[newleaf150]

I didn't ride far today, but the fun factor was high. While running errands earlier, I found a good deal on a wired cycling computer exactly like Mrs. Newleaf's other 2 cycling computers. That's useful, as her fat bike was in need of one. I picked it up and installed it upon returning home. Since it's a fat bike, I was a little surprised to find that it worked at all! After installing countless cycling computers with the tightest tolerances between the magnet and sensor, this bad girl was all about slop. I mounted the sensor as close as I could get it to the magnet and was frankly astonished when it worked. Work it did, though, so then it was time for a road test!

We're talking a bright pink framed cruiser with orange accents. One cannot help but stand out on this bike. That's okay, though. It's a party on wheels, and I wore the matching orange helmet. I stopped at one point to take some pics, but my bloody camera battery died. Another time.

The 4" diameter tires aren't quick and the steering is surprisingly heavy at speed, but makes up for it by rolling over anything that happens to find itself in front of the bike. I did a quick 7mi loop and enjoyed every turn of the cranks, even the ones which took me up the route's main ascent. The bike's gearing is better than it was, but it still needs a chainring with a couple less teeth up front. With slightly less steep gearing, it'd ooze up he ascents and still be good for 20+mph coming back down. As it is, I'm pretty sure I can exceed 30mph given the right hill. What a fun bike.

After I returned home, it was time to road test Mrs. Newleaf's other bike, her ea-commuter bike. Its IGH came out of adjustment to the point that I had to tighten the shift cable. As it happened, we also needed a resupply of adult beverage makings. I threw a trunk bag on the bike, fired up the assist computer, and it was off for a really quick 3mi thanks to the battery and motor. I could really get used to riding around that way, but for now I'll stick to playing my own motor. Still, it's fun to to take off from a green light and out accelerate the automotive traffic up to about 25mph.

10mi on the day between the two rides. Not much, but vastly better than nothing. I'll take it.

 

[maelochs]

Chip did not enjoy the experience, but the trailer and my mods seemed to work exactly as I'd hoped: he came out uninjured and still attached.

He also did more running afterward than he has in a while, chalking up a total of 3.5mi by paw power. I'm not sure what changed, but he ran more than he was in a few weeks.

Yeah, if you tossed me down and dragged me around I might prefer anything to getting back behind you ...

Along about mile 42, it 'just so happened' that my route carried me past one of my favorite local frozen custard places. Not sure how that happened . Since I was so nearby, it seemed only reasonable to stop. I ordered a malt and a kiddie cone for Chip. The Custard Gods were smiling today, and he got an adult sized single scoop of sweet wonderful goodness. Kiddie cones are much smaller and more reasonable as a treat, but the shop occasionally slips up and delivers a full sized one instead. I figured it was good compensation for scaring him by crashing .

Good canine psychology.

[email protected] I only stopped thinking for the barest instant, but it was enough. What a dumb crash. I'd even been eating appropriately to the mileage so it wasn't a matter of 'bonk dumb'.

Yeah, we have all been there. You got really lucky ... Chip was alright and you were only slightly banged up. Sucks about the baggage, though. On the other hand, the Bike is okay. You can still ride.

Not sure, because I don't ride with a pet, but I think the order of importance is pet, bike, gear .... riders are self-repairing and don't need much consideration.

I bet Chip is telling his buddies some stories ....

 

[newleaf150]

Yeah, if you tossed me down and dragged me around I might prefer anything to getting back behind you ...

Good canine psychology.

Yeah, we have all been there. You got really lucky ... Chip was alright and you were only slightly banged up. Sucks about the baggage, though. On the other hand, the Bike is okay. You can still ride.

Not sure, because I don't ride with a pet, but I think the order of importance is pet, bike, gear .... riders are self-repairing and don't need much consideration.

I bet Chip is telling his buddies some stories ....

I did indeed get really lucky. Low speed crashes can still be ugly, but I ended up with a sore left shoulder, hip, and elbow. If not for the loss of bags, hardly noticeable. You make a great point about the bike. I had another low speed crash which destroyed a front wheel. Also dinged some ribs. That was then. This was my first crash with Chip.

Funny you should mention the order of importance, as it weighed heavily on me going into training Chip to go out on rides. Still does. In short, I believe myself to be a competent adult, responsible for my own actions and happily able to choose whether or not to accept a range of potential risks, rewards, and consequences. As adults do, day in and day out. Chip is a dog. A former stray, adopted at 18 months' age with 'fear issues' from presumed physical abuse.

There were a few months early on when I was the only male able to come near him without inspiring a fear-based response. I don't know how or why he and I connected at the shelter, but we did. He gave me his trust, and I value it highly. Despite that, he has precisely zero agency in choosing whether or not to expose himself to any given road risk. That calculation is solely on me, and I'm well aware of it. That's why I spent weeks learning that Chip's maximum comfortable speed is ~35mph, among many other things. After getting him in the trailer to start with. He ate in his wheel-free floor-bound trailer for literally weeks before the wheels came out and he rolled anywhere, for example.

