Just Riding Along... New Year's resolution.

This year, I decided to make a few resolutions. One of which had to do with my unicycle. I want to be able to ride it. At the moment, I am pretty bad. And by bad I mean not good. So, why not make it a goal to be able to ride it? Sounds good to me.

Since this winter has been non existent here in SW Ohio, it has given me more time outside, and that means more time to mess with my horrible balance issues. Uni-cycling has been a little harder than I could imagine, but this is coming from a guy who cannot ride a bicycle too far without his hands on the handlebars. Anyway, I picked up my unicycle on the local Craigslist this past summer, and put a little time into it, but I always felt like I needed more rubber underneath me. Thankfully, that rubber came into town the other day. Enter the Maxxis Hookworm:

This tire is 1.95" wide, which it looks a little bigger than it really is. Compared to the last tire that I had on this bike, it is a huge upgrade. And surprisingly, there is still room to spare on the frame, so eventually I will be searching for off road sized tires once I can ride this thing. That is the goal, or resolution, to be able to ride this bike well enough this year, to take it off road. That sounds like a good time.

Stock tire, around 1.75" wide.

Just keep spinning...

Just Riding Along... Surly Troll part 2 cont.

A couple teaser shots from today, just mocking up some things before other work is done...

Maxxis Ardent 26x2.6 fit, just barely, with the axle pushed all the way forward.

Mocked up, no headset installed as of yet. Checking the fit of the Salsa Down Under rack.

I am beyond excited about this build, slowly but surely coming together.

Just keep spinning...

Cinco de Mayo, or day of bike related stuff...

I have to admit, Cinco de Mayo was quite different for me before I had my daughter. I would have been a day full of drinking, doing something outdoors, and probably more drinking. Granted, I did have a few brews yesterday, but nothing to the proportions that have been consumed in the past. Here is basically a run down of what happened yesterday:


The day started off with Goose and I taking the XtraHaro down to the local doughnut shop, Ms. Cheri's, to get a few pastries to start our day. Quite a few people were intrigued, and also confused with the entire family bike/van setup. Very comical to try to explain it to non cyclists, but at the end of the trip, I think most people got it. I guess that is the draw back to being only one of a few Xtracycles in the great Cincinnati area.


After spending the morning tooling around on the cargo bike, the afternoon brought some sitting on the patio, enjoying some Hudy Delight. This is a local Cincinnati beer, or was since it is now brewed in PA. I do believe that they will be producing it here in Ohio once again in the next couple of years. Anyway, just a light beer. Nothing fancy. Since the weather is getting warmer, it makes me want a lighter beer, and this one does the trick. Plus, it is cheap, and has more flavor than a Bud Light. Works for me.


Once the evening set in, I retired to my garage to work on a few bicycle related projects that I have needed to do. The first was to get Big Red back up and running. I ended up putting on a set of Maxxis Crossmark 26x2.1s front and back, and a new Wippermann single speed chain. The Crossmarks do fit in the back, and in the front there is a little bit of rubbing, but for this town cruiser, I do not mind. It was nice to take a little spin on it last night.


After that was finished, I started to add some protection to the Xtracycle frame. Basically, I just cut up some old tubes, and zip tied them to the frame, to act as a chain protector. It is not flashy, but it will do the trick. I think after all of the miles that I have put on, that gave me a decent idea where I am getting chain rub. Also, it was free. It pays to stockpile old tubes for this reason!





Since the V Racks were off of the HaroX, I decided to clean it up a bit. I don't normally wash my bikes all that often, so I made sure that it count. Also cleaned up the Haro Mary SS, since she might be leaving this weekend. We shall see. All in all, a very productive, awesome day!