Raleigh Tamland 2

September 14, 2018:

Raleigh Tamland 2:

Because I was having so many shifting problems with my Fuji Jari gravel bike, and because I never fully trusted the handling after my crash last Fall, and because I had wanted the Tamland prior to buying the Fuji ……. and because I just wanted it ….. I purchased a new Raleigh Tamland 2 Gravel bike from Spokelahoma bike shop here in Shawnee. Here are a few observations after putting on 1,000 miles. 

The Tamland comes in two versions, Tamland 1 … a Sram Apex version, also a single chainring crank, just slightly cheaper. Raleigh used to put a Chromoly fork on that one, but now both versions sport strong looking carbon forks. The Tamland 1 has a carbon/aluminum version, where the Tamland 2 has a full carbon fork. The Tamland 2 in a size 58 weighed 24 pounds 2 oz. without pedals or add-on's. Mine, by the time I am ready to use them always gain weight …. I'm sure they take after the owner. I removed a few superfluous grams by removing the ridiculous warning stickers all over the bike.    

Reynolds 631 steel tubing …. I've always felt it competes favorably with Tange and Columbus both in weight and ride quality, as well as strength. The oldest bicycle tubing manufacturer starting producing butted tubing back in the late 1800's. This is my third Raleigh, but the first one not made entirely in Nottingham, England. Raleigh is now owned by Accell, a Dutch corporation, and the frames are now made in Taiwan. The frame is entirely TIG welded, and the welds are very pretty and uniform. We shall see, although I've known some of these bikes with many thousands of gravel miles on them with no problems. 

Sram Rival crank and derailleurs and Sram Force shifter round out the controls, the wheelset is American Classic, 24mm inside width tubeless ready rims. . Three water bottle mounts. The brake cable is mounted inside the frame with a brazed in tube. The Crank is a 42 tooth Rival. This is my first steel bike since I was a kid, and my first single ring crank since I got my first geared bike. More on performance later. The Sram drivetrain has proven to be reliable and trouble free after 1,000 miles. 

The rear derailleur (the only one) is also a Sram Rival unit, the cassette is an 11 speed Sram 1160 with an 11/42 spread. The brakes are TRP Spyre, an excellent mechanical brake, and in my opinion, one of the very best mechanical disc brakes on the market today. Yes, they work that good. 

I have done several local gravel rides building up to a repeat of the 50 miler that broke my leg last year, and had not one single problem with the bike. Before I picked the bike up from the dealer, I had him set the 700/40mm Clement MSO tires up tubeless. Again, another first for me. Whether it was the steel frame, geometry, carbon fork, tubeless tires, or a combination of all, the bike turned out to be the best handling bike I have ever ridden on gravel. Rock solid and tracks like it was on rails in almost all conditions. The first ride, I had to stop twice and check to see if I had air in the tires, the bike rode uncannily smooth over everything except deep washboard. Nothing …. rides good over deep washboard. Did I mention, the bike rode very well ….. yes indeedy …. I might mention here, after experimenting with tire pressures, I have settled on 28 in the rear, and 26 in the front.  Between the good ride, and the rock solid handling, I knew I had a winner here. 

The bike came with black Raleigh branded saddle … it was okay, but I am old school. My previous two Raleigh's both came with Brooks saddles, and so will this one. With the sky blue, I chose the Honey color B-17 Imperial, another first for me. Not the B-17, but the Imperial with the cutout. They say they break in quicker. This one seemed to, as I had little discomfort right from the start, and after 150 miles, it was as comfortable as my old B-17 Standard. The natural Cinelli cork tape went with it. For gravel anymore, I feel flat pedals are the way to go, and so I put on Raceface Chester's. The pins hold tenaciously and allow you to pedal as efficiently as clip in's. They seem to be light and tough. These yellow ones, I had bought for another bike, and this bike will have the same pedal only in orange to match the stripes on the fork and seat stays. I've had these pedals on since the first ride and after 1,000 miles, I won't be changing them to clipless. 

One of the pictures from the Tallgrass Tour. The bike did marvelously for the entire fifty miles. 

A photo from downtown Shawnee. 

In conclusion, this bike has proven to be everything I expected of it, and way more. The stock gearing has proven itself to be very adequate, and in fact, I really prefer it on a bike used mostly for gravel. It tops out 4mph less than my carbon road bike, and I've not yet run out of climbing gears on any hill around here. I think Raleigh made some excellent choices with this bike, and they have all come together to end up being an excellent bike for gravel, as well as everyday riding. I expect this will be a high mileage bike like my Cannondale Super Six. 

