Marylandnewbie

It was great weather for the ride this morning. I'm afraid to say I reprised my jack o'lantern costume from last year -- why mess with success!

Has anybody else ever had this problem. Somehow this morning without throwing the chain off I managed to get the chain off the lower derailleur wheel and on the outside of the derailleur frame. On my derailleur (a low end Shimano) above and slightly behind the lower pulley a small metal tab reaches from the back plate that holds the pulley almost across to the front plate. Somehow the chain was running over that metal tab instead of the pulley. I had to loosen the screw that holds that lower pulley in place to get the chain back on, so I am baffled at how it got out. Even stranger, it did not make my bike stop. It probably slowed me down, but I probably rode for 4 miles before I discoverred the problem. It was making some noise, but the derailleur still worked so I didn't stop -- I figured it was just a leaf or small stick that was caught and rubbing on the chain. Anybody else ever have such a weird thing happen?

tibikefor2

Newbie:

I think when you had the choice of Trick or Treat, you chose a Trick. If you said treat you would have had a 15mph tailwind in both directions. I have never ever heard of that happening.

Marylandnewbie

Ti -- I think you're right on the trick part. I will have to look at my derailleur more closely to see how such a thing can happen. I have to say I see no real way for the chain to do that without something cataclysmic happening. As an aside I'm not sure if I should be proud that I could pedal along with only minimal drag with the chain running on bare metal or feel somewhat chagrined that I didn't feel it sooner.

Its going to be a gorgeous night to ride home. With any luck I will be out of the office in just a little bit. Ride safe everyone!

robtown

I agree - a few cold spots on trail but nice. Halloween is a terrible time to commute by car. My bike commute is 43 +/- 2 minutes.
Fired up the DIY dual halogens tonight - running between 35w and 55w - worked great.

flythebike

I think it is what, 8 or 10 miles one way? Mine is 17 one way. Or about 22, depending on if I'm pulling my son in the Burley to and from day care.

CigTech

I have to find a ride buddy now that I have a short commute. I don't miss the job at Home Depot. But I do miss the ride. So I am going to find a ride buddy for fun rides, But it's going to be hard to find one that can keep up. So I fig I'll have to slow down and teach my ride buddy to spin. Today before work I did a fun ride of 26.26 miles. With a average ride time speed of 18.7 mph. But after commuting to work it gave me a 33.64 miles for the day with a ART of 17.1 mph. took it easy going to and from work.

Had to buy my 6 year old a new bike. His old bike is way to small. So I got him a 18" BMX bike. Could not find him a 18" road bike. But he ride it at 15 mph. So he may not need a road bike just yet.

balto charlie

Great ride last last. short sleeves in the end of Oct...not too shabbby. It was kinda neat to see the trick or treaters out while I was riding in the dark. As I rode past I would hear .."wow look at all those lights" It then struck me how seldom I see kids outside these days...only on Halloween. It's a shame. This AM ride was another good one. It all comes to an end tonight...rain and cold return. I really have to get a furnace....soon.

Robtown: Do you have a 35W and 20W or 35W and 55W. I am really stunned how my old 10W helmet mount seems so dull. 55W is a serious amount of light.

Marylandnewbie

Scorer -- sorry I didn't respond earlier, but I kind of missed your posting. The VLC has a very rigorous membership threshold -- if you think that your commute is long or extreme then you are in. It could be because of heavy traffic, tough terrain or just the distance you travel. Whatever the reason you think its a long commute you're welcome.

It as a fabulous morning to be on the bike in DC. Tremendous fall color almost everywhere, with great sunshine. I almost thought I would miss the ride this morning since my son is sick. But my wife shifted her schedule to stay home with him so I could hit the trail. It will all come to an end soon enough, but for right now I'm just enjoying it.

O-Town

I'm going on vacation with my bike! Well...I'll be working part of the time in my old office in Oakland CA(we moved just over a year ago). I can't wait to do my old training routes and commute to work in my old hood. Were staying with some friends in the Oakland hills so my ride will still be over 10 miles one way with 1000+ feet of climbing...man I miss those hills!

You all have a good rest of the week and weekend. Cig - still trying to find some time to meet up on a ride with you.

arcticbiker

I commute either 15 or 19 mi. one way depending on conditions (mostly on trails). It's very dark here (Alaska) now, but the snow reflects light which helps a lot. I've just switched from a dual Performance which I used for 6 years to a NR Flite. Huge difference w/ good luck using the Li Ion battery. I haven't a clue how long the battery lasts; commute is only just under 2 hours w/ studs. I run the high setting for the 4 hours with no noticeable difference in light intensity.

So far so good. In addition to the handlebar mount & the helmet mouint, I purchased a separate head strap for skiing. Can't wait!

Scorer75

Well I guess the 17-22 miles I ride each way qualifies, or maybe it's the NYC traffic I deal with, or the projects I ride through where even the cops do a double-take when they see a white guy on a bike in that neighborhood.

Either way, thanks for the info.

Mars

Weird thing last night: I get home and take my cylocross bike into the house. As I set it down, it starts making a sound like static or something. Took a while to find it, but it was the valve stem on my back wheel. Why then and there, I have no idea.

