A Ride On The Conservation Trail

I've been having a hard time getting motivated to ride the past couple of weeks. So, I decided it was time to mix it up a little. Plus, the bugs are gone from the forests. I took the Giro, with the knobby tires on it, out on the conservation trail which is a rails trail that goes between Newfields and Manchester.  I started at the Halls Mill Road entrance in Newfields and rode 10 miles towards Manchester. This was a lunchtime ride, and I think I was in Fremont or Raymond when I turned around to get back home. I must say it was the most fun I've had riding in the past few weeks. The Giro handled the trail very nicely. The trail is in pretty good shape now, but there are some very bumpy spots, which may be due to horses riding on the trail. I did wish for some suspension in those areas, but they were brief. The trail does cross a number of roads in the Epping area, and does end up pretty close to a few backyards. Most of the trail is a nice ride through southern New Hampshire forests.

The Halls Mill Road Entrance

In the Epping Area

 

 

Route 101 in the background

Newfields, near Route 87

Newfields, near Route 87, looking East

Kingston Ride

I am happy to say that we are not getting the snow that the Midwest is. I rode a little over 100 miles between last Friday and Tuesday, with the temperatures being pleasant. On Sunday, I rode west past Kingston and out to Hampstead. Kind of a test ride to see what it would be like to ride Route 111 to work. It was a nice ride and I think I'll do some more exploring on that side of Route 125, which is a pain to cross.

I stopped at the Kingston Common to take some pictures of spring.

Dinotte 300R and a Bentup Bag

After a long hiatus, I thought I'd start this up again.

It has been a cold and windy spring of 2013, and today continued that trend. Although not too cold, but still in the mid 50's at the end of April. I did get my first 30+ mile ride of the year in today. I went out Drinkwater Road on my way to Hampton Falls. It did get noticeably cooler as I got closer to the coast, especially with the fairly strong wind coming from the East.

I did stop to take a picture at one of those places I always just ride past because it is so close to home.

 

End of Watson Road

You may notice the new Bentup Cycles bag on the Aero. It has a sleeker look and can hold two water bottles. Now I can ride the Aero without using a bladder for the water. I am still having a little trouble with reaching the water bottle. I am one of the more challenged people when it comes to flexibility. The bag tends to slip down lower when loaded because it has an opening on the top for a headrest.

Bentup bag lower on the seat

I tried using some velcro to hold it up higher, but the velcro didn't hold and slipped down. I will continue playing with it. That extra inch or so higher makes it much easier for me to get to the water bottle.

Higher on the seat

While riding in last years Granite State Wheelmen Century, I noticed a tail light up ahead that made all the other tail lights appear dim. I caught up to the rider and of course it was a Dinotte light. I have been aware of the superior brightness of the Dinotte lights for years, but the price and the fact that they use external batteries always made me decide not to buy one. After seeing the light on the century, it made me decide to get one. Plus they had come out with the 300R which has the battery built in. It is still pretty expensive, but a driver will have to be very distracted to not notice me on the road now. The light comes with a plethora of mounting hardware. I have been using a PVC T fitting mounted in the loop on the back of my bags. This has worked well with the 300R also. I add a tie wrap, just for a little extra security. In case something wiggles loose. The 300R has a quick release to remove it, for charging via a USB cable. I've been running it in slow flash mode and the charge has been great. I charge it every 2 or 3 weeks. Perhaps that will increase when my riding picks up during the summer, but I doubt I will have to charge it more frequently than once every 10 days or so.

300R on PVC fitting

This years beach ride

Thought I'd post a ride I've been doing about once per week. It takes me past farms, horse ranches and along most of the NH coast. I start in Newfields and go through Exeter, Kensington and Hampton Falls on my way to the coast. I ride north along the coast so that I'm on the same side as the water.  There are a few one half to one mile long hills on the route, but overall it is flat to rollers type of terrain. A fun ride that provides miles of cruising at a good speed along the coast and inland hills/rollers that let you hit the upper 30's mph.
Google map of the ride

And some pics of my new ride, the sweet Bacchetta Carbon Aero 2.0

Drinkwater Road

Drinkwater Road

Just North of North Hampton Beach

Looking North

Acadia: Dirt and Pavement

I took the Giro to Acadia National Park, where I road it on the packed gravel carriage paths and the Loop Road.

