Rough Commuting

They're resurfacing the road I ride on my commute. It's rrrrrruuuuuuuuuuuuufffffffffffffff. Too bad to ride on. They've done the work to rough up the road but haven't started repaving yet. So I'm going to have to take an alternate route until they're finished up. I got caught on it yesterday and it was awful. I ended up pulling over and airing my tires down to 10psi. That helped a ton. But it's still to whacky to ride on for more than a couple minutes at a time.

Get out there.

A Long Ride on New Roads

I've been wanting to take some time off of work for a 50 miler for a while now and it finally came to fruition last week. There's lots of roads, rivers, lakes and nature preserves near my house that I've wanted to explore for a long time and I finally took the initiative. Most trips out my door head west. This one was south. And it was beautiful.

Just south of my house is Camp Nelson Cemetery. It's always worth a quick spin through, some contemplation and a prayer.

I planned 40 miles with the hopes of 50. But I wanted to give myself the wiggle room to explore random roads that I encountered in person. Sometimes roads on a map won't represent how awesome they are when you pass them at 14mph and I wanted to give myself an opportunity to ride those. The photo above is a small example. It was closed off and completely covered with debris. But was a great road for weaving in and out of trees and exploring.

I meandered through farm country and became eye candy for the longhorns for the first 15 miles or so but soon encountered my first major route change. I neglected to take a photo in the moment, unfortunately. But one of the gravel roads I was one for a half mile eventually ended with a menacing gate. Although marked publicly on the map, it was a private road and it's inaccessibility meant that I was going to have to ride a good six or seven miles out of my plan to get where I wanted to go.

Not a nuisance, though. That is exactly why I mapped fewer miles than I actually wanted to ride.

After my reroute, I made my way to Kennedy Bridge on Herrington Lake. Herrington was my family's vacation spot when I was a kid. So pedaling over it was one of the highlights of this ride. Having lived close to Herrington for nine years now, I've never actually laid eyes on it since I was a kid. So it drummed up some fun memories.

After Herrington was miles and miles of corn. Next stop, Burgin: A Friendly Little City. I sat here for a while and ate. At this point, I had climbed out of the river and climbed out of the lake and was a little pooped. But it was nothing that a peanut butter and jelly sandwich couldn't fix.

After Burgin is Shakertown.

Simplicity, donkeys, sheep. I'd never taken a peak into Shakertown before. It's quite quaint... and quiet. And from Shakertown, it's pretty much downhill back to the river.

Just before the river, though, there's a 175 year old church. Pretty spectacular, actually.

After Mt. Zion Church, I coasted for about three miles down to the river. Probably the most uplifting part of the whole ride. Super fast and fun through BEAUTIFUL trees and nature-scape. But after the river, it's all uphill from there.

As I mashed the pedals uphill, I found a little trail that shot off to the right of the road. I had the time and needed the break so I aimed the bars that way. A little gravel and dirt path led me to the photo above. Super cool tunnel in the middle of nowhere. Keep following the path and you'll hit a rope swing right into the river. I was very tempted to swing in for bit but I resisted. There was more climbing to do.

From there it was climbing, climbing and climbing. The three mile descent became a three mile climb on the other side. It was tough. Really tough. My ride was pretty much over but this last little bit toasted me before I made it back to my car. It's exactly how you want to feel when your ride is over. 49.9 miles. Couldn't have gone any better.

Get out there.

Father's Day Caffeinated Bicycling

My lovely wife generously extended the invitation to "do whatever you want all day" with Father's Day this weekend. I chose but a modest 20 miles with a couple fellows to ride and consume some coffee.

After choosing a rather climby route, I decided the Disc Trucker was going to be the steed of choice. Neil was riding on his sporty Fuji and Noah was on his Long Haul Trucker. So the Disc Trucker was the fattest-tired bicycle of the day. But the gearing was appreciated when I hit them hills.

Neil, hit under the beautiful yet elusive #lightbro, is thinking, "I love how dry my feet are."

At one point I pedaled ahead and found a place to rest... and maybe get head lice.

Noah celebrating dry feet as he crossed Sugar Creek. Being that his bike is a size 82 (or somewhere around there), he was able to hover above the water line and avoid damp socks. Men with dry feet on bicycles riding through creeks look like Noah.

