the dirty old man

The oldest bike we own is also the most belligerent.

A couple weeks ago I changed the tires on Frenchie. Since Sir Walter died this spring the SBR has been swollen with new components.  Not that most the parts were brand new, it's that the parts were new to the reserve.  Including a pair of brand new Panaracer tires, I've been putting the same Continental Ultra Sports on the bike since 1999 (a tire I don't think they even make anymore...) and have worn quite thin.

So I put the new tires on, and they are awesome, except that they are slightly wider than the continentals.  So I rode home from work the first day with a millimeter of fender clearance. It was like riding with a break on every time I needed to push it.  When I got home, two seconds with a vise grip  fixed a problem I have been too lazy to fix for three years.  

Then last Monday we went to Redwing and biked to Cannon Falls. 

reviewing the list of original parts on the 1972 Peugeot UO8 I ride:

-frame

-fork

-threaded headset

-quill stem

-bottom bracket cups

-seat post

-brake cable guide

-seat post bolt and nut

I still have the original rear wheel, but in storage.  Nothing too impressive and I don't much care for the wavy lines.

The seat post bolt is breaking I think.  I could not get the seat to stay. Every mile or so it would sink about a quarter inch. But I had already used my spare seat bolt on another bike, and had not replaced the one I keep ziptied to my rack! damn and blast!

Studded tires

So last weekend I put the sexy new studded tires on the Miyata.  Thinking that the weather folks weren't lying and snow and ice was coming.  I was helped to this conclusion by icy walking in Minneapolis when we went to Harold and Maude.  But ice has not appeared and there is no snow.

And there is now visible wear on my brand spanking new tires from riding on bare pavement.

But I still have the 1 1/4 in. knobby tires for the Peugeot.  So today the slick 8 year old Continentals come off, and the Kendas go back on.

After a few months on a single speed Frenchie is going to be an exciting ride.

A bit cagy

And finally there is water on Frenchie.

Saturday, after work, we went over to Hiawatha Cyclery and picked up water bottle cages and mounting hardware.  For Frenchie we got a bracket that attaches right onto the handlebars, for Si Walter one that attaches where ever you want it.  Shannon now has a cage on the down tube.

So yesterday when we biked the greenway, water was available without stopping.

Also yesterday we set up the tent.

A week ago we bought our first tent.  Till now we have borrowed my sister's dome tent, but it was kinda small.  And a trick to set up in the dark.  So we had been in Thrifty Outfitters and saw a Eureka a frame tent like we had in the boy scouts.

Now back then we all tried to get into the sunrise dome tents because they were bigger and easier to dry out in the morning.  But the Timberline was the fastest set up, and lighter.

I figure a tent that can withstand a troop of boy scouts can withstand us.  And it is huge.  When we set it up behind the apartment it took up a significant corner of the patch of green we have.  Labor day, we will be camping.

Drills

I hate cordless drills.  I have never used one that I was happy with.  My Dad has a few of them from various manufacturers and the drill I use when he isn't looking is corded.  It just works better.  Something about getting the same torque from beginning to end.  

I'm suspicious of chuckless systems too, but that is a different matter.

I mention this because I am finally replacing the crappy old brake calipers on the Peugeot.  The new ones have better reach I should keep catching the tires and smooth release so I wont bike around with the brakes gripped.

The back fender has been held steady by a zip tie and I figure this would be a perfect opportunity to brace the fender so it doesn't wiggle and clatter so much.  But my drill is cordless, so I have to wait another four hours for the fucking battery to recharge.

RAAAR!

Run Away!

We didn't make it to Elysian. A thunderstorm chased us back to the car. But we did get twenty miles in on the Sakatah trail before fleeing.

Shannon has a really good post about our adventures.
http://adventuresinordinary.blogspot.com/

Things that we figured out on this ride were:
1. Weather.com cannot be trusted
2. Food is heavy
3. The thunderstorm is never going the other way

It was a beautiful day though thirty miles east. And we still had a nice day of riding though it was divided between trails.

Frenchie did just get out of the shop again. The new wheel works so much better than the old one it is like comparing apples to hermaphroditic sloths.

Also, our new camera can attach directly onto the handlebars, which is wicked cool. No having to dig out the Ammo box right now.





