Monday, September 21, 2009

There was an abundance of Sweet Bacon.

The Bacon ride was definitely worth getting up at 5:30am for. It was a little chilly and very dark at that time, but the pace was easy, there was no traffic, and the friends were....um....friendly. Of course there were many pictures taken by Scott and Sean just to confirm the ride did happen through eventual blog postings. Keep an eye on their reports. Total count for the ride were 5 peeps, including me. Rafal; the ride leader (and route adjuster), Scott; the taker of many pictures, Sean; the bestower of knowledge and a few pictures, Chris; the trouble maker, and me; the one with the duct tape.

We took a fairly tame route even with gravel out to Platte river state park and inhaled some delectable morning nourishment. From the Lincoln side of things, Corey and Wes(?) joined us after most of our bacon had been devoured. We left a couple scraps for them.

After a relaxing feast, we slowly pedaled on mostly flat surface toward home. That is, until we got to Pflug Rd. Does anyone know exactly how to pronounce this, by the way? We were keeping a good tempo along the gravel road next to the interstate, than BAM, we head uphill. Rafal, of course on his single speed, had to hoof it up at a decent clip as not doing so means you either murder your knees, or walk. The annoying part about Pflug is that you have the first monster climb, then another 3 butt-kickers, one right after the other. After the road mellowed out (as much as a gravel road can mellow out), Chris decided he wanted to give the group a prolonged rest break in the form of a very frustrating flat. Oh, and just so everyone knows, the proper way to use one of the little green boxed patch kits is: sand paper the area around the hole in the tube, spread on a little bit of glue around the hole, let it dry, then stick one of the appropriate sized patches over it and hold for a couple seconds. I won't mention any names, but this procedure was not followed correctly resulting in a lot of fruitless pumping action. WAFFLE!!

So anyway, after I used some of my invaluable duct tape to cover the offending protruding spoke, we got Chris's flat fixed and all was right with the world again. He repaid us quite handsomely with a round of libations and finger food at Blue Planet Natural Grill when the ride was done. Overall, it was a great day of food and riding with good buddies. Too bad next weekend, being the last one where the bacon dispensing place is open at Platte River SP, is pretty busy with a few other cycling events. There's the Omaha Alley Cat race mid-day, then in the afternoon, the ride to the movies to watch A Sunday in Hell. I'm not sure what plans I have for that day as my little bro will be in town. I may do and early couple hour ride though, possibly both days. Let me know if anyone's interesting in joining in!

28 comments:

Biker Bob/Runner Bob said...

My group ride (with several of my riding buddies from church) out to Blanchard and back to Shenandoah via the Wabash will be starting by 7:30 Saturday morning from NP Dodge park. Anyone is welcome to join us for a few miles if they want to. We may stop for coffee or something on the way to the trailhead.

The pace will be easy and we will be taking the trails from NP Dodge down to the Ped. Bridge, then out to the Wabash trailhead.

RD said...

sorry about the patch...
anywho there will be more rides after cross season... loess hills gravel awaits on saturday

RD said...

well not this saturday but some some saturday

munsoned said...

Bob - DOH! I knew I was forgetting another fun bike event. Not that this has anything to do with the normal Sunday bacon ride, but I also forgot to mention that I will be officiating at the Lake Manawa MTB race. So that's even another event for the weekend.

Busy fun times ahead!

Rafal, you are forgiven. I did the same thing as you the first few patch jobs I tried. Once I actually read the instructions, I found that the patches do really work well. But I still prefer the method of doing a quick tube change while on the ride, then patching things up during a rainy day later on. Which reminds me, I got a hanger full of tubes that need to be patched. And it's a semi-rainy day. Guess I know what I'm going to do once I get home.

brady said...

From German for Beginners, both letters are (quickly) pronounced as a combined puff-sound: das Pferd (horse), der Pfennig. If this is difficult for you, an f sound will work, but try to do it!

brady said...

It Pfigures that you, Munson, would have duct tape.

Do you always carry duct tape on group rides? For the rest of us patch-noobs out there, what else do you carry in that bag of goodies?

Scott Redd said...

In Esperanto, "flug" means having to do with aviation. (Speaking Esperanto makes me King Geek, fools!)

Certainly there's a lot of flying down those Pflug hills, but a lot of crying going up them.

Except for Munson. He whistles while climbing. No joke.

I, too, remarked on his duct tape. To answer your question, Brady, there are more interesting things in Munson's bag of tricks. It seems he also carries quite a bit of talcum powder. I suppose it's to help with chaffing.

I have pics up on my Facebook profile, but will also put them into a slideshow on my blog for anyone who is social media challenged.

munsoned said...

Brady, I go 1 of 2 routes with regard to items I carry to fix flats. They both have their pros/cons, and mostly center around the method of inflation.

1. Frame pump centered. I try to always go with a frame pump on my bike. This is good for various reasons; pumped air is free (no CO2 cartridges to buy), there's no limit to how many times you can pump up your tires, more space in your seatpack for extra tubes, environmental aspects (a whole other long post in itself), etc. The drawbacks are pretty minor. It's not a "clean look" on your bike. If the frame pump doesn't fit right, it could fall off and cause you to crash. If you have to put your bike on a frame holding car rack, you have to remove the pump and remember to take it with you and/or not leave it on top of the car. And finally, us weak-armed roadies generally have a hard time pumping up the tires more than 90-ish psi. Personally, I'm fine with that as I like to run my tires a little low.

2. CO2 centered. This is the quicker, less cluttered-looking method. You can whip out a tube, pump up with a CO2 and be on your way again in less than 2 minutes if you're an experienced flat fixer. This is nice on fast group rides, but becomes a problem when you run out of supplies. When I go this route, I run 2 CO2s wrapped with Duct tape, so they won't rattle around in the seatpack. However, unless you run a large seatpack, you can only really fit 2 CO2s, 1 tube, and your standard stuff.

