Being that this may be my last ride for a week or so, considering the weather forecast, I decided I’d depart from February tradition and try to do a longer morning ride. I took the fixed-gear and rode out to the park entrance at Ilchester Rd, but the Grist Mill Trail was still too snow-covered to attempt on road tires. So instead, I rode up Thistle Rd. and through Catonsville via Oella Ave. This is a hilly route and is not my favorite to do with only one gear, but I don’t have many other options for a longer ride when the park is snow-covered, and it’s still too wet to take my geared bike, which lacks fenders. A mountain/cross bike with studded tires would really fit the bill here. Maybe next winter..
The chain on the fixie was getting a little floppy, so last night I tightened it up. I also remounted my back fender so that the front of it extends all the way down to the chainstays. The bike doesn’t have a chainstay bridge, so I wrapped a zip tie around the stays and attached the fender with a second zip tie. It actually stays in place better than I expected. The back of the fender also fits better this way.. previously it extended down a little too far, and the tire was too close to the mud flap even with the struts adjusted out as far as they could go. As a result, mud and other crud was always getting stuck there. Tightening the chain (by pulling the wheel back) would have made the problem worse. Now there’s lots of tire clearance all the way around the fender, so rubbing shouldn’t be a problem.