Rat Trap Press

RTP Signing Off

2012-01-04T18:31:00.001-06:00

I started this blog on January 4th 2008. Four years and 399 posts later I have decided to put this blog out to pasture. I haven't had time to keep up with it and it doesn't look like things will change anytime in the near future. All the content will remain, I may even update the links as they seem to be very popular, but I will not be posting anything new. I appreciate everybody's comments, suggestions, and assistance over the years. I have enjoyed getting to know you guys. I will still be following your blogs and commenting. I'll still be riding although I may actually leave home without my camera (weird). It's been fun.

Take care

Myles

P.S.-I will not be changing my email address or anything like that so contact me if any of you guys are going to be in town.

More Hobby Integration

2011-12-29T16:41:00.001-06:00

There hasn't been much time for riding lately. The first series of photos is from a short ride I did about a week ago. The last couple of photos are from yesterdays ride.

For some reason every time I try to get out and fish this river, somebody cuts off the water flow. There's some construction taking place somewhere upstream.

I brought along a heavier two piece fishing rod this ride as opposed to the little telescoping rod I used last time.

I worked my way up and down the river but didn't catch anything.

Yesterday's ride

With evening approaching the cormorants returned to their homes in the trees on the south side of the river.

I did manage to catch this guy yesterday. I caught another one just like it a couple of weeks ago. I'm pretty sure it's some kind of bass but it doesn't look too much like the large mouth bass I caught in an Arlington pond this weekend. The colors are really pale. BTW-I released him just after snapping this photo.

This is one of the large mouth bass I caught in Arlington. The colors are much darker and the jagged line marking is easily seen. Photographed and released.

Hobby Integration

2011-11-12T18:55:00.001-06:00

Hey guys, it's been a while. I've complained before about work taking up too much of my personal time, so I'll skip most of that. Lately, when I have had free time, I've been packing up my two youngest kids and hauling them to the closest body of water to partake in our newest family hobby-fishing. I'm a complete novice when it comes to fishing but with some internet research we've had overwhelming success with the minuscule panfish at a nearby pond and the slightly larger bluegills in Trinity River. Bluegills are about the only fish I can identify at this point. I have integrated my newest hobby, fishing, with my bike rides along the Trinity River.

Some little pond fish my son caught recently. I have no idea what it is.

We've caught about a million of these little guys. I've been crushing the barbs down on our hooks and releasing everything we catch.

I picked up this telescoping rod and reel combo at Bass Pro in Grapevine.

This easily fits in my pannier.

I had the day off yesterday and headed off down the Trinity Trails looking for a decent spot to fish.

My Trek 930 do-everything bike laying on the riverbank. All of my fishing gear was packed into the right side pannier.

The water level was really low in certain areas due to ongoing construction along the river. I fished a couple of areas today but didn't have much luck. No big deal.

I've made some changes to the Trek. I replaced the knobbie tires with a cheap pair of commuter tires from Performance and I swapped the flat bars for a set of back and neck friendly North Road bars.

I ditched the Grip Shift stuff for a set of inexpensive but highly effective thumb shifters. As of this evening I've replaced the cork grips for a more utilitarian set of black rubber lock-on grips. I plan to add one of those Wald Giant Delivery Baskets sometime in the near future.

The ride home. It looks like the leaves are finally changing color.

Sunday Afternoon Ride 10-30-11

2011-11-01T19:27:00.001-05:00

I've been busy so this post is a little late. I managed to get out and ride on an absolutely perfect Sunday afternoon. I love the fall.

Perfect

I don't know if Colonel's is moving or opening a second location. I suspect that they're moving.

I think this is an excellent location, it's on Foch Street just north of Lancaster. It's just south of La Familia restaurant and only a couple of blocks from Fred's and the new So. 7th development. To reach the Trinity Trails you just ride up this road approx 1/4 of a mile.

I ran across a Halloween party on Crockett Street.

The ride home down some nice tree lined neighborhoods streets.

Sunday Afternoon Ride 10-16-11

2011-10-16T17:32:00.001-05:00

I wanted to take the Trek 930 out for a quick ride. It's not set up the way I want yet but it will do for now.

I took the rack off of my Takara and mounted it on the Trek. My old Wright's saddle was sitting around gathering dust so I mounted it as well. The knobby tires and Gripshift will be replaced sometime soon.

My camera bag seems to be right at home resting on top of the stem.

I've been meaning to check out this drainage canal.

I came across a hawk in this area. He would swoop down and glide in front of me at tire level and then head up into the trees. This happened several times. I initially thought he was upset that I was riding through his territory but then it looked more like he was waiting for me to flush out a meal for him.

There were a couple of pipes to hop over.

This was as far as I could go to the west.

The far wall dams off the water to a small lake in what I believe is a retirement community. I turned around and rode back east, passing the spot I entered the drainage canal.

This is as far as I could ride to the west. It's a pleasant spot despite the bits of trash that have washed into the creek after our recent, and desperately needed rain.

New RTP Tumblr Blog

2011-10-09T09:50:00.006-05:00

Following Jon's example I've set up a Tumblr blog as a companion to this blog. Actually it's going to be like that dresser drawer where you toss all the stuff that doesn't really go anywhere else. I've added some old photos just to have a little something to look at. There's a link to the new Rat Trap Press blog in the list at the bottom right side of this page.

New Links

2011-10-08T17:14:00.002-05:00

You may or may not have noticed the links at the far bottom right side of this blog. Originally those links were mostly craft related blogs of friends and acquaintances from way back when I was selling screen printed t shirts on Etsy. Many of those blogs are still there, some I had to delete because they were no longer active. I've decided to use that space for stuff that doesn't exactly fit into the bike blog category. I've added Jon Grinder's new Tumblr blog named So Many Voices in My Head. You'll also find a couple of great blogs that I visit very often such as The William Brown Project, Archival Clothing, and10 Engines. I've noticed that a lot of people visit my blog for the bike links, hopefully the miscellaneous links will prove popular as well. I'll be adding new links on a regular basis. If you have a blog that you'd like added let me know.

What a Mess

2011-10-08T15:53:00.002-05:00

My garage work area is a complete mess. I know how it got this way, I blame it on this years extreme summer heat (and my laziness). I couldn't stand being in the garage for more than a few seconds at a time so I ended up stacking my stuff where ever it would fit. With the temperature slowly dropping I figured it was time to get out there and fix this eyesore.

The first thing I needed to do was to get rid of the junk that I'm sure I'll never use again, mostly reflectors-lots of reflectors, used brake pads, old torn saddles, and miscellaneous stuff.

The items that I figured might someday be needed were tossed in this plastic container.

What to keep and what to toss?

If you know somebody that has a baby, ask them to save their baby food containers. They're perfect for storing small items.

I recently picked up this Park Tool FR-4 freewheel remover. It's for Regina and Atom freewheels. I needed to remove an Atom freewheel a couple of months ago. I ended up having to take the wheel to a nearby shop to have them unscrew the freewheel for me.

Texas Custom Bike Show!

2011-10-02T06:58:00.010-05:00

I received this email from Glenn Thompson a few days ago. Glenn is the owner of Daltex Custom Bicycles from Dallas (obviously). He's also the guy putting this show together:

Good Afternoon!

In less than a month the best handmade framebuilders from Texas (also Oklahoma, Arkansas, & New Mexico) will gather in Austin Texas for the 4th Annual Texas Custom Bicycle Show. This year's show has 24+ exhibitors and will be the biggest TxCBS to date. Six of the exhibitors are from the DFW area. This year's show will be held October 15th & 16th at the Austin Convention Center. www.TexasCustomBicycleShow.com

I'd love to go to this year's show, unfortunately that's not possible. If you've been looking for an excuse to visit Austin, this is it. If you do go please take lots of photos (I want to see them) and be sure to say hello to Fort Worth bike builder Jeremy (Gallus Handmade Bicycles). I wonder what new creations Glenn and Jeremy will be taking to the show this year?

1995 Trek 930

2011-09-25T18:46:00.002-05:00

My work on the Univega Mixte is on hold till next payday, new size 13 shoes for my enormous 14 year old son took up most of my extra cash (I get paid once a month). I had nearly forgotten the Trek 930 mountain bike hanging on a rack in the garage. I bought this bike from the original owner back in 1999 when I was living in Abilene, Texas. It was for my oldest kid but we never got to do much riding together. I then gave this bike to my brother-in-law a couple of years later. He was living in Kansas at the time and was having financial difficulties. This bike ended up being his main form of transportation. He and his family moved to Fort Worth about a year ago, I ended up with the bike once again. I replaced the tubes and rode it around the front yard a few times. That was the extent of my riding this weekend.

It was tough finding photos of a 1995 Trek 930. I figured I'd throw these photos up here as a public service.

Excuse the grime, this bike is in need of some serious cleaning.

7spd cassette, STX cranks, STX derailleurs, Alivio hubs, and lots of Trek's Matrix stuff

The bike was originally equipped with cantilever brakes. I switched them out soon after I bought the bike. I'm debating whether I should restore the cantilever brakes.

I used zip ties instead of routing the cable through the guides. I was probably in a hurry.

Quick release seatpost collar.

This saddle and the rims were the items that allowed me to determine the year model of this bike.

I'm not 100 per cent sure what I'm going to do with this bike but I've got the urge to replace the grip shift stuff with thumb shifters. I've got a pair gathering dust in a box somewhere.

Lunch in Gruene

2011-09-14T19:28:00.001-05:00

Some people take business trips to nice places like San Diego, Seattle, Denver, where do my business travels take me? Laredo, Texas-nice. Laredo isn't a vacation destination by any means. It's about as scenic as a used car lot. The only thing I look forward to when visiting Laredo is the food. We-me and a couple of guys working on a special project-enjoyed some excellent but expensive lengua (cow tongue) tacos at the Palenque Grill. Fortunately we didn't have to stick around too long. As we were barreling north on I-35 one of the guys had the great idea of stopping for lunch at the Gristmill in Gruene, Texas. Gruene is a scenic little community along the Guadalupe River just outside of San Marcos, approximately 45 miles south of Austin.

The Gristmill is located behind the world famous Gruene Hall.

The entrance

This was our table. You can't really see it in this photo but the river is down below.

Another view from our table.

Yet another view from our table.

The Guadalupe River-a true Texas treasure.

Two Tons of Steel-These guys are a fixture at Gruene Hall. There aren't many decent quality videos available but they managed to put on a good performance for a cheesy San Antonio morning show.

A Change of Plans

2011-09-11T14:41:00.001-05:00

Despite my best efforts I just couldn't get my new height adjustable cantilever brakes to hit my 700c rim without rubbing the tire. This was very upsetting as I was really looking forward to mounting wider tires on my Takara touring bike. After much moping and whining I had a great idea. I made the decision to put the touring bike into hibernation. I removed the Albatross bars, Nito stem, and Brooks saddle from the Takara and mounted them on my wife's unused Univega Sportour mixte. She hasn't used it in a very long time and it was very unlikely that she was planning to ride it anytime soon. The Univega was originally equipped with 27" wheels but the 700c wheels and 38mm fit perfectly. The bike isn't ready to ride yet, I need to add some new brake pads and longer cables. I also plan to move my upgraded stem shifters over as well so I don't have to lean over too far to shift.

