Commuteur

The Campeur is more a commuter than a touring bike or a camping bike these days.  I added a VO Pass Hunter rack up front and my Ostrich handlebar bag, held in place by a decaleur.  The bike now has two Pass Hunter racks, front and rear.

The Carradice Camper saddlebag provide a capacious trunk for trips to the grocery or out of town.  The Oveja Negra top tube bag is the center console, for easy access to lights, locks and things.  The Ostrich bar bag is a huge glove compartment, for much more than gloves.  Finally, I’ve wrapped the bars in durable cotton tape and installed my favorite feature on any drop bar bike, modified Ergon grips.

I am really enjoying this bike for riding around town.  The bike glides through corners, which has me thinking about mechanical trail and bike design.  Distances in Albuquerque can be great– riding to a Christmas party last night, Lael and I pedaled over 8 miles each way in the dark.  Commuting is touring in the city.

The leather badge on the front of the Ostrich handlebar bag reads “Excellent equipment of pack and carrying gear for all cyclists at heart.  Ostrich.  The Big Bicycling.”  The bag is Japanese.

Little guns

I might ride this, although it changes every day. Large Marge and Marge Lite with Holy Rollers for now. I wish I had some Schwalbe Fat Franks or Big Apples in 26 x 2.35. The creme colored Franks are nice.  If I roll on 559-65mm rims, all I need are two fat tires to be riding full fat again.  Holy Roller, Big Apples, Fat Franks– baby fat.

For now, road levers paired to Avid BB7 Mountain calipers work fine and offer powerful braking with featherlight one-finger operation.  Stopping power is exceptional although the feel is unfamiliar.  The cable pull is improperly matched and the levers feel squishy.  I’ll experiment with some V-brake compatible road levers soon.

From full fat to half-fat, then baby fat. I call it Little Guns. One of you knows a bike that has had the same name, but that bike has since passed on.

Dry pavement

One of our first casual rides of the year, in which we leave without a destination and find our way home at our leisure, because it’s not that cold out any more.  On the heels of a snowfall record is a sunny 50F degree day.  Dry pavement abounds, bordered by snowbanks and dotted with isolated puddles reflecting evening light.  We’re back to riding normal tires again; Lael’s got 26 x 2.0 Schwalbe Big Apples and I’m on a worn out Schwalbe Marathon and and old Continental Top Touring tire.  Tires, like sleeping bags are highly personal and infinitely fascinating to me.  I’ve used many sleeping bags and many more tires.  It’s nice to wear normal shoes again, and to ride on dry pavement without the chatter of studs.  As the snow melts, dirt and gravel are left as ashes in it’s place.  Sidewalks and shoulders are uninspiring moist dirt paths for now.

We use this ride as a planning session for the near future and and are satisfied that making plans while riding bikes in the amber light of the falling sun is appropriate inspiration for we have in store.