Time to keep moving
1 Sep 2024
August has been my month to get back in shape and back into riding regularly. It's been a bit of an adjustment but I'm fortunate that I've always had good riding posture so I have been able to keep recovery time down. As the start of school approaches, I'm beginning to doubt if I should ride my bike even once, as it would take over 3 hours one way, meaning I have to head out by 6 am, and I don't really want to wake up that early. But with my schedule I will still have plenty of riding opportunities and if the past two weeks are any clue, I might need to increase my riding goal from 75 miles to 200 miles, because I've done 75 miles in the past week. As of writing this, I haven't had any official September rides yet, but that should change in the next few hours, I just need some time to fully wake up. I'm not sure why I'm up so early at 7:30, normally I don't wake up until 9, but no matter, I'll play out the day and go have fun.
Posted 83 days ago
I got a new shiney
20 Aug 2024
After lots of research comparing gear ratios and tire specs (and prices), I finally decided on the Fuji Absolute 1.9, and it is so much faster than any other bike I've ever owned. To be fair, it's also the closest thing to a road bike I've ever owned, I've had my fair share of trail bikes and XC bikes, and it's a real change of pace to have the skinny tires and no suspension. All I need now to make it a true gravel bike is to install some drop bars, or at least add some clamp on hoods for cruising
Posted 95 days ago
A disappointing start to the season
14 Aug 2024
Since last year in September, I haven't ridden my bike much, as per typical for me. I'm the type to forget that I have a bike and can ride it, and then I get overwhelmed by the increasing amounts of routine maintenance that allow me to successfully get back in the saddle. But this week I was feeling inspired, and I decided that I was going to go for a ride when I got home from work, I missed the freedom that I felt in my younger years, the feeling of true independence. So I got home and dust off my favorite machine, the one I took 185 miles down the C&O Canal last August, and start going through my preflight inspection and making adjustments. I started with the brakes which were quite squeaky and in need of a clean, but after some paper towels and alcohol, they were sounding good again. Then I wanted to check the drive train, because I remember having issues last year with my cassette being worn down and not holding the chain properly. At that point I started turning the pedals and shifting, and quickly stopped because there was a horrible grinding sound when I tried to shift past 4th gear. I could see the problem, the whole derailleur arm was contacting the cassette, but I couldn't figure out why. There is no adjustment that could have done that. I finally figured it out when I checked to see if the derailleur hanger was bent or broken, only to see that it wasn't the derailleur hanger, but the derailleur itself, that was broken and bent. I wouldn't be as upset about it if that was the original derailleur from 2018 when I bought the bike, but it's brand new and I just put it on last year, specifically for my C&O bikepacking trip. It was my own negligence of course that got it that way, because in my cramped, tiny garage full of junk, I stored it right between my motorcycle and a wall, and the motorcycle must have crushed the bike at some point. There's nothing I can do now but be more careful in the future, and I think that I am going to retire my Roscoe after 6 long years of dutiful service. In the mean time, I brought out my old trek hybrid, used and ungodly amount of WD-40, and started riding. Yesterday (Tuesday) I did a little bit more work on the Trek, like adjusting the front derailleur, adjusting the v-brakes, and swapping over my more comfortable seat and cushion off the Roscoe. This bike might have to get me through the year, or I might buy a new one soon, but at the end of the day I have a bike to ride, and I have the freedom to take the world into my hands and shape it to what I want, and that's all I can really ask for. I'm looking forward to riding this year.
Posted 101 days ago
