Cool Bicycle Art

Form and Function

More than just a collection of welded steel tubes to please the eye this sculpture doubles as a bike rack.  Cleveland, Ohio

Cycling Update

Last Tuesday I got some new tires for my road bike.  I've been thinking about trying out 28mm tires but I ended up with these regular 25mm slicks from Vittoria.  I like slicks and the price was right so I decided to give them a try.  I always enjoy new tires and look forward to that first ride.

I mounted the clinchers and went for a spin on my out and back time trial course.  The tires feel fast and comfortable as a 100 psi skinny tire can.

20 Miles for time

Ride Time:  1:06:49

Distance:  20 miles

Average Speed: 17.9 mph

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Here in north central Ohio we've had 5 sunny warm days in the 70's and I could stand it no longer.  I had to get out and ride my mountain bike and I figured the trails at Mohican would be dry enough for my first knobby tired ride of the season. I got an early start and it was pleasant to get out on a Friday during the day to enjoy the solitude that's soon to be gone from the trails and roadways come Saturday.  To my satisfaction the trail was hard and fast but had not totally dried out.  It turned out a great day to be in the woods.

  

Leaves just spouting. Spring time comes to the Clear Fork Gorge.

The Motobecane dual suspension rode perfect. To get an idea of trail conditions look at the following picture.  This shot shows how clean my bike is after over 20 miles of single track.  The wet spots on the trail numbered a half dozen and most of those were just places were the trail was saturated from nearby natural springs.

I spent 5 hours and 40 minutes in the park counting stops for food and photography.  It is possible to ride about 17 miles of single track and then bail out to the pavement to cross the Gorge at the west end of the route but I felt up to it so I decided to ride the full 25 mile single track loop.  I took my time and didn't worry about racing the clock just enjoyed the day and tried to keep moving in a forward direction.  Traveling completely off road by bicycle in hilly country for 25 miles is a huge accomplishment even if it takes all afternoon.  I would estimate my total ride time would be 4 hours with an average speed of 6.25 mph.

Gear shown is 1st. 22T chainring, 36T sprocket.

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Springtime is motorcycle time.  The Road Queen and I met up after work on Thursday for an 80 mile loop through the hills of north central Ohio.  I love to pedal but the warm weather always brings out the urge to twist a throttle and really extend my two-wheel range.    

BikeSnobNYC In The Cleve!

This weekend we headed up to that city by the lake to hear BikeSnobNYC shamelessly promote his new book Bike Snob Abroad.  I live about a hundred miles by car from Cleveland so needless to say I just threw the Ti General Purpose Bike on the rack and motored my way north instead of pedaling.  I stopped on the way and picked up the Road Queen and her bike. 

The way I like to visit any city is to get my car parked as soon as possible and take to the streets on foot or better yet by bicycle.  We found a spot a couple blocks from the Market Garden Brewery where Bike Snob was set to appear and with a short spin we arrived on the scene.  The weather turned out to be wonderful on Saturday with a sky clear and blue and the blossoming trees soaking up the spring time sun.

  

A few of us rode our bikes to the book signing.

It was great fun to meet Eben Weiss aka bikesnobnyc.  I've been following his blog for a few years now and really I have to give him the credit for inspiring me to start my own blog here on the web.  His presentation was quite entertaining and he is just as funny orating as he is writing.  The fresh ales served up by the Market Garden Brewery were also top notch and I highly recommend having a taste if you ever find yourself in Cleveland.

At the signing we met a guy named James who rode his home-built long wheel base recumbent.  Kudos to him for braving the mean streets on that thing.  When I ride in the city I prefer my city bike.  James is a computer programmer by day but in his off time he likes to unwind by welding steel tubes and he seems pretty good at it.  Check out some of his work on his flickr page: 

James' Flickr page

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After the event we took off on our bikes to explore the city.  We planned a route that would lead us northward towards the lake to a couple city parks on the water front.  Bikes are a natural way to get around and see the sights.

In no time we cleared the dirty industrial sections of town and after passing through a made for bikes tunnel under some railroad tracks the Great Lake Erie came into view.

Our first stop was Edgewater Park.  Continuing west we toured through the suburb of Lakewood and ended up at Lakewood Park.

From this point we found some good views of the Cleveland skyline looking back across the water.

The water temperature at the time of my writing this is 43 degrees F.  While the air temperature was in the 60's the breeze coming off the water was quite chilly so as the sun started sinking in the west we decided to head inland and made our way the seven miles or so back to where we left the car.

