It Catches Up

One of my favorite bikes to ride is my Redline 925 singlespeed. I love the simplicity of it. No gears. One cog. One chainring.

It's the bike I use for rain commutes. All that rain can be hard on a drivetrain of a bike. It tends to make all the road grit stick and break down the moving parts. On a singlespeed, though, there aren't nearly as many moving parts.

Contrary to what one might expect, having only one gear isn't bad at all. It's actually nice to completely unplug your brain from things like shifting. It takes me the same amount of time to get to work on one gear, 18 gears or 27 gears.

So this bike is fun and simple to ride. There's not a lot of maintenance to do on it so it's virtually worry-free

Until yesterday... I had my first flat tire in over a year. I run nicer tires that are incredibly flat resistant. But it eventually catches up to all cyclists.

I was about 2 miles from work when it happened. I contemplated for a minute what I should do. Do I change the tire? Jog the bike to work? Wait for one of the 20 workers that pass me every morning to stop and help?

I decided to run for it. I was going to be late for a meeting and I figured someone would drive by and help. Thirty seconds didn't pass before a guy in a pick-up truck with a bike rack pulled up. It turns out he actually attends the church I work for and we actually knew each other. Pretty awesome.

I can't complain. One flat in a year or more isn't bad... no matter how simple and low maintenance your bike is.

And I did get to my meeting on time.

Get out there.

My Ride

My daily commute is 11 miles each way and on mostly closed roads. It's really quite exquisite. As the weather warms up, I'm beginning to see the road workers come out to open up my private little dream road.




But could I complain? No way. All winter I've been able to ride solo for this long stretch. It is so pleasant to avoid the volume, odor and intimidation of cars being so close to me on the bike. And with all the snow we had this winter, it made me feel a lot safer to be on my own.




But these signs are coming down soon and the cars will come in with a rumble. The redeeming part of this story is what they're building along the new road.

A multi-use path will run the entire length of my commute when all is said and done. Maybe it will encourage more bike commuters to come out and play. I'd rather have a MUP full of cyclists than a two lane road all to myself. Maybe one day. I can't wait.

Get out there.

Family Hike

I was seriously proud of the big kids yesterday. We headed out to Raven Run Nature Sanctuary for some family time on the trails. This is the most we've made them walk on a hike and they loved it.

Raven Run is an awesome little place to take the fam. I had dismissed it over and over in my head because it doesn't meet my requirements for a quality hiking/camping experience. There aren't a lot of trails (only 10 miles) and there is no camping. But recently I realized that I wouldn't exceed more than 3ish miles with the kids anyway. Thus making Raven Run the perfect destination.

It was great. And there's no better way to spend time together as a family (in my mind at least).




Even the little guy loved it. (I know. He looks miserable here. I think it's because I stopped for a picture.)

Anyway, it was a great three hour trip that's only 20 minutes from our garage. I recommend it to anyone with kids.

We'll certainly be back.

Get out there.

Notre Dame Ride

While away at a conference, I brought my bike to use to get around town. We decided to hit up Notre Dame's campus early mornin before sunrise the day of the conference.

My apologies for the dark pics. I forgot my camera, so this is all from my phone.




Touch Down Jesus. I'm not a big sports guy but my friend, Jeff, is. He explained that this massive mural looks like it reside over the inzone from the football field.




Lots of statues all over campus. I didn't know what most of the were of, but the artwork is beautiful.




Stained glass was everywhere. Again, very pretty.




Gold Dome.




This area was cool. I'm no catholic, so I had no idea of it's complete purpose. But it was cut out of a cove about 20' wide and 10' high. That blur of light is actually hundreds of candles. When we rolled up there were a couple of guys praying. So we kept our distance to be respectful. But I would have loved to have been able to ask more questions.




Overall, I have to say that this was the most beautiful campus I've ever been on. It was totally worth the 6am wake-up.

Get out there.

Trip up North

I'm away at a conference with my buddy Jeff.  We brought the bikes to get around before and after sessions.  Tonight we hit up the area around the hotel with a slight detour through a cemetery.  Tomorrow we'll ride around Notre Dame.

Can't Get No Satisfaction

So, yes. I've been a little bit bummed that the snow is gone for another year. I love the warm weather. But there's a part of me that's gonna miss that adventure of trudging through it all.

I guess I'm never satisfied.

Get out there.

My Good Friend

This little guy is always in my pocket. It has been for about 8 years. It's a Leatherman Squirt.

I bought it 8 years ago with the intent to always carry a pocketknife. I figured, as long as I'm going with a knife, why not add to the functionality. Therefore, I invested more money into the Squirt.

Great choice.








This thing is tough. It's also small. But is able to offer me a knife, 2 screwdrivers, a file, a bottle opener, pliers and a pointy thing I use to poke holes in stuff. I've lost it several times over the years, but it always finds it's way back.

All my pants have a hole worn through the right pocket from the Leatherman. I consider each hole a badge of honor. There's rarely a day that goes by without me using it for something. And although I purchased it for camping, since I've been cycling for the last three years I've used it routinely on the road.

So, thanks leatherman. When the sad day comes that I break or lose this thing, I'll be coming back to you.

Does anyone else out there carry a multi-tool?

Get out there.