The Univega is a great bike. It's equipped with a complete Shimano 600 Arabesque group. I've always liked mixtes.

I'll be switching out the cloth tape when I change the brake cables. Maybe I'll actually get the tape and the saddle to match.

It's hard to tell from the photo but there is actually quite a bit of room between the tire and the chainstays.

Installing the rear rack is going to require some work. The metal stay that attaches the front center of the rack to the brake bridge is too short. I guess I'll have to buy a piece of metal and drill it to fit.

This is what severe drought will do to your grass.

Working on the Takara

2011-09-09T18:33:00.001-05:00

I took off work a couple of hours early and rushed home to work on my Takara touring bike. I need to swap out the original cantilever brakes for a modern set with lots of height adjustment. I'm going to convert this bike from the old school 27" wheels to 700c. You just can't find a 27" tire wider than 32mm. As usual it didn't take long before I ran across some problems.

The front brakes fit just fine with no problems but I came across an issue with the rear brakes.

The little spring pins on the back of the brakes wouldn't reach the hole on either brake boss. A little work with the drill eventually solved the problem.

When I moved the cranks I noticed a fair amount of lateral play. I tried to adjust the bottom bracket with the cranks attached but it just wasn't working. I made the rash decision to remove the old style bottom bracket and replace it with a sealed unit. This annoying piece (whatever it's called) wouldn't come off. Of course the proper tools might have made things easier.

The combination of a humongous crescent wrench, spray lube, and brute force finally yielded success. Now I need to find a 127mm Shimano UN-72 sealed BB if I want to use the original crankset.

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Changing gears here:

I plan to replace some of my screen printing equipment over the next year. I really miss printing t shirts. I found this video over at the Northcoast Zeitgeist blog. What caught my attention was that this guy is buying white t shirts, which when you are buying bulk are significantly cheaper than colored shirts, and then dying them himself before printing. Labeling the shirts with an ink stamp is pretty cool.

Afternoon Ride 09-03-11

2011-09-03T16:46:00.001-05:00

I worked my rear end off last weekend. I had to make a last minute trip to Houston and ended up maxing out my overtime hours. I was told to stay home on Friday. I actually slept till 9:30 AM Friday morning. I haven't slept that late in years, I was exhausted.

I took this photo at my desk on Thursday. After nearly 22 years working with this agency, my name popped up in headquarters and they sent me this low-bid coffee mug. The handles on these award mugs are notorious for snapping off at the worst possible moment. Nothing says you're appreciated like a crotch full of scalding coffee.

I had originally planned to jump on my bike and hit the road before dawn yesterday but that didn't happen. I managed to get out and ride this afternoon.

I rambled on over to the Hulen Street bridge. It's in the process of being replaced. The northbound lanes are closed which gave me the rare opportunity to safely ride to the top and enjoy the view.

This is the view of the Trinity River from the south end of the bridge looking east towards downtown.

At the mid-point of the bridge you can look down on the rail yard. There's a line of trees along the south edge of the rail yard that prevents most of it from being seen from the Trinity Trails. Unfortunately, there is no easy way for a cyclist to cross the river and the yard for a couple of miles in each direction. Hopefully the new bridge will be cyclist and pedestrian friendly.

Here I am preparing to cross the river without accidentally dumping my gear in the water.

It wasn't as hot today as it has been in weeks past but I still took plenty of rest breaks in whatever shade I could find.

With temperatures expected to fall over the next few weeks I expect to be riding more and posting more as well.

Early Morning Ride 08-22-11

2011-08-22T12:34:00.002-05:00

I actually managed to roll out of bed for a predawn ride. Other than the cloud of gnats that I ran into by the river, it was fantastic.

I stopped a couple of times and put my Gorillapod tripod to use.

RTP's Summer Reading

2011-08-17T19:38:00.001-05:00

Since we've been dealing with the hottest summer on record, I've been spending more time with low-sweat indoor activities. Reading tops my list. I bought a Kindle not too long ago and I've rediscovered my love of reading. I've been paying attention to book reviews on radio and television as well as book recommendations from the blog world. I thought I'd mention a few books that I've heard about or read recently. These aren't reviews but if you have a comment about any of these books or if you can recommend something that you've read recently, whatever the subject, I'd like to hear about it.

Born To Run-A Hidden Tribe, Super Athletes, and The Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen by Christopher McDougall. I first heard about this book over at Love to Pedal (I haven't read it). I also saw it referenced by Pilar Garza. This book has something to do with the popularity of those freaky five-toed shoes that you've no doubt noticed recently. It sounds like the author advocates flat soled shoes or bare feet for endurance running. Read about it at Love to Pedal and check out the 750+ reviews on Amazon.

The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson: I recently heard a radio interview with Erik Larson, author of the new book In The Garden of Beasts. This book tells the story of America's first ambassador to Hitler's Berlin. It sounds like a great book and I intended to buy it, but instead I ended up downloading another book by Larson titled The Devil in the White City. The book is a true story about the 1893 Chicago World's Fair as told through an architect responsible for the fair's construction and a serial killer masquerading as a doctor. Another Larson book that looks really interesting is Isaac's Storm-about the hurricane that struck Galveston in September 1900 and killed over 6,000 people.

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas: I was reading this book at the same time Jeff (The Flat Tire) was reading it. It's a long book but it's a great story with lots of twists and turns. It's a free download from Amazon.

Other stuff I've read recently:

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk-The movie has become one of my all-time favorites.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen-My wife urged me to read it. It was a free download from Amazon so I gave it a try. I was surprised to find that I actually enjoyed it (more than I care to admit).

Chasing Aphrodite-The Hunt for Looted Antiquities at the World's Richest Musuem by Jason Felch and Ralph Frammolino. It deals more with the internal bickering and politics at the J. Paul Getty Musuem than with the actual hunt for looted items.

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen Why not?

I'm Still Here

2011-08-08T17:36:00.003-05:00

I'm still here although my riding has dropped off considerably. I've been hiding out avoiding the heat. This is our 38th straight day of 100+ degree (37.8 C) temperatures. We'll tie the all time record of 42 days this coming Friday.

Both my bikes are needing attention. The Lotus has developed an annoying tick. It's either the left pedal, left crank arm, or bottom bracket. I'm also in the process of switching out the cantilever brakes on my touring bike. The new brakes are height adjustable which will allow me to convert it from 27" to 700c wheels. I actually started the conversion a couple of weeks ago but I discovered that my 14 year old son has misplaced a couple of my tools (he will pay dearly for this). The bike has just sat there disassembled and neglected. I replaced the tools this weekend and hope to get my touring bike rolling again soon.

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When it's gets hot like this I dream of heading out to the mountains. I've mentioned in the past that when I retire in 5 years and 4 months, I plan to buy a small travel trailer and explore America. While researching travel trailers this weekend I discovered the Car-Go Lite. This micro-trailer is much too small for me and my wife but it would be perfect for a single person.

The most important feature-it's got an air conditioner.

Alternative Bike Gear?

2011-07-22T12:40:00.001-05:00

Sorry for the long absence. Work and heat are the culprits. The stress at work has made the thought of typing anything more than a sentence or two repulsive. Much of the country has been dealing with excessive heat so I'm sure most of you comprehend the life-sucking qualities of 100 plus degree temperatures ( we've had about 20 consecutive days of temperatures 100 degrees or more here in north Texas). I come home after an exhausting day at work and I just can't bring myself to step into my sweltering garage, prepare my bike and head out for a ride. If I wasn't such a lazy man I'd get up early in the morning and ride before work.

So, why am I showing you pictures of my new briefcase? It's to discuss the military's Molle gear. More specifically it's the PALS (Pouch Attachment Ladder System) gear that interests me, the straps and snaps used to attach pouches and other gear onto backpacks and other similar stuff.

I bought this pouch at a local military surplus store thinking that I'd attach it to my briefcase and use it it carry my wallet and cell phones.I didn't really care for the way it looked on the side of my briefcase so I thought I'd try it on my bike. Sure enough the pouch fit wonderfully on my handlebars. I'm using it to carry my cameras.

Here it is on my bike. These photos are from a very brief ride I took last weekend.

I think with a little ingenuity you could attach all kinds of gear to your bike using the PALS system. I did a quick internet search and found only one website/ blog where somebody has realized the possibilities of attaching gear to your bike using this system, it's the Association of Sausquatch Seekers or A.S.S. for short. Awesome!

From the A.S.S. website.

If you're a penny pincher like myself some of this Molle gear is pretty affordable, at least compared to most bike specific stuff. The camera pouch cost me $11 at a local surplus store.

The Rare Mid-Week Ride

2011-06-25T11:10:00.003-05:00

I actually had time for a quick ride during the week, a rare occurrence lately. Even rarer was the fact that my elder son wanted to ride with me. He actually had the day off and had no prior plans. It was hotter than you know what but we had a great time riding fast, chasing down lycra-clad roadies and just generally acting stupid. Unfortunately I didn't drink enough. I didn't really notice anything wrong until time for bed. I developed a terrible headache and was actually shivering under the covers. You would think I'd know better.

We rode through Trinity Park and passed by the feral cat colony. I've seen several raccoons out in the open eating cat food. The cats have obviously learned not to mess with the raccoons.

I found this 700c wheelset for sale on Craigslist for a price that was too good to pass up. These are the CL ad photos by the way. It turns out that the guy selling the wheels was the same guy that sold me the Lotus. He stopped by my blog and was surprised to see that I was able to fit 38mm tires on that old bike. The hubs look like the Chorus hubs on my other wheelset. The rims are Mavic Module 3's with the old red Mavic label. I need to do some research to see if I can mount a set of 40mm tires on 22mm rims.

The Campy skewers are still there.

These rims are destined for my Takara touring bike. I'll be attempting to replace the original cantilever brakes with a modern set with more height adjustment to allow the mounting of 700c wheels on a bike designed for 27" wheels.

Fort Worth Cycle Chic

2011-06-13T19:28:00.003-05:00

It was just a matter of time. Fort Worth now has it's very own Cycle Chic blog. It's brand new so there isn't much there yet. I'm sure it will be a regular stop for local cyclists. Take a look-Fort Worth Cycle Chic.

The Woodshed

2011-06-13T19:19:00.003-05:00

If you're a regular visitor to this blog you might remember me mentioning this structure (photo above) in a previous post. I took this photo a couple of weeks ago, today it looks like the exterior is nearly complete. I had no idea what the structure was supposed to be. I thought it might be an office or city owned facility, possibly a visitor's center of some kind. A recent visit to Fort Worthology revealed that this structure is soon to be a restaurant, a taqueria to be exact. According to Fort Worthology, "The restaurant (named The Woodshed) is the latest project from celebrity chef Tim Love." This place is not just accessible from Trinity Trails, it is on the Trinity Trails. I can hardly wait for this place to open. Check out Fort Worthology for more details and many more pictures

These photos were taken last weekend at the water fountain/ cooling facility just a few yards over from The Woodshed. You know, I go out on rides, take a bunch of photos and end up never using most of them, so I've included several extras for the heck of it.

