Recumbent Ride -- Willard Marsh Loop

Yesterday I spent a few quality hours on my recumbent bike touring the Ohio countryside.  I wanted to ride somewhere new but I didn't feel like loading up my bike on the car rack and driving just to ride.  The only problem with that is I have to ride for about an hour in any given direction just to get to roads I've never ridden.

From my driveway I headed north keeping to rural back roads I like to ride.  I didn't have a route planned I just ambled along choosing my route as I went.  My ride took me roughly twenty miles across my county and to the border of Huron County, about 30 miles south of Lake Erie.  Most of the country is farmland and with all the rain we've had the crops are growing well. 

On longer range rides I've taken to using my smartphone map to aid in navigation and it has made it easier to enjoy the ride more than flying blind trying to avoid the busier state highways.  In the old days I used to make a photo-copy of a section I planned to ride from a page in the Ohio Atlas & Gazetteer.  That analog map worked fine but occasionally I would ride off the paper and be back to guessing.  That's not always the best method when a couple hours from home and under your own power.

I wasn't planning a big ride but the conditions were perfect with just a slight breeze from the northwest and mild temperatures in the upper 70's.  I felt good and the miles kept adding up.  Consulting the map I found a place I never been that would put me about 25 miles north of home.  

   

Willard Marsh Wildlife Area is a 1,676-acre conservation area located a few miles southwest of Willard, Ohio in southern Huron County.  Access to the area is by gravel roads which line the perimeter of the park.  I try to avoid gravel if I can help it but the HP Velotechnik has no problem gobbling up gravel miles.  These roads were in super shape so going wasn't all that bad at all.  The scenery made it worth it.

From there I started the trip back to home and ended up with a satisfying 50 mile ride and new route entry for the logbook.

Bike:   HP Velotechnik

Ride Time:    3:49

Distance:    51.18 miles

Average Speed:    13.3 mph

Max Speed:    27.7 mph

    

W8MDE 10 Meter Rotatable Dipole

I spent Father's Day finishing up my 10 meter rotatable dipole antenna project for this year's ARRL Field Day which is coming up in a couple weeks.  I wanted to change things up and try working a different band other than 40 meters where I have operated the past few Field Days.  The sun is putting out as many sunspots as it's going to during this solar cycle so it has the 10 meter band coming open usually every day for world wide communication.  So this and the fact that our club's field day location has a lack of trees for antenna supports I decided to focus on the shortest of the high frequency wavelengths.

This is the second homebrew antenna project I've built since becoming a radio amateur in 2008 and I had a great time with it.  A dipole is a most basic type of antenna and is easy to build.  Dipoles are usually made of wire and strung up between two supports but aluminum tubing can be used for the elements which is what I used so the antenna would be self supporting.

Materials I gathered from my spare parts bin and local hardware store.  I also used a new to me vendor; DX Engineering, to supply some high quality saddle clamps for the mast to Lexan plate connection and fiberglass tubing for the mast.  DX Engineering is located here in Ohio so I can consider all my antenna components for this project locally sourced.  The Lexan sheeting was a scrap piece from work and I fabricated a small aluminum angled bracket to mount the coaxial connector.  The antenna elements are made from anodized aluminum tubing I got at the hardware store.  

   

The jumper wires are #14 braided copper with crimped and soldered connectors.  The white PVC pipe acts as a support sleeve for the aluminum antenna elements.  I drilled a small hole on each side so a stainless steel sheet metal screw can provide secure electrical contact between the jumper wire and the aluminum tubing.  The feed line attaches at the bottom of the bracket.  In the picture the connector is wrapped with self vulcanizing tape and a cable tie to weather proof it.  Shortly after taking the picture I placed a blob of RTV 100% silicon on the top of the coax socket to further protect the exposed solder joint.  The ground side of the dipole attaches via a ring terminal connected to one of the socket mounting screws.

The cool thing about half wavelength dipoles is that the physical length can be approximated by a simple formula:  468(ft) / frequency (MHz).  I wanted my antenna to be resonant on 28.050 MHz so 468 divided by 28.050 equals 16.684 feet. That number should be close to the overall length of the antenna.

I designed the antenna elements using 6 ft sections of tubing with a smaller diameter 3 foot section that telescopes into the bigger piece.  This allows me to adjust the length of the element legs in or out to set the point of resonance of the antenna just where I want it.

With the help of my antenna analyzer I noted the SWR then extended the ends a couple inches at a time and rechecked the antenna with the meter.  After repeating this process a few times I observed the low point of the SWR curve move right into the area of frequency I plan to operate.  I locked the element tips down tight with a small hose clamp.
   

