Hard Cider to warm the soul.

I have not yet set a date, but here's a preview of a new route:

Hard Cider

I make no excuses or apologies: It's gravel. It's a LOT of gravel. Hills? Yes.

For now, I've ditched the Hillsdale Lake Metric idea that I had; I went back and looked at the route map and realized that the first stop is something like 40 miles into the ride. I remember that being a problem for a lot of participants.
This route, by comparison, is about 37 miles, give or take, and the mid-way point is the Louisburg Cider Mill.

It's a pretty straight-forward out-n-back route, with a small loop onto K-68 to get to the 'mill. There is no direct north/south road that leads to it, so the highway is a neccessary evil. Bear in mind, however, there is a good shoulder on that road, traffic on the weekends is light, and I have the route arranged so we never have to CROSS it... we make a right turn onto it, hit the 'mill, and make a right turn back north on the way back.

Starting and finishing at the Price Chopper @ 159th and Murlen, the ride will take us down Renner Road until it ends, passing near Chiles and Wagstaff, Kansas, along the old Missouri Pacific R.R. tracks. You'll earn your cider donuts around mile-15 with a "challenging" climb. On the return, we pass through downtown Chiles and return north on Lackman road, after three miles of steady climbing.

Yeah, it may sound like just another Cider Mill ride... but trust me; it's harder, and more "funner".

Official notes:
Mountain and cyclocross bikes welcome; road bikes welcome with 28C or larger tires and stout wheels STRONGLYrecommended.


You're welcome to hit this route ANY time you like -- shoot me an email, and maybe I'll come along! Officially, this will end up on a local ride calendar some time in March or April, with a possible repeat in the summertime.

Think warm thoughts!

KC Transportation and Infrastructure Committee to hold public meeting

If you live in KCMO and want to make sure that bicycling, walking and
transit needs are not left out of the budget, go to one of these
meetings and speak up.
You'll learn about projects and priorities and see how your money could be spent.

KCMO Council Transportation & Infrastructure Committee
to Host Public Meetings
Public Input Sought on City Projects - Councilman Russ Johnson, Chair
of the Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, and members of the
Committee would like to hear from residents about projects and
services under the committee's jurisdiction. These include, among
others, bus service, streets, streetlights, trash pickup, water,
sewer, stormwater, sidewalks, city buildings, and the airports.

For more information, please call Councilman Johnson's office at
(816) 513-1622 or e-mail his office at russ_johnson@kcmo.org.


Transportation & Infrastructure Committee
Public Hearing Schedule

(The Monday meeting has already happened)

Tuesday, January 27, 2009 - 6pm
Gregg-Klice Community Center, 1600 John "Buck" O'Neil Way, KCMO

Wednesday, January 28, 2009 - 6pm
Baptiste Educational Center, 5401 E. 103rd Street, KCMO



(Many thanks to Laurie Chipman for the above information)

Cold.

Yup, that's what it is... COLD.
Continuing my commuting streak into the weekend, I saddled up for job #2 today, leaving the driveway with about 1/2" of snow on the ground and a temperature of 6.7ºF on the thermometer. The temperature in the garage was 51ºF, and I think that might have attributed to this:



The focus is clearly in the wrong place, but that's camera phones for ya...
I added a circle around what I was trying to shoot; the big crack in my fender-mounted taillight. This is the first time I've ever had a physical failure with a Busch+Muller product - they're tough products. The combination of probably 4 years of use on various bikes, constant vibration, temperature extremes, and tension from the stainless steel guard-bar on this model, which seemed to act like a spring in this case - pulling the plastic apart - it just failed. The plastic at the crack doesn't have the look of something that took a hit. It has the look of something that was stretched. It just popped. It's been downhill ever since October's 200K, where it vibrated apart on me: the post into-which the outer lens fixing screw attaches cracked on that ride, so I used silicone-based sealant to re-attach the lens. It seems the same plastic dry-out was waiting in the wings to wreak this havoc today. About two miles from the house, after getting fully chilled down in the single-digit air, POP.
Electrically, it still works fine. No issues there... but it's already been doped up with silicone once already, and it's starting to show another crack below the first one. Ugh... Oh well.. got my money's worth. Got a new one coming in a couple days.

Aside from that minor equipment drama, the ride itself went well. The Camelbak is fitting the bill nicely, and my routine is simplified greatly as a result. The newer drive train on the Kogswell makes the whole bike feel fresh and lively -- but since it was so flippin' cold I didn't get a chance to really put anything to the test. Survival was the order of the day... the north wind this morning was almost painful at first. The ride home in the PM, a little better... but not by much. It still beats time on the trainer, honestly, and it felt good to get a little of a challenge in the books, temperature-wise.

