NYC Journal

One thing that daily fitness exercising does is exaggerate the taste of food. I kinda love the food enhancement.

I had one of my grilled cheese sandwiches made with provolone on sour dough bread. Hunger persisted so now I’m having some Greek Pita that I Brevail so it is hot and mildly toasted, then I add a garlic laced humus over the Pita. Pretty much as good as sex. In fact I think I will have another. LOL.

The next thing is eating for fitness means more home cooking, less or no takeout, and no processed foods.

Pretty much fitness is my lifestyle.

With that said, “Maggie” is going through several years of hard drives looking and culling through thousands of images for photo’s that will get published in her book.

We took many-many photo’s every weekend for many years, and now Maggie sees an opportunity to contact her literary agent to perhaps have a photo book published.

I don’t look upon this work as my work. I guess it is more of a collaboration where Maggie is my muse.

Anyways, she may be the Accidental Icon, but I’m the Accidental Fashion Photographer.

Cal
 
The Greek pita is oddly softened when toasted, and the texture becomes very much like a pancake. The humus slightly melts and also gets softened.

You have to wait until it cools a bit before eating.

I ate the first one open, but the second one is folded close for a mucho different experrience. I’m in heaven. Too much pleasure.

One of my fishing goals is to catch some schooling sized Bluefish. Pretty much all you do is gut them and then smoke them. Smoked fish can be frozen…

Did you know that food has an exaggerated importance in Chinese culture. Famines and starvation made food UBER important. Long ago famines are remembered. Instead of “How are you doing?” in Chinese culture it would be “When was the last time you ate?” Or “Are you hungry?”

Tonight’s dinner Angus beef prime London Broil that has been marinated since yesterday with fresh garlic from my own garden (stronger than store bought fresh garlic) some olive oil, soy sauce, and Worcestershire. The side dish will be grilled sweet potatoes along with a salad.

The London Broil was purchase at a great 4th of July sale, so I loaded up the truck. Of course there wil be carmelized purple onions as a garnish.

Retirement means I have time to enjoy real living. Now that we don’t have full-time childcare I’m doing what I want to do every day.

Cal
 
Restored my rear brakes on the steel IBIS. I’ll do a bit of maintenance and oil the chain.

Now that I’m a bit stoned on endorphins I think I’ll start on building some bird house prototypes out of some of the reclaimed cedar fencing I rescued. The 9 year old grand daughter is pretty excited because I lined up a bit of a side hustle where we will be assembling bird house kits that could be a side hustle for her.

When we were in Cold Spring, on Main Street is this toy shop that is one of her favorite stores. It is a bit of a boutique store for toys and they feature a lot of stuff you would not find in any big box store. It is a woman owned store and they practice girl empowerment.

So i kinda pitched the idea of creating a bird house kit in support of their mission. I have not set the hook yet, but I see it being great for everyone. If it does not work out or turn into anything, oh-well, call me a delusional artist…

Anyways I have about a cubic yard of cedar to build things, and in the least me and my neighbors will likely have bird houses set 25 feet apart. This distance is required because birds are teritorial.

My grand daughter has the anxious gene and has some attention disorders. Mucho impulsive. Basically she drives me nuts. I hear my name being called all the time, “Calvin.” “Calvin.” And “Calvin.”

Cal
 
It seems evident that the Hobie pedal drive and the secondary option of being able to paddle is a good choice for me. I like the convenience of easy set up. For car topping the pedal drives, seats and any cargo are removed, but they are easy to install. The time saved means more time on the water and no excuses.

This active lifestyle for fitness kills a lot of time. I slept 8 hours last night; I have to make time to cook and eat right; and the time used to exercise is much more than say an hour in the gym.

The exercises need to be hard enough to do good, but also gentle enough to avoid injuries, and this takes time. In biking this phase is called “basing” because it is the strong foundation to build strength and speed upon. At this phase it really is all about just elevating the pulse and increasing blood flow for prolonged periods.

”Maggie” is 70 years old and 5 years older than me. She has limitations place upon her because of a hip replacement. She is also prone to heat exhaustion because of her ancestry. I have always been athletic and physical my entire life, while she has not. There is a challenge here of not only taking care of myself, but also her within her limitations.

