It's August! Riding through the heat.

[Crankin]

I rode 21 miles this morning, as we have storms approaching. Hoping I get out and do my errands before they start!
I did a route I did about a month ago, where I ride over to the other side of town, into Carlisle and a teeny corner of Westford on the road, and then catch the bike trail back as far as I can take it in Acton, to get back over the highway, closer to my house. It was not too hot, but the humidity is building.
I felt good and my back has been much better since I started doing a new stretch/move, I saw online. However, there's one gradual hill as I am on the road to where I catch the trail, and my ribs started aching. The actual spot where I have the bruise is much better, NWG, do you use Arnica gel? It really speeds up healing bruises. But, I got through that, for the nice downhill and onto the trail, which was quiet. My LBS now has their back door/ramp set up, adjacent to the trail, which is nice.
Once I get off the road, I have a small climb and then I have to wait at a light to get across the highway. Some jerk, turning left, turned in front of me; he was the second car turning, but the first had plenty of time. However, I saw it and slowed. He had his windows open, so I used the occasion to swear loudly at him. After this, I have 2 hills, one about 8%, so I slowed down, for the rest of the way.
I may ride to work tomorrow, much earlier than I need to, so I won't sweat to death. I am done at 3:45, so then I can take a longer and shadier way home.

[north woods gal]

August, already? Oh, my. Seems like my summer is just beginning since I'm just several days back into riding after my accident. Not complaining, though. Just glad to be back in the saddle, again.

Crankin, your weather sounds like ours. Been muggy by day, followed by thunderstorms. We have another big band of storms coming our way, so for my afternoon ride, I may actually hit the trainer. Not crazy about it, but that's what it's for.

No, never tried any creme or gels to speed up the healing from the bruising, but will keep that in mind if I ever get bruised, again. Thanks.

[emily_in_nc]

I actually remembered to say "rabbit rabbit" this morning before uttering any other words. I hope it brings me luck for this month! :cool:

DH is doing much better. He's fine with walking now, just a little slower than usual. Today we walked up to CVS, where we needed to buy a few things, and changed his bandages afterwards. One of his wounds (hip) has graduated to no bandage, and the others are all getting better daily. I would not be surprised if he's not ready to do a shorter than our usual ride next week. That would be awesome!

Since I had to do laundry today, I rode loops around the RV park on my cruiser bike while my clothes were washing in the park laundry room. And I also worked out in the gym. So I got a few miles in as well as light weights and some yoga + core work.

I noticed on bikerides.com, where I track my miles, that I only need 8.04 miles to achieve 2900 for the year so far, so I am thinking I might head out for an hour tomorrow. If I go out just 30 minutes one way, then turn around, the chances of anything happening are slim, and I'm still close enough to hoof it, if I had to. Will consider this. I am definitely missing the riding but want to stay close to home base until DH is able to join me again.

It's funny, I've been urging him for ages to throw out his ancient SIDI road shoes, and now that the cleat broke, he finally did it. As he said, end of an era. :D He has been riding in those shoes since he bought his Trek road bike in 2002! The heels were totally worn down, and he'd replaced the heel plates as well as other parts (buckles) more than once. They were good shoes, but still... 16 years is enough. Fortunately, he had good Crank Brothers pedals from the MTB he traded in, so he's now put them on his Trek and will ride in his Keen sandals for awhile. They are nearly brand-new. I love mine, especially for summer, so we'll be the dork twins: Trek road bikes and Keens! :D

[Crankin]

I cannot believe your DH had shoes that long, Emily. Even with repair, I am very hard on shoes, so 4-6 years is my limit. I am pretty sure no one around you will think anything of your shoe/pedal/bike combo!
Today is brutally humid and hot, so I left for work at 7:45, even though my first appointment was at 9. I took some shady roads off of Main St., just a little variation, since I do not ride there the way I drive. This brought my grand total commute this morning to 3.1 miles. I was sweaty, though and had to use all of my hygiene products. I rode in an Athleta sundress, which is wicking, with my commuter bike shorts under. They are long, so you could see them. I hate to ride looking like there's nothing under my dress!
The way home was not so nice. It has become partly cloudy, and it's breezy, but it feels like a humid day in Arizona, in July. My intention was to ride home the longer way, and I did start out on that route, but it was so uncomfortable, I was already past the point where I could easily get back to Main St. So, I turned on the next street, which is the way I ride there. It's pretty, but to make a left on the main road to get home from there is horrible. It's an incline with little line of sight, because there's an extended walk/block wall on the left side of the street. There is a crosswalk there, but on the right, and the only time cars seem to stop is when I have my granddaughter in the stroller. But, there's a dirt road right before the bad intersection that I can take for 1/4 a mile, that goes to the neighborhood next to mine. It gets wet with rain, and it's rutted, but it's cool and pretty. Not so great with 25 mm tires. I started cautiously and then I saw 2 Comcast trucks heading down there. I stopped, and finally, they backed out. By this time I was freaked out, there were patches of sand, so I kind of hoofed with one foot until the pavement. Then, I have to take another trail, very short, to my street. The beginning is rooty and not graded well, but most of it is maintained by our association.
I need a different bike to ride on these. DH is fine with it, but I am not. Still glad I rode, though.

[emily_in_nc]

LOL...yeah, Crankin, my DH is kinda crazy that way. He's very frugal. His road bike, a Trek 5200 (US Postal Service model) is also from 2002. He just keeps replacing components and doesn't feel a strong urge to spend thousands of dollars to replace it just yet. So the Sidis just kinda followed in that vein!

You are right, though. Even though there are some die-hard full-kit roadies even on the trail here, they are few and far between. We see some really interesting getups, especially people way overdressing in this heat and humidity. :eek: There is one lady we call the "caped crusader" who rides all over town on a cruiser bike. She always wears a white cape (lightweight fabric) and a white, wide-brimmed hat. She's about my age, I'd guess. Won't even look at you or speak as you ride or walk by the other way. Just one of the many cycling characters we encounter day-to-day around these parts! :D

I ended up not riding yesterday as I'd thought I might, because I woke up at 4:30 am and never could get back to sleep. As a result, I was really dragging. So, I ended up doing chores and errands instead and rode this morning, after a much better night of sleep. I got in 15 miles, as I didn't want to go too far from home with DH not able to come bail me out in a pinch. On the way back, I stopped at the vet to pick up refills for our dog's meds. So it was productive and also got me above 2900 miles on the year. It felt good to ride again, though it's kinda weird riding solo. Glad I don't have to do that too often, as I much prefer to ride with DH. Hopefully he'll be back in the saddle next week.

[Crankin]

Those cycling characters are unique and make it interesting! We have the "half naked crazy guy, playing an instrument," who rides up and down Main St. Sometimes he rides on the sidewalk, but not always. He is incredible. Rides no hands playing a guitar, holding a boombox, playing a trombone, holding a beachball. There was an article about him in the local paper. He lives in the next town, is open about his mental health challenges, and says riding helps him deal with getting divorced. He was out near the end of our club rally, and as sweep, he certainly helped the stragglers I was behind, giving them a good laugh, 5 miles from the end of the ride.

[emily_in_nc]

Good one, Crankin! :D

[Crankin]

I'm going to look at a Specialized Ariel Sport bike tomorrow; I've been searching for a commuter/hybrid/gravel ready bike with mounts, etc for months. This has hydraulic disc brakes and a front suspension fork, big tires. There are a few other bikes that meet my requirements, but they either do not come in an x-small size, or are out of stock in that size. Found a new 2017 one at Belmont Wheelworks... it was in their "kid's store!" So, tomorrow, when it's 92 out in the afternoon, I will go down there to test it. DH convinced me to look for something that would give me something different than my 2 road bikes, one of which has a rack, so the ability to go on dirt roads/double track was the thing that made this stand out. We actually have some dirt roads in surrounding towns.
I will report back tomorrow. We are going to ride early in the AM, to avoid the heat. Took a short, 2 mile walk around 9 AM, before the tornado/flash flood warnings started going off. We just had torrential rain, but there was a tornado west of here. Spent the rest of the day celebrating my granddaughter's 2nd birthday, with a family lunch, after which, we went to the local farm to see the chickens and goats.

[emily_in_nc]

I thought about you, Crankin, when I saw on the news about the Webster, MA tornado. Wasn't sure how far from that area you are but glad you only got rain!

I'll be looking forward to hearing about the Specialized Ariel test ride. Sounds like fun (except for the heat!)

[emily_in_nc]

Yesterday I was walking our dog when one of our friends at the RV park, a senior triathlete, came riding by in his truck. He was all bandaged up -- side of head, elbow, and had a black eye. He knew about my DH's crash last Monday and said that he had "joined the club". Sheesh!

He said he was riding (solo, as always) on the trail we ride this past Thursday, and all of a sudden, he was down. He doesn't remember what happened and doesn't think any obstacle was in the trail. He was bleeding pretty heavily, so someone who passed him insisted on taking him to the ER, where they patched him up. He is older (74) but very fit.

He is shaken up since he doesn't remember what happened and doesn't remember hitting the pavement, so he must have lost consciousness briefly. He was wearing a helmet as he always does, and he thinks the helmet jamming into his left temple resulted in the cut and bruising there, but he knows it could have been worse if he hadn't been wearing one!

I am shaken up because of both this man and my DH, crashing out (both on their left sides) in the past week. This is going to make me nervous to ride. Between the three of us, all have had a relatively serious crash in just over a year, including my own. :eek:

[Crankin]

Sorry about your friend, Emily. Sometimes the littlest thing can bring you down, so if he hit a tiny twig or stone the wrong way and then crashed and hit his head, well, then you might not remember. On the other hand, I would get checked out, if I were him. Quite a few years ago, someone I know was found by a police woman, passed out on the ground in West Concord, village. She went out riding early in the AM, without eating, thinking that well, she went to 5:30 AM spin class without eating, so it must be OK. It was not! Heat, hills, and other things come into play.
You just can't let this stop you. I know, you have not, so take a day or two off and by then, you will miss riding.
Did a 24 mile ride this morning, and am very glad I went out at 8:30. We included the same new bit of the bike path, but we rode to the path another way, sans hills, and only went one way on the path. Then we rode back through Carlisle, up a hill and back through both of the town centers. I thought it might be quieter with cyclists today because the PMC is this weekend, and all the people who train for it seem to come to my area! What horrible weather for the riders in that event; torrential rain yesterday and heat today. Several small groups passed us in the first 5 miles and then we tagged on to the back of a slower group for just a little bit. The path was busy, just a few people who seemed oblivious, and all walkers.
Webster is about 40 miles southwest of here, on the border of CT. I've ridden there... and my cousin was the editor of the local paper there for a long time.
So, I bought my new bike! I was worried they would be rude to me, but the shop we went to definitely had different kinds of sales people than when I bought my mountain bike there in 2004. An older couple my age waited on us and they had the bike there waiting. I tested it on a block on the street (it's busy), the sidewalk, and a big parking lot. It's a matte olive green/gray, rides like a dream. Brakes and shock are great. The price was right, we got 250.00 off. I need to get a lot of accessories, special mounts for my lights (we buy a brand from the UK), campus pedals, and a rack. So, I won't be riding it until we come back from Canada.
DH commented that this is the first time we have ever walked out of a bike shop, with only the thing we intended to purchase! However, I am burning up the internet now, buying my shwag.

