Long year this month
I’m feeling a little bit trapped at home today. Artwalk Alive! has University Ave closed for most of the day, and the Rochester Marathon has most everything else closed. I suppose I could ride north through the ‘hood, but I’ve chosen to update here.
I’ve been very busy at the library this past month. I’ve been subbing for a co-worker who broke her wrist in a tragic gardening accident. And at various times I’ve also subbed for another co-worker on vacation and yet another who was sick.
Then there was the mayor’s Cool Sweep initiative that turns the libraries into neighborhood cooling stations when the forecast high is 90°F (32°C) or above. Got a lot of extended hours for that. And, of course, the mayor ordered the branch libraries to maintain regular Saturday hours through the summer too.
Since I’ve gotten back from vacation in July, I’ve worked more hours than ever. On two pay periods my boss had to get special permission from downtown for the number of hours I worked. It’s made for some pretty big paychecks. And that means I can bring the new bike home this week on Thursday.
New bike
The original plan was to have the new bike on October 18—unless something unexpected cropped up, when I could extend that to November 15. Instead, I’ll ride it home on September 20—two paychecks earlier than I planned. Meanwhile, it looks like I’m back to my regular work schedule, just in time to ride it.
I made a decision too, between accelerating the payments on the bike and making some accessory purchases. I chose the bike since I can swap a lot of existing accessories around. It probably won’t be until the October 4 paycheck that I can buy the stainless steel Tubus Cosmo rack and matching, European-spec taillight.
This rack is at the top of the list because it has two side rails. With it I’ll be able to shop on the way home from work again because I’ll be able to mount both the Tailrider trunk bag I use for commuting and my grocery panniers. Coming from Germany, the rack’s light bracket is drilled for European standard mounting, thus, the need for the B&M light.
Also towards the top of the list is the 12-23 close-ratio cassette. Meanwhile, I’ll swap Yellow Bike’s rack and taillight to it and suffer along with a 12-27 cassette like everyone else has.
Other accessories are already here awaiting installation. I have a cyclometer and pump, both identical to Yellow Bike’s. I’ve been satisfied enough with the Blackburn Delphi 4.0 and the Topeak Road Morph G that they’ve earned a place on the Portland. Kyle at Full Moon Vista gave me a couple of extra mounts for my Topeak Aero Wedge Pack so I can use the same bag on all three bikes.
The Portland’s stock fenderettes had to go. I decided to get two different sets of full-coverage fenders for it. In winter, it will wear a set of 45mm Planet Bike Cascadia fenders. For the other three seasons, it will sport SKS P35s.
And for ultimate personalization, I got a pair of decals from BikeNames.com which will get applied to the top tube.
Notable by their absence on this list are headlights. That’s because my pair of DiNotte 200L headlights are easy to move from bike to bike. I will, however, be picking up the legendary DiNotte taillight before Daylight Savings Time ends.
Before the snow flies I’ll be picking up a pair of Lake Winter Cycling Boots and a Wipperman stainless steel chain. Based on my experience last year, I’ll need to have a spare in-stock anyway. That will cover the essentials for the winter. I may get a 16-27 cassette to make life with the snow tires easier. We’ll see how far the budget stretches before it snaps.
Everybody likes Yellow Bike
Even with all this going on with the new bike, I still like Yellow Bike. I’m hoping to keep it around a while and to use it for rec rides around town.
Yellow Bike is still a crowd pleaser too. Yesterday when I rode up to the diner for breakfast, a handful of people were waiting out front. We got lots of compliments. Then, as I stepped outside after breakfast, three roadies on their way in for breakfast were admiring it. One guy couldn’t believe that it’s eight years old. Of course, very little of the original remains.
Rides
One disappointment lately is that I haven’t had a lot of time or energy to put into riding. Other than commuting and shopping, I’ve really only ridden the Monday Night Small Ring Ride. Here and there I’ve taken a rec ride, and occasionally I’ve been able to take the long way to work.
Even so, my August figures were over 40% short of goal, and thus far, September is shaping up to be short by 25%. If the weather holds and with my schedule back to normal, maybe I can make a dent in that. Still, with the better part of four months left in the year, I could still make my 4,000 mile goal.
I’ve found I enjoy conversational group rides. And I enjoy long rides too. Bikerjohn and I did long rides last autumn on the Monday holidays. I decided to put it all together this year and do a long group ride on a Monday holiday.
Last year, John and I went east on one and west on the other. You can’t go very far north without getting very, very wet, so I thought about south. It may still be a little early for full color, but I’ve planned a leaf-peeping ride from Scottsville (south of the city) to Letchworth State Park. It’s about 35 miles each way, and there’s plenty of riding to do in the park itself.
I put an invite up on BikeForums.net and so far have a couple of other guys interested besides John and myself. Worst case, it’ll be just John and I.
The day before that is a new race. It’s the inaugural running of the Rochester Cobbs Hill Cyclocross. Cyclocross, or CX, is a curious mixture of road bikes and off-road course.
To the uninitiated, CX bikes are nearly indistinguishable from other types of road bikes. But there are subtle differences in their geometry, their cable routing, and their fork and frame have room for wider tires. These changes also make CX bikes highly prized by commuters—the Surly Crosscheck and the LeMond Poprad are the CX bikes most popular with commuters.
In fact, my Trek Portland is a first cousin of the Poprad. They share many of the same parts. The Portland’s frame is aluminum, where the Poprad’s is steel, and there are minor differences in frame geometry which probably accounts for the Portland’s smoother ride. The only other real difference is that the Poprad’s drivetrain has a compact-double crankset and a 9-speed cassette, and the Portland is equipped with a triple and 10-speed.
While shopping this summer, I examined most of the cyclocross bikes sold in the US, and every one available locally. That’s why I’m glad the race is on a Sunday so I don’t have to take a vacation day to watch all the bikes I’ve shopped for come out to play in the environment they were designed for.
