Captain Lawrence Singlespeed Metric Century

After last week's True to Brew ride I got the bug to ride to another nearby brewery, the Captain Lawrence Brewery in Elmsford, NY.  Being located near the southern terminus of the North County Trailway I figured I could kill two birds with one stone. Ride to another brewery and pedal down the entire length of the North Country on a singlespeed. No one from the LunArtics were available but Karl from True Cyclery was definitely interested so we planned to meet at the trail head in Southeast, NY and ride the Putnam Trail (the Old Put line) to the North Country and then to the brewery!

Our start got delayed because I should have done a better job posting the parking lot location for Karl and then right before leaving I realized I lost my pedal magnet and we went searching for it but to no avail. Despite the windy conditions it was a perfect day for cycling.

Riding on the old railroad bridge over the New Croton Reservoir was cool








Next time I do this ride I think I want to try riding it fixed!



9 miles from the Brewery was when the first mishap occurred



Karl got a flat! It would appear that a very sharp piece of acorn cap must have punctured his tire.



I went and checked the vicinity where it popped and all I found were pieces of acorns.
Karl lined is tire with a ten dollar bill and then we took off.

Further down the trail it got really leafy and the next thing I new I was off the trail and riding in the gravel. I tried to pull back onto the trail when the leaves caused me to slide and I went down on the deck. Getting up my right hip hurt and figured I was going to have case of road rash by the looks of abrasions on my best tights.  My right knee hurt from the impact as well, along with my right elbow and hand. What hurt the most, however, was my left thumb. Somehow I jammed it and that could be a problem as I learned later while trying to climb on the hoods to the brewery. Otherwise, I felt pretty good. 

Upon arrival at the address we wandered around till we realized the brewery was in the back of the building. While I came prepared with a bike lock I was pleasantly surprised to find ample and secure bike parking. In fact, we weren't the only cyclists there. There seemed to be two or three groups there as well.

Captain Lawrence doesn't sell flights, rather you buy a sampling glass and then poker chips. One chip for sampling beers 6.5% ABV and below and 2 for anything above.  That's a great system.  Karl and I split a 10 pack of chips.

I sampled the following beers:
Freshchester Pale Ale
Hop Commader IPA
Centenary IPA
Effortless Session IPA
Brown Bird Brown Ale

Karl had:
Effortless Grapefruit IPA
Liquid Gold Belgian Gold Ale
Effortless Session IPA
Double Fisted Double IPA (7.5% ABV)



We also had the Bacon Truffle Mac and Cheese and it was UFB!

I bought a 32 oz growler of the Freshchester and it fit perfectly in my Banjo Brothers Trunk Bag. In fact, it looked so roomy in there that when I got home later I tried putting in a full size growler and it fit perfectly so you know what I will be doing on the next brewery ride!  Karl got a 22 oz bomber of the Apricot Sour and it fit perfectly in his back pouch. Something to remember for the next time as well if I don't bring a bag to hold a bottle.

Being a railfan, I had to stop on the way back and take some pictures of these tracks.

We were 9 miles from the end of the ride when Karl got another flat on the same hole.  What ever got him this time went right through the bill and got him again.  Fortunately I had a spare tube (I always bring two) and we were shortly on our way.

Despite the flats, crash, and the brutal head winds, it turned out to be a great day of riding and sampling beer. Where to next?

The unhappy stem

I switched out the Bike Nashbar stem and went to a shorter necked, flatter angled Nitto stem to see what the difference would be.  As I mentioned in my previous post, the happier stem didn't feel right and I knew I needed something flatter.  I got everything put together, threw on my cold weather riding kit, and rode up to town to vote on a referendum on how best to use free money that was given to the town post the Sandy Hook Massacre.

Schwinn Paramount Single Speed makeover

I finally mounted up my new Serfas Seca 23mm tires on my old Mavic CXP 33 rims after a 3 week Online Shopping Fiasco with an Amazon.com retailer called OutdoorEquipped.  I love these wheels because the hubs are Shimano 105s and they roll for evah and I just knew they would look really hot on the Schwinn.

1992 Schwinn Paramount Series 7 PDG OS: Fixed!

Before

After

The only Fredding to the bike, besides throwing on a pair of flats

is a different set of bars

The proper use for Origin8 Gary I Propulsion Bars is on a fixie

I tried three different stems but went back to the original

My next fixie project: 1992 Schwinn Paramount Series 7 PDG OS

The first thing out of the seller's mouth when I said I might make a few changes is not to Fred it Up. Moi?  It's going to be ridden like a fixie it needs to be enhanced, so I might do a little Fredding to it.

I picked up this 1992 Schwinn Paramount Series 7 PDG from the same person I bought the Cannondale SX800 from. I have to say, for an Old Crappy Ten Speed Fixed Gear Conversion it's got a sweet mix of components on it worth way more alone than what I paid for the whole bike!

  Selle Italia Flite Saddle with titanium rails

There is a plethora of information on Schwinn Bikes and this model, the PDG Series, too.  The Waterford Bikes website has an extension amount of information on this bike, as well on all Schwinns.  According to the Waterford site, the original grouppo for the bike was Shimano Ultega but the parts on here are a mix of high end, quality parts put on over time.

Shimano 105 levers

Ritch Stem

Shimano 600 headset

Somec fork

Durace Front Brake

Surly flipflop rear hub with 16t fixed and freewheel cogs

Mavic cranks

Shimano Ultegra rear brake

Mavic rims

It's super light and really solid

The only planned changes are going to be new bars and tape

Crankbrothers Pedals

And probably some commuting tires

1984 Schwinn Varsity

A friend gave me this 1984 Schwinn Varsity the other day.  He was going to take it to the dump but I told him I would take it.  It's a nice bike but it falls into the Old Crappy Ten Speed - not worth it condition.  It has an American Bottom Bracket which renders the drive train useless for a conversion.  However, there are some nice parts that I will help rehabilitate on other bikes that I am working on.

Duh!

My guess is this was someone's college bike.  My friend from work said his wife picked it up at a tag sale for $10.  Still, there's plenty of bits to salvage:  brakes, chain, cables, housings, bars, stem, fork, axle nuts, seat, pedals, and reflectors.

Might even keep the rear derailer to see if I can cobble it into a chain tensioner.

Fat, Dumb, and Happy

Saw this at Brooksvale Park in Hamden on my ride with the boys this past weekend. This is an electric bike where the motor is upfront. That big, thick rack in the back is the battery that powers it. Not only did it have a front shock but a shock post as well.

We passed the guy who owns this bike on the Greenway and he clearly relied on the electric motor too much. You know, this is technically a motorized vehicle and they aren't allowed on the Greenway.