Time to Ride

First here's that promised photo of my Spud Hauler. This old CCM Kiddie Trailer salvaged from a neighbours scrap heap provided the frame wheels and hitch. Amazingly the tires still hold air. That and a liberal application of lubricant to the axles was all that was required. Scoots along behind Rover II nice as can be.

Jack's Spud Hauler: The crop is in> How many trip the haul in the harvest?

The Warm took a few days off, so I had to unpack the longjohns for another stretch. But the last two days have been beautiful so after planting the garden I headed up Hwy 600.

One of my most vivid childhood memories was picking wild flowers in the spring . Literally arms full of Trilliums, Jack in the Pulpit, Marsh Marigolds, Mayflowers, Violets, and Adder's Tongues. Today as I rode along those memories came flooding back when I spotted  a whole whack of Adder's Tongue in the brush along the road. I could barely contain myself as I piled off Rover II, unlimbered the camera and "picked'' you all a bunch.... digitally that is. I no longer slaughter wildflowers. After 60 or 70 years you do learn a few things.

In this area of Northwestern Ontario we do not have Trilliums that grew like clouds under the maple trees of my child hood, but there is still lots to marvel at. The wild plums, saskatoons, high bush cranberry, and crab apples provide splashes of brilliant colours. And the fragrance for the abandoned orchard I coasted by was heavenly. No need to hurry today. Just coast along and enjoy the ride. The rest of the gardening chores can wait til tomorrow

A sprinkling of Mayflowers

Marsh Marigolds: we cooked the stems and leaves as spinach greens 

A bunch of Violets

Adder's Tongue

More Adder's Tongue. If you are very fortunate a rare red sport is sometimes found

Next month I'll be looking for Lady Slippers. Both the smaller yellow one and the larger Showy Pink. They are two of our native Orchids. The Rover is the perfect conveyance for cruising along the ditches in search of the these beauties. I'll have my camera battery fully charged

The Warm finally...maybe

Spring is finally upon us here in the northwoods. The tulips are blooming, the weeds in the garden are coming up with avengance. Had a great ride yesterday up Hwy 600 north of Rainy River to McGinnis Creek Road. This provides me with a 34 km loop on a roughish secondary road with lots of dips, a couple of  hills for zooming and a chance to see a bit of wildlife. That loop wit a couple of circuits around town gets my 40-50 km a day quota in.

Bald eagles were in abundance a month ago soaring just above me checking me out... few buzzards as well. They have pretty much dispersed further north as the ice is now out of the lakes. I think they pretty much cleaned up any winter killed wildlife and pet owners can breathe a sigh of relief that Fluffy will not as likely become lunch now. We have quite a few eagle nests along the river and they provide some spectacular fishing demos when we are out on the pontoon boat.

The deer that were yarded up over the winter are dispersing around the countryside seeking safe spots to drop their fawns starting in the next couple of weeks. Saw a parade of half a dozen parade across road at the hilltop about 8 km north of town last evening. Neighbour saw a sow blackbear with 4 cubs near Morson.

The wild plums, hazel nuts and apples are bursting into bloom. Maybe they'll escape a killing frost. With the garden at my neighbour north of the tracks ready to plant soon, I found an old bike kid carrier that I stripped down and placed a plastic bin on to haul supplies and tools across town. It works great. My explanation to my wife, The Pearl oft he Orient that I was going to mount a rocking chair on it for her personal chariot was not met with enthusiasm. But it works great. I'll save a photo for a later post.

The new bike shoes are working out great and the ease of pedaling is noticeably improved. Gave Rover II a good cleanup and service the other day and works smoother. Was getting some brake noise as I travel on some pretty gritty roads, but a good wash out of the brake calipers with the garden hose seems to completely solve the issue. A lot of the grit is from winter sand and salt leftover on the paved shoulder as we haven't had a lot of rain this spring and the town crew don't want to run the sweeper until we have some moisture to abate the dust. Maybe this week.

The extremely dry winter and spring are causing some really volatile forest fire dangers across our Boreal Forest as you may have seen on TV with the whole city of 80,000 evacuated from the disaster in Fort MacMurray, Alberta. 2400 homes burned While that fire is 1500 miles from us, all the forest between here and there is tinder dry and we have quite a large one burning just over  100 miles north of us. So far the smoke here has not been a problem, but you can smell it and the air is hazy.

Summer should be here in a few days.... if we don't have another snow storm first.

