Project 74 is gone. Project SS is born.

Recently I decided to ditch my 1974 Schwinn Varsity project. The frame is too small for me and there is no point dumping time and money into a bike I can not ride. So I started searching for another bike that had a big enough frame that I could use. I was lucky enough to find a bike on cragislist for $50. It's a 1988 Panasonic Sport 500. There is not a ton of info out there on these bikes, but from what I could find they were well made Japanese bikes. This model was the bottom of the line bike for Panasonic. That is the bad news I guess...if I cared. I got a steel frame, double butted, for cheap.

My plan is to turn this into a single speed bike. I am looking into different ideas for components, and paint. I found several sites dedicated to fixed gear and single speed bikes. Some of the pictures of these bikes inspired my Project SS. They weren't just bikes, they were works of art. The clean lines, the vibrant paint, and simplicity of one gear.

I decided to order a set of Park tools (AK-37) so I can tear into this bike. Right now the project is on hold because I need a crank puller. It should be here Wednesday so just a couple more days. More to come...

Bike Build

My desire to build a bike from the ground up has not gone away and gotten the best of me. I am in the process of trying to buy a bike off craigslist to use to build up into a single speed. It's a $50 Panasonic Sport 500. The cost is ideal, but the steel frame is the key piece I want.

I found some neat sites dedicated to fixed gear and single speed bikes. Some of them look like pieces of art. The cleanliness of them just looks awesome. That got me thinking about what I wanted to do with my bike. I remembered seeing a site that allowed you to design a virtual bike. The site is bikeforest.com they have a Bike CAD program for you to use. So far so good, I haven't used it too much.

I've got most of the parts I need for a single speed picked out already, just waiting to see if this bike pans out. I'm going to use the Bike CAD to develop a color scheme that fits the artistic clean lines look that I'm going for.

More to come!

The final decision

After a long thoughtout debate (with myself) I've decided to buy the complete LHT and repalce a few things on it. The thought of building a bike from scratch was getting overwhelming. Too many things that are out of my skill level. Someday...I will build a bike from scratch. I want to be able to take my time and do it right. I'll have had time to research everything and buy all the tools I need.
The LHT as it comes is a solid bike. I'm just not a fan of the handlebar setup though. I want to remove the bar end shifter and put shifter/brakes on it and possibly cross brakes as well. I'd also wrap the bars with the Aztec Vibewrap system since I like the feel of it on my other bike now. I've heard complaints about the brake pads so I'll replace those as well.

The consideration of a build

One of my ongoing projects is complete strip down of an old Schwinn Varsity. I'm in the ready for paint stage but due to the cold weather (ie. cold garage) I'm at a stand still. I recently thought about modernizing it and putting a lot of new parts on it. After doing some research I realized that the expense was not worth it. Plus I liked the idea of reusing all the old parts and keeping it original. The researching of components got me thinging about my new Surly LHT. What if I bought the frame and did a custom build? I could have a one off custom bike like no other. I could have all the pieces and parts that I wanted, not what Surly gave me on a complete bike. This is a bike I want for multiple uses, why not make it the best bike I can. At roughtly $1100 the LHT is bargain. There is some definite room for improvement on the components. SO why not spend $430 for the frame and maybe $1000 on the compoments. The frame is the main reason people buy a LHT anyway, not the components that come on it.
The decision to want to do a custom build is two fold. The first part I just explained, the bonus of better components. The second part is actually doing the build. That is where I an on the fence. It's easy to get the credit card out and go on a spending spree online buying pieces and parts. The hard part is actually installing the parts and making sure you buy the right parts. I addition to all the parts I'll buy some specialty tools that not everyone has in their tool box. Now grated I could pay more money and have a local bike shop help me pick everything out and put it all together. But what's the fun in that. I do most of the work on my bike anyway, so why not know how it all works. My plan would be to go into my LBS (local bike shop) and have them help me with the questions I have and maybe ever order some parts for me, but I'll do all the work myself. I may bring the bike back in to have my work looked over.
That is the decision I'm facing. We'll see where my research leads me.

