Bike Weal*

Blue Ox, berries and highways

2011-08-08T22:32:00.000-07:00

(Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox in Bemidji, MN)

Left last Wednesday for a three-day & two night, solo, tour of Northern Minnesota. Fortuitous winds and dry weather were unexpected and appreciated during my 140 miles.

Starting from a friend's cabin near Park Rapid's, Minnesota, I rode 20 miles into Itasca State park. Itasca is famous for being the headwaters of the Mississippi River.

(My LHT at the park's East entrance)

(The marker at the start of the Mississippi you can read it if you click on the image)

On day two I rode for about 30 miles on the Paul Bunyan Trail. The rest of the trip's miles were pedaled on Minnesota's "blue highways." This term was coined by William Least Heat Moon in his autobiographical book Blue Highways. The term refers to small, forgotten, out of the way roads connecting rural America (which were drawn in blue on the old style Rand McNally road atlas).

(A stretch of blue highway with blue sky and blue water.)

Heat Moon's book tells of his travels and describes the people he meets during his 13,000 mile journey. I met one notable man. I was riding between Bemidji Lake State Park, where I spent my second night, and my starting point near Park Rapids. Tired, near noon, I was looking for a rare patch of shade to rest in. Finally seeing one spot at a crossroads, I stopped only to discover that a lawn of poison ivy had beaten me to the shade. Hence it was a standing break.

While enjoying my time off the bike, a beat up old pick-up truck stopped. A man in his early 70's approached me with a well used ice cream pail half full of freshly picked wild blueberries. He reached it out and said with a semi-toothed grin, "take a handful of these while you rest." I barely said thank you before he hopped in his truck and drove off. I gobbled most of my berries up before I thought to take a picture.

He wasn't the only person I met. Earlier in the day a woman and her daughter stopped by to visit me in camp. Every Harley Davidson rumbling by gave me a nod or a wave. What is it about bike touring that disarms and brings out the best in the people? Maybe they too have the romantic sense of the road that made Heat Moons' book so popular.

(The sweetest blueberries I ever had)

(Dinner in Itasca State Park)

(Bike at the start of the tour with front panniers on. I use them to carry extra food because of the relative isolation of where I was riding)

(Bike at the end of the tour with front panniers tucked into the rear bags.)

(Bike during a rest break on the Paul Bunyan Trail)

(The Paul Bunyan Trail)

Girls' Bike Tour 2010

2010-07-18T21:48:00.000-07:00

We left the on the Girls' Bike Trip III Saturday morning after a slow start. Gear organization, family obligations and work had us leaving after 9am instead of our targeted 8am. No worries, we rolled with it heading from St. Paul to the Wilmar, MN trail head of the Glacial Lakes State Trail. We rode on the trail north through Spicer and New London where we headed west to Sibley State Park. Temperature forecasts were for 90 plus with high humidity and a 70% chance of thunderstorms including predicted severe weather.

The trip was full of unexpected good luck. Starting with the purchase of fresh, hot tortillas from a grocery store in Wilmar. Sat. was warm and humid, but clouds and a firm tail-wind kept us moving in comfort. We were able to get to camp, be set up and go for a swim before bad weather hit. We moved out of the lake because of lightning and waited out the storm by the park gift shop. We watched a wall cloud and the storm come across the lake whipping up rain, waves and 60mph winds, way more cool than scary.

After the storm past we swam again then headed to camp for Jiffypop. We had a bit more rain during our smore course, but were undaunted because of good rain gear. By the time we went to sleep we were able to point out the big and little dipper along with the North star to the girls.

Sunday morning we broke camp with only a few leftover rain drops falling from the trees. Breakfast was corned beef hash and eggs eaten in our tortillas. We used John's Aeropress for and outstanding cup of camp coffee.

Sunday we benefited from a tailwind on the cool side of the weather front. We rolled along to Spicer where we found the local fire department was having an open house along with pancake and sausage fundraiser. We climbed on firetrucks and ate more than we needed to.

We finished our ride and headed for home after a side trip for more tortillas. The girls', and dads too, did a great job on this fun outing.

Flowers and Food and Biking and Food with a Final Storm

2010-06-26T22:37:00.000-07:00

The family and I woke up and headed to the St. Paul farmers market. We picked up some flowers and assorted locally grown veggies. The bouquet above was $6.

