Today's Ride

Actually it was yesterday. Twas a fine spring day in the neighborhood....



So I headed off down the street, on one of my regular rides...



The northwest part of NJ is loaded with great bike riding.  We live at the southern end of a large area with great riding - back roads with little to no traffic.  Stony Brook Road is a favorite. It's very close by and lead to rides of varying lengths...



It wanders past a few farms...



And some funky old farm houses....



While I usually stay on the roads, I ride a mountain bike, which has benefits.  Stony Brook Road eventually turns to dirt, and that tends to keep it deserted...



...and peaceful.







Love this time of year.

Great to see the pix of my old stomping grounds.  Picture 5 is actually a house that I have spent alot of time in as a friend of mine's parents still live there.

Goreskimom wrote

Great to see the pix of my old stomping grounds.  Picture 5 is actually a house that I have spent alot of time in as a friend of mine's parents still live there.

As Curly would say " What a co ink e dink!". Nyuk. Nyuk. Nyuk.


Anybody use clipless pedals when they ride? I switched to them this season and they're all they're cracked up to be. Quite a difference in pedaling efficiency. Ebay has Exustar carbon soled MTB clipless pedal shoes for cheap. They really transfer power well and are a great shoe. The sole is very stiff.

I have them on my brothers road bike which I steal quite often.

i had them on my MTB for many years...ditched them last year..i grew tired of punishing falls clipped in ...

Wait a minute - there are leaves on those trees, there are flowers blooming and green grass growing! Very bucolic. Here in the Hinterland things are brown, gray, a little green here and there and generally wet. At least the lakes are ice-free (only just).

For an entertaining discussion of clipless pedals, check this out:
http://nebackcountry.blogspot.com/2011/04/basket-pedals-are-devil.html

By the time I was cleared for takeoff today, the sun was hiding.

I gots the old fashion kinda toe clips...



On today's ride I went past Hilly Billy Hall.  There was a rockin band outside, and the lot was full of Harley's...



Got a text from Zelda. We are at the castle playground, come for Hide and Seek...



Done. Nice ride today.

with that bike, now you have no choice but to join james and I on a MTB ride..

I have the cages on both my MTB and my road bike.  I never did get into the clips.  I'd kill myself if I couldn't get off the pedals quickly.  Haven't gotten either of them out yet, but the kayak will hit the creek this week...just waiting for the water to drop low enough to get under the  bridges.  

Hey, Harv, can others post bike TRs in this thread? I am super stoked about getting my first new bike since 1988!!!!!!

Got an amazing deal on a 2008 model but brand new Devinci Chameleon 4. Full specs are here for those who understand bike lingo (and most of it is in French, just for the extra challenge). The bike is made in the Hinterlands, even. My cherished old bike will be going to a new home in Cuba.

For those looking to get into clipless pedals and worried about getting out of them before falling, let me HIGHLY recommend speedplays, for road or mountain.
http://www.speedplay.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.zero

Nice lookin ride SBR. I'm diggin the disc brakes.

Sick Bird Rider wrote

Hey, Harv, can others post bike TRs in this thread?

Yes!

I'd say if you take an exotic ride, post a separate TR.

But anyone should feel free to pile on with whatever they are up to bikeridewise.

Harvey44 wrote

Nice lookin ride SBR. I'm diggin the disc brakes.

It will be a quantum leap in bike for me. Kind of like going from straight skis to modern skis. My current bike is an ancient Bianchi MTB with no shocks. Despite many upgrades over the years it is still pretty old-school. The guys at the bike shop refer to it as the "Mongroloid." I have test-ridden some bikes with disk brakes and the stopping power is unreal compared to rim brakes. I am sure that I will get launched over the handlebars a few times in the process of getting used to it. Plus the discs are pretty removed from the mud and debris that collects on your rims, so your brakes remain effective in wet conditions.

Just ordered the bike today, I should have it in a week. Stay tuned for a first-ride report!

Got up this am at 5:30 to get into the city for a meeting at 11. Had to arrive in NYC by 9am to finish our prep, then off to the meeting, lunch, another internal meeting and we were on a 3:30 out of the city.

It's funny that while booking at five gets noticed, nobody would fault you for going home straight from the train at 4:45.

It gave me a chance to get a ride in, and still possibly make dinner at 6:30.

I rushed out the door when I got home.

I leave my camera home most days, and most days I regret it. Today was no exception.

The colors were blue with clouds and that early season bright green.

I did the whole ride without music until the last few Miles...

The Chameleon is in the house. Took a short ride around the dog walk trail when I got it home on Monday, still in my work clothes. Got muddy, only a few dismounts due to wet logs. Today I went for a longer trail ride. Let me explain our trails - these are vague walking paths through the hardwood forest, slightly more developed than a deer path. So imagine SBR in his retro bike outfit pedaling through the forest in super-low gear, grabbing trees, falling a lot, missing the trail a few times. It was a bit technical, shall we say. Good training for tree skiing. Much fun! Sorry no pics due to gloomy light conditions.

"Love this time of year?" Sorry Harv, but I can't identify. Speaking just for myself, It was hard to leave Whistler and I'm in mild depression. I am looking forward to mountain biking at Gore and Whiteface... But other than that "mild depression" will be my state of mind until the Octoberfest on Columbus Day Weekend!!

Today's bike ride was all about saying goodbye to the old bike and saying hello to a renewed interest in biking. I brought the Mongroloid out of storage, cleaned it up a bit, removed a few cherished parts (like the original Joe Breeze Hite-Rite), took it for one last ride down and up the driveway, then it was off to the bike shop for a final tune and storage in a bike box for transport. The Bianchi mutt is going to its new home in Cuba, where it will become the main mode of transport for a certain  Cuban man. This is all part of Blue Toe's “Cuba Project,” and will be the fourth bike she has arranged to be sent to the Granma region of Cuba. For details, check out her blog here. Even though, there are a lot of great memories with this bike it is not hard to let it go. Funny how it seems to be easier to get rid of stuff as we get older. Particularly if you know it is going to a good home.




While I was in the bike shop, I have to admit I dd a shopping to upgrade my new bike accessories. Although I may wear my very old-school Bell V-1 Pro every now and then just to get certain people going, I broke down and got a new helmet, padded butt trail riding shorts, a mini-pump, tube and other trail essentials.

Tomorrow we test it all out.

I did a little report about my ride today (to and from work for National Bike Commuting Day):

http://skiequalsmc2.blogspot.com/2011/05/bike-commuting.html

Pics:

Ok P.Mac I admit it I don't like this time of year that much. Winter is best. Spring is awesome during the skiing part. The rest of spring is ok, fall is fantastic and summer bites.

Sick Bird Rider and Matt - I will carefully read your posts after I get this off my chest.

I am convinced that the Chinese have a well thought out plan for destroying our morale and moving our cheese. Sell us these crappy toys with microscopic illustrated assembly instructions with no words.  Have a bag full of an insidious collection of dozens of nearly identical screws, nuts and bolts. Smugly pretend that every father has an engineering degree and a laugh as formerly happy couples end up filing for divorce halfway through the assembly process.

Neve ... you'd better dance with glee tomorrow at your birthday party when I wheel this sucker out ...



Actually it's a pretty nice now that it's together. Happy Birthday sweetie.

Today's my daughter Zoe's B day too..
I see Neve is getting her first set of wheels and so is Zoe. My 03 Corolla. Happy Birthday...