The walk in Blue Mountain I would call a moderate trail. We took it slow, but we sweated a lot. My thinking is that this was too much for her, know I tried to curb the walk short several times, but she wanted to push herself.

My pleas to regulate went unheeded, and the important notion of doing exercise every day, is more important than pushing was ignored. The concept of slowly building a base was also disregarded. This is where “women-factor” gets frustrating…

Science, research, and experience are all on my side, but because I’m a man and women are an oppressed group things get one-sided even though I am doing nothing wrong.

I have not pushed her, but she pushes herself. Her good hip that has not had a replacement has been bothering her. That was a good reason to rest. Also writing the book she has been sitting too much. That IT band in the thigh remains tight. I offered lending my foam roller, but she declined. Too much sitting is really bad.

Anyways, a man can only go so far… I’m doing all the right things, but that Hobie Outlander for fishing will save me money and will serve me better. If it goes this way it is not me being selfish. Hard to argue with a woman with a PhD.

Let’s see how this pans out…

Cal
 
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NOS fork for the Raleigh Edge Mountain Trials arrived Friday evening. The seller didn’t know what they had, nor how to measure it. I took a chance and scored big. This is a Spinner chromoly fork with forged “QR” dropouts, low rake, and a mostly raw steer tube with 30mm of threads cut, but prepped for another 30mm if needed. Problem is that the steering tube is a full 240mm so I’m going to have to have another 30-35mm of thread cut. Thats a lot for a die but not impossible. It’ll just take time and a lot of oil. I need to sink a 22.2mm “gauge” (handlebar) into the steer tube to assess where the butt begins to taper towards the crown to ensure that I leave enough room for a quill stem to tighten. From my quick estimation, it looks like I have just enough room to install the stock Nitto stem to the minimum line.
Once I get the fork done, the only thing holding this bike back is which headset I choose to install. I might use my Stronglight needle bearing headset, which came on an old 80s Stumpjumper; or I would go all the way and get a NOS XT cartridge bearing unit. Come to think of it, I’ll use the Stronglight because it’s black and will match the set of NOS DiaCompe 982 brakes I have for it.
It’s coming together.
Phil
 
”Maggie” surprised me with her power walking today. She set the pace on this rail to trails paved path in Lake Mahopac. I remember this rail to trail pathway because of brunch we had at what formally was an icehouse for milk that was shipped to NYC back in the day.

Evidently this rail to trails (North-South County Trailway in Westchester, but the Putnam Trail in Putnam County) extends from Putnam County all the way down to Yonkers. This is ideal for not getting “pancaked.” When riding a bike. No cars is the way to go. Pretty much a way to transverse all of Westchester safely. Railways get graded to eliminate rolling hills. Also the blacktop on this Westchester and Putnam Trailway is well maintained and smooth.

The Putnam County section/extension of this rail to trail extends from Mahopac to Brewster. This is part of the Empire State Trails. Seems ideal.

Know that the Empire State Trail branches off in Albany and heads west to Buffalo. If you continue north pretty much you skirt Lake Champlain and get to the Canadian border. Evidently part of this trailway also extends into NYC.

Then there is the Old Croton Aqueduct Trail that extends from below Yonkers all the way to Croton near me. There is a Briarcliff-Peekskill Trailway that connects Croton to Blue Mountain Preserve very near my Baby-Victorian. Oh-yeah…

Pretty much we have 750 miles of trails to explore and many of them are close by. We will be exploring much of these. We should be busy for quite a while exploring and having small adventures.

I also have a map of bike routes in Dutchess County further north.

Now Maggie is excited to ride her bike which is a cruiser that is geared, but weighs a ton. Basically she needs a lighter bike with more gears if she wants to get serious about recreational biking.

How Crazy do I want to go? Am I in heaven?

Cal
 
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Phil,

Instead of cutting more threads would you consider going non vintage correct and using a one-inch a headset? Just saying.

On my Ti Basso mountain bike that is now my “Newsboy” I had that option. Know that I had threads cut and I had to shorten the steerer tube, so I went the retro route.