Truckin

As mentioned before I am buying a new bike this year. I've decided on the Surly Long Haul Trucker. It's steel frame, gearing, mounting points for racks and fenders, owner reviews, and color scheme all played a part in my decision to go with the Surly. The one thing keeping me from pullng the trigger is the color. Surly is releasing two new colors this year, blue and black. The blue is starting to hit the bike shops now, but the black will not be relased until mid year (June/July). The look of the bike is so important to me that I am willing to wait 4 to 5 more months. I'm going to miss having it now and riding most of my 2010 miles on it, but to get what I want I'll wait. I plan to use it as my primary bike. My Trek Pilot will be a training type bike used for speed work and other short distance type riding. The Surly will be my road bike, my rail trail bike, and my commuter bike. I bought a new wheel set for my Trek last year to try to make it my all around bike but the carbon front fork and alluminium frame just really concern me with my weight and carrying a load. It did perform well on my Wabash Tour last year, but from what I've heard about the ride quality of a steel frame I just have to try it. I'm planning on repeating the Wabash Tour this year and adding a tour to Lincoln via the MoPac Trail. I'll have the Surly by then to really get a feel for it as a loaded touring bike.

The Motherload

For xmas I went with a theme again this year. Bike accessories! I am going to buy a new bike this year so I decided to use xmas to pre accessorize it. Truly putting the cart before the horse. I'm getting a touring bike (more on that later) so I asked for and received the following:
Ortlieb Bike Packer Plus
Ortlieb Front Roller Plus
Tubus Logo Rear Rack
Surly Front Nice Rack
Planet Bike Hardcore Hybrid Fenders
Planet Bike 1W Headlight
Park Tool Dial Adjust Frame Pump

Not having the bike yet to put all this stuff on and test out I can't really give a review at this time. I'll do that once I am able to give a comprehensive review from a loaded tour. Stay tuned...

Back in the saddle

In an effort to get back to blogging I'm going to start blogging about my cycling miles. One of my goals is to complete BRAN (Bike Ride Across Nebraska) in June. My goal is to have at least 1000 miles by June 1st. I started training Feb 1 inside on my trainer. Winter here in Nebraska has been brutal this year so getting outside to ride has been impossible. Hopefully by March it will start to warm up and melt all this snow off. We had two blizzards roll through here in Dec and haven't had many days over freezing. My other goal is to get over 2000 miles on my bike this year. I'm sure I can get more, but 2000 is where I will start. Once I reach that, I'll bump it up. I think 3000 is attainable. So far I have set small goals of 50 miles a week on the trainer. 10 miles a day M-F. Although I got my 50 miles in last week I skipped a couple days and made up for it by doing a couple 15 mile rides. Although I didn't follow my plan (I rarely do) I did realize that 10 miles is too easy. So this week I'm doing 15 miles for a weekly goal of 75 miles. i can do 15 miles in under an hour so it doesn't take a huge amount of time and for now it's a good distance.

The Most Awesome Bike in the World

Isn't it?

Painted Kettlebell

As promised here is the pic of my newy painted kettlebell. I didn't end up painting it the way I wanted, but I like it anyway. The stencil I made didn't want to curve around the kettlebell. So I scrapped that idea and just left it plain red. I'm glad I took the paint off the handle too. It allows me to use chalk more effectively. I was doing some snatches with it the other night and it felt good in my hand.

Before:

After:

The Dude

Painting My Kettlebell

I've been looking at painting my kettlebell for a while. I got 3 more kettlebells for xmas so now I have a set of 35 pounds and a set of 53 pounds. Now I want to paint each pair in a different color scheme. It will be easier to differentiate them and will make them more aesthetically pleasing to look at. My initial thought was because they kick my ass so much I wanted to go with a "punisher" theme. I'm not a comic book junkie, but I did like the movie. So I found a Punisher skull picture online and printed it out, laid vinyl tape over the front and back of the logo, and then cut it out with an exacto knife. So that gives me a stencil to paint the logo on. That is as far as I have gotten. I need to get supplies before I go any further. I'm planning on painting the 53s red with the white Punisher logo. As for the 35s I have not figured out what I want to do with them yet. I have a few ideas but nothing that is really standing out at the moment. I'm leaning towards a camo pattern, but not sure due to the complexity. I'm hoping to get the 53s done this weekend. I'll post pics once I have them all done.

Cold Workout

The ice storm the rolled through on Thursday made for a good workout this weekend. I was out shovelling and scraping ice Friday night and Sunday. Sunday was the best, it was 0 degrees with -30 degree windchill. I lasted about an hour, but that was because I broke my scrapper. After fixing it I decided I was too sweaty (and tired) to go back out. I'll have to get back out again to finish up since we have family coming over Wednesday night.

