Take Up Thy Cross Check Daily

Sunday led to another great ride on the Cross Check. I'm really digging this bike these days. I overhauled the wheel recently, and though it was probably just placebo, it felt like it rolled a little faster.

And, although the Cross Check was rolling faster, I was not. About 10 miles in I was toast. I think I've got a little bug dragging me down. I can't seem to keep much energy. So I pulled off the road, sat on a bench at a little country church and ate a poptart. After that, I leisurely made my way back home. It was a 20 mile total. But it was slow 20. No mind, though. It was just nice to be out.

Get out there.

Rear Wheel Overhaul

I've put thousands and thousands of miles on my Cross Check. And during a recent ride when I broke a spoke, I realized that I've done nothing to it. It's had the occasional tune-up of chain maintenance and brake checks. But I've never replaced a part or overhauled a single component.

You can't beat that durability. But it did cause me to look into the bike with a bit more depth. And upon that inspection, I realized the rear wheel would barely spin. One might not notice on the bike. But when I had it in the stand and gave it a spin with my hand, it wouldn't even go a full rotation before it came to a quick stop.

Time to overhaul them bearings.

I had never done anything to a rear wheel (aside from a little cone adjustment). But the internets offered clear instructions. So after about 10 minutes of video tutorials, a trip to the bike shop for some grease & bearings and 20 minutes of sitting at my kitchen table with the wheel... the job was done. It was super simple. And apart from the Phil's bearing grease, I had everything I needed already.

There was really only one bearing that looked bad. But it looked really bad. And there was all kinds of debris and nastiness in the hub. So here's to smoother spinning from here on out.

Get out there.

Cross Check's New Shoes and New Woes

The good news is, I received shipment of some nice Panaracer Paselas for the Cross Check yesterday. This is the first time in a long time that I've bought something for a bike that it didn't really need at all. I had a great set of tires on it. But I've been wanting some tan walls for the Cross Check for a while and I found these for $16 each with free shipping. What?! I know. I couldn't believe it either. I went back to the online shop that I bought them from and they're already $32 each again. I somehow bought them at the perfect time.

Now the bad news...

I did a 32 mile ride today and started hearing a pinging sound about 12 miles from home. I didn't want to look. When I got home I saw this. Boo. So I'll be heading to the shop for a little spoke love tomorrow. Bad luck to get some sweet new tires on the very same day I break a spoke! That's the bad juju I get for buying something I don't need... as soon as I do something I do need breaks on that very bike.

I don't think I torqued the wheel by riding it all the way home. I assumed it was a spoke but I was 20 miles into a ride with a heat index of 90 degrees. So I just wanted to be home. I didn't want to sit on the side of the road and fiddle around with a mechanical.

Get out there.

Sunday Bike Vibes

Sunday offered up another opportunity to ride some backroads of Jessamine and Woodford County. I put together a ride that was close to 30 miles and hit up Pauls Mill Road, a nice little creek crossing and the primate rescue center. Pat was the only other rider on that particular day and he was atop his brand new Long Haul Trucker build. It's always fun to ride with a new bike... even if it's not yours. I was on the Cross Check with some new bits and pieces. More on that later. But the gist of the updates is new (to the Cross Check) Brooks B17, a short stem with lots of rise and new cloth bar tape. I'm trying to make it my go-fast bike and a comfy bike. Mission accomplished, I believe.

Pauls Mill Road was as scenic as ever. In this time of year, there's just green everywhere. We spied the old mill and hypothesized what all that old machinery does. I'm convinced it's a steam-punk hot tub time machine. Pat just thinks it's a lumber mill. Who knows who's right? But it's probably me.

Pat got to baptize his new bike in a gentle creek crossing. He built up a flat bar LHT with a new frame and wheels with some additional spare parts in his garage. I love those kinds of builds. This bike will slowly get more and more new components and, eventually, be a brand spankin' new road/touring machine. It'll take time. But it's a budget conscious way to build a bike. And, in the meantime, he's riding it and it's awesome already.

No pics of the monkey sanctuary. We heard them monkeys yellin' at us but I can't ever seem to sneak a peakaloo at 'em. But it is fun knowing they're just a short distance through the woods.

I didn't add up the mileage yet. But it's close to 30. I had planned 26 but we got sidetracked and added quite a bit to our route. That's always nice, though. I love when a plan gets adapted to include more riding.

Get out there.

High Waters

Yesterday presented an opportunity to ride a 20ish miler in my back yard of Jessamine County. Jason joined me for a scouting trip to one of my favorite destinations.

There's a little road called Brumfield Lane that offers up some great views (along with great climbing) followed by a fun creek crossing.

Normally, the water is flowing slowly right around knee level. I've even crossed when the water was nearly up to my waist. But yesterday it was super high and really fast.

