ruminatia

They lie in wait...

So there I was, cycling along the mountainside against a grueling headwind, hunched down in the drop handlebars on my touring bike, when I noticed I had a riding partner. Well, perhaps more of a flying partner… or beaked stalker? I digress. Crouched down like this, I’d noticed the shadow of a bird about half the size of an adult crow just in front of my wheel. I’d see his shadow for a few moments before he’d fall back against the force of the wind. Poor fellow, I thought; and it was neat! How often do you find a bird that wants your companionship? This went on for maybe half a minute before I started to question what was going on.

Then it hit me, as if a sharp stone from the side of the mountain had broken off and struck with the full force of gravity.

This bird was trying to kill me by dive-bombing, falling back, and then repeating the attempt. I immediately began swatting behind my shoulder in a fleet of panic, proceeding to engage warp nine uphill and against a headwind. I’m used to this with dogs, but birds!? Completely new experience. Once I’d escaped the little menace, I began to wonder what happened. Were Daphne du Maurier and Alfred Hitchcock on to something? Are the birds beginning to wise up and rebel against the current masters of the globe? Perhaps Maurier was unknowingly clairvoyant. Even better: a prophet cleverly disguised as a writer!

“No, no, no,” I thought; level-headed reason came flooding back to me soon after I took a quick peak over my shoulder to see if the bird was gone. “I must look like a deer or some other large quadruped when I’m hunched down in the drops like this.” He was going for my neck, hoping to down me for food. Fascinating. Nature doing its thing. The idea got my mind going for a bit until I realized how embarrassing it would be to be removed from the gene pool by that little twerp.

Indeed, it’s the best guess I have for what happened, and I suspect it’s correct. My riding style and attire were significantly different on this ride than those in previous years. I rarely ride aggressively, preferring to take in the sights, sounds, and smells around me. I generally sit up on the bike with my hands on the brake hoods, “ramps,” or even the “flats” (part of the handlebars closest to the rider and parallel with the ground.) This is a comfortable way to ride, and you can actually see things. What a concept!

Summer is finally here!

This time, I went all-out to battle the headwind and help prepare myself for more difficult rides this summer (and hopefully keep up with my friends on their light racing bikes). In addition to riding more aggressively, my back nearly flat, I wore sunglasses for the first time and an orange, long sleeve athletic shirt made from merino wool. “Superfine” merino is amazing for athletic activity; year round, even! It’s fast-drying, doesn’t itch, regulates your temperature, sheds water, retains its thermal properties when saturated in water/sweat, and it doesn’t smell.

The merino shirts I buy even look like normal clothing, which is something I value as a recreational and utility cyclist. I’ve been wearing these shirts since 2009, but never long sleeves. Pippi Konstanski, a friend and fellow cyclist, mentioned she wears them in the summer to prevent sunburn and potential skin cancer — all without resorting to goopy sunscreen. What a wonderful idea! I believe this only added to the quadruped look, hiding my flesh and giving me a coat of “fur.” The shirt worked, even in 80 F, but I’d like to find a lighter-weight version for future rides; preferably one with a person painted on the back of it…

Last but not least, as you might have guessed, the bird didn’t actually make it to my neck; I designed the bold sentence for effect.

Some words of wisdom for other cyclists: add birds to your list of ride hazards.

Dork Stats

Minor variations will be present between MapMyRide data and cyclometer data.

• Distance: 29.04 miles
• Riding Time: 1:43:12
• Travel Time: 1:54:01 (stops included)
• Avg/Max Speed: 16.8mph/35.2mph
• Avg/Max Cadence: 88rpm/135rpm
• MapMyRide Route: http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/36571996
• Wind: Moderate.
• Temperature: ~80 F, sunny.

Schwalbe Marathon Plus

I recently replaced the aging Schwalbe Marathon tires (26×1.5) on my Surly Long Haul Trucker (LHT) with a thinner, hardier version of the same thing: the Marathon Plus (26×1.35). These tires are known for their extreme puncture resistance — the “Plus” version even more so. In addition to this, they last practically forever. Unfortunately, my original Marathons have lost much of their puncture protection and are a bit too wide for my taste. I mentioned to my cycling buddy, Korey Pelton, that one of my Marathon tires had probably seen close to 5,000 miles of use — a couple thousand on my old LHT, and a couple more on the new LHT. I did have to replace one of them at some point after running over a nail or something, damaging the tire. If I used a strong boot, or “tire patch,” it might have been okay. However, I’m hesitant to test this since I can be up to 50 miles away from home on a given ride.