Again, just saying you have an option…

Cal
 
Cal,
The problem with turning a threaded steerer into a threadless system is that the tube is only as strong as the wall thickness at the lowest thread. I would need to have a double clamp 1" threadless stem and no more than 1/3 of the stem clamp area could be threaded. Clamping on the threads is just asking to twist or break the whole stem off at the bottom thread. Anyway, doing this right is a distinct possibility because I am converting the Breezer to threaded as there is an original Ritchey Breezer fork waiting for me out in Fort Collins, CO. Right now the Breezer is threadless and it has a Chris King no-logo 1" headset. Keeping this on a bike would be awesome, but I'd also need to find a long, high rise 1" threadless stem for the Raleigh. I've been looking and I can only find cheap ones, nothing decent. The stock quill stem for the Raleigh is a Nitto double clamp holding a black Nitto trials bar. I'm really wanting to use this setup. There IS also the possibility of using a "hybrid" threaded/threadless setup, as I've done on my green Raleigh 20 folder. This is using a full threadless headset but the preload is set using a 1" threaded top nut. A locking collar is always preferred under the top nut to ensure that the whole thing doesn't come loose. This would still require some cutting of threads though.
In a nutshell, the new Raleigh fork has too much length for a threaded system and not enough length for threadless. I'm probably going to get the threads cut and do it right. I doubt I'll ever find this exact fork again, and certainly not for the pennies I paid for it.

Phil
 
Phil,

Having threads under an a headset is asking for structural failure. I understand that. Pretty much any thread would in effect be a stress-riser.

The published 30mm of additional thread introduces a possibility of threadless, but pretty much I would be fearful of any thread under a threadless A headset.

I’m experiencing some real discoveries of why I am in a great space for biking and kayaking. There is a lot of infra-structure for me to enjoy, most of it underutilized. I was disappointed with Bear Mountain being such a tourist trap. Too bad. I have mucho other options though.

Things are shaping up for Maggie and me. I can see me building a bike for her. Maggie is only 5’2” so if I could find a small Ti frame it would be great. I have extra wheels that I could utilize with my spare XTR 9-speed and run a retro triple with an XT 11-34 cassette. A full rigid would be fine for her, no suspension needed, but I would use fat tires and low pressure for cush.

Pretty much she needs a bike with relaxed geometry that is light in weight that has mucho gears. Meanwhile I already have my Newsboy.

Cal
 
Part of the Empire State Trail intersects the Appalachian Trail between Pawling and Hopewell Junction.

”Maggie” says she got a burst of energy from the breakfast I made for us. I used four large eggs, but only one yoke to make an omelet and along with leftover turkey sausages. I had mine on sour dough toast.

Anyways, eating good is part of fitness. Maggie states that her levels of anxiety are less.

My blood pressure last night was a low of 105/70.

The hope of finding an affordable Ti small frame looks remote. Perhaps time will be my friend.

I have to check if 2x11 XRT is a possibility. I have lots of spare 11-speed parts and a stockpile of XT cassettes.

On our hike today we got caught up in a rain shower, but now it escalated to a flash flood warning and threatening weather. The shower was actually refreshing, even though we kinda got soaked.

We have a patch of strawberries, and the quality and taste kinda crushes any store bought versions.

Cal
 
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Today we drove northeast to Somers to pick out another section of the North-South Trailway, a paved rail to trails hiking and biking trail that cuts through Westchester County.

Before we left the house I placed an offer on an IBIS SS Avionics in a size extra small for “Maggie.” It seems the beach cruiser is too heavy and does not have low enough gearing to be practical. The IBIS we were interested in is a 1990 bike in clean original condition with purple and teal paint. It is only a 7-speed with a triple chainring.

Back in the late 80’s IBIS had their frames built in Japan for about 2 years, but this is a SS (Setting Sun) meaning frame building returned to the U.S. The paint was special/custom ordered.

Maggie is only 5’2” so pretty much she needs an extra-small and this bike is only a 14 inch frame. The top tube is only 20 inches, yet it has 26 inch wheels front and rear. Scott Nicol specifically designed this bike for small riders.

By lunchtime I checked to see if my offer was taken, and pleasantly it was. So now three IBIS bikes out of six, but the beach bike is likely a goner never to be used.

Nice thing is that I have lots of spare parts, and even have a spare set of retro trick wheels, a Chro-Mo IBIS saddle, and an extra Ti seatpost, and a lot of drivetrain parts to upgrade to XTR 9-speed or XTR 11-speed. The bike is so small that I expect a very light bike, even though it is a steel bike.

