franklyn's bike garage

Creating a new permanent route

2012-01-09T23:22:00.000-08:00

View Talmage to SF 200k in a larger map

I work in Talmage, just outside of Ukiah in Mendocino County, about 2-3 days a week. I have ridden up there on many occasions--at least once a year on the Buddhist Bicycle Pilgrimage, and on a couple of occasions by myself. I thought why not create a RUSA permanent so that when I ride it I can get RUSA credit for it--perhaps even getting a R12 by riding the route at least once a month. I have also ridden up from the Bay Area on different routes, so I was playing around with the map for a while. This route is perhaps the shortest way to do it and still fit it into a 200k. Currently as it stands from Talmage Store to Mason and Helleck in the Marina in San Francisco it's 125 miles, pretty close to 200km. The next step is to find suitable controls along the route. I will probably ride the route myself to tweak it.

Santa Cruz 3-Day Trip by Bikes: Part 4--Bike Review

2012-01-03T11:07:00.000-08:00

M and I took very different bikes to carry our medium load (15-25 lbs) to and from Santa Cruz this time. My Kogswell P/R and M's Trek 720 do share some similarities. Both use standard-sized tubings that make for more flexible ride, and both were running 650b wheels (though the 720 is a conversion). The P/R was designed to carry the main load in the front, and I achieve this using the combination of Roseland Porteur Rack and Ruth Works Porteur Bag. The porteur bag is pretty big (16x12x12 cubic inches ~ 38 liters), and on this occasion I put these things in it:

a touring map
change of clothes, which included a pair of underwear, a north face long-sleeve base-layer top, a short-sleeved Novara wool jersey, and a gap wool sweater (and M's fleece jacket)
U-lock with cables,
7 rolls of brown rice and tofu sushi,
a bag of chocolate-almond-cashew trail mix,
several energy bars
a meal worth of soba noodles and a small jar home-made spicy sesame sauce.
a New York Review for reading,
a triangle to be visible,
a travel coffee mug,
necessity: wallet, cellphone, ipod touch, and charger for the iPod
tools, spare tube (which became handy as I got a flat on the way back 1 mile away from the train station), and a frame pump

This didn't fill the bag up (in comparison, a pair of bike packer panniers from Ortlieb carries 50 liters of stuff). I tried to arrange the stuff so that the weight is even across the platform of the rack. The handling feels heavy, but not in a way where I felt the bike was squirrely. As I rode, the bike with the load felt steady, and follows a straight line easily. When I climbed off the saddle, I need to pay attention not to sway the pressure of my body from side-to-side too much, as this is the time I felt the weight of the front load on my hands and arms. Descending with load is stable and predictable. In short, the low-trail design did what it supposed to do with 20-25 lbs of load up front. On high-torque climbing, I did feel the frame flex a little more, but not to an extend where I felt like I was bending the frame more than propelling it forward.

M.'s Trek 720 is definitely designed to carry the load both front and back, but primarily in the rear. The Trek 720 has extremely long wheel-base, and acts almost as a mini xtracycle. The Sakaroo (made by Arkel) pannier carried her change of clothing, our toiletry, a pair of lightweight street shoes, a book, and some winter accessories (lobster gloves and warm hats). She felt that the 720 is noticeably more stable than her old Trek 620, which ran 700c wheels. The extra width of the Panaracer Col de la Vie tires improved comforts on occasionally bad pavements or dirt road, and she felt more confident on descents. From watching her ride, she kept a straight line fairly well. Even though the front end is very light, she never felt the front end of her bike is too light or in danger of lifting up. Perhaps that's because the grades on this ride were very gentle, or perhaps the extra-long wheel-base prevents wheelie from happening.

The luggage worked well for us. The Ruth Works bag opens toward the rider, so i can access the bag while riding. I didn't use the map case this time, but it can be very helpful on a ride or short tour. It has 3 large exterior pockets and one interior pocket. With the Ortlieb pannier hook and a couple of velcro strap and a pedal strap, the bag felt very secured on the bike over bumps and on bumpy and winding descents.

The Sakaroo pannier has a good amount of space, and has two side pockets that are pretty sizable. There is a pocket facing the rack on the top that isn't as useful. One feature that's nice about the sakaroo is that it has a zipped opening in the front to allow access to the bottom part of the pannier without opening the bag from the top and digging your hand in it. It's very well made and fairly attractive on the bike as well. The bungie-chord based attachment system is very easy to get the bag on and off the rack, and seems very secured. I wonder if one can replace the bungie chord when it loses elasticity.

Santa Cruz 3-day Trip by Bikes: Part 3--Eureka Canyon Road

2012-01-02T19:42:00.001-08:00

We woke up around 8AM in the morning in Santa Cruz after riding here from San Jose and spending a great day watching the ocean and chilling. Today we are riding back to San Jose, but not the way we came. Soquel-San Jose Road can be an exhilarating descent, but riding up on it may not be as fun. Today our plan was to ride west first through towns of Capitola, Aptos, and Corralitos, then up Eureka Canyon Road to the ridge and continue on Highland Way back to rejoin Summit Road. This will add about 17 miles to our trip and make it a 52-mile ride. With our haul, this is not easy, but the gradient on all the climbs today should be pretty gentle.

We started our return by getting a breakfast at Dharmas restaurant--for the third time in two days we ate at that restaurant. On this occasion M ordered a vegan breakfast burrito and I got a "Greek" tofu scramble, which meant addition of lots of olives and mushroom. It was very good. We rode through some beautiful and quaint small towns beginning with Capitola. After riding through downtown Capitola we got on Park Blvd and then a right on McGregor road right on the side of Highway 1. Then we crossed Highway 1 and ended up on Soquel Drive. We rode through Aptos next and continued on Soquel Dr for a while. We turned north on Freedom Ave and began a very gentle climb. The fork on Hames brought a couple of short but steep pitches, and off the layers for both of us. Before Hames took us into Corralitos there was a small section of gentle descent, which dropped us at the intersection of Eureka Canyon Road and Blake. From here we would go up till the ridge for approximately 10 miles.

Eureka Canyon Road is a winding, shaded, fairly well-paved and mostly narrow road. At times there is only one lane. The grade is very gentle. We were able to chat almost all the way up and I was riding mostly on my big chain ring. The road is lined with different kinds of beautiful tall trees and we were constantly greeted by birds and squirrels. For most of the time our view didn't go much beyond the canyon and the creek running beside the road. As we climbed higher views of the canyon below and the surrounding hills emerged. Toward the top near the junction with Highland Way the pavement is not as good (but still very good) and the road is more exposed. On this cold but clear day, sun was a much welcomed sight to warm us up a bit.

We got to Highland and rode on the ridge for a good half a dozen miles. There was no significant climbs, but some gentle rollers. The road has a mixture of forest and wide vista of the canyons, mountains, and even a glimpse of the ocean below. Highland eventually turned into Summit Road. After taking a break at the Highland Market, we got to Old Santa Cruz Hwy and began the descent down to San Jose. The trip downhill is pretty fast, and we rode fast on back on the Los Gatos Creek Trail. About a mile away from the train station I hit a tack on the pavement and had to fix the flat. Good thing it was so close to the destination so i didn't have to ride with low pressure for long. We were both very tired from the trip and napped on the Amtrak ride home. It was a fun Christmas trip!

Here again, is the slideshow for the whole trip:

Santa Cruz 2-day Trip by bikes: Part 2

2012-01-02T19:33:00.000-08:00

On Box-in day, we woke up in the Opal Cliff neighborhood of Santa Cruz, after riding here from San Jose yesterday. Our hosts have already left. We slept in a little later than we would usually. What do we do for breakfast? M tossed around the idea of going downtown to eat at Saturn Cafe, a vegetarian diner. I searched around for a vegetarian restaurant closer-by that also serves breakfast, and came across Dharmas Restaurant. It was approximately a mile from where we stayed. Most of the shops were closed for the day still. It was foggy and chilly, but not too frigid.

Dharmas is a trippy place (read about its history and tussle with McD's here), with paintings of different religious figures and a 80's type of decor. It's not a purely vegan restaurant, but most of the items can be requested to be made vegan. I ordered a vegan breakfast burrito, which has country-style potatoes, curry-stir-fried tofu, guacamole, salsa, and refried beans. M. ordered a pesto scrambled Tofu. Both dishes were exceptional, and the portion was good for hungry cyclists.

After breakfast we grabbed some reading and walked out to look for a nice spot on the beach. We walked east on Cliff Drive first all the way to the top of a small hill. From there we could see the Capitola Wharf. But there was no where to really sit. We walked westward toward the city and found a bench on a bluff at the end of a street not too far from where we stayed. M. took a short nap while I read some and watched the ocean for most. Occasionally she would open her eyes and one of those times she spotted some dolphins playing in the water not too far from shore. Below us on the beach lots of folks were out on this beautiful day, running, walking, playing with their dogs. By mid-afternoon we felt thoroughly chilled and soft. M said, "let's go see the sea lions".

In February we walked on the wharf and chanced upon a pack of sea lions lying on a deck. We grabbed out bikes and rode along the water toward the Boardwalk in Santa Cruz. It was near sunset now and the view of the water was stunning. We made it to the wharf with plenty of sun light still, but not as many sea lions were on the deck. The ambiance near the wharf is wonderful and the sunset is gorgeous again (the sunset on Christmas Day was superb!).

Hard to believe that it's dinner time again, and since we had such a good breakfast we decided to go back to Dharmas again. This time we got the main meal as well as a vegan chocolate cake. We excused the indulgence by telling ourselves that we would be going on a 52-mile ride back to San Jose tomorrow hauling our stuff with us.

It was only 9PM when we got back and soon we felt asleep. It was a good day. (Below is the slideshow for all three days; part 3 of 3 will be the next post)

Santa Cruz 3-day trip by Bike: Part 1--Quiet Christmas Day to Santa Cruz

2012-01-02T17:17:00.001-08:00

(Here is the set of pictures on flickr for the whole trip. But I will break the write-up into parts)

We stayed around for the holiday season, and looked for a short trip locally where we can ride our bikes and relax some. Originally we were planning on going to Mendocino, but the threat of rain (which didn't materialize) and the lack of affordable accommodation steered us to look for an alternative location. In February we took the train and rode to Santa Cruz for an overnight trip, and had lots of fun. So we decided to see if we can stay do it again. In February, we rode to Santa Cruz from the San Jose Amtrak station, hung out, and then took the HWY 17 Express Bus back to San Jose. This time, we planned on riding over and back (on a different way) to San Jose.

Christmas morning was very cold. According to the weather report when we left our house at approximately 6:30AM it was 30 degrees F. I took my Kogswell and pack all my stuff and some of M's stuff in the Ruth Works porteur bag that I got from Ely several months ago. The 15x12x12" bag can fit a lot of stuff, and on this occasion it contained my change of clothing, 8 seaweed rolls (made with brown rice, braised tofu, carrot and mushroom), a meal worth of soba noodles and a canister of home-made spicy sesame sauce, some energy bars, my camera, cellphone, iPod Touch, and wallet, a touring map, lock (both U and cable), and warm clothes (a wool sweater for me and a fleece for M). M is using her Trek 720 (650b conversion) for touring purpose for the first time. She carried a Sakaroo (made by Arkel) pannier with her change of clothing, a pair of street shoes (since she was wearing SPD shoes on this occasion), locks, a book, and our toiletry. Between the two of us we also carried 3 bottles of water in 3 Klean Kanteen bottles.

The Amtrak train came online at 7:12AM, and we were fortunate to get floor racks for bikes. It was very quiet, as most people were probably still sleeping, and probably already at their destination for the holidays. San Jose was a little warmer, but the street was just as quiet. We rolled quickly through the first handful of miles until we got on to the Los Gatos Creek Trail, which is nearly 10 miles long and would take us to Lexington Reservoir. In February, even though we were riding at around the same time of the day, but tons of people were already out. This morning we hardly saw anyone besides flocks of ducks and geese. We traded pulls and move swiftly on this extremely pleasant trail. Both of us were wearing heart-rate monitors as we are training for some big rides this year and want to begin to build some base. We were doing 16-18 MPH and the heart rate stayed pretty low.

The later stretches of the trail has hard-packed dirt as the surface, followed by a very short stretch of uphill and flat gravel roads. The last stretch is a path along the wall of the dam going up to the reservoir. We took off some layers as some climbing miles awaited. To get to Old Santa Cruz Highway, which is the road that will take us a long way toward Santa Cruz, we rode on a dirt path right next to the automobile-only Highway 17. The half a mile or so of dirt path, after a dry stretch in the weather was no trouble for our 650b tires. M commented on how she felt more assured riding her 650b'ed Trek 720 than she did in February when she was riding her 700c Trek 620.

Old Santa Cruz Highway is a shaded, well-paved and winding road that has a gentle upward gradient from north to south. It was beautiful in the morning, and we saw one other cyclist on the road, and maybe a handful of cars. Sun is more prominent now, but under the tall trees we didn't feel any heat. We remarked how it must be nice to ride through this stretch in the summer. Another gem around this area is Ogallala Warpath Road, which is a smaller side road that runs parallel to Old Santa Cruz Highway for a short while. The road is even quieter, and takes us through a dreamy neighborhood among tall trees and lined with pine needles. After exiting the Warpath, we climbed a little further until we reached Summit Road.

Now we are on the ridge. We went southeast for a mile or so, heading toward Soquel-San Jose Road, which is what eventually would take us into Santa Cruz. However, we took Morrell Cutoff Road a mile or 2 prior to the intersection with Soquel-San Jose. Morrell Cutoff is a wooded back road with less than perfect pavement and some winding descents. On this trip it fits the motif perfectly. We saw lots of birds and people's backyards. Soon we came upon Soquel-San Jose. The road is a long and gentle descent down to the town of Soquel. We stopped at the Casalegno's Store as we did in February. We didn't expect it to be open, but we knew the store has benches outside for us to take a break and eat some food.

It wasn't long after we began to roll again we entered the town of Soquel. It was noon at this point, and though more folks were out by now, it was still relatively quiet. We looked for the place we are staying for two nights--a room in a house I found on airbnb.com--and we were glad to find that the house was a block from the beach. Since it wasn't check-in time yet. We found a shady spot and watched the surfers tackled the waves for a while. It was gorgeous. After getting into our room and cleaned up a bit, we took a long walk along the water and stayed until past sunset. Given that it's Christmas night and most places were probably closed. We cooked the soba noodles we brought and made sesame noodles. It was a good day of riding and relaxing on the beach.

M's 1982 Trek 720

2011-10-30T05:41:00.000-07:00

Brown head tube and matching panel on seat tube

My wife M has been riding a 1984 Trek 620 touring bike as her daily commuter and errand-doer since late 2007. She has a special fondness for older Trek from that era, especially those with with a panel decal on the seat tube. I saw a 1982 version of a 720 for sale on the Internet forum recently that was her size (56cm) and snagged it up. It didn't have any decal that indicated that it was a 720, but the frameset looks identical to the picture in the 1982 Trek brochure, and the serial number under the bottom bracket shell (03081x) confirmed that the frameset indeed is a 82' 720.

The paint is in mostly good conditions. The taup paint on main triangle and most of the stays and forks still sparkle but significant paint chips can be found on the chain stays, especially at the kickstand area and the drive-side. I sprayed these areas with a satin-finish clear coat before assembling the bike. The frameset itself has some very nice details. The tubings (main triangle, stays, and fork blades) are Reynolds 531, with these following thicknesses and diameters (see this page in the brochure):

seat tube 8/5 1 1/8"
top tube 8/5/8 1"
down tube 10/7/10 1 1/8"

Unfendered here in a front 3/4 portrait

Both the top tube and the seat tube are 56cm (center-to-center) and the angles are 73.5 (seat) and 72 (head), which brings the handlebar and the seat closer to each other compared to M's other bike (the Ebisu Road), which has 73 degree for both angles. Other nice details of the frameset include integrated (and subtle) under-bottom-bracket cable guide, stamped "TREK" logo on the top non-drive side of the bottom bracket shell, a chain hanger, Campagnolo drop outs (front and rear) with double eyelets, Andrew Hague brake bridge with fender tap, and investment cast fork crown and bottom bracket shell. The chainstays are especially long (47cm) to provide a stable ride.

I had planned on building this bike to be a 650b conversion to allow use of metal fenders and wide tires. We sold M's 620 to a friend as a near complete bike (sans crankset, seatpost, front rack, and saddle), so I have to gather parts for the build. The most significant addition is a pair of wheels built by Charlie at Lakeview Bicycle, a new bike shop on the Lake in Oakland that stocks many BOBish parts. Other new parts include metal fenders, and chain and cassette. Most parts came from my parts bin. Here is the complete parts list:

The Tubus rack on VO fenders

- 1982 Trek 720 frameset (Taup with brown panel and head tube)
- original headset (overhauled)
- Origin8 quill stem; 1"; 26mm clamp; 8cm reach
- Deda Newton 42mm handlebar; black; a gift from a friend
- Tektro R200 brake levers
- Shimano 9-speed bar-end shifters
- Soma tan bar tape
- Sugino XD2 165mm crankset 46/36/26T
- Shimano HG50 9-speed cassette 12-32T
- SRAM 9-speed 971 chain
- Tektro R556 long reach (55-73mm) sidepull brakes
- Shimano LX mega-range rear derailleur
- Shimano XT front derailleur
- Shimano Tiagra hubs laced to Weinmann ZAC19c rims; 32 spoke holes
- Panaracer Col de la Vie tires (measured 36mm on these rims)
- Shimano Ultegra seatpost
- Terry Liberator Ti saddle
- Tubus Logo rear rack
- Velo Orange hammered 45mm fenders for 650b wheels
- generic water bottle cage

The build is mostly pretty straight forward, but I did have to stumble through a couple of places:

1. the rear brake caliper barely reach the rim. Turning the adjustment screw helped some
2. similar to the 620, the chainstay bridge is placed too far forward to create a decent fender line. I used a 1/2" "spacer" to bring it closer.
3. Weinmann rims are a little oversized, so to mount the tires evenly I use soap water along the tire bead and inflate them to 110 psi before deflating it to the proper pressure. This seems to work OK; Charlie warned me about this before building the wheels up
4. I have to mount the rear fender stays on the Tubus rack (which has a pair of non-threaded eyelets on it) because otherwise the bolt will interfere with the chain when the chain is on the smallest cog.

M has enjoyed riding it so far and took it on a 12-mile ride last weekend. She doesn't notice a vast difference between the 720 and her old 620 (how can that be? the tires are much wider). I think the real test will come when we go on touring and when she has to ride through long stretches of bad pavement). It's really a nice bike. I am envious actually.

Andrew's VO Polyvalent Build

2011-10-24T06:51:00.000-07:00

Earlier in the year I worked with my friend Andrew to build his city bike. I met Andrew at a local weekly social ride called the butterlap. He was riding his nice Moustasched Rivendell Sam Hillborne. We chatted up and found that we live pretty close to each other in Berkeley and his wife and I went to the same middle school in Taiwan! Andrew is happy with the Rivendell, but wants something more functional for his city-riding, especially since his last urban bike was stolen.

He chose the first-generation Velo Orange Polyvalent. He got a 54cm version from Box Dog Bikes in San Francisco. We talked over in length about his use of the bike and the parts suitable for those purposes. Here is a rough parts list:

-- VO Polyvalent frameset; 54cm (top tube 56cm)
-- VO porteur front rack
-- 650b Dyad/Shimano LX Dynamo (equivalent to 3N80) front wheel built by Handspun
-- Dyad Shimano LX rear wheel (both wheels 32 spoke holes)
-- Busch and Muller nearfield IQ Cyo front light mounted below the rack
-- Velo Orange Zeplin 52mm 650b fenders
-- Soma B-line 650bx38mm tires (they measured 37mm on the Dyad rims)
-- Shimano LX rapid rise derailleur
-- Shimano HG-61 12-36T cassette
-- Shimano LX crank with single 40T ring (and no front derailleur)
-- VO Grand Cru setback seatpost
-- Brooks sprung saddle
-- Shimano LX V-brakes and mountain bike brake levers
-- Soma Oxford sweep-back handlebar
-- Raleigh old grey rubber grips
-- Single falcon thumb shifters mounted on the right side
-- Nitto technomic tall stem

More pictures here:

The build was pretty straight forward. The fenders and the V-brakes took the most time, the latter because it was the first time I installed V-brakes. I mounted the VO porteur rack to the rear-facing eyelets on the fork because it was designed to be mounted there and this way it allows the rack to be parallel to the ground and staying close to the head tube to reduce straining on the rack tab.

The finish product looks great, and Andrew has been riding it for 9 months and seems to be enjoying the bike. The 40T/36T combination is low enough for his purposes, and the light, rack, and fenders make it a very practical bike, especially in rainy Bay Area winters and springs.

Rosalie's Univega Mixte Update

2011-10-24T06:19:00.000-07:00

(Pictures taken by Larissa)
My friend Andrew introduced me to Rosalie, who worked with him, and used to be manage the Berkeley Farmers' Market. She bought a bike as an upgrade from her mountain-ish hybrid bike. The bone of it--early 1980's Univega Mixte--is very good, and we were able to keep several key parts, but significant upgrades were required and demanded. The parts we kept are:

Suntour derailleurs, Sugino double crankset (and the bottom bracket), the original headset, the Weinmann brake levers, and the beautiful metal coil cable housings for the front and rear derailleurs.

We bought 700c wheels--front is a Shimano LX (equivalent to DH-3N80) dynamo hub laced to Mavic A319 rim, and the rear is a (black) Shimano 105 hub laced to a Mavic Open Sport rim. We got an 8-speed cassette and two brick-red Soma Express tires (with Pasela tread). The quill stem is old, but wasn't installed on the frameset, and the handlebar is Soma Oxford.

The difficult part of the built was the shifters. Originally I thought about reusing the clamp-on downtube Suntour shifters that were already on the bike. However, these shifters are keyed to the clamp and can't be used independently. I found a pair of suntour friction downtube shifters that can serve the purpose to go with the bar-end pods. To use bar-end shifters with Oxford/Albatross bars one needs to have a way to recess the derailleur cable housings. We bought a pair of pre-grooved cork grips from Rivendell, which is glued to the handlebar and the housings recessed and tied with twine.

The drivetrain otherwise works well. The crankset has 52/42T rings, but the cassettes goes all the way to 32T, and the 42/32T combination should be low enough for most purposes.

We bought a pair of Tektro long-reach brakes (47-57mm) for the build and were almost foiled. The bike takes 27" wheels originally, and we created more clearance and tapped into better and more standard tire selection by going to 700c. However, the shrinking of wheel diameter by a mere 8mm almost made the rear rim not reachable by the Tektro brakes. I mounted the brakes on the lower seatstay, and facing the front. I then use Koolstop thin-line brake pads for V-brakes in place of the stock road cartridge brakes. The thin-line pads made it work. I could probably play with the adjustment screw on the caliper to give it a little more breathing room, but it works for now.

The Busch and Muller IQ Cyo head lamp, which is driven by the Shimano generator wheel, is mounted on the brake hole. Rosalie bought the near-field version to illuminate the area in front of the bike more.

The final touch came in the form of a old Terry saddle, with a long-haired woman wearing a dome helmet as the logo on the side. These old Terry liberator-type saddles are very comfortable, and my wife swears by them.

Unlike bikes I built for myself, I didn't try to ride the bike too much (it was too small), but hopefully I will get a more detailed report from Rosalie once she is settled and has more chance to ride it in San Diego.

Another Old Specialized--the build

2011-09-11T22:27:00.000-07:00

I had an old Specialized Expedition Deluxe touring bike from the 80's for a while. I trained for and then rode the 2007 Seattle-to-Portland ride on it. It was my main ride for a while, even edging a Romulus I had at the time. I didn't know as much about bikes as I do now, but the standard-sized diameter tubes it has probably contribute to the responsive yet supple ride quality it has. In Fall 2008, I sold it to fund the down payment of my Ebisu All Purpose, thinking that I would keep the Romulus alongside the Ebisu. I ended up selling the Romulus later also, and learned and changed somewhat my preference of bikes--toward bigger tires mostly on 650b wheel size, standard-diameter tubing, and higher offset at the fork. I am really happy with 2 out of 3 in my stable--the Ebisu and my Kogswell P/R, but have moved through several bikes as the third--my Romulus, a Raleigh One-Way, a Rawland cSogn, and most recently a Rivendell Bleriot.

I actually like the Bleriot quite a bit. It's an attractive bike that fits 40mm tires with fenders, and rides fairly well. It feels different from my Ebisu and Kogswell in that it had oversize tubes and lower fork offset, and I sit somewhat differently on it than my other two bikes even though they are the same size. The Bleriot was a capable climber that at times felt spriter than my Kogswell during off-the-saddle spirited climbs, and definitely more edgy on the descent. I had suited it up well, and had plans to keep it for a long time.

I changed my mind recently when I came across a Specialized Sequoia from the same era as my old Expedition. The previous owner had powdercoated the frameset (including a blackburn rear rack) but didn't go through with the build. I moved most of the parts from the Bleriot (except the wheels) to the Sequoia. And it is fitted with a pair of 650b Dyad/LX wheels, with the front a dynamo hub (DH-T660-3N, which doesn't seem different from DH-3N80, according to Peter White). The rear wheel has seen use on my Kogswell, but it became available when I built a 36h-Synergy/LX wheel to match up with the Kogswell's 36h-Synergy/SON20 front wheel. The Dyad dynamo wheel came from eBay with a near new Col de la Vie tire. A couple things stand out about these Dyad rims, 1) they are symmetrical both front and rear, and 2) tires measured wider on them. For example, the Col de la Vie tire, which is often measured to be 35.5mm on Synergy rims, measures 37mm on the Dyad.

The clearance on the frameset allows me to use 650bx37mm tires on it with 49mm Honjo Fenders. However, both the fork crown and the chainstays were too narrow for the fenders. instead of cutting the fenders to fit, I pressed the fenders to fit by fastening the 5mm bolts to the frameset. I put some rim tape to dampen the vibration that manifested as creaking noises during rides.

One of the quirks I had to deal with when building the bike is the tall original Specialized headset. The stack height is so large that I can't fit a steerer-mounted, spacer-based cable hanger for the center-pull brakes i intended to use on this bike. So instead, I rigged up this cable stop using a rear cable hanger attached to a stem-based bell-clamp. since I want to have a bell anyway, the clamp is actually functional there besides serving as the attachment mechanism for the cable hanger.

The bike rides great! I put about 200 miles in the first month since I built it up. The 650b fat tires plus the more flexy standard-sized tubes make for a comfortable ride, and the short and shallow but flared drops of on-one Midge keeps me pretty comfortable for long stretches of road. After testing it for a while, I will bring the bike to Ukiah where I work part of the week. It will be capable of going on paved or unpaved roads and let me get out even at night with its dynamo lighting.

