Hill and Gully Rider

February 22, 2014

Hill And Gully Rider

My apologies to Harry Bellafonte for the use of his song title as my blog post, but it fit so well.

If you read my last blog post, you would see that my mountain bike is no longer in my bike stable, replaced instead by a cyclocross hybrid bike .... my idea of a adventure bike. One of those "if I could only have one bike" kind of bikes. A do everything and anything as good as it can, kind of bike. So, it was time to give it a try and see how well it'll work out to that description.It took a bit of time to transfer over all my stuff onto this bike, but soon, I was ready to ride.

First ride, out my front door, a little over one mile of pavement then 10 1/2 miles of gravel and back 3/4 mile to my front door. Most of our gravel roads around here are pretty well hard packed and not much loose rock on them. The compromise Kenda tires did pretty well on this ride, the bike rolled easily over the gravel roads and I was very happy with the outcome. It even rode better than I thought it might. I think some of this might be due to the fact that the bike has a very long wheelbase, 110cm, about 4 cm longer than my tourer even. The bike felt light and nimble compared to my mountain bike on the same roads. I was encouraged enough to want to take the bike up to Stillwater for a 36 mile gravel grinder they were hosting on Saturday. I went on one of their rides before, and have been anxious to go back and try a bit longer one. So .... I made sure the bike was ready, loaded it up on my carrier and headed north Saturday morning.

I barely made it in time, the group was almost ready to leave when I showed up, however they waited for me to get ready. There were about six of us today. Most were seasoned local riders .... read strong here. I felt that maybe I was a bit out of my class, but they are a pretty friendly and forgiving group, and no riders are left out on the course. This time, the course went quite a bit further east into a very primitive area that was probably unchanged since saber toothed cats ranged free in the area. I kept my eyes open, just in case. I apologize for the few photos and poor quality as most were taken on the fly and on rough gravel roads as well. Leaving Stillwater it became evident that I was soon to be coupled with another fairly new rider from Tulsa, a young lady that by choice or chance, was about my speed and power on the hills. Neither of us knew the turns. We needn't have worried, however, as the ride leader was waiting for us at the top of the steepest hill on the way east. I found out why I wanted that triple crank right there on that hill. The ride leader got a couple of pictures of us climbing it together, and I was hoping he would post them on their F/B page so I could grab one to include here, but to no avail. If he ever does, I'll include it here. The hill was very steep, and fairly loose, making pedaling difficult at best. If I tried to stand for more power, I was rewarded with the back tire spinning out, had to remain seated to put the weight on the back and just slog it up the hill. I found the lowest gear I had on this hill, and was glad for my choice of gearing on this bike. This was to be an adventure bike after all, and not an endurance racing bike. The gravel roads up here in this area are mostly very loose rock scattered across the road, and in some places got quite deep. The bike again did better than I expected.

This route took us by the ghost town of Ingalls, and while there isn't many who live here, there are still a few that hang on according to the trash can. This little ghost town is famous for it's gunfight between U.S. Marshals and the Doolin/Dalton gang. It is my understanding that the outlaws won this battle, and managed to escape. One of them was killed in the hotel which is the prominent building here. I wished it wasn't trash day, but it was, and so there it is. Still an interesting sight.

After this, the roads got more and more primitive, and ranch homes were almost non-existent. In fact, I wondered a couple of times why the roads even existed at all ..... until I noticed an oil well or two.

After riding through a delightful little valley that was so scenic, but required both hands on the handlebars, so no pictures, we came to a turn back to the west to head back to town. Thank goodness, they decided on a short rest. The hill you see in the background is much steeper and longer than it appears here, and was just one of many just like it. Steep, long and loose was the order of the day.

The last shot was just moseyin' up the road headed west. The hills on this stretch tended to string us out a bit as you can see.

