[ Board Log ]  [ Rock Log ]  [ Urban Log ]  [ Mountain Log ]  [ Road Log ]  [ Tandem Log ] Pages: « 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 » Date Name Miles AVG. MPH Time Comments 06/10/10 Rose Garden 12.90 12.8 1:00 So, I was planning to go to the Parkway, but then I started playing a slew of Hendrix songs. Next thing I knew, it was after 1900 already. It would get too dark before I could even start to have any fun in the Parkway, so I decided to go to the Rose Garden. Not a typical place for me to ride (although back in the early 90's me and my friend Ted used to spin through there almost ever day). It takes about a minute to get there, if we travel by my dragonfly. And it wouldn't matter much if it got dark out there 'cause it's partially lit at night. There used to be a narrow, gravel path out there that we would ride on but when I got out there, I saw that it has been paved recently since they started rebuilding the Ott St. bridge. It's pretty cool. It's like Trexler Park without all the No Bikes signs. It's a nice, wide, paved path now. I could even ride a road bike on there. In fact, I might just do that tomorrow morning. I decided to lay down 10 laps as the sun dropped down. Once everyone realizes that this new path is there, I'm sure that it'll get heavily populated. But tonight, there was barely a soul on the path. A Soul on the Path... sounds like a good song title. Odometer = 2808.5 06/03/10 Parkway 7.87 8.3 0:56 I was sitting at my computer desk after dinner playing guitar and I was sweating my ass off. So I started thinking that I might as well be doing something that SHOULD cause me to sweat. Back out to the Parkway. I adjusted the front brake again, but I think that I made it worse this time. I have now determined that loosening the brake mount and tightening it again is doing nothing to align those brakes. The only thing that's helping is when the brake is pulled really tight for a few seconds. That aligns the brakes for a few miles and then they start rubbing again. I need to stop by the shop and ask for some advice. Maybe replace the brake pads or something. It was another hot, humid, sweaty, buggy evening. I keep forgetting to shower myself with a can of Raid before I go out. Those chiggers are gettin' to me. I hit alota hills. I fully explored the Indian trails up top. There's all kinds of fallen trees and naturally re-landscaped areas up there between Uranus and Pluto. I couldn't tell where the trails were so I just kinda made my own. It took me a few tumbles to get down Pluto but I finally dropped down it right. I went through more of the Horse trails this time. There's alota overhead growth in there. I kinda hate having to duck down the entire time like that. I may go in there with the hacksaw and clear some of that out. I took quite a few tumbles. During one of the falls, I hit the area of my left leg that got badly damaged during snowboarding this year. That area is still sensitive 'cause the scarring is right over the shinbone. It bled and lumped up a bit. You gotta be tough. I may look into getting shin-guards for the summer so that I can wear one over the left leg. That's never gonna heal if it keeps gettin' busted up. I busted my light up and the sensor for the computer got all messed up during a couple of the falls. I was able to fix everything up though. Everything is still solid. But I lost some data since the sensor wasn't collecting anything for a mile or so until I noticed it. I finished things off with a high-gear climb up the Pine Tree trail. That kinda killed me. But I wanted to feel that one in a higher gear than I would normally hit it with. Odometer = 2795.6 06/02/10 Parkway 9.25 8.0 1:09 Got to explore a little more of the Parkway than I did last time. There's quite a bit of growth on alota trails but it's not too bad. I can just rip right through it all. You get flogged and scratched a bit but it ain't no thing. The felatio trail has some fallen trees but I have a chainsaw now. I can take care of that stuff in the future. I rode through to the I78 trail. Not only was it still passable but some dudes opened up a new trail in that area. It's pretty cool. There's even a mini-gorge off to the left of this trail that I might make a course out of at some point. It would be cool to dip through that. I went over to the horse trails and nailed that rock drop-off. I cleared a new path to that area so that it's more of a straight line to get to it. You used to have to corner around some trees to get to it before. I always kinda hated that. I saw 2 deer cross the trail. They hung out for a bit. I said hello. Then I rolled up behind the fish hatchery to get to that fallen tree that I used to pop up onto and ride the length of. I messed around with that for a while but I wasn't feeling it. I need to do some more logging in other parts of the Parkway so that I get those skills sharp again. Then I cruised past 1245 and rode Flexor Ave. home. It