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Mountain Bike Almost Ready
Got my old ’93 Rockhopper almost to the point where I’m ready to ride it. To recap, I’ve replaced the fork, headset, stem, chain, brake shoes, and brake cables, and cleaned and adjusted the hubs, derailleurs and brakes. I also put a rear rack on it. This weekend I’m hoping to take it out for…
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Peeling Onions
Among the many joys of home improvement projects, are the little complications that come up and make a project take longer, cost more, etc. Certain kinds of projects are more likely to result in this than others, and a prime example is installing replacement windows. I decided I was going to install 6 replacement windows…
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Back in the saddle
After 2 weeks of business trips, I’m ready to get back into the riding routine. I managed to sneak in a quick ride around the BWI trail on Monday. I have today and Friday scheduled as vacation days, but I decided to go in today because it was a good excuse to ride my bike…
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Catonsville Route Tweak
Today was my last day at the office, and my last bike commute, until November 15. Lest I go into serious withdrawal, I’m going to try to work a couple of recreational rides in over the next couple of weeks. Come the 15th, my afternoon rides will be in the dark again, so I’ll need…
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Saddles for Fixed Gear
Faithful readers (all 6 of you) may recall that I’m still trying to get the fit right on my fixed-gear commuter bike (a Masi Speciale Fixed). The initial problem was that I was leaning too hard on my wrists, and they were falling asleep after about 1/2 hour of riding. Raising the bars 1/4″ or…
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Wet Leaves
This morning’s ride featured rain and leaves.. an autumn institution in the Mid-Atlantic. Seems like every time I ride in these conditions, I end up getting a leaf stuck in one of my fenders. Initially, the leaf will stick to the tire, and I’ll get a periodic squeak-squeak noise as the leaf brushes the fender. …
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7000
Just hit 7000 miles on my road bike computer this morning. I was on Selford Rd. heading west, just before the I-95 overpass. Looks like I’m doing 1000 miles every 6 months or so. Multiplied by 2 bikes, that comes to roughly 4000 miles per year, 2000 per bike. That’s a lot of wear and…
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Fork’s on
A sure sign of Fall: I nearly flattened a squirrel on my ride in to work this morning. Squirrels have this infuriating habit of darting in front of you and suddenly reversing direction just when you least expect it. I also had to brake for some deer in the park. Good times. Did some more…
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Odds and Ends
We closed our pool this past Saturday, 10/2, and not a day too soon. Less than 24 hours after we put the safety cover on, it was completely covered with leaves. Our final swim of the season was Sunday, 9/26, which although a couple weeks shy of our all-time record, was still pretty late, considering…
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My kind of rain
Now this is more like it. If it’s going to rain, I’d much rather it be chilly, so I can wear rain gear and actually be comfortable in it. This morning was 50 degrees with a nice, misty drizzle. I wore full rain gear, which includes a Marmot rain jacket, hi-vis vest, Novara rain pants,…