We went along on this road up, and down for about 8 miles before turning back north again to return to the main gravel back to Stillwater. When we turned north, I came to this really cool, not too long but steep downhill and decided to turn it loose .... got 32mph for a top speed going down, then hit a very large sharp rock near the bottom, and halfway up the next hill .....flat tire. Pinch flat from the big rock. My companion held my bike for me while I knelt on the rocky road (not very comfy) and changed out the tube, pumped it up with my trusty Topeak Road Morph to 6o pounds this time. I was only running 48. It'll take a bit of experimenting with these tires to get the right pressure for whatever roads I'm riding on at the time. I will say, however, that 32 mph on gravel is a real adrenaline pumper, but whether or not it was worth a flat tire is debatable. I'll take a minute to say a bit about handlebars here. All cyclocross bikes have road bars, I think it has something to do with the race rules. They are designed as racing bikes after all. I really felt that I would be more comfortable riding this type of road with mountain bike bars, and could not have been more pleased with my choice after this ride. They worked out great over the entire range of conditions. The alloy frame and fork also exceeded my expectations as well, very good riding in the roughest of conditions, and I always felt in control. When we got to the turn back to town point, my companion decided to go around again .... this would give her about 63 miles when the day was done. They grow them tough up here. I had enough .... I was very tired by this time and just eased it back to town. The next day, my legs got even with me for the torture I put them through by being really sore all day. Still, Sunday was a nice day, and I got out and rode a twenty mile loop from home and worked the kinks out. A great ride, a good trial for a new bike, and even though I was tired, I would do it again. The bike lived up to all my expectations, and I think once I get used to it and maybe get some wider tires eventually, it'll be a better bike for my style of riding than my faithful mountain bike. Happy Gravel Grinder ..... That's me!

A Quick Ride

February 22, 2014


A change was in order, but it took me three months to find it.

To start with, the front suspension unit .... "Headshok", Cannondale calls it, failed again for the third time in the last three years. Mine is one of those "new fangled" air shock types with air spring and oil damping. Very light, and very responsive with great handling. I've got to hand it to Cannondale engineering .... what a great idea ..... Just too bad it don't work ..... Anyway, I have little patience with things that don't work for me, and I had decided when it went bad this time, that I was going to do something different.

The front shock portion goes through the oversize headtube and continues down to the fork crown, which makes it a very long steering tube. My first thought was to replace it with a standard mountain bike twin fork shock unit. Checked them out. I didn't want air..... still the same kind of problems, and even spring forks require regular maintenance. Also, the coil spring forks weighed 4 1/2 pounds (2200 grams). I don't really want an extra 4 1/2 pounds of weight hanging over the front end of the bike, thank you. So ...lets look at rigid. First off..... short head tube..... the bike frame is not really made for a rigid fork. I measured the length of the fork from axle to the bottom of the headtube (which would be where the fork crown would be on a normal fork) and found that the only forks that came close would be 29er forks. That's going to leave a lot of empty space between the top of my 26 inch tire and the top of the fork. Probably look rather ridiculous, and may have an effect on handling as well. The Niner carbon fork would have looked fine on the bike, and fit well for length and trail, but at almost $600 was not in my price range. Now that I'm retired for good, I no longer have unlimited amounts to spend on toys. So, still looking ....can't really decide. Looked at some cyclocross bikes, test rode one, and I didn't really care for it. It was light, it did handle well .... it was a road bike made with a frame width that would accept larger tires. It was also expensive. This sent me back to looking at my mountain bike again and what I could do with it. Three months of this agonizing went by .... until ...... I found the answer at our local bike shop .... I thought ..... It was an answer, but it still required a bit more attention. First ..... let us say goodbye to a beloved friend that took me many interesting places. I don't ride a mountain bike much, and this one had only about 2000 lifetime miles on it, but it took me to far away places and was my companion for so many unique and interesting trips and we saw so many wonderful things together. I'll miss you ...