Next we finally found the Hmong Market. It's at the intersection of Marion and Como in St. Paul. The smells and thrown together buildings brought me back to markets in Asia. We had beef laab with tripe, cellophane noodle stuff cabbage rolls and round greasy meatball goodness.

More good food was to come. Our friends Mai and Mark invited us over for dinner. Mark is a Dane and Mai is Vietnamese. They always cook something wonderful.
I took the opportunity, as I often do, of biking the 26 miles to their home. Ling-Hui and the kids drive with the bike rack on. This way I can have a nice one way ride. The weather was hot and humid, but I enjoyed my route. (Click on it to view it.)

Mark and Mai created an incredible spread of Mexican cuisine. We had homemade tamales wrapped in banana leaves, salsas, guacamole, skirt steak, chicken, mole, beans and more. I'm glad I rode.
Here's a picture of a tamale from our care-package.

The storms hit on our way home. Frequent lightning flashes helped illuminate the highway hidden by torrential rain. A couple of plastic bags and a few wraps of duct-tape protected the Brooks saddle on the way home.

This was a Saturday well spent.

Back from Dirt Burger

2010-06-12T21:59:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Sov and all of the Decorah people for hosting fun under their bridge. I felt a bit weird heading to a venue where I didn't know anyone and am appreciative of the hospitality. Special thanks to Chuey, not sure of the spelling, for playing trail guide. Enjoyed chatting with Scally, Captain and everyone else whose names I don't remember. Friday night we rode into T-Bocks for a tasty burger, sans dirt. Lightning bugs flashes lit up the trail on the way back to camp. Next, we chilled around a fire until the the police came and shut us down. Like an army of ants with messenger bags and a Big Dummy we moved the party wood, beer and all up the bluff into the woods. Shortly after 2am we headed down the long hill hills back to our tents. Best night sleep in a tent in a longtime.

Here's the view I woke-up to Saturday morning. I made coffee and oatmeal and read my book. Then it was time to ride. We headed out on these trails, which kicked my ass. I crashed 3 times to the amusement of a local. The rain had made the trail greasy. Logs and roots slid tires out making the ride more technical than I am good. Not complaining though; I was riding in the woods, tired, happy and dirty.

A little of Grandpa's Pine Tar soap and a swim in the river felt great after riding.

Below is a random photo of some campers. Surly bikes showed up in force. 1x1s, Karate Monkeys, LHTs, Pugsleys, and Big Dummys all were present. One guy had a Karate Monkey with couplers renamed a "Flying Money." Several people who worked for Surly were present as well.

I'm up for Dirt Burger 2011.

Long Haul Trucker Fully Unloaded

2010-06-06T18:24:00.001-07:00

Dirt Burger is is next weekend in Decorah, Iowa, and I need to get out of town and do something different. My dilemma is that I don't know what bike to ride. The full suspended Diamondback XR4 is riding well, after having Shockspital rebuild the front end. It is undoubtedly the most practical and fastest bike I own for riding real single-track, but the bike seems somehow wrong for the spirit of the event.
Thus, I stripped down the Long Haul(Dirt-Road)Trucker and put on my most off worthy tires, Ricthey Trailmix 700x35mm. A wider tire would be nice. The bike is specs say it will take a 45mm tire without fenders. I plan on taking both bikes; it'll be fun to compare them.

The Long Haul Trucker loaded for comparison.

Dirt Burger's flier:

I'm expecting a cool outing with great people.

Heartland Trail

2010-05-28T21:38:00.001-07:00

The family's heading to Nevis to ride the Heartland Trail. We also plan to wet a fishing line -J- <^><) swim and cruise Lake Belle Taine. Bring on the heat.

Fine Finish to a Great Weekend.

2010-05-16T20:14:00.001-07:00

I took the Long Haul Trucker out for a workout ride from Fort Snelling out around Lake Calhoun and back for 28 miles. I felt good that my average speed was 14.2. This felt fast considering the number of times I had to slow down for cars, pedestrians and other cyclists. This bike keeps proving itself to be a great do=everything ride.

