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| 25 new of 291 responses total. |
keesan
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response 164 of 291:
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Aug 5 02:20 UTC 2002 |
I sorted tubes. The ones with disintegrating rubber had their valve snipped
off (to be recycled as brass) and will become bungee cords. We found a 20",
a 24", a 28" (?) which can also be used as 700 mm. The 24" is skinny and
Jim showed me how to make it into a thin 26" for a 1.50 inch mountain bike
tire as they have the same inside diameter. THere are also a pile of 26" x
1 3/4" inch which are for three-speed bikes. For mountain bikes we have 26"
by various diameters. For the 1.50 inch tires there is 1.50-1.75 inch tubing.
The tires come in 1.75, 1.85, 1.95, 2.00, 2.05, 2.10, 2.15 (?) and tubes in
1.75-2.00 etc. So a 26" tube will not fit all 26" tires or even all 26" rims,
and a 24" tube will fit some 26" rims. We gave the 27" tubes to Jim's
housemate with the racing bike. Did I miss any sizes? What do the old
1-speeds take?
Jim spent much of today choosing wheels and tubes for my bike and when I left
was doing the same for his. Yesterday he worked on my gears but got
distracted redishing the 7/8" rear rim which had rounded nipples that needed
to be fixed. Some people get obsessive. I finally biked home alone on a bike
that fits perfectly (tho something is still rubbing in certain gear ranges).
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russ
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response 165 of 291:
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Aug 5 22:16 UTC 2002 |
My roof rack only fits one of my two cars. Unfortunately, I
haven't seen a recumbent which will fit the kind of rack which
mounts on a car's trunk lid (the tubes are far too large to
go in the holders).
Can anyone here recommend a good recumbent/carrier combo which
can be swapped between cars easily?
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scott
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response 166 of 291:
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Aug 6 00:28 UTC 2002 |
My recumbent fits nicely on a back wheel / front fork carrier, which I have
in a car-top rack. I think you're probably screwed for a trunk rack.
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keesan
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response 167 of 291:
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Aug 6 23:59 UTC 2002 |
Jim has found a new use for his rear rack - groundhog transportation. He
brought over his freshly caught one (a yearling, he says) in our friend's
trap, wrapped in a large grey plastic bag, and then placed it in the shade
under a grapevine behind my apartment. I tried to poke some edible weeds
through the bars, but it just hisses a lot and won't eat them. 24 hours
already without food or water. Tomorrow it gets a new home. I offered it
to my landlord but he already has one. Groundhogs don't seem happy very far
off the ground. We may offer it Barton Hills for a new home.
This is at least the third animal caught in the trap. Not counting the cat.
So far we are lucky that the skunk family has not found the bait appealing.
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jmsaul
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response 168 of 291:
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Aug 7 02:50 UTC 2002 |
I think it's illegal to release that onto someone else's property without
permission, so be careful in Barton Hills -- it's all private property.
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mdw
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response 169 of 291:
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Aug 7 05:52 UTC 2002 |
I think I'd offer the groundhog trail mix -- even if it eats "edible
weeds" in the wild, this may not be its first choice even there.
Trapped, it's probably not in the best state of mind, so it would likely
take something pretty special to take its mind off its predicament.
Fresh water, in a bowl, would also likely be a good idea. It's not
likely to either eat or drink while it even thinks you're watching -- as
long as you're in sight, it's going to be much more worried that you're
going to eat it or looking for a chance to escape, than in consuming
anything under such conditions.
Probably a park or a national forest would be the best place to release
such a critter. There are several large and fairly wild parks to the
west & north of A^2. I paid to have some racoons who were infesting my
chimney deported to Jackson, although I don't think groundhogs are
territorial enough for such a distance to be necessary.
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cmcgee
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response 170 of 291:
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Aug 7 12:51 UTC 2002 |
The local critter control companies are now saying that they euthanize
these trapped animals because it is more humane than releaseing them into
another animal's territory. The intruder is more likely to die from slow
starvation than be able to drive off the incumbent.
Even parks and national forests are reaching saturation levels for
groundhogs, racoons, and skunks.
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keesan
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response 171 of 291:
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Aug 7 13:19 UTC 2002 |
The groundhog ate the wild amaranth after I left. I just poked some more in.
I figure if I eat it, it must be edible. It has water in it. I don't feel
like opening the trap to put in a bowl of water. We will find some park for
it today that is not too close to houses, unless some other grexer wants it.
