Met up with Tim and David of River City Cycling Society fame for a little gravel training route that they had put together. I put Beast back into gravel form, reflipping the bars, removing fenders, rack and remounting the knobby clad wheelset.
We left out of New Castle, KY and headed East. Our first stretch of gravel came within a mile or so of starting lazily grinding past cow pasture and alongside a creek. This was good gravel, well packed, not washed out or potholed. That lasted for about 3 miles.
Then the road ended in the creek.
After exploring options and consulting GPSes, we made the decition to follow the course, remove shoes and wade across. This is followed by much bushwhacking and hike-a-biking.After about an hour of this we finally emerge at the bottom of a pretty steep and long gravel road. We pull the weeds out of our machines and start climbing....soon we're all walking again, as we either ran out of traction, gears or umph.
We ride along some of the rolling paved roads on our way to the next section of gravel, wondering if there's going to be more of the same, or if we'll get rideable sections.
Shortly we find out, as we hit section number 2 and it's chunky. embedded baby-head rocks, mud holes and more. I figure there are two ways to ride a road like this: balls out or slow. I go with the former and go for it. Beast is in its element, huge tires absorbing the terrain and floating over everything. Strong frame never for a second letting you know it was anything but willing and able to take whatever you're willing to. Sprung Brooks allowing for comfortable and smooth seated climbing. A paved watercrossing brings the chunky stuff to an end and it smooths out to fast and slightly soft gravel.
We emerge in Lockport and ride through, stopping to check out the old lock on the Kentucky River. We continue on and cross over to Gratz, hoping for some lunch. No such luck, we start climbing a steady 3-5% for the next 5 miles it seems until we hit Monterey and pausing to ask a local where we can find food, finally get to some lunch. Best chili cheese dogs I've had.
Coming back in we intend to hit a section of gravel, but it seems to have been rerouted, long ago. We see where the bridge is, but not were the road is. Figuring it's still there, as we can see a house on the other side of the creek, we circle around until we find it. This is a nice section of gravel, pretty flat, well tended, with only a few mud holes to move left or right or center to avoid. Somewhere along he I seem to have punctured. A pinhole it takes me several miles of having trouble keeping up to realize. I add some air hoping it won't leak out too fast, but stop to change the tube as we pass back through Lockport.
We then backtrack the smoother gravel section of the road we'd ridden to ride into Lockport, and then turn onto a section we'd not traveled yet. The first two miles of it was probably the most technical of our riding all day, with not many workable lines to get through, massive mud holes that couldn't be ridden around. Somewhere in here my chain swallowed a rock. I spent the next 3-4 miles with a bike that would skip or shift every 3rd pedal stroke.
When we arrive at the main road, and knowing that it was paved the whole way back, I stop to fix the chain, finding the busted link and removing it and replacing with a quicklink. I drink the last of my water as we roll out knowing that I have 8-10 miles left and not being thrilled about it. The extended distances of riding with mechanical difficulties have worn me out, as has the overly aggressive position I've been in for over 7 hours at this point.
This was by far the most epic ride I've done on Beast, and exactly the kind of riding it's been set up for. It's really too slow for more civilized gravel and a bit too aggressive for much longer rides. A different set of bars may correct the aggressiveness of the positioning, but not much can be done to get the gearing any higher or the ride more compliant. The new bike will be better for those rides.
Showing posts with label Beast. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Beast. Show all posts
Monday, October 31, 2011
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Scrambled Eggs
A short run down of stuff:
Brakes. The one thing you really don't want to spend any time thinking about on your bike. You want them to just work, require little care and don't want to hear a peep out of them. Sadly that's not how the stock brakes on Beast have been. They've required a readjustment every time I removed and replaced a wheel, the feel has been poor, as has been the overall power. Frankly it was pissing me off. I decided to do something about it, and replaced the front brake with a new Deore BR-M590 in black. Amazing! Really, since I'm running the odd combo of a bar end lever, v brake and Problem Solvers to make them compatible, this may be the most awesome combo ever. The old brakes had longer arms (even though the M590 says "New! Longer Arms!" the old were even longer) which meant the lever/problem solver combo was a bit short on pull and therefore stopping power. The M590 is really an awesome brake for very little money. I should have gotten both front and rear.
Work. I now have a second part-time job. I'm working a couple days a week at one of the local bike shops. It's not a ton of money, but every little bit helps. It seems weird working on plastic bikes. It's a nice commute, with nearly 1000' of climbing on the way in and 1500' for the 22 mile round trip.