Here is us in Cannon Falls after our ride.

As the wheel turns

So the old rim and spokes were pretty well shot.  What was suggested was that a new rim get laced onto the old hub and we start fresh.  Shannon picked Frenchie up from the shop today, and I think it looks pretty good.

So tomorrow we will bike from Faribault to however far we feel like.  If we make it to Mankato perhaps we'll terrorize the folks we know in Upper North.  We'll at least go as far as Elysian, cuz I mean really.  It begs for slap styx comedy.

pictures to follow.

Bloody hell

I'm glad it waited for a work day and didn't break a couple miles outside Haistings. God that would have been terrible if the spoke broke coming down that hill...

So yeah, another spoke broke. I am now inclined to start thinking about having the wheel rebuilt. And then I think... I wonder how smaller wheels might feel... would certainly be easier to get the back wheel out of the frame.

IN THE MEAN TIME

maybe what I'll do is put a rack on the three-speed and pump the tires up.

Longest day of the year

No, I did not mean the Summer Solstice.  That party has been and gone.I mean the longest day of riding I have had yet this year.  It was a store ride from Hiawatha Cyclery.  We went around Lake Pepin, clocking 72.37 miles. Longer than my previous longest day by almost a factor of 2.   I would have needed another 8 miles.  I set a new top speed on Frenchie at 38.6 miles per hour. It was a nice sized group of 11 people.  I was happy to be able to keep up with everyone else.

The morning started off humid and cool.  But as the clouds and fog burned off it turned into a beautiful sunny day.

We stopped at the Smiling Pelican.  The Cherry Popper I had was about five minutes from the oven.  A buttery sweetbread with cherries in the middle.  

We stopped in Wabasha for lunch at the Eagle's Nest.  I thought we were heading to Austria, but appreciated not have to ride through the Alps.

It's Jim!

the refuge

Frenchie being a good bike.

Everyone in Lake City cooling off in the shade.  I'm pretty sure the population is more than 11.  It was all of our group hanging out at this time.

I think it is time to figure out the water problem.

a response to the rebuttal

It wasn't until the last few weeks that the serious thought of a new bike even entered my head.  I've talked about it a lot, probably driving everyone crazy with my demented parrot chatter about various bikes, but the idea of buying a new thing usually froze my brain.

I have owned 1 new bike ever.  and I gave it away.

I have owned many used bikes, most of which have been given away. Eight of them if I am not mistaken (in fact only three are retained).  But I haven't close attention to how they rode.

Sir Walter rides completely differently from Frenchie.  In fact, riding Sir Walter like Frenchie is terribly uncomfortable.

For one thing, going over hard bumps on Frenchie I have to lift off the seat and bring my weight forward slightly.  The same maneuver on Sir Walter makes for wobbling and mwa-ja-ja-ja *waving arms.*  By  lifting and shifting back over the rear wheel though, the bump is smooth.

Also Sir Walter tracks nicely.  But steering is more in the leaning than turning the handle bars.  I think those handle bars are just something to cling to.  But I've only ridden it for 26 miles, so what the hell do I know.

http://adventuresinordinary.blogspot.com/2008/06/maligned.html

the Other

Shannon picked up Frenchie, and dropped him off at Hiawatha Cyclery to be reshod.

But she left Sir Walter with me so I could still bike home.  Which was awesome.

that bike feels WEIRD.

obviously, someone else's bike is going to be set up the way they are going to want it (And my preference in Frenchie is rather bizarre).  But the bike felt completely different.

I think Shannon should get a new bike first.  Handsome as Sir Walter might be...WEIRD!

mwa-ja-ja-ja *waves arms*

There is something wrong with Frenchie

I've been riding my trusty french bike for so long I think I don't notice how quirky it really is.

Shannon thinks it is squirrly. She hasn't used the word squirrely, but the handleing is kinda...*waves arms.*

Tonight I test-rode a Long Haul Trucker.  And it was not squirrely.  When I turned, it turned; when I went straight it went straight.  Which leads me to two conclusions:

1. The Peugeot is sick

2. A LHT is sick (as in cool)

3. The cat has found catnip and is very clingy.

perhaps a new bike is somewhere in the future.  But I have new questions.

