8:00, there were just a few people there; others came in until, despite the lowering skies and vague threat of rain, we had 19 to start at about 8:35.
Above, Henry M thought a professional comrade was coming along; we later heard the comrade had opted out.
That's not Jen with Ed P in the photo above; it's his niece, whose name I don't remember.
With a group that large, I offered to sweep, and Dennis took me up on it. He told us to keep an eye on him; we were going to Bordentown by a new route.
We departed, but within a short distance, one of the guys was falling off the back; I dropped back to see what was up and he complained of gas pains and said he was going back. I caught up to Dennis and told him.
On we went. I hadn't seen Chris C in a while, we traded sob stories, and he invited me to his Hamilton ride on Sunday, which I may do if the weather holds.
We rode and rode, over roads I didn't recognize, and then some I did recognize as being on the way back from some of our usual destinations... and then more roads I didn't recognize. We were 27 miles into the 36-mile ride when we stopped at the convenience store in Bordentown (that's a LONG first half!).
Getting ready to leave Bordentown:
And then we went about the straightest route possible back to Allentown, about nine miles. These pictures don't show how bushed I was by the time I got there!
Gordon C was at the park when we arrived.
I told him he needs to come out with these guys, but he and his wife Terry were out today. He invited me to ride a way with him, but I begged off, saying I was going to drop in at Bruno's. I did, but it was mostly for a restorative Gatorade. (There's one that's the most wretched grey-blue. How can anything that color not be toxic?)
Here's my route, with the pre- and post-ride additional miles.
On the ride today, I got a call for a possible job interview. I think these guys are good luck for me.
I'm pathologically early, so whe I got to the park at about 8:00, there were just a few people there; others came in until, despite the lowering skies and vague threat of rain, we had 19 to start at about 8:35.
Above, Henry M thought a professional comrade was coming along; we later heard the comrade had opted out.
That's not Jen with Ed P in the photo above; it's his niece, whose name I don't remember.
With a group that large, I offered to sweep, and Dennis took me up on it. He told us to keep an eye on him; we were going to Bordentown by a new route.
We departed, but within a short distance, one of the guys was falling off the back; I dropped back to see what was up and he complained of gas pains and said he was going back. I caught up to Dennis and told him.
On we went. I hadn't seen Chris C in a while, we traded sob stories, and he invited me to his Hamilton ride on Sunday, which I may do if the weather holds.
We rode and rode, over roads I didn't recognize, and then some I did recognize as being on the way back from some of our usual destinations... and then more roads I didn't recognize. We were 27 miles into the 36-mile ride when we stopped at the convenience store in Bordentown (that's a LONG first half!).
Getting ready to leave Bordentown:
And then we went about the straightest route possible back to Allentown, about nine miles. These pictures don't show how bushed I was by the time I got there!
Gordon C was at the park when we arrived.
I told him he needs to come out with these guys, but he and his wife Terry were out today. He invited me to ride a way with him, but I begged off, saying I was going to drop in at Bruno's. I did, but it was mostly for a restorative Gatorade. (There's one that's the most wretched grey-blue. How can anything that color not be toxic?)
Here's my route, with the pre- and post-ride additional miles.
On the ride today, I got a call for a possible job interview. I think these guys are good luck for me.
Tuesday, August 18, 2015
bike index - registry to return stolen bikes
In the most recent email from Rivendell Bikes (I get emails from them maybe monthly), there was a reference to and link to this Bike Index, which advertises itself on its main page as, "the most widely used bicycle registration service in the world. We strive to be the best resource in the fight against bicycle theft."
They seem eager and dedicated, and the price is right. Logos on the site suggest that some police forces use 'em (Seattle, St Louis, San Francisco). I'm taken enough with 'em that I'm going to sign up after I get pictures of the Yellow Maserati and the Krakow Monster, and The Excellent Wife (TEW)'s bikes.
Check 'em out.
Edit Aug 19: I added all four of our bikes today.
They seem eager and dedicated, and the price is right. Logos on the site suggest that some police forces use 'em (Seattle, St Louis, San Francisco). I'm taken enough with 'em that I'm going to sign up after I get pictures of the Yellow Maserati and the Krakow Monster, and The Excellent Wife (TEW)'s bikes.
Check 'em out.
Edit Aug 19: I added all four of our bikes today.
Sunday, August 16, 2015
most of a hilly ride with tom & laura
Tom H has a multi-day ride series set up for next week to hit the high points of some of the northern counties in NJ; he and a few people are getting motel rooms. that's out of my price range now, due to unemployment, but when they scheduled a training ride for this weekend (55 miles, 3600 feet of climb), I decided to go along on that. Laura OLPH had a ride in the book for yesterday, but she moved it to today, and let Tom lead (which appears to mean that he was the navigator and she the taskmistress).