Heck of the North. Currently it's beginning to look like it may not happen for me this year. While I think the race will be fun, and I'm in decent enough shape to complete inside the time limits, in reality the main part of the trip was the fact that I'd get to go visit friends that live up that way. Sadly, it doesn't look like it will be a good time for a visit and I don't want to spend the money to travel up there if I'm not going to get to see them.
The next Populaire is this Sunday. The route is not finished, as my first attempt to drive it was today, and a closed road, with a large construction area blocking it, meant it's back to the drawing board. I could make it a very fast route by staying on the main roads, and there is a chance it may come to that, but I'm trying to get it on at least some side roads, but in that area there's a good risk those are gravel. While I'm fine with that, most of the people coming out for the ride wouldn't be.
Brakes. The one thing you really don't want to spend any time thinking about on your bike. You want them to just work, require little care and don't want to hear a peep out of them. Sadly that's not how the stock brakes on Beast have been. They've required a readjustment every time I removed and replaced a wheel, the feel has been poor, as has been the overall power. Frankly it was pissing me off. I decided to do something about it, and replaced the front brake with a new Deore BR-M590 in black. Amazing! Really, since I'm running the odd combo of a bar end lever, v brake and Problem Solvers to make them compatible, this may be the most awesome combo ever. The old brakes had longer arms (even though the M590 says "New! Longer Arms!" the old were even longer) which meant the lever/problem solver combo was a bit short on pull and therefore stopping power. The M590 is really an awesome brake for very little money. I should have gotten both front and rear.
Work. I now have a second part-time job. I'm working a couple days a week at one of the local bike shops. It's not a ton of money, but every little bit helps. It seems weird working on plastic bikes. It's a nice commute, with nearly 1000' of climbing on the way in and 1500' for the 22 mile round trip.
Heck of the North. Currently it's beginning to look like it may not happen for me this year. While I think the race will be fun, and I'm in decent enough shape to complete inside the time limits, in reality the main part of the trip was the fact that I'd get to go visit friends that live up that way. Sadly, it doesn't look like it will be a good time for a visit and I don't want to spend the money to travel up there if I'm not going to get to see them.
The next Populaire is this Sunday. The route is not finished, as my first attempt to drive it was today, and a closed road, with a large construction area blocking it, meant it's back to the drawing board. I could make it a very fast route by staying on the main roads, and there is a chance it may come to that, but I'm trying to get it on at least some side roads, but in that area there's a good risk those are gravel. While I'm fine with that, most of the people coming out for the ride wouldn't be.
Friday, August 19, 2011
Ridin' Around
Took Beast out for a spin yesterday. I had made a couple minor changes: removing the front rack/bag and the rear fender. This lightens it a bit, maybe 3 lbs, and cleans up the aerodynamics a good deal. It also lightens the steering and lets a bit more road vibe through. Oh, and because it was raining a bit when I was out, means the tire throws a lot more crud in my face, off the top of the tire, and the downtube crud guard does a decent enough job keeping my bottles clean.
On the flats, with no headwind, I can keep a pretty consistent 18-19mph as it was. Honestly that seems pretty similar to the speeds I run with the bag, rack and fender. The front crud guard really does catch a good deal of air, and I remember it slowing me a good 1.5mph when i installed it. But for the gravel event it needs to be on, and I see no reason to not train with it.
I ended up with a pretty flat 71miles, and a moving average of 14.9mph. I rocked out my first 8.3 miles at 17.8mph. Probably my best sprint on Beast.
In all, training is going well. I'm not quite where I'd like to be, with a proven loaded, sub 8hr century. Madison will be my benchmark for that, and I should get out and ride it again soon, loaded. Last attempt was 8:37, it got warm that day, with my GPS showing highs of 96 (not counting the stupid temps seen when stopped)
On the flats, with no headwind, I can keep a pretty consistent 18-19mph as it was. Honestly that seems pretty similar to the speeds I run with the bag, rack and fender. The front crud guard really does catch a good deal of air, and I remember it slowing me a good 1.5mph when i installed it. But for the gravel event it needs to be on, and I see no reason to not train with it.
I ended up with a pretty flat 71miles, and a moving average of 14.9mph. I rocked out my first 8.3 miles at 17.8mph. Probably my best sprint on Beast.
