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| Author |
Message |
| 25 new of 291 responses total. |
clees
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response 189 of 291:
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Aug 16 11:19 UTC 2002 |
In the weekend of August 26th I'll be going to Italy for a week to do
some cycling. Yea! Sun, vino and mountains.
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jep
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response 190 of 291:
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Aug 16 13:49 UTC 2002 |
John and I rode for about an hour last night, which must have been 7-8
miles. We're not going to be able to ride further than that during the
week, since it's getting dark earlier.
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keesan
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response 191 of 291:
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Aug 16 15:05 UTC 2002 |
It is nice to read about people of so many different levels using their bikes.
Jim asks Russ where he is going that he is measuring the time in seconds. We
are usually happy to cut 15 minutes off of our time coming back from the lake.
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scott
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response 192 of 291:
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Aug 16 16:32 UTC 2002 |
I'd go nuts if I did the same route every time - I just like to go off and
explore neighborhoods and then go really fast on open sections.
I put the cheapo bike computer back on yesterday just to see how I was doing
with speeds and such. Top speed 36.5 MPH (downhill and in top gear), which
is about the same as last time. Probably 2-3 MPH faster overall, though.
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keesan
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response 193 of 291:
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Aug 17 00:42 UTC 2002 |
In theory we are leaving tomorrow on our bike trip. Since we did not have
time to figure out what the clunking noise in the rear wheel is when I use
the rear brake, or get the derailleur working properly on my nice lightweight
trek, Jim is taking apart the front derailleur on the heavier Raleigh 6 speed
to make it into an 18 speed. The gears work perfectly and we replaced the
wide curvy handlebar witha short straight one so I can ride bent over.
Any suggestions on what to pack besides the following?
tent, mats, bedding (layers - for temps predicted at 57 to 83), ground cloth
pressure cooker and wok with cover, knife, small cutting board, curved spatula
like strainer-like thing to use with the wok.
For pressure cooking - millet, lentils. Boiling in the pressure cooker -
oats. Stir-frying - peanuts, dried tofu, and vegetables given to us along the
way. Olive oil and soy sauce. Garlic. Dried apricots from our tree. Two
kinds of Chinese dried mushrooms. All in plastic tofu tubs. We may also buy
some noodles. Will be fed by friends half the time. What else is light and
compact and non-spoiling and vegan and whole-grain etc. that would pack well
on a bike?
Clothing also layers. Biking shoes or sandals, lightweight shoes for
non-biking. Rain gear. Windbreaker, flannel shirt, lightweight long sleeves
to keep the sun off, wool shirt for me, t-shirts, 2 pairs shorts, one pair
thin knit pants for over shorts and for pajamas, sweatshirt, hat, thin
sweater. What did we forget? Toothbrushes, floss, shampoo, dish/laundry
detergent. Toilet paper. Flashlight? We can still see until almost 9 pm
and did not need one last September and they are heavy. Digital camera?
Bathing suits. A hankie. Money and maps and some paper and pencils, maybe
a small notebook if I find one soon. One year we took a weather radio.
Bandages and antiseptic cream. Sunscreen for Jim who turns pink otherwise.
We will have four panniers each and larger items piled on the racks with
bungie cords. Everything in large plastic bags as the panniers may leak.
Please point out what we forget and what else might be helpful, tonight.
In theory we leave tomorrow (after packing tomorrow and replacing Jim's stem
and handlebars and putting on pannier racks on front, and Jim is fixing a
neighbor's bike first.).
The library has three MI county map books and an excellent large Washtenaw
County map and a smaller Lenawee county truckers' map showing which roads for
us to avoid. It labels quarries (good campsites if not currently in use),
cemetaries (good for lunch stops), and some parks I never heard of including
two in Sharon township one near a millpond. Various schools and camps and
proving grounds. Hayes state park is not too far from Tecumseh. Waterloo
is not too far west of our friends.
