Friday, March 24, 2006

 

DeadSled Dead: Part Deux

I asked the builder for a refund this morning. More details here:


http://bentrideronline.com/messageboard/showthread.php?t=17149

 

DoomSled Dead

I got the frameset in yesterday. But the headtube was cracked. I could ride with a cracked headtube, but I don't want to die. *sigh* another three weeks downtime.

But the builder agreed to build another frame. He did the right thing.

Maybe all the Ides of March stuff wasn't cool after all :(

Wednesday, March 22, 2006

 

Finally, the wheelset is here

Posted by Picasa


Just got my front wheel in today. It even came with a Kenda Kwest tire and inner tube. I'll head over to Cycle Path tommorrow and have them transfer my old 7 speed cassette to the new rear wheel. It only has 20 x 1.25 tire so I should be able to use the front brake of my Peugeot. I'll buy some new brake shoes and those old center pull brakes will be plenty.

The frameset should be in tommorrow. From there I need to buy a couple chains to finish assembling the bike. I's already got new brake and shifter cables and such. I hope they're long enough thoough. So I should be ready for a test ride by next week this time.

Tuesday, March 21, 2006

 

Hydration

Like I said, "I WANNA RIDE." I haven't ridden since the end of last summer.

But one thing that limited my millage last summer was hydration. Down here it gets 95 deg. F and 95% humidity. I would often go out with only one water bottle. I'd guzzle that bottle within about 5 miles and have to turn around before the fun started. So, I think I need a better hydration system. Well, not better just more hydration.

I have a friend who is a college professor. He's in the Human Performance Studies Department: a P.E. teacher. He says that Gatorade is the real stuff. I always thought Gatorade was just Kool-aid with salt. I wonder if you could get the same effect from eating GORP (good ole raisins and peanuts) with a banana and water? Raisins would give you carbs for energy; peanuts would give you fat to lube up the joints as well as salt and minerals; and bananas would give you potassium to keep your legs from cramping.

At any rate, I'll still need water. So I could either get more water bottles or a hydration pack like these one from Platypus. I figure three liters of water should be enough for a day ride.

 

FedEx Woes

Don't you hate it when you miss the FedEx guy? My front wheel came in about 1 p.m. today, but I missed the freakin FedEx truck. Oh well, I tried calling the local FedEx guys, but they were already closed. CRAP! Well, at least they didn't leave it sitting here at my apartment complex.

This is just a cheap 406(BMX) front wheel I bought from a guy on Bentriders. It was only forty bucks. Good deal.

I just got my word that DoomSled is in the mail. It should be here Thursday. I WANT TO RIDE MY BICYCLE. It's Spring. I WANNA RIDE!!!!!!

Friday, March 17, 2006

 

Fathers and thier Sons

I was thinking about the reasons why I love airplane and bicycles and camping and the outdoors. The answer? These are the activities where I spent the most time with dad.

My grand dad worked at the old Hayes Aircraft Company in Birmingham, Alabama. He repaired C-130s and C-141s. During visits, he would take me out to the airport, and we would sit and watch airplanes takeoff and land. I loved to watch the F-4s take off. They were loud. I like loud.

My dad. Well, I fished a lot with my dad, and my dad taught me how to ride a bicycle, and one of my best camping experiences was with dad.

Strange how we cling to those things which remind us of dad. I find this same quality in Christ. He was always talking about how he would only do what he saw his Father doing. Or how he and his father were one. I guess this is the way of things.

 

DoomSled Breathes

On the Ides of March, in the year of our Lord 2006, forged in the fires of the north was born DoomSled...

Okay, enough Tolkien. But seriously, I just got word that my frame was finished. In fact, the guy finished it on the 15th. That was really something: all this talk about doom and the Ides of March it fits pretty well.

So the it should be here by next week this time :) Once here I'll assemble the bike and start test riding before I paint it. I'm thinking 50 miles will do it.

I think I'm still gonna paint it army green. Also, I'll make the hammock forest green, and probably make the tarp camouflage.

Wednesday, March 15, 2006

 

Bicycle Fishing

I was thinking of doing some bicycle fishing along with day riding. The only problem I see is where/how am I gonna store the fish? I've never been a fan of "catch and release." It's food. I killed it. So I want to drag it back to the cave and eat it. Usually, I never take home more fish than I can eat in one sitting. For me, that's a couple of 3 lbs largemouth bass.

I don't [i]ever[/i] want to haul a trailer again. My last trailer got stolen. So, no more trailers. Besides the added roll resistence makes you at least two miles per hour slower. I guess that's the main reason for ditching the trike.

Monday, March 13, 2006

 

Hammock Book

I ordered Ed Speer's book on hammock camping on Saturday. It was only $12 from Walmart online. It should be here Wednesday or Thursday.

The guys on the hammock camping Yahoo forum say they're easy to make. I don't know why more people don't use them for camping. It's the perfect shelter: light wieght (which makes hill climbing easier), more caping spots(I mean most of North America is a jungle, especially here in the southeast), more comfortable than the ground (sleeping on the ground sucks), water proof (well if it's a hurricane you're gonna get wet no matter what).

