Meandering Velonauts

It’s 5:00 AM and still dark outside. I grab my bike commuter light and start my 28 mile ride to work. My tail light was lost a few weeks ago on a cloudy ride to work so the front will have to manage all by its self. As I pedal out of our culdesac, I realize its too dark for me to see the road, let alone a car see me. the headlight is worthless, like my bell nobody ever hears. As angry motrists race by me on their way to work, I start to think about everything that could go wrong if they don’t see me. I make a packs if I live through the morning I’m buying a commuter light system.

I safely arrived at work this morning so I starting doing some digging on the internet. I made a list of features I was looking for to help in my search. I came up with:

1. Minimum of 2 – 4 hours of  rechargable burn time.
2. 1000+ lumins headlight(s)
3. 300+ lumins tail light
4. handlebar/helmet combination for night-time trail riding.
5. I want to be as vissible at night as I can, bright like a car.

I checked out all of the bicycle budget brands, which leave alot to be desired. I next looked at 24 – hour race lights for durability and burn time. Then Eric suggested I check out Dinotte Lighting USA. Eric used the 800L and 400L bar/helmet combo on our Indian Creek afterwork ride a few months ago. They were very nice lights and have been holding up well since he got them. I was happy to learn Dinotte has a road bike line of light too. They also have one of the brightest production tail lights I’ve ever seen.

I ended up ordering the 800L Headlight, 400L helmet and 400L taillight combo from Dinotte. I should be able to mix and match the gear to provide the best possible balance of vissability and safty. I’m sure I’ll feel more comfertable the next morning I ride to work.

Today, I spent the afternoon riding the local singletrack here in town. The Kenda Small Block 8’s hooked up nicely. I found I was railing corners and holding a higher speed on the trail. These are definitely my favorite tires for Colorado now.

Brake fluid heat remains my biggest challenge on the trails. I’m constantly fidgiting with my brake leavers as the fluid heats and cools. I’m looking at buying a pair of Avid Elixir CR, when the price drops later this year. I think I’ll retire the Hope C2 back to my Santa Cruz Heckler, where they started out.

We spent 6 hours noodling around the show. We talked to everyone there and got some great photos to share. Enjoy…

Looking forward to attending the RMBS/09 on Saturday. I love the detail and beauty of custom built bicycles. This show is chalked full of them.

If you’re in the Denver area this weekend go check them out. For more information goto http://rmbshow.com/index.html.

3 weeks ago I injured my foot while waterskiing on vacation. It was the same day as getting smacked by a bee in my eye. I further agravated the foot, by continuing to run, swim, ski, and walk. An Orthopedics specialist assured me my foot was ok, but advised to take it easy for 1 more week. After the week to start off easy with light low impact sports (like swimming or bicycling).

Yesterday marked the offical last day of 1 week of rest. My foot has felt good all week and I was itching to test it out on a bike. Just to play it safe I decided to test my foot out in the basement, instead of trail or road. I did 45 minutes of spinning with a short pyramid interval after about 20 minutes of light-medium spinning. My foot continued to feel fine, the stiff soles of my shoes only helped to stabalize my arch.

Tonight I also plan on riding the trainer, but for 1 hour. I plan on doing to seated and standing climbs to fully test out my foot. If all goes well I’ll plan to doing a 1 hour Mountain Bike ride on Sunday. Something less technical, like Greenland Open space would do nicely.

All I know is that it is great to be back on the bike after being side lined for nearly 3 weeks. Maybe next week I’ll get a chance to commute to work. That would be great!