                                         

Now, for the replacement. Cyclocross? They all seemed to be geared awfully high with 46/36 cranks and 11/28 cassettes on the back..... at least for me. There were many times I used all the gears on my mountain bike. I needed old man gears. I know, Oklahoma is flat, what do I need gears for. Well, I don't always stay right around here, and besides, Oklahoma isn't really that flat. I looked at newer 29er mountain bikes .... not really what I wanted either, heavy, slow handling, and not what I really needed. I don't jump off cliffs, or rock or root gardens, or really do much that would get me injured too seriously. Old bones take a long time to heal. So what? Back to looking at Cyclocross bikes ..... nope .... Wait ..... who was this wallflower in the back ...... sexy colored outfit ..... cute lookin' thing with her shiny brushed aluminum and black finish ... what is this? It's a Cannondale Quick CX-1 ..... a hybrid 'cross bike. A mixture of a Cyclocross frame and mountain bike gearing. Let me ride it! So he did .... I fell in love. Told him to put my name on it until the bike shop owner got back from Europe. It had a Headshok front end....... but, it was coil spring. Really didn't think it would be a problem until I talked to others that had bought the same bike and had a problem with the Headshok the first year. Take my name off....... more research! Okay ....... Cannondale also has a rigid model of basically the same bike. This one is designed around the rigid fork and the frame geometry changed to accommodate that style fork. Cheaper components, but still, all Shimano. And really, what I've found to be pretty much true is that the cheaper Shimano components are just as durable, or maybe more so because they are made from steel, not soft aluminum alloy, but they are heavier. That is the price you pay for the downgrade ...... weight. I had to assess requirements here, and not let fluff and shiny new stuff go to my head.

First: It had to be durable, and simple.

Second: It had to be relatively trouble free, and if there was maintenance I wanted to be able to do it myself, something I couldn't do with the Headshok.

Third:  It had to be cost effective. This is not my main bike, it is just one I grab for rides I want to do when I couldn't use the road bike, and didn't really want to use the touring bike.

Fourth:    It was to be a "beater" bike. Not one to wreck, but one I could take anywhere and do anything with without concern for it's fragile expensive components or frame. Cheaper components, and standard (not proprietary) components that I could replace cheaply and easily myself was also a necessity. This ruled out $2000 bikes, (the range of most cyclocross bikes). I also looked at steel bike manufacturers who seem to think steel is more expensive than carbon fiber. I thought about building one from a frame, and changed my mind.

Fifth:   It had to be geared to go anywhere I took it, and be capable of anything I wanted to do with it. This left out road bike gearing. Not many rigid mountain bikes to be found either.

So ...... I know .....if you've stayed with me this far, the suspense has to be killing you by now. Here it is ....



                                                                                     

Meet Cannondale Quick CX-4. It's a Hybrid bike that is a cross between a cyclocross and a mountain bike. A 'cross frame, and mountain bike gearing. Like most hybrids, it is a compromise. Because of the cheaper components, it is heavier than most 'cross bikes, but because of the lighter frame, and rigid front fork, (still mountain bike strong) it is still lighter than most mountain bikes. Not the sexy brushed aluminum and black finish of the CX-1, but I really liked the understated matte battleship gray no-nonsense color scheme. The bike came with 700/35 'cross tires, but has room for 40's. I thought I'd wear these out getting used to the bike and get what I really want (Clement Xplor MSO 40's) later. The front fork is an aluminum alloy, which I had trepidations about. I needn't have had. It rode better, in most places, than my suspension fork on the mountain bike. Cannondale's Fatty fork has a well deserved reputation for ride and handling, as well as toughness. The bike has gearing of  48/36/26 in front .... on a triple crank. The back has an 11/32 cassette. Low enough for get down and grunt gears, and high enough to suit my old man's need for speed, which isn't what it was when I was younger, a 30 mph bike, give or take a bit. Bare bike weight, before I put my stuff on it was around 23 pounds. Light enough to make me happy. The cost difference, including my trade in, (mountain bike needing repairs) was little more than a new standard coil spring suspension fork, and the labor to install it on my mountain bike. Now for a test ride or two ...... following in the next blog post .....

A Reunion in Tulsa

January 11, 2014;

I just love it when I manage to type in the correct year this early in the new year without making a mistake. 2014 ..... just seems like a Star Wars thing.