Tomorrow, I'll probably stick to indoor workouts -- and more snow is forecast in the next 72 hours, so the Kogs might be shelved for a few days while the Krudder is called into action, saddle and all. Ugh... bus-passes are worth their weight in gold!

Got Me Thinkin'

It's coming up on prime riding season again, ya'll... slowly but surely, I know you've all been noticing the sunrise coming a little sooner.... the sunset coming a little later.... ever, EVER so slowly...
Before we know it, it'll be time to start thinking about riding again in big groups for fun, not just transportation. I'm looking forward to it!

There are always great rides happening metro-wide:
The Monday Night "Gringo's Ride" in Olathe
The Saturday Longview Lake ride in Grandview, MO.
And more...

It's high time I started thinking about a couple as well, so I have been stewing on a few ideas. The most recent has been spurred on by the miles I've spent on the fixed gear mountain bike lately:

The return of the "Hillsdale Hill Hundred K." This is a fun and slow-paced gravel and dirt road ride that goes around the perimeter of Hillsdale Lake. Approximately 62 miles.

Stay tuned...

Ceremonial saddle burning and bag worship.

Dude, today was one of those "hard to dress for" days. I recently had a pannier failure - which probably represents the last time I'll purchase anything that is purposefully waterproof, unless it happens to be a nice set of Ortlieb panniers, maybe Arkels: in this case, the stiffer PVC fabric and roll-top design of my Axioms presented issues when it got really cold, to the point where seams that are ultrasonically welded tend to come apart... it also creates a bag that is void of pockets, neat zippered pouches and handy shock-cord external storage. This company makes really good stuff that lasts for a long time, and I know several commuters that use this brand - but this particular model, well, it's got its limitations when it comes to versatility. I still got over a year of solid used out of them, so no hard feelings.

Until I decide on a new brand or model to try out, I've got ye olde Camelbak out of the closet. So far, I'm wondering WHY I stopped using this Camelbak H.A.W.G. model in the first place: but I remembered via a conversation with Crowbar that is had a lot to do with my need to take the laptop to and from work. a practice that has since ceased since the discovery of some wicked-cool remote access software. I digress a little, but all-in-all the Camelbak was a solid solution, never bothered my back, never felt too hot, too heavy, too cumbersome - or any of the things I'd cited as a reason to go full-on pannier and rack in the first place. I ran the Camelbak for the first three years of my commuting existance, with no complaints. So, because of an untimely equipment failure, it's back in service.

One thing I noticed immediately: it makes the bike-n-bus transitions REALLY smooth. I rack the bike, hop on, and sit down. Easy. Granted, leaving the panniers on the bike and doing the same thing was even easier once on the bus... but hefting the Krudwell with full bags onto the bus's front rack, well; that's a lift. Not a deal-breaker by any stretch, but it's a lot easier to just toss an unladen bike into the rack. Especially the Krudder, which isn't exactly a lightweight to begin with. So, even though I have something on my back again for a while, it's not NEARLY as cumbersome as the messenger bag, which was my original laptop solution simply because it was so much bigger. The reason I went from the messenger bag to the panniers: by direct comparison, the Camelbak - while not as trendy or "core" as a messenger bag - has these stand-offs on the back panel that hold the pack off your back a little and let air circulate. That's the reason I never complained about the heat while wearing it. Also, the insulation on this upper-end Camelbak is far better than the insulation on the smaller, cheaper Camelbak I'd tried back in August for the 10th Anniversary 200K. That bag left me with nothing but 50 oz. of warm water after a few hours. The H.A.W.G. model always kept my water ice cold, even during the July 2003 300K where temperatures broke 102º for most of the ride. A few inches of sun-heated water in the exposed portion of the drinking tube, followed by ice-cold water from inside the pack. Brilliant. For commutes, the water bag stays home. Easy. Wearing it again, it feels instantly familiar, just in these past couple of days riding with it again.

To be fair: messenger bags are simply marvels of bag construction. I'm pretty sure the one I invested in from Chrome is probably bullet proof. It's heavy, waterproof, reinforced everywhere, and is something a working messenger would actually use. You can get it stuffed full of next-day envelopes, blueprint tubes, flat-rate boxes - and in my case a full change of clothes, a laptop, a six-pack of beer, and a tub of HEED - and the seams won't even get stressed about it. The Camelbak simply won't do all that.... but for 22 miles in traffic in the summer heat and humidity of Kansas, the heavy material pressing against my back supported only by my left shoulder, well, it proved to be too much. The Camelbak solves those problem areas, and holds just enough for my workday, so it's a good compromise trading off some storage capacity.

