Category: utility

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Surly V2.0


More changes for the Surly…really pleased with how versatile this bike can be – and I’m thrilled with the latest changes – just about have it where I want it (with the exception of the stem and bar height (hence the long-ish and loopy brake cables) that I’m still sorting out). Initial report on the On-One Mary bars is that they are very comfortable and well made… adding the Ergon grips was a bit of a last minute splurge – but they seem to add to the comfort of the bars. I can see keeping this setup rolling into next summer – if I remain comfortable there is no reason to go back to the road setup except for smoother rolling tires – even for a fixed 300k (something I have as a goal).


Surly CC in 54cm. Planet Bike Cascadia fenders (work well enough… not as nice as the Honjos on the IF), Avid V-Brakes and Single Digit levers, Carradice Barley, Ixon IQ (not pictured) battery LED front light, Cateye rear light, black, white and red reflective tape, Time ATAC pedals. Gearing is 42/17 on a 17/19 Surly DingleCog with 35mm semi knobby cross tires. (I’ll move to the 19 when I swap for my Nokian W106 studded tires). I run 42/16 in the summer on Paselas. This is the bike I really want to do a dirt road tour / S24O camping trip with

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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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Sunday Dirt


Got out for 50 this Sunday morning with Jim and John. We had a partial dirt tour from Richmond to Huntington and mixed in some quiet paved roads to stitch ourselves a loop. The three of us + Patrick are riding the D2R2 in a few weeks – and in addition to ‘training’ we all really like scenic, quiet dirt roads. We took the busy (even on a Sunday AM) Rt. 2 out of town, headed past Catamount on Mountain View Rd. – then dipped down to the valley on Gov. Chittenden Highway – a great seasonal road. In Richmond we followed the Winooski east a bit, then turned up on the edge of Camel’s Hump State Park. We were rewarded for the 15% grade with some great views of a quiet valley. Along pond road there is a – pond. We cut down to Huntington and then through the hollow to Hinesburg, scouting a few more dirt roads for a future ride. We wrapped up at John’s, and a cold Smuttynose hit the spot. I also picked up our cake pan from John – as we left it awhile back at dinner. It rode home on the Mark’s Rack (more on that later) held down with my improvised helmet strap / double strap method.



I met mamafiets and Ava at yoga for the ride home. I was tickled to see the Bak parked in a spot normally occupied by a car. Jen surprises me sometimes with her logic… which is great. At the beach she simply parked in the parking slot next to her girlfriends – at yoga she didn’t want to wrestle the bak over the curb – and figured if a motorcycle can park in the lot – then she could. (oh how I love thee…) I had 45 minutes to wait so I let the beer do its work and napped under a tree. We headed for home with a grocery stop and then were off to Plainfield to dinner with friends.

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Saturday


This weekend is a sales tax free (on items under $2k) economy jump start weekend here in Vermont. Old Spokes was packed when I arrived – I needed a few odds and ends to wrap up some maintenance. The racks were full – and a steady stream of folks were test riding and leaving with shiny new and refurbished bicycles.

I ran into John – he was out on the A. Homer Hilson en route from the farmer’s market home via the bike shop to pick up a Nexus 8 speed hub for his sweetie’s ride.


I made a quick stop in town at the farmer’s market – lots and lots of bikes out today. Juggler’s too. Picked up some just picked zucchini and fresh bread. Then made a stop at the local giganto mart for a few items. I’m enjoying the new Camper Long Flap I added to my bag collection – I could have easily fit a few days worth of groceries, rain gear, etc. etc. in the bag. I was carrying a U-lock, pump, tools, gloves, hat, fresh bread, 6 zucchini, peppers, onion, and a bottle of household cleaner.


The Camper Long Flap looks to be the perfect size for light touring and long brevets. I’m going to put it to use on the OneWay300k. I also have plans for several S24O to enjoy the fall colors – I want to explore some terrain in the ADKs as well as a quick ride to the Underhill side of the Mt. Mansfield area. I think the bag will easily hold sleeping and cooking gear – and I can strap the Hennessy Hammock to the outside.

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Snaps


Two snaps from last week. Met dear friends in town at Flatbread for dinner and enjoyed a lovely evening ride home, taking in the sunset on the Bak.


Playing with some Nitto Moustache bars on the Surly. Not sure if I like them – I need to get them up and away a bit – the only stem I have that fits is too short and too shallow.

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June Miles

BMT (Bakfiets Miles Traveled): 232
Utility Miles (non Bakfiets): 33
Other Miles: 351
Total June: 616

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To Market

Saturday in Burlington – a ride to the Farmer’s Market followed by lunch at Flatbread with family and friends. Goodness all around. (I love the new Ergo carrier for the little one… its well crafted and comfortable – more comfortable than the Bjorn, and I can put the little one on my hip or my back – and a bit more functional than my minimalist Karma sling, which I absolutely love for when I don’t need to be working with 2 hands.)

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127 / North Ave. Intersection Public Meeting

The Burligton Department of Public Works has scheduled a meeting at the North Ave. Alliance Church at 7:00 PM on Tuesday, June 24 regarding the 127 / North Ave. Slip Ramp closure. It is vital to our neighborhood that the slip ramp be closed and the intersection with North Ave. be redesigned.

The current study configuration is far from perfect – but it is a huge improvement from the original. The original interstate style configuration had traffic merging from a 50 mph road onto a busy commercial and residential street. Repeated attempts to calm traffic with an ever lowering speed limit have not helped – as peds had to cross an essentially blind ramp with no way to stop traffic. Bikes heading north had to cross this merging traffic to get to the right side of the road. This was while watching oncoming left turning traffic and looking over your shoulder to watch for traffic hitting the street at 40-45 mph (on a slow day).

With a new configuration bikes heading north (a popular commuting route) will have a real chance of getting through the intersection as traffic now must make a 90 degree turn (this significantly slows the speed of exiting cars) and forces drivers to look at the road as they turn. Peds now have a control button to stop all traffic to allow them to cross. The Ward 4/7 NPA, Local Motion, the Burlington Bike Council, and the local AARP all support closing the slip ramp and working to make this intersection safer for cyclists and pedestrians – as well as traffic that is flowing at the posted speed of the street.

GoogleMap of the intersection (this is the original configuration, prior to the DPW scoping study closure):

View Larger Map

Come out and support the closing of the slip ramp!

In other news – we have a stretch of new pavement on North Ave. Smoooooth. Lane paint went in this week.