These trees are normally on the bank of the water, not in the water.

Since water was up, there were several little tributaries, which are usually dry, that held water. We took that opportunity to do a little exploring.

Then we had to slog our way back up the mountainside. You can see right behind Jason that the road just drops off completely. More fun riding down than up!

It was a great ride, though. Jason and I weren't both on our road bikes (me on the Cross Check). It feels so fast and responsive. But I always keep that boy scout mindset. I want to be prepared for anything. While riding through those creek beds full of water, I was longing for the 2" tires on the LHT. The thin-to-me 28mm tires on the Cross Check didn't like those rocky creek beds so much. But it certainly feels better on the pavement!

Get out there.

New Year's Eve Ride

Got to ride some road miles with Jason on New Year's Eve. Hit up Paul's Mill Road again. Beautiful stuff.

Beautiful Kentucky skies.

And some swans.

Great way to end the year.

Get out there.

Stable Shift

Recently, I've been contemplating a change in the bicycle line-up. For one, I've realized that I really prefer the feel of a 26" wheel on a bicycle. I'm a short guy and it just feels better underneath me. Another factor is the fact that, as my kids have grown and are riding their own bikes, I use the Xtracycle much less than I used to.

So I think that I've made the decision to get rid of the single speed Cross check and the Xtracycle frame. If I were to do that, I would use the cash to buy a Disc Trucker frame. Also, the Xtracycle would relent to me an internally geared hub on a 26" wheel. Thus allowing me to put an internally geared system on the old Long Haul Trucker while moving the current LHT component line-up to the Disc Trucker.

Here's what the whole garage would look like:
Disc Trucker: 3x9 setup for commuting, camping and touring. Probably my go-to bike for recreational rides and catting around town.

Long Haul Trucker: 9 speed internally geared hub with chubbier tires and cruiser bars. Used for rainy and snowy weather riding and secondary loaner mountain bike.

Troll: Same ol' trusty mountain bike. Nothing new.

Cross Check: 2x9 road bike used for when I want to go fast... er... faster. I never go fast.

The single speed Cross Check, Xtracycle and the Klunker 1x6 Trek would all disappear. I'd lose three bikes but actually gain capacity in the riding that I do most often. The big miss will be the Xtracycle. But I'm a firm believer in getting rid of something that you don't use. I haven't touched it in probably a year... which means I don't really need it.

And so the Craigslist posting begins...

Get out there.

Sunday Cruisin'

Yesterday afternoon my family was in Louisville while I had to work in the morning. That meant that in the afternoon I was free to do a little ridin'. One quick text to Jason and he was up for an adventure as well.

We went back to Brumfield Lane in Jessamine County. This time we skirted past the "No Trespassing" fear to take a few photos of the view. Beautiful stuff.

This time the creek crossing was lower than before. What was knee deep on the last ride here was only ankle deep yesterday. We were a little surprised having had a lot of rain in the last couple days.

We didn't take a ton of photos but it's a really scenic road. I think it's about 22 miles to run this route from my house. Can't beat those views for that quick of a ride that's right in your back yard. I love me some Kentucky.

Get out there.

Exploration on the Bike

Sunday's weather offered up an opportunity to explore some new territory on the Cross Check. There was a road that I had snuck a short peek of last year but the ride was ultimately thwarted by snow. I remember thinking that this was a place I needed to go back to. But that day, snow had covered the road and the climbing made it too slip-slidey to go further. Today, though, I conquered those hills and rediscovered the route in a warmer season.

It's a great ride with incredible views. As much climbing as there is, it is totally worth it. I wish I could climb out onto these cliffs and snap a photo, but the few accessible views have many a trespassing sign to the tune of, "You trespass, I'll shoot." So I stand back and take my pics from the road.

Short little waterfall marks my first turn. From here it's up... up... and up.

There's pretty much fresh pavement up the entire climb. And there is horse crap everywhere. I even passed this group of horse-and-buggy commuters. I think the presence of horses is a good sign for cyclists. Cars here must be used to slow moving vehicles.

After gnarly climbs come crazy descents. You can kind of see in the photo above that I was crossing an empty, old, dried up creek bed. The road I had just come down crosses straight through it. I paused to notice that my fresh pavement was gone and water damage was the new theme on the road.

But shortly after I heard and saw this. My map showed that the road ended here and picked up on the other side. I halfway expected to see a crossing like this.

So I ditched the socks and shoes, strapped them to the bike and began my trek across the water. I'm so glad I had the Cross Check for this. The water was almost up to my waist so I carried the bike on my shoulder. The LHT weighs about 140 pounds more than the Cross Check. So this lighter ride felt a bit more comfy during the water crossing.

Footwear goes back on on the other side. The wool socks felt cozy after my chilly dip.

