Riding in a winter wonderland.

That's just potty mouth... I haven't been able to bike commute since the end of November. It's not the temperatures that shut it down, the road I take to the college is a mess. On the weekend after Thanksgiving, we got snow and freezing rain. The road thawed a bit, but there are still long icy patches. I'm sure that there are people who would still bike commute through that, and I tip my helmet to you. http://www.icebike.org/

Yesterday, we got a little bit of snow. The campus looks totally different.



Yesterday also marked the end of my official teaching duties for the semester. After my last class, I went out for a quick ride while I still had some daylight. There are a bunch of trails around campus: in the summer, they're great for biking and hiking, but in the winter, they're snowshoe and cross-country ski trails. I wouldn't have ridden on these trails (because it really messes it up for the skiers), but it's going to warm up (into the 40's) and rain today. And that will really mess up the trails.




Ride safely and happy trails.

Ice in my water bottle...

Well, when I went out to get my bike, I saw the layer of frost on the car. I couldn't resist...

On my ride to work, I stopped at a local sugarhouse, which I pass everyday (twice a day, actually). I wanted to get a housewarming gift for my buddy John and his family, who recently moved to Spokane, WA. He was a grad student at UCSC in the lab across the hall and an avid cyclist. Anyway, this stuff is for him and his girls. Who doesn't love pancakes and maple syrup?


I credit the good Dr. John with introducing me to Rock Lobster Cycles (see blog link on the sidebar). Just after we had moved to Santa Cruz in 2005, I broke my bike frame (pictured below) while riding in some of my favorite local trails. I was broke (and so was my frame) and needed a cheap frame repair, so John recommended TIG-welding guru Paul Sadoff. It turns out that I got a free frame replacement from the manufacturer, but after meeting Paul, I caught the fever. Soon thereafter, I put in an order for my first custom bike frame, a Rock Lobster Team TIG SL cyclocross frame. Thanks John!



So, where was I... Oh yeah, so that the syrup stop was on the way to work. On the way home, it was 15F with a real feel of 3F. Yup, three degrees. By far, the coldest bike commute (not coldest ride) I've ever done.


That's no slushy in my water bottle. It was an ice cube tray. Next time, I'm carrying a warm beer. We used to have a 'trick' in the old days. Store your water bottle upside down in the bottle cage so that the ice forms at the bottom rather than the top of your bottle.


Honestly, I was okay in the cold temps. I'm not going to front and say, "Oh yeah, it was great." Yes, I was cold, but it was manageable. I'm not going to list everything that I had on because that might take a while. But I will say that I wore less than what I expected that I would need. More later...

Ride safely (stay warm) and happy trails.

Just a light dusting, but it still counts...

It was just a dusting of snow, but it snowed nonetheless. You can see that it didn't stick to the road, so it didn't cause any trouble at all. The sub-freezing temperatures weren't a real problem either; the commute is mostly uphill, so I was fine with a base layer, bib-shorts, short-sleeve jersey, arm warmers, leg warmers, and a windbreaker. I also wear a fleece hat that covers the ears, and I have a balaclava that I use mostly as a neck-warmer. Most of the time I like to double layer the knees, that is, I wear a pair of wool knee warmers under the leg warmers. But I thought I'd test it out as a single layer today.

On the way home, it was 27F with a 'Real Feel' of 14F and windy. I wore a heavier layer on top (under the windbreaker) and a pair of Pearl Izumi AmFib tights (no leg warmers). Although it's mostly downhill for the return commute, I found that all the extra layers were unnecessary. I used to keep a log of temperatures and layering so that I could fine my perfect comfort zone. I'll have to dig it up...

Ride safely and happy trails.

Tomorrow's forecast...

Snow? But it's still October... It makes for an interesting bike commute.

	National Weather Service NowCast: Dated: 437 PM EDT TUE OCT 28 2008

Wednesday...Scattered snow showers in the morning. Mostly cloudy with scattered rain showers. Highs around 40. West winds 10 to 15 mph with gusts up to 25 mph. Chance of precipitation 30 percent.

