Thinking of snow

Scout and Pugsley are ready for a blizzard.

The past couple of weeks brought us some unseasonably cold weather and a bit of snow, but not a lot is left around these parts. During our daily ride today, we were caught in a brief swirling of granules that looked just like crumbly pieces of Styrofoam, but they quickly melted. It's usually around this time of year that I'm in the mood for a nice, substantial snowstorm. In a couple of months I'll likely change my tune, but at present, a thick layer of the white stuff would be most welcome.

Superbowl Sunday

Daddy-powered sled train. Somehow, Picasa added animated snow. 

We took today as an opportunity to enjoy a town nearly devoid of human activity. A city that gets pretty crazy about its professional sports teams equivalently gets pretty quiet in the event that one of said teams makes it to a big game. At least thats the case in the suburb where we live.

Ever-enthusiastic snow shark.

In the '80s when I was working a low-paying job, the Broncos were in a couple of ill-fated Superbowls. During those games, I took advantage of receiving double pay in place of co-workers who would rather see the game. It was easy money, because customers largely stayed home.

Today, things seem much the same, with people likely concentrated around the nearest screen instead of enjoying a really nice day. However, instead of working for extra pay, we took the girls sledding and later Scout and I went for a ride. Superbowl Sunday is a great time to experience a much more lightly populated civilization.

If you haven't already done it, make sure to get outside during the big game. After all, the score isn't dependent on you, and all those commercials that people will inevitably talk about will be available online anytime, should you choose not to ignore them.

Me and Scout in the snow

Lucky you: a rare non self-portrait, courtesy of Julie and her iPhone.

After a mostly dry winter, we've had three minor snowstorms in the past week. Not a lot of total accumulation, but better than nothing.

The Pugsley remains as fun to ride as ever, though after spending a slight majority of riding time in recent months on my Monocog with its 750mm Salsa Rustler bar, the Pug's 660mm Salsa Moto Ace bar feels far too narrow. I think I'm finished with flat bars any narrower than the Rustler.

The difference 24 hours can make

72 degrees on January 3.

One of the best things about Colorado is that we sometimes get a wide variety of weather over a short time frame. For example, this past Friday, it was a sunny 72 degrees F at about 1pm. T-shirt weather. Mind you, it was January 3. I enjoyed the day.

However, about exactly 24 hours later on early Saturday afternoon, things were quite different. The thermometer on our back porch showed 22 degrees F; a drop of 50 degrees. Large, billowy flakes of snow were swirling down from the sky. I enjoyed the day.

22 degrees on January 4.

Like many people who live in Colorado, I appreciate warm weather and I appreciate cold weather. Hot weather, or overcast and rainy weather, not so much. So, for me, the seasonal temperatures of this time of year that swing back and forth like a pendulum between about room temperature and snowy cold is just about right. As long as the wind isn't blowing strongly, either case is great riding weather. Of course, that's just what I did. Afterward, I was pressed into service for pulling duties for a little street sledding.
 

Rolling out of 2013 and into 2014

I close out 2013 having ridden a bike every day of the calendar year. Today also marks the 372nd consecutive day that I've ridden a bike. I'm not one for New Year's resolutions, but I hope to include more off road rides and more bike camping in the coming year.

It's not too late to get out for one final ride of 2013, or if it is, then make the first ride of 2014 one to remember.

367 consecutive days on a bike, and counting...

My bike barn in the gloaming of a late Fall sunset.

This oft neglected blog has once again fallen by the wayside in the face of all of the things that tend to demand attention toward the end of the year. However, I would be remiss not to report that I've crossed over the symbolic milestone of having ridden a bike every consecutive day for more than a year, of this past Tuesday. Counting today, the number stands at 367. It all began with the TSBC Challenge last year.

I have long had bikes as a pivotal element of my life, but had never kept track of a streak of consecutive days ridden. I don't track miles ridden, as that isn't really feasible for me, but none of my rides in the past year could be considered particularly noteworthy. Most were fairly antithetical to being epic, with rides on the majority of days capturing some combination of transportation, research purposes as part of my job, social activities, dog exercise, or family fun. Regardless of purpose, I feel better after every ride than I did before.

During the past year, my bike experiences have included:

• riding nearly every bike I own (causing me to evaluate those that weren't ridden)
• riding some bikes that I do not own, most of which were borrowed from bike sharing programs
• selling or donating several bikes and buying a few, for a net total of fewer bikes at my house than this time last year (seemingly counterintuitive, this is progress toward a goal)
• seeing my younger daughter take her first ride on a balance bike
• watching my older daughter blossom into a mountain biker
• encouraging others around me to enjoy riding bikes, too

My ride on the 365th consecutive day was poorly documented photographically, and included just Scout and myself. However, on the 366th consecutive day, counting myself there were nine human and one canine companions dispersed over eight bikes with five different tire sizes. I like riding alone, but it is also fun to be part of an impromptu bike parade, mostly outfitted with bikes from my household. 

My niece on her new-to-her big kid 24" mountain bike that I was commissioned to refurbish. She's a natural dirt biker.