[north woods gal]

Emily, not remembering anything about the impact happened to me on my crash and from talking to others that have had crashes of various types, blacking out on the actual details of the impact is not unusual. On my crash, I remember riding up the boulder as I had done a 100 times, but then it's all a mental blank until I found my self laying on my back, looking up at the sky. Can't remember a single detail about the impact and, honestly, that's fine with me, because it must have been horrific. Pretty sure I must have passed out for a time, but, like I said, still don't know what actually happened.

Crankin, I think you'll like a bike with those wider 37mm or so tires. That kind of gravel bike can be very useful, not to mention comfortable;e to ride.

Spent the last 4 days at a resort in Brainerd, Mn., for a family reunion. There was a very nice 10 mile long paved bike trail next to the entrance. The resort entrance, though, is situated at the top of a mile long or so hill. That meant that going right or left from the resort took me into a long and steep up and down, but overall, downhill run. There were also several even steeper drops to small lakes on the side of the trail.

I averaged 10 miles a day, but those 10 miles were a real workout because I took my Gunnar single speed. Lots and lots of steep climbs with very little in the way of level sections. On a course like that with a single speed there is no loafing. It's either sprint or walk. I should have taken the other single speed, my Log Lady, because it's geared lower and has smaller wheels, which help with climbing, but I did fine with the Gunnar, though it was right at my limit. Hubby tried riding this trail on his fat bike, but didn't last too long on the climbs, so we rode around the resort for our daily together ride.

Back home, this afternoon, to ride my trails with the fat bike. Ughh! I do not like the way my head bounces around riding my single track. My neck does not like it, yet. Still uncomfortable. Beginning to worry about the wear and tear on my body with all that pounding. I am at the age where stuff like a detached retina is a real possibility. No problem riding gravel, but the gnarly, rooty single track that I have is NOT comfy for me to ride, right now. Just when I thought I was back in shape for trail riding, again. Beginning to wonder if I should abandon it for good. I've already paid a stiff price for doing it.

[Crankin]

Here is my new addition. It's still an incomplete build, no pedals, rack, bag, or mounts for my lights and GPS. But, we finally have them all chosen or ordered.
Not a great shot, as it's in it's natural habitat, in the basement!

[emily_in_nc]

Crankin, congratulations on the new bike. I think you'll enjoy that addition to your stable! Different bikes for different things, I've always thought. Also, thanks for your comments on our friend. He did get checked out medically, and I've chatted with him several times -- he seems just fine mentally. He's just walking now and allowing his wounds to heal. He is an avid swimmer and says he misses that most -- he can't go in the water now with open wounds. I didn't know this originally, but he had to get five staples in his head! He doesn't seem to be in any hurry to get back on the bike. I told him to buy a new helmet before he does! Amazingly, he said his helmet didn't crack, but if he hit his head hard enough for his helmet to bust open his skin underneath, it is not safe to wear. I hope he takes my advice. He is a bit eccentric!

nwg, I would stay off your single-track trails for awhile longer. You are just barely cleared to ride, and that is intense riding, much more than riding on pavement or gravel. Please take care of yourself and don't take that kind of risk with your still-healing body! It's not like you don't have other options for riding, after all. Would hate to see you re-injured in any way.

Also, I told our friend about your crash and losing consciousness, since I remembered that you had. He is concerned by it, but I think it's pretty normal. Even when I broke my jaw, I remember realizing I was going over the handlebars, and the next thing I remember is sitting up in the road bleeding and realizing that I'd injured myself rather badly. So I figure that I probably lost consciousness for a couple of seconds, just enough to protect me from the moment of impact. Nice of our brains to do that, right? In contrast, when I went down on my side breaking my pelvis, many years ago, I do remember the moment of impact -- perhaps because my head was not involved. However, it didn't "hurt" until minutes later, due to that initial rush of adrenaline your body puts out in that kind of situation.

I had planned on doing another short solo ride today, but I had an orthodontist appointment yesterday where he added two new elastics, so I am up to four total, full-time (except when eating). The new ones gave me a bad headache last night, and I couldn't get comfortable to sleep so got very little sleep last night. As a result, I wouldn't trust myself to ride right now. I am still achy. Gonna take some Tylenol and do a couple errands instead. Yesterday I worked out in the gym, and the day before, DH and I walked downtown and did parking garage stair-climbing! That's a good workout too! I should be much better tomorrow, hopefully, and will plan to ride then. I'm still hopping on the cruiser bike to cruise around the RV park (to the laundry room, office, dumpster, pool, gym, etc.), but longer rides have been few and far between since DH crashed. Fortunately, he's doing better every day and may even ride with me tomorrow! :)

[north woods gal]

Love the bike, Crankin. That's my idea of a great do it ali utility bike, especially once you get it set up with racks and bags. I've used similar bikes in the past for such a bike. Once had a Trek 7700 that was very similar. That bike, at one time, was my only bike, but it never let me, down. Bet you'll be riding your Specialized a lot.

Emily, sorry to hear about the hassles with the orthodontics issue, but you are so right about not riding until you feel good. One challenge at a time, I always say. As for the blacking out on a crash, yeah, from what I've read it's pretty common. Probably the mind's way of coping to a traumatic injury or something. For darn sure, I wouldn't want to keep reliving my crash over and over in my mind.

I'm going to let what feels good be my guide as to what kind of riding and how much I do, for awhile. I'm more the type to set a goal and push my self, silly, to get there, but I did reach my goal as to my mountain biking expertise, prior to my accident, so I can now relax and just enjoy the rides, whatever form they may take. I'm especially enjoying the single speed workouts on the roads, now. Gets me the same level of workout in a shorter amount of time than riding my geared bikes. :)

[emily_in_nc]

So, DH rode today! He's been riding around on his cruiser bike, just little short rides, in the past few days, but this was his first ride on his roadie since his crash last Monday, nine days ago. I was so happy that he felt comfortable enough to head out. He still has a large band-aid on his left elbow and side of his knee, but none were in a place that bothers to ride.

We did our usual route but cut it a little short because of the layoff, and because he was using Eggbeaters pedals (from his MTB) and Keen sandals (that uses on his Bike Friday), since his Speedplay Zero cleat failure was what caused the crash. He threw out those ancient Sidi shoes after the crash, thank goodness. It was long overdue!

Got in 28 miles on a hot and sunny morning. We've had a brief dry period here in central Florida, after a very rainy July. I actually miss our afternoon/evening rains, as they cooled things off so much, and meant I didn't have to water my potted plants every single day. Ready for those to return, but this hot and sunny period is better than a hurricane!

[north woods gal]

Good for him, Emily. You and I both know what a big step it is to ride, again, after an accident. 28 miles for me, right now, though, would be a very long ride. Impressive, especially with that Florida heat.

Been averaging between 10 and 15 miles a day, now, with a mix of trail and pavement riding, but mostly pavement. My neck is doing okay, but long rides of over an hour tend to make it a bit sore, so gradually working my way into longer rides. It's not just my neck, really, it's also my shoulder area muscles around the base of my neck that need to build back up.

Been getting to know my single speed Log Lady a bit better. Really enjoying it for these hour long rides. Have tuned it to put me in a good upright position for pedaling out on the road and have gone with XC MTB racing tires with very low rolling resistance to make it easy to pedal. It's also geared low for trail work, though I'm not using it on the trails, now. Just using it as a hilly country pavement/gravel road bike. (Not going to use any bike, now, with less than 3" wide tires for trail riding, as per my resolution.) Without going all techno geeky about gearing and gear inches, I'll just tell you that when pedaling on flat and level pavement, the Log Lady maintains a measly 10 mph before I start to overspin. Definitely not a bike to pigeon the road miles. :) That's okay, though, because when I start to climb, I forgive it. The 27.5" tires and low gearing makes this little single speed climb like a monkey. It's a hoot! It's also a great bike for casual outings or just noodling around the neighborhood. (By contrast, my 29er Gunnar single speed is geared to maintain a very useable 13 mph on the flats, but, of course, I have to do a LOT more standing to pedal up our hills.)

As for my trail riding, I've discovered that dropping the tire pressure low on the fat bikes to my normal snow riding pressures makes them just comfortable enough for my neck to manage some trail riding if I stay on the smooth sections. I normally run the tire pressures up for summer riding to gain speed and agility, but I'm not concerned with those things, right now. Just being able to ride trails at all, even for a short ride, is progress. :)

[emily_in_nc]

As you say, nwg, you're riding different kinds of bikes on different sources (and with many more hills!) than we are. A 28-mile ride for me on a good day is just around two hours, with only gentle climbs. DH did 30 miles in the same time (while I took a break in the middle), so really not that long a ride on road bikes. We had a great tailwind on the way out so were able to maintain a pretty brisk pace. Coming back with a headwind (not too strong but noticeable) was a bit slower, but still faster than on your fatties.

So glad you're able to ride again, and that you're letting discomfort guide how long you should ride while rebuilding. My DH's crash was much less serious than yours, and he has healed up really fast. I'm so relieved about that as I'd initially thought he might be out of commission for weeks. He gets pretty cranky when he can't ride, so I wasn't looking forward to that! :D Riding keeps him sane.

[rebeccaC]

So glad you're able to ride again, and that you're letting discomfort guide how long you should ride while rebuilding. +1 i can't find better words than those


He gets pretty cranky when he can't ride, so I wasn't looking forward to that! :D Riding keeps him sane.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4610/39763423254_685f678d00_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/23zKWp1)
:)

[north woods gal]

Sheila, you're right to take it slow in that kind of heat and humidity. You'll get there, though. That, and fall is just around the corner, right?

Had a big day, today. I broke 20 miles of pavement in a single ride for the first time since my accident. Did 21.4 miles, to be exact and did it on the Gunnar single speed, to boot. Even included two of what I call my "killer leg burner hills" to make it challenging. My average speed was pathetic, but this was more about being able to go the distance than performance. Real confidence booster for me. Much needed.