In all, training is going well. I'm not quite where I'd like to be, with a proven loaded, sub 8hr century. Madison will be my benchmark for that, and I should get out and ride it again soon, loaded. Last attempt was 8:37, it got warm that day, with my GPS showing highs of 96 (not counting the stupid temps seen when stopped)
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Beastly Mileage
Today I rode Beast 100 miles (okay 95 point something to be technical) for the first time. Beast was, as I tend to ride it these days, fully loaded. I averaged 15.7 mph...for the first half, after that I slowed considerably. Final average moving speed was 14.6ish. Add in stops and it took me 8.5 hours to go the distance.
How much of that slowness was the weight of the bike, and how much was me not being ready for that distance on that bike, how much was the heat (it hit 95F) and how much was just stupidity (like not riding enough during the week, poor nutrition preride, poor feeding strategy during the ride.) I'm sure i will never know.
There were sections of flat road where I was only moving 8-9mph. I felt horrible, mostly about keeping the RC out that long. I had thoughts of throwing in the towel and calling for a ride, but didn't actually want to give up, just didn't want anyone else watching me being so out of sorts. I was actually quite cheerful and my attitude stayed positive throughout, the there is that. I knew I could make the distance, just had no idea how long it might take me. I had hoped for a sub 8 hour century and will have to keep working to make that goal, as I hope that a sub 8 hour road century will translate to a sub-10 hour gravel century.
How much of that slowness was the weight of the bike, and how much was me not being ready for that distance on that bike, how much was the heat (it hit 95F) and how much was just stupidity (like not riding enough during the week, poor nutrition preride, poor feeding strategy during the ride.) I'm sure i will never know.
There were sections of flat road where I was only moving 8-9mph. I felt horrible, mostly about keeping the RC out that long. I had thoughts of throwing in the towel and calling for a ride, but didn't actually want to give up, just didn't want anyone else watching me being so out of sorts. I was actually quite cheerful and my attitude stayed positive throughout, the there is that. I knew I could make the distance, just had no idea how long it might take me. I had hoped for a sub 8 hour century and will have to keep working to make that goal, as I hope that a sub 8 hour road century will translate to a sub-10 hour gravel century.
Friday, July 1, 2011
Beastly Heft
Beast, my 99 Trek 930, was never light. While I removed the stock suspension fork (also not light) and replaced it with a Surly 1x1 rigid fork (lighter, but still not featherweight), it's still well north of 20lbs. As I normally ride it, with fenders, a Nashbar Mini Rack and matching bag that has tubes, tools and other stuff, it tips the scales at around 32lbs (plus water)
Interestingly, that not much heavier than the normal as-ridden weight of my aluminum road bike. Of course, it has fenders, bags and such as well. By "not much" I mean about a single pound.
Start adding in stuff to be self-supported for a 100mile gravel road race in October in MN and suddenly it get really heavy. Current estimate is about 45lbs heavy (this time counting water, but not counting the water in my 2L hydration pack). 13lbs heavier. A bit over 8lbs of which is water. 3.5L (plus bottles)...and that's assuming I don't decide that a total of 5.5L is cutting it too close for 100 miles. It will have to be pretty cool, or I may have to find a way to carry more.
Currently the spare tire, 3 tubes, tools, puncture kit, spare quick-link, and first aid, and other personal items packed are all in the front bag. In a Jandd frame pack is the 2L bladder, with the small pocket having some energy bars. I like having this there, as it really helps to balance the bike and all the front weight means the front tire doesn't tend to lift on climbs. I have a Profile bento box mounted at the stem, it'll hold about 10 gel packs. That's usually more than I need for a century, but I know it won't be enough for one where there are no other food sources than what is on my bike. In the rear is a Carradice Super C Saddlepack. It's listed at 5L capacity. The plan for this is food and clothing. Clothes will depend on the weather of course. Food is going to be a trick to figure out. I'll need something calorie packed, shelf stable (as the start time means it'll be packed in the bag the night before), and satisfying.
Oh, and if I want to keep the bike under 45lbs, I only have room for 3lbs of clothes and food. I have this feeling that my hopes to take along a change of socks and gloves might be nixed to make weight.
Interestingly, that not much heavier than the normal as-ridden weight of my aluminum road bike. Of course, it has fenders, bags and such as well. By "not much" I mean about a single pound.
Start adding in stuff to be self-supported for a 100mile gravel road race in October in MN and suddenly it get really heavy. Current estimate is about 45lbs heavy (this time counting water, but not counting the water in my 2L hydration pack). 13lbs heavier. A bit over 8lbs of which is water. 3.5L (plus bottles)...and that's assuming I don't decide that a total of 5.5L is cutting it too close for 100 miles. It will have to be pretty cool, or I may have to find a way to carry more.
