Sixty Fiver

At this time of the year I stage a little thing we call the "Tour de Perogy" which is going into it's sixth year but as I am not going to be here to stage this, a few friends and I went out and rode the route on what was a beautiful Labour Day holiday on a no brifters, no carbon fibre allowed ride... it was down tube shifters all the way around.

Heading east we were blessed with a nice tailwind and I barely had to move those Campagnolo down tube shifters as I was spinning along pretty nicely in the 54:13 (The Cooper's top gear ratio) on everything but the uphill sections, the new Michelins felt nearly as nice as tubulars, and was pleased when my friend told me that he could not reel me in when he was doing 56kmh when were pointed east with the hammer down... and I was wishing I had a higher gear on my bike.

You have to take the good with the bad... on the 60km return we got to ride into that headwind that was gusting up to 65kmh and only stopped once we were back in the city... when you have to pedal down hills that you can normally do 60- 70kmh on you know it's windy. It was relentless and we were relentless in not letting the wind get the best of us.

This was the longest single day ride I have taken my Ron Cooper on and got a chance to test drive all the newly fitted Campagnolo NR which shifts a Sugino 42/54 that is mated to a Regina 7 speed with a 13-18 corncob with a 21 tooth "bailout". Told my friend this bike has no real bailout and just a suffer-less gear but as it is set up to ride on these rolling prairies the gearing is perfect and I can always swap in a different free wheel if more climbing is on the menu or ride my Proctor which is set up for hill climbing.

scozim 

42-21 in the kind of wind you describe is pretty dang good - it's like riding a hill the whole time. We get those wind speeds pretty frequently and I usually grab the bike with the 24 or 26 in the back to make sure there's the "bailout" option you speak of.

JJScaliger

Great video northbend!

Peugeotlover

ohmagosh, you don't want to go off the side there.

Sixty Fiver

As it isn't pancake flat here there were a few long grades, nothing steep but the type of run ups that seem go on forever. Our terrain was carved by glaciers and is not as flat as it is in the south.

It was a damn good ride that, without that added wind is not that hard and one can usually keep a good pace on calm days.

scozim 

Had to go to the Seattle area for work today so stopped off at Marymoor Park for a ride on the Sammamish trail (one DD has posted some photos of before the Friday night track racing). Today was going to be a mellow ride thanks to some sore quads from earlier hard rides this week, including some good climbing on Sunday, so I took the old Peugeot (Ms. Patina). I was just minding my own business and, at one point, passed a guy on a Scott carbon fiber road bike. About 100 yards later I realized he was wheel sucking. I hate being competitive - the mellow ride went out the window and I didn't see him again. I wasn't into having a wheel sucker today.

I finished up with my first laps ever on a velodrome - nobody else around so it was quite a bit of fun. Sunny, mid-70's, light breeze - perfect time for an early afternoon ride.

Mid-week, late morning - not much traffic on the trail



The best part in several places was the strong smell of ripening blackberries:

IthaDan 

Up at the crack, so I took the new Merckx out.

MrEss

Was in San Diego for a work-related conference, and got in a bit of cycling after work was all done.

Warning for petroleum-based bike content. The Specialized Tarmac was an affordable rental and didn't beat me up despite the 25mm tires. With its cheap components it weighed about as much as my Atala It sure beat flying with a bike in a box! I felt a little slow taking off from stops because it was too stiff for my taste... I guess that's what "ripping power transfer" means.



Halfway up Mt. Helix I realized I'd need to turn around to get to my meeting on time. It was still a fun climb and a nice view.

Drillium Dude 

I'm stuck on the Island for the weekend, so can't get back down to Marymoor Park and the trails like Scozim did today - drat! Had to cancel Sunday's ride in Tacoma with Abarth, too - double-drat!! But, duty calls; one of the drawbacks to go along with the perks of Service.

But today I got two hours of climbing/descending in and around the outskirts of town on the '78 Super. I was set to take the '73 Super, but the front tire was flat (probably from the ride with Alex Moll and company during the vintage show ride a couple weekends ago). Anyway, the '78 has a wider gear range. I surprised myself with the hills; tested out a recently-won pair of vintage Sidis on this ride and they were fantastic. I might take this bike to DG instead of the Davidson

Sorry, no pics - but it did happen! Tomorrow, then.

DD

Drillium Dude 

Here are a few from my ride after work yesterday.