I feel an add here in regards the pedals is necessary. Shortly after I wrote this blog post, I noticed play in the bearings on the right side pedal. I was a bit disappointed in Race Face, but in all honesty, they are designed for off road single track where riders don't usually put on the kind of miles I do. The Chesters are bushings instead of roller bearings. I replaced them with Shimano XT Deore 8040 flat pedals that use the same bearing and spindle setup as do all of their mountain bike pedals. Very long wearing and easily serviced. So far, they have proven to be the way to go. 

Tallgrass Tour

10/5/2018

Tallgrass Tour 
Ponca City, Oklahoma

It has been way too long since I've posted on here but because of the circumstances of the last year, I thought that this is definitely one that needs to be posted. First of all, this wasn't my first effort on this ride, I rode 31 miles of it last year, fell and broke my femur in two places, it was a bad angle of a break and a displaced break which meant that healing was going to be a lengthy process. Also, with the required surgery, it meant I was now going to be sporting a very exotic frame …. titanium and stainless steel …. WooHoo …  This is the X-ray of all the hardware. 

So …. with that information to start, I was determined that I was 
going to go back up there this year and finish this ride! 

Starting out in the morning, I had with me the two ladies who stayed with me last year while I laid there on the road until the ambulance arrived, Sue and Tabitha, and my usual Saturday riding companion Lynn. 

Left to right: Lynn, Tabitha, George (Tabitha's Husband), and Sue. As good a group as one could have! George went his own route which left the four of us to soldier on. I have ridden many rides and many miles with all these ladies, and I was indeed so happy to have them along with me. Don't think there weren't trepidations and some worry going through my mind. 

   
The route took us past the Marland Children's Home, who was the beneficiary of the proceeds from this ride. Way over to the left, you can just see some of the kids out with their thank you signs and hollering out thank you's as we rode past. Made my heart feel pretty big right then! 

They had several sections of newly laid gravel, which was nice, but loose and in some places rather squirrelly. There were also some longish sections of soft loose sand to also make things a bit more interesting. The new Raleigh Tamland 2 handled it all without complaint, however. After I found how loose this particular section was, however, I decided there would be no more shoot on the go pictures unless the roads were predicable.  

First rest stop, and we found a convenient person to take a group picture of the four of us! 

A much better section of gravel 

Passing by a very old farmstead over on the right side. 

The course was well marked. 

The countryside was so very pretty! Open, so you could see for a hundred miles. Much different than the forested part of Oklahoma where I live. 

Sue and Tabitha coming down a hill with one of the ever present SAG drivers following. 

When we arrived at Newkirk, Oklahoma, the rest stop was at the fire station. Everybody was out cheering me on as I pulled into the parking area. The ambulance crew was there (in the picture above) that picked me up off the road last year and transported me to Ponca City Hospital …. so nice to renew acquaintances. They all said they were glad to see me upright and walking and riding! It was like old home week.  

We decided the fire apparatus was a good excuse for another group picture. The firemen there were glad to oblige. 

Downtown Newkirk …. I loved all the old limestone buildings on Main street. 

Leaving Newkirk, I spotted this old pickup and thought it would make a nice photo … we all went over and spent some time there. Colorful and Fall like, it was a perfect place for another group photo less the photographer. 

Everyone and their bikes.

The pickup and pumpkins were part of a display from a local farmer's market. I loved the old building. 

Honor system! The lady that runs the place isn't always there, so take what you need and pay me when you see me next. 

Lynn, riding past a field of soybeans. We had removed our jackets long before this, so glad for roomy pockets in the back of our jerseys where things won't work their way out. 

A field of tailfins! All 1957 Chevys 

The lakeshore road was a pretty and winding little gravel lane. We all loved it! 

Lynn waiting on me to take a picture of a windmill, (I was sure by now I was trying her patience). The other two are disappearing in the distance. 

Ponca Lake.

And …… TaDa ….. the finish!!! 51 miles of gravel tour finished! Both legs still functioning. Lynn and I crossed the finish line together with a high five! So glad I faced down my demon and went back up to finish this ride. I felt so much better and relieved of the weight that was hanging on me before. The leg did well, we all finished together and we all enjoyed each other's company for the entire ride. Sorry, no pictures of the food …. I was busy eating it! Bar-b-que brisket, ribs, and sausage, potato salad and beans. All I could eat! Delicious! We all made plans to come back next year. Wonderful ride, kick-ass support, and great food along with the friendliest people ever made this a memorable ride. I don't think I would have done this ride again if not for the fact that the three ladies with me had all signed up and were going. SO glad I did! We came, we saw, we rode, we conquered!!! 

Do Wacka Do

January 15, 2018;

Do-Wacka Do: 

 This sounds like a rather unlikely name for a bike ride, I know. But bear with me, and it will become apparent why it was named this odd name. 