Currently the spare tire, 3 tubes, tools, puncture kit, spare quick-link, and first aid, and other personal items packed are all in the front bag. In a Jandd frame pack is the 2L bladder, with the small pocket having some energy bars. I like having this there, as it really helps to balance the bike and all the front weight means the front tire doesn't tend to lift on climbs. I have a Profile bento box mounted at the stem, it'll hold about 10 gel packs. That's usually more than I need for a century, but I know it won't be enough for one where there are no other food sources than what is on my bike. In the rear is a Carradice Super C Saddlepack. It's listed at 5L capacity. The plan for this is food and clothing. Clothes will depend on the weather of course. Food is going to be a trick to figure out. I'll need something calorie packed, shelf stable (as the start time means it'll be packed in the bag the night before), and satisfying.
Oh, and if I want to keep the bike under 45lbs, I only have room for 3lbs of clothes and food. I have this feeling that my hopes to take along a change of socks and gloves might be nixed to make weight.
Friday, June 17, 2011
Beastly Pain
I'm a cyclist...or more accurately. I'm a guy who likes riding bikes. I've got three of them: a black 2008 Jamis Coda hybrid (which gets ridden shockingly little), a blue Motobecane Fantom CX (which gets the majority of my mileage) and Beast.
Beast was a 1999 Trek 930 I picked it up off CL in '08. It had barely been ridden, still wearing its stock tires. I used it as a beater, throwing racks and fenders on it and heading to the grocery and beer runs. It saw quite a bit of use this winter when I decided not to fix my truck after it died.
I removed the stock tires shortly after purchasing it, as the sidewalls looked a bit sad and put on some cheap Kendas I had never used that came on yet another bike, a long dead BSO. Later I decided that during the warmer months, when snow or ice wasn't to be expected, I'd like to have some proper road tires for Beast. A set of Kenda Kwests were picked up at my local shop.
Despite 2 years of use the bike still barely had 450 miles on it.
I started to read about how much fun people were having riding on gravel roads. "Gravel Grinding" they call it. A group of local riders calling themselves the River City Cycling Society, started posting about their leisurely, yet epic, gravel rides. I wanted in. Time to wake up Beast.
A new, rigid Surly 1x1 fork was ordered, as gravel, while rough, doesn't need suspension, and the stock suspension wasn't really up to having me man-handle the bike. New bars, levers and cables were ordered. I caught a great deal on some very expensive tires Schwalbe Racing Ralphs and Nobby Nics, all with lovely red stripes and in 2.25" widths.
It's coming together, it feels good, I can get it to move down the road fairly well. I changed the cassette for one with gears spacing more appropriate to its use. It still had not seen gravel.
Then my mistake. I saw a posting about a gravel road race. In Minnesota. I have friends I'd like to visit in MN. It's "free", as in I don't have to pay a fee to race, but transportation, food and lodging all cost. By attempting to enter a race, can I call myself a racer? I sent in my postcard, assuming I wouldn't actually get drawn. I got drawn. I'm a racer. shit.
Okay, fine. I'm in. Originally the logistics of the race (I'll just call it an event from now on, as I'm about as likely to win, as I am of getting abducted by aliens) included getting a chance to resupply at the halfway point. Good. I already know I can ride 50 miles non-stop carrying everything I need. The only thing I was worried about was making the 10 hour cutoff time. on a mountain bike. on gravel.
Further looking at the expected conditions of the course: about 6 miles of singletrack and muddy stuff it is. The 2.25" tire shoved into the back where a 1.9" tire was supposed to go. No mud space. The search for an appropriate tire for the rear led me to two options: Panaracer Fire XC Pro 1.8" or Kenda Small Block 8 1.75". Neither is available in the States. I could only find the Kenda in Australia. Shipping was insane. The Panaracer I could get from Great Britain. I could also get it in a red striped version that kinda matchs the Schwalbes. I'll take two please, and a downtube mudguard, as the others I have won't clear the meaty Racing Ralph up front. A second set of wheels so I can easily switch between slicks and my "event tires"
The skinnier rear tyre means a bit less cush in the back. The current saddle will never cut it for 100+ gravely miles. I'll need a Brooks. With Springs. Flyer in Black, please. I check with a couple local stores. All out. They call the distributor, they're out of stock, too. I check a few of the webstores I frequent. All backordered. I finally find one, at a pretty good discount and free shipping, too. It'll be here next week.