Here is the part list:

-- Specialized Sequoia frameset with original headset; powdercoated by previous owner
-- matching color blackburn rear rack
-- Velocity Dyad/Shimano LX wheelset 650b 32h; front hub is a dynahub, similar to the DH-3n80
-- Panaracers Col de la Vie tires; measured 37mm on the Dyads
-- 8-speed sram cassette 11-32T
-- Velo Orange Chrome crankset 50/36T
--Shimano XT low normal rear derailleur
-- Shimano 105 double front derailleur
-- Laprade 26.6mm seatpost
-- Terry saddle
-- On-One midge handlebar, with 3 layers of cloth bar tapes
-- Tektro brake levers
-- Dia Compe Mod 750 center-pull brakes with modern brake shoe/pads
-- Suntour non-ratchet shifter on the right and silver shifter on the left; shifter housing under the bar tape
-- B&M IQ Cyo senso front LED lamp
-- Plant Bike Blinkie
-- Honjo 48mm fluted fenders
-- Velo Orange Front Constructeur Rack
-- Velo Orange Campangne boxy front bag
-- Rivendell Banana saddle bag
-- Velo Orange threadless stem 9cm 6 degree with VO stem adapter
-- Brass bell

Ebisu Update Jan 2011

2011-01-30T07:43:00.000-08:00

January 2011 Set Up

Now that I have owned and ridden the Ebisu All Purpose for a year and half on several brevets and long rides, I can really appreciate the attention to detail that went into the design of the bike. Besides the difficulty with fenders plus grand bois hetres tires (which was by design), everything else is pretty perfect. I saw recently that Rene Herse Bicycles began selling a model of Honjo fenders that are slightly shallower in profile and slightly wider at 51mm, so I decided to pick up a pair to see if I can improve the infinitesimal clearance I have on the combination of hetres and fenders on this bike.

clearance w/ old fenders

Clearance w/ new fenders

The fenders have Honjo's usual shine, and are visibly shallower. The installation wasn't so hard now that I have few times to practice. The clearance with them, still slight, is definitely an improvement over the 49mm fluted version (I passed that pair to the Kogswell, and now the Bleriot has the VO Zeplin). While I was at it, I also changed the bar tape from tan Soma tape to red Fizik perforated tape. Now it's ready again for the 2011 brevet season.

Kogswell P/R with Roseland Porteur Rack

2010-11-14T19:25:00.000-08:00

I installed a Velo Orange Portuer rack on my Kogswell in the summer, and rode it for about 4 months. The VO rack works very well, and looks excellent. The only complaint I have is that by attaching to the fork drop-out, it stiffens up the lower front end of the bike, and makes handling slightly more awkward, especially on fast winding descents. This is really being nitpicking. I also lament the fact that I can't use the fork crown braze-ons on the Kogswell fork intended for porteur racks.

Miles Whitmore of Roseland Cycles posted on the Kogswell yahoo group that he had enough tubings to make 5 more porteur racks designed to go on P/R's fork, and Roseland might not make these racks in the future. I emailed him to reserve a 650b version right the way. 10 days later, I met Miles in Berkeley not too far from my apartment--it turns out that Miles and his partner is moving Roseland down to Berkeley from Santa Rosa, and current works out of a garage a few blocks away--and grabbed the rack from him.

The installation seemed easy. The rack is designed to connect to the mid-fork braze-ons and the fork crown braze-ons. I threaded in the 5mm bolts to attach the rack at the mid-fork, then realize that the rack struts meant to attach to the fork crown braze-ons were not exactly on the spot. Also, the fork crown braze-ons on the Kogswell weren't tapped, so I spent some effort getting the thread on the 6mm bolt to catch. After some pulling, the rack went on the fork. I then drilled a hole on the fender to attach to the fender tap under the rack, and installed the B&M IQ Cyo on the light holder on the rack. I am also using a porteur rack bag that Swift Industries makes on the rack.

I have ridden around time to buy groceries, etc. on the bike, and it feels not much different than when I was using the VO rack. However, on several hilly workouts in the Berkeley Hills, the restored suppleness in the front end on fast descent is certainly noticeable--the bike feels spriter, more responsive, and I feel more confident taking a turn at high-speed.

It is comparable in weight as the VO rack, and its attachment to the mid-fork braze-ons instead of the fork drop-outs means that I can safely put this bike on buses whose bike rack uses a front-wheel-hook to secure the bikes. The only nitpicking complaint I have is that the light holder is placed too high--my IQ Cyo properly adjusted to illuminate the road barely not stick out beyond the rack platform. When the porteur bag sits on the rack, it places pressure on the top of the light. I might have to use a VO light holder to solve the problem. But otherwise I am really happy with the rack so far.

Buddhist Bicycle Pilgrimage 2010--Day 1

2010-10-02T22:59:00.000-07:00

Buddhist Bicycle Pilgrimage (BBP) is a supported cycling event in the Bay Area that starts in Woodacre (near Fairfax) and ends in Redwood Valley (near Ukiah). The event takes participants, or pilgrims, to 4 area Buddhist centers--Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Woodacre, Sae Tae Win Center in Graton, City of Ten Thousand Buddhas in Talmage, and Abhayagiri Monastery in Redwood Valley. The pilgrims ride through the back roads of Marin and Sonoma Counties to get to the KOA Campground in Asti on the first day (~ 84 miles) and then from the campground to Abhyagiri Monastery with a lunch stop at the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas (~ 56 miles on the second day). Dennis Crean started the event in 2002; living then in Berkeley, Crean, an avid cyclist, wanted to ride to Abhayagiri Monastery where he is a devotee. He announced to his friends and many ended up taking the journey together. He planned the whole event and rode the distance himself. A non-profit organization was later founded to carry on the annual event.

The route has had slight variation through the years. In the first 5 editions, the event traveled to Valley Ford, then follows Bohemian Highway through Freestone and Occidental to Guerneville on the Russian River. Since 2007, BBP added an additional center Sae Tae Win to visit and travels through Graton and Sebastopol before crossing the Russian River and rejoining the previous route on Westside Road. The change of route reduces the total distance on Day 1 from 96 miles to 84 miles.

Another detour took place a couple of times in the earlier editions and then was adopted again in 2010. After lunch on the second day at the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas, the route goes north on Sanford Ranch Road, then goes uphill on Knob Hill Road before going across the ridge on Watson Road to connect to Vichy Springs Road and rejoins the old route. This 2010 route change avoids bridge retrofitting work taking place on Talmage Road.

I have participated in every edition of the pilgrimage--8 times as a rider, and 1 time as a SAG (support and gear) volunteer when I broke my arm on a training ride before the second edition of the event in 2003. This year I thought about doing something a little different. I wanted to help with meal preparation in the kitchen at the campground and possibly with rider check-in, but I still want to ride the route. So I decided to get up early and start my day from Spirit Rock at 5:15am, 2 hours and 45 minutes earlier than the group. This way I can get to the campground by 1pm and lend my hand in the kitchen.

I was planning on taking my Kogswell P/R, which has a generator wheel and an attached high-brightness LED front light. However, the long front VO Zeplin fender on the Kogswell prevents it from sitting on normal car-roof bike rack that requires removal of front wheel. Since my ride, long time BBP supporter and past coordinator Judi Garland, has one of these roof racks, I decided to take my unfendered Rawland Sogn and use Dinotte battery-powered front light instead. The Sogn is equipped with a Nitto M-12 front rack and a VO Campagne boxy bag, which is large enough for my supplies on this solo, unsupported ride.

I woke up at approximately 3:30AM, packed up 8 energy bars, made a Tofu and an almond-butter-jelly sandwich, filled up my water bottles, and packed them up in the front bag along with a map, a tube of sunscreen, armwarmers, and my camera. I'd dropped my camping gears and change of clothes for the weekend at Judi's the night before. M. woke up and dropped me off at Spirit Rock. She'd have done this with me, except she needed to visit her folks in South Carolina. I checked everything, said goodbye to M., and began rolling at 5:20AM. Volunteers for the event began rolling in just as I was departing. The gear truck for riders' gears was already there. The riders wouldn't begin to arrive for at least another 40 minutes.

The Dinotte light worked exceptionally well--maybe too much so at first. It was mounted on my handlebar, and I am somewhat blinded beyond where the light was illuminating on the ground, even though it was still close to full moon and it was fairly bright outside. After about 30 minutes the battery was slightly weaker and the brightness was less blinding. It was a bit chilly out, especially in the woods in Nicasio. I was wearing two mesh cycling shirt (short sleeves) and a pair of arm-warmers, and had Rivendell's MUSA cycling knickers on. The Sogn ate up the miles effortlessly. I rolled through Nicasio, and turned on Pt-Reyes-Petaluma Road. Marin cheese factory was my first stop after a decent climb. I topped off my bottles, took some pictures, and continued. Hicks Valley Road was the next turn, and leads me to a turn on Wilson Hill Road, the most challenging hill on the route, except for the monster leading to the campground at the end.

I climbed mostly off the saddle to the top. At this point it was getting bright, and I took some time to snap a couple of pictures and made a call to M to tell her I am OK. The downhill on the other side was exhilarating--I put on a pair of worn fatty rumpkins tires (approximately 4000 miles) on the Sogn to replace the new Fatty Rumpkins the day before. (your read that right) These tires are pretty thick and the new ones are pretty loud when they are rolling on pavement. After 4000 miles, they actually become very supple and smoother tires on pavement. On this occasion, they still grip the pavement well on this fast descent. The turn on Chileno Valley Road was next.

Chileno Valley is a 8-9-mile stretch with many cattle ranches along the way. The cows were just waking up at this point and were already foraging. On several occasions young curious calves galloped along the fences, following a biped on a bicycle. I stopped to apply sunscreen lotion, and several young calves across the street inched toward the fence while I wasn't looking--curious probably. But when I stepped closer, they dispersed quickly, not knowing that I just wanted to say hi, and I am a vegan.

I got to Two Rock Church just as Waves to Wine folks began to set up. This year the BBP shared this stop site with Waves to Wine, another supported cycling event that's a lot bigger. I used the porta-john and got on my way.

The route took me on Valley Ford, then moved toward Sebastopol on quiet country roads lined with vineyards, orchards, and quaint country houses. I stopped at a regional park that had many children playing their saturday soccer matches. The weather was still cool, so I pushed on. I followed the route marker Paul Ries put down several days ago through this stretch of many turns. Soon I was in Graton, where all the other pilgrims would later stop to have lunch and listen to a Dharma talk.

I did not stop by Sae Tae Win and rode straight through Graton. I also wanted to check out this bike path that starts in town and connects to another portion of the West County Bike Trails that is on the route. Sonoma County has some amazing bike trails that really take you places. The trail head was clearly marked, and it started out with a wooden bridge, then a hard packed dirt section ensues. With the Sogn, it was fun to ride unpaved for a while. I followed the trails to Forestville, then proceeded to River Road and Wohler Road toward the russian river.

I stopped at the bridge crossing the river because there was a nice shade, and took out the tofu and almond-butter-jelly sandwiches I made this morning. The bridge is narrow and cars waited for each other to cross first. After "lunch" i marched on, and after the bridge I got onto Westside road, which means I was less than 10 miles away from Healdsburg. Westside road is very scenic and is undulating in nature. I stayed on the big chainring (50t) as I have done most of the day, and tried to time my effort correctly as to leverage the downhill as much as possible. Westside road also is shaded in large stretches, so even though it was close to noon I was not exposed too much to the sun and the heat. I passed through vinegard after vinegard, and 9 miles went away quickly.

I thought about stopping in Healdsburg to get find a cool drink and use the facility, as I would have 17 miles to ride from Healdsburg. I instead opted to stay on course (and turned onto west dry creek road) to get my drinks at the Dry Creek General Store 4 miles down the road. West Dry Creek Road is also a scenic country road but has less rolling hills than Westside Road. Quickly I got to Lambert Bridge Road, which took me to Dry Creek Store.

I have been eating energy bars all day, and chowed down two dry sandwiches that I made myself in the morning. I wasn't particularly hungry, but wanted a cold fizzy drink and to sit down and let my legs rest a little. I grabbed a sparkling lemonade, a iced soy chai in a carton, and a bottle of water from the fridge and paid for them. The fizzy lemonade hit a spot. It tasted like bitter lemon that I was very fond of when I visited London 4 years ago but couldn't find here in the States. The soy chai was ok, but served well as quick calories. I sat there for a while and rested a bit, and got on the road to finish the last stretch for the day.

From Dry Creek Store to the campground is 12 miles. It started with a 4 mile stretch on Dry Creek Road, then gentle climb and descend on Canyon Road, and finally an exposed stretch of 5 miles on Geyserville Road. At close to 1PM the air temperature is getting above 85 degrees, but the pavement wasn't that hot yet. I stopped in a rare shady spot on Geyserville Road to take a breather, then marched one. Finally, Washington School Street showed up and I hung a right, and after a fast downhill, followed by some packed dirt road and a bridge to cross a creek, I am on River Road and ready to climb the monster hill to get to the campground.

The last hill is not quite 1 mile long, but is a switched-back climb that has steep pitches. It seemed to go on forever! I have climbed it many times, but it never gets easy. I got down to 36x32T and ground my way up the hill. Finally the gradient eased out and I rolled downhill into KOA.

I jumped into the kitchen and chopped fruit for two hours, then helped Judi with checking riders in and a few other loose ends. Riders began to trickle in after 4:20PM, 3 hours after I arrived. By that time I have showered and felt comfortable. The evening festivities ensued.

It was a great day of riding. Even though i had to start early, the morning cool weather really helped me stayed fresh most of the way. It's the longest I have ridden since the SFR 115k Populaire in July, and I felt good--didn't cramp up, which is usually my body's indication that I didn't train enough. I would get up next morning and ride another 56 miles. Which I will leave to describe in another entry

Kogswell P/R Facelift

2010-09-20T09:42:00.000-07:00

I originally purchased my Kogswell P/R (59cm) in early 2009 to replace my On One il Pompino as the daily commuter and all-purpose city bike. I haven't experienced several features--650b wheels, low-trail front end geometry, standard-size tubings--prior to owning the P/R, even though I have specified them for my then incoming Ebisu All-Purpose. After the first several rides on the P/R I fell in love with its handling and ride quality. Combined with general lack of affordable porteur rack at the time, the P/R remained more as a randonneur than a porteur, sporting a mini-front rack with a boxy handlebar bag sitting on top of it.

A year and 3000 miles later, I acquired a factory-second Velo Orange porteur rack from the online bike component company for approximately half the price of a new rack. The rack hung in my garage for a few months as I mulled over the option of using it. Obviously I will welcome the additional load-carrying capability that the porteur rack offers, but I was wondering about potential adverse effects on bike handling--stiffening of the fork, additional weight. I also had for a while a fixed-gear town bike (a Raleigh One Way) that was set up with a Soma front rack and a Wald basket to carry groceries, etc. I later sold the fixed-gear bike as it wasn't practical and gentle to my knees, and replaced it with a Rawland cSogn toward the summer.

With Rawland taking on trail-riding duties and Ebisu covering the long-distance rides well, I finally got the impetus to install the porteur rack on the Kogswell. It was relatively easy; these racks now come with pre-drilled tabs. I ended up using the lowest holes on the lower tabs even though they seem to be designed for 700c wheels. I also attached the metal fender to the tap under the rack. Finally, a pre-drilled rack strut connects the rack to the brake hole. The kogswell has two eyelets at the fork dropout. Typically the rear-facing ones are reserved for attaching fender stays. However, the VO porteur rack was designed in a way that it will only be level to the ground if it uses the rear eyelets instead of the front ones, usually reserved for racks. I cobbled together a collection of spacers from my fasteners bin, and install the fenders and the racks to share the same eyelets with minimal-to-none interference.

Several changes ensued. I swapped out the on-one midge handlebar and put a pair of Nitto Randonneur bars (that became available after my wife's Ebisu receives an update to Nitto Soba bars) and put on a pair Tektro brake levers (that are shaped closer to Shimano STIs than Campy Ergos). I also put in the Schmidt SON20/Velocity Synergy dynamo wheel and a Busch and Muller IQ Cyo front light. Most recently, I swapped out the hardy Rivendell fatty rumpkins for the newly available SOMA B-line 650x38b tires, which resemble the venerable Panaracer Pasela tires available in 700c and 26" wheel sizes.

The P/R now is slightly heavier, and I can detect the slight stiffening of the fork. Since I am heavy, the bike still flex plenty in the front and it's hard for me to call the handling "dead" (although on fast sharp turns the bike is very slightly less graceful than before). The tires are quiet and roll better than the fatty rumpkins. I have carried plenty of loads on the front rack and the bike's handling never suffered for them. I have even taken the new-look P/R on several long and hilly rides and felt that it performed well. The P/R is really a versatile bike, too bad Kogswell doesn't make it anymore, and Anthony and Longleaf is considering separating the P and the R functions. Rawland is re-designing the Sogn and it sounds like the new Sogn will be closer to the P/R then the current Sogn. I look forward to the product of that endeavor.

Ebisu in for a fit

2010-05-06T23:05:00.000-07:00

About 100 miles into the SFR 300k workers ride (which I abandoned at mile 162 of 187), I began to feel pain in the inside of both of my knees. I was able to continue riding for another 60 miles, but I know the fit needs some adjustment. M. is still coming back from her injury last year after the Shasta Super Century, and the Ebisu Road is new to her. We finally decided to go to a local fitter with good reputation to get ourselves fitted on our bikes.

Rick at Eden Cycles in Castro Valley comes highly recommended, both online as well as by a couple of personal friends. He fitted M. first, moving her seat slight forward and up, and moving her stem higher, brake levers higher on the handlebar, and rotating the handlebar downward slightly. He also spent quite a bit of time adjusting her cleat positions.

When he got to my bike, it was a little embarrassing because I have been building my own bike for 6 years now, and always thought that I do a good job putting the saddles, the stems and the handlebars at the right place, but apparently they weren't super close on the Ebisu. My seat has to go up almost a full centimeter. I also needed to get a shorter stem (the Pearl 10 is really 11cm long) and a seatpost with longer set-back to compensate for the short rail on the Brooks saddle.

Rick told me to get these parts--long set-back seatpost from Velo Orange, and a true 10cm stem--then come back to him. I want to make sure that the top of the handlebar can stay pretty close to parallel to the ground, so I decided to get a 9cm stem. Because switching in and out of quill stem is so much pain, I decided to go with Velo Orange's stem extender/threadless stem combo. Maybe once I get the fit dialed in I can get a Nitto Technomic Deluxe that's the right size.

We went back two weeks later, as M. needed another look on her cleats, as previous settings cause some slight knee pain. Rick played with her cleat adjustments for a while and actually made a visible improvements. He send M. out for a test ride and began fitting me. He ended up moving the stem/handlebar up 8mm, and rotated the handlebar down ever so slightly. He also adjusted my cleat positions. I went out for a test ride and felt really comfortable. Rick does know what he is doing.

We came home and I stared at the bike for a while, and something isn't quite right. The stem was a little too high. After using a level I found that the stem is actually a hair higher than the saddle. Rick raised it up so high because I told him I spend quite a bit of time in the drops, and he wanted me to be comfortable there. I think that with time my flexibility will come back to early season form, when I did 3 brevets in a 5-week span. I moved the handlebar down for about 5mm so the handlebar is lower than the saddle again. I haven't tested the set-up on a long ride yet. Hope to do it this weekend.

Other changes on the Ebisu include moving to a lower-Q-factor crankset--Sugino AT used as a compact double with 50/34 chainrings and a Shimano R700 compact double front derailleur. I probably will eventually move to a 46T large ring so as to have more ridable gears, but for now the 50T works.

Update (6/6/2010):
The fit has largely worked for both of us. I have no issue so far. After a follow up, M also had no issue for a few weeks. After a longish and hillish ride in Menodocino, and sat in a car for 5 hours coming back to the Bay Area, she woke up next morning with some IT band tightness. To help with that I decided to get a slightly longer BB spindle, since her cleat has maxed out in terms of lateral adjustment.

The recommended BB spindle length for the Sugino XD-600 cranks is 113mm, and at the time her Ebisu had a 107mm. I though getting a 113mm would surely help. After I got a VO 113mm bottom bracket from Box Dog Bikes, I compared it with the 107mm BB, and realized that the large majority of the 6mm difference sit on the non-drive side of the BB. The long BB gains 1.5mm on the drive side and 4.5mm on the non-drive side! To help gaining even more on the none drive side, I put a 1.8mm spacer ring on the drive side cup.

After a longish and hillish ride. She felt fine, but later in the day, the medial side of her left knee (inside) felt some pain. After reading various internet sources on knee pain and adjustment, and knowing that the non-drive side has gain 2.7mm, even though a spacer is put on the drive side, it was pretty clear that the additional external rotation that her left knee experiences is giving her some problem.

I went back to Box Dog Bikes and got a 110mm VO BB this time. The 110mm version has almost the same drive side spindle, but the 110mm one is 3mm shorter on the non-drive side. I placed a 2.5mm spacer ring on the drive side to have all the length on the drive side. After installation, the drive side has the same protrusion as the week before when the bike had 113mm BB, and the non-drive side has the same amount of protrusion as when the bike had 107mm BB. After 3 days of riding in Tahoe during memorial weekend, she is feeling OK. I am keeping my fingers crossed that this will work finally.

Bike Garage has moved

2010-05-04T14:53:00.000-07:00

Physically, that is.

My wife and I moved from our old place to another apartment in the same neighborhood a few blocks away in Berkeley. The apartment is one of the units in a triplex we bought a couple of years ago. I have lived at my old house for the last 6 years and ran it as a communal living space. I leased out rooms to other nice folks and share common space with them. It worked out well--I met my wife this way--but once we got married we found that we prefer a little more space. I sold my shares in the old house to my friend and co-owner and moved to this nice 1-bedroom apartment, as coincidentally our tenant in that unit vacated around the same time.

Once we got our things moved, refinanced the mortgage, and filed our taxes, we can get back to more riding and I tinkering with bikes. One great thing about our new place is that it has a proper garage. At our old place I stored my bikes, parts, and tools in a general area that also housed the laundry machines, the water heaters, and the furnace for the central heating. It worked but the space was pretty tight. If others came in to do laundry while I was tinkering with one of my bikes I had to move it aside. The lighting in there was also sub-optimal and I often lose bolts, nuts, and other small but important things in the dark maze that's the laundry room.

Because we have a garage and we don't park a car in it, we got plenty of storage for our stuff and I got to keep sufficient space to store bikes and have a work-bench--I actually have a real bike garage!

Now that summer is coming we will be getting out there more to do some more riding. I am psyched about the night 200k in June to test out my SON20R generator wheel and B&M IQ Cyo light. Overall, I simply look to ride more this summer.

I just sold my Raleigh One Way, as it was just a little too small for me and my knee isn't very happy with the fixed-gear thing. Now I am looking to get a geared replacement--will it be a burly mixed-terrain bike? How about a true tourer? We will see.

SFR Two Rock 200k Brevet

2010-02-09T12:50:00.000-08:00

I didn't plan on riding this 200k brevet by San Francisco Randonneurs (SFR), especially since it was scheduled only 2 weeks after the lighthouse 200k. However, several of my Internet bike buddies--Jim, Lee, and Esteban--were planning to do it, and Esteban is coming all the way from San Diego, so I sort of decided that I was going to do it. I waffled all week as the rainy forecast for saturday didn't change. I finally sent in my registration form on friday after sending an email to Rob Hawks, the SFR's brevet coordinator on thursday telling him that I plan on showing up on saturday. Friday night the 4 of us were shooting emails planning on the meet-up at the start, and also stipulated the conditions under which--pouring rain in the morning--we would bail out. I woke up saturday early morning and it wasn't raining, even though the ground was wet. I checked the weather for one last time and it still showed high chance rain all day. I packed up my Kogswell--so I don't have to take off my bottom bracket and seat post to let the water drain on my Ebisu in case it poured all day--and headed for the bus station.

The F bus showed up on time, and took my promptly across the bridge to the transbay bus terminal--I was the only passenger. This brevet starts at Crissy Field near Sports Basement under HWY 101, which is about 1 mile closer to Embarcadero than the usual starting place near the Golden Gate Bridge visitor center. I got off the bus at 6:22 and got to the start (about 4 miles away) at about 6:45. I knew I was at the right place as many cyclists with reflective gears and bright light were standing around. I checked in with Eli and grabbed my brevet card. I also found Jim and Lee there but no Esteban yet. We chatted a little before Rob began the pre-ride meeting. I was putting sunscreen as Rob went through his list of things. Esteban rolled up at this point and checked in. At 7, we pledged not to do stupid things and began rolling. Jim wanted to wait until the people were all gone, so we don't get caught in the initial wave of adrenaline-fueled dash and unnecessarily expand our energy. So after a 3 more minutes we were on the road, too.

Just as we approached the bridge sidewalk, the rain began to come down. Even though we all anticipated the rain and expected to get wet, there were still mutters of "here we go" all around. We crossed the bridge and rolled down hill toward Sausalito. Near the base of the hill, I saw a rider on a Rivendell Romulus. He turned out to be Nathan, to whom I sold my Romulus last year (and he was riding it today). From there we--Jim, Esteban, Lee, Nathan, and Tom on a Atlants--rode together on and off most of the day.

The rain came down at different level of forces as we rolled up Camino Alto and through the Marin towns of Ross, San Anselmo, and Fairfax. Jim stopped to put his rain legs on after Camino Alto to scare the rain away, but that didn't seem to work, as we continue to get soaked. We climbed over White's Hill and turned on Nicasio Valley. After the descent down the other side on Nicasio Valley, it actually began to pour for a while. We stopped in front of the general store in Nicasio because several folks wanted to use the facilities. The rain has stopped at this point, but the sky still looked threatening. We stretched and wrung our wet gloves, ate some food and rolled on. It was drizzling as we made a right turn on Petaluma-Point Reyes Road. The climb before Cheese Factory is always a challenge, as the otherwise flat terrain doesn't give too many clues that such an ascent awaits riders at this point.

(Photo Courtesy of E. del Rio)

We continued on past Hicks Valley Road--usually where I turn go go toward Two Rock, and hints of blue sky began to show. We weren't holding our breaths, but welcome the development. A milder climb began shortly after the intersection with Hicks Valley. It has become quite pleasant at this point, as we got the vista on the climb of the lush-green valley below. I dropped my hammer energy bar as I crested the summit and had to apologize to folks following me up the hill as I was pulling in the front. I stopped and ate the bar before descending a very nice downhill. 3/4 way down I saw Esteban on the side of the road. Apparently he had a leak in his white Hetre tires. He was pumping it up to see if it would hold up to Petaluma, at this point 5 miles away. I continued to go down, and enjoyed the slightly downhill roller toward town. As the road became D Street, signal lights began to show up and I had to stop several times to push a bike button. The run-in to Petaluma is very nice, with stately, well-maintained houses lining the road.

