Riding with an old friend...Mr. Derailluer

With the temperature around +50F on Wednesday, I figured it was a good day to get out on the bike.

A sure sign of spring in our area is when the local townships post wieght limits on the town roads.  They do this because when the frost comes out of the ground, the road base gets soft and they are vulnerable to damage.  The limits this year went in to effect March 14 at noon and usually come off about May 1st.

There is still some snow on the ATV/Snowmobile/Multiple use trails.

Nice quiet roads to ride...

And this is why.  I would guess that 80% of the driveways are not plowed meaning they are not being used.  I rode in the vincinity of 15 lakes yesterday.  A lot of these lakes have cabin/houses that belong to snowbirds and then there are others that just don't use them in the winter.  That is good for me.  I like that.  It doesn't bother me that they're not around.

It is election time for the townships around our area.  If any of you out there think national, or state elections for that matter, are down and dirty, you should witness the small town politics.  The national and state scene doesn't hold a candle to this town.  It is not always that way, but has been for the last few years.  This township covers 133sq miles and has an overall population of about 754.  The nearest building to these signs is probably over a mile away, but there are 5 campaign signs here.  Bill Moyers says “Intelligence has nothing to do with politics,” and I believe him.

Another quiet road

Stopped by the river and birds are plenty this time of year.  The Trumpeter Swans are year around residents, as are the Eagles because this section of the St. Croix River very seldom freezes completely over.

I sat here, ate my banana and watched the birds.

I chased up two Mallards when I walked down here and the geese are plentiful.

It was a great afternoon with about 25 miles of riding.  Just one of the good things was my steed had a derailluer.  I ride the fixed gear in the winter, but it was nice enough yesterday to get a road bike out and it was nice to be able to coast.

Get out and have some Fun ! ! 

Short Timer?

I have been riding almost every night after work, although they have been short rides of about 15 miles.  Ummm, maybe that's why they are calling me short timer at work.  I don't think I'm short.

Oh Goodie!!!

Was it a nice ride tonight or what?   At about 15 miles, the temp around 45F with the wind from the northerly direction and best of all, no cars.  I did see one, but he turned on another road before we met.

I think it happens almost every year, the weather starts getting more like spring and then Whammmmy...calling for blizzard conditions with 8 to 16 inches of snow.  Great.  I hear they are already revising the forecast though, that and depending on which channel one listens to, who knows?  The Shadow knoooows. 

Look Ma...No studs

I haven't updated this in a while, but you haven't missed much either.  The weather here has been well received by everyone I know of, except for maybe Eric who wants more ride time on the big tire prototype.  It was over 50F today with the sun shining bright so it was time to get outside.

The blacktop roads are clearing up nicely so I changed out the studded tires on the fixie last night.

The fixie sporting the summer cross rubber.  Don't get me wrong, the studs are nice on snow and ice covered roads, but the first ride of spring with the studded tires hanging in the garage sure is sweet.  The tree in the background most likely will not be around much longer as it was food for the Porcupine this winter.

For you Jeff...They have plowed the driveway to our local golf course.  Now if we can just get rid of some snow.

Great roads with rolling hills and not one auto did I see, made for a very nice afternoon for the fixie and me.

This is one of the multiple use trails in the area.  I think the snowmobiles are done using it this season.

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished. ~Lao Tzu

Smile Ride

Guess who's turn it is with the EP Cycles prototype...if you guessed me, you guessed right.  This thing is amazing and I had loads of fun riding it this evening.

It was a 12.3 mile smile ride. 

With the 2 x 9 gearing, I didn't have to hike-a-bike any hills and never once got near the top gear.  The Sram XO shifters were smooth and crisp.

I rode some of everything tonight.  I had about a mile of this 2" of fluff snow on top of our now very hard crusty base...handled it well. 

This section of the ride was my favorite...the single track snowmobile trail.

Here I was riding on one of our snowmobile highways.  I didn't see anybody out on the trails tonight.   

The above photo is of my son and their dog Nitro.  Even though it is a little blurry because photography isn't my strong suit, it is good enough to see the smile on his face.  I am of the opinion that anybody that gets on this will have a smile.

