Photo courtesy of Rob at the 3-speed blog. Yours truly on the right, looking sleepy and slightly disoriented. Two early signs of hypothermia...
It was a balmy 2 degrees Fahrenheit this morning when I headed out to the Saturday morning ride. But there was no wind and I was dressed right and it really didn't feel too bad. We went on a longer than usual ride for this temp and ended up at Cahoots Coffee over by Snelling & Selby. I don't know if it was the cold or if they just have really good coffee, but it tasted amazing.
I was riding my new winter steed, an old Raleigh Triumph that I found on the side of the road with a "free" sign on it. It's probably in the late 80s early 90s vintage, and nothing special. When I got it somebody had liberally coated the entire drivetrain with something resembling low weight gear lube. What a mess. I cleaned it up and replaced the 27" wheels with the 700c wheelset from my Raleigh Eclipse, along with a new pair of studded Nokians. I also threw on an old BMX freewheel I had laying around and made it a cheapo singlespeed conversion. I'd like to get a different set of handlebars, because the drops don't make much sense in the winter. I also will probably end up getting a slightly higher tooth count freewheel because right now it's geared a little too high for winter riding. But hey, it's a winter beater. Doesn't need to be fancy, just needs to go down the road. And so far, it does. However, it needs a little help in the stopping department. But I picked up a set of Koolstop salmon pads while I was at Hiawatha today, so that should take care of that.
This is my first foray into the world of singlespeed bikes. Can a fixie be far behind? Maybe when the snow tires come off this spring this bike will be transformed again. Since I've gotten home, I have surfed the internet, showered, and I am now making a valiant attempt to eat everything in the house. This may be the sum of my productivity for the rest of the day.
Date: December 10
Mileage: 26
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Raleigh Triumph
December mileage: 36
Year to date mileage: 3829
Date: December 11
Mileage: 12
Ride type/Bike: Commute/Raleigh Triumph
December mileage: 48
Year to date mileage: 3841
Date: December 15
Mileage: 22
Ride type/Bike: Hiawatha/Raleigh Triumph
December mileage: 70
Year to date mileage: 3863
I thought that was a new ride. It looks like a great winter bike.
ReplyDeleteYou're all looking a little pensive. Is this the pic you'll be putting on the cover of your new recording?
ReplyDeleteI believe they were all looking at me frolicking in the snowbank.
ReplyDeleteJim can frolic like nobody's business.
ReplyDelete