fender1

Did 30 today on the Woodrup. I coverted this to a 10 speed rear (No cold setting required) and took it out today for a shakedown. Nice & smooth.

Can you see the bridge? Where's that confounded bridge?
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Cut through Valley Forge Park
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Snow is almost gone!
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Found a "new to me" hill

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Vonruden

Nice Led Zeppelin reference

fender1

Glad someone got it.

jimmuller 

Thanks. That's got to be a tough commute home. Keeps you in shape though, dunn'it?

VR, I jumped to the bottom of the previous page (as my computer displays them) to see what I might have missed in this thread and as soon as I saw the first photo I knew it was yours. Very nice pics! All orangey too.

Fender, I don't see a bridge either. Nice pics!

My sweetie and I took the tandem out for 35.5 miles this morning. Destination the Great Meadows Wildlife Sanctuary observation tower in Concord, a good place for a picnic.



Back home by 1PM, had a quick lunch, then I took the Grandis out for its first ride more than just around the block, about 20 miles, home to Lexington and back.

A stop by some restored (and protected by state law) wetlands on the Fitchburg Cutoff Rail Trail leading to Alewife Station:



Spy Pond, Arlington:



Now the payoff:



The Grandis is quite a bike, more or less like I was hoping. After 35 miles on the tandem it felt twitchy but that settled down after a mile or so. With 140psi 23mm Veloflex Masters (clinchers) it rides pretty hard, but is still comfortable. I think it rides harder than the Gazelle which wore those wheels prior but now has a brace of sew-ups. Part of that ride is the very not-broken-in saddle.

Coming down the steep hill on Concord Rd in Lexington at over 35mph it proved to be extremely happy and stable at speed. (We'd hit 39 on that hill on the tandem earlier in the day.) The Grandis doesn't have a computer so I have no idea what the top speed was but it had clearly spun out high gear when I tried pedaling at the bottom. The NR RD with Soma Fabrications long cage worked very well as did the combination VO crank, Shimano FW, and PC870 chain. It had no trouble hitting any of the gears. Of course Tektro brakes are wonderful.

I think I'll ride the Grandis to work tomorrow.

fender1

Jim, nice ride(s). That Grandis look like quite a bit of fun! Why no lever hoods? Channeling your inner Jan Heine?

jimmuller 

Thanks. In a different thread on Grail bikes I had said if I had a g.b. at all it would a bike actually make in Italy as opposed to one of Italian design made somewhere else (like the Bianchi and Masi, not that they aren't great bikes too, especially the Masi). So when the Grandis frame turned up on ebay as make-an-offer, I did and it was accepted. (I didn't need another performance bike, with the Masi, Motobecane, and Gazelle waiting to be ridden, but what they heck, this is C&V!) The tandem of course is the '82 Peugeot we've been riding for a while now.

Brake hoods. Yes, well. I have never had good luck trying to install any, and in fact have never been sure if the hoods I've had actually fit the levers I've tried them on! But I've ridden the Masi for a few years now without hoods and don't mind, probably couldn't tell by feel through my gloves whether it had hoods or not. I actually like the appearance of the metal. Same with that bar tape treatment. I like the defiant non-style, tape-for-performance-only appearance of the metal triangle under the levers.

Hoods? We don't need no stinkin' hoods!

I might feel differently come summer though.

obrentharris 

35 miles and 4,500 feet of climbing on the mountain bike today with "Gang Green."
A beautiful green day as well.



Brent

northbend 

A wet one on the fixed gear in the upper valley this afternoon. Man, I love this bike

Sir_Name 

Led Zeppelin, Beer, and of course Bikes. My kind of place.

Hopefully I don't regret saying this, but it feels like spring is on its way.

Roger M

I got out for a short ride out to Everett this evening. Pretty decent weather for Feb.

Roger M

That's a good looking bike. How do you like the 10 speed & downtube shifting?

fender1

Thanks! I am really liking the 10 speed downtube shifting set up. I have it on a second bike as well. The Dura Ace shifters are pretty inexpensive from a site in Japan (Alex Cycle). When I bought them, the exchange rate was really good and with shipping they were about $65. That includes the Shimano cables as well.

curbtender

Makes you want to 'Crunge'

velomateo

Adorable.

greg3rd48 

I took advantage of a beautiful day today and a day off from work to ride 87 miles all around NYC and Southern Westchester County. You really can't beat 47 deg. and sunny in late February around here. I hit every borough except Staten Island which I still have yet to ride through. This year I must do that. I did not take many photos, just a few bridge shots.