My neck did okay. A bit stiff and just a twinge or soreness towards the end, but doable. One thing that helped was tweaking both single speeds, this week, to put me in a more upright riding position for riding on pavement. Just a matter of going to shorter stems, adjusting seat and handlebar positions. Have also noticed how sitting more upright allows me to turn my neck much easier and that's a big plus for safety. Really liking these single speed MTBs with their 2.25" wide tires as my road road bikes. Very practical in my area for that use. We get a lot of sand and gravel washing over our roads when it rains and the wide tires are a plus for safety. Also noticed some recent logging activity along the route, this morning, so the wider tires also let me bail out and ride the shoulder when I hear a log truck coming up from behind. And, of course, standard MTBs like these make great gravel road bikes and I love riding gravel.

Been a good couple of days for wildlife spotting, too. Came around a curve and surprised two hen turkey and their young ones, yesterday. Today, stopped and helped two small turtles cross the road. Lots of deer, as always.

[north woods gal]

Yeah, just visited their website. My Krampus is the rather ho hum red color they had last year. Kind of like that purple.

Oh, I've been doing some road work with the Pugsley, but still not quite strong enough to push those big tires 20 miles down the road, yet. Have done 10, but that's about all I can handle, right now with a fat bike. It's been interesting to ride with my hubby on our daily neighborhood pavement rides. He only rides his Specialized fat bike with 4.6" tires. Hates anything else. Since I'm still recovering, I have a hard time keeping up with him when I ride one of my fat bikes. That will change in time. On the other hand, when riding the Gunnar with its custom built 29x2.25 wheels and custom frame, I beat him up pretty bad, especially up hills and riling down hills, too. I'm usually still coasting on the Gunnar and passing him while he's pedaling. Love those big fat bike tires, but out on pavement, they are at a big disadvantage for performance.

Actually hit 29 plus mph for a max speed on the Gunnar, today, coasting down one of my leg burner hills. The Gunnar had no problem at all at that speed. Have never been able to get any of the fat bikes to even come close to that speed coasting down that particular hill. They usually max out at about 20 or 21 mph coasting down that same hill. Two very different kinds of bikes, of course, but a good example of how easily different kinds of bikes can be to pedal and how easily they roll.

[Crankin]

Had our first full day in Wellington, on Lake Ontario. Got here yesterday around 4. This is a wonderful summer vacation area... Prince Edward County, Canada (not Prince Exward Island). No riding today, just beach, wine, eating, and walking. Doing a 40 mile loop tomorrow.

[Crankin]

Just got back from a 38 mile ride and I am exhausted. This is a ride DH planned, so he really was not sure of the elevation. We ended up doing 1,000 ft of climbing in a flat place. Basically rural farmland and at one point, we were seeing glimpses of another bay, not the lake. Not that beautiful, but nice. We stopped at an apple orchard for lunch and had soup and a muffin. After that, I realized my azz was hurting, but that’s because the saddle on the Guru is not broken in as much as on my Silque. About 20 miles to go, my chain fell off and I could not get it to go back by shifting it into the big ring. DH had to work for awhile to get it on and I had to stay in the small ring. That was ok, because the wind was relentless and so were the gradual climbs. DH will work on it later. After we drink the cider he stopped to buy one mile from our inn.
Going to stretch and shower and drink that cider. I earned my dinner tonight.

[emily_in_nc]

We rode again today, and once again cut it a little short. I think DH was up for doing our usual distance, but there were a lot of storm clouds looming, so we headed back. Ended up with just a bit over 28 miles. A good ride, though!

Crankin, sounds like a pretty tough ride. Enjoy your vacay and your dinner! I bet the area is gorgeous.

nwg, my max speed on our route is in almost always in the 19-21 mile range due to the flatter terrain here in Florida, so 29 mph sounds like fun!

[north woods gal]

Nice work, both of you.

Crankin, you might need a front derailleur adjustment if your chain popped off while shifting to a different chain ring. That's the usual culprit. 38 mile in new country is a very impressive ride, though. When I ride a new route, those miles seem to be much longer and more intimidating.

Emily, our weather has been very humid in the morning, this week, thanks to some overnight fog. Still, I don't think it compares with anything you have in Florida. I'm going to be in Florida, again, this September. Hubby has another conference in your area. Not sure whether I'll be able to do any biking, so will get back to you.

Did 13 miles on the ECR, yesterday, in the humid heat, to take a break from single speed riding. Yeah, that ECR is one of those bikes that could work as my only and my last bike, no matter where I lived or what the weather or roads. Could ride it in the snow, even, but just not in the same class as a fat bike for that riding. Definitely an apocalypse kind of bike I could load up with a ton of gear and live off it. Very comfy to ride and no road in our area can stop it (and that's saying something with our near wilderness roads in places).

Afternoon ride was with the Krampus for some trail work, after dropping the tire pressure way low for the sake of my neck comfort. Yup, another Surly steel bike, but different in character than the ECR. Pure trail bike, this one. Been experimenting with the gear ratios. Getting real close to converting it to a single speed. Not sure why I like riding single speed so much. Maybe it's because I've always been a minimalist as far as gear and love keeping things simple. Whatever. Single speed riding is just a good fit for me. Matches up with my "just get on the damn bike and ride" philosophy. :)

[Crankin]

So, we planned a shorter route today, since the tour company’s route covered some of what we did yesterday. After a couple of miles, we turned onto a trail more suited for my new bike! There was one point I had to put my foot down, as I wasn’t sure I could get around a large puddle, and my entire cleat on my shoe and pedal was so mud encrusted I could not clip in. Since these are SPD pedals, I tried kicking the mud out, but I had to stop. I did not want to be on this trail to begin with! After several squirts of the water bottle, we got back on the main road and decided to turn down a side street that ended up on a peninsula. It was beautiful and had some shade, with views of the water. On the way back to town, my chain dropped again. We stopped at the farmers market, bought sadwiches and ate by the water. Lovely! After cleaning up, took my bike to the LBS in the next town. The mechanic, a women was a riot. There is no obvious cause, but a weird thing that may be affecting it, that she needed to wait for the head guy to fix. We are going back to pick it up in about 30 minutes. What a pain. I truely do not remember what it is, but they seem competent. Since we won’t have our car until Monday, we need to be able to ride to our next inn tomorrow morning and to our final destination on Monday, where our car will be waiting.
The cab comes to get our suitcases at 9 am, so we will be leaving to our next stop around 10:30, after breakfast.

[Crankin]

Ok, my bike is fixed. This was DH’s fault! He put a new chain on the night before we left and he put it on wrong... Mr Genius mechanic. But, he was mortified in front of the mechanic, who told him to “own his sh!t.” She was hysterical. They did a couple of other minor things for me and charged us only 25.00.
I was able to enjoy my dinner!

[emily_in_nc]

Ok, my bike is fixed. This was DH’s fault! He put a new chain on the night before we left and he put it on wrong... Mr Genius mechanic. But, he was mortified in front of the mechanic, who told him to “own his sh!t.” She was hysterical.

:D :D :D Too funny!

No riding this weekend, as we leave the busy trails to the families, but we did other things. Today was a long walk to the parking garage downtown, stair and ramp climbing, then after a quick dip in the pool to cool down (felt glorious, and I had it all to myself!) I worked out in the gym. Looking forward to riding tomorrow, though. First day of school for the kiddos here, which means buses on the roads. :(

[Crankin]

We left Wellington around 10:30, after a memorable dinner last night and good conversation with the other guests at the inn, as well as the owners. The ride today took us in a more isolated area, through a provincial park on the lake. Needless to say, it was crazy busy getting close to there, but the route took us on a gravel path to avoid most of it. It was tricky to get the right path looking at the GPS, but after quite a few turn arounds, we got to the beach. We stopped and used the bathroom, and just took a look at the dunes/water. We both felt incredibly overheated, as there is no shade here, and we were getting close to our inn. After another short dirt section, we were on our way with 5 miles to go. We stopped once, in the shade so I could eat a Shot Block and drink copiously. I was starting to feel weird.
Ended up with 28.5 miles. We both cannot figure out why these rides with 240 ft of elevation feel so hard! The 2 factors are a relentless headwind and the sun. It was 80 when we got here; after a quick shower, we walked half a mile to a wonderul place for lunch, around 2. On the way back the wind had died and it was 85.
The inn does not have AC, but it is not bad. And it cools a lot at night. Since this place is in the middle of nowhere, we eat at the inn, a special thing for people on this tour.
Tomorrow we ride to our final riding destination. Seriously thinking of doing the shorter route, if it is not cloudy. Some cool things on the way. Weather still looks iffy for Tuesday. Neither of us want to risk t storms.

[north woods gal]

Love your bike mechanic, too. :) Sounds like a lovely area, Crankin. How's your bike do on the dirt/gravel? Hopefully, okay.

11 pavement miles this morning on the single speed Log lady, then did a little trail maintenance work. Much needed, since I couldn't do any work during my recovery. Whoa, I am still way out of shape for this kind of physical labor. 7 weeks of no lifting or physical work really weakened me. I'm going very slow and light, though. Little bit at a time. My goal is to smooth the trail as much as possible, removing roots or small rocks that might possibly cause a fall, but mostly just to make for a more comfy ride.

Still at something of a crossroads on the bikes and what I want to ride into the future. The fat bikes will always stay, but the plus bikes may get traded off at some point. They're kind of an in-between kind of bike. Not as good as a fat bike for gnarly trail riding and not as sweet and nimble as the light single speeds for pure road work. When I want to ride trail, I grab a fat bike. When I want to ride pavement, I grab a sweet and fast single speed. The 3" tire plus bikes don't get ridden much, now. The single speeds have kind of spoiled me for pavement and road work. Who knew?

[Crankin]

My Guru is ok on the gravel. Not great, but there were some packed sections, where I get a reprieve and it is flat. Also not going more than 10-11 mph. As long as there is no sand, I am ok. We did not know about the dirt parts!
Will be ordering the rest of the parts for my Ariel on Wednesday, so they will be there Saturday, when we get home. My plan is to ride it to work the first Mon or Tues I am back and then hit the Battle Road Trail in Minuteman National Park on Wednesday. It’s packed dirt.

[Crankin]

Sheila, I bought the Ariel Sport because it met all of my requirements for around town and commuting, plus it had the extra factors of front shocks and disc brakes. It was on sale and one of the few xsmall bikes in this category available. They make them, but most brands sell out so quickly, they are gone in a flash.

[north woods gal]

10 or 11 miles per hour is pretty normal on dirt and gravel, so you did good, there, Crankin. Packed dirt is actually better than gravel as long as it isn't too loose or rutted. My favorite kind of surface, unless it rains, of course. :)

95 degrees, Sheila? Wow! Glad you got out away from home to ride, though. It's good for the spirit, every now and then.