SWR Curve

27.062     1.5

27.303     1.4

27.573     1.3

27.955     1.2

27.968     1.1

28.197     1.1

28.208     1.2
28.622     1.3
28.902     1.4
29.180     1.5

I'm sure most hams would agree the most exciting part about making your own antennas is hooking up the rig and seeing if one can actually make a contact using the homebrew equipment.  It was late in the afternoon when testing was complete and I headed inside to my operating position to hook up the antenna to my transceiver.

Right away I heard signals coming in so that was a good sign.  I set my dial to 28.076 MHz and sent out some CQ calls using the digital mode JT-65.  After a few tries with no response I looked for a station who was calling.  Up popped a ZL prefix station on the decode screen which I recognized as one from New Zealand. It took two tries and on the second go ZL4AD received my signal and we completed the quick JT-65 contact spanning 8,811 miles between us.  

With that as a first contact I'm going to call this antenna project a success and I think the thing will work fine for making a few local stateside contacts during the Field Day event.

Mail Pouch Tobacco Barn

Morrow County, Ohio

I noticed this old barn earlier in the year and finally got out on the motorbike to snap a picture for my collection here on the blog.  The old structure has seen better days and the paint is weathered but at least it won't degrade any more here in digital form.

It's been a hectic and busy spring here and it's kept me away from blogging.  I've got lots of activities going on which are generating some good content so slow but sure I'll get some more stuff documented here at RCT.

B & O Trail with Mohican S. P. Extension

Peaceful Farm - Richland County

Spring is in full swing here in Ohio so when dawn broke cool and clear I knew I was going for a recumbent ride.  I decided to ride the B & O Trail which is my local trail and a staple in this blog.  Early on it was cool and almost fair to say cold.  I wore long tights with my jacket and even a thin helmet liner.  Spring has been a bit late here in these parts but things are finally shaping up.  Over the last couple weeks we've had a load of rain and the trees have all sprouted their greenery.  Next to the crisp days of autumn it is my favorite time for bike riding.

I've been up and down this bike trail at least a hundred times but I never stopped to read this sign posted along the trail in the small town of Bellville, Ohio.  Today I wasn't interested in racing the clock so I pulled over to check it out.

McClure Cabin

Site of the first settlement in Jefferson Township and the second in Richland County.  James, Thomas and Samuel McClure and Jonathan Oldfield cut a trail from Fredericktown in 1808, and built a log cabin here on the banks of the Clear Fork!

 That's pretty cool.  The United States was only 32 years old at that point. Ohio was indeed the wild frontier.

The log cabin is not in existence anymore but I bet the view out front of the McClure brother's cabin looked a lot like this 200 years ago:

I continued on from north to south covering all 18 miles of the trail as it warmed up and I could shed my extra layers.  When I rolled into Butler at the end of the trail it was too nice of a morning to just turn around so I decided on the fly to add a loop and tour through the Mohican State Park which lies about 7 miles to the east from Butler.

I know a route that uses seldom traveled rural roads so I can avoid the busy state highway that leads to the park.  For a short while the country lanes follow the Clear Fork valley and the steadily flowing river.  

Within a mile or two from the end of the bike trail I get to the hill country.  My recumbent bike climbs just fine and I actually like the experience pushing off the firm seat back putting 100% of my effort into the cranks.  The loop circles around to the north of the park.  The views are nice.

Eventually the Clear Fork River flows into Pleasant Hill Lake which was formed when the Army Corps of Engineers built a damn.  

The level of the lake is maintained at the damn and excess water is directed through a spillway and continues on its path through the valley.  A glimpse of the water can be seen just above my bike in the picture.  From this point on the stream is called the Black Fork.  It flows roughly east through the Mohican-Memorial State Forest for a few miles until its confluence with the Mohican River at Loudenville, Ohio.

In the above photo is the pump house and spillway.  In the background is the end of the 850 acre lake.  Continuing on the loop took me into the state park and down into the gorge along the park road.  I've rode in this area and photographed the natural beauty of the gorge from my mountain bike on the 25 mile single track circuit.  It is fantastic on a knobby tire bike.

  

Both the park road and the mountain bike trail meet up at this covered bridge to cross  the Black Fork.  I took a break here and ate a bag of pistachios before starting the mile long climb back up the south side of the gorge.  I exited the park on the south side and eventually caught back up with the country roads I was on leading out of butler and made my way back to the B & O Trail.

The formula of this ride is one I really like.  18 miles of flat rail trail to get warmed up before a serious 22 miles of hilly beat down followed by another 18 mile of smooth sailing back up the rail trail.