More horse evidence. This was after a fairly brutal climb. It was the only point in the day that I thought, "I may have to get off of this bike and push." But the tiny horse statues pep-talked me through it.

After my creek adventure, it was a pretty smooth ride all the way home. The Cross Check felt awesome, as usual. I'm amazed at how different it and the Long Haul Trucker actually are. Completely different bikes that seem almost identical at a glance. But these hills today felt like I was cruise control. I sailed right up with minimal effort. On the other hand, it feels more squirrelly than it's beefier LHT brother. So when you're hauling any significant weight, the LHT is the way to go.

It was a great ride and it's all outside my back door. I love that I live in Kentucky and I love that it offers such beautiful landscape!

Get out there.

Reunited and it Feels So Good

Summer opened up a hiatus from my regular every-other-Wednesday bike maintenance night. But last night we were back at it and lots was accomplished. I was able to tune up two bikes for a couple buddies, the LHT got some love and, finally, my geared Cross Check was put back into commission.

The Cross Check has been hanging in my garage for every bit of six months. I'm always debating whether or not to sell it. But then, like this morning, I ride it and I absolutely love it. What the LHT does for hauling and stability, the Cross Check does with agility and quickness. It's just so much fun to have those bikes set up in such different ways. They compliment each other so well.

I'm not sure that I'll gravitate towards the Cross Check more than the LHT. But it's so awesome to have the option if I'm feeling a bit more sprightly.

Get out there.

Primary Winter Ride

For the last couple days, to my delight, I've put some cold weather miles on the Cross Check. I'm considering making the Cross Check the official winter bicycle for clear(ish) weather rides. For the last several months, the LHT has been my go-to commuter. But the sprightliness of the Cross Check is a welcomed feel for this cold weather riding.

For one, I already feel sluggish in the cold when I'm weather multiple layers. I don't have really expensive, high tech riding gear for cold weather. I can totally stay warm. I just have a lot bulkier wardrobe. The slow, deliberate, semi-truck feel of the LHT becomes even more cumbersome when I'm all layered up. The Cross Check feels a lot more quick and responsive.

Another factor is tires. My only set of studded tires are 26". I'm thinking I'll put the studs on the LHT and leave it parked for the 90% of the time that I don't need studs. But the age and investment in the LHT would make it a great snow/ice bike. It just wouldn't see very many miles.

All this to say, the Cross Check is about to get some miles this winter, I think. The single speed Cross Check will do rain. The LHT will do snow and ice. And the geared Cross Check will be my primary commuter. Sounds like a plan... until I get bored and change my mind.

Get out there.

Bikes in the Stand

I had four of my five bikes in the work stand last night. It just got to be one of those seasons (it happens a couple times a year) when I've run nearly all of my bikes into the ground without giving them the attention they need. One night of greasy hands and it can all be taken care of. But for whatever reason, it's easy to neglect.

The Long Haul Trucker was only running seven of available twenty four gears and the rear brake was nearly useless. Twenty minutes in the stand and we're all good.

The Xtracycle had hit a bump (and by bump, I mean deep chasm) that knocked both fenders out of place and they were rubbing the tires. Fenders seem like a peripheral in bike maintenance. But they're difficult to get centered for maximum coverage and visual appeal. It also knocked the quill stem loose. But a mere twenty minutes in the stand was enough to get it back to 100%.

The single speed Cross Check had a mysterious tear in the tire sidewall a couple months back. To my chagrin, my only remaining sets of 700c tires were two sets of cyclocross tires. I took the least aggressive of the two sets and put them on the Cross Check. But when you go from a 25mm width to a 36mm width, you are going to get some rub on the fenders. So, there was one more bike I was neglecting. This one took some finagling to get it to work. The old fenders really didn't want to cooperate with the more plump rubber. Eventually, nearly thirty minutes or so, everything was spinning again.

Lastly, I needed to replace the front shifter cable on the Troll. I took a tumble into a tree on my last mountain bike camping trip and it rendered the cable useless. It's been stuck on the small chainring for a month. It worked, which made it harder to motivate myself to fix it. But, hey, if I've got the goods to run a 3x9, let's do it. A quick cable replacement (less than ten minutes) and the Troll was shifting beautifully again.

It's funny to wait so long. But when you've got multiple bikes in the garage, it's easy to just grab a different one if another isn't in tip-top shape. The only problem is when they all begin to falter. After last night, though, I'll be in good shape for a while.

Get out there.

A Nice Spot

This little corner of road keeps drawing me in for a photo opp. Lots of what I ride by in the mornings is new and pristine. It's nice to see a little portion of my route that looks the way I feel sometimes.

Get out there.