This is what men with wet feet on bicycles riding through creeks look like. See the difference?

Fear not, Neil. We can dry your feet and sip some coffee. Mid-ride coffee makes all your woes forgotten.

There's not much better than a nice Sunday ride with buddies, bikes and coffee. I've had bronchitis all week. So I haven't been on the bike. And I felt it. But it was a fun ride, nonetheless.

Get out there.

Picture Dump

Often times, I ride my bike and forget to post anything about it here. I just came across some photos that I thought were worthy of sharing. They're probably not worthy. But you've chosen to read this far. Why not keep scrolling?

I rode an e-assist bike a while back. There's not throttle on this thing. It just uses the effort you're putting into the pedals to calculate how much power to put into the electric motor. It was awesome. Super fun and super fast. I got up to 40mph like it was nothing. The only real use for it would be commuting, I guess. And I'm a fan of using my own power and getting the exercise along the way. But it was super cool, nonetheless. 

We rode road bikes at the MTB park a couple weeks ago. Whatever it takes, right? Here's Noah on his LHT. I love using a bike for all that it can do.

I've missed logging many-a-lunch-ride on here. Most of those rides have been in the dirt. Leading the pack in this photo above is Pat on his Pugsley. He had just put on a new set of Nate tanwalls. I'm a fan of that bike.

And a couple week's worth of Troll commutes have gone unpublished. Super fun to ride this bike to work. Makes me feel like there's more options on the ride. I guess I've pictured touring bikes in the dirt and dirt bikes on bike commutes, huh? Well, anything goes. I like it that way.

The blog isn't a priority these days. I'm okay with that. It's still fun to keep around. I'm under no obligation to give it all I've got. But I'll try to post more. In the meantime, this is peek into a few weeks' worth of riding.

Get out there. 

Weekend Ride

Had some fun riding the back roads of Jessamine County this weekend.

I rode the Disc Trucker, Jason was on his roadie'd Troll and Pat had some slicks on the Pugsley. But, wouldn't you know it, we all got along just fine.

We meandered along the creek for most of the ride.

And eventually through it. The Pug was the only bike to pedal through. I was quickly swept away in the Trucker.

Some rental property?

The cool thing about this ride? We were all three riding the same bikes we rode on a snowy camping trip a few months back. All three different bikes are built with the versatility to do anything from snowy riding to dirt riding to road riding. I love it.

Get out there.

Horse Parkin'

Myself and some other fellers headed out for a quick overnighter last night. Five of use pedaled our way after work and two joined us via Prius. But all participants had a good time (although the bicycle pedalers obviously had more fun). The Disc Trucker was the only fully loaded bike. The other guys threw their stuff in the energy efficient Toyota. But I figured if I've got the stuff to bike-camp, I'm gonna use it, right?

Brendan was on his Kona Dew with all my Revelate bikepacking frame and seat bags. They fit great and got most everything off his back and on his bike. Brendan is almost Canadian, carries a gun and this was his longest ride ever... and he did that mileage both there and back. Way to go Brendanowitz.

I was very pleased with the Trucker. I used all four panniers but that was with zero packing finesse. I just threw all my stuff in each bag. There was no stuffing, packing, pushing or grunting. Just tossing junk in there is so easy. The basket had a backpack in there that was pretty much empty. So I put that on my back when it was time to haul wood.

Night time brought a chill to the air and a universal appreciation for the fire. In the photo above, you'll see a pensive Presley reflecting on the possibilities of having toes for thumbs and the toils of mouth tobacco.

The Prius Pilot, Meeker, was convinced that Bear Grylls once told him you could boil water in a plastic bottle. I strongly disagreed only to be proven wrong. That was followed by the bottle of plastic-leached boiling water falling over on me, causing me to do a backflip away from the fire. At least that's how I remember it.

Late into the night we went for a stealth ride on the Legacy Trail before we retired to our asylums for the night. Three men in hammocks, four in two tents. Meeker snored or maybe it was the quasi-Canadian or maybe it was me. But temps dropped to 42 degrees and I did get a bit chilly. But I was never miserable.

And in honor of Bear Grylls teaching us the science of boiling toxic water, I used his knife to slice an apple up for my oatmeal. Angie got me this boss knife for my birthday and it's... well... boss. It was the biggest knife there. So none of the other guys messed with me all night which insured their safety. This apple, on the other hand, didn't fare so well.

