…Weekly Mileage… July 28, 2009
Posted by Chief in Bicycle, Biking, commute, Rides.Tags: Bicycle, bike, LHT, life, Surly
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Well, my first week biking in more than 6 months was great. I did a couple commutes to work (11.5 miles each way), and a little club ride with our recently formed work ride club, the OTTER (Operations Training Team Easy Riders) Club.
My Sun-Sat mileage totaled 48 miles, and that was only riding on 3 of those days – Sun, Tue, and Thu. So, not too bad.
And I love the bike! Go Surly!
…tested route to work… July 19, 2009
Posted by Chief in Bicycle, Biking, commute, Rides.Tags: Bicycle, bike, commute, LHT, life, ride, Surly, Travel
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So, I tested my 11 mile route to work today. Not a bad ride at all. Very scenic. Only one section of a county road with no shoulder, but overall a decently safe commute.
Pictures follow:
This is just around the corner from my house. Lots of farmland out here still, though the nearby city is slowly encroaching.
Nice view of the road I ride for the first half of the ride.
The first of two rivers I cross…
Big Lake, Minnesota. Nice town.
And more fields…
Almost 6 miles into the commute…
And the second river I cross… the Mississippi!
Mississippi…
Still the Mississippi…
And last pic of the Mississippi…
You can see the rest of the pics on flickr.
I got a lot of sun today on my test ride, so I hope I’m up for my first day of commuting tomorrow… We’ll see.
…new bike… April 28, 2009
Posted by Chief in Bicycle, Shops.add a comment
Well, here’s a pic of my new bike. During a recent trip to Minnesota, I stopped by the bike shop (www.thehubbikecoop.org) and snapped a couple pics of my new bike.
Of course, I haven’t picked it up yet – since I still live in Hawaii. At least for another five days. But, when I do, I have several changes planned for it.
First, I am bringing my Brooks B17 from my Sirrus to put on my new Minnesota tourer.
Second, the pedals. I think I’m going to leave my CrankBros Smarty’s on the Sirrus, and get a new pair of CrankBros Candy’s.
Thirdly, the accessories. Front and rear racks, bike computer, and 10w halogen headlight.
With all that, it’ll be ready for the road. It’ll be ready for commuting and touring and recreational riding. I just hope I’m ready to get back on the bike…
…back on the bike…soon… April 13, 2009
Posted by Chief in Bicycle, Biking, commute, Hawaii, Information, Touring.Tags: Bicycle, change, Hawaii, life, tour
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Well, it’s been a long time since I’ve posted. It’s also been a long time since I rode. There has been lots of changes in my life. I’m going to sum them up real quick before I get to the reason I’m posting tonight.
My son turned 1.
I finished my degree.
I went bear hunting in Alaska.
I am retiring from the Navy.
I have taken a job offer in Minnesota.
I’m sure there’s more that I am forgetting, but I’m eager to tell you about my soon to be new bike.
In the preparations of getting ready to move off the island and back to the mainland, I’ve decided to sell my Specialized Sirrus here and get a new bike on the mainland.
Well, I found the one I want. I’m getting a 62cm 2008 Surly Long Haul Trucker in Utility Blue. This is sure to get me out of the non-riding funk I’ve been in, and get me back into commuting and touring.
I’m excited.
Surly Long Haul Trucker
I’m getting the bike at a bike shop in Minneapolis, Minnesota called The Hub Bicycle Co-Op. I’ll be picking it up when I move there next month.
As for changes to the bike, I’ll definitely be transferring my broken in Brooks B-17 over to it and my front and rear racks. Beyond that, I’ll be putting some miles on it before I decide.
Wish me luck!
…awareness check… August 17, 2008
Posted by Chief in Bicycle, Biking, Hawaii, Information.Tags: bike, safety
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Wow… how true!
…I lived… April 28, 2008
Posted by Chief in Bicycle, Biking, Culture, Hawaii, Rides.Tags: bike, Hawaii, life, ride
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Well, I finished the 2008 Haleiwa Metric Century… and I even did the whole 100km.
Overall, I felt better than I did last year. I rode with two friends, and had a great time.
Starting off, I wasn’t doing so well. My legs ached and felt drained 5 miles into the ride. By the time we hit the first check point at the 10 mile mark, I figured out that I had two problems. The first was that my seat was too low. I had made some adjustments after it had worked loose, and did not get it back to where I needed it. The second was that I was starting on an empty tank. I hadn’t eaten anything in the morning before the ride.
So, I raised my seat a little, and fueled up at the first checkpoint. After that I felt much better.
The morning was absolutely amazing. Beautiful. We fought a bit of a headwind, but that would obviously help us on the return. As the day wore on, it got hotter and hotter. The last stretch was miserable… but we finished.
Distance: 100km (actual bike computer distance: 59 miles)
Time: 4 and 1/2 hours (actual bike computer time: 4hrs 28min)
Not too bad. We started rolling a little before 0800, and rolled back into Haleiwa a little after 1300, so not quite an hour off the bike during the entire ride. Waaaay better than last year.
I’ll tell you what, though… I’m tired of riding the hybrid on these long rides. It’s too heavy and upright. Quite a workout on my legs, but I think I’m ready for a faster road-style bike.
Here’s some pics:
This is the waiting line for the start. It’s about half through right now. There were hundreds of riders. Not quite a thousand, but there were hundreds.
This was definitely a family event! He’d already unloaded most of the family and was “parking the bike” when I snagged this pic. Everyone looked like they were having a lot of fun.
...bike to work to live to bike... 