Archive for the 'bike' Category

Page 22 of 40

Tax Avoidance Ride

Published on April 13, 2009 in bike by risu. Closed

Thinking the weather was going to be bad, I didn’t bring my ride kit to work with me on Monday morning. Instead, I went home and took the Ellsworth for a spin around the neighborhood. Moments after I left work, I had the epiphany that I should have taken my ‘cross home and ridden that, but it was too late to go back. It was overcast and a tough humid on the Windward side, so even an easy ride was inspiration enough to elicit a sweat. I tried a standing climb, but my shoulder was unwilling to take the weight. When I got home, I saw a puddle under the front of the FJ80 – one of the heater hoses sprung a leak at the water pump. Krap! I have to fill out my Federal tax forms tonight, and I’ll have McBike arubaito tomorrow, so repair will have to wait until Wednesday. Wonder how the St. Louis ride went…

D = 11.39 km (7.08-miles), Vavr = 17.5 km/h (10.9-mph), Vmax = 36.2 km/h (22.5-mph), T = 39-minutes

Death in the Morning

Published on April 13, 2009 in bike by risu. Closed

Chris wrapped up his family vacation with a trail ride out at the Ditch with the gang. Kevyn was there when I arrived, but the parking area was rather full, so I parked up the street a bit, by the Grosser sidecut. Taro arrived and took the last normal parking space below the gate. There was some dude we didn’t know parked above the gate getting his bike prepped. As Ckucke and JT came up the street, JT saw Root and assumed everyone present was our group. He waved at Root and Kevyn, and thinking the third person was Chris, flipped him off! With shock and embarrassment, he realized it wasn’t the case. After Ckucke parked above me, JT walked down the street to apologize to the guy and explain. The guy was cool about it. Chris arrived, and with the group complete, we headed up the trail. Continue reading ‘Death in the Morning’

Bike or Anime?

Published on April 9, 2009 in anime, bike and SUAR by risu. Closed

I thought my separated shoulder was healing nicely, then this week it started hurting again.  It survived my last Japan snowboarding trip fine, but this past Saturday’s MTB Deathmarch seems to have done it in – either that it’s from watching too much Clannad…

(0)

Post-Apocalypse Road Ride

Published on April 3, 2009 in bike by risu. Closed

post_apocalypseWhere the heck did the vast throngs of roadies from last week go? Did the event they were training for pass already? There were maybe half-a-dozen other cyclists out today when Chris joined Scat, Root, Ckucke, and me for a Thursday afternoon grind up Tantalus. This time up, Tantalus Drive had been repaved all the way down to the junction with Makiki Heights Drive. This made the tough part of the climb up to Euco much nicer, but the new pavement was already littered with twigs, leaves, and other junk along the edges. JT, Ckucke, and Chris dropped me just after the last house, and were out of sight by the top of Euco. My back hurt as usual, but I was feeling pretty good, and my legs were able to push a little harder. I did a lot more standing climbing in the steeper sections. I made the top a little over a minute faster. JT had apparently even dropped Chris and Ckucke!  Chris had ridden up on Wednesday, so we let him choose the way down. He had backtracked down yesterday, so we chose to drop down Roundtop Drive. This was a slightly longer route, but the long straights allowed for a higher top speed, so we made the circuit in exactly the same time as last week. Continue reading ‘Post-Apocalypse Road Ride’

Spring Sun

Published on March 31, 2009 in bike by risu. Closed

Monday was warm, dry and sunny, unlike last week. Chris arrived back in Honolulu after a trip to the Pacific Northwest around noon and joined us for a St. Louis ride after doing a couple loads of laundry. There was not a cloud in the sky, contrary to the National Weather Service forecast that called for a 70% chance of rain. The winds were blowing strongly, though. We had loads of fun – even after Chris’ dumb-side crank came off. The climb back up to the parking lot was heinous as usual, but since there was no weekend ride, I was able to make most of the ascent pedaling rather than pushing. Continue reading ‘Spring Sun’

Shimano Deore XT SL-M770 Shifters

Published on March 28, 2009 in bike and Review by risu. Closed

dxtm770_behinddxtm770_frontGot these a while back from Chain Reaction Cycles in the UK (that was a story unto itself!) and put them on the Chase back in December of last year. The winter rains and switchover to snowboarding mode kept me off the bike until recently, but now with the lengthening days and drier weather, it’s two-wheel time again. Outwardly, these are similar to the XTR SL-M970 shifters, with blocky pods, long, awkward looking finger levers, and skinny perches. Shimano has purposely gone with a more “prototype” or “werks” appearance on their newer MTB parts instead of the fluid, beautifully sculpted look of their earlier parts. Unlike the XTR’s, these are provided with optical gear displays. The release levers are dual-release (push or pull) like the XTR’s, but aren’t multi-release (only one shift per pull). The pods are adjustable laterally on the perches, but only two positions are available, instead of the stepless slide. Continue reading ‘Shimano Deore XT SL-M770 Shifters’

Buk, Buk, Buk

Published on March 27, 2009 in bike by risu. Closed

buk_buk_bukMet Ckucke and JT for a climb up Tantalus. Root got busy at work at the last minute, so he didn’t make the start. I was rolling some new slicks to take some of the resistance off. It was indeed easier and the control was better, but the comfort level decreased by an amount inversely proportional to the increase in performance. Being Kuhio Day, the bottom of Makiki Heights Drive was heavily infested with road bikers, so we parked down on Makiki Street, lengthening the ride a little. With the lower rolling resistance and some new pavement above Euco, I was able to push a couple gears higher than with the 1.85 Hutchinson Scorpions. As usual, my legs burnt, my lungs exploded, my heart pounded, and my lower back knotted up. The swarm or roadies were sessioning the circuit between the one-lane bridge and the top parking area. We rested briefly after reaching the top, paid our respects to hopping rooster, then descended backtracking down Tantalus Drive instead of dropping Roundtop Drive. Continue reading ‘Buk, Buk, Buk’

Return of the Glove

Published on March 24, 2009 in bike and rant by risu. Closed

Yay!

Ckucke found my missing glove in his muddy driveway!

I’m still pissed, though.

Thanks, Ckucke!

Cateye HL-EL450 Update

Published on March 24, 2009 in bike and Review by risu. Closed

cateye_mountOkay, the rubber friction piece on the handlebar mount instantly peeled off between the first use and second use. Contact cement should remedy this. I suggest purchasing a second mount if you plan on moving this light between bikes. There are both identical replacement mounting brackets or a hose-clamp style ones available. I’ve had mixed experiences with both types, so I can’t really recommend one over the other. Continue reading ‘Cateye HL-EL450 Update’

Muddy Trudge

Published on March 24, 2009 in bike and rant by risu. Closed

On average, I have to say tonight’s ride sucked. The camaraderie was good. About half of the actual riding was fun. Dinner was great. The uphill parts of the riding absolutely sucked. Being wet, sweaty, muddy, and gritty sucked. Losing half of a pair of $45 USD Da Kine gloves sucked. Getting the inside of my FJ80 covered with mud sucked. Spending more time hosing down the bikes than riding time sucked. Dropping my light when cleaning up and breaking it sucked. I’m effing salty about this whole escapade now. When it started raining, I should have just gone the F home. I thought it would be OK, and besides, we hadn’t really gone on a mud ride in a while. I joked at dinner that we had to do one of these once in a while to remind ourselves not to do it. This was before I realized I lost the glove and before I broke the light. Great F I was right! I am so unbelievably pissed right now. Screw this sh*t! Double F! Continue reading ‘Muddy Trudge’