Bike Lights

Light courtesy of Light & Motion

I have this bike light. It's a Light & Motion Stella 300. I've loved this light since the moment I got it a couple years ago. Actually, now that I think of it, the light might actually be a Stella 200. Pretty much the same thing just less lumens.

What I found out I don't like about the light is the little rubber mount thing tends to age and eventually break. I was lucky as mine broke while I was at home in the garage. Based on my newly found experience, it would be highly recommended you take alternate sources of light-to-bike attachment. Bring some zip-ties, an extra strap, duct tape or anything that will secure this nice little light to your bar/helmet.

Now, I want to remind you that I love this light. It is bright enough for the casual rider to ride at night both on the road/path or on the single track. I do think the light should come with a spare attachment rubber thing or an alternate way to mount the light in case of a breakage.

On that note, I picked up an extra rubber thing yesterday at my favorite bike shop, Acme Bicycles and I plan on using my light this evening on a short mountain bike ride somewhere. Maybe Hansen Larson Memorial Park or possibly a short stretch on Storm Mountain.

Happy New Year. Be safe out there.

2011 Goals

Here was a list of cycling goals I set out to do in 2011. I didn't accomplish one of them. Not one single one.

1. I would like to ride South Dakota from the ND border to the Neb. border. (I'm not sure of the best location to accomplish this so I'm taking routes if you have them).
2. I would like to accomplish at least 1 century ride. Can be for charity or just for the plain fun of it.
3. I'd like to ride the entire Mickelson trail in a day.
4. I would like to ride the entire Centennial trail. Preferably over a span of a few days. There are sections I'm going to have to ride around but for the most part, it's rideable.
5. I'm thinking about RAGBRI.
6. Dakota 5-0... this is a no-brainer for me.
7. I'd like to try and ride to Miller from Rapid City. It's only 244 miles. It would take me a 2 days but I think it'd be fun.
8. This is kinda weird... but I want to ride at least 5 minutes every single day of the rest of this year. I have a trainer so even on the really cold days I can still ride. Yes, every single day... Doesn't seem that hard, but it could be... I'm starting today.
9. Get more involved with trail building and the SD Bicycle Coalition. More advocacy and education for me.
10. I really want to try an overnight bicycle camping trip. I know one fellow who does them quite often. I think it'd be a hoot and not too difficult to accomplish.
11. I want to try and get more people involved in the national bike to work month, week, day at my office.

I didn't even ride the Dakota 50. I do have a legitimate excuse for that one though, I had surgery.

The rest though. Zero excuses. Bike riding this year just didn't happen the way I wanted. Some days my thoughts are that since I set out all of these goals I really didn't have any plan to accomplish them. I would still like to continue to have these on my want to do someday list. No plans, no goals, no items I want to accomplish this year, just someday.

For Sale:
2009 Kona Ute. It's a great bike and I love it but the amount of time I spend on it compared to the amount of space it takes up in the garage isn't worth it. I'm thinking $550 or so plus shipping. There are pictures somewhere here in this blog.

Excess Packaging

I realize this article isn't exactly about bicycles or anything cycling related. The one thing that I believe does tie the two ideas together is that this story discusses the use of excess packaging. To me bicycles provide a more minimal approach to travel and fun. Think about all the items you can cram in a car then think about what you can fit on a bicycle. Obviously less fits on the bicycle creating the idea that the person traveling by bike has to greatly reduce what he's carrying.

So, here is the article. I agree whole-heartedly about companies and their excess packaging rituals. Frankly I'm getting tired of opening a large box with multiple small things inside including a bunch of packing material.

http://www.livingprinciples.org/the-wicked-world-of-packaging/


Enjoy.

Lunch Ride

Well, the truth comes out. Cars are expensive. We had a tire blow out on our car this last weekend. I hauled my bike today and drove to the tire store where they shall mount, balance, align and replace the tires. The reason for all 4 instead of the one that was destroyed is that I am too cheap to buy 4 snow tires and 4 not snow tires. Well, that has now bitten me in the ass. Instead of buying just one, I get to buy all 4 so they match.

Anyway, now my $600 bill for new car tires could have been spent on magical bicycle parts.

Now the other subject, the heat. I had to ride about 4 miles on the bike path from the tire store to my office. I stopped once to stop sweating then I got to work and I was sweating profusely and now I get to sit in it for the rest of the day.