Jim 'fixed' the neighbor's bike with the broken spokes by replacing the wheels
and robbing a few other pieces off our bikes, and ajusting brakes etc. A nice
quality upright-style ten-speed. He needs some clips for the cable housings,
or string.
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slynne
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response 172 of 291:
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Aug 7 13:26 UTC 2002 |
I would take it but one of my dogs would probably kill it so I am
probably not the best choice.
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keesan
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response 173 of 291:
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Aug 7 21:25 UTC 2002 |
From rhonda@boaa.com Wed Aug 7 17:19:56 2002
Date: Wed, 7 Aug 2002 15:02:14 -0400
From: Rhonda Foxworth <rhonda@boaa.com>
To: "'keesan@grex.org'" <keesan@grex.org>
Subject: Bike racks
Just to let you know we now have 2 bike racks installed near the door off
the covered parking area as you suggested.
Thank you for your patience. Enjoy!
Rhonda Foxworth, Marketing Officer
Bank of Ann Arbor
----
I had emailed the marketing officer after the vice president expressed
supreme disinterest. I pointed out that it did not do a whole lot for the
bank's image to have bikes locked to the flagpole out front. The racks
were on order for a long time.
Today we took our groundhog's digital photo, then wrapped it in a grey
plastic bag again, perched on Jim's milk crate on his rear rack, and biked
along the river to Parker Mill. We photographed it and us again near the
sign to the interpretive trail, where we walked in a distance and over the
river, and opened the cage. It sat there looking the opposite direction
for a bit, then turned around and scampered off. On the walk there a
large dog expressed interest but the owner dragged it away. The
groundhog's nose looked bloodied. Probably it tried to push its way out.
It had stopped hissing.
On the way back (with Jim's son, with whom we had a nice visit to be
repeated shortly) we saw a bunch of geese and ducks with one white gull,
and then two swans. Nice day to be out. My bike is much better than my
old one. I could bike along the paved level trail in highest gear, and up
the Spring St. hill in middle gear. I used to have to walk up the hill.
.
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russ
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response 174 of 291:
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Aug 7 23:53 UTC 2002 |
I found the rhythm that Scott mentioned. It's something I'd once
learned, sort of, but my muscles had forgotten it. Today I tried
moving the crank all the way around with each leg instead of just
pushing downward, and suddenly it clicked. Even going up a gear
I was still pushing a lot faster with much less muscle effort,
perhaps due to the lower peak forces.
I made excellent time despite the wind. This probably means a
leap in average speeds is in the offing.
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bru
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response 175 of 291:
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Aug 8 03:28 UTC 2002 |
I still need to ride more. I ran the opposite direction to what I usually
ride, and found it was mostly uphill in this direction, gave me more of a work
out, less coasting. I remember from my youth finding that circular pedal
motion, and I tried it today,. Lots more of a leg workout, but also much
faster time.
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jaklumen
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response 176 of 291:
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Aug 8 09:39 UTC 2002 |
resp:174 ahhhhhhh... now I remember. Yeah, it was something taught to
me when I used to ride with a rec group. I am terribly out of shape to
really use it effectively now and will have to work back up to it.
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scott
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response 177 of 291:
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Aug 8 12:56 UTC 2002 |
I think there's a minimum fitness level you need to use that pedalling rhythm,
like running effectively.
Took a rather frenetic ride yesterday in that McMansion neighborhood off
Newport just north of M-14. Lots of fun curves and hills, terrible
architecture.
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bru
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response 178 of 291:
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Aug 8 14:43 UTC 2002 |
doubled my ride length today, and got a very good workout for my legs. Need
to keep at it.
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keesan
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response 179 of 291:
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Aug 8 19:15 UTC 2002 |
We are going on vacation! Island Lake Road, Tantree Farms (north and south
of Chelsea), possibly a friend near Manchester, and Tecumseh (jep) - all the
famous local sites. Only have to get our gears shifting perfectly, change
Jim's stem and handlebars from short woman to long man's sizing so he does
not have to ride upright, put on the pannier carriers, fix his water heater,
someone else's bike, Tim's VCR, put together computers for two people, and
we are off. The vacation includes computer lessons and a chimney inspection
and possibly furnace installation if time. Jim's favorite way of relaxing.
What is interesting to see in the vicinities of Chelsea, Manchester, Tecumseh
and Adrian besides Hidden Lake Gardens?