Korey is a bit skeptical a rear tire can last so long (5,000 miles), so I’m going to keep track of how many miles these new Plus tires see. I bet him a Pilsner Urquell both front and rear tires will last. My cyclometer this morning (since last reset) says I’ve put 1,727 miles down; I’ll revisit this in a few years, at the 6,727 mark, to see if my claims match reality.

Update: I pulled what looks like a nearly inch-long drill-bit fragment out of the rear tire; it was completely embedded for months with no flat. How’s that for puncture protection! (Photo)

I haven’t been writing as much lately, but I hope to break that habit again soon. Because of this, I’ll highlight some things, like I did last year, so they are hopefully not completely lost from the record:

• I’ve taken the bus only 5 days this winter, due to road conditions and route uncertainty. I trade off between my studded fixed gear and LHT, depending on how bare the roads are.
• I own seven or so merino wool shirts from Icebreaker. This is practically all I wear anymore, as I had planned last year. Hoping to continue this trend with more variety of wool shirts/clothing and further optimizing my casual wear for bicycling and physical activity.
• I am going to start a website/community/resource for those in my region who are interested in utility and recreational cycling. The goal is to get more people around here on bikes. Stay tuned, and if I haven’t done it 6 months from now, please give me a kick.
• I moved out of my apartment and into a house in October. I’m renting it from a friend who moved to take a job; loving it so far.
• I have started lifting weights to even out my cyclist figure a bit.
• I’m working on improving all of my life habits. Going incredibly well so far; eating, sleeping, cleaning, work, etc.
• I replaced my fixie’s DLumotec with an IQ Cyo R. Best headlight I’ve used to date, but I wouldn’t mind a wider beam for corners. Still highly recommended for the price.
• I plan to switch to platform/spd hybrid pedals. Clipless is my favorite form of retention, but I hate having to always wear cycling shoes. On long rides, especially with my mysterious tendon issues, stiff shoes are nice, though.
• Probably missing something, but I’ll conclude by saying I’m likely going to start riding with a mirror of some kind, probably helmet-mounted, to improve my safety and perhaps my vehicular cycling. I am more confident in my behavior when I can keep an eye on what’s behind me.

Very excited for this year. Tons of plans, and I’m off to a great start. Can’t wait to do some camping trips on my bike with my new Tarptent.

Today marks day #1 of snow/ice biking for me in Pocatello this year. I have my One Way set up as a fixed gear with my Schwalbe Marathon Winters and platform pedals.

Bicycling in the winter has become routine at this point.

Korey Pelton Climbing Smith Canyon

Today I completed a three-day, 100+ mile bicycle camping trip from Pocatello, Idaho, to Lava Hot Springs, Idaho, with Korey from the 23rd to the 25th this weekend. This is the same trip we attempted to do in 2007, but the ’07 trip proved very difficult and did not go well. This time around it was still pretty tough, but overall it was a decent ride. I had wanted to do this ride again just to see how tough it really is under the right circumstances (cooler weather, better bike, less weight, etc).

Our plans were to leave Friday the 22nd, but about 15 miles out of town, Korey’s rear wheel on his Windsor Tourist broke a spoke. This pretty much killed our plans for the day, and we went home. Fortunately, we still had three days off of work, so we decided to try again the next day. Korey got his wheel fixed, and we picked up some spare spokes and a tool so we could repair any broken spokes on the road. However, the next morning, just a few miles into the ride, another spoke snapped.

Discouraged, we investigated the spoke and considered repairing it. Unfortunately it had broken on the cassette side of the wheel and could not be replaced without removing the cassette first. Seeing this, we decided to turn back yet again. Korey was stilldetermined to do the trip and suggested we cycle back to his house quickly and move all of his gear to his mountain bike. This is what we did, and it went smoothly from there on. I should mention that he did this ride on worn studded tires! (That’s what he had for knobbies available, I guess). We ended up leaving at around 11:00am and got to Lava at 5:00pm, stopping at Subway in McCammon for lunch.

The first 40 miles of the trip went well, but the telling moment came when we arrived at Smith Canyon Road, a partially gravel/dirt road I mapped out to avoid US Highway 30. This is the difficult part of the trip, as there is 1800ft of climbing over 6 miles. We failed miserably at this part of the ride in 2007, walking our bikes much of the way. This time around, we low-geared the whole thing and not once had to walk. After the climb, we descended quickly into Lava at high speed.

Once we arrived in Lava, we cycled to our camping spot and set up our tent. Hungry and tired, we saddled up again to make a trip to the grocery store. Returning with our groceries shortly after, we relaxed for the rest of the night and fell asleep. The next morning we ventured out to find coffee and breakfast, taking it easy and exploring the town. It’s small enough that you can see a majority of the stores and businesses on a single road. We found a diner to eat and get coffee, and spent our time there leisurely. I had brought along my netbook in hopes there would be a wireless hotspot available; to my delight, the entire town has free wireless Internet access.