Today at Work

2011-06-08T19:19:00.001-05:00

I ended up working at a couple of small municipal airports today. I had my camera with me and figured I might as well snap a few photos. All of the photos below were taken at the Airport in Granbury, Texas, a small town about 40 miles southwest of Fort Worth.

Saturday Morning Ride 06-04-11

2011-06-04T16:49:00.002-05:00

I knew that it was supposed to get hot today, so I set out on my ride at around 10:30 am. I was planning to keep it short so that I could get back to spend time with my family.

It was bright and sunny with a very light wind. The black spot in the water in the lower left of this photo is a black Labrador Retriever. You can't keep those dogs out of the water.

I picked up this pouch at a local military surplus store. I needed something to stash my camera in while I'm out on a ride. I've got is lashed to my stem and basket with a toe strap.

As I was riding through Trinity Park, Paul (aka Doohickie), Larry, and Mark rode up beside me. They were on their way back to town after having ridden around Lake Benbrook south of Fort Worth. They invited me to lunch. We headed downtown towards The Flying Saucer.

That's Mark on the left and Larry on the right.

The guys enjoyed a couple of beers with their meal. Me, I've never developed a taste for beer.

Braniff

2011-06-01T18:47:00.002-05:00

The House Industries blog is one of my regular stops. There's always something interesting going on. The folks at House Industries design fonts and some other really cool products, some are bike related. One of the products that they used to sell was a very interesting nativity scene by American artist/ architect Alexander Girard. My wife loves the nativity scene but at $599 it's a bit too expensive for our family's Christmas display. I did some reading on Alexander Girard and discovered that at one time he worked with Dallas based Braniff International Airways. He was partly responsible for modernizing the look of their aircraft in their "End of the Plain Plane" project. I didn't know much about the airline but as a kid (the airline folded in 1986) and I never had the opportunity to fly Braniff. I had seen the airline's magazine ads and I really liked the unusual colors and designs on their aircraft. It turns out that Braniff was much more unusual than I had expected. Besides the brightly painted aircraft the stewardesses were dressed in wild looking uniforms, and their terminals were furnished with some cool looking modern furniture.

Design by Alexander Calder

Calder at work.

This sofa was designed by Girard and is upholstered with Eames fabric. It's being auctioned (Ebay?) and is expected to sell for anywhere from $6,000-$8,000.

This uniform is being sold on Ebay. The Buy it Now price is $250,000. I imagine that they are quite a few ex-Braniff stewardesses wishing that they had held on to their issued gear.

Quality Time

2011-05-29T11:30:00.002-05:00

As work and other concerns try to take over my life, I've been making an effort to spend more time with my 14 year old son. Yesterday morning we managed a short but thoroughly enjoyable ride along the river.

With temperatures hitting 100F/ 37.7 C, we sought out some shade for a short break.

We shared the shade with a small herd of cows. They paid us no attention.

I'm trying to come up with new yet relatively inexpensive activities that me and my son could do together. I thought it might be interesting to try fishing the Trinity. It would be great if we could ride our bikes to the river, do a little fishing and then ride back home. I've fished maybe four or five times in my entire life so I am completely clueless. I've done some research. A fishing license is $30 and it's good for a year. A kid under the age of 17 doesn't need one. I've seen some telescoping rod/ reel combos that would work for us and they're affordable. I'm not looking to eat anything I catch, it would be strictly catch and release. If anybody has any recommendations as far as quality packable fishing gear, or websites with good beginner info please let me know.

A Walk Along the Trinity

2011-05-23T16:49:00.001-05:00

I wanted to ride with my son this weekend but I didn't have the opportunity to get the rear wheel repaired on my Takara. As an alternative we took a nice long walk along the Trinity River.

I've ridden by this bench many times but I hadn't noticed the memorial plaque.

Lt. Christian was one of us, a cyclist. I'm sure he spent many hours happily pedaling along this trail.

I like memorials with photos.

Our recent showers have brought forth flowers.

Cold Brewed Coffee Part 2

2011-05-16T16:13:00.003-05:00

I'm going to give this cold brewed coffee a big thumbs up! My wife enjoyed her first cup of coffee in about a week and suffered no ill effects. I took these photos late yesterday morning but didn't get around to doing anything with them till this afternoon. One bit of advice, the brewing time is 12 hours, so don't be a moron like me, pay attention to what time you start the process. I started it at one o'clock in the afternoon. Luckily I was still awake 12 hours later.

This is what you get with 12 ounces of ground coffee. It's coffee concentrate so it'll last my wife a good while. The concentrate can be kept in the fridge for up to two weeks.

My wife mixed about 1 part concentrate to 2 parts water. It was a little weak for me but perfect for her. As I'm typing this today I'm drinking a cup mixed 50/ 50. It's really good.

Cold Brewed Coffee Part 1

2011-05-14T15:42:00.001-05:00

I suppose that if I don't have a bike related subject to post about, writing anything related to coffee is a good substitute. It just so happens that we received a package from Williams-Sonoma yesterday with our new Toddy Cold Brew System. My wife loves coffee but her stomach is very sensitive. She has had to limit herself to one cup every few days. The Toddy system claims to brew coffee with 67% less acid than a regular cup of coffee. Hopefully this will once again allow us to partake in our beloved morning ritual, sitting in bed together, enjoying a cup of coffee while the kids are sound asleep.

This is what comes in the box; a white plastic bucket with a hole in the bottom, a stopper for that hole, two filters good for about ten brews each, and a glass decanter with a plastic lid.

Don't forget to plug the hole with the stopper before you begin. You place a filter in the bottom of the bucket and pour in a cup of water. You then pour in about six ounces of course ground coffee, pour in more water then more coffee.

Once you've got all the water and coffee added into the bucket you use the back of a spoon to gently pat the coffee into the water making sure that all of the grounds are wet. Don't Stir! Stirring is supposed to produce a weak brew and clog up the filter.

This is it as far as preparation is concerned. You just put the bucket aside for twelve hours and allow the brewing process to complete.

I'll try to report on the results tomorrow.

Sunday Afternoon Ride 05-08-11

2011-05-08T18:10:00.001-05:00

Yet another ride with no destination in mind:

It's starting to get hot around here now. It was in the low 90's and windy.

I headed east from home and made my way to the Fairmont neighborhood. I stopped at Old Home Supply on College Street. I pulled out my U-lock and realized that I didn't have the key. I left my bike unlocked but I stepped outside every couple of minutes to make sure it was still there.

There is lots of interesting stuff to be found here.

After leaving the store I headed out toward east Magnolia to get a look at the new bike lanes.

New bike lanes were also added on Main Street.

After reading about the improvements to Hyde Park in FortWorthology, I stopped off to take a look for myself.

I rode straight through downtown and stopped to take this photo as I was headed down Radio Shack hill (Radio Shack world HQ is in the building on the left).

On my way back home I broke a couple of spokes on my rear wheel. The wheel was way out of true to the point that one of the brake pads was rubbing against the tire's sidewall. I called my wife to rescue me. I removed the basket so the bike would fit in the back seat of my car.

It's been a very long time since I've had to call somebody to give me a ride home. That's my wife in the background pulling in to the parking lot to pick me up.

Afternoon ride

2011-05-06T15:57:00.001-05:00

I managed an after-work ride the other day but I didn't have the time to post the photos.

After many days of severe thunderstorms the skies cleared and the wind died down making for perfect riding conditions. I wasn't going for a long ride, actually it was pretty short, but I mixed in some running. I'd occasionally hop off the bike, put one hand on the saddle and run while guiding the bike with the one hand. This is something that I saw an incredibly fit old man doing many years ago on the trail. When I can't run anymore I just hop back on the bike. The only downside is that I get continually asked if I'm having bike trouble.

This new structure along the trail is close to completion.

I initially thought it would be an office building until I saw the water fountain and cooling station/ outdoor shower.

The flowers appreciated the previous days rain. I was looking at this flower and messing with the camera when a cute little ladybug came in for a landing (I've seen green ones before). I didn't have my glasses on at the time. When I downloaded the photo my wife pointed out that it wasn't a ladybug. It's probably some foreign invasive species taking a breather before heading off to destroy somebody's garden. Either way, I'm dabbling in nature photography.

Samsung TL500

2011-04-29T14:47:00.001-05:00

This is my new camera, it's a Samsung TL500. To be honest I haven't yet taken it out of the auto mode on my last few rides but I do plan to start taking my photography a little more seriously. The very first ride with this camera I realized that the lens cap was going to be a problem. I tend to take lots of photos while I'm actually riding which makes removing and replacing the lens cap difficult.

This was my solution to the lens cap problem. I bought it from some Chinese company on Ebay. So far I'm happy with it.

The cap pops open when I power up the camera. I also bought the wrist strap so that I don't drop the camera while riding. I'd hate to see my camera skipping across the asphalt.

The screen can be closed towards the camera or rotated and closed with the screen facing out. On rides I'd like to leave it closed with the screen facing out towards me, but I need some kind of protective cover so that I don't scratch it.

Why I like Riding on Holidays

2011-04-24T17:16:00.004-05:00

Why I like riding on holidays-I get to explore places that I wouldn't normally, like the mall.

Work

2011-04-22T17:35:00.001-05:00

No, I don't have a skin disease. This is the result of some pretty intense, realistic training at work over the last couple of days.

Those marks were made by this stuff-Simunition training ammo. Obviously it's non-lethal but that little marking ball is traveling about 450 feet per second. You know it when you're hit.

I don't mention work very often, the agency I work for wouldn't like me discussing too much on my blog, so I'll be somewhat vague. This was the first time in my 21 plus years with this agency that we've trained with simunition and it was a real eye opener. I got shot up while role playing as a bad guy. I was given the task of popping out from a hallway behind a tactical team to insure that the rear guard was paying attention-he was. We fired at the same time. I got him twice in the throat as he and several of his guys peppered my legs, groin, and abdomen. Luckily my abdomen and groin were protected. I was wearing jeans and felt the sharp stinging from multiple rounds impacting on my thighs. Surprisingly I could only find two cuts and bruises. If you want to see your breathing and heart rate shoot through the roof, get involved in a running shootout.

This is what we were doing.

Saturday Morning Ride 04-16-11

2011-04-16T18:23:00.001-05:00

You couldn't ask for better weather. It was perfect, bright and sunny with just a slightly perceptible chill in the air. I rode off looking to do something a little different today.

Off I went.

I was using the plastic container to hold my camera.

I pulled off the trail at the University Drive trailhead and ran across these young men, Adam and Kyle Wilson. They're TCU student raising money for an 800 mile bike ride to raise money for people with disabilities. If you'd like to donate click on this link and select either Adam or Kyle Wilson.

Next stop was the Modern Art Museum. I had wanted to see the Ed Ruscha exhibit but I decided to wait till next week so I can take my wife with me.

Traffic at the Will Rogers Memorial Center.

My next stop.

I asked the lady at the front desk if I could take photos. She said as long as I wasn't a member of PETA or some radical organization. She was only half joking. We talked for a bit and she explained that most of the items for sale were from rich peoples' private collections. She said old ladies will call them and say, "My husband just died, will you come get this s**t out of here." I had heard that many of the African big game animals being auctioned were killed in the 1960's and earlier. A special permit is required to sell some of these items.

This flea market was going on next door.

I really wanted this clock.

