Month: September 2010

I rode the single-speed over 60 miles for the weekend.  I think it’s making my legs stronger, but the process is a bit painful.

I’ve tried to keep the bike simple, but my utilitarian nature required me to outfit the bike with lights, bell, saddlebag, water bottle, computer, and a clip for papers or cue sheets.

I dropped my LHT off at On Your Left Cycles for some maintenance.  I hung out at Vic’s Classic Bikes for a while.  There was some talk about starting a bike co-op.

I hosted the Saturday morning RCCS ride, but only had one other rider show up.  We still had a good time.  I’m hosting another this coming Saturday.  Come if you can.

Later in the day, Tim and I met up for a ride and some food and drink.  Two lugged-steel single speed bikes next to each other was quite a sight.

Sunday morning, Vic has a ride from his shop.  I joined him, his son, and two others for the morning ride.  Tim joined later, this time on his Bleriot.  So we had six lugged-steel bikes with Brooks saddles riding together.

Sunday evening did not go well for me.  I had to rush to work and help with an issue.  I was there until 11:30 at night, and it left me quite tired.  I’m still traveling only by bike, but it was really hard to get out of bed this morning.

I commuted to work last night and today on the single-speed.  That requires wearing a backpack, but my LHT is still in the shop.  I could ride the recumbent, but the single-speed is just too much fun.

It’s been hinted about.  It’s been planned.  Now it’s here.

Yesterday, I went and picked up my latest bicycle.  It’s a 1980s-era Raleigh frame and a mix of old and new parts.  It is my first single-speed bike, and my first minimalist bike.  I don’t intend to add a rack or fenders.

Vic’s Classic Bikes built this one for me.  I need to ride it for a while to see if the current gear ratio is where it needs to be.  I hope to ride the Harvest Homecoming ride on this bike, even if it means walking up the hills.

This bike is not set up as a fixed-gear.  It does have a flip-flop hub, but I’m not planning on riding fixed.

After one full week of riding my bike to work, I got sent to Saint Louis for a conference.  It’s too far to bike, and too close to fly, so I drove.

I did bring a bike with me, and took one evening to ride and sight-see.

My route is approximately here:

Download file: 2010-09-14.gpx

My actual mileage was about 29, as I took a couple of wrong turns and back-tracked some.

The first part of the ride was the Riverfront Trail.  It heads north from downtown through ugly industrial areas.  Also mixed in here was  a homeless tent-city known as Hopeville.

I’m assuming this was salt storage, but it could be something worse.

I have no idea what this stuff is, but I hope that runoff from it isn’t a problem.

There was a neat church in the distance, beyond the trainyard and industrial areas.

Here is some graffiti that I can agree with.

Sinkholes on the bike path?

The Old Chain of Rocks Bridge.  Route 66 used to go over this bridge.  Now it a pedestrian/bike bridge.

Looking back toward downtown from the bridge.  I was using a zoom lens.

Once I got over to the Illinois side of the river, I rode some low-traffic roads before finding another bike path heading south.

This bike path went under most streets, so there was no need to cross them.

Once the bike path came to an end, I had two options, ride on Highway 3, or cut through an industrial park.  I chose the industrial park.

I don’t have pictures, but at the end of the industrial park, I was forced to ride on Highway 3.  It was not bike-friendly.  I took it a short distance to the McKinley Bridge.  The bridge has a ped/bike lane on the south side, but I was on the north side, heading west.  I didn’t see how to approach the bridge from the other side, so I just took the lane until reaching the spot where the bridge widens.  I then crossed over the barriers to the not-yet-open ped/bike path on the north side.  The picture below is the end of the north-side bike/ped lane.  I then crossed both traffic lanes to get to the other side, and take a dedicated path back down to the Riverfront Trail.

It was nice to be able to get some riding in while visiting a different city.  Riding in Saint Louis is much different than in Louisville.  I did spend some time on roads on both sides of the river and had no trouble with drivers.  The roads aren’t necessarily done well for cycling, and many of the bike paths don’t fully connect with one another.  Also, they are parks, and close at night, which makes them unsuitable for transportation.