March is gone... Winter coming back?

I've been riding most days. Trying to pin down the actual days is becoming a chore... But here goes... Screw it! I can't remember. Sounds like a need a cycle computer that will track this for me! Yes! More gadgets...

I lost my Blackburn Flea last week. I think I had it in the bottle pouch of my trunk bag. But I hadn't cinched it closed. I must have hit a bump and it popped out. I was never super happy with it. Once the novelty of the charging mechanism wore off, it was annoying that it I couldn't replace the batteries mid-ride. So, I started looking for a reasonably solid AA battery light.

I looked at Sunflower, but all of there battery powered lights are Trek brand. No telling how good those are as I couldn't find a review of them anywhere but the Trek site.

Lots of people on Amazon like the Planet Bike Blaze 1 Watt. I knew that Cycle Works carried a variety, so I hoped to find the PB Blaze there. Nope, they had Cateye stuff though, so I tried out the EL320. I got it home and the first thing I thought after taking it out of the package was 'no way this lasts in the rain.' There are NO gaskets ANYWHERE on the light. Just plastic. I used it with my rechargeables Saturday night. While it worked ok, I just didn't feel like the build quality was there, so I returned it. I ended up ordering the Blaze and Superflash combo along with a couple of minor replacement parts for my rack and mirror.

All-in-all, I'll be happier with the Blaze. I love my Superflash rear light and the PB Freddy Hardcore fenders are great as well. I just hope the Blaze holds up in the rain...

Apparently we are looking at 6-12 inches of snow Friday night? WTF!

Miles: Yeah I don't know. I'll try to figure it out and get back to ya!

Still Riding...

It was a fairly quiet commute last week. Friday evening I went directly to the in-law's house on Harvard after work. The most direct route was to take Ninth Street up to Iowa. That pretty much sucked. I crapped out after the last stop light at Emery Road, halfway up the hill. I got off the bike after that, crossed over and walked up the side walk. At the top of the hill, I took Sunset over to Harvard and then took Harvard across Iowa and down to the in-law's house. When I left there, I went back up Harvard to Iowa and took the Iowa side walk to 23rd and then the 23rd sidewalk to Atchison. It is a bit easier than climbing the up the hill on Lawrence Ave. All in all, it added about a mile to my commute. And it is doable; I might be looking for alternate routes, however.

Since I'm going to have to tackle that hill anyway, it might be best to go through campus...

250 miles YTD

Just Riding...

I've been able to ride every day this week. Yesterday, I fit in my dentist appointment prior to work. The goal for Spring and Summer is to replace more car trips with bike trips. The work commute is going fine. Now it is time to start running errands and appointments on the bike.

Like everything else, I'm trying to be realistic about this. If I'm taking the recyclables to Walmart, I won't be taking the bike and trailer. But if I need to pick-up some things on the way home, I'm going to start planning to make those trips by bike.

231 miles YTD

Feeling Better

I've been up and down lately with this, that or the other thing. Mostly it was a run-down feeling, a head-cold. Then last week, my sore-throat came back (which never happens) and the wife and daughter were diagnosed with Strep on Wednesday. I biked to work on Thurs., but started feeling pretty bad by mid-morning. The doctor's office just called in a Z-PACK rather than actually see me. So, I biked over to Wal-mart and then home. Stayed home on Friday as well.

So, I figure I did about 150 miles in January. February will definitely NOT be much better than that, as I have only ridden the bike 5 days so far. But, I'm feeling better and we'll see what happens the rest of the month.

195 miles YTD

Knobbies on. Waiting for SNOW!

Looks like we are going to get some snow overnight and through the day tomorrow. Not much. Just 1 to 3 inches expected. I put the old knobby tires back on the bike over the weekend, so hopefully things will go a little better than last time.

I've got the support phone until Friday, then it is SUPERBOWL weekend! Steelers take another shot at the title against the upstart Cards... It should be a pretty good game.

Lunch Time Jaunt

Took the bike out around lunch time so I could get a haircut. It was might brisk out there. I also realized that I would need to bring the cable and U-Lock to be sure that I can secure the bike downtown. Locking the bike to a parking meter is not always possible with the U-lock. The bike racks are the only option, and they are not always close to the place you want to go...

So far, figuring 9 miles a day, I've gone 135 miles in January.

Bike Fixed Up

I got my mongoose back from Sunflower yesterday. They put a new front wheel on it, a new chain and a new set of cogs on the back. The bearings had worn into the axle and it was cheaper to get a new wheel than to have them fix the old one. They looked the rest of the bike over, cleaned it up and determined that the chain had stretched a bit and that the 4th and 5th cogs were pretty worn out.

I also mentioned that the rear brake was a bit squishy; it didn't seem to grip as well as the front. They determined that the collar around right-rear canti was cracked. It still worked but the spring inside was flexing out of alignment because the collar was no longer keeping it in line.

All told, it was about $100, which includes a new bottle of chain lube. The bike shifts MUCH better; it had been getting hard to get it into a couple of the gears. I was flexing the shifter beyond the index mark. They usually stayed in gear, but the 4th and 5th gears had also been slipping a bit.

It was good to have it looked over. They made a couple of comments about how good the frame of the Mongoose Hilltopper was back then. (I've seen posts on some forums that they are worth picking up if you find one at a yard sale.)

I did have some problems while riding in this morning. While it shifted well, it still seemed to skip around about between 4th, 5th and 6th gear. I took it back over my lunch break and they said to give it a couple of days. With a new chain and rear cogs, it needs to break-in a bit. I didn't have any skipping on the way over to Sunflower at lunch or on the way home. So we'll see how it goes. He did tell me to bring it in again if it is still going on tomorrow. And to bring it in next week to check the wheel after a few rides.

Overall, I'm pretty happy with Sunflower. The service guys know their stuff and I didn't feel uncomfortable dealing with them at all. While I am out $100, it has been 13 years and I am using it quite a bit.