The only things that I picked up at the flea market were these three pins that will soon be adorning my pannier. Are they actually from the locations they represent? I'd like to think so.

I stopped for a quick meal at the Magnolia Motor Lodge before heading home. By the way, they'll be raffling this car off on May 11th. The tickets are $40. Take a chance!

I bet you could fit a bike rack on this thing.

A Wednesday in Sweden

2011-04-13T18:49:00.001-05:00

I took the day off work and drove my wife the 53 miles to the nearest Ikea store in Frisco. Since I hate crowds I refuse to go on weekends. The Wednesday trip was a smart move as there was plenty of breathing room in the big blue store today. We both enjoy our trips to Ikea as it gives us the opportunity to visit without distractions during the long drive to Frisco and back.

A trip to Ikea might be equivalent to a trip to Sears for some of you guys but Ikea stores are a rare commodity here in Texas. It's relatively inexpensive way for us to furnish our house with a more modern style furniture that we both like.

We arrived close to lunch time so I made a mad dash to my favorite part of the store-the cafeteria.

I ate a meal so authentically Swedish (meatballs and that lingonberry stuff) that it came with a miniature flag. They put the flag on the plate to let the cashier know that the fat guy coming through received an extra serving of meatballs. I'm starting to collect the little flags. I topped things off with a serving of almond pie and pretty decent cup of coffee. I believe the Swedes are prolific coffee drinkers, at least that's what I gathered from reading The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

My wife was eating healthier. She had the stuffed salmon with potatoes and veggies. It's surprising how inexpensive it is to eat here. Sometimes they'll have a special where they'll refund the price of your meals if you spend a certain amount in the rest of the store.

sampling the furniture.

The way the store is layed out you usually end up browsing among the same people through the entirety of your visit.

Ikea specializes in furnishings for confined spaces.

Shawn (Urban Adventure League) had mentioned some time back that Ikea sells a stainless steel moka pot somewhat similar to the Bialetti. I kept my eyes open and found the Radig. It comes in two sizes. I'm guessing that the smaller one is a two cup ($14.99) and the larger a six cup ($19.99)? The sell replacement gaskets but I didn't see them anywhere.

On my previous trip I discovered that Ikea sells fabric at a reasonable price. Most of the stuff is nice and brightly colored but not suitable for male oriented bike bags and stuff. You could make some cool pillow covers and curtains.

Project Mania-Done!!!

2011-04-12T20:10:00.001-05:00

Finally, it's done. I took the countrified Lotus out for a shakedown ride and was happy with the way it handled on pavement and off. Those big tires sure smooth out the ride.

It took much longer to complete this project than I had anticipated. I don't think I'll be doing another for quite a while.

I ended up swiping the brakes from my wife's bike. She can't ride due to a medical condition, so they won't be missed anytime soon.

I left the brake cables longer than necessary so that I can raise my stem a couple of inches if the need arises.

The REG water bottle cage proved sturdy and rattle free.

Project Mania 5

2011-04-09T17:01:00.001-05:00

After a long and arduous work week I thought I'd relax and enjoy the simple pleasure of working on my project bike. Was it relaxing? No-not really. I knew I would eventually run into problems. I mean, what fun is a project that doesn't provide a challenge? If I was a little more rested I'd enjoy these hurdles but I feel like I'm suffering from a hangover. I'll get my mind back in the game eventually.

I took the crankset apart and gave everything a bath in the ultrasonic cleaner.

I was going to replace the bottom bracket with a sealed cartridge unit but the original spindle is 116mm whereas the closest size cartridge BB is 115mm. Maybe the 1mm difference wouldn't matter, but it's just this kind of thing that always gets me in a bind. I decided to play it safe and use the original equipment.

The Dia Compe non-areo brake levers that I purchased from Velo-Orange came with brown hoods. I replaced the original hoods with a pair of Cane Creek hoods. The Cane Creek hoods are shapped differently and required some modification.

I used a box cutter to remove a small amount of material from the hinge area.

It's still not a perfect fit but it'll work.

The wheels are finally done and I think they look great. One of the mechanics commented on the odd pairing of Campy Chorus hubs and Sun CR-18 rims. (1st stupid mistake) I installed a pair of Maxxis Overdrive tires on the rims and discovered that the tires are 38mm, I thought they were 35mm. I should have been wearing my glasses when I bought them. Since I plan to use this as a country bike I'm determined to make them work.

There was very little clearance between the rear tire and the chainstay. Note my choice of footwear. They're frocs (fake Crocs) paired with old man black socks. They're perfect for this kind of work. They have yet to be worn in public

My solution to the clearance problem-slide the wheel further back in the dropouts. Will this negatively affect shifting, degrade handling or whatever? I'll soon find out.

Slide the wheel to the rear of the dropouts and......

I've got a little more breathing room.

(2nd stupid mistake) I ordered some nutted Tektro 559s for the 27" to 700c conversion. First of all the arms are too long. The pads hit below the rim at the shortest adjustment. Second, as you can see in the photo, there is no clearance between the tire and the arch of the brake.

I looked through my parts pile and found an old pair of Dia Compe brakes that I had pulled off of a junked bike. These brakes seemed to solve the clearance issue, the only problem is they came off of an old mixte. The fixtures that hold the cable are reversed from a normal brake (the cable comes in from below the brake on some mixtes as opposed to the top) and could not be removed and swapped. The brake in the photo is the front brake, I just used it to show the difference in tire clearance.

Well, there you go. There were more little problems that I ran into but I can't recall them all. I hope to have this bike put together by next weekend, that is if I don't have another killer work week.

Saturday Morning Ride 04-02-11

2011-04-02T18:49:00.001-05:00

I can't describe how badly I needed to ride this morning. Work has been a complete nightmare this week, on top of that I learned that my grandmother passed away. We were very close despite the fact that after 101 years of living in Texas she never learned to speak english and my spanish speaking ability never progressed beyond a certain level. Despite that we always managed to understand each other. No, this hasn't been a good week.

I was hoping to hit a few yard sales. There seemed to be quite a few in the neighborhood yesterday, but this was the only one I ran across today.

The bluebonnets were out in force, for you folks living in other parts of the country (or world) the bluebonnet is the Texas state flower. They grow everywhere down here.

A quick stop along the trail.

I've got a brand new camera that I'm learning how to use. It's a Samsung TL500. It was on sale for $309 on Amazon. Hopefully my photos will improve as I brush up on my manual photography.

Another quick stop at the Trinity River.

I relaxed a bit at the Starbucks on University Drive.

Well fed ducks observed on the return trip.

Still messing with the camera-it's got an articulating screen which makes it easy to take photos from weird angles.

Time for lunch. Just before heading home I stopped at one of out new eating establishments, Jersey Mike's Subs on Hulen Street. This is their Philly Cheesesteak-not bad.

**Random Afterthought**After reading my grandmother's obituary (linked above), I"m reminded that some of the older men in my family had very odd names, all beginning with the letter "P" for some reason. My father's name was Protacio (he went by Pete), my grandfather's name was Procacio, there's Procopio, and finally Policarpio (This is the spanish version of the biblical name Polycarp).

Project Mania 4

2011-03-29T18:26:00.001-05:00

I picked up a small container of Oxalic Acid (O.A.) from my neighborhood Ace Hardware store for about $8. I've been reading about O.A.'s rust eating ability and wanted to try it for myself.

***Most of this took place the weekend before last but I've been too busy to post about it till now.

Wood Bleach, A.K.A. Oxalic Acid

My pink swimming pool was just slightly too small to allow complete immersion, I flipped the frame over numerous times throughout the process. I kept the frame in the solution for about 6 hours. I removed it when I noticed that the paint wasn't fairing too well (more on that below).

Here's a before shot of the bottom bracket shell.

Here's what it looked like after. Whatever rust remained, which wasn't much at all, was scrubbed with steel wool. I went over the frame and coated the exposed rust free steel with clear nail polish.

Here's a an old REG water bottle cage that I picked up for a quarter at a recent swap meet. I let this soak in the OA overnight.

After-All rust is gone, the metal is pitted in some places but it looks good. The chrome on one of the clamps is gone, but, if you look at the photo above, the chrome was gone before the cage went into the solution. I would like to find another one of these bottle cages with the clamps. The original REG clamps are very sturdy and shaped to prevent the cage from shifting (this frame require clamp on cages).

The chrome on the fork wasn't great to begin with but I noticed quite a bit of pitting after removing the frame from the solution.

The headbadge was much cleaner and brighter.

Now, about the paint. When I pulled the frame out of the solution I was surprised at how dull the paint had become (unfortunately I didn't take photos). Every scratch in the paint was painfully visible. I sprayed the frame with furniture polish but that didn't help at all. On a whim I grabbed a can of WD-40 and sprayed the top tube, surprisingly it did the trick. I doused the frame with WD-40, the paint seemed to soak it up like a sponge. Most of the scratches disappeared and the shine returned. My advice, if you plan to try O.A., go with a weak mix and long immersion time rather than the other way around.

A Ride in the Country 03-26-11

2011-03-26T20:25:00.001-05:00

I loaded up my bike early this morning and made the 60 mile drive north to Sanger, Texas. Chris (Pondero) invited me up for a ride in the country.

Gassed up and ready to go.

We started the ride at 8:30 AM, the temperature was expected to reach 86. We didn't expect was the 20+ mile per hour headwind that we faced.

Chris is pointing to the metropolis of Slidell, Texas, our next stop.

Slidell is out there somewhere.

We found this little guy enjoying the sunshine.

Rat Snake?

The post office in Slidell.

We stopped at the city park for a break. Nobody has bothered to remove the Christmas tree from the pavillion.

I brought along a French press (the maroon thing on the left) a pot, and my Trangia alcohol stove.

This was Chris' setup, notice the scones and jam.

I'm stirring the coffee before using the plunger. There's nothing like fresh coffee and scones for a mid-ride snack.

We rode back toward Chris' house enjoying the strong tailwind.

We stopped for another quick break in front of this old abandoned house before working our way back to Chris' place.

Project Mania 3

2011-03-14T20:44:00.001-05:00

Yet again I must apologize for not responding to comments like I should. I've been working a lot of hours lately and it just doesn't mesh well with my blogging. I do read and greatly appreciate your comments. Now, on to bike stuff...

Despite having owned this thing for a little over seven hours, I give two thumbs up to the ultrasonic cleaner I picked up from Harbor Freight Tools for 69.99. I read about it on Bike Forums and decided that this would be a great time saving item.

This is the 2.5 liter model. I don't think you would want to get anything smaller. The water heating feature on this cleaner is excellent, it softens up the caked on grime.

I threw the crank arm in there to give a sense of scale.

This was my test item.

Test item-before.

I ran it through several cycles and did a little scrubbing with a toothbrush.

Test item-after. It's good and clean and ready for polishing (if I'm up to it).

I blasted it with the air compressor to dry it off, then I scrubbed at the rusted areas with some fine steel wool; finally, I lubed the rust prone parts and hinges.

I started throwing everything in there. By the way, I filled the tub with water and a mild dishwashing detergent. I'll try Dawn next time around.

Clean! You could eat off this thing.