I have been using 27in tires and like the larger wheel, maybe, should I try out another bike with 27in tires and see if I like them better than the 26in tires I rode today.  

What about the Pugsley I test rode last year?  I seemed to be pretty gaga for that too.  what the hell, am I just excited to buy something new?

How am I going to come up with the extra thousand dollars.

The difference in size of wheel might be enough so I don't feel like I am buying a modernized replica of what I already have, or like Jim said in the shop: "you could make it [Frenchie] a single speed." tempting.

The trouble with me buying an expensive mountain bike is: I don't mountain bike.  winter commuting by bike might be just as easy with Nokians. (I dunno, but thats what I hear).

1.???

2. Profit!

3. buy bike

Blood on the Pavement

I did that I did that that's my fault...Too bad the table didn't break my fall.

Over by Caribou, they resurfaced the parking lot with oil and gravel. Which it needed.

Coming in I thought I would do a powerslide, but traction was too poor to get a controlled skid in.  After coffee, I forgot how much loose gravel there was and I leaned into the turn.

My knee took most of the landing, my elbow the rest and I stopped on my right shoulder.

For the first scrape of the season: not bad I say.  I still biked home after work. I think it really comes down a bit of holding myself responsible for the series of events.  And I feel that if I am going to commit to biking home from work two or three nights a week, then I should be prepared to do so regardless of how stupid I have been or how crappy the weather is.  That weather thing might need tweaking--I always feel exposed on the Mendota bridge.

I tried to just shrug it off, but a whole bunch of people from outside the coffeeshop jumped up to make sure I was okay.  Which was very nice of them.  

The long ride home.

Not actually that long...but after a days work, it was a bit of work.

Also, I forgot water.  Anyone surprised?

I made it home in about 45 minutes, but the ride to the Mendota Bridge only took about twenty minutes, and riding in Eagan is much crappier than the rest of the ride.  But without water, I started flagging on the bridge and by the time I was past the Fort I was in rough shape.

Around 54th I got a fresh wind, and kept it going for a bit.

On the bridge I had been damn near clipped by a mute.  So when I saw him coming up the trail from the river side of the Fort I put some heat under it and held the lead as best I could.  He turned off at the round about and I stopped for water and a dizzy spell.  It's one thing to keep up with someone, another to be the one lugging panniers too.  

I crept the rest of the way home and pretty red on arrival.

Tomorrow: Again! (hopefully people will have a sense of etiquette...)

more assembly required

I forgot the camera at my folks, so pictures tomorrow.

The brakes were a pain in the ass.  Compared to the front derailleur though, they were a walk in the park on a moderate and sunny day.

This is because it was missing. Somehow I missed that...and then the SBR lacked a front one that fit. So I tried to make one fit with a nylon shim which worked at first.  And then every time I changed gears, the derailleur would wriggle down the tube.  Till it hung up on the large chainring and went crazy wonky.

After two hours of fighting with that we called it a night.

This has been a weekend of discoveries though:

1.  I really like some of these wicking shirts.  I haven't bought anything nike since middle-school till the shirt I am wearing right now, and it was cool and comfortable all day long.

2. I might like canti brakes.  I've defended the old sidepull brakes forever, but the cantilevered brakes were easy to adjust. And move on more axis than my brakes on Frenchie.

3. With the addition of a tin snips to cut cables and housing, I had all the tools I needed in my tool wedge.

How many bikes is enough?

One more is the correct answer.

I might have blown a bit of the wad saved for the Pugsley on an old three speed.  

It is a very pretty bike, and uses 650b tires.  Which makes an interesting change from the 27x1 3/8 that Frenchie runs on.  I don't know if it is the gear ratio or the size of the tires but this bike is very spirited.

The new bike came with a cheap plastic seat on it, which worked alright for about 3 miles, at which point it cocked back and tried to throw me off the back of the bicycle.  

When I switched Frenchie over to a Brooks saddle, I saved the Serfas seat for a rainy day.  The Serfas seat cost a small fortune and still had some life left in it, though it wasn't comfortable as it really should have been which is why I switched.  While a leather seat might sound intimidating at first, and before I finished breaking it in I would have agreed, I will never buy another that is not leather.

For now, I'll use the Serfas because it is still better than a block of plastic.