The Dude

A New Day

My back pain and cold are nearly gone. So today I got up and did a kettlebell workout. I about threw up since I hadn't worked out for a couple weeks. I normally workout after work but usually I'm not in the mood to work out when I get home so I end up skipping it.

The Dude

On the DL

I hurt my back a couple weeks ago and have been on the mend since. My back is feeling better so going to try it tonight to see if I can get back on track.


The Dude

A New Start?

Deleted

Going Forward

After a long hiatus and a busy summer, I'm back.

The RAGBRAI That (Almost) Was

Well after a long awaited RAGBRAI, we didn't go. My wife came down with the flew and we cancelled our trip on Thursday. To be honest I was glad it turned out that way. There was something about cycling, drinking, 95 degree heat, humidity, sun, crowds, and hangovers that didn't appeal to me. I guess when it comes to cycling I like a more cool, calm, and sober approach. I like to drink as much as the next guy but there is a time and a place for it. I realize some of you reading this are thinking (or saying) "pussy!", but to each their own. There is something about BRAN that appeals to me, primarilly the cooler temps and lesser crowds (if 600 is not a crowd). Don't get me wrong BRAN has it's faults, primarilly the attitudes of the people that organize it, but it is a good ride otherwise. So I don't think I'll be riding across Iowa anytime soon. Now what I did instead is another story for another time.

The Dude

Long Time No Blog

Wow it's been over a month since my last post. I've been lacking in my blogger responsibilities.

The weekend of July 4th Kelli and I rode 20 miles on the trails Friday morning. I got a flat 4 miles in so we probably would have gone further. Saturday a group of us met up at the Wabash trail head in CB and rode to Malvern to had breakfast. Good food, great ride, and great weather. 45 miles that day. We didn't get off the couch Sunday.

This past weekend I met my brother in Chicago for the NASCAR race. We had a great time and caught up on things.

This weekend is RAGBRAI! Wow, I'm under trained but will be alright I have this new ability to climb hills with ease so the seat time my only concern. I'm going to squeeze in a couple 20 mile rides this week after work to try to acclimate to the heat a little better. After tailgating all weekend I've got a good start I just need to adjust to riding in the heat.

The Dude

Bike Ride Across Nebraska

My wife and I got back last night from doing the first 4 days of BRAN. It was a great ride. Day 3 had a 20mph headwind, but otherwise it was very enjoyable. The scenery was great, I had no idea Nebraska had such beautiful scenery. There were a couple of times I thought I was in another state. States typically associated with beatuifull scenery like Wyoming and Montana. Hopefully my pictures turn out and show what I'm talking about.

BRAN Time!

This coming weekend is BRAN (Bicycle Ride Across Nebraska). My wife and I will be riding the first 4 days. The weather looks pretty decent, highs in the low 80s and lows around 60. As rainy as it has been I'm expecting rain and can deal with that. I actually like riding in the rain. It's camping in the rain that I don't like. The route this year will be real scenic and not very hilly, which is nice.

BRAN is a really good ride for the money. You get fully supported SAG vehicles every 10-12 miles, gear transportation from town to town, use of school shower facilities, a smaller less chaotic ride, and you really get to be personal with the people in each town. Unlike RAGRAI, BRAN is more of a family atmosphere so you don't see people getting drunk. People do drink (I'm one of them), but it's more controlled and responsible. The ride is very oganized and eventhough it is limited to 600 riders it rarely fills up.

www.bran-inc.org

The Dude

Clydesdale in Horse Country

This weekend we went to Lexington, KY to visit friends. I rented a Specialized Sequoia from a local bike shop and went for a couple rides. Lexington is in what is called Bluegrass Country. It is also what I would call horse country. There are a ton of multi-million dollar horse farms surrounding Lexington. So not only did I get a good hill workout but the scenery was phenomenal. Rolling green grassy hills, black painted fences, thoroughbred horses, stables that look like mansions, and well paved roads. Best of all Lexington is a cycling community and motorists are used to seeing cyclists on the roads and are patient when passing. I felt very comfortable out riding on the roads. Overall it was a good weekend with a couple good hilly rides. I got 44 miles in on a holiday weekend away from home. It's 44 miles I normally wouldn't have gotten so I'll take it.

The Dude