Commuter babe

Tricia moved from Dallas Ranch to Antioch Middle School, but she's still bike commuting. New this school year is her rack and trunk. It's a Topeak. The sides fold down to make room for more eighth-grade English papers than you'd ever want to haul home, much less read. Tricia rocks!

Me vs Motobecane, ISIS, FSA and stupidity

I was getting a clicking sound from the Motobecane Le Champion SL. It was annoying, and getting worse. It sounded like it was coming from my FSA SL-K crankset/bottom bracket.

I did some research on Bikeforums.net and discover an "FSA click" thread. I also discovered ISIS style bottom brackets have a bad rep.

I took the bike to my local bike store and they said "Yep, it's the bottom bracket".

Rather than replace suspect bottom bracket with another ISIS, I ordered a Shimano R700 compact crank and Ultegra bottom bracket. I had the local store install both.

SIDENOTE. Bikesdirect speced "TruVativ or FSA" bottom bracket. This is what was found inside. It's marked "Chin Haur," whatever that means. The bike store says it wasn't installed very well.

ARRRGGGGG. It's was still clicking! But bikeforums.net "Substructure" said in a thread he tightened his QR and solved his problem

I really tightened my rear QR and zoom. All better. I am an idiot. But then my LBS didn't exactly save the day either. On the other hand, LBS had no problem with me finding a great deal on the cranks and BB elsewhere and having them install it all.

Did I waste money? Maybe, but the Ultegra shifts a bit better, and I'm pleased to not have that other BB any longer.

Such is life.

Tour of East Contra Costa

Tricia and I did a 50 mile loop through East Contra Costa, notable mainly because it wasn't windy and no one tried to run over us. That and it gives me the chance to try and jam a Google map into this blog, which may or may not work. A good time was had by all.
If you know how to keep one line going in Google Maps when you need to scroll over, let me know!
View Larger Map

Three feet

The Cascade Bicycle Club in Seattle (the swell folks who put on theSeattle-to-Portland ride) are sponsoring a campaign to encourage drivers to leave cyclists three fett of space. I really like their ads.

Waves to Wine

I signed us up. Not only me, but Tricia too. If we can ride 200 miles in two days, we can ride 150 in two days for a good cause, and that cause is the fight to cure MS. On September 29 we take off from Pac Bell Park in SF, ride across the Golden Gate Bridge and end up somewhere in Rohnert Park. Day two takes us to Healdsburg. That's pretty much all I know, except we need to raise a bunch of cash for them.
I'm hoping if you stumbled across this blog you 'll be willing to help out. Please oh please visit my donation page on the MS site and donate.

Diablo: You are mine

Cycling to the summit of 3849-foot Mt. Diablo was one of my Summer 2007 goals. This Saturday I joined a group from Bikeforums.net to celebrate their new jerseys. Mine hadn't come in yet, but I rode with them anyway. We started at the South Gate and wound our way up. I hadn't been to the top since '87 or so. It's still steep, it still hurts, and the last 200 yards is abut the hardest cycling thing I've ever done. But the roads are a lot smoother than they used to be. It took me 1:35. Considering it seemed like three days and I didn't really have a time goal, just a survival goal, I'm reasonably happy. Check out the cool photos in the bikeforums thread on the ride.

Commuting - back to school

Los Medanos College has started the Fall semester, and I've once again started my daily commute. I've added a few new elements.

• Sandals: I bought a pair of Nashbar sandals that have SPD cleats. It felt a bit odd at first, but the mornings are warm and the evenings are downright hot. It feels good to have the wind blowing through my toes. It'll be interesting to see how long it is before it's too cold to enjoy wearing them.
• Rack and baskets: I got a rack and a pair of shopping baskets big enough to carry all my clothes and food. No more driving in on Sundays with a weeks worth of stuff! They do feel like I'm dragging a parachute behind me, especially on windy days, but I think it's worth it. I still carry the laptop in my backpack. I'm not brave enough to hang it off the bike -- yet.

I'm a star!

