Return to the Bike

I took the fixie out for a ride this evening.  It's been at least 8 months since I've been on a bike.  The Michael of 1992-2006 would be surprised and disappointed to know that.

TCOB

I had a busy and productive day today, running some errands and taking advantage of the unseasonably warm weather.

• Got a damaged wheel from my fixie repaired.  By the way, I've recently been running 48/16 gearing.  I think it's just a bit to high, and I may go back to 48/17.
• Shopped for Alison's Valentine's Day present.  After 6.5 years of being together, I'm all out of original ideas.  So, Alison, lower your expectations.
• Test-drove a 2009 Mazda RX-8 R3 (black) and a 2009 Subaru Impreza WRX STI (white).  The RX-8 is torqueless but fairly powerful.* It feels quite agile and is a very rewarding drive.  I also really like the 4-door-coupe layout with the "freestyle" suicide doors.  The STI is much more powerful and far more torquey.  It also offers AWD and computer-controlled everything.  Still, it feels overly large** and far less nimble to me, and it just isn't as engaging to drive.  The RX-8, despite its supercar fuel efficiency, is at the top of my list for when I need a "family" car.  If it, or the next generation of it, is still being made by then.
• Got in some good top-down time in the Miata.  How could I not when the weather was so nice?
• Rode about 24 miles on my Seven. See previous weather-related rhetorical question.
• Test-rode a Trek Madone 5.2 Pro (52-cm size).  The bike is very stiff in the bottom-bracket and head-tube areas, but still offers a reasonably compliant ride.  It's very light with weight-saving design innovations*** in the head tube/steerer tube/ headset, bottom bracket, and seat mast that also reduce part count.  If I were in the market for a new geared road bike, it would be at the top of my list, though I'd have to look more closely at the geometry of the 50-cm size.
• Took Newton for a long walk.

By contrast, Alison had much more...consistent day:

• Listened to people talk about prostate cancer for 8 hours.****

* Only 159 lb-ft but 232 BHP, thankss to a 9000=RPM redline.  Note that my little turbo'ed Miata has more torque than that.

** The 4 cars I have owned average out to 2382  lbs, so I may have a skewed perspective.

*** These innovations are not, however, unique to Trek.

**** Alison also went on the dog walk, but it's more amusing to present our days this way.

Bikeling

Here's a word Alison made up some time ago:

Bikeling, noun.  Biking or cycling.

Seasonally Disaffective Attention Deficit Disorder: SDADD

Over the last few days, I've been feeling the urge to start bikeling again.  Clearly, my particular incarnation of Attention Deficit Disorder, the one that drives me to switch hobbies or sports every 6 to 12 months, is not seasonally affective.  I mean, the high was like 25 degrees today, and that's Fahrenheit. 

Lance Back in the Saddle?

Lance Armstrong is planning a comeback.  That's right, just like Michael Jordan and Brett Favre, the seven-time winner of the Tour de France and former World Champion is returning from retirement, allegedly to spread the message of cancer awareness and cancer survival.  He's already signed a deal with Astana.  Since that team already has Alberto Contador and Levi Leipheimer as general-classification contendors, and since Armstrong just turned 37, I'm not sure how he is going to find a role for himself.  Could he be content to be a domestique?  I can't imagine that.

Armstrong's first race will be the Tour Down Under in January.  He plans to contest the Tour de France and is considering the Giro d'Italia as well.

Attention Adults in Need of Training Wheels

Attention. If you are riding your bicycle more slowly than a person can run, please do not weave lazily from side to side, so that pedestrians who are in a hurry can pass you. That is all.

White is The New Black

Has anyone noticed this trend in the last 3 years or so? Everything that used to be considered coolest in black---electronics, cars, bike bits,* the Stig---is now continually popping up in white. I'm not certain I approve of this trend.

* Grip tape, saddles, shoes, shorts, even tires.

Seven Cycles

No, this post isn't about the manufacturer of my fanciest bicycle. Instead, its purpose is to inform you, gentle reader, that the number of bicycles housed at Team Grondul World Headquarters has passed from the merely unreasonable (6) to the entirely ridiculous (7). No, I haven't purchased yet another bike. Rather, I offered to give Amy's bicycle a tune-up, so its spending a few days at our place. Thus, this ridiculous state of affairs is only temporary. If you listen closely, you can hear Alison saying, "phew."

My New Sport...Falling Down!

Recently I have taken up mountain biking with Michael, which is becoming more and more fun, but has been quite frightening at times. It turns out there is a hierarchy of expletives that come out of my mouth indicating the difficulty of the terrain.

• easy terrain, Alison is totally confident = normal conversation
• slightly difficult terrain, Alison is a little concerned = "Oh Geez!" or "Oh Gosh!"
• moderately difficult terrain, Alison thinks she is falling down = "Oh GOD!!"
• Alison is in the process of falling down = "SHIT! SHIT!"

So now you know. If we ever go mountain biking together you'll have an accurate picture of my state of mind throughout the ride.

