NYC Journal

I needed a rest day after rubberizing my legs yesterday. It worked out for the best because of the morning rain anyways.

I did some maintenance on my bikes. On the Newesboy and Ti IBIS I removed the seatposts and applied fresh anti seize compound.

On the IBIS Avion SS I took off the rear derailleur and cleaned it up. Know that the last section of cable housing was too long to my liking and needed shortening. I also discovered I had an Avid Roller-MA-Jig, which was period correct for this bike. Basically a pulley with a sealed bearing allows a mucho short last section of cable routing with no friction to muck up the indexing. The most radical part of the bend is removed and the pulley does a great job of adding precision.

I also had a purple anodized aluminum rear derailleur bolt. They made these to replace the steel bolt and the design is to snap off to save the rest of the derailleur from getting torn apart. Back in the day one saved me from having a destroyed rear derailleur. The original steel version is my backup, so I can always go back to original. The pivot was dry so I applied a thin layer of grease. Mucho better.

Anyways these boutique upgrades are both period correct. I also found some Ti crank bolts that I had a friend at Grumman drill the hole so it would work with grease guard. How trick is that.

The 7-speed really has a solid shift With a very positive feel. The bike shifted well before but now it is supreme. Also I lubed the cables with Tri-Flow.

IBIS Avion SS weight 21 1/2 pounds with a very solid feel. It is a dream bike. I will be sending some pics to Scot Nicol. He does a Throwback Thursday on his Instagram. Pretty sure he would want to see the Ti IBIS Mountain Trials grouped out with 11-speed XTR. Last pics I sent him were when I had it rigged as a 63.59 single speed.

The steel IBIS Mountain Trials is now a 1x11 XTR.

BTW the Newsboy weighs 19 1/4 pounds.

I found a small compass the size of a nickel at REI. Kinda perfect to mount on non Ferris handlebars. All my bars are either Titanium or carbon fiber. I used some 3/32 bungie cord to secure it to my handlebars. Very trick. Kinda useful in my wanderings.

When I have some spare money, next is a cycle computer, and then a heart rate monitor. Maybe I’ll buy a unit that does both. Bike of choice will be my Newsboy.

Cal
 
Cal, the simpler the computer, the better they work. The standard is a basic wireless unit from Cateye. I have the Urban Wireless on 3 bikes. Super easy to set up and calibrate to the tire size. It has a single button that rotates through a menu of available data. Once you go above this level, then the expense and complexity go up exponentially. If you want a simple heart rate monitor, Polar makes goo wrist units, but what most people use these days are Apple or Samsung watches. They both have the benefit of being able to call EMS in the event of a fall, which is pretty cool. The super snazzy expensive Garmins do that and tell you where you are within a reasonable radius (civilian GPS is still not precise), but you pay for them out the nose.

Phil
 
The new crop of biker computers are very interesting. Computers with GPS are the thing. They are not so good for keeping from getting lost in the woods, but will give you a really good record of your wanderings trying to get unlost.

I mostly use one to record my rides, but from time to time I do use the turn by turn navigation in place of a cue sheet.
They will occasionally let you down so have that cue sheet In case you get lost.

One nice thing is that the single head moves easily from bike to bike.

Joe
 
Joe and Phil,

I have used Polar HRM’s. I like the idea of a basic bike computer that just provides speed, distance and perhaps average speed. Nothing fancy. The thing that goes on the HRM is the battery in the chest belt. For the bike computer all I need is for it to be wireless.

I don’t want to spend mucho money here. Also for me wandering and getting lost is part of the fun. I was thinking Cat Eye…

A funny IWatch story is “Maggie” got a gig to speak at an Apple Store, and was gifted an Applewatch. A few weeks later she dropped it and destroyed the display. Was not cost feasible to repair, so she brought a new one to replace the free one for I think $700.00.

Maggie has two Cartier watches. One I bought her, and the other we split 50/50. She mostly wears the new Applewatch 2.

BTW Maggie forgets to hit start all the time on our workouts, almost all of the time. Also the way her Apple watch works it calculates data and it is not in real time.

