I started biking in ’98, then waited some 12 years to ride my first century.  This time, though, I think I’m going to keep it to around 4 months.

Last time, I kept to the road, mashing my pedals all around my hilly city on a singlespeed.  My legs hurt, but all the time out of the saddle, standing during climbs, kept my butt from feeling too much pain.  This time, though, I’m swapping my SS road bike for a geared MTB, the roads for a rail-trail, and the hills for the flattest trail around.

Sometime before the end of September (I hope, but it’s dependent upon the weather), I’m going to ride the Eastern section of Missouri’s Katy Trail, from Jefferson City in the middle of the state, to St. Charles in the East (map).  Total distance is about 104mi, according to this chart, so it’ll be my longest ride to date.  I’m figuring on about 8 hours, if I average 13mph, but that’s if my legs die on me.  If I can keep around 15mph, then that should drop to 7 hours.  It’s sort of a toss-up between more time seated–thus an unhappy ass, but less tired legs–or a faster, more tiring ride.

I have a few parts to swap on my bike first, namely lighter tires & tubes, my rigid carbon fork, and a smaller cassette (I don’t need 32T gearing), just so I have less weight to propel all that way.  Other than that, I think I’m in shape for it, so I won’t do any training ahead of time (what sort of pansy prepares for epic rides, anyway?).  I’ll be sure to take my camera along so I can return with plenty of boring photos of flat, straight trail, as well as the 22 small towns that I pass through on the way.

Tentative date:  September 25.

I’ll keep you posted.

Flickr

I bought the Maxxis Re-Fuse after my p.o.s. Kenda Kalientes kept getting punctured on almost every ride by road debris.  Few things suck worse than having to repair (or replace) a tube mid-ride, so I was really hoping the Re-Fuses lived up to their name (as in, Re-Fuse to puncture).  That, they did.

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Never be uncertain about the length of your travel again!

Via YouTube

I just came across a great (and highly biased–my favorite kind) of article comparing steel and carbon frames.  The author is obviously trying to make a point of durability and customization over light weight, and he gets it across quite well.

Article:  http://reviews.roadbikereview.com/../why-you-should-be-riding-steel-and-not-carbon/

For more proof of why the typical rider might want to avoid plastic bike frames, check out BustedCarbon.com or watch the amusing video below showing a completely unscientific, but easily repeatable, comparison between AL, steel and carbon frames.  KAPUT!

For the record, I don’t really have anything against carbon fiber; in fact, I love the stuff.  In the years I’ve been biking, I’ve ridden carbon handlebars, a rigid MTB fork, a carbon road fork, and a couple seatposts.  I wouldn’t mind building up a 13lb all-carbon bike for occasional use, either.  But, I still feel that steel is the ultimate material when you’re going for a combination of strength, durability, ride quality, price, and ease of manufacture.

I had nothing else to do tonight, so I thought I’d test out my headlight set-up.  Instead of using bike-specific lights, I use a pair of Brinkmann 3w LED flashlights, held to my handlebar with a couple Two-Fish Lockblocks light holders.

Riding down the right-side of a street, they cast enough light off to the sides to cover all the way over to beyond the curb on the other side of the street.  I didn’t want to get smacked by a car while I was taking pics with my tripod, though, so here are some shots at the trailhead to a small trail near my house.

With no lights, it’s literally pitch black out.  It was so dark that I had to operate the camera by feel, which meant setting it up using a light beforehand.

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It’s not often I get to combine two of my favorite things–Formula 1 and bicycles.  German builder Storck Bicycle GmbH, has partnered with F1 team Cosworth, to create a one-off electric bike to commemorate F1 driver Rubens Barrichello’s 300th Grand Prix.

Company founder Markus Storck presented the Raddar Multiroad Carbon bike to the AT&T Williams driver at the Spa racing circuit ahead of his landmark race, which he will compete in this Sunday, August 29… that’s tomorrow, folks!

As well as the custom Cosworth branding that mirrors the graphics on the Williams-Cosworth FW32 F1 car, it has a special logo created by the team to honor Barrichello’s landmark of 300 F1 races.  It’s built around a carbon fiber frame, a 250W Swiss-made electric motor, hydraulic disc brakes and ‘advanced gear shift electronics’ but, unfortunately, no flappy-paddle gearbox.

Storck founder, Markus Storck, said:  "Formula One racing is all about achieving technical precision and perfection, key elements in the DNA of Storck Bicycle GmbH.  I am honored to have been asked by Cosworth to present one of our highest performing products to one of the highest performing men in motor racing, Rubens Barrichello, as he celebrates 300 Grands Prix this weekend."

Mark Gallagher, General Manager of Cosworth’s F1 Business Unit:  "It is an absolute pleasure for Cosworth to be a part of Rubens’ 300th Grand Prix celebrations and to present him with this unique Storck bicycle.  Cosworth and Storck Bicycles have a close relationship and this bike embodies the pursuit of technical excellence that Formula One is all about.  It is this pursuit of excellence that has also taken Rubens to an incredible 300 Grand Prix events, so we thought it a fitting gift to celebrate his impressive F1 career to date."

Photos © Cosworth

Hopefully it’s as warm and sunny where you are as it’s going to be in Missouri for the next few days.  Get out and ride!

Via YouTube, Senor GIF

This ridiculous thing you see here is a stationary exercise bike by a company called Ciclotte.  What makes it ridiculous is not its carbon fiber, unicorn fart and pixie dust construction, nor the on-board computer that can let you choose between 12 different ride settings.

Nor is the artsy design ridiculous.  Okay, it’s a little odd, but it definitely stands out, and it looks so good, I doubt you’d end up using it as a clothes hamper.  On second thought, the Pikachu handlebars are a bit ridiculous.

No, what makes this thing ridiculous is the $10,700 price tag.  Add the average state sales tax, and you’re over $11,500 for a bike that can only be ridden in your fancy home office with a lake view (which costs extra, by the way).  You know what else can be had for $10,700, give or take a few?

–  Cannondale SuperSix 2 road bike with full Sram Red – $4,600
–  Scott CR 1 Comp spare training bike – $1,700
–  Trek T1 track bike – $860
–  EighthInch Scrambler V3 singlespeed beater – $600
–  Trek Speed Concept 2.5 Tri bike – $1,980
–  CycleOps Fluid indoor trainer – $300
–  A half-dozen spare tire sets – ~$600

And guess what?  All five of the bikes above can be used with the indoor trainer or–and I know this is a novel idea–taken outside and ridden on the street!  But, I guess for the cyclist with more money than brains, the Ciclotte is certainly cooler than just about any other stationary bike on the market.

Via Gizmodo, Wired, GizMag

 A soused Stuart man was jailed after deputies say he was engaged in an "obscene argument" with his bicycle, a recently released arrest affidavit states.

County Sheriff’s deputies spied Richard Bialon, 68, around 4 a.m. Tuesday "yelling at his bicycle" in the parking lot of a Mobil gas station in the 3900 block of South Kanner Highway.

"Customers were coming to the Mobil and were very disturbed as to the yelling and obscene argument the defendant was having with his bicycle," the affidavit states.

The affidavit didn’t specify what the argument was about [probably a pesky derailer; God knows I've yelled at mine a time or two] or whether Bialon had accused the pedal-powered vehicle of wrongdoing.

Bialon, of the 5500 block of South Kanner Highway, had been imbibing all day and was described as "very intoxicated."

He was arrested on a misdemeanor disorderly intoxication charge and taken to jail.

SOURCE

This must be why they hate us.

(click for full version)

Via Doghouse Diaries