We have our last upper 80s day, today, then down into the 70s, tomorrow and the rest of the week. Got out early to beat the afternoon heat, then. After a couple of laps around the neighborhood with the hubby, struck out to do a bit more pavement riding for a humble 14.4 miles, total. It was on the single speed Gunnar, though, so all sprint and a very good workout. That's what I love about single speeding. I don't have to go as far to get the same workout. The single speeding has really improved my road technique. Have to maintain a much higher spin rate to maintain my speed, so lots more pedaling per mile. Better aerobic workout than with a standard geared bike, not to mention no shifting, needed. That's pretty cool, too.

[north woods gal]

Sheila, we're never officially out of shape, we're just on the road to be in better shape, right? :) I know the feeling, though. I really don't know if I'll ever get back to my pre-accident shape before the snow flies, this year. Ah, well, maybe next year. I'm still riding and that's what counts for now.

Added another two miles of trail work, this afternoon after it cooled down a bit. Rode the Krampus with its 29x3 tires. Definitely more comfy than 29x 2.25 tires, but way short of the comfy I get with one of the fat bikes. Makes over 15 miles for the day with the single speed work I did this morning. There was a time I never would have thought riding 15 miles plus in a day, every day, would be enough to make me proud, but it does, now. Might be the new normal for me, after my accident, but if so, that's fine. Probably time to cut back, any way.

[Crankin]

Sheila, I did not buy the carbon! Since I have 2 carbon bikes, this one one needed to be cheaper. It’s aluminum, very light.
So, today’s ride was an adventure, and what’s an adventure without some excitement? We left the inn at 9:30 and decided to go for the 50 mile ride, since it was cloudy and tomorrow is definitely rain. It stayed cloudy for the first 20 miles or so. Totally quiet farm roads. The feature of this ride was an out and back to a peninsula that is a provincial park. We were getting tired as we got near the end of the peninsula and planned to eat our snack there. About 1-2 miles from the end, the road became gravel, with some poor pavement under. I was riding in the middle, when it became washboard. I get this weird thing when I ride on cobbles or washboard, where I get tunnel vision. As I was making my way across to the right, I am not sure what happened, but I think I was going too fast and I may have slammed my brakes. Down I went. Result, road rash and blood on my left knee, with bruising. Thankfully, I had my Bacitracin and lots of tissues. After several squirts of my water and applying pressure, we rode on to the end. We ate a bar and I recovered. We headed back, and of course the sun came out more. Made another stop to eat a Shot Block and we soldiered on to a supposed fabulous cheese shop at mile 40. DH said he was losing it, and so was I. The cheese shop had no actual food, but they had ice cream, so that was our lunch. This was a fail on the part of the tour company. With 10 miles to go, we were toast and right when we left, there was a climb with about a 10% grade. After one more stop, we made it to the inn, where our car and luggage were awaiting. Total was 49.7 miles and I will say I rode 50!
My road rash is already scabbing and healing, but it is stiff. I applied lots of Arnica and DH got me a huge bandage that’s like skin. We walked a bit to get a beer and app, hoping that helps. Dinner is not until 8.
It is going to be crappy weather tomorrow, so more wineries and some shopping is in order. I am fine with riding 130 miles in 4 days. Wednesday, we head to Montreal.

[emily_in_nc]

Wow, Crankin, so sorry about your fall! There seems to be a lot of that going around lately. My DH is just about healed up from his (due to cleat failure). He is down to regular-sized Band-aids (from large bandages) on the side of his left elbow and knee, and the scabbed areas get smaller every day. We did our usual route yesterday -- the full length -- for the first time since his crash exactly two weeks earlier. My 35 miles put me at 3001 miles for the year! Pretty happy about that. We had a building headwind on the way back, on top of the usual heat and humidity (temp 85), so the last third or so of the ride was not so pleasant, but we got 'er done.

What tour company did you go with? We did a Bike Vermont tour many years ago in the Connecticut River Valley, so some of it was actually in New Hampshire (Hanover area). I still have such fond memories, but whew, the hills were tough. I can't imagine riding 50 miles in that kind of terrain these days, so I give you huge props!

[north woods gal]

Crankin, you are tough, no doubt about it. 130 miles in 4 days and a fall in the mix, to boot. Glad your fall wasn't worse. Road rash is the pits, though.

Congrats, Emily, on a great year of riding and it's not over, yet. I hope to try some biking when we're on our Florida visit in September, but I suspect it will be limited, given the heat and my current level of conditioning. Don't know when I'll get back into your league or Crankin's, but I know for sure it will be awhile. Not likely this year. It sometimes depresses me to think about how much I have lost as far as my physical conditioning, though, in truth, I'm actually in good shape. I'm just not in my former peak shape for riding. That always makes me nervous and tense, though. On things like this, patience is not my strong suit. :)

Stopped in at the bike shop, yesterday, to see how the guys were coming on changing the new Pugs over to better all around tires and setting them up tubeless, to boot. I know I'm one of the only fatties fans around here, so I'll just tell everyone that with these monster tires, tire design and going tubeless is very important. (Fat bike inner tubes weigh a ton.) Hope to bring the new Pugs home in the next couple of days and do some more trail riding with it. This winter, the fat bikes will all be my plowed road, road bikes, too. Have decided not to tear myself up trying to keep my trails open this winter like I did last winter. My snow riding will either be on the roads or local groomed trails and, yes, in snow bike country, we have groomed snow bike trails, same as we have groomed cross country ski trails.

[Crankin]

Emily, we are in Prince Edward County Ontario. Nothing like the terrain in Hanover, NH, where I have ridden. It’s flat to rolling in the truest sense, with very few real climbs. The wind and sun have been the biggest negatives. We used a Canadien tour company, that arranges semi supported trips. It’s called Randonne. The owner’s sister lives in this area.
The Nexcare bandage is a miracle! The cuts are healing so quickly, it’s mostly the bruising that hurts, but Arnica gel is helping that.i have a small bruise on the inside of my right knee, too, from the top tube and a teeny one on my elbow.
It rained last night and today is soupy and a real feel of 95. It was sunny this morning, but we are done. Both of us are tired. Shopped, had coffee, lunch, wine tasting. Now going to walk around the town of Picton and then we have dinner at our inn. We decided to drive out to an area where we can take a ferry to the road to Montreal, so we will see all of the county. It’s longer, but worth it.

[north woods gal]

My best day, yesterday, since my accident. No, not in total miles, though they were good. Did 14.4 miles of pavement in the morning on the Gunnar single speed, then followed it up, right away, with 3 miles of laps on our trails with a fat bike. Then did another 2 miles trails with a fat bike in the afternoon.

The real plus for me, though, was that for the first time since my accident, I felt a little bit like my old self as far as strength. Real confidence booster for me because I was beginning to wonder If I would ever get back to the old me as far as conditioning. Seems like it's taken forever, but I now have real confidence I can make a full recovery. Was actually able to ride the trails, aggressively, the way they need to be ridden to do them right. Also very pleased to report that I had ZERO interest in riding over boulders or hopping logs, as per my resolution to ride safer after my accident. In fact, I still cringe a bit when I bypass some of those obstacles. Also nice to know that I can still enjoy the trail riding and that it can still be challenging without taking unnecessary risks on the stunt stuff.

Picked up the Pugs 2 from the shop, now with its new fast rolling tires, set up tubeless. Turns this second edition Pugs into an even better dual purpose rough road and trail bike. Those big easy rolling 4.4" tires smooth out the roughest trails. Love them. Definitely a 12 months of the year bike, now. Have the same tires on another fat bike and they really do a great job in the snow, too.

[north woods gal]

Sheila, I've ridden a Muk and loved it. Very modern fat bike. Salsa has done a good job of continuously upgrading it to stay with current technology. For all my trail bikes, now, 1x is the only way to go.

[Crankin]

Glad your strength is returning, NWG.
I am glad weather, driving, and being in Montreal is keeping me from riding, so my crash stuff heals, although I am ready to ride. Not that I’ve been sitting on my butt.
We got here around 2 yesterday, and after some assistance from the hotel, parked our car; the whole street is closed in front of the hotel. We stored our bikes in a closet in the lobby and drank our welcome champagne. This place is lovely. We are staying in Old Town, so it is filled with tourists. Did some shopping and walked for a few miles and then had wine at the hotel bar until our 9 pm dinner at an outstanding gourmet pizza place.
This morning we caught an Uber to Mount Royal Park and hiked just under 4 miles. Glad we went at 9:30, it was mobbed when we finished. What a treasure in the middle of the city. We stayed on the wooded trails as much as possible, but when we were on the packed dirt roads, there were tons of cyclists. Sadly, most had their helmets hanging from their bars.
After getting back, we cleaned up and had lunch and walked more. We were both tired, so spent the past 2 hrs relaxing and reading before dinner. Tomorrow, we drive to Brattleboro, VT for one night. It’s going to be crappy weather, rain, so no more outdoor stuff. Our good friends in Amherst are coming to meet us for dinner, as it’s only about a half hr away. I expect we will be home by noon on Saturday.

[emily_in_nc]

It sounds like you are having a wonderful trip, Crankin, though I can't imagine eating dinner at 9pm. LOL! I am in my jammies and parked in front of the TV with my book by then. Not very cosmopolitan, this gal. :D

nwg, such a good feeling to be "back", isn't it? I am so happy for you. I am also relieved that you are not tempted by the boulders, logs, and other obstacles on the trails. Riding = good, crashing = bad. Right!?

[Crankin]

Emily, I can eat at 9 on vacation, as breakfast and lunch are later, punctuated by periods of outdoor activity and rest. Even on the days I am getting home at 6:15, I may not eat until 7, but I am still in bed by 9-10. I get up early!
There’s going to be bad storms here, shortly. We did have some rain on the way, down. We stopped in Montpelier for lunch, and went to a pizza place we’d been to before. However, the other times, it’s been like 10 degrees out!
Looking forward to dinner. Brattleboro is full of old hippies and unusual shops; spent some time in a gallery and an antique shop. I’ve already got 3 work related phone calls/texts about next wk. Back to reality.

[north woods gal]

Thanks, folks. Emily, not to worry, I've removed most of my dangerous stuff from the trails and/or blocked off the segments that contained them. That helps to remove the temptations to do stupid stuff. I've also taken a closer look at the trails and have been busy removing the smaller rocks and roots that I previously ignored. Overall, just trying to make the trails safer as far as any objects that might cause a crash. The trails still twist and tun and have the same steep ups and downs, so they're still demanding and fairly technical, but hopefully a bit safer.

We're having a good friend of mine for a visit. She's my age, but hasn't been riding in over a year. She was intrigued by the fat bikes, though, so we let her ride the old Pugsley on our morning neighborhood road ride. ound the big wheels hard to pedal, since she is out of shape.