That brings me to today's reminder of one of the few limitations of the Camelbak platform: storage space. It's a cavernous backpack, really: I've got notes in my journal from back before I even had a blog or web-page, citing evenings coming home from my then 2nd job, rolling up to the liquor store for a 4-pack of Guinness cans, and getting them all inside the bag with my clothes and whatever else I was hauling home. Granted, and to the previous point about the messenger bag by comparison, I wasn't going to get much else inside the Camelbak on those Friday night beer runs, but it worked. Where the messenger bags are seemingly made from recycled tank plating, the Camelbak fabric feels really thin; but as thin and lightweight as the fabric seems to be, don't be fooled: I have YET to rip out a Camelbak seam with any load. Finally, regardless of cargo capacity, the hydration feature is really the highlight. Coupled with their fantastic harness system, you almost don't feel exactly how much weight you're really carrying. I rode my fastest 400K (a smidge under 18 hours) with this H.A.W.G. on my back, 100 oz. of water and all, with no fatigue that could be related to the bag. Regardless of my previous mentions of riding brevets and having a goal of keeping things light-weight and minimalist, I can't deny that most of my fastest rides were with that bag on my back. Hydration? Perhaps.

Part of me is thinking this may be a happy accident that those pannier seams gave way, because right in step with my plans towards a successful 2009 training season and future goals, I have returned to the same commuting platform that I used in the most successful of years. Surely that's not THE silver bullet, but it's interesting. But, to my original comment about the limitations of storage space, today, with temps starting below freezing and rising to nearly 70º by the time I got home, I had layers bungeed and tucked in every available pocket on the thing. It worked, but it's nice that I don't always have to worry about wicked 45 degree temperature swings. Weird day!

Counter to my experiences with bags this week, I have really had a hard time with saddle issues. Don't get too excited, because this is again on the Krudwell. I know exactly what the problem is: the saddle I'm running is NOT a circa-1999 Selle Italia Flite Trans-Am. I have two of those saddles, and three bikes... and the Krudwell is the odd ball. I've posted about this briefly before and I thought I could just gut it out, but duuuuude, lemme tell ya. It ain't worth it. The Old-school Selle Italia Tri-Matic with "Genuine Gel" (read: Genuine Hell) inserts is absolute torture. When I'm riding to the bus stop, no worries... a few miles never hurt anyone. In the afternoon, however, just adding on those extra 12 miles makes me want to cry by the time I get home. Combined with the fixed gear, which equals no coasting and therefore no standing on the pedals for a bumm-rest... you get the idea. It was annoying at first, but the cumulative effects of riding this saddle for this past week have almost made me go inflatable donut shopping. It's stupid. It's a real shame that it's such a cool dumpster-find, tho: Celeste green with Bianchi logos screened onto the leather, and contrasting dark blue Kevlar corner treatments for anti-abrasion. It's a saddle that would have looked good on my old Bianchi road bike... assuming I like to only LOOK at bikes and not ride them. This saddle has GOT to go, but what to do? ...the Krudder is supposed to be a beater, so I'm not going to scour the globe for a third Flite T/A, or anything else for that matter. The only solution is to put the Kogswell back into service, and truly use the Krudwell only for snowy, wet-road winter conditions, and many the occasional mountain bike single-track attempt coming this spring. That should give me time to heal.... yes, heal. It's THAT bad. To that point, indoor training usually makes even the nicest saddles feel horrid, but I tell ya: last night when I logged some trainer time on the Kogs while watching some crit videos, my old fave saddle felt like a Lazy-Boy by comparison. I've got an old, hard plastic BMX saddle hanging in the garage, and I swear it might actually end up on the Krudwell. Then, I can burn the Bianchi Genuine Hell Tri-butt-matic saddle in a bizarre full-moon ceremony behind the local VFW hall. I'll bring the lighter fluid and matches... you bring the whiskey. Then I'll take the skeletal remains of the Cro-Moly rails and turn them into some sort of miniature war-mask.

It's late... now I'm getting delusional...

By the way, if you even only half-way enjoy what yer reading here, please feel free to "Follow" my blog -- the link is over in the right-hand frame. Together, we will rule the galaxy as father and son...

Crap, wrong movie.


G'nite, and stay tuned!

January is almost OVER?!

Well, so far, so good --- the efforts of the previous couple weeks are beginning to show a little. I took the "hey, look how much I weigh!" counter off the webpage, but I'm happy to report positive progress towards the lower 180's.... another couple weeks of persistence and the previous posts' realizations should only help things. Un-official goal is to get firmly back into the 170's before the official Spring Brevet Series begins.

