Monday, August 31, 2009
Trumbull to Newtown, Fixed!
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Thursday, August 27, 2009
RBW: Taking a Muligan
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
RBW: Getting Dark out there!
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Riding Fixed with clipless pedals and Crocks
Saturday, August 22, 2009
1985 Centurion Sport DLX
Friday, August 21, 2009
RBW: Time for a new chain?
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Thursty Thursdays: Lighthouse Ale
It tastes like Sammy's Lite, it's brewed and bottled and in Saratoga, and it costs $13.99 a six pack on Fire Island. It's produced by The Fire Island Beer Company and the significance of the dear is that there is a huge population of deer that live on the island. In fact, while surf casting early Sunday morning, this doe came prancing down the beach past me.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
RBW: Pea Schoup
The Poly Brody forest road had a particular eerie feeling on it in the foggy conditions. Looks like there has been some more tree cutting in the areas that were logged out this spring. The trap rock that was laid down for the logging trucks is particularly bothersome. Now I understand why the Equestriennes aren't a fan of the forest road on the other side of the hill. I wonder what they think of this improved section? Personally, I think it stinks.
Looking at the start of the Mulikin Trail, just as eerie. It's like entering a foreboading realm in which something is lurking just beyond your periferal vision waiting to jump out of you. Good thing this is not East Hampton, CT, otherwise I would be really nervous! Just the thought of it made me turn white with fear (see picture below).
The Mulikin trail needs some cutting back. Just haven't had time to do anything because I have been so consumed with the Gussy Trail.
The run down to Pond Brook looks like it's getting a lot of traffic and the treadway is holding nicely.
Went down to the bypass I am building on the Pond Brook Connector to see if anyone decided to ignore my impromptu trail closure obstructions. The were no knobby tracks but there were hoof prints through there. Guess I now need to make it more obvious for our equestriennes friends.
This spot (below) just before third stream crossing, if you were headed north on the Gussy, needs to be rerouted again because it's just too wet here. I am going to have to bring the trail back up the incline, and bench, then run back down into the by pass. All-in-all it will actually break up this part of the trail and make it a lot more sustainable.
Sunrise at the big vernal pool, well it's not really one, it's actually a pond undergoing eutrophication. The farmers probably used it to water their sheep back in the day.
Fire Island - Adult Trikes
That saddle is made for a W-I-D-E load and that is probably why it's called the Miami-Sun. I recall finding a post card of a very rubinesce woman lying on the beach suggesting that I come to Florida because the food was great. The makers of this bike definitely had her in mind.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Soooo many rusty bikes - that still work!
Spent the weekend with my family at my Sister-in-law's summer place on Fire Island. Getting off the boat, I was amazed at all the small, rectalinear streets (paths), that only support bikes! There were bikes everywhere! It was like Vauban, Germany, a community devoid of cars. The majority of the bikes ridden were beach cruisers, a fitting choice given the environment, followed by three wheelers due to their cargo carrying ability, and then a smattering of Old Crappy Ten Speeds, BMX bikes, and even a few mountain bikes. I was surprised being in such proximity to NYC and there were no fixed gears.
Bikes on Fire Island seem to serve the purpose of transportation. They get the habitants of the island to the beach, to the store, and to the docks. Most have baskets obviously for those trips to the store. And what is amazing is to see so many bikes in such horrible condition yet still functional. The salty air tends to corrode anything metalic and by the look at most of the chains from the bikes that reside on the island full time they haven't seen a drop of oil for years.
First time for me riding helmetless and for that matter in flip flops. Probably one barrier to having better bikes out here, especially if you just came for the weekend is that the passenger ferries don't allow bikes. They have come over on a separate boat, the cargo boat. Still, if I ever get a Surly Pugsley, I'd love to come back and ride the entire length of the island on sand!
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Yvonne the Transsexual Craigslist Scamer
This bike, looks like another rattle can paint job, but if it really has a few coats of Polly, then that's a plus. My guess on the component mix is that that Cranks, brakes, and wheel are new and everything else is original. Still, I would say this bike should be priced at $400.
There are a few detractors on this Raleigh, besides the color, as well as some misleading components. The Brooks Saddle is really their racer saddle and not like the hard leather saddles everyone knows and loves. You can remove the outer chain ring on those old Raleighs so that it looks cleaner. On the plus side, nice rear wheel, but a down side at least for me is no brake. Given the mix of pluses and minuses, $300 is probably the right price.
This Shogun looks fantastic and I think you could get more for it, especially if the owner threw on some bullhorns and TT levers.
Good component mix on this bike and with the exception of the lousy pictures, seems rightly priced.
Of course, the true measure of the Fixie-dex is what the bikes actually sell for and in order to get that I would need to do a empirical analysis on the actual sales prices. Using my own score card based on my past bike sales my Fixie-dex comes in at $260. Thus, my Back to School Special is a bit overpriced and that can also be seen by the lack of responses.