Enginerve : Bikes

10% luck, 20% skill, 15% concentrated power of will, 5% pleasure, 50% pain…a 100% reason to remember the name

  • My thanks to Rebicylist JulienJaborski here in PDX for really making something of my memory.

  • I fell riding the TransAm this summer.  I fell on this curve on Hwy 12 near Lowell, ID.  I was pondering external things.  Essentially after a long day of riding not focusing on the narrow pavement outside the white line quite as thoroughly as I should have.

    One of the many things impacted in my minor excursion to the pavement was my helmet.  I have always heard that given an impact of this nature it is best to replace one’s lid and indeed the folks at Bell Bike Helmets have a 30% discount after one has damaged a helmet during a crash.  I await my new XLV replacing my ever so wonderful Triton that gave its life to protect my noggin.

    Thanks Bell Bike Helmets, nice job making the first which kept me safe, and for helping me replace a lid and keep safe!

  • I have had a great deal of mail on the tires.  I had my tires recommended by the folks at Rivendell Bicycle Works and that made all the difference.  Keven may not think I am riding on a wide enough tire, and he had to work a great deal for him to get me on these, but they made the whole difference.  The wear is critical, the flat issue fun to tease other riders with, but the primary difference is safety and comfort, or maybe comfort and safety.  The larger tires handle better, absorb shocks better, and simply ride better all day every day.  Yes, they were the difference when I was run into the ditch of staying “afloat” or “digging in” like my 700x25Cs that I rode my last tour with.

    I put pictures up so you can see there actual wear.  I will actually ride on wider tires, and inflate them a hair less, Rivendell has provided me further education, and I am can understand what it means after having collected more experience.

    The tires are from Schwalbe and the details are in the picture off the box below.

    From Eye-Fi

    I have included pictures of the tread wear after 4800 miles across every imaginable road surface in the US.  You can see the rear tires, under the greatest load, have the greatest wear.  Otherwise, wow, these are the best touring setup I saw out there.  Yes, I pulled glass out of them once halfway, but hey, that is regular maintenance on any tire.

    Front Tire

    From Eye-Fi

    Rear Tire

    From Eye-Fi

  • I completed the Adventure Cycling TransAm from Yorktown, VA to Portland, OR this summer.

    I had two cycling goals for the ride.

    First, try to ride as close to 100 miles per day as possible, given that towns are so far apart, I averaged 98.6 mpd.  I like how I chased this goal as I never sacrificed anything to achieve the mileage, I took what the road gave me and went how I wished to go, I did not let the goal drive my trip.

    Second, the most important goal was to establish and join the TransAm Triple Crown and TransAm Thousand Mile Club based on the California Clubs of the same name.  I actually completed 7 double centuries while riding across the country AND one stretch of 6 centuries back to back.  So I complete the TransAm Triple Crown as well as the Thousand Mile Club and I am very pleased while cleaning the bike today to reflect back on the effort and the results.

    The California website says that completing these requires “a lot of training and mental determination” and that doubles are a “Personal Growth Experience” and I would second that.

  • This summer I haven’t posted as I was out riding across the TransAmerica, TransAm, #acatransam!  The trail took me from Yorktown, VA to Portland, OR.  See the trip, with notes and pix on Google Maps or TrackMyTour.

    I am decompressing at present and haven’t even cleaned or performed maintenance on my Rivendell Atlantis: Home 4,143 miles, 0 flats, original tires!  It was a sweet bike to take on the road and saved me!

  • Cirque du Cycling, presented by Laughing Planet Cafe, is a street festival, a circus, a bike race and a parade – and a benefit for Albina Youth Opportunity School.