Wednesday, October 25, 2017

Friends First

I took the Canfield out for a 35-mile ride today and had a great time. Finally.

When I first built the bike I liked it OK, but didn't love it. My main complaint was the steering never quite felt right. The front tire wanted to wash out in high-speed turns, leaving me a little nervous about committing to a long-term relationship. We agreed to remain friends and hook up whenever I wanted to ride a strange bike.

I rode the bike last week and it was OK. Fun and playful, but she still tried to throw me to the ground on occasion. Still, I thought maybe we could make things work.

Since building the Canfield I have dabbled with plus-sized tires on the Surly Krampus and DB Mason. On the Diamondback especially, I came to appreciate the combination of slack head angle and fat tire. The huge contact patch felt sure-footed, especially at very high speeds.

Because of my experience with bigger tires, I decided to replaced the Canfield's front wheel. The old one utilized a Mavic TN 719 rim, which measures a puny 19mm inside width. Even when paired with a relatively large Maxxis Ardent 2.4 tire, the result was less than confidence inspiring.

The rim was replaced with a Race Face ARC 35 which, as the name suggests, comes in at a 35mm width. Paired with the same Ardent tire, set up tubeless, the result is a much bigger tire. Huge in comparison.

A number of things happen with this setup. One, you get more air volume. This increase in volume and running tubeless allows you to lower the air pressure significantly. The wide rim also changes the tire's profile, putting more rubber on the ground.

The difference was amazing. I pushed the bike hard in corner after corner and it handled wonderfully. I am pleasantly surprised at how much difference a simple wheel swap could make. I don't want to get ahead of myself, but I think she could be the one.

Shiny new wheel before the abuse started.

Folsom Lake.

Near Dyke 8.

Here I am doing at least 60 miles per hour.

Here's the brand new bridge built for the Johnny Cash Trail. They did a great job.

So, a really great ride and fine way to spend my day off. I am looking forward to adding a matching rear wheel and riding this bike more often. I just hope she doesn't think we are exclusive now. I am a 10-bike kind of guy.

Later.

Monday, October 23, 2017

Renewal

There hasn't been any activity on this blog for a while. The focus has been elsewhere, on things that matter much more in the grand scheme of things than writing about riding a bicycle, things that take time and effort and sacrifice. Things that make it so much easier to simply post a picture and a few words on Instagram.

We have been participating in youth baseball nonstop since last December—from winter training to late winter tournaments, through the spring tournaments, into Babe Ruth League, summer tournaments, Babe Ruth playoffs, All Stars and the recently concluded high school fall program. Back in July my son played 17 games in 30 days. It's been a very busy year.

Saturday was his last high school game until spring. The end. No mas. I felt like I could finally exhale and relax for the first time in a while.

Today I decided to take the day off (cough, cough) and get a good ride in. I left from home and rode a 35-mile loop incorporating about every surface you can think of.

Even though it's fall, and the state of most living things is in decline, I couldn't help but feel a personal sense of new beginnings. It felt good to go spin the pedals with no particular place to be and no need to rush. I took a real camera and stopped to snap a picture whenever the mood struck me. I rode hard sometimes and cruised others. I finished up mildly fatigued, but not destroyed. It was a great day.

I'll let the pictures and captions tell the rest.

Later.

Here's the route. Click to enlarge.

Northern California fall means cooler temps and bone dry trails.

Still a little smoke from all the fires in the distance, but last Thursday's rain did wonders for our air quality.

After a long, very hot summer, the water level in Folsom Lake looks good.

Power line corridors and bike trails go together like peas and carrots. 

Singletrack dead ahead.

New York Creek trail.

Wild Oaks trail.

Brown's Ravine. Damp soil. Actual moisture!

More Brown's Ravine.

Lonely foothills road.

Deer Valley Road.

Farm road.

The Sierra Nevadas to the east.