We spent the rest of the day relaxing and exerting ourselves as little as possible. It rained quite a bit, and the first time pretty heavily. Korey’s dome tent was not completely waterproof, and I quickly stuffed all vulnerable items into my Ortlieb panniers to prevent them from getting wet. We had to scoop out puddles of water once the rain stopped. It rained again multiple times throughout the night, but the water leaks were nowhere near as bad–I stayed comfortable in my down sleeping bag. I had trouble sleeping much at all that night, but I managed to get in enough sleep to make the return trip home the next day.

The next morning, we woke quickly and began packing everything up to get ready to go. After eating a light breakfast, we hit the road at 9pm. On our way out of town, a man who appeared to be in his 30s walked over to us and asked if we had used Smith Canyon Road to get there. Shocked that he had heard of the road, I told him we had used it and proceeded to ask how he knew about Smith Canyon. It seems he found the route I mapped with Bikely! Small world, eh?

Shortly after, we left town and began our slow climb up Dempsey Creek and Smith Canyon. It is much steeper on the way back–probably the steepest climb I’ve ever done. In spite of this, it was much easier for me to do than the reverse direction, since I was starting fresh in the morning. We reached the top of Smith Canyon quickly, and began coasting down toward the gravel road. I really appreciated the scenery of this area and the road in general on the return trip, since I had time to take it all in. We took very little breaks on the way back, surprisingly not too tired, and arrived in Pocatello at 2:00pm.

Overall, this was an awesome trip.

Did a 77 miler with Korey today through Garden Creek Gap. We took Bannock Highway out to Mink Creek and then turned off on Upper Rattlesnake road. This is mostly dirt with small amounts of gravel here and there, and it eventually leads all the way to the Garden Creek Gap. The gap is a spectacular road right through the middle of a rocky mountain. This is probably one of the more adventurous rides we’ve done. Should have brought my camera!

Bicycled out to Scout Mountain today with the intention of exploring some of the dirt roads/trails that lead off from the main road going up the mountain. The main road leading up the mountain was closed, but, after carefully reading the sign, only to motorized vehicles. The trails I had in mind were closed temporarily to protect vegetation, but I did find a few that were mostly dry and had no gate.

The first dirt road I explored had a sign labeled "Nordic Center," and lead down to a cabin/shed of sorts. There was a not-so-friendly dog barking in the area, so I turned around and came back. Resuming my way up the main road, I met an older fellow on a mountain bike who was removing trash from the side of the road and placing it in the back of a milk crate on his bike. We chatted about the dog and the Nordic Center, and another 10-15 minutes about how he had been coming to the area for decades and was involved in the senior archery program.

Further on up the road, just after the second cattle guard, I found an interesting dirt road that was mostly dry and had no gate. I got a fair way up it, and it eventually levelled out. This area is right by a source of running water and would be perfect for camping. It was an absolutely breathtaking area, especially in spring; wish I had brought my camera! Looking forward to checking it out some more (I decided to turn around when I realized I was almost out of my second liter of water). The only downside to the area is how steep it is; I really don’t enjoy the rocky downhill on my Long Haul Trucker, and probably wouldn’t on a mountain bike either. Climbing is fine though.

33 miles round trip.

Did the Buckskin-Inkom loop today primarily in shorts and a merino wool t-shirt. Climbing Buckskin seems like it was easier than it ever has been.

Not long after I started coasting toward Inkom from the top of Buckskin, I noticed a group of 5 or 6 cattle occupying one lane of the road (oddly enough the correct one). Not sure what their reaction would be if I sped past them, I decided to slow down and stop for a minute. One of them was obviously a bull, and I wasn’t interested in spooking him and getting charged at. I let the cattle wander within three or four yards of me, at which point I decided to slowly ease past them and then high gear it. Yeah, it’s kind of sad that a bunch of cows had me nervous. Anyway, it was a pretty awesome ride, and I think it is still my favorite local route.

Set out to do the Buckskin/Inkom loop today, but ended up just doing Buckskin. I felt pretty good after climbing AMI Hill–so good in fact that I wasn’t sure I wanted to exert myself any more. After thinking about it a bit, I decided to climb Buckskin as leisurely as possible. There are only a few sections where you must exert yourself regardless of gearing choice, so I dropped down into my lowest gears and spun my way up at a casual pace. Saw a pair of cyclists on my way up (who were on their way down), and on my way down, I saw another guy riding an MTB who I’ve seen a handful of times this year on other routes.