At the intersection of Petaluma Blvd, I caught up with Jim as he waits for a left turn signal. As I turned I spotted a Subway Sandwich store and told Jim to wait for me at Peet's as I wanted to pick up a sandwich for the road. I headed for Peet's Coffee on the next block as it is one of the two designated stores for the first control. I leaned my bike against the glass window among the line of bikes that are already there. Lee had rolled in just ahead of me. I went inside the store and bought a vegan blueberry scone and got a receipt. I noted the time of 11AM on the brevet card and initialed the receipt. I stood outside and ate half of the sandwich and mixed up another serving of Hammer Perpetuem. A few minutes later, Esteban showed up and explained that he got a nail and had to change the tube.

We got on the road at around 11:30 again, and it at this point the sky has cleared up considerably, and the sun is out. My wet clothes were actually drying up somewhat already. We exited town on Washington Street, which soon became Bodega Way. From here we had a slightly uphill roller with several noticeable uphill through Two Rock to Valley Ford. Soon after we left town, we began to encounter a headwind. At first it was manageable, but quickly it became a full-on blast. I held on to my drop pretty much for the next 8-10 miles, rolling up more than down, and dodging flood puddles of different sizes along the way. Esteban pulled ahead of me after we rode together for the first stretch. This stretch was kind of monotonous, but still pleasant, as I cherished the dry weather.

Just before Valley Ford, I saw Jim pulled up behind me, apparently he and Phil (whom I know from my GPC days and bought a roof bike rack from) traded pulls to save some energy in the vicious headwind. I was quite exhausted as I pulled in front of the general store in Valley Ford. I got in and wanted to see if they had bike energy food--I still have enough but thought I should grab some as an insurance policy, as this last windy section took more out of me than I expected. The store didn't have any energy food so I bought a bottle of water to fill up my bottles. We sat outside the store as Nathan, Tom, and later Lee pulled up. Several randonneurs were already sitting there. We all marveled/lamented the phenomenal headwind. I ate the rest of the sandwich and gulped down some Perpetuem and Hammer Gel.

We have 23 miles to get to Pt Reyes Station at this point, and just about half way through the Brevet. I felt a little weak as we left Valley Ford, but told myself that I would catch some tailwind as we headed south and west. After a couple more mouth of energy gel, I was riding in earnest again on HWY 1 toward Tomales. The climb up was very scenic, and the color of day has completely changed as the sun is out, and nice white clouds dotted the blue sky. The 5 miles between Valley Ford and Tomales disappeared quickly, and soon we were riding along a creek and the marshes west of the town going toward the coast. The water in the creek was quite full and I was enjoying myself at this point. After eating another energy bar--my last. I pulled to the front of the line and pulled for a little stretch just before the coast. I stayed ahead and now have caught the south tailwind. The section all the way down to Pt Reyes Station has only gentle rollers, and with the tailwind aiding my effort, I glided south and the miles seemed to have gone away easily.

Just after Marshall I felt pretty hungry. This is kind of a good sign, as it tells me that I am doing OK with electrolyte (as the lack of usually leads to loss of appetite and desire to drink), but I don't have too much food left. I still had 8 miles to ride before I can get some food at Bovine Bakery in Pt Reyes Station. I remembered that I still have the blueberry scone I got in Petaluma. I ate the scone slowly, not wanting to cause any indigestion as I rode. This is such a nice stretch I coasted a few long stretches to look at the Tomales Bay and some of the marshes.

Esteban caught up with me about 3 miles away from town and we yo-yo'ed all the way into Pt Reyes Station. This was an open control and I headed for my usual destination--bovine bakery--to get a vegan veggie roll. The shop clerk told me that many cyclists showed up today and asked for receipts, and then promptly gave me one. I took care of control business and began to chow down the roll. Jim rolled up at this point and went and got a Pepsi from the supermarket, and told us he had been hankering for one since Marshall. I got a text message from Lee saying that he decided to stop at Point Reyes Station. Jim, Esteban and I all thought that it was a bit of a shame as we were relatively close to finish, and Jim and I both thought that if Lee had more familiarity with the route he might have opted to finish. I left them for a while to get some energy food at Black Mountain Cycles and get my chain lubed up a little. I have read Mike's blog on and off and it was good that I had a chance to visit today.

(Photo Courtesy of E. del Rio)

Lee showed up shortly before we were heading out and said that He had call his wife to come and pick him up. The three of us headed out of town toward Pt Reyes-Petaluma Road. We rode at a decent pace past the Nicasio Reservois, which was spilling its overflow. We still rode in a group on Nicasio Valley Road when I felt some sign of bonking. I wasn't able to stay with Jim and Esteban as they pulled away. Soon Nathan and Tom rode by behind two others on the brevet. My legs felt heavy and I didn't have any power. Just before entering the woods, I saw Jim at the side of the road eating. He said that he also was fading a bit. He pulled ahead of me again on the climb before Sir Francis Drake. I struggled up the hill and the dragged myself up Whites Hill.

After rolling downhill I stopped in Fairfax to call home and sucked on a couple packs of energy gel. The 5 or so minutes off the bike and the food seemed to have helped. With no one to ride with but feeling of a second wind, I rode at a comfortable but brisk pace through the hamlets. I was even able to maintain a good clip up Camino Alto. At this point I have the cateye small LED front light and the Dinotte 200 LED front light on. Toward the summit I saw Jim and Esteban standing on the shoulder. Jim apparently also bonked a little and had to get some donuts and drink a can of Ensure. I was grateful that they waited for me, as the last miles back to the city in the dark can be a little lonely and discouraging, especially if I had to ride by myself.

We got back to the bridge pretty quickly, and crossed it on the east side sidewalk. Jim had to push a button to open the gate on both side of the bridge. Soon, we were back at the starting point and handed over our brevet card and receipts to the wonderful volunteers and Rob there. After resting some and drank a can of soda. I headed for BART station and got home at around 8:30pm. The total time for my brevet today was 12:15; my total mileage was 134 miles, including riding from and to bus/BART station. Even though on the group list people felt that this route is slightly easier than the lighthouse route, the wind and the wet weather early clearly took their tolls, as I took one more hour than 2 weeks ago to finish, even though strangely I felt fresher at the end than I did two weeks ago.

Reflections on Gear, Bike, and Food
I took the Kogswell today, and it performed well. I think the frameset, tires, and the hubs are slightly heavier than the corresponding parts on the Ebisu. I also took an extra saddlebag as the front boxy bag--VO Campagne--is smaller than the Inujirushi bag on the Ebisu. I put my rain jacket in the saddle bag but actually next took it out. In hindsight I probably could have done without the saddle bag. When I rode out of the saddle and holding onto the drop--an option afforded by the shallow drop of the on-one midge and the tall headtube on the Kogswell--my knees would knock on the handlebar. This doesn't seem to happen on the Ebisu. The Hetres on the ebisu is noticeably better than the Fatty Rumpkins on the Kogswell. The slower tire might have something to do with my longer event time today, but I suspect that was not the main reason.

The fit on my Ebisu is just about perfect. I did not feel any noticeable physical discomfort on the 200k 2 weeks ago, even though I didn't wear padded shorts. I have a different handlebar--on-one midge--from the Jitensha Randonneur bar on the Ebisu. Overall I felt OK, with only light amount shoulder numbness toward the end of the ride. I actually like the MKS touring pedals with my addidas running shoes. I think the combo of crank brothers clipless pedals and shimano mountain bike shoes work fine on my Ebisu, too, but MKS half-clip with touring pedals are hard to beat.

The Dinotte LED headlight worked really well this time. Maybe the last two times when I used them, the batteries weren't charged fully, so the light crapped out quickly. I will give it another chance to prove itself. But I am thinking about putting on my SON wheel and B&M Cyo anyway.

I brought 3 energy bar, 3 packs of energy gel, and 5 more in a flask. I also brought perpetuem energy drink powers. In total, I brought almost 2000 calories of energy food, and I bought 450 calories more worth of gel in Pt Reyes Station on the way back, and consumed 2 out of 5 packs. At the end, I still have one serving of perpetuem powder that I didn't use. I should probably have been better to eat more frequently, as I always began to feel the effect of low calories (I usually feel some slight cramping in my legs when that's the case) before frantically trying to take in more. I bought a 12" veggie subway sandwich in Petaluma, and I should probably have bought an additional 6" sandwich as I knew no good option exists in Valley Ford.

My clothing worked well, mostly. I had a merino base layer and merino long tights. I then wore a Fox thin fleece jacket on top of the base layer. I had some wool socks from Rivendell and used a pair of neoprene toe covers from Performance Bikes. The only mistake is the pair of casual knickers I had on. They got wet and stayed wet for a while, and became heavy when soaked. They kept wanting to slide off my body. I would wear something different next time.

Tinkering for the Near Future

2010-01-26T15:23:00.000-08:00

In past years, even if I ride through the rainy winters, my mileage significantly decreased during the early part of the year; as the weather gets better and days longer, mileage also showed corresponding increases. I decided to ride a few brevets this year and will likely see a large majority of my recreational miles in the first 7 months. The tinkering that goes with regular riding also rears its head early.

Lighting
I completed two 200k event with battery-power Dinotte LED front light. This light is bright enough for short uses, and somehow my rechargable batteries drain way too fast (possibly because of the cold temperature I have exposed them to during the rides). I have a built up SON 20 wheel and a B&M IQ Cyo light waiting in the wing. It's just the matter of installing the wheel and light, and figuring out a semi-graceful way to route the wire--I can only see Hiroshi cringe at the thought of one of his beautiful Ebisu's having light wire exposed, instead of going through some sort of internal routing. That was a glaring oversight on my part when I placed the order, but life has to go on and I need a reliable light source for anything beyond 200k. Status: undone

Fenders
The fender clearance on the Ebisu is a little tight. Hiroshi said I can only use 35mm tires with fenders to achieve good fender line. He is almost 100% right--while I have successfully completed 3 120-mile+ rides with no issue with 40mm Hetre tires and 49mm Honjo fenders, the last two times the front fender got nudged just enough in the car transport to the start to make ever-so-slight rubbing when I climbed off saddle. Not a big deal, and some minor adjustment will probably take care of it. But Hetres--my favorite tires--might not be the best permanent solution. I am waiting for the arrival of a pair of Pacenti Pari-Motos (38mm) in March, but Kirk Pacenti won't make them in red unless a strong demand for red emerges. Grand Bois is holding off its 38mm tire project since the niche might have been filled by the Pari Moto. Either way, I might have to live with black tires for a while, or red Hetres with tight clearance. Status: fender adjusted; no Pari-Moto until march.

Lighting for M.'s 700c Ebisu
M. has expressed interest in doing the night brevet (200k) in June, and her bike will need reliable lighting as well. I scored a SON 20R/B&M IQ Cyo combo over christmas at a very low price and just need to get rims to build it up. This seems straightforward enough, right? I am a little bothered (abstractly) by the narrow width (19mm) of the rims on her bike right now--they are Mavic MA40 (front) and Open Pro CD (rear). I also have a pair of silver Chris King hubs waiting in the wing. The idea solution, if I have extra cash and time, is to build a pair of wheels using Velocity Synergy rims and SON 20R and Chris King rear hubs (I can then sell her current wheelset), but most likely I will just find a Synergy rim to build up the SON 20R hub right now and use it with her current rear wheel. The silver Synergy rim won't match the pewter rear rim, but I guess it will be used at a night brevet, and hopefully the mismatch will be less pronounced in the dark. Status: needs to build up the SON 20R wheel.

Cyclometer
I have a Cateye Vectra wireless cyclometer on my Ebisu. It provides simple information such as clock, current speed, trip distance, odometer, and maximum speed. It however, does not provide elapsed time (to measure riding time), nor does it have a scan function so I can read through the set of information without clicking through them. Also, I am not sure if the dynamo lighting will cause interference with the cyclometer. I have been eyeing a Knog 12-function cyclometer for a while. These elegant looking accessory performs all the functions I need, can be installed without tool, has a backlight so it's viewable at night, and is light-interference-proof. I am just a little hand-tight at the moment to spend that extra $60. If I do get a new cyclometer, I will move the Vectra to my Kogswell, so the unsightly wires--no good option exists to route cyclometer wires along cantilever brake cables--will be gone. I also need a cyclometer for my fixed gear Raleigh One Way. Status: need Knog cyclometer.

SFR Lighthouse 200k: First Brevet of 2010

2010-01-26T09:25:00.000-08:00

After completing a 200k on the same route in November, I looked forward to this first event of the year. The lighthouse 200k that San Francisco Randonneurs put together in January kicks off the brevet season with a nice roll from San Francisco through south and west Marin County, passing through redwood forests, quiet coast lines, quiet lagoons and estuaries, and charming towns and neighborhoods. It isn't too hilly, but the timing--early in the year--and the weather can all make it less than trivial. As my experience proves, it is as much as preparation for the weather as fitness for a event in rainy bay area weather.

I consciously try to keep my fitness level up after the November event so I won't suffer too much in January. I have kept my weekly mileage at about 80-90 miles; I spent much of the holidays staying active biking and hiking; and my wife and I joined a climbing gym where I not only climb to build up other parts of my body, but also do some yoga and spinning.

I also learned from my experience of doing the same event in November in my preparation. I took the Inujurishi handlebar bag in favor of the combination of the lil' loafer front rack bag and the Acorn small saddle bag that I have. The Inujurishi bag is large, and has a 2-layer map case. It is also very water resistant. I was able to loosely pack my cargo--3 energy bars, 5 servings of Hammer Expresso Gel in a small flask, a wide-mouth drink bottle filled with Hammer Perpetuem drink, 4 servings of Perpetuem powder in a ziplock bag, a small bottle for electrolyte, Dinotte battery-powered front light and extra batteries, Quicker Pro mini pump, tool pouch including spoke wrench, multi-tool, tire levers, patching kit, and a chain tool, spare tube, sunscreen lotion, a handkerchief, and my rain jacket.

I also carried two large stainless steel water bottles on the bike and the simplified cue sheet and my brevet card in my map case.

To get ready for the weather, I wore a merino base layer, and then put on a medium-weight fleece exercise shirt (quarter zip) from REI. Outside the REI shirt I have a reflective vest, which doesn't provide any warm by itself but acts as a slight wind-shield for my core. I also have a rain jacket in my bag. I wore a merino long tight, and a pair of shorts outside of it--I didn't wear any padding. I wore two layers of socks--a pair of regular pearl izumi cycling socks and a pair of thick wool socks that I got from Rivendell. I brought a pair of full-fingered glove-liners but opted to start with my half-fingered cycling gloves instead of the wool gloves that I usually wear--trading warmth for added dexterity.

I have a couple of cycling caps, but wore a Shimano-branded thick baseball cap for extra warmth.

I caught a cold riding in the storm just 3 days before the event--and thought seriously of not showing up on saturday morning. I try to cure myself with tons of everything--hot water, vitamin C, hot soup, whatever stuff I can ingest without serious side effects--and it seemed to work. By thursday evening i was beginning to dry up and not have any significant symptoms. My plan was that if it wasn't pouring when I wake up on saturday, I will head to the start at the bridge.

I went to bed early on friday, and woke up on time at 4:15AM. Darn it, it's pouring out. I turned on the computer and checked weather along the route. Weather.com forecasted dry weather after 7AM. I woke up my wife after getting ready and ate breakfast and she kindly took me to the start. The weather eased up as we crossed the Bay Bridge into the City, and I took the bike out the car and headed to the Strauss Statue.

I had 5 minutes to spare as road constructions near Crissy Field delayed us on the road. I quickly signed in and grabbed my brevet card. We swore not to do stupid things and headed off.

I didn't plan on riding with anyone, so I kept a pace I find comfortable. Even though the rain did stop, it was wet everywhere. I had my rain jacket on at this point and find it very useful. It kept me warm from the cold damp air and wind. People proceeded cautiously but briskly through sausalito toward mill valley. The path next to mike's bike was completely flooded with about 5" of water. We rode through the patch slowly. I got sprayed by a few participants without fenders and decided to pull back and ride by myself or only behind folks with fenders.

I felt stronger than I did in November, and was going at a good pace--all the activities seemed to have helped. At the top of Camino Alto, I made a mental note to descend with caution, as I haven't really tested Hetres on winding descents in wet weather. I braked a little more than usual, but the tires seem to be doing just fine. At the bottom of the hill, a rider came by and asked if I were Franklyn, as he recognized my bike from flickr land. I have seen One Happy Cog's pictures online a few times and it was good to meet him. He has a Merckx bike that has a wicked green paint. We chatted for a while, but parted ways as I was still coughing and spitting from my cold and not able to talk too much and keeping a faster pace.

The rainy weather also kept folks in bed, it seems as us randonneurs seem to be the only people on the road as we rolled through Ross, San Anselmo, and Fairfax. Sir Francis Drake Blvd was also fairly devoid of cars. I begin the climb on Whites Hills and heard my fender rubbing the tire slightly. The bike was sitting in my back seat without a front tire, and the fender must have been pushed slightly out of position. Since my Ebisu has a tight clearance with Hetres, a slightest movement makes for some rubbing of tires on off-the-saddle climbs. Nothing serious, and I made a mental note to adjust it somewhat when I stop next.

I had an easier time getting up whites hill, and enjoyed the descent and the long flat stretch that ensued. I opted for the paved road through Samuel P. Taylor State Park instead of the slightly unpaved bike path as I figured cars are relatively absent in the morning and my wide tires can handle the bad pavement relatively easily. The creek in the woods has grown to full-fledged rivers, and small waterfalls seemed to be flowing down walls everywhere. It was quite nice through the woods except it was very foggy, and quickly the fog turned into rain.

Rain continued to come down after i exited the forest and climbed up the hill before HWY 1. I saw a quickbeam on the descent toward Olema and recognized the rider to be Cyclofiend Jim, whose wonderful Cyclofiend website host beautiful bikes--mostly steel bikes with classical designs--is a regular destination for bicycle enthusiasts. After turning left onto SFR again I introduced myself and we chatted our way to Inverness Park. I stopped to adjust my fender a little and used the facility. Jim took off first and I was back riding by myself again.

In November, it was during this stretch between Inverness Park and the lighthouse when I began to have some problems with cramps. I took an electrolyte pill and regularly ingested energy drink and gel. I actually felt pretty good, and didn't have any problem going up the climb before the intersection to Pierce Road. The road was a little flooded, but the weather definitely has dried up. The section between Pierce Road to the lighthouse is extremely scenic, and today especially with the clouds doing a number to the sun light. I rode comfortably as my clothes became dry. Several other randonneurs are in sight, and several passed me on this stretch. Toward the base of the hill to the lighthouse, I began to see the fast riders coming the other way.

It was not nearly as windy today as when I rode it in November. After passing through several graze guards, I started the climb to the lighthouse control slowly. I saw Jim at the bottom of the hill changing the gearing on his quickbeam. He seemed to have the procedure down so I told him I'd go on. I was using 36/26T combination almost the entire way. The lack of strong head or cross wind made the climb much easier and actually enjoyable. After the section where you can see ocean off both sides of the road, a parking lot emerged and I have arrived at the first control around 11AM.

Looking at my brevet card from the november event, this is actually about the same time I got here last time. The time saving from going over the east sidewalk of the bridge and going through the paved section of Sir Francis Drake in the park was probably offset by the time I stopped in Inverness Park to use the facilities and check my fender alignment. However, unlike in November, I actually still felt pretty fresh at this point. I got a bottle filled up before the buckets seemed empty. I only have 20 miles of rolling downhill before lunch at Pt Reyes station so I don't need much more water. I grabbed a few packs of energy gel, stretched a little, and left.

Last time on the way back toward HWY 1 I kind of bonked a little, and had to sit on the side of the road to wait for the leg cramps to subside. I believe that's a result of insufficient electrolyte and calorie intake. This time I was prepared to throw calorie at the problem to get me to lunch. I ate gel, drank energy drink, and swallow a couple of electrolyte pills as I traced my way back east. The strategy seemed to have work, as I didn't need to get off the bike to rest and generally felt OK. Just as I approached the intersection of Pierce Road and about to roll downhill, I began to feel really hungry. I took another serving of energy gel and continued on.

It was kind of miserable to be hungry on the bike. Somehow I didn't want to stop, maybe fearing that I'd have lost momentum and time in the process. Good thing the stretch to Pt Reyes Station from Inverness is very flat. I got to Pt Reyes Station at about 12:45, after leaving the lighthouse control at 11:17. After parking the bike near the end of town, I dashed into Bovine Bakery and grabbed a vegetable roll and a soy chai. I ate in earnest, though I chewed carefully to avoid indigestion down the road. I found a bench near my bike and stretched a little after the roll went down, and sat there to watch other cyclists and randonneurs stop and pass. I got up and began rolling toward Marshall at 1:10, after a 25-minute break, which is a good 25 minutes shorter than the break I took here in November.

Usually a head wind greets a rider going north on HWY 1 between Pt Reyes Station to Marshall, the rider then enjoys the tail-wind on the way back. Today no strong head wind was present. It began to rain shortly after I passed the Pt Reyes-Petaluma Road intersection. The rain was cold (I later read report from another rider of hail on this stretch) and significantly reduced my comfort level. Along the way I saw and waved to faster folks on the return leg. I got to Marshall Store just before 2PM. The store was full of patrons, with a large portion being randonneurs. I grabbed a orange juice, got my card stamped, and walked outside. The rain has stopped by now and the sun was out. I saw One Happy Cog and Jim here. I quickly drank the orange juice and finished some bread I bought at Bovine Bakery.

After reshuffling my bag to consolidate all the remaining food in the side pocket, and mixed another bottle of Perpetuem, I got on the road again. A fellow randonneur, who told me that he'd blew his top and needed a little drafting tagged alonog. Since I didn't mind riding by myself, I didn't mind it that much. I got back to Pt Reyes Station quickly and stopped to take a break and let the fellow go on his own. It was about 2:45 at this point, and I figured I should get back just around 6pm.

I was getting cold, as both my base layer and the outer shirt were soaked with sweat and rain. I was also beginning to feel tired and hungry. I stopped before Platform Bridge to take in some calories and drank water. I was certainly going at a slower pace now than in November. I am half an hour to 40 minutes ahead of the time at the same place, but most of that time-saving came from a significantly shorter break at lunch. I did eat less lunch, but have been more methodical in taking in calories in smaller increment all day. Maybe my cold, which prevented me from breathing deeply and required me to spit out fluid, is finally catching with me, with the dropping temperature exacerbating its effects. I rode the next 5 miles with a negative mind state, and doubting if I can finish.

As I rode by the reservoir, I looked down on my cyclometer and I was still pushing a modest 15mph and the sun was still out. I told myself that I had to get back to the City anyway, so I might as well enjoy it. I stopped at the baseball diamond in Nicasio, and lied down on the grand stand for a while. I phoned home to tell M. where I was and when I might likely me home. That 10-minute spell really helped me. I headed out energized. Climbing up Nicasio Valley and Whites Hill seemed relatively easy, as I wasn't pushing myself to go very fast. I put on the rain jacket at the top of Whites Hill and that immediately made a difference.

It began to rain a little in Fairfax again. The folks that stretched along the route are bunching back together again and heading for the finish. I bumped in to Bonnie, whom I rode with on the bike path in Samuel P. Taylor Park in November, near Camino Alto. We rode together from Camino Alto back the the base of the bridge in Sausalito. I waved her and her friend on as I needed to stop to put on new batteries in my Dinotte light. The cold weather must have drained the battery faster. Climbing up to the bridge, being the last of the day, was rather satisfying. The west sidewalk of the bridge was most likely still open (and I confirmed it later as I saw cyclists riding on it), but it was dark at this point so i headed to the East side walk. Many bell rungs later, I got back to the Strauss Plaza, checked in at 6:11PM--a full 33 minutes earlier than when I did it in November, even though I felt notably worse in the second half of the ride.

I got back to BART and went back to Berkeley. It was a great day and I learned some good lessons.

- I need to keep my core temperature up in the wind and rain
- I still didn't bring enough food. I like real food better on these rides, and will bring some real food next time
- I am more more familiar with my Ebisu now, and am very comfortable on it. I didn't wear padded shorts, and have zero saddle sore--laced Brook saddle is great!
- I need to come up with a better way to transport my bike to the start as the slight tire/fender rubbing really bugs me

I look forward to do it in another two weeks, on a slightly different route!

Winter Riding in Monterey

2009-12-23T15:16:00.000-08:00

M. and I have established a little bit of tradition of going down to the Monterey peninsula in December to spend a weekend chilling out. These tourist hot spots--Monterey, Carmel, Big Sur--in the summer turn into quiet and low-key destinations in the winter time. For one thing, cost to get a hotel room goes way down--we got a room in Carmel proper for less than $70 a night at a clean and cute place--and so does car traffic. And if weather cooperates--which it did this past weekend--then you actually get possibly even nicer weather than the summer time, and this area is prone to heavy fog and overcast sky.

We went down on Saturday and visited a friend in Carmel. We sat on a bench on the water and chatted, walked along Scenic Dr in Carmel, and went down to Rocky Point Restaurant in Big Sur for afternoon snack and enjoy breath-taking views of the coast and the famous Bixby Bridge. We came back to the hotel just after dark. Feeling much relaxed, we actually fell asleep before 9PM.

We got up next morning when it was still dark and got ready to go out for a short ride. This is M.'s second real ride on her way to full recovery from her knee injury. She didn't want tons of mileage, but wanted some more climbing than when we did a ride in Mendocino during Thanksgiving weekend. We got out of the hotel and climbed up to HWY 1. We got on to HWY 1 for a short while and turned off to get on Aquajito Road. The road is lined with trees and goes up for about two miles before descending down to north Monterey near the Naval Post-Graduate Academy. M. did well on the climb up, and enjoyed being able to ride hills again. We got on the Monterey-Seaside trail and went south. We saw a few other cyclists going the other direction.

The next 10-12 miles are pretty flat, as we rolled through the usually-busy areas of fisherman's wharf, Cannery Row, Lovers' Point, various beautiful state beaches, and of course the famous 17-mile drive. Car traffic was pretty minimal and we took in as much as the gorgeous ocean view as we could, and stopped occasionally to look at seals lying on nearby rocks.

We exited 17-mile drive and rode toward the Carmel Mission along Scenic Dr in Carmel. If you haven't ridden/walked on Scenic Dr before, next time when you visit the area it's a must. It's a stretch of ocean front road that connects the beach at the bottom of Ocean Ave and Carmel River State Beach. We turned north again after reaching the Carmel Mission. The way back to the hotel is a steady climb on Lasuen/Junipero Road. This is actually the most hilly part of the ride. The quiet but quaint neighborhoods provide a contrast to the expansive and busier water front scenes, but is quite enjoyable to ride and watch on a sunday morning. We rode past our hotel to climb the hill on Aquajito one more time before heading back to clean up and checked out.

In the afternoon we met up with our friend again and took a walk in Point Lobos, which is a former whaling cove and now a state reserve. And we sat on the beach for a little while longer to soak up more relaxation before heading back to the Bay Area. The riding was easy-going but extremely pleasant, and it was overall a very wonderful weekend.