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keesan
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response 194 of 291:
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Aug 17 02:19 UTC 2002 |
The front derailleur sort of works on the Raleigh if you push hard enough.
The other method is to stop and move the chain over manually. This bike might
be better for flat areas than the Trek. I was into the very highest gear on
the Trek while not biking terribly fast. Jim thinks some oil might help the
Raleigh. The brakes were all rusted together when I got it. But the rear
derailleur has always worked properly. Perhaps the front one suffered from
disuse. But surely the brakes would have been used if the derailleur was
used. ?? Jim is busy working on the neighbor's bike. They got the wrong
sort of rear baskets for the bike and attached them with a bit of thin wire.
He is going to make something with bolts. Amazing how many different ways
there are to design a basket attachment and how many ways to design a bike
to take baskets or racks, and they rarely coincide. The bike arrived with
a note saying 'please fix this bike'. I would have replaced the decaying
looking tire but he says the sidewalls are not important and it has plenty
of tread. He straightened the rims and replaced a worn cone in the bottom
bracket instead. And put air in the tires (completely flat) - that might have
been what needed to be fixed. They are holding air just fine.
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russ
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response 195 of 291:
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Aug 17 02:51 UTC 2002 |
Re #191: I ride a route that's fairly popular with cyclists and
doesn't share much space with vehicles, which lets me ride all-out
for exercise rather than worrying about traffic all the time. That
also lets me gauge my performance with a stopwatch.
It may be the same path, but the scenery is always changing. If I
want new vistas, I can take off on a weekend and go though a park or
rec area somewhere.
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jep
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response 196 of 291:
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Aug 17 03:55 UTC 2002 |
Hayes State Park is across the road from Wampler's Lake. It's about 20
miles from Tecumseh. There's a private campground near Macon (2 miles
from Clinton), would you be interested in using that? That's the
closest campground I know of to where I live.
There are city parks around Tecumseh, but I've never seen anyone
camping at them. I would think the Tecumseh police would frown on it.
There are farmers all around here, though. I'd have tried to make
arrangements for you, but they're all friends of Andrea's dad, and
you'll probably have better luck just stopping and asking them
yourselves.
Take your cell phone.
John is looking forward to seeing you.
I can't give you any advice on vegan food. You can always snitch a few
ears of corn if you're not particular (field corn), or buy sweet corn
along the way.
I saw a few herds of zucchini growers near the edge of Clinton, but
luckily was near a side street and so I got away before they trapped
me. Who'd have ever thought they'd learn to cooperate... usually
they're in pretty stiff competition with one another.
Bringing vegetables out into farm country this time of year is bringing
coal to Newcastle.
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keesan
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response 197 of 291:
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Aug 17 14:05 UTC 2002 |
We will be visiting friends with a large garden and then friends with an
organic farm so it is just the staples we need to bring along. I might go
buy a few treats at the coop this morning.
'Take your cell phone' means as much to us as 'turn on your TV'. What I am
doing is forwarding grex mail to yahoo so that I can read mail at a library
where they don't allow telnetting. (I did figure out how to do it with
hyperterminal and Win95 but don't recall quite how I did it.) I should take
a list of phone numbers of people we might visit.
Looks like today will be the day for packing as it threatens rain. Jim is
working on the neighbor's bike basket.
Will try to remember about Macon and the campground but farmer's fields are
usually a lot quieter than even the public campgrounds. There was one state
park where they refused to take our money when we entered at 9 pm and then
insisted on waking us at 11 pm to collect the money. (They took the $2 park
entrance fee but not the $4 camping fee at the gate). Farmers are pretty nice
to people on bikes. We were given a grassy spot by one private lake and then
a tour of their steam tractor collection and egg factory. Some E. Germans
on a bike tour with a baby stayed at a monastery and a dairy farm near here.
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omni
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response 198 of 291:
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Aug 17 18:36 UTC 2002 |
take your map of Toledo. When you get within 5 miles dial 419 514 7387.
I'll come and see you.