We made coffee, eggs and oatmeal. I assumed that the pseudo-Canadian would have had some bacon or pancakes and maple syrup. He didn't. I think I saw him eating some Chex Mix. I was shocked and, to be completely honest, disappointed. I felt he betrayed his heritage. But we gave our bodies warmth and nourishment, packed up our schtuph and headed back to work for a Friday funday. Not a bad way to spend an evening.

In attendance were those listed below:
I in my kerchief and Disc Trucker.
Presley was on his old rigid Giant MTB (one of the coolest vintage MTBs, IMHO).
Brendan on his Kona Dew.
Dave rode my naked Troll outfitted with some Kenda K-Rads for smoother road rolling.
Noah pedaled his custom Long Haul Trucker and carried his own gear like a boss.
Meeker in his Toyota hybrid.
Jordan riding shotgun in the Prius but joined us on the night ride on his Trek. It's made of kevlar or carbon or adamantium or something. But it's light and fast and the shoes he wears with it go clickety clack when he walks.

Get out there.

Recluse

I've recently been spending a lot of time in meetings and surrounded by people. I love being a pastor and I love meeting with people. But every once in a while the introvert in me begins to die a little bit if I don't fight for some alone time.

So I walked out of a meeting yesterday, hopped on the bike and pedaled into the nearby wilderness for some solitude. It was only for about 20 minutes. But I shut my eyes, pulled my cap down over my face and just listened to the sounds of the birds chirping and wind blowing.

And, with batteries recharged, I headed back into the office for more meetings. But that little break was everything I needed. It made me appreciate my bike. It was a simple time and easy to get to with a bike. The bike lures me outside more than I know. I'm thankful for that.

Get out there.

Lunchtime

Now that the weather is a bit more pleasant, it's easy to throw on shorts and t-shirt and do a lunchtime ride. At least, that was the case yesterday. Jason and I headed out of my office parking lot and did a little new-road exploration in Woodford County.

We saw, for the first time in a long while, some green grass to grab our attention.

Jason pedaled the do-anything Troll. This is such a different bike than my Troll. I love the versatility of this frame. Our Trolls certainly show how you can build them up in such different ways.

And we got to see Lil Sebastian.

Get out there.

Explore Kentucky

At the risk of stealing a hashtag from some Kentucky folks, I'd like to celebrate the value of wandering through our bluegrass state. Exploring Kentucky is, by far, one of my favorite things to do.

Yesterday I set out on a route that I've ridden a few times before. But as I pedaled towards my destination, I decided I'd bypass my usual point of interest and just keep going straight onto some new roads. Aimlessly exploring Jessamine County has led me to some really great places. So any time I have an opportunity, I figure I should take it.

And of course, yesterday's ride was no different. I found some great sights along Little Hickman Creek. The photo above, for instance, was some cool architecture. Anyone know what it is? It's built into the side of the creek bank and has irrigation that runs through the building. My wife's theory was that it was some type of cold-storage. Everything is cooler when it's underground and surrounded by flowing water. Any other ideas?

Get out there.

Surly Disc Trucker

I realize it's been a while since I've posted anything here. There's no other reason outside of the fact that work has been insanely busy and most of my computer time (at work and home) is going to there instead of here. Having said that, there has been some big fun on two wheels.

Most of the fun centers around the Disc Trucker. On a ride a couple weeks back I blew a tube. But beyond the tube I completely shredded the bead on my Schwable Big Apples. No complaints from me, though. I bought those things used and put a couple thousand miles on them. They've certainly paid their dues. So what to do? Go gumwall, of course. 

I went with the Schwalbe Road Cruisers this time around. I learned that gumwalls are more of 700c and 650b thang. It wasn't easy finding one for the 26" wheeled Disc Trucker. But I'm very pleased. These are 1.75" wide and are pretty gull durn close to the tread pattern and puncture resistance of the Big Apples. Pretty fair trade, I think.

And I love the look. What do you think?

