I haven’t done much long distance (e.g. over 50 miles/80 km) bicycle riding for the last two decades or so. But since January 2006 I’ve been making a concerted effort to ride my bike as much as possible, for commuting and errands as well as LD riding. I’d ridden in three organized rides already this year, but this past weekend I rode my old Takara Tribute in the Lodi Sunrise Century and completed my first 100-mile bike ride since c. 1986 (20 years ago)!
Continue reading ‘Lodi Sunrise Century’
Archive for May, 2006
25
May
Lodi Sunrise Century
19
May
Century checklist
I’ve used my century checklist for several rides since BAB, and it’s saved my butt more than once! Tomorrow morning I’m riding the Lodi Sunrise Century, assuming there are no thunderstorms or other hideous weather. Once again I’m heading out for a hundred mile ride on my 20-year-old bike. Speaking of which…
I was talking to the wrenches at Peak Adventures some more about my upgrade-or-replace quandary, and David was asking some very insightful questions. He wanted to know which bike I was thinking about getting. The Specialized Sequoia Elite is my top contender, but he thought my old bike was a better-built touring bike. I also mentioned that I’d like to get my wife to go out touring with me, when he suggested that I buy a tandem bike. Doh! Why didn’t I think of that?!? So for right now, by dilemma is solved–I’m saving up my money for a KHS Milano tandem bike.
My wife doesn’t want to start tandem riding until our remodeling project is done, and I’ll keep riding my old bike when I’m solo, so I’m going to go ahead and upgrade the rear wheel and cogs pretty soon. This is an excellent solution, since I get to have my cake and eat it too! I’ll fix up my Burgundy Beauty and get a new bike and (hopefully) get my wife to start riding with me. 
18
May
New tires for my MTB
I got some new bicycle tires for my mountain bike last month. It took me a while to finally install them, but today is Bike to Work Day, so I had extra incentive. (I normally ride my Takara Tribute, but I didn’t want to take that downtown for the rally today–cleats are great on a normal ride, but they’re dangerous in a slow-moving crowd!)
Previously I had the original knobby tires that came with my KHS alite. These would be great for off-road use, but I only use this bike for errands around town. Just in case I ever decide to re-install these, the tire circumfrence (for my cycle computer) is 2015 mm. The new tires are 26″ x 1.4″ Ritchey slicks. For my cycle computer setting, I measured 231.5″ for 3 rotations x 25.4 mm per inch=5880.1 mm. Divide by 3 to get the average circumfrence=1960 mm.
I’ve only ridden these tires one trip, but they’re much more pleasant than the knobbies so far! They give a much smoother ride on pavement, whereas the knobbies generated an irritating humming that I could both hear and feel through the frame. I’ll definitely be riding my mountain bike a lot more often now that I have these slicks mounted!
