Wet and Wild

We've had lots of rain this week. It's one of those week's when everywhere you look, you see little pools of water waiting to drain out. This morning's ride was that way. I saw dozens of temporary ponds on my commute. It was really quite a sight.

This one was the smallest I saw. Most were huge flooded basins in fields. I got to watch horses wade through a new stream that wasn't there a week ago. I saw ducks swimming in someone's front yard. It's truly amazing how weather changes a landscape. That's the great stuff you get to notice on a bike.

Get out there.

How Long?

Last week was spring break and I took off to spend some time with the wife and kids. After a full week of being home I now wonder how long it's going to be before my kids are riding 100% on their own. Last year they were all about riding on the Xtracycle. Now that the newness of that has worn off, they're wanting to ride solo.

It's super fun to watch. Bliss loves the action of the "big kid" bike and her brother won't be far behind. He doesn't like that she can go so much faster :)

All in all, I don't care how we ride as long as we ride. I'm just extremely happy being outside and being together.

Get out there.

Lined Up...

...and ready to go!

Lots of family biking this spring break week. Glad I took off of work!

Get out there.

Another Rendition

Well, the new old Cross Check has had another facelift. The Jones H-Bars didn't quite feel right on the bike. I bought them as a bit of an experiment in the first place. I wanted to know how they felt compared to straight bars. They feel great, but didn't quite fit what I was going for on this bike.

I swapped the H-Bars out and put the Nitto North Road bars on from the Xtracycle. The new look is great. It's a subdued casual vibe, which I really like. But overall, the bike feels better. My wife is going to see a lot of miles on this bike and I want her to be uber comfortable. These bars are perfect for that.

The Xtracycle is now rocking the H-bars, but more on that later. It's had a complete makeover (bars, wheels, internally geared hub...). I'll take some pics and do a write-up soon.

The only thing left for tweaking on the Cross Check is the tire/fender situation. There's not enough toe clearance up front for fenders with these fat tires. The slightest turn has your foot clipping the wheel. I'm going to run it fender-free for a while to see what I think. I like the big tires, but I'm not a fan of sans fenders... I don't want to get caught in foul weather. We'll see, I guess.

Things are coming together for this summer's rendition of bicycles make-overs!

Get out there.

#30daysofbiking

Out in the Twitterverse, there's something called 30daysofbiking going on in April. If you follow various bikey stuff online, you may already be aware. The basic challenge is to ride your bike somewhere at least once a day, every day in April. It doesn't matter if you just hop on the bike and spin around your neighborhood for a few minutes... a ride is a ride.


You should click over and check out the Twitter hashtag. It's really fun to see all the folks out there that are trying this cycling thing for the first time through 30daysofbiking. Events and competitions like this are a wonderful way to challenge yourself.

More than anything, using Twitter as a tool shows you that you're not alone. Rainy day? You're just a click away from seeing hundreds of others wringing out their cycling clothes. Scorching sun? The hashtag will show plenty of twitpics of all those other sunburned noses. It really is an encouraging notion to see others trying it with you.

I participated in last year's 30daysofbiking (which was in it's infancy) and thought it was great. On those days that don't quite lend themselves to a bike ride, you feel the accountability of hundreds of people you don't even know. It feels like you're going to disappoint them. So you hop on the bike and do what it takes.

I would encourage everyone to participate (even though it's a bit late). Think about it. You may love it.

Get out there.

Still Out Here

I realize that many of my posts have been on the "I'm not posting much" variety. It's because I've been getting most of my mileage on foot, not on two wheels.

My training for the half marathon ends this month. The race is April 30 and I'm excited to run and to get back on the bike regularly. It's really not too bad though. I get to be outside just as much (if not more) with all the training. And with the spring skies overhead, it's truly incredible.

I'll keep you posted on the training and update you on bikey stuff along the way.

Get out there.

First Family Ride of 2011

Okay, I know this pic is ridiculous. You can kind of see me, two big kids and the trailer my wife is pulling with the baby inside. In reality, you can't see anything. :) Oh well. I wanted to soak up the ride, not snap pics the whole time.

We rode to the library in some super high speed winds (45 mph gusts) and you could feel it. It really was one of those "so so" rides. Angie had some trouble with the new Cross Check build. Her toes kept clipping the front fender on every turn. I've got it built up with some balloon tires. So with all the fender clearance needed, it's an issue, I guess. I'll get to work on a solution this week.

I had the two big kids on the Xtracycle. It's finally back in working order. More on that later.

All in all, it was just really nice to get out. I really love family cycling.

Get out there.