A bull, a dog named Rex, and more foliage

I don't have photos of the bull or the dog named Rex, but I've crossed paths with them during my recent commutes. The bull was just hanging out in the middle of the road near some heifers. The heifers were behind a fence; the bull was not. A little further down the road, I saw Ross, a young fellow who works on a nearby farm and runs the farm stand at the bottom of Ames Hill. When I informed him of the escapee, he rather nonchalantly said, "Oh yeah, that belongs to the neighbors. I call em' or something." It was like the neighbor's dog had come over for a visit. I've seen more urgency when a racoon gets into a garbage can. So bizarre....

I love dogs. The other day as I was riding to work, I saw a chocolate labrador chasing leaves that were falling from the trees. It was encredibly cute. Appearantly, I look like a big leaf (I do wear a green jersey and ride a bright orange bicycle). The dog's name is Rex, and I know this because Rex's owner kept yelling it while Rex was trying to climb onto my handlebars. Rex is clearly a puppy, and a very large puppy. If you've ever owned a large dog, there's an age where 'puppies' don't really know their own size. It's probably between 8-15months when they're still growing into their paws. They aren't a technically a puppy (like in a Purina commercial), and they aren't full-grown dogs; it's sort of the adolescent period. Anyway, my dog was like Dino of the Flintstones. He had no idea how large he really was and would flatten me. Rex seemed like he was trying out for left tackle for the New England Patriots. Rex had no intention of listening to his owner, and when it was clear that Rex was going to follow me (and try to take me down), I rode/walked Rex back to his home.

Sooo, I need to carry my camera at all times. A moose, a bull, a dog named Rex... you'll have to take my word for it. Seems like I only have my camera ready for stationary objects. Speaking of which... more fall foliage. Mother Nature puts on quite a show.







Ride safely and happy trails.

3Oct08, Low - 36 degrees F

It dipped near freezing last night, and there are frost warnings in effect for this evening. I wasn't expecting that... Well, yeah I was. I just didn't expect it so soon. I honestly can't remember the last time I rode in temperatures that low. (I've ridden in sub-zero temperatures, but it was a long time ago.) Lately, I've been trying to acclimate by body to the colder temps by wearing shorts and t-shirts all the time. I don't know if it's working; I just know that I'm cold all the time.

I've been commuting really late at night (approximately 12-1 a.m.), partly because I'm at work so late and partly because I want to see moose. I saw one on my commute home last week. It was amazing. I pinch flatted right after I saw it and didn't even care, just rode the rest of the way home on a flat. Speaking of which, I've flatted two times in the last two days. I'm going to change tires and run higher pressure. It's not ideal, but I haven't any other choice unless I want to change tubes everyday. It does, however, give me an opportunity to check out the fall foliage...











Here's one of the rare instances when I'm actually riding my bike (rather than changing a flat). If it looks like I'm riding towards rain clouds, I am. I got dumped on a few miles after this.



This is the view from the east entrance of the Brown Science Building at Marlboro College. The building in the photo below is Dalrymple Hall, which is the humanities building and formerly a barn.

Ride safely and happy trails (and watch out for moose!).

I LoVermont.

More than nine years... it's been more than nine years since I've been back here in Vermont. When I was a college student here, I was totally lame. I didn't enjoy being outdoors. I didn't exercise. I smoked a pack a day and drove my car like an idiot. As they say, youth is wasted on the young...

I haven't been riding a lot in the last couple of weeks, although I have been bike commuting from Brattleboro to Marlboro. I think the move(s), coupled with stress, contributed to a brief cold/sinus gooberage, which kept me off the bike for a few days. Also, the first week of classes was a bit hectic, but things have since settled out. I haven't had a real opportunity to explore more than a few different routes that I can take on the way to work, but I haven't found a 'bad' route yet (or a 'dumb' route, see Alba Rd. entry). It is absolutely spectacular out there.

The way I'm treated while riding my bike here in Vermont is a foreign experience to me. People wave (and NOT with the middle digit extended). Cars get into the opposite lane of traffic to pass. Last night, there was a car behind me that basically tailed me like a team car for a half-mile and deliberately held up traffic so that I could go over a narrow bridge first. The other day as I was passing a farm on a hill, this guy stormed down his driveway to the mailbox and started cheering me on (Allez! Allez!). Last weekend, I passed a dude walking down the road with a bunch of flowers in one arm and a basket of cherry tomatoes in the other arm. When I rode by, he offered me the tomatoes. Vermont is awesome. No, wait... Uh, it stinks... It VerSucks... Umm, don't move here. It's cold.