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slynne
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response 180 of 291:
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Aug 8 19:47 UTC 2002 |
Have fun!
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keesan
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response 181 of 291:
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Aug 8 21:32 UTC 2002 |
Will we have time to do that, too?
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keesan
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response 182 of 291:
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Aug 10 01:37 UTC 2002 |
Last night around 10 pm, as Jim was leaving my apartment, a raccoon climbed
up on his bike to beg for food. It was a lot tamer than most of the cats
around here. Jim was standing next to the bike and called me to see. The
raccoon got tired of waiting for us and went to my neighbor's door and tried
repeatedly to pry it open. We wonder if she feeds it. Jim got a couple of
good digital photos (the sort where he sticks the camera into someone's face
and hits the button and hopes they are in the photo - he was lucky this time).
Big difference between raccoons and groundhogs.
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keesan
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response 183 of 291:
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Aug 10 13:48 UTC 2002 |
Another raccoon in the trap at Jim's house. He is thinking Parker Mill again
as it is isolated from houses. Good excuse for a bike ride.
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keesan
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response 184 of 291:
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Aug 11 01:17 UTC 2002 |
A friend with the farm took the raccoon in the trap to some woods on the way
home. Jim was going to take it along with us to Independence Lake. He says
the extra weight is a good handicap so he can keep up with me. On the way
back we saw two flocks of deer - 10 and 15 - plus some singles. No raccoons.
There is another county park near Sharon Hollow with a working hydroelectric
plant and restored mill, and Waterloo State Rec Area is not far out of our
path. The bikes still need some work first. Mine makes a loud bumpy noise
every time the wheel turns with the rear brake on, and a loud squeaky noise
with front brake one. And some gear positions cause the chain to rattle or
scrape. The book desribes how to keep changing gears and keep changing cable
tension until everything works. Sounds time consuming.
Barton Hills required all my gears - highest gear at the entrance where the
hackberry trees are all in a row (they are edible), lowest gear climbing up
to the country club swimming pool and after that I walked to the water tower,
which must be the high point around here. Stein, Joy, Jennings are pretty
level. At the lake we met someone using a mop handle as a cane who is
attempting to get a bit of exercise to help recover from a fork lift injury.
I forget to feel lucky that I can bike sometimes.
The problem with biking to the lake is you get hungry, and after eating you
feel like taking a nap, and then it is nearly time to leave in order to get
back before dark. We swam one lap (a long lap).
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hash
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response 185 of 291:
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Aug 15 18:01 UTC 2002 |
I have a 2001 Specialized Rock Hopper. I bike to work every day (if it's not
going to rain and it's not going to be over 95)
the aabts looks cool, but I dunno if I'm ready for 20+ mile rides yet.
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keesan
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response 186 of 291:
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Aug 16 02:27 UTC 2002 |
2001 is the year it was made?
Jim is now a professional bike repair person. The neighbor who paid him $10
must have told a friend, as we found another old bike leaning against the
housse (where it must have been for a while, through a few rains) with a wet
note containing name, phone, and money attached. And another friend of a
friend wants a wheel replaced for a found bike. We have all of tomorrow to
get our bikes and camping gear and maps and food and pots ready for a 10 day
bike trip. Jim needs to change his stem and handlebars first.
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russ
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response 187 of 291:
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Aug 16 03:10 UTC 2002 |
I went out just before dark today and got in a pretty good ride.
I made good time despite the wind, chopping about 14 seconds off
my best time of the last several rides (and 26 seconds off my last
time despite more wind). I'm definitely going faster with the
"spinning" technique than I was with the "mashing" technique, even
at lower cadences.
However, I'm concerned about efficiency. I drank a full oversize
bike bottle and then drained the 2-liter in the aft pack, so I am
only getting around 30 miles per gallon of water. Maybe I need a
tune-up.
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russ
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response 188 of 291:
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Aug 16 10:06 UTC 2002 |
One thing that's curious... when I come back from an evening
ride I usually have a number of small black spots on my face.
Close examination shows them to be dead gnats. Apparently,
they can't get out of the way of something moving at 15+ MPH
and they don't survive the impact. (I'd opine that they
drowned, but I've found them stuck in dry leg hair too.)
If the Jains (?) are correct and we lose karma for everything we
kill, however accidentally, I'm going to reincarnate as a slug...
Does the happy-biker stereotype apply before the dead bugs
are on your teeth?
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