The rest of the pictures are shown in the slideshow

Raleigh One Way Build List and Pictures

2009-12-13T13:20:00.000-08:00

Build Notes:
Assembling a fixed gear bike is considerably easier than a modern geared bike. You don't have to fiddle with front and rear derailleurs, shifters, and all the cables/housings connecting these drive train components. The building on the One Way was pretty easy. It took me three hours total to build the wheels and less than 2 hours for the rest of the stuff. The part that took the most time is the installation of the SOMA front rack and the Tanaka alloy fenders.

I used a clamp on brake-bridge bracket for the rear fender, which saved me some time to measure and drill two holes to mount the L-bracket that came with the fenders. The fender--45mm wide--was too wide to fit between chainstay. Instead of cutting the fenders, I used a flat bracket to create another mounting point slightly above the chainstay bridge, similar to a mounting point on a kickstand plate. Drilling and putting on the fender stay was not easy, but straightforward enough.

Accessories around the front wheel--fender and rack--were harder to deal with. The Soma Rack is quite nice, feels sturdy enough and still light, but probably wasn't designed for a lower-trail fork. I bent the steel tang that connects the brake hole on the fork crown to the rack so it doesn't dip below the bottom of the fork crown and press down on the fender. I also drilled a hole on the fender and to use one of the two bolts the rack has to secure the tang and bolt the fender to the rack. The process of figuring out the exact position of the hole and keeping the fender line OK was not an easy one. At the end, the front rack still tilts up a little but the resultant set up isn't bad, and look quite nice. And with 3 points of connection, the fender should not rattle.

I recommend the Soma rack. It's light, has decent finish, and the platform is of a good size. The platform is bigger than a regular canti-post--mounted front rack, but smaller than a full out porter rack. A wald basket would sit on top of it nicely. It's fairly easy to set up--with a vice grip or a large crescent wrench you can bend the tang to fit your bike, and they go onto eyelets at the fork drop out. To set up with fenders, especially metal ones take a little more mechanical facility and patience.

The Tanaka fenders are a pretty nice; they are nicely polished, feel solid--definitely feel a little better than the VO fenders. I am not sure if they are as nice as the Honjos but they are definitely cheaper. They are, however, a little short, so for extensive riding in wet conditions mud-flaps might be helpful.

The IRO Cycles hubs, that are reputed to be made by Formula in Taiwan look very nice. They spin smoothly. Formula has good reputation in making track hubs. I like the pink color, wasn't able to get one for the rear at bargain basement price. I built the wheels up with a pair of slightly used Mavic CXP22 rims. These don't have eyelets on the outside. This combination dictates 288mm spokes.

Frameset: 2009 Raleign 1-way frame/fork; 55cm top tube
Control/Cockpit
Handlebar: Soma Oxford Bars
bar grips: generic cork grip
Headset: Cane Creek 9/8" headset
Stem: Easton E50 110mm 26.0 clamp
Front Brake: Avid Shorty 4 cantilever; black;
Rear brakes: Tektro Oryx
Brake levers: Shimano mountain brake levers (both left)
seatpost: generic 27.2mm black seatpost
saddle: specialized old saddle
housings et al: scraps
cables: Mountain brake cable

Drivetrain bottom bracket: generic 68x107mm JIS bottom bracket
Crankset: FSA RPM 155mm black 110 BCD cranksets
Chainring bolts: generic bolts for 1 ring
Chainring: SR Steel 42T 110bcd ring
freewheel: ACS 22T singlespeed freewheel
Track Cog: Soma 18T 3/32" cog
Lock Ring: Dura Ace track cog lock ring chain
KMC: 8-speed chain Pedals: MKS Touring pedals
Wheels
rear hub: IRO high flange fixed/free hub 120mm OLD silver 32h
front hub: IRO high flange front hub 100mm OLD, pink, 32h
rear rim: Mavic CXP22 32h black 700c
front rim: Mavic CXP22 32h black 700c
Spokes: 64 DT Swiss straight gauge 14g spokes
Tubes: generic tubes Rim Tape: Come with rims
Tires: Panaracer Pasela Tourguard 32mm
Accessories
fenders: Tanaka alloy fenders 700cx45mm
Front Rack: Soma inexpensive front rack
Bottle Cages: Generic aluminum bottle cages

The rest of the pictures are here.

Raleigh One Way and My Fixed Bug

2009-12-10T15:39:00.000-08:00

I sold my fixed-gear bike earlier this year to make room for the incoming Kogswell and Ebisu. Soon after I picked up my Ebisu and built it up in March, I also unloaded my Rivendell Romulus because the P/R and the Ebisu cover Romulus's functions well. I had a wonderful riding season and really like both the Ebisu and the Kogswell.

I did really miss riding a fixed gear bike, though, especially as winter approaches and rain started to come down. So when I saw a fellow iBOB list member put a Raleigh One Way up for sale, I contacted him. After some negotiation we reached an agreement on price. I sent the money out and 10 days later I got the frameset and a few other parts.

I came across the Raleigh One Way as I was searching for a suitable but inexpensive fixed-gear frameset. I didn't want a track frames as they really don't provide adequate tire clearance and have no provisions for racks and fenders (and even brakes). Several single-speed specific roadish frames exist on the market--Soma Rush and Delancy, Surly Steamroller, Kona Paddy Wagon, and Gunnar Street Dogs--and they have various accommodations for brakes, fenders and racks. However, even the best of these frames can only accommodate 28mm tires with fenders. After riding my 650b bikes with 40mm tires on them all year, 28mm seems too skinny by comparison.

The only production single-speed specific frames I found that have good amount of braze-ons and good tire clearance are Rivendell Quickbeam, On-one il Pompino (the bike I sold earlier), and Raleigh One Way. Rivendell Quickbeams are really nice, and if I have more disposable cash I would have gone to Walnut Creek and picked up a silver one when Grant and Co. released this last batch. Of the remaining two choices, the Raleigh has a nicer fork, and one that has more off-set leading to a lower-trail geometry suitable for carrying front loads. It is also more roadish than the Pompino, which has 135mm rear drop-out spacing. (after I purchased the One Way I came across the IRO Phoenix, which also satisfy my criteria, and seems like a good production frameset).

My first impression of the One Way when I received the frame is that the deep dark blue color is really nice. As I unpacked the frame of wrapping materials, I began to notice how stout the tubes are--this is definitely an over-built steel frame. After riding mostly standard-size tubings on my geared bikes this year, the One Way will definitely provide a contrast in that department. I cleaned up the frame a little and stashed it away, as I have to wait for a few important parts to arrive to complete the build.

I try to use as many parts as I already have in the parts bin. The frameset package included frame, fork, headset, seatpost, and front brake. I rummage through my parts bin and came up with a rear brake, crank arms, track cog and lock ring, and tires and tubes. The SF Bike Expo Bike Swap took place after I bought the frameset, and I picked up brake levers, bottom bracket, chain ring bolts, and stem at the swap. I also got a 650c Mavic CXP22 rim thinking that it was 700c. I put it on Craigslist right the way and was able to find someone to swap rims with. Metin in Palo Alto had a set of 700c CXP22 rims and wanted a 650c rim for a tri-bike. I gave him $20 for the set in exchange for my lone 650c rim--it worked out well for me.

I shopped around for the remaining parts, and got good deals on many of them. I scored a pair of hubs from IRO Cycles, and found good deals for pedals, chains, freewheel, and fenders at Outside Outfitter (an online retailer). I bought the handlebar, spokes, racks, and water bottle cages at local bike shops.

I assembled the bike sans wheels, chain, rack, and fenders. I received the hubs today and will build the wheels up in the next day or two. Racks and fenders will go up after that.

I will post pictures and report on first impressions in the next post.

Note:
The link to Raleigh's website shows a 2009 One Way. The 2010 version is white, and uses a SRAM Torpedo hub--a singlespeed hub that can become a fixed gear with a few turns of a screw. 2009 One Ways, incidentally, are on sale at REI.com at the moment for $630. You have to pay tax, but not shipping since you have to pick up at a REI store anyway. I like the frameset option as it gives me more flexibility to configure the bike to the way I want it to be.

SFR Point Reyes Lighthouse 200k

2009-11-08T15:02:00.000-08:00

The small set (of 4) pictures I have on the event on my flickr

I saw a posting on one of the online lists/forums I am on about a fall 200k brevet that the San Francisco Randonneurs are organizing. I have wanted to participate in one of these timed and unsupported cycling event for a while. Since I am familiar with the route--having done something very close to it with my wife on our own--and the forecast was good, I sent it my form and a check to register for the event.

I have to convince M. that I would be OK. She didn't think I was in shape for riding 125 or so miles, and was afraid that I'd injury myself similar to the way she did on our ride in Shasta in August. I assured her that I had kept some semblance of cycling shape after my last long ride--2-day, 140-mile ride in late september--by riding from Menlo Park to Union City across the Dumbarton Bridge time-trial fashion three times a week. She was kind enough to not only let me do the ride, took me to the starting point on saturday morning, and agreed to come pick me up in case I decide to bail out.

The day before the event I checked out my Ebisu to make sure everything works and began to pack. I decided to take two small bags--Rivendell lil' loafer front bag and Acorn small saddle bag--because the weather would be mild and I knew where I could get supplies if I had to. I heeded the advice on SFR's website to bring at least 1000 calories and packed 6 energy bars (3 Clif, 1 Lara, 1 Pro Bar, 1 trail-mix bar from Costco), 2 flasks of expresso-flavored hammer gel, and 2 2-serving packets of Hammer Perpetuem drink powder. I also packed some simple tools, a pump, a spare tube, electrolyte pills, reflective clothing, sunscreen lotion, and a DiNotte battery-powered headlight. I thought about using the SON dyno wheel and the B&M IQ Cyo combo I have sitting in my bike storage, but decided to keep the set up as light and as familiar as possible. Here are the contents of the bags before I started riding:

Front Riv Lil' Loafer:
- 4 energy bars
- 2 flasks of Hammer Gel, expresso flavor
- 20 Hammer electrolyte pills in an old Tylenol bottle
- 2 packs of 2-serving Hammer Perpetuem energy drink mix
- my panasonic lumix DMC-LX1 camera
- cue sheet
- Dinotte battery-powered headlight and battery pack

Rear Acorn small saddle bag
- 2 energy bars
- Quicker Pro mini pump
- tool pouch: park multi-tool, chain tool, spoke wrench, tire levers, patching kit
- spare tube
- Badger sunscreen lotion (the really white stuff)
- reflective vest and anklets
- rear blinker light

I went to bed early on friday night and got up at 5 to get ready. My breakfast consist of 1 and 1/2 cup of oatmeal. After filling up the water and changed into bike clothing I took out last night. I woke M. up and we got on the road. I got to the parking lot on Lincoln at about 6:45am. I grabbed the bike and quickly double checked that I have all the things I need and saw M. off. By the time I got to the Strauss statue, brevet coordinator Rob Hawks has already started the pre-ride talk. I checked in with a volunteer and picked up my brevet card. The volunteers have some small ziplock bags available; i grabbed one to keep brevet card and cash on my body without getting too wet from sweat.

I looked around and there seemed to be quite a bit of folks. I saw a few familiar faces from previous bike parts exchanges or online correspondences. At 7AM we were off. I followed a few riders down toward the underpass to get to the west sidewalk of the bridge. The weather was pretty calm at this point and it was beautiful riding across the bridge.

I felt comfortable in my clothing in the somewhat nippy morning temperature. I had a padded biking shorts on and a Riv MUSA knicker outside. For the top I had a merino wool based layer from BackCountry.com that I got on sale, and a yellow Livestrong T-shirt that I got as a gift. I wore a pair of wool socks that I got from Rivendell and a pair of Shimano mountain-biking/touring shoes so I can use the crank brother clipless pedals I have on the bike. Throughout the day, though the temperature noticeably--warm in Pt Reyes during mid-day, and pretty chilly, especially after sun down--I felt pretty comfortable in this outfit, and i never took anything off or put anything on, except for a neck-cozy that I bought in Taiwan in May, which is mainly used for sun protection.

I rode behind several riders who did not appear to be part of a group. Our line of 6-7 riders passed a few folks going at a leisurely pace all the way across the bridge, and down the hill to Sausalito. I stayed with them until the bike lanes began to show up in the Sausalito Lateral. Since I didn't meet up with anyone to do the ride, I decided to settle into a comfortable pace and enjoy the morning. I passed several riders and got passed a few times. We (the randonneurs loosely spaced) rode past the boat houses on the bike paths. I waited with about 10 others at the light at E. Blithedale to make the left turn. Shortly after, Camino Alto awaited and it was the first climb of any sort of the day. I dropped to 36/22T combination and spun comfortable up the gentle grade. Clayton Scott, whom I bought a pair of Grand Bois tires from a few weeks prior and whom I'd see a few more times today, passed me on the climb on his silver Quickbeam. Another rider on a large orange Rambouillet also passed me toward the "summit". I got by a couple of gentlemen, one of whom was riding a Steve Rex steel custom. Going down hill on the other side was fun. Rob Hawks stopped ahead of us to warn us that a big pickup truck was pulling out. The Ebisu with its 40mm Hetres made the not so steep but somewhat winding descent an exhilarating one.

I was pretty much by myself at the bottom of the hill, as the Rambouillet rider pulled away from me pretty quickly. I rode through residential streets of Larkspur, Ross, San Anselmo, and Fairfax. In Fairfax I got onto Sir Francis Drake Blvd (SFD) toward Whites Hill. I'd notice that my front fender was a little misaligned--probably got whacked out of alignment when I put the bike in my trunk in the morning--when i was climbing the last bit of Camino Alto. It wasn't serious enough to bother me so I decided not to stop before the climb to fix it. Whites Hill is definitely more difficult than Camino Alto--in fact harder than I remembered. I dropped down to 36/26T during the steeper pitches and pulled myself up to the top. Just before the top I pulled over where there is a pull-out and adjusted my fenders so things wouldn't get caught at high-speed on the descent and cause problem. Several brevet folks passed me at this point, while I was making the adjustment. I smiled and waved them off as they asked if I needed help.

The descent to Woodacre on SFD is fast and short, and I took full advantage of it and tried to leverage as much of it as possible on the flat. I came up to a rider on a Taylor--Bonnie is her name, I later learned--bike on the descent and we traded pulls for a while on SFD Blvd. I asked her if she knew how to get on the partially unpaved cross Marin trail that is a sanctioned alternate route to pot-holy SFD Blvd in Samuel P Taylor Park. We chatted a bit as she led me to the bike path and we rode together until Olema. The bike path was very beautiful, and definitely much more pleasant than SFD without the bad pavement and the cars--though not many cars were on the road this early in the morning. My fendered ebisu handled the unpaved path with ease, and dirt wasn't a problem at all. In fact, the time on the path was one of my favorite part of this ride, even though conceivably I could go a little faster on the main road. Bonnie had to meet up with someone in Olema so we parted ways after descending the hill before HWY1.

The only downside of riding with someone else was that I forgot to eat and drink regularly. After riding for 2 hours, I only ate 2 energy bars and possibly only 1 electrolyte pill. On the leg toward the lighthouse I began to feel more sluggish, and on the hill leaving Inverness toward the Pierce Road intersection on SFD I felt a very subtle sensation of cramping in my calves. I stopped and sucked in a full service and half of the Hammer Gel and swallowed another electrolyte pill before grinding my way up that first hill. I had to go at a reduce pace the rest of the way to the lighthouse to stave off the onset of full-out cramping in my legs. I frequently and regularly ingest liquid and food on this leg, but the body takes time to recharge, and I didn't feel recovered completely even as I got to the lighthouse parking lot. The stretch was extremely beautiful, though, and my less than perfect physical state actually was a blessing as I was able to enjoy the scenery and atmosphere more. The sky was pretty clear, but the wind--and the waves--was raging. Several cars with surf board on them drove past me and were evidently heading for the beach. I haven't been to this part of the park for a while, and forgotten how beautiful it is. Even though I wasn't at full strength, i really enjoyed the ride.

I pulled in the parking lot just around 11AM. I greeted the volunteers and other riders, and got my card signed and signed in. The vista was crazy beautiful at this location, as the landscape is open is almost all 4 directions and you get at least 210 degree of ocean view. Large birds were balancing themselves in the ferocious wind. I smapped a few photos, filled up my water bottle, and ate more food. Lee, one of the volunteers at the control came and chatted with me about my 650b hetre tires. He has a Rivendell Saluki and currently uses Riv Fatty Rumpkins. I told him that I have experience with both types of tires and recommend the hetres highly. I spent about 15 minutes at the control and headed off. As I rolled downhill, I saw 10-15 riders were still coming up.

The return leg toward HWY 1 was only slightly easier, as even though overall there is a decrease in elevation, and one got more tailwind than headwind, I haven't completely recovered from my calorie depletion and still suffered some on the few uphills along the stretch. I dragged and cheered, and lured myself on the prospect of lunch in Pt Reyes Station, and continue to suck on my gel flask. I reached the Pierce Road intersection and welcomed the extended downhill toward Inverness. The trip next to the bay/swamp was pretty fast, and I got into town quickly. At this point I am positively hungry as it was now past 12:30pm.

I pulled into the bike parking spots near the end of the strip. John Potis, who also has a Ebisu came and chatted with me about my Ebisu briefly. My hunger must be very apparent as he quickly urged me to get some food. I grabbed the water bottles and my wallet and walked into the famous Bovine Bakery. I bought 3 vegan veggie rolls, and filled up both of my bottle. I went and sat down near my bike and ate two of them really quickly. I bought the third one knowing that I won't be able to finish, but wanted to keep it just in case. I rested and spent quite a bit of time in town--probably an hour--to make sure the food got digested, as I didn't want to feel weak for the rest of the trip--I was at mile 74, and still had about 50 miles to ride, although the hardest part is behind me. I watched as other randonneurs rode past me, but decided to take it conservatively and rest a full hour.

I finally got up at about 1:40PM and began rolling again. The leg to Marshall is basically flat, with only 2-3 non-trivial rollers. I could feel my body regaining strength as I went. I saw many people on the way back as I rode. I got to Marshall fairly quickly, but missed the store and went past it for a mile (not sure how I did that). I turned around and got to the store. 10-15 randonneurs were there buying food and eating chowder. I saw Ron Lau, who sold me many parts and accessories that are on my Ebisu. He was riding his blue custom Bilenky rando bike. We chatted a bit while we were in line. The woman at the store stamped my card as I paid for my $1 bottle of water.

I used the porta-john outside the store, and mixed a packed of Hammer Perpetuem energy drink in one of my bottles. I got on the bike and felt pretty good--probably aided by the good tail wind. The return leg to Pt Reyes Station took me a little more than 20 minutes. As it was slightly past 3pm. I checked the amount of water, gel, and energy drink I had, and made myself ingest regularly. I rode past the reservoir, and got to Nicasio at a decent pace. I stopped next to the baseball diamond in Nicasio to lie down on the grandstand a bit and called M. to let her know I am ok and should be able to finish without much problem. I checked the time at this point--close to 4--and thought to myself that it'd be good to get as much of the hills behind me as possible. I got on the bike and rode toward the hill on Nicasio Valley road. I turned on my rear light but decided to put on the front light and reflective clothing later. The hill on Nicasio Valley was actually pretty easy. I powered up without much problem, and descended back to SFD. I put on my reflective vest, the front light, and the anklets before Whites Hills even though it was still bright then.

Whites Hill was also easier than I expected. The regular and sufficient calorie intake has paid off, and I felt pretty strong at this point. I rolled through the residential towns of Fairfax, San Anselmo, and Ross. I got to the base of Camino Alto at about 5:30PM, just as it began to get dark. I took my time going up as my battery front light was already crapping out--possibly because I didn't charge the batteries fully. I got to the top and began the descend. At this point the light was pretty dim and the descent turned out to be a bit more hairy than I wanted.

I stopped at the gas station on E. Blithedale to buy a pack of batteries. At this point I was staring at a 6:30pm finish at a easy pace. I called M. again and got some water on the bike path. I'd never ridden through this area at night, and find myself enjoying the relative quiet and less busy streets. Sausalito was still buzzing in the early evenings. Tourists on rented bikes--without lights--were still coming downhill, precariously. I began the final climb of the day. I took my time, and enjoyed the lit skyline of San Francisco with the bay in the foreground as I rode. I had to cross to the east sidewalk as it was totally dark now. With many tourists still on the bridge, and most of them without any illumination, I had to proceed carefully. I pushed--you have to hold it for a short while--the button for the gate leading to the gift shop area a few times before it opened. I rolled into the parking lot and stopped in front of the volunteer table. Jim G., whom I have corresponded a few times on various bike related topics was there checking riders in. We had a brief exchange, as I was getting cold and still needed to get to BART to go home. I turned in my brevet card and signed in. I stopped to call M., and headed toward BART. I got back to Berkeley before 7:30PM, and actually felt pretty good.

I really enjoyed this brevet, my first one. The fall weather condition and temperature is much easier on my easily-heated body. I made the mistake of irregular and insufficient calorie intake in the morning, but recovered after eating lunch and imposing on myself a more regular regiment. Though the morning's lack of discipline weakened me and required me to take a much longer than otherwise necessary lunch break. I feel I can probably improve my time noticeably if I stick to eating and drinking throughout the ride. This was actually the most mileage on one ride I did this season--though my incomplete Shasta Super Century (120 miles and 12000 ft of climbing) and Big Basin training ride (80 miles and 11000 ft of climbing) in the summer were harder--even with what was perceived (by both M. and I) to be completely lack of training immediately before it. My attire was adequate for the weather, though after dark I felt a little cold. I would probably bring another layer for the january ride which goes on the same route.

The Ebisu performed flawlessly. I had no mechanical problem. I actually felt little strain that I sometime experienced on long rides in my neck, shoulder, and wrists. My hand got numb for short stretches toward the end, but minor adjustments to the handlebar and stem could take care of that. I never felt really uncomfortable on the bike the entire ride. The ride quality was great, as the hetre provided a cushy but still fast ride. I rode no-handed to eat or drink a few times and felt fairly confident doing so. I would probably go with a slightly bigger bag next time, either to have the large Inurijushi front bag and no rear bag, or a slightly bigger rear bag--the mid-large acorn bag--to go with the lil' loafer. Overall, it was a great day of riding, and a perfect initiation into the sport of randonneuring.

Wife's New-To-Her Ebisu

2009-10-19T12:43:00.000-07:00

I received my Ebisu All-Purpose frameset this Spring (some of you have followed the build-up process) and really enjoyed the bike thus far. The All-Purpose is a sprite bike, even with a front rack, fenders, a brook saddle, and a front bag, but my wife still considers it a little heavy (currently it weighs in at 24.5 with the aforementioned add-ons) for her. Her Serotta 650b is a nice bike, but it wasn't built for 650b, and has horrible interfaces for fenders--for when we want to ride in rainy seasons here in the Bay Area.

I was following a thread on an online forum, and saw a member--Frank B.--mentioning his riding preferences--on dirt mostly--and lamenting that some of his nice pavement bikes--including an Ebisu Road model--are not ridden enough--leading him to consider selling the Ebisu. I talked with M. for getting the Ebisu, after some deliberation, she decided to go for it

I contacted Frank and asked about the size and conditions of the frameset. We reached a deal, and even though i was away at the time and couldn't send the payment right the way, Frank graciously sent out the frameset with the headset quickly. When I came back from my trip the box was sitting in my basement. Incidentally, this bike's first owner is Tom T., who lives a few miles away from us, and I have bought several parts from him in the past, and visited him in his house in Oakland.

Part of M.'s decision included selling both of her road bikes and leaving her Trek 620 to continue to serve as a commuter. It was a difficult decision for her, given that her Torelli was her first good road bike and she spent thousand of miles growing as a cyclist on that bike. As for the Serotta, even though she only spent one season on the bike, that's the bike she got married on. But she decided in favor of fiscal prudence and we sold the Torelli and the serotta frameset/650b wheelset fairly quickly.

Most of the parts on the Serotta were transferred to the Ebisu. Here is a parts build-up list:
- Ebisu Road 56cm square frame/fork
- Shimano Ultegra 1-inch; headset
- Velo Orange stem adaptor
- Velo Orange 9/8" theadless stem, 17 degree, pointing down; 80mm
- Nitto Randonneur Bar
- Tektro R100A short reach aero brake levers (from Serotta build)
- Deda Elementi chianti red bar tape (from Serotta build)
- VO brass bell (from Serotta build)
- Tektro R538 standard reach brakes
- Shimano Ultegra 27.2 seatpost (from Serotta build)
- Terry Liberator saddle (wife's favorite; from Serotta build)
- Sugino XD500 "old logo"; triple crankset 46/36/26T, 170mm crank arms
- Tange Levin 68x110mm JIS bottom bracket (from Serotta build)
- performance stainless steel water bottle cages (from Serotta build)
- Shimano SPD pedals (from Serotta build)
- Shimano XT 8-speed cassette 11-30T
- Shimano XT rear derailleur, long cage (from Serotta build)
- Shimano Dura Ace front derailleur
- SRAM 890 8-speed chain
- Shimano 8-speed bar-end shifters (from Serotta build)
- Shimano ultegra FH-6500 rear hub, 32h
- Mavic Open Pro CD rim 32h
- Shimano 600 front hub, 32h
- Mavic MA40 rim, 32h
- VO Croissant bag (from Serotta build)
- Rivendell Brand-V "holier than cow"; seat bag

She is in the process of getting back to riding after recovering from over-use injuries as a result of our ambitious Shasta Super Century ride. The bike is light (21 lbs) and so far she likes the handling and the feel. When she gets in better shape she will get fitted on the bike. I am looking forward to riding with her again.

More photos on my flickr page.

Credit Card Bike Touring in Southern Taiwan--Day 3

2009-09-04T18:00:00.000-07:00

Ride: From Si Chong Xi to Fang Liao Train Station
Distance: According to Bikely, 27 miles, The route on bikely is here

More pictures are on my flickr page

Although the neither distance nor the terrain of the first two days of this tour were particularly difficult, the heat, the load we were carrying, and the so-so bikes we had made riding the first 130 or so miles enjoyable, but physically taxing. We were pretty tired on the second day and went to bed early. The next morning, we got up and got ready to go back. We decided not to go all the way to Kaohsiung because we were too fond of the car traffic in the city on the first day, and the route seemed to be a bit complex. The tour operator told us that one option is to stop at Fang Liao train station--some 35 miles from Kaohsiung--or any other train station north of it, and take the train back to Kaohsiung. Taiwan Rail takes bikes as luggage and transports them to any of its stations for a pretty low fee (although the bikes may not arrive at the same time as the passengers).

So after some breakfast at a food stall across from our hotel in Si Chong Xi, we headed back toward Che Cheng, a town on the coast. The 5 or so miles toward the coast is quiet and idyllic. We passed by a group of school children going to school in the morning. In Taiwan almost all school children wear uniform to school. Some of them waved at us. Soon enough, we were back on the coast and now were retracing our route on the first day going north.