Standard stuff - regardless of which route I go, I always have in my seatpack: tire lever, 9-speed quicklink, 4 and 5 mm allen wrenches, a chain tool, and tape of some sort. The tape is for patching tires with substantial gashes and, after this weekend, sub-par spoke repairs.(the latter is an interesting story)

I should probably make this a stand alone post. I could maybe do, instead of a Thursday "Gam Jams" review, I could do a "Monday Munson's bike shop."

brady said...

Yes, yes, but back to the tape. Do you just take a snippet and re-roll it over something else like the tire lever? And if so, how much is enough?

RD said...

remember when i told you about that custom bike that looks like la cruz?
here are the pics

munsoned said...

"When I go this route, I run 2 CO2s wrapped with Duct tape, so they won't rattle around in the seatpack."

^This wasn't what you were looking for?

The best way to do this with CO2s, is to fold the tape over itself so that it's long enough to wrap around both cartridges. Since it's folded, it won't stick to the cartridges and make a mess while you're fixing the flat. Shim's drivetrain does that enough already. But make sure to leave a bit left over that's not folded on itself so you can stick it over the duct tape to make a solid, non-rattling unit. (I guess I should make an Instructables on this or if I do the Munson's Monday Mechanics, use lots of pictures.) Once you've set this up right, you can rip off either the folded over part to act as a tire boot, or the sticky part to hold something together.

Now, when I don't use CO2's, I just take some folded over tape to act as a tire boot. I won't be able to stick anything together, but there's not too many times that a bike or bike parts can be held together with duct tape (unfortunately).

Rafal, if you've made it this far, congratulations. Oh, and that bike is reeeeeeeeeal pretty. The welds and paint job on that Boedle are far beyond anything Salsa can mass produce. Now, is one frame going to outlast the other??? That's up for debate. It'd be interesting to see the weight difference also. Plus, I image that bike fits that guy like a glove. Which is not going to be the case with everyone on Factory sized bikes. But, you do truly get what you pay for when going custom. Plus that green paint job makes me envious. Tell your friend, if he ever joins us for a ride, beware of the ninja bike swap. He may be riding a Fisher Wingra home...

Chris G. said...

In Rafal's defense, when I went to re-patch that tube, I patched the hole Rafal patched (closely following the instructions), then put some air in the tube. At that point, I noticed another hole. It's possible that Rafal's patch may have held. Possible...

munsoned said...

Possible? Yes. Probable? Eh...

Just kidding. Like I mentioned before, with a group, I prefer to do a quick change to a spare tube and get on with the ride, then patch things up later. That way you can avoid our experience on Sunday. Granted, it was no biggie, but if any of us had had time constraints, it would have been a little nerve wracking. It's all sweet bacon, though.

RD said...

i agree and to be honest with you if skip and sam ever get around to making bikes that's the kind of bike i will be ordering from them with sliders instead of vertical drops touring/gravel killer

brady said...

You're getting pretty good at zinging me, Munson. But even better was the dig on Shim. But I'm not re-quoting it so as to make him find it for himself. And since that takes actual reading (work), it will remain a secret.

Is Flanders sponsoring you too?

Biker Bob/Runner Bob said...

My dad once told me that guys only joke around with people they like. Shim, you sir have a lot of friends.

It's either that, or Brady and Munson have a crush on you.

munsoned said...

Oh, I have only one man crush in my life...

munsoned said...

Oh, and Brady, I had originally started to type my response by apologizing for the long winded explanation without actually getting to the point, but then I found the point in the middle of my very long winded response.

I
love
run on
sentences.

Chris G. said...

Hey, Mr. Bob:

Is there anywhere I can go for details on your Saturday ride to Shenandoah? Do you have an estimated total mileage and end time?

Thanks!
~Chris

Biker Bob/Runner Bob said...

Drop me an email at underdahill THATATTHING gmail DOT com and I can forward you the details and give you a call if needed.

We leave from N.P. Dodge park by 7:30 and then spend the day getting all the way to the MO border on the Wabash and then back to Shenandoah on the wabash. Mileage should be up over 110 for the day. We are staying at a motel overnight in Shenandoah and riding back in the morning.

Chris G. said...

Oooh, Dang. I can't swing an overnighter, but that sounds like a cool trip. Next time, maybe.

Thanks for the details!

Sincerely,
~Chris

Scott Redd said...

Chris:

You could join the ride, and then turn back at whatever point you need to get back at your desired time.

Some of a bike ride is better than none.

Don't forget the alleycat this Sunday. Downtown at 11am.

Biker Bob/Runner Bob said...

Chris... what Scott said. Join us for part of the ride. Ride as far as you want, then turn around.

Unknown said...
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Chris G. said...

Alright, I'll do it! I just had to secure childcare. My wife's out of town, but my little boys are due for an overnight at Grandma's. I'll be able to ride a couple hours before I need to turn back. Thanks for letting me tag along!

~Chris

Biker Bob/Runner Bob said...

Cool. Meet us at N.P. Dodge Park at 7:00 tomorrow morning. We will roll out by 7:20. I'll be on the Surly Long Haul Trucker with a yellow handlebar bag.

Is anyone else going to join us for a few miles? The pace will be SLOW, as some of the riders will be on MTB's and some don't ride very often. After a while, we will probably split up a bit so the faster riders can make quicker progress. But probably not until we have bee on the Wabash for a while.

munsoned said...

I will be at the mtb race officiating if it's not rained out.

Biker Bob/Runner Bob said...

And if it's rained out, you'll be meeting us at 7:00 at N.P. Dodge park right?

Scott plans to meet us at the BK bridge and ride with us a bit.