Clickity-Clack

Promised an update and a photo or two of my attempts to cheap out on a pair of clipless shoes. First off I had to abandon my experiment of bolting my old shoes to my existing pedals. They worked but:

1. The peels of laughter at the coffee shop watching me disengage, walk in in my sock feet, walk out and remount was too disturbing. You have to remember my friends are of the mental capacity that prohibits them from driving and chewing gum without getting a distracted driving citation.
2. Hanging a spare set of sneakers by the laces around my neck was no better and that old set was way to close to my nose.
3. My sweet wife, The Pearl of the Orient, informed me I would be dead meat if I ever again brought in a pair of socks in that condition.
4. It took too long to get out of the shoes to answer the call of nature. I'm a country boy
5. It took too long to bend over and get my feet in the shoes

But they worked fine. Here are the picts. Quit laughing!

So following Trikester Hal's advice I searched the lbs for a cycle shoe that would fit. With size 49 feet you don't ask the colour, make or style. Simply a pair that will fit that I don't require a 2nd mortgage for. I found them at MEC- Mountain Equipment Co-op at Portage and Donald in downtown Winnipeg, MB. The sales people were super friendly and helpful I got a pair of Pearl Izumi X‑Road Fuel IV Cycling Shoes- $125, a Set of WellGo M17C pedals, dual type (clip one side) and SPD clips $44. They put the clips on and gave me a couple of tips about shims and cautioned re over-tightening the clips. That's Canadian Pesos (.75) not U.S.

At home I installed the pedals and took them for a spin. Clicking in took a bit of doing as I was warned the fit might be a little tight and a shim might be needed. I fashioned a shim out of a piece of strapping and voila, perfect. Here's the picts.

The cleats positioned as far to the rear of the shoe as possible

The Well Go  clip pedals. Other side is platform. Note the pedal extensions installed earlier

The strapping material used to make a shim to place between the shoe and the clip

 I installed the clips as far to the back of the shoe as possible. For some that may be a no-no, but I needed that to prevent heel strike. The platform on these shoes is very stiff with little flex. The back of the heel is tapered to ease walking and the tread is okay, but I would not want to take any extended hikes in them.

On the trike they are great. Secure with enough wiggle room to move the angle of your feet. The security and ability to 'pull' on the pedal was quite noticeable under heavier load. My knees like them.

Spring-sort of- finally arrived today so I went for a nice long ride after a 5 km warm-up around town, I headed for the country for a 49km circuit. I was bushed when I got back to town, but it was a blast.
After supper I did another 5 km around town. I decided to do this blog up tonight as any new muscles I may discover tomorrow morning may preclude me from getting out of bed

Spring! Wherefore art thou?

Brrr! Seems spring will not come Minus 20C this morning with 4 inches of new snow and a stiff north wind. This is the second day I have not been for a ride and Sunday promises another touch of snow, wind and unfriendly temps. Time to tinker and get the Income Tax filed.

Been thinking about 24 inch tires and wondering should I make the $400 leap. Time to cheap out a bit.

First I found some 24 inch rims with 6 speed freewheel sprockets (not cassettes) at the local bike emporium a.k.a. the dump, I serviced the wheel bearings and made sure the freewheel was working properly and with the help of a couple spacers hooked it up to Rover II. I adjusted the derailleur so it only shifted up to the 6th gear sprocket (14T) and took it for a quick spin. The tire itself was so rotten I was afraid to go more than a block, so I spent fifteen bucks at the local hardware store for a new tube and tire.

At the same time I cleaned and lubed the chain and did a bit of work on the chain tube hangers to give them more flexibility to guide the chain straighter regardless of which sprocket gear I was using, front or back. A bit of a Rube Goldberg fix, but it works for now.

I wanted to see how much problem heel strike was on the pedals with the larger rear wheel and my big clod-hoppers. It was noticeable, but with my feet secured more centrally on the pedals it was not a real problem.

And then it struck me!

I only very reluctantly throw out a pair of comfortable shoes, no matter how worn. I have a pair of Rockaport velcro loafers with worn out heels, but very comfy with good stiff platforms and arch supports. Two 1/4 inch carriage bolts and nuts, four big flat washers, and a drill and I have new cycling shoes. Eat your hearts out, you clipless weenies. And if I'm hanging upside down in the deep ditch cattails, there should be no problem extracting my feet before I drown.

My first couple of rides with this new setup was very positive. The shoes have enough wiggle room on the pedals to let my feet sit at a comfortable angle (I tend to toe-in my right foot a bit). The washer and the carriage head bolt under the insole are not noticeable. The laughter when I mount and dismount at the coffee shop is loud and sustained.

The 24 inch wheel does seem to smooth the ride a bit perhaps with no noticeable change in handling or lateral stability. With only 14T on the sprocket vs 11T on the stock cassette, I have not gained much top end, but I do find it necessary to use the 38T chainring for some of my hills. Still doing this by flicking the chaintube to the left with my fingers to down shift and using thumb and forefinger to lift it onto higher chainring to shift up. No danger, quick, easy, and works flawlessly. The adjusted rear derailleur worked just fine 1 thru 6 with the min R setting making 7/8 doing nothing but not interfering with the operation.