My friend Iron Mike rides every day. He is younger than me, but has been retired for a while. He says he easily does 10K miles on his road bike alone. He was a monster rider back in the day, but I wonder now… BTW he has the quads of a sprinter, basically telephone poles.

Then he mountain bikes…

We were quite a pair: one muscular like “Arnold;” and me lean and lanky (me).

We were riding in the Hamptons, and we took note that a car was driving behind us at our pace. Then they pulled along side and two girls that were either sisters or twins greeted us with big smiles to say, ”Good morning.”

Evidently they liked our butts. LOL

Then Mike says, “Take two of those, go to bed, and call me in the morning.”

The girls were driving in a BMW convertible with the top down.

Cal
 
Buying the IBIS Avion SS ended up being a really great deal. Not a lot of money for a great bike, and I kinda love it.

I forgot how well the Suntour XC pro worked, also having grease guard is great.

Did I mention that the bike is quick and fast with really balanced handling.

The updates I did: Ti seatpost; Ti straight bar; Ti crank bolts; Purple anodized rear derailleur break off bolt; and the Avid Roller-Ma-Jig are all period correct vintage boutique hardware. Oh I forgot the Suntour XC Pro peddles with grease guard. All parts I had on hand. The only anachronism is the later IBIS Chro-mo seat.

Don’t forget the Rene Herse 1.25 wide tires… Anyway all off the shelf.

The only thing I bought were some Schwable SV-14 tubes to properly fit the skinny tires.

Tomorrow we will ride the Great Swamp. Pumphouse road is a 27 mile drive to the Trailhead, but the trailway is 9 miles of nearly flat straightaways. The out and back at this point is a good distance for “Maggie.” She needs time in the saddle to build a base. Slow and steady we go. I tend to overspin with a very light gear when I ride with her. This is not my style and is a challenge, as I tend to push and grind gears.

In the Great Swamp there are signs “Beware of Snakes.”

Worth the drive to the ride. The Great Swamp is a marvel and mucho beautiful. No sign of man except for the trailway and the abandoned tracks that run parallel. To me a paradise.

Cal
 
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I just ordered a Cat Eye Padrone and Padrone Stealth. The Stealth version I will use on the Newsboy and the mount takes little handlebar space for a sleek look. The regular Padrone can be mounted on a stem. Don’t know if “Maggie” can read the display without her reading glasses, but this is the cycle computer with the largest display that Cat Eye makes.

Plan “B” if she can’t use/see the display is that I will recycle it to be used on the IBIS Avion SS. The regular Padrone can be mounted on the bars or stem.

Maggie’s Apple Watch requires hitting start, or else time and mileage is lost until the smart watch figures out you are exercising.

Call her the absent minded professor with a PhD but about 75% of the time she forgets, and know that the Iwatch calculates, so data is compiled and not in real time. In use you really don’t know how fast or the distance traveled unless you stop. To me not the greatest feedback.

The Cat Eye is Professor and PhD proof because it has an auto start. Also I doubt the veracity and accuracy of the IWatch. To me they are “funny” numbers. The call 911 came up when she hit a bump. It though she had crashed and needed assistance.

So I lucked out again and somehow got a Summer Sale discount of 25% and free shipping.

As for the heart rate monitor, I think I will pass and save the money. At this point I don’t need one. I know my body really well.

Today though Maggie experience Anaerobic Threshold and started feeling nauseous. Not to the point of gaging and throwing up, but getting there.

Know that I follow her wheel and she sets the pace. The Great Swamp has long grades, and it is easy to go mucho fast. Problem is that she kinda went too far and basically was choking herself without knowing it. I explained, but because I am a man she does not listen. Oh-well.

Anyways she learned the hard way.

When I lived in Madhattan, my lux building had a gym with an elliptical. This is a machine that simulates cross country skying, and pretty much I would hover just below my Anaerobic Threshold. After 40 minutes to an hour of this intensity, with some 30 second intervals of all out with recoveries,

I took notice that in the mirror when I showered I saw my blood shot eyes. Then I recognized what I learned from the crime shows on TV. Bloodshot eyes in a dead body are a giveaway that some one was either strangled or a fixated.

