Will De-branded

Saw Will's LHT over at the Cyclofriend's Current classics gallery. “62cm Surly Long Haul Trucker (sans hideous Surly graphics)” is Wills description. I will say that it takes much more of a classic look when the decals are removed. I’m inching closer to the de-branded LHT all the time. Still, proceeding with caution though.

On the other hand, on the Surly 1X1, I think the decals are quite fitting. Silly Surly.

die winter die

It’s snowing right now. Back to the hovering around and below freezing, being cold out in the wind, and not wanting to be outside. Global warming? Yeah right. I think not. If I had bought those stupid green credits they try and sell you every time you board an airplane, I’d be asking for a refund right about now. This winter must surely die soon!

A must see

Watch all of this video. Ridiculously amazing.

Spring time in Alberta?

Once again, true to it's reputation, spring time in Alberta shows it's ugly side. Yesterday there were people in shorts. This is getting old.

geekhouse

Geekhouse Movie from Geekhouse Bikes on Vimeo.

Yeasayer Tightrope

Noticed over at I heart Singlespeed. Not bad for a live recording. I dig this band.

Alex's Seasons Speeding Tikit Porteur

Alex has been busy with his creative, ingenious bicycle modifications. I admire the work of Alex. First from the stand point of the quality and craftsmanship, second from his ingenuity. He seems to find brilliant ways of overcoming problems that would probably stop most people’s projects in their tracks. Check out the details here.

Cool Commute & B-17 questions

A nice crisp ride to work this morning. When I left it was -4C (24.8F) and when I got to work 1hr 45 minutes later, it was -2C (28.4F). I used to have this notion, and I would always say that I wouldn’t ride if it was colder than 3 Celsius. For some reason that was a magic number in my head. Of course I would still ride a bike, but not commute in anything colder than that. Today was just too convenient to ride to work .We’re looking at some houses this evening right after work, and I hate having two vehicles in Strathmore when we have running around to do. Then we have to drive separate vehicles back home, one right behind the other. Makes no sense. I figured I could brave the cold this morning, bundle up and ride. I’m glad I did. I feel like I’ve earned a whole new season of cycling. With my new found appreciation for wool, platform pedals to allow me to wear warmer footwear and my very warm skiing gloves, the cold wasn’t an issue today. Not for me at least. My water bottles froze up, but I was able to break the ice loose every time I pulled on the nipple with my teeth.

Leaving the house at 6am these days doesn’t mandate a good headlight. I ran my E6 for a bit, just because I had it, but about 15 minutes into the ride, I turned it off. I keep two super flashes going the entire ride. They are highly effective, and cheap to run.

For some reason, my brooks isn’t feeling really great right now on the LHT. I’ve ridden it for 1.5hr plus rides on my old sequoia and my fixie, both of which felt great. Possibly need some more proof hide to soften the leather a bit? I also know that I haven’t yet dialed in the fit on the LHT. My perfect bike as far as fit goes, is my fixie. I am going to use a plumb bob, and a tape and see if I can’t match every measurement on the fixie to my LHT. The B-17 is a different shape compared to modern saddles for sure, but I’ve heard so much good about them, and until I installed it on the LHT, I’ve had no issues with mine. Kent has a write up about the WTB saddles, and I agree with him. I found a speed V that was taken off of a bike for $10 at my LBS, and figured I’d buy it just because it was cheap. I’ve found that saddle to be very comfortable. Doug has switched from a B-17 on his LHT. My friend Vik gave me a Selle Atomica that still has some life in it. I’ve got it on my Xtra rebuild right now, but it might just find its way onto the LHT for some testing. I’m almost afraid to try it for long rides though. I’d probably have to buy a new one if it feels really good, and they’re not cheap.

Anyone else have any thoughts on the Brooks saddles? Long break-in I’ve heard, but I thought I was through that.

Try this as an attachment

 

 

First email post.

I figured I might as well set this up. I can post a little easier sometimes when I’m traveling and what not.

 

Due to the wet snow we’ve had, I’ve been running at lunch the past few days, but today, my iPod was dead. I can’t run without music. Just won’t do it.  Seeing as the Trucker was at work, I figured I might as well head out for a little ride. A nice hilly 20kms. Hills are not much to speak of when you’ve got a drive train such as the trucker has.

 

This is a hill flattener. All be is slowly, it does make hills a non-issue.

1st bike commute of the year

I Spent a little time last night prepping the bike, getting everything ready. I find that when I am riding the next day, I have far better success getting rolling in a timely manner if everything has been taken care of the night before. Tire pressure, chain lube, gear packed, everything. If I leave these tasks for the morning, I just seem to slowly doodle around and take way too long to get out the door. It was +2C (35.6F)when I left this morning. Nice and crisp. Within 20 minutes, my figures were thoroughly cold. A light head wind slowed me a bit.

This was the first time I've commuted in the LHT. I found myself saying several times (even out loud - but that's another issue) "Now this is a bicycle." So far, I have nothing but good to say about the Long Haul Trucker. It is just plain and simply a great bicycle.