Overall I am pleased and will now see if I can find a 24 inch w cassette hub - inexpensive, but not cheap. Best positive price for a Wilson double wall is just over 80 bucks on Amazon.

The Raniaco Bike Computer worked great until it didn't

Replacement promised

RoverII hibernating in its position of honour on the pontoon deck with 

temporary 24 inch wheel installed. Derailleur now well up, out of dirt

Picts of 'new' clipless shoes next post

Home again

The trip north was uneventful. Clear sailing and mild temperatures all the way. Got Rover II unloaded and seated in a place of honour on the front deck of my pontoon boat in the garage. Was nice having in up on a platform where I could work on it without stooping over.

I suited up for a ride wondering about how many layers I would have to put on. The morning temps are running from 0C to -10C. You Fahrenheit people get with the program and convert.  (0C is freezing, 100C is boiling, -40C and -40F is the same- DARN COLD!). I found the longjohns and will consider dispensing with them around July 1st. Two pairs of insulated, loose socks, lightly laced in my sneakers to not restrict circulation. Jeans, a loose shirt and my blue hoodie and I am all decked out to sit on the couch and watch TV at a comfortable 20C (68F). Riding on brisk morning -10C,with a nasty little breeze required layers, My windproof jacket and pants topped with my bright green, high vis hoodie, a pair of insulated gloves and a hard hat liner under my bike helmet, along with my sunglasses and I'm off. A little cold on the bare part (not much) of my face and I had to curl my fingers up in my gloves, particularly my left hand with the old smashed finger until circulation picked up, but I was soon up to heat. It would have been lovely to have a WGX WindWrap Fairing, but it will have to wait.

Half way through the ride most days I shed at least one hoodie, open a couple of zippers, drop the hoodie hood and open the flaps on the hard hat liner. My roads are primarily hard surfaced secondary highways with light traffic, a few grades, not many but a few curves. A very bucolic scene as I roll through farms, swamps and forests. Boring? No I love it. Not much for wildlife yet as the deer are still in their yards... but soon. Saw a drunk robin eating frozen apples the other day.

Have different routes set up and some days do 50km (30mi) but most days keep it to 30-40 with overall average of  around 12-14 kmph. I keep my cadence at 50-60 rpm, and the grades/head winds make my common gears 6 & 7 on my 48T front ring with occasional drop as low a 1 on a couple hills. Almost always use the 48T with a couple times along the way dropping to the 38T (stock Rover 8 Ext).

Now have over 1400 km on Rover II. The bike computer from Raniaco stopped working suddenly with no speed reading and batteries change did not solve the issue. Email to company was sent and promptly responded and promised immediate shipment of replacement. Will update on support after replacement comes but until failure it had worked well.

Did a bit of other maintenance. A "click" responding to cadence under load was traced to a left pedal bearing. Removed end cap and gave both pedals a shot of spray grease. That solved the problem for now. When warmer I will disassemble and check the bearings. Will update later.

On first week home, in the silence rolling through the forest started hearing another "click" and checking with my hand while seated on the bike, sure enough found a loose spoke. How long loose? Who knows as my hearing is not predator sharp. Sitting on stand and trying I could not identify for certain which one it was by hand but knew as I had identified location when seated on it. The wheels all appeared true so simply took my spoke wrench and checked them all. Was a full 1.5 turns off tight. I found several others on all wheels that were a little loose- .25-.5 turns. All tightened without change in truing. I expect this was simply break-in loosening, perhaps with a bump or two, too many. But every thing appears straight and true, so will see in another 1000 or so.

A little warmer yesterday and today so will get out and enjoy the ride before we get another 12" dump. like we did the week after arriving home. Spring where are you? Like the poem says,"Along about knee deep in June!"

Along the Rainy River-ice is out

Out the back Door-March 17- no ride today

Oh what shall Poor Rover do then?
Sit in the barn and keep itself warm

Back to the North

Made the best use of my time in Florida from Feb 25 to March 5 rolling around my usual haunts including an extended exploration along 30A west of Seaside. It was the first time in several years (since 2008) that I had wandered around the Watercolors community streets. This is a high end development by the St. Joe Company that was just heavy into its construction phase when the crash of 07/08 hit. Things there kind of ground to a halt for a few years but now seem to be rolling again. It was interesting to see how the streets, boardwalks, houses and landscaping have weathered 10 years of Panhandle climate.

Trees and other plants have matured and may have been neglected but are nicely cleaned up now. Boardwalks suffered from the weather and deterioration is obvious, but a lot of planking has been recently replaced. Most of the asphalt streets are fine with the odd exception where poor quality asphalt and roadbed prep is showing significant deterioration. The whole project was put together very quickly and some  shortcuts are becoming evident. Another year or so will show how good the remediation will be. It is a great community to cycle around

St. Joe, per their website has ambitious plans for this area of NW Florida in Bay and Walton Counties with seniors retirement communities including 170,000 residential units as well several million square feet of retail and commercial development. Currently construction activity in the area could best be described as frenetic.

