Snow Bike Lantern

snowy woods

This was actually my first time riding in the snow, but it was quite fine. I've been a little lazy in getting up early enough to commute by bike into work. I decided to course the trails on Christmas Eve. Temperatures was around 11F or so.  Merino thermals, denim overalls,  key shirt, wool sweater, amana wool scarf, wool earflap cap, wool gloves, and the waxed pointer chore coat.  Hiking boots, wool socks.  Stayed plenty warm.   

The Felt Cafe3 makes a pretty good snow bike. Nexus 3 IGH with coaster brake, keeps the drivetrain closed up and simple, no packing snow into derailleurs.  The other plus, is the aluminum frame sidesteps corrosion concerns.    One nice thing about living on the frigid plains, is that when we do get snow, it is dry and powdery, while you do get thick drifts, it generally is only lightly covering regular flat surfaces, and consequently does not get too deep.  With close fitting fenders, V brakes, and tight fits at the seat and chain-stays, this bike would not well tolerate a thick wet lake-effect snow.   Aluminum also makes it easy to portage over deep drifts. Cyclo-cross style.   This would be awkward with the Flying Pigeon, or all but impossible with the Kruisframe. 

Once I got off the streets and onto the trail, I turned off all the blinkies, Cygolight, and lit my dietz kerosine lantern. This is one of the cold-blast models and produces a suprising amount of light. It is easy to grip both the lamp and the handlebars with enough 'give' to prevent the lamp from being overly-jostled. 

I then cycled the upper length of the trail, making the rounds, lighting the snowy woods, and the crunch of snow underneath the tires.  Very fun!   Hopefully everyone is having a good holiday season! 

ShadowPandas

Shadow Pandashot

As I was bicycling home today, I took particular note of my shadow-self, pedaling away in exaggerated perspective. As soon as I reached a particularly vacant section of cul-de-sac out came the camera.

Everything is 100% good with Zwartehond. The Ritchey liquid torque worked great, and the Brooks single rail seatpost clamp, flipped around and backwards allowed me to use the lovely sprung B.67 again. The classic style seatpost and clamp, allow for about a 40mm drop over the stock kalloy micro-adjust.  I spent Saturday morning going back and forth on the local crushed limestone trail, dialing everything in. I stayed off the big dutch-belgian beast until today, and when I climbed into the saddle this morning, it was like an old friend. Perfect fit, perfect reach.  As I commuted to work, the phrase
that came into my mind to describe my impression of the bike:  'The Big Easy'.

I rode the Felt Cafe3 quite a bit last week, and on Sunday as well, biking up the 12 miles from downtown in the 95F heat.  Not too bad.  This was the first time I had done this stretch of trail on the Felt, and it was suprising, just how swiftly the light Aluminum 3 speed took me. I stayed at least at 15mph. Zoom. Maybe I overdid it just a tad, as I had consumed a large lunch, as I ended up feeling slightly ill, even though I was hydrated. Ahwells.  Sometimes fast is good, sometimes it is good to take it easy.

3 Speeds are also right for me

I think Velouria is right. I rode in a short event ride this past weekend, with maybe thirty or forty other riders.  This was only my second event/group ride, and the first I did not hold back on. (I played tail-end charlie on the Iowa City Tweed Ride and held rear guard for some slower riders, having turned on my tail-lights and blinkies to be nice and visible on that grey April day).

The ride was an easy 18 miles down and back on one of the local trails.  I started towards the rear of the stream, and just kept pace and passed other riders when I felt comfortable.

Now I was riding the only bike I have, my Felt Cafe 3.  It has a Shimano Nexus 3 speed internal geared hub, and big 700C tyres.  It has a generic mountain bike stem, and some Wald cruiser handlebars, set up backwards and high. Much more comfortable to ride than stock. There is no getting around the fact that I’m sitting bolt upright and not at all aerodynamic.

The ride out was mostly a long shallow climb, and the people I passed were all the folks on knobby-tyred mountain and what passed for ‘comfort bikes’  8 years ago. Then I passed a few others, and some more riders, a club I guess, pulled off for recreational libations at a park pavillion. There were no other riders in front of me, and I relaxed just a little and went at a comfortable pace as my metabolism and aerobics got situated.  About the fastest speed I got on the level with the headwind, was 21mph, in third gear.

There was a series of stops, as the trail crossed some county roads, and I waited on some traffic. At this point, a recumbent had pulled up behind me, and some other bicyclists further back.  I just kept on, and finished the remaining few miles with the recumbent close behind. I wasn’t pushing, just going swift and smooth and enjoying myself.

The recumbent cyclist and I pulled into the trail-head parking lot, which was the turn around point - and we were the first two there.  We confirmed to each other that we were both riding in the event (we had declined to wear the sponsor T-shirt), and as he looks over the Felt he goes “Wow, that’s a three speed. You were going fast.”  At this point the rest of the cyclists behind us pull in- they all knew each other, and he announces to all of them “Hey guys, it’s a three speed!”   At which point these six or seven other riders are all going. “Wow, that’s alot of work,  nice biking. How much do you do in a year?”   Talk about ego stroking.  Two of the nice lady bikers were both enamored and weirded out about my Sackville seat-bag. 
  “It is like something- It looks like it belongs in a movie!”   So Grant, I guess that is a positive comment.

Everyone snacked and made polite conversation,  I fueled up on gatorade cut with water and baklava from my extra special favourite local Russian Cafe.
We all rode back together, and I came up in the rear.  It was interesting to watch these riders. They were on average road bikes, or 28” wheeled hybrids. They shifted so much.

One of them remarked again, how much work I had to be doing with three speeds.
“Not really!”  And seriously, I wasn’t.  Three speeds. I pick whichever of the gears lets me keep a fast easy 70-80 rpm cadence, and I go down the road as fast as that rpm will comfortably let me. If it is a bit of a climb, of course I’ll end up slower than that, but otherwise that is how it is.

I stopped for a bit to switch out of my cotton dress shirt and wicking sport shirt to put on my wool high collar sweater, as it had started to rain.  This was still a bit bracing. (I really need to get a shell-garment)   We all went our specific ways at the end of the ride.   It was fun, and I learned some things.