Sunday Afternoon Ride 03-06-11

2011-03-06T20:06:00.002-06:00

I couldn't have asked for better weather for today's ride, it was perfect. As is usually the case I rolled out of the house with no particular destination in mind, so this post is kind of rambling, just like my ride.

Fresh pavement-nice.

I rode the new bike lane down 7th Street towards Montgomery Plaza.

I pulled into the Montgomery Plaza parking lot and headed to Starbucks for a drink. The parking lot was crowded and required extra vigilance.

After working my way up the dreaded "Radio Shack Hill" I headed towards Sundance Square.

Sundance Square ahead.

I took a break on the way to the bike shop. The tall building in the background is the Omni Hotel.

I pulled up to the bike shop and ran into Nickolas (and his Surly Big Dummy), he informed me that the shop was closed. We talked for a bit and I learned that he had found a purse laying on 7th Street. He contacted the owner and informed her that he'd leave the purse with the guys at Trinity-since they were closed he made arrangements to leave it at Spiral Diner instead.

Since we were headed the same way, I rode with Nickolas to the diner.

Spiral Diner-Nickolas ran inside to take care of the purse business, I continued on my way.

Avoca Coffee, this place is directly across the street from Spiral Diner. There are lots of people eagerly waiting for this place to open, especially me. Fort Worth desperately needs independently owned coffehouses.

Leaves and flowers are starting to spring forth, it's like somebody flipped a switch.

Project Mania 2

2011-02-28T21:04:00.001-06:00

Here's a quick progress report. I've been concentrating on the Lotus while I wait on the construction of a set of 700c wheels:

I replaced the narrow handlebars and brake levers that were originally mounted on the Lotus. The old Shimano 600 levers showed some battle scars.

I was going to remove the brake levers and throw them in my parts pile until I noticed that they were attached to the bars with a nut. There just wasn't enough space to get a socket in there. I threw them aside and moved on.

My package from Velo Orange arrived this afternoon with a pair of MKS Touring Pedals, a brass bell and a very nice replacement set of brake levers. I like the look of the non-aero brake levers.

Since I'll be switching from 27" wheels to 700c, I decided to replace the original Shimano 600 brakes with a pair of long reach Tektros.

I rode over to Half Priced Books this weekend and bought a few maintenance books. I was looking for old books because all I work on are old bikes. I struck gold with this 1986 book from Bicycling Magazine, the repair guide in the center was published in 1972. The Park Tool repair guide is practically brand new, it was printed in 2008.

Back in the U.S.S.R.

2011-02-22T20:01:00.001-06:00

I'm a weird guy, I don't have a problem admitting that. Somehow I managed to stumble into another strange hobby, collecting Russian watches. They're affordable, they're different, and they provide an alternative to looking at your cell phone to see what time it is.

This arrived on my doorstep today.

It's a Vostok Amphibia, it cost a whopping $59 plus shipping on Ebay. I was a little concerned about buying anything from Russia but I read plenty of positive comments about the seller (Zenitar) on various watch forums. This same watch is available in a huge variety of faces, you're bound to find something you like.

The watches are well regarded but the stock bracelet is considered junk. I immediately replaced it with a couple of military style nylon straps.

From what I gathered the Radio Room is the most sought after version of the Amphibia. There is also a Radio Room with a black face, it's pretty cool.

Vostok Amphibia-if it's good enough for Steve Zissou it's good enough for me. All I need now is a red cap and a speedo.

FARATS

2011-02-22T17:39:00.003-06:00

My FARATS prize arrived about a week ago; delivered in bear-proof packaging, see Big Oak's post on this matter. Despite my urging my wife has yet to purchase a waffle iron. I could pour this syrup on some Wal-Mart toaster waffles, but, that just doesn't seem right. I want real waffles (and bacon!) to go with this fine Canadian product. Stay tuned.

Project Mania 1

2011-02-20T14:52:00.002-06:00

I've got three bikes I want to modify in some form or fashion, the 70's Lotus, the Panasonic ATB, my Takara touring bike, and my wife's Univega Mixte. I decided to start with the wheels. The Lotus, Takara, and Univega are all currently sporting 27" wheels on 126mm hubs. With this size wheel there doesn't appear to be any tire available wider than 1" 1/4 (32mm). I'm switching to 700c for a better selection in tires and widths. The Panaracer ATB is an early 80's mountain bike which surprisingly uses an old road bike sized 126mm rear hub in a 26" rim.

Chris (Pondero), being the great guy that he is, donated a couple of old wheels to my cause. The donated wheels are 27" with 126mm hubs. I'm not using the hubs that are currently on my bike because-the rear hub on the touring bike has 40 spokes (not many rim choices), the rear hubs on the Lotus and Univega are Shimano Uniglide (obsolete and difficult (expensive!) to find replacement cassettes). The Panasonic was purchased as a frame only, so no hub there. The hubs were remove from Chris' donor wheels and I got to work.

This is the hub shell from one of the donor wheels. It's a Campagnolo Chorus, at least I think it is, I compared it to photos of similar hubs on Ebay. The other hub is stamped "Schwinn approved".

It's hard to see but it's stamped "England" which I'm pretty sure refers to English threading.

The Atom 77 Compact freewheel. This is where I ran into my first problem. To remove this freewheel you need a Park Tool FR-4 for Regina/ Atom freewheels. I didn't have one, and I didn't want to order one, so I ran over to a nearby bike shop that's been in business since the 70's. It took some searching but they eventually found the right tool and removed the Atom freewheels from the Campy and Schwinn hubs.

While I had the hub apart for maintenance, I attacked the shell with some aluminum polish. This old Campy stuff cleans up nicely.

Nice! It looks even better in person.

Raleigh Port Townsend

2011-02-19T10:42:00.001-06:00

According to Statcounter, one of the most visited posts on my blog is the September 12, 2009 post titled Raleigh Japan. In it I posted a link and photos of Raleigh road bikes that aren't available in the United States. These are steel bikes equipped with Nitto M-12 type front racks, cantilever or v-brakes, quill stems, and even downtube shifters on one bike. I recently noticed an ad in Bicycling Times for the new Raleigh Port Townsend. Like the Japanese bikes it's a steel framed bike equipped with cantilever brakes and a front rack suitable for carrying a rando bag. It's also equipped with bar end shifters. Unfortunately the Raleigh site doesn't give much information about the bikes intended usage. The One Way looks to be the same frame set up as a single speed. I like the direction that Raleigh is headed. Oh, the retail price for the Port Townsend is $879 at R.E.I.

Port Townsend

One Way

Bialetti Photos

2011-02-17T18:56:00.002-06:00

I ordered a 1 cup Bialetti Moka Express from Amazon after reading a blog post on Jerome's Bikes. When the package arrived, I opened it and was surprised at just how small the little Bialetti actually was. It's a true one-cup espresso maker. I've made about four or five cups of espresso at this point, I'm still trying to work out the proper grind but so far everything I've made has tasted great.

The Bialetti 1 cup Moka Express. It's tiny, my little girl thinks it's adorable.

The top portion unscrews, you add water to the bottom container and place coffee in the basket.

I ground the coffee a bit too coarse. I should have added a little more as well.

After about 5 minutes it was ready to serve.

It turned out weak this time around.

It still tasted great.

Larry's Birthday Ride

2011-02-12T21:40:00.002-06:00

Larry (a fixture in the Fort Worth bike scene) turned 62 this past Friday. To celebrate he announced a 62 mile group ride to take place this morning. The plan was to ride 31 miles on the Trinity Trail in east Fort Worth, return, eat lunch downtown, and then do the final 31 miles on the trails out west. I did the first 31 miles, ate lunch and called it a day, so, the photos in this post cover only half the ride.

Happy Birthday Larry!

Dave's beautiful 3Rensho.

Paul (Doohickie) being a gentleman.

We're off headed north through downtown towards the trails.

We ran into a couple of obstacles along the way.

Mud

Waiting for stragglers.

We rode through the stockyards before heading downtown for lunch.

An interesting house deserving restoration.

Headed to the Flying Saucer.

Bike parking.

Cold Splinters

2011-02-11T16:11:00.005-06:00

Here's a link to an interesting blog I've been regularly visiting called Cold Splinters. From there you can click on a link to a Flickr set containing some great photos of cross country tours in the 70's. Enjoy.

Take a Shower, Smell Good

2011-02-09T16:03:00.002-06:00

I ordered some handmade soap and I must say, I smell fantastic. Usually I just smell like deodorant. These aren't just any soaps, they were made by Chandra's wife Theresa which makes them special. I ordered a couple of the more male oriented Woodsblend and Sandalwood. On the scale of nice scents, these soaps rank right up there with the smell of fresh brewed coffee.

Angelic Soap-the photos in their Etsy shop are much nicer.

Theresea sent a couple of samples, the one on the left is Herb Garden and the other is Winter Forest. She also scent a sample of Lemon Sugar but my youngest daughter grabbed it and ran off to the shower before I could get a photo.

Chandra-purveyor of fine soaps, cyclist, snazzy dresser, and all-around good guy.

Everyday, give yourself a present. Not really about soap but kind of along the same lines.

Decisions

2011-02-07T19:03:00.001-06:00

I'm in a position that I'm rarely in, I've got some money burning a hole in my pocket. I'm not poor mind you but I've got four kids to feed, clothe, and educate. Usually when I prepare to buy some shiny new bike part or accessory, I go through mental checklist; does anybody need new shoes, a jacket? What about car repairs? I'm sure you guys know what I'm talking about. At this time, I have clicked through my mental checklist and determined that bike stuff may be purchased without guilt. Now, what to buy?

My Takara has shown itself to be a great all-arounder. I momentarily considered buying a new Long Haul Trucker, but, after an honest assessment I decided against it. I've had my camping gear together for quite some time now and have managed a grand total of one S24O. A long tour necessitating an honest to goodness touring bike will not be happening anytime soon. So I'm now thinking in terms of cargo hauling. I'm looking at the new Civia Halsted. It's so new that there aren't any reviews to be found.

This is the Halsted with an optional folding cargo box they're working on. I think it would be great for hitting garage sales or hauling stuff home from the grocery store. Price for the Halsted is around $995.

Instead of buying a new bike it might be more fun just to go ahead with a couple of projects that I haven't been able to start. I've got the old Panasonic ATB frame gathering dust in the garage. One thing that I will do is make a few adjustments to the Lotus that I had originally purchased for my eldest child. He's working and going to school and hasn't shown much interest in riding lately, so I've officially claimed the Lotus as my second bike. He can borrow it when he'd like. I'll keep you guys updated.

These are the Craigslist photos of the Panasonic ATB. I used that huge sofa seat as leverage to twist the stuck seatpost free. I ordered a cheap dynohub from Trinity Bicycles that I may build into a 26" wheel for this frame. I kicking around the idea of equipping this thing with an internally geared hub.

I bought a wider set of classic bend drop bars at a recent swap meet for $5. I'll be fitting them to a Nitto Technomic stem that I've been holding onto for a while. I'm hoping that raising the bars will make riding drop bars tolerable once again. I also plan to swap the 27" wheels for 700c's, Maybe I'll go to 650b, if it's possible.