Garmin Edge 500

I made an authorized purchase today. I went and bought a Garmin Edge 500 for my bicycle adventures.

I'm liking the opportunities it offers for mapping as well as tracking elevation and speed data. The old Polar speedometer I had isn't working very well. It has a wireless sensor and it always cuts out and really frustrates me.

I'm hoping to post my rides and the Garmin Connect info here each time I ride. It'd be great to add photos or videos as well but I often forget to bring my camera.

The Fat Tire Festival is out here this weekend. I'll be taking part in some of the fun stuff. I don't think I'll participate as a racer but maybe a rider and a spectator. It should be fun. I would strongly encourage you to come and partake if you have the ability.

Enjoy your day.

Weather

What's the weather going to be like this weekend?

Not good. I'm wanting to go ride storm mountain or at least some of it. I also want to plant a garden. We're starting a bunch of plants in the house and they're going to need a place to go in a couple weeks. My parents are coming out this weekend and are bringing a industrial sized tiller to tear up my sod. It's going to be great.

I also need to mow.

In order: bike, mow, till

Sonofa

I rode to work today in an effort to get ready for Bike to Work Month. That's May for those of you who don't know. I've been such a cheese on riding to work. My only excuse I have this time is that it rains... alot.

I'm wanting to get out this weekend and go for some sort of ride. Once again, rain is in the forecast for tomorrow (Friday) and Saturday. I'm not looking forward to it.

I'm going to start planning a bike camping trip. I plan on leaving from the North end of the Centennial Trail and moving my way South. I'll probably get to Dalton Lake the first night and then ride on to Pactola the second. I could get farther, I'm really not sure. The most difficult issue is my Blur does not have any room for a rack so everything I take will have to be on my back. I should be able to take plenty of food for a 2 day ride. I could always have my family meet me at Dalton lake to camp with me too. That could be even more enjoyable.

Link to the route.

I have no idea how to prepare. I guess I had better start looking at what I'm going to need to take and how much food/water to pack along.

If you have ideas or thoughts, let me know. I'll take good links for resources too.

No riding

There will not be any riding for the next couple days. I'm in Omaha for work. Boo!

Does anyone know of any bike shops in the old downtown area of Omaha? I might have some time tomorrow evening to check out some cyclism. I wish I could have brought my bike. I've heard people bike here. Is that true?

During the 5-0 people talk. I've talked to some of those people while peddling along the trail. They come from Omaha. They say they bike. Where do they ride? That is the ultimate question.

Until later...

First Ride: Santa Cruz Blur LT

I rode my Large, Santa Cruz Blur LT for the first time today. It was a road ride that was quite hilly. The route is here

My thoughts of the bike... freakin awesome. Santa Cruz really put together a great ride. Even though this bike is a mountain bike, I rode it on the road and it felt completely capable. It didn't seem out of place climbing the steeper sections and felt strong on the fast decents. Another thing I noticed was that it felt like my hardtail when climbing but was super smooth on the decent. I expected it to feel a bit soft climbing.

I'm completely in love with this thing. It's comfortable, it fits, it's smooth and I can see many good things coming from it.

The bike has mostly XT pieces. The breaks are Avid Elixer, wheels/hubs are DT Swiss, Gravity Dropper seat post,





It's beautiful. I can't wait to get it on the trail and see how it handles some singletrack.

Let me konw if you've ever ridden one or what you think overall. My goals for the year are going to be much more fun on this thing.

Status Updates and Free Double Century

It's been a busy couple weeks in the bike world. There is so much going on everywhere that it's hard to keep up. The BHMBA has already made significant process in moving forward as an association. Ideas are going through the roof. I have a meeting tomorrow night regarding the racing structure and plans for the 2011 year. With the items I've seen run through my inbox for weekly rides and races I think we'll get some good buy-in. It will be interesting to see how well these are adopted and attended.

On another note, I traded in a couple bikes. I no longer own the Kula Supreme or the Dawg. I would say I downsized and upgraded to a 2011 Santa Cruz Blur LT. My biggest complaint is that it's been too cold and snowy to ride it. Well, I could but I don't want to get it dirty. The whole package was set up real nice. XT parts, DT Swiss wheels and hubs, Fox fork and rear shock. I'm so excited to get out and put some miles on. I'll post pictures tomorrow.

On a racing/riding note... Take time for this. Plan your weekend around it. It's free.

