The Friday Fix: National Bike-to-Everything Day!

After riding my mountain bike Friday morning, I rode the Stinson to the grocery store. From there, I rode to a local town park where the team I work with was having a picnic.

Afterwards, I rode home. I saved gas and got some exercise, too.

National Bike-to-what day?

I got this email the other day telling me this week was National Bike-to-Work week. But they were making the point of just getting out and riding. It's too bad our Government won't do the same. Unfortunately, with the way my work week went and where I was, that wasn't going to happen, but I was able to get out for a little 5 mile lap at Upper Paugussett this morning. Some riding is better than no riding.

It was a beautiful morning to be out riding at 6:30 am. Sun was already up and the cacophony of singing birds in the forest was almost mind numbing. It was helping to drown out the Miley Cyrus song that was stuck in my head from picking my daughter up after dance class last night. The other thing weighing heavy on the mind this morning are the noises that the Dillinger are still making. At this point, I think I can live with the EBB because they are characteristically noisy but the headtube/headset is filling me with sorrow.

I heard back from Soul Cycles and they suggested tightening up the headset so the other night I did just that. Of course finding some place to put the bars, having hydros, was a pain because I couldn't just disconnect the cables like on my other bikes. I took the fork completely off and then put it back together. I made sure the headcap was good and tight, and there was no wobble in the fork. The noise started when I was riding on the dirt road leading to forest. It got a little worse when I started riding on more uneven terrain but it wasn't as bad as it was on Monday. So, I have to assume that I have a cracked headtube.

In spirit with today, I have decided I will bike to work, however, since we are having a team picnic at a local park I will work from home in the morning and ride one of my fixed gears to the picnic instead. So that means walking the kids down the driveway to the bus stop this morning.

Thievery, Park City Style

Despite the heavy police presence, CT Counter Terrorism Unit, TSA, and a bevy of other three lettered agencies on the ground at the Park City Metro North Station my Thule Side armed bike rack was stolen off of my car. Of course the heavy police and counter terrorism presence was on the train platform and not at the parking garage and thus with so much attention focused elsewhere someone had the audacity undo all the bolts and make off with my rack. I checked Craigslist and found nothing matching my rack.

At least the bikes at the Bike Rack were safe! A new addition amongst the regulars, a rattle can jobbie with funky grips. I have to hand it to these guys because today I got to the station at 6:30am and these bikes were already here.

The usual suspects were at the Rack, the Toponga (foreground) and the Panasonic (background) in the background.

Something I haven't noticed before but the Topanga is an anti-theft saddle device. Looking back at previous posts it appears that it was always there.

Of course the Panasonic is always intriguing. It has a blue PIA derailleur, BMX pedals and a NEXT saddle.

I love the ghetto bars with electrical tape grip and oem brake levers that probably came off the drop bars.

Funny how the Topanga has a nice mountain bike front brake and a crappy side pull brake in the back.

A late edition to the party was this mountain styled bike found in most discount stores. Probably another rattle can job whose owner might not have gained possession of this bike through legal methods.

Dropped chain?

The only time I have ever dropped a chain while riding singlespeed was because I didn't have enough chain tension and that appears to have what happened while riding at Huntington on Monday. I had just hammered up the climb from Hopewell Road and heading up to the intersection with the white trail is when the chain dropped. I went a little further down the trail but I could tell it just wasn't right so I stopped to put more tension on it.

What this meant was the 20 Nm of force that I applied initially to the pitch bolts was inadequate which also leads me to believe that ovalization of the BB shell could indeed be the source of my problems. Everything seems to start out fine but after awhile it appears to go downhill quickly. After re-tightening the EBB pedaling was very quite but then a little later that hollow sounding, thwang, came back which sounds like there is still movement with the EBB.

As for the creaking sound, I no long think that is in the drive train, rather the head tube. I mad a video to capture the sound of what I am hearing. Disregard the higher pitch sound because I think that's my brake levers but the more hollower, longer sounding rattle that comes and goes reminds me too much of the sound aluminum would make if it where cracked and rubbing on something.

Another Tandem Ride: 15 miles

All the cockpit adjustments paid off on Sunday for an afternoon ride to Southbury on Sunday. Shifting was superb, Katie loved the new saddle, the bars in the front for me were awesome, and Katie loved all the new hand positions she got with the ergons. I think the one thing I would change if there is time is a longer stem for her in the back but I am not sure I can find one in time.

We used the Travel Center in Southbury as the turn around point. It was just over seven miles from home. I don't think I ever got off the bike. Katie was thirsty but I had drunk a 32 oz Powerade before we got on the bike after planting 4 fruit trees in my front yard and was not at all thirsty.

On the way back I took a few pictures over the back of my head and of course Katie hammed it up appropriately.

I was hoping to try and do 20 miles with Katie today but we only had time for 15. It was nice coming down this way but going home was brutal because of all the climbing. I tried to think of a better way but nothing came to mind so we retraced out path and did every climb: Wallnut Tree Hill and the two climbs on Alberts Hill and Katie insisted on riding up the hill on Bramble Trail. I will have to load the GPS data to Garmin's website to see what the climb totals were because I am not sure SportTracks calculates the climbing correctly.