I had a chance to take a few photos on the way to work today. When the leaves start to change, I'll post some new ones. In the meantime, here's my new commute.


I had never passed through this covered bridge (photo below) before doing it on my bike.


I'm not on the road for more than a few miles before I pick up a dirt road that takes me up to the college.







I pass lotsa cows, lotsa sheep, lotsa corn and a Maple syrup and sugar house.



I used to live on this road pictured below (Cowpath 40).

This is the road to the college. Our emeritus professor of mathematics used to give a lecture at Town Meeting about how speeding down this road at twice the posted speed limit only 'saves' you approximately 2 minutes. It's the law of averages... For all the times I've sped down this road, I'm now going well under the speed limit.

Ride safely and happy trails.

When you think you're having a bad day...

Ughh. Greetings from Maine. The bighairscientist had quite a travel adventure yesterday/today. It was supposed to be an easy flight into Portland, ME via Atlanta, GA. The remnants of Hurricane Fay flattened any hope of that. Long story longer, I missed my connecting flight by 15 minutes, but they (Delta) hooked me up with a sweet, three-leg journey the next day (ATL to DCA to LGA to PWM) departing at 10a, arriving at 5p. There was no option of hotel reimbursement in Atlanta because the delay was due to weather, which basically meant that I would have to stay in the airport overnight. So as I was weighing my option(s) in the ticketing line, I noticed a 9:15p flight to Boston... It was 9:04p. I ditched the ticketing line and ran to the gate hoping that I could get on the Boston flight. As I was RUNNING there, I could hear the last boarding call. Even though this flight was the most unanticipated part of my journey, it was probably the smoothest. I arrived Boston at 12:03a, 26Aug08.

After arriving Boston, I made a few phone calls back West to my lady who was working the keyboard trying to find me some alternative travel arrangements. The warm and fuzzy feeling of finally arriving wore off quickly when I discovered that the last bus to Portland was at 11:25p, and the last train to Portland was at 11:20p. I'm thinking, 'Well, I'll get my bags and see if I can stay at my sister's place down by the Fens.' Of course, my checked bags were on a different flight... to Portland. At this point, I was ready to go Greg Focker on a ticket agent. ("By the way, your airline, you suck at checking bags. ...I'm finished with the checking-of-the-bags conversation.") Actually, I wasn't going to freak out, I just wanted a voucher or some type of credit for the big mess up. Not gonna happen folks. First the ticket counter was empty, gone for the night. Second, they only give you vouchers if there's a mechanical issue; they can't control the weather. After a few phone calls while walking between the empty ticket counter and empty baggage claim, they finally caved and gave me my voucher.

So there I am in Boston. I could get a cab to my sister's place, next day take the T (or cab) to South Station and hop the bus to Portland, or I could bite it and get a rental car. The rental car option prevailed, and I arrived Portland at 3:55a, 26Aug08. I found a local IPA in the fridge (gone at 3:57a) and hit the sack.

What the heck does this have to do with biking? Well, one of the last things I did in Cali was visit a friend who I've wanted to see for months. I've been saving this one in the back pocket for a while. Like I wrote in an earlier entry, I try to keep things light, and this is something that I have only recently come to terms with. Back in June, around the last day of classes at UCSC, a friend of mine went down in a bike accident while riding home on the campus bike path. I know a lot of people who have had bike accidents or who have been hit by cars. Shattered wrists, broken collarbones, trashed knees... You may never get back to 100%, but you get back on that bike. My friend, Ian Mackay, suffered a C2 spinal cord injury and is paralyzed from the neck down. http://caringbridge.org/visit/ianmackay

Every time I put on my helmet and throw a leg over the bike, I think of Ian. I don't think of what happened, I think of his positivity. It goes beyond that though. Whenever I feel like I might be under it, when flights get screwy and bags get lost, I think of a friend who despite being in a horrific accident still smiles and treats everyone like his best friend.

Ride safely and happy trails.

I must have had a tailwind.