From The Builder: EP Cycles Fat Tire Prototype

With great honor, I, Eric was asked to do a write up on the bike.  This is my first blog posting, so go easy on me. :)

It seems as though it has been forever since we originally discussed the fat tire build and now the dreams are finally a reality.  I finished fabrication Friday morning and quickly brought it over to the paint booth to throw some self etching primer and a nice satin red paint on it so I could start assembly right after work at 3:00.  I got about halfway thru assembly on Friday before the girlfriend started requiring more attention, so I put the tools down until the morning.  I woke up early Saturday due to an inability to stay asleep so i went to finish the build and take a quick shake down ride.  Everything seemed to go pretty well with the assembly, and with the exception of 2 things I am very pleased.  The first is the fork.  A minor/major detail was overlooked when purchasing it.  Apparently Salsa uses a REAR 135mm ss hub with a FRONT disc mount(IMHO two thumbs down). We have a FRONT 135 hub and the rotor flange is located just under 1/8" further outboard, and although it's kinda irritating, we do have a few options. 1: No front break for now(which is what I did and liked) 2: Cut the mount off and relocate it(which is what I will eventually do) 3: Switch to a Fatback fork(Which we will probably do for the future builds).  4: Switch to a rear hub for the front(which we will definitely NOT be doing).  The second issue is with the front derailleur.  It functions great but is way too big for what we need.  I'm thinking of going to a small road d that I can modify to work better.  There are many options here too.

 

I made it out for about 2 hours on Sunday and let me tell you, this thing is amazing. I couldn't help but smile and laugh the entire time.  I've been mountain biking for some 20 years and must say this thing is the most enjoyable bike I have ever ridden..... by far!

Running all 3 internals in the down tube was crazy but I think the results are exceptional.

 

 I picked up some red single speed chain ring bolts from Dennis which I think was definitely the right move.

 I really like the look of the internal housings, but I love the way the rear brake housing just lines up perfectly with the brake.  It was no accident, it was not easy, and it was way worth it!!

 The seat post clamp that I got down at the bike swap for $1 was just a bit on the big size so I appropriately made some aluminum shims for now.

I tell Ya

I am sure most have heard, "The younger generation, I tell ya."  Well, let me use today's write up to tell you about just some I know.

 The first lighting system Eric put together 2 years ago which I have put a lot miles on and still use.  This year Brandon has an improved version.  The picture above is of the DIY lighting system put together by Brandon.  These have machined aluminum housing with the weight strategically reduced. This system uses 20 watt halogen bulbs and has a battery life of 2.5 hours for each pack.  Did I mention these are blinding bright.  They work well. 

This is the handlebar version and it weights in at a shade over 10 ounces including the housing, light, switch and mount.

And this is the helmet version.  This little beauty is only 4 oz.  Also the remote battery packs are nice and light coming in at 14 oz.  The combination of the battery packs with the halogen bulbs make this a very nice lighting system.

The big tire frame is coming along nicely.  Jeremy and Chris are CNC machine specialist.  They have been helping all the way along with fixture and frame parts.  Carbon fiber fenders are also in the works and I am here to tell you, even though they cover a very big tire, they are very very light.  Jeremy has already manufactured some and they are going to be sweeeeeetttt. 

I have mentioned that Eric is the designer and welder of the big tire frame.  Here he is doing some polishing.

With in a week, the proto-type will most likely be completely built and ready to ride.

Man, this younger generation...I tell ya! !

Practice

I decided to get some practice in to prepare for my upcoming  early retirement, so I took a half day of vacation and went for a 2.5 mile snowshoe.  Things went well...I may be able to handle it.

It has been unseasonably warm here as of late with today around the 50F mark.  Snow///ice was melting from under this abandon Moose River bridge.

I crossed the Moose River and walked up along the St Croix River.

This is a hole the River Otter has kept open.  I went by a lot of these today.  I have more pictures of them that are more recent with fresh tracks, but I liked this picture, so this is the one we put in. 

I took 51 photos today and have loaded up some. 

Ice flows in Scotts Rapids

The wood peckers have been busy along the river.

My tracks along the river

River Otter tracks.  They run...and slide.  I didn't see them doing this today, but I have witnessed it.  Kind of neat to see.

Some of the ice was falling in today.

A lot of roots here...shallow roots

I blogged about this place one other time.  Click here if you wish to see that one.

One of the summer residents of this old cabin.  It is no longer occupied by the human.

At about 1.25 miles up along the St Croix River from the West Mail, I hit the North Country hiking trail and followed that most of the way back. 

If even some of these retirement days are like this one...oooohhhhh man!!!

And speaking of practice...practice!!! Anyone remember Allen