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keesan
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response 199 of 291:
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Aug 17 20:48 UTC 2002 |
We will not be within 5 miles of Toledo as Tecumseh is our farthest point
south. Jim just adjusted our bike helmets and fixed my wheel so the brake
would not hit a bump (it was out of true and the aluminum had been worn down).
Works nicely. The other one has a front derailleur that works now but takes
both arms to move it so we may want to replace the derailleur. Our friends
near Chelsea expected us for lunch, got to call and explain that we are late.
Jep, can you email us your phone number and address? You are not in the
Washtenaw County phone book.
I have addresses of four farmers to visit on the way back including Nemeth
orchards and a guy near Belleville who used to bike everywhere on his 1-speed
with coaster brakes, carrying his family on the handlebars.
The roofer biked by today. I did not recognize him in helmet and shorts.
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jep
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response 200 of 291:
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Aug 17 23:29 UTC 2002 |
I shouldn't be in the Washtenaw County phone book, as Tecumseh is in
Lenawee County. (-:
This trip of yours sounds very interesting to me.
Jim, why don't you join us in Tecumseh? I live in Conklin Estates,
just off M-50 on the east side of town. Jim and Sindi will be here on
Saturday.
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keesan
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response 201 of 291:
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Aug 18 01:05 UTC 2002 |
We should be there if we don't break down or get rained out, anyway. (We have
biked in solid rain before, though.) I know you are in Lenawee County as I
went to the library and copied some maps from there. Sounds like an
interesting place to visit and I hope the four of us can do some biking
together on Sunday, maybe to Adrian.
A few things I forgot - patch kit for the camping mats (we used up our glue
last summer and the store is closed tonight), a lid for the small wok (Jim
came up with stainless bowl but it is a bit small - stove fits inside both
of them), old washcloth for bathing with (we packed shampoo to wash with).
Still have to attach the front pannier holders and Jim suspects he left the
bolts and U's on the bike he sold while removing the pannier racks themselves
so will have to make some. Also hope to change his stem to add 3" length as
he is riding a small open-frame bike same size as mine and mine is a bit small
for me. Nobody makes large (men's size) open-frame bikes, unfortunately.
He got the two for which we had longer seatposts, I got the others.
Our friends near Chelsea were expecting us for lunch today ;(. I hope to be
packed tonight but there is a long way to go. At least all the cooking stuff
but the wok lid was in a box. Jim decided to take pepper spray for vicious
dogs but I will have to go first so he can spray behind him and have it not
go in our own eyes and noses. He has taken it before but we always outraced
the attackers. There are no vicious dogs on our route to Independence Lake
but there was one coming back from Bell Road Bridge. Last three times he took
it and never used it.
Have to come up with some bedding suitable for 57-83 degrees and humid. Down
does not work well east of the Mississipi. Polyester is bulky. We may take
light bags and warm clothing to sleep in. Long-sleeve jersey, wool shirt,
hooded sweatshirt, wool socks, long underwear. We stayed warmer in a windy
snowstorm than in 50 degrees and calm due to condensation, in Paw Paw.
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omni
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response 202 of 291:
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Aug 18 04:26 UTC 2002 |
This coming Saturday?? If so, I'll try, no promises. Sat is one of the best
nights, but I may just take that night off since I work so much anyway. Mail
w/ address. I'll email you as to weather or not I will be coming.
omni18@juno.com
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russ
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response 203 of 291:
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Aug 18 13:27 UTC 2002 |
Have I mentioned here how much a wind, even a breeze, slows one down
on a bicycle? I really took a speed hit on my ride today.
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keesan
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response 204 of 291:
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Aug 18 18:27 UTC 2002 |
Try biking in a wind with 40 pounds of bulky gear on the bike.