[Crankin]

NWG, that's exactly why I am not getting a fat bike. There's only one made for someone as small as I am, and it costs a ton; all of the reading I've done spoke about how short/petite people are at a disadvantage with fat bikes because of the wheel size, which is the thing that makes them great for riding in the snow. While I am not out of shape, I found the type of strength I needed when I was mountain biking was harder for me to develop than for road biking. I've come to the conclusion I am just more of an endurance person, although I keep working on the strength at the gym.
Got home yesterday around noon. We had a great dinner with my friends on Friday night and an excellent breakfast at a place that specializes in quinoa based food, but Brattleboro was just a bit too full of weird people around my age! I've been to many other places in Vermont, and this was different. We did stop at a great farmers' market on the way out, but figured we didn't need to buy anything. We did, however, stop at a chocolate place that opened about a year ago, that we pass every time we go see our friends. Bought a few pieces of white and dark chocolate and DH bought chocolate covered pretzels, which I don't like. It didn't take us too long to get the laundry done, since it was mostly our bike/hiking clothes and get to the farm and grocery store for food. It was nice to eat at home.
Did a 15 mile ride around 11:30. My legs feel much stronger after riding in all of that wind and riding with a larger trunk bag, on a slightly heavier bike. Of course, it is predicted to rain on Wednesday, when I can ride. Tomorrow I go back to the gym. My instructor had her baby, so the class won't be as hard for the next couple of weeks!
The knee is healing well.

[emily_in_nc]

Glad you're healing up, Crankin, and I am with you on fat bikes. At my size (about the same as you), I am just not sure I could power one unless I had a tailwind!

Today is a usual off day for us for cycling, as the trail is too busy, but we needed to get some copies made at Staples and go to a couple of stores at the big shopping area in the south part of town, so we rode our cruiser bikes down on sidewalks and bike paths (different from our usual West Orange Trail, more urban) and got that done. Coupled with some loops around the campground we got in about 10 miles. When the wind was at our back, it was a blast, but the cruiser bike is tough to pedal into the wind, so I was happy to get done with it.

Tomorrow morning I have an orthodontist appointment, so no riding, but expect to get out for our usual ride on Tuesday. DH is healed up from his crash, thankfully, so we got in three longer rides last week (MWF). We're enjoying doing long rides three days a week instead of four, as we get a lot more done on that one additional off day and enjoy the days we do ride more, since none are back-to-back.

[north woods gal]

You're right, Crankin. Those big heavy fat bike tires are harder to pedal. I'm so used to pedaling them, that I hardly notice, anymore, unless I take one out for a 30 mile ride or something. My friend's visit and attempt to ride any form of trail bike, including the fat bikes, was a reminder that there are lot of people out there riding bicycles that really aren't comfortable with MTBs or even drop bar road bikes. Her other complaint about the fat bike was that it didn't allow her to sit upright. She felt very uncomfortable with her weight down on the handlebars.

Anyway, we had a great visit. Nothing like catching up with an old friend and just talking and sharing stories. Her visit meant a lot to me, what with me being so far away, up here in the woods.

We did solve her bike riding problem, by the way. After a try with the MTBs out on the road (no way was she ready to try trail riding) and her disappointment, I remembered I had recently bought a Specialized Roll Low Entry comfort bike as my indoor training bike while I recovering from my accident. Took the Specialized off the trainer and got it adjusted for he and then out on the road we went. She loved it! Remember, now, she hasn't been on a bike in over a year and even then, she's never been much for riding. She struggled on our neighborhood hills a bit, but she really enjoyed the riding, enough so that she wanted to do, more. In fact, she loved the Specialized so much, she decided to buy one for herself. I offered her mine, but she did not like the matte black color and can't say I blamed her.

We took her to one of my shops and they set her up with the slightly more advanced model with disc brakes, a triple crankset, and, most importantly, a nice color. And they made her a great price, to boot. She will be riding this around her neighborhood and town and using it to visit friends. She couldn't wait to drive back home and start riding.
https://s8.postimg.cc/gc8mb73mt/P1100132.jpg (https://postimages.org/)

I am so pleased that the bike industry has recently been addressing the need for people like my friend. It's long overdue, in my opinion. I've been trying to find her the right bike for years and trying to get her to get out and ride more, but with little success. I think we've finally found the right bike for her, though. I just loved seeing the smile on her face while she was riding her new bike. :)

[Crankin]

You've got me interested. Send me a private message here, or on FB.
That is a cool looking bike, NW. And what a nice story about your friend. I love to see people riding those kinds of bikes. Now that we have a trail close by, I see more of them, and I always compliment the bike. There *should* be a bike for everyone.
Eh, I don't want to go to work. Thoughts of quitting in my head, but I know I'd be bored to death, without DH around. I'll be fine once I get there.
Boot camp was harder than I thought it would be with the sub, although she is a woman around my age, a retired teacher, whom I really like. There were only 2 things I couldn't do, which involved kneeling, and I can't put that kind of pressure on my knee yet. The scab is almost gone...

[north woods gal]

Sheila, an encounter with someone who caused a decrease in your enjoyment of riding is a serious matter. I hope isn't a permanent thing. PM me if you think I can help.

Worked hard - as in some heavy labor - on a section of trail, yesterday, removing some rocks and nasty roots. My neck and body managed it, though I fell asleep in my chair, last night. :) It's all part of my ongoing project to make my trails safer and more comfy to ride. I'm hoping to be able to ride MTBs with standard width 2.25" tires with minimal risk on selected sections of my trail. That will still leave some sections that are really plus or fat bikes, only sections. I still enjoy a casual ride in the woods with the Log Lady single speed or other "skinny" tire bikes. Despite the recent heat, I'm already seeing signs of fall. That's a reminder that I will be going fat bike, only, for my riding soon enough. Oh, well, this will be a summer I will never forget.

[north woods gal]

Reached a an encouraging milestone, this morning. For the first time since my accident, I wads able to complete over 5 miles of trail riding. That was my usual workout before the accident. Better yet, I did it on the single speed Log Lady with its 2.25" tires and my neck managed it just fine. My legs, too. Took it slow and easy and, especially, safe, but I'm now confident of riding standard MTBs on the trail, again. Just have to be aware of how to ride safely with these standard width tires. After all, the Log Lady is a racing MTB and it is designed for trail riding. Just last week I was wondering if I had the LL geared a bit too high for my trails. Not today, though. Gearing was just right.

Fall like weather, today. Highs only in the 60s with a brisk north wind. Even had to wear leggings and a sweatshirt to be comfy. I think that helped me climb some hills with the single speed, though. :)

[emily_in_nc]

Sounds like you had a great ride, nwg. Fantastic!

We did our usual ride today, and it was fine, but still hot and humid. No signs of fall here yet, but that is to be expected. Actually, there is one sign, and that is no kids on the trail during the week now that school is in. A nice change! Ended up with 34.7 miles, followed by a nice cool down in the pool, even though it's not especially refreshing right now -- at least it's cooler than riding. :D

[Crankin]

My Ariel is built! DH thought he would be finished on Sunday, but because my bike is so small, the rack needed some special clamps to be attached, so it doesn't fly around. They came today, and DH had just finished putting them on when I got home. Of course, it is going to rain torrentially tomorrow morning, so I am going to the gym. But, it might be OK to test it out in the afternoon. I am hoping to ride it to work Thursday, but given my shaky transitions to new bikes/geometry, I need to ride it a bit before I head into traffic, even for a 2.6 mile ride. I'll also be home early enough to maybe test it on a dirt road near me.

[Crankin]

Hoping I can out between rainstorms today, even if it's riding around my cul-de-sac. I have a lot of personal business to attend to today, which includes a spin/conditioning class at 8:30, catching up with friends about vacation, and getting to my endocrinologist for my Prolia injection. I will take pictures in the basement, if I have to.

[north woods gal]

Sheila, my romance with the Jones bars was short lived. I found that the Jones bars have too much sweep for me to be comfortable. The Jones with its 45 degrees of sweep actually required me to bend my wrists from their natural position when reaching for the handlebars. That and I found that the actually H bar cross section was too short and narrow to use for alternate riding positions. Great idea, but just didn't wok for me. If you want one, be glad to let you have mine. Let me know.

On the other hand, I found the new Surly Moloku with its 34 degrees of sweep to be perfect, plus I can get some very useable positions for riding on the cross brace. It's now standard on all Surly flat bar touring bikes. Great design. I liked the Moloku so much I even added one to the old Pugsley. Unlike the Jones, the Moloku also works very well for my trail riding. I can ride my single track very well with it. The Jones was like trying to ride single track with a 50s cruiser bike. Hated it it for trail work.

The one disadvantage with the Moloku is the weight, if you're trying to count grams, because it is made of steel, not aluminum. Of course, if we Surly nuts were worried about counting grams, we wouldn't be riding Surly, anyway. :)

As for stems, I always have to go a touch shorter on standard traditional unisex bikes like a Surly. Right now, I'm using a Salsa Bend 2 with 23 degrees of sweep for a handlebar on my Krampus with a very short 45mm Race Face stem. Went that short, this summer, to keep me more upright while my neck healed, but need to go back to maybe a 60 or 65mm, now, to get me into optimum trail riding position. The medium Krampus came with a 70mm stem from the factory. Just a touch too long for my short torso. Unless I'm buying a WSD bike, my rule of thing on stem length is to subtract 10mm for stem length on more traditional bikes like the Surly. Most current high tech MTBs, like my Norco fatties, already come with very short stems, so not always an option for me.

[Crankin]

OK, I had quite an experience for my first ride on the Ariel. As I said, I had a lot of stuff to do, and when I got home, it was around 2:45. It rained torrentially in the morning, when I did a 1/2 spin, 1/2 conditioning class this morning, but by the time I got home, showered, did she work and ate lunch, it was sunny, oppressive, and humid, although only around 75. I looked at the radar and it said it would rain around 3:45; my plan was to just go out and ride in the neighborhood next to my street. There's rolling hills and flats and there's a trail that goes up to the health club I used to belong to, and then that street intersects with Main St., so it would be a 3 mile loop, or more, if I rode al of the neighborhood streets. I figured if it rained, I would never be more than 1.5 miles from home. So, I go to the furthest point in the neighborhood, about to get on the trail, to test the front shock, I felt a rain drop. With no warning, other than that, it started raining torrentially. No thunder or lightning, so I just turned around and headed back the way I came. I could not see a thing...
Thankfully, it was not cold. I laughed like a kid and it was kind of fun. The disc brakes work great. I had to kind of get used to trigger shifters again. It does feel heavy. No speed records will be set on this bike, but I did get up to 13 on the flats and 17 on a little downhill. The rack and trunk bar do add some heft.
I am not sure why this picture is rotated!