So, I took the recumbent back out and rode her to work today. Man that bike is fast! Gorgeous day out, think I will take the long way home this pm.

PS: thansk for starting the thread CigTech. Hey, what does CigTech mean, anyways?

Marylandnewbie

Boy with Arcticbiker, CigTech and O-town we have the extremes of the continental US covered don't we! I would think in parts of Alaska a 5 block commute could be extreme.

Scorer -- welcome aboard. I think you've met our lofty membership requirements on many levels.

Mars -- nice to see you back. I know that feeling of wanting a longer ride. I may try to squeeze in a longer ride this weekend if the weather holds. It won't be as warm, but it might be a gorgeous sunny day.

CigTech

CigTech name come to being because I am computer tech. Back in the day of the BBS (1989 or so). A friend of mine came up with it. See I somke and I am computer tech. So Cig is for Cigarettes and Tech is for computer tech. So there you have it.

BTW, I have a few times tried to change my screen name, but it fits me so I'm stuck with it for life...

Took the 6 year old son (Zak) out for a ride. Now that he has a real bike as he puts it. He wants to go for rides, boy does he. So we road around the park and down to this small lake down the street. Started teaching him the ruls of the road.
Rules:
1. Cars are big and they hurt.
2. Cars do not see you.
3. Some cars have stupid drivers
4. Stay on the sidewalk at all times and watch for cars.
5. See rule 1.

So we got in a nice 6.29 mile ride. And now he wants to go again. But I have to get ready to go to work.

vrkelley

I have a homemade 35W light that works quite well with a front and back strobe. Wish the battery lasted longer but it's actually good for 2 full commutes.

vrkelley

robtown: Nice light setup! WOW!

-=(8)=-

Today was gorgeous in Vermont !! Might be the last like that for a while, though
On my ride in I was in the Fixie daze....everything just flowed fast and seemingly effortlessly..
I was flying ! I get onto Rt. 7 where the shoulder is pretty wide but
has a big rumble strip to the left. I ride in between the rumble strip
and the rail. The shoulder has accumulated alot of road refuse so Im
flying along lookng down dodging roadkill, truckparts etc, that are in
my CYGO-LITES beam.....Out of nowhere I look up and there is a HUGE pumpkin decoration taking up almost the whole shoulder !! It
was one of those enormous bags that you fill with leaves but looks like a pumpkin when its full !! YIKES. I was able to flip the bike to the left at the last second to avoid the great pumpkin but the rumble strips vibrated the bike so harshly it was hard to hold on...I think I lost some fillings too !!
Ive been only running one of the beams on the headlite, I think I am going to burn them both for that stretch of road from now on.

robtown

I was running one 20w and one 35w (solux). I have a number of exchangeable Optronics housings (the black plastic ones) with various MR16 bulbs installed. I got a deal on 3 pair on ebay.

Mars

Nearly taken out by the Great Pumpkin! Now THAT has to go into the awards ceremony!

You are right my friend, I think that it is almost time to begin the XCC. Today, I was looking at a treaded tire for my cylcocross rear wheel. Bike guy was telling me that the tire I was looking at had a wire bead, and so was heavy. I don't think that weighs in as much of a factor (weighs in, get it?) when you are riding throughthe snow and ice of a Vermont winter.

balto charlie

That's a lot of light. Whats your run time. The best thing about building your lights are the limitless options one has. I gotta work out the issues with my battery. It's heavy and is putting a lot of weight on my rear tire. I had a flat yesterday and almost missed my train. Plus changing a flat with a 6lb battery on the rack ain't easy. Back to the drawing board.
LEM: long time no see.
VR: what battery are you running for the 35W. I will be shifting from 55W to 35W as soon as my order arrives.
articbiker: very extreme commute. I eagerly await your commute reports during winter. You northern guys really make me appreciate the Mid atlantic region
Otown: Hills....After commuting in Fla they bring you to attention
Oh yeah: todays commute looked gloomy(rain) but cleared up as i road. Fall is really setting in. Trees are still colorful but nearing the end.

tibikefor2

Mars:

Please email me your address, so that I can ship you the pedals.

Thanks.

Mars

just sent it!

Mars

So, what do you guys think? Should we be switching to XCC soon? I can't say the the weather is extreme here yet. But it IS November....

What is your vote - go to XCC cause it's November
OR
Wait til the weather gets cold enough to justify the honored XCC name.

CigTech

Well I think (not due to weather, but due to speed) that all my commutes are xtream.

Check out this high speed pass I did when the wife was taping the 6 year old on his new bike. I had a 7 mph headwind and still got it just over 30 mph. I was did 12 laps of the park I live in and each lap is 1 mile. So far I have put 470.8 miles on the Denali in 19 days.

https://www.mydeo.com/videorequest.as...4162&CID=50848

Marylandnewbie

I could go with the XCC, since as you say it is November and some folks will be hitting extreme weather. In our area, there is nothing toe extreme until maybe the end of next week. And the real weather is even further off.