Now, where was I ....Oh yeah .... Saturday. Let's backtrack a bit back to last April 28th, The Flower Power Ride, it's here in this blog, .. 50 miles of wet, soggy bike ride that at times was so discouraging. About the only thing that kept me going was my faithful companion and new friend Dayna. Remember Dayna? It was her first organized ride, and what an experience it was for her, sometimes drizzle, sometimes pouring rain, and all day chilly. And here was this old guy trying to talk her into doing the 50 mile ride instead of the 30 she had planned on. In the end, she did the 50, and we both encouraged each other to finish. It turned out to be a great ride after all. Well ..... Dayna and I have remained friends ever since, and I think we have both benefited from our friendship.

Jump up now to Thursday, January 9th, 2014. Her; My birthday's coming up, and I want a pony.  Me;  How about I just buy you a beer instead.  Her;  We got to ride together again. Me; Okay, when. Her;  How about Saturday ..... Me; Okay, it's a date..... and that's how it began.

So, Saturday came, and while it was chilly, and a bit breezy, the weather was very nice for a ride, so I loaded up the tourer (she said she hadn't been riding for a while) and drove up to Tulsa, and enjoyed a wonderful reunion with a great friend. Her place was an easy ride to the bike path. Because it had been a while since she had ridden, it was decided to just do the Riverside loop, including the Turkey Mountain trot. North along the west side of the river, and back south along the east side. First order of the day ..... deciding how we were going to get to the bike path. She wanted to take the short route, and I thought it would be nice to include the cool downhill we'd get from heading straight south. She reluctantly agreed, and I really should have listened to her..... turns out that there had been a lot of tree damage due to the last ice storm, on the section I wanted to ride, and they had been trimming and picking up branches, while dragging lots of mud and debris on the trail. Bad choice, Richard! It was fine with the touring bike..... just let it go, and zip down through the mud and debris like it wasn't there, but her, with her road bike and 23 size tires, not so much. We did make it down to the Riverside portion, and the path was clear and dry. They were doing a bit of construction and had a section of the bike path closed, and we had to get on Riverside Parkway for a half mile or so. Busy, road, but we finally made it safely to the Bear Statue where we would cross the river and climb up Turkey Mountain. Stopped for a picture of the two of us.... She was glad we didn't get eaten. By the way ....yes, Oklahoma has black bears, in fact in some areas of the State, notably in the southeast, the can be quite a nuisance.

I didn't stop to take a picture of Turkey Mountain this ride, but I had one from a previous ride done in the summer months. Here it is.... up and over.

Hey ...... Natural Bridges National Park has nothing on Tulsa, and Turkey Mountain. This was taken at the top, just before the short, steep plunge down the other side.

And then, we left, went past the entrance to the mountain bike trails, and zipped down the back side. This is by far the steepest grade, and a bit of a challenge to climb. It is much, much more fun to go down this side. This is at the bottom, and Dayna, rounding the last curve at speed.

At the north end of the Riverside portion of the trail. From here, you can either go west to Sand Springs on the Katy Trail, or through downtown and north to Skiatook on the Osage trail, but we only had the afternoon, we were getting ready for a lunch break, so we crossed the river on old route 66, and headed back south again.

Right under the Route 66 sign was a new sculpture (they are always adding new art along the path) this, a scene depicting a team frightened by a flivver .... a scene probably played out in real life frequently shortly after the dawn of the 20th Century. Here, however, we turned south, and headed for Elwoods Blue Rose Cafe. This is a cafe and beer parlor that during the busy season has an open air patio, as well as an inside. All hanging over the Arkansas River and having a great view while you are eating. It's right directly on the bike path, and is a great hangout for bicyclists.

No pictures of the outside this time either. I should explain some of the lack of river pictures on this trip...... there was no river! It was all but bone dry. I'm assuming because they are trying to fill reservoirs upstream and not letting much down, or the snows in Colorado haven't melted yet, and there just isn't much water flowing down this far. So, it really didn't look too attractive. Next time. Here is the inside of the Blue Rose. First class entertainment weekend evenings here, and very atmospheric as well. Some mid ride refreshment was definitely in order here.

