Archive for the 'Bikes' Category

Hi, I’m David…and you are?

Published
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admin
on March 31, 2008
in Bikes, Brewing, Dirt, Life and Snowboarding
. 6 Comments

Wow, almost 2 months have gone by since the last post, insane. Time to add some air in the tires of this dusty thing. As I’ve said before, most of the time I post is due to getting a moment at work where I can jump online. That becomes much harder to do when you’re stuck in a windowless secure lab for 8 hours a day. Once I’m out of work I end up doing other things than looking at a computer, so I’m behind on posting, behind on reading my newsreader, but not behind on mountain biking through sunsets, brewing kick ass beer, and most certainly not behind in snowboarding into the wee hours of the morning. We’re still living life up here in beautiful New England and while it’s still cold, you can smell Spring all around.

Did my first group mountain bike ride, um, probably more than a month ago now. 5 of us took to the PR to do our part in breaking in the trail after a fresh snow. Good group of guys and girls and I had a lot of fun. Hope to do some more rides with them, especially as we warm up here. I also got in a TNS, while it was on a Monday and it was a solo effort, I’ll still call it a TNS for now. Basically rode out to the bike path and over to the dirt BCT extension and out to Concord. Made it out to Main Streets Cafe, where I had a Smuttynose Old Brown Dog Ale before hopping back on the bike and riding home. The ride was good and the classic American Brown ale was the topping on the cake.

One of my recent night rides with Hog turned out to be an eye opening experience. My lights for biking are old. How old? Old enough that the batteries no longer hold a charge longer than an hour and if the moon is bright I wonder if my lights are actually on or not. So on this night, I just didn’t bring my lights figuring we would ride until dark and then I would get myself out to the road and slum it home. Hog had other ideas and whipped out a NiteRider Minewt X2. This thing is small and bright! An LED light that also comes in around $160 street price and lasts for up to 7 hours…yea, thats a long time, ha. So when it comes time to replace my aging (dying) lights, the Minewt is definitely on the short list.

As most of you know, it’s been a pretty cold and snowy winter. One night Mike and I were taking advantage of a current snowstorm and using our season passes at the mountain and go figure, the mountain has one night a year where they are open for a full 24 hours and that was the night. We stayed out on the snow until about 2:30 AM, riding some uber soft smooth closed trails. Best snowboarding night…ever.

Oh and the beer! I’ve been having some issues with my mash tun lately, so Mike and built a new one out of a 52qt cooler. Figured if we were going to go all out, we should go big time. Just for anyone wondering, a 52qt cooler can hold 33 pounds of grain and around 12 gallons of water…and it’s f’n heavy! We brewed up two IPAs from the one giant mash and seperate smaller mash was used to do up a Belgian Dubbel. 3 batches in a day, not too shabby.

But the biggest announcement on the blog, has to be this:


That’s right damnit, it’s official…

Boston Globe article

Published
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admin
on February 8, 2008
in Bikes and Life
. 2 Comments

The Boston Globe just ran a really good article on Sheldon Brown, including a really nice photo of his family. Check it out here. More importantly though, they gave this bit of information:

A memorial service will be held at 1:30 p.m. March 2, at the First Unitarian Society in Newton, in West Newton.

Might be an excellent time for a memorial ride to show support for Harriet, George, and Tova…

RIP Sheldon Brown

Published
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admin
on February 4, 2008
in Bikes and Life
. 0 Comments

Looks like the news is starting to circulate, Sheldon Brown has passed away from a massive heart attack.  Whether you prefer dirt to road or Sunday strolls to races, you’ve probably at one time or will in the future use information provided Sheldon.  He was a champion of all that was cycling.  Our thoughts go out to his family, may he rest in peace.

Memorial ride tonight…

Cabela’s MTP Compression Skinz™

Published
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on January 24, 2008
in Bikes and Reviews
. 1 Comment

One of the many generous gifts my brother and sister-in-law gave me over Christmas was a set of Cabela’s MTP Compression Skinz™ Polar-Weight Mock-T and Bottoms. It’s basically Cabela’s store branded version of UnderArmour. The last few weeks have been excellent for testing cold weather gear, hitting -15º on one particularly cold and windy day.