Despite my occasional terror, I have enjoyed the scenery in some of the places we've gone to ride. We recently went to Loch Raven Reservoir which was gorgeous and we saw tons of wildlife. Check it out:


See in the middle? In the water? I think that is some kind of wading bird...maybe a heron? Cool, huh? You can see it much better if you click the picture to make it bigger.

And this deer walked right past us across the path. She was not terribly shy.


Anyway, it was fun and I only fell down once on the ride. Woo hoo! Enjoy the pics everyone!

Google Maps Drag and Drop: Where Have You Been All My Life?

Here's an online-mapping feature I've been wanting for sometime: Google Maps' new drag-and-drop capability. If you don't like the route the program spits out for you, you can drag part of the route to a new spot, and Maps will automatically adjust your route to include that point and change the directions accordingly. Not only is this feature cool, but it is also extremely helpful for situations like these:

• You'd like to drive along the coast to make your trip more scenic.
• You want to avoid an area because you know the traffic will be bad there.
• You'd like to stop somewhere in particular on the way.
  
• You need to avoid a highway or road area because you are riding your bike. (This scenario is the most important to me.)

Neat, eh?

MAKE Yourself a Single-Speed

Regular readers know I'm enamored of single-speed and fixed-gear bicycles. Now you can join the one-gear movement. MAKE magazine's weekend project for this week is converting a bicycle to single-speed operation. You can check out the podcast here or the comic-book pdf-cast here.

Behemoth XXIX

As you may recall, gentle reader, I've been fascinated with single-speed and fixed-gear bicycles for some time. That's why I acquired the a Cannondale Capo late last year. Well, a few weeks ago, I finally broke down and bought a single-speed mountain bike, specifically a Raleigh XXIX.

My new ride is not just single-speed; it's also rigid-specific, meaning the frame is not designed to compensate for the increased axle-to-crown distance associated with a suspension fork. Lest you think I'm some kind of Luddite, I hasten to point out that this bike rides on the so-called "29-inch" wheels. The rims on these wheels are 622 mm in diameter, the same as most road-bike rims and 63 mm more than the traditional "26-inch" wheels on most mountain bikes. There's grass-roots movement among some members of the MTB community to move to this standard, since "29er" wheels roll over obstacles more easily and maintain speed better. The trade-offs are heavier wheels, lower acceleration, and more challenging fit for shorter riders. (I hope to post more on this topic later, but I'm not sure if I'll ever get around to it, so read this article if you are interested.)

The XXIX, which is named for its wheel size, was quite a bargain: it carries decent-though-not-spectacular components, handles quite well, and only cost me 675 dollars. That's the least I've paid for a bike, without correcting for inflation, since I bought my first "adult" a Trek 930 way back in 1992. Why was it so inexpensive, you ask? Two reasons: it's made out of steel and it was built in Taiwan. This is only my second bike made out of 4130; that first Trek was also chro-moly. It's also the first "grown-up" bicycle I've owned that wasn't built in the US. I bought the thing, even though I over-worry about corrosion of steel alloys and prefer to buy US-made bikes, because this particular vehicle allows me to inexpensively evaluate my interest in three MTB subcultures: single-speeding, 29ers, and rigid mountain-biking. You might think it's unscientific to simultaneously vary three parameters, but I'm sure followers of design of experiments would approve.

For the record, buying yet another bicycle wasn't entirely selfish. I've now reconfigured my geared, hardtail mountain bike for Alison to use. She's already taken it out a couple of times, and I think she's starting to enjoy off-road riding.

Enough with the chit-chat. Here're a couple of photos of the beast, which I have decided to name the Behemoth, because of its enormous wheels and 26-pound (!) weight:


If you can't tell from the above photos how gargantuan the wheels and tires are---try looking at the length of the headtube or the height of the rear tire relative to the seatpost clamp--here's a photo comparing our two mountain bikes:


See what I mean?

Ooph!

The other day, I did a bunch of deadlifts as part of my workout. The next day, I commuted to work and back on my fixie, and I discovered that riding a fixed-gear or single-speed bicycle up a steep hill is essentially a long series of 1-legged squats. Grunt, ugh, ooph!

Knobby-Treaded Wallet

As a person who enjoys hacks (including wallet hacks) and owns a belt made from a bicycle inner tube,* I find this wallet made from a mountain-bike tire to be right up my alley...er, singletrack. Plus, it has motion-sensitive lights; how cool is that?

* Given to me by my lovely bride.

Black and Blue Man

This weekend was a mixed bag for me:

• On Saturday morning, during my Parkour class, I landed a front handspring* off a vault poorly and badly sprained my left ankle.
  
• On Saturday night, Alison and I went in to Baltimore to see the Blue Man Group perform. The performance was terribly entertaining.**
  

Unfortunately, the good part of the weekend did not cancel out the bad, since I'm still hobbling about, and my exercise plans for at least the next week have been dramatically altered. In particular, now that the spring has finally arrived, I've gotten re-excited about cycling, so Alison and I had planned to ride on Sunday, which didn't happen. I'm hoping I'll be well enough to climb onto the fixie by next weekend.