Iron Family

2010-04-25T20:40:00.001-07:00

Way to go family! We completed the 30 mile Iron Man ride earlier today, despite some pouring rain, challenging hills, strong winds and a crash.

While some may think this is not such an accomplishment, I am very proud of my family. Harris rode his 24" wheeled Caliente with a limited gear range. He refused to walk up any of the steep hills; instead he stood-up and hammered. To do something this hard for over three hours is an impressive feat for an 8-yr-old.

Claire took a fairly big crash on her 13" Trek 930. Hitting the asphalt knocked her front wheel and handlebars out of alignment and ripped up part of her pants. She literally bounced up saying, "I'm ok." She struggled for a few mile portion of the ride, but finished the last 12 miles strong after the final rest break.

Ling-Hui trooped through adverse conditions on her 13" Trek 930 without complaint. She has not been on her bike for some time causing distress to both her knee and butt. Further, She rode much of the last portion with a low front tire adding to her work. Most importantly Ling-Hui did a great job of not being too motherly, and made sure we had plenty of good snacks.

While the ride itself was relatively simple for me on the Long Haul Trucker, I take pride in being able to have quality bikes prepared, proper gear arranged and my family in the ride spirit to do such an undertaking.

The pictures are of Claire, Harris and a neighbor girl showing off their hard-earned t-shirts.

40th Earthday

2010-04-21T21:07:00.001-07:00

I was planning to drive to school tomorrow since I have a track meet that will run late. But, I think I'll ride,

Artcrank 2010/Minneapolis

2010-04-10T23:30:00.000-07:00

Bike/Train Touring

2010-04-06T21:03:00.002-07:00

Some of my favorite rides while living in Taipei, Taiwan involved hoping on the subway with my bike and riding to the farthest out stations. I could go from the heart of the city to a peaceful mountain road amidst tea fields 30mins.

I've recently realized that a similar trip is possible from the heart of the Twin Cities.

Any of the Metro Transit light rail trains will take bikes and connect to the North Star Line which will also take bikes. The links explain the procedure for loading bikes on both trains. I remember being intimidated the first time I did this in Taiwan, of course my English reading skills surpass my Chinese.

I plan to start a tour from Big Lake sometime in the near future. It will be a blast to load-up, cyle from my house to Fort Snelling and ride the rails out of the city. A day trip would be fun too.

March 31 Family Bike Camping

2010-04-01T22:34:00.000-07:00

Claire, Harris and I drove to Faribult and loaded up to ride the the Sakatah Singing Hills Trail and to spend the night bike camping in Sakatah Lake State Park. We had an exceptional day of March weather. The high was in the mid 70's and the low was around 50. The registration card shows camp site 51, the kids favorite. They had a great time with this big rock. We could have stayed anywhere, as we were the only people in the park.

But to keep us from getting lonely, we had a barred owl and its mate calling back and fourth several times during the night. The sounds weren't spooky, but they were startling.

Claire's 13' framed 930 rides wonderfully, but we did have some trouble with the seat-post rack which kept sliding down and rubbing on her rear wheel. Zip ties to the rescue. I connected the top of the rack to the seat rails.

A little red licorice keeps spirits high along the trail. The kids did get a bit grumpy the first day, because dad misjudged the distance to the town where we were going to stop for lunch. It didn't help that the only cafe was closed, so we needed to ride on to the next town to eat. Well fed kids make for happy bikers.

Below, Harris is on his 24" wheel Schwinn Caliente. It really does a nice job on such railroad grade tours. He runs out of gears on bigger hills. This is where Claire's triple chain-ring front shines.

We make it a point on our bike camping trips to spend some time harvesting what nature has to offer. Usually it had been the berry variety or wild plum of the season. This time the best we could do was to harvest baby dandelion greens, which were quite good.

My Long Haul Trucker carried a load and a lot of gear too. In addition to me, I carried two tents, two sleeping pads, two sleeping bags, a blanket, all of our food, all of our cooking gear and all of my personal gear. I can't imagine ever carrying so much stuff on a tour without the kids.

We took time to watch animals, to look at cool mushrooms and to play Pooh sticks. Another good trip!

First bike camping of 10.