And just last week I swung by the bike shop to pick up my Surly Front Rack. After a TON of shopping and reading, I realized I couldn't run panniers and have a platform for my basket without dropping some serious cashola. And much of the pricey options offered less functionality than Surly's rack. So there it is in the photo above. Every bit of my birthday moneys went to this thing. But I can already tell it's worth it. There's some slight adjustments to make and fender tweaking to be done. But outside of that, this bike is finished.

This was the way I intended it to be from Day One. So it's nice to have it the way I've always wanted it for sure. I'll try to keep the blog a priority. But, let's be honest, in the grand scheme of life, this blog is no priority at all. 

Get out there. 

Disc Truckin'

There was a bit more work done on the Disc Trucker this weekend. That fact paired with the temps in the 60's meant that a ride was inevitable. The work on the bike? Just slick tires, fenders and new gray cloth bar tape. This stuff was the eventual intention of the bike to begin with. But with last week's snow adventure, the end result of the bike was delayed.

I thought I would hit up some of my hillier routes to test my new disc brakes. The verdict? UH-mazing. Admittedly, the old brake set up on the LHT was a funky mix of components that should work together. But this new disc thang is awesome. The braking is crazy consistent and powerful. The photo above was taken after I had plummeted down about two miles worth of descent.  And the brakes were responsive the entire way.

That was basically the ride all day. WAAAAAY up a climb.... then ZOOOOOOOMING down the other side. Brakes killing it the entire way.

How do you test the wet-weather abilities of disc brakes on a dry 63 degree day? Ride 'em through the creek! Honestly, that wasn't the purpose at all. This creek is on one of my favorite rides around the house and I just happened to hit it. But it was fun, nonetheless.

I'm loving the Disc Trucker thus far. I've still got to shellac the tape and figure out the front rack situation. I've got no way to mount my basket right now and I'm not really into leaving the front rack on for no reason. It mounts quickly enough that I'll probably only utilize it when I am going camping and actually need it. So the front end cargo situation has to be sorted out. There's still some finagling to be done but I'll enjoy the ride until I figure that out.

Get out there.

Snow Biking Camping Trip

You know how it goes... You can only take a few camping trips a year so you plan it out far in advance. As the date gets closer, you have buddies drop out and plans change. You feel the temptation to cancel but want to hang on and push through. Then the week of your trip, a Polar Vortex swoops in a dumps six inches of snow on your destination. We've all experienced that, right?

Saturday night, Jason, Pat and I loaded bikes up on the truck and headed to Red River Gorge, completely disregarding the fact that snow tried to snuff out our adventure.

Our plans did get tweaked. But we held onto the fact that we were going. So we arrived during nightfall and pedaled our way across the crunchy, snow-covered gravel roads.

Pat, armed with his Pugsley, was the most confident in the snow. He was ecstatic to push his bike through the very schtuff it was built for.

I stuck with the new Disc Trucker. Would the Troll have been better? Of course. But I threw on a pair of 2.3" knobbies and made it work. Fully loaded with front and rear panniers, the Disc Trucker was awesome. I'm not sure that this ride would've been possible with rim brakes. But I had enough plushness of rubber under me that this was still rideable.

Jason rode upon his Troll perchance to find a good time. And he surely found it.

Camp was stellar. What's cozier than a warm fire and three men in a two-man tent? Nothing. Nothing is cozier. We stayed warm by chopping firewood, brewing coffee and retelling the lore of Jennifer Lopez's cinematic highlights.

When morning came, we moved slowly, but assuredly to warmth. No one was comfortable at night. But we were mostly warm. Temps dropped to nine degrees but we were well equipped.

When we finally got moving, we warmed up pretty well. I spent most of Sunday's ride with no gloves or head covering. The riding was really awesome. We would wiggle and teeter into a slow fall over and over, laughing hard the entire time. I'm not sure how much mileage we actually covered. But we pedaled for several hours. Our original plan was the ride the loop around the Gorge. But that was a plowed, salted loop and we didn't want to pass up on the awesome snow on the gravel road network. So we stuck around the gravel for the day.

I took way too few photos on the trip. I wish I had thought of it more. The Disc Trucker shined brightly for this function and I barely have the photographic evidence to prove it. I'll do better next time.

But the trip was great. Perhaps, even, a once in a lifetime opportunity. Kentucky rarely gets snow like this. And it would be rare that it would align with my schedule enough to allow a full overnighter within it's midst.

Get out there.