That reminds me: You interested in life after 100 miles? Wonder what a "brevet" is? Racers? Want to build a wicked base for the late Spring '09 crits? Email me and I'll give you the low-down. Also, check out the Randonneurs USA website for a LOT of detail, and official rules for riders. Further, there is this really good blog post from a relative new-comer to the sport, with some terrific insight. the Kansas City Ultra-Cycling club would LOVE to have you try out a 200K this coming March. Details to follow -- the first brevet of 2009 for the KC club is set for March 28th

So, yesterday, inauguration day for Obama -- a great day to be an American on a bicycle, IMHO. So, I mounted up, hit the bus stop -- all part of my new revelation on training, etc. Facing 11 miles of wicked north winds just didn't sound like a good way to kee pmy mental game sharp, so I used the bus in the morning. Saw Clem on the bus, jamming out - we talked a little about gloves and socks, and then went back into easing into our days with some tunes... I was enjoying a little "Cut Chemist" in my headphones... on a very low volume, ya know. As part of my winter motivational package, I've taken to using the headphones while riding. It's helped tremendously: while the music is at such a low volume it simply fades into the background where it should be, the subtle beats underneath the wind noise helps keep my mind on the task at hand, instead of on the weather, how cold my toes are, etc. Safety FIRST, however. I have the volume on notch #1 on my phone/MP3 player. To the point where I can't even discern lyrics until I reach a stopsign or something. I can hear cars approaching from the rear just fine. Sidestreets, just fine, too. Cyclists on the trail passing me? Yup. "On your left" is nice and clear. If your iPOD or whatever is any louder than that if you happen to wear one while riding, you're stupid. Sorry. You are.

That was really an issue yesterday, keeping my mind off things: I dressed for LATER in the day, knowing the bus stop was only a few miles from the house. The forecast high was in the upper 30's which is practically SUMMER weather compared to what's been happening here in Kansas lately. So, I dressed for the afternoon, designed to suffer a tiny bit in the morning. Unfortunately, the sun never came out, the clouds were thick, and the flurries were consistent. What the??? When I left the house it was 26ºF. When I left work in the afternoon, it was 24ºF. WTF??? Seriously?
Okay, whatever. Ride. At least there is a tailwind, right? Well, sorta.... NW wind generally equals a headwind if I'm headed west, which I was for a large portion of the ride. A single layer of wool socks and sandals with a 24 degree temperature and 15 MPH NW winds... well, that equals COLD TOES. At least for a while... eventually they were numb. Hey, at least I have tunes.

What I did enjoy was the bike trail. Shielded from the wind a little, but also shielded from the sunshine that would have melted a lot of the ice that accumulated last week, it was a mixed bag of fun-ness. This is where I smiled at my choice of building up a beater mountain bike for this time of year. Where the trail was sheer ice, I hit the grass... granted the Kogs would probably do okay on the grass, but I didn't have to worry as much about chuck-holes and divots, not to mention the harder patches of frozen grass and dirt. It was cool, FUN -- reinforced my new discovery that 24-Hour Mountain Bike racing is absolutely the hardest thing someone could probably do on a bicycle. Just in four or five short miles of "off road", I was pretty well shaken - not stirred. Mine's a hard-tail, rigid fork -- so, yeah, the suspension is the tires and my body... but DANG. That was hard work, especially with the fixed gear. Got my heart-rate up, that's for sure! What's REALLY cool is riding along on my way home, seeing an obstacle, and thinking "ah, whatever... roll right over it/through it." It's a lot of fun, and challenging for someone like me that's pretty much be glued to the pavement my entire cycling life. will I be rushing out to get a dual suspension XC bike, and start looking for 12-hour races? Errrr.... not yet. Ever? Can't rule it out.

In the shorter-term... yeah, January is nearly over. Yeeeeesh. That means February is nearly here... and there's only 28 days to get a 200K in... #1, it's fun. #2, it's something that will keep my streak alive should I decide in June to keep going towards R-12 Number Dos. Not a guarantee... but it will prevent me from starting over in March, for example -- I'll be one month up on it. No promises... that verdict is still out, but I shouldn't just say "NO" to something that I have a genuinely good time doing. Between now and then, I need to stay focused on shorter, harder stuff to make sure my weight loss plan takes a front seat to any secondary goals. Right now, getting into the 170's again is my sole purpose...

More to come!

2009, on my mark...