2010-03-29T21:45:00.000-07:00

Since it's suppose to be in the 70's with lows in the 50's, the kids and I are doing our first bike camping trip of the year Wed. We'll drive to Faribult and ride to Sakatah State Park, 13 miles each way. After camping for the night we'll ride back.

These pictures are from an 08 and an 09 trip to the same park. It's fun to look at them again. I notice that none of our rides will be the same. The bmx touring bike, Fuji and blue Aerostar will be replace with Harris' 24"wheel Caliente, Claire's 13" frame Trek 930 and my Long Haul Trucker. I'm planning to drive the Camry pulling the homemade bike utility trailer.

Harris and I have good pannier racks. I'm thinking of having Claire throw the seat post rack on and pull the "Nob" trailer. I thought we could load it with light bulky things. If it gets too hard, I can hook it to my bike. She thinks it will be fun to pull. More later.

Some Bike Shop People

2010-03-23T19:44:00.001-07:00

My local bike shops wants my business, and I don't mind supporting them if they provide a valuable service.

However, way too often the bike shop guy is both arrogant and uninformed. About a month ago I watched Freewheel's Phil Wood hub expert clamp a vice grip on the hub and start prying on it with the thing that sits next to the jaws of life in a firefighters tool kit. This was after my friend told him it is not a serviceable hub. Some expert.

Today, I went to my local shop to pick up a tire for a 1975 Fuji I'm fixing up for a friend. I told him that I wanted a tire with a 597 iso. The owner of the shop adamantly told me that only Schwinn bikes came with this size. A Fuji could not have it. I explained that I was familiar with the S-6 of that same iso, but told him that the Fuji also had it. I shared that I found the catalog specs confirming the wheels and rim were original to the bike.

He insisted no bike other than Schwinn ever used this size. A quick check of Sheldon Brown proofed otherwise.

I don't care if bike shop workers know what they're talking about, I do, however, get annoyed when the fake knowledge with stupid gusto.

First Family Ride of the Year

2010-03-21T19:37:00.000-07:00

The crew loaded-up the bike trailer and headed to Lilydale Park. We were able to park in the usual lot just before the road turned into the Mississippi River at the St. Paul Yacht Club. From here we followed the river bluff to the Sibley House, The Mendota Bridge, Fort Snelling and the Minnehaha Falls.

I wore shorts for the first time, but was pushing it a bit. Temps were in the upper 40's to 50 degrees. We soaked in the river view from various vantage points and enjoyed the volume of water dropping at the falls.

6,7,8,7,8,9,10,9,8,7

2010-03-16T19:02:00.000-07:00

As a boy growing up, I remember looking with envy at the speedometer on Les Stenerson's Schwinn Orange Krate. In my mind, the five-speed, stick-shifter and slick rear tire were cool, but the speedometer was the accessory that made the bike fast.

Today I put a Sette speedometer on Harris' bike. He gleefully shouted out ascending and descending numbers as we rode around the neighborhood.

Adding this to Harris' Caliente lets him have fun quantifying his rides. It should also help him pedal at a steady pace. He is a great rider, but bounces between about 5 and 14 mph when we ride together. I'm hoping that his speedometer will help him maintain a consistent rate.

Here's a picture of Claire holding his bike. Also, please note, Les Stenerson didn't have panniers.

Some People

2010-03-08T18:52:00.001-08:00

Riding home from work today, I was buzzed and shouted at by two young ignoramuses in a black Chevy pick-up, the idiot vehicle of choice. Last week, I saw a similar black truck purposely swerve over to hit a big puddle to soak a guy waiting for a bus. It may have been the same driver. Why don't Toyota or Honda drivers act this way?

Anyway, I see the offending truck pull into a bank ATM a couple of blocks ahead, so I catch up to them. I wheel over to politely asked them why they shouted. Not surprisingly I'm met with a litany of homophobic slurs and threats. Haters hate with limited imagination.

Seeing reason was beyond them, I jot down their license plate and called it in. The cop was very responsive and called me back after finding the driver. He let me know that the rude driver will think twice before doing something similar again.

The cop cautioned me about riding up to such drivers. But, I think appropriate, sane engagement of such people will improve my lot on the streets.

Artcrank 2010

2010-03-04T19:38:00.000-08:00

I'm planning to go score another cool poster this year at Artcrank. Festivities are at Shelter Studios on April 10th.

