Last Saturday, had a good ride on the Scio Covered Bridges 200km brevet. I had the drop bars on the BF and the brakes were well adjusted. We got off right at the later start of 07:30. I was actually leading the 8 riders, through the parking lot. Dieter got ahead of me on Wilsonville Rd. The the recumbent got way past us on the Scholl's Bridge. I was taking up the "slower" section, accompanied by a first time brevet rider with a cross bike and wide tires until about Monitor. He was much younger, so I had to let him go. Amazingly, I saw no other riders for the rest of the ride, until I saw Dieter in the Starbucks at the end.
I got to Silverton in a reasonable time, used the plumbed toilet, where the farmers market was set up. there was also a Fun Run going on and a RAAM qualifying race coming through.
Along the Cascade Highway, i was looking at the cue sheet and worrying that I would not make Scio by the 9:43 that it said. After a few miles and hills, I really looked at it and that was the opening time for that control. On one of the early hills, I stopped for a couple words with the RAAM support cars, and found out it was a 300 mile race that had started in Hillsboro that morning. This was Oregon's qualifying race for the real RAAM.
Quickly through Sublimity, where I talked to the 400k riders on my first 200k brevet. and the Stayton, past the Safeway where I met the Utah Randonneur over a breakfast egg sandwich. Didn't see any bicycles in front of the Safeway. Then on toward Scio and Cole School Road, not far out of Stayton is has an immediate 9% short grade, then goes along for a longer 11% ascent, drops and climbs the longest hill a 13% , then down and up a a "wall" of 17%. My speed in the lowest gear, was down to 2.4 mph, but I stayed upright. Down again and the last uphill came in at 7%.
A descent, a covered bridge (Hoffman), then Scio. and the Jimmy Dean sausage & egg sandwich looked like it might be good. It turned out that the biscuit was too salty and way too dry.
On the Road Again
Wednesday, May 14, 2014
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
Getting my act together
The pieces are coming together, and it's nearly springtime. I decided that to really increase my average speed from 10.5 mph for all brevets, I need to do something. I'm strong enough and I find that the wrists and hands don't have enough positions to keep them on the bars all the time when riding for more than 10 hours. Plus, whenever there's a headwind, I wonder why I didn't order my BF with drop bars.
So I decided to convert and have gathered the pieces, with the help of the friendly staff at Green Gear Cycles (BikeFriday). They sell the split drop bars, but I sourced the Cane Creek aero brake levers from City Bikes here in Portland. I also bought a new 9 speed Shimano Dura Ace bar end shifter set from City Bikes.
The split bars should be delivered today. Hopefully ready for the next 200km in April.
Also got the town names for the Northern Tier route of Adventure Cycling into a spreadsheet.
Over & Out
An April 22, 2014 Update. With competition for time completing home improvement and landscaping duties, I acquired the cables and cable housings with the idea of getting the drop bars on for the R5, a repeat of Lunch at Nick's. That didn't happen, but the the preparation for said ride included adjusting the brakes. The front disks were no problem, just needed to bring the inboard pad further than the outboard pad. On the rear, there was a bump near the valve stem, so I played with the spoke tensions to bring it back to true. Then one of the spoke nipples rounded out and I looked more closely at the rim, and it had a crack on the braking surface. Then took it off, and used pliers to bring the rim back into round. Then i saw the crack all the way around the left side of the rim. Put everything back together, and opened the brakes up by using the quick release lever. Back to my other preparations for the R5, and it was on my mind. What would happen if I lost the rear wheel, a call for a ride home and a DNF.
After a couple miles, no problem, so i reduced the use of the rear brake to absolute minimum. We made good time and on the way north from McMinville, the thumping at the frequency of the wheel rotation would be noticed when everything else was quiet. I ended up with three things to check on the BF. 1. Front end headset fore-aft looseness, 2. get a new rim, 3. find the thumping.
We , I got back, under 10 hours. A new high average of 14.1 mph. Next day. looked at the rim and there was now a hole in the brake surface. Result is a replacement Alex 390 rim, new spokes, nipples by next Friday at Universal Bicycles. I'll try to remember to pick up the bar tape, as well.
So I decided to convert and have gathered the pieces, with the help of the friendly staff at Green Gear Cycles (BikeFriday). They sell the split drop bars, but I sourced the Cane Creek aero brake levers from City Bikes here in Portland. I also bought a new 9 speed Shimano Dura Ace bar end shifter set from City Bikes.