Bike Snob Abroad book trailer

Early 90's Diamond Back Apex

This was my first serious mountain bike.   I purchased the Diamond Back Apex at North Division Cycle and Ski in Spokane, Washington in 1992.  The frame is good old Tange Chromoly steel and rides as smooth and steady as it did twenty years ago.  The bike was equipped with the long discontinued Deore DX mountain bike group that featured the then cutting edge under bar integrated trigger shifter/brake lever pods.  Back in the day I think the bike was considered just a basic mid-level mountain bike but to me I was on top of the world as I cut my mountain bike teeth in the Rocky Mountains of Washington, Idaho, Western Montana and Alberta, Canada.   

I've been dragging this bike along with me through the years and while it has spent much of it's latter years hanging in semi-retirement I get it out once in a while and take a sentimental spin.  Just for fun I converted it to a single speed in the mid 2000's.  It's a good no-nonsense ride around town and quite zippy once the 46-16T gears are spun up.  Another thing I did away with at that time was the flashy red paint job and hideous 1990's neon accents.  Primer gray lends an old school look that I find pleasing.

   

Keeping the old Diamond Back around really paid off because my son who is 12 years old had already outgrown his Trek that he got in 2011 by the end of last summer.  I installed a spare set of 26" wheels and some fresh tubes and he was off.  I wasn't sure he'd go for the single speed because he's grown accustomed to shifting gears.  His initial comments were "Wow! it's pretty light" and "I like the gray paint it looks cool!"  As they say the fruit doesn't fall far from the tree.

The bike will be fine for the shorter around town riding that he does and he can use the experience to help decide what kind of bike he may want next.  I wouldn't mind spending a bit more for a good bike for him now that he is ready for a full size frame and wheels.  I just want him to be very sure of the style of bike to best fit his own needs as a rider.

Testing One-Handed stability.

During the initial test ride we were out about 2 miles from town taking a picture break when suddenly the rear inner tube on the Diamond Back let out its air in a long pssssss.  I had just put a fresh tube into the rim so I'm not sure what happened but I went to the local bike shop and got some new tubes.  We'll do a thorough autopsy on the flat and should be up and rolling soon.

Mail Pouch Tobacco Ad

A while back I posted a shot of a Mail Pouch Tobacco Ad and I learned that the painted on brick murals were less common than the ubiquitous barn siding versions.  For that reason I was pleasantly surprised as I drove down the main street in Bellville, Ohio and noticed this fine example.  

It is interesting how the Mail Pouch add was not the first advertisement to grace the side of this old building.   Time and the elements have worn away the black background exposing a ghost image of an older ad.

CQ CQ WES de W8MDE!

This weekend fans of manually generated Morse Code radio-telegraphy gathered on the high frequency bands to participate in the SKCC Week End Sprint.  I managed to log a few hours in my new and improved operating position and had a good time making contacts on my wireless set.

April 2013 SKCC Week End Sprint

14.052 MHz    AA5VE    Texas
14.052 MHz    W7GVE    Arizona
7.050 MHz    N8KR    Ohio
7.056 MHz    W0INS    Missouri
7.058 MHz    K8WSN    Michigan
7.053 MHz    N5RB    Mississippi
7.055 MHz    KC0M    Missouri
7.052 MHz    WA1OTZ    Connecticut
7.051 MHz    VA2SG    Quebec Canada
7.050 MHz    W9DLN    Wisconsin
7.053 MHz    N0UMP    Missouri
7.058 MHz    WA1HFF    Massachusetts
14.051 MHz    W6KGP    Wyoming
7.056 MHz    WN4AT    Alabama
7.055 MHz    WA1VIL    Massachusetts
7.053 MHz    N9ZXL    Illinois
7.053 MHz    W0CSR    Missouri
7.055 MHz    K8NB    Michigan
7.055 MHz    KB1NHV    Vermont
7.055 MHz    WW4DX    North Carolina
14.055 MHz    F6HK    France
7.055 MHz    AF2Z    New Jersey
7.114 MHz    K2RFP    New York
7.053 MHz    KL7GLL    Virginia
7057 MHz    W5KDM    Mississippi
7.057 MHz    NG2T    North Carolina
7.057 MHz    KE3O    Maryland
7.057 MHz    N5JPX    Mississippi
7.057 MHz    KG4WNA    Kentucky
7.057 MHz    KA1KU    Massachusetts
7.057 MHz    K1EDG    Maine
7.055 MHz    WS8K    Michigan
7.052 MHz    WI0S    Minnesota
7.057 MHz    K4GM    Virginia
7.054 MHz    WB0PYF    Missouri
14.053 MHz    NG7Z    Washington State
14.050 MHz    KZ5OM    California
14.047 MHz    K0JV    South Dakota

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In other news at W8MDE I've upgraded my station computer to this new Toshiba laptop running Windows 8.  Progress marches on so instead of grumbling and hand wringing I've jumped right in.  The Windows 8 operating system is a bit different but not a big deal.  On the surface it looks and acts more like a touchscreen controlled Android device.  Clicking on the windows start button brings up a "normal" looking screen with a task bar at the bottom and desktop icons reminiscent of previous windows operating systems.
  