Why sleep on the ground when you can sleep on air? DUH! But I guess some people like the hard way. Go figure.

 

Got One Wheel

Brand spanking new Rhynolite rim and Shimano Deore hub. Only 32 spoke though :( Posted by Picasa

 
Rhyno Lite baabbiiiieeeeeee Posted by Picasa


Just picked up a new rear wheel today. Got it from the local bike shop. I think the guy who sold it to me was stoned. I told him what I wanted, and he couldn't understand me. I spoke english, but he was too out of it. He was truing a wheel at the time. Not sure if I want a stoned guy truing my wheels though :s

The only thing I don't like about this wheel is that it only has 32 spokes. 36 spokes would be better for my wieght. But It's a good rim. Sun makes really good rims. It's double walled which is much better than my old rim. A wheel like this should hold it's resale value pretty well.

For those of you who don't know a double walled rim looks like this:
Double Walled Rims cut away view

Now I only need a 20 inch front wheel. That's what's pissing me off about this bike; It has different sized wheels: a 20 inch wheel for the front and a 26 inch wheel for the back. That sucks. That means more parts for maintenance. Oh well.

Friday, March 10, 2006

 

Wheelset

I'm looking for a wheelset for DoomSled. I'll go with 26/20 because those are very common sizes. But I need a double walled rim for the rear cause that's where most of the wieght will be. My current rear mountain bike wheel is single walled, and it goes out of true (adjustment) about every 2 weeks. And that's annoying not to mention unsafe. I need a better rear wheel.

I figure the front wheel won't need to be anything uber. I have never had a the front wheel on my mounain bike go out of true. And it was a 32 spoke single wall wheel, plus I put it through all kind of off road stuff and many bunny hops. So only the rear wheel needs the uber leet stuff.

Monday, March 06, 2006

 

Hammock Camping

I camped a lot when I was a kid. My Boy Scout Troop went out several times per year to camp. I remeber going to Camp Tukabatchee for summer camp. I loved it. It also reminds me of the good times I've had with my dad. I remember Camp Tukabatchee had Lad and Dad weekend. My Dad and I went. I remember the stories hold me of his Army days. That was good. Those days where the best days with dad.

Bicycle riding was another love of mine. So this summer I plan to do both: cammping and bike riding. That's what bicycle touring is all about.

But I haven't talked much about camping gear. I mentioned hammock camping a while back. I want to make an Ed Speer style camping hammock. I figure I'll buy his book. It's just 20 bucks. It has all the patterns and stuff.

My grandmother's sewing machine is just sitting in storage. I hope my mom can find it because I want start making more of my own gear. I guess that's my philosophy with touring: make as much your own gear as possible. Because sometimes commercial gear doesn't fit my needs for whatever reason.

 

DoomSled Update# (who knows?!@#$%^)

Tour Easy: Long Wheel Base Recumbent Bike Posted by Picasa


Project DoomSled is alive, although transformed. Instead of a recumbent trike, I'm gonna go with a bike. Hauling a 40lbs trike up and down the stairs sucks, and it isn't good for my back. A bike will be lighter, and I'll be able to use industry standard bike parts.

My dad always told me, "A big man needs a big car." That was good advice. So, I've applied that advice to bicycles because I don't like cars much. Not that I'm a Commy Liberal Hack or anything, it's just that my cars are always breaking down. If my bike breaks down, it doesn't cost much to fix. And they're infinitely upgradeable. So here's to dad, "A big man needs a Big FREAKIN BIKE!"

But more about DoomSled, I found an amateur frame builder to build a clone of the bike you see in the above picture. He should be done in a few weeks.

I want to paint it Olive Drab (Army Green). I may even do some kind of camouflage. Maybe go with browns and greens. I could use dead leaves or something to get a pattern.


Sunday, March 05, 2006

 

New Panniers

Okay, here are a couple of pictures of the new pannier set I'm working on. I'll try to get a more detailed description as I finish and test them. For now I'm using chloroplast as the baking, but as my dad would say, "It's too light in the a**!" I've got some .5 in thick plywood, but as I say, "It's too heavy in the a**!" So, I'm on the hunt for light, strong backing.

 
I finished the first one last week. As you can see I cut the shoulder straps off, but left the webbing. They can be tied to the rack itself for added security. Posted by Picasa

 
Here is a picture of my new panniers. I bought these bookbags for $0.99 each at the Thrift Store one Saturday. Not bad for Cordura made bags. Posted by Picasa

Saturday, March 04, 2006

 

The Duffles of Doom

Ok, here's the deal. The Buckets of Doom are dead. But I am replacing them with the Duffles of Doom. They aren't exactly duffle bags, but that's the only other word in english that means container and starts with the letter D. I'll get some photos up later.

Any suggetsions as to a better name? What about Sacks of Suffering or Rucksacks of Ashes? Those are cheesy though. I like Doom.

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