North American Handmade Mower Show

2010-03-03T20:46:00.001-08:00

I wish I had more grass to cut.

A bike I liked

2010-02-27T21:07:00.001-08:00

I tooled around the Alt Bike shop on a 56cm Kona Sutra Last night. Although I only circumnavigated the inside of the store twice, I was impressed with the comfort and ride. It's build with good components, and it includes many extras like fenders and racks.

The Long Haul Trucker Rolls Again

2010-02-25T16:28:00.001-08:00

The LHT's a harbinger of Spring. I boasted last Fall that I would ride the LHT in the winter, saying "it's made to be ridden." But, just couldn't bring myself to ride it in the winter sludge of snow, dirt and salt.

Fortunately the Sun's increasing intensity has cleaned up the roads in my part of the city. Yesterday the temp. stayed well below freezing, high teens, yet liquid water ran across the road and puddled in multiple locations on my commute home. Further, the Sun's now up enough in the morning, so I can easily see and avoid the mini-ice rinks and ice flows solidified from the melt water after the Sun went down the night before.

The old Trek 950 with its WTB All-Terrain-asaurus tires has done well in snow and rides nicely on pavement. But, jumping to 700 wheels and road tires, 37mm Conti-Contacts, on the LHT felt buttery smooth and noticbly faster.

I expect to fall back to the 950 again for some trips until Springs' inevitable return.

Pugsley's Easy Enough for Kids.

2010-02-05T19:14:00.001-08:00

Claire and Harris take a shine to Uncle Jared's Pugsley.

Ironfamily

2010-02-02T18:05:00.000-08:00

Ling-Hui has agreed to join the kids and I for the 2010 Minnesota Ironman this year. We will be doing the 30 mile loop, so long as the weather is reasonable. The past two rides have been very challenging weather wise. Claire rocked last year in the low temperatures and pouring rain. The year before I did the 100 mile route and finished coated in snow.

We're going to ride it for fun this year.

Old School Creative Fun

2010-01-29T21:57:00.000-08:00

Image lifted from omah garsh freakbike fantasy.

Surly Pugsley and the Snowman

2010-01-28T20:10:00.001-08:00

Tomorrow night is the full moon, but the snow was aglow tonight. I had great hopes of popping in the earbuds and riding around the park behind my house on the pugsley that is mine until my brother takes it back.

The snow, however, didn't cooperate. Neighborhood kids build the snowman during last weekends warm temperatures and rain. I was certain that this would harden the snow enough to support my ride. No luck. Using the small front chain-ring gave me the torque to go, but the front wheel still kept breaking through and bogging me down.

Surly Pugsley and the Snowman

2010-01-28T20:09:00.001-08:00

Biking Buddies on Skis

2010-01-24T20:13:00.001-08:00

Turn Up the Volume.

"Go, she's coming down the hill!" . . . "WooHoo!"

Start of Something Finnish

2010-01-23T19:48:00.001-08:00

Today the kids and I started my Minnesota Youth Ski League (MYSL) Team. MYSL mission states, "The Minnesota Youth Ski League (MYSL) is a club-based organization that offers youth and their families the opportunity to learn, develop skills and enjoy cross-country skiing together."

The other dads and I got the kids fitted with skis, taught them how to put on their own gear, how to fall down how to get up and other ski related skills. We had a great time, but didn't make it onto the snow because of the pouring rain.

I'm planning to take Claire and Harris out for a first ski with dad day tomorrow, the hell with the rain. I hope we can have as much winter fun together on skis as we do biking together in the summer.

I rode

2010-01-19T18:09:00.001-08:00

I loaded up my bike after yesterday's post. Strapped my snowshoes on the rack and figured I could find a shovel around the school somewhere. I had the tools to groom my ski course, and had a beast meet. I'm glad I rode.

My Commute to School

2010-01-18T19:19:00.001-08:00

I posted this map of my commute mainly as a way of learning how to trace a route using Google Earth and save it to the blog. Very easy. Click on the little ruler at the top of the page, plot out the route, click file/save, save as an image. This image can then be posted to a blog.

Click the map for a better view.

Sadly, I've not been commuting as much as I would like. I only made one ride all last week, I was all ready to ride tomorrow, but realized I needed to bring a snow shovel to do some work on my ski course. I've ridden with bulkier items, but it put me over the top.

