Errands

I had some errands to run this morning, and opted to do them on the Long Haul Trucker. Love this bike. It's weird, I seem to go through spells where I exclusively ride either my LHT, or the Karate Monkey, or the fixie. One of these bikes will be my go to for a long while, and then I'll switch it up.

There are some things you get to experience that you would totally miss if you weren't on a bike. One of those things is crazy kids stunting in their cars. I watched the driver of this car start his power slide, lose it, and almost get it back. Not quite though. I also saw the cop watch the whole thing. Buddy scored himself a $225 ticket (which was pretty mild in my opinion) and a few demerits. I chatted with him while he was waiting for the tow truck. He said, "yeah, they're just giving me a little slap on the wrist." I would say so.
Stopped to listen to a few voicemails on my cell phone that I received while riding. My phone rings more now than it ever has before. I kind of hate it, but mostly it's clients booking sessions and discussing photos, so it's not all bad. It is nice to opt not to take the call and keep pedaling though.
This is the trail right behind my house. Now that the canal is drained (see last photo) there are a few places with rock-paths that I can cross if I need too. Saved myself a whole 3 minutes today. Go me! Once the snow flies, quite a few people cross country ski in there. I think I'm gonna pick up a used set of skies and give it a try this year.

A little morning "Trucker" ramble

Sometimes, you just need a ride in the country

It's been crazy busy for me lately. Work on the photography business, work on spring projects around the house, heck, I've even been busy with work on my bicycles. Busyness isn't always a good thing. Don't get me wrong, it's good to keep active and to be 'doing' things. Sometimes though, we can too easily let ourselves get too busy, so that we don't take the time to stop, reflect, and just enjoy simple pleasures that life gives us. They are always there, it is just too seldom that we actually stop and take notice.

Tonight, I was heading out for a ride after putting the kids to bed. Now, most nights, I'll grab the Karate Monkey, and roll it out, for some crank spinning, gravel grinding exercise styled riding. But tonight, tonight I wanted something different. I wanted to just slowly poke around the country side, listen to the birds, and smell the rain in the fields.
When I left home, it was lightly raining. I looked up, and pointed my bike in a direction that looked like to might not be raining quite so much. North. Not long after heading out of town, the rain was tapering off, and the sun was shining in the distance. That was my destination.
An incredible few moments were afforded to me. The sun broke through, the road dried up, and the wildlife was out enjoying the evening with me. I saw 13 deer, 9 hawks, 2 owls and hundreds of other smaller animals. A lone coyote wandering a nearby fence line. The red-winged black birds cranking out their song. The glory that we go whipping by in our cars everyday. Tonight, it was mine to enjoy. And I so did.


Life is Good.

LHT with a Basket up front

Now that the herd is being culled, it's time to play, alter and adjust the setups of the select few.

I've wondered about a basket for the front of the trucker. A few quick (and reversible) mods to the Wald, and some zip ties, and we have our testing ground. Test results didn’t really surprise me, but I was hoping for better. With any significant weight in the basket, the bikes handling is significantly compromised. To the point that I had a close call this morning while trying to avoid a puddle of water. Should this area of the bike be a place where I really want to be able to haul stuff, a few fork with more rake would be a wise investment. By that point in time, maybe a Kogswell P/R with the corrected fork rake would just be easier.

But, this was just a brief little test, and now I know. LHTs handle fine with panniers mounted on either side of the wheel and down low. Not so fine with loads mounted up above the wheel. Would have been a great, practical and dare I say……….stylish option for carry things. Oh well. Maybe next time.

Cheers.

A lesson learned

A simple one I learned today..........do not always trust your kick stand to resist the wind.
I'm sorry, my friend.

LHT Exploring photo dump

Just thought I'd drop a few pictures from some recent exploring I did around my house last weekend. I figured there had to be some decent riding around the canals (other than what's directly behind my house) and all I had to do was go out and find it. I didn't have much more than an hour, so I'm not sure of the extent of the riding, but for fast training rides and such, there is plenty of nice gravel and double track.