still gets dark too early yet. Odometer = 2787.7 06/02/10 Home 2.48 10.5 0:14 I gotta get my hands on a case of Jimi Hendrix Liquid Experience Voodoo Vibe Energy Drink. That's quite a long name for a beverage. With a name like that, it's gotta be good. The front brake has been adjusted once again, only this time it seems to be pretty solid. No rubbing. It was quite foggy this morning. You have to keep in mind that the only resolution for life is death, so we must embrace that shit. Odometer = 2778.4 06/01/10 Work 2.62 11.6 0:13 Didn't have time to fix the Dale. Had to ride the Klein in. That front brake is rubbing again. It wasn't quite as bad as last night. I'm gonna adjust it again. Maybe I should check Primus. Odometer = 2775.9 06/01/10 Home 2.47 11.4 0:13 I'm not quite sure who invented the wheel, but it sure is nice when it rolls... freely. That dang caliper got a little off-center by the time I got home, though. It was starting to rub again. I'll hafta make another adjustment. Odometer = 2773.3 05/31/10 Work 2.60 8.8 0:18 I went to hop on the Dale and the rear tire was completely flat. That’s funny. I don’t remember it being flat after I got off it the last time I rode it. I just got that tire replaced at the shop with a fresh tube and everything. Sucks. So, I wanted to ride. I cranked the clipless pedals off the Klein, cranked on the platforms and took off. About a mile before I got to work it felt like I was riding uphill even when I was on the level. And the front disc brake was making even louder noise than it was when I was in the Parkway last week. I forgot about trying to adjust that since then. So, when I got to work I decided that I was going to adjust that front brake. But I kinda forgot how to adjust hydraulic disc brakes. I consulted Youtube, and with a little assistance from my coworker, I made the painless, simple adjustment that I should’ve made before I tried riding this bike again. Seriously, it was like driving a car with the parking brake on. Odometer = 2770.7 05/25/10 Parkway 9.49 9.3 1:01 It was hot. The rear tire had gone flat since my last ride in the Parkway and I hadn't ridden this bike since then. So, I had to fix the flat before take-off. I didn't wear any music device this time. I wanted my first ride in the Parkway for the summer season to be a quiet one. Just to feel it all out again with all of my senses. Unfortunately, my bike had another plan. The front disk brake was making this annoyingly, loud Star Wars sound-effect noise intermittently. I couldn't quite “lock it down” to make it stop but if I gave the caliper a little tug then it would stop for a minute. It kinda pissed me off. I gotta figure out what I can lube or something to make that stop for next time. I raced to the far end of the Parkway so that I could do all the cooler stuff out there before it got too dark. It must have rained in the Parkway recently 'cause everything was all wet. It made all the technical stuff 10 times harder because the rocks and logs and stuff were all slippery. I still did everything except for that rock drop-off up near the “Horse” trails. I landed it 3 times but my bike just couldn't get enough traction to stick it. It was like, physically impossible. Sometimes I wonder if any of the native ghosts in the Parkway are riding their ghost horses behind me as I tear up their trails. Odometer = 2768.1 04/28/09 Parkway 10.40 9.5 1:05 This ride was brought to me by Wrath from Lamb of God. I downloaded it from Amazon just for this ride. It's heavy and pissed off. Perfect. I tore apart every trail like I just hit it yesterday. Those Marshmallow In-Ear Stereo Headphones are better than the headphones from the past but we're not quite there yet. They still pop out sometimes or get pulled out by a branch. I think what I'm gonna hafta do is wait until wireless headphones get cheaper and then I'll get those. Then I'll be able to destroy my hearing without interruption. Odometer = 2758.5 11/12/08 Parkway 12.03 7.8 1:32 Met Steve at the bridge at around 1615. I met this one woman who is a friend of William's in the parking lot. She borrowed a knife from Steve to cut her shoelace. We didn't have much light left but we rode alota trails. Up and down each one of them. Steve had a nice endo down Pluto. I wish I coulda seen it. No major injuries but it was enough to end his ride for the day. He doesn't have a light yet but I don't think that woulda helped him in that situation. It was pretty dark by then. Odometer = 2748.1 11/05/08 Parkway 13.09 8.9 1:28 When I got to the covered bridge I called Steve and found out that he wasn't gonna ride today. So I was on my own. It was a beautiful day. 60 degrees with no sun or rain. The leaves have fallen. It's like a sea of yellow and orange. It's amazing that I still know where the trails lead but I just know the trails so well. Even when they get covered with snow I still know where they go. This was the first ride since I took the