Canal Cruise : 20120308

Hey! C'mon!! The sun is shining and it's 72F/21C!!! Even an icicle like me can ride a bike in March in New Jersey. Okay, there was a bit of a stiff breeze, but the trees by the canal broke it up. And flats? Pah! I laugh at flats!! Oh yes!!! There were flats ... but not mine ...

It was day when riding your bike was hard to resist. So I drifted down the hill from where I live to the start of a meander down the tow-path of the Delaware and Raritan Canal, situated in one of the longest and thinnest state parks in the USofA. 

Bike route 1445602 - powered by Bikemap 

The path is in a fairly good state, following an exceptionally mild winter. However, mild doesn't necessarily mean dry, so the path showed signs of repair where the canal had overflowed during the progress of the season.

But it was a good sign that the work had been done, although, at the moment, some of the repaired sections are pretty rough, but another month of riders, joggers, walkers and doggies should see the path relatively smooth again.

It's over 10miles/16km from our start on Route27/Old Lincoln Road in Kingston to Millstone and over that distance there is a fall of 30ft/9metres, not that you'd notice it other than the slow progress of the water on the canal.

There's a little deli in East Millstone which makes an excellent sarnie, although, unfortunately, it's closed on Sundays. But still, a simple sandwich in the open air is one of the pleasures of life, and having partaken, it was time to return, this time against the imperceptible climb, and more importantly, stiffening breeze.

A half-a-dozen turtles/terrapins turned out to salute us and a huge heron did a fly-past to finish off an unseasonably warm and pleasant ride.

Blinky Lights - be seen in the gloom

Blackburn Mars 3.0

On my recent group ride in the Sourlands, it became more than apparent, that even when you think you're never going to cycle in the dark, eventually you're going to be caught out.

Indeed, the group I was riding with seemed well aware of this. I don't think I've seen so many flashing rear lights in action on a ride with the evening drawing in.

The last few years have seen a transformation of bicycle lighting. Systems which give bikes the lighting power of a car are available, if somewhat expensive. But every year sees the amount of available lumens doubling and the price halving. Until recently each lumen cost around usd2.00/ukp1.50. This year the ratio has inverted and cost is about 2 lumens per usd1.00/ukp0.60.

Blackburn Flea

Most road rides can manage with a rear blinky light. Of course a front light of some sort aids conspicuity too, but, at least, you can see trouble coming at you from that direction and take appropriate action. Even on summer rides in bright sunlight a flashing rear light is useful to draw attention to you as vehicle drivers wearing dark sunglasses come up behind you in deep shade, under trees and so on.

Planet Bike
Superflash Turbo

Most bicycle rear lights have a series of modes from constant on to a variety of flashing and strobing effects. Some sequences have been specifically designed to be the most eye-catching to motorists.

But don't forget, you might not want to subject other riders in your group to a blitz of intense, flashing red light. Some of the more expensive rear blinkies are very bright indeed and employ random or even psychologically tested strobe patterns which can be very unpleasant indeed if you've a dozen or so riders in front of you. So think of using a less conspicuous setting and let the fact there are several riders on the road attract the attention of passing drivers.

Princeton Tec
Swerve 2

Lastly, don't stint on batteries.

Modern LED lights are very efficient and a set of batteries will last many hours. But it's still common to see good, potentially effective, live-saving even, rear lights barely glimmering through the gloom because they need a new set of batteries.

South; but not that far south ...

So, it was time for my first regular Princeton FreeWheelers' ride of 2011. And so it was that a small, but perfectly formed group met up at Etra Lake Park and and took Gary's route south through the Assunpink and Clayton Park towards Six Flags Wawa .Don't let anyone tell you we don't we see the sights!!!

Diane said it was our own little part of the Deep South. Okay it wasn't Hazzard County, but I could see what she meant. Maybe Jersey Shore without the shore bit. I believe there were a few Daisy Mays there. You can Google that for yourself.

But, it was a nice ride on a very nice day ... things can only get better ...

This is a Bicycle

I found this on the interweb and liked it ...

Support your LBS

Support your LBS - Local Bike Shop.

These guys are not in it for the money. Okay, they don't give stuff away, but pretty close to it.

Yes, they may cost a little more than your favourite online dealer, but generally you'll get good advice and you're more likely to get the right thing in the first place and most likely, be able to exchange it if it turns out to be not for you.

These are dealers I've found in my local area. If a dealer isn't here it's not because they're no good. I just haven't been there yet. And they're in alphabetical order:

• Halter's Cycles : Lots of stock, lots of advice - Giant / Cannondale plus ...
• Jay's Cycle's : Large Trek stockist in Princeton ...
• Knapp's Cyclery : Large, trendy looking Specialized dealer ...
  