My Surly constrictor clamp on my Karate Monkey snapped, so I rode the Trucker. I would rather have had the KM, but the trucker was capable indeed. I just don't like riding as hard on the LHT, because I don't want to destroy my Schmidt E6 or any of the racks. A single speed 29er is far more resilient when crashing. I just tried hard not to crash.

This is where my ride started. It's a 5 minute bike ride from my house.

Nice sweeping gravel corners
Cattle to the left

LHT 10' above the water

Heading toward the golf course

Obligatory panda shot

I think this is the widest bike path in the world. It has to double as emergency vehicle access to the back part of the golf course, hence the width. It's a great place to ride with kids when they're learning.

My Long Haul Trucker

Quite possibly the best bike I've ever owned. There just something about the way it keeps on rolling. Smooth, but tough. Rugged and yet refined. The fit getting closer and closer to perfect. Ah, what a bike.

Found the problem

The front wheel of my LHT was built up with a Dyno hub by Peter White. I have the stock front wheel hanging in my parts department. There was some type of rim tap installed (not sure if it was I who put it on or PWC) but it was pretty thin in a few spots. The ridges of the spoke holes were sticking through in a few locations. I was able to determine exactly which spoke hole was causing the problem (props for matching up the logo on the tire with the valve hole and careful removal of the tire and tube while changing flats) and installed a new rim tape from MEC. I combed over the rest of the rim and the inside of the tire just to be sure, and they looked fine. We’ll give her a week or two to see, but I’m pretty sure that this little problem should be gone now.
On the fixie, I found that I had a failed presta valve. No tears in the rubber or anything, just the air leaked through the valve itself until it was down around 15PSI. I know you can tighten up the little valve inside the stem on a Schrader valve, but I don’t think this is the case with a presta. New tube on there and we’ve got both bikes back on the road again. Thank goodness!

Ride.......every day!

Riding a bike every day, is a grand thing. Some rides are short, some are long, but the fact that I am now getting out a least for a bit everyday is fantastic. Since I’ve moved to Strathmore, I’ve commuted to work by bike every day. Mmm, mmm good.

I debranded the LHT.

Well okay, that is a lie on two parts. First being I still have decals on the LHT. Second being they have virtually been taken off via Photo shop, but not by me. I received a comment on a previous post this morning, and good man Cycle Jerk sent me a photoshoped picture of my trucker sans decals. Looks pretty good. He is thinking the same thing that it seems like a lot of us LHT owners think, remove the decals! Maybe..... Mine will probably stay for a while yet. Maybe until I get some nice steel fenders, or a few more classic looking parts hung on the frame. Right now, it looks too much like a budget utilitarian touring machine to get all worked up over the decal astetics.

And Thanks Cycle Jerk for sending this through. I don't think of you as your namesake might suggest. Cheers.

DIY Seat Cover

It was a little rainy yesterday afternoon on the way home. I was completely unprepared, but it really didn't matter. In fact, I don't think I'll be taking rain gear next time they forecast rain either. It kind of feels like when I was a kid, to get all wet in the rain and not care a bit. I was glad I had the fendered Trucker today. I do hate getting a dirt spray line on up my back.

We recycle plastic bags in the lunch room at work. I tagged into the stash and protected my B-17, as well as my tool roll. Worked quite well.

Anyone can ride a bike in the nice sunshine, but a commuter rides in all weather. Mmmm, good times.

Summer riding. Short trips in business attire and coffee in hand. No sweat shall break. Just good practical commuting. Totals a measly 11 miles a day, but those 11 miles are free. I beat a car home yesterday, which has me convinced that it’s actually faster for me to ride my bike than drive a car. Although, when I beat the car, I actually did break a bit of a sweat.
Switching up between the fixie and the Trucker. All good times. I (heart) riding my bike every day.

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.

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.

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.

De-branding the LHT?