Happily the learning curve is not too bad even for someone like me who is not computer savvy in the least.  I've been trying to get more hands on with my computers and I recently learned how to clean and de-fragment my hard drives.  Wow! computers work a lot better with a little regular maintenance.  My idea of "hands on" technology is a Morse Code key.

Saturday afternoon I downloaded the popular PSK-31 program "digipan" successfully and plugged in my Signalink USB interface completing a hard link between the laptop and my transceiver and in short order was having a PSK-31 conversation with a station in the North of France.  Computers really are getting better and better.  This unit functioned perfectly from the start and didn't give me any static regarding the separate soundcard in the Signalink USB. I didn't have to reconfigure any of the computer's internal soundcard settings to get the digipan software working correctly with the interface and my amateur radio.

Cycling Update

Spring finally showed up here in Ohio this past weekend.  To say that I was ready to get on my bike and ride would be the understatement of the year.  I've been busy with my home renovation projects and that has not left much time for riding.  Fortunately until now the weather has been cold, windy and rainy so it's been easy to work indoors and I have gotten a lot done.  

On Saturday the skies were sunny and the temperature climbed into the 60's.  My friend the Road Queen and I enjoyed the afternoon on our bikes and traveled from Lexington to Butler, Ohio and back along the B & O Trail in Richland County for a total of just over 23 miles.  After many weeks of upright riding on my commuter bike it was grand to get out and stretch my legs aboard the recumbent.  The Road Queen even even took a try at piloting the HP Velotechnik and after a few miss-starts she was flowing somewhat smoothly in a straight line. 

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Another thing the warm temperatures and sunshine of spring bring out besides flowers are classic cars. I'm not a car guy but I am a craftsman and I love tinkering with tools and machines so I can certainly appreciate a good street rod.  On an urban bike cruise around town on Sunday morning we spotted this  old International and I couldn't resist a closer look.  

I could use that to haul some mulch for the flowerbed. 

After lunch we spent the afternoon relaxing on the patio.  I like to kick back with a little bicycle maintenance; Very much so when I can do it under a warm sun in the backyard.  I've had a set of brake and shifter cables to replace the control lines on my Ti General Purpose bike laying around for nearly a month but have been too busy to get to the job.  The outer jackets on the old cables were literally disintegrating after six years or more they had been in service.

As a long time bike rider and home bicycle mechanic I actually enjoy doing my own work.  After replacing cables on existing bikes or installing them on new ones over the years repetition has allowed me to become quite comfortable with the task.  In this case a re-cable job is particularly easy because the old jackets could be used as a sort of template to cut the new outer jackets to the perfect size.  I'm a bit OCD so I like my cable lengths and routing just right and any amount of time and effort is worth it to dial in perfection.

I don't own the Park Tool cable cutter and I probably never will.  I prefer my Dremel tool and a cutoff wheel to cleanly sever my cables and jackets.  The rotary cutting action makes a perfect slice without a single strand of the cable lifting out of place.

Of course the Park bicycle stand I use and love is considered an essential tool for my activities.  Getting the work up to eye and hand level really enhances the ease and enjoyment of bicycle maintenance. 

While I've not been getting in many fun rides I have been putting in a few miles commuting.  Last week I logged 4 out of five days on two wheels leaving the four wheeler at home in the drive.  On my way to work on Monday I admired my new black cabling.  They coordinate nicely with the fenders and other darkened components of the Ti GP bike if I do say so myself.

The Shooting Bench -- Marlin Bolt Actions

My son and I finally made it out for our first range day of 2013.  It was a crisp day but the temperature climbed to just over 50 degrees F so at least we could venture out without gloves.  I was off work today and my son is on spring break so we took advantage and had a great day shooting our Marlin .22 rimfire bolt actions.

Over the winter Wyatt mounted a fixed 4 power scope on his model 925R.  I first blogged about this great .22 bolt action here.  Today was his first time out with the scoped rifle so we set up on the short range and he made a few shots to see where the point of aim was hitting.

Back in the winter after mounting the scope we bore sighted the gun in the basement against a lighted target pinned up against the far wall.  Bore sighting is a handy technique I like to use to set up a rifle scope. By removing the bolt from the action it is possible to sight directly down the bore of the barrel to the target down range.  With the rifle held fast in a steady rest the cross hairs of the telescopic sight can then be adjusted to the bullseye which was aligned and centered as close as possible by eye while looking down the bore.

Bore sighting a rifle works great and Wyatt was on the paper with his first shots.  His groupings were centered nicely and only a couple inches high so a few clicks down and he was hitting them in the 10-ring.

Next we headed down to the 100 meter rifle range to test our mettle.  Most plinking and target shooting with .22 rimfire takes place at short ranges but .22s are very capable at longer distances.  My son is like me and he won't hesitate at a challenge.