Ride Time:  4:45

Distance:  58.46 miles 

Average Speed:  12.2 mph

Max Speed:  40.6 mph

Revving My Engine At Mid Ohio

 I don't normally ride charity rides but when I do it's the Mid Ohio Walk, Run or Ride event put on by Summit Therapy Charities. I really enjoy this one and what makes it special is the venue.  I've ridden here before but the last time was on my recumbent bike.  The Mid Ohio Sports Car Course hosts world class racing of sports cars and  motorcycles. Everything from Indy car and super bike, amateur racing and vintage bikes and autos.

The 2.2 mile circuit is laid out on the south slope of the Clear Fork Valley and this makes the track a challenging ride on a bicycle.  Quite a bit of the course is uphill and the first time I rode I was dismayed at my speed dropping to into the single digits while aboard the recumbent.  Back then I told myself the next time I would ride the Motobecane road bike and take advantage of its faster climbing ability.

      

Gassed up and heading out of the pits.

 This time around the RoadQueen met me at the track and agreed to be my photographer.  I tried to talk her into bringing her bike but she thought it was a serious type of ride which of course it is not.  This year they did have a competitive 5K running race but aside from that the promoters put the emphasis on a do it at your own pace fun type of event.  

Even so its a race track and I can't help but not stomp on the accelerator.  I like to simply race the clock and see what kind of performance I can get out of myself.  Normally I'm taking pictures of the things I see along the ride but in this case since I have a photographer I'll treat you my dear readers to some photos of my awesome form around the track! It is my blog after all.

  

The weather forecast was bleak for the weekend but things ended up being ideal for a bike ride.  The sun broke free from the cloud cover later in the evening.  Around my tenth lap a gentleman caught up to me who was riding a Lynskey titanium bike.  We had a nice chat for a couple miles then I had to drop off the back. I just couldn't hang with his pace.  

Much easier to dodge the slower riders and pedestrians on a thirty foot wide race track than on the bike trail.  

Rolling into the pits after twelve laps. 

Ride Time:  1:36

Distance:  26.7 miles

Average Speed:  16.6 mph

Max Speed:  32.9 mph

12 laps -- Average Lap Time: 8 minutes

Go Fly A Kite!

Interacting with the natural world around me is something I have always been drawn to and found interesting and fun.  The past few years I've had a blast creating electromagnetic waves with my ham radio equipment and sending them off skipping along the atmosphere and all around the Earth.  Another way I've been harnessing the forces of nature for amusement has been kite flying.  

Some of my earliest memories are kite flying with my dad on a warm and breezy spring afternoons long ago.  Many of my kites were inexpensive tradition shaped versions and I even built my own as young boy using newspaper and a couple crossed sticks.  These paper kites flew great but never lasted long.  On very windy days my sister and I would attach empty bread bags to a spool of kite string and surprisingly if you could get it to fill with air the bag would fly as well as any kite.  Fascination with the sky and flight is just one of those cool things that are ingrained in us as humans.  I think the birds are pretty much responsible for that.  For ages man has stood grounded to Mother Earth and marveled at the sparrow who so easily takes flight or a group vultures lazily riding the air currents high above barely flapping their wings for minutes on end.  I know I have.

One day I was browsing around the hobby store and I noticed a rack of kites.  All my life I've only flown simple single string kites.  With traditional kites the learning curve is pretty easy; hold it up, let it go and let out more string. That's about it.  What caught my eye was this delta wing shaped kite known as a sport kite or stunt kite made by Premier Kites of Hyattsville, Maryland.  On trips to the ocean I've seen these double string wonders in action above the beach were steady breezes are plentiful.  Having always wanted to try one out I bought that kite on the spot and waited for the windy days of spring to arrive. 

A few weeks ago that day finally came and after work I headed out to my favorite flying spot to give the new kite a try.  My first two attempts lasted about two seconds with the kite shooting up like a rocket then looping around violently and plummeting back to the ground.  The instructions state: "The most common problem a beginner has is over controlling their kite" And that is indeed the truth.  Just the slightest pull on one of the control lines will turn the kite and instantly send it into a dive.  In a fit of panic it's very easy to jerk the other cord overcompensating and send the kite equally out of control in the other direction. 

I like to think I'm fairly coordinated and soon enough I had the kite doing lazy sideways figure eights or soaring stationary straight up above my head.  It's easy to remember pull the left string to turn the kite left and right to go right.  It's another thing altogether to keep it straight when the kite is careening wildly out of control.  In time I became more relaxed and found that slightly turning my shoulders rather than pulling my arms provided smooth control to the kite.