The split bars should be delivered today. Hopefully ready for the next 200km in April.
Also got the town names for the Northern Tier route of Adventure Cycling into a spreadsheet.
Over & Out
An April 22, 2014 Update. With competition for time completing home improvement and landscaping duties, I acquired the cables and cable housings with the idea of getting the drop bars on for the R5, a repeat of Lunch at Nick's. That didn't happen, but the the preparation for said ride included adjusting the brakes. The front disks were no problem, just needed to bring the inboard pad further than the outboard pad. On the rear, there was a bump near the valve stem, so I played with the spoke tensions to bring it back to true. Then one of the spoke nipples rounded out and I looked more closely at the rim, and it had a crack on the braking surface. Then took it off, and used pliers to bring the rim back into round. Then i saw the crack all the way around the left side of the rim. Put everything back together, and opened the brakes up by using the quick release lever. Back to my other preparations for the R5, and it was on my mind. What would happen if I lost the rear wheel, a call for a ride home and a DNF.
After a couple miles, no problem, so i reduced the use of the rear brake to absolute minimum. We made good time and on the way north from McMinville, the thumping at the frequency of the wheel rotation would be noticed when everything else was quiet. I ended up with three things to check on the BF. 1. Front end headset fore-aft looseness, 2. get a new rim, 3. find the thumping.
We , I got back, under 10 hours. A new high average of 14.1 mph. Next day. looked at the rim and there was now a hole in the brake surface. Result is a replacement Alex 390 rim, new spokes, nipples by next Friday at Universal Bicycles. I'll try to remember to pick up the bar tape, as well.
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
Belated Happy New Year
R2 is in the bag. That done on New Years Day, with a dry day and low winds, it was a nice Nick's for Lunch 200k to McMinville and back. Less discomfort with the right elbow. Saved the anxiety of taking a day off from vacation in San Diego.
We drove down in two days, with a stop in Tracy, where we were treated with Kirkland Lasagna and garlic bread and good company with Del and ... The second day was dull along I5 between Tracy and Buttonwillow, despite being an overall shorter drive.
Got into freeway crazy Southern California and found our way to the World Mark resort. It was quiet despite being near I8 and CA 164 freeways. We were able to check in early. The carpet was torn along the edge with the kitchen area, unlike what we're used to. Later on, one of the vertical blinds broke off, it was the first as a couple others were taped to stay on.
First day was to look in South Park for the campanion store to Artistic Portland. Found it to be closed, so we walked around , found a nice coffee shop to sit and enjoy the warm weather. Somehow, Helene heard about whalewatching, so I looked on-line and found a provider that goes out on a rubber raft and only takes 6 at a time. I signed up for the early run, and was called by the operator in about 20 minutes and got the reservation straightened out.
Second day was to find the harbor for the departure. It was a public boat ramp, and we were half of the passengers for this outing. CiCi really enjoys what she does, and we ended up seeing 3 different gray whales heading south. The most exciting encounter came when we saw the last one come up for air, then he turn toward us and swam directly under our boat (CiCi had cut the engine, by then) and about a minute later , came up again in front of us. That was amazing, and I hope just some of the pictures do it justice.
Third day was to take a bike ride with a iend that lies in Encinitas. He wanted to show off his glorious ride south to the San Diego River and back. It was 50 miles and sunny and warm. The worst hill was 10% and lasted a couple hundred yeards. And coming back, an unusual tailwind. For nutrition, as stop at an MXN restaurant was good for a vege burritto. Also the Rose Canyon Path was a gental ascent for the the hill we screamed down in the southerly direction (in La Jolla). Then out to a fish dinner with our hosts.
Fourth day was to sit through a 45 minute "update" presentation, that lasted about 100 minutes. Or $1 for easch minute, as we got a $100 gift card to spend as we wished. Then it was off to have real fun at the San Diego Zoo. Took the bus tour to get oriented and then spent the rest of the afternoon on foot, and finished off with the airial tram to get back to the entrance. Best zoo I've seen. The Pandas were on display, just sitting there eating their eucalyptus, not much else. The Hippos were fun swimming circles in their tank, that you could see underneath. The Condors were getting into a tussle between the female and the males. The elephants were moving arounds some. The bird cages were full of birds.
