Bat to the Face

Wednesday nights our bike shop has a 40+ mile mountain bike group ride. We leave the shop, ride the 12 miles to the trail, ride the trail 2-3 times, then ride back.

On this particular evening, we are on our way back from the trail. Its getting late, and the sun is nearly set. Under the cover of trees, it is getting really dark.

As we ride, I see something flutter off to my left and then WHAM!

Still on the bike moving, it takes me a second too realize what has just happened.

I just had a bat fly into my face.

I turn around to see how the unfortunate animal is doing. It sort of crawled for a second, and then flew away. Apparently neither the bat nor I was harmed.

Working on Sunday.

Sunday morning. Crap.

I got out of bed and thought "Why do I do this". Started a pot of coffee, and got my clothes on.

I am driving north, and realize I forgot to buy donuts. Great. A bunch of slow, weekend cyclists, angry at not having donuts after their ride, will tear the place apart. And then I realize I forgot my water bottles and my lunch. This is turning out to be great.

I arrive at the shop, and spot one women, on a trek hybrid, at the front door. I cannot believe that someone showed up. Everybody on the team is racing. The usual people from the easy pace group were told there was not going to be a ride. Why is she here? Why am I here? I pull around back, hoping that she will leave.

I am getting out off the truck, thinking of sneaking into the shop, when she comes out of nowhere. "Are you here for the Sunday morning ride?" She asks. She is in a dark blue cotton tank top, has an old dinged up helmet on her head, and a bottle of vitamin water in her bottle cage. I say yes, I am leading it. I can't make eye contact. "Where is everybody else?" she asks.

"We still have 15 minutes." I say.

15 minutes later, and I am riding at 12 miles per hour on my racing bike, with this lady on the hybrid. I am doing my best not to drop here on the hills, or be too rude (she is wearing gym shorts).

As we ride, we talk about cycling. I find out that she sold her car before going to Austrailia and has not had one since. She rides to work every day - about 40 miles per week.

She tells me she hates to ride in traffic, and I tell her how to ride, where to ride, how to use signals, etc.

By the end of the ride, she is convinced she needs a new bike. One that is more efficient than the one she has. One more suited for commuting.


There is often stress between different types of cyclists. Shaven leg roadies, over weight mountain bikers, and poky, commuter/neighborhood riders. In the end, we are all connected by our love for riding bikes. That lady's passion for riding her bike was as great, if not greater, than mine.

I spent the rest of the day cleaning up the shop, and selling tubes to people.

This was my Sunday.

Tonights ride was a train wreck...

My brother and I are out on a 40+ mile ride this evening. Halfway back, we see flashing lights up the road, near a railroad crossing. As we get closer, the picture comes clear. An SUV tried to cross the tracks (no crossing guards) and had its front end ripped off by a locomotive. No sign of the driver of the SUV (I assume he was taken to a hospital). The train was still on the tracks, a few hundred yards away.

We stop. The County Sheriff walks up and says "You can't cross my scene." "So we have to go back?" I ask. "Yes. Its just as scenic that way." I say "yeah, but we are heading back home now. We have to go 5 miles out of our way?"

Really the "scene" consisted of broken glass and plastic scattered across 20 feet of road.

"Can we just walk around a few hundred feet over there?"

When it became apparent to the sheriff that we were not going to leave, she finally said "OK,
walk in a straight line and don't step on anything." Apparently the exact placement of the broken side view mirror glass is vital to determining exactly what happened.
I bet the glass will still be there, waiting to give me a flat. In late November.


8 miles later, I found a ratchet.

Yup, a Craftsmen 3/8 in. ratchet. Still works. Street value - $16.
Not bad for a 2 hour Saturday evening ride.

Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger

X, Mountain Biking?

I recently acquired a new bicycle. A Mountain Bike.

Before I go any farther: I am a roadie. I love road riding, I shave may legs, and I Road Race. So, to some of you, me riding a bike off road is like a republican pledging to raise taxes.

Let me rest your worries: I still don't like mountain biking (much). I hate the biting bugs, the single, looped path, and having to drive to ride. So why did I buy a mountain bike? 'Cross training.

Now, the Bike.

The Bike Is a Quiring Q-ball 29er, Rigid, single speed.

Size large. Frame is full steel. The fork is a Surly Karate Monkey fork. Wheel set is Velocity Blunts on DMR Revolver hubs. Gear Ratio is a standard 32x16. Brakes are mechanical Disc, OEM take-offs from another bike.

Q-Ball bikes are made by Scott Quiring in Charlotte, MI (Link).

How does it ride? This bike rides awesome! The 29er wheels holds the corners great, roll fast, and roll over things better. The rigid fork makes riding a full body workout. Which is good. Road Riding isn't known to give you an upper body workout.

The gearing is a bit challenging on the road. In a group ride that my shop does every Wednesday, the 14 mile ride to the trail left me back with the "Caboose". I can still manage to cruise at 19-20, however. On the trial, the gearing is perfect. The single speed setup lets me work on spinning at high cadence. In addition, you can concentrate on riding and less on shifting.

Will my Q-Ball cause me to abandon the road? No. What will I get out of it? I get rides with friends who ride mountain, and handling skills that will be useful come September.

Welcome to the world of BLOG

Starting my first blog. I hope it won't be too lame.

Some words:

I am really into cycling.
I also like history
I am a physics major.
Politics may also appear here.
Or anything else that comes to mind.