When I set out to bring him on rides with me, I understood that crashing was part of the equation. That is why he rides in a trailer rather than a basket on the front or back of my bike, for example: in case of a pancake crash such as I just 'enjoyed', Chip has far less distance to fall in his trailer than if he was over the front or back wheel of the bike. Like me. I could fill a surprising number of pages with other considerations, but won't unless someone is really interested. I thank you sincerely for your concern on Chip's behalf. He matters a lot to me, too.

The short answer is that I value Chip's safety while he rides with me more than I do my own. We are clearly linked, but I am the one with agency and the ability to weigh the risks and benefits of a given course of action. While the conseqences of my mistakes may affect him, Chip is 'just along for the ride' and reliant on me for his safety. I'm confident based on training and his responses that Chip enjoys riding in his trailer and running alongside me while I ride. That's awesome, but can't be called 'informed consent'. Of course. I put a lot of thought and considered effort into keeping both of us safe on the road. Him more than me, but not much given our relative positions.

I can pay to replace bike parts. I may hate to and it may be too much and take too long, but it's still cheaper than the shortest ambulance ride and hospital stay. Even with 'good' insurance. I can also attest that vet bills add up stupid fast, but that's not the point at all. Chip trusts me to keep him safe when we ride. I value his trust and do the best I can to validate it. I'm a human, so I know I'll miss stuff and fall short. Indeed I just did. Nevertheless, I like to think that the thought and effort I put into choosing and modifying Chip's means of transport helped to keep him safe despite my flatly stupid mistake. It may not always be that way, but it happily was this time.

 

[newleaf150]

Yeah, if you tossed me down and dragged me around I might prefer anything to getting back behind you ...

Good canine psychology.

Yeah, we have all been there. You got really lucky ... Chip was alright and you were only slightly banged up. Sucks about the baggage, though. On the other hand, the Bike is okay. You can still ride.

Not sure, because I don't ride with a pet, but I think the order of importance is pet, bike, gear .... riders are self-repairing and don't need much consideration.

I bet Chip is telling his buddies some stories ....

Sorry, Mr. Maelochs. I loved the form and structure of your response, but got lost in responding to the whole safety thing. As above. Perhaps you are the better writer at the core...

 

[maelochs]

I am actually very impressed that the bike/trailer can go down without Chip getting his ears mussed.

 

[newleaf150]

Today the mileage was again light, but the smiles large. Mrs. Newleaf and I headed out to a local store with canine companion Chip in tow. After stocking up, we rode to a nearby DQ for a yummy dairy-like frozen treat.

The trip served as a road test for Chip's trailer panniers, which I installed yesterday. I learned that my expertise in judging the trailer body's clearance from obstacles became useless the moment I added the panniers. I scraped both of them more than once, the first time before even getting out of the back yard. Not sure what to think about that, except that I need some more test miles. Most unlike me to go around scraping against seemingly everything I pass.

The ride also validated that I earlier adjusted my touring bike's brakes successfully, and that my new/old under seat bag, also installed earlier, rides just like the old/new one did. Details re: the strange language in the 'what have you done to your bike today' thead.

 

[MilesR]

New, I hope Chip got a DQ treat.

 

[newleaf150]

New, I hope Chip got a DQ treat.

Chip is many things. Lacking in treats is not one of them .

 

[i12ride]

usual muggy joy filled local 28 mile galavant.....

 

[maelochs]

Meh .... 16 and a half hot miles, not too bad, but I made sure not to hit any long hills. Hills and heat have not been working together well for me. Work tomorrow, so ... monthly totals and averages .... no improvement over June. I guess i can look forward to August ... when the handgrips will be hot enough to burn my hands ....

 

[newleaf150]

Today I learned that the cool panniers which mount to canine companion Chip's Burley Coho XC trailer do not, if fact, work for me: they lack sufficient clearance for turning. Today I dragged both panniers while negotiating turns because I leaned over too far. We're not even talking high speed work, just rolling through roundabouts on the MUP. The worst contact lifted the trailer's wheel right off the ground. Bad news.

I can usually hit roundabouts without slowing much if at all. That's never been an issue for Chip's trailer and I've never once dragged it in the course of making a turn or a roundabout. Until I mounted those panniers. They simply sit too low and find pavement on even shallow turns. That's really too bad, because they sure are nice otherwise. I like having all Chip's stuff right there with the trailer but not riding inside it with him. Unfortunately they are too big and thus sit too low and too wide when mounted.

