10 posts tagged “bike”

Quick pic from Salem Lake

My cyclocomputer became loose when riding so I grabbed this pic when I stopped to reattach it.  This image shows how close to the edge of the lake the trail goes.. don't fall in!

 

..there's a tree limb sticking out of the tire

 

This is a (lousy outta focus taken from my cell) pic of the tire protrusion that I was lucky enough to pick up on Sunday's ride through Country Park.  It wasn't so bad, though, as I got to try out my new pump and glueless patch kit! 

 

However, I was pretty amazed at the size of this tire-spike.

Everyone who rides needs a bike pump and a patch kit.  A flat tire without these requisite tools can mean a long, long walk back in the dark, or it can turn a one hour lunch-ride into a two and a half hour walk-n-push which makes you miss your afternoon meetings.

 

This is the Blackburn Airstick CF (carbon fiber).  It sells for $39 (although MTBR says it can be found for $33 on sale) and is well-worth it.  It is not a stubby pump nor the longest frame pump I've ever owned and it fits nicely in my day pack.  The weight that is saved by the carbon fiber body is lost with the heavy-duty head and valve latch mechanism, but that's where one really needs strength.  And this pump has lots of strength with its rugged handle, sturdy aluminum valve lever and a confidence instilling red anodized aluminum piston shaft.

 

 

These glueless patches from Slime (the makes of Green Tire Slime.. great stuff) make it almost easy to patch the tire.  No more icky smelling glue and sitting around waiting for it to dry before you apply the patch.  Just peel and stick!

Thanks, technology.  :O)

Something worth coming to work for

Don't get me wrong, work is important.  I like having a purpose and helping people and the paycheck doesn't hurt.  But I'm a technical person and my role is getting less technical all the time.  I was just told that our small group is taking on two new products, which is interesting, but the types of cases we'll be getting are really just "hand-holding" cases.

I like the cases where I have to examine the code and come up with a solution!  These "okay, now click NEXT" cases are DULL. 

In order to make work-life better, starting today I will be doing afternoon rides.. I'm quite excited, actually.  I just moved my Noleen Crosslink fork onto my hardtail DeVinci and put on some 1.25" 90PSI semi-slick road tires on the wheels.  I haven't tried it in this configuration yet, but I expect it will move pretty good!

I decided to fit my hardtail as a cyclocross instead of bringing the roadbike because I know there are some mild dirt/gravel trails around here.  I'll be sure to post some pics of what I find around downtown Winston Salem soon!

 

No angry dogs, no dirt roads to trudge up and even a quaint little 'Lemonade Stand'!

This is not the first time I've done this ride: Oak Ridge to Summerfield and back.  Its a really good loop with little traffic and rolling hills throughout.  The roadside is lined with trees almost the entire way and despite having little to no shoulder, the road is remarkably smooth; obviously a result of the infancy of this entire residential area.  While some of the roads and houses are older (some are so old they're 'protected'), most are 1 to 5 years old and quite a few still are less than a year.

I was pleased to find that there was a lemonade stand at the half-way point.  Normally, I don't like to stop when I'm on a ride, but I wanted to make an exception in this case.  I didn't want to get anyone's hopes up prematurely, so I pedalled past them a ways until I was out of sight (to make sure I actually had $1.00).  I turned around and spun my way back for a little "drink break".  The "owner/operator" was a kid of about 6.. I was pleased to see that his mom was there helping out!  Two lemon slices (one extra free one compliments of the owner because I was "so sweaty") and some cold sucrose and I was off again.

If you want to see this ride from my 'handlebar cam', check here and here.

This map is here to show that there are good rides in Oak Ridge.. many, in fact.  The ride I did yesterday is the exception.

Distance: 17.8 miles / 28.8 km
Time: 71 m
Max speed: 38.5 MPH / 62.3 KM/h
Angry dogs: Zero!

 

Avoid this road ride..

I'm always looking around for cool places to ride.  Exploring the local roads and getting the perfect route mapped out is part of the reason why I road ride.  The other reason why I ride is to enjoy the meditative state that is achieved when you're on the perfect ride, focussed only on rolling tires, cadence and maintaining a straight riding line.

I explored some roads yesterday that looked good on the map and satellite photo, but unless you enjoy being chased by angry dogs (lots of them) and walking your ride bike up steep dirt roads..

AVOID THIS RIDE!

Distance: 16.9 miles / 27.4 km
Time: 71 m (including the dirt road walk..)
Max speed: 45.1 MPH / 73.0 KM/h
Walking on dirt: 1.2 miles / 1.9 km
Angry dogs: 7

We went camping and riding at Powhatan Lake this weekend!

 

This is the best campsite in the park!  Close to water, close to biking and close to the washrooms (but not TOO close..!)

 

 

Yeah, we still snuggle when we're sweaty.. and let me tell you, it was an ugly climb to get to this spot.  Somehow, the ride was all uphill.. luckily it 'paid us back' eventually.  But there was still a lot more climbing after this bench!

 

 

"Your brakes are gonna work fine.  Trust me...."

 

 

We might not have matching bikes anymore (well, I still have my hardtail..), but we still love riding together!

 

 

 

This is some of the fun things Laurie, Jeremy and I have done in his first few days here..

 

 

We had a "late" Father's Day extravaganza!  He gave me a new photo-mug from our New Years '07 party, Forza 2 and Call of Duty III for XBOX 360!

Jeremy installed a new CPU and a new video card into one of our computers!  This was, of course, required in order to play the hoard of high-tech games he brought with him!

Riding in Battleground Park

 

 

Stompin' up the hill.

Checking out the "six-pounders".

This editted video highlights the amazing scenery and rolling hills while riding from Oak Ridge to Summerfield.  Music by Underworld.

This 'away' trip is the first half of the loop and ends with a look at some sweet Ferrari's, Lamborghini's and a Porsche!  This 10 minute video is cut down from 30 minutes and shows many of the blossoming trees in the area. 

 

The return-trip video from Summerfield back to Oak Ridge.  Music by Underworld.

This is the return trip from the loop between Oak Ridge and Summerfield.  Near the end of the ride, you can see the Oak Ridge Military Academy.  This historic site was established in 1852 and is still in daily use.

 

Short ride around the block.  Really, just testing my camera's bike mount.