For the carriage paths, I put on the 24" (520) front wheel that I built, with the Intense Micro Knobby tire. Luke at Calhoun Cycles was a big help in selecting the parts for the wheel. Changing from the 26" (559) to the 24" (520) had no effect on the handling of the bike and lowers the bottom bracket slightly less than one inch. The rear wheel was a Mavic Crossride UB with a Nashbar  Accelerator Mountain Tire. I was hoping the first wheel I built wouldn't collapse into a pancake and the bike would have enough traction so I wouldn't slide out in the gravel and crash. We started at the Bubble Pond parking area, and headed out over rolling hills to the Around the Mountain loop. I got the usual recumbent stares, since I was the only recumbent on the carriage paths. I have ridden the carriage paths many times, but have never seen a recumbent on the paths. The bike worked flawlessly, no skidding at all on the fast twisting downhills and great traction while climbing the couple of one or two mile climbs on this ride. On one fast downhill I coasted past Amy on her mountain bike and she said "Dad, your crazy". I didn't think I was going that fast, just letting the bike slip through the air. Lot's of fun. Here are a couple of pictures at the highest point on Sargent Mountain.

Sargent Mountain on Around the Mountain Loop

Sargent Mountain on Around the Mountain Loop

I put on the wheels and road tires that came with the bike for Thursday's Loop Road ride. I also filled up two water bottles and brought along a cable lock in case I wanted to go into the souvenir store on top of Cadillac Mountain for some food. I started at the Visitor Center and headed up the climb that leads out onto the Loop Road. That is always the hardest part of the ride for me. It takes me awhile to get going, especially after four days of hiking and biking, so starting with a long climb is not fun. The Loop Road has a 10 mile one way section with two lanes. The rest of the ride is on narrow roads, but the cars are mostly courteous. There are many great views along the way.

Acadia Loop Road

I was deciding whether to go up Cadillac Mountain, as I was climbing from Bubble Pond. The Loop Road has much more climbing than I'm use to and it is a pretty good climb from Bubble Pond to the road up Cadillac. I turned onto the road and took a break at the turnout just as you get onto the road. I felt better after the quick break and figured I don't get this chance very often. So, up I went. Soon I was wishing I hadn't brought the extra water bottle, lock, sunscreen .... but just kept turning the pedals. I made it all the way up, sometimes just doing 5mph, but didn't have to stop the rest of the way.

Top of Cadillac Mountain

River Rides

The Giro26 has turned out to be a nice bike. The handling is different than the Ti Aero. The Giro26 has steadier steering and with the wider handlebars it is easier to make a turn when starting. Not as fast as the Aero though.

A couple of times I just felt like going out for a relaxed pace ride or should I say cruise.  I rode the Giro26 to Packers Falls on the Lamprey River one day at lunch, hung out on the rocks at the falls, road back via Campground Road and ended up with a nice 25 mile ride.

Another night I road down to Exeter and road through Swasey Park along the Exeter River. Next time I do this, I'll have to check out the new ice cream shop in town.

Yellow Bike

I've always liked yellow bicycles. Maybe it has something to do with my first 10 speed, a yellow Schwinn Varsity.

For a few years now I have been thinking of buying a Bacchetta Giro26 ATT frameset and building it up using some spare parts I have. It seemed like it could easily switch between a good rails to trails path bike and a decent road bike, by having two sets of wheels and tires. It would work out well for trips to Acadia and other places with a mix of road and trail riding. And it happens to be yellow! Looking through the classifieds on the web I saw a Giro26 ATT for sale ..... large frame ..... and in Dover NH. I held out for a couple of weeks, but it was still there. I couldn't resist any longer, went over, saw that it was in great condition and brought it home with me.

Picture from the previous owner

 I've only had a couple of rides on it. It came with the Recurve seat which I just couldn't get use to. It was hurting my butt, so I leaned it back more, but it's wider bottom is designed for a more upright position. I have had a Euromesh seat around for awhile. I put that on and it feels much better. Reduces the weight by a pound or two also. I added a Planet Bike computer that I already had and some Crankbrother Mallet pedals which I also had.