Just Riding Along... Return of the night ride.

Got out on the Little Miami path last night with friends. Spring is here in full effect here in Southwestern Ohio, with comfortable temperatures in the 50s last night. Lights were installed, supplies were loaded, and off on the path for a nice 18 mile jaunt in the darkness.

Just for this trip, I decided to switch out my tires from the huge Ardent 2.6s to a smaller more road worthy Maxxis Crossmark 26x2.1. Thees tires roll surprisingly well for a dirt tire, and very quiet. After the tire swap, I added some racks to the Troll:

I pulled the old Blackburn rear rack off of my T500, and then installed my new Salsa Down Under front racks. This was my first trip with the Troll loaded up, and it rolled very smoothly, which was expected. I am only using the Blackburn rack until the Salsa Minimalist rack comes back into stock, then that will be my weapon of choice.

View of the Salsa front rack from above.

After the ride, beers came out in the variety of a stout, a Belgian style ale, and a smooth golden ale in a can. Reviews on those to come soon. Get out and enjoy this weather!

Just keep spinning...

Just Riding Along... February what?

Perfect weather today for a bike ride with my little lady. Spent the late morning on the T500 pulling the trailer on the Little Miami scenic path. Temperature hovering around 60 degrees on February 1st? Crazy, but I am not complaining.

A few more new pieces on the T500 were put into use today. Not too long ago, I picked up a couple sets of panniers from the local Craigslist. Today, I only used the smaller of the two, and they worked as a pannier should. I think though, that they will be a better fit on a front rack since they are a bit smaller, so I ordered a set of these for that purpose:

Salsa Down Under rack, pic from Salsa's site.

Also, still relatively new is the Brooks B17 Narrow, which I am really liking so far:

I am really liking how the T500 is coming together. A couple more smaller purchases will make it more complete, and ready to hit the trail for an overnight trip. Pulling weight, and being loaded down, the bike is really stable and comfortable. That is to be expected from a tried and true touring bike. Definitely one of the better cycling purchases that I have made in my lifetime.

Not a long ride today, but it was extremely nice to be out and about. Then, with around two miles to go, I felt the familiar feeling of a rear flat tire. Normally not an issue on the trail, but definitely an issue with a toddler in a trailer and no spare, patch kit, or hand pump and it is lunch time. At least it was nice for a walk. That's the great thing about cycling though, a small little ride turned into an adventure. That is what it's all about.

As for an update on the Troll, I have been back-ordered. Supposedly, I will be getting my frame sometime in March. Boo.

Just keep spinning...

Just Riding Along... Day 23.

Quick, evening ride today. Basic ride along the Little Miami scenic path. This has been one of the more mellow Decembers that I can remember, weather wise. This evening stayed around the mid to high 30s. At one point in my life I would have thought that this would be too cold to ride, primarily when I lived in Southern California. But for riding in Ohio, I will take the mid 30s any day. The best riding here in Ohio though, is when the temperature is below freezing, and you hit the trails. Riding over frozen ground has the sound of Velcro, and I am really excited for this winter, if it ever comes.

Finally started working on this Gary Fisher Sugar 1. Rode it around the block tonight before I started the cleaning process. I will admit, the frame looks beat. But this bike rides nice. I will be posting this in the "Bicycle for Sale" section here within the week, so keep an eye out for a pretty sweet deal.

Just Riding Along... Day 22.

Morning ride for Day 22. The official first day of Winter, seems more like the first day of Spring. Thankfully the days are going to slowly but surely start getting longer. I cannot wait for the warmer days of the summer, but I am in no way wishing away time though. It will come soon enough.

Not much for today, cannot believe though that Christmas is only 3 days away. Where did this year go?

Just Riding Along... Day 21.

Today's ride was supposed to start at 5am. Every night, I set my alarm about three different times, all around 3 minutes apart from the next. This morning, however, 5am came a little earlier than expected, and since there was a steady downpour, I was back to sleep in a hurry. I do enjoy riding in the rain, but a warm toasty bed is hard to leave for the cold, wet pavement. So I hit the snooze button.

This was a blessing in disguise though. The rain cleared, the sun started to peek through the remaining clouds, and the temperatures hovered around 60 degrees. Not your typical Ohio December weather. With a couple errands to run, and the favorable weather, I loaded up my daughter in her trailer, and off we went.

The weather at the start of the ride was a little gloomy, but soon at our destination of the Little Miami river, the sun came out, and we hung around the bridge for a bit. Due to the recent deluge of rain, the river was running high:

After hanging out on the bridge, it was time to head back into town and finish our Christmas shopping. Downtown Milford has a variety of stores to fill any need that you might have. Our destination was the local outfitter Roads, Rivers, Trails. They have a great shop in the heart of downtown, with quite the variety of gear to suit pretty much any need that you would have. Great shop that I highly recommend. After picking up our gift, it was home for lunch.