Okay, enough putzing around. Let's call MLK day my personal new years day, okay? I've enjoyed some solid workouts in the gym, and started the year right with a 200k.... but the real work is just beginning. I returned my "coach" to the LBS, and reinvested in a stationary trainer. it wasn't doing me much good to have the HRM beeping at me when I had no way to get a workout in. With the roads and my schedule, its been difficult to suit up and go out for a prescribed 40 min ride. After watching a video on a 24 hour mtn bike race from 2006, and re-reviewing my 2003 training journals, the solution is not electronic wrist-mounted tech. The solution is physical. The solution is 40 miles per day, and weekends. The solution is Eddy Merckx quoted: "ride your bike....lots." It worked for me before, and looking at my recent work, I've been riding my bike lots....just in one, slowish shot. That's a great base....now its time to build on it. Twelve months of base work...time to change it up. The trainer is set up, and I'm in for a hard 40 minutes. Tomorrow, a commute, followed by a detour home....something I made a habit of in '03 to get more saddle time. Variable efforts, "rest days" still spent in the saddle...but at a pokey pace, and directly home instead of the long way. Less food, more quality nutrition. Beer takes a BIG back seat. Rewards will come in other packages, and in due time. Time...Patience....Persistance. At my desk at work I have two photos of myself....one taken at my wedding when I tipped 245 lbs...and one of me on the bike charging up a hill at Octaginta at the end of 2003. Everytime I feel tired, lazy, frustrated.... I'll look at those pics and ask myself what I want more. Happy New Year.... time to ride.

Temps hit the floor, along with the challenge

This week has seen some extraordinary temperature activity, that's for certain. I arrived home by bike on Friday evening, and before I could make it out of the shower the winds had shifted and the temperatures had dropped 15 degrees. It was 62 that day when I made my way home. This morning, it was five degrees. Tomorrow morning it will dawn at about 28ºF, and will begin to drop around 9AM with another strong wind shift. Thursday morning's forecast temperature is zero, and some say it will drop farther. It's been a WEIRD January. Sure, temps have wavered in past years - to the teens, then the forties for a few days -- but these 50 degree swings are maddening. Temped by spring, only to plunge back into the depths of winter again. Frustrating. Hard to find a rhythm.

Good fortune sometimes smiles in strange ways. My mother-in-law's car has broken down - cause unknown as yet, but the fact is she's a downtown worker, no-where near a bus stop - and I'm not going to put her out in that fashion anyways. So, my car goes to her driveway until the shop can find out what's happening under the hood of hers. Which means, good fortune has smiled ... in a strange way, I find a way to attach a silver lining to this scenario. My safety-net is gone from the driveway. My cold weather gear is ready. Even though the big z-e-r-o is threatening; I am inspired, inspired to take my place in the peloton of those around here that don't say "too cold" or "too windy". It's gonna be a good week... and it should start a momentum of habits, and acclimatization so I can continue on until spring stays for good.

Sometimes it takes a little force to get out of comfortable habits when it's not enough to think to oneself that it's "good exercise", "right for the environment" or whatever. It's time to just get back on it.

Photo Post - 1973 Peugeot PR-10

Before...





After...







Below, the Atax stem - subtle details in "red, blue & white" for the French flag, polished back to glory.



Detail of the Pletscher aluminum rear rack logo, and some appropriate leather straps.



Below, the non-drive side bottom-bracket shell detail, showing the unique Simplex clamp-on cable guide, and the back of the Stronglight 49D crankset - one of the prettiest, strongest, lightest cranksets ever produced.



Original Lucas Ltd. mechanical front wheel odometer. One of two parts on the bike that aren't French. (the other is the rack, above.)

The French Revolution

Welp, I've completed the Peugeot project, and it came to my attention almost immediately that I hadn't spoken much about this since I started working on it. It had really just become a secondary thing, in the garage a couple nights a week, unwinding from work, almost, with a toothbrush and some solvent - clearing off 35 years of grime and grease, simultaneously clearing off the stresses of the work week. It's a great way to unwind, if you keep things simple. The great thing about this bike: everything was original, in perfect working order, and simply needed to be cleaned off. NO scouring the globe for replacement parts or reproductions -- I like that. Just breathing life back into something that's only been sitting for a few decades, indoors thankfully. SO, I'll post some pictures soon -- it turned out far better than I expected; the freewheel rebuilt, butter smooth... the wheels, hubs rebuilt, smooth and quiet - solid... the spokes, re-tensioned and strong. New tires that have the same ole not-REALLY-tan sidewalls... dude it looks factory fresh. It's pretty cool. And, sadly for me, yes -- it IS for sale.
Not sure if I'm posting now, but probably by spring.

Stay tuned....