A little too much time on my hands.

The last couple of days have been significant because the moon got really close.  That struck me as important because it was really hot, or at least by Michigan standards, and I could use an excuse to take a night time ride.   The moon, in case you didn't see the news, was at it's perigee, the closest it gets during it's orbit.  So I went on a quest to get a good photo.   I went out on the morning of the 23rd, got up at 4:30 am and rode out to try and catch a shot just before it's closest point at 7:35.  I hit the streets about 5, saw a beautiful silvery thing up there, so bright it literally eliminated the stars.  I was geeked, I knew a boat launch at a local lake where I could get a dramatic shot as it set on the trees on the opposite side.  I got there just in time to see the moon disappear behind the clouds gathered on the distant horizon.  That's what I get for being greedy.  I waited again until evening, the moon would be past it's closest orbit but would still be huge and 99.8% illuminated(according to some internet source).  Well I rode around on the outskirts of town just after moonrise and saw the same phenomenon.  Clouds all along the horizon, I wanted the moon near the horizon because it's supposed to look bigger, nobody knows why, but somebody said it and I think they're right.  I got discouraged and stopped at the store for something to drink.   When I looked over at my rear view  I saw it beginning to peek through the clouds.  I turned and headed back to a boulevard which had a high point over looking a large park.

I managed to get this snapshot. not bad for a simple Canon Powershot 260.  That's not retouched, that is just the color the moon had through all the humidity.

Of course that led to the inevitable "pun" shot.

Hunqapillar in da supermoon light!

I made a trade up!

I saw the "thin Gripster Pedals" introduced on the Rivendell website several months ago.  Then, during my trip to Minnesota, I got to see and touch a pair.  I was really impressed,they are remarkable pedals.

 They have a very broad, lightweight platform which is very, very thin (this can help with pedaling through turns for the fixie crowd).  The body is no thicker than the axle barrel itself, and that dust cover was the selling point for me.  That is a very deep alloy cover which comes off easily with an allen wrench.  Jim Thill from Hiawatha Cyclery explained that even though this has well sealed cartridge bearings, it can be made virtually weather proof by simply filling the barrel and the dustcap with waterproof grease and screwing it back together.  It sounds great for the winter.   Each of the little rivets is installed with Threadlock (that's the blue color you can see in the photo).  With thirteen of the little critters grabbing you, your foot will not move.  In fact you can't even squirm around to adjust, you have to remove your foot entirely to change positions.

I bought them to replace the SPD/platform pedals on the Hunq, because I just don't use the clips unless I am touring, and then rarely.  The dreaded hotfoot catches up with me and they slow me down during the day because I am resting and letting my feet recover.  The discomfort of using cleats negates the mechanical advantage they provide during a full day of touring.

                                      

These beauties come from VP components, I bought mine from Rivendell, but see they are available from QBP so you can probably get them anywhere.  

 They also come in several colors, Riv carries the basic grey which obviously looks great on the Hunq/, but QBP shows red, yellow and blue also.  I paid $67, but see them listed elsewhere from $57-80.

I'm really looking forward to the relief these will provide.

How many times do I have to tell you?!!

I volunteered to help paint arrows on the roads for an upcoming bike tour.  It was a beautiful evening, one that would make anybody go outdoors.  The temps were in the mid seventies, there was no humidity, mild winds and clear blue skies.  I grabbed a shopping bag to carry the paints, threw it on the rack and pedaled off to the starting point on Sam.

What a wonderful evening to enjoy a roll through the countryside for a couple of hours.
When I arrived at the starting point there were four cars with other club members who all looked at me aghast with amazement.
"What are you going to do with your bike?"
"You're going to have to carry paint!"
"How will you....?"
"What will you do if...?"
"Where can you...?"

"I'm used to carrying camping equipment for days, how hard can this be?"

They didn't get it.  These are dedicated cyclists, who ride religiously, with mileage goals and all that serious stuff. It never occurred to any of them they could do this on a bike.
Long story short, I took two of the routes, rode around for a few hours with a half dozen cans of paint painting the marks at each turn.  As I got to the end, I was met by one of the pairs of people in their car who were just finishing as I did.
"What happened?"
"How much were you able...?"
"You couldn't have...."

WTF!  There is no hope!

But since I've no other visuals, I will provide hope for those who would like to imagine

 that riding a bike does not hurt their social life.

by giving you another gratuitous photo of a chick on a bike..