Fashion wise the Teal and Purple finish and the retro styling alone is a profound statement. With this paved rail to trails I can see doing lots of biking without any threat of getting pancaked by cars or trucks. This was part of a Putnam railway that extended north into Putnam County and extends to Yonkers and NYC.

My thinking is the first upgrade could be to a 1x11 just for the low gearing. A 3x9 drivetrain would be a retro upgrade, but I would downsize the chainrings to 42/32/20 and use a 11-34T XT cassette. Mucho gears I think is the way to go.

The wheels might have been upgraded. I see Mavic 231 rims which are not IBIS spec in that period. Hopefully they are not freewheel hub limited. I counted 32 spokes, and likely the cranks are only 170 mm for a smaller rider.

Expected delivery is in about a week.

Cal
 
7.71 inches of rain in West Point reported in yesterday’s rain storm. West Point is just above Peekskill Bay. In another report 6 1/2 inches of rain fell in 6 hours, and this is considered 1 in a thousand year event. I don’t know if that number is underestimating global warming.

On our hike there were a few trees that toppled due to the moist soil. Also parts of the path had near head sized rocks deposited because coverts were overloaded creating river like deltas on the pavement.

My Baby-Victorian remained high and dry. The house kinda got power washed.

Crompond Road on the way home had to be detoured because it was washed out due to flooding.

Anyways, my house passed a thousand year event alright.

Cal
 
Cal, that's a nice bike. All that Suntour Accushift stuff has to go. It'll make you some $$ to put towards the bike. If you are going to turn it into a 1x11 or anything greater than 7 speed in the rear, you'll need that rear triangle spaced out another 5mm, possibly 10mm, but I'm 99% sure that the rear hub is 130mm. If it's a freewheel, it may be 126 though, since 1990 is still deep in the era of 126mm freewheel hubs on mountain bikes with the Suntour 7 speed freewheels. At least it's steel, so it will take the bending just fine.
Ask the seller if it's got 170mm cranks, but 175mm were in vogue back then, regardless of bike size. They are XC Pro as well, which is cool. Still 110/74BCD which is almost future-proof, whereas all compact and micro drive cranks are going to eventually not have any rings left. I asked my service manager friend how to find compact drive rings, and he said "ebay". Not a good solution...
If she's going to ride upright, I highly recommend the Brooks Cambium C67 and C19. The C67 is a pure upright saddle, while the C19 is good for a person riding either upright or leaning just a little, wanting a good amount of room to move around on the saddle. Unfortunately, Brooks has said that they aren't going to be adding spring suspension to the Cambium line, as they have in their Flyer, B66, B67, Conquest, B135. I wrote them directly and continue to press for a springer C19.
The RedShift sports shock-stop stem is amazing, if you want to reduce or eliminate vibration induced fatigue. I have them on both of the folding bikes now as well as my Univega touring bike.
If you all don't want to deal with the perils of shifting using a derailleur, I can highly recommend an internal geared hub such as a Shimano Alfine 8 or Alfine 11. The 11 offers a gear spread that is equivalent to what a good 3x8 can deliver. You get the benefit of being able to shift while sitting at a light or stop sign, no risk or grinding or throwing the chain. One more option out there.

Phil
 
Cal, to go 42/32/20, you're going to have to switch to a compact drive crankset, and a new bottom bracket. The smallest chainring you'll find for the 110/74 is 24 teeth, which is definitely enough as pushing a 20 tooth requires quite a bit of finesse, stamina for spinning, and excellent balance (it's lower than trials gearing). You might be well served to do a 26/36 or 26/38 and skip the large cog, replacing it with a 38t equivalent rock ring or smooth pant guard. I have a 38t size one in 110 BCD if you want it. A 2x8 or 2x9 would be awesome for your area, then again, I think internal gear systems are really the way most people should be riding because more than 80% of riders don't use their full range enough to justify having a whole chainring.
Those pedals are awesome and regularly sell for close to $100, so along with the shifters and derailleurs, they could pay for a significant part of your initial outlay. Dang, the brake levers are either XC Pro or XC Expert, also $$.
It's a cool bike and hopefully the build is fun and it gets ridden.