[north woods gal]

Crankin, I'll bet that's a first ride you'll always remember. Really is just the kind of use that bike was made for. Sounds like you have a great utility bike in your new Ariel. Enjoy.

As for me, my strength may be back, but my patience for riding those big fat tire bikes on pavement has waned since I started riding my super easy rolling single speed bikes. Those fast rolling bikes really do spoil you. Rode the old Pugs, this morning, on our morning ride and could just keep up with my hubby on his fat bike, instead of pushing way out ahead of him like I always do on the single speeds. Even with the low rolling resistance fat tires on the Pugs, it still rolled like the tires were glued to the pavement compared to my two single speeds with their super easy rolling 2.25" tires. Have to wonder why I am riding monster plus and fat tires on pavement, now. Probably time to be thinking of a more conventional road bike with standard gearing and normal tires, now, to supplement my road riding with the single speeds for summer riding. Just when I thought I had too many bikes, as it is, I'm thinking of another one, now. This is nuts. The two single speeds really changed my tastes in bikes. I was not expecting that.

A steel bike at 23 pounds and lively and responsive XC geometry really is a joy to ride. The Log Lady, after all is a racing single speed MTB. Pretty thing, too, my Log lady. Have since changed out to smoother rolling XC race tires for even easier pedaling and more roll. That's a very important factor when calculating gearing on a single speed. You have to calculate and consider more than just gear inches when deciding what gear combos to use. How easily the tires roll is a big factor. Yet another factor when deciding on gearing is that single speeds are more efficient than derailleur bikes because the chain on a single speed always runs in a perfectly straight line and runs tighter, too. Lots more to this single speed stuff than I thought.
https://s8.postimg.cc/5mynh48l1/P1100051.jpg (https://postimages.org/)

[Crankin]

I really know nothing about the color; this bike was hidden away in the kid's section of Belmont Wheelworks. It's a 2017, so it's been hidden for awhile! It is really an olive green, almost neutral looking.
I am getting ready to ride to work. It's 62 out and feels cold! So, I put on my new Terry Soleil hoody that I snagged for half price. I probably will need a vest, too. I plan to take a longer ride home, since I am done at 3:45, but the Soleil is so light weight, I think it will be ok, despite being in the 70s.
I have all of my clothes packed in the Topeak trunk bag. I haven't put my lunch or flat iron (it's a mini size) in yet, but I opened the expander. Before, I would always have to walk across the street to an office park that has a cafeteria to buy lunch when I rode, so this is nice. DH wanted me to get the larger size, but I thought it looked kind of too much and rather geeky. This is the medium size. I will report back later.

[north woods gal]

Sheila, not sure how much help I can be on the stem and handlebar thing. It's just such a personal preference thing. I usually ride a bit and try different lengths of stems and figure out what I want through trial and error, but that assumes you have a lot of time to putter around and a bag full of different stems to try, which I do. On the Jones bar, for instance, I didn't change stem length at all and it put my hands comfortably on the controls where I wanted them.

Also depends on your riding style, of course, and whether you like being stretched out a bit or whether you'd rather be in a more upright position. After my accident, I changed to shorter stems on a lot of bikes for a more upright position for the sake of my neck comfort. I like it that way and will probably stay there, now, since my riding has gotten more conservative. Getting in a low and aggressive crouch was almost a necessity when I was climbing boulders, hopping logs and doing jumps, but I'm now riding, dirt, only, both wheels on the ground at all times, as part of my resolution to ride safer. I now prefer MTBs with more traditional XC geometry and steeper angles than the now very popular trend for trail bikes with slacker geometry.

Okay, sorry for getting geeky on everyone. Interesting, though, how my accident has changed my tastes and preferences and needs as to what I bicycle, now. Definitely see myself headed back into a more traditional direction. Would like to save the fat bikes, for instance, for winter riding, only. That leaves me with a couple of single speeds for the bulk of my summer riding. Would like to have more options for my summer riding than that. We'll see.

[Crankin]

Yeah, except he's in the Army, now. I can't remember if you knew that; when he wanted to go back as an officer, when he was about to start his junior yr of school, he was "too old," (30), without going through paperwork hell to get an exemption from the rule. He just wasn't up for it. Since he already was in Army Reserves, he joined ROTC at school. But, I still think of him as a Marine.
Riding with the packed trunk bag was a challenge, in that climbing was hard! Not really any big hills, but I felt it on the way. On the way home, I took a 5.9 mile route home that includes a good climb; not steep, but long and annoying. It's somewhat a question of getting used to the gearing. It's a compact, but has really low gears, even lower than my really low gears on my 2 road bikes. So I either feel like I am spinning out of control and slow or it's too hard. By the end of the ride home, I was getting it more down pat. Still, very fun. I took the trunk bag off for my 1.3 mile ride to the gym at 5:15 am tomorrow. It will be my first test of riding with the flat side of the campus pedals. Thankfully, there's no stop signs where I'll have to stop and put my foot down, as this feels incredibly wrong to me when I am not clipped in.

[north woods gal]

Love that bag! Going to save the link. Thanks.

Gorgeous late summer day, here. Temps in the 70s with a brisk, though nice and dry, south wind. Did 17 miles of pavement on the single speed Log lady and loved it. This one is geared low for trail work, but it makes for a nice, easy pace bike out on the pavement. Did do a couple of my leg burner hills to make it a good workout, but most of the ride was on the flats.

Can't get up much past 11 mph on the flats with the Log lady gearing, but one nice thing about going so slow is that I can relax and see wildflowers in the ditch, the birds around me, breath the pine scented north woods air and, in general, just enjoy my surroundings more than if I was riding a geared bike and worrying about trying to maintain an average speed. The other thing about a single speed that I enjoy is that they are so quiet. There's no chain noise or derailleur noise. All you hear is the gentle sound of tire on the pavement and on a fresh black top road, hardly even that. Did have to scare off a couple of deer with my bell, but it worked as intended, with the deer bouncing back into the woods rather than out on the road in front of me.

Back home, traded the Log Lady for the new Pugs and hit the trails with Star. Really do like this new version of the Pugs with it's wider tires as a trail bike. Did 5 full miles of laps, then put the bike away and spent an hour cleaning my trails.

Storms moving in, tomorrow, so glad I got in such a nice day, today,

[Crankin]

Sheila, DH has 2 bags like the link you posted; he bought them many years ago and used them for his Trek 5500 and the Kuota for when we did long rides or for commuting. He tried it on my bike, but my bike is just too small for it. They are gorgeous bags, though, which is why he has kept them. I don't know what brand they are, but they look exactly the same.
I axed the idea of using my pannier, too. I absolutely hated it, though I used it for a long time on both my Jamis Coda and my Guru. However, both my new Topeak trunk bag and my Arkel bag don't change the handling of the bike at all, the way a pannier does. It just feels incredibly heavy. The thing is, I can take the Topeak bag off in a second, for rides when I don't need to carry stuff. Like tomorrow, we are taking our granddaughter in the Burley, on the bike trail. I can put my stuff in the trailer trunk.
I didn't ride to the gym, although it is absolutely gorgeous out, was 56 at 5:30 am. My legs were toast when I got up, from that little 9 miles I did yesterday on my commute. It's fine now, and I suspect riding the Ariel with the packed bag is going to make me feel like my Silque is just flying. I will find out on Sunday.

[north woods gal]

Thought about the bag on the ECR, too.

Unfortunately, the fate of my ECR is uncertain, right now. As I've mentioned, the single speeds and the aftermath of my accident have changed my biking style and uses and the ECR just kind of falls between the cracks, right now. The ECR is a great bike for its intended use, a la loading it up and bicycling in remote or rough road areas, but I have fat bikes that will do the same and more. As far as riding pavement, it's way, way behind the single speeds as far as enjoyment and ease of use. Right, now, the ECR is sitting at one of our bike shops while the owner contemplates allowing me to use it for a trade. It's in mint shape, so really don't want to ride it while waiting to see if I can sell or trade it.

Kind of open as to what I want as a replacement to the ECR, but I do know that a replacement will see mostly pavement and some gravel. I would like steel, but I want something 25 pounds or less to pedal, same as my steel single speeds. That weight limit might be tough to pull off on a fully geared steel bike, but I'm looking. For sure, don't want another tank for pedaling on pavement, though. Seems pointless. Definitely want a bike that rolls, easily, like the single speeds. Has to be at 37mm tires for width, no skinnier. Prefer flat bar, but will consider drop bar, again. Would like to get something for this fall, yet, but I'll probably have to wait till next spring.

[north woods gal]

I did not get along with the SRAM double tap road shifting on the Fargo. Really struggled with downshifting because the reach was too far to be comfortable for me and, of course, on SRAM, if you don't push the shifter all the way in, you end up upshifting instead of downshifting. Not good on a long hill. Also, the Fargo came with Apex, which is low end SRAM and it basically fell apart on me in one year. I understand why so many gravel bikes come with SRAM, though. It's easier to mix and match road and MTB components than with Shimanon and it is cheaper, but I've never, ever had any issues with Shimano road groups and would gladly pay extra to get Shimano. Bottom line: If Salsa ever decides to go Shimano on the Fargo, I'll grab one, though it's still a bit heavier than I want. The Vaya Tiagra, though, is definitely under consideration. The current Tiagr is actually pretty good.

As for today's ride, we had a break in our much needed rain, mid-morning, so we biked around the neighborhood for awhile, then I called Star and we did 5 miles of laps on the trails. All riding was done with the old Pugsley. Wet pavement and wet trails don't bother a fat bike. :)

[north woods gal]

My usual 15 mile morning ride on pavement with a single speed, this time the Gunnar, followed by some afternoon trail riding. The trail riding still has me conflicted. Some days my neck and shoulder are okay with the bouncy ride and some days, not. Yesterday and today were NOT days, even though I rode mostly fat bikes to smooth things out. Today, started trail riding with the fat bike, then, what the heck, just grabbed the Log lady with its skinny 2.25" tires and figured I'd just endure it. Was getting awful tired of pushing those big heavy fat bike wheels, anyway, and just wanted something easier to pedal. The Log Lady certainly is all of that, even on the trail. Turns out that the skinny tires on the LL worked okay as far as smoothness as long as I stayed on the nicer sections and kept my speed down. I do think the lighter overall weight of the Log Lady compared to the big fat bikes helped to keep my head from bouncing.

I'm enjoying the pavement and gravel road riding more by a wide margin over the trail riding, anyway. The accident hasn't completely soured me on the gnarly single track riding, but it has pushed the trail riding into the background. I'm glad I learned all the techniques to ride some pretty rough trails - that knowledge will not be wasted - but, right now, my heart is no longer in it. The open roads are calling me back and I'm listening.