The ride was quiet, if not uneventful. The time of the day makes such big difference in terms of temperature. Two days ago, we were coming south along the same stretch just past noon, and were practically being baked. Today, at 7:30 in the morning the temperature is quite pleasant with a breeze blowing in from the sea. We made the 27-mile trip in good time and got back to Fang Liao

We rode through the town toward the train station. It's not quite 10 in the morning. We talked to the administrators at the station about sending the bikes back to Kaohsiung to our tour operator. They handed us a simple form and after paying them $5 and filling out the form, we bid our bikes adieu as they would head back to Kaohsiung on a later train to be picked up by Twins Chuang.

We bought two tickets to the Zuo Yin intermodal station--where the regular rail intersects the high-speed rail. We got on the train and took a nap, after transferring at Zuo Yin, the high-speed rail took us flying back to Taipei, concluding out mini-honeymoon. It was fun and we certainly recommend people taking a bike trip in Taiwan, as the infrastructure supports such trips well, and the scenery very good. The only thing is that you have pick the right season. Spring and late fall are generally better as the weather is cooler and not as much threat of typhoon.

Credit Card Bike Touring in Southern Taiwan--Day 2

2009-08-29T10:08:00.000-07:00

Ride: From Kenting to Si Chong Xi via Xu Hai
Distance: According to Bikely, 54 miles, The route on bikely is here.
More pictures of the trip is on my Flickr page.

We borrowed a fan from the innkeeper in Kenting to avoid turning on the AC and closing the windows. With no daylight savings in Taiwan, mid-spring days get bright at 5:30am in the morning. I went downstairs to the convenient store right next door and bought some breakfast food. It was already warm, so after finishing breakfast, I jumped in the shower and got a cold rinse before heading on the road.

We are in the tropics here and even at 6 in the morning it was pretty warm. We pedaled casually along the coast and enjoyed the golden rays on the water. We rode for about 4 miles and stopped at Eh Lwan Bi national park, which is the southern-most point of Taiwan. We walked around for a while and decided not to linger as to take advantage of the morning weather--warm, but not burning.

From the southern-most point, we moved back up north along the eastern coast. Immediately after turning for north, we began a climb that was the hilliest up to that point on our trip--but not too difficult compared to what we are accustomed to in Berkeley. The hill went up gently for about 1.5 miles, and we saw a pack of cyclists coming down, shouting encouragements as they go by. In Taiwan, many cyclists wear face mask on the road, partly to avoid breathing in too much smog if they are in the city, but mostly to protect their face from the burning sun. Both M. and I have such masks on, and do did those cyclists coming down hill. The climb takes us up to ridge and gave us an amazing view--that of eastern coastline reminiscent of Big Sur, except on the opposite side of the Pacific Ocean. It was truly an amazing stretch. Combining with smooth pavement and almost complete lack of car traffic, this stretch from Eh Lwan Bi to Jia Le Shui on Hwy 26 must have been some of the most beautiful cycling road we have been on. The ridge goes on for a few miles before began a relatively gentle descend down into the coastal valley.

As we made our descent with the open ocean view in front of us, we saw a herd of water buffaloes in the middle of the road. These are bulls with large horns. They looked harmless enough and didn't even seem to pay attention to us as we rode past them, but we made sure to have no sudden movements as these are very large animals. From there we rode through the coastal valley, which has a variety of crops--banana, rice, coconuts, and many more. The terrain is quite gentle and a breeze was blowing by. We stopped in the township of Manchou to get water and use the restrooms. From Manchou, the road went north for a while and started to head back out to the coast again. At the town of Gangzai, we were on the coast again, HWY 26 at this point hugs the coast line as it heads north. There was almost no one around. On the east side of the road we saw some military training facilities, some of them have overgrown vegetation from lack of use, but there were no houses. Occasionally a car or a motor scooter would pass us, but we were by ourselves most of the time.

After about 8 miles or so, we came into a small village. We decided to stop and get something to drink at the village store. Most people in this part of the island are aborigines and speak their own languages in addition to speaking Mandarin (the official language of Taiwan) and Taiwanese (a popular southern Chinese dialogue). They tend to be darker and shorter in stature. They were really friendly, and some children came and said hi to M. because they don't see westerners that often. I got a soda in addition to water, as we are getting close to noon at this point, and were about to climb the most difficult hill of the entire tour.

The hill from Xu Hai to Dong Yuan goes up for about 10 km (6 miles); though gentle--nothing more than 6%, mostly at between 4% and 5%)--the combination of the weight we were carrying and the heat made it difficult. Parts of the climb were shaded, but it was probably close to 95 degrees, with over 90% humidity. We were riding entry-level mountain bikes with seatpost racks and some panniers. We stopped once to drink water and eat some food. M. told me she was feeling tired, even though it wasn't very steep. After some food and water, we felt much better and trudged on. As we climb we can see the green and lush valley down below. Cars were far and few in between. Even though it was hot and we were tired, it was quite pleasant nonetheless.

As the grade eased, we rode over a set of gentle rollers and entered the town of Mudan (Chinese for hydrangea). We saw along the street a sign that reads "this is the chief's house, welcome to Mudan". A few images and statues also reminded us that we are among the "mountain people", as they were referred to when I was growing up. We stopped at a liquor store to get something to drink and a little snack. The shopkeepers were friendly, and pointed us to a couple of stools for us to sit and rest while drinking our liquids. We bought and ate some rice crackers and drank a can of coconut juice and asparagus juice (very common, even popular in Taiwan) before taking off.

From the town of Mudan it's basically a set of gentle rollers before a long descend down to our destination of Si Chong Xi. About 30 minutes after we left Mudan and were still rolling, a motor scooter hunk from behind. I thought, "finally, someone is heckling us", as we had absolutely no trouble with anyone on the road thus far. Then I heard, in Mandarin, "those on bikes, I have been chasing you". We pulled over. A lady on the scooter stopped right next to me. She pulled out my wallet, "you left the wallet in the liquor store, the shopkeeper asked me to chase after you and return it to you". I was so surprised and grateful. She even mentioned "check to see if anything is missing". I wanted to give her a small reward but she wouldn't take it. Kindness from a complete stranger always came at most unexpected time. We were really grateful for her gesture.

From where we were, we get a very good view of the valley below, and started to get a glimpse of a dam--Mudan Dam. The descend wasn't tricky, but we kept it easy-going as we were in unfamiliar territory. Along the way we passed by totem gates with aborigine statues. I also read signs along the way, and apparently this area is quite historical for the tribes of people living here.

At about 2:30pm, we go to our hotel in Si Chong Xi--a hot spring town where almost every hotel offers hot spring as an amenity, and a public hot spring bath house stands in the west end of the town. It's a pretty small town with one main street. We got into our room, took a warm shower and rested some. We also walked around for a short while, but there wasn't much to see.

This day was definitely the highlight of our tour. The stretch on the eastern coast, as well as rumble in the inland valleys and the climb up to Mudan were amazing. We would definitely recommend the ride to others!

Back on track

2009-08-23T06:27:00.000-07:00

Whew, that was a busy 9 months--2009 is whizzing by so fast. Weeks of travel for various important things in life--marriage, for example--really put the crunch in time and I have been in catch up mode all year. I think the tide has turned and I might actually get some reprieve for a while. This will give me some time to catch up on my bike-related blog and flickr uploads as well. Posts I am planning to write about:

- Our Taiwan bike trip
- Our training rides for the Shasta Super Century
- Our trip to Shasta for the super century
- M.'s new-to-her Ebisu: build up

It's good to start blogging again

Credit Card Bike Touring in Southern Taiwan--Day 1

2009-05-28T21:38:00.000-07:00

More pictures are on Flickr
Ride: From Kaohsiung to Kenting
Distance: According to Bikely, 72 miles, but it was more like 75, probably because of some of the back roads we took. The route on bikely is here
Note: The tour operator's website is here. Currently they have two routes, we did the southern route, although the eastern route seems to be more popular. Currently there is no English version of the website. If you are really interested in doing such a tour and you don't speak Mandarin, you can contact me and I can try to provide some translation. Mr. Twins Chuang was very helpful and gracious, and we were so happy with the package; $180 per person for three nights of hotel stay, bike and equipment rental, and the service. We highly recommend this operator! Mr. Chuang can be contacted by phone (886-0912186979) or email (twins.chuang@msa.hinet.net)

For the immersed recreational cyclists among us, Taiwan is a familiar place, if only in name only. The large majority of bikes circulated by bike shops (not department stores) are made in Taiwan by a handful of large OEMs, ranging from entry-level hybrids to high-end racing bikes. Giant is probably the most famous of the island's bike makers, but Merida (which owns 49% of Specialized) and Pacific (which owns the Schwinn brand) are also headquartered in Taiwan. Other important bike industry players include component makers Tektro, Wellgo, and Sunrace. A handful of frame-making shops, with Maxway the most famous example, also have been supplying good quality frames to familiar companies such as Surly, Soma, Salsa, Rivendell, Bruce Gordon, and Kogswell.

Taiwan is also where I grew up and where most of my family still resides. It's where I first learned how to ride on my younger cousin's mini-BMX bike in a police family community (my grandfather was a police officer) in Tainan in southern Taiwan. I got my first bike when I was 7. My father took me to a Giant store in Taipei one evening after school. He bargained with the shop owner for a blue BMX bike for children and ended up paying less than $300NT (back then $1 US is worth $40NT). It was a single-speed bike with hand brakes. We carried the bike onto the bus and took it to our neighborhood. I still remember the excitement I experienced when my father let me ride the bike back to our apartment from the bus stop in the dark. That bike was lost a few years later. But I have always had a bike since then. Including a short period when i rode my bike to school during 7th grade. unfortunately the bike (a Giant 10-speed road bike with flat handlebar) was stolen a few weeks into my commute.

I didn't really get into cycling again until about 7 years ago, but since then bicycle has become an increasing important part of my life. Now I ride almost everywhere for recreation, commuting, and general transportation. I even had a bicycle wedding. When my wife and I decided to have a reception in Taipei and maybe have a short vacation afterward, I began to explore the option of doing a short bike tour in Taiwan.

With all the stuff that was going on in my life--getting married, getting promoted and have more responsibility at work, running two rental properties--we didn't really want to deal with the logistics of bringing our own bikes with us. I thought it would be easy to find information for doing short tours on the Internet; after all, cycling has become more fashionable recently as all these bike companies try to expand their domestic penetration, especially in the high-end segments. One can easily find people's blogs or online discussions on their experiences going around the island (which is very doable in around a week's time) on their bicycles. One can even find possible maps and itineraries, but finding a company that provides some sort of package including bike rental proved to be less than trivial. Eventually, searching in Chinese and following some links in a few blogs, I stumbled on a company that provides bike tours in Southern and Eastern Taiwan. After checking out the weather, speaking to the operator on the phone a couple of times, and consulted with my relatives on the locations, we decided to do a 3-day tour in southern Taiwan.

A day after our reception in Taipei, we packed our bags with change of clothes, sunscreen lotions, a camera, and cycling gears and headed toward Kaohsiung, where we planned to start the tour the next day. We took the high-speed rail, which sometimes travel in excess of 200 mph down the west-coast corridor. The 200-mile trip took about 90 minutes, with 3 stops in between. We then hopped on the Kaohsiung metropolitan rapid transit (MRT; basically the city's subway system) to get to downtown Kaohsiung. The tour operator had booked a room in a hotel for us. He had even already dropped off the bike at the hotel lobby. We went to bed soon after checking in so we can get an early start the next day.

The next morning, we meet Twins Chuang, our tour operator in the lobby at 6AM. I paid him the rest of the fees for the tour. He told us that he would take us out of the City of Kaohsiung, which can be confusing and even dangerous for non-residents on bikes. We got some breakfast and departed. Even at 7 in the morning, southern Taiwan is already getting hot. We followed him through the city streets, without a good idea of where we are going. It took us an hour to get out of the city and got on a bike trail on a levee. We moved west toward the coast, as cities became suburbs, then towns. The terrain was very flat. About 20 miles out we began to enter coastal fishing towns. Twins accompanied us for another 10 miles to Linbian. He gave us some instructions, and encouragements and turned around.

At this point, the southern Taiwan sun is in full force, and because of the humidity, staying in shade only helped so much. In fact, we only felt some relief from the heat when we are moving and the air seemed to move around us. We rode another 5 miles to a sizable town of Fangliao. A small vegetarian restaurants beckoned as we were rolling slowly through the streets. We decided to stop and have some lunch before moving on. It was 11:30am or so. The lunch was great and inexpensive, like most meals in Taiwan were. We spent $2.50 each on a well-portioned meal. We took a break and chatted with a few patrons and the restaurant owners. They were amazed that I was wearing short-sleeved shirts in such blazing sun (my wife always wear long-sleeved jerseys). In southern Taiwan, people always wore clothing to cover their bodies when they go outdoor.

It was past 12pm now, and it was really hot. We started to see more of the coast now, and the view is quite nice--blue water and rocky coast. The road we were on is the main highway going down toward the southern tip of the island, and though the traffic was not heavy (on a Tuesday), plenty of cars whizzed by us. Despite of that, we felt quite safe; although there was no bike lane on this road, there was a very wide lane more motor scooters, and a shoulder on the right of the scooter lane. Most of the time we rode in the scooter lane, and the motorcyclists usually just rode past us. Occasionally we even passed a couple of scooters taking their time going somewhere.

As we pedaled down the road in the blazing sun, occasionally we saw a stand on the side of the road selling cold drinks and offered covered space right over the water. The prospect of drinking something cold under the shade was very appealing to us and we stopped when we saw another one.

We both ordered a flavored italian soda and sat under a tent looking out the sea. A cool breeze was blowing and it was so refreshing to sit there staring at the water. A friendly bulldog walked by and wanted to be petted. We spent about 45 minutes there and felt much refreshed, though were hesitant to get back into the sun. But as the beach in Kenting beckons, we hopped on our bikes and trudges on. We would ride stretches on the open road, then through a town. One thing great about Taiwan is the abundance of 7-11-type convenience stores, and the wonderful selection of food and drinks they consistently stock. We are both vegan and found plenty of stuff to keep us energized and hydrated. One of the items we liked the most was a brown rice milk. For $60 you get 700 ml of cold brown rice milk mixed with ground-up peanuts in a paper carton. We would always buy one and get a new drink to try. Every 25 miles or so we would also buy some water to fill up our bottles, as we were sweating like crazy.

The day got cooler and the breeze became stronger as we got closer to our destination for the day--Kenting, a seaside village known for its national parts with diverse flora and beautiful white-sand beaches. I started to cramp up toward the end of 75-mile ride, even though i was taking Hammer Endurolytes pretty regularly--I was simply losing too much sweat in the heat to replenish fast enough. Luckily we were very close. We began to see public beaches as we entered the outskirt of Kenting, and soon we were on the town's main street. Our hotel was not far into it. The innkeeper was expecting us and kindly walked our bikes in. We got into our clean and simple room (unfortunately on the 4th floor) and took a much appreciated cold shower.

We walked around town a bit, toward the direction of a beach. At this point it was near sunset and the weather has become quite pleasant. The sun is setting and we were both feeling quite blissed after a good day of riding and seeing different things. As we got back into the village, night-market vendors began to open their stalls for business. Unfortunately as vegans we didn't find too many things to eat, and surprising for Taiwan there wasn't one vegetarian restaurant in town. We ate some food at a restaurant that had some vegetarian dishes but they weren't so good. We were both pretty tired and went back to our hotel so we can get an early start the next day. It was a wonderful day and we looked forward to the next.

Got Hitched--on bikes!

2009-05-28T06:39:00.000-07:00

M. and I decided to get married after three wonderful years together. At first we wanted to keep it real small and simple--the two of us going to city hall and maybe have dinner with a few close friends and family--but we had a hard time shortening the guest list. After thinking about it for a while, we decided to have a simple wedding in Tilden Park here in Berkeley with a twist--we were to ride our bikes to our wedding site and invite people to join us. Several of our friends are also cyclists and they responded positively to the idea. I had to convince my parents but since we planned to have a more formal reception in Taiwan afterward, they were receptive to the idea.

M. and I both bought some cycling garb that fit the theme--she bought a white cannondale jersey with pink and yellow flower patterns on it, and I bought a black Swobo knicker pants. On the day, our friends Wayne and Kristine came and helped us decorate the bikes with flowers from our garden, and Shari and Tom helped us set up the camp site, and off we went, on our bikes!
Ten of our friends joined us on bikes (the rest 40 of them carpooled there). All their bikes were decorated with little plaques saying our names and flowers from our garden.

We rode from our house in downtown Berkeley, through downtown and north Berkeley neighborhoods, and up Spruce Street to Tilden. Along the way our people looked at our bicycle procession with amusement though I was surprised how little attention people paid us--i guess this is berkeley, and people are used to stranger things. We rode at a leisurely pace uphill and then through the park, and finally arrived at Fern Campground.

Dr. Verhoeven, my high school teacher and esteemed mentor, officiated a wonderful and short ceremony for us, during which we recited our vows to each other, including promises to always try our best, to remember that everything is ok, and to be happy. Our wedding and reception was really a group effort--our friends helped us carry things there, picked up catered food (vegan mexican fairs from Flacos, and vegan cupcakes from Love at First Bite), and even made vegan vietnamese sandwiches for us.

After a joyful afternoon hanging out with friends, we got on our bikes and rolled down hill--now married!

(our big date was in March)

PS. The bikes in the bike procession were: Ebisu All Purpose (groom), Serotta CRT 650b (bride), Rawland cSogn, Guru New Steel compact road, Rocky Mountain steel main triangle compact, Serotta Concous Ti, Trek 2100, Bianchi 928, Specialized Allez Triple Al, Fuji Finest steel 650c, and a Marin Fairfax (and Lauren rode it uphill with flip-flops)

Riding in SLO

2009-04-27T16:03:00.001-07:00

My friend Steve organized a weekend stay in San Luis Obispo and invited us to go. Several folks on the trips are also our regular cycling buddies and told us to bring our bikes. On Friday, we met up with two other friends in our house in berkeley, loaded up the car and drove south.

SLO is about 4 hours from Berkeley. The traffic wasn't too horrible, but with a late start and dinner on the road, we didn't get to Cayucos--a sleepy beach town near SLO--until close to midnight. Everyone besides us has already arrived and were playing games and hanging out. Rinaldi told us about some of the possible routes we can ride this weekend.

We woke up next morning, grabbed some breakfast and gather people who were riding together before heading out. Some of the people are beginning riders and Rinaldi planned a flat ride for the day. We headed out from our rental house and headed toward HWY 1. Bicycles are explicitly directed onto HWY CA-1 near Cayucos. The shoulders are wide, clean and have good pavements. The vista of Moro Rock greeted the riders as we rode toward Moro Bay. We enjoyed the tailwind going south on the coast. We got off the highway at the intersection of HWY CA-41 and rode on backcountry roads near coastal wetlands toward Los Oso Baywood Park. We saw many cyclists along the road, although even more were probably slightly inland as saturday was the day of the wildflower century in SLO.

We turned around at the 12-mile mark--not quite to the park. The riding going back was tough, especially for beginning riders on HWY 1 going north. The helping tailwind on our way south is now the punishing head wind. I struggled to maintain 15 mph on this extremely flat stretch. Despite of this all of us made it back--where a nice vegan sushi lunch awaited--and enjoyed the ride.

We relaxed in the afternoon hanging around the house and went out for walks on the beach. After an amazing italian vegan dinner, M. and I decided to go out for a short evening ride as M. didn't get to ride in the morning. Rinaldi gave us some direction to ride on Old Creek Road and we took off. The weather is now windy and a little nippy. Wearing a full-zip cycling jacket I didn't feel too hot, even on the climb. The road goes up to the Whale Rock reservoir, descends, then starts another slow and winding climb to the peak. There are flowers, avocado trees, and eucalyptus trees along the road and a very fragrant but natural scent in the air. We turned around after about 7.5 miles and turned back as it was getting dark. It was a very pleasant ride that requires some effort--perfect as a sunset ride.

We went back to the house, cleaned up a bit and went to bed so we can wake up early morning and do it again.

The next morning, Rinaldi, M., and I went on the same route on Old Creek Road but we want to go further. The climb after descending from the Reservoir turned out to be a fairly difficult one. It winds and has several deep pitches, and it's about 5 miles long. When we get to the top, we had a choice of continue riding on the same road going northwest to eventually join HWY 1 and come back, but since neither of us has done the ride before, we weren't sure how much more climbing was involved. Instead, we turned back and traced our steps back to HWY 1 near Cayucos.

We then rode north on the shoulder of HWY 1 all the way to Cambria, which is about 12 miles away. It was sunny and breezy, and we ate up this flat scenic section along the California coast in a relatively short amount of time. Rinaldi was flying ahead on his steel/carbon guru, while M. and I decided to draft each other. I have the heaviest set-up and combined rider/bike weight--my Kogswell is fendered, front-racked, and carries a Ostrich handlebar bag, I was also riding with platform pedals with no cage. However, I was able to maintain a good pace--16-24 mph, depending on wind and rolling conditions--on it without going to the big chain ring. It was such as pleasant ride, too.

We got back to Cayucos, packed up and came back to the Bay Area, concluding a wonderful, relaxing weekend with some great riding.

Aiming for the Shasta Super Century

2009-04-20T09:56:00.000-07:00

M. and I registered for the Mt. Shasta Super Century--one of the options of the Mt. Shasta Summit Century--on August 2nd this year. The super century is the most difficult one--according to the website, this route consists of 135 miles and 16500 feet of elevation gain spanning over 4 passes (and descents). In many ways it's very similar to the Markleeville Death Ride (Tour of the California Alps)--long sustained climbs on multiple passes, long distance. Even though the Death Ride has more notoriety, on paper the Shasta Super Century has more elevation gains over similar distance. The altitude of Death Ride's location could make it more difficult. Living in Berkeley, we embrace steep or long hills--it's hard to do any ride longer than 10 miles without climbing almost 1000 ft near where we live, but climbing 4 long hills with moderate gradients, with part of the ride under high heat will be a difficult challenge.

We already ride quite a bit of hills, but we need to increase the mileage as well as get used to the heat. We will set up a training schedule that will culminate in a training ride from Ukiah to Mendocino and back, which is more than 90 miles with 12000 ft of climbing. We look forward to it with some apprehension--probably just the right attitude for such a difficult ride.

Making Quick Release for my Inujirushi Handlebar Bag

2009-04-17T14:49:00.000-07:00

Last year, when I first placed the order for my Ebisu, I went online to collect parts. One of the things I bought used for the build was an Inujirushi handlebar bag that Jitensha Studio imports from Japan. It had since been sitting with the parts that were to go on the Ebisu in a corner of my bike storage. I have since built up the bike and began to use it, but I wasn't able to find a good way to secure the bag on the front rack of the Ebisu. I did have a set of decaleur and bag mount from Velo Orange that can be used for this purpose. But I will probably ride the bike with some other smaller front bags from time to time and don't really care for the look for an unused decaleur sitting in my headset stack.

Then I came across Alex Wetmore's brilliant idea of using rail and hook for an Ortlieb pannier at the bottom of a handlebar bag to secure the bag's front end to the rack, and decided to give it a try. Since the width of the custom front rack on the Ebisu is only 10.5 cm, a top rail for the panniers is too wide. Instead, I bought some previous-generation lower rail and top hooks to create a quick release for my bag. I started by assembing the hooks with the rail, making sure that the combo will fit and clamp onto the rack with no problem. Then I mark the appropriate spots on the bag to drill. I drilled holes in the bag as well as the stiffener. Finally, I used screws that came with the rail to secure the hook/rail to the bag and the stiffener.

Together with the back-end leather sleeve, the home-made quick release keep the base of the bag very secure. I haven't tried riding with a full bag and see how stable the top end of the bag is under those conditions. I will report back after this weekend's rides.

Ebisu first long ride: Michigan, Grizzly Peak, Skyline, Pinehurst

2009-04-08T08:43:00.000-07:00

Even though the Ebisu was ridable a week ago, I wasn't completely happy with its set up. After replacing the VO Zeplin fenders on it with Honjo fluted fenders, M. and I took off on a ride in the Berkeley Hills.

We left our house and criss-cross through downtown Berkeley toward the hills. Oxford Ave has recently become our favorite access to tilden. It has short pitches of steep climbs accompanied by undulating rollers. From Oxford we turned onto Indian Rock, San Diego, South Hampton, Santa Barbara, Florida, Colorado, and Michigan. These streets are buried deep in the clean and quiet residential areas in Berkeley Hills with one nice house after another and on-and-off vista of the San Francisco Bay. South Hampton consists of two steep, but relatively short hills that get your legs warmed up for Michigan, which is not only steep (just about 15% grade) and not short (about 1/4 of a mile). It connects at the top to Spruce Ave, which is a popular street to get into Tilden. I have done this hill many times, mostly with my Kogswell P/R and also a couple of times with the Romulus. Throughout the climb from the flats, I began to become familiar with how the Ebisu respond to my pedal strokes--it's not as flexible as the Kogswell, but with the 165mm Sugino cranks one can easily find a sweet spot where the bike seems to harmonize with one's strokes--dare I say "planing"? The bike is light, even with front rack, front back and fenders, and climbing up these steep hills certainly felt easier on this bike than on the P/R. While the P/R seems to favor sustained off-the-saddle pedaling, I felt comfortable spinning through these steep hills on my seat.

At the top of Spruce, we entered Tilden Park through Wildcat Canyon Road. It's a fairly scenic, two lane road that's popular with local cyclists as it connects Berkeley to the more rural regions to its east. The hetre tires performed splendidly over somewhat rough pavement on this road, allowing me to maintain a good speed. We were heading toward the top of Grizzly Peak, which means climbing three sequential hills--golf course dr to golf course, then from the golf course to Grizzly Peak, then Grizzly Peak to the steam train at the top. The lower 2/3 of this climb to the top are at around 10% gradient. Similar to experience with earlier climb, I was able to find a rhythm spinning fairly easily as the bike seemed to plane for me, even though the downtube has a diameter of 1 1/4" (the top tube has 1" diameter and the seat tube has 1 1/8" diameter). Maybe my heft (195lbs) allow me to flex the slightly thicker downtube (than Kogswell's 1 1/8") just enough to produce the effect.

On flat, Ebisu is very responsive. It seems to take the full force from my wind-up and accelerates with ease. Once at the desired speed, I can easily maintain my speed (much like I can on my Kogswell). The slightly thicker downtube act to stablize the bike--the Ebisu feels more stable laterally than the Kogswell. On the flat portion of Grizzly Peak, I rode no-handed for extended period of time at various speed and there was no sign of shimmy

We descended on Skyline through the shades of redwood trees. It was a beautiful afternoon with sunshine and cool breeze--typical nice northern californian weather. On descent the low-trail geometry lets me turn without excessive input. The hetre tires chirped slightly on sharp turn but stuck to the ground with confidence. The whole bike was smooth, quiet and glides downhill gracefully.