VintageRide

Nice to hear I was not the only one taking a bike out for it's first shakedown ride. In my case it was the P.Peschi this past Saturday, which I have to say is quite comfortable all things considered. The tubulars are some older ones, the front ( Gommitalia Champion 21mm ) a bit narrower than the rear ( 23mm Pirelli Medio RGT ) but for free, well, I am not complaining! Anyone know much about them, just curious because they do not feel harsh at all. Compared to my wide tired 650b bikes it is still a surprisingly nice ride, which is another way of saying just how good those older French bikes usually are, I can't imagine what a pair of Challenge Eroica 30mm tubs would do for it. Whether I actually replace the Weinmann brake calipers for some appropriate Mafac is undecided, as the Weinmanns do not squeal and work well. I should look for a period correct crank set eventually though, even if the Nervar Star looks good.

Wish I knew what tubing it was made from ( seat post is 26.4mm ), I do know that with just a couple of pounds in the smaller saddle bag that hands off ( which it does well ) the front end will start to oscillate, touching the top tube lightly with my knee stops it. With even one hand on the bars it is fine.


Anyway, went for about 10 - 15 miles from Burnaby to Vancouver and around Stanley Park, where I took the two photos, I keep telling myself I will actually try for something scenic but tend to just ride and forget!

seedsbelize 

I just got back from my evening constitutional, an out and back for a total of 9 miles. It was intended to be a 15 miler, but I've had tail light failure of one sort or another for 6 nights in a row. I've grown accustomed to the distance and will stick to it, at a minimum. If I'm really fortunate as I was this evening, I get the opportunity to ride past the burning municipal dump in both directions.

northbend 

Nice view of Lions Gate Bridge. Now lets see some Photos of that bike!

VintageRide

If you insist I will make an effort to take some specifically of the Peschi with a hopefully appropriate background - actually the weather promises to be sunny and decently warm for most of this week so I need to plan a day. I have a frame mounted pump ordered that just might arrive in a couple of days but I would have to go to the border to get it so I doubt it will be on the bike in time.The price was right and it measures 18 3/4" uncompressed with the distance between the two mounting pegs under the top tube being almost 18 1/2" so it should just fit. They are not easy to find either!

obrentharris 

Beautiful Photo!
What's this place called? (Planning a New England trip next fall and am getting ideas of places to visit.)
Brent

Sir_Name 

Thanks! That shot was taken along Rt. 146 between Branford and Guilford, CT looking across to Long Island sound. Great paved and unpaved riding in this area (do a search for Westwoods, Guilford for starters - I'm fairly new to this area and will do more exploring for dirt/fire roads as well as light-traffic paved roads this summer); get in touch if you want more information or if you wind up out this way. Great food in the area as well.

Crewchief911

It has rained the past 2 days, so i haven't been riding. There is always tomorrow...

DMC707

A rather paltry 8 miles at my local MTB trails on my "daily driver" mtb --- i didnt notice the cross roads in the background at the time ---- It felt good to be on the bike after a couple of months off it .

MTB's are the only place in my cycling life that i am not a C&V nut however.

obrentharris 

A beautiful day in coastal Northern California. I rode 63 miles today through the hills of western Marin and Sonoma counties. This is primarily an agricultural area with dairies predominating; some row crops, olive orchards, vineyards, and sheep ranches also.



Some Canadian snowbirds had stopped in a field to enjoy the balmy California weather.



A bald Eagle, seldom spotted in these parts, was hanging out in the top of an oak tree at one of the dairies. (Oh for a longer lens!)




I don't know where these swans came from. Perhaps they are someone's pets.



Can anyone explain this fluorescent orange duck decoy?



The Holstein cows were feeling very photogenic today and a little curious about this human with a bicycle.



Their furry brethren are fairly recent arrivals here. With those thick shaggy coats they were hanging out in the shade.






Brent

northbend 

Oh man, Brent! That sure looks nice.