MuniPsychos

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Today was the first ride of the rest of my life.

30 August 2005

Day: Cool. Low 80s
Me: Strong
Terrain: Hilly bike path, roads and neighborhoods.

Yesterday, on August 30, 2005, I took my first long ride on my new coker. I've taken some short rides - 5 miles or so. But yesterday I rode about 22 miles. I started at my house, rode to Stone Mountain and then back to North Decatur Road at Ponce. It was a great ride. A long time to sit... I guess I'll get used to that, though.

13 June 2005

Day: Hot, Upper 70s.
Me: Tired. OK.
Terrain: Hilly roads and neighborhoods - Pangborn course.

I rode a bunch of the neighborhoods on the Pangborn route. I had to dismount at North Druid Hills going in both directions. I wanted to test the cycle computer. It works but sometimes comes unseated from the mounting bracket and doesn't get data from the wheel. I UPD'ed once trying to read it right after a really fast downhill when I was still fresh. In retrospect, this was a good thing. I was at least a mile and a half from home, but the computer wasn't working. And I didn't get the downhill speed.

I didn't have any more UPDs trying to see the cycle computer, but I've learned you can take a quick peek at certain times. That's fun. It is good that I can see it because sometimes it wasn't working. I'd have to stop and fiddle with it. It appears that on a normal flat ground I ride around 9 mph, not that there's much flat ground on this course. The fastest I clocked this day was 15.8 mph.

One of the things I noticed over the course of the ride of maybe an hour and 20 minutes was a probably leg strength discrepancy. Late in the ride, I get a wobble on the fastest runs, because it's hard to stay equally in front of both pedals. One of my legs must drag just a bit and cause the wobble. I guess as I get fitter, the wobble will be a bit more controllable. I don't know how to eliminate this imbalance without potentially causing another, though.

12 June 2005

Day: Wet, rainy, 70-80s.
Me: Tired. OK.
Terrain: My neighborhood.

I actually rode my new Savage giraffe from UDC for the first time today.

I've been a afraid "to let go" but I decided to ride away from my launch pad today. I donned by helmet and gloves, fetched the Giraffe from the basement, moved the Expedition out into the street to the flattest part of my otherwise steep hill, and climbed up on the bumper.

First I tried to balance on the giraffe while still close enough to touch the truck. I couldn't do this before because I had a hitch extension that sticks out about a foot past the bumper. Without it in the way, I was able to traverse the distance of the bumper pretty easily without really holding on.

Finally I let go and tried to ride away. I pedaled about one revolution and fell forward pretty gently, landing easily and firmly on my feet. This was a very fortuitous fall. It made me realize that falling wasn't necessarily (always) dangerous. More determined than ever, I mounted and rode for about 20 minutes. It's a very different feeling.

The axel bolts were loose the first time I sat on it, and something slips when that happens. I had tightened them, but didn't want to tighten them to the point of binding the wheel.So I backed it off just a bit. It loosened up again, causing something to slip / spin and me to have a couple of nasty falls - one right on my hip. So I tightened that up. I guess it has to be pretty tight, even it is is binding the wheel a bit.

I rode it several times through-out the day for a total of an hour and some change, I'd estimate. I went out just at dusk and it was sort of surreal being 10 feet off the ground with the dusky orange glow as darkness settled. The I took it inside, and got my 28".

Having connected my cycle computer, I was anxious to test it. There is a block around my house that is probably around .3 mile. (I should measure it.) I rode it about five or six loops, getting my speedup at the bottom of a long hill (it's all up or down, there is no flat).

According to my computer, I clocked 13.7 mph. I opened a thread on the cycle computer here.

11 June 2005

Day: Wet, rainy, upper 70s.
Me: Tired. OK.
Terrain: NA.

Drove to NC to show property.

10 June 2005

Day: Hot, wet, rainy, hot. Mid-80s.
Me: Tired. Upset stomach. *REALLY* crappy.
Terrain: Yellow River.

I wanted to get in one more ride with hitarock before he left for Colorado for the summer on 11 June. It was a disaster. I was exhausted from the week of travel and had an upset stomach to boot. We rode for 1.5 to 2 hours. I had no energy and less patience. HAR was great in trying to keep me going. I had almost nothing to give and gave that without enthusiasm. I really need to get fitter.

I now have new bearing brackets for my Miyata to install this weekend, which I ordered from UDC mid week. I got the bearings out of the old one by heating it and prying (pushing) out the the bearing, but I scarred up one of the cups a bit. I think I can still use it after some filing, but I need to get a decent half-round file to do it. I hope to put the new wheel on the Miyata this weekend (depending on whether or not I show property).

UDC also sent me a "replacement" for the spoke magnet that was missing from my cycle computer - very prompt indeed. I installed the cycle computer on the 28" Sun last night, but haven't ridden yet.

5-9 June 2005

Day: NA.
Me: Tired. OK.
Terrain: NA.

I was traveling and did not ride. I jogged on the treadmill once.

5 June 2005

Day: Sunny, 70s.
Me: Tired. OK.
Terrain: Hilly - Stone Mountain Park with Reid and Chad.