Soap ala Rivendell

2010-01-05T20:15:00.000-08:00

"Made the same way since 1878, with a strong pine tar scent that cuts through the stench, but washes off thoroughly. Most women hate the smell, most men love it'" says Rivendell. I've wanted to try this soap for years, but have been too cheap to order it alone, and have been unenthused about the price of other Rivendell offerings. Until I saw Obenauf's Saddle Goop being sold for 1/4th the price of Proofide. Bonus is I can get a luxury item and still tickle my cheap bone.

Winter Solstice Commute

2009-12-21T18:15:00.000-08:00

Riding to work on this darkest day of the year felt particularly bright.

Little Dick Power

2009-12-16T20:31:00.001-08:00

The builder of this tiny bike is Dick Power, no joke. Dick build a number of track bikes in the 50's.

First Snowy Commute of The Winter

2009-12-08T16:59:00.001-08:00

Ok, it's officially autumn for a couple of weeks, but it's cold, dark and snowing. I ended up doing a fair amount of sidewalk riding to get off the crud snow on the streets. Despite being called "crazy," commuting on days like this are more fun than a challenge.

Grimm Dec. Ride with Jared

2009-12-05T17:11:00.001-08:00

Jared and I went for an exploratory ride today at the Carver County Park Reserve. In addition to the trails and nature, we walked through the ruins of an old trappers camp and a late 1800's farm stead.

The historic Grimm Farm is where Wendelin Grimm, who immigrated to Minnesota from Germany in 1857., developed a winter hardy strain of alfalfa. The Grimm Farm has been restored. (from the park website)

A view of the snow dusted trails. It was quite rough in places.

My bike next to a wall of the trappers cabin. Plaster still clung to the rock surface in some spots.

Jared on his Pugsly. I'm amazed at how well his bike works in a range of riding conditions. He'll have some great rides here once the trail is too covered with snow for my bike.

Anyone up for winter bike camping?

2009-12-03T22:51:00.001-08:00

A simple joy/Good socks.

2009-12-02T21:30:00.001-08:00

I found something that make me happy today. Wigwam Distance Running Socks - 2 Pair $12.00 XL sizes 12-15. How can $6 dollars a pair make my feet feel so good? I'm going to sleep in them. Thank you Jared for your longitudinal research data.

My Bikes

2009-11-01T18:33:00.001-08:00

I've included pictures of my three main bikes. The first one is a Trek 950 that I purchase new in Moorhead in the mid 90's for around $700. It has been solid. I wore out two geared drive trains, ran it as a single speed for a year to now have it as a 1x8. Perfect gearing for its use as a winter commuter. I lubed it up and tightened the rear hub; an adjustment after putting the freehub body in.

The next bike is a 2000 Diamondback XR4. I purchased this a NOS in 2002 for $1000, about $800 below list price since it was a held over two years. This has been a good bike with few problems. I'm, however, leaking some oil out of the front shock. I emailed Shockspital for a price quote and possible diagnosis. I also need the rear wheel trued and tensioned. I will not likely ride this bike again until next spring.

The final bike is my LHT that I purchased in Sept of this year. I cleaned up the drive train and relubed it. I'm very please with this bike thus far. I was fortunate enough to get this bike for cost, $690. It retails for $1,100.

All three of these bikes are mid-level bikes that have served me quite well. The 950 and XR4 have proven overtime to be quite dependable; I expect the LHT to do the same with good maintenance.

More Luce Line Trip Oct. 17-18 2009

2009-10-24T21:20:00.000-07:00

Riding home.

The Long Haul Trucker loaded up.

My bike and tent, the morning after.

A group photo of the riders on the trip.

Zombie biker

2009-10-24T20:17:00.000-07:00

Harris' Halloween costume this year. He's a road-killed, biker, zombie. We made his outfit by spray painting the car tire and running over his shirt. Click on the picture to see the road-rash face make-up. Also note the antelope skull on the fence.