[Crankin]

Took our granddaughter on a 14.6 mile rt ride on the rail trail. This time, we drove to the terminus (so we wouldn't have to ride 5 miles uphill in spots to where we usually catch the trail). I rode my Ariel, with DH pulling the Burley on his Guru. It was a lovely day, partly cloudy and about 79. We have a terrible heat wave coming next Monday through Thursday, so I really enjoyed this. The first mile and a half was a new part of the trail for us. It now ends near where it will take a path to a new bridge that will be built over the highway and come out about 1.75 miles from my house, in 2021. We rode to a pond in South Chelmsford, where there's a little beach and a swings, picnic tables, and near a Mobil mini Mart. It's really a beautiful spot, that doesn't require a resident parking sticker to park or use the beach.
This was the first time we had annoying cyclists on the trail, but nothing like I've experienced, say like on the Cape Cod Rail Trail. I have a bell on my Ariel, but apparently no one around here knows what it means when you ring it! We were going a long a good clip for a person with a trailer and me on a heavier bike. We sat and had a snack and let her go on the swings, but she didn't want to go in the water. On the way back, we called out to an older couple going really slowly, and the woman weaving all over. She told me I scared her, so I did retort that she was weaving all over the road. When you don't respond to the bell, you get me calling out in my "teacher voice."
It was really fun, I feel like I actually worked, and she is now calling it "my trailer" and my "birdie helmet."

[north woods gal]

Day started with rain and thunder and more storms in the forecast today and tonight. Could feel the change in my neck, as in a slight flare up of arthritis. Time to put the comfort bike back on the trainer where it belongs. Yuk! I hate riding, indoors, but I suspect I'll be doing it more when winter hits this year, so might as well get in the habit. Will still ride the roads with the fat bikes when the snow falls, but NOT going to try to keep the trails open, like I did last year. That was nuts. At least my neck and shoulders are comfy when riding, indoors. There's that.

Can feel the season changing. Most of us, up here, have given up trying to predict what the weather will be come fall and, especially winter. Been here going on nine years, now. Two winters set a record for heavy snowfall and one set a record for lack of snow fall. No matter what, hoping to get in as much riding as I can before the snow falls and I expect most of that will be road riding. Leaves are even starting to fall in the woods and I'm not too crazy about keeping the trails free of leaves for the sake of safety like I did last year. Did I mention how much work it takes to maintain trails? Not worth it for the little trail riding i still do.

[Crankin]

NWG, we have one tree behind our townhome that has a few red leaves. It's in the edge of a small wetlands area. Every year, we have a few red leaves at the end of August, but I haven't seen any others, besides behind my house. I feel climate change is here to stay... tomorrow we begin a 3 day horrible heat wave, up to 96 and high humidity. My friend from Amherst is coming in tomorrow night, to meet up with former colleagues. We plan to ride early Wednesday, but it may be very early and very short, possibly on the bike trail. I have a short day Tuesday, but I am sure it will be brutal at 4 PM whenI get home.
We did 50.5 miles today, and I was never more than 12-15 miles from home, which felt nice. Explored some new neighborhood streets in Concord in the beginning, and then rode into Sudbury and Wayland, through the Great Meadows Nature Preserve. At mile 13 we stopped and ate and drank and I said my goal was to get to West Acton, where we could stop and eat lunch at a farm market and then decide if we would continue. It was exactly 25 miles! It scares me to see how well I can estimate distances in my area. As we ate, we decided to press on, and I decided we would make another decision when we got near our former town of Boxborough. I thought we might have to do a long a steep climb to get the miles, but when we got to our old neighborhood, we were at mile 38, so that was not going to be necessary. We stopped and I ate a Shot Block and rued our decision to move from there! We decided to ride into West Concord village, as we knew we'd be a bit short at this point. So, we got to go down a long downhill we usually miss and stopped for ice cream, 1.8 miles from our house, but needing about 4 miles to get to 50. So, we rode around some lovely neighborhood streets and headed home.
It was partly cloudy and got up to about 82. You can feel the humidity rising. But, it was breezy. I really appreciate the shady roads around here and the beauty. I think it makes me jaded when I travel. A good day. Hope to do a metric next weekend.

[north woods gal]

Crankin, that's some impressive miles. I begin to wonder if I'll ever do 50 miles, again. Keep up that pace, though. Gives me encouragement.

I actually did get to do some riding during an afternoon break in the storms. I figured I better get in shape with theft bikes, since I'l be riding them, exclusively, come winter. Today was a better day for my neck on our trails, given that they are a bit softer, now that it has rained. I also dropped the tire pressure down lower than necessary for this time of year and that also helped with the comfort.

Did 5 mikes of laps on the trails, then headed out around the neighborhood paved roads with the fat bike for 10 miles worth of laps. Wanted to stay close to home in case the skies opened up, suddenly. One thing I noticed, immediately, was how being able to go faster out on the road really helped to cool me off in the very humid air. Almost like having AC after riding in the woods with no breeze. Yeah, pedaling the fat bikes out on the road is more of a workout, but, of course, fat bikes do offer some advantages. One is comfort, regardless of thread conditions. No weather and no road can stop a fat bike. Kind of gives you that invincible feeling, though, of course, that's mostly a state of mind. Fun, though.

[emily_in_nc]

Yeah, good going, Crankin! That sounds like a fun ride (especial the food stops!)

I can't remember if I've even managed a 50-miler this year. Last year we rode 50 on the Long Leaf Trace, when we evacuated to Mississippi to escape Hurricane Irma. Coming up on the anniversary of that and can't remember any other 50 milers since then (too lazy to check my logs, also). I just have too much lower back pain from about mile 30 on to enjoy longer rides now, so I try to hold my rides to around 35 miles. One of these days I'd love to test ride a recumbent to see if I have the same issues in that very different riding position.

Next ride will be tomorrow, as I have another orthodontist appointment this morning, and it's too hot to ride later on.

[Crankin]

This is only my 2nd 50 miler this year. I am toying of doing a century on Columbus Day weekend. It's flattish, probably similar terrain to yesterday. And, it's in an area I have not ridden in. Instead of suffering like I usually do, I am trying to train a bit. I can also just do the metric as it doesn't matter which you sign up for.
My right wrist is hurting, I think from getting used to the flat bar on the Ariel. I rode my Silque yesterday, of course, but it had been 3 days of riding the Ariel before that. I won't be doing long rides on it, so I will deal with it. It doesn't hurt when I am riding, though.
I feel a little crappy this morning, probably a combo of the ride, pollen, and getting up for boot camp and doing it. I should have stayed in bed, but, I will live.

[north woods gal]

Not at my best, either, Crankin. I'm fighting off a seasonal change cold and pollen and insane humidity between storms, but I still ride, of course. Oh, well.

A couple years back, I switched to all flat bar bikes because it was too hard on my body switching back and forth between drop bar bikes and flat bar bikes. If that flat bar is causing any pain issues for you, you can change to a different handlebar. Looking at the specs on the Ariel, the stock handlebar only has 9 degrees of sweep, back. That's not much. Lots of options, now, for handlebars that sweep back, more. More sweep in the handlebar my make it more comfortable for your wrists. It's helped me on some bikes. Have a Salsa bend handlebar on my Krampus with 23 degrees of back sweep. Very comfortable. My touring model Salsa have a Moluku handlebar with over 30 degrees of sweep. It also offers different hand positions. Very comfortable for long rides. Be sure to explore different grip styles, too. That can also help. I use ESI foam grips on a lot of my bikes and they do help reduce buzz. (Have your shop put them on, though. They can be real buggers to get on the handlebar.) Lastly, I always use good padded gel MTB gloves (not the skimpy gloves some road bikers use) for my riding and they also help.

More storms in the forecast for the next couple days, so no long distance rides away from home. Will do laps around the local roads so as not to get too far out in case I get caught in a storm.

[Crankin]

I seem to be able to develop tolerance for this. I've had this happen to my right hand out of nothing. I rarely switch my hand position on the road bike, so I am trying to do that more, too.
I cannot withstand *any* padding in my gloves. In fact, I have to search far and wide to find unpadded gloves. I get extreme squeezing feeling and pain from just a tiny amount of padding, so that is out. Trek stopped making the gloves I had worn for years, so I finally found some from Giro.

[north woods gal]

Managed to get out and ride a bit between storms, but in some very humid air. Relative humidity was in the 70s with temps in the 80s. Did 14.8 miles on the single speed Gunnar, then came home and exchanged it for the new Pugsley fat bike for another couple of trail miles. Called it quits just before the next batch of rain hit.

Well, looks like another single speed coming my way. I wanted another Log Lady to set up as purely a trail bike. That would give me two Log Lady MTBs, one LL for gravel and pavement and one for the woods. No way, though, to get a complete bike, now. I actually got the last complete bike in medium and there's rumors that All City won't be making any more of these delightful single speed racing MTBs. I did manage to snag a new frame set, though, by trading off my ECR. Got enough for the ECR to pay for the new frame and get started on my new Log Lady build. This will be my first custom build, by the way, so definitely a learning experience.

Why another single speed steel MTB? Well, I'm finding that going single does all I want in a bicycle, for one thing, and I do have geared fat bikes when I need a lot of gears, anyway. For another, I want to stay steel and I want to stay under 25 pounds for the sake of handling and ride quality. About the only way to keep it under 25 pounds on a steel MTB is by going single speed. Lastly, since my trail riding now no longer includes log hopping, boulder climbing, barreling over roots and, especially, no longer includes any jumps (all the fun stuff), I no longer have a need for the current slack geometry trail bikes. Nope, the more upright and pedaling friendly traditional XC MTB geometry is a better fit for my riding, now, and the Log Lady, after all, is pure racing XC geometry. Also, XC MTB geometry makes for a decent gravel and road bike - basically a road bike with flat bars. Close enough, anyway.

[north woods gal]

Did manage to barely squeeze in a ride of 12 single speed miles of pavement riding between storms, yesterday, on the Log Lady. Had hoped for a break for another ride in the afternoon, but no such luck. Steady rain all afternoon.

I added up my miles for August and was surprised to see I have a chance of breaking 400 miles for the month. Basically about 80% pavement and gravel versus 20% trail and most of the miles, by far, on the single speeds. Was totally not expecting this, so I've made more progress than I thought in my recovery. Even if I don't break 400, though, I am pleased. I think riding the single speeds has helped build my strength a lot. Nothing like actually racing up a hill to get in shape. :)

[Crankin]

Talk about riding through the heat!
Went out with my friend who stayed over Mon/Tues, at about 8:00 AM today. It was already approaching 80 and very humid. We chose the shadiest route possible, mostly old familiar roads, and we ended up in her old neighborhood, where we stopped and visited with her old neighbor, who was shocked we were riding. At this point, it was about 9:45 and approaching 90. I really did not want to stop, but it was only another 4 miles or so home.
Riding was not as bad as I thought it might be, and again, I am glad of the total shady conditions. We went slowly, I didn't push it on the hills, and ended up doing just under 26 miles. We met another friend of mine for lunch after we cleaned up, and now it just feels hot, like AZ, and not so humid. School started in most of the towns around here, and we had to deal with stopping for school buses on the way out, and some apparently angry drivers as we got closer back to my house. It's more rural where my friend lives now and she always complains about this, but I think people were just pissed about being slowed by buses and more cars on the road. Most of the ride was quiet.
She and her DH will be back here Sunday afternoon and we will ride on Monday with them.