The RoadQueen accompanied me to the flying field my second time out this past weekend.  To say it was windy was an understatement.  We estimated a steady 20 mph wind with gusts well higher than that.  It was perfect for the stunt kite.  Variable winds and lulls don't provide ideal conditions for this kind of kite.  That reason explains the popularity of their use along coastal regions and larger lakes.

RoadQueen at the controls with Jake the dog as ground crew.

We had a great time and spent nearly four hours flying before heading back to town for lunch.  learning to fly the sport kite has been a lot of fun and certainly a thrill.  With the double control lines and being able to use your whole upper body to maneuver the kite it really seems more like flying an aircraft and not just passively standing there holding a single string kite.  My only regret is not getting one years ago.  

Spring Cleaning

Finally Springtime has rolled around and I actually look forward to cleaning up my commuter bike.  I try to keep it out of the worst of the winter mess but it ends up grimy and salty no matter what.  A couple years ago I started using an Automotive washing soap in my bucket of hot water instead of the dish soap from the kitchen.  I read something somewhere about the sulfates in dish soap being bad for paint and clear coats but I don't have to worry about that with bare titanium tubes.  The difference I have noticed is that the the car wash stuff cuts the grease and rim brake dust much more effectively than it's kitchen cousin.

Flossing the cogs!

I use a wax based lube on my chain. It doesn't last like a wet lube so it has to be regularly reapplied. The one downside to overzealous lubrication is that it tends to gum up between the cogs.  A piece of old cotton sock drenched in a solvent like WD-40 makes an ideal floss to clean those sprockets.  Positioning the hub against my bucket and with my feet boxing in the tire I use a side to side motion with the cloth to work down between the gears.  The pull to the left spins the freewheel about an eighth of a turn.  Sliding back to the right engages the pawls locking the sprocket and allowing the rag to do its thing.  With some experimentation the thickness of the cloth can be found that best slides between the teeth without snagging and with a little practice eight or ten back and forth cycles between each gear leaves them all clean and polished.

I picked up a new Park chain tool last year and finally had a chance to use it to putting on a fresh drive chain.  

A clean drivetrain is a quiet drivetrain.  And that makes me a happy rider.

The Ti General Purpose Bike serviceable and ready for commuting duty.

Mail Pouch Tobacco Barn

I spotted this Mail Pouch Tobacco barn advertisement last fall while I was cycling down a back alley in my town.  Back then tree leaf cover had obscured most of the familiar Yellow on black font.  I put it on my list of things to do and waited for the opportunity to get a clear shot which came today on my way back from lunch.

I can't tell if this one is an original or not but if so it has been maintained quite well.

See other Mail Pouch Tobacco ads I've photographed by clicking the label below.

   

Friday Ride -- B & O

Today I decided to clean the cobwebs off my titanium fred bike and take it out for its first ride on my local trail.  Some air in the tires and a squirt of fresh lube for the chain and I was on my way.  Up at the northern end of the B & O in Mansfield, Ohio workers were busy building a new bridge at North Lake Park.

I've been thinking for a while now about treating myself to a new pair of cycling shoes.  My old ones are probably fifteen years old and while they are still serviceable I'm in the mood for a change so I'll just relegate my old ones to mountain bike duty where I'm sure they'll carry on for years to come.

I hit up my friendly bike shop for a pair of their house brand Bontragers.  I don't need any fancy Sidis these work just fine for a lot less dineros.

My old ones are brown and tan colors and I wanted to color coordinate a little better with my black stretchy uniform I always wear while out on the road bike.  I like shoes with laces and these fit the bill perfect.  As an added bonus the new shoes have a single velcro strap at the top to secure the laces and keep everything cinched down tight.

I was feeling like going fast so that is what I did today.  By the time I had around 24 miles down I was carrying a 17.6 mph average speed.  That was surprising because my season is just getting underway and that is a great average for me period let alone in the early spring.  I kept at it and enjoyed the nice weather but the fun was soon to end when I turned around to head back north at the bottom of the trail.

In my exuberance I went out a little to hard during the start of my ride.  The last third heading up the slight incline of the Clear Fork Valley and into a steady headwind turned out to be my time to suffer.  I had to struggle to maintain 15 mph at times and dipped to a crawl of 13 mph in some of the open fields with no tree cover to at least slow the wind.

   

Happy Easter!

The average only dropped a little by the time I made it back to my starting point and I feel satisfied with this first good hard effort on the skinny tire bike.

B & O Trail Complete

Distance:  37 miles

Ride Time:  2:13:15

Average Speed:  16.6 mph

Max Speed:  22.8 mph 

   

Back In The Saddle...Or Should I Say Easy Chair

Today on my afternoon commute home from work on the Ti-General Purpose bike I found the conditions perfect for a ride.  A pleasant 60 degrees F and a very uncommon for this time of year lack of wind.  I got kitted up in my black stretchy pants and headed out for my first recumbent ride of 2014.  And it's about damn time!