Empire of the Summer Moon

2011-02-02T15:49:00.002-06:00

I recently finished a very interesting book (on my awesome Kindle of course) that I wanted to mention to you folks. It's called Empire of the Summer Moon (2010). It's about the history of the Comanches and their last great leader Quanah Parker. I've never taken the time to learn much about Native American history, but I happened to catch an interview on NPR with the author S.C. Gwynne and thought the subject sounded very interesting, especially since many of the raids and battles detailed in the book took place in areas around Fort Worth. Fort Worth was on the western edge of the frontier and on the eastern edge of Comancheria (Comanche territory). Here's a link to Fresh Air's interview with Gwynne. Mr. Gwynne used to write for Texas Monthly and is currently a senior writer at Dallas Morning News.

Cynthia Ann Parker was kidnapped in 1936 at the age of 9 during a bloody Comanche raid on the Parker family fort in what is now Groesbeck, Texas. Cynthia Ann eventually forgot how to speak English. While in captivity she married a chief named Peta Nocona and gave birth to Quanah and several other children. Cynthia Ann is pictured below with her daughter Prairie Flower in this 1861 photo taken in Fort Worth.

Chief Quanah Parker, being half white, was larger than most of his Comanche bretheren. After spending most of his life raiding settlements and conducting war with the whites and other Indian tribes, he and his band surrendered to the U.S. government in 1875. They were settled on a reservation in western Oklahoma. Quanah, adapted to his circumstances and turned out to be adept at business and politics and became a minor celebrity. He built a large house on the reservation and hosted famous guests including President Theodore Roosevelt. The house he built (Star House) still stands in Cache, Oklahoma.

1910 photo of Quanah and three of his five wives.

Star House.

Captain John (Jack) Coffee Hays, Texas Rangers. In the early 1840's Captain Hays learned to defeat the Comanches by fighting as they did, entirely from horseback. Before this time the army would ride to battle, dismount and fight from the ground, usually with poor results. Captain Hays successfuly pioneered the use of the revolver in battle.

A statue of Captain Hays in San Marcos, Texas.

One thing that was interesting about the book was that the author frankly describes the brutal violence that played a big part of the war with the Comanches. I'm amazed at the risk that families faced by settling beyond the frontier. To illustrate these dangers the author included a photo in the book that I had never seen before. It's of a buffalo hunter scalped and killed (or vice versa) in 1868 near Fort Dodge, Kansas. This hunter was actually scalped by Cheyennes, but scalping was regularly practiced by the Comanches as well as settlers seeking revenge for Comanche raids. Notice the terrain in the photo. There was nowhere to hide.

Since I mentioned scalping....this is a photo of Robert McGee,he was scalped as a child in 1864 by Sioux Chief Little Turtle. It's hard to imagine somebody surviving a wound like that without succumbing to infection.

2nd Battle of Adobe Walls: On June 27 1874, Quanah led a group of about 700 warriors against a group of about 28 buffalo hunters barricaded in an old trading post in north Texas called Adobe Walls. The hunters managed to survive the assault on the outpost. As the Comanches dropped back to a distance that they believed to be out of rifle range to discuss their strategy. The hunters used their highly accurate, long-range, Sharps rifles to pick off the Comanches one at a time. Quanah was wounded in the shoulder and his horse was killed. It was during this battle that Billy Dixon made his famous shot, shooting a Comanche off his horse approximately 1 mile away. Click on the photo below. The man is standing in the approximate location where Dixon took his shot. He's pointing to the ridge where the Comanche was located.

Lake Mineral Wells State Trailway

2011-01-29T20:06:00.001-06:00

I drove out to Weatherford today to spend a couple of hours riding the Lake Mineral Wells State Trailway. Weatherford is about 25 miles west of Fort Worth. The trail runs 20 miles from Weatherford to the town of Mineral Wells. I wasn't planning to do a 40 mile out and back ride today so I determined that I'd turn around after I hit the 10 mile mark. It was nice to get out of the city for a change.

This is how I haul my bike. It's a 1992 Toyota Landcruiser that I bought used in 1998. I believe the 1992 model year was the last year that the vehicle was more of a truck than a luxury vehicle. There is no wood accented dash or leather upholstery anywhere in this truck. It's very reliable and built like a tank although it is way underpowered.

This is how you haul a horse. That's not a cheap setup. I don't know if there's a cabin in the front of the trailer or if the air conditioning unit is for the horse.

The Weatherford trailhead.

I couldn't have asked for better weather. It was warm enough that I didn't need a jacket but cool enough to keep sweating to a minimum.

This photo gives you a good idea of what the majority of the eastern half of the trail looks like.

Be alert for signs of altitude sickness.

Just past the 10 mile mark I found myself at a trailhead in Garner, Texas, population of about 100.

I rode across the street from the trailhead and decided to grab a bite to eat.

This....is a chicken fried steak. It ranks right up there with Tex-Mex as a state favorite. I'll rank this particular CFS as one of the top 5 that I've ever had, and I've had them from one end of the state to the other. It came with mashed potatoes (including the skin), covered with cream gravy. Awesome! Did I say Awesome? Yes, it's awesome.

Here's an undercover photo of your typical small town Texas lunch crowd. I think the lady on the right was on to me.

I waddled out the door stuffed to the gills.

The Garner trailhead as I headed back west towards my truck.

An interesting old stone building near the trailhead. This style of building is fairly common in this area.

Horses grazing peacefully in what was once Comanche territory. More on that in another post.

As I was leaving town I managed to snap a photo of the Parker County Courthouse, built in 1885.

Bialetti Moka Express

2011-01-23T16:42:00.001-06:00

I've seen these funny little coffee makers around but I never thought much about them until I read a great post over at Jerome's Bikes.

I've got a French press that I bought for camping, however this stove top espresso machine looks like it would be simpler to use in the field. After reading Jerome's blog post I ordered the 1 cup model through Amazon for $19.99 (check out the positive reviews of this product). It should work well with my Trangia stove. Be sure to watch Jerome's informative video, there's a link at the bottom of his post. Thanks for the recommendation Jerome.

Cheap Wool

2011-01-23T15:34:00.003-06:00

If you like wool and don't mind riding in non-cycling specific clothing, now's the time to go shopping. Most winter gear is on sale, at least it is here in Texas. Dillard's had Woolrich and Pendleton wool on sale for half price or less. Same thing at Eddie Bauer where I picked up a nice wool cardigan for about $48 including tax.

I like cardigans, they allow you to regulate your temperature more than a regular pullover sweater. The shawl collar does a great job of keeping my neck warm. Flip it up and it's just like wearing a scarf. The big buttons are a plus. They make it easy to button and unbutton with one hand while riding.

I've been using this heavy denim shirt as a light jacket. I layered it over the cardigan to keep the wind from cutting through.

And underneath, an awesome t-shirt from Gallus Cycles. I bought it from Jeremy at the recent Great Southwest Bike Swap. This years swap meet was packed with attendees. They might need to consider a larger venue for next year.

I still haven't done much riding lately. I went out for a short ride today. I stopped off at an Estate Sale but I was a couple of days too late. The place had been practically picked clean.

Posters by Meli

2011-01-15T17:13:00.001-06:00

I love screen printed posters, especially if the subject matter has something to do with bikes. Meligrosa over at Bikes and the City, is now selling her 2009 and 2010 ArtCrank posters on Pedalr. The poster in the photos is the 2009 version which will soon be framed and hanging on our wall. Meli designed the poster and had it screen printed by Pedal Printing.

If you're a regular visitor to her blog you'll recognize the bike in the poster as Frenchie, Meli's nice vintage mixte.

A very nice three color print by Pedal Printing.

I'm Back.

2011-01-15T16:26:00.001-06:00

Once again, things at the RTP household have been a bit hectic, and once again, I have neglected by blog friends. Sorry about that. Here's something I meant to post last week but wasn't able to get around to it.

Sometime early last week I made my way over to Trinity Bicycles and asked if they had any touring pedals on hand. I walked out of there with a pair of Grip Kings. So far I like them.

I've been needing a pouch for my Kindle. I've got some left over cotton duck that I though would work for the exterior. I just needed some padding and a soft fabric for the interior of the pouch. I rode over to the closest fabric store to pick up the materials.

I forgot my lock so I leaned my bike against the window where I could keep an eye on it. I then shoved my jacket through the spokes between the fork and basket stays in the hope that it might slow a thief down long enough for me to run outside and grab hold of him.

I took my time browsing through the sewing gadgets and accessories (I believe they are called notions but I refuse to use that word, it's kind of girly).

I laid everything out and got to work. It didn't take long for things to go down hill. Sewing padding between two layers of fabric is a real pain in the rear. Everything kept bunching up no matter how many pins I used. I ended up with a pouch but it can't be described as attractive. I will make another attempt at producing a functional and presentable pouch this weekend.

I picked up this sewing awl at Tandy Leather Factory after reading about a similar item here. It should come in handy for repairing all kinds of gear.

Food of the Gods!

2011-01-03T17:53:00.001-06:00

Me and my wife are from far south Texas, McAllen to be exact, just a stone's throw from the Rio Grande River. Interestingly we are both half Mexican and half Irish (what a combo). My wife's parents still live in McAllen. Every year during the holiday season, they'll make the nine hour drive to Fort Worth hauling an ice chest packed full of tamales (of the highest quality), and fixings for menudo. Cooking menudo is a New Years Eve tradition, at least it is in south Texas.

There are several regional variations of menudo. This south Texas version calls for hominy and.......

...beef tripe (stomach and intestines), pigs feet, peppers, and a variety of spices. Menudo has a special smell when it's cooking. To be honest it smells terrible, at least until the spices are mixed in.

This is my father-in-law scraping the seeds out of the peppers. Excuse the mess in the kitchen, we had about sixteen people in our little house. It's hard to keep things orderly with that kind of crowd.

Almost ready. I forgot to snap a photo of the finished product.

After a few days of eating tamales, my mother-in law changes things up by making a kind of tamale casserole by adding chili and cheese. Please note; if you are planning to try tamales for the first time, remove the corn husk wrapper before eating. They are much better that way.

The tamale casserole. It's probably not the healthiest meal but, darn it's good!

Last Ride of the Year

2010-12-31T15:43:00.001-06:00

The temperature was 57 degrees (13.8 C), with a 15mph headwind.

I rode over to 7th Street and had a look at our newest bike lanes. This is the view from the east end looking west.

I believe the lanes extend all the way to University Drive.

After a little sightseeing I started looking for a place to eat. I had read a positive review in Fort Worth Weekly about The Tavern and decided to give it a try. It was easy to reach by bike. The restaurant is located at 2755 S. Hulen, across the street from Marvin's Electronics.

I ordered the fish tacos with grilled mahi-mahi. The fish was very good although I think Fort Worth Weekly's definition of Tex-Mex differs from mine. Folks on the border in south Texas, where me and my wife grew up, will eat just about any gland, organ, and body part of a cow, goat, or pig. I've eaten just about all of it. I had never seen a menu that offered fish tacos, and had never tried one, until I moved to Fort Worth.

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More ride by photography

This is a nice looking mid-century modern home, but somebody needs to tell these people to remove those evergreen trees and shrubs. They obscure the most interesting feature of this house, the large front windows.

Ugh...More Nerdiness!