Sandwich's here are delicious, as well as huge, so we ordered one club sandwich (which comes with wonderful fries) and two plates. Kind of like the old soda and two straws thing ...... goin' Dutch. The sandwich lived up to it's reputation, it was great, and half apiece was plenty. I had a Blue Moon pale ale, which came with an orange slice in it ..... it was also very good. A wonderful mid ride stop. It would have been a good place to stay a bit longer, but we had only covered half the distance, and still had to get back to her place. So, we departed, and headed south once again. This time, when we got to the trail construction part, Riverside Pkwy was very, very busy, so we decided to ride the trail, even though it was under construction. We had talked to another rider that came from there, and he said it was just off and on gravel. So, off we went .... and it looked like this....

There were portions with large gravel and loose rock, however that made riding difficult. Not so much for me with my big fat tires, but it was for Dayna. Alas, the first casualty of the day occurred here in the form of a flat. Her thin Conti Race tires proved to be not up to the task, and I think a sharp rock managed to slice into the tire and got the tube. So ....being a gentleman, I changed her tire, and put in a fresh tube after checking thoroughly for a cause. Never found anything, but the tire was very, very thin. We walked the bikes the next quarter of a mile and climbed up and carried our bikes (Think cyclocross) up and over a berm at the end to continue on south. Shortly after this, we turned up the road leading back to her house, and finished our ride. This was not a long ride, at 25 miles, nor a fast one, but it was so completely enjoyable for both of us, and it got her back on her bike, with a promise that she'd be ready for the Flower Power this April. We gotta do that again!!!  Oh ... the pony? ....... No, but she got a bike ride and a beer and half a sandwich ..... can life really be any better?

New Years Day Ride 2014

January 1, 2014;

And so, it begins, another year! A year in which I can express myself in many ways. One of those ways is keeping fit through physical activity. I have chosen bicycling as that activity to reap the benefits of high calorie burn, and high aerobic benefits, as well as actually being able to go somewhere!  So, every year I try to get out and ride on New Years Day, no matter what the weather. Last year, I managed to ride 22 miles, it was frozen, temperatures in the teens, snowing lightly, and windy ..... wind chills around zero degrees. You can see pictures and write up looking in the archive for the New Years Day ride 2013.

This year, however, it promised to be an altogether different day. First off, The group up in Stillwater, OK was hosting a New Years day ride on gravel or road, and I almost thought about going up there. However, my mountain bike front fork sprang a fatal leak, and needs to be replaced, or a total rebuild, and I wasn't sure I wanted to ride the tourer on some of their routes, so I stayed local. As it turned out, it was indeed fortuitous. The cold front that was predicted for today reached them even earlier than predicted and caused their ride to become a polar marathon half way through, with wind chills of zero degrees, and frozen digits and noses, just to get back. Mine, however, was so blissful, I took in a much longer ride than I first had planned.

Starting out, I had dressed fairly warmly for the 39 degree temperatures at 11am. The day was supposed to warm to 50, however before turning cold late in the afternoon. We still had our "wind comes sweepin' down the plain" sort of day with winds of 10-12 producing a wind chill of around 25 degrees to start. Because it was supposed to warm up, I stuffed some lighter weight clothing in my trunk bag..... have I mentioned I love those things .... oh yes, I suppose I had at one point or another. Well, there, you have my endorsement again.

I could have sworn I heard the chirping of Velociraptors .....

If anyone ever wanted to know where the Gilligan's Island crew ended up ...... And now you know!

It turned out to be just a beautiful  day for a ride, the cows were contented ....

The geese were goosing ..... or whatever they do up there....

My little buddies were so happy to see me....

In fact, the day was so nice, I decided to extend my ride plans and instead of a 25 mile ride, I would double that. Which brought me to Jacktown, at the intersection of Hwy 177 and 62.

From here, it was through Meeker, then south for a ways and then east to Jim Thorpe road and past his birthplace. Nothing exists there anymore except a plaque stating that he was born there. I did get in a little gravel along with the road riding on this ride, which always adds to the interest.

Just past the Jim Thorpe site a few miles was this little country church and cemetery. having gone through Garden Grove many times in California, the name caught my attention.

