I bucked one and Timbuk2 ... under my saddle!

I felt it was time to replace my current seat bag after 200 miles of riding because it didn't seem like it was going to hold up much longer.  That's what you get from the bargain bin at the LBS.

I noticed on the Timbuk2 website that they are making seat bags so the first thing I did was contact them and ask what size I would need to hold a multi-tool and a 29er tube. They replied with the large so I ordered one the other day and it finally came in.

As you can see it holds the tube and tool just fine. Also in there I have about 6 inches of chain, too, and there is just enough room for perhaps a gu pack and my keys. That is something that has always bothered me with the previous seat pack. I never felt that it would hold my keys securely and while I never had a problem the fact that they were just in the bag loosey, goosey just made me nervous. Especially if I ever got a flat and had to pull the tube out, my keys would drop right to the ground. I think I will feel a little more comfortable that the Timbuk2 has a key tether.

The bag looks pretty good under my saddle.

Goes nicely with the bike, too.

I think I am going to have to get one for the Monster Crosser.

#BikeCommuting and @Timbuk2

Day 20 and 21 for the  30 Days of Biking challenge was spent commuting.  The Chicken Shit meter was redlined on Wednesday because of the questionable weather forecast but I rode in, somewhat later than usual.  It turned into a good ride in the morning despite the misty conditions and at times light rain.  I haven't had a chance to look at the BB on the Stinson and I still have to give the Lambert a good test ride before I commit it to commuting duties so I have been favoring the Qball and every ride on it gets better and better.

So it looks like the BMX bike in Bethel is turning into a laundry rack.  Day after day it sits there, unlocked.  If this were any of the other cities I have lived in that bike would have been gone in a day and yet here it still sits.  Amazing!

Forecast was for 66 degrees but actual temperature was actually 10 degrees less.  So I rode home with tights rather than shorts as I had planned on for the warmer weather but I did leave the jacket off and it was still kind of cold.  The Timbuk2 was behaving rather well for the ride home.

Again, got off to late start because I was futzing around with stuff in the morning.  Temperatures were much cooler, too, so I tired something different.  I added a thermal layer instead of a jacket and wore my wind vest.    It was the perfect combination but the mesh backing on the vest caused the Timbuk2 to slide a lot and I was very unhappy with the bag.  I let Timbuk2 know this through a tweet, too.

 

Not loving the bag!

When I got to work, I wasn't at all sweaty for once and since barely anyone was there I didn't shower.  Just threw on the work clothes worked all day and then changed back into my kit and rode home.

On the way home, however, big bag loving ride!  It was perfectly situated and never slipped out of position.  It was pure joy.

A Monday Commuter Cross Commute

I think this is my best route when I have the time.  The top part is pretty flat and 10 miles to work, which is the route to take in the mornings, which bottom part is 14 miles, relatively flat as well and can do it pretty much in the same amount of time with the geared bike.  In fact, my time on the ride in was 1 hour 7 minutes for 10 miles and 1 hour 8 minutes for the ride home.  Of course, I would have quicker times if I didn't stop to tweet.

Day 11 of the 30 Days of Biking challenge, still riding the Commuter Cross both out of love for the bike and haven't gotten to replacing the BB on the Stinson.  What about the Lambert you might ask?  With those really skinny tires and new BB I was to test it out locally before I try riding to work.  I heard that we were to have a very warm spring day so I checked the weather at 5:30 Monday morning and it said it was supposed to be nice, however, when I got out it was foggy and misty, and really humid.

I tried to dress conservatively so I wouldn't overheat but still stay dry but by the time I hit the first bridge over Rt 84 I had to open the zip pits.  The Timbuk2, however, was behaving amazingly well.  I think that is because I have a better way of carrying it so that it stays put and that is to hold basically all the way on the left side of my back so that it's almost falling off but held in place with the strap.  At least I think that helps but the true test will be when I am riding fixed again.

I keep noticing this BMX bike (below) sitting at the side of this apartment every time I passed by here and I amazed that it has lasted this long without being stolen.  Not locked up and next to a busy thoroughfare.  Could the flat tire be preventing it's theft?  Pretty brazen of the owner to just leave it there.

Bike only needed two trays because it wasn't dripping wet.  Tires were wet and I didn't want to have it on the carpet.  Not sure how much longer I will have an office to park the bike in because it sounds like we will be moving to more of an open office seating arrangement in the near future so people can be more collaborative. It makes sense from an IT persecutive and that's only if you have a bunch of IT teams working together but where I am located that is not the case.  Our IT team supports an operations group located in Danbury, and even that is kind of limited.  What I hope this doesn't mean is that we will be moving locations.