I feel like Steve Martin in The Jerk when the phone directory comes and he finds his name in it then runs about yelling "I am somebody!"
Well, I am now somebody too! My favorite podcast is the Fredcast, a bicycling podcast. I listen to every episode. David, the Fredcast creator has been soliciting ride reports, so after the Seattle to Portland ride I recorded one in our hotel room. I mailed it in and darned if he didn't end up using the whole thing. I'm pretty excited about it. It's kind of like getting to sing backup on your favorite band's album. I'm in Fredcast #77 pretty near the end. And I am soooooo cool now.
A note on the Fredcast: I use iTunes and then download it to my iPod and listen on my commute. But you can listen through the web page, or any number of ways. You don't need a Mac, or an iPod. I highly recommend the Fredcast

Jersey crazy

It's time to come clean.
Hello, My name is Curtis Corlew, and I'm a jersey addict.
Not only do I love 'em, but I've always wanted to design one. I finely got the, or made, the opportunity. I've designed a jersey for the 50+ forum on bikeforums.net. I'm collecting funds from members and will have champ-sys.com make it. It's a bit worrisome collecting lots of money and keeping track of who ordered what sizes, but the reward is that I'm getting a lot of response. I'll be sending off the design next week for actual proofs.

New goal

I so want this jersey. It's me. So I made a deal with my own bad self. If I can get my weight down to under 140 (as in 139-point-anything) I'm going to buy this overpriced thing. Sure, it costs too much, but nothing is too good if you are skinny. Plus, I still need to ride to the top of Mt. Diablo to meet my Summer goal, and being a lot lighter will help.

STP: We lived!

On Saturday July 14 Tricia and I joined 8998 of our closest friends at the University of Washington, Seattle for a 204 mile two-day ride (2230 people rode it as a 1 day ride!)
The 28th annual Seattle to Portland ride organized by Cascade Bicycle Club had riders from 44 states, England and even Serbia.

This was our first century, and on day 2 our second century, and we lived to tell about it!
I embraced my "Fredness" and bought a glasses mirror, a bento box type carrier and a larger seat bag so I'd be sure to have arm warmers and a jacket, Cliff bars, a cell and camera, keys, and other creature comfort junk.

Our legs held out, and we'd put on enough miles our rear ends were fine. We'd both purchased new saddles about two months before, mine a Selle Itilia SLK and hers a Terry Falcon.
Tricia rode her Trek 1500 and I rode my Motobecane Le Champion SL. Though I carried a camera, and have been known to shoot while riding, I didn't do much this trip. There were just too many people around, and I was concentrating on my riding.


Riding in a group of 9000 really gives you a look at cycling diversity.
There was every age, height weight and fitness imaginable.
We saw bikes that were scary amazing full "unobtainium" zillion dollar machines and bikes that were just plain "Lube my chain? HUH?" scary.
Among the diamond frames were numerous recumbents of numerous styles, some with windshields and full fabric enclosures, tandem recumbents and the cutest recumbent with a tag-along child carrier that the kid peddled.

With the numerous tandems there were also a couple of -- what to call them -- 3 person tandems?
There was a even big wheel unicycle and even a skate boarder.

We did see a few bikes that made us wonder what -- or even if -- their riders were thinking. Bikes that had us wondering if they would make even a trip around the block. But we were well prepared having listened to the Fredcast (a way cool cycling podcast) on preparing for your first century. We even replayed Fredcasts 05 and 07 on the drive to Seattle. The STP organizers also have a lot of info on their web site that helped us feel ready for our biggest ride to date.

Though it was 104 degrees two days before, and raining the Tuesday afterward, the Cascade Bicycle Club ordered up perfect weekend weather in the upper 70s. Under the scattered clouds we could often see Mt. Rainier as we rode through Washington.

The midway point in the small Washington town and Chehalis for 2 day riders. We stayed with a really nice family that opened their home as part of a soccer club fund raiser.

Two of the other highlights are crossing the Lewis and Clark Bridge into Oregon. The state troopers queue up riders, close the bridge to traffic and couple hundred riders own the bridge as they pass over. It's done for safety, but the result its a great view and an amazing sight.

Coming into Portland and crossing the finish line makes you feel like you've just finished the TDF. There were literally hundreds of people cheering as we rode in. It was almost embarrassing.
Because the ride has only one minor climb a day. I'd recommend it for anyone wanting to try a two day long ride, and it seems like an ideal ride for those wanting to knock off 200 miles in one day for the first time.

We had a great time.

If it walks like a duck

Tricia got shoes that click into the pedals and click on the cement. She can walk like a duck just like the rest of us, only is looks cuter when she does it!

I've been told this video doesn't play on some computers, and my server seems slow lately. Here's a link to a lower quality version on YouTube

100 hour Motobecane SL report

My sigma computer reports total bike time, which I find pretty amusing.
I've just hit 100 hours on my Motobecane SL from bikesdirect.com and have the following observations:

Executive summary: I am happy with my purchase.
Stuff I didn't like:
Cane Creek brakes didn't do it for me at all, even with a brake pad change to KoolStop salmon. They never felt like they were really going to stop me. I replaced the front brake with a DuraAce 7800 and and much happier.

