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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,…
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Rockhopper Fork Crown
I ordered a new front fork for my ’93 Specialized Rockhopper last week and it arrived yesterday, so the next step of the rebuild was to drive the headset bearing ring onto the fork crown race. I used a length of 1-1/4″ PVC as a driver. I needed to ream out a bit of the…
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Late September
This time of year always reminds me of that old Rod Stewart song. I really should be back in school. Steady drizzle for my ride to work this morning. Whenever it rains this time of year, it’s always awkward figuring out what to wear. The temperature this morning was in the mid 60s, which is…
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Rockhopper Headset
The rebuild of my old Specialized Rockhopper continues. Last week I stopped by my local Performance bike shop, and picked up a Cane Creek 1-1/8″ threadless headset for a little under $25. It’s a perfect fit for the bike’s head tube. This morning I pressed the headset cups into the frame, using the nut-and-bolt technique…
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’93 Rockhopper Rebuild
My first “good” bike was a ’93 Specialized Rockhopper, which saw lots of mountain biking action in the ’90s, but has been largely neglected ever since. It has an old front suspension fork with a blown seal. I’ve decided to fix the bike up and use it for winter commuting, and maybe some occasional single…
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Long Sleeves
Not much noteworthy about today’s ride, except that I wore a long sleeve jersey, for the first time since probably May. As hot as this summer has been, I didn’t think this day would ever arrive. Won’t be long, and I’ll be griping about how cold it is and how I wish I could get…