The road continue its descent for a little longer on Redwood Road. Then we began to climb on South Pinehurst. It felt easy to get up this 5-7% grade climb and also easy to stay with M., who usually leaves me in the dust. In fact, for the first time in a long time, I felt like I could probably climb as fast as she can for the entire climb. We descended once more on the other side of the hill, then entered north pinehurst in Canyon, one of our favorite stretches to ride anywhere.

North Pinehurst is a slight incline for about 3 miles, then goes up more steeply for another 1.5 miles. The two of us maintained a good pace (around 14-16 mph) through the flatter part with ok pavement. Throughout the steeper section, the Ebisu went up more easily than any other bike I have ridden before.

Unfortunately, a absolutely beautiful ride didn't finish quite well, as M. got a tree branch stuck in her wheel when a SUV got too close. The derailleur was toast, so was the cassette. The rear wheel needs some repair and truing, and the derailleur hanger needs alignment. I rode downhill to drive the car back to pick up M. and the bike. It was a pretty tough ride--35 miles, 5000 ft of climbing. Here is the bikely route map

Overall, the ride on the Ebisu was exceptional. The bike seemed to plane and harmonize with my strokes. It climbed well and descended even better. On flat I was able to sustain cadence and speed fairly easily--about as easy as the Kogswell, and easier than the Romulus. The bike is super stable, and I can ride with no hand at various speed ranges. The Kogswell is definitely more flexible, and I can feel it plane more easily, though the thinner downtube makes for less lateral stability--not to say that it's unstable, just less stable than the Ebisu. I haven't carried any heavy load on the Ebisu to compare the handling characteristics under those conditions. The Hetre tires make noticeable performance improvements from the Riv. Fatty Rumpkin--they are cushy yet fast. However, for urban riding and trails, the F/R give me more confidence in puncture resistence.

Ebisu: Build Complete!

2009-04-06T14:25:00.000-07:00

I took delivery of the Ebisu All Purpose a little more than 2 weeks ago. It took me a week to put it together. Here is its current configuration:

- Ebisu All-Purpose frameset; 650b wheel-size, 45mm trail with 40mm tires, braze-ons for fenders, racks; greyish blue; the diameters are: seat tube 1 1/8", top tub 1", down tube 1 1/4"
- Custom front rack/handlebar bag support
- Stronglight A9 headset; 1" threaded
- Ritchey front cable hanger
- Nitto Pearl stem 10cm
- Nitto Randonneur bar by Jitensha Studio; 45cm wide
- Soma thick n zesty tan bar tape
- Tektro R200 brake levers
- Shimano XT high-profile cantilever brakes with salmon cartrige shoes
- Silver downtube friction shifters
- Sugino XD500 "old logo" triple crankset; 165mm; 48/36/26
- MKS touring pedals with half clips
- SRAM 890 8-speed chain with powerlink
- Shimano 105 triple front derailleur; 28.6 clamp
- Shimano Ultegra long cage rear derailleur (RD-6500)
- Shimano XT 11-30 8-speed cassette
- Velocity Synergy 650b 36h laced to Ultegra RD-6600 rear hub and Suntour XC Comp front hub
- Grand Bois Hetre tires; current measured at 39.5mm after close to 100 miles
- Shimano Ultegra seatpost
- Brooks B17 honey saddle; broken in
- Honjo fluted fenders for 650b "50mm"; measured at 48.5mm
- Brass bell
- Rivendell Nigel Smyth little loafer

I have done two short and hilly rides, one short and flat ride, and one ride that's hilly and of moderate distance. The ride report is next. I started out with Grenouille cantilever brakes that I got from Velo Orange. The combination somehow didn't produce enough braking power for me. I swapped them out for the XT high profile brakes and now the bike has good stopping performance. I also swapped out the VO Zeplin fenders on it for the Honjo fenders. Don't get me wrong, I like the Zeplins, and will probably use them for my Kogswell. However, since they come pre-drilled and with fork crown L-bracket pre-installed, they are actually not as suitable for the Ebisu with all the integrated braze-ons for fenders. The Honjos lead to very tight (but I think sufficient) clearance on this bike. They look fabulous and are slightly lighter than the zeplins. I am currently using MKS touring pedals with MKS half clips. They work well mostly, except when I am using my stiff-sole shimano mountain bike shoes and riding off the saddle, my shoes tend to slip off the saddle on the side. I am considering getting full toe clips or go to clipless (crank brothers).

I am trying to create a hack a la Alex Wetmore for the Inujirushi bag. Basically it involved using off-the-shelf Ortlieb bag rail-and-hook system at the bottom of the bag. In conjunction with the back sleeve, the boxy bag should sit on top of the front rack without too much movement. Since the days are longer now, I am not in a hurry to swap out the front wheel for the SON20 wheel I have sitting around, although it's awfully tempting since the B&M IQ Cyo I ordered from Peter White Cycles arrived already. I may install the light and the wheel for when I do my next brevet.

Other pictures of the Ebisu.

Ebisu is Here!

2009-03-21T12:53:00.001-07:00

I got a call from Jitensha Studio last friday that my frameset is sitting in the shop. I went over on saturday to drop off the Stronglight A9 headset and the Phil Wood bottom bracket for Hiroshi's son to install. I picked up the frameset later and chatted with the young Iimuras for a while before heading home.

Later in the evening, I decide to frame-save the frame even though the bottom bracket and the headset are already installed. I spray T9-Boeshields into the frame through various openings and shook it around.

Sunday morning I woke up and began building it up. I had asked Jitensha to install the phil wood BB with 1 mm offset toward the driveside because I was afriad that the 108mm spindle might be too short for the triple sugino XD-2 I have. I put together the drivetrain--sugino crankset 165mm, shimano ultegra 6500 rear derailler, XD cassette 11-30t, 105 triple front derailleur and silver shifters from Rivendell--and began adjusting various settings. Very quickly I realized one of the pulleys on the ultegra rear derailleur is making a griding noise, and on the largest cog in the rear the mid-cage derailleur was having some problem. Another thing i noticed is that the crankset appeared sticking out way too much, making the angle between even the middle chain-ring and the largest cog untenable, causing the drivetrain to "ghost-shift" from middle (in the front)/large (in the back) to granny/large.

I removed the rear derailleur and put in a new XT long-cage derailleur, which worked flawlessly. I also removed the Phil Wood bottom bracket, clean the residual framesaver and loctite, and reinstall it with an offset now toward the non-drive side. After re-installing the crankset, the ghost-shifting seems to have gone away, though a more strenuous ride will give me a better indication of whether the problem has completely gone away.

The Grenouille brakes I got, with adjustable brake shoes from VO look great, are light and extremely reasonably priced. They are, however, difficult to set up (with need to use 1mm allen wrench to tighten cables up), and lack stopping power the way they are set up right now. With Ebisu's front canti-boss I can't rotate the brake post so that the brake pads can make complete contact with the rim. I also have exhausted the length of the transverse (straddle) cable and the yoke can't be any higher. I am considering changing brakes--to Tektrok CR720 or NOS XT high-profile brakes, or even IRD cantis--unless folks can tell me what I might have done incorrectly.

I rode around the block a few times. It's a very responsive and spirited bike, reacting to my pedal stroke with a jolt forward. The hetre tires feel wonderful--cushy, smooth, yet very fast. I will have to report later after a longer ride.

I also set up the front rack that came with the frameset, and will get fenders sometime this week. Even though I have a Schmidt wheel built up and a IQ Cyo coming in the mail, I might hold off installing them once I get everything else dialed in first.

It's such a beautiful bike--the color and the paint job are both superb. Initial measurement indicates that the trail with hetre tires is ~ 45mm (my kogswell P/R with 40mm rivendell fatty rumpkins tires has ~ 40mm of trail, using the same method) . I can ride with no hand fairly easily and so far there is no indication of shimmy.

More to come later! See pictures here

Kogswell P/R after a month

2009-03-16T09:14:00.000-07:00

I have had the P/R for a little more than a month now. I have ridden it a lot, in fact, I didn't ride any other bike for this entire time--partly because i want to get some miles in to dial the settings in, and partly because my Romulus has no fenders on and it has been raining.

I really enjoy the ride of the bike. The standard-gauge tubing gives me a good springy feedback and edges me forward. I think the 155mm crankset I have on the bike now also helps to encourage me to spin more and mash less. Together with more regular training, I have seen improvements in my riding.

I also really dig the appearance of the bike and after adjusting the angles and switching a stem, now really think the moustache bar will work really well for me. I pulled on the swept-back part when i want to sprint, rest my hands there for upright, around-the-town riding, and hold the bars near the brake levers for climbs.

even though the bike has 40mm Riv/panaracer fatty rumpkins tires, I haven't noticed any significant difference in my performance and speed. the comfort and confidence level on descent around corners definitely have improved; the big tires also enable me to ride this bike on off-pavement trails.

riding with no hand at low to moderate speed is a piece of cake on this bike, even with up to 30lbs of load up front on rough pavement. The bike does shimmy above 20mph when you try to ride with no hand (in fact, the bumpy pavement seems to help to disrupt the onset of shimmy). I can attenuate the shaking by putting my knee(s) on the top tube, but I can reproduce the shaking every time. I am not concerned about it, as if I really need to use both of my hands (for putting on or taking off clothings on long rides), I will probably do it on relative small gradients and it won't take me long. I won't be surprised by it either. I switched out the stem recently to see if that makes a difference; the shimmy still comes, but at a higher speed. It's so predictable that I don't think it will cause me any problem.

The rest of pictures for my kogswell is on my flickr page.

The arrival of my ebisu is delayed for another week. When it gets here and and after I build it up, I will likely sell my Romulus as the Ebisu and the Kogswell will cover all my cycling needs for now. I might jump on a fat-tire fixed-gear road bike (like the quickbeam) if a deal emerges. Even though I think the Romulus is a nicer-built bike, it lacks the versatility of the kogswell that I need as an everyday bike. The Ebisu will be my go-fast/long distance bike, as even with fenders and rack, it will weight slightly less than my romulus.

Waiting for my Ebisu

2009-02-25T13:49:00.000-08:00

The last time I talked to Iimura-san at Jitensha Studio was close a month ago. At that time he told me my ebisu should arrive in early March. Since then I have built up two 650b bikes--a Rawland Sogn for my friend and a Kogswell P/R for myself. Even though my impluse tells me to pick up the phone and get yet another update from Jitensha Studio with an outside chance that the frameset arrives early, I decided to resist the urge and just wait for another week. I believe I have all the parts ready, except for a set of fenders.

People who have been following the update of my parts list know what I have. I have now decided to go with the friction shifters at the downtube to reduce cable housings in the front. I intend to use the Grand Bois Hetres, even though Iimura-san does not recommend it for fender-line issue. I hope that the VO Zepelin fenders (52mm) will work out, even if the fender lines cannot be perfect. I have a few brevet events, a couple of hard centuries, and several challenging casual rides lined up, and I am really looking forward to building the Ebisu up and start riding it.

Hopefully the next time I ride about the Ebisu project will be about the process of building it up, instead of waiting for it.

Kogswell P/R first ride

2009-02-08T20:00:00.000-08:00

I made sure I finish the build yesterday so I can go on a ride today with the P/R. This morning we got off to a pretty early start and were out of the door by 6:30AM. We ascend the Berkeley Hills via a route that goes on Oxford (and a few smaller side street) and Michigan and ends up near the top of Spruce. With 36T in the front and 32T as my lowest gear in the back, I was able to climb up the last stretch of Michigan Ave--20% grade--with the usual struggle. Once we were on Wildcat Canyon Road--a relatively flat rolling road--I tested to see if i can ride with no hand easily. Even with bumpy pavement, riding no-handed was pretty simple.

Descending on the other side of Wildcat Canyon was a treat, as the wide tires really do their part to grab on to the road at corners, although i noticed that the p/r doesn't go nearly as fast as my Romulus on descent.

Pump House grade is next, which is a long steady climb; M. disappeared out of sight fairly soon. I dropped down to the lowest gear and spun up; even though the bike is heavier than my romulus and has bigger tires, it edges me forward and seemed to require a little less effort. Happy Valley Road is a steeper climb, again, M. left me soon on the climb, and I felt that the P/R is an inferior climber to my Romulus on these steeper climb. The other side of Happy Valley is a long decline into Lafayette, which the P/R handled with ease and provide tons of fun.

The next section is a fairly long but very moderate climb on Moraga Road toward Moraga. The road has constant car traffic (though they weren't really that fast) and the shoulder is not too wide. The Kogswell can maintain a straight line very easily and with short crankarms i was able to get a rhythm spinning. On this section i felt Kogswell's light-gauge tubing really shined. M. usually leaves me behind on these long climbs, but today I was able to keep up, and even edged ahead slightly. The 155mm-crankarms actually work quite well despite my original concerns.

We took a bathroom break at the trail head of Lafayette-Moraga Trail and I snapped some photos. After eating some Gu, we headed toward Pinehurst, the final climb of the day. Pinehurst is one of our favorite for its beauty and also the nice combination of terrains. The first section is almost all under the canopy of a forest with a quaint school and a post office on the side of the road and a very gradual incline. The last section is a 1.5-mile climb that gets steep after a hairpin turn. I was a little tired at the last steep pitch and dropped down to the lowest gear and spun. The Kogswell did well, despite its heavy and wide tires.

Overall, I really enjoyed ride. I had to adjust the handlebar height/tilt and saddle position because my hands went numb a few times during the ride, which rarely happened even when I was using the sparrow bar on the il pompino. When I came back, I cleaned the bike from the slight drizzle and thick fog on the road, and adjusted the brakes to take out some of the mushiness in them. I also installed fenders so they are a little more weather proof. I have to figure out how to attach the Ostrich handlebar bag onto the Nitto M-12 rack securely still. Next on the list of things to do is to change out the 36T ring for a 34T, and maybe get a pair of nicer pedals than the old SR road quills I had on it (one pedal is missing dust cap, though they were spinning pretty smoothly still). I will wait till Kogswell production porteur rack to come out before deciding on porteur rack options.

Kogswell P/R (Build List, Pictures Later)

2009-02-07T22:18:00.000-08:00

I received the frame this week, but sent it to my local bike shop Missing Link to correct a minor offset at the dropout, install headset, and cut steering tube. I have received all the parts via mail this past week (some parts have been sitting in my parts bin).

I spent 4 hours this afternoon/evening building it up. Using downtube friction shifters really simplify the build process significantly--I don't have to cut derailleur cable housings for connecting the shifters to the downtube cable bosses, and I don't have to play with the barrel adjuster on the rear derailleur to get the indexing right.

I started out by tightening the headset cap to reach proper load on the headset and adjust the stem to straighten it with respect to the frame. I then set the saddle to the correct saddle height. I raise it slightly because the crankset I am using has 155mm arm length. I then installed the bottom bracket, crankset, rear derailleur, and front derailleur.

Shifters go on next, and then I did the cabling for shifting. As I commented earlier, this step took less than half the time it takes to set up other types of shifters. I then installed the brakes and wrapped the handlebar. At this point I was hungry and went out to eat dinner with M.

After dinner, I tied up some loose ends and installed the pedal. Now it's ready to ride. I rode around the parking lot and it felt really good. Tomorrow morning we are going out for a 40-mile ride. I will report how the ride goes on the P/R and take some pictures. here is the build list:

- Kogswell 2nd Gen P/R 59cm 650b frameset (including no-name headset, seat clamp, bottom bracket cable guide and head badge)
- Suntour ratchet friction downtube shifters
- Shimano XTR long cage rear derailleur (I bought it on Craigslist and it didn't come with barrel adjuster for indexing, but I don't need it anyway)
- Shimano 105 triple front derailleur; 31.8 clamp diameter with shim for 28.6mm seat tube
- Shimano UN-54 68x107mm bottom bracket; square tapered
- FSA RPM black crankset; 155mm crank arms, 110 BCD, Sugino chainring 46/36T
- SRAM PC870 8-speed chain
- Nitto Moustache bar
- Ritchey stem 110mm; 6 degree rise
- Tektro R200 brake levers
- Tektro Oryx cantilever brakes
- Shimano 600 fluted seatpost
- Selle San Marco Rolls Saddle
- Shimano LX hubs laced to Velocity Synergy Rims 650b; front has 100mm OLD, the rear has 135mm OLD
- Panaracer fatty rumptin 650x40b
- Nitto M-12 rack
- SKS P45 fenders

Pictures forthcoming

State of My Bikes

2009-02-05T11:15:00.000-08:00

I have been busy with bikes recently. My friend Wayne moved back to California and I gave him a Rawland cSogn as his belated wedding gift and helped him build it up. I also decided to jump on a deal for a new Kogswell P/R. The frame is going through some pre-build inspection and alignment in the local bike shop. I spoke with Hiroshi Iimura of Jitensha studio and he said I should expect my Ebisu by early March. To make room for the Kogswell, I sold my on-one il pompino fixed gear bike. As I am writing this post right now, I have one bike that I can ride that's mine (I can ride my fiancee's Trek 620 touring bike, but she commutes with it).

The lack of a daily bike (of course, i could use my romulus as my daily bike, but I really don't want to yet) has caused me to change my daily routines. I have to use a slightly different combination of public transit to get to work and I walk more to and from places I need to go around my house for errands. Hopefully I can get the Kogswell built up this weekend and be back to riding my bike everyday.

I am happy that my Ebisu will be here on time, it seems. I have pretty much every part, now I just need to get a front cable hanger for the cantilever brakes and some cables & housings. Iimura-san built my wheels and they are now sitting in my parts pile waiting to go on the ebisu. I am trying to decide whether to use a Nitto Dynamic stem or a Shimano Ultegra seatpost for the build. The ultegra is lighter, but nitto might fit the whole build better. After I build it up, I will play around with the Hetre tires and find fenders that will accommodate them. At the moment I am thinking VO 52mm Zeplin fenders.

I put together the parts collection for the Kogswell pretty hastily. It has a mix of new and old parts. I am debating whether to use a moustache bar or a regular drop bar for the build and am currently leaning toward the m-bar.

After the Kogswell and Ebisu are built up, I am likely to not change bikes for a while, which means I will have 2 650b bikes and 1 700c bike. The balance of all the bikes that my fiance and I have is 3 650b and 3 700c.

We are still riding, and riding some pretty steep hills, but our mileage isn't that high. I am itching to do a long ride soon.

Wayne's Rawland Sogn and ride impression

2009-02-04T10:39:00.000-08:00

I (with help of Wayne) pretty much finished the build this past weekend (here is the parts list), and I tweaked a little more during the week before handing it back to Wayne later this week. The build was pretty standard, except for the STI shifters/front derailleur/crankset combination. Wayne preferred STI, so I tried to make it work. It requires Shimano road derailleurs. I wasn't sure whether they will work with the old Shimano crankset (FC-B124) we have. After playing around with it, I was able to make it work, although not in the same click-pattern as how STI generally works--normally, a triple front shifter has 5 positions: one for each chainring and two intermediate positions. Normally, from the small chainring, the first click brings one to an intermediate position for trimming, and the second click brings one up to the middle chainring. However, on this crankset with Sora triple front derailleur, the chain won't go on the middle chain ring until the 3rd click, although from there one can down shift one click and remain on the middle chainring. One uses the remaining one click to shift up to the big ring--it works, but a little bit differently. I am convinced that if we have ramped-and-pinned chainrings, this irregularity will go away.

M. and I went out for a short ride up the Berkeley Hills this morning before work. I adjusted the seat height on the Rawland and took it out to see if everything works ok on the bike on a more strenuous ride. Here are my impressions of the bike and the ride

The Rawland is a very capable climber, I rode a route that we do regularly and find it comparable to my personal bike, which is a great climber. We rode up a hill that has 20% grade (which is really steep) and the Rawland performed just fine. On winding descend, the bike performs wonderfully, as the wider (than usual road tires) tires do their job, grabbing the road well. On the flat, I wanted to see how the bike accelerates. True to its cyclocross design, the Rawland accelerates pretty well, and does an adequate job of keeping speed. The bike also has a very stable front end; I can ride no-handed even on relatively rough pavement. Overall, i can see why it has received such good reviews.

If the bike were mine, I would have used bar-end, paul thumbies, kelly take-offs, or down tube shifters and use at least 42mm tires (is anyone using Hetre with his/her Rawland). But this is my friend's bike and his first serious bike nonetheless. He took it out on a short spin over the weekend and enjoyed it. Hopefully we can go on a longer ride soon.

You can find more pictures of the bike here.

Wayne's Rawland Sogn Build-up Update

2009-01-27T17:58:00.000-08:00

The frameset arrived today! I have been collecting parts all week. See below for my google docs spreadsheet.

I haven't built with STI brifters for a while and forgot about the restrictions they impose--front derailleur needs to be shimano road derailleur for the indexing to work well with Shimano cranksets. I got a pair of Shimano FC B124 110/74 BCD crankset, which were made between 86' and 88'. Hopefully this combination--9-speed brifters, 9-speed road front derailleur, 9-speed chain, and old shimano compact crankset--would work.

You can see from the screenshot where I get the parts from--some from my parts bin, some from eBay and Craigslist, and some from my friends. I also bought a few items from Rivendell and a couple of online bike shops. There are also a few items I will buy from my local bike shops.

I still need to finish tensioning and truing the front wheel I laced up over the weekend. It should be a fun build!

In the meantime, let's stare at the pictures of the frameset

Ebisu Project Parts Run-up Part 5

2009-01-22T08:06:00.001-08:00

I spoke with Hiroshi Iimura at Jitensha Studio shortly after I came back from a trip a week ago and learned that I probably shouldn't expect my frame to arrive until early March (he was assembling an Ebisu that someone had ordered in early August; the wait for an Ebisu is now up to 5 months). Nonetheless, I decided to get the wheels build up. I have 36h hubs--Ultegra 10-speed rear and Suntour XC Comp NOS front--and I had to decide what rims to use. There were really only two options for my purpose--velocity synergy and grand bois rims. To complicate the matter slightly, Iimura-san only has access to 32h Synergy rims and 36h grand bois rims.

I initially went with Grand Bois and later changed my mind and decided to go with Synergy. For that, I had to supply the rims, too. I bought 2 rims ((with yet another twist; Iimura-san prefers not to use OC rims, so I bought two non-OC ones) from Rivendell (likely the only place in the US that stocks 36h Synergy rims in 650b). Hiroshi is a little backed up after spending a month in Japan. But since my frame won't arrive for another 6 weeks, I am not in the hurry. When I was at Rivendell, I also dropped off my SON20 hub for Rich to build into a wheel. I still need to get a light for it, and I am thinking about getting a Busch & Muller IQ Cyo.

I will get some pictures of the wheels up when I get them back from the builders.

By the way, I also got a pair of Grand Bois Hetre tires from Box Dog Bikes when the shop had a 20% sale.

Here is the updated list:

Still need:

- cables, housings and ferrules
- tubes 650b
- Rim Tapes
- Hanjo smooth fender

Already Have:

Components
- Shimano Ultegra 6500 rear derailleur; long cage
- Shimano 105 9-speed front derailleur; triple; 28.6 clamp diameter
- Sugino XD600 crankset 46/36/26 170 crank arm length
- Shimano Ultegra seatpost 27.2
- Selle Anatomica Saddle; clydesdale
- Tektro R200A brake levers; black/silver
- Grenouille cantilever brakes from VO
- Velo Orange adjustable brake shoes
- Nitto Randonneur handlebars; 44cm
- Nitto Pearl quill stem; 10 cm reach
- Crank Brothers Quattro road pedals
- SRAM 890 8-speed chain
- Riv Silver friction downtube shifters
- Phil Wood stainless steel bottom bracket 68x108mm JIS
- Stronglight A9 1" threaded headset, British thread; black with "paramount" inscribed
- Shimano XT M737 11-30 8-speed cassette
- Velocity Synergy non-OC silver rim laced to Shimano Ultegra FH 6600 10-speed hub; 36h
- Velocity Synergy non-OC silver rim laced to Suntour XC Comp front hub; 36h
- Velocity Synergy non-OC silver rim laced to SON20 hub
- tires; Grand Bois Hetres (2)
- Handlebar tape: yellow or tan Soma thick n zesty tape

Accessories:
- Jitensha mini-front rack for Ebisu All Purpose
- Inujirushi handlebar bag; medium

A second 650b build in the works: Rawland Sogn

2009-01-22T07:43:00.000-08:00

My best friend Wayne from high school got married in 2007. He is a jet-setting consultant working for a leading firm. I told him at his wedding that when he is more settled (in one location). I will build a bike up for him as part of his wedding gift.

He is now probably going to settle back in the Bay Area. We talked about what kind of riding and his budget (I will pay for the frameset and help him build the bike up, and he will pay for the components). I looked around for a high quality pre-owned frameset that has attributes I prefer--steel, good tire clearance, braze-ons for fenders and racks--as well as one that will suit him and his riding style--he has been pretty active all his life and did a 2-day bike trip 5 years ago; while he won't be racing, he would like something that is comfortable yet not sluggish.

After considering and searching online for a while, I think frames from these makers--Soma, Surly, Salsa, Masi, and Rawland--form a good pool to choose from for him. Rawland was closing out their 2008 stocks of Sogn frames with slight cosmetic blemishes at an amazing price. I talked to Wayne for a bit and showed him some pictures on flickr and we decided to pull the trigger.

Now we have to collect parts for it. I looked through my parts bin and thought about what kind of build this might be. I presented a few options to Wayne to decide, and came up with these decisions:

- Triple crankset
- 9-speed drivetrain
- wide-range cassette for climbing
- quality parts that balance cost and bling

To continue a tradition I started with my Ebisu build, I will start a thread on the progress of the Sogn build. As I get parts and the frame, I will update it and add pictures.

Christmas Gift: SON20 hub

2008-12-24T11:38:00.000-08:00

I got one of those orange slip in the mail yesterday, and in the sender field, the postal worker who dropped it off had written "Great Britain". I immediately knew what it was and picked up the package from the downtown Berkeley postal office this morning.

I opened the package, and surely it is the SON20 hub I ordered 2 weeks ago from St. John Street Cycles--a bike shop in Somerset, England that specializes in bike touring. This was before the US dollars began to weaken and I got the hub shipped for $180--not a bad deal at all!

I mentioned in one of the previous posts that I had been pondering the possibility of getting a dynamo front hub for my Ebisu. I am also thinking to get one (maybe an economic version) for my il Pompino to make my winter commute safer.

There seems to be a consensus that SON-series (Schmidt's Original Nabendynamo) dynamo hubs made by Wilfried Schmidt Maschinenbau of Germany are the best in the business. They are available in the United States mainly through Peter White Cycles and several other touring or randoneering-friendly bike shops. They are not cheap though: a standard SON28 hub designed for 26" to 700c wheels cost $270, and a lighter version (SON20R) that was designed for smaller wheels but can be used with the combo of larger wheels and LED headlamps cost $300. Adding rim, spokes and build fee, one quickly approaches $500 territory.

