Firsts at the PR

For A's second ride on her new mountain bike, we'd planned a rather easy place, but we started running short on time and A decided to fix that by switching to the much closer Private Reserve. E has been pushing hard for a ride there since we started bike shopping, because it's his current favorite place. I had hoped we might go for A's third or fourth ride, after working up to it. A did a great job, including riding a tough descent right at the start which I thought would be too tough.

E rode the whole long wooden bridge that he and I have been walking before today. I still haven't ridden it! We ride down a series of switchbacks, then there's a sharp left just before a large rock which drops the rider down around 8" onto a long, rickety narrow wooden bridge which is off-camber and has a bend in the middle. The bridge is over a dry riverbed and like most PR bridges it looks likely to collapse within the year.

A little later, E made his first crossing of a stream on a bridge made of roundish stones loosely piled in the water. I'd only crossed it once before.

I had no firsts today. In fact, I clearly need to do more work here or I'll soon be left behind!

Superflash Upgrade

The Planet Bike Superflash rear blinkie light is wonderfully bright, plus small, runs a very long time on its pair of AAA batteries and is relatively inexpensive. Thanks to SM for showing it to me. I've adopted it for commuting bikes, but it has a couple weaknesses I'm still learning to live with.

• The button is hard to press. Press on the bottom white button while pushing down on the red part of the top, not the white.


• It's not waterproof enough for me unless the bike has fenders. (No one else I know has had trouble with this.)

I already had one round of waterproofing the thing, putting polyurethane on the switch contacts and vaseline on the rubber gasket, and moving the mount a little to the side to reduce the spray against the power button.
After Friday's commute, the switch seized up enough that I had to open the battery compartment and "hot wire" the switch to turn it off. (The edge of a coin will do it - just touch both silver dots on top of the switch at the same time.) While doing this I noticed the switch itself was beginning to rust - a bad sign in a piece of electronics only a couple months old.
So I decided to convert the switch to a magnetic sensor, called a reed switch. Some of my favorite blinkie lights use this technique, and I needed to replace the switch in any case. Luckily I found that the reed switch of a broken bike computer would (barely) fit in the enclosure, and I was able to wire it in. The picture shows an intact unit on the left, and my modification on the right. After taking the picture, I sealed up all the holes I with some silicone caulk. I'll let you know how it holds up through autumn.

While we're talking about rear blinkie lights, I need to mention the Cateye LD1000. While it is better sealed than the Superflash, it's much dimmer, heavier, bigger, and has a short battery life. It also has a bizarre design which prevents using it in a 'normal' flash mode. The real problem is it got glowing reviews in Cycling Plus magazine and on JensonUSA's website, describing it as 'the only daylight-visible' option. That accolade belongs to the Superflash, in my book.

Deerfield Daydreams

I missed the Deerfield Dirt-Road Randonnee in late August, but have been daydreaming of it since. 100km (62 mi) of dirt roads - sounds beautiful, doesn't it?

Part of why I missed it is I thought I didn't have a proper bike for the ride, but have since realized the IF is fine. I can fit big tires because it's designed for medium tires + full fenders. This is my long-distance bike, so I know it would be comfortable enough. I believe I can fit 32mm cyclocross tires, like the ones shown below. I never imagined my bike set up this way, but now I'm looking forward to trying it. I also never imagined silver tires, but every Vittoria tire I've tried has become my favorite in its category, so for the moment this is the tire I picture.

Gear Train Summery

This is a summary of various gear trains at the close of summer.

The IF (summer bike and long-distance ride) odometer just tied with that of minicar, my Subaru Impreza (named by E) at just under 16k miles. The IF is about three times older, and I'm counting both of its frames because the odometer survived the 'big crash' that separated them. They're both running great, and I'm pleased to ride them.

Minicar just turned 2 years old, and its stick-shift transmission is now worn in, smooth as butter. In fact, its fuel efficiency has risen above my expectations, averaging a full 28.5 MPG this summer. I drive on regular gas and use the air conditioner normally. I do coast a bit and (safely!) draft a little, but I don't work too hard on saving gas. Winter typically drags down the mileage, but I hope not far.

The Shimano Nexus 8 internal-geared hub and matching roller brake are running fine on Slushbike, with about 200mi so far. I've read that the hub needs about 500mi to wear in, and already the thing feels smoother, especially in the low gears. During this wear-in period, I'm using the large chainring as much as possible to maximize time in the low gears where drag is worst. I'm also using the rear brake as much as possible to cook off some excess grease. The rollerbrake isn't as powerful as I want, but the manual implies that when it gets low on grease it gets too powerful. And grease is lost by braking (burning off in the heat). So for the moment, the big (optional) heatsink on the brake is working against me, but once its tuned the heatsink will help keep it stable. I'm sure I'll get the gears and brake worn in before the first snow/ice ride, which is when I really need that brake to be strong.

All in all, the vehicles are in good shape for the coming cold weather! I hope you've enjoyed summer too.

E rides the PR

E and I have been riding in the PR most weekends lately. I brought the camera a week and a half ago, and these are my favorite results. I still have a lot to learn about taking action shots like this. They look pretty good at this resolution, but the focus is not very good at full resolution. I'll just need to practice more!