Phil
 
Phil,

You forgot that I have mucho Middleburn cranks and chainrings. The spiders are interchangeable. I agree with you that compact drive will die out, but I have a stockpile that is kinda big. I like your idea of a possible double.

I have a 40T 110 BCD and a 28T. The bike comes with a 48-38-28 set of rings.

I think your idea of a double has legs. I can’t see “Maggie” pushing big gears or a big ring.

My square tapers are 112mm JIS except the ISIS cranks. Pretty much my bottom brackets work with my Graftons, my Suntour that you now have, and my mucho Middleburn, and my White Industries cranks.

With Maggie I might not need more than a 75 inch gear for top end. I agree many riders don’t use the full range of gears.

I also agree that spinning a 20 inch gear requires finess. I remember a ride where Iron Mike and I parked at the lower trailhead and were instructed to do the climb to the upper trailhead for Tea Creek in West Virginia. The climb was on a paved road, it was long and steep requiring a 20 inch gear, but the spinning was uphill for about a quarter mile. Pretty much it was a test of threshold of pain. The beginning was tough, but then oddly you get use to the discomfort.

My friend Eric says, “Pain is just a feeling.” LOL.

Because of you I loaded up the boat with 11-speed XTR along with mucho XT 11-speed cassettes on close outs when Shimano announced a new 12 speed. With a 40/28 and a 11-40T XT cassette Maggie could have an 18.2 inch bailout gear; a 20.8 inch granny; and a 94.55 inch high Which I don’t think will ever get used.

I think for Maggie a simple 1x11 using a Middleburn “Uno” like 32 chainring/spyder built in one makes sense. I would have a 20.8 inch granny and a 75.64 inch top gear. Only one shifter, 11-speeds, simplicity, and no front derailleur. Lightens the bike which for a small person has exaggerated meaning.

I would deem Maggie as a casual rider, and the reason for buying the SS Avion is for her to have time in the saddle pumping blood and burning calories.

Maggie has some issues with her weight. She could loose say 10 pounds, but she feels and says she is fat. If she looses 15 pounds she looks boney. To quell anxiety she snacks and binge eats. Not good.

In talking she loves our new lifestyle. She is more relaxed, happier, and realizes that nonsense is just that. She feels better than ever and enjoys feeling fit.

I believe finding a 33 year old bike that is mighty close to OEM is not so different than my 1966 C-10. Not so easy to find, and perhaps a very lucky find. I think keeping the original components would be mighty cool. I could then easily restore the bike.

Thanks for the education on the axel width. I had not considered this. I think my friend A.J. is up to the task. One of his part time employees is a 70 year old man who has built frames.

My steel IBIS back in the day came with a 6 speed freewheel. I am old, but I am greatfull I held onto this bike. Mucho value to me.

Cal
 
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It seems that rain storm yesterday created lots of damage just north of Peekskill.

Route 6 in the area near Bear Mountain is a mess. Highland Falls where a woman was swept away in the flood and died is just above West Point.

I figure West Point is where the Hudson goes narrow, and the water gets choked and bottled up. Remember that Peekskill is the gateway to the Hudson Highlands.

In the village of Cornwall, a place “Maggie” and I drove to explore and have coffee got flooded really-really badly. A river that feeds into the Hudson runs parallel to the Main Street of the cute village.

Lots of roads and bridges washed out.

Cal
 
Kinda funny how my retro bikes are like wheeled museums. My “Newsboy” is all tricked out with obsolete/vintage aftermarket parts that are either mucho expensive, or unobtainable. I have original Paul Components “Moon-Units” that are kinda supersized when compared to the new/current versions.

I have Grafton cranks and Grafton no longer exists. My Magnesium Graphton Speed Control Brakes my friend A.J., who owns a bike shop, says he has never seen them before.

I’m excited with the new IBIS SS Avion because it will be a cute bike because of its small size. Kinda loud looking too with the purple and teal two tone paint. Perhaps even blinding.

Cal
 
I just purchased tickets to see Tommy Emmanuel at the Paramount Theater in Peekskill On September 15th. What a great solo guitar player, but he will be joined with two guests so there is a bit of a surprise.

The Paramount is an old Art Deco theater so it is not a big venue and is a somewhat intimate space.

How cool is that venues like this are so local?

Cal
 
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