Moronacity Cycling Journal » Equipment
The Great Pedal Debacle
A couple of days ago, Neil commented on “Attempting to Miss the Yankee Springs Time Trial” and asked, “How does one forget their pedals…I mean…aren’t they, like, attached to the bike?” Ideally. Last fall, I broke the rear dropout on my Jamis (see A Surefire Cause of Inappropriate Verbiage). I went for a ride at the Tree Farm with Marty and Nick, and borrowed Marty’s Vassago Bandersnatch (see Bike P0rn: Vassago Bandersnatch Custom Build). We put the clipless pedals from my Jamis on the Bandersnatch and I rode that with glee. After the ride, we took the pedals off of the Bandersnatch and I placed them in my bike box. About two days before the Barry Roubaix, another friend, Chris, put the replacement frame part … Read entire article »
Filed under: Equipment
Bike P0rn: Vassago Bandersnatch Custom Build
With 2010 comes a new decade. Yes, I know that the “true” decade doesn’t start until next year, but the “true” decade doesn’t exactly coincide with labels such as the 80s (my favorite), 90s, or the Aughts, which are also known as the “Ohs,” “Two-thousands,” “My life is over,” “Oh, hell,” and the “I don’t know whatchamacallits.” Whatchamacallits also happen to be great candy bars. People don’t know what to expect … Read entire article »
Filed under: Equipment
Crack Habit Strikes Again
Today marked the beginning of a new era . . . and the end of a new one. Many people figured I bought a new bike. The reason? My 2005 Trek Fuel EX7 went out on the Trekker’s email list and the Red Jacket Forum’s Classified section for sale. It is currently for sale for $600. Why? Well, ok. The truth comes out: Yes. I bought a new bike. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Equipment
Warm Fuzzies and Cold Ice Cream
These last two days have been . . . consumed. I worked a twelve-hour shift, yesterday, so that was pretty much wasted time in relation to my personal agenda. I worked eight hours, today, and rushed to the bike shop for a quick repair of my rear shock on my Trek Fuel EX8 – WSD. Last time I was in Copper Harbor – I think it was two weeks ago – my rear shock got a little soft. I pumped more air into it and all the air leaked out when I took the pump off. Chris, at Keweenaw Adventure Company, managed to get it in working order for me to enjoy some serious riding this week. The shock went soft during Wednesday night’s ride. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Equipment
Like Getting a New Bike
I’ve spent the last two days converting my blog to my web server (Moronacity has been hosted by Futurequest for several years). The biggest reason for this change is that I was tired of getting blank pages every time I logged into Blogger, tried to read comments on friends’ blogs, or tried to read the comments for my own blog and reply to them. That’s just not good blogging business. Now that my blog is completely on the Futurequest server, under the Moronacity domain name, the Blogger issues, and the issues associated with any free host, are now a thing of the past. It was a bit difficult making this change. You see, I decided to go with WordPress, which is much more complicated in … Read entire article »
Filed under: Equipment
Second Most Important Piece of Safety Equipment
“They’re the second most important piece of safety equipment.” This is what one of my bike guys likes to say about sunglasses. Although, if you’re like me, riding through the dark forest, your sunglasses aren’t so sunny. They are lightweight glasses with interchangeable lenses. Mountain biking days call for clear lenses, road days for amber. I like clear lenses for mountain biking because I ride in the Keweenaw forests where the trails … Read entire article »
Filed under: Equipment
Use Protection, Wear a Helmet
It’s interesting how cycling helmets have so much opposition. Excuses for not wearing them are plentiful: They don’t look cool. They don’t feel right. If I fall, the helmet will cause neck injury by rotataing my head on impact (this was part of an Australian study against laws necessitating the use of a helmet).Helmets among cyclists are a great necessity. If you don’t wear a helmet around one of us, you don’t look cool, and you … Read entire article »
Filed under: Equipment, Uncategorized
Dressing for Cold Weather Rides
Cyclists like me are anticipating the warmer weather and are already hopping on our bikes for what we like to call training and commuting, but the truth is, we want to play. The minor challenge presented to us is this little thing called the weather. It continues to snow throughout most of my state. One day, the top layer of snow melts in the sunlight on a breezy 40 degree (Fahrenheit) day. The next, there is a wind chill of 9 degrees and there is a fresh four-inch layer of snow covering the ground. I read a guideline in a forum that I feel is a good rule of thumb: don’t ride if it feels like it is below ten degrees. Personally, I don’t feel … Read entire article »
Filed under: Equipment
Helping the Homeless
I rode well through November, and was jealous to find that others did a December ride up in Copper Harbor. Not only did they have dry, frozen ground to ride on, but they were riding the very trails that squashed my confidence and brought my inexperience to the forefront. However, winter truly did come. It came in January after they made snow at Mt. Ripley and trucked it to the Tech Trails … Read entire article »
Filed under: Equipment
