bring on halloween

i hope we get more foggy nights like this... makes 3am rides home pretty cool.

magic hour discoveries

just riding around on a Sunday night and saw this old firehouse (s. 27th st near downtown, by the old St. Peter's church).  #historyofomaha

sounds like chuooch part deux

i recently changed the setup on the Ciocc and i'm finding that i ride it a lot more this way.  it started out as a gravel bike but with it's mid 80's sport/touring geometry it didn't seem as quick on the gravel as i wanted so then i turned it into a flat bar commuter with fenders for rainy commutes.  i rode it like that for the last few years but with the flat bars and skinny 28c tires it never felt quite right.  i'm happy to say that i think i finally settled on this new/old configuration.  the cockpit now consists of a nitto 110mm dirt drop stem (in rare anodized black) and nitto b115 bars with cross top brake levers.   with the big Clement LAS tires (offically labelled 33mm, but really measure to 36mm) this old girl now seems perfectly suited for urban bombing the rough streets of Omaha.  old bikes are new again.

fragiiilay!

a package arrived today... FRAGIIILAY ..."it must be Italian!"  my cat didn't care either way, she was just waiting for me to fill her food bowl.

the old girl likes snow

i obviously didn't check the forecast before my commute this morning, otherwise i'd have grabbed my surly with 42c studded knobbies instead.  oh well, no big deal. the old gal (with 28-29mm parigi roubaix tires) still handles light snow pretty good.

winter schminter

my old Bianchi X4 is still getting daily use until we get real snow.  i've regeared her from 44x16 to 44x19 to deal with the steep hills of midtown Omaha. despite the cold temps the sky sure is pretty.

days later

 

another gravel worlds is in the books.   it was a foggy and damp start and it turned out to be perfect (no dust).  i didn't do the full 153, only about 75 before turning back to Lincoln. my 39x16 gear was ok but it still made each steep climb an all out effort again and again. my lower back and hamstrings are still sore days later. the strada tires did alright on the gravel, though i had to stay alert on the loose dirt sections because i came very close to loosing it a few times trying to change lines. by the checkpoint in Garland there was plenty of grit on my bike.  all in all it's a great way to spend a saturday and a fun time was had by all.  i can't wait for next year.

prepping for GW's

gravel worlds is just around the corner, and i'm registered in the SS category like last year.  however this year instead of a cross bike with 30-32c tires i think i'll ride one of my road bikes (a mid 90's merckx in team motorala caloi livery) with 28c tires. i'm just more comfortable on my road bike so that's what factors in the decision.  at least converting a Campy 10speed rear hub to SS is now made easy via the Gusset 66c conversion kit.  let's hope there's no rain this year.    

tracks

just testing a new camera app while waiting for the train.

G-world's 2013

 

another edition of gravel worlds has passed and all i can say is that i finally completed the whole dang thing. i started in the dark.. and finished in the dark.  tatiana did really well.  she was all smiles at the start... and the next morning when we met up for breakfast.  tat is tuff.

invader

it appears lincoln has it's own invader.

summer

just chillin'

reynolds does the trick

i've been working on my latest project, an old '82 bianchi super corsa frame that i'm cleaning up for a single speed/fixed around town bike.  when i got it it looked pretty beat up and there was a lot of rust on the chrome lugs.  over the years i've used steel wool, brass wool, brasso, noxon, and a few other concoctions to remove the rust, then i had heard that using aluminum foil with water works better.  i was skeptical... but tonight i tried it and low and behold it works! within a few minutes of light polishing most of the rust was gone.  props to reynolds wrap!

racing home

moi

spring burn

10th street

sounds like chuooch

                         
i just finished building this up over the weekend.  the frame is a mid '80s ciocc (sounds like 'chuooch') road/sport touring frame that i picked up off ebay last december.  it had a few rust spots and looked kinda rough but i cleaned it up.  after touching up the paint and polishing the chrome it looks pretty good now.  the odd thing about this frame (and the reason why i bought it) is that it has clearance for fat tires, which is kinda odd for this vintage of an italian frame.  to fit big tires you need long reach brakes, and on this frame the reach isn't the same the front and rear (another odd thing about it).  it needed a super long reach brake up front and the rear takes a medium reach.  instead of going with 'modern' centerpulls or dual pivots, i decided to go with a combo of a paul component racer for the front, and a racer medium for the rear.  the racer is paul's homage to the classic mafac centerpull brakes that were popular in the '50s and '60s.  i've always wanted a set because not only do they work really well, i just think they look so freaking cool.  the wheels (paul track hubs with torelli rims) were built by ep at the mwc (ep is the best around). i have it setup with a 44x16 fixed gear for around town, for gravel i'll run a 17t or 18t freewheel on the other side.  there's eyelets for fenders so i might put on a pair of silver sks's before the april showers come.

wrench time

rainy weather is good for working on bikes. here's a sneak peak at the new wheels.  the ciocc project is coming along well and hopefully i'll have it ready to ride this friday.

hint of spring

i almost missed a gorgeous 50+ degree day in february.  thanks to my friend johanna to calling me up for a ride.