Making the most of the weekend

Tracks embossed in grass on a nice evening.

Today I had the opportunity to finish up a few tasks around the house. Well, some were tasks, others were working on bikes, which I only rarely regard as laborious.

One quick project was for the Panasonic. I made a swap from a 39 tooth aluminum chainring on a 130mm bolt center diameter 170mm crank, to a 34 tooth stainless steel chainring on a 110mm bolt center diameter 175mm crank. If the last sentence was gibberish to you, I assure you it translates to increased single speed mountain biking fun.

Going from 39 teeth (L) to 34 teeth (R) means a better gear for climbing.

I teamed up the Surly 34 tooth stainless steel ring with a Spot chain guard.

I also hung up our new clock. Our big girl is learning to tell time, so the new clock will be a great visual aid in understanding how it all works.

It's always a good time to ride.

I collected the vintage Schwinns for a family portrait. We now have one each from the decades of the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. It's intriguing to me to examine how the bikes changed, yet stayed the same.

Front to back, a 1947 Schwinn-built B.F. Goodrich, a 1956 Schwinn Corvette and a 1964 Schwinn Hollywood.

You can tell they're sisters, but each has its own personality.

I did a few non-bike things too, but it would of course be a shame to waste the day away merely accomplishing stuff, so we made sure to fit in a ride. We did several circuits on the dirt trails, on which she has now mastered climbing the second steepest hill. I'm not sure if it was her new pink skirt or the handbrake that gives her power, but she's brimming with confidence when it comes to off-road riding. She shook off a couple of minor crashes with a smile and was proud of the minor scrapes she received.

This girl is tough.

Soaking up the last few moments of the sunset.

Some of us appreciate certain segments of the ride more than others.

Summertime and the livin' is easy

The chair test pilot enjoying a popsicle.

Although it's not technically summer yet, traditionally the summer season is book-ended by Memorial Day and Labor Day, so culturally we're safely into summer. In the spirit of relaxation, and on the spur of the moment, I decided to build an Adirondack chair. The inspiration came jointly from a pile of reclaimed lumber that used to be the subfloor in my kitchen until I installed tile a couple of years ago, and a fancy recycled plastic slab Adirondack chair I sat on at the local library this past Saturday. By Sunday evening I was actively constructing, armed with a sketched design and a cell phone pic of the library's chair.

Monday evening I worked a bit more on the chair, and by Tuesday it was ready for paint. However the evenings have been too nice to be totally committed to a construction project, so we logged some more time on dirt trails.

Singing while riding through the cottonwoods.

Dirt machines taking a break at the park.

The chair is now complete. It would benefit from an accompanying footrest of some sort, but that will have to wait for later. Apparently the chair has met the approval of the other members of my household, as there is a request for a couple more. However, I don't have enough wood left for even one more, and I'm too frugal (cheap) to buy it. In the mean time, I plan to use the chair for its intended purpose. Now all I need to do is to air up the mini pool to stick my feel in while I relax.

Why yes, that is a Park BO-2 ready to open a frosty bottle of New Belgium Blue Paddle pilsner. You're very observant.

Rubber swap for the Panasonic; dirt bike summer school

1988 Panasonic MC 4500, before picture. I've always liked the dual water bottle mount on the down tube design of the old days. It's a shame bike builders don't seem to use that placement anymore.

I've been riding my old Panasonic MC 4500 a lot more, as it's been my most accessible mountain bike of late at a time when I'm instructing a little Dirt Riding 101. This is a bit of a change for the Panasonic, because for the past couple of years it had been my office bike, parked next to my desk, patiently waiting to shuttle me to meetings or errands. However, I now primarily use Denver B-cycle downtown, so a while back I brought it home for a new duty assignment.

After several evenings of service on the dirt trails in its urban commuter kit, I decided to swap the Ritchey Moby Bite 2.1 slicks for something with knobs. The Moby Bites are among the best fat slicks I've ever had, and actually do fine on hardpack dirt, but I own a variety of good knobbies and I'm not afraid to use them. So off with the smooth and on with the tractor tread. I popped the fenders off while I was at it, because it just seemed the right thing to do.

It's a big boy. The 22 inch frame is now sporting some different rubber: IRC Mythos XC 2.1 inch meats.

