Why my bicycle is better than yours: An article for Bicycle Annually by Ridethedell.

You may think you have a very nice bicycle; your bicycle may, in fact, be quite adequate - for you. 

But well-informed, historically knowledgeable, experienced and discerning riders would certainly agree that, when it comes to intrinsic value and inherent worth, my bike is better than yours.

Please allow me to educate you as to why.

In the time it took to press the shutter and capture the image, the bicycle sproinged ahead leaving only this shadow.

DIY - Spare tube wrap.

A quick and easy way to use an old inner tube to wrap a spare tube into a compact package that also protects the valve:

Catskill 600K - Meditations in the mountains

A good Randonneuring course showcases its region. On the ride, you get an intimate appreciation of the terrain, a feel of the place's history, immersed in the geography. Going to the controls to get receipts and brevet cards signed (which seemed odd when I first started) forces you to interact with the locals beyond the basics of buying and selling, you hear their accents and exchange greetings - you talk to people. You get a sense of the soul of the area in a fingers in the cool earthy dirt kind of way. Randonneurs not only ride through a place, we participate in it, we live in it, if only for a moment. Such was the case on this ride.

The Catskill 600K starts near the majestic Hudson River. The scenic course is a visual treat. From the Palisades cliffs along the river, it weaves  through mountain towns which run the gamut of mountain town possibilities; from standard middle America to art enclaves, exclusive schools, monasteries, many places of exotic worship or meditation and working farms. Sets of pictures from this year's ride can be found here and here.

The NJ Randonneurs have a detailed description of the Catskill 600K course on their website. They also gave fair warning that finishing would mean lots of climbing - over 22,000 feet of elevation gain. 

This would be the climbiest 600k course I had ever attempted. But somehow, despite the fact that I make a much better descender than I will ever make as a climber, I decided that I would keep to a schedule for a personal best 600K. In fact, I would eat and sleep well and finish the second day strong. Yup, that was going to happen, for sure. All I had to do was follow the plan.

Images from the Catskill 600K

Grand Bois Lierre tire after a sidewall blowout that was field repaired with a patch, a dollar bill and duct tape wrap.  It lasted for over 100 miles.

A collection of images from the Catskill 600K: I recommend Full Screen

Blue Mountain 300K - River lessons.

April 21, 2013

The Delaware River, inky black under the pre-dawn sky, flows on our left. It speaks in a thousand whispered voices. It sings forgotten songs that play at the shores of remembrance. It echoes the vibrato of unstoppable, ancient power. It reverberates with the timeless sound of patience and persistence.

A.H.H. The sum of the parts

 

58 cm Rivendell A. Homer Hilsen (Toyo Japan)

Test ride

After adjusting the brakes and transferring the Edelux light from the Surly to the Homer, I stand back and look for what needs doing next. Then it dawns on me - the bike I assembled is ready for a test ride. Not done, but fully rideable.

Still dressed in my riding gear from my bike commute home, I pump up the tires, don my helmet and go back out into the night.

Work in progress

I am assembling a new bike. I know a lot of people call the process "building" a bike but I'm not comfortable with that term. It's a little to presumptuous for what I am doing. If I were cutting tubes, brazing joints, welding lugs, even lacing spokes into a rim, I might say I was building a bike. But I can't do any of that. I can order parts and assemble them into a working bike. That is what I am doing. Assembly. If I assemble IKEA furniture I don't tell people I built a couch. I just put it together.

Lessons learned

Okay. The Taste of Carolina 1200k, my "next big thing" is done. I did it - barely. I was the "lanterne rouge" - the final finisher - rolling in bandaged but unbroken, tired but triumphant, on a course that was difficult but surmountable. But I did it.

I learned a few things in the process. Some of those things seem obvious now, in hindsight, but I missed them the first time around. I don't want to miss them again. (Oh yes, I am already looking at the calendar and considering what will be the next big thing. What can I say; this sport has epic physical challenges, adventure, uncertainty, stunning visuals, a really cool cast of characters and makes for a memorable story -I'm hooked.)

Friday Writings for Randos - Tension and Compression

{Friday Writings for Randos - A weekly post that features pieces from other writers that touch some facet of the Randonneuring experience, even if that was not the author's intent. It's stuff that's best read out loud - slowly.} This week it's:...

An excerpt from:

The Bicycle Wheel

3rd edition


by Jobst Brandt

Bicycle wheels don't work the way people think they do.Wire wheels are pre-stressed structures, with built in stresses that are reduced when they are subjected to loads.

Commuter light review - Sigma Lightster v. Planet Bike Blaze 2 Watt - Part Two

 Part Two - 

"Rain" testing

(For part one click here)

To test the rain worthiness of the Sigma lightster and the Planet Bike Blaze 2 watt, I mounted both to a a set of handlebars.

Then sprayed  them with the hose set on "shower"

Test duration = 5 minutes:

Both lights shined throughout. Inspection of the lights at the completion of the test showed no water intrusion.

Both passed the test.

