Thursday Thoughts: Thinking about Fall Equinox Night Ride

This year’s Autumnal Equinox is on 22 September, at 4:44 P.M. This is the point in Earth’s orbit where the apparent position of the sun appears to cross the equator, moving southward.  At this time the hours of daylight and darkness are approximately equal.  The date of the Equinox marks the beginning of Autmn.

One might reasonably ask, “What does all this astronomical stuff have to do with cycling?”  and,  “Why is this stuff appearing on this blog?”

There are two answers, one general, and one specific.

Generally, cycling is an outdoor activity.  If it gets dark outdoors, we either don’t ride,or we have to make some arrangements to do so in the dark.

Specifically, a lot of us get a kick out of marking each of these “Quarter” and “Cross-quarter” points in the year, with a good night ride.  For some years now, I’ve been leading “Seasonal Celebration Night Rides” on the Mondays closest to these orbital dates.  The Monday nearest the coming Equinox is 23 September.

The ride, in broad strokes:

It’s just a tad over 40 miles.  It’s a loop.  We will keep the group together for mutual support and safety.  The pace will be a moderate one, likely near a 14 mph rolling average.  There are no planned rest stops, and really there is nothing in the way of services along the route.  While nothing in this general area can be said to be flat, this loop is fairly gentle, and contains some very nice long stretches with little elevation change.  The roads are mostly semi-rural with low traffic.  There is not a lot in the way of lighting on this loop, and we won’t have a moon for most of the ride.  It will be dark.

The Tone:

Over the years we’ve been doing this ride, folks have generally reported that they enjoyed this route.  We try to keep the pacing at a moderate level, so that this is a conversational ride.  I like to hear the chatter and laughter as we ride along.  This is not a ride for “heroics,” but rather a more of a “social and recreational” outing.

Details, Deatails:

The route starts and ends at the Fredrick Brown Amphitheater, in Peachtree City

Start time is 7:30 PM (sharp)

Sunset will be at 7:33 PM

Civil Twilight ends at 7:58 PM

A waning gibbous moon, 81% illuminated, will be rising at 10:19 PM.

Do the math.  That’s over two hours with no significant light in the sky.  We should be nearing the end of the ride by the time the moon rises.

REQUIRED:

• Helmet
• Good strong headlights, either helmet or bar mounted, forward pointing bright white light to show you the road. (do not depend on the lights of others!)
• Good strong tail light (red)
• Reflective vest or sash
• Reflective ankle bands
• Bring your own spares
• You, your bike, a smile

Re-De-Constructing the Re-Purposed Bike

The object of this project is to return my Giant Escape 1 to it's original configuration.  This is possibble because I saved and stored all the original bits and pieces.

In Monday's post, you saw the bike on the service stand, wheels off, and ready for the heavy work.  I described the work that was to be done on the wheels.  If you look back at the picture of the bike in that stae, you will see the following

• A Shimano Deore 8-speed rear derailler
• An Origin8 seatpost, supporting a Brooks B-17 saddle
• A replacement stem (which fits the clamp diameter of the bars
• A set of road "drop" bars
• A Shimano 8-speed cassette (to match the heavy loads involved in my commuting)
• Various other accessories

In the picture below, you will see that some work has been done.

Work has begun...

The conversion seatpost, stem, bars, shifters, brake levers, cables, pedals, and accessories have been removed.  Then, without all the stuff attached, the frame was detail cleaned.  Additionally, the chain has been removed for deep cleaning and lubrication.

The Shimano rear derailler has been replaced with the original SRAM X4 unit.  The headset was cleaned and re-lubricated.  The original pedals, seatpost and stem have been installed.

Coming back up...

Here you see the original pedals, saddle, handlebars, and controls installed.  The bike is ready for a complete re-string.  Once that has been done, the wheels will be installed, and the bike will be tuned.

Ready to ride!

Presto!  A clean, shiney bike in the form that Giant originally intended.  Most of the parts have little, or no wear on them.

By now, some may be wondering what my intention is for this bike.  Simple.  I plan to sell it.  I've finished with my need for an "interim commuter," and had all the fun that this project could afford me.  This is a fun bike, in just this form, and this project has demonstrated just how versatile and capable this machine can be.

More on the “De-Re-Purposed Bike Project”

If you have been following lately you will have seen a POST about returning my “RePurposed Bike” to it’s original form and condition.  This has been a fun project, but it’s time to move on.  The is post, and a couple that will follow, will document and detail the process.  Let’s get to it.

Here it is without the bags…

And now without fenders and rack…

The next phase will be to pull the wheels off.

PIX

While the wheels are off, the project tires will be removed.  Then the wheels will get the “full service treatment.  The hubs will be overhauled, wheels trued, and everything cleaned.  service and clean them.  After that the original rubber comes out of storage and goes back on.  Then the wheels will be set aside and we’ll turn attention to the frame.

If you look closely, you will see that the rear derailler is not the original SRAM unit.  That was replaced with a Shimano Deore eight speed.  This was done because I wanted to go with “drop bars.”  The “drops” would not accept the original shifters, and I had a pair of eight speed compatible bar-end types in a parts bin.

