Author: russloomis

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Rides

Cookie day

Yesterday crumpled my brain and tossed it in the wastebasket. Spending most of the morning on the phone with tech support because my secure blog site was showing as a non secure site on my browser. The problem was eventually fixed, the https site had been entered as http. Now, after lunch, I began to tweak and play with the look and workability of the blog pages. Next, I found the sun had set and it was dinner time.

This morning was again more time addressing a few other site issues. I finally got ready to ride a bit later than noon. Anxious to get out riding I opted to forgo lunch. The stop at the Creamery for an oatmeal raisin cookie was deserved and greatly appreciated.

Fueled with a few tasty calories, I made it back to my hometown and picked up a grinder to carry home for dinner. Now I’m putting my day into a few words on virtual paper. The day ended with another tired brain.

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Rides

Testing 3/7/22

Fifty degrees in February is a rare treat, and 100k was long overdue. I have been riding this distance at least once a month for years now. I usually shoot to ride within the first few days of the month. This month my timing was off, so this day was hard to pass up.

The weather was sunny and the wind was strong when riding in the open. The day passed quickly and soon the sun settled below the trees.

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Rides Tentist and the Teapot

Fresh air, fresh bread

These past months I have been focused on preparing for this tour. I’ve been overhauling my bike, Ms. Eve R. Green, hopefully thwarting any breakdown along the journey. I’ve also been stockpiling components and supplies to have on hand as they need replacing.

Today was one of those welcomed sunny warm days that remind me, if only for a short time, that spring is on the way. The days are also getting closer to the start and this brings anticipation. So, I was eager to ride and the fact I have been slicing my way to the bread’s heel was a sound reason to ride to the bakery.

This ride put everything back into perspective and satisfied my jones to ride. Fresh air and fresh bread, I couldn’t ask for a better day. 

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Crusty Rusty Tentist and the Teapot

Today’s tinker

Today was a good day to tinker and figure out how to use the camper’s table as a bike stand. I will be gone for around six months and having a stable way to hold my bike as I repair and do maintenance is more of a necessity than convenience. My plan is to use what I already have and to not carry items that are dedicated to a sole purpose.

The camper table is designed to swivel out of the sitting area when not in use. It also removes from its bench mount and can be attached to the outside wall of the camper for outdoor eating. With the tabletop removed from its leg it now becomes a pole to hold the arm mount of my portable stand. After scanning my bike room and boxes of saved “whatevers,” I realized that my old post mount bracket for a Caradice bag would clamp to the post for the table. All I needed was a seat post shim (stored in a parts drawer) to clamp the adapter to the table leg, and an odd cutoff of an adjustable shelf bracket to mount the bike arm plate to the Carradice bracket.

Now I have a very compact stand to keep my bike working. Another successful day of tinkering!

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Rides

Is blowing in the wind really the answer?

Today was a day that looked, smelled, and felt like spring. A reminder, a poke to the sleeping lion to see if the sleeping world would wake up. But, no, the temperature dropped from 54° to 34° before I got back home. The wind (oh there is always wind this time of year) kept me aware of the road‘s edge as the gusts blew by. It was another great day to ride.

Categories
Rides Tentist and the Teapot

Prep and ride

Trying to balance tour prep and riding as the clock ticks down. Two days and five weeks to go before my big tour and each day races past. Today was warm and sunny and riding took priority. It’s nice to see the changes the days make to the same old roads.

Categories
Crusty Rusty Tentist and the Teapot

Bead set

I ride tubeless tires, and they are near impossible to set the bead without an air compressor. I won’t have one while touring, so I needed to solve this potential problem now. I don’t like the option of carrying a portable air tank, so I made this handy alternative plastic tubing and a valve stem that was lying around the shop. With this I can attach my good tire as an air tank to pump the tire that needs setting.

Categories
Rides

February thaw

Fifty degrees in February is a rare treat and 100k was long overdue. I have been riding this distance at least once a month for years now. I usually shoot to ride within the first few days of the month. This month my timing was off and so this day was hard to pass up. 

The weather was sunny and the wind was strong when riding in the open. The day passed quickly and soon the sun settle below the trees.