Commuter light review - Sigma Lightster v. Planet Bike Blaze 2 Watt

Part One - 

First impressions and light patterns 

(for Part two - "Rain" testing click here)

The Sigma Lightster is a potentially significant new option in battery powered commuter bike lights. Generally, commuter lights are used "to be seen" or "to see". A "to be seen" light is the kind of light you can use in a city where streetlights and other ambient lights provide enough light to ride by. It keeps you from becoming a "bike ninja" by making you more visible.  Since the "to be seen" light is mostly used to get you noticed by others, it can be a one bulb blinky or a small light.

If you ride unlit roads, a blinky won't cut it. You need a light that you can actually use to see where you are going.

The  Lightster is advertised as a "to see" light. It retails for about $35.00. What makes it potentially significant is that it is a shaped light. A shaped light is a light that projects a square or rectangle of light instead of a circle. A shaped light has a distinct top line. Like car headlights on low beam, the light is focused on the ground and not into the eyes of oncoming traffic. For the rider, it means that more of the light is used on the road ahead instead of fading off into the distance. This feature means that this light is one of the few battery powered lights that meets German standards for bike lights. Even more importantly, the Lightster is the ONLY shaped light I am aware of that sells for less than $40.00. Other shaped lights cost far more. 

The Lightster is also advertised as putting out 20 lux of light for 10 hours. A lux is a measure of light. I understand one lux to be about as bright as the light from a full moon. (if that's not right, feel free to comment)  By comparison, the Ixon, which is a very good  battery powered shaped light, puts out 40 lux for 5 hours or 10 lux for about 20 hours. So the Lightster, contrasted with the Ixon, either provides half the lux for twice the length of time as the Ixon high beam, or twice the lux for half the length of time as the Ixon low beam.  But the Ixon also costs well over $100  - enough to buy almost 3 Lightsters!

 I decided to test the Lightster against the Planet Bike Blaze 2 Watt in an under $100 light comparison. The Blaze is a Cree LED commuter light that retails for about $60 dollars. I have used it on overnight rides and it is an acceptable "to see" light for unlit paved roads with no major downhills. For commuting, it is way more than adequate. If the Lightster can hold its own against the Blaze, it's a light worth consideration.

A better alternative to Road ID

A blogger I read was in an accident with a car. (you can read about it if you click HERE),

He was wearing a Road ID. The EMTs had no idea what it was. I am not surprised. I was a volunteer firefighter for 7 years.  I went through hundreds of hours of training and Road Id was never mentioned. Road ID advertises to cyclists in cycling specific media. You see Bob Roll advertising Road ID on TDF coverage that only cyclists watch but you don't see it during football games that everyone watches. That is the problem. An ID tag marketed to cyclists does not serve its primary purpose - letting non-cyclists know who you are.

I use a dog tag. Everyone in this country knows what a dog tag is. Every dog owner, war movie watcher, everyone who watches the news. Basically every emergency responder.When you are unconscious and unresponsive, your neck and chest get a lot of attention from medical personnel. They check airways, perform CPR. In those instances, a dog tag worn around the neck will be noticed where a bracelet on the wrist may not.

My dog tag has my name, address, phone number and blood type. If I had a particular medical concern or allergy it would be there. Good information in a place easy to find.

That's why I have a dog tag instead of Road ID.

Why Buy an “inexpensive” Bicycle?

(A response to why buy an expensive bicycle) 

Two “randonneur” bikes may look roughly similar. Both can have a front rack and both have gears. Yet one could cost more than five times as much as the other, if you ordered one today.

Of course, there are obvious differences: One already is equipped with lighting and fenders, the other isn’t. But even if we add $500 for those parts to the less expensive bike, we still have a remarkable difference in price. Why is one bike so much less expensive?

Philly Bike Expo 2011: A few items that caught my eye

The 2011 Philly Bike Expo subtitled its show as Artisans / Activists / Alternatives. Those three ideas were on full display during my Sunday visit. Custom builders, handmade accessories and local bike based activism filled the booths of the Philadelphia Armory. 

Here's a sample of some items that caught my attention (click pics for full size and links for more details):

Coffee fix

Riding a fixed gear bike is to cycling as 

taking black and white pictures is to photography.

N + 1 - Fixing what ain't broke.

According to Rule #12 -  "The correct number of bikes to own is n+1.While the minimum number of bikes one should own is three, the correct number is n+1, where n is the number of bikes currently owned.  This equation may also be re-written as s-1, where s is the number of bikes owned that would result in separation from your partner."

Great Adventure Populaire

July 16, 2011

My heart rate monitor flashes numbers well above 90% of my max and the numbers are rising. This is a short course, 70 miles, with no real climbing, but our riding pace relentlessly hovers around and above 20 mph. There are hours yet left to ride and I am a clydesdale trying to run with a racehorse. Through open mouth, my belly bellows air in and out of my lungs as my thighs burn in circles to climb the next roller. I take another pull of water from my Camelbak and work at keeping the pace.

How to keep a cool head in hot times

In case you missed it, the NY Times published this article on how keeping your neck cool (click for link) can improve athletic  performance in the heat and humidity, although it may come with a risk (but what worthwhile pursuit doesn't?). 

The mystery of the self-balancing bicycle.

A video on the discovery that the self balancing of a bicycle does not depend on trail or gyroscopic torque.


click for link

I always thought there was some magic involved. . .