Being Studly

Riding opportunities were few and far between this past week, first due to cold, then the schedule and then an ice storm which had me out of school for 2 days but without means of enjoying the time "off". Just by happenstance, Apertome commented on my Monday post if anyone was looking for some 26" studded Nokians.  ME, ME, ME, Call on ME (think Horseshack if you can get back that far)!!  I took Michael up on his offer and purchased the Nokian Mount&Grounds for a very fair price; he has bought used 700c studded tires from Doug in MN. Funnily enough, we could have taken care of it Sunday- th day before- with much less fanfare.

Yesterday I arranged with Dave to take a night ride after my family activities were finished up. In the process of mounting the Nokians I did have to take one trip to OYLC. The rear TravelContact did *not* easily come off the LHT, but I eventually got it to do so. Then I couldn't really get the new Nokian mounted, but I did so. I pumped it up to pressure and it seemed alright but 5min later most of the air was gone. On a normal tire I would have changed out or patched the tube myself, but changing out the tight tire in the cold of the garage set me at my limit. Derek at the shop confirmed my observation, but being a pro, he also manged to remount the tire using only his hands. Way more manly than I!!

Dave and I met at Heine's- sans coffee- and directed ourselves towards Cherokee where we found a barrier and an icy decent onto Scenic Loop. Cherokee was basically an ice rink, and a perfect chance to see what the Nokians were made of. I rode *very* tentatively, the kind of tentative that gets you in wrecks because you're not flowing with the bike, but no accident did I have. We found clearer surfaces towards Seneca and then proceeded into St.Matthews for some barrio riding. To keep warm  and to get the competitive juices flowing we both were punching here and there on the mini-hills, only to find that "punching it" with studded tires meant 12mph instead of 9. We went back through Cherokee and up Dog Hill where we stopped and discussed post-ride options. Cumberland Brews and sweet potato fries it was decided.

I had a Special Bitter at Cumberland, and Dave an IPA. Both were fine, but the Fullers Bitter at Ramsi's is better. I find Cumberland to be fine but not authoritative when it comes to their craft beers. Dave tried the Mead and I the IPA on the 2nd round. Good again, but not really good and certainly not great.  The warmth, though, was great. We used our time there to discuss fast bikes and tri's. Dave has announced that he's going to train for a triathlon and we discussed the various merits of different go-fast bikes and the options he faces. We have spent many hours rolling along at 13mph on our LHTs and sometimes others like his SS or my Bleriot. This kind of effort, though, will/would be better with a legit go-fast.

I have a rather old C'dale 'criterium' road bike sitting in a heap my the corner of the garage that I'm going to offer to him to use for training go-fast. As all my bikes are for Dave, the frame is too small, but he can get the bars up with the old-school quill stem, and it's a light bike for sure. It'll be an adjustment for him to go from riding 40c or 32c to using 23s, but that is the reality for the 'criterium' geometry.  I forbade him to put one single dime into the bike until he decides whether it's usable. If it doesn't work for him, he'll have to go to a Plan B.

As for the Nokians, I give them a very solid score for the first ride. I had very little slippage either going downhill for the front or uphill for the back. I didn't feel particularly confident while on them, but that was my own fear, not the performance of the tires. I know now that I'm ready for whatever commute comes my way this winter. The Crosscheck is the new dry commute, the LHT the new muck bike. It's great to have options.

front SON/Velocity wheel with 1.9" Mount&Grounds

Picked up this Portland Design Works danger zone at OYLC. Its flashie setting is a wild, kaleidescope of burps, twitches and gurgles. If fits quite nicely on a SuperFlash bracket. Now if I can find the missing SuperFlash hiding about.

Old C'dale road bike. We'll see what Dave does with it. Those downtube shifters look tempting to steal for the Blueridge, as the right (rear) shifter is about to go out, and I'm not paying $150 for new ones.