Oak Harbor Beach Park:



Some rare smooth pavement on the east side of the island:



Oak Harbor beach looking west:



The Seaplane Base/Marina across the harbor to the east:



My conveyance for the day:



Somehow my rear rim got a knock and I discovered that it also got a decently-sized section out of true once returning home. I'm headed off for my LBS this morning to get both wheels trued up.

DD

djkashuba 

Rode around Lake Tahoe on the Moto; buddy rode his Raleigh International. Good times.


Motobecae Grand Record in Lake Tahoe by djk762, on Flickr

scozim 

No photos - but 29 miles in some brisk wind after a morning full of kids soccer. I did, for the first time in 30 yrs of riding, encounter the first bug splat on my glasses - definitely not pleasant.

Peugeotlover

The picture shows two types of spoke wrenches.
The ancient 1970's one was given to me by Les Josselyn, former bike shop owner in Monterey, CA.
When I was much younger and poorer, and only had a bike for transportation, I would go to his shop for repairs. He could tell my situation- he handed me that wrench as a gift and told me how to true a wheel, and build a wheel.

It is really simple to true a wheel.
Use the spoke wrench to tighten or loosen a series of spoke nipples- where the wheel is out of true, i.e., where the wheel moves off to the side.

When you turn the spoke nipples on the wheel you are either drawing the rim closer or allowing it to move to the opposite side.

Turning the nipple 1/8th to 1/4 turn makes a significant change to the wheels trueness.

You can flip your bike upside down, and use the brake pads as your gauge to 'eye' the trueness of the wheel as it passes the pads.
Keep adjusting the nipples until you get the desired result. It usually takes 5 minutes.

The Park Tool is the one to own.

-holiday76

eastern foothills of silicon valley

-holiday76

southpawboston

Two friends and I participated in the inaugural Kearsarge Klassic dirt road randonnee yesterday, basically NH's version of the D2R2, in the southern region of the state less than two hours from Boston: remote dirt roads through mountainous forest and farmland. We rode the mid-length route of 59 miles:

This is typically what it was like about half the time:


And the other half of the time:


Grueling climbs as steep as 14% rewarded us with vistas like this:


No dirt road ride is complete without the token covered bridge:




The weather was fantastic for most of the day, but later on the skies darkened ominously. Not five miles from the finish, the skies opened up on us, releasing a torrential downpour. We arrived saturated, but that wasn't enough to wipe the smiles from our faces after having experienced such a joyous ride:


And after eating a chili dinner (sampling no less than five types of chili) and drying off, Southern NH bid us farewell with this rainbow:

mapleleafs-13 

i rode out to the toronto waterfront, then to the spit, then ash bridges. about 60km. Great ride but unfortunately i lost the dust cap on one side of my c-record pedals

mkeller234

DSC00171 by mkeller234, on
Flickr


DSC00174 by mkeller234, on Flickr


DSC00176 by mkeller234, on Flickr

Garage Bakery:

DSC00175 by mkeller234, on Flickr

YoKev

Nice photos, looks like everyone had an enjoyable weekend!

puchfinnland

Nelli and I went for another 50 km ride,
its starting to get cold in finland, and the season is limited
We saw horses,combines and amber waves of grain.we went to visit a friend.
sorry no fantastic pictures.

northbend 

Looks like great fun and my kind of ride. This photo of you on the bridge is great BTW..

scozim 

Headed to the hills to get out of the severe winds today. Saw a few archery hunters but other than that it was riding in solitude.





The best kind of roads to be on have this sign at either end - that means you won't encounter any four wheeled vehicles:

jimmuller 

Today Sharon and I rode two circuits of the Park Loop Road in Acadia National Park, Mt Desert Island, Maine. Total of 37.7 miles, 2400 ft of climbing. It was great day! Some images form the ride:

Checking tire pressures at the start



Starting



Sharon and bike at an overlook



Lunch at Jordan Pond, the Bubbles in the background



A 1974 Schwinn Voyager II, being ridden by a gentleman we met at the Jordpn Pond House. He and a friend were then heading back by bike to Manchester, Vermont



The bike at rest, somewhere overlooking the Atlantic Ocean

JJScaliger

Wow! Super cool jimmuller! I have always wanted to go there; I've heard it is beautiful.

mkeller234

Today I toured the wine country....err, block of Ohio... eat your heart out Holiday76.


DSC00193 by mkeller234, on Flickr


DSC00194 by mkeller234, on Flickr


DSC00195 by mkeller234, on Flickr


DSC00229 by mkeller234, on Flickr


DSC00226 by mkeller234, on Flickr


DSC00224 by mkeller234, on Flickr


DSC00222 by mkeller234, on Flickr