We met at the CVS in Lambertville. Now, when The Excellent Wife (TEW) found I was leaving from Lambertville, she told me nothing woudl do except that I had to go visit O Wow Cow, a new ice-cream packer and vendor; they've opened a store right near Rojo's, where the Hill Slugs stop all the time. I went aroudn to scope it out.
When I got there, some folks were already setting up; others came in shortly behind:
Below, Marc P, whom I met today; he remembered me better than I remembered him from the 4th of July All-Paces.
And off we went. We started right away with an uphill (there's something about a Tom H ride...), and then went over a few roads in the opposite direction of the way I'm used to seeing them (some of them might as well have "One Way" signs posted, for all I've ever done them in the other direction).
After potting around some hills in NJ to avoid the busy-with-no-shoulder section of 29 between Lambertville and Stockton, we crossed the river near Lumberton.
There were folks boating and swimming in the river.
Laura stopped to get a picture. "How many pictures of the Delaware do you suppose I have?" she mused.
Although we were to stop at the coffee roasters and store at Black Eddy, we did not plan to go up Bridgeton Hill Road; instead, we were planning to come down. We did some hilliness in Pennsylvania on the way and went through a couple of covered bridges (I think I remembered part of the route from last year's Central Bucks Covered Bridges ride). I didn't get pictures, but I did notice that the covered bridges were always at the bottom of a downhill, and just before an uphill. Hmmm.
Somewhere up there, I heard a "thunk", and thought my tire had just thrown a rock, but someone mentioned a wobble in my rear wheel, and it turned out I had broken a rear spoke.
What, again? And this time on the Yellow Maserati?
Well, yes. I bent the spoke around some of its neighbors, and messed with the true enough to keep rolling until we could get to the stop at Black Eddy.
I messed with the true a bit more at the stop, but decided that was enough hills for that wheel for this ride. After the stop, I decided I was going to head straight home on 29. But that was no reason not to enjoy the company at the time.
So after the stop, we all proceeded down 29; the rest of the group turned left onto Tumble Falls Road, and I continued down 29, through Stockton and into Lambertville without mishap. To assuage my disappointment over not completing, I got a five-scoop special at O Wow Cow; the poor quality of the picture doesn't do it justice (when I get wealthy again, I gotta get a better camera).
Then home, where I fixed the wheel and did the other Sunday chores.
We met at the CVS in Lambertville. Now, when The Excellent Wife (TEW) found I was leaving from Lambertville, she told me nothing woudl do except that I had to go visit O Wow Cow, a new ice-cream packer and vendor; they've opened a store right near Rojo's, where the Hill Slugs stop all the time. I went aroudn to scope it out.
When I got there, some folks were already setting up; others came in shortly behind:
Below, Marc P, whom I met today; he remembered me better than I remembered him from the 4th of July All-Paces.
And off we went. We started right away with an uphill (there's something about a Tom H ride...), and then went over a few roads in the opposite direction of the way I'm used to seeing them (some of them might as well have "One Way" signs posted, for all I've ever done them in the other direction).
After potting around some hills in NJ to avoid the busy-with-no-shoulder section of 29 between Lambertville and Stockton, we crossed the river near Lumberton.
There were folks boating and swimming in the river.
Laura stopped to get a picture. "How many pictures of the Delaware do you suppose I have?" she mused.
Although we were to stop at the coffee roasters and store at Black Eddy, we did not plan to go up Bridgeton Hill Road; instead, we were planning to come down. We did some hilliness in Pennsylvania on the way and went through a couple of covered bridges (I think I remembered part of the route from last year's Central Bucks Covered Bridges ride). I didn't get pictures, but I did notice that the covered bridges were always at the bottom of a downhill, and just before an uphill. Hmmm.
Somewhere up there, I heard a "thunk", and thought my tire had just thrown a rock, but someone mentioned a wobble in my rear wheel, and it turned out I had broken a rear spoke.
What, again? And this time on the Yellow Maserati?
Well, yes. I bent the spoke around some of its neighbors, and messed with the true enough to keep rolling until we could get to the stop at Black Eddy.
I messed with the true a bit more at the stop, but decided that was enough hills for that wheel for this ride. After the stop, I decided I was going to head straight home on 29. But that was no reason not to enjoy the company at the time.
So after the stop, we all proceeded down 29; the rest of the group turned left onto Tumble Falls Road, and I continued down 29, through Stockton and into Lambertville without mishap. To assuage my disappointment over not completing, I got a five-scoop special at O Wow Cow; the poor quality of the picture doesn't do it justice (when I get wealthy again, I gotta get a better camera).
Then home, where I fixed the wheel and did the other Sunday chores.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)