Category: burlington

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Skinny Tires

Started turning the cranks this week. Got out for a short ride to meet the boys on Sunday – took the brevet machine and felt like I was flying on the skinny (28s!) tires. I did a short loop to stretch the legs and warm up the lungs. I couldn’t push it – my airways are still inflamed from my recent bout with bronchitis and multiple asthma attacks. It felt good to spin!

No studs, and I wasn’t riding fixed – what a pleasant change of pace. The sun was out and there was a cold, clear, blue sky. I think I am starting to feel human again!

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Hard Fall

Took a hard fall on my way to the Sunday ride. 15mph or so heading downhill on the slick slick snow and ice. Even with the studs and knobbies the front wheel washed out in the car tire snow wake. Once it started there was no recovery. I got out of my pedals and landed clear of the bike in the lane on my left side. Elbow bashed and I have a football sized bruise on my left hip. No traffic behind me so I popped up, did the mental systems check, snagged the bike which slid 10′ down the road, slipped on the ice in my cleats and was slowly moving again. Sat with the boys sipping coffee and we stayed warm inside for most of the morning. When we finally hit the road we climbed up to UVM and then I decided to headed home… content that I got out and thankful that I escaped with only some serious soreness and bruising. Bike seems fine, front wheel has the slightest wobble – but the Surly is covered in grime – so I need to do a quick cleaning and have a look and see if anything is out of alignment.

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Sunday Snow


The social ride was a little more spirited this week… add in the snow and we had a fun ride. John’s $4 fixed gear is still holding strong. Jim and Patrick were riding slicks. John and I were on studs. We did some hills, a run through a cornfield, and a dash into the wind on Spear St.



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Downtown


Church Street is somewhat abuzz with holiday cheer. The lights are up, the tree is lit, and the shoppers are out and about. It seems a bit more mellow than previous years.



The Burlington Bicycle Council painted some new stencils about the city center. I lobbied for changing the language to the more positive ‘Walk Bikes’ message – I even did up several versions with my limited photoshop skills – but the group compromised and did two versions. A local design house designed the graphics and output the stencils. That bumpy thing is supposed to be a ‘universally’ recognizable mountain bike wheel… debatable from how I see it. Sigh.

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Sunday Social Ride


We’ve turned our Sunday morning long rides into meandering social rides as the weather turns to winter. Last week we meandered about town, through the intervale, and ended at Flatbread to warm in front of the fire and enjoy some local brew and pizza brunch. This week we took off for ‘the cut’. We keep to the MUP and quiet roads so we can chat and catch up. This week I was on the Surly riding fixed, Jim was on his all-rounder and John made the winter bike into a budget fixed gear. It was his first ride fixed – we had some comedy as he adjusted to the gearing and ‘never stop pedaling’ – but overall he did great. His JB weld freewheel fixed wheel special held strong. Temps were mild with a strong storm moving in. Snow capped the high peaks in the ADKs to the west and the Greens to the east.

Jim enjoys cold water, John brought the thermos of hot coffee…

John on the all-terrain-a-fixed-a-saurus.

The JB Weld fixed wheel special. A freewheel thats been stripped of some of its innards and epoxy welded fixed. Not sure what method John used – but here’s a good write up.


Mansfield and Camel’s Hump.


The ADKs and Whiteface.

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Snaps

Some recent snaps. The moody lake, a family walk in the Intervale, a leaf lined bike path, a stone skipping foray to the Mad River, and the colors of fall.





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DirtBak


Took a detour home from town to take in the Intervale in all its late fall glory. We are lucky to live in an area of Burlington that is served by 1 main road route to downtown and several options for MUPs. The route of choice on the Bak is usually along the gently graded lakefront MUP, and old railbed turned into the ‘Burlington Bike Path’. Another option is the ‘127 Bike Path’ – which parallels and crosses the Winooski river into town, cutting through the Intervale. Its a great shortcut when getting from our place to points southeasterly of town. On our trip home last week I took the Bak for a gently off road roll. First on dirt farm roads and then on some flat single track along the river and through Ethan Allen Homestead. We connected back up to the 127 MUP for the last leg of our journey into the New North End. The Bak handled great on the dry stuff – but when it got really snotty I felt transported to my youth when I piloted my first car – the hand me down family wagon – through the snow.


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The Cut via Bakfiets


Short ride with Greg and Keenan out to ‘the Cut’ on the causeway. This is the first time the Bak has made the trip to the waters edge. The path is in good shape, the bike ferry docks look great, and the temps and colors were perfect.


Greg is riding his all-terrain-a-saurus. He bought a used mountain bike from Old Spokes two years ago and converted it to a road bike. He’s added some really wide semi knobby tires for dirt road cruising, and picked up a free bike trailer for the little one. Missing are his rack, panniers, and bright yellow fenders. Last winter he made his own studded tires.

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Snaps

Some snaps from the last few weeks – its been busy. The lake, a trip to the Boston Aquarium, Jen’s first triathlon (she placed 8th of 46th in her group! Not bad for a new mom!), a stop at my favorite cafe, Crocs and Baks, and fall has arrived.