Get out there.

Not Feeling It

For whatever reason, I've not had the blogging bug for a while now. Riding is always fun. Blogging is sometimes fun. Recently, the latter has fallen into the "Not Fun" category. My mileage to blog post ratio has more variance than it ever has. Lots of miles. Very few posts.

That's okay, though. The season will change and things will probably pick up. But if you're a regular reader, just know that, even if the posts are barely trickling in, the rides are still happening. If you're a blogger, you've probably experienced the same thing. "Should I just pull the plug?" you ask yourself. Maybe. But nothing is lost by posting less and nothing is gained by stopping. So I'll just blog when I feel like it and ride when I don't.

Viva la F//B//W!

Get out there.

75

Yesterday was my longest mileage day so far. 75 miles of Kentucky roads in preparation for the Horsey Hundred in a couple weeks. I'm not one to go out and do long rides very often. Time rarely allows. So it was fun to spend a huge chunk of time on the bike. Jeff and Jason joined me on the excursion. 

We didn't have much of a route planned. We just picked out points of interest along the way and went for it however we could get there. We headed south (into a headwind) to catch Pauls Mill Road that has drawn attention from other cyclists. It's a tiny little stretch of road that used to be an old carriage road. But we took the long way to get there.

Our first obstacle was a creek covered road. I've ridden it before but the water was very high compared to other rides through it. I took bullet first and tried to pedal through it. The mossy floor and heavy pull of the water almost took me down. Some fancy footwork and catlike speed and reflexes kept me upright. The other fells chose to walk it (a wiser choice than my own).

This was on mile 15ish. So the remainder of the day left us with soggy shoes. Not a big deal, really. It was refreshing on a hot day, the first of the year actually.

Speaking of hot... here's a little snake-jerky we found on the road. I thought he was alive for a while. But when Jason kicked him, you could tell he was a bit dehydrated. And while on the subject of wildlife, we rode past the primate rescue sanctuary and heard some monkeys yelling. It was funny, awesome and a little eerie at the same time.

There were very few scenes like this. We spent most of the day on country roads. Lots of climbing. Lots of rain. But we had a blast. We saw some really great sights throughout the day. But I didn't get the camera out once after it started raining. Pauls Mill Road is awesome. So awesome, we didn't stop for photos. We just appreciated the scenery. It was like a journey back in time. Unfortunately, Jason threw the red log into the furnace and we were propelled back to the future.

All in all, it was an awesome ride. We laughed a lot, got lost a lot and had some decent adventure. Jason was on a super stealthy all carbon road bike demo from the shop. Jeff was on his sport Specialized TriCross and I was upon the trusty LHT. Three TOTALLY different bikes. But we shared equal enjoyment in the ride in spite of our differences in steeds.

Get out there.

Long Haulin'

I love this bike.

Get out there.

Just Riding

Yesterday was a day for commuting and a lunch ride. Jason and Pat met me at work for a run out through the bluegrass.

Jason is building up some mileage (as am I) to ride the Horsey Hundred century. He's riding a fancy carbon road bike from the shop. I'll be plodding along behind him on the LHT the entire way.

On the way back we grabbed a pizza to share. Looks like the trusty ol' LHT comes to the rescue with the front basket. I'm loving this thing. If I would take the time to write a post about the value of a front basket, it would be a strong endorsement.

Today's commute was uneventful. I was running later than usual, so I was cranking it the entire way. I saw this neon yellow shirt in the far distance when I first got on the bike path. But my tenacity to make it to work on time allowed me to eventually pass him. I see this guy a lot. He lives off the bike path and enjoys slow, casual rides in the mornings and afternoons. I think we could be friends. But not today. I had to get to the office.

Get out there.

New Digs

The LHT got it's last installment of new components last night. Often times when I buy a frame, it takes me a long while to finish the build. I've put hundreds of miles on this bike with junk I've had laying around the garage. Slowly, I'd buy a piece here or there and add it to the mix. But, alas, the build is finally done.

Most notable of the additions, perhaps, are the wheels. Black Deore disc hubs with black spokes mated with all black WTB Cross Country rims. I wanted the black on black action to match the bike's old army Jeep aesthetics. I went with disc hubs for future use. I think I'd really like to have a Disc Trucker in the stable one day. And every bit of this build kit could be moved over. But a disc hub and a rim-brake rim seem to be a great way to transition there.

Old Deore derailleur's front and back that I've had in the garage for a while. They're a little beat up, but work perfectly. New cassette is a 34-11. The 34 tooth cog is probably overkill. I had planned on just doing a 32-11 but the shop didn't have 32 in stock. Perhaps I'll be thankful for such a cog on a long tour some day. It was also a jump to 9 speed. I've been running my shifters in friction mode on an 8 speed cassette since I got the bike. This step up to 9 gives me the ability to go indexed (which I'm still unsure about).

Front Deore derailleur and new SRAM 48-38-28 crankset. Higher gearing up front than the previous MTB crankset that was on here.

And, with that, the bike is finished.

Finished. Feels kind of strange. But it's nice to have a project come to an end... especially when it ends exactly where you intended it to when you started. The bike is exactly what I wanted it to be when I bought the frame. That's a big accomplishment.

Now to go get this new stuff dirty.

Get out there.

The Long Commute

Yesterday's commutes added up to 32 miles. The church I work for has multiple locations, so I've been peppering in some bike commutes to the newest campus. But that campus is a 20 mile ride from my house. So the mileage is starting to add up. Home to Campus A, Campus A to Campus B, and Campus B to home would be a total of 40+ miles. But Mondays are my day to drive the boy to school and work at the other campus. So that probably won't happen much. But, like yesterday, I'll bring my bike on the car and ride after I take him in. I'm loving the extra miles!

Get out there.