A handful of cousins stacked up at the starting line for our ride. Note many are still in pajamas, well into mid-afternoon.

My brother Chris rode the Dummy with his five year-old daughter, freeing me up to get some pics. 

On our ride, the popular request was to hit the local dirt tracks. Many circuits by many kids ensured plentiful fun. We are fortunate to have some great dirt trails a short ride from our house. Such is a benefit of life in the suburbs.

20-inch wheels.

26-inch wheels.

24-inch wheels.

16-inch wheels. My six year-old nephew was undaunted with being matched up to a pink girl's bike with basket and fenders. Nobody in our group took more challenging lines down the trail or relished going fast more than he did. 

29-inch wheels; speckled medium-sized paws.

I'll likely continue to count the days that I'm on a bike until, inevitably, I miss one. However, I have several internal and external motivators in place to make it unlikely that I'll miss a day for some time to come. An unanticipated bonus has been that I've remained remarkably healthy this past year, only getting a single cold in October. I don't know if I can attribute the drive to ride every day to keeping healthy, but it probably didn't hurt. 

I plan to enjoy the sun as much as possible, especially during these winter months. Here's to a fun and bike filled 2014 to everyone out there. 

346 days and counting

It's somewhere around zero degrees Fahrenheit, and I'm cruising on my Monocog with Scout.

For the past 346 consecutive days, I've ridden a bike. Many bikes, actually, but at least one ride per day. I'm sure that many people have surpassed this figure without even counting or thinking about it. I've never counted before, but I'm quite certain that this is a record for me.

I've found that no matter what, it's always great to get out to ride, even on a day like today when I haven't seen the thermometer above 9 degrees F. The Redline easily passed its snow test, though on squirmy, mealy super-cold compacted powder, it is no match for the sure footed traction of my Pugsley.

The streak continues...

Whatever they call it, around here it's Bike Friday

As is our tradition, we refrained from spending any money today, and instead took the opportunity to enjoy a beautiful late November day. We are very fortunate to get quite a few terrific days with 60 degree F weather sprinkled throughout the winter. When fine weather coincides with a day off, there is no better way to soak up some precious sunlight.

We had a nice Thanksgiving meal yesterday and the girls really enjoyed the food. Perhaps the pinnacle of their enjoyment was getting to lick the beaters from the whipped cream.

Unbridled joy.

A sampling of two types of pumpkin pie, and a slice of pumpkin cheesecake.

Today marks the second anniversary of Scout coming home to live with us. She has been a good dog and continues to learn how to live in the world of people. Here's to many more rides.

Scout is my shadow, much more often than not.

Wherein I venture into the world of big wheels

Black and yellow 2008 Redline Monocog 29er.

For more than a year I've conceptually evaluated the idea of myself on 29-inch wheels. I've had intermittent rides on several big-wheeled bikes, interplayed with a continuous internal discussion weighing the tradeoffs of wheel size, proportions, etc., and underlaid with convoluted self-justification for bike acquisition. All the while, I've been selling off underutilized bikes and equipment with a goal of more easily managed rolling stock. When a used 2008 Redline Monocog 29er frameset showed up on Craigslist priced entirely too reasonably, my last excuse was vanquished.

New-to-me 2008 Redline Monocog 29er, size XL (21").

As long as it has wheels and she gets to run along with it, Scout approves.

I really like the Monocog's Atari-esque '80s style graphics. 

The plunge was made easier by the fact that since I'd been clearing out the stable a bit, I'd built up a decent bundle of bike spendable loot from the proceeds. At the same time, many of the parts to build out the frame had either been in my stash for years, or had recently shown up, meaning that it wasn't much of a stretch to finish out the build. However, instead of just using only whatever parts I had on hand, I decided to splurge a little. The Monocog would be more than a personal testbed for 29" wheels, but also for a few key pieces of equipment that I've been wanting to try for some time. After cleaning and waxing the frame, I got down to the fun of putting it all together.

Nothing groundbreaking here, just dependable Avid BB7 disc brakes; 160mm rear, 180mm front. The Redline chain tensioners make for rock solid wheel placement. A 20-tooth Surly cog is obscured from view. 

Even though the frame came with a square taper bottom bracket, I opted for the 175mm TruVativ Firex crankset Gypsy Nick left with me during his last visit. I installed a new Surly 32-tooth ring and a bash ring.

VP Components VP-001 pedals are much flashier than their name implies. Gold, of course, to complement the Monocog's Pac-Man graphics.

Nicely wide Salsa Rustler Bar 2, Ergon GP1 BioKork grips, and Avid levers finish off the controls.

As I was making plans for what I wanted to do with the Monocog, a non-negotiable element was to be a wide handlebar. I'd initially wanted to find a 780mm wide Salsa Whammy bar that I so enjoyed on the Surly Krampus, but they seem not to exist outside of the stock Krampus parts kit. Instead, I discovered the 750mm wide Salsa Rustler 2, as newly spec'd on the stunningly cool Salsa Horsethief. The Rustler features the same 11 degree backsweep as the Whammy, but with a preferable (to me) 15mm rise and 6 degree upsweep compared to the flatter Whammy.