I don't top 50MPH very often. I'm not out trying to set 'High Scores' anymore. I've gone faster (mid-50's) descending on different hills, but on this one road, I'm usually going a bit slower. Is it scary going that fast on a bicycle? Well, it's loud from all the wind. I'm never really aware of how fast I'm going because I'm looking at the road, not at the speedometer. I can, however, tell the difference between 45MPH and 50+MPH. It kinda sounds different. By the way, I've never even been close to 60MPH.


I'm a lightweight; my weight ranges between 125-129lbs, depending on how much beer and ice cream I've been consuming. Speaking of ice cream, I've been killing it on some local stuff from Marianne's (if you like coconut, try the Macapuno). The scoop shop is just a few blocks away from where we live, but they also sell quarts in some of the local markets. The only 'problem' with the quart is that it lists the ingredients on the top. Ingredient number one: butterfat. Awesome... I love that stuff.

Anyway, unless I've been eating a lot of ice cream (and I have been), I don't carry as much momentum downhill as someone heavier than me. From General Physics, P = M x V (momentum = mass x velocity). Supposedly, I'm at an advantage going uphill, but some days it sure doesn't feel that way. I do really enjoy climbing (see Alba entry). When you hit the summit or get to the end of a long climb, there's a sense of accomplishment. Besides, it's you working against gravity, so you've got an excuse for riding slowly!

Ride safely (uphill and downhill) and happy trails.

How to avoid the long walk home...

It was my birthday a few days ago. I got some teaching materials together in the morning, but I decided to take the afternoon off and go on one of my favorite rides. I won't disclose it's precise location, but it's a 45-mile loop: road out, 12-mile fireroad up (ascends 2500+ft), singletrack descent, road home. The cyclocross bike is perfect for this ride.

After you leave the pavement and hit dirt, there are no services until you get back to the road. I like to pack light (no Camelbak), and two water bottles are sufficient for this ride. I also pack a granola bar, a spare tube (or patch-kit), a CO2 pump, and a multi-tool, which all easily fit into a couple of jersey pockets. It seems that whenever I leave something behind, I need it.

Anyway, on the trails back down, I dropped my chain but didn't think too much of it because I was going over bumpy stuff. I did think a lot about the (expletive deleted) poison oak that I was (expletive deleted) standing in. A little later, it happened again. Just like the previous time, I was in (bleeping) poison oak. I put the chain back on, and as I started to pedal, I heard the "schplank" of a broken chain. (See photo below. By the way folks, pack it out.)

Like I wrote before, whenever I leave it behind, I seem to need it. However, this was one of the rare occasions when I was actually prepared!!! I packed my Crank Bros. Multi-17, which is probably my favorite multi-tool of all time. I've had it and carried it for more than 6-years (and you can probably guess where I bought it, see Engin 650B entry below). This multi-tool has certainly seen better days, but it has outlasted bikes. One of the really nice features is the chain-tool, and thanks to this thing, I avoided a 15-mile walk home on my birthday.

Now, having the bare minimum for a repair doesn't make you invincible. Sometimes there are things that you cannot prepare for...
That was a singlespeed cog. When you only have one cog and it fails miserably, you're walking (or riding the 5 teeth that are left). That happened a few years ago, and I keep it around as a reminder of what can happen when I don't use steel singlespeed cogs. (In a weird way, it's actually a point of pride.) Aluminum alloys are less expensive and generally lighter, so that was reassuring as I was walking my bike home.

Ride safely and happy trails (and pack a multi-tool).

Engin 650B Dirt Rag Test Bike

Long before I started this silly little blog, I decided that I wasn't ever going to flap about "My bikes are nicer than yours because..." or "I'm hardcore because blah, blah, blah..." I don't see any point to that because there will always be other people who are on 'nicer' bikes or who are more hardcore than you think you are. Sure, I'll write a small blurb about some ride, but there's nothing really special about me being able to do it. If anything, I'd hope that it makes you want to try it too. Riding is not about being able to brag about it. Let me be clear, this is not a brag entry...

Do you remember how you felt on your first bike? Think about it for a minute... It was probably your first taste of real freedom, independence. You didn't need someone to drive you to a friend's house or to soccer practice. You didn't need the bus to get to school. It was liberating. I still feel that way. Throw a leg over your bike and leave your problems behind. Ride what you love, love what you ride... That can include a bike.