[north woods gal]

Sheila, the Log Lady is actually quite comparable to the much more expensive Gunnar in terms of ride quality and handling. Been extremely pleased at just how close it is to the Gunnar. That steel fork is exceptionally well designed. The Log Lady really is a steal for the price. Close enough, in fact, that the new Log Lady frame with fork at only half the price of a new Gunnar frame was a no brainer. The LL is light, agile, fast and nimble, just like the Gunnar. After all, it was designed to be a racing single speed MTB.

As much as I hate to say it, the Krampus is a tank compared to the other two. The Krampus geometry and build, though, is very different. The Krampus, like most Surly bikes is overbuilt, designed for slugging it out on nasty single track, not for racing like my two single speeds. It's a great bike in its own right, but it rides much slower than the single speeds. Of course, those big fat 3" wide tires and rims on the Krampus do slow you down a lot compared to the lighter wheels on the single speeds. Love plus and fat tires, but when it comes to pavement riding, there's just no way they can keep up with lighter, skinnier standard MTB wheels and tires. Not going to happen. For instance, on our morning rides with my husband and his fat bike, I can just keep up if I ride a fat bike. If I ride one of the single speeds with their light 2.25" tires and wheels setup, I ride circles around him, I really do. Never underestimate what going lighter with your wheels can do for your biking. I'd rate it as number one for a performance mod. Works on MTBs, just as it does on road bikes.

One of the easiest ways to lighten up a wheel on an MTB like the Krampus is to go tubeless with the tire. Really makes a big difference. Gets you a lighter wheel and better traction to boot. In fact, some bike companies are now going tubeless on their MTBs, right from the factory.

Crankin', would love to send some of our cool weather your way. Temp, up here, at ride time, this morning, was only in the 50s. Had to bundle up with leggings and a sweatshirt. Did my usual 12 miles of pavement on the Gunnar, but spent the rest of the day doing errands, so no trail riding.

[Crankin]

I rode this morning, at 5:15 AM. It was my first true "dark ride," in that the sun was just poking through the clouds when I got back. I only rode 9 miles, as when I started out, I was going to ride to the other side of town and back, but there were already so many cars out, on Main St., that it didn't feel peaceful at all. So, I turned off to do a somewhat hilly loop, which was nice and quiet. It wasn't too warm, about 75, but grippingly humid. A front comes through tonight and the next 2-3 days will be nice. Of course, by Labor Day, it will be conditions like yesterday. We have a ride planned, that will most likely be modified!

[north woods gal]

Sheila, most of their frames are more common steels like the 612 or the 4130, but they do offer a couple of pricier models in the 853. What I like about all of their frames, though, is that they are beautifully finished, not to mention nice and light and lively. Have been especially impressed with the steel fork on the LL. Does a great job of dampening and is also very stable. Really see no need to go with a carbon fork or a front shock, it's so good. My factory built Log Lady weighs a touch over 23 pounds and that is very light for a fully built steel MTB. It's actually right there with my Gunnar, as I've mentioned. In fact, the welds on the LL are as nice as the welds on my Gunnar frame and those welds are done by hand.

My guy at the bike shop tells me the Log Lady is no more, unless you want one in XS small size. Apparently, this is not unusual for a small company like All City. They do small runs of bikes, then move on to other models. They've had other models of single speed MTBs in the past and will probably have some new ones in the future. Kind of an unusual company in that they do offer several single speed models. These days, the big companies no longer offer single speeds for lack of sales. Thank heavens for small companies like Surly and All City (apparently, these two are associated with each, other by the way.)

Goof for you, Crankin, to get out early and ride. I remember in my commuting days, me hitting the road to work at 6 AM, every morning. The world is a very different place that early in the day or so it seemed. Remember seeing fox and coyotes, running right down our very busy main street, that early in the day.

[Crankin]

I find it very meditative. That's why I was kind of disturbed this morning and turned off of the main road, which is not usually that busy at 5:15! I ended up doing less miles, but a climb. It may have to do with the very hot weather, as it was mostly outdoor type workers driving by.

[north woods gal]

Sheila, my first choice was that Nature Boy 853, but it was completely sold out with no indication when or even if it would be back in stock. As I have discovered, late summer/fall is a terrible time to buy a new bike. The smaller companies don't build up a lot of inventory. Had I bought the Nature Boy 853, I would have converted it to flat bar, which is very doable with All City bikes, since they use the same frames for both drop bar bikes and flat bar bikes. They did have the standard Nature Boy in stock, but I really do need tires wider than 37mm to safely ride our paved roads. For instance, this year we've already had a heavy acorn crop with lots of green acorns littering the roads. Gets a little dicey riding over them with really skinny tires. We also have lots and lots of sand and gravel washing out on our roads and I do not like riding kind tires in that stuff.

On to my next bit of news. Behold my new Krampus!
https://s8.postimg.cc/d149ysg2d/P1100154.jpg (https://postimages.org/)photo upload (https://postimages.org/)

If it looks like my old Krampus, it's because, well, it is my old Krampus, but with a new mod. Here it is. Nope, no derailleur and no gear cassette. My new Krampus single speed trail bike! Yipee!
https://s8.postimg.cc/ur5yjxgth/P1100156.jpg (https://postimages.org/)

I worked long and hard on getting the gear ratio just right for my intended use of the Krampus with its big 3" plus tires. Even figured in the tire pressure I wanted to use. It's now a strictly trail single speed. Just picked it up, this morning, from the bike shop and hit the trail with it. Did a full 8 miles worth of laps and pleased to report I got it just right. It's geared so that I can do 90% of my climbing sitting in the saddle, which is important for the sake of traction. It's also geared low enough that I can keep the spin rate up for the techy sections. It's geared way too low and slow for road work, but that's okay, because I won't be using it on the road. I have other single speeds for that. 8 miles of trail work, by the way is the most I've done since the accident and just a bit more than my usual pre-accident workout. The fact that I could go 8 miles and want more tells me I got the gear ratio just right.

This will get me more use for the Krampus. I really did not get along with the GX shifting when it had shifters and gears. Now I just jump on it and ride. Those 3" tires allow to ride all sections of trail, safely, too.

At this point, half of my bikes are now single speeds. I blame my local bike guy at the bike shop for this addiction, by the way. He tells me that 90% of his riding is with single speeds. Seriously, though, it's great to have a local guy that knows single speeds and how to build them. He's the one that will be building my new Log Lady over the next month or so. It's going to be a real education for me.

Oops! Almost forgot. I also did 5 miles of pavement work on my original Log Lady, this morning, on our daily morning ride. Beautiful weather, though cool enough to have to wear leggings, again. Fall really is knocking on our door. The ferns in our woods are already turning yellow and brown.

[north woods gal]

Sorry, no, nothing in that size. Have plenty of longer ones, though. :) I usually keep a couple short stems of that size around, because it's the first thing I typically need to change on a unisex/men's bike when I get a new bike. Just me getting a proper fit on a new MTB. That, and having to trim the length on new factory supplied MTB handlebars, which are now coming in insane widths. A hacksaw is a girl's best friend. :)

Yeah, the single speed thing is very addictive, all the more so for me since I've always been kind of a minimalist as far what I want on a bike, the simpler, the better. Yes, it was nice to know I had another forum pal, here that rode single speed, too. That helped. Thanks. As for shifting gears, I really, really don't miss it at all. I never especially liked it, anyway. These last few years, I've actually been more inclined to mash it out rather than shift, even though I probably would have been better off, shifting to a lower gear. Then, too, nothing screws up a climb like a bad shift. Then there's derailleur and shifter adjusting, problems, noise, blah, blah, blah. Those can be a real headache. Was initially worried about going single speed on some of the hills on my road routes, but have conquered them all, even my worst one, with one gear, so my confidence level is high using a single speed for most of my riding.

Can't believe it's the last day of the month. What a month! I won't quite make it to the 400 mile mark, but I came close enough, probably finish around 375, depending on what I ride, today, between storms, which are in the forecast, yet, again. August was all about getting back in shape, anyway, not about breaking records, so, in that respect, a very good month for me.

On to September and fall.

[Crankin]

I truly don't know if I could ride a single speed. Am I weird because I like shifting and it is one of the most intuitive things in cycling for me? Electronic shifting has eliminated any issues with the derailleur on the bike I ride the most. There are huge climbs around here; not long, but short and steep. I can't imagine doing them on a single speed. Even with the really low gearing, I like preparing by shifting up and down and back up again.

[north woods gal]

Gosh, no, didn't mean to imply that there's anything wrong or inferior to shifting and having gears on a bike, Crankin. My bad if it came across that way. If anything, we single speeders are the weird ones. :) Choosing to go single speed in this day and age of truly great shifters and derailleurs is totally a personal call and, yeah, a bit nutty. (As we all know, I'm definitely a bit nutty in a lot of my bicycling preferences in other things too.) No way would I ever try to talk anyone out of giving up their geared bikes for a single speed. Going single has a lot of benefits for my riding, but going single might be a really bad idea for some folks. One of those things you just have to try and see.

As for hills, though, you'd be surprised at just how effective a single speed can be for climbing hills, but you have to carefully get the gear ratio just right for your area and you absolutely have to learn the proper technique for tacking hills with only one gear. Our area is about 85% gentle ups and downs and about 5% really steep climbs and, maybe, 10%, at best, actual flats. Have done every one of those steep hills with one gear, now, and try to include one or two of those hills on every ride for the sake of staying in shape. The gently rolling stuff, though, is a blast with a single speed. Lots of fun. In other words, single speeds are not just for riding the flats.

We're off to the St. Pete's area in Florida, tomorrow, for one week while my DH attends a conference for folks with his disability. I'll be renting a bike and doing some riding in the area, though, as always, I'll have to take what I can get as far as a rental bike and area biking.

[north woods gal]

Good tip, Sheila. Might have to try it. The forecast is for storms all week, down there, but, as always, I'll get out and ride, one way or another.

No, those are a Salsa Bend 2 with 23 degree sweep. Nice and comfortable bar for my trail riding. Have to get a shorter stem, though. Have a 65mm on, now, and just too much reach for me, now, with my preference for riding more upright.