Just Riding Along... Taking the long way.

With gas prices hovering around $4/gal, my day to day errands on my off days are spent on the bike. Two prime examples of that today:

First, the Cannondale T500 was hooked up to the trailer and my daughter and I were off to the dreaded BMV. Since we live in a small town, this is not too bad of an ordeal, usually we can walk right in and not have to wait in line, or take the ever so slow number and wait. For hours. Not the case here in Milford luckily. After that task was over, it was off to the local playground for some slide time and a break at our usual spot on the scenic Little Miami River. This is the view from our favorite bench:

Little Miami state and national scenic river, and also my 1000th picture with my EVO.

While at our spot, a few boats were out and about cruising down the waterway, and my daughter decided at that point that we need a boat. Really twisted my arm on that one. So that got me thinking... Bikes, Beer and Boats? That might just have to happen.

Second errand of the day was on the Surly Troll. Just a quick trip to the grocery store for a few items (beer) and I decided to take the long way. Through the local nature preserve, around the neighborhood, and my quick little trip to the grocery turned into a 7 mile or so ride. Not too bad at all.

I have to say, the more that I ride the Troll the more I am liking it. I would even venture to say that I built my dream bike. What a different bike than I thought I would call my dream bike, but it is an amazing piece of bicycling culture. I recently switched over to my Maxxis Crossmark 26x2.1s, and they make this bike shine even more. The smaller tires really speed up the bikes demeanor on the trail, and also makes it quicker than it should be on the road. Very versatile, and that is the name of the game with the Troll. Rant over, here is the only picture that I took on my beer run:

All in all a good day of riding.

Just keep spinning...

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...