Some of you may be wondering about the brake levers on the road-bars.  I did keep the original linear pull brakes, and then upgraded them to a smoother, more high-end set.  This necessitated using a set of levers that are compatible with the linear pull brakes.  Both Origin8 and Cane Creek make “Drop Vee” levers with the requisite and appropriate pull ratio.

I mention the above because it illustrates something.  A bicycle is a system.  It’s very difficult to change one thing, without that change having implications that ripple through the whole system.

I’ll wrap this project up and show the process in future posts.

Friday Follies ~~ Lights, Nights, and the Advance of Progress

A recent conversation in the shop started me thinking.  One of the crew had just bought a super powerful light.  Only a few short years ago, something like this jewel would not have been available, not at any price.  Then there was a time when this kind of power could be had, but the expense was extreme, and the lights were big, heavy, and clunky.

There was a time when we didn’t think about riding bikes at night.  As kids we just rode.  We used our bikes to play.  We rode them for the fun of it.  We used them to get around, to each other’s homes, to the park to play ball, to run the occasional errand for parents, even to go to school.  All of this took place in the daylight.  When it got dark, it was time to put the bikes away.

I started doing a paper route in the summer.  That’s significant.  It was a morning route, and a relatively small one.  I could go out, pick up my bundles of papers, and load up my bike in daylight.  That soon changed.  With the coming of the Autumn the sun was rising later, and I had added more customers to my route.  I had to get out earlier.  It was dark out.  There were streetlights…  in some places… but I was dealing with a new thing.  I was riding my bike in the dark.

Eventually, with a bit of parental aid (and pressure), I added a generator light set and a good flashlight to my paperboy gear.

That generator was a headache.  It was a bit noisy.  It added a noticeable amount of drag to the bike.  It wore tires out along the sidewall.  It really didn’t make enough light to matter until I got the bike moving faster than five MPH.  I learned to carry the little bulbs with me, and I got good at changing them in the dark.

Eventually, several of my friends and I would use our bikes to get to camping spots.  We didn’t think about actually riding on trails at night.  The combination of flashlights and those wretched generator-lights simply weren’t adequate, and (amazingly) we knew it.  And that is a testimony to just how bad those systems were.  A pack of boys in their mid-teens understood that they were completely inadequate.

Thursday Thoughts ~ Balance

Picture this…

There’s this juggler.  He’s up there doing his best trick, juggling chainsaws, swords, and live rattlesnakes, while riding a unicycle, on a tightrope, with the rope on fire, in a high wind, and dodging thrown rocks and bottles.  No net.  No safety harness.

Does anyone else get the feeling, that this could be a fair simile for life in the 21^st century?

We who ride bicycles a lot, are all proud of our balance.  But let’s be honest.  The bike does most of the work of keeping us upright.  As long as we keep it going it keeps us up.  Cars are inherently stable.  One has to work, do something violent and drastic to get them to fall over.  Our bikes are dynamically stable.  They have to be moving to self-stabalize.  If they stand still, they tip.

That’s not a bad metaphor for life.  We keep moving, with purpose, or we fall.

De-Re-Purposing

Everything has a beginning and an end.  Long time readers will remember my “Re-Purposed Bike” project.  If not, or if you are new to this blog, you can check these posts for the original low down.

First discussion of the “Re-purposed Bike”

I revealed the bike for the project HERE.

Discussed the project in some detail HERE.

The rollout…

All that was well and good.  But that final rollout was almost two years ago.  And yet again things have changed.  Part of the reason that I was looking for a commuter/utility specific bike was that I had given/traded/sold almost all of my means for heavy commuting.  I was doing the commutes, but I was doing them no my road bike, whilst supporting the load in big heavy bags, on my back!  (I am a firm believer that the bike should be the “beast of burden.”  One has to provide the power to move the load.  One should not have to expend energy to support it too!

It’s been a good time with the re-purposed Giant Escape.  I’ve lead roadie rides on it.   I’ve done gravel grinding.  I’ve explored lots of new unpaved routes on that bike.  I’ve hauled groceries.  I’ve also done one heckuva lot of commuting with it.  Now it’s time to restore the bike to it’s original configuration and sell it.

NOTE:  Part of my intent in building that bike was to have ready and available a “walk up and ride it bike.”  That is a bike that would not require any special clothing, shoes, or other preparation.  The original configuration had dual use pedals to go along with a forgiving saddle, and a relaxed riding position.  Turns out, I have so incorporated cycling in my life, I didn’t really need that capability.  I can transition to ride mode in a matter of minutes, and I’m pretty much comfortable riding for short distances in street clothing.  (In fact, I do this regularly, in my every day work.)

Here’s the Re-Purposed Escape in it’s current dress and trim.    

Re-Purposed Giant Escape 1 prior to it's last commute trip.

You may notice that it’s undergone a few changes and since it went into service in November of 2011.  Those minor mods include a different saddle and different panniers.  The antique Brooks saddle never worked well.  I just could not get fcomfortable on it.  The old “original” Schwinn panniers were a bit of a nuisance.  I was constantly dealing with “heel strike,” and they were not good for organizing my commuting loads.  Look closely, and you may notice some odd tabs on the handlebars.  These were part of another project, one that has been shelved for the time being.

In the near future, I’ll show the process of re-deconstrucing this bike back to it’s original configuration.  Stay tuned.