I can safely say that most of what I know about bikes and biking I learned while hanging around the Wissahickon Cyclery in Philadelphia. And on those rainy days, I sat around there A LOT! In the early days (circa 1998), they patiently showed me how to change a tube on my Specialized Hard Rock. They patiently answered why I can't put mountain tires on a road bike. When I'd bring in crap that I 'scored' on eBay, they'd patiently explain why I should put it back on eBay. It took a while, but I figured a few things out by hanging out there (and I'm still learning). In the later days, I was there so frequently that I had my own coffee mug in the back of the shop.

Anyway, if you want a sub-14lb road bike that floats or a dual-suspension rig so that you can film a Mountain Dew commercial, Wiss-Cycles can do it and anything in between. The display floor probably won't blow your mind (no offense guys), but what lurks in the back will knock your socks off (but you can buy a new pair of socks while you're there). It's the home of Engin Cycles, custom, handmade steel bicycles. Although relatively new to the custom frame building scene, Drew's work already won Best Off-Road bike at the 2008 North American Handmade Bicycle Show (NAHBS). And it's easy to see why... http://reviews.mtbr.com/nahbs/2008/02/17/engin-cycles-953-steel-29er

Call it serendipity, call it fate... Somehow, the opportunity came up to test ride an Engin 650B MTB (aka the War Machine), no strings attached. I'm 5'3" (barefoot), which is borderline for 29er. The 'new' 650B platform is perfect for someone like me, short. I won't explain the whole 29er and 650B thing here, but Google it if you need more info. This guy's blog is pretty helpful. http://650bpalace.blogspot.com


This bike (pictured above) will be officially reviewed by Dirt Rag Magazine (not by me), so I'll try not to spoil the review by giving my own opinion on it. Heck with that, this thing is AWESOME! I had a longer inaugural ride planned, but I'm saving it for this weekend. For the first test ride, I rode through some local trails here in Santa Cruz with fairly diverse terrain conditions from hard pack to loose pack, tight single-track through the redwoods, washboard fire roads, rooted single-track, and a nice rock garden for good measure.

To get to the trails, I needed to ride on the pavement for a few miles. My first impression was, 'Wow, this isn't sluggish at all!' Sure, I was on pavement, but I really had it in my mind that the fat tires were going to feel fat with a lot of rolling resistance. The acceleration was lively with instant pedal response, no mush or slop in the drive train.

Off to the trails... Like most every ride in Santa Cruz, the trails start on a climb. I felt my hand positioning was pretty good; there was a natural adjustment that needed to happen, which probably comes from riding cyclocross (CX) and road almost exclusively for the last 3 years. I will say that I'm glad that they make really wide flat bars. On my first (and only) single speed MTB, the widest bars available were Easton MonkeyLite riser bars. My biggest complaint was that my hands were too high when I was climbing out of the saddle. Any gain in leverage from the width of the bars seemed negated by not being able to really extend my arms. Anyway, flat bars... I'm stoked.

After I got into the twisty trails, it took about five to ten minutes to figure out where my weight needed to be when navigating the single track. (Again, this is the adjustment from CX. I'm usually in the drops to keep my center of gravity low and to get better braking leverage.) Once I got all the "Hi, nice to meet you" stuff out of the way, I noticed a few things. The pedal response and acceleration in the dirt (as on pavement) was instant, better than my SS-CX, which is totally weird. The handling/steering around obstacles was excellent: agile, well-balanced, and not floppy. It's stable and tracks/holds a line through sweeping turns in dusty conditions really well. The back wheel slid out a few times, but I was really flyin' through corners.

Since I peeked at the geometry, I'd guess that the steering benefits have a lot to do with the relatively sharp head tube angle combined with a 45mm rake fork (also built by Engin). It's got super-short chain stays, which is probably what helps to make it accelerate so quickly and climb so well. The short chain stays didn't appreciably affect the weight distribution. More weight on the rear wheel can cause the front wheel to lift on seated climbs. No problems with that.

Here's the critical feature: after a couple of hours of riding, I had no pain. No pain around the man parts, none in the lower back. The pain-free aspect is huge because I was carrying a relatively light backpack with work gear. Now, I stopped and took pictures and stuff, but even a short ride under load usually kills by lower back. I was going to drop off my stuff at work, but I felt so good that I just kept going. The comfort comes from fit and ride quality. Even though this bike was not custom for me, it fit great. The ride quality of steel and the fatty tires meant that I was less fatigued after riding.