Exploring Around Home

A few weeks ago I started exploring a new area of roads I had never been on before. When you're on your bike, it's easy to stick with what you know. I had gotten into the bad habit of riding the same routes over and over again for the sake of simplicity. What eventually happens (at least with me) is that you get bored and have less desire to go out and ride.

With a little motivation, I began to seek out new roads, dead end or not, to have a better understanding of what's around my house. Saturday, I went out for a 20 miler, and saw some beautiful landscapes.

Many of the roads are like this; one lane, zero traffic. This, however is an example of an unknown road leading to nowhere. I pedaled hard up a mile long ascent to eventually roll up on a closed gate. On some days that would be frustrating. But it wasn't bad. Leaves are changing colors and new sights are always engaging to the mind. No big deal.

This bridge was at the bottom of a massive hill. It's probably the fastest I've ever gone on a bike. I actually got a little nervous. But here at the bottom is a beautiful scene. Everything out here is private property. But I'd love to cozy up with these people and start squatting here for lunches and whatnot.

Here's a shot from standing on the bridge. This creek runs all over the area. I must have crossed it 15 times on this one ride.

Lots of climbing around a creek, though. The photo above is a hill I had just climbed. It drops off in the distance, but went on for another half mile or so.

This ride made me love the Cross Check. I've been putting so many miles on the LHT, that I've forgotten what it feels like to have a more nimble bike under me. It accelerates so much faster and climbs with much more ease. Honestly, I've thought about replacing it with another LHT. This ride had me wavering on that idea.

I'm appreciative of my Kentucky home when I have rides like this. It's a beautiful place to live.

Get out there.

The Gloves Are On

This week is the first week of the season requiring gloves for the morning ride. Winter is coming!

Get out there.

More Commute Company

Will rode in with me today. We both live in Nicholasville, so he was able to drive to my house and take the long route in with me. For equipment, Will borrowed the Cross Check, pannier and helmet for his first human-powered bike commute.

It's always fun to ride in with someone who's never ridden a bike like that before. It's just another opportunity to show how the bicycle is a viable form of transportation. And Will's an awesome guy. So it was fun to have his company along the ride.

Thanks for joining me, Will!

Get out there.

Exploration

This morning I turned down an unfamiliar path that turned into a small stretch of gravel road. I'm not sure why it's there or what it used to lead to but it suddenly ended without any real destination. I had noticed this little shoot-off path several times but never thought to turn down it. Today I thought, "Why not?" and gave it a whirl.

It was very thick for a while, barely a path and eventually cleared out completely to be a double-track gravel road. It would be a great place to stealth camp or set-up for a lunch break during the work day. I'll certainly be back. I love a little exploration.

Get out there.

Bike Date

The luckiest man in the world got a text yesterday from his lovely wife requesting that he take her on a bike date. What? Could any man be this lucky? Yes. Yes he can.

Last night, Angie and I had a good friend offer to watch all the kids, which allowed us to have our own fun. We rode the bikes through neighborhoods and parks. We hit up the mall area and ate dinner together, then slowly made our way back via bike.

I'm certainly blessed to have a wife who's up for dating by bike. And the fact that it was her idea is even better. We laughed and smiled the entire time. Something about the slower pace and being outside made the night rich. I love her so much.

Get out there.

Solitude

There's a big world out there and there's a whole lot of people in it. I'm a guy who likes his alone time. I like any opportunity I can get to be outside by myself and soak up some solitude. But a pastoral job and a small house with six people under it's roof means that these bike rides are about all the solitude I get. And don't get me wrong. I love most people and I ABSOLUTELY love those people I share that little house with. But I deeply appreciate these rides.

The decompression that happens in my mind is a spiritual one when I'm on the bike. It refreshes me in a way that makes me a better man. This morning, as I turned the cranks on my bike, I found God, I found rest, I found beauty and I found an opportunity to recharge.

One of my favorite verses in scripture is Psalm 18:19, "He stood me up on a wide-open field; I stood there saved - surprised to be loved." I offer you the DPT (Derrick Purvis Translation), "He stood me up on a wide-open road; I pedaled there saved - surprised to be loved."

I love riding my bike.

Get out there.

You Should Commute Too

Bicycle advocacy isn't my forte. I believe in all the efforts people make. I sign a pledge here and there. I'll occasionally show up to a meeting or something. But if I jumped into that world too heavily, I wouldn't have time to be on my bike and ride. So here's my effort for advocating you being on your bike.

Riding your bike is awesome. You should try commuting to work.

You'll notice that old swing hanging from a tree that you'd never see at 60mph.

You'll see horses.

Here's Neil this morning loving the commute. He's just got an incredibly inexpensive Craigslist bike and a cheap Walmart rack with a bag bungied to it. But he's riding and loving it!

That's about all I have for advocacy. Here it is again in case you missed it...


Riding your bike is awesome. You should try commuting to work.

Get out there.