Down a little quiet country lane, perfect for a bicycle ride. A couple of Gestapo dogs came out to question my authority and to spoil the serenity of the ride however, but after a lively discussion, I won out, and once again enjoyed the scenery. By this time, I had on my light jacket and gloves, as well as swapping out my winter skull cap for a light riding cap. I'm tellin' ya' ..... it was nice.

And so ends my 2014 New Years Day ride, a day which I hope is a good omen for riding in the coming year. Last year started out really nasty, but I managed 128 rides and 5479 miles for the year. I'm hoping for more this year. You'll just have to stay tuned along with me, to see what happens.

Fastslow

December 27, 2013

This is a post about a very sensitive issue ... at least sensitive to many riders. The effect of tire size and weight on the speed of the ride. This is completely an unscientific report, completely without merit, or malice. Just some of my own observations, and thoughts over the passage of time. First of all, when I got my touring bike, I wanted to get the largest tires I could get on it. Why? A couple of reasons. I felt that a larger, stronger tire would hold the weight better and roll easier than a skinny one that has to be pumped up to 120 pounds just to keep the rim off the pavement. I have since loaded this bike up to a total of 72 pounds touring weight, pumped the tires up to the max on the sidewalls, which is 65 pounds, and went for a weekend ride. The bike not only handled the load excellently, it handled well, and rode superbly.
Still, however, many other riders have told me that in their experience, I really ruined the riding aspects of the bike. It's going to be really, really, really slow, slow ..... oh ..... did I mention it's going to be really, really slow!!! I even had one rider suggest that I should change the tires to skinny's, pump them up to 120 pounds, change out the wheels to lightweight wheels, Take the racks off, take the fenders off, and especially, take the kickstand off, and while I'm at it ......  change.... Hey, wait a minute ..... it's a touring bike, I already have a fast road bike.  Well, I did have the feeling of it being slower than my road bike, kind of like guiding an ocean liner down the road .... but yet..... it was oh, so comfortable, so quiet that I could ride right on by dogs snoozing on the front lawn and not get their attention until I was well past..... then the dog jumps up, gives a "what the hell was that" look ... and retires sheepishly to the back of the house. "I didn't see him, Pa .....I was behind the house".... So, as you can see, there were still some advantages even though the bike was slow. Of course there were other differences besides the tires. Overall weight was a lot different between the two bikes as well, gearing was different, there were a number of things to take into consideration.  Let's look at the two bikes in a couple of photos to compare.
First, the road bike. 15 pounds of carbon fiber racing bike. Light, responsive, skinny high pressure tires, the latest and greatest tires that Continental has to offer in size 700/25. I used to run 23's until I realized that there was only a very few grams (12) difference and the 25's rode much, much better. For general use, I run 110 pounds of air in them. It's great fun to ride!

Secondly, the touring bike. Heavy duty frame, cro-moly front fork, big gears, triple crank, luggage racks, and 700/42 tires, on 36 spoke heavy duty rims. With an unladen bike, just as you see it here, I run 40 pounds of air pressure in those big heavy Continental Touring tires. The tires, are heavy at 900 grams each, but very strong, and capable of holding up a great deal of weight. Obviously, a much heavier bike, and it is at 30 pounds, double what the road bike is.

This is an early photo of the tourer and I have since put the Brooks saddle back on and broke it in properly. I didn't like it at first, and replaced it with a Fizik, but after putting it back on, and riding a thousand miles on it, I wouldn't have anything else. It also is heavy. I've had people tell me that the Brooks saddle alone will cost me a couple miles per hour.

Well, let's see. A couple weeks ago, I took the road bike on a local ride that is almost exactly 50 miles. The wind was light at 6-8mph from the SW. There are a number of rollers, and one stretch that is a long shallow upgrade into the wind. The 50 miles took me 3 hours and 28 minutes and I averaged 14.6 mph. So...after being constantly reminded by riders about how much speed all this extra weight and big huge tires cost me, I decided to take the tourer on the same route ... just as you see it in the picture .... rack, trunk bag, and one water bottle. The day was very similar, the temperature was close to the same, the wind was SW at 6-8mph, and the route was identical. The outcome ..... 3 hours 47 minutes and the average speed was 12.9mph. Same hills, same wind, same everything. 1-3/4 mile per hour difference in average speed over 50 miles. With the tourer, I was relaxed, comfortable, and felt good, although a bit tired at the end of the ride. With the road bike, I was more tense, found myself looking at the speedometer a lot, ended the ride feeling a bit sore in the shoulders and neck and arms, but otherwise okay, and also a bit tired. 

