Rainy Riding

I went to the opera tonight (a university production). Even though
the forecast was for rain, I went by bike (carrying the appropriate
rain gear).

Sure enough, at 11:00 I emerged from the opera to be greeted by cold, steady rain. Suit up! I cried.

Now, I frequently ride in the rain. Since I'm committed to commuting
by bike, and considering that I rode through snow and over ice all
winter, rain does not pose much of a challenge. But it's nice to stay
dry. And at night, it's nice to have my sidewall generator work. Both
have not always been true.

Here's what has always worked: My cheapie cheapie Nashbar plastic
raincoat (about $15). Pure, 100%, waterproof, unbreathable plastic.
But with the vents all down the sides, open waist, and (my
innovation) the elastic removed from the wrists to allow air flow up
the sleeves, the condensation inside is not bad. I was basically dry
tonight after riding five miles in steady rain. Sure, the velcro in
the front started to tear out a while back, but gray tape fixed that.

Here's what has never worked: Coated nylon rain pants. I have tried
several brands, and they all leave me wet. The current ones (J and G)
are pretty good, but I'm still wet when I arrive. Condensation?
Maybe. I have recently taken to rolling them up a little so that I
can leave the bottoms loose (rather than fastening the velcro straps
that seal the legs off). That seems to help a little. I was only a
little wet tonight.

Here's what is gradually getting better as I work on it: The
"waterproof" shoe covers from Campmor. The coated nylon may be
waterproof, but the seams certainly weren't. So I've been applying
seam sealer, and they're drier. One more coat should do it.

And what do I do about the helmet vents? Buy an expensive helmet
bonnet? Nope. A little gray tape works wonders. With the vents taped
shut, the helmet is warmer and totally waterproof. (Obviously, I
don't wear it for recreational biking in the summer.)

Now for the sidewall generator. For years I had the B and M generator
set high on the Panaracer Pasela, right on the edge of the tread.
(Paselas don't have a generator strip.) As soon as the tire got wet,
the generator skipped, so much that it was pretty much useless in the
rain. But with my new cheapie Kendas, which have a generator strip,
the generator gripped the tire the whole way home, almost never
skipping. Problem solved! I don't need to buy the wire roller.

To my colleagues who watched me head out into the rain, I must have
looked insane. It was 40 degrees, dark, raining, windy. But you know, once you commit yourself to it, and have adequate gear (I was thankful for
my gloves and hat), it's not so bad. My face got wet and a little
chilly, but not too bad. The rest of me was warm and relatively dry.
I wouldn't have been happy after 20 miles, probably. But I was fine
for five miles. And it was such a pleasure to have all the gear
working right. And, of course, it helps to have a bike that is fun to
ride. That's the real secret.

Misc

A blog that no one reads is also known as a "diary". I'm a modern Samuel Pepys. This will be a "primary source" for future historians researching biking in the early twenty-first century.

Hah.

A the risk of making my bike an utterly outrageous collection of bolted on doo-dads, I have ordered a set of Reelights, the battery-less blinkies that use induction created by magnets on the spokes passing a fixed magnet to light LED front and back lights.

I already have generator lights on the bike, so this will be a second set of lights. Probably ridiculous. But I like the idea of having always-on blinkies, day and night. I can't run the generator all the time. Tires would wear out faster, and the increased drag and steady (if soft) whirring would drive me crazy. So I'm going to put these Reelights on as the always on lights.

Although it's a new toy, so important for maintaining my good humor, I also like to think it's a good idea to have blinkies on during the day. Bike riders do get hit by cars; the more we can do to get their attention has to help. I'm not willing to install safety flags or giant warning triangles. (But perhaps I should.) But I'm going to try this.

More Tinkering

Not that anyone cares . . . This is like putting notes in a bottle
and throwing them into the sea.

Anyway. Not that anyone cares, but I decided I didn't like the bent
fork on the touring Trek. Even though I rode it 1700 miles last
summer with only minor (ok, fairly major) shimmying and instability,
and my feet hit the fender whenever I turned the wheel, and the lower
water bottle didn't fit in the holder any more, and the steering was
indexed (that is, it had a noticeable preference for straight ahead,
with a significant resistance to being turned off center). Hm. In
retrospect, those were pretty good reasons.
So I took the old fork off, which involved disassembling the front
end of the bike, taking off fenders, racks, lights, speedometers. I
had the old fork from the Gitane (which was itself a replacement, I
suspect for a curb-induced bending), so I put it on. Then all the
gear had to be put back on. Because the original Trek brakes were
cantis, I used the old Mafac Racers from the Gitane. They are
actually much better with fenders, and they do a dandy job of
stopping the bike, even with 35 year old pads. I should replace them.

I solved several niggling issues while I was at it. I fastened the
front rack lower, attached it directly to the front axle, and moved
the connection points closer to the front of the rack. I also moved
the front light down low, onto one of the rack stays. This gives a
better light pattern, and also prevents the front light from being
blocked when things are piled on the front rack (or in the front
basket, which isn't installed yet). (This problem has never occurred,
but it could have.) And the new-old fork has much more clearance for
fenders, so I was able to restore the front fender to one-piece and
mount it directly. A little metallic duct tape on the underside (and
brackets on the upper side) closed up the seam where I cut the fender
to fit over the fatter 35mm tires, with the old fork.

The big test came in how it rides. I'm happy to report that it's a
big improvement. The bike feels much more stable. Cornering is now
smooth, not jerky and scary.

Does anyone care? Will anyone read this?

No. And no.

Crank Talk

And I don't mean cranky talk. I was reading a discussion about what
people like and don't like about various cranks. That's right:
cranks. The things the pedals are fastened to. Now I have some
opinions about cranks (such as, I don't like cottered ones), but
mostly, I just want my cranks to connect the pedals with the chain,
spin freely, and not break. I'm not too worried about Q factor. I
don't care how shiny they are. I don't care how light they are. And I
don't care whether the crank arm swoops or goes straight.

People who do care aren't artistic bike savants. They're--ahem--
pathetic. Get a life!

I have my pathetic attitudes about other things. Perhaps the fact that
I don't care about cranks makes me pathetic. But seriously. Who cares
how lustrous a bike's cranks are? Do we polish our bikes every time
we take them out on a sunny Saturday? Maybe so.

Maybe that was cranky talk, after all.

The Touring Trek, Revealed

My 0 readers have been clamoring to see the latest incarnation of the touring Trek. All right. Your wait is over.

But first, to review the changes:

1. Extra long stem AND extra long stem raiser added.
2. Drop handlebars that are way above the level of the seat. Tilted abnormally far, so the drops point almost down. The brake levers are abnormally far around the curve, which leaves a single hand position on the drops, from which the brakes are easily accessible. The drops are high enough that they are completely comfortable for long stretches (but still low).
3. Thumb shifters put on the inside of the drops, just behind the brakes, which makes them completely accessible from the ramps. One advantage of this configuration is that they work in parallel: Up is easier for both, down is harder. They are also accessible from the drops. I got these for $.99 from Nashbar.
4. Interrupter brake levers on the tops.
5. Women's Avocet Touring saddle with a nice leather top. Wide and comfy for my fat ass. I got it for $10 on eBay.
6. Kenda 700x38 tires. They ride fine.

Here it is: