Flip Video Review

I recently received the Flip Video Camcorder as a gift. I have been intrigued with posted videos on Blogs and web sites and thought what a great enhancement. I used to love watching Alan's videos on his Recombentblog. He would be riding some serene bike path on a beautiful day with some great background music. It would seem like a utopia. How can you not love cycling.

After some researching and my wife looking over my shoulder, I received the Flip Ultra as a birthday gift. I played with this thing all day and fell in love with it. I took it on my annual birthday mileage ride and just laughed at myself afterwards.

It holds 1/2 hr of video which is more than enough. You can combine videos to make a movie. You can condense for emailing. Picture quality is far better than I imagined. It takes 2 AA batteries which I have yet to replace. It weighs less than a pound with batteries and is about the size of a small digital camera. Internal software works great and there is a 24/7 live customer support. It will obviously be outdated within the yr, but for now it's great.

Keep Riding

56 Birthday ride

I have a yearly tradition to try and ride my age, This yr it's 56 miles. My birthday was a wash out weather wise but 1/12 was beautiful. My wife gave me a flip camcorder so I made some clips I hope you can enjoy

Trike Stand and Repairs

My trike had been working and shifting flawlessly until a week ago. The right shifter jammed and would not go up 4 higher gears. I was hoping for a great ride, so instead of heading home I managed to repair on the road. It took about 1/2 hr. Don't know exactly what went wrong but it was working and I continued my 30 miler. Towards the end of the ride I noticed my lower gears missing at times and shifting up. Over the last yr I got tired of driving a 1/2 hr to my LBS and decided it was time to learn repairs. With the help of the Internet, BROL and Park tools, I managed to change my chain, cranks, BB, cassette and cables. I found things quite easy if you have the right tools. Unfortunately bikes have their own unique tools.

What I didn't have was a stand to work on the trike. I would put small pales under the rack to lift the rear wheel and then work on my hands and knees making adjustments. Too old for that. There has been a some talk on BROL about trike racks. UTAH Trikes and others have displayed various inexpensive PVC racks. Today I went to my local hardware store and for $19 made this PVC trike rack in a few hrs. I am still tweaking it as it has a tendency to sway a bit. It's light, the height is perfect and it makes working on the trike much easier . I have an old Workmate bench which my son has to return. I think I will use that to steady my stand better. I won't get into how I built this stand as it is obvious through the pics, and can be made in various configurations. It is great to use a bike stand for repairs and maintenance. When it comes to getting into those final adjustments, I find you have to add weight and torque to the bike. Another words ride the bike, stop, make adjustments and try again until all is right. For me learning repairs has more than saved me money, but, saved me time so I can continue to

Enjoy the ride

First ride of the year

Hearing rain last night, I didn't expect to get a ride in for the new yr. When I finally awoke the rain had stopped and the skies were clearing. As always, after reading the paper I check Alan's, The Recumbent blog, and Bryan's BROL. On BROL there was a posting by Bjorn, "First ride of the Year". He didn't like the idea of no rides for 08 on Bike Journal, so he did a short ride of 5 mi. I new how he felt. Unfortunately I had 2 unwanted guests from the party my neighbor had, Woozy and Queasy. I had hoped to shake them off with a 14 mi ride. They kept up with me the whole ride. Finally after a hot shower and writing this Blog, they got bored and left. It is nice having started my cycling yr on the right foot and still
Enjoying the ride

Last ride of 2007

Today I got my last ride in for 2007. 15.6 miles with an average speed of 11mph on my ICE T. It was a cold windy day but, the sun was shinning. It was great to get out. My statistics for the yr as follows:

Total miles for yr 3328.20
Total rides for yr 109
Average speed per ride 11mph
Average mi per ride 30.5
Average mi on T 2800
Average mi on Stratus 500
Average mi on Rocket 28

It appears I finished 1516 of 7524 riders on Bikejournals log. Indicating I am in the top 20% of riders. This is considered a large online bicycle journal, so I am quite impressed. It also appears I have finished in the top 25% of Bentrideronline riders 76 of 284.

It has been a great yr. Most of my rides have been on the trike and I suspect that will increase next yr. My total rides per yr has increased, but my average mi per ride has decreased. I think this is due to age as I no longer due centuries and reserve metrics for special days. 30-50 mile days has become quite satisfying.

Tomorrow will be a new yr and I hope to start it with a ride. It has been a fun and interesting yr. I have been blessed with 2 children's weddings, a grandchild on the way and a wonderful understanding wife.

I look forward to what new adventures lie ahead for 2008.

KEEP RIDING!!!

Visiting an old friend

Today I decided to take my old friend for a ride. My 2000 Stratus has been collecting dust since my purchase of my ICE T. I recently read an old review from Bob Bryant of RCN about the Rans Stratus XP. It got me thinking how much I loved my Stratus. It has about 18,000 mi on it with no changes other than component maintenance. I did change the Crank to a 165 Suguino 26/36/46. Love that crank. This bike fits like a glove and has been my favorite ride of all time.

Today, the day after Christmas, I decided to dust off the cob webs and take this baby for spin. Actually, I just aired the tires and away I went. I new no adjustments were needed. It has always performed beautifully and required little maintenance. It was as I expected. Like putting on an old shoe, comfortable and predictable. I glided 28 miles through the cold crisp air singing "Old Friends" by Simon and Garfunkle.

The Stratus is by far the most comfortable bike I ever rode. With its long wheel base design, it eats up road vibrations. It almost feels like a suspended bike. The Rans seat is considered the standard in mesh seats. The steering does have tiller effect and climbing steep hills takes practice and requires lower gearing. Both of which I have become quite practiced in. This bike has proved itself many times climbing over the Blue Ridge Mt's weighing 50 lbs with accessories. It was very rare for me to walk a hill. In fact, one time I drafted off a guy who was walking. For me slow and steady wins the race.

The Stratus has been my best cycling friend. It is always there for me and has never let me down. It is and always will be a keeper.

It's getting tougher all the time

December 1st, temps 32, wind gusts, God knows. All I new the sun was shinning and I had to get out for at least a 15 miler to hit 3200 for the yr. I know I advocate riding all yr round, but putting on all that garb for a short ride is a hassle. 2 sets of wool socks, my favorite sneakers, long sleeve synthetic shirt, light cycling jacket from France(a gift from my daughter), fleece and nylon windbreaker. and of course my XC pants. Also included a balaclava, wool cap and fleece mittens. Everything worked well. I probably could have used 1 more pair of woolen socks, but then I needed bigger shoes.

This was my old time favorite loop when I thought I was a big shot doing 15 mile rides. Now I do this ride in my swim suite taking a break from my in-laws.

It's tough having to put on all these clothes for such a short ride, but that is how I must survive the winter so I can keep on
Enjoying the ride.