• Kopp's Cycles : A real old-fashioned bike shop ... that's a good thing - mostly Bianchi ...
• Wheelfine Imports : For the European bike fan ... very cool ... strangely home-brewed website ...
• Wheel Life Cycles : Specialized stockist, plus ...

Trek : 1200

I like aluminium bikes. Yes ... aluminium!!!

The Trek 1200 is my current road going bicycle.

Very little has been changed on it other than the tyres, Continental GP4000 plus Sludge tyre sealant, and the bar tape, now Fi'zi:k.

The frame is far smaller than your lbs would probably advise, but as I've said before, this is what suits me, even if the bars are low and the seat-pin is a mile long.

I would like a better bike in the future, job/finances permitting of course, and at the moment I am focusing on Cannondales and Giants. The Cannondales are good bikes, but I just don't like the look, whereas the Giant geometry seems to match what I like.

But at the moment, the Trek 1200 is going well. I like it.

Bike 04 : More About Punctures ... or not

Well, so far so good. From the point of despair; ie: a puncture every twenty miles or so, I've now pedalled well over 100 miles without incident.

Undoubtedly this is down to two things:

1. Continental GP4000 tyres - cool website ...
2. Sludge tyre sealant - hmmmm ...

Anyway, cool websites or not, these are two products which do exactly as they say on the can.

Firstly, the Contis.

These are very nice tyres indeed. Handmade in Germany and an obscene price here in the States, fortunately they're available from the UK at a much more sensible price, which my LBS tells me he can't even match here in the US at wholesale.

The first big plus is that tyres can be pumped up to 120psi, but despite that feel much smoother and more comfortable than my old tyres pumped up to 100psi.

Further, the shell fabric, called Vectran, is employed as a breaker belt, which I assume resists punctures, also combines with the high pressure to make for a tyre with a very low rolling resistance. It was noticeable in the 5 Boro Bike Tour how I would just drop away on even the slightest descent leaving the people without hand made, German tyres in my wake.

Next, Sludge. What an inspiring name. Okay, so it's as good a name as Slime, the local bicycle tyre sealant. And of course, who knows if it works or not, because if it is working, you'll never really know ... However, I enjoy the sense of security it gives me, and that's a good thing. 50gms isn't a lot to add the weight of your bike for that sort of confidence. Besides the Contis are probably 50gms lighter anyway. And you really can pour it in through a presta valve. thus using any inner tube you like, even those very fine latex racing inners.

As I said, as to whether this combination works in the long term remains to be seen. But I'm pleased so far.

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* see my Bike Index here

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Bike 01 : First Ride Of The Season ... and punctures

Well, last week I went out for an hour or so. And today I rode for two hours. I covered close to thirty miles. Not bad considering ...

I was using my road bike, the Trek 1200. As I've mentioned before, I ride a frame smaller than normally recommended for someone of my height - 1.90m / 6ft 3". This means the seatpin is pretty much at full extension, and I've rotated the stem 180 degrees to raise the bars about 50mm / 2in. I feel pretty comfortable with the result.

The real problem with cycling here isn't the standard of driving, although some drivers seem to have homicidal attitudes towards cyclists, but punctures.

I know one of the complaints in the UK is that roads aren't swept enough, but here they don't seem to be swept at all. Given too, that road surfaces aren't nearly as good as you might suppose in a country where the whole economy seems to be driven by the automobile, frequent punctures seem to be the cyclist's lot.

So this year I gave some thought to alleviating, if not solving the problem.

Tyres : I am trying Continental GP4000's. This tyre uses a new material, Vectran, which is supposed to be more resistant to punctures and have better rolling resistance than Kevlar.

In addition, I'm trying some new tyre sealant, Sludge, which has been specially formulated for application through presta valves. In the case of the Continental inner-tubes I am using, the core of the valve unscrews anyway, making application even easier.

On the road, the extra 50gms of sealant in each tyre feels insignificant, but the Contis are a revelation. Despite being pumped up to 120psi, they don't seem to have the teeth-rattling effect my other tyres had at 100psi. Not only that, the tyres seem to hold their path well, even on tight corners. It will be interesting to see what they're like in the wet.

On the downside, the Contis are very expensive here - about the cost of some car tyres. You might get a better deal from PBK in the UK.

The 5 Boro Bike Tour is only a matter of a couple of weeks away ... I'd better keep this up.

* PS : Yes, I know how to spell tyres ...

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* see my Bike Index here

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