Friday, we slept in a bit, we found our way to the Coronado Bridge and to the hotel. Indulged in some good ice cream at the hotel. Then I missed the bridge to get back to San Diego, and kept going south around the long bay. Then back up the Pacific Hwy and out to Cabrillo Point, we walked around and got introduced to a lighthouseman's life. It was getting later and I tried to get to La Jolla Cove for sunset, but was about 20 minutes too late. Partly because it wasn't as close as I thought.
Final day was a relaxed day. We saw Catherine and Shawn playing beach volleyball at Dog Beach in the neighborhood of Ocean Beach. We had most of the afternoon to explore La Jolla. We were lucky enought to find a 3hr on stree parking spot, so walked down to the water front. Saw the waves crashing, the sea lions basking, then up to wander around the shops, then back to the se to watch and take many photos of the sunset. Our last one.
Sunday, up early to drive up to Folsom. Stopped at Harris Ranch for a second breakfast, and then by Amelia and Jim's to drop off the metronome, and Dave and Nancy were there. It turns out their bike trip started at Dog Beach. Then out to Folsom, some Mountain Mike's Pizza with beer, then some conversation with Cindy.
Monday, drove up I5 to Portland.meeting Daniel at the Wilsonville Costco gas station. Afterwards, we shared a Chez Jose dinner.
We drove down in two days, with a stop in Tracy, where we were treated with Kirkland Lasagna and garlic bread and good company with Del and ... The second day was dull along I5 between Tracy and Buttonwillow, despite being an overall shorter drive.
Got into freeway crazy Southern California and found our way to the World Mark resort. It was quiet despite being near I8 and CA 164 freeways. We were able to check in early. The carpet was torn along the edge with the kitchen area, unlike what we're used to. Later on, one of the vertical blinds broke off, it was the first as a couple others were taped to stay on.
First day was to look in South Park for the campanion store to Artistic Portland. Found it to be closed, so we walked around , found a nice coffee shop to sit and enjoy the warm weather. Somehow, Helene heard about whalewatching, so I looked on-line and found a provider that goes out on a rubber raft and only takes 6 at a time. I signed up for the early run, and was called by the operator in about 20 minutes and got the reservation straightened out.
Second day was to find the harbor for the departure. It was a public boat ramp, and we were half of the passengers for this outing. CiCi really enjoys what she does, and we ended up seeing 3 different gray whales heading south. The most exciting encounter came when we saw the last one come up for air, then he turn toward us and swam directly under our boat (CiCi had cut the engine, by then) and about a minute later , came up again in front of us. That was amazing, and I hope just some of the pictures do it justice.
Third day was to take a bike ride with a iend that lies in Encinitas. He wanted to show off his glorious ride south to the San Diego River and back. It was 50 miles and sunny and warm. The worst hill was 10% and lasted a couple hundred yeards. And coming back, an unusual tailwind. For nutrition, as stop at an MXN restaurant was good for a vege burritto. Also the Rose Canyon Path was a gental ascent for the the hill we screamed down in the southerly direction (in La Jolla). Then out to a fish dinner with our hosts.
Fourth day was to sit through a 45 minute "update" presentation, that lasted about 100 minutes. Or $1 for easch minute, as we got a $100 gift card to spend as we wished. Then it was off to have real fun at the San Diego Zoo. Took the bus tour to get oriented and then spent the rest of the afternoon on foot, and finished off with the airial tram to get back to the entrance. Best zoo I've seen. The Pandas were on display, just sitting there eating their eucalyptus, not much else. The Hippos were fun swimming circles in their tank, that you could see underneath. The Condors were getting into a tussle between the female and the males. The elephants were moving arounds some. The bird cages were full of birds.
Friday, we slept in a bit, we found our way to the Coronado Bridge and to the hotel. Indulged in some good ice cream at the hotel. Then I missed the bridge to get back to San Diego, and kept going south around the long bay. Then back up the Pacific Hwy and out to Cabrillo Point, we walked around and got introduced to a lighthouseman's life. It was getting later and I tried to get to La Jolla Cove for sunset, but was about 20 minutes too late. Partly because it wasn't as close as I thought.
Sunday, up early to drive up to Folsom. Stopped at Harris Ranch for a second breakfast, and then by Amelia and Jim's to drop off the metronome, and Dave and Nancy were there. It turns out their bike trip started at Dog Beach. Then out to Folsom, some Mountain Mike's Pizza with beer, then some conversation with Cindy.
Monday, drove up I5 to Portland.meeting Daniel at the Wilsonville Costco gas station. Afterwards, we shared a Chez Jose dinner.
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