There is a double century Gravel Grinder in the works (Mickelson Trail). June 18, midnight start. Hill City to Deadwood and back. Then Hill City to Edgemont and back. Super epic, super hard, super duper. Same Acme Bicycle's exorbitant event fees ($0) and you need to get your own Mickelson Trail Pass. Fully self supported. Lame-ohs, winers, babies not invited. EZ to self support/re supply at your own car at the 1/2 way point (Hill City) or just quit after one century if you are smart.

I'll keep you posted on any updates or check out bhmba.org.

BHMBA

Lots and lots of things in the works in the Black Hills. The meeting we had went great and lots of people attended. It seems many good ideas are going to come out of this group.

I put in my application to become a board member. I've never been on a board, never attended a board meeting and do not really know what a board member does. What I do know is that I want to become more involved in the cycling community and get some of my ideas for biking out there. I'd love to see the BHMBA grow and be something really great.

I am also on the race committee for this year. Again, I have no idea what I will have to do or how much time I'll have to commit. What I do know is I would like the races we have to be more family oriented. It would be fun if I could bring my family to a race and get them involved in some other activities. We could have Strider races, mom/dad relays, trailer pulls and so much more.

So, I guess that's what I have going on. I'm hoping to have more information regarding the BHMBA in the near future but since we've only had one public meeting, I don't know what's going on.

On a bicycle related note I'm trying to sell 2 bikes so I can purchase 1. If anyone is interested in a 2006 Kona Dawg or a 2009 Kona Kula Supreme, let me know. The Dawg got all new parts last spring and the Kula is pretty much set up entirely with SLX bits. Both are awesome but I want to downsize and have one go-to bike, enter Santa Cruz Blur LT. We'll see what happens.

Be safe, wear your helmet and ride your bike.

VCA 2010 RACE RUN from changoman on Vimeo.

BHMBA Membership Meeting

What: BHMBA Membership Meeting
Who: Open to all who want to maintain and improve biking in the Black Hills
When: Friday, February 18th, 2011 6:00-8:00 PM
Where: Canyon Lake United Methodist Church 3500 Canyon Lake Drive, Rapid City, SD: Across the street from Canyon Lake Elementary and Dairy Queen

Agenda:

Welcome & Introductions: BHMBA Board
Recap of 2010 & Goals for 2011: Ed Engler
Race Committee: Chris Teeslink
Drty Grlz: Cathy Matthesen
Membership/Social Committee: Roger St. Pierre
Trail Building/Maintenance Committee: Jason Kingsbury
Open Discussion: Any individual wanting to speak will be given 3 minutes to address those present. A sign-up sheet at the door will be used to determine order.
Please spread the word about the meeting!

January Riding

I've been a bad biker lately. It's not really on purpose, it's more of lots of work, too many commitments and cold (yes I'm weak), and some very slippery roads/sidewalks. I'm not willing to risk my life and limb to ride. Although I should and I would probably be better off for it. On a positive note, I did ride today. I got out the Ute and rode. There were some minor slippery spots but most could be avoided. It felt like a fresh spring morning (January).

It started me thinking about all the bike related rides I would like to accomplish this year. Most are quite long actually. Here is my list.

1. I would like to ride South Dakota from the ND border to the Neb. border. (I'm not sure of the best location to accomplish this so I'm taking routes if you have them).
2. I would like to accomplish at least 1 century ride. Can be for charity or just for the plain fun of it.
3. I'd like to ride the entire Mickelson trail in a day.
4. I would like to ride the entire Centennial trail. Preferably over a span of a few days. There are sections I'm going to have to ride around but for the most part, it's rideable.
5. I'm thinking about RAGBRI.
6. Dakota 5-0... this is a no-brainer for me.
7. I'd like to try and ride to Miller from Rapid City. It's only 244 miles. It would take me a 2 days but I think it'd be fun.
8. This is kinda weird... but I want to ride at least 5 minutes every single day of the rest of this year. I have a trainer so even on the really cold days I can still ride. Yes, every single day... Doesn't seem that hard, but it could be... I'm starting today.
9. Get more involved with trail building and the SD Bicycle Coalition. More advocacy and education for me.
10. I really want to try an overnight bicycle camping trip. I know one fellow who does them quite often. I think it'd be a hoot and not too difficult to accomplish.
11. I want to try and get more people involved in the national bike to work month, week, day at my office.

I don't think it's a bad list. There are a few that I doubt will happen but I believe if you put them out into the universe, it has more of a chance of happening. So there.