Bicycle Diaries
30 years riding, 15 years writing
Trek Fuel 70 gets new parts
Mike and Matt of Ultimate Bicycle hooked me up with a new 8 speed rear cassette and a new chain. The rear shock needed more air and the front wheel needed truing. Bought two new water bottles, just need to find some gloves.
I’m ready to start riding in earnest, but the McAlpine is a cyclo-cross event waiting to happen. There’s no way to gather any speed on the trails, they are very bumpy and full of holes and debris. The bridges to the lake are all out, I’m hoping at least one of them gets finished by next week.
distance 10.11 miles, average speed 10.7 mph.
The McAlpine is ridable again
The sewer project has turned the greenway upside down.
The main trail is washboard dirt at the moment, awaiting an asphalt bath in the near future. All the concrete bridges crossing the creeks have been redone, higher, wider, less prone to floating debris clogging up the flow of rain runoff. The main trail was extended out to Providence Rd., can’t wait to explore new territory.
The Trek Fuel 70 needs a new 8 speed rear cassette and chain, the front tire could use truing, overall the bike is holding up good.
Feels great to be riding again.
distance 6.89 miles, average speed 10.1 mph.
Watch out for that kid
The weekends brings out the families.
The dad, mom and 2 kids riding down the trails. The dad trying to teach the kids the rules of the road, and the kids having a grand time zigzagging all over the place.
I ring my bicycle bell, letting them know I’m approaching, but it does not buy me safe passage all of the time. So I end up in the tall grass that lines the sides of the trails, hoping I don’t hit a pothole or scare up a snake.
I enjoy riding on the weekends, since there are more people to share the experience with, but you have to pay much more attention. During the week, I can go as fast as I can, knowing that whoever is out there, are regulars who know the rules of the road. Faster traffic to the left.
MTB: distance 28.42 miles, average speed 14.4 mph.
Where's the wind blowing?
Before heading out today, I consulted the weather wane.
After having a rough ride of it yesterday, I made sure I knew which way the wind was blowing today. Before I headed out I consulted every weather web site I could find and they all agreed that the wind was blowing from the NE.
With this information at hand, I adjusted my laps around the McAlpine accordingly. I was exposed on the main trail with a comfortable tailwind, and hid amongst the trees on the inner trails where I encountered minimal headwinds.
The weekend approaches, time to up the miles and pick up the speed. The bicycle bell is going to get a workout.
MTB: distance 21.90 miles, average speed 14.3 mph.
Gusty and Dusty
The gusts of wind made for a hard ride.
The wind was blowing in all directions, I almost got knocked down a few times. You can imagine the amount of dust and crap flying in the air, all getting into my nose and eyes.
We had some heavy rain last night, so again we await the trails to get dried up. There are puddles of mud everywhere, sometimes I slow, sometimes I don’t really care.
Got some sunscreen at CVS today, SPF 70.
MTB: distance 21.63 miles, average speed 13.6 mph.
10 more lbs. of air pressure
From the start of this year’s riding season, I was running with 50 lbs. of air pressure in the tires. This gives me a more cushioned ride and I needed it for my body to get used to the jarring of the trails.
Today I went to 60 lbs. of air pressure in the tires and instantly gained more speed on the trails. My body is used to hours in the saddle by now, and anyway the mountain bike has full suspension, so it’s not that stiff of a ride.
The temperature was great, so I decided to put in some more miles. I had a banana in my jersey but didn’t need it until after the ride to recoup. Those glazed doughnuts I’ve been eating lately are keeping me from bonking.
MTB: distance 28.12 miles, average speed 14.1 mph.
48 hours of rain
The rain started to fall on Mother’s Day and it finally came to a stop early this morning.
We needed the rain, the tree pollen was pretty bad and the grass was drying out. With the cost of water in the city of Charlotte, there’s nobody watering their lawn these days.
Had two days to eat all I wanted, I gained a much needed 2 pounds. Felt much better on today’s ride, though it was slow going with the muddy trails. By the end of ride, me and the bike needed to be hosed down.
By Friday, the trails should be all dried up and it’s time to put the hammer down.
MTB: distance 21.77 miles, average speed 13.6 mph.
Pasta is not enough
In the land of the obese, I have to eat more.
A big bowl of pasta last night didn’t keep me from bonking on today’s ride. I even ate a banana mid-ride, but I couldn’t do more miles. By the 20 mile mark, my body was asking for food. I thought of doing a quick stop by the house for a SAG stop and continuing on but I figured I’d eat as much as I can today to get ready for an early morning ride tomorrow.
The weather is really nice, low 70’s at the start of the ride, overcast. My water will get me to the 25 mile mark at these temps, it’s just my energy stores are not cooperating.
The bike is riding great, I need to give it a cleaning this week to remove all the dirt and grime from the trails.
MTB: distance 22.02 miles, average speed 13.9 mph.
The Hunger Pains
An hour before heading out for today’s ride, I had made myself a breakfast style skillet. So packing a banana in my jersey was more of a customary act. Little did I know that 7 miles into the ride, that banana allowed me to continue.
My fat stores obviously are non-existent, all the weight I’ve lost must of been my body going after the low-hanging excess fat. I could lose another 5 lbs., but that’s about it, anything more and I’m looking mighty frail.
Women can look anorexic, because that’s the style these days, but men need weight on them, at least that’s what my wife tells me whenever my weight is free falling.
Tonight it’s pasta, need to carbo up for the weekend.
MTB: distance 21.75 miles, average speed 13.6 mph.
Teach a man to fish
For the cost of a spoke repair, I bought a cassette lockring tool and a chain whip at Performance Bicycle.
After witnessing 4 spokes being replaced on the back wheel, I had a good idea as to how to go about doing it myself. This afternoon it was time to tackle the spoke repair and it was quite easy with the right tools. The wheel wasn’t that much out of true, so when I tightened the new spoke there was no wobble to be seen.
Next up was to figure out why I was getting flat tires on the rear wheel. After careful inspection I found a piece of steel, the size of a bristle from a BBQ cleaning brush. Who knows how long it had been lodged into the rear tire when it finally made it’s way to the inner tube as the rubber on the tire was worn down. Patched up the inner tube, and put the rear wheel back together.
All ride long I kept looking back at the rear wheel, hoping the patch kept air in the tire and no new spokes would break. Thankfully, Bert the bike mechanic did a decent job ;)
MTB: distance 21.90 miles, average speed 13.3 mph.
Charlotte, NC
Spent 10 years in Charlotte, a block away from an entrance to the McAlpine Creek Greenway.
Switched to a mountain bike from the road bikes I was accustomed to riding for 15 years.
The time spent on these trails was most appreciated.
Trek Fuel 70
