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... Day 10.

10 days of riding. Tonight was probably the hardest to get on the bike, due to the temperature hanging around the mid 20s, and me being chilled all day. Very low motivation to get out and ride. But, what fun would that be?

Continuing with the night rides, I finished off the week with a ten mile ride along the Little Miami path. Beautiful, clear night for riding, with the moon almost full. Lots of light from the moon, and with the Magicshine, the path was like riding in the daylight.

I am amazed more and more at the quality of the Magicshine. For it's relatively low entry fee, it is quite amazing. And to top it off, the battery life is not too bad either. Great deal if you happen to be looking for a bicycle light!

Relaxing into the night with a 2011 Sierra Nevada Bigfoot, ride before work tomorrow morning...

Just riding along... Riding with the moon.

Last night was gorgeous. By gorgeous I mean temperatures close to fifty degrees, and a mostly clear sky with a full moon. A night like that calls for one thing: Bike ride. A couple friends were summoned, some "essentials" were loaded into the HaroX, and off we went down the trail.

All three of us had lights on our respective bikes, and also headlamps, but once on the trail, it was unnecessary. The moon was out in full effect, casting a gentle glow over the entire bike path, enabling us to let our eyes adjust and ride on without using any artificial light. This was not the longest or most extreme ride that I have done this year, but quite honestly it was one of my favorites. Around fifteen or so miles in around 2 hours, the pace was light, with a few stops and conversations. After the ride it was winter seasonal beer sampling time:

The beers on the agenda for the evening were two highly enjoyable brews, 21st Amendment Brewery's Fireside Chat, and Cincinnati's own, Rivertown Brewing Company's Winter Ale. Both beers were heavy on the spice, and both had a nice winter beer flavor. After a few of these, I didn't mind the cooler temperature.

I think that a ride like this should happen a little more regularly, maybe when the weather starts turning warmer again. Hopefully this was not the last of the nicer weather, but looking out the window today says otherwise...

Night rides...

This is my favorite time of the year to ride my bicycle. It is especially nice to go for night rides right now. The temperature is just about right, and to top it off, there are no bugs. All you really need is a decent headlight to make sure you can see the trail. Right now, I have not done any night mountain biking, but spending my night time on the Little Miami rail trail. The headlight I am using is from Harbor Freight. It is a cheap little light that actually lights up the entire rail trail at night. And it's only $6! That is a deal in my book. Click here to see the light! I haven't tried it in the woods yet, still not sure if I will. I am looking however at this light, seems like a deal: Magicshine.



For most of my road night rides, I have been riding my Haro Mary SS. I have two wheelsets for it, one road, one MTB, so switching everything over is a snap. I cannot stress how much I enjoy this bike. So get out and ride, soon there will be snow, which is fun in its own right!