l'Accoutrements pour le roleur en grandes roues

I recently received two new head caps, one by extending my NEMBA membership to a higher category and another for being a Trail Ambassador. All CT NEMBA Trail Ambassadors received headcaps for all the work they did riding and reporting on the trails. I thought this head cap would look best on the Dillinger.

But the major addition is the new bottom bracket. I was a little taken aback initially because the cup sizes were smaller than my previous one. I think FSA found a way to shave a few grams off the BB, hopefully they didn't shave off some material to increase profit margin at the expense of quality.

Now it's time for a test ride!

The Brave Commuters of the Park City

The Red Ross was back again. The Rider must have gotten on the first train south the looks of the snow cover on the saddle. Looks like someone retrieved their wheel after the rest of the bike was removed.

The rusty geared Schwinn Cruiser gets more and more interesting every time I see it. It has a Jamis BMX stem and pipe insulators on the cruiser bars.

It's rigged as a 1x7 but it's so rusty I wonder if it even changes gears.

Wishing I was riding

I think this might be the longest I have gone without putting force to a pedal and turning a crank! It is attributed to a combination of the cold weather (MIKE-PAPA-HOTEL) and equipment in need of repair. The 'Horse is getting it's fork rebuilt and I need to replace the BB on the Dillinger. I haven't been on the Qball either because what little snow we have has all the gravel riding areas iced over. In fact, I going to turn the Qball back into a mountain bike!

Check out these bikes down at the Park City Rail Road Station. I headed into the city extra early last Wednesday because guess what, there was snow in the forecast! The Toponga and Schwin Cruiser were in the racks again and pretty early, too. I have a lot of respect for these people.

This bike looks like it was used in desperation to get to the station. I wonder if they noticed the rear flat tire while riding.

I am sure this came as a surprise to the owner. Quick release wheel and not locking the frame is a recipe for theft.

Miller Ice

For those of you that have decided to take the winter off from riding you are missing some choice opportunities! The CT Chapter of the New England Mountain Bike Association held it's first annual Winter Social called Middletown Madness and I organized the advanced ride at Millers Pond State Park. There was an excellent turnout, 18 people and one dog showed to ride in 23 degree weather. There were three singlespeeds and three 29ers, too.

Tren and I got there a bit early so we got ready and knocked out a quick 0.7 mile loop on down along the water and then cut back in towards the red trail. Snow was simply perfect! Four inches and still a little powdery. I noticed when I stood out of the saddle that something was creaking, it sounded like something grinding. First I thought it might be pedals but then later I figured it must be the bottom bracket.

Once back at the lot, people started showing up. Sign in went smooth and by 1:15 we rolled out. Having only ridden here twice before I found someone who rides here frequently and asked if he wouldn't mind leading the ride. I did however have both tracks from my two previous rides loaded onto my GPS so there was no way we could have gotten lost.

Mike Hartford on the 10th Commandment

(John Isch Photography)

Despite the creaking bottom bracket riding the technical, stuntry trail was a blast. The quick ups and rollers were a lot of fun and I felt great being able to keep up with the majority of the geared riders. Of course there were a few sections that were pretty sketchy or steep and I walked them but I was still in front of the main body so who cares?

The first mile or so was on some rocking technical trail that I had never been on before and I was eating up on the Dillinger. Somewhere along the way we got on a section that I was familiar with but then last that ended and we were again another unfamiliar section. When I was shooting some video of Mike doing a drop we looked at my GPS and Mike said we must be on the outer loop which is something I have never ridden before.

After the 10 Commandments I knew were close to split off that would take us back to the cars but I was really itching to ride the XC trail. The first section of the XC trail is so fast and flowy, and the perfect trail for my bike. About half way through, though, you could feel the temperature dropping and that is when I noticed that my toes were starting go numb. I started walking more of the hills just to get circulation back in the toes. For more pictures and some video, click on over to the CT NEMBA blog.

Now that the 'Horse is laid up, shock went back to Marzocchi for a rebuild and I probably need a new BB for Dillinger, looks like I am riding the Qball Monster - probably have to grind some more gravel.

Why bother?

Headed into NYC for work on Thursday and when I got off the highway in Bridgeport I got stopped at a light at the bottom of the ramp. It was lightly snowing but just a dusting on the ground at this point. Unlike the more rural area farther to the north in which I live in, there seems to be more people in the Park City that depend on bicycles as their primary mode of transportation. Out of the corner of my eye I see someone pushing a bicycle and it's flat, then they hop on and ride through the intersection and then hop off. Guess that person got their exercise for the day.

This Schwin cruiser is a real beaut! Classic Station Commuter bike with a rusty chain and broken seatpost. I guess if the tires still have air and the cranks turn it's perfect.

I have seen this bike before, a Diamondback Topanga. I love the stamped triple ring crankset and comfort stem. All it needs are fenders and it would be a perfect winter commuter.

My new lunch time ritual is to head down to 148 East 46th Street to Joy Curry & Tandoori for the Curry Goat Special and of course check out some of the commuter and delivery bikes along the route I walk. Take this Kona Kahanna which given the type of locking situation and the sloping saddle this bike is used for delivery rather than commuting.

This guy on the Fuji track bike turned out to be rare siting however, I think he was running a freewheel in the back. His chain is way too slack for horizontal drops - what a travesty! I wouldn't want to be caught dead with a chain that slack.

Here's fine example of city commuter. It's a Trek that I have seen before that is usually locked to a parking meeter on Park Ave. Guess that spot was taken and the rider had to settle for something closer to Lexington Ave.

Another bike I have seen before on 49th. Rattle can black so that it's not appetizing to a potential bike thief but looks like it's built for speed.