Shimano has lower price offerings. For example, the bike part giant recently released its DH-3N80 dynamo front hub in the United States (although it has been available else where for about 1 year now). The Shimano hub is approximately 1/2 the price of a SON hub, though not as efficient as the SON hubs. Jim G has posted some performance information in this entry of his SF Cyclotouring blog.

I think the DH-3N80 is probably good enough for me on the Ebisu, though I am still hesitating to put it on my commuter. To complicate matter, the two bikes have different wheel size so if I want dynamo lighting on both bikes I will need two such wheels.

Now I think I will take it one part at a time. I will also need to have a bright LED front light to go with the SON hub. For that I am thinking to get the Busch & Müller Lumotec IQ Cyo front light, which is on par with lights such as Schmidt's Edeluxe and Supernova E3 in terms of brightness and half the price. I will hunt around for a good deal.

In the meanwhile, I will probably get the wheels built around the Ultegra rear hub and a phil wood front hub, both with 36 spoke holes.

The delivery of Ebisu is less than 2 months away (I hope).

Home-made bag-mount for my Ostrich Bag

2008-12-18T17:08:00.000-08:00

I bought a Ostrich handlebar bag from an iBOB list member about a year ago. I have used it on my specialized expedition touring bike for months. It has plenty of storage capacity and many convenient pockets and a map case. On my old touring bike it sat on a Nitto M-12 front rack. Initially I used two leather strap to attach the bag to the handlebar and a pedal strap to attach the bag to the rack at the bottom (see left). To gain some hand space on the handlebar, I used the Velo Orange decaleur (quick release bag mount) and did away with the leather straps. The decaleur allows to bag to sit more properly on the rack and hold it there more securely. I really like the set up (see the picture on the right to look at the bag with decaleur).

When I sold the touring bike to pave way for the Ebisu, the Ostrich bag sat in my bike garage for a while not getting used. I had a basket on my commuter at the time and I hadn't set up a front rack for my Romulus yet.

When the rack strut broke on the Mark's rack on my il pompino, I took off the rack and replaced it with the Nitto M-12 rack that was on the touring bike. I thought about putting the basket on, but instead decided to use the Ostrich bag.

In the past few months, I have been using the ostrich bag with two leather straps and a toeclip strap at the bottom to attach it to the rack and handlebar (see picture to the left). It worked OK, though after a while the leather strap will slip and move along the handlebar and the bag will be slanted one way or another. If I carry some weight, the bag will sway a little more. I decided that if I were to use the bag on this bike, I need something similar to the decaleur that's more secure.

I tried to buy an extra steerer mount for 1 1/8" size from Velo Orange, but VO didn't have any, and Chris there told me that VO might not get any for a few months. I wrote a WTB email to the iBOB list to see if anyone has one lying around to sell it to me. From that, Ryan Watson sent me a reply, with a link to his flickr photostream showing his home-made bag mount (here is one of Ryan's picture showing his bag mount using a piece of steel bracket).

I thought about it and decided to create a similar hack. I took that piece of broken strut from the Mark's rack and sawed it to length. I then drilled a hole on it where it would attach to the bag. I attach one side of this strut to the stem under the face plate. I then drill a hole in the bag and used a 5mm nut and bolt to attach the bag to the bottom end of the strut. I retained the toeclip strap to secure the bottom of the bag to the front rack. Below is a slideshow showing some close-up picture of this hack and my pompino with the bag. It felt pretty secured. Even though it's not a quick release, but it will prevent people from simply grabbing my bag off my bike when I run into store to do errands etc. I will report how well the hack works once I get some real-world test.

A fun ride for a good cause: Supermarket Street Sweep

2008-12-09T11:26:00.000-08:00

My friend Steve forwarded me a poster for the 3rd annual Supermarket Street Sweep about 1 month ago. It's an event put together by a few individuals aimed at raising food donation for the San Francisco Food Bank. It consists of two alleycat-style races taking place in San Francisco at the same time. The winner of the speed race would have purchased all the required items at the specified supermarkets and get to the finish point the fastest. The winner of the point race will have the most food items in addition to making all the required purchases at the specified supermarkets. The organizers have gotten lots of sponsors and collected lots of swags as prizes for the participants and all the food will go to the SF food bank.

(My pompino before the race)

I've always enjoy riding in San Francisco and since this is for a good cause and sounds like fun, I decided to join this year. The starting time was noon next to the Cupid sculpture on Embarcadero. Some folks were there before the start, but most came at or after the start time. The organizers got everyone checked in and handed out Crumpler cell phone hoisters and numbered spoke card for every racer. A wide variety of bicycles--many fixed gear messenger bikes, road bikes, mountain bikes, cargo bikes, bike with trailers--showed up. At about 12:40 we were asked to gather on the grass and each got a manifest. We could choose to participate in the point or the speed race. The speed race required the racer to buy less food, but travel longer distance. The point racer's manifest has more food items on it that he/she needs to buy, but the 5 supermarkets are all relatively central.

(Almost Start time, racers gathered)

I thought about joining the speed race, but the manifest asked for a can of fish at the Marina Safeway. I am a vegan and couldn't bring myself to buy fish, and thought it would be great to donate more food in the point race. At about 12:40, the race started and streams of cyclists poured into the street.

I looked at the manifest before getting on my bike and knew the location of all 5 stores. However, i was deciding the order by which I will cover the stores. The manifest is shown in the picture below.

(my manifesto: pre-race)

I decided that I would go to Mollie Stone in Pacific Height (at California & Fillmore), and then move my way toward the south of the City. I made my first strategic mistake by riding to far north to Broadway before turning west. I should have gone southwest on Market and then head up California or a parallel street. On my il Pompino with 40/17 gearing, I was afraid that I might not have enough gears going through the central part (Nob Hill, etc) of the city. In hindsight, I could probably head up Sacramento or Washington through Chinatown, then cut across on Powell to California. Anyway, I rode on Broadway to circumvent the huge hills, but make an almost mistake by riding in the Broadway Tunnel. The tunnel is long and without good illumination. I couldn't really see the road that well and the lanes are not that wide. I was afraid to ride through a patch of glass or getting hit by a car, luckily, neither took place.

I also quickly realized that i forgot to bring water. So when I got to Mollie Stone I bought a drink as well as the required food donation--two bags of dry beans, 2 lbs or more. I met another racer Brandon, whom I will see at the rest of the stores, and rode to the finish together.

(slideshow of the photos I took)

The next stop is straightforward to get to and very close. I rode down Fillmore past Geary, then hopped through a sidewalk to the Safeway parking lot at Webster and O'Farrell. Many racers were there, but I have the impression that this was their first stop. I ran in and grab what i needed--two cans of vegetable, 15 oz or more and came out. I have on my Pompino an Ostrich front handlebar bag, and also carried a medium-size Timbuk2 messenger bag. I put the cans in the handlebar bag (the beans were in my messenger bag) and went for the third store.

before I left Safeway, I looked at the map and decided that i will go west to the lucky on Fulton and Masonic before heading further south to the two last stores. Here is where I made my second strategic mistake. Instead of heading west first on O'Farrell first, i descended webster and promptly lost a lot of altitude that I had to climb back on Fulton. I realized it as soon as I made a left turn on Fulton and saw the three consecutive climbs beginning at Steiner. Well, at this point, there was I can do but get off my saddle and climb. Even though the hills on Fulton aren't difficult, I could have more strategically get to the same point with less climbing and spent less time.

At Lucky, I picked up 2 bags of 2-lb basmati rice. i was looking for brown rice, but the package were all in the wrong weight. after a short decision process, I took the basmati and went for the self-checkout.

Out of the Lucky I made a stupid mistake. I went further west (uphill no less) on Fulton for a block when i realized I had gone in the wrong direction. I turned around and headed back. I am now heading for the Mission District. The two remaining stores are close to the main artery--Mission Boulevard--in the area and I initially planned to go all the way south to the Safeway at 29th and Mission first. I rode on fulton until divisidero, then rode down until Haight. I then turn off Haight on Octavia, which takes me back to Market Street. After a couple more short turns, i was on mission going south.

I was stopped at a light on 14th street, and decided to change my plan to hit Food Co on 14th and folsom first. When I walked into the store after locking my bike and reading my manifest, I thought to myself that maybe I should have stuck to my plans and go to the one further south first. We were required to buy 2 large plastic jars (64 oz or more) of fruit juice, which would be the bulkiest and heaviest items. But I wasn't going to run out of here without the juice. The checkout line also were longer than other stores, without self-checkout counters.

(At the checkout line in Food Co)

After juice, I had to rearrange my bags and they were pretty bulky now. Luckily the things we need to buy from the last store--mac & cheese--are pretty small. I rode down shotwell, which parallel Mission, but is much quieter all the way to 26th, made a ride turn then turn back onto Mission again. Quickly I got to the Safeway at 29th and Mission. I got some organic mac & cheese and bought two more cans of food for extra point.

At my bike I took out my map and tried to figure out how to get back to the finish point--which is Rickshaw Bagworks on 22nd between Indiana and Tennessee. Brandon, whom I met in Mollie Stone and saw at every subsequent store, told me that he knew the way and can take me there.

We got onto Caesar Chavez from Mission and rode under the highways. Soon i saw the sign for Indiana and made a left turn. We got back to the finish line at about 2:40, 2 hours after i left embarcadero. Here is the map showing the route I took to the 5 stores. The bikely interactive version is here.

(scene outside Rickshaw Bagworks after the race)

A couple dozen folks were there already. I checked in, took a photo in the booth and turned in my food and receipts. As time went on, folks started to pile in. One guy--I later found out he goes by Dirty Dave--pulled up with a trailer on his cargo bike. He must have had hundreds of canned food on the trailer. I also found out later that he had won the last two point race.

Just slightly past the cutoff time at 4, I heard a dragging noise on the street, and saw a guy in pink shirt (I later learned that his name is Jeremiah) on a mountain bike pulling 3 sections of trailers behind him with mountains of food. He clearly had Dirty Dave beat in terms of quantity but got disqualified because he missed the cutoff time.

(Jeremiah and his haul)

I had another party to attend to so I left before the organizers handed out prizes. But I had tons of fun and plan to do it next year!

(taken on my way back to Berkeley)

My route on the 3rd Annual Supermarket Street Sweep

2008-12-08T08:50:00.001-08:00

This is a map that show my travel during the 3rd annual supermarket street sweep alley cat race to raise food donation for the SF food bank. I started from Embarcadero and traversed in counterclockwise direction. I will have a more complete write-up shortly

Ukiah-Comptche Ride on Thanksgiving Sunday

2008-12-02T10:22:00.000-08:00

M. and I decided that we want to have a quiet Thanksgiving holiday doing some self-reflection. We attended 2 days of a 3-day Chan (the original Chinese word for what later became Zen in Japanese; it came from the Sanskrit word dhyana) meditation retreat at the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas--a Buddhist campus in Ukiah, California. During the retreat we participated (separately because of gender separation on campus) in 9 hours of quiet sitting meditation a day (with walking meditation interspersed) and reflected. I went to high school on the campus so the retreat also led me down memory lanes in those long hours of sitting, though I tried not to indulge in reminiscing too much. We have much to thank for--solid spiritual practice, good health, stable jobs, great group of friends and a community, good relations with family, compatible interest with and affection for each other. We both love cycling and are devoted to live progressively. We also bought a rental property this summer together that breaks even on the monthly basis.

We enjoyed the quiet time for reflection and as we planned beforehand, headed out for a bike ride on sunday, foregoing the last day of the retreat. We started out on the campus of City of Ten Thousand Buddhas (CTTB) and headed Northwest toward Ukiah on Talmage Road. It was only 40F and our fingers were freezing. Since I went to high school there and still am involved with the community, I am really familiar with the area. We took a back road toward the center of the town, passed quiet residential neighborhood and shopping centers in town. Ukiah is a sizble town with more than 30 000 people. On the way over we passed by Home Depot and Mervyn's California department store, which is closing down. After a few more turns on the residential streets, we got on to State Street, which is the main throughfare in town. We went north on this main road for a mile, passes Hwy 101, rode for another 1/2 mile and made a left turn on Orr Springs Road.

We would not leave Orr Springs Road on this ride. This road used to be one of the stagecoast road between inland and coastal Mendocino county. The road is fairly narrow and has a few houses and ranches along it. One can take ths same road all the way to Comptche--a former logging town--then further to Mendocino on the coast. M. and I did an out-and-back from Ukiah to Mendocino last year when we were training for the 1-day version of STP, and it still is the most challenging ride we did. Today we are not going as far, the plan is to start as early as we did, go all the way to Comptche, then turn around to get back to Talmage a little before 3 so we can enjoy lunch at Jyun Kang Restaurant on the CTTB campus--which is famous for its great Chinese vegetarian food.

Soon after we made the turn onto Orr Springs, we began a very long and steep climb to the summit. According to the elevation profile for our route on Bikely, we started the climb at mile 6.5 or so at about 600 ft above sea level. At mile 10 or so, our elevation reached about 2400 ft (that's almost 10% the entire time!). Then after a drop to about 2000 ft at mile 11, we climbed again to reach close to 2600 ft at mile 13. Even though it's a challenging climb, it was quite pleasant. It was cool in the morning so climbing helped to warm us up. We stopped at a moment to peel off some layers and got to enjoy the view of the Ukiah valley. The traffic level is very low, the scenery is great, and pavement is pretty good. All one needs is some legs (or low gears) and some patience. There is a ranch called "Wonder" at the top. It's a very satisfying climb.

A little on our equipments for the day. I took my Rivendell Romulus with Baggins Little Joe saddle bag. Because there is no services on the road until Comptche (even then, the store there doesn't open everyday), I carried a Nalgene water pouch that can fit 125 ml (4 of our stainless steel water bottles) of water in the saddle bag. The weight of the water (almost 10 lbs) certainly added the difficulty on the first climb. The Romulus performed wonderfully, it didn't tend to tip over, and stayed in a straightline without too much effort. I was able to alternate on and off the saddle going over the top. On descent, it took me a couple of turns to get used to the handling with added weight on the saddle, but it wasn't difficult and compromised the bike's handling only slightly. As we transferred water from the pouch to our bottles, obviously the weight of the bike/bag returned to normal. I really like having the little joe on my bike and will keep it there for a while.

M. took her 650b Serotta CRT with matching Acorn Bags--a small saddle bag as a handlebar bag in the front and a medium/large saddle bag in the back. She didn't carry water (since I was the mule) but carried energy bars, sunscreens, and her fleece jacket. Her bike also performed well for her. The lightweight tubes suited her very well, as she is light. The stiff frame also helped her on climbs as she is more of a masher than spinner on the climbs. And the grand bois cypres tires provided her more comfort on some patches of bad pavement than 25mm Panaracer Pasela TGs on her Torelli. She also felt more confident on descent with those tires. Her speed on flat has not suffer because of the 650b wheel size. We both wore reflective hi-vis vest for safety and both have bells from Jitensha Studio.

Between mile 10 and 13 when we were at the top, the road winds slightly and rolls a little. Here the vista is pretty open, looking over unincorporated regions of the Ukiah valley, with what must be new-growth forests. At mile 13, the road took a fast and winding dives, with many switchbacks for the next 4 miles. I stopped at a switch back to enjoy the view, give my hands some rest and allow M. to catch up. At mile 17, we got to the edge of the forest. The next 6 miles we will be in Montgomery Woods. We passed by Orr Hot Springs Resort along the way. This stretch of the ride is probably my favorite, as is M.'s. We rode under the tall canopy of several different kinds of trees--redwood, pines, oaks--and there is a creek running next to the road. I tried to take some picture but it was pretty dark in the forest to take good pictures while on a bike. It felt magical! The pavement is decent, but bad at a few spots, and the traffic is very low, with most of the cars going to and from the hot spring resort. We both remarked that this is probably our favorite place to ride.

At mile 23, we began another significant climb. Though not as hard as the first one, this 3.5-mile climb gains close to 800 ft. Throughout the entire time, we were pretty much under the shade of the trees, but gets to peek out to get an expansive view of the valley once in a while. At mile 30, we reached the point where the road began to descend for 4 miles down to the town of Comptche. We decided that we didn't want to climb up this hill on the way back and decided to turn around.

The ride on the way back was slower, but no less enjoyable. After descending the last hill we climbed up, we are riding against a slight gradient back through Montgomery Woods. We took our time and went at about 13-14 miles per hour. At Orr Hot Springs Resort, we bumped into our friend Annie whom we arranged to meet somewhere on the road today. After chatted for a bit, we began to climb back the pass back to Ukiah.

This is the steep descent that we took after the first climb this morning. Although not as steep (7.5% for 4 miles), the weather has warmed up significantly (now at a toasty 70F) and we were getting hungry and tired. It took some significant effort on our part to get back to the top. After a fast and furious descent down the hill we climbed this morning we were back cruising in Ukiah.

Overall, it was a challenging (60 miles and 9400 ft of climbing!) and wonderful ride. The food at the restaurant was excellent as always. I chatted with some people who have been working there since i was a teenager more than 15 year ago. It was a wonderful sunday to conclude a great quiet thanksgiving weekend!

Ebisu Project Parts Run-up Part 4

2008-12-02T06:02:00.000-08:00

I got another 2 pieces of the puzzle for my ebisu (which won't come for another 2 and 1/2 months). I went to box dog bikes in San Francisco yesterday after work to pick up one-bike-worth of Velo Orange adjustable brake shoes. According to VO's website, these threadless brake shoes allow "toe-in, and other, adjustments". I have one-bike-worth of Grenouille canti brakes (also from VO) that can use these shoes. I also bought a Shimano XT M737 8-speed cassette from eBay, using Live.com's cashback program.

I have also been pondering whether I should get a dynamo hub and light for this build. I am considering Schmidt SON28, SON20R, and Shimano DH-3N80. Does anyone have any experience on the Shimano hub? If I do build a dynamo front wheel, I will still probably build a non-dynamo one for when I don't need lighting.

Here is the updated list:

Still need:

- cables, housings and ferrules
- rims, silver, 650b; Velocity Synergy 650b or Grand Bois rims, 36h
- 72 spokes
- tubes 650b
- Rim Tapes
- Hanjo smooth fender
- Handlebar tape

Already Have:

Components
- Shimano Ultegra 6500 rear derailleur; long cage
- Shimano 105 9-speed front derailleur; triple; 28.6 clamp diameter
- Sugino XD600 crankset 46/36/26 170 crank arm length
- Shimano Ultegra seatpost 27.2
- Selle Anatomica Saddle; clydesdale
- Tektro R200A brake levers; black/silver
- Grenouille cantilever brakes from VO
- Velo Orange adjustable brake shoes
- Nitto Randonneur handlebars; 44cm
- Nitto Pearl quill stem; 10 cm reach
- Crank Brothers Quattro road pedals
- SRAM 890 8-speed chain
- Shimano FR-6600 Ultegra 10-speed rear hub; 36h
- Suntour XC-Comp front hub, 36h
- Riv Silver friction downtube shifters
- Phil Wood stainless steel bottom bracket 68x108mm JIS
- Stronglight A9 1" threaded headset, British thread; black with "paramount" inscribed
- tires; Rivendell Nifty Swifty 650b (2)
- Shimano XT M737 11-30 8-speed cassette

Accessories:
- Jitensha mini-front rack for Ebisu All Purpose
- Inujirushi handlebar bag; medium

Tuesday mid-day fixed gear workout

2008-11-25T14:52:00.000-08:00

This is a short week. The forecast has rain coming for the next two days. I decided to get a short ride in before the rain comes. I took my il-pompino out. I touched the chain at a few spots to determine if it needs some lubes. It seemed fine. I rode through the Cal campus toward Hearst Gate. Today, I am taking a different route up the hill. Euclid is a quieter though at places steeper climb than Spruce. At a few pitches I was struggling to stay on my bike with its 40x17 gearing. After a hill past the Rose Garden, the grade eases and I was able to relax on my saddle. I have been riding Lomas Contadas over the last few weekends and my legs felt stronger today. Several times I got off my saddle to speed up on the ascent on Grizzly Peak. There were some minor squeaking noises coming from the drivetrain. I got off my bike at one point to check and concluded that it must be the chain--should have lubed it before riding.

I got to the top faster than usual. After stretching my legs some and took some pictures, I spinned like a madman downhill. I didn't get rained on and enjoyed a wonderful ride. I will be visiting Ukiah for the weekend, and may get to ride Orr Spring road, which is scenic but very hilly. I will report on that when I get back.

Going "Clipless"-less

2008-11-16T21:20:00.000-08:00

I have been riding with clipless pedals for the last 5 years. I started out with shimano-SPD compatible pedals and then 2 years ago switched to crank brothers pedals. 3 years ago the thought of moving back to non-clipless pedals would never crossed my mind; even on my fixed-gear commuter, I had SPD clipless pedals on. I began using platform pedals on my fixed-gear about 2 and one-half years ago. I ride everywhere with my fixed-gear bike, even on fairly hilly terrains, and I didn't find riding with platform pedals to be any slower (granted the non-coasting nature of the fixie no doubt helps with the rotation of the crankset on the up-stroke).

I have since contemplated using platform pedals for my nice geared bikes. Although I like clipless and my biking shoes are comfortable, I want to be able to ride my geared bikes with normal shoes sometimes. Although there are dual-purpose pedals out there, I find them to be unattractive and a poor compromise.

The final straw is probably the noise factor. The clipless pedals I have used all began to make squeaking noises after a while, even though the bearing might be OK still. I am annoyed by the ever-present squeaking noises when one rides, especially when climbing or riding spiritedly on flats. After sunday's ride, I decided to go back to quill pedals. I have a pair of SR road quill pedals sitting around. I overhauled the pedals and attached power grips to them on my Rivendell Romulus. I am going to see how they do, and decide whether I want to go "clipless"-less on my Ebisu, too.

I will probably keep my crank brothers around, just in case I want to use them sometimes.

Ebisu Project Parts Run-up Part 3.5

2008-11-14T06:13:00.000-08:00

This cannot be considered a full update, so it got a 0.5 uptick in part number. I found a pair of Rivendell Nifty Swifty 650b tires on the local craigslist at a very good price and I bought them. Zac Stanley is the fellow that sold me the tires, which were on his wife's Bleriot. She didn't like the speedblend factor on the tire and switched to Grand Bois Cypres instead.

Even though these tested somewhat unfavorably in the area of rolling resistence according to a recent issue of Jan Heine's Bicycle Quarterly, I have had good experience with Rivendell's tires in the past and am happy to start with them. I also have a pair of Grand Bois Cypres sitting around. I will likely buy some Grand Bois Ourson and Hetre tires the next time I visit Japan for business. So here is the minor update:

Still need:
- Shimano XT 11-30 8-speed cassette or comparable
- cables, housings and ferrules
- rims, silver, 650b; Velocity Synergy 650b or Grand Bois rims, 36h
- 72 spokes
- tubes 650b
- Rim Tapes
- Hanjo smooth fender
- Handlebar tape

Already Have:
Components
- Shimano Ultegra 6500 rear derailleur; long cage
- Shimano 105 9-speed front derailleur; triple; 28.6 clamp diameter
- Sugino XD600 crankset 46/36/26 170 crank arm length
- Shimano Ultegra seatpost 27.2
- Selle Anatomica Saddle; clydesdale
- Tektro R200A brake levers; black/silver
- Grenouille cantilever brakes from VO
- Nitto Randonneur handlebars; 44cm
- Nitto Pearl quill stem; 10 cm reach
- Crank Brothers Quattro road pedals
- SRAM 890 8-speed chain
- Shimano FR-6600 Ultegra 10-speed rear hub; 36h
- Suntour XC-Comp front hub, 36h
- Riv Silver friction downtube shifters
- Phil Wood stainless steel bottom bracket 68x108mm JIS
- Stronglight A9 1" threaded headset, British thread; black with "paramount" inscribed
- tires; Rivendell Nifty Swifty 650b (2)

Accessories:
- Jitensha mini-front rack for Ebisu All Purpose
- Inujirushi handlebar bag; medium

Ebisu Project Parts Run-up Part 3

2008-11-12T05:54:00.000-08:00

I hunted down a couple more parts for the Ebisu. Microsoft is teaming up with eBay to give incentive for people to search for products to shop on the company's live.com search engine. This page talks about how the cash-back program works. At some point Microsoft was handing out 30% cash-back. When I bought the two items for my ebisu the cash-back was 25%--still very good. First is a Phil Wood bottom bracket, english threaded (68 x 108mm). The spindle length is on the low end for the XD-600 crankset, but it should work. It comes with british rings and installation tool. The buy-it-now price was $90, which means I got $22.50 of cash back.

The second item is the Stronglight A9 headset that Jan at Bicycle Quarterly and Chris at Velo Orange keep praising. I bought this from Boulder Bicycle (which also sells Rene Herse constructer bicycles) through eBay. With the cash-back I got, I paid $45 including shipping. The only small complain I have is that this headset is black. I might still jump on a silver one if I come across it. This one also have "paramount" inscribed on it. The size convention on the headset can be confusing. But basically, for most quality bikes, the diameter of the crown race is 26.4mm and this is called ISO size for 1" threaded headset. JIS size still exists, but is rarer. It's confusing for me because I am used to looking for JIS spindle for non-campy square-tapered cranksets (Campy uses ISO spindle). Sheldon Brown's headset crib sheet is a great reference.

The hunt continues for the few remaining part, the most notable being the rims. Here is an updated list, reflecting these changes:

Still need:
- Shimano XT 11-30 8-speed cassette or comparable
- cables, housings and ferrules
- rims, silver, 650b; Velocity Synergy 650b or Grand Bois rims, 36h
- 72 spokes
- tires; 650b (grand bois ourson rivendell maxy fasty or panaracer CdlV) - tubes 650b
- Rim Tapes
- Hanjo smooth fender
- Handlebar tape

Already Have:
Components
- Shimano Ultegra 6500 rear derailleur; long cage
- Shimano 105 9-speed front derailleur; triple; 28.6 clamp diameter
- Sugino XD600 crankset 46/36/26 170 crank arm length
- Shimano Ultegra seatpost 27.2
- Selle Anatomica Saddle; clydesdale
- Tektro R200A brake levers; black/silver
- Grenouille cantilever brakes from VO
- Nitto Randonneur handlebars; 44cm
- Nitto Pearl quill stem; 10 cm reach
- Crank Brothers Quattro road pedals
- SRAM 890 8-speed chain
- Shimano FR-6600 Ultegra 10-speed rear hub; 36h
- Suntour XC-Comp front hub, 36h
- Riv Silver friction downtube shifters
- Phil Wood stainless steel bottom bracket 68x108mm JIS
- Stronglight A9 1" threaded headset, British thread; black with "paramount" inscribed

Accessories:
- Jitensha mini-front rack for Ebisu All Purpose
- Inujirushi handlebar bag; medium

Berkeley "Death" Hills Workout

2008-11-10T14:36:00.001-08:00

The San Francisco Bay Area is really a wonderful place for cyclists. M. and I are in off-season mode; though we have aspiration to stay in excellent shape so we can participate in the upcoming 2009 brevet season, we haven't been able to get a ride longer than 60 miles within the last month. In an attempt to at least keep our climbing legs alive, we frequent what are referred to locally as the "Berkeley Death Hills". The term is probably coined by Tom Holub on his bicycle-related website where he has detailed descriptions of many nice rides in the Bay Area. The name "Berkeley Hills Death Ride" is probably a tribute to the more famous Tour of the California Alps (AKA the Death Ride) in Markleeville, California. Although there is no organized or supported ride on the course described by Tom Holub, one of the local cycling club--Grizzly Peak Cyclists--occasionally have the ride on its ride calendar, and I have encountered out-of-town passhunters riding the course as a challenge.