I'm rather disappointed with that, given that this trailer is marketed for bikepacking. While the trailer itself seems well suited to the purpose, the panniers would be shredded by rocks almost as soon as you hit the trail. They don't even work on pavement. Singletrack is simply out of the question.

That said, it was a great day to be out, and this is the reason I like to test equipment in advance of actually relying upon it: better to uncover weakness and problems during training than when I'm out adventuring for real. Dragging the panniers was annoying, but I held my speeds down due to the unknown configuration and learned what I needed to know while spinning out 34 happy mi.

Canine companion Chip turned in a solid 4mi of running and seemed to enjoy himself a lot. Perhaps he is getting acclimated to the heat. Only low 90's, but higher humidity than we are used to out here in the usually bone dry Southwest US.

 

[newleaf150]

Looks like I may have posted a little early: later in the day it developed that our household was tragically short in the beverage department. This time the Montague folding MTB got the nod. That thing is just good fun. Canine companion Chip made the run with me, but rode his trailer the whole way. A little over 2mi.

 

[Dos_Ruedas]

Well, I finally pushed myself and made me go out for a ride. It was the first blue skies we’ve had in a while.
My demeanor of late hasn’t been what it should be, and I was hoping the ride would set me straight.
It was approaching 90 when i pulled out. Immediately, it felt good to have the hot sun on my shoulders and the wind in my face.
I took a route that drops cellular connection, in hopes that life would leave me be for a while….the route is also short on elevation gains, and my bird legs were thankful for that choice.

I put in approximately 21 miles at a modest pace. It was so hot and humid, i was thankful to be off the bike when i returned.

I spent them next hour tweaking the derailleurs to my next ride be more at one with the road than sounding like a truck metal behind it.
My demeanor still needs work, but the ride did help to make tired so hopefully I’ll sleep well tonight.

Rain forecasted for the next 7-10 days.

 

[i12ride]

bragging about rain is a little disheartening down here in droughtville on the surface of the sun.....

 

[maelochs]

I have the best of both worlds ... ridiculous heat and humidity alternating with driving rain with thunder and lightning ..... You guys don't know what you missing.

I know what you mean about heat and hills, though .... the combination is really sapping.

I figure I will have acclimatized by October .....

 

[newleaf150]

Happy day! Today I got the call I've been waiting for: my recumbent's new wheel was completed and the bike ready to come home at last. It's been ~5 weeks, so some excitement was in order. All the more so in that the build came in significantly under budget. I took Mrs. Newleaf out for frozen custard, after which she dropped me at the bike shop where I settled up before giving the new wheel its first taste of the road.

I could have taken a significantly shorter or longer way home. The latter would normally be the right answer, but before heading out, I failed to load a single water bottle. I remembered by helmet and gloves, even lights, but no freaking water. That made the middling longer route the right answer, for now at least. 4mi.

So sweet to have my recumbent back. I love my diamond frame touring bike, and my folding MTB is the bomb. Neither has crap on the recumbent, but then again, they can each beat it hands-down in their own specialties. It is well that the decision isn't either/or, save for which to ride just at the moment. They're just all so...awesome. Each in its own way 😍.

 

[newleaf150]

After getting the recumbent home, I reloaded its compliment of tools and spares. After that I connected canine companion Chip's trailer before wheeling the whole rig into the garage as it began to rain. The bike computer's battery died while it was waiting on the new wheel. I replaced that battery and reprogrammed it as the rain grew harder then petered out.

That was the right answer: canine companion Chip loves to go, but hates the rain. This was light enough and close enough I didn't plan to bother with a rain jacket - but he would have hated it nevertheless. Off we went, and made it to a local store where suitable resupply was obtained. Sadly, they are still out of dog treats. Chip added to his fan club and we were off again. The computer worked like I expected. The trailer reminded me that it had developed an annoying ticking sound just before I discovered the broken spokes which led to the new wheel. Yea, I'd forgotten about that, but it's back on the to-do list.

Still, great to be back on my recumbent even if it really needs a bath. The mileage was laughable at 2mi, but the smiles were real.

 

[Dos_Ruedas]

Last night and again this morning, a training ride with weight workout got arms and shoulders.

Still raining, hot and very humid.
12 and 11 miles.

 

[i12ride]

Broke out the yellow submarine due to forecast of rain.......dryholed it about the area in some hardcore shade, but no rain. Ripoff! Rode mad, scared ducks, glared at pedestrians and laughed my ass off......

 

[maelochs]

Nope .... I had to work a few hours over in the morning and missed the non-heatstroke window, then I had to do lawn-laps in the evening when the weather was really perfect for riding. Probably won't tomorrow either ..... but I feel lucky. I haven't sinned so badly that I am relegated to riding in my garage while wearing metal manacles ...... anyway, the garage is about 20 degrees hotter than outside .... Don't give up Mr. Dos_ .... all things pass.