The Salsa Rustler bar does not disappoint. The frameset came with a no-frills Redline 100mm stem with a 31.8mm clamp area that, when mated with the Rustler, makes for a super stable and confidence inspiring tiller. I can't believe I rode with much narrower bars for so many years, as was the style beginning in the late '80s and continuing for a couple of decades. I remember having bikes back in the old days with bars in the 540mm neighborhood, some of which I cut down even further for some long forgotten reason.

I finished off equipping the frameset with a few odds and ends from my parts bin, including a Thomson Elite non-offset 26.8mm seatpost, a Specialized saddle, the single-speed WTB rear wheel from Julie's Raleigh XXIX, an off-the-shelf WTB/Deore front wheel, and a pair of barely used WTB Exiwolf 2.3" steel-bead tires. Decent, pragmatic, journeyman-type parts to mix in with the sparkly, splurgy new bits.

However, I wanted to enter the 29er world fully, and felt the transition demanded something more. In this new world, tubes would be a thing of the past. I explored the options and decided to go with what some term 'ghetto' tubeless, but what I will call, for a more enlightened audience, 'handyman' tubeless. I pieced together the process from a number of online resources, of which vast numbers can be found with a quick search. It seems to me that the 'handyman' method has many more than one correct answer, much like any handyman endeavor.

At this point I'm certainly no expert, but I'll outline what worked for me in the following photos.

Start with the bare rim. I inserted the wheel in a truing stand for convenient access, then cleaned the rim with rubbing alcohol and let it dry.

One inch (25.4mm) wide Gorilla tape is inexpensive and comes in a roll long enough for about four 29er rims.

The Gorilla tape fit just inside the bottom of the channel of my WTB Speed Disc rims (labeled 26mm) just right, without going up the sides where the tire bead will be seated in a subsequent step. I overlapped it about 6 inches at the valve hole.

I cut an x-slit in the tape over the valve hole. I then cut the Presta valve assembly out of a damaged tube, and inserted the valve through the slit in the tape. Next, I  tightened the valve stem retainer nut down to force the rubber around the internal valve opening into the rim channel, making a seal. 

The next step is to install the tire (sans tube) on the rim, and thread on a Presta to Schrader adapter, if, like me, your air compressor is Schrader only.  

These items come in handy.

At this point, a test inflation helps to determine if your tire/rim combo will work tubeless, or if it will need some adjustment. I used the compressor to air up the tire, quickly at first, then somewhat more cautiously until I heard a couple of popping sounds signifying the air pressure seating the tire beads on the rim. Most resources agree not to inflate to more than 40 psi, lest risking the bead blowing off the rim. Sometimes a little soapy water on the tire bead can help it seat. With the tire/rim combo holding air, the test is a success. On to adding some sealant to make sure that the air stays put, regardless of what the tire may encounter. The next step is to pop part of the bead on one side of the tire to the outside of the rim, in order to make a gap to inject some sealant.

I used a little more than 2 ounces of Stan's sealant per tire, assisted by a syringe. Once the sealant is in, pop the bead back into the rim and air it up again. Remember, 40 psi max.

Once the sealant is in and the tire full of air, spin the wheel around, twisting and turning it to ensure sealant is spread all over the inside. The sealant quickly found and patched a hole in the tire, as evidenced by the gooey spot on the tread in the photo above. Hooray! 

I've now been riding the Monocog for a couple of weeks, and have really been having a lot of fun. With a single gear, I know that the bike's performance anywhere vertical would suffer, mostly due to the limitations of its human engine. However, it's fast on the rolling suburban dirt trails around where I live, and the simplicity of the whole setup makes me feel a bit like a kid on a BMX. The handyman tubeless setup has been working flawlessly, and I've since found some home brew sealant recipes that I may try sometime down the line.

I will say that even at this early stage, I have to deem this experimental testbed a success. Unsurprisingly, I've confirmed that the big 29" wheels feel more proportional to my body size than standard 26" wheels ever have. The bike also has an instant familiarity to me similar to that of my Pugsley, with its similar rolling diameter on 26" x 3.8" fatties. Added to that, it is astonishing how a wide handlebar creates a nearly perfect symbiosis between rider and bike. If you've never tried wide bars and are an XL-sized dirt bike nerd like me, going wide may change your off-road life forever. Any dirt bike with a bar much narrower now gives the impression that I'm on a tiny circus bike.

So far, I'm really impressed with the Monocog. Though its straight-gauge 4130 chromo steel tubing makes it ipso facto not a light weight, the bike feels well balanced and spritely, which is what matters to me. I don't know what it weighs and don't particularly care.

Time will tell what the future holds for this bike. Perhaps some gears at some point, possibly via internal hub. Maybe a 100mm -ish suspension fork. Hopefully some camping. In the mean time, I can say with confidence that the Monocog is vying for top ranking with the Pugsley as the best dog bike in the household, and will likely rack up more than its share of outings over the coming months.

Test fit: a Revelate frame pack built for a 20-inch Pugsley on the XL Monocog.