On the way in, I was dressed for cooler weather but the ride home, it was shorts and a T-Shirt because it was so warm.  After taking this picture a roadie passed me and asked if I was OK.  I tried to catch him and almost caught up to him but he blew me away on the next climb.

Even though the sun was mostly hidden behind the clouds it was really nice riding home.  There was a slight tail wind from the west that made me feel like I was flying at times.  While the Timbuk2 was staying in place the strap buckle was digging into my shoulder.  I tried to adjust the padding but not really sure it helped much.

Commuter Cross (CCX)

A friend of mine and fellow mountain biker enthusiast that runs a website called East Coast Trail Riders Review coined a new term for me when I am commuting on my Monster Cross (MCX), Commuter Cross (CCX).   Since I am running a commuting tire on the Qball rather than my fun 29x1.95s it seems only fitting.

For Day 8 of the 30 Days of Biking challenge I got up at 5:30 am with the intention of getting to work much earlier and also wanting to get in a little extra commuting miles by taking the longer way to work.  Night before I mounted my helmet cam to my seat post facing forwards to try and get a different perspective.  For the most part it was pretty good, that is until I started pedaling, the video framed by my pumping legs.  It would have been fine if I were wearing cycling tights but I was wearing my baggies and the loose material sometimes got in the way of the shot.

While coming down to the end of my driveway I heard a really loud Tom Turkey calling out to a hen in the woods.  Haven't seen the flock all winter but I guess it's getting to be that time again.  Spring Turkey Season in Connecticut starts on April 27th.  Another quick saison du l'orange.  Meaning riding in the Upper Paugussett with bells and plenty of orange, or as my youngest son likens it, I am the Annoying Orange Daddy.

Dear of Alive?  Probably Dead.

It was a cold morning, hoar frost covered every where and it must have been 28 degrees out.  Stopped off at the Newtown Christian Church to contemplate their latest spiritual message.  Kind of disturbing when you think about it because the only way you are going to get there is if you are dead but the irony is that it assumes you have been good so if you have been bad are you still on the Most Wanted List?  Maybe someone else's Most Wanted List.  Oh well, mine is not to reason why, mine is to ride my bike.

This was an unusual Friday because I actually had to be home in the early afternoon to meet my boys at the bus stop while my wife and daughter went to Springfield for a dance competition for the weekend.  The weird part was leaving around noon, I was expecting it to be much warmer than it actually was and upon exiting the building I was shocked at how cold it really was but that didn't last long because I took off strong.  I discovered how to climb with the Fme bars earlier this morning so now rather than drop to a lower gear and hammer up hill, I can stand in a higher gear and charge up the hill. 

 It still feels awkward being out of the saddle in the Commuter Cross because I am more used to climbing on my SS MTB  where I am up and over the bars mostly, occasionally shifting backwards depending upon the terrain.  On the Commuter Cross, I am more centered in the cockpit because there is only one spot to hold the bars, that is in the grips.

If I could make one suggestion to the purveyor of these bars is that they should be wider and by making them wider, it could give you another hand position on the downward slope of the bars, however, one thing I haven't considered or tried just my looking at the photo above is trying to hold in the curve of the drop.  It might be that my Timbuk2 bag is preventing me from that position but I will have to test that out.  Speaking of which, I am really loving the bag because with the fleece jacket it always stays in one place.  When it warms up to the point where I have to wear my green riding jacket that is made of a PVC like material then I am going to have a problem because it will slide and then I really hate the bag.

As I mentioned, midday on Friday was a mixed bag of temperatures compared to the morning.  Starting out I was chilled especially since coming out of the office is big down hill and then it goes right into a climb.  At the top of that climb I had to open the zip pits to cool off.  I won't buy another jacket for riding without them because they are essential in regulating body temperature.

Does this house look like a robot to you?  It does to me so I finally took a picture of it.  I pass by this way a lot and I always find that it looks like one of those Rock'em, Sock'em Robots from that game back in the day.  I wonder if the owners see that.

Funny, I mentioned that I heard a Tom in the forest calling out to a hen and then on way home I see this car parked in spot that usually only hunters park in with a license plate that sounds awfully similar to a date rape drug.  I hope no one is trying to bait a turkey in order to have sex with it.

And here I was starting to think that my commutes were beginning seem like I was riding in the Swing Dog position.  I need to be more observant of my surroundings.