Klein in for maintenance. The brake lines were bled. The bottom bracket was cleaned and lubed. And the headset was tightened up. It's a solid, quiet ride again. Those guys at the Bike Line do great work. Odometer = 2736.1 10/23/08 Parkway 12.42 6.6 1:51 Started out up in the Uranus/Pluto area. Steve called me right when I got to the top of Uranus. I said that I would meet him near the Horse trails when he got there. But then I found a big tree blocking the top of Uranus. I took some time to saw off a huge part of that tree so that we could get through there. By the time I got over to the Horse trails Steve was there and gone and we missed each other 'cause he was on the trail and I took the high road. So I called him and he came back. We cleared out a good portion of the Horse trails then. So that's passable now. After that we just owned some more trails until the sun started to drop. My rear tube got a slow leak so I actually rode the last couple miles with a flat. Steve drove me home then which was cool. I've decided that I need to cut back on the minimalism and at least wear my camel back so that I can bring tools to repair a tire and have more to drink as well. Steve took some video of a couple of the trails that I owned. Perhaps we'll see them on Youtube soon. Odometer = 2722.9 10/15/08 Parkway 10.93 9.7 1:07 Steve was actually supposed to join me today but he fagged out. That's cool though. I turned this into an ownership/maintenance ride. I got a lot more stuff done. I'll just list trails by name and give their status. I78/Rock trail: all clear and fully owned. CC & Fish Hatchery: all clear and owned. I didn't even hafta do anything with that one. I cleared that out so well last time that I didn't need to do anything else. That's a great trail now. I missed the old trail that used to be there. We needed a new one. Devil's Throat area: all clear and owned. I was actually able to clear out the new trail at the top which has the rock drop-off as well as clear the old path to the left of that. So if you're not feeling tough enough to drop off that rock then you can take the easy way. From there down to all those logs that we put in place before you get to the bottom I didn't hafta do much. I chopped some limbs here and there but that's about it. I didn't get to the Horse trails over in that area or the Pluto/Uranus trails. I think the Horse trails need work but Pluto and Uranus should be good. Hopefully Steve will get out there with me next week to enjoy the good trails. I also wanna report that I had no eye injuries or any other injuries for that matter today. Odometer = 2710.5 08/26/08 Parkway 9.13 10.3 0:53 After working in the yard all day I decided that it was time to have some fun. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. But sometimes it takes a little more work to start having some fun. I got to thinking about the fact that there’s a lot of trail maintenance that I needed to do in the Parkway. I didn’t have much sunlight left… maybe 2 hours at best… but I decided to get on the Klein and go make it happen. At least some of it. All of the trails that need my attention are mostly at the far end of the loop from my house so I cranked out there fast. I started on that new trail that I made up at CC & Fish Hatchery. I blazed that one out back in April of this year. It got pretty grown in over the summer. But I blazed it back out. Now it’s even better than it was. I had my new hacksaw with me. That’s the best weapon for the job. It’s small enough to fit in my backpack and it can cut through anything that I need to cut through pretty quickly. I can also use it as a sickle to cut through the small stuff with full swinging arm strokes. I owned that trail as soon as I was done to reinitiate it and then I moved on to the top of I-78. I was losing light fast so I cranked up that steep hill and started blazing through all the garbage up there. Unfortunately it was getting pretty dark by the time I cut through to the trail at the top and there I found all of this low level vegetation that’s gonna need to be cleared yet but it was too dark to do that tonight so I’ll rip through all that next time. I got poked in the eye by a branch at some point up there and now my eye is kinda red but it’ll heal. I rode back down that steep hill that I climbed to get up there. That was nervous. It was totally dark. Normally I could just blaze down that thing but not being able to see how steep it was made it seem really scary. Next time I’ll also get over to the horse trails and the Devil’s Throat area to take care of all the garbage over there. Then the park will be back to full ownership condition. I should be able to just rip through all the trails into the winter then. Odometer = 2699.5 07/16/08 Parkway 10.80 9.8 1:05 I have a lot of maintenance to do. The Parkway suffers without me. Every trail needs work. I'm gonna hafta devote an entire day just for maintenance. Odometer = 2690.4 