First up is the Mock-T. It’s black, so of course I look dead sexy in that sausage still in it’s casing kind of way. It’s tight, yet it doesn’t shorten up on you while you’re riding, avoiding the dreaded chilly air draft up the back. Tuck it in your pants or leave it out, it does a good job of staying put. The added neck portion at the top seems to be good for keeping a little extra warmth in, but not tall enough to be annoying if you forgot to shave that morning.

Cabela Mock-T

Next up are the bottoms, also in dead sexy black. Like the top, they are good at protecting against the cold air, only this time it’s the dreaded crusty ice crack… The bottoms are tight, but loose enough in all the right places. Most importantly, like a set of long johns, you can whiz without having to pull them down, big bonus, especially when riding in the woods. The only problem I have so far with the bottoms are the ankle cuffs being really tight, so it takes a little extra umph to get them on/off, but that might just be due to my fat metal cankles.

Cabela Bottoms

Couple of things both the top and bottoms that has impressed me so far:

  • X-Static Technology - oh yea! My biggest complaint about using normal long johns is the static. Maybe it’s just me, but I can practically light up a room with the static I generate just putting clothes on and taking them off. Not only do these things keep from generating static, they actually seem to absorb the static generated by my other layers.
  • Again, X-Static Technology, only this time I’m talking about the silver coated textile that they weave into the fabric. It’s main purpose is anti-odor and I’ll be damned, it works great. It’s been a month and I’m just getting around to washing them and not because they smelled, because they were just dirty from riding in the slushy, salty, wet road grime.

So there you have it. If you’re looking for some base layer action, this top/bottom set gets a winter thumbs up.

DaKine Drafter Hydration Pack

Published
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on January 17, 2008
in Bikes and Reviews
. 4 Comments

Picked up my new DaKine hydration pack (Black Camo) that I got online from REI-Outlet and had them just ship it to the local REI shop for free shipping, cause I’m cheap like that.

DaKine Drafter :: photo from REI-Outlet

Looks like REI raised the price of the pack since I bought it, from just under $30 to almost $45! Must have been a small rush of people to buy this thing. I know I told some people, who told some people, which resulted in a few buys…right Arleigh. Anyway, just picked up the bag last night and it’s pretty spiffy. I’ve owned one, count it one hydration pack in all of my biking days. It’s a circa 2001, 100 oz. Camelbak MULE. It’s seen it’s fair share of ground crushing wrecks, tree scrapes, and rock rubbing, and it’s lasted a good 7 years. At this point the zippers are broken, holes in the fabric are getting to the point I might actually lose things, and I have to date never cleaned the water holder… Yes, it was time for a new pack. So when I saw the DaKine Drafter (2006 model) for uber cheap, it looked like a good solution.

A few of my requirements:

  • Can hold at least 70 oz. of water (I didn’t fill the 100 oz. full very often)
  • An outer mesh pocket (so the GPS can get a good signal, while bing protected)
  • Compressions straps (handy not only for compressing, but holding things on the back)
  • An airflow system to ward off SBS (Sweaty Back Syndrome)

This pack met all those requirements and upon further inspection, it has a lot of extra things I didn’t think about that will come in handy. Instead of having one large deep pocket to throw things in (like the MULE), it has a long deep pocket with a few small mesh pockets inside to sort gear, which is a godsend when you need something fast. I think a couple of these pockets could also be used for holding 12 oz. bottles securely inside the pack, if you know what I mean. One pocket has a key holder clip, which is also a nice touch.

DaKine Drafter Inside :: photo from DaKine website

There’s also a pocket on the outside that is lined with fleece, specifically for sunglasses. The fleece gives you a good way to clean off the glasses if you have the need and at the same time keeps them from getting scratched up while being stored and tossed around. Another outside touch is a removable piece that expands the back of the bag to hold a regular XC or full face helmet. They’ve included a little zip pouch at the bottom just to store this extra piece of bag, so you always know where it is.

