Emerald Necklace

Little jaunt on Saturday afternoon. Lots of slow moving traffic
but we avoided most of them. The weather was beautiful, 70's,
and sunny! Took a few pics but not nearly enough. The Thai
food was excellent, the yellow curry was the favorite dish!

East Side Run 2009

Nice little run about on the East side. Tommy ditched us so it was
up to JT and Mark and they did a fantastic job. Thanks dudes!
The weather was warm, no rain to be found and although there
was a good amount of traffic all was well. The KTM seems to be
back in action, my fuel mileage is getting better and better with
every ride.


The infamous Michells Mills Road (the one we were looking for anyway)


The old bridge for a little drink and rest.


Looking over the side we found lunch.

Valley Ride 5-26-2009

Out for a Memorial Day ride. Had a wonderful time and beautiful weather.
4 bikes and 6 people, Sara is just learning to ride the new to nighthawk
and Matty took it for a little test spin. Matty is about to be a father
this week and we are all happy for him!

Coolant Oil - Oil Coolant

Well I received my jet kit and prefilter this past week and I decided it was time to install it on Saturday. This should have been nice and straight forward but as I have learned with KTM's 950 Adventure or my Adventure anyway it's never that simple. After I peeled the tanks I noticed some crap in the overflow reservoir on close inspection it turns out to be oil. Crap! This stuff is hard to clean out too so it's probably going to be floating around in my system for a while.I did a compression test to make sure I had not blown a head gasket but that proved not to be the case, of course if it's just between a coolant and oil passage I guess that would not show up anyway. Here are some shots of what I found.

Camera Mount

All the on bike images were shot with this camera rig.
Made of 2 photo pieces made by Bogen Manfrotto.
The 386B Nano Clamp & the 814-1 Hydrostatic Arm.
Seems to work well on round stuff but I don't think
it's a solution for flat edges. Time and miles
will tell if it will hold up to the abuse.

Columbus via Amish

I had to work Saturday afternoon so I was planning on riding
through the great Ohio country side. As it turns out a few
fellow riders joined in. It was windy but beautiful!
Thanks JT, Donnie, and Mark I had a blast.

Lunch Time!

It's Friday, and Lunch Time and the Weather is Beautiful!
Little more of my commute to and from work. Has a little
off road, couple of turns, couple of hills and rises,
and a grated bridge or 2 to keep you on your toes.
It could be worse...

Morning Commute

Just a little picture story of my morning commute
and field testing my new camera mount, works pretty well.
Time will tell if it will hold up. I'll get a picture
of the mount a little later!

Welcome Back Amish

I set out to shake down the KTM. It proved successful although
there is still some room for improvment in the jetting department
but it's most certainly ridable. So as a welcome back to Amish,
the riding season, and my KTM I figured no better place to head
to than Welcome, Ohio!

Back on the Road, with a New Seat

I have been busy working on a lot of things that were needed on the KTM. Through it all I did not take a single photograph, seems totally silly but I just buried myself into getting things done and that's what I did. I still have some little odds and ends to tie up, like a battery and gps but it's up and running in style and comfort thanks to Bill Mayer and his fantastic seat. Well maybe not style, but comfort and that was my main concern.

New Wheel for the MTB

So I had been dreaming of scoring a new wheel for the mountain bike
so I could do a proper single speed conversion and choose a proper
gear anytime I wanted. What I needed was a cheep shimano style
hub. These run the free wheel in the hub not the gears like the
older set this bike came with. A quick look at craigslist provided
a $5 score of a wheel. Well almost, turns out this wheel was bent
but it gave me the opportunity to learn how to true and tension spokes.
A quick stop the the bike shop for some spoke wrenches and after loosening
every spoke cause someone was in there before trying the straighten it out
and f'ed it up I have a $15 wheel that spins as true as I could get it.


Nice Clean Lines Just How I like Them

Single Conversion Kit

khs

yes I now have a brake and a helmet
i'm getting soft in my old age

Safety

So this has been on my mind since I recently picked cycling back up again.
There are tons of moments that happen with every ride where a rider, that's
me, are put in positions that could be compromising. This occurrence usually has
something to do with a motor vehicle that has 4 or more wheels but that's not
always the case. It seems that there is a hate for slow moving bikes and that
getting to work, or the bar, or where ever you are going is much more important
than someones physical safety. These are just my thoughts here. My life has changed
drastically since owning and operating 2 wheeled vehicles in more ways than
I can count.

So I leave you with this comment made by mi cora a new motorcycle
rider in 2008. -Everyone should have to take the motorcycle safety course to
know exactly what it's like to be the vulnerable one on the road-

I think I'll up the ante with -Everyone that wants a drivers license should be made
to commute on a bicycle to and from work or school for 200 miles before a license
will be issued- Lets put everyone in the situation so they experience first hand
what it's like to be "that guy or girl on the bike"

So here is my latest edition, maybe a long time coming but better late than never.

Fixing the Problems

Just some minor chain stretch on the Hard Rock.
Seemed like it was trying to switch gears when
I hit the perfect bump in the road. Now since
this bike is a conversion and the derailleur
would have kept chain tension there was never
a need to make any rear wheel adjustment. In
my situation I need too so some minor cutting
with my all time favorite tool and we have it
fixed.

Now I do find it interesting they did
not cut the drop out all the way in the first
place but I think it was to save money.
Drilling vs milling = cheaper. That is my take.

The Problem


Favorite Tool


Issue Cut


Ahhhh...Much Better
Oh ya, and check that shit out...a bike center stand. Sweet right?

Low Side

Well my morning commute went as usual until a little low side.
This marks the first cycling accident I've had since I was a kid.
Nothing major, just some ice leaned into a corner, going too fast...
or maybe I didn't have enough heat in the tires yet. :-)
I will say it's interesting sliding on your knee across the intersection
feet still locked in the toe straps. Good thing I was wearing good
gear, there was no traffic, and that I wasn't on my motorcycle.
No harm, No foul!

Interesting View

So I was looking in one of my favorite cycling blogs today and
there was this ad pictured below. Made me stop and think.

On The Stand

So now into fixing this coolant leak up on the stand the KTM goes.
Biggest bike to be on the stand, and it's a little scary up there
but I guess if I want JT's help it has to be off the cold floor.
Man what a beautiful day in Cleveland, I would have ridden today
for sure. I mean, well I did, just the Hard Rock, not the KTM.
Soon I hope!