First, let me apologize for the long time between postings. I have not abandoned my bicycling, but rather had a severe case of "writers block" ..... at least for a little while. I decided it was about time to bring it back. The riding has been on hold for a bit as I'm recovering from a broken femur that happened as a result of a crash on another ride. I will catch you readers up with that on another post. But first ..... let me take you out to the wilds of "The Breaks" south of Erick, Oklahoma. Erick, the second town after leaving the Texas Panhandle coming into Oklahoma on I-40 was the home of Roger Miller, a recording artist of the 60's, as well as his brother-in-law Sheb Wooley, (Purple People Eater). One of Roger's songs was "Do-Wacka-Do" ..... like most of his songs, a silly little ditty that told a tale. His biggest hit was "King of the Road". During the 60's, I always enjoyed his songs. So, when I found they were holding a bike ride named after one of Roger's songs ..... Yep ..... I had to go. 

A Roger Miller pamphlet from his museum in Erick. 

The ride started at first light, barely. I had decided to go for the Metric Century distance, which proved to be almost more than I wanted. I was really glad I did not cave in though, and went the entire distance. There were other options for shorter miles, and these were also much easier to navigate. They saved the hardest miles for the last ten on this ride, and by the time I was done ...... I was DONE! 

As I stated, the ride started at the crack of dawn .... I couldn't even get a decent photo because it just wasn't light enough. 

Sue and Tabitha, a couple of riders I knew from other rides. They rode with me for a while, but we later became separated. 

The roads were as primitive as the entire area. 

Here you can get an idea of the lay of the land. We went downhill a long ways to the valley floor below. 

Whatever goes down, however, has to eventually come back up. This is the nature of "The Breaks". A very rugged landscape, ever changing, and very sparsely populated. I believe in the entire 62 miles, we saw one motor vehicle.  

The reward for the climbing was the view.

An abandoned schoolhouse ....

I had one other companion who accompanied me on the entire 62 mile ride. It was so nice to have someone along. At this time, I had no idea of the rugged terrain that awaited me the last ten miles. I would have been very apprehensive to go that last ten miles alone. 

There were a few old homesteads scattered throughout this route. Not very many, and most all were abandoned. 

Prickly Pear cactus ..... common in the west. Not so common out where I live. 

There were several water fords throughout the ride. As the temperature heated up, the speeds through these fords got faster, throwing up some of the cooling water over us. 

One of the homesteads that was not abandoned. This private road was one of the best maintained on the route. 

Typical red sandstone formations on the southern portion of the ride. Western Oklahoma is noted for it's red soil. Here in the western part of the state, it is mostly sand. 

Fish Creek in the background. 

An Oasis in the desert!! This was so inviting, I had to take off my shoes and sit on the edge of the tank and soak my legs and feet. It felt SO good. 

The water coming out was not a huge flow, but clean, clear, and good to fill up an almost empty water bottle. The water skaters didn't seem to mind my washing my legs and feet, or snitching a little water. 

From here on the road (if you can call it that) changed dramatically! Very rough, primitive tracks with some impossible grades. I wouldn't have missed this for the world!! It was SO beautiful, and a part of the country few will ever see. At this point, I was already getting tired, but the constantly changing scenery urged me onward. 

It was in here that we scared up a small herd of cattle that may not have ever seen humans before. They looked at us with wild eyes, and took off running, leaping fences and cattle guards like they weren't there. In three minutes, there were no cattle in sight. We saw some deer, and a few pronghorns on this portion of the ride. 

Matt, starting down into a rugged area. 

After several miles, the long downhill ended in another water ford, this one with a loose bottom with large rocks. Discretion had us walking our bikes through. There were no vehicles back here that we saw, help would be a long time coming. Also, no cell service. 

After the long downhill, we had to climb back up an equal amount to get back to where we started. Almost done here, just about 4 more miles to go. Steep, hard miles. I walked places of this. 

Finally reaching the end of the ride. I was tired, but they had good food waiting, great barbecue and liquid refreshment. It was good! 

After leaving the ride, and traveling through "downtown" Erick, I couldn't resist a few pictures of the town. This old building had character! Open for business, it was a souvenir shop, and they also served sandwiches. Just fun to poke around. The owner was as much of a "character" as the building!

Main street, downtown Erick, Oklahoma at 2 pm on a Saturday afternoon. As you can see, the town was packed with Saturday shoppers. How many places could a photographer stand smack in the middle of the main drag for a picture without having a single car come by? 

The Roger Miller Museum

The ride Tee. 

If you are looking for something different than the average run of the mill bike ride, and are able to handle the primitive conditions of this ride, do NOT let this one go by! Without a doubt, one of my very favorite bike rides of all times.