Now I find out the event organizer has decided his event isn't tough enough. Why coddle these riders by offering to haul their gear to the halfway point? Make'em carry everything they'll need for 100+ miles. Yeah, that's the ticket. No outside support. Crap!
By my estimation, I own $500 worth of cycle luggage: panniers, handlebar bags, rack packs, saddlebags, bento boxes. And that doesn't count another $150 worth of ranks and brakets to mount them all. Make that $560. No combination of bags I have seemed quite right. Make that $600, no $615. Three new bags on their way.
Still more training and testing to fine-tune the setup. Beast has passed 1100 miles in a short period of time and so far it's still not seen gravel. But I have learned one thing: Free races are expensive to ride.
Beast was a 1999 Trek 930 I picked it up off CL in '08. It had barely been ridden, still wearing its stock tires. I used it as a beater, throwing racks and fenders on it and heading to the grocery and beer runs. It saw quite a bit of use this winter when I decided not to fix my truck after it died.
I removed the stock tires shortly after purchasing it, as the sidewalls looked a bit sad and put on some cheap Kendas I had never used that came on yet another bike, a long dead BSO. Later I decided that during the warmer months, when snow or ice wasn't to be expected, I'd like to have some proper road tires for Beast. A set of Kenda Kwests were picked up at my local shop.
Despite 2 years of use the bike still barely had 450 miles on it.
I started to read about how much fun people were having riding on gravel roads. "Gravel Grinding" they call it. A group of local riders calling themselves the River City Cycling Society, started posting about their leisurely, yet epic, gravel rides. I wanted in. Time to wake up Beast.
A new, rigid Surly 1x1 fork was ordered, as gravel, while rough, doesn't need suspension, and the stock suspension wasn't really up to having me man-handle the bike. New bars, levers and cables were ordered. I caught a great deal on some very expensive tires Schwalbe Racing Ralphs and Nobby Nics, all with lovely red stripes and in 2.25" widths.
It's coming together, it feels good, I can get it to move down the road fairly well. I changed the cassette for one with gears spacing more appropriate to its use. It still had not seen gravel.
Then my mistake. I saw a posting about a gravel road race. In Minnesota. I have friends I'd like to visit in MN. It's "free", as in I don't have to pay a fee to race, but transportation, food and lodging all cost. By attempting to enter a race, can I call myself a racer? I sent in my postcard, assuming I wouldn't actually get drawn. I got drawn. I'm a racer. shit.
Okay, fine. I'm in. Originally the logistics of the race (I'll just call it an event from now on, as I'm about as likely to win, as I am of getting abducted by aliens) included getting a chance to resupply at the halfway point. Good. I already know I can ride 50 miles non-stop carrying everything I need. The only thing I was worried about was making the 10 hour cutoff time. on a mountain bike. on gravel.
Further looking at the expected conditions of the course: about 6 miles of singletrack and muddy stuff it is. The 2.25" tire shoved into the back where a 1.9" tire was supposed to go. No mud space. The search for an appropriate tire for the rear led me to two options: Panaracer Fire XC Pro 1.8" or Kenda Small Block 8 1.75". Neither is available in the States. I could only find the Kenda in Australia. Shipping was insane. The Panaracer I could get from Great Britain. I could also get it in a red striped version that kinda matchs the Schwalbes. I'll take two please, and a downtube mudguard, as the others I have won't clear the meaty Racing Ralph up front. A second set of wheels so I can easily switch between slicks and my "event tires"
The skinnier rear tyre means a bit less cush in the back. The current saddle will never cut it for 100+ gravely miles. I'll need a Brooks. With Springs. Flyer in Black, please. I check with a couple local stores. All out. They call the distributor, they're out of stock, too. I check a few of the webstores I frequent. All backordered. I finally find one, at a pretty good discount and free shipping, too. It'll be here next week.
Now I find out the event organizer has decided his event isn't tough enough. Why coddle these riders by offering to haul their gear to the halfway point? Make'em carry everything they'll need for 100+ miles. Yeah, that's the ticket. No outside support. Crap!
By my estimation, I own $500 worth of cycle luggage: panniers, handlebar bags, rack packs, saddlebags, bento boxes. And that doesn't count another $150 worth of ranks and brakets to mount them all. Make that $560. No combination of bags I have seemed quite right. Make that $600, no $615. Three new bags on their way.
Still more training and testing to fine-tune the setup. Beast has passed 1100 miles in a short period of time and so far it's still not seen gravel. But I have learned one thing: Free races are expensive to ride.
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