2010-12-25T13:12:00.001-06:00

My last post and the comments it elicited brought up memories of childhood, Matchbox cars, army men, and a few other long forgotten toys. Does anybody remember Dinky Toys? In the 70's I was a big fan of Gerry Anderson's cheesy, British made, science fiction series Space 1999. The story was about a group of people stranded on a moon base after the moon is blown out of orbit following a nuclear explosion. I used to hurry home from Cub Scouts and watch this show with great concentration. At some point I bought a Space 1999 Eagle spacecraft made by Dinky Toys. Dinky made high quality die cast metal toys. In addition to making some cool and unusual realistic looking military toys with spring loaded missiles and such, they produced a whole collection of toys featuring vehicles from Gerry Anderson's other shows, Thunderbirds, and UFO. I wish that I had kept the catalog that came with the toy I bought. I haven't come across one online yet. Good times.

All this supposedly happened in 1999, it's almost 2011 people! Where's my Eagle spacecraft? Where's my stretchy jumpsuit? Where's my laser weaponry?

Yet again, this was supposed to be taking place in 1980.

The Dinky Toys Eagle

Back to bike stuff.

Nerd!

2010-12-24T08:49:00.006-06:00

When I was a child in the early 70's, my grandparents let me keep their old Bell & Howell 16mm movie camera. I tried making stop motion films. I was a big fan of Ray Harryhausen at the time. Most of my masterpieces were never taken to the drug store to be dropped off for development. Anyway, this video is nerdy and yet really cool at the same time. It reminded me of the way I used to play with my cars and army men. I figured some of you guys are nerdy enough to enjoy it as well.

Afternoon Ride 12-23-10

2010-12-23T18:13:00.002-06:00

I let Bernie replace the bent axle on my rear wheel rather than handle it myself. I'm glad I did. Bernie ran into some problems obtaining the right part. It was a minor annoyance for him but I would have been pulling my hair out. I picked up my wheel yesterday, this morning I was out riding for the first time in a month.

It was cold, dark, and gloomy today. When I say it was cold, I mean it was cold for me. It was 50 degrees (10 Celsius).

Somebody has been decorating this little tree along the Trinity Trails for the past few years. It's always nice to see.

I really don't have much in the way of winter riding gear. I've taken to wearing pants (usually jeans), a fleece pullover, and my old yellow, waterproof-breathable Helly Hansen shell. I look rather pensive in this photo.

Playing around with the timer.

A birdhouse along the trail. That's the railyard in the background. This isn't the most scenic spot.

Snack time. My peanut butter bar didn't handle the cold too well. It was like eating a brick.

The Circle of Life

2010-12-15T17:29:00.002-06:00

I was laying in bed this afternoon dealing with the flu, or a terrible cold, when I heard alot honking on the street outside my window. One of the squirrels that lived in our tree managed to get himself run over. I had seen the squirrel laying in the street earlier this morning and intended to remove it. Of course I forgot about it. When I heard the honking I looked out the window and saw three large black vultures blocking traffic in the street. They were competing over the squirrel and had a few cars backed up in the westbound lane. That weren't about to move and miss out on an easy meal. I was able to walk right up to them and snap this photo. The sad thing is that on a daily basis this same squirrel would climb up on the window sill to our bedroom and stare at his reflection in the glass. If he was anywhere near the window you could tap on the glass and he would come in close to investigate. He was entertaining. He will be missed.

The American Black Vulture-natures street cleaners. I tried cleaning up the photo a bit, it was kind of gross.

Amazon Kindle

2010-12-04T16:21:00.001-06:00

After rediscovering my love of reading, I've spent the last couple of months reading everything I could get my hands on: Travels with Charley, Cannery Row, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Into the Wild, The Sun Also Rises, and other stuff. Just before Thanksgiving I did something that was out of character for me, rather than spend the proceeds from the recent sale of a bike on just more bike stuff, I bought an Amazon Kindle. My Kindle arrived the day before Thanksgiving. My wife, a Luddite when it's convenient for her, went on about the virtues of a book. I in turn attempted to impress her by propping my Kindle against a pillow on my stomach while holding a tortilla chip in one hand and a plate of queso dip in the other. A light tap with a pinkie is all that was needed to flip to the next page. You cant do that with a book. She wasn't impressed. So far I've read The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo (I heard about it from Meli) and one of Amazon's free classics-Sailing Alone Around the World. I'm liking the Kindle.

One battery charge will give you close to a month's worth of usage. It holds about 3,500 books. Most literary classics printed before 1923 are free.

One of the features I really appreciate is the ability to increase font size and sentence spacing. I like the print to be a little on the large size so I don't have to wear my glasses.

As I age and my eyesight gets worse, I'll just keep cranking up the font size.

RAMBLE!!!

2010-12-01T17:37:00.003-06:00

Saturday, December 18th is the Second Annual Fall Finale Forty-Mile Country Path Ramble. I just call it the Ramble. Last year's ride was a blast! This is a great chance to get out of the city and ride the scenic dirt roads of Denton and Wise Counties. This is not a pay ride, it's free, and everybody is invited. The ride departs from Chris' home just northwest of Sanger, he's got a large vacant lot in front of his house with plenty of space for parking. No, you don't have to know Chris to attend, like I said it's open to everyone, and I can assure you that you will feel welcome whether you know any of the other riders or not.

Chris has mentioned most of this already in his blog but I'll repeat a few things. This is a slow paced ride with lots of stops for photos and conversation. Since this isn't a true organized event there isn't any sag support. Be sure to bring along a spare tube. Be prepared for some climbing. You should consider bringing a thermos with coffee. I forgot to bring coffee last year and I really regretted it. You might also consider packing sandwiches or something similar to eat. We'll be stopping by the Rosston General Store but they don't offer much in the way of prepared food. Chris will be posting directions to his house sometime in the near future. If I think of anything else I'll post it later.

This is a photo from last year. This is one of the smoother roads that we were riding.

Bent Axle

2010-12-01T16:35:00.002-06:00

While I was taking part in the Cranksgiving alleycat last weekend, I noticed that I was experiencing intermittent brake rub on the non-drive side of my rear rim. I checked the brakes and didn't notice any problem, no spokes were broken. I finished the event but as the night wore on, I noticed that the brake only rubbed when I leaned a certain way. It turns out that the rear axle is bent. I dropped the wheel off at Trinity Bicycles yesterday. Bernie told me that he'll order the replacement and have me back on the road around the end of next week.

I mounted my old rear rack to my son's bike thinking that I would use it till my bike was ready to go. The drop bars are too low and narrow for me, even short rides cause me neck and shoulder pain. I've decided that my days of riding drop bars are over.

Experimenting with drive side single pannier placement. This a reference to an interesting question posed by Steve A.

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I'm having problems with some links disappearing on the right side of my blog. Occasionally I also find that I am no longer following a blog that I thought I was following. If you notice that your blog is no longer linked(or being followed), please don't think that it was intentional. I've got alot of stuff on the right side there, sometimes it takes me a while to realize what's missing. Don't be shy about letting me know if you would like me to link (or re-link) to your blog.

Cranksgiving

2010-11-21T13:53:00.002-06:00

Yesterday was Trinity Bicycles' first Cranksgiving charity alleycat. The goal was to collect food for the Tarrant Area Foodbank. We were given a manifest with addresses of Fort Worth grocery stores and descriptions of the items to be purchased at each location. We were then sent out across the city. The first person to visit each location and return to Trinity Bicycles with all required items and corresponding receipts would win the one of a kind Cranksgiving trophy.

I showed up at the shop and managed to catch a photo of the two fastest guys in this event, Michael O'brien (2nd place), in the red jersey, and Jeremy Shlacter (1st place), in the white and blue jersey.

The 1st place trophy

I overheard one of the other contestants talking about the trophy. Apparently it was part of a musuem display (Texas Cattlemans Museum?). At one time there was a cowboy kneeling on the calf preparing to brand it, which is why it is in the strange position that it's in. Somehow one of the guys at Trinity got ahold of it and found a truly creative use for this thing. It will be passed on to next years winner, kind of like the Stanley Cup. It's quite a conversation piece.

This awesome piece of American machinery was parked around the corner from the shop.

Bernie and Bryan provided instructions and handed out the manifests. We were given 10 minutes to review the maps before the start of the race.

1st stop in east Fort Worth. We were instructed to pick up three cans of vegetables at this store.

I initially started the race alone. I didn't have my glasses and had trouble reading the maps. Thankfully I crossed paths with a group of three kind individuals (Keith, Robin, and Jenette) who invited me into their group. I stayed with them throughout the remainder of the event.

Jenette and Keith at our second stop, Target on 7th Street. I never did get a good photo of Keith.

Robin and Jenette

Third stop in west Fort Worth.

Reviewing the maps.

Last stop in south Fort Worth. This group showed up just as we were leaving.

This was the scene at check-in. We were finished pretty far down on the list. The Trinity guys arranged for some free post-race food at T&P Tavern. Everybody had a great time.

Awesome! Paul Moore, a.k.a. Twister, took this photo of Jeremy and his new friend. Paul finished in 6th place. Obviously his job as a Fedex driver was a benefit as far as navigation was concerned.

Minnehaha Panniers Longterm Review

2010-11-18T16:51:00.003-06:00

I purchased two Minnehaha Utility Canvas Panniers, at an extremely reduced price in March of this year. I use one of them on every ride, the other sits in a closet until it's needed for an overnight bike trip or something similar. I thought it might be good to do a quick review of my panniers in case anybody else out there is considering buying one.

First of all, I think these are great looking panniers that match up nicely with a vintage bike. The canvas is fading with exposure to the sun and the leather is darkening with repeated handling with sweaty hands. I like the look of weathered canvas so that's not a problem for me, but it doesn't exactly match the other pannier now.

The rubber sleeve on the left side hook has fallen off. The hook was scratching the previous rack that I was using, so I wrapped the hook with electrical tape, problem solved. I always carry more gear than I actually should in my pannier, sometimes it's kind of heavy, so far the metal hooks haven't deformed in any way despite occasional rides over rough terrain.

I believe that the worn spots on the pannier are due to contact with moving spokes. This happened while sprinting up a hill without properly tensioning the restraining strap on back.

It's hard to see but the interior pocket is coming apart on one side. It shouldn't be too hard to fix.

I used to experience the occasional heel strike when I still had the original, vintage rack attached to my bike. I recently installed an inexpensive Sunlite rack with adjustable legs, I haven't experienced a heel strike since. I looked for a rack that would allow the mounting hooks to attach toward the very back to maximize heel clearance.

The panniers come with a matching shoulder strap. I use the shoulder strap any time I stop for an extended period. It's too narrow and digs into my shoulder, I'll be replacing it with something wider. I can't tell you anything about the water repellency of the panniers as I haven't ridden in the rain. I carry a plastic bag just in case I get caught in an unexpected downpour.

Overall, I'm really happy with my panniers, they're durable, carry lots of stuff, and they look good.

Who's Afraid of the Crocs?