Biking, especially racing, it is a game of pushing the body, but not going too far.

Maggie does not listen to me. I told her many times that strength will come organically over time, and that right now the best thing she could do to build speed and strength is ride slow for a long time. Kinda counterintuitive but she likes going fast and the sense of freedom.

Today at the trailhead I saw a girl with a Specialized S-Works road bike with carbon aero wheels. I inquired about the weight and she said it might be 12 pounds. I was invited to pick it up and it is possible that her guess is right. Some background is that she use to race and get free bikes, but this one she bought as an upgrade to a Cannondale she got from sponsorship.

Anyways an impressive bike and an impressive rider. Pure crazy.

I wonder if that 12 pounds is a fact, and also the cost?

That bike was pure evil.

Cal
 
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Just gave away my beloved 1972 Mercedes Benz 220D that I've had for 2 weeks shy of 10 years. I just don't have the time, money, or space to do the repairs necessary to get her back on the road legally. It's a sad day to see her (Trudy) go, but it's time to put the garage to other uses.

Phil
 
Just got back from Lake George and Saratoga Springs.

Lake George is the southern tip of Adorandack Park, and is only 175 miles away. It is a really nice drive doing 70, and I got 30 MPG in the Audi.

I gathered lots of fodder where we have maps and information. Pretty much some of the best fresh water fishing in the world is just a day trip away. Land Locked Salmon, Lake Trout, Brown Trout, Northern Pike, Pickeral, and of course large and small mouth bass. Pretty much in a wilderness that is still pristine.

I’m talking Adirondack Park and fringing north to the Canadian border.

Gathered more info on the Canal Trails, and took a few free New York State maps.

In an outdoor shop in Saratoga Springs I found a Marmot Gore-Tex pants that complete what I need to have rain gear suited for hiking, biking and fishing. The bottom of the legs is zippered to accommodate boots. I have a Patagonia Gore-Tex shell and two Patagonia rain coats and also a Stutterheim.

The purpose of this vacation was an exploration and to relax.

A survey crew was around my hood. We figure something is up with the abandoned house. Might be a tare-down, or someone might be trying to build a house on the back second building lot. Could be to expand the footprint of the small house, or even for a possible change in zoning. Something is up.

I realize that the Newsboy makes a really great Gravel/all-road bike. Only weighs 19 pounds and the geometry is so relaxed that it is a great bike for epic rides and long rides in the saddle.

Looking forward to having a simple bike computer. Any day now…

Cal
 
The Cat Eye bike computers arrived.

I mounted “Maggie’s” on her stem. Looks trick.

Mine on the Newsboy is a “Stealth” mount centered in front of the stem. Had to use some electrical tape to make the bar diameter thicker.

I love the way you toggle the assembly to scroll through the data.

I love it.

Cal
 
Took advantage of the cool morning to head into the thicket of emerging marsh grass and a feral jungle that is thickening to pull Knotweed.

I wore long pants and a long sleeve T-shirt to help protect against ticks.

By the time I finished up around 11:00 My shirt was soaked with sweat. The Knotweed, severely weakened pulled up root and all most of the time. The idea is to keep cutting it back so it expends all of its energy to flower and reproduce. This expends all the energy stored in the roots.

The marsh grass now is choking out the Knotweed, not the other way around before my intervention. This is the third year of my war on Knotweed, and they say it takes about 5 years to kill it off.

As I finished up, it started to rain.

Know that Knotweed flowers in late August. I did a great job this year in the war against Knotweed.

Meanwhile a second crop of snow peas has germinated for another harvest. The Strawberry patch has grown to the point of being invasive.

Cal
 
Been looking into mountain bike frames to exploit the 3x9 XTR kit and wheels on the shelf. Seems like slim pickings or inflated prices.

On a positive note securing the IBIS Avion SS was a really good deal considering how there seems to be a shortage of supply.

I expanded into looking into Fat Chance, but these bikes/frames are already collectible. There is a model called a “Yo Betty” that riffs of the model “Yo Eddy” that has a short top tube and small frame sizes for shorties like “Maggie.”