The seat it came with didn't come close to fitting my rear. Others may like it fine as seats are highly individual, but this was the most uncomfortable seat I've ever been on. I replaced it with a Selle Italia SLK that I'm very happy with.

Stuff I like:
It's really light compared to any bike I've owned before. I'm amazed it's this light for this price.
Coming from a full aluminum bike super-stiff bike, the carbon forks really make a difference on rough roads.
Ultegra shifting is a delight.

Other observations:
The welds that connect the tubes are very visible; they aren't smooth like the ones on my wife's Trek. Not horrible, but hers are creamy smooth. It doesn't bother me, but the OCP crown will hate it.

Again, compared to the Trek, The paint is OK, but not "rich" and deep. I don't care, but some might.

The American Classic wheels are really light, and look way cool. But I sure feel them in a cross wind. It's been windy here and I get moved around a bit more than I'm used to. Not enough to be bad, but I can feel it. They also sound different on the pavement, they hummmmmmm a different note and there is more difference in the sound as the road surface changes.

The tires it came with were super light and felt great, but in the land of broken glass and road crap they didn't last. Both got ripped wide open with giant gashes in less than 800 miles in a way that has never happened to me before. I don't blame the tires, I blame the glass and giant bolts I ran over.

Stuff I added to make my light bike weigh more:
Shimano Ultegra Pedels: Thumbs up
Sigma wireless computer: Like it lots
Small Performance seat bag for tube and patch kit: I live in the land of broken glass.
Topeak road morph pump w/ gauge: A great pump. 120 with no pain.
2 water bottle cages, Stryke from REI. Look good, work better than metal. Cheap!
2 Polar water bottles: Like 'em
1 Salsa cross lever: explained elsewhere on this blog.

Stuff I changed:
Seat: see above, and elsewhere on the blog
Front brake: see above
Chainring: 36 to 34 because I'm older now
Cassette: 11-23 to 13-25 for the same reason.
Replaced tires

East County Road Race

Tricia and Joyce battle it out for the yellow jersey in this years East County Road Race. The grueling competition feature a 130 mile ride over some of the steepest hills in North America. These professional riders can hit speeds of over 90 mph on the downhills, and attain 40 on mountain passes too hard for cars to climb.

Darn it, this doesn't play right on some computers. Here's a link to it on YouTube

Joy and sorrow

I haven't posted lately because I managed to loose an entire card of cool photos and videos from my new Fuji FinePix. It was all my fault, but it's still a drag. I had me riding, Trish as a video, and my buddy Dave's 70s Raleigh that we cleaned and polished.
I've started again. Here's a video of fast-riding Joyce coming down Diablo. I shot it on her quick "Hey, let's go up to the junction, down through Danville and, wait, let me add just this little bit on" ride last weekend. Give it a click.

Canyon Classic - Patterson

The Canyon Classic ride out of Patterson was a delight. The people who run it are so nice they even arranged wonderful weather. The winds weren't bad, but what there was helped us up hill. The route was a wonderful tour of the Golden State. The food was tasty. If I have a complaint it's that the commemorative shirt graphically challenged, which is odd because previous years efforts are very nicely done. Still, I'd go again.
Joyce's friend Dan took my camera and twisted around to make this photo of Joyce, Norm, a friend of hers, me, and Tricia.
Some caffeine drink called Savage(TM) was passed out on the ride and was over consumed by me, which made me not be able to sleep that night. A grand time was had by all.

Tricia - Go girl!

Tricia looked so cool in her "Go Girl" jersey I begged her to play model on our Monday evening ride. This has got to be an ad for something, but I'm not sure what.

Shadowland bonus photo

The light around here gets so nice on Summer evenings. The shadows grow and everything glows. I need to find a better way to shoot from my bicycle. Maybe a new Nikon point&shoot would be just the thing. One with a high ISO and stabilization technology. And costs very little money. And comes with a huge card. Yeah... That's it...

The joy of brake levers

The darn Paul e-lever, as cool as it was, just didn't work out. I tried it in different bar locations and could never get it to where it didn't bother me. I was told that a cross type lever wouldn't work, but that was incorrect. I bought Salsa cross levers and used just the right one. Now my brake lever is not right under my grip making a lump. Much better! I think I'll save the e-lever for the fixed gear bike I'm dreaming of building.

Bonus Tricia on BART photo