Micro Touring

The first time I heard the term micro-tour it was from Pondero. It's a fantastic concept. It's basically just taking all your stuff that comes with the idea of touring or camping and applying it to a single ride. You're not on a full on tour. But you can make a meal, take a nap and even drink some coffee if you're into that sort of thing... you know... the perfect sort of thing.

Today's lunch break offered up the opportunity to ride out do that very thing. I took supplies for some gourmet oatmeal including nuts, apples and dried cranberries. Both warm and delicious on this chilly day.

After finishing lunch I took a little walk while sipping my coffee.

Perfection in a lunch break. It totally recharges one's batteries.

Get out there.

Ahhhhhhhhh.

Bikes allow you to do some really awesome things. You can grab your camping stuff and take your lunch to a remote spot near work, for instance.

Yesterday I took all the essential goods for a nice lunch break. I'm a simple man and it doesn't take much for me to say, "Ahhhhhh. That was an awesome lunch break." A pot full of basic snacks, a book and some coffee is what did it for me yesterday.

And, for what it's worth, I'm really digging my Esbit thermos. It fits in a bottle cage well and keeps my coffee super hot. It's a go-to piece of equipment for an adventure like this.

After I ate I read and sipped my coffee for a while. Then I loaded up the Klunker and took the long way back to the office, exploring newness all the way. I love it.

Get out there.

S15O

This past weekend I got to do a quick S15O. That's a Sub-15 hour-Overnighter. My buddies Brian and Jason had talked about doing something that night at the Kentucky Horse Park and I decided I'd join in as well.

There are no real photos of the event. I met Jason at the bike shop at 6pm and we rode at a pretty steady pace until nightfall. We were at the Horse Park by about 7:45 but the sun was already gone. And I never even thought about getting out the camera to grab photos. (And I have to admit that's a nice feeling to ride, camp and talk bike stuff all night without thinking about gathering blog content!)

Brian rode in with Huston, Alan and Andy. These were guys I'd never met but had a wonderful time hanging out with. Bikes is a nice common denominator amongst strangers. Is easy to get to know each other through the lore of old bike adventures.

I crashed around 11:30, only to get up at 6:30 in the morning to hit the road again. Jason had to work and I had family obligations. So we hit it early and we hit it hard for the ride back. This one photo of the trip is in my neighborhood right before I pulled into the garage.

My only real noteworthy comment is on my camping set up. At this point, I have everything I need to do these trips at a moment's notice. I can throw everything in a bag and go. The LHT with Ortliebs and basket does the job beautifully.

I'm up for another.

Get out there.

Nice Day

Today is a nice day.

Get out there.

The Klunker is Done

Last night I finished up the Klunker build. At this point, it's ready for just about anything I can throw at it.

New Kenda K-Rad 2.3" tires will make for good street riding and dirt. Plenty of cushion when the pressure is low but at 80 psi they float across pavement really well. I loved them on the ride in this morning.

And the basket took some finagling to get right. With some grinding and filing, the struts are not completely bolted on. No zip ties anymore.

I'm super pleased with this build. In fact, I'm concerned that I may love this bike too much. The commute in today was a blast. It's fun to have a bike that is generalized enough to do just about anything well... and it's value is almost nothing.

Get out there.

Fall!

Fall is here! The face was covered this morning on the commute in.

And the sun is just rising above the horizon. It seems like it was just a couple weeks ago that the sun was high in the sky during my morning commutes. Welcome, New Season!

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.

Man Time

This past weekend I headed out on the trails with my boys again. These guys love riding dirt.

The little man on the Mountain Train is just flat-out hilarious. Somehow, he's the one that gets injured more than any of us, though. He's having too much fun to pay attention, I think. On this ride, I said, "Are you on?" To which he replied, "Yes! Go!" I mashed the pedals only to learn that, in fact, he wasn't on the bike. He was leaning against it and fell hard to the ground. At four years old, he doesn't quite get the importance of communication. You can see in the photo above that dirty elbows and skinned knees won't squelch his enthusiasm.

The big guy hangs with me really well. It makes me a proud father. He works hard and sweats a lot. But he's always rewarded on the downhill. When we climb over a peak and start to zoom on the descent, he squeals and yells to express his joy. It's so much fun to hear.

It makes for a great time for us guys. They love being outside, sweating together and observing nature. I'm looking forward to them growing up as little mountain bikers.

Get out there.