2010-11-12T16:32:00.001-06:00

For the past 8 to 10 months, I've been wearing a pair of Crocs when I'm hanging out at the house. They're not actually Crocs, but the much cheaper ($7) Wal-Mart version of the infamous foam rubber clogs. I was initially hesitant to buy a pair but my son's had absconded with two pairs of slip on Van's that I used to keep around for household leisure wear. I correctly assumed that they wouldn't be caught dead wearing Crocs, or frocs as my daughter calls them (frocs=fake Crocs). My Crocs are extremely comfortable, but, they've never been worn in public. Not too long ago, while reading the Velohobo blog, I followed a link to a blog by ultralight bike tourist Igor Kovse. The title of his blog, Who's Afraid of the Crocs. I believe that the title is a reference to his tour through Africa, however, he rode his bike across that continent while wearing a tan pair of Crocs. Could the cycling community be overlooking the greatest, most affordable, cycling footwear ever known? It looks like there were a few discussions about this very topic on Bike Forums a couple of years ago during the Crocs heyday.

This is a photo of Igor's footwear as he ceremoniously dips his feet in the ocean after riding across the African continent. Obviously the Crocs were up to the task.

Afternoon Ride 11-11-10

2010-11-11T16:17:00.010-06:00

Less than a week ago I was commenting about our lack of fall color. On my ride today (I had the day off) I noticed quite a change. It's like somebody flipped a switch and our trees changed from green to gold and red in unison.

Here's a typical neighborhood street here in Fort Worth.

Ahhh...pretty.

My scrappy little Charlie Brown tree has kicked things up a notch.

The sky was mostly cloudy today. When the sun did peek out the cormorants at Trinity Park took advantage.

Unfortunately, my wife neglected to feed me before I left the house. I showed my displeasure by stopping by Fred's and eating something unspeakably fattening and unhealthy. That will teach her.

Lone Star Beer, "The national beer of Texas".

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The next house in my series of ride by photographs of mid-century homes. This house is on a dead end road which made it difficult to be inconspicuous.

Afternoon Ride 11-06-10

2010-11-06T16:45:00.002-05:00

October 17th, that was the last time I actually sat on my bike. Work has been the main obstacle, with a recent horrible chest cold being the other. I've been getting home late from work and have done nothing but take a shower, and read a book till I fall asleep. I've been a terrible blog friend lately, I apologize.

This afternoon I rode over to the Starbucks on University Drive with the intention of finding a suitable tree along the way to serve as my entry in RANTWICK'S First Annual RANTWICK Autumn Tree Smackdown (FARATS). It's a fall tree color contest.

Apparently banana trees don't change color in the fall, but then, hardly anything does here in Texas.

Starbucks and every other shop at University Village was crowded. I sat outside and sipped coffee and tried to deal with an especially runny nose. The last time I rode (mid October), temperatures were in the high 80's, when I left the house it was 66 degrees (18.8 celsius). My body was unaccustomed to the cool air, my lungs hurt and my nose went into overdrive.

I eventually got the mucosal membranes under control and made my way to the magazine rack at Barnes and Noble. I found this magazine in the bike section. It's the third issue of She Pedals, a bike magazine for women. They've got a nice web site.

After a doing a bit of window shopping (I decided that I must have an Apple iPad), I unlocked the bike and mounted my pannier on the inexpensive new Sunlite rack that I picked up from City Cyclist last week. Unfortunately the shop is closing for business in December so they are trying to get rid of everything. I paid a little over $20 for the rack.

The rack is sturdier than I expected. It's a temporary addition as I'll eventually replace it with something made for extended touring.

Perfect weather for riding. Notice how green everything is. Texas isn't the place to go looking for fall colors.

This is it. This Charlie Brownish tree will be my FARATS entry.

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Encouraged by a comment on a fairly recent blog post, I decided to include photos of cool mid-century homes, or interesting homes of any genre that I come across on my rides. I'll avoid or blur address, license plates, or any other identifying information. If somebody complains about their house appearing on my blog, I'll remove it.

I pass this house on just about every ride. I like the metal artwork on the wall and the entrance to the front door (it's hard to see in this photo). I don't know the proper architectural terms for this stuff so bear with me.

This is a cool house. I love the windows and the nicely shaded yard.

Ride-by photography. I'm trying to take these photos without being noticed. It's perfectly legal to photograph a house from the street (think Google Streetview), but seeing a scruffy guy on a bike taking photos of nice homes might alarm people, so I'll be doing it at high speed.

Fenders and Used Clothing

2010-10-23T17:29:00.001-05:00

Yesterday evening I figured that I would install a pair of SKS fenders on my bike. They've been sitting in my garage for a while. It didn't take long to realize that the rear supports on my rack are spaced very close together and aren't compatible with the front support stays on the fenders. After alot of frustrating and fruitless effort, I decided that I would just replace the rack. I was going to do it anyway. I'm sure I could modify the fender in some way, but to be honest, I just wasn't up to it.

It seemed like such a simple job.

I stopped by a clothing resale shop the other day with the hope of finding vintage wool sweaters for winter riding, or even a couple of items for an upcoming tweed ride. Unfortunately they hadn't put out their winter clothing yet. I didn't find any tweed either. I did find this Columbia fishing vest. With all the pockets and storage, I thought this might be a useful item of clothing to wear on my next bike camping trip. I can keep all of my frequently used small items in the pockets and free up some space in my panniers. It was under $10 so I snatched it up.

There is a large single pocket on the back of the vest that should be very useful.

I also picked up this practically new Filson hunting shirt for under $10. I learned about this company through Archival Clothing.

Might as well have the best.

Speaking of bike camping, Chandra (GreenCommotion) and Chris (Pondero) have hit the road for a multi-day tour. Check out their photo at Trinity Bicycles blog. The weather has taken a turn for the worse, I hope they stay dry.

Sunday Afternoon Ride 10-17-10

2010-10-17T16:42:00.001-05:00

I had a long, rough week at work, and I'm still recovering. I had to force myself to get on the bike and ride today. I hadn't ridden too far before I started feeling refreshed.

I've been on a roll, book wise. I haven't read too many books over the past few years (I'll explain why sometime in the future).

Over the last couple of weeks I've read two books by John Steinbeck. Nathan (The Friday Cyclotouriste) suggested I read another Steinbeck book, The Log from the Sea of Cortez. Unfortunately it wasn't available at this book store. I ended up grabbing a copy of Into the Wild. I read another Jon Krakauer book, Into Thin Air, several years ago and really enjoyed it.

After the book store I took a quick ride down to the trail. Apparently somebody just had their 40th birthday.

I like riding this short section of dirt trail. There are some very minor obstacles, roots and a few rocks, it's just enough to give me an idea how my bike would handle off-road.

I've always thought that there is much that could be done with this house. I like the double doors, glass, and mid-century modern looking metal work near the entrance. I was surprised to see the for sale sign in the yard. It's way out of my price range, but if there's an open house, I'll be there to check it out.

As I was taking a short break on the trail, a very fit gentleman passed by on his carbon fiber road bike. He slowed, turned back around and asked if I was the Rat Trap Press guy (or something to that effect). Like most cyclists, he probably wouldn't know me from Adam if I was walking through the mall, but he recognized the bike in a flash. I have a hard time remembering faces, but if I'm on a group ride I'll remember somebody by what they're riding. It was nice meeting you Paul. I'll see you out on the trail.

Testing the New Stove

2010-10-12T19:21:00.001-05:00

The UPS guy dropped off my Trangia stove this late this afternoon. It wasn't long after that I headed to the back patio to test it out.

I poured one large water bottle worth of water in the pot and lit the stove.

Despite a gusty wind, the little stove managed to bring the water to a boil. It's time to go camping.

Eggshells and Coffee, Who Knew?

2010-10-11T16:58:00.002-05:00

Late last night I finished reading Travels with Charley. In 1960, John Steinbeck purchased a heavy duty pickup truck and equipped it with a custom made camper. He and his dog Charley then traveled around the country rediscovering America. This book is about their journey.

This isn't a book review or anything like that, but I did read something that caught my attention. Near the end of the book, Mr. Steinbeck parked his pickup for the night in some remote area of Louisiana, and as he did throughout the book, he invited one of the locals into the camper for a talk about various regional events. On this occasion the author brewed a pot of coffee into which he added an egg white, and strangely, the shell. He then writes, "I know nothing that polishes coffee and makes it shine like that." I have never heard of the practice before, so I looked it up. The paragraph below is representative of most of what I found:

Add a spoonful of eggshells to your coffee grounds for a smooth cup of coffee. The calcium in the eggshell helps to reduce the acidity of coffee and will also help any loose grounds sink to the bottom of the cup. The eggshell and coffee grounds trick is especially helpful when making coffee in an old percolator or in a pot while camping.

Have any of you guys tried this before? I don't currently have a regular coffee maker or I'd give it a go. I'll try adding some eggshells in my French press on my next bike camping trip.

Old Friend

2010-10-10T11:39:00.002-05:00

As I was riding along the trail yesterday, I saw a young man on blue vintage road bike riding towards me. As he passed I recognized the bike as my old Trek 420. I yelled out to the guy (Danny) and we had a nice talk on the side of the trail. A few months ago I sold the bike to Trinity Bicycles and it found it's way into Danny's hands. He's a nice guy, deserving of a sturdily built American made bike. This is the first time that I've ever come across one of my previously owned bikes. It's nice to know that it's well cared for.

This is the first tree I've noticed that is starting to display fall colors. Note-This is not my submission to the First Annual RANTWICK Autumn Tree Smackdown (FARATS for short). By the way, here is what the FARATS winner will receive.

Handmade in Hawaii

2010-10-08T12:30:00.001-05:00

A few days ago a box from Kailua, Hawaii arrived at my door. It was a coffee mug, handmade by Jeff of The Flat Tire blog. Jeff is in the process of developing a couple of bike themed mugs and wondered if anybody would be interested in doing some product testing. I quickly volunteered. He wanted to be sure that the handle would stand up to real world use and abuse. The handle is a very cool, detailed replica of a bike chain. Jeff's also working on another version with a mountain bike tire as the handle. If things work out he may start selling them.

My new favorite mug on my trusty Keurig coffee maker.

Bikes and coffee, the perfect combination.

Bike Camping Season

2010-10-04T17:28:00.000-05:00

It's that time of year, the weather is cooling off and people are hitting the road loaded down with camping gear. I'm shopping for a camp stove. Once I've got it in hand I plan to join the ranks. So far I've seen reports from:

Pondero-S24O to Ray Roberts Lake in north Texas.

MnBicycleCommuter-Bike camping trip to Eagle Lake Campground in Minnesota (it's about the 4th post down on his blog). Note the e-book reader next to the water bottles. That would be a great item to have on a solo camping trip.

GreenCommotion-While this post isn't really a bike camping report, he's got something in the works.

Let me know if you see any new bike camping reports.

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Blogger is acting weird again. Let me know if the link to your blog has disappeared. I noticed that RANTWICK's was missing (it's been restored) and a couple of others were moved to a different location. Also, if you have a blog that you'd like me to link to, just let me know. I've happily noticed that my list of blogs has been popular with visitors.

Changing a Lightbulb

2010-10-04T07:09:00.002-05:00

I've got a terrible fear of heights. While watching this video I began feeling queasy, especially toward the end when the guys are climbing a tiny little ladder to the top of the tower. I believe the wide angle lens on the camera adds to the discomfort. It's got to be a GoPro Wide Hero. I hope these guys are well compensated