Back to Earth

I thought I would share this video with you.  I think it really captures the spirit of cyclo touring,

 without a word/

"Back to Earth"

Since I didn't want to steal it,just let you see it,  I have nothing to show you except this

gratuitous picture of a girl with a bike.

protected bike lanes

Following on the heel of the last post, the forums and blogosphere seem to be all "a twitter" (I love that pun) with the idea that protected bike lanes are being developed.  Jan Heine posted a detailed criticism of the idea on his blog, and another Chicago blogger is all excited about visiting Indianapolis to see the "great" idea in action. After reading the Treehugger article and watching the video, the trail in question is ornate and attractive but appears to be more of a recreational path and extra sidewalk than a practical piece of cycling infrastructure.  Like the ones in our own community these are vastly popular.  While many studies have shown the value of trail development as linear parks and recreational attractions to communities,

 there is no real hard data to suggest they are better for transportation.  I am of two minds, well maybe three.  The lanes protected with bullards, curbs schrubs, flowers etc.  provide a barrier of sorts between cars

 and seem to be safer, but are they?

 A car can, and probably will, drive right over or through those barriers at some point, so the barriers provide nothing more than an elaborate visual seperation between the cyclist and the stream of traffic.  It seems to me that the seperation provides a false sense of security to both the drivers and the cyclists.  This false barrier also dissembles the most important safety factor which has been documented; visibility.

 Personally I think the protected lanes obscure the cyclists presence somewhat, until, as Heine points out, they reach an intersection.  So, like a sidewalk, this will introduce some unexpected interaction for both the drivers and cyclists and have the potential for being more dangerous than a simple marked designated lane for cyclists.

 An open lane which is marked and designated for cyclists, maintains visibility much better and provides more efficient movement for the cyclist to enter the traffic pattern when necessary, for left turns for example.  Perhaps most important, the barriers are unnecessarily expensive and more lanes could be developed and provide more safety using just paint rather than expensive ornaments.

And, in a more perfect world, we can change all our values, 

discard the wine and microbrews and embrace the future of cycling.

Nowhere's a place like home

After seeing all the furor and controversy cycling is creating all over the country, like NYC, I guess;  I am just glad to live in the midst of a mid western town most people think is a myth.   Yes, like Timbuktu, Kalamazoo is an identifiable geographical location, not an imaginary hell to which your mother threatened to send you.  But don't tell anybody, Dorothy Rabinowitz may come visit.

The Pulitzer Prize winning journalist has twice now made herself look pathetic, sick and deranged while babbling about the bike share program.  Another example that being brilliant never made anybody smart.
       It's as bad as the protest that a bike lane near the Isreali consulate would lead a terrorist there.

 Hey guess what, they know where it is!

But, the advocacy of the Nude Bike Ride Day is hardly something to admire.  I understand the symbolic reference to exposure, but am really speechless at the execution of the plan.

On the other hand, do they look any different in spandex?

Meanwhile, in the hinterlands of our imaginary kingdom, we celebrated the completion of another part of our network of trails financed through the totalitarian fantasies of voluntary contributors and corporate sponsors.  Damn them, promoting safety, exercise and fresh air!

It was weird, thousands turned out, local restaurants donated free food, musicians donated their time, children enjoyed face painting and nobody suggested it was a bad thing.  In fact, everybody seemed to enjoy it.

Excellent advice for newbies

I was helping at the final day of our local Bike Camp yesterday and found myself giving a couple of new people some advice which sounded strangely like the cartoon below.  Nearly everything I said mirrored the first 4 pieces,

of course I didn't tell them of the life they were headed for, I just hope they will happily find it for themselves.

I don't know who sent this to me or where I got it, but I have been holding it on my computer for some reason.

An attempt with the Trangia Burner Stove

I've been trying to find  a replacement for my camp stove.  I have for years used the Coleman Exponent Expedition stove which I think is great for cycle touring, it has two burners, has great modulation for the heat and it is light.   Unfortunately, Coleman has stopped making the fuel cartridges, they produced an adapter to use a different fuel but that is hard to find also.

 So I thought the Trangia alcohol burner made sense, because the fuel (denatured alcohol) is available at any hardware store, anywhere.

 Now really, with a two burner stove you can cook a four course meal 

 with a decent cook set.

 Seriously, when do you want to do that after a day of cross country pedaling?

 Usually, I cook a one pot meal which includes a variety of foods in casserole form.

 So the Trangia stove should be perfect.   First you have to realize you are not smarter than the stove

(or it's designers).  I set the stove itself down and put the triangular holder on top which made the stove impossible to operate.

 Set up the windscreen/pot support first, then set the stove inside,

 then you will be able to use the little regulator top properly.

 After I lit it, I let it heat up a bit,

 cooked a package of pepperoni until it was all warm and greasy,

 turned the heat down a bit to keep it from scorching, added some mushrooms diced tomatoes and precooked rice, covered it and let them all get cozy and swap juices together

while I took care of all the waste.

After I had stirred it a few times and heated everything thoroughly, I added some mozzarella cheese 

and had myself a very tasty pizza casserole for dinner.