I'm sure to some riders one and three quarters of a mile per hour and twenty minutes of riding time would be a disaster. To me.... not so much. I enjoyed the rides, both of them, and came to the conclusion that there is a lot of unnecessary hype in the bicycling industry put there by young, competitive people who would sell their soul for a mile per hour. Maybe the same type who would pay $500 for a pair of designer jeans, when $20 Wranglers do the same job. I'd rather just get on my bike and ride, enjoy the day, the scenery, and the pleasure of going somewhere on my bike If you want to race, you'll have to race by yourself, 'cause I'm here for fun.

A Little Fun In The Snow

December 8, 2013

Third day now below the freezing mark ..... I'm about to succumb to cabin fever. I was out on the roads a bit earlier in the day, and the secondary roads were still very icy. We had some freezing drizzle this morning which made things even worse. So .... not going to chance getting out on the roads even on the mountain bike. I've got a decent spin bike here inside .... but after 3 days of riding that, I've managed to bore myself to near death. It will, give me a heck of an interval workout in 45 minutes, which is about all I can stand of it. Notice my little fan addition clipped on the handlebars.... a six dollar wonderful gadget that may not keep me from sweating entirely, but does keep it down to a manageable level.

First, before I venture out on the trail, there are some things I change. Clip on pedals come off. Clips and cleats both get packed full of snow and don't work all that well, and with snow, and slippery conditions, when I need to stab a foot ..... I need to do it right now! So, a 15mm wrench and a few minutes .... turn both pedals to the rear to loosen, and both pedals to the front to tighten, I soon have platforms on. A lot of people worry about left and right threads, and which pedal has which ..... just remember that simple rule, and you will never again tighten a pedal to death trying to take it off.

And then it's "hit the trail" .... and not literally, I managed to stay upright. The ground under the snow never froze because we had snow before the bitter cold temps arrived and the snow insulated the ground and kept it from freezing hard, so there has been a little thawing from underneath even though the temperature outside has never been above 25 degrees. Still, it was challenging and fun, especially on the uphill parts.

A bit more open takes the worry of crashing into a tree away.

And .... you can see from the smile that I'm having fun. No fancy riding clothes out here, just practical clothes for the conditions. It IS 25 degrees and a 12 mph breeze.

Back through the trees again.

I finally got enough confidence in my ability to set the camera, run to the bike, get on and start pedaling without falling over, and do it all in the ten seconds that the self timer gives me. So, you get an action shot coming towards the camera.

Because this is all on my property, I can leave the camera mounted on the tripod while I go dashing around the trail for a bit, and do so without worry. Normally, on most road rides, or public trail rides, I wouldn't take the big tripod, but here, it's such a nice convenience to get me into the pictures.

I wasn't out but about an hour all told, but had a lot of fun slipping and sliding, dashing and thrashing. Finally, however, I had enough, and called it quits, picked up my stuff and went back to the house. I'm ready for it to warm up a bit! At least enough to melt the ice on the roads. Happy Trails!

Two Lakes Ride

December 3, 2013;

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma;

When the City of Oklahoma City rebuilt our cross-town freeway, they also included a beautiful pedestrian bridge in the form of an eagle (artistic license here). I'm sure to satisfy the whim of our many Indian Tribes who have some very beautiful art of their own. I would have liked to get this at night as it changes colors constantly and is just absolutely beautiful. Taken through the windshield and on the fly, but it turned out OK to put on here anyway....

