Monday RAW

I started leading a weekly Ride after Work on Mondays and yesterday was the first go. Only, I was working at our other building again in Norwalk and misjudged the drive to Huntington and got there way too early. So, I suited up and went for a warm up lap to see how the bike was working since I think I worked a few issues with the EBB. Damn, it was cold! I wore a long sleeved wicking shirt and my NEMBA Trail Ambassador jacket. Along the way, I ran into the guy who used to work at World of Bikes and lives in Newtown. He was riding an 8 inch travel Iron Horse Sunday River, which was overkill even for Huntington. Further on, I met up with some other riders working on one their bikes on the trail, due to trail issues. Turns out one of them is the bike tech at Ridgefield store of New Canaan Ski & Sport. We had spoken before because he was interested in getting something going in Ridgefield.

Riding up the Red Trail I noticed a fine example of Horse Curbage! Road apples on the side of the trail/road. After all the other piles of ploppage that I have seen on the trails, this was very impressive. Kudos to the equestrienne who did this!

I only had one person show up for the CT NEMBA Monday RAW ride. A few co-workers were supposed to be there but they exhibited various excuses like my wife's car broke down to my wife needs me at home to do something. What they missed was an awesome singletrack exploration of Huntingting State Park. We rode the big burn, found a new roller and did that, hit the Saddle Roller, and then did all the back single track. Finished things up with a south to north ride on the Rock and Roll Trail.

More Tandem Training: 14 Miles!

Katie and I headed out on Mother's Day for a slightly longer ride this time, double what we have been riding. The fact that I can't down shift is going to be a major problem riding this bike but we were able to make the climb on Hanover Rd. I figured we could ride over to Dickenson Park and that might be 7 miles but it was more like 5. We did a loop on Barb's Trail.

A new gravel path/trail in town that starts at Dickenson Park and goes to around some ball fields to the intersection with Hawley Lane. Katie is sitting on the bench below.

From Dickenson we pedaled up Chestnut Hill and that was an incredible climb but instead of continuing the climb we cut down a side road that eventually took us to Route 25. We were on 25 for less than a quarter of a mile before heading back onto some back roads towards Dickenson Park again. I was pumping the shifter trying to get it to down shift but it didn't help. On Grove Street we stopped for water and I ever so gently pushed on the upshift lever and then tried to downshift again and found that I shifted into the highest gear. Fortunately, the route home was mostly downhill and on any little climbs I was able to use the front granny ring to get us up.

I am going to have to fix the shifting issue if we are going to ride this bike in two weeks.

Fixed Trail-a-biking on the Trumbull Rail Trail

Since I started riding the tandem with my daughter my youngest has been bugging me about going for a trail-a-bike ride and since we were having dinner Saturday evening in Trumbull why not get a little riding in. We started out a Tait's Mill, which has a huge parking area. The first three miles of the trail is crushed stone and you have to watch out for the dog walkers with their unleashed dogs. Last fall, I almost ran over a pooch that jumped out in front of me, not on a leash. I would have cut the dog in half at the rate I was going.

Every time I do a profile for the trail it never comes out smooth but Topofusion does a really good job with, better so than all the other programs I have used in the past. From Tait's Mill to Parlor Rock, it's a real smooth climb but from there the variation starts because the original road bed has been compromised by Route 8 and then the bypass by the town dump.

It was so windy on Saturday that I had to ensure that I had good eye protection for Brodie so I made him wear my old riding glasses. They were a little big on him so later I switched to some knockoff Rayban styled glasses.

At the turn around point, 5 miles, it was snack time. He is not a snacker like my other two kids so it was really a chance to get some liquids and get back on the trail.

While I see plenty of tire marks through this section I rarely see anyone on this section. That might be because this section between the Trumbull line and Wolfe Park goes atop road, has a small single track section and most be largely unknown to majority of the trail users.

The Stinson is working beautifully now. Had some crank issues but with a little telflon tape on the crankarm bolts and really tightening them down, everything is so smooth, now.

Of course, there is always plenty of time to ham it up a little bit.

Well, it's not the Crankset.

While I wasn't riding this past week I took an in depth look at the way I was adjusting the EBB on the Dillinger and what I found was that it probably wasn't in the right place, that is a little over to one side or the other. I did however, throw on my old cranks to see if that would make a difference. Of course, riding in the yard, as I found, is not a good way to test. Riding yesterday on trails was and while it started out quiet is quickly degraded.

It all changes on that first climb where you are standing on the pedals and torquing up the drive train. I have tried shims, and I had a post about that but I retraced it when someone showed me that they have the same gaps in their BB shell. I have also tried teflon tape and that didn't seem to help. I might try Bikeman's EBB, which uses an expanding nylon pad. From reading some of the reviews, apparently the squeak is common on EBBs.

The other question is whether the BB shell is ovalized or not. If it is, Bikeman's EBB isn't going to help at all. I have a question into Soul Cycles to find out how to determine whether ovalization has occurred. The way the topic came up seems to me that it has come up before and might be common amongst the second generation of Dillingers.

I was hoping to hit Bennett's Pond on my home from work on Friday because I was working at our other office but had to be back in Danbury for an afternoon meeting so after work I went over to Huntington again. It's funny but when you ride there frequently as I am doing these days you begin notice regular riders. Like the guy who works for the Bethel Water Company. He drives the bronze jeep that I recognize in the parking lot but he seems to get there earlier than most people and is finishing up when I arrive. Then there are these two older guys, both on Cannondale hard tails and both wearing toe straps. Of course, I run into a lot of people that I know from NEMBA and the mountain biking community, too.

I decided to hit the Rock and Roll Trail first but I don't know what I was thinking because I hit in the wrong direction for a singlespeed ride. South to North is the way to ride it if on the Singlespeed because the other direction is tough without granny to help on the technical climbs. Never-the-less, it was fun to get reacquainted with this trail and to get the trail building juices flowing for when I start my next project there.

Only having an hour to ride doesn't really leave much options. I should have just done a speed lap on the 8 mile course but I had my hydrapack with me and felt that I was there for more casual riding. So, after chewing up a lot of time on the Rock and Roll I headed over to the Big Burn and went to do the Saddle Roller.

After a quick 5 mile ride yesterday, after not riding all week, I finally feel human again. All the stress from work this past week disappeared, in fact, by riding more I think it makes the work week easier to deal with, because if I am not riding I am thinking about riding or wishing I am riding. When I riding regularly, I don't have that stress because I know I am going to ride.

The Friday Fix: 1975 Raleigh Super Course Fixed Gear - I know this bike!

Hey, I know this bike!

Looks like the new owner made some changes, different saddle, bullhorns, and new slicks. Very nice! Not sure I like the brake lever choice, if you are doing bullhorns you should only use aero levers, any thing else looks gauche. Never-the-less, I hope it goes to a good home where it gets lots of use.