Alright, I'll have to finish this up later... I've been rambling for a while when I should be working. And if you're not working, you might as well be riding (not writing). To be continued...

Ride safely and happy trails.
-the bighairscientist

_____________________

Engin 650B review, part B (no pun intended)

The Dirt Rag review article hit new stands this week, and although I agree with the reviewer on most points, I have a few things to say about it. The bighairscientist likes to keep things positive here (bighairscientist cannot believe that bighairscientist just referred to bighairscientist in the third-person). I'm not going to point-counterpoint the article, but I will highlight some of the details that I think she overlooked, namely aesthetics and craftsmanship.

The frame was constructed using a combination of TIG welding and fillet brazing. The brazing speaks for itself, but the TIG is also very clean. Drew also made the steel seatpost and stem. The seatpost is made of the new Reynolds 953 stainless steel, lugged, and painted to match the frame. (BTW - the DR article incorrectly states that it is titanium. Sorry, I won't counterpoint again.)


The brazed stem is a one-piece design, and the lack of a removable faceplate gives it a clean look. I appreciate the single-bolt attachment for two reasons 1) it makes the headset adjustment super-easy and 2) there is an element of symmetry between the seatpost clamp bolt and the stem bolt. Also, please note that in the photo below the silver head badge made by Philadelphia jeweler Jen Green comes STOCK on all Engin frames.

Okay, while I've got your attention, have a look at the rear hydraulic brake hose... Now you see it, now you don't! Internal hydro hose routing through the top tube. Single speed bicycles are beautiful in their simplicity anyway, but this really streamlines the frame.

The frame also features a chevron bridge on the seatstays. I particularly like this feature on the CX bikes because the 'V' approximately parallels the straddle cable on most canti brakes. It works just as well on an MTB (probably better b/c you don't have the cable hiding it).

Oh, fork that... I almost forgot the fork. Rigid, yes, rigid. If you're into shocks, whatever I write here probably isn't going to persuade you, but rigid forks (on hardtail frames) are generally superior on climbs and singletrack. That's my opinion, you're free to have yours (and blog it). I'm not a cycling purist. I don't think that we should be riding on wooden wheels (a bamboo frame is a different story). However, I think that for the terrain that I ride, the ideal set up is rigid hardtail. I'll gladly give up a little speed on a downhill if I can gain control through singletrack and gain speed uphill. Is rigid hardtail perfect setup for dual slalom? Na. Is this the dream setup for the Great Divide Race? Eh, probably not. Is this what you'd want to ride in the Tour de France? The kids do like the carbon (and EPO) for that. You get the point.

If you've actually read this far (all three of you), you deserve a prize: you should buy yourself an Engin.

Ride safely and happy trails.

Bike racks are for sissies

We saw this while passing through Half Moon Bay on the way home from the city. I just had to get a photo. Gosh, where do I even begin with this...

It may not be entirely obvious what you're looking at here, so let me describe it. That's a bike in the trunk of a car. In and of itself, that's fairly unremarkable, but look closer (click on the photo to zoom in). Is that some new type of bungee cord holding the trunk closed? Have they revolutionized rope and made it adhesive, clear, thin and flat? Nope, that's tape, packing tape... Not duct tape, not nylon threaded tape, both of which are somewhat reinforced. Nope, none of that reinforcement stuff here. It's just plain ole' standard packing tape of the 3M Scotch variety.

Alright, now take an even closer look at that wheel hanging out. Uh, looks kind of small... like a... hmmm... maybe a wheel of a folding bike. FOLDING BIKE!?! Ladies and Gentlemen, behold, an uncollapsed folding-bike in the trunk of a car secured by packing tape. Good thing this guy doesn't look like he goes camping much. Otherwise, there'd be a tent on the hood and a lit camping stove on the roof.

Okay, let's take a step back and re-evaluate this situation. It's one thing to put an unfolded folding-bike in your car and secure it with tape. But let's not forget who is BEHIND him taking the photo! When that thing busts through the tape and pops out of the trunk, where is it going to land? One car length for every 10MPH... Heck with that. Time for a pit-stop. Let's give this swift guy a few miles.

Ride safely (because there are loons out there who dig the packing tape) and happy trails.