After cooking, there is nothing to do but snuff out the flame and save what fuel is left with a screw on cap.

It works quite well, not as quickly as the jet fuel burner, but it's simple, it's light, it's cheap and works.

A long weekend!

 I took a long weekend to make a trip to Minnesota, the southern part where it really looks like a taller Iowa.

It was a 10 hour drive (through Chicago) to get to Forrestville State Park which was chosen as headquarters for the Midwest Country Bike Rally.  This was originally conceived on the Rivendell Owners Group as a Riv Rally but many people choose to ride other bikes for the trip so Jim changed the name.  But that didn't keep several of us from Riv'in it up,

 there was a Soma San Marcos,

 an Atlantis in a custom yellow color,

 his and her Homers,

and a couple of Hunqs.

The idea was to take a "relaxed" ride over the course used for the Almanzo 100.   We broke it into two days and make it nice rather than a race.  On Friday night we began to accumulate at the park, the weather was horrible.  It was cold with massive thunderstorms in the area and hail predicted.   I was lucky, I got my campsite in order before the rain came down, was able to locate another rider to let somebody know I was there and then take shelter for the night.  It was a night that made me worry about Dorothy and Toto, but by morning it was a day with promise and it did deliver.

There were about 14 of us who were riding, I was the only foreigner, the rest were from Minnesota, but I have an enhanced drivers license and I knew I could get back into the real real world after my visit.  Our host,organizer and intrepid leader was Jim Thill, the owner of Hiawatha Cycles, in Minneapolis.

I had never met this crowd, but they proved to be a friendly and unassuming group of pedalers.  We got off at about 8 am for the first day's journey.  We warmed up on the asphalt to meet a few others for breakfast in Spring Valley where I was challenged by my first real adventure of the trip.

Only $2.75, how could I not try a peanut butter and egg sandwich?  Now that I have lived on the edge, I see a chunky peanut butter omelet in my future (gotta push the limits to live).  After assembling for breakfast we were off to hit the gravel.   It's a good road surface here.   In Michigan we are cursed with a heavy clay based soil which holds a lot of water and the roads turn into washboards quite easily.  After they do, the road commission drags them out and levels them with graders and the result is a few weeks of very loose gravel and sand like conditions.  Here in Minnesota, the limestone beds are a lot more solid and the pea gravel used to cover them a more consistent grade than what I ride in Michigan.

There were a number of places where fresh limestone had been spread and made it a little challenging.  Most of it was really pleasant riding, and if you look at the profile for the Almanzo you can see it is a roller coaster.  I definitely had a chance to display my "scientific" method of climbing; "granny down early and leave your ego at the bottom."  Many of the hills rivaled the grades we climb here in Michigan for the Mountain Mayhem.

  There are a total of 6 category 5 climbs on the 100 mile route.  Fortunately we were only taking on half the course each day and the group was far more supportive than competitive.  I was able to share the lantern rouge with Jack most of the day so I was not the last one up all the time.

  I am proud to say that my technique did keep me on the pedals all day and I was able to ride past many walkers on the more severe grades.  The descents, on the other hand, were exhilarating to say the least.  One was over 3 miles long on a grade exceeding 19%.  Many of the riders reached speeds over 40 mph on the gravel descent and it boiled the adrenaline levels..

On a trip like this you have to expect at least one mechanical problem and we had it.  It was the least likely part to break.  One gentleman had readjusted the saddle on his new Long Haul Trucker and broke the 6mm bolt.

 Fortunately there was an old farmer nearby, you know, the one who can't remember buying anything

-he just fixes it, whatever it is.

 Well while we waited, he failed several attempts to remove the broken bolt and dug up an old

 Murray from his barn, cut it up and made a new collar.  Now Sean has a custom seat post collar to secure his lugged seatpost.  A priceless moment in touring history.

The second day was cooler temperatures and sunnier skies.  Jim was great at giving us directions and encouragement.  The "encouragement" was so sincere it reminded me of the T-shirt I was given at my first Mountain Mayhem ride.

The riding was pleasant, conversations brisk and we covered the balance of the course without incident.  Except, the routed river crossing.

 I guess the racers make a point to ride or wade through the Rock River on this route, but we had had several inches of rain from Friday night and the river was swollen and fast.  Our intrepid leader took a close look at the situation and began to

 wonder what he was thinking.

We took the detour.  Most of the group split up at the entrance to the campground, some to get back to their cars in Preston or Spring Valley, some to ride a bit more and have dinner in town.  I had brought food to cook so I opted to stay.  I would have liked a little more riding but did not need dinner or another 3-4 hours the others experienced.

I had a good night greeting the others as they returned and the drive home the next day took me again through Chicago where I was reminded how the poor people live.  

The "poor people" who drive to work for a living.