FREEhub body

2009-10-20T20:47:00.001-07:00

My neighbor, a bike geek, and I both thought we were having issues with freehub bodies on our old Trek bikes. His is a 930 single speed, and mine's a 950 1x8. I mined a freehub body off an old wheel I had. I think it was the original wheel from my mid 90's bike. It, however, didn't work for me because it was a 7 speed. So I gave it to my neighbor to fix his wheel.

Turns out his freehub body wasn't his problem. After replacing the freehub body on his wheel, we discovered that it was a worn single speed cog causing his troubles. Thus, he picked up a new cog cheap. I was then able to put his 8 speed hub on my bike since it was still good.

This is cool for three reasons. First we thought that we were both going to have to buy new wheels, but didn't. Second we learned how to fix freehub bodies. Finally, by working together, we both go our bikes fixed for $6.

I learned to replace a freehub body by watching a video Bicycletutor.com. They have other helpful videos as well.

Luce Line Oddities Oct. 17,18 2009

2009-10-18T17:39:00.001-07:00

A garter snake in the shadow of a bike wheel. (above)

Ugenuius' homemade camera holder. This is what would happen if NASA had to shop at the Home Depot. (above)

Jared with a giant puff-ball. Speaking of giant puff-balls. I wish I would have gotten a photo of his "satchel." (above) Finally, (below) nice weather for the first time in weeks during the two days we all arranged to go on our overnight ride. We even had a tailwind on the way home.

Touring circa 1230 BLHT

2009-10-16T22:22:00.001-07:00

That's Before the Long Haul Trucker. 12:20am, I'm too excited for our trip to sleep. Off to bed anyway. I'll post pictures when I return.

Bike Joy

2009-10-02T16:29:00.001-07:00

Some of neighborhood posse of kids having fun last week. The boy is loving granny gear.

Maiden Commute in the Rain

2009-10-01T20:03:00.001-07:00

Great first ride to work this morning. I had to give the rear derailleur barrel adjuster a couple of turns, but other than that it was smooth and comfy. It was a bit hard to ride my new bike in the rain. I had to let reason override emotion at first. The bike is, after all, made to be ridden.

On the way home feeling stable and confident while bombing down a hill that flowed with rain water got emotion back in line with reason; it was really fun. I'm still stoked about the purchase.

The Labor (of love) Continues

2009-09-29T19:16:00.000-07:00

Today was busy at school with teaching and with coaching my 7th grade football team. Despite a 34-0 victory, I found I was more excited thinking about coming home to start building up the Long Haul Trucker than I was watching the 4th quarter scrub action on the field.

Right after dinner,I put the headset and uncut-fork on the frame. I wimped out and ran to my local bike shop to have them put the star-nut in the fork. I was going to jury rig a tool for setting the star-nut, but was afraid I'd mess it up.

The derailleurs and rear brake came mounted with cables attached. I strung up the front brake, put the stem and bars on, filled the tires with air, added pedals and the obligatory Brooks saddle. At this point the bike was ride able. The every thing seemed tuned up far beyond my expectations.

One problem is that I don't have enough spacers for the uncut steer tube. I plan to leave it long and add spacers on top of the stem if I find I want to ride a bit lower in front. Q did this on his Cross-Check. Despite the this problem I could test ride because the brake cable hanger clamps on the steer tube with a hex-bolt. This allowed me to hold the fork tight until I got the stem clamped down.

Tomorrow I'll pick up the spacers, wrap the bars, take of the pie plate, add fenders, mount a rack and do some finish up adjustments.

I cruised around the neighborhood some. The bike is so comfortable and solid. Looking forward to finishing up and going on a long ride.

Birth of a Long Haul Trucker

2009-09-28T20:21:00.000-07:00

I drove out to Steve's tonight to pick up the Long Haul Trucker still in the box. I'm very appreciative for him helping hook me up with a deal.

Too late tonight by the time I got home for assembly, but I'm keen on getting a good start tomorrow. I hope to have it built up in a couple of evenings.

After living and biking in Taiwan, even the box makes me happy.

I'm a Truker

2009-09-26T20:57:00.000-07:00

Steve has dispatched my 58cm Truckaccino rig from QBP, 10-20 unknown. ETA is next Monday. I'll make a run up to St. Michael to pick up the load.

Once I'm a Long Haul Trucker, I'll be using CB slang, a lot. Here's a link to a dictionary for all of you 4-wheelers.