  

 Even with this horrendous winter we've been through I still managed to get two or three commutes by bicycle in each week.  Riding my upright bike regularly keeps my bottom end used to the saddle.  Lets face it any time on any bike is  

good time and for short utilitarian trips around town the diamond frame wedgie bike really shines.  Once I got out on the open road though my old stalwart companion HP Velotechnik Street Machine proved to me once again that a longer ride can be a pleasurable, comfortable experience instead of the exercise in pain management that comes from sitting on a few square inches of traditional bike saddle and bent over holding those curly handlebars like they use in the Tour De France.  It's not all about kicking back and relaxing on the bent.  If you've got the legs and want to hammer you can certainly do that too. 

I'm not sure what I like best about riding recumbents.  One thing is for sure I love being able to easily look around at the country side as it slides by.  Granted things are pretty much dead and brown looking but that's soon to change.  One of the best things about living and riding in Ohio is experiencing the change of the seasons from the back of a bike.

The first few rides out early in the season are always great.  Even on familiar routes that I've ridden many times always seem fresh and new.  I didn't have enough time to head over to the local rail trail so I picked the medium sized route leaving from my driveway.  The southern part of my ride took me down through a bit of Morrow County.  This area is pretty much rural and you never know what you might see along the way.

  

Ford Ranger - Manure Spreader Combo

 This fine country gentleman has his own observatory!

Really, there is a telescope mounted up under that dome.

Later I encountered some gravel.  No worries and no gravel bike needed.  My dual suspension recumbent took it all with aplomb.

So nice to get back out there!

Iberia Loop

Ride Time:  1:18:30

Distance:  17.35 miles

Average:  13.2 mph

Max:  29.4 mph

Range Report -- Ruger Super Redhawk

This Ruger Super Redhawk .44 Magnum was first firearm I ever bought for myself.  I've always been a fan of handguns and when this one came up for sale at a great price I jumped.  The Super Redhawk was introduced in late 1987 and is still in production.  Mine is certainly of early production as I became the second owner of this one in 1990.  

Although this hefty shootin' iron has since been chambered in even more powerful cartridges such as 

.454 Casull and .480 Ruger I'm quite content to play around with the .44 magnum even though it's not the king of the handgun hill these days.

This is also the cartridge I first learned how to hand load. In the picture above are a few 240 grain flat nose lead bullets seated over 6 grains of Bullseye powder from a batch I cooked up in 1996.  I had 40 rounds left in an ammo box and figured they have been sitting around long enough.  

It's been a few years since I had the Ruger out on the range so I was curious to how I would shoot.  I had the scope stored separately from the gun but the Ruger integral rings were still firmly attached to the scope tube so it would also be an interesting test to see how close the optical sight stayed zeroed.

It took five minutes to lock down the rings to the frame of the revolver before leaving for the range. 

Shooting handguns accurately is a real challenge.  I like a steady rest to help support the firearm.  My very first shot into the target below was low in the six o'clock position.  The following five shots I was happy to see punch big clean holes in the black. 

The Super Redhawk is a double action revolver.  This means the weapon can be fired in one of two ways.  The trigger can be pulled through its full range of movement to rotate the cylinder cock the hammer and release the sear dropping the hammer which fires the round.  The second method used for hunting and target shooting where shot placement is critical is accomplished by manually cocking the hammer and slowly and smoothly squeezing the trigger.  In this mode the rearward travel of the trigger to release the sear is much less and the gun can more easily be held steady on target.  

When shooting six-guns I always use the single action mode for the best accuracy.  After a few shots to get warmed up I managed this decent group from a distance of 75 feet.

Long eye relief pistol scopes are unique and really improve accuracy at greater distances with a handgun.  Because the eyepiece is at arms length it allows the shooter to keep both eyes open.  At least it works for me and that's how I do it.

My scope is a Nichols 2X. Objects viewed through the tube appear twice their actual size.  Although considered low-end optics this scope has sat atop my revolver for a thousand shots or more over the years and I've never had a single fault with it.

Next to test my marksmanship even more I moved over to the 50 yard range.  

At this distance the left side groupings apparent in the closer targets are exaggerated with half the shots off the paper to the left.  If it ever gets warm out I'll think about adjusting the scope just a tad to see if I can't tighten the group and get all my shots printing onto the paper.  Sounds like a great excuse to do some reloading!

(Thanks to RoadQueen for the excellent firing line photography.)