The hydration part of this pack is pretty slick too. I believe DaKine uses Nalgene water bags and Nalgene has put in some thought into their hydration design features that will make this pack even more useful. The water in port at the top is covered by a huge screw on lid, so it’s easy to screw on/off and easy to fill with the large hole access. The water tube itself has a quick release, so it can be cleaned by itself or the bag can be stored full without the hose attached. To get water out, there is a bite valve with a lock that looks a lot more secure than my old MULE, which had a simple slit in the end and tended to drip on you when not in use.

All this adds up to what I hope will be a great hydration pack for at least the next 7 years…hoping to push 10 out of this one. Once I’ve taken it out for some good rolling fun, I’ll report back to see if the features are actually useful or all just a show.

TNSSuccess

Published
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admin
on January 17, 2008
in Beer, Bikes and Road
. 2 Comments

Looks like they boys back home made it out to Dremos before closing time. Steve did a nice write-up on his blog. He gives a little history of the taphouse and links back to some older TNS blog posts, which were pretty funny to go back and reread.

Sounds like everyone had a good time, no road rash, no punches, and no car dodging. Seems like they ended a little early, quiting around 10:00 PM, but then again, those 2:00 AM nights made Wednesday work pretty hard. I think Gary may have had to call in sick before, ha.

TNS Crew :: photo by Butch

Anyway, here’s to you TNS Crew! Cheers, hope you keep it up, since we know the TNS spawned from the Winter blues and the need to put in some long cold miles with a burning reward in the middle…

I spent Tuesday preparing for my own future TNNS rides…Tuesday Night Northern Swill. I picked up a new hydration pack (non-riding review to come shortly) and also swapped my CO2 tank for a filled one. Less than $12 a fill is sweet! In homebrewing, just like bikes, there’s always an upgrade…and I’m eying that 20 pound CO2 tank, ha. One day…

So get outside, get active, and reward yourself. Your body and mind will thank you.

Good Luck TNS!

Published
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admin
on January 15, 2008
in Beer and Bikes
. 3 Comments

Tonight, the boys are taking to the cold streets of DC (yes, 20 is chilly in that neck of the woods) for another TNS ride. I’m jealous, super jealous. For those readers who might be from up north, the TNS rides are Tuesday Night Swill rides. It’s your basic ride - you bike a lot, stop, drink, eat, drink more, ride your bike more, get more to drink, and then ride back home. Sometimes theres more drinking involved, ha. It’s always a blast, good people, good conversation, good arguments, and somebody always throwing down the gauntlet, whether it’s by ordering another pitcher at the end of the night when nobody needs it or picking that hill to ride that crushes your soul a third of the way to the top.

They’ll be heading out tonight and hopefully they’ll be drinking one for me, sounds like Butch is already on it, ha. They should be hitting Dremo’s at some point during the night, since it will be shutdown as of the end of this month. Try to get a pitcher of Chocolate Donut or Anderson Valley Winter Solstice (I think they used less vanilla this year).

I miss our rides into the city to visit Thor at Paradiso. From what I understand, our bike parking tree is no longer there and Thor has been replaced by Greg.

Bike Tree :: photo by Spearman
photo by Spearman

Yet they continue to ride…and drink…and ride…the vicious cycle it is.

Beer Glasses :: photo by Gary
photo by Gary

So keep it up you all. I hope to bring the TNS to the northerners here soon. The bikes are ready and the liver is willing. Although I might have to trade out the bikes for some skis or snowshoes here for the next couple of months and pack along the goods. Here’s to you all, may your bikes be swift and your beer be tasty…oh and make sure you do DT’s Hill at least twice - even better if somebody throws up doing hill sprints!

More Snow!

Published
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on January 14, 2008
in Bikes, Brewing, Commuting and Life
. 3 Comments

So we’ve had a couple of big storms here in the last month or two. After today though, I can certainly say I’ve been through a Nor’Easter and survived. The weather forecast for today said 10-15″ of the white stuff. Out to shovel this morning and we had about 7 inches or so already and it’s supposed to keep on snowing clear through the next rush hour. A nice powdery 4 inches on top of a wet and heavy bottom layer. Sure makes shoveling a good workout.