8 miles from Strathmore the sun came out. Man that feels good. Riding a bike, sun shining.

You'll notice the decals? The jury is still out on whether or not to removed them.

And the Panda shot.

26 miles of smiles to start the day. That's living.

Easy Cruising.

A nice easy ride just to check out some of the parks and places I haven’t explored yet in Strathmore. Even rode some back alleys. I swung by the recycling yard to see if there were any decent project bikes. Nothing. I did run in to Cory though. He got some new wheels for his trailer. They were off of a girls bike (much like the one that professionals ride) and I dig these little spoke reflectors.

I apologize on behalf of Blogger for the uncontrollable rotation of the photos. Arrgh.

14 Miles of (mostly) Gravel

With the temps rising (+12C) today, I figured the gravel should be firmed up enough to ride. I like to run mostly on the gravel, and until now, it's been pretty soft. 6 miles were on a really nice little country road that passes a bunch of acreages, a golf course, and a whole lot of horses. I used to run this route on weekends and it was always quite busy. Being the middle of the day and most people at work, it was a great quiet ride.

I love the fixie for it's silence. The tires on the road were the only noise that came from me. A great little get away in the middle of the day indeed.

6.18miles in 54 minutes

What a great run. Much easier to control a steady effort on foot than on fixed with hills. Variety is nice.

Foggy Fixie Lunch

Road a nice gravel road out of town, jump on the # 1 and started spinning. Then, started grinding. On the other side, spinning again, followed by grinding. Thus is the cycle of riding a fixed gear. Good fun. The crest of the climb seems so much sweeter on a fixie than it does when on a gear bike.

Finally got a few pictures that I tried to get a while ago. Only bummer was that it was ridiculously foggy.

I stabbed my toes into the stiff crusted now, and felt like an ice climber for a moment.

To have this much fun on a lunch break is a beautiful thing.

Tour de Strathmore

With all the snow from this morning, I figured it’d be wise to ride the pink bike with studs for lunch. I did a little exploring of Strathmore, and I’ve come to the conclusion that you can actually have some fun without leaving the town limits. There are great canals, wooded parks, and dirt bike paths for exploring.

Right off the bat, I found a nifty window scraper on east boundary road. I normally don’t pick up too much while I’m riding, but since I don’t have a decent scraper for my car, I figured this would be worth my while. I stole a Christophe toe straps from my burrito wrap, and lashed my new treasure onto my rear rack. One thing I like about leather toe straps is they have a little stretch in them compared to their synthetic counterparts. I was able to zip that sucker nice and tight and it didn’t even think about moving, even when riding some rough gravel.

All the cool kids ride with widow scrapers on their racks. You heard it here first.

Next I cut along the canals, which was a real workout. Once speed is great for riding when you want exercise. Sometimes, you’re spinning out of control, sometimes, your legs scream at you as you try for the next revolution on the pedals. Pond hockey season is drawings to a close.

Winding my way aimlessly though town, I figured I’d better give Grey’s park a tour. I used to practice trials on the boulders when I lived in town, but hadn’t ridden there for several years. The paths have been expanded and they are a really nice, hard packed gravel/dirt. Lots of Canadian geese telling me to buzz off as I rode through. Nice to have them coming back home.

I ended up on the other side of town with 10 minutes to be back at work (not that I’m all that constrained to a schedule, but I try to be not much longer than 1 hr for lunch rides). I boogied the paved bike paths on the way back, and made a stop in at the recycling yard. The bike I rode today even was one found at the recycling last year. Sometimes it’s surprising what bikes people have just left there for the taking. The Apollo, my old Bianchi, and as I mentioned the pink bike I rode today were all free via the recycling yard. Heck, I even found the Christophe toe straps that I use to lash my burrito with here. I (heart) free bikes. While I was there I ran into my buddy Cory. He and I have coffee Friday @ 10:30, and he was quite excited to see me today. Cory is the king of haul stuff on a bike. He's hauled things on his bike that I wouldn't even attempt. And yet he seems to do it quite well. His bike is a BSO replacement from when he was hit last year. His trailer is atrocious. Homemade, everything cobbled together with zip ties and duct tape. But he puts more miles a year on his bicycle than I do on mine, so I have respect for the man.

He showed me his old brake pads that he just had changed at Canadian Tire. I would say it was high time.

Ride yer bike kids.

Professionals

Spring time in Alberta

To quote Ian Tyson; "Just like spring time in Alberta. Warm sunny days endless skies of blue. Then without a warning, another winter storm comes raging through. And the mercury`s fallin`I`m left all alone. Just like spring time in Alberta, chills me to the bone"

This morning I woke up to 8 inches of snow. Oh joy. I opted to leave the little 4 banger at home.
Twas a good thing too. In 4X4, I had a hard time reaching 80kph. The snow was deep and drifted. I think it'll be a MTB lunch time ride today.