Hope to see you, omni. We had a couple of nice visits with your sister and
her 'new' computer this week. We are nearly packed. Jim attached the front
pannier racks somehow and is done choosing and packing tents, mats,
groundcloths, bedding, cooking stuff, etc., and currently working on
flashlights. The friend who we are visiting 'this weekend' cancelled Monday
plans so she could spend time with us. Getting ready is half the fun but I
wish it were not half the trip as well. I hope we can make it there for
supper (about a 3 hour trip to near Island Lake). 50 degree lows predicted
which makes for much nicer biking weather.
We will both be highly visible. Jim gets the heavy stuff in a large orange
bag on the back of his bike, and I get the light stuff in an old external
frame orange backpack minus the skeleton, which we were about to get rid of
when Jim started looking for something that would be visible in rain. Rain
possible Monday and Thursday.
Looking forward to visiting with both Johns and maybe seeing the annual
Tecumseh corn festival parade and the llama ranch and gravel pit swimming hole
and the fishes in their tank.
Do any grexers have small lightweight tents that they no longer want?
Something without strings, please, but need not be terribly modern.
And does anyone want a very large blue dome tent without a fly, good for kids
to camp in the yard?
Anyone have unwanted used bike panniers? Ours are getting harder to mend.
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russ
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response 205 of 291:
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Aug 19 22:02 UTC 2002 |
Re #204: The bulk would slow me more than the weight, unless I was
climbing hills; given how little I slow down with even a large reduction
of effort, I'm running at the limits of air drag, not weight or rolling
resistance.
Cooling probably scales proportional to speed, but power expended
against air drag scales as speed cubed. No wonder it's such hot work,
pushing at maximum speed!
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keesan
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response 206 of 291:
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Aug 19 22:40 UTC 2002 |
We arrived just at sunset. I was in lowest gear on the last hill and walked
the last half of it. Jim proved he could bike it.
There are at least three ways for a tent to get wet during a rainstorm:
Rains in the screen door (at an angle).
The groundcloth acts like a bathtub if a bit of it pokes out.
When you zip up the door over the screening then your breath condenses on the
underside of the fly, which since it is contacting the screen roof, then rains
down more puddles from above to join the ones from below.
Down sleeping bags make excellent sponges.
My handlebar stem puts the handlebar at a slight angle with the result that
I have to bike a bit tilted so the seat hits one leg. We will improvise a
fix.
Before leaving my sandal strap broke. Just as I was getting on the bike.
Perfect timing. Jim's toilet also started leaking but he put a bucket under
the tank.
We have discovered two probable bugs in Kermit and Jim just fixed the printer.
Our friend cannot think of any reason to get a faster computer (she has a 486)
or modem (the phone lines only go to 14.4). She is happy rewinding old
typewriter ribbons onto the proper spools for her 9-pin printer. They are
free, paper is $1/box. 256 colors is plenty. We almost feel guilty for
offering her a pentium.
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jmsaul
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response 207 of 291:
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Aug 20 01:10 UTC 2002 |
Unless she has really bad phone lines, they should go faster than that. I
live in the semi-boonies, and I get 23 or 24 using a 56K modem.
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russ
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response 208 of 291:
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Aug 27 00:42 UTC 2002 |
As I predicted, my speed took a big jump on today's ride. (Last time
I didn't sit long enough to drink a full bottle of water before the
return leg, so it wasn't comparable to my usual ride.) I set a new
personal-best record and averaged over 16 MPH.
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jep
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response 209 of 291:
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Aug 27 13:02 UTC 2002 |
How far do you ride at 16 mph, Russ?
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scott
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response 210 of 291:
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Aug 27 13:14 UTC 2002 |
I'm more curious about how flat/hilly Russ rides. My own rides typically have
me varying between ~5 and ~30 mph, due to the local topology.
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bhelliom
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response 211 of 291:
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Aug 27 14:00 UTC 2002 |
Regardless of the topography, keep up the good work, Russ.
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tod
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response 212 of 291:
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Aug 27 15:55 UTC 2002 |
This response has been erased.
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bhelliom
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response 213 of 291:
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Aug 27 16:16 UTC 2002 |
Huron Valley is a very hilly area.
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