Met Chad and Reid at Sun Trust in Stone Mountain Village, and rode to Stone Mountain Park. Chad and I were early so we put in an extra 1.5 miles while we waited. Both Chad and Reid ride cokers. Chad rides with 140mm cranks (I think) and Reid with 125s. My 28" has 102s, so I was able to keep up. Though riding up the long steep hills was a bit of a challenge with the 102s, I was ok as long as I could get in a groove of my own. (You've got a ride a line that works. So I didn't have the luxury of letting someone else set the pace.)

Reid and I did two loops. My total for the ride was probably a little over 12 miles. (I was going to hook up my UDC new $10 cycle computer, but there was no spoke magnet in the box. I sent a help desk request to this morning requesting a replacement magnet. (I don't expect a response on a Sunday.)

Mostly I'm very happy with my capacity to ascend pretty steep hills on the 102 mm cranks. Getting those puppies was a good move.

4 June 2005

Day: Sunny. 70 degrees.
Me: Very tired. Up very late last night.

No ride today.

Worked in the yard all day. Picked up tubes for the 28", a set of cheap pedals, and a pedal wrench. Hitarock suggested using heat on the bearing holders to remove the bearings. I hope to do that tonight. Still haven't "ridden" the giraffe, although I've sat on it a few times holding on to the expedition.

3 June 2005, 7:30 PM

Day: Wet but not rainy, around 70 degrees F.
Me: Excited. OK.
Terrain: Hilly roads and neighborhoods. (Pangborn route)

I'm excited today because I just got a new wheel for my Miyata from Unicycle.com. I also got a new 6' giraffe, of which I'm still a bit afraid, I'm afraid. Maybe it would be easier if I didn't live at the top of a big hill. Anyway, I got the wheel partially installed - no cranks yet. But I used the old bearings. I need to figure out how to replace them. Now on to the ride...

I took off from the house at about 7:30 PM. I briefly debated whether to take the Camelback and other things. My phone battery was dead. I don't really need a phone, do I? Finally, I grab my wife's phone, my ID, some tissues and put them in the Camelback with a few tools (i.e., hex keys for my MUni that are of no value on this uni).

The tire pressure was very low, so I filled it up with the electric pump in the Expedition. It was around 25-30 PSI, so I cranked it up to around 70 PSI. The tire suggests 60-75 PSI. Hmmm. I wonder if that's too much.

I had a good first leg. I made it up the steep hill out of the neighborhood and managed to get across North Druid Hills traffic without dismounting. I charged through the neighborhood on the same route as on the previous day - my old running route, but then headed out behind the school toward Country Squire toward Pangborn. I also made the hills there with less difficulty and more control than yesterday - mostly. I tested my ability to overspin down the hills a few times. The wheel starts to get squirrelly at some point. I'll have to work on that.

I turned onto Pangborn and decided to to ride the cul-de-sac on Country Squire Court on the other side of Pangborn again. I roll up and down the hills to the end of the cul-de-sac, and make the turn to ride back out. I ride back about 100 yards when... BOOOOM!! There was this HUGE explosion in the street right behind me. Man it was loud. And close. Under me, even.

And although you probably know what it was, I didn't. And almost two revolutions later I dismounted the uni riding the rim on my completely exploded tube, ripped 12 inches on either side of the stem.

Man, am I glad I have that cell phone. I'm probably 3 miles from home, and I wonder if the people who live here are going to call the police. So I walk and phone and carry my poor uni back to Pangborn where, 10 minutes later, the wife and kids arrive to rescue me.

The moral of this story. Less air. More tools. Spare tube. Air pump. Hey, this is getting to be a lot like work. I never needed this junk when I ran. Never blew out a sneaker. Oh well. I guess that's the price of doing this business.

The good news, of course, is that it was a great ride while it lasted!

2 June 2005

Day: Wet, rainy, low 60s.
Me: Tired. OK.
Terrain: Hilly roads and neighborhoods. (Pangborn route)

I rode my Sun 28" for an hour and 10 minutes during lunch today. This is almost an hour longer than I've ever ridden it. I bought this uni just a couple of weeks ago as a layover while I wait for U-Turn to finish my coker. I've only ever ridden it around the block. I think I once did five laps. It's been about 2 months since I ordered the Coker. I'm ready for delivery. U-Turn assures me I'll be happy with the final product. I'm certain he's right. But the uninformed wait yields frustration.

The KH seat I borrowed from Bugman enabled me to stay on the uni much longer than the brick-on-a-stick that came with it. I've even disassembled the brick-on-a-stick, and plan to create an air seat as soon as I can get some foam from the upholstery shop. I was also wearing comfortable, heavily padded cycling shorts. The seat, while comfortable, was probably a little too high. I was fully extended and unable to adjust the boys much. I couldn't really stand. The pedals are also a bit too small, and it's difficult adjusting my Asics. I have to be careful not to ride with a twisted knee.

The good news, on the other hand, is that I was able to climb some pretty tough hills my first time out with the 102mm cranks. It was actually harder to control the uni on some of the downhills. I almost lost it a couple of times, but I chose to ride, and that was sufficient. Having a good seat handle and being fully extended helped a lot with the steep hills.

There were no UPDs during the ride. In fact, I only dismounted once about 5 minutes from home to cross North Druid Hills Road, which was very busy all of a sudden.

Bugman stopped by after the ride to deliver the Atlanta Unicycle Club t-shirts.