* Technically not part of Parkour.
** You should definitely see them if you have the opportunity.

Beer-View Mirror

Those of you in the readership who enjoy both cycling and beer*---I can think of at least one---may be interested in this hack: It's a rear-view mirror meant to be mounted on your bike helmet or sunglasses, rather like ones you see in the cycling catalogs. This one is different, however, in that you get to make it yourself and in that a beer-bottle cap is involved.

Hmm. You know, this project would would give me an excuse to use my Dremel and that hole-saw kit I just bought...

* Though not at the same time, I hope.

Apparently, Bike- and Car-Jackers are Morons

Brian's stolen bike has been recovered, and the Baltimore Police has a lead on the perp. How did the cops find a nondescript single-speed mountain bike in a medium-sized city like Baltimore? Here's Brian's explanation:

Apparently this criminal mastermind nearly ran into a cop car while riding the bike. He tried to ride away, but wasn't very successful. I conjecture that he didn't know how to ride that kind of bike. So he ditched it to run and got away.

I guess I shouldn't be as surprised at this development as I am: anyone who takes up bike-jacking for employment or entertainment can't be that intelligent. This reminds me of my mother's recent run-in with the criminal element:

She was confronted at gunpoint in a parking lot and forced into her car. Her assailant then attempted to drive the car away, with her in it. He was unable to operate the vehicle because it had a manual transmission, so he fled. Thus, my mother was saved from who knows what fate by the perp's ineptitude.*

* And her own frugality. Those of you who've met her may realize that it's perhaps her most distinguishing characteristic.

Bike-Jacking

Brian was mugged at fist-point while bike-commuting home in Baltimore last night. Fortunately, he was mostly unharmed. This event really makes me worry not just about his future safety, but also about Alison's.

The Fix is In

Regular readers know that I've been pondering acquiring a fixed-gear* road bike or single-speed mountain bike for a few years. Well, 2 weeks ago, I bought a fixie**.

It's a 2007 Cannondale Capo in the clear-coated raw-aluminum finish. Yes, I know it's much cooler to convert some random old road bike to fixed-gear operation or at least repurpose an antique track bike, but I couldn't resist the Capo at this price point. For 720 dollars--I get a bit of a discount at my shop---I got a frame and fork that would cost around 800 bucks if bought separately, plus all the rest of the components. Admittedly, as you can see from the spec sheet, the components range from junk (the hubs and bottom bracket) to mediocre (the bar, stem, and seatpost), but the bike was still a good deal. Besides, I can always upgrade the components later.

Actually, I've already removed the rear brake calipers and lever as well as replaced the saddle, post, pedals, brake-cable housing, and even the grip tape. I'm Brian with the overhead projector when it comes to the silver tape; I think it looks very sharp. Perhaps I'll do the same with the Seven.

So far, I'm enjoying the challenge of the fixed-gear and the intimate connection with the drivetrain.*** I'm still working on descending, however; I've only tackled moderate downhills. I'll try some steeper descents in the next few rides.

A word about gearing: I'm running a 48/17 gear, which, with 700x23c tires, works out to 74.26 gear inches. Chris recommended that gearing to me, based on his own experience riding in the same areas I ride. So far, that's working out pretty well, but I reserve the right to change it later.

Anyway, here are some photos of my new rig:



* A fixed-gear bicycle is a (nearly always) single-speed bike that does not coast.

** I should point out that, as the spec sheet indicates, the Capo comes with a freewheel, making it a single-speed rather than a fixie. However, I put a fixed cog and lock-ring on the other side of the flip-flop hub before hitting the road with it. After a week of riding, I found that I never felt the need to switch to the coast-able mode, so I took the freewheel off.

*** Plus, I get to use the word "fixie" all the time now. Don't you agree that "fixie" is great fun to say? Fixie, fixie, fixie. Fixie.

What Hath Been Wrought

Tubeless mountain-bike tires became available several years ago. And there was much rejoicing, for lo! tubeless tires suffer much less from pinch flats, allowing the rider to run considerably lower pressure, thus enjoying a smoother ride and gaining traction. Further, tubeless tires deflate more slowly when punctured, so the villagers frolicked in the street. But then, the daughter of the gatekeeper pointed out that tubeless tires are heavy and sometimes lose pressure overnight. And so the people reduced their frolicking somewhat.

But alas, road-bikers had not even the choice. To go tubed or not to go tubed; that was not a question. For you see, the great pressure contained within a road tire could not be contained with the magicks known to the village shamen.

But now, at last, roadies have cause to rejoice as well. For behold, the mighty wizard, Hutchinson, hath wrought tubeless road tires! And, though only a few tubeless-compatible road wheels can be found in the village market, roadies will soon reap the benefits of tubelessness, and without so great a weight penalty. And so, all the villagers will celebrate: the great and the small, the mountain-bikers and the roadies, the awkward teenager and the old woman who sells things you can't quite identify. And they will live happily in peace for many years hereafter.