I've been happy with the result. There's a reason why mountain biking caught on in the mid 80s. These old steel bikes from the golden era are just plain fun to ride off road. I previously built this bike up as a geared mountain bike and it was just as good to ride, but something about the current single speed setup brings me back to riding BMX bikes on dirt hills in vacant lots around 30 years ago.

The bike itself started life as a good honest mountain bike, akin to a Specialized Rockhopper or a Bridgestone MB-3, all of which were built in the same factories in Japan. Curiously, the MC in the bike's name inexplicably stands for "mountain cat." The original gray paint has seen better days, but is still adorned with pink, yellow and white moniker decals. For those whose hobby is time wasting, I'll tempt you with the future possibility of a soliloquy regarding this bike.

On to the dirt bike school update.

Had to tie up the princess dress for the demonstration.

In the photo above, notice a fine demonstration of the the standing with feet level while coasting technique. This technique is used to cushion the body against bumps while off road. Our girl has been learning and working toward mastery of many riding techniques, and this is one of her latest.

Yesterday, she had the opportunity to learn through some first hand experience with recovering from a crash. Nothing serious, just a moment of inattentive steering on the roll out following a downhill that led to a fall to one side. That's the good thing about crashing on grass and dirt: it doesn't hurt too much. However, a while later she made too tight of a turn on some loose gravel and ended up with a scraped palm that required a band-aid. There were no tears with either crash, and more than a bit of pride for good recoveries from both student and instructor.

Dirt bike fairies like to have their dress match their bike.

Celestial sightings on the winter solstice

I don't make it a habit of witnessing too many sunrises, but yesterday, the shortest day of the year, I tried to maximize my sun time. Well, that and I had an early morning meeting. The ride leaving home was brisk, hovering around 20F, with a small headwind. My eyes teared up a bit and my cheeks felt numb by the time I got to the train station. On this first day of winter there was a thin coating of frost on everything, and the colors of the landscape were muted and as slow to awaken as I was.

My bike for this part of the day was one that is ordinarily my stay-at-work office bike, but it ended up at home for some regular maintenance. It's a single-speed utility bike, hybridized from the frame of a vintage mountain bike of the lugged steel era and the components of a modern cruiser, coaxed into cooperation through the aid of a Surly Singleator.

Reconfigured 1988 Panasonic MC 4500, in nice and big 22" size.

The Panasonic in its current configuration is a swift and comfortable utility bike. I especially like the smooth and slightly bouncy ride of the Ritchey Moby-Bite 2.1 slicks. Surprisingly, these tires do fairly well on snow and patches of ice, although there isn't any of that around right now. I rode the Panasonic quite a few miles while going from meeting to meeting, eventually returning home.

Early in the morning on Dec. 21st I had seen the rusty glow of the lunar eclipse, but a subsequent appearance of the moon about 15 hours later was spectacular in its own right. In the evening on the way to the BikeDenver Winter Solstice Ride I observed the moonrise over the Denver Zoo. The photo below poorly portrays what I saw. In actuality, the subtlety of streaks of creamy gold clouds washing over the moon reminded me of the hues of the sublime Stranahan's Whiskey Brickle ice cream, my new and possibly permanent favorite flavor of all time.

This was the best the zoom on my camera could do.

During the day I had returned home to swap bikes for the solstice ride. I chose to bring my Titan 1/2 Trac out of hibernation, it being arguably my most festive bike. At the Zoo, approximately 100 or so bikes and riders readied themselves. The weather was much more cooperative than for past solstice rides, holding somewhere around freezing with no precipitation. For comparison, the temperature for the ride in 2008 was 2F, and the ride was mercifully truncated to the shortest route to the pub. This year, the route highlighted several scenic and decorated landmarks while showcasing some recently installed bicycle infrastructure along the way, such as the buffered bike lane on Champa.

Solstice riders taking a look-see at Union Station.

The ride rolled through 6 or 7 miles from the Zoo to LoDo to Civic Center Park and the State Capital before depositing us at The Irish Snug for hot food and drink. The Titan was as nimble and speedy as ever, and as usual, was lavished with attention for its fenders. The ride was just the right length and mostly avoided the construction-induced traffic jams along 14th Street. In all, it was a great time riding and enjoying libations with friends, and a pleasant way to usher in the seasonal marker for incrementally increasing daylight.

The flash shows the reflective effect of the license plate fenders on the Titan 1/2 Trac.

For comparison, this is the same shot without a flash. The illuminated City and County Building is visible in the background.