Normally, I don't post these little 32 mile local rides like this on here, but, I complain much about the lack of bike routes and pathways in this State. We do, however, have several, both in Oklahoma City and in Tulsa, and they really are first rate. So, today, I headed out with a mission, to acquaint all of you with at least one of OKC's premier bike path rides. This ride circumnavigates both Lake Hefner, and Lake Overholser in Oklahoma City. Both of these are man built lakes as Oklahoma has no natural lakes in the state. It is a combination of bike path, and marked bike lanes, and is really very nice. I started out at the marina on the east side of Lake Hefner, and it was breezy enough for a few sailboats to be out. It had been very foggy again this morning and was still burning off, but the sun was coming on strong.

There were also a few thousand (here and there) of Canada geese. All bent on keeping the lawns trimmed and well fertilized in the off season.

And....many, many seagulls. Oklahoma City is a long way from the sea, but there are seagulls here.

There were also fast movers ...... A balance I suppose for us slow movers.....

After I got halfway around Lake Hefner, it was time to get off on surface streets and navigate the city roads for a bit. Much was like this ..... four lane car traffic, a skinny bike lane, (right side of the solid white line) but not a terrible amount of traffic, so it was indeed tolerable.

After the short jaunt on Wilshire Road, it was time to get back on the bike path again. And yes, it looks as though it goes up a tiny incline ...... and it actually does. Hey .... something needs to break the monotony. The wind was a headwind at this point, and unlike further east in the State, there is little to break the wind here, so even a little is noticeable.

This is an example of the marked bike lanes, both sign and road markings, very good.

Starting around Lake Overholser.

Time for a selfie ... I had stopped to peel off my tights as it was warming up a bit. Not quite warm enough to take the jacket off quite yet, however. That came later...... sort of an undress as I went sort of ride.

Talk about getting your ducks in a row .... oh wait ....these are geese....

It was also a beautiful day to walk your dog by the lakeside.

AND.... if the geese and seagulls weren't enough water birds, how about some pelicans. There were several large flocks around, but they were a long ways off, and this fellow seemed to want the publicity, so I used him here. He was quite photogenic. Somehow it always surprises me to see pelicans in Oklahoma. I've seen them before, But I would think I would be less surprised to see them in Louisiana. We ARE a bit of a ways from the sea.

 

 

This is one of those big flocks, a combination of seagulls and pelicans.

 

 

This fellow on the trike was not only pickin' 'em up and puttin' 'em down ..... he was talking on the phone at the same time ... Try THAT on your two wheeler.

Some very nice homes along the inlets. What a backyard, eh?

There was some rescue activity, which I believe was actually a training mission. Nobody appeared to be too excited anyway. Nice equipment.

I thought it might be a tad chilly in the water for an afternoon swim, but it didn't seem to bother these guys in the least.

 



 

Loved the logo on the back of the unit.

 

 

 

 

This might be time for another selfie ... but I was setting up the camera to take it and a nice gentleman stopped and offered to take it for me. Another little segment of Route 66 under my spandex! AND, now ..... the jacket's gone too. Aren't those nice trunk bags handy!

I just love these old iron truss bridges. This one had to have been built when trucks were a lot shorter than they are today. Love the patina of rust. Looking at this, you would think it was in the thirties.

Ah yes .... it IS the thirties ..... maybe that's Tom Joad coming the other way, headed west ...... See..... because it was such a LONG tour, (83 years?) this was why I needed to take the touring bike

Did I mention I LOVE old iron truss bridges......

And .... if you have a flat, you can use the handy-dandy call box alongside the trail to call the Auto Club out to fix it for you.....

Finishing up my 32 mile circle, and what better image of all this water and seabirds and all than to finish with a lighthouse and marina.

This wasn't actually the last picture, but it looks like it should be. I took it into the sun and it turned out pretty dark, but such a nice picture to save for the last. I enjoyed the day, the ride was really nice, a thoroughly enjoyable 32 mile easy-does-it kind of ride.

 

 I had been out on the bike the last six days in a row, and was feeling a bit sore in the leg muscles. I felt I'd better get as much in while I can, because in two days time, we are going to drop from the high 60's to the low 20's have a couple inches or so of accumulating ice, and later 4-6 inches of snow on top of that. Ah, yes, Oklahoma in the winter ..... if you don't like the weather, wait around a couple of minutes, it'll change! But TODAY, ..... today was perfect!!!