I’ve been thinking lately about removing the decals from my LHT. I’ve read up on it, even on the LHT and CC Google group, and from what I’ve learned, it’s really quite easy. Any thoughts on whether or not I should do it?

The reason I’m thinking of removing the decals is this; the LHT is such a great classic looking bike. The decals don’t help that at all. I think the go very much against the look of a classic bike. I removed the decal from the dealer that I bought the bike from already. I hate it when they do that. I didn’t get any special deal, and even the service left a lot to be desired, why would I let them advertise on my bike? I mean come on, give me 10% off accessories when I’m buying the bike or at least have it ready for me when you say you will. The first and second time you say you will. If you can’t do those things, you can’t advertise on a bicycle that I paid for.

With my LHT, it’s not so much that I don’t want to advertise for Surly. They make great, no non-sense bikes and make them affordable. I honestly can’t really think of a bike out there like the LHT, other than the LHT. It’s a great platform from which to build a nice touring bike. Very capable of meeting the task it was designed for, and compared to bicycles of a similar skill strength, it’s cheap. I’m quite happy with my LHT and think it’s a great bike. But there is the whole issue of the look of the bike. The color could be dubbed as a classic color, the tubing size, geometry look great, but the decals just don’t work. Especially if you want to “Rivendellize” your LHT. Some of the Surly Pacers have a nicer looking decal. I wonder why it got a different decal?

I’m not totally convinced I’m going to do it yet, but I think I might just de-decal the LHT. We’ll see.

1st ride on the LHT

I was finally able to take the LHT out for a ride longer than 10 minutes yesterday. While it was only 14 miles, it is better than none. What’s more, I was supposed to do a long run in training for my Marathon races coming up, and a 14 mile bike ride is so much better than a run in my books. Made a few adjustments to the saddle angle, but other than that, nothing else was touched on this ride. I’m sure with a few more longer rides I’ll be tweaking a little more here and there.

First thing that stand out on the this bike are the fat tires. They really do smooth out the rough roads well. I think the Sequoia I had was a smoother frame but the tires on it (32) didn’t like the rough surface of the roads coming out of Rockyford. The shoulders are much smoother. The LHT though didn’t seem near as taxing on the rough roads as the Sequoia, and I'm sure it's because of the fat tires. While on the smooth shoulders though, the Sequoia is still a smoother ride.

Size feels good. Really good. It’s nice to be comfortably stretched out, but not reaching. Makes sense. Large person would be more comfortable on a large bicycle frame.

I have hardly gotten to know this bike, and with more time in the saddle I will be able to offer more in depth reports on it, but initially, I think it will certainly live up to its reputation as being a good, simple, comfortable bike for long rides and touring.

Dyno hub finally mounted

Not my permanent solution. I think I'll be building a front rack to incorporate a mount for the E6, but you know how it is when you've got something that can go on your bike just sitting there, not on yet. Can't wait. I had to try it out. I went for a short spin last night and the 3W E6 with the Shimano DH-3N72 is a great combination. I opted to run just the front light off the generator hub. That way I could get a 3W up front instead of a 2.3W, and I think that it would be hard to find a rear light as effective as the Superflash. With the great battery life of the superflash, I don't mind carrying one spare set of batteries for my rear light on extended trips. Good front lighting is far more difficult to achive with batteries on long rides. My first impression is that I do need to mount the light in a different location. The light pattern is very square (which is a good thing - there seems to be little "wasted light" with this pattern) but I think for it to be effective, it needs to be a little farther from the ground.

Based on my short test run I'm very impressed with the light output and this will certainly be the only front light needed. I may mount a front flasher to help in heavy traffic or city riding, but for out on the highway and as a light to see where I am going, this is the solution.

I spaced the light out from the fork with a 20mm chain right bolt and a small washer to protect the paint. It holds it out from the fork blade just enough so the housing of the light doesn't touch the fork blade. Again, not the final mounting solution, but it did satisfy my need to try this light and dyno-hub out.