Last Friday I ended up getting a bum foot somehow. The muscle on top of the foot just below the ankle area is really swollen and red and the tendons or ligaments or whatever the cables are that run down through the middle of your ankle and into your foot are tender to the touch. Tender meaning it hurts like F when you simply touch it. So I got a bit of a limp and I look a little gimpy, but other than that I’m hoping it will fade away fast. Hoping it was just from doing a lot of walking in my trainers (British enough for you Fletcher!) that are pretty old and used up.

Mounted up Aretha this morning and made a beeline for work. Only a few cars out there, which was nice. With some heavy snow still coming down I got to work with that nice covered in white look, but luckily I remembered the sun glasses to keep it out of my eyes and the scarf was a nice touch. Too bad that after I got to work I found out that both of the labs I needed to do some work in were off-line and closed until further notice. Right….nobody could send an email about that before this morning?

Hm, if I can figure out how to duct tape the camera to my head, maybe I’ll get some commuting video, ha.

Kristin’s parents made it into town this weekend. We had planned on heading over to Walden Pond and checking it out, since neither of us has been there yet. Instead we ended up playing Wii most of the day. It would have been nice to get outside, but it’s really hard to pull people away from the Wii the first time they end up playing. Bet they were sore yesterday!

I did manage to get two starters going. A smackpack of Wyeast 3787 Trappist ale yeast I had smacked a few days ago was now nice and swollen, figured I should step it up a little more, so it’s in the flask and showing signs of fermentation this morning. Hopefully I can quadruple the yeast by the end of the week. Also made a starter of Brettanomyces Bruxellensis. This is supposed to be a more mellow strain of Brett and it’s supposedly what is used in Orval. Hoping to do some experimenting as I also have a tube of Brettanomyces Lambicus, which is supposed to be much more funky. As the name says, this is the strain most often found in Lambic beers and is much more intense. I think it will be interesting to try and make two of the same beers and only change up the Brett strain that I use. Guess I’ll see if Brett can be stepped up in a starter like a regular packet of yeast…hope so!

Today’s Commute

Published
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on January 4, 2008
in Bikes and Commuting
. 0 Comments

After seeing the snow covered trail conditions this morning while walking Buster, I decided it would be a nice break this morning to cut through the woods and ride some snow before making my way to work. The packed snow and ice made for some nice riding, but proved to be a little too much when breaking off the main trail to get out of the woods. It was the sort of tenuous crust that could break at any moment and off the beaten path it broke quite often. Often enough that it was easier to just walk it out. A few more hikes on that exit and it’ll be good to go. For now though, if I want to get out on the trails, I’ll need to contain the ride to the main loop around the reservoir and enter/exit from the same spot. No worries, a static snow loop is still better than a strict diet of pavement and slush.

Again, I’m already behind on keeping track of my mileage. The magnet on my wheel got turned around and didn’t keep track until I noticed near the end of the ride. So I’m already back to guesstimating. Oh well, there’s always next year, ha.

Anyway, I think I’ve got a name for the Tricross fixie…she shall now and forever be known as Aretha. Why? Well just like the Queen of Soul, she commands R-E-S-P-E-C-T and is big in all the right places.

Cyclocomputer Configuration

Published
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on January 3, 2008
in Bikes
. 1 Comment

This is more for myself so I don’t lose this information, but who knows, you might find it helpful. I’m reprogramming a Blackburn Delphi 4.0 cyclocomputer, specifically, I’m setting the estimated tire circumference in mm. I’m running a 700×44c WTB Mutanoraptor tire (on the Tricross fixie), which means ISO 44-622. So a little quick math and we have 622 + (44 X 2) = 710, multiplied by pi (3.142) to get the circumference in mm 2230.53078, or you can just go to Sheldon Brown’s website, which gives me 2224 mm. Close enough for me!

If I wanted to be super accurate, the easiest thing to do would be to plop down some ketchup or mustard on the ground, ride through the blob for a full tire rotation, and then measure between two blob spots. That would give me the weighted tire circumference. But since I don’t have a ruler that can measure in mm AND I’m at work, the estimated tire circumference will work just fine.

Hopefully this will spur me to keep better track of mileage this year, something I’ve said I’ll do in the past a few times, only to break the cyclocomputer or ride one of my bikes without a computer.