It's August! Riding through the heat.

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.

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!?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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. :)

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...

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.

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. :)

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

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.

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.

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.

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!

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

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.

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.

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.

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,

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.

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.

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. :)

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.

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."

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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. :)

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.jpgphoto upload

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

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.