1351.2; 1000.9(!); 40.5
Yes, passed the 1000-mile mark on the odometer while coming back into Sebastopol after a rather tiring 40-mile round trip to Petaluma and back. Of course, having mentioned that I haven't had a flat in several weeks, and having wondered why I've had three flats in the rear and none in front, I got a flat on the front tire. It was actually sorta good, because it made for a rest break near the halfway point of the ride home, and also helped confirm that I *can* fix a flat out in the field. Also, three different people stopped and offered help, which was really nice.
Anyway, yeah, 1000 miles since Aug. 15 on this bike!
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Monday, October 27, 2008
Hop Kiln
1310.7; 960.4; 31.5
Hop Kiln is as far as I got today, heading out Westside Road to the 15-mile mark, then turning around.
Here's a feeling I *really* don't like: going down a steep hill that ends in a "T" with cross traffic, and squeezing the rear brake lever as far as it goes, and still going 9, 10, 11 mph. That was Covey Rd. today. Covey is parallel to Mirabel Rd. between Forestville and River Rd. Mirabel has quite a lot of traffic and no shoulders, so seeing Covey on the map I decided to try it. Major, MAJOR hill. But I was able to ease on the front brake so that the combined brakes slowed me enough to feel safe. So I continued on, as noted, across River to Westside Rd., deciding to follow Westside till I got tired or got 15 miles (for a 30-mile round trip). It's a narrow, winding, up-and-down road with several wineries, but not too bad for biking. The only places I really feel vulnerable are on long right-curving uphills, where I'm going slow (and thus am exposed longer) and drivers won't see me till they're almost on me. There were only a couple of those places.
It occurred to me that I could look at my brake cables and see if I could adjust them before I hit another long downhill where I needed to stop, so I took a break at the Hop Kiln winery and took a look. First thing I saw was that the threaded piece near the lever had room for tightening. Next thing, I tightened the wrong nut on the rear--the one for the derailleur. Next, I tried to pull the cable through a little bit to tighten for the rear brake. Ultimately, I succeeded, I think, in getting the brake to pull a little more, and also got the derailleur thing adjusted back. I think there's room for improvement still, but it got me home safely. Then, there was the climb back UP Covey Rd...
Again, lovely autumn day; lots of colorful fallen leaves in the paths and the roads. (Seems like maybe the star thistles are done for the year, too--I haven't had a flat in several weeks, knock rubber.)
As you work up to bigger mileage, the same old paths and roads finally start to get boring, and you have to go farther afield. And you have to venture into unknown (or semi-unknown) places. I find a lot of road riding to be extremely unpleasant, but at least some parts are nice--cf Westside Road through all the vineyards.
I think maybe I shouldn't've started tracking miles per riding day--it makes me want to do more miles each ride, and NOT do a simple short ride that will reduce that average (currently 21.8 miles over 60 days); my average per calendar day is 12.4 over 106 calendar days, so a "short" 16-mile ride is still valid if I ride more or less every day.
I'm riding to Petaluma again tomorrow, weather permitting. That might take me over 1000 on this bike. Will have to bring a camera...
Hop Kiln is as far as I got today, heading out Westside Road to the 15-mile mark, then turning around.
Here's a feeling I *really* don't like: going down a steep hill that ends in a "T" with cross traffic, and squeezing the rear brake lever as far as it goes, and still going 9, 10, 11 mph. That was Covey Rd. today. Covey is parallel to Mirabel Rd. between Forestville and River Rd. Mirabel has quite a lot of traffic and no shoulders, so seeing Covey on the map I decided to try it. Major, MAJOR hill. But I was able to ease on the front brake so that the combined brakes slowed me enough to feel safe. So I continued on, as noted, across River to Westside Rd., deciding to follow Westside till I got tired or got 15 miles (for a 30-mile round trip). It's a narrow, winding, up-and-down road with several wineries, but not too bad for biking. The only places I really feel vulnerable are on long right-curving uphills, where I'm going slow (and thus am exposed longer) and drivers won't see me till they're almost on me. There were only a couple of those places.
It occurred to me that I could look at my brake cables and see if I could adjust them before I hit another long downhill where I needed to stop, so I took a break at the Hop Kiln winery and took a look. First thing I saw was that the threaded piece near the lever had room for tightening. Next thing, I tightened the wrong nut on the rear--the one for the derailleur. Next, I tried to pull the cable through a little bit to tighten for the rear brake. Ultimately, I succeeded, I think, in getting the brake to pull a little more, and also got the derailleur thing adjusted back. I think there's room for improvement still, but it got me home safely. Then, there was the climb back UP Covey Rd...
Again, lovely autumn day; lots of colorful fallen leaves in the paths and the roads. (Seems like maybe the star thistles are done for the year, too--I haven't had a flat in several weeks, knock rubber.)
As you work up to bigger mileage, the same old paths and roads finally start to get boring, and you have to go farther afield. And you have to venture into unknown (or semi-unknown) places. I find a lot of road riding to be extremely unpleasant, but at least some parts are nice--cf Westside Road through all the vineyards.
I think maybe I shouldn't've started tracking miles per riding day--it makes me want to do more miles each ride, and NOT do a simple short ride that will reduce that average (currently 21.8 miles over 60 days); my average per calendar day is 12.4 over 106 calendar days, so a "short" 16-mile ride is still valid if I ride more or less every day.
I'm riding to Petaluma again tomorrow, weather permitting. That might take me over 1000 on this bike. Will have to bring a camera...
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