This was a great way to still get my daily ride, and include my daughter as well. She loves being on the bike, and this was our first "real" ride utilizing the trailer. She seems to be comfortable in it, and it did keep her entertained as well. It was also more of a leg workout than I thought it would be, pulling all of that extra weight. What little climbs that I encountered woke up the leg muscles really fast. I look forward to using the trailer a little more...

Just Riding Along... Black Friday Ramble.

This year, for Black Friday, there was no agenda. No shopping trips for electronics, no standing in lines, just dinner in the afternoon. My only tasks on my list were to pick up trash bags, and entertain my daughter and nieces. Not a bad list for things to do. So I got up a little early, and headed out on the T500 to see how she fared on a mixed surface ride to the convenience store for trash bags.

I started the ride at our local nature preserve for a quick buzz through the little used trails. Mostly double track, with a tiny bit of single track, this little area was a nice shake down to see how the bike handled in the dirt. Not too bad if I do say, but I definitely think that some wider tires might be in the future. Lots of fog was out in the AM, so I then decided to double back into town to connect with the Little Miami bike path to spend some time on the flats.

The bike moved effortlessly, and that made my mind start to wander. It started with the Steve Jobs quote of "The computer is the bicycle of the mind." That quote is fantastic, and in turn made me admire at how great a tool the bicycle is. Sure it is a tool for transportation, but also for the mind as well. It is a tool to relax your mind. Once I had settled into a comfortable cadence, everything melted away. My mind did not have to think of what to do, it just did. Pedals up and down. My mind was elsewhere, dancing around in the fog, which was out in full force. It made me realize that from time to time, we all should take the long route to pick up our trash bags. I ended up doing around 12 miles for a trip that is only around a mile away. That is called piece of mind. That is what we all need from time to time.

Ramble on...

Make time to ride...

Nice weather calls for being outside. Especially this time of year in SW Ohio. These nice past few days are probably some of the last of the nicer weather. Soon, the skies will be filled with the doom and gloom of winter. Not that I do not like winter, it brings a whole different aspect of outdoor endeavors. But that is another topic, this post is all about today.

Today was my first "official" ride on the newly revamped T500. Just a short 10 mile jaunt on the Little Miami bike path. Nothing special. This is a go to ride if I am short on time, or just short on daylight. Today was neither. Just out riding, enjoying the weather, and making sure that the T500 is road worthy. And without a doubt, it is. Just some minor adjustments to the shifting, and some minor adjustments to the brakes, and all will be well with the world.

This ride was all about taking it all in. The upright stance of the bike forces you to look around, and see what you have been missing while staring at the road. I have to admit, I really liked the way this bike rode. No camera with me, just a quick Evo picture over the Little Miami. Nothing fancy.

Hopefully the nice weather will stick around a bit, this has been one my best years of cycling in recent history. Maybe this winter, it will continue...

Hope you are getting some quality saddle time during this nice spell of fall.

Ramble on...

Wasson Way Project...

If you live in or around the Cincinnati area, you are aware of the rail lines that crisscross the city. One of these lines cuts through the heart, if you will, of the east side. How often do the trains run on these tracks? There has been no traffic for over a year! This 6.5 mile stretch goes from the city of Mariemont all the way to Xavier University. So why all of the talk of a rail line? Why Rails to Trails of course!
The Wasson Way Project wants to turn those unused rail lines into a multiuse path. This path will connect to the Little Miami Bike Path in the city of Mariemont, giving a huge percentage of the city of Cincinnati an easy option for taking a trip on a bicycle!
I am really excited about this wonderful idea. From their Facebook page, they are having a meeting about the project tomorrow night (Wed.) at Hyde Park Florist at 7pm.
Things are looking up for Cincinnati!

Overnight bike camping....

On Wednesday, I set out on my first bike camping trip. My plan was to ride from here in the Milf, up to John Bryan State Park in Yellow Springs along the Little Miami bike path. Just a basic bike path overnighter. I finally today mapped it out on the website Map My Ride, Click to see the route. Overall it was a great experience. Lots of miles, thunderstorms, friendly people, beautiful surroundings, etc. Such a great learning experience. Hopefully this is the first of many. Here are a few pictures from the trip, I didn't take too many, forgot that I had the new camera with me...


Photo from my HTC Evo along the path.


Campsite at John Bryan state park.




Under the I71 bridge.


Old factory on the bike path.

So what did I learn from the trip?
1. Putting in this many miles for me was very humbling. My knees are a little tender as I write this.
2. Always practice setting up your gear at home before you leave, that makes setting up camp in a thunderstorm a little easier.
3. Recumbent bicycles are everywhere, and they are a little creepy.
4. People love the Xtracycle. Even if they do not understand what it is. I should get paid for how much talking about my HaroX that I did. Lots of people wanted to stop and chat to try to understand just exactly what was going on with my bike.

Cant wait to head out on trip number 2!