From a cycling standpoint, the bike path paralleling 30A makes for a leisurely, safe ride with a a host of boutique restaurants and shops. There are dozens of places you can rent a bike, but no bent trikes ...yet. Rover II and I received a lot of looks and folks stopping to make more inquiries. If you need some cycle service out here at Grayton Beach, Big Daddy's Bike Shop - www.bigdaddysbikes.com -has a well equipped shop, some expert mechanics, and even a mobile repair shop. While your waiting for the work to be completed, La Loba's Bakery - www.lalobasbakery.com - in the same building has some great baked goods, coffee and a pleasant patio. Their moto "Real Food for Real People"

That about does it for my winter in PCB. Before dawn on March 5 we pointed our noses north and headed back to Canada. The Flex was packed with two cycles hanging off the back, and a roof top bag also stuffed with treasures. According to my wife all we needed was a rocking chair on the roof and a few buckets tied to the roof rack rails to make us a modern day Snowbird Hillbillies.

A new use for old bike wheels- La Loba's Patio

La Loba's Bakery, Blue Mountain Beach, Fl"Real Food for Real People"

New Sights

We've had several days of gorgeous weather here in  the Florida Panhandle, cool mornings moderate afternoons, brilliant sunshine and generally light breezes. I retraced my usual routes around the Conservation Park, up and down Gail's Trails and over the West Bay Bridge. I keep wondering when I'll get tired of this same old circuit, but it's as much fun as it was the first day I tried it a couple months back. I've come to know many of the regulars cycling and walking the paths and the greetings are always cordial. Still a lot of folks wanting to stop and inspect this contraption... a few doubters but most are impressed. Weather has been so nice I have not bothered blogging just kept taking shots and rolling down the trails.

Spent a good half hour teasing a randy cardinal. He whistled fluttered and squawked at me but would not come down out of the top of the pines. The other trail users gave me strange looks... maybe I am a little strange.

Haven't done much adjusting beyond tightening up the seat straps... seems this one stretches more than the last one. Also released the set down pressure on the kingpins a tad to free up the steering and am now expert at wheeling the unit onto the elevator and through the condo door. I have a 'borrowed' plastic milk crate zip tied to my carry rack and the rear facing handle works great for grabbing it from the rear and either towing, pushing or turning it around at the bike stand.

Made the decision to replace my stolen MTB  carrier with a Sunlite Recumbent Hitch Rack, 2" Receiver carrier that will handle a two wheeler plus a trike. It was more than I wanted to spend but looked better than putting Rover II on top of the Ford Flex. Even with my height, 6'4", that would have been a bit of a struggle and too much luggage to put it inside.

The carrier is well designed and surprisingly went together quite easily. The rear part that carries most of the Rover II detaches my pulling one pin to shorten the frame sticking out the back when not required. Put some added reflectors on for extra visibility particularly in the parking lot. The only fault I saw was the pin for the extension was not a locking pin whereas the one at the hitch was. One pull and it could be gone. Fixed that with a $20 locking pin from Walmart. So now I have four more keys. One for the main hitch pin, one for the extension hitch pin, one for the cable lock on the MTB, and one for the chain lock on Rover II. That should keep the honest folks at bay. The thieves.... well, maybe 5 or 10 minutes. How long until I lose both sets of keys?

The cycles both fit easily and very well on this carrier and seem very secure. All wheels sit in their holder, held down by good velcro straps, plus the up right post has a hold down arm for the MTB crossbar and another one for Rover II that holds down in the seat area. I'll post some photos in a later edit.

Been checking out some new snacking spots. Can't always eat at McDs even if it is close and handy to my route. On SR 79 on the south side of the West Bay Bridge (actually under it) is a little diner called the BFE which stands for Best Food Ever. It was warm, I needed a bathroom break, and something to boost my strength and courage for a climb up over the bridge (twice)and two zooms down. There were a bunch of construction pickups parked there a good sign of good food so I stopped and asked. The smoked brisket was the best claimed the customers, but they were fresh out. Second was the fall-off-the-bone ribs, but the portions just looked too big. So I settled for pulled pork on a bun, smothered with BBQ sauce and a cold beer. Yum Yum.

Suitably refreshed, de-watered and encouraged. I tackled the West Bay Bridge both directions. It was worth it. Another day well wasted!

A view of the West Bay Bridge SR #79 PCB, FL from BFE Restaurant

BFE - Best Food Ever under the West Bay Bridger SR 79 PCB, Fl