04/15/08 Parkway 12.29 8.2 1:29 Tore it up. A little chillier this week. I didn't do any maintenance today. There's stuff that needs to be done though. The top of I-78 needs some annoying branches cleared at the head level. My new trail near CC & Fish Hatchery also needs some head clearance. The Devil's Throat hill needs some more logs. The end of the Horse trails need some ground clearance. I just wanna ride though. I'll get it done. I should go out an extra day next week just for maintenance. The Klein is showing signs that it wants to start pissing me off again. Gears are skipping. The bottom bracket is making a cracking sound. Might end up taking it to the shop. Odometer = 2679.6 04/08/08 Parkway 9.06 8.1 1:06 First Parkway ownership for the year. It was a really nice day too. That’s what got me out there. It was like 60 degrees. Really sunny. I’m continuing my minimalist attitude with the mountain biking. Just one bottle on the frame. No backpack, no tools, no extra tubes or patch kits. No helmet. That makes people nervous but I never hit my head. I wanna be free on the bike. The only thing I wish that I could add is music but there’s no comfortable way to have headphones on my head during this kind of riding. Maybe wireless headphones would work but I’m not buying into that yet. I did a little maintenance. The horse trails need some work with a cutting tool though. I’m gonna bring that next time. I also need to remember to wear gloves next time. I cut and initiated a new trail over near the Fish Hatchery and Cedar Crest corner of the park. PENNDOT cut into the trail a bit over there. So I created an annex. It has a nice drop at the end too. I owned the rest of the park. Unfortunately I had to walk about a mile home because my rear tire flatted. Those Klein Death Grips shoulda been replaced like 2 years ago. I decided that I was gonna hit the Bike Line after I got home. Dropped the Klein off and hopped on the Dale when I got home and headed up. Scored a nice set of Bontragers that are better suited for the type of riding that I do in this area. The dude at the shop also checked out that pesky left crank on the Dale and immediately determined that it’s flared from me riding it loose. He hit it with some green Loctite®. Should hold up for a while. I’ll replace that crank arm eventually. Odometer = 2667.3 11/14/07 Home 2.46 13.2 0:11 The Klein is so much lighter than the Dale. I feel like I could pop over a fire hydrant. I'm tellin' ya the truth here. Odometer = 2658.2 11/13/07 Work 2.37 11.3 0:13 I started out on the Dale tonight. I have felt some sort of play in the left crank on that bike before. But I inspected it and made sure everything was tight. I never found a problem with it. Well, apparently there was a major problem waiting to unfold. The bolt that holds the crank arm on stripped loose tonight when I was halfway to work and the crank arm fell off. I couldn't get it back on. It was too dark to tell if it snapped or just stripped. I'm not sure yet. I'll be fixing that tomorrow. So I called work and reported that I would be late and headed back home to get the Klein. It was good that it was the left crank 'cause my left leg is my strong kickin' leg from skateboarding. So I was able to kick my leg and ride it home for the most part. Then the Klein got me to work. Odometer = 2655.7 10/31/07 Parkway 10.46 10.0 1:02 I tore up the park. It was nice to be back on the Klein. It inspired me to ride fast. I can't crank like that on the Dale. I owned the 2 obstacles near Devil's Throat that I fagged out on last time I rode the park with Steve. I owned everything else too except for the laying down tree. I'll get on that next time. I was all about minimalism today. No pack, no pump, no tools or patch kits. Just one bottle on the bike. I didn't even have a helmet on or any riding apparel other than full fingered gloves. Just my normal civilian clothes. I'm into it. Odometer = 2653.2 09/06/07 Work 2.60 12.5 0:12 I've had a slow leak in the rear tube for weeks. I shoulda fixed that. I should at least have a patch kit and pump with me. But I don't. And it finally blew out when I got to work. I'm walkin' home in the morning. Odometer = 2642.8 09/01/07 Home 2.45 14.6 0:10 I guess I'm just gonna go faster and faster. There was a point when I was listening to Malignant Narcissism that it seemed as if the ride was choreographed to the music. Odometer = 2640.1 08/31/07 Work 2.62 12.7 0:12 Saw a toasted ham and cheese sandwich on the road. At least that's what it looked like it used to be. Odometer = 2637.7 08/31/07 Home 2.47 12.7 0:12 My jam down to the 15th St. bridge got jacked by cars coming down cross streets on 2 different blocks. I was kinda pissed about that. That's my favorite part of the ride. Odometer = 2635.0 08/30/07 Work 2.60 12.6 0:12 It's still kinda hot. Odometer = 2632.5     Miles AVG. MPH Time     Totals: 177.86 9.6 19:04

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