I brought along my Marlin Model 982VS chambered in .22 Winchester Magnum.  This rifle was my first bolt action and I've owned it a couple years.  I outfitted it with a 6-18X 40mm tactical scope with calibrated turrets for my specific cartridge.  When I am shooting I can see the bullet hole appear in the paper a second or two after the report.  Very cool!

100 meters is a long way away!

Today I tested out a new ammo I have been eager to try.  The Hornady V-Max sports a ballistic tip 30 grain copper jacketed bullet that leaves the barrel at 2200 feet per second.  At 100 yards the projectile has slowed to 1421 fps and at 200 yards the bullet is still zipping along at 1002 fps.

Here's our best shooting. Wyatt's is the target on the left and mine is on the right.  I have to say Wyatt does pretty well as a 12 year old marksman with .22 long rifle and a 4X scope. 

RCT and 982VS .22 WMR @ 100 meters.

Additional groups shot by RCT @ 100 meters.

It's been said many times and I don't mind repeating it here:  Take a kid shooting.  It's good wholesome fun!

Cool Bicycle Art

Spotted this bikey vinyl graphic on the side of a Honda Odyssey.  While not something I would want on my Honda I still have to admit it's cool bike art.

Commuter Update

Today marks my third day in a row commuting on the Ti General Purpose Bike and I've met my quota for the week.  It's been below freezing and spitting snow on and off here in Ohio. This morning the sun was out but it was a crisp 16 degrees F. I know the calender says it's spring but Mother Nature must not have got the message.

News From Amateur Radio W8MDE

After a couple of years operating my amateur radio station from the basement I decided it was high time to move my enterprise above ground.  During the winter season is when I am most active in the radio hobby but this is also the time when my basement gets downright chilly. Lately I've just not wanted to brave the cold and while I do have a small electric space heater it has to run for hours to raise the temperature even a small amount. Besides electric heaters are a huge current draw and my utility bill is big enough.

Last week I spent an hour or two each night after work repainting a spare bedroom of my single level ranch style home.  This room was previously painted a dark olive green and had a few thin spots and scratches showing the lighter colors underneath.  I do like green but not so much for walls in a house.  When I want to be surrounded by green I prefer to be out in the woods.

I have a good friend who runs the local hardware store and when he told me of an upcoming sale on house paint I snipped the coupon and picked up a couple gallons at five dollars off each can.  I run a fairly commercial free blog but I don't mind plugging a good product when I come across one.  Easy Care Platinum Stain Blocking Paint/Primer in One is a wall covering I found that worked very well at hiding the dark green color of my walls.

Doing the edging around the trim and ceiling is my least favorite part of a painting project but it has to be done first and the quicker it's over the faster I can get on the fun part; rollers.  As you can see I don't use drop clothes or painters tape. I just take my time and rely on a steady hand.  I keep a wet cloth handy for the inevitable drips that occur.  Visible in the picture are some small white spots on the rug and floor that look like paint slops but these are actually small bits of a wallpaper border that I had scraped off the wall earlier.

Thursday night I broke out the 3/8" nap roller and got busy. After letting the first coat dry for a day I was excited to roll on the second coat and see how it looked. In the following picture I took Friday night the difference is plainly visible between one and two coats.  The dark green paint of the spare room was a great test for the Easy Care Stain Blocker and I feel it does a pretty good job.

The west side of the room has two windows that let in the sunshine in the afternoon. Another huge benefit of moving my radio station up to this room is when I swivel around in my office chair I have a great view of trees and sky; something definitely lacking from my old location in the basement.

Lastly I noticed that the ceiling was pretty dingy not having a fresh coat of paint in probably twenty years or more.  Using a small diameter roller about 6" long I put a light coat of ceiling paint overhead which freshened up that part of the room and finally cleaned up all my painting gear by 10:30 that night.

Saturday morning I replaced the old A/C outlet and added fresh covers for it and the light switch.  I had to drill an enlarged hole in the floor to pass the coax connector of my feed line and luckily the coax was long enough to easily reach the new operating position.  Disassembling the station and bringing it upstairs as well as removing the legs of my library table and reassembling it all in the new radio room was a process that took nearly four hours.  Once it was all done I kicked back in my chair and thoroughly enjoyed the fruits of my labor.

I'm sure the new arrangement will allow me to get much more use and enjoyment out of my amateur radio station. The advantages of having my operating position on the main floor of my home are many.  Not only do I have a light and cheery location where once Spring arrives I can open the windows and allow the fresh breezes to enter I can also enjoy the sound of Morse Code wherever I'm at in the house.  And most importantly the kitchen is just hop, skip and jump away.  What ham doesn't like a ham and swiss sandwich and a cold beverage to go with his radio?