M. and I have done 4 of the 5 hills Holub outlined, with Marin Ave still to be attempted. We often ride Centennial Blvd in the morning as a short but hard workout before heading to work. We have also done South Park, Claremont, and Lomas Contadas for exercise and great view a few times. On this weekend, we did 3 of them, although on two days.

On saturday, we got on our bikes (my Rivendell Romulus and her Serotta CRT 650b) and rode through Tilden Park and descended on Wildcat Canyon Road to San Pablo Dam road in El Sobrante. We rode on the newly-paved and painted wide bike lane to El Toyonal, and we begin to head up. This ascent is steep at several places, and doesn't really let up except for one short stretch of descent. The good thing is that the streets are quiet and mostly without fast-moving vehicles and is generally shaded. We worked our way through 1.5 miles of moderately difficult climbing, only to get to the foot of the last pitch--Las Piedras and Lomas Contadas. M., being the better climber of the two, took off ahead of me, though she is also struggling to continue her upward journey without resorting to her granny gear. Today, my 36/28 gearing wasn't low enough for me so I went down to the granny chain-ring and use 28/24 for the way up the monster. The cool weather, light traffic, good vista helped some, though the climb was still difficult. It took me 15 minutes to go from where Lomas Contadas start to steam train at the summit. All for the name of a good workout. Here is the bikely route map for this ride. According to bikely, it was a 20-mile, 3700-ft ride. If you want compact, hilly training, this is an excellent candidate. My Romulus performed well, it felt responsive and not erratic, which was especially important for low-speed climbing. I noticed that when I am off my saddle for extended period of time, I sometimes knock my knees on the bar-end shifters. Should I go to downtube for my incoming Ebisu?

On sunday, after cleaning the house, we decided to get out for another heart-pumping workout. We rode through the Cal Berkeley campus to the football stadium, then turned left on Centennial blvd heading up. Centennial is a pleasant enough road, with good pavement and nice vista. However, because it's the shortest way from downtown Berkeley to the top of the hills, on a nice day many cars travel up on it. Centennial is one we are most familiar with, though the familiarity only lessen its difficulty slightly. M. thinks it's the most difficult of the 4 death hills we ride. There is a turn on the road after one passes the gate for Lawrence Berkeley Lab that is an absolute killer. There is a steep climb leading to the turn, and as you turn, it only gets steeper. Centennial really gets your heart pumping. I didn't need to go down to the granny today on my Romulus. We got to Lawrence Hall of Science and took a moment to watch the sunset. These hilly rides are not only challenging workouts, but also offer incredible views at the top and exhilirating descent.

After a moment's rest, we continued climbing up toward Grizzly Peak. At the intersection of Grizzly Peak, we dove into Tilden on Golf Course Dr. At the bottom of Shasta off Golf Course, we turned right on Wildcat Canyon road across from the Brazil House. Shortly after, South Park is on our right. During winter months, the road is closed to motorists and is great for cyclists and pedestrians with or without their dogs. The pavement is great and the road is pretty shaded. We worked hard going up, though I felt stronger than on Centennial and the day before. My romulus reacts to my pedal stroke well and kept a straight line easily when i want to. I zig-zag a few times to rest along the way, and got dropped again by M. half way up. I felt pretty good when I crest Grizzly Peak.

After watching numerous motorcyclists going by at speed far exceeding the limit, we decided to go back down South Park instead of descending via our usual route on Grizzly Peak. It turned out to be not that much better, as many pedestrians and dogs walk all over the road without fearing that a car will come through. I hit an object on the road which led my rear wheel to go out of true, though not serious enough to affect my ability to ride home.

We got home just before sunset. According to bikely, this (bikely route) was a 13 mile ride with 2910 ft of climbing. I have to say that I did feel stronger on the second hill today. M. and I agreed that we should attempt Marin in the near future.

My routine hilly workout

2008-10-31T08:43:00.000-07:00

As day gets shorter, it's hard to get in a ride longer than 20 miles before or after work without using light on a significant portion of it. I want to stay in shape to ride the upcoming brevet season as much as possible, so I decide to establish a short ride for a workout during the week. To make up for the relative short distance (7+ miles one-way up the hill, and then same distance coming down), I use my fixed on-one il pompino for the workout. The average grade of this ride is around 4%, with several short steeper pitches between 6%-10%.

(Here is a link to bikely route map of this workout)

The ride starts in my house in downtown Berkeley. The first 1.5 miles is a pleasant flat portion through Berkeley and North Berkeley. I enjoy this portion very much as it's mostly on a Berkeley bike boulevard and one sees many cyclists of all types going in each direction at this time of the day.

I take a right turn on Vine Street through Gourmet Ghetto up to Spruce, then take a left turn and begin the climb up Berkeley Hills. Spruce is a fairly busy street, as it's one of the wider street going up the hill. Like many streets in the Hills, it has many vista of the bay along the way. The grade is not that bad, and it winds gently through neighborhoods of nice houses up the hill. After a re-surfacing project a couple of years ago, this has become quite pleasant to ride on. My 40x17 gearing is quite adequate on this stretch, as I switch intermittently between seated and off-the-saddle position. Many cyclists go up this way, not just to the top, but also to wildcat canyon road into Tilden and beyond. I don't tend to wear cycling garb on my workout, and usually opt for regular exercise clothing. Sometimes when I pass folks who are on their racing kit and carbon-bike combo, they get surprised and pedal hard so they wouldn't get passed by an apparent amateur on a strangely looking fixed gear.

At the top of Spurce, I make a right on Grizzly Peak and continue the upward wind. Grizzly Peak is also a very pleasant road that has frequent view of the bay. The grade here is even gentler than on Spruce. A couple of miles past the turn from Spruce, there is a downhill portion before heading backup again. I tend to watch to make sure there are no cars beford plunging down hill. I pull my knee close to the top tube, tuck myself as low as possible, and then spin as fast as I can. On this portion I can get as fast as 35mph, which means I am spinning at 180+ rpm. I use the downhill to generate enough momentum to carry me as far up on the ensuing stretch as possible. This stretch is steeper than before (probably around 6-7%) and leads to Lawrence Berkeley Lab.

The stretch past Lawrence Berkeley Lab doesn't have private houses on the sides of the road, just trees and occasional animals. It's very pleasant in all seasons because of the shade. The grade is probably around 5% to 9%, but the steeper parts are very short. After 1+ mile, one eventually get out to an open stretch where one can get a stunning view of the bay. Many folks, not just on bike, gather up there on a good day to watch the sunset.

On this day I took some pictures before heading downhill. I try to get down hill before it gets dark because Grizzly Peak has some bad pot holes. I turned on my light and put on my hi-vis vest before heading down. As I spin my way down the hill, I remarked how lucky I am to live in such a beautiful place!

Ebisu Project Parts Run-up Part 2

2008-10-21T04:32:00.000-07:00

After working an all-nighter last week and finishing it before the deadline, I decided to visit Rivendell headquarters to pick up a few things. I got some fenders, a stove and a bowl, a reflective triangle for commuting, a small tub of sunscreens, and the silver downtube shifters. Of all these parts, only the shifter is specifically for the Ebisu.

I went to Jitensha again on saturday (10/18) to discuss with Iimura-san about the wheel size of my Ebisu. The saturday before we decided to have standard tubing (besides the downtube) on the bike and I chose the color. This saturday we spoke briefly and decided to go with 650b wheel size. Hiroshi responded to my email question from earlier in the week: the Ebisu will be able to fit 650x42b tires (I am thinking Grand Bois Hetres) but the fender-line might not be correct. I also received a response from the owner of a nice Ebisu All-Purpose who posted pictures of his bike on flickr sporting the said Hetre tires. Basically, they will fit, but I have to get wide enough fenders.

I received some advices on choice of wheel size and tubing from Jan Heine of Bicycle Quarterly that were very helpful. I also began my subcription of the magazine and received 3 back-issues yesterday. They were such fun read!

I will use 650x35b tires to start (probably the Grand Bois Oursons, if I am heading to Japan again soon, or Panaracer Col de la V ie in the meanwhile) and will also try 650x32b and 650x42b tires when I get a chance.

Here is an updated list, reflecting these changes:

Components
- Shimano Ultegra 6500 rear derailleur; long cage
- Shimano 105 9-speed front derailleur; triple; 28.6 clamp diameter
- Sugino XD600 crankset 46/36/26 170 crank arm length
- Shimano Ultegra seatpost 27.2
- Selle Anatomica Saddle; clydesdale
- Tektro R200A brake levers; black/silver
- Grenouille cantilever brakes from VO
- Nitto Randonneur handlebars; 44cm
- Nitto Pearl quill stem; 10 cm reach
- Crank Brothers Quattro road pedals
- SRAM 890 8-speed chain
- Shimano FR-6600 Ultegra 10-speed rear hub; 36h
- Suntour XC-Comp front hub, 36h
- Riv Silver friction downtube shifters

Accessories:
- Jitensha mini-front rack for Ebisu All Purpose
- Inujirushi handlebar bag; medium

Still need:
- Shimano XT 11-30 8-speed cassette or comparable
- cables, housings and ferrules
- rims, silver, 650b; Velocity Synergy 650b or Grand Bois rims, 36 h
- 72 spokes
- tires; 650b (grand bois ourson rivendell maxy fasty or panaracer CdlV)
- tubes 650b
- Rim Tapes
- Hanjo smooth fender
- Handlebar tape

The next step is to get rims and have the wheels built

Ebisu Project Parts Run-up Part 1

2008-10-15T07:55:00.000-07:00

Here is what I have collected for the moment:

Components
- Shimano Ultegra 6500 rear derailleur; long cage
- Shimano 105 9-speed front derailleur; triple; 28.6 clamp diameter
- Sugino XD600 crankset 46/36/26 170 crank arm length
- Shimano Ultegra seatpost 27.2
- Selle Anatomica Saddle; clydesdale
- Tektro R200A brake levers; black/silver
- Grenouille cantilever brakes from VO
- Nitto Randonneur handlebars; 44cm
- Nitto Pearl quill stem; 10 cm reach
- Crank Brothers Quattro road pedals
- SRAM 890 8-speed chain
- Shimano FR-6600 Ultegra 10-speed rear hub; 36h
- Suntour XC-9000 front hub, 36h

Accessories:
- Jitensha mini-front rack for Ebisu All Purpose
- Inujirushi handlebar bag; medium

Still need:
- Shimano XT 11-30 8-speed cassette or comparable
- Riv Silver friction downtube shifters
- cables, housings and ferrules
- Front and rear rim; silver or pewter; 650b or 700c
- 72 spokes
- tires; 650b (grand bois ourson rivendell maxy fasty or panaracer CdlV) or 700c (Rivendell Jack Brown Blue or Panaracer Pasela Tourguard 32mm or Grand Bois Cypres)
- tubes; 700c or 650b
- Rim Tapes
- Hanjo smooth fender
- Handlebar tape

Coming Soon! Ebisu All Purpose

2008-10-12T21:39:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I went to Jitensha Studio and put down a deposit for an Ebisu All Purpose frameset. Hiroshi was there, so were many people; it was Hiroshi's first day back from Japan after a month and everyone was there buying something or asking questions. We chatted a bit. He had a frame diagram where he put in numbers for the dimension of the frame. I mounted a 58cm All Purpose (in fact the one he submitted to Bicycle Quarterly for review) and it was a little too big. I decided to go with a custom geometry of 57cm seat tube and 56cm top tube. I will also pick a custom color. Essentially I am getting a custom bike since the All Purpose, well, fits my purpose pretty well. Since there were so many folks there, Hiroshi said he will fax the order to the builder to reserve a spot, but I can go back in within a month to nail down more details. I still have to decide if I want to go with 650b wheels. But I am excited to get a bike frame that is essentially built for me. I have began to collect parts for the build and selling off parts I don't need to help fund the purchase. I even created a spreadsheet on Google Docs to track the progress of my collection and cost.

For an essentially custom bike the price is really very reasonable. Heck, I could pay more for a prdouction that has not even 1/10 of the attention put into this Ebisu. I will keep a log of progress and parts list to let folks know where I am in the project. More to come!

M.'s Serotta CRT 650B

2008-09-14T08:32:00.000-07:00

M. has been unsatisfied with her Trek 620; we bought the frameset and then built it up to be her loaded touring/brevet bike since her main bike, the Torelli Corsa Strada cannot take fenders and racks. The Trek 620 turned out, not surprisingly, to really behave more like a stiff, chunky, loaded tourer (duh, Trek designed it to be one) than M. would like in a brevet bike. So the search was on for a brevet bike that's nimble, fast and can take some load (M. is light, so she could even probably use it as a touring bike). Added to the difficulty is the fact that we just bought a property and don't have the same liberty to splurge on bikes as we did 4 months ago. I was off to eBay, Craiglist, and various mail list to hunt for a frame.

We considered buying new or used Rivendell Bleriot, Soma Smoothie ES, and Kogswell P. I know these are all great bikes and I might eventually jump on a used Bleriot or new AHH/Saluki later, but M. wants to ride the bike before buying it. Even though Rivendell has undoubtedly several Bleriot in stock, we were not planning on spending $1900 for a new, built-up bike or $750 for a new frameset; and we wouldn't want to waste Riv's time unless we plan on buying the bike there. I asked around to see if someone has a bike around here to test ride to no avail.

One day I was on a ride with my friend Steve who just acquired a Serotta Concours Ti from Serotta's online classified. It was a stunning looking bike and very light. M. tried it around the block and was impressed with the ride quality and the looks. Later, I found a Serotta CRT on the local Craigslist. Coincidentally, a local iBOB lister wants the record 8-speed group on the bike, so he picked it up. After stripping the parts, I picked up the frameset with Chris King 1" headset with a go-ahead from M.

This build is not without difficulty; even though the CRT--Colorado Rapid Tour--has tour in its name, and it has braze-on's for fenders and rear rack, the tire clearance is pittance compared to what I am used to and generally look for in a bike. With 700c wheels, the front has brake reach of 50mm and the rear has 45mm brake reach. There is no way I can fit true 28mm tires in with fenders on. Since this was supposed to be M.'s brevet bike, versatitilty in terms of fenders and racks are required. I thought long and hard about it and decided to proceed with 650b conversion.

The only tricky part is the BB drop; on the CRT, the BB drop is 80mm, definitely outside of the 72mm-75mm maximum drop that Grant Peterson and Ed Braley recommend. The frame, with 25mm tires on 700c wheels had a BB height of 260mm; if I use 650b wheels with 32mm tires on, the BB height will end up to be between 245mm and 250mm, maybe a little low for comfort.

I sent a question around the iBOB list soliciting wisdom from folks on BB height in combination with crankarm length to see in practical experience would pedal strike be a problem with this consideration. Several members told me that they use 170mm or even 175mm cranks on bikes with 250 or 255mm BB height and almost never have problem. Since the cranksets I have for this bike is Sugino XD2 165mm, I decided that the conversion might be worth a try. The potential for pedal strike has also lots to do with riding style through turns; since M. rides pretty cautiously, especially on downhill descend, I think the conversion might work.

I gathered the parts needed; I have most of the parts lying around. I have to grab the 34.9mm record triple front derailleur because serotta has a seattube with increasing diameter toward the BB. I bought some Grand Bois Cypres 32mm tires from I's Bicycle when I was doing business in Japan, and asked Hiroshi at Jitensha Studio in Berkeley to build me a rear wheel with an NOS ultegra 9-speed hub and a velocity synnergy 32h rim. I built the front wheel myself with an older White Industries road front hub and matching rim. The tektro R556 brakesets took a little longer to arrive so I built up the rest of it first, then finishing it up this past weekend by installing the brakes and doing all the cabling and adjustments.

The result is a pretty-looking bike (more photos here) that rides fairly nicely, and has oodle of tire clearance. M.'s first impression is that it rides similar to her Torelli--responsive, fast, and nimble--even though the bike has 650bx32mm tires on and a pretty stiff BB shell section (thick tubing diameter close to the BB). She will get a better sense on a longer ride.

I am not sure how the pedal strike concern will play out. I tried my best--use 165mm crankset and 107mm spindle BB--to squeeze out as much pedal-striking clearance as I can, and hope that M.'s not-so-aggressive riding style will keep the bike out of trouble. The next step is for me to borrow my friend's Col de la Vie (which measure close to 35 or 36mm) to see if they fit in the rear dropout. If they do, I might get some Grand Bois Oursons to push the BB a little higher.

Here is the build list:

- late 90's Serotta CRT 56cm (56 ST CTT, 56 TT CTC) frame and fork
- Christ King Gripnut 1" threaded headset
- Nitto Technomic Deluxe 9cm stem
- Ritchey handlebar 42mm wide withTan SOMA bar tape (that might change to a dark red)
- Tektro R100 brake levers for smaller hands
- Shimao Ultegra seatpost 27.2mm
- Terry Libertor Sport saddle
- Tektro R556 extra long-reach (55-73mm) brakeset
- Shimano 8-speed bar-end shifters
- Shimano XT rear derailleur
- Campagnolo Race Triple front derailleur 34.9mm clamp
- Sugino XD2 old logo triple crankset 48/36/26; 165mm
- SRAM 850 8-speed chain with powerlink
- Shimano HG70 11-30 8-speed cassette
- IRD 68x107mm bottom bracket, square taper
- Shimano SPD pedals
- Shimano Ultegra 6500 9-speed hub 32h
- White Industries H2 front hub 32h
- Velocity Synergy 650b rims
- Grand Bois Cypres 650bx32mm tires

It is still missing:

- water bottle cages
- front rack and bag
- fenders when winter comes

Weekend Ride on East Bay Hills

2008-03-06T10:39:00.000-08:00

The weather was so nice on saturday and my girlfriend and I haven't gone out for a longish ride for a couple of weeks, so after picking up some usual produces at the farmers market we set out for a longish (60 miles) hilly ride near Berkeley. I took the Romulus and she took her Torelli. In order to store all our energy bars and other incidentals such as sunscreen, camera, electrolyte tablets,etc. I put my Baggin's Little Joe on the Rom. It's the first longish ride I did on my Romulus after I built it up on Christmas Eve (I didn't have fenders on it and we have had some much-needed rainy days here in N. California).

We started in our house in downtown Berkeley, rode up the Berkeley Hills on Spruce and when we get to Grizzly Peak, took Wildcat Canyon through Tilden. After descending to Sam Pablo Dam road, we went up the Pump House Grade (the backside of Papa Bear). We attempted the nicely shaded and twisty Happy Valley Road for the first time and both liked it. It's steeper than pump house, but not as bad as some of berkeley's "death hills" (Centennial, South Park, Claremount, and Lomas Contadas, just to name a few), and it's really beautiful for various type of tall trees around. We turned around at the top and retraced our steps back to Bear Creek Road. I thought about descending on the other side of happy valley to Lafayette, but since I don't know the roads around there so well we decided that it's best to trace back. After refilling our water bottles at the Briones Park continued toward Alhambra Valley Road.

We climbed Pig Farm hill and then went through Lafayette to Reliez Valley Road. After the climb at Reliez Valley road, we rode the Lafayetter-Moraga trail back to Moraga. At this point and 5 major hills later, both of us felt a little tired especially since we haven't ridden this type of distance for a few weeks. The last climb awaited us was pinehurst, and while it is not easy, it is one of our favorite climbs anywhere. We pedaled and chatted on the narrow road leading up to the hairpin turns on topic of when a cyclist can legally take the lane, and what we should do when my parents arrive to visit later that day. The climb was pretty ok, after the second hairpin turn, we muscled up the steeper sections and got back to Oakland. Descending Tunnel Road is fairly pleasant at this hour as the sun began to set and the temperature wasn't as low as we expected.

The romulus did fabulously. My old 59cm rode well, but this 57cm version fits me like a glove. It is comfortable and still very responsive when i want to accelerate. Climbing on it is very pleasant. i am very happy with the component set as well. The Rich-built Riv stock wheels (Velocity synergy on XT hubs) are very nice. Overall, I am very happy with the bike. Now that spring is here, I expect to take it out for longer rides more often.

My new commuter and fixie: the il Pompino by on-one

2008-02-21T16:02:00.000-08:00

Update: here is the geometry table from On-one

Frame size (Centre of bb to top of seattube)	48cm	51cm	54cm	57cm
Effective top-tube length	52.5cm	54.1cm	55.5cm	57.6cm
Head Angle	73°	73°	73°	73°
Seat Angle	73.5°	73.5°	73.5°	73.5°
BB Drop	66mm	66mm	66mm	66mm
Standover	28.7”	29.5”	30.7”	31.8”
Head tube length	92mm	104mm	135mm	167mm

Over the weekend I traded my chrome italian fixie (sold on the local craigslist) for a used il Pompino (bought from my friend steve). The picture above is taken on the first hilly ride after the build. I will elaborate on the whole story a little later. For now, here is the build list:

- on-one il-pompino frameset; on-one designed tubing, wish-bone seat-stays, 135mm drop-out, semi-compact geometry; 54cm seat-tube (though it fits like a 56 or 57cm); high bottom bracket shell. My friend Steve bought it used, and actually had bernie Mikkelsen brazed on some bits for him (derailleur hanger, downtube cable stops) and rode it as his trail-bike/commuter for a while. He has a soma doublecross now and decided to sell it for a good price. I won't bother taking the braze-ons off
- Aheadset 1 1/8"
- Bontrager 17 degree threadless stem; 130mm reach
- Soma Sparrow handlebar, the longer version
- Shimano UN-54 bottom bracket 68-107mm
- Shimano deore right crank arm, sugino left crank arm; 170mm, 110bcd. 40T/34T chainrings
- SR platform pedals
- Surly Dingle 2-gear cog 17T/20T
- 22T freewheel on the flop
- KMC 9-speed chain with powerlink
- Surly Fixed/Free flip-flop hub. 135mm, 32h; Alex Adventurer rim, black with silver braking surface
- Phil Wood front hub laced to Mavic MA40 rim, 36h
- Rivendell Ruffy Tuffy front tire, Continental Ultra Gatorskin rear tire 700x28mm
- Generic seatpost from velosport in berkeley; 27.2mm
- old specialized touring saddle
- Velo Orange aluminum fenders; 45mm width
- Shimano LX front cantilever brakes (no rear brake yet, but will add that soon)
- Performance forte mountain brake lever
- Nitto Mark's Rack
- Wald large basket
- Pink flower bell (my girlfriend has the same one on her fixed gear)

My Touring Bike

2008-02-14T08:50:00.000-08:00

I started to become more interested in doing various type of bike touring last spring. The only time i'd really do any type of traveling with my bike was the summer of 2005 when I was hanging out in the St Juan Islands in Washington State before starting my current job. I actually wanted to go to Vancouver, but since the immigration paper for my new job hasn't come through, I told my friend to leave me at a hotel in Anacortes so I can hang out on the islands. I had my fixed gear bike with me, and did some island-hopping (with the great ferry system) for 4-5 days and it was fabulous. Granted I didn't carry any significant load with me during that time, I enjoyed the experience of traveling on my bike.

I wanted to do a bike trip (haven't decided whether it's inn-to-inn or fully loaded) sometime soon, but I didn't have a suitable bike for it. my romulus could probably work, but since I already weigh more than 190lbs, i wasn't sure if I should add a full-load to the bike. So I sold my other road bike (90's specialized Epic Carbon) and looked around for a good used touring frame. I found a 84' specialized expedition deluxe on the local CL. After reading more about it and found that many people have high regards for the frame, I pulled the trigger and got the bike. It came with many parts, but for my purpose and preferences, the only part that ended working for me was the Sugino AT crankset and the 26.8mm seatpost. I began to gather parts for it and thought about wheel options. Here is the build list I arrived at, and pretty much still the same after almost one year:

- Specialized Expedition Deluxe frameset with special touring series tubes. These frames are built by Miyata with Miyata's own tube sets, and are very close to the Miyata 1000.
- Shimano 105 1" threaded headset
- Nitto Technomic Deluxe Stem. 12cm reach, 26.0mm clamp
- Nitto Randonneur handlebar which I got from Jitensha Studio here in berkeley. 26.0mm clamp, 45cm width
- White and Blue cloth bar tape
- Shimano UN-54 bottom bracket. English threaded, 127mm spindle length
- Sugino AT triple cranksets. 46/36/28. 175mm crank arms
- Crank Brothers Smarty Off-road pedals (although currently I am considering going back to platform pedals)
- Shimano 105 downtube shifting levers (8-speed) fitted to Diatech bar-end pods, making the combination 8-speed bar-end shifters (more on that later)
- Shimano XTR 960 series low-normal (reverse) rear derailleur (more on that later, too)
- Shimano XT low-pull (traditional) front derailleur, 28.6 clamp diameter
- SRAM 8-speed cassette. 12-30T
- SRAM 7-speed chain with powerlink
- Original 26.8mm seatpost
- Brooks black saddle (more on that later)
- Shimano LX canti-lever brakes with Kool Stop eagle claw pads
- Tektro R200 brake levers with quick release
- Mavic MA40 laced to Mavic front hub. 700c. 36h
- Salsa Delgado Cross Rim laced to Shimano LX hub. 700c. 36h (more on this later)
- Schwalbe Marathon tires; 700c x 28mm
- Nitto M12 cantilever-boss-mounted front rack
- Tubus Cargo rear rack (not mounted right now)
- Ostrich Boxy Handlebar bag
- Busch & Muller Ixon IQ LED headlight

Building this older frameset with modern components that I wanted or had was not without trouble:

- I couldn't find flat shifter boss covers (the piece that fits in between the shifter pod and the shifter lever) so I ground two oval-shaped ones flat
- I didn't realzed that XTR reverse rear derailleurs don't come with barrel adjusters, so I made one from old brake barrel adjusters. It works.
- The frame has to be re-spaced to 130mm, and then the LX hub has to be re-spaced to 130mm also (from 135mm).

So far I haven't done touring yet, but put about 2000 miles in the 10 months I have had the bike. Most of the miles came from training and riding the 2007 STP (seattle-to-portland) but since I have had fenders on it, the bike has also become my rainy day bike over the romulus. It rides really well, supple, compliant, yet not mushy at all. I was really impressed with the ride quality when I finished building it and took it out for a spin for the first time. Hopefully I can make good use of it as a tourer and randoneering bike.