$800.00 for a frame with a seat post is kinda crazy, especially since aluminum bushings would have to be machined to fit a fork. Would be a mighty cool bike though.

The IBIS Avion in a small size would be another cool bike, but we are talking still crazy money on a frame that shows some wear and tear. A repaint can be costly, and getting the decals…

I’m not desperate, but I’m looking around. Time is my friend.

Today after the rain I walked Maggie into the down town. We live on the opposite end of the city, so we are remote and are not congested. We stopped at a new sandwich shop that is basically a storefront built on a residential house.

Benny, one of the owners, came out to greet us, and I did not realize that because of Maggie’s Instagram I am no longer Joe Smo and under the radar.

Ben explained that Peekskill kinda got discovered in a few waves: first was September 11th; then was the Great Recession; then Pre-Covid; and then the Covid wave. BTW many of these waves were from hipsters from Brooklyn. Interesting too that we all know the same crowd that are refugees from Brooklyn.

Anyways some crazy possibilities may or may not happen. Just like maybe a new mountain bike frame…

Today I learned that the base landing is turning into a forest as well as my dead end. Kinda getting so dense that it is getting impassable. The chain link fence that I use for a retaining wall for my mulch and clean fill is now hidden by a vine and tree cuttings. The marsh grass is starting to climb onto my base landing and will be invading my property proper. My neighbor can no longer enter my property near the marsh anymore because it is a lush thicket.

My legs are sore and rubbery due to all the squatting and crawling around. The walk was just to pump some blood.

Cal
 
Cal, literally any mountain bike will work from 1995 on, until the recent disc brake craze. If you go with a Specialized, for example, the Stumpjumpers from 1991 on were spaced at 135mm. You can get a Stumpjumper comp pre-1996 with Tange Prestige tubing for not much money. I had two of them, one I got for $50, the other for $25, if I recall correctly. You could do a Rockhopper as well (I’m only talking steel, not later aluminum frames) for even less. The smut is that for a while, Rockhoppers were just trickled down Stumpjumpers from the year prior with different paint. No need for crazy S Works.
You could not go wrong with any of the mid to high end steel frames from any big manufacturers from the 90s. One thing to note is that many frames were contracted out and built at the Giant factory in Taiwan, so you can get a Giant ATX 870 and have a top end steel bike which rivals the Stumpjumpers, Mt. Tams, Hoo Koo E Koos, 990s, Breezers, Fat Chances, everything. GT made some Reynolds 853 frames in both mountain and road configurations. My first road bike was an 853 GT.

Phil
 
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Phil,

Thanks for the history lesson.

I was stuck in Made In U.S.A. mode. Currently all my bikes are Except the steel IBIS which was made in Japan.

I showed “Maggie” the Avion SS in her size and of course she does not like the purple and white as much as my Avion’s purple and blue. Also for her she can’t envision how a retro bike, even one with scrapes and cosmetic wear would be mucho cool. Pretty much an antique bike about 30 years old.

My Avion SS has shown me that having a triple has its own advantages, and as I say even with the overlaps more gears is better. Nothing like a wide range and smaller steps between gears. Unfortunately I have only one 3x9 on the shelf, and I was going to give it to Maggie.

At this phase my bikes are being built out for longevity and time in the saddle. Upstate we saw how skinny and fit we are when compared to most Americans. We want that to remain as we age.

The Fat Chance “Yo Betty” looks to be a NOS frame that might not have been ever built. Made In U.S.A.

Cal
 
“Maggie’s” daughter is an assistant principle in Yonkers. They just got awarded the title “Blue Ribbon School.” Evidently a very-very big deal.

Anyways the “Creature” (nickname leftover from her teenage years, and because I’m a big fan of Jane Austin) has to go back to work next week. The grand daughter has gymnastic camp, but for the ext 4-weeks we will have the now 11 month old grandson who can now walk.

Currently both kids have Cox-Sock-EEE disease which is some virus that initially has a fever than a rash. How wonderful.

